Most auction action is by pros.

Byline: Earni Young

Nov. 17--The house at 3216 N. 16th St. was a hot property with bidders at this week's sheriff's sale.

A half-dozen men scattered around the ballroom at First District Plaza vied briskly for the property until the price hit $38,000. Then all but two bidders dropped out. When the bidding hit $50,100, Sam Wong was the last man standing.

Wong, 37, says he's been buying properties at the monthly tax sales for 2 ' years and doesn't consider himself a pro - yet. For that he points to Mark Trachtenberg, a fixture at the monthly auctions.

"He's a real pro, and I look up to him as a mentor," Wong says of the investor who figures …