Real estate was hit really hard by the recession and more and more properties are being sold. Take for example William White’s businesses in Okemos, Michigan. But the foreclosure auction set last Thursday for the three Okemos properties has been postponed by its mortgage lender.

Okemos entrepreneur William White has lost grip on three of his businesses: Travelers Club Restaurant and Tuba Museum (which debuted in 1982), White Bros. Music (which opened in 1976), and the building that is home to Triple Goddess Bookstore. It was supposed to be auctioned in a Lansing sheriff auction last Thursday. Dallas-based Comercia Inc.’s Comercia Bank, which served as the properties’ mortgage lender, decided to delay the sale for at least a week.

No word was given as to the reason for the delay. The lenders, after all, are not required to explain why a sale is being postponed. Usual reasons, though, for delaying a sale are either to accommodate ongoing negotiations or give more time to complete paperwork.

For now, White’s restaurant, music store, and bookstore get to stay temporarily.

Comercia Bank postponed the Okemos properties sale for just a week but postponement can be done indefinitely. William Witt, who does the auctions for the sheriff’s department, says that Comercia Bank would just need to renew postponement weekly.

If and when the Travelers Club Restaurant and Tuba Museum, White Bros. Music, and Triple Goddess Bookstore building are sold, owner White can still retain ownership. He will be given six month ‘redemption period’, in which he can come up with the money to pay off the money owed on the properties.

The three properties owe a total of $834,674, as stated in the legal notice.

Two of the properties have been on the Okemos landscape for decades. The last two years have seen these properties – plus a parking lot near the bookstore – up for sale.