All he wanted was to delay things just a little bit more so that his dad would have some more time to try to work out a deal between the lender to get that holiest of holies, a loan modification. So, in a desperate attempt to save his dad’s house, a guy shows up at the foreclosure auction and tries out two classic comedy bits.

In the first, he got into a shouting match with the auctioneer who said, “This house is for sale,” and the son said, “no it’s not.” They went back and forth for a little bit before the auctioneer moves on.

Since that didn’t work, when the auctioneer starts the bidding, the son starts yelling out random numbers like Steve Carell did in Bruce Almighty. Despite his best loud random number spewing, other people are able to get valid bids and the house gets sold.

So that’s what it’s like on the frontlines of the mortgage meltdown foreclosure fracas. Sometimes, neither a flurry of conference calls, nor enlisting the help of a HUD-counselor, nor employing vaudeville-inspired comedy routines, can save you when the reaper comes.

One Man’s Account of Acting Like Steve Carrell to Try to Save His Father’s Foreclosed Home from the Auction Block [OC Weekly] (Thanks to Shawna!)

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