This is how frenzied Howard County's real estate market has become: A piece of land can be dropped like a hot potato because someone thinks it's more trouble than it's worth, but people still will flock to bid for it - and pay nearly as much the second time.
An eighth of an acre was auctioned for $340,000 yesterday in the affluent county's countryside, six months after a winning bidder forfeited his $40,000 deposit rather than pay the $400,000 he had offered.
That is a rare action that might give new bidders pause, but commercially zoned land in rural Howard is also rare.
Despite the history, and despite septic problems on the property that threw a monkey wrench into dreams of development, 40 people showed up to take a look. At least a dozen of them brought money to put down.
"It is almost unbelievable, the value that people place on land in Howard County," said Anirban Basu, director of applied economics at RESI, Towson University's research institute. "It's almost so tantalizing that there is a 'leap before you look' mentality. ... They couldn't step away - that's the point. It's irresistible."
It is also a cautionary tale for novices, who know that Howard County land is valuable but might not take into account the regulatory or environmental pitfalls on some property.
An aging, empty tavern sits on the auctioned Cooksville land, clearly in need of renovation or removal, but the bigger problem is the soil: It cannot take a septic field, according to county health officials.
The area has no public sewage treatment system. The only apparent option is a holding tank, pumped out regularly.
Joseph W. Rutter Jr., Howard's planning director, was shocked when he heard the final price - and dismayed that the new buyers are thinking about starting a restaurant.
"You sure as heck can't do a restaurant with a holding tank," he said.
Auctioneer Dan Billig, whose business handled the property both times, warned potential buyers yesterday that the land is lien-free, but A.J. Billig & Co. makes no guarantees about the septic, well or anything else.
"Is that clear to everyone?" he added with a slight edge to his voice, facing the crowd gathered on the parking lot. "It is up to you as a purchaser to have done your due diligence."
He asked for an opening bid. A moment of silence followed. Then someone offered $50,000. By $250,000, only two groups of nervous bidders remained, trying to best each other by $5,000 a pop. It took four minutes from start to finish.
Ellicott City resident Joaquim Feliciano, 56, headed into the dark tavern to sign the paperwork and grinned at the sagging ceiling, empty soda machines and once-busy rooms that will be his if he pays the full amount within 60 days.
"Look how much work I've got to do here!" he exclaimed jovially. "This is like a gamble. We'll see - we'll see what happens."
He and his wife, Maria, run a contracting business but would like to open a restaurant serving meals that are popular in Portugal, their home country. They were not at the first auction - it is their first time buying real estate this way - and they did not know that sewage disposal is a problem. Yes, that does worry him, Feliciano said when alerted to the issue. "It does a little bit."
But even investors such as Paul Mogenhan, who stopped in and decided that $200,000 would be too much to pay, think the parcel has one thing going for it: that all-important location, location, location.
It sits at the busy intersection of Routes 97 and 144, a half-mile from Interstate 70 - "a prime corner," said Jack Billig, a partner with the auction company.
Most who pass are likely to have money to spend because Howard's median family income is one of the highest in the nation.
That's why observers think real estate up for grabs in the county - troublesome or not - will always be tempting.
"You can work with the land," Basu said. "You can't make the market. It's either there or it's not."