Pink house foreclosure auction delayed

The patio door on the third floor of the pink house at 501 General Harris St. has remained open, rain or shine, for weeks.

So has the foreclosure case that has been brought against the house. The house was scheduled to go to auction Aug. 19, but the Manatee County website where foreclosure auctions are held shows it was “canceled per county" as it wasn't advertised early enough. No new date has been set. 

Neighbors to the property have shared their frustrations over the state of the house at community meetings. Complaints included the boat that sank in the canal that backs the home, weathered boats parked in the yard, an overgrown lawn and algae growing unchecked in the pool. A realtor who had the house next door listed felt its neighbor was impacting the sale, and has since removed the listing from MLS after more than 150 days.

And, after repeated code violations, the electricity and water service to the house were shut off by the town of Longboat Key.

The plaintiff in the foreclosure is U.S. Bank Trust National Association, which is the owner trustee of the property after payments to the mortgage ceased in early 2025. The unpaid balance on the property was $1.30 million, according to the judgement of foreclosure. With more than $106,000 in interest, $46,000 in taxes, $88,000 in insurance and $11,000 in attorney fees and costs included, the total foreclosure amount is about $1.55 million.

U.S. Bank submitted a max bid of $1.56 million for the property for the Aug. 19 auction.

The bank isn’t the only party that has a lien on the property. Attorney Meredith Nagel is next in line to receive excess funds — if the property sells for more than what the bank is owed — as she is the holder of an “inferior lien." Longboat Key Town Attorney said it is unclear how much Nagel is owed, but that the town comes after her with an approximate lien of $61,000. That comes after repeated code violations were issued on the property. Planning and Zoning Director Allen Parsons said the property has been accruing “daily fines” since 2022.

Whether the town receives any of those funds depends on how much Nagel is owed and how much the property sells for.

“We will continue to pursue recovery of the Town’s lien, as long as there are actually viable surplus funds,” Mooney wrote in the memo addressed to the town manager. “We anticipate that changes in legal ownership and title to the Property are imminent. It remains our hope that new owners of the Property will perform the necessary maintenance and upkeep that meets Town Code and neighborhood standards.”