Eager home buyers may see the economic recession’s silver lining on Saturday when more than 300 foreclosed Minnesota properties are auctioned off by Real Estate Disposition Corporation (REDC).
 
The homes are sold in “as-is” condition—and they typically go for about half of their estimated previous value. Potential buyers had the opportunity earlier this month to inspect the houses up for auction.

Such auctions are happening around the country as homes are repossessed by banks. Several foreclosed home auctions have already taken place within Minnesota.

Most homes at Saturday’s auction have starting bids of a few thousand dollars—but some are as low as $500. The highest starting bid is $299,000 for a 5,656-square-foot mansion in Cedar that’s valued at $1.3 million.
 
Homes being auctioned are located all around the state. Most are within the nine-county metro area, but some are as far away as the popular Brainerd lakes area north of the Twin Cities.
 
The auction will take place at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Registration begins promptly at 8 a.m., and the auction begins at 9:30 a.m. To get into the auction, a consumer must bring a $5,000 cashier’s check made out to himself or herself. Winning bidders must put down cash deposits equal to 5 percent of the purchase price.
 
Irvine, California-based REDC has sold more than $5 billion of real estate assets since it was founded in 1990. In 2008, the company conducted 300 auctions and auctioned 32,800 homes that were sold for a combined $3.4 billion.