Bank of America put on the block Monday a multimillion-dollar mansion once owned by former Rod Blagojevich fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko, but the high-priced Wilmette house failed to attract any bidders — other than the bank itself.
BOA won a $5.9 million foreclosure judgment against Rezko in May requiring the house be put up for auction, but no one topped the bank’s $2.8 million opening bid at Monday’s auction.
Rezko, in custody awaiting sentencing on fraud, money laundering and abetting bribery charges, used the house at 1250 Chestnut Ave. for political shindigs, including a 2003 fundraiser for the Senate campaign of Barack Obama.
The next step, according to Fred Lappe, an attorney with auctioneer Intercounty Judicial Sales Corp., is for a court to approve the sale. The bank can then order any current tenants out and put the house up for sale, which typically takes as little as two months.
“This isn’t typical, though,” Lappe said. “They could make some arrangements with Mr. Rezko or his wife or anybody else.”
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To place a bid, potential buyers had to show cash or a certified check for 10 percent of the opening — and ultimately only — bid of $2,835,814. Anything at $1 more would have been accepted, but real estate investors at the auction said buying the house wasn’t worth the hassle.
“This is a difficult situation,” investor Jerry Lipkin said. “There’s a lot of pitfalls.”