One hundred and thirteen homes were scheduled to be auctioned Saturday, the first of a two-day foreclosure fire sale at the convention center. In preparation, organizers set out 650 chairs, which promptly filled, and so they brought out 150 more, and then 100 more, and still that wasn't enough. By the time I arrived, people were leaning against the walls, leafing through the color catalog of homes on the block.

I'd never been to a foreclosure auction, and the professionals I asked couldn't remember one of this size here in Denver. This isn't the only foreclosure auction this weekend, people kept saying - there's another on the other side of town. I didn't hear anyone quip "misfortune leads to opportunity," but I wouldn't have been surprised if someone had. The seats were filled with the hopeful and the calculating and the curious.

I wandered over to Bill and Marcia Porter, a genial older couple from Eckley who wanted to move to Greeley. They had been eyeing a condo, when the next thing they knew it was up for auction. So, they followed it, foreclosure auction first-timers, fixed on number 89-F, a nice-size condo valued at $154,900 with an opening bid of $89,000.

"We could be priced out," Bill Porter, a retired brewer tells me.

He says the homeowner's association has a $9,300 lien against the property, which is not mentioned in the catalog. This observation prompts the man sitting in front of them to twist around in his seat. "You do need to research these properties first, go to the open houses, otherwise SURPRISE! One house we saw, the guy across the street had a big sign out front saying, 'Buyer beware.' The place is riddled with black mold."

The man introduces himself as Glenn Quaintance, and says he and his wife want a home for themselves. He's not optimistic.

"Right now, it looks like one big farce. I think a lot of people here are investors and Realtors. They're not looking for homes. They're looking for someplace to stash their cash. It's a Saturday-nothing-else-to-do deal. We've been looking for a house for seven months."

The auction begins with a practice run for the several hundred self-identified novices in the crowd, and in short order the convention center is "auctioned off" for $100 million. Disclosures follow: $5,250 required down payment, $5,000 paid up front by cashier's check. Winning bidders pay a 5 percent buyer's premium, Real Estate Disposition Corp.'s fee. Once qualified - the financing folks are standing by - it's 21 days to close. You buy "as is." No exceptions.

Then they're off. Close your eyes and it's like being at the horse track.

Onehundredthousandwhowillgivemeonehundredandfivewho

wantsinforonehundredanfiveonehundredandtwofivewillthat

workforyoucanwegetonehundredandfiveonehundred

andfiveonehundredandtwogoingonce,

twice,soldforonehundredandtwofive.

Tuxedoed auction workers dart through the aisles, clapping, scanning for bidders' cards, dashing to the potential buyer with a shout and a raised fist. The numbers climb. It's mesmerizing.

I end up standing between Bob the investor and Peter the Realtor. Bob, the more loquacious of the two, informs me that Pete "has more money than God," but Pete, observing with his arms folded across his chest, says only that he will not bid on any home here, believing: (a) something must be wrong with it or (b) it was overpriced from the start.

Bob shares none of these misgivings and he has come prepared with a list of properties upon which he will bid.

Twohundredandthirtythousandwho wantstodotwohundredandfortytwohundredandforty . . .

"Look at the spread on that one," Pete says. "Two hundred thousand dollars difference between opening bid and previous value."

"That's a good bargain," Bob says.

"Something's wrong with it," Pete says.

"That's a really good buy," Bob says.

"Then why hasn't someone already bought it?" Pete asks.

Bob mulls this over. "Maybe it was a murder home," he says.

Bob's brain appears equipped with a detailed street map, and he notes that this house is "right in the heart of bad," and that house is "immigrant city," and the house in Golden previously valued at $890,000? The winning bid of $585,000 is a flat-out steal.

Pete has no comment on this last appraisal, but if you are still under the impression that the homes in foreclosure are on the less-expensive end, the auction would have been a surprise.

On the other hand, if you thought you couldn't buy a home in the metro area for less than a $100,000, the auction would have been a shock. Some went for $60,000, $70,000, $90,000. The opening bid Sunday on a 756-square-foot condo near the Aurora mall was $19,000. One man's deal, another's property-values nightmare.

I didn't hear much speculation about any of the previous owners. In over their heads? Time-bomb loans? The reasons didn't seem to matter much. In the churn, opportunity surfaces.

The Porters from Eckley were outbid. Glenn Quaintance and his wife left in disgust after they lost out on the last house on their list, a three-bedroom, two-bath home in Thornton. The winning bidders were Adam and Amanda Bondch. The house was valued at $199,000. They offered $155,000. It will be the young couple's first home.

griegot@RockyMountainNews.com

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