Foreclosure Vultures

At $265,000, Steel throws his bidding card down on a picnic table. The bidding stops at $270,000, offered by a company called Foreclosure Solutions on behalf of its client, a first-time buyer named Mansour Biria who says he once owned a Toshi's Teriyaki joint and who looks somewhat nervous as he steps forward to claim his prize.

Steel also drops out of the bidding on the Ballard property as it passes the $400,000 mark. The other properties he was interested in were postponed, including one he hopes to get through a short sale. At 12:30, with the rain now pouring down upon the few hardcore bidders who've stayed the duration, Steel leaves empty-handed. He doesn't seem worried. One hundred and fourteen homes are scheduled for auction next week, 149 the week after that. And when the numbers go down, he says he'll leave foreclosures behind and move on to the next thing. "The market is changing every day," he says. "You just have to follow the trends."

Kevin P. Casey

At the wheel of the Denali, Steel scopes out Bellevue.

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More About

• Matt Steel
• Bellevue
• Emi Yoshida
• Redmond
• Foreclosures

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