Goods From Lincoln S&L;’s Past Selling at Bargain Prices

The price tag on the walnut Kittinger breakfront said $27,000. As a used piece of furniture, the massive armoire-like piece was appraised at $9,000. Mary Lou Beran of Tustin bought it for $3,600.

That sale early Thursday was an indication that bargain hunters found nirvana at an auction in a warehouse filled with furniture and equipment from branches of defunct Lincoln Savings & Loan.

There were no strings attached to this auction--no reserves, no buyers premiums, no minimum prices--as the Resolution Trust Corp., the federal agency liquidating Lincoln’s assets, began ridding itself of the S&L;’s remaining personal property.

Rarely, some of the 259 bidders said, have they been able to get such good deals on quality furniture and equipment.

“I’ve been going to a number of auctions, and a it’s hard to find a set of chairs of this quality,” said Grace Shin of Downey, as she sat on a well-padded office chair. “These chairs would go for $400 each retail, and I expect they won’t get more than $125 each.”

She has been searching retail shops and auctions for furniture to stock the reception area in her husband’s new medical office.

About the only other surprise was how few bidders showed up for the huge auction, said Beran, whose family owns Beran’s Antique and Estate Jewelry in Tustin. A few bidders were first-time buyers attracted to the auction by the fact that the goods came from Lincoln and the office of its one-time owner, Charles H. Keating Jr. But most were professional dealers.

Keating and the S&L; scandal meant nothing to Beran. “I have to be honest with you--I wasn’t even sure of the guy’s name. I had to ask my son,” she said.

The warehouse and Lincoln’s Irvine headquarters have been stocked with the S&L;’s furniture and equipment for the past six months. They have been open to an elite, invitation-only group--such as doctors, lawyers, bankers and insurance companies--who were likely to pay for Lincoln’s expensive, quality furniture.

Those sales brought in about $650,000, according to the RTC, and the agency hired Allied Federal Auctioneers in Phoenix to complete the sale of the property in a marathon two-day auction. The sale moves from Irvine today to a former Lincoln branch at 1631 N. Bristol St. in Santa Ana.

C.R. (Kip) Kane, one of three Allied principals auctioning the goods, said that the remaining furniture and equipment is valued at more than $400,000 and that the auction should garner $225,000 for the RTC--after a 6% sales fee is deducted--and, more important, provide a small savings for taxpayers.

Lincoln’s 1989 collapse is the biggest single thrift failure to date, costing taxpayers an estimated $2.6 billion.

Kane’s partner, John A. Weaver, has high hopes that the auction would bring in $1 million. Several high-priced items go on the block today. He said they include a Burroughs mainframe computer that cost Lincoln $235,000 installed.