Wells Bends To Negative PR, Voluntarily Refunds $100K To Clueless F'closure Auction Buyer Of Home Subject To $386K Lien w/out First Doing Title Search

In Broward County, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:

• Gus Armenakis of Coconut Creek said he cashed the $102,600 check on Friday. “I feel like I won the lottery,” he said. The 38-year-old doctor did, in a way.
• In January, he logged in to the Broward County foreclosure auction website and spent six figures on what he thought was a bargain-priced four-bedroom home in Parkland. It turned out to be a worthless junior lien.
• The lender, Wells Fargo, still had a first mortgage worth $386,593. Armenakis filed an objection to the sale, which was denied by a Broward judge. Wells Fargo filed to foreclose, and the auction was scheduled for Wednesday. "It might be legal, but ethically it's not right," Armenakis said last month. Wells Fargo apparently agreed because the lender gave him his money back.
• Novice investors routinely make the same mistake Armenakis made and they don't typically get their money back, auction officials say. All it would take to avoid the headache: a $100 title search. Asked if he intends to get back on the foreclosure auction horse, Armenakis said, “I plan to stay as far away from the real estate market as possible.”

Source: Wells Fargo returns $102,600 to foreclosure investor.