Going once. Going twice. Sold…to you?
Absolutely. If your bid is the highest, you could walk away with one or more of the 500 lots at the County’s next public property auction.
The auction will take place Saturday, Nov. 19 at 8:30 a.m. at the County Operations Annex in Kearny Mesa, 5201-A Ruffin Road.
Four times per year, the County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) puts up for bid thousands of items to benefit the estates administered by HHSA’s Public Administrator/Public Guardian (PA/PG).
PA/PG investigates and administers the estates of persons who have not created a will before their death or who don’t have an appropriate person willing or able to act as their administrator.
The County manages the affairs of 300-400 estates at any given time. Each auction includes items from about 20 Superior Court-appointed decedent and conservatorship estates.
The upcoming auction will include 10 automobiles, including a 1966 Chevy Nova that is expected to fetch $3,000 to $4,000. Furniture, tools, collectibles, televisions and other electronics will be part of the lots. Photos of items for sale are available on the PA/PG website.
“The autos always go first and they go fast,” says Kent Schirmer, PA/PG’s bid caller, adding that bidders drive by the lot before an upcoming auction to see what autos will be up for bid.
Bids for some lots start at $10 and increase by the same amount in an effort to draw more bidders to the auctions, which typically attract 300-500 people.
“Our auctions are a lot of fun because we get the public involved,” added Schirmer, whose voice is gone after every auction. “We also do a great job staging the items out.”
Every lot includes at least one item that is likely to attract higher bids and several others that are less likely to sell.
“The lots are very well-balanced for this auction,” says Ray Cooksey, Senior Estate Property Specialist, who is in charge of collecting items from estates after the court has given authority to auction them. The items are then stored in more than 200 vaults at PA/PG’s warehouse and then sorted out for the following auction.
“The key is knowing how to mix them,” he said.
When the auction is done, buyers will typically only take the items which caught their attention and ask that the rest be donated to charity, usually Goodwill and Father Joe’s Villages.
“We not only benefit the estates, but also those in need,” explains Schirmer, adding that the last auction raised more than $133,000. “On some items, especially plasma televisions, sometimes we get market value.”
Some people, Cooksey says, come to the auctions because they enjoy them, but once they see what’s available they change their mind.
“People will be tempted and buy them,” he said. “They tell themselves ‘I have to get this, that’s a steal.”
For additional information about items available for sale and auction dates, visit www.papg.org or call (858) 694-3500.
