RTC Plans ‘Mega-Pool’ Sale of Great American Property

The Resolution Trust Corp. soon will sell its first-ever “mega-pool” of seized homes and residential lots--all former assets of Great American Bank, the failed San Diego-based thrift.

It’s a prospect that fills many San Diego County home builders with dread. They have already seen new home prices drop the past year, and they fear that the sale--slated for November--will depress the market more.

The Resolution Trust Corp. is the federal agency charged with disposing of the assets that the government has acquired from the seizure of 650 thrifts since 1989. The RTC has already sold off assets worth $258 billion, and is now turning to bulk sales of foreclosed property or delinquent loans to rid itself of the problems.

It is turning to mega-pools because it doesn’t have the manpower to sell off or resolve assets individually. So bidding groups with cash are able to buy lumps of assets at deep discounts.

Up to now, the government has used mega-pools only to sell commercial properties--such as hotels, retail centers, apartment and office buildings--and loans that are secured by them.