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According to a recent report in the AJC, A four-day foreclosure auction that begins today will include more than 300 Atlanta-area dwellings.

Lenders struck out trying to sell the properties the conventional way, so now they’re looking to investors and bargain-hunting families to make their problems go away.

Auctioning hundreds of homes at one time is not new in Atlanta. A similar event was held last month at the Georgia World Congress Center.

After pre-sales and some withdrawals 26 homes in the zipcode 30310 in southwest Atlanta, will be auctioned.

Nia Knowles, a Realtor and community activist in 30310, said eight of the 11 homes on her block are empty.

During the housing boom, inflated appraisals boosted the values of even the humblest of homes, she said. Banks made loans based on those appraisals — some of which were fraudulent — even though the borrowers in many cases had no intention of moving in; they bought the houses to sell for a quick profit.

When the housing market crashed, lenders saw their collateral plunge in value and many were unwilling to accept that the house with the $100,000 loan was worth $50,000, or less.

“They didn’t adjust with the market properly,” Rasmus said.

After failing to sell the properties through agents, the lenders resort to auctions to cut their losses.

“The write-offs on the properties are huge. The lenders are getting beat up unbelievably,” Rasmus said. Some properties, she predicted, will sell for less than $10,000.

And some will not sell. The property owners, all national lenders and big asset management companies holding mortgages, have put undisclosed reserves on the lots, said Dave Webb, co-owner of Texas-based Hudson & Marshall, the auction company. If the reserve is not met, there is no sale.

Agents such as Rasmus who have been trying to move the properties will get commissions in the range of 2 percent if their listings sell at auction.

Knowles said she is ambivalent about homes in her neighborhood going to auction. If they are occupied by new owners, great, she said. But if investors buy them simply to hold or rent with little concern about their upkeep, then 30310 is no better off, she said.

“The Hudson & Marshall auctions will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the Atlanta Marriott Northwest hotel, and Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. at the InterContinental Buckhead hotel.