Bell Woods, an undeveloped 86-acre subdivision between Johnson Creek and Palo Alto Road, could be sold at auction unless developer Allen Grant can find new financing or a buyer.

Grant owes $3.6 million on the property, which he bought three years ago from Sara Lee O'Connor, Bell Hill Realty owner.

He said Tuesday, Feb. 9, he met with Washington Federal Savings Bank officials over the previous weekend to try renegotiating the loan and that's all he could say.

Bishop, White and Marshall, a Seattle legal firm specializing in foreclosures, is selling the property for Washington Federal Savings.



Due last March

According to the notice of trustee's sale, the $3.6 million promissory note was due on March 6, 2009.

A foreclosure auction first scheduled for Jan. 22 was postponed to Feb. 12 and then postponed again to an unknown date.

The sale affects 41 of the 49 platted lots. The other eight were sold before Grant defaulted on the loan.

It includes easements for ingress, egress and utilities over, under and across the properties that were platted in September 2006.

Terry Roth, who conducts the weekly property auctions in the Clallam County Courthouse, said it's the largest single foreclosure he's done in 20 years.



Buyer takes all

The foreclosure affects the lots that didn't sell, Roth said, but bidders can't bid on just one lot. They must bid on the entire development. However, the buyer can dispose of the lots individually, which usually means hiring a real estate company to market and sell it, he said.

Roth may not know the opening bid until the lender calls Friday morning before the auction.

Besides an opening bid, there also can be a "specified bid," if the lender changes the price that was published in the public notice.

Anyone wanting to bid on a foreclosed property must show Roth sufficient certified funds such as a cashier's check, he said.

Roth said he has had only six of 100 properties sold at auction in two years. The rest reverted to the lender.

Reach Brian Gawley at bgawley@sequimgazette.com.