Action at close of bidding.

§ 152.28 Action at close of bidding. (a) The officer in charge of the sale shall publicly announce the apparent highest acceptable bid. The deposits submitted by the unsuccessful bidders shall be returned immediately. The deposit submitted by the apparent successful bidder shall be held in a special account. (b) If the highest bid received at an advertised sale is less than the appraised fair market value of the land, the Secretary with the consent of the owner may accept that bid if the amount bid approximates said appraised fair market value and in the Secretary's judgment is the highest price that may be realized in the circumstances. (c) The Secretary shall award the bid and notify the apparent successful bidder that the remainder of the purchase price must be submitted within 30 days. (1) Upon a showing of cause the Secretary may, in his discretion, extend the time of payment of the balance due. (2) If the remainder of the purchase price is not paid within the time allowed, the bid will be rejected and the apparent successful bidder's 10 percent deposit will be forfeited to the landowner's use. (d) The issuance of the patent or delivery of a deed to the purchaser will not be authorized until the balance of the purchase price has been paid, except that the fee patent may be ordered in cases where the purchaser is obtaining a loan from an agency of the Federal Government and such agency has given the Secretary a commitment that the balance of the purchase price will be paid when the fee patent is issued.