Thomas Breen photo
Ben Ajruli (right) enters another bid as Omar Kh prepares to counter at Saturday's foreclosure auction.
Omar Kh and Ben Ajruli had already gone back and forth and back and forth for 29 rounds at a Hilltop Road tax foreclosure auction when Kh leaned towards his bidding opponent and said seven words that tipped the sale in his favor.
Kh, a warehouse company worker from Queens, and Ajruli, a part-time real estate investor from Waterbury, were two of three hopeful homebuyers who showed up on Saturday to bid on a foreclosed single-story, two-family house at 56 Hilltop Rd. in New Haven’s West Hills neighborhood.
Along with fellow bidder Gabor Datz, a real estate investor from Trumbull, the three pushed the auction to 30 rounds — and nearly $80,000 above the minimum $28,000 bid — before a plea for family over finance closed the auction out at a winning bid of $107,500.
56 Hilltop Rd.
State court records show that the City of New Haven first filed a foreclosure lawsuit back in November 2021 seeking possession of the two-family house because of the then-owner’s alleged failure to pay four years’ worth of local property taxes, adding up to more than $10,000 owed. The original lawsuit also states that the record owner of the Hilltop Road property died in December 2017, and that two relatives were appointed co-administrators of the estate.
In November 2022, state Superior Court Judge Walter Spader, Jr. issued a judgment of foreclosure by sale, identifying the property’s debt as $14,835 and its fair market value as $145,000, and setting the sale date for Saturday. The then-owners filed a motion to open judgment on Friday, seeking to forestall the foreclosure so that they could try to sell the property instead. Judge Spader turned down that request, noting that the sale was only one day away, that the sale would likely have to go through probate and many liens would have to be cleared, and that the defendants still had a right to redeem the property — that is, stop the foreclosure and retain possession if they cleared the necessary debts.
All of which led to Saturday at around 11:30 a.m., when Datz signed in with court-appointed attorney John Esposito and his assistant Linda as the first bidder to show for the 12 p.m. auction.
Datz: "I go after the money."
Datz, a native of Budapest, Hungary, who now lives in Trumbull and owns several rental properties, said his motivation for seeking to buy the Hilltop Road house was pretty straightforward.
“Money,” he said. “I go after the money.” If he were to prevail at the auction, he said, he’d fix up the house and then flip it.
“Right now the market is very strong” in New Haven, he said. “Inventory is low.”
He walked around the house, noting that there were no gas meters, no heat, no hot water. One of the one-bedroom apartments in the house appeared to be empty, he said, while another perhaps had someone living inside — likely a squatter. “It’s a small house,” he observed, in need of new siding. “Someone tried to fix the roof,” he said.
He paused to crunch the numbers in his head. All fixed up, he guessed, this house would probably sell for $180,000. But in order to get it into habitable condition, he said, he or whoever else bought it would likely have to invest $40,000 to $50,000. … He continued his walk around the property, mulling over how high he’d be willing to go when the bidding began.
Kh: Looking for "something affordable for my family."
Next to arrive was Kh, a native of Egypt who said he had driven up from his apartment in Queens.
“I’m trying to get something affordable for my family,” he said, as New York City housing prices keep going up and up — leading him and his family to look farther and farther afield for a new place to live.
He said he works for a warehouse company in New York. If he bought and moved into the Hilltop Road house, he said, he’d have a one-hour, 25-minute driving commute to work. It’d be worth it, he said, as he repeated his top priority: “Something affordable for my family.”
Ajruli, rooting around 56 Hilltop's basement: "I'm not looking to get rich."
The third and final bidder to show up was Ajruli.
Ajruli said he is a part-time real estate investor born and raised in Waterbury who buys, fixes up, and rents out apartments when he’s not working his “9 to 5” day job. Hr said a few factors drove him to bid on the Hilltop Road house.
One: “I’ve always liked New Haven, my whole life.” He described a recent visit with some family members who were in town from out of state. He took them to Wooster Square and downtown to get some pizza. Which restaurants? “All of them,” Ajruli said. Pepe’s, Sally’s, BAR, Modern.
Second: Ajruli said he was looking for a house at a good price that he could “put some sweat equity” into and rent out to bring in a little “passive income” to support his family and, in the long run, provide a firm financial footing for his kid. Ajruli said he wouldn’t look to push the rent too high, citing an $800 rent he currently charges for a two-bedroom he owns in the Waterbury area.
“I like to keep the rents as low as I can,” he said. “I want it to be affordable. I’m not a greedy guy: I’m not looking to get rich.”
Why charge relatively low when a tight housing market like New Haven could allow him to push the rents much higher?
“It’ll come back,” he said — that is, going out of your way to do something good now will redound to one’s favor in some way in the future. “You gotta keep it fair for people.”
In his eight years as a landlord, Ajruli said, he’s never had to evict a tenant. He wants to keep it that way.
After walking around the house and climbing into the basement, Ajruli offered his assessment of 56 Hillhop: It needs new “siding, plumbing, gas meters.” Someone may have tried to fix the roof. And who knows what the inside looked like.
The auction begins, with Beaver Hills resident Michael (right) watching to see how it works.
Lawyers Esposito and Linda with bidder Datz.
At 12 p.m., just a few seconds after a rooster crowed in the distance, Esposito opened the auction, noting that the City of New Haven had put in a starting bid of $28,000.
“$50,000,” Datz said to start.
“$51,000,” Ajruli countered.
Datz pushed the bid to $60,000. Ajruli to $61,000. Datz to $70,000. Ajruli to $74,000. Datz to $80,000.
Which led Kh to jump in: “$85,000.”
Over the next roughly 20 bids, Ajruli and Kh pushed the bids higher and higher, often $1,000 at a time, sometimes in increments as low as $500.
At 12:05 p.m., Kh offered $99,000.
“Would anyone else like to make a bid?” Esposito asked after a pause.
Ajruli took a long look at the house — which was surrounded by two small deflated swimming pools, foldup chairs, trash bags, and a host of other debris.
“$99,500,” Ajruli said.
“$100,000,” replied Kh.
“$101,000,” said Ajruli.
And so the bids continued, until Kh offered $106,000 and Ajruli topped him at $107,000.
After that 29th bid Kh leaned slightly towards Ajruli and uttered the seven words that would help him prevail.
“I use for family,” Kh said about the house, “not for business.”
Esposito said that the top bid was Ajruli’s $107,000. “Going once,” the lawyer said.
“$107,500,” Kh said.
Ajruli took one more look at the house, and then turned to Kh with his hand outstretched, conceding the auction and letting him know he wouldn’t be entering any more bids.
“Thank you buddy,” Ajruli said as he congratulated Kh.
The Independent caught up with Ajruli after the auction to ask if Kh’s statement about wanting to use the house for his family as opposed to for business led him to drop out of the auction.
“That’s why,” Ajruli said. “Once he said it’s for his family,” he decided to let him have it.
“I’m not a ruthless guy,” he said with a smile and a pat on this reporter’s back before hopping back in his car to head back to Waterbury.
As Kh dropped off his check with the lawyers and mentally prepared himself to close on the house in 30 days, he seemed as apprehensive about the future of this property as he was relieved that he had won the auction.
“We’ll see” how the inside of the house is, he said. But that would be for another day. First, he planned to head back to Queens and let his family know he had won.
See below for other recent Independent articles about foreclosures.
• Farnam Founder Tops Foreclosure Auction
• Bank’s Bid Beats Local Buyers
• No Bidders Show For Newhall St. Auction
• Auction Keeps Owner In Neighborhood
• Auction Winner Remembers The Roses
• Homeowner Battles“Tangled Title” Foreclosure
• Foreclosure Sends Tenants Packing