City to auction off four co-ops and a condo

392 Central Park West is one of several buildings in Park West Village on the Upper West Side.

On March 11, as mentioned in my previous post immediately below, the Office of the Manhattan Public Administrator will dispose at an auction of co-ops and condos situated between Washington Heights and Chinatown.

The apartments are:

Bankruptcy forces auction of Times Square condo

The apartment is on the 10th floor of this 2006 building.

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy auction will be held March 19 for a 668-sf one-bedroom condo in this building in the heart of Times Square.

In addition, there will be an auction of lesser properties at the end of the month and, in March as well, of five properties that are scattered between Chinatown and Washington Heights; the five apartments belong to the city as the result of owners who died without wills.

Although I wouldn’t want to live in such an overrun area with a limited amount of amenities that are found in typical residential areas, you may find the Times Square pad appealing.  But bear in mind that the winning bid probably will be above 75 percent of its current value.

The unfortunate owner bought the place in March of 2007, when it was listed for $895,000. 

Bid on the City yelps, bares teeth, doesn’t bite

Flickr image by spacecookypk

Raymond Villani, managing director of Bid on the City, has written a rebuttal to my post on the auction that I attended, according to the ever-resourceful Web site, Curbed.com, which said a copy had fallen into its hands yesterday.

Now it’s my turn (in boldface–hey, it’s my blog):

Bid on the City auction too little too late?

Leaning over a desk and blocking a small section at the left bottom of the big screen is the personable auctioneer and, left foreground, my hat.

A technologically impressive outfit called Bid on the City ventured into the Big Apple last spring, I think, with the auction by mouse, TV remote, telephone and live audience of two properties.  Yesterday, I decided it was high time to pay a visit.

My reaction to the sale of 10 Manhattan townhouses and apartments that went on the block was decidedly mixed.