The building on 1 E. Main St., also known as EF Hutton Tower, was appraised at $1.5 million before being placed for sale as part of a mortgage foreclosure auction held by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
The minimum bid that could be made on that building was listed as $1 million. However, there were no other bids besides the one placed by PS Funding, Meyer said.
That EF Hutton building was one of three bids for property in downtown Springfield made by PS Funding on Friday.
In addition to purchasing the building on East Main Street, the mortgage company also bought the property at 17 S. Fountain Avenue and one at 19 S. Fountain Avenue for $333,334 each. The latter is also known as the State Theatre.
All three were once owned by EF Hutton. However, a foreclosure lawsuit against EF Hutton America seeking more than $4 million was filed last year by PS Funding.
The lawsuit alleged EF Hutton took out a $4.6 million mortgage in November 2018 on EF Hutton Tower, 1 Main St. and failed to make payments. A Clark County judge ruled on the lawsuit last year.
At the time, the judge said once the property is sold, the money shall go first to the court to pay for any court costs. The judge also said that money would go to the Clark County Treasurer to pay back taxes, then to the plaintiff to pay what is owed on the mortgage and then the rest of the money is to be filed with court pending further orders.
Friday’s transaction gives sole ownership of the property to PS Funding, allowing them to sell it at a later date, Meyer said.
He said that the property was already in the ownership of PS Funding before the auction and the bid just secured that property for that company.
Meyer said that money placed in the bid will likely go back to PS Funding. However, the company will have to pay property taxes and fees associated with the building, he added.
Clark County Treasurer Michelle Harris said that back taxes owed on the building on East Main Street is roughly $628,000. In addition to that, $53,047 is owed for property on 17 S. Fountain Avenue and $38,641 is owed on 19 South Fountain Avenue.
She said her office has not received a request regarding those taxes as of Friday afternoon by attorneys taking care of the sale.
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