PHOENIX-Orion Investment Real Estate has disposed of three Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.-owned parcels of land totaling 13 acres. The land was spread out among Surprise, Buckeye and Apache Junction on the outskirts of Phoenix.

The properties belonged to Central Arizona Bank, which had $31.6 million in assets when the FDIC shuttered it in May. Orion vice president Nick Miner tells Globe St.com the FDIC hired him to sell the properties because of his existing relationship with the bank.

To sell the properties fast, Miner says he used competitive pricing to stand out in a crowded market. Quite a few distressed small parcels of land remain in the market despite a healthier inventory of large pieces, he adds.

“We knew we had to cast the widest marketing net possible. With such disparate locations, the marketing challenge was to secure three separate buyers in short order,” Miner says. The properties are clear across the Valley from each other, with 75 miles separating Apache Junction, in the East Valley, from Buckeye on the West.

After “dialing for dollars,” all three deals landed in escrow within a 30-day marketing window, Miner says.

The 3.6-acre Surprise parcel, located on West Paradise Lane, zoned for medium, multi-family density, sold to AT Properties LLC. In Buckeye, a 4.6-acre parcel at Dean Road and Southern Avenue, zoned for commercial, sold to Scott Hurst. In Apache Junction, at the northeast corner of Cortez Road and Southern Avenue, a 4.5-acre property comprised of two contiguous parcels of vacant, rural zoned land sold to Trevor Stine.

Miner's confidentiality agreement with the FDIC precludes him from releasing sales prices.