NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - An auction of foreclosed homes in New York City on Sunday drew protesters who blamed banks for an epidemic of home losses and called for a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures.
Two dozen people marched outside a Manhattan convention center where Real Estate Disposition Corp was auctioning off several hundred foreclosed homes, chanting and carrying signs reading 'Banks get bailed out, people get thrown out.'
The protesters said their argument was not with would-be homebuyers, who streamed into the auction without taking much notice, but with banks that had reaped benefits of government bailout funds after years of irresponsible lending practices.
'We're not angry at the people who are looking for a cheaper home,' said Larry Holmes, a spokesman for the Bail Out the People Movement, which staged the demonstration.
But REDC, which the group said was the nation's largest private auctioneer of foreclosed homes, was 'making money off other people's misery,' Holmes said.
REDC Chairman Robert Friedman said his company was helping move the economy forward by getting the foreclosed homes into the hands of new owners who would renovate them, creating potential jobs for painters, landscapers and others.
Holmes called on Washington to declare a moratorium on foreclosure and evictions to give struggling families a chance to get their finances in some kind of order and potentially keep their homes.
'Many of these homes being auctioned today may still be occupied,' Holmes said. 'What is happening to these families. Are they living in their cars? And are they being bailed out, like AIG or Citicorp?'
Friedman said the homes had all been foreclosed on six to nine months earlier and none were occupied.
Major insurer American International Group and banking giant Citigroup Inc have been two key recipients of U.S. government bailout funds.
'I'm sorry for anybody losing their home,' said one man going into the auction who would not give his name, adding he had a low-paying job. 'But this is probably my only way to ever get my own home.'
The protest group said that millions of people had already lost their homes in the mortgage and financial crisis, with millions more expected to suffer the same fate.
Foreclosures taking place are in violation of the federal Housing and Economic Recovery Act, it alleged. The group plans to stage a major demonstration on Wall Street on April 3.
(Writing by Chris Michaud; Editing by Eric Walsh)
((eric.walsh@thomsonreuters.com; 1-202-789-8015; Reuters Messaging: eric.walsh.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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((For full coverage of President Obama's first days in office, double click on US/VOTE])) Keywords: FINANCIAL USA/FORECLOSURES (For more about the U.S. political scene please visit Reuters 'Front Row Washington' online at http://blogs.reuters.com//frontrow/ ) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Two dozen people marched outside a Manhattan convention center where Real Estate Disposition Corp was auctioning off several hundred foreclosed homes, chanting and carrying signs reading 'Banks get bailed out, people get thrown out.'
The protesters said their argument was not with would-be homebuyers, who streamed into the auction without taking much notice, but with banks that had reaped benefits of government bailout funds after years of irresponsible lending practices.
'We're not angry at the people who are looking for a cheaper home,' said Larry Holmes, a spokesman for the Bail Out the People Movement, which staged the demonstration.
But REDC, which the group said was the nation's largest private auctioneer of foreclosed homes, was 'making money off other people's misery,' Holmes said.
REDC Chairman Robert Friedman said his company was helping move the economy forward by getting the foreclosed homes into the hands of new owners who would renovate them, creating potential jobs for painters, landscapers and others.
Holmes called on Washington to declare a moratorium on foreclosure and evictions to give struggling families a chance to get their finances in some kind of order and potentially keep their homes.
'Many of these homes being auctioned today may still be occupied,' Holmes said. 'What is happening to these families. Are they living in their cars? And are they being bailed out, like AIG or Citicorp?'
Friedman said the homes had all been foreclosed on six to nine months earlier and none were occupied.
Major insurer American International Group and banking giant Citigroup Inc have been two key recipients of U.S. government bailout funds.
'I'm sorry for anybody losing their home,' said one man going into the auction who would not give his name, adding he had a low-paying job. 'But this is probably my only way to ever get my own home.'
The protest group said that millions of people had already lost their homes in the mortgage and financial crisis, with millions more expected to suffer the same fate.
Foreclosures taking place are in violation of the federal Housing and Economic Recovery Act, it alleged. The group plans to stage a major demonstration on Wall Street on April 3.
(Writing by Chris Michaud; Editing by Eric Walsh)
((eric.walsh@thomsonreuters.com; 1-202-789-8015; Reuters Messaging: eric.walsh.reuters.com@reuters.net))
((For full coverage of the financial crisis nCRISIS]))
((For full coverage of President Obama's first days in office, double click on US/VOTE])) Keywords: FINANCIAL USA/FORECLOSURES (For more about the U.S. political scene please visit Reuters 'Front Row Washington' online at http://blogs.reuters.com//frontrow/ ) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.