Fannie auction of Bronx properties canceled

Fannie Mae has decided to cancel an online auction of 19 foreclosed apartment buildings in the Bronx, Senator Charles Schumer said today. Schumer and city housing officials had asked Fannie Mae not to go forward with the auction, out of concern that a buyer would overpay for the properties and end up raising rent for the tenants of the 519 units. Fannie Mae purchased the mortgages on the buildings in the Bronx’s Crotona neighborhood for $29 million in 2007 and had planned to auction them through DebtX, an online auction site for distressed property. The city has already spent nearly $1 million on emergency repairs at the buildings. Schumer and the city will now work with Fannie Mae to find a buyer willing to keep the units affordable.