RBC Real Estate Fin. Inc. v. Winmark Homes Inc.

The trial court erred in holding that a foreclosure sale advertisement was defective in listing seven rather than six townhouses for sale, and in declining to determine whether the inaccurate advertisement had actually chilled bidding at the sale, such that the townhouses sold for less than fair market value.

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These companion cases arise from a trial court’s denial of a petition to confirm the foreclosure sales of two parcels of land in Smyrna. Case No. A12A1098 concerns 14 unimproved residential lots owned by respondent Winmark Homes, Inc. and sold on the courthouse steps for $750,000. Case No. A12A1099 concerns six townhouses from the same subdivision, also owned by Winmark, and sold for $1,460,000. The trial court refused to confirm the sale of the 14 lots on the grounds that the petitioning creditor, RBC Real Estate Finance, Inc., had failed to provide notice as required by OCGA § 44-14-162.2 and had failed to show that the properties were sold for fair market value. The trial court refused to confirm the sale of the six townhouses on the ground that the property description did not satisfy the requirements of OCGA § 9-13-140 a. The trial court declined to order a resale in either case. We affirm in Case No. A12A1098 because there was some evidence at the confirmation hearing to support the trial court’s determination that the 14 lots did not sell for fair market value. We reverse and remand with direction in Case No. A12A1099 because the sale satisfied applicable notice and advertisement requirements and because uncontradicted evidence showed that the six townhouses sold for at least fair market value.

In a confirmation of a foreclosure sale, “the trial court sits as the trier of fact, and its findings of fact and conclusions of law have the effect of a jury verdict.” Footnote omitted. Wilson v. Prudential Industrial Props., 276 Ga. App. 180 1 622 SE2d 890 2005. “We do not determine witness credibility or weigh the evidence and we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the trial court’s judgment.” Punctuation and footnote omitted. Id. at 181 1. It follows from these premises that “we will not overturn a trial court’s decision regarding confirmation of a foreclosure sale if there is any evidence to support the decision.” Footnote omitted. Id. at 180-181 1.

RBC Real Estate Fin. Inc. v. Winmark Homes Inc.

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