Third foreclosure auction to be held for Brazzale property

SALISBURY — Perhaps a third try will yield results. The Brazzale property at 101 Lincoln City Road will be the object of another foreclosure auction on Saturday, July 19, at high noon, according to Lakeville lawyer Scott Warner, the court-appointed attorney overseeing the sale.

Peter Brazzale, the owner of the now-defunct Brazzale Construction company, went to court to say that the sale price offered by the successful bidder at a second auction almost a year ago was not high enough. His plea succeeded.  Litchfield Superior Court Judge Elizabeth A. Gallagher made the ruling at a March 17 hearing.

“The court was persuaded that there was a sufficient difference between the sale and appraisal prices as to merit another foreclosure auction,� Warner said in an interview.

At the original auction in April 2007, Jay Horowitz, co-owner of Morgan Lehman, an art gallery in Lakeville, offered $235,000 for the property, which was most recently appraised for $575,000.

But at a subsequent court hearing on whether to approve the sale to Horowitz, Brazzale attorney Michael Sconyers filed an objection arguing that Brazzale was in the middle of refinancing.

He asked a Litchfield Superior Court judge to order a second sale so that Brazzale could either refinance or find another buyer.

It was further argued that the wide disparity between the sale price of the property and its appraised value merited an attempt at finding a buyer willing to pay more for the land and its structures.

At a subsequent foreclosure auction Aug. 11, 2007, the Lincoln City Road property fetched $375,000, up $150,000 from the auction held on the premises four months earlier. The successful bidder was Salisbury contractor Roger W. Hedman.

According to Warner, a judgment was rendered in Litchfield Superior Court on Sept. 18, 2006, that found Brazzale had outstanding debt of almost $225,000 owed to Salisbury Bank & Trust. Including interest and other penalties, Brazzale’s debt has likely increased, Warner said.

According to records in the Salisbury town clerk’s office, since 2000 Brazzale has had several liens placed on the property for nonpayment of debts and state or federal taxes. With the exception of Salisbury Bank & Trust, those liens have been released.

Warner said qualified bidders must bring with them a certified check for $63,500 as a down payment. That amount is equal to approximately 10 percent of the appraised value at the time of the judgment, as is customary in foreclosure auctions. The auction sale, which will be held on the premises with Warner as auctioneer, includes only the real estate, three dwellings and various outbuildings on the 2.46 acre property, not the heavy equipment remaining from the defunct construction business, Warner said.

Brazzale is a former longtime chief of The Lakeville Hose Company.