Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 11-11-2014, 02:17 PM
 
271 posts, read 424,401 times
Reputation: 564

Advertisements

If so, please share your story, the good, the bad and the ugly
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 11-11-2014, 02:47 PM
 
Location: Bloomington IN
8,590 posts, read 12,223,174 times
Reputation: 24241
There are different types of auctions for real estate. We sold a house through an auction. It was a good experience for us, and at the time the absolute best means for getting a move-out date we wanted, at a price we wanted. There was a lot of inventory, lay-offs in the area, and new construction in an adjacent neighborhood. We tried selling it for several months the traditional way with one PIA offer. Given that we were constructing a new house a couple hundred miles away it was a great option for us.

That said, it wasn't what many think of when they think of a real estate auction.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-11-2014, 02:54 PM
 
Location: Las Vegas
14,229 posts, read 29,900,389 times
Reputation: 27684
One of the most frustrating things I have ever tried. Odd thing, I lost 2 homes that actually sold for less than my all cash offer with no contingencies. That's something that shouldn't happen.

My opinion but I believe at least some of the auctions are rigged. The auction company decides what the house should sell for and has their shills in the audience place fake bids till the price is what they want. If a shill wins the bid, no harm, no foul and they will try to sell it again in a couple weeks. It's not really an auction, it's all fake. They just SAY no reserves to pack the place and attract bidders.

I've heard the stories about great deals but that certainly wasn't my experience. But maybe it's just sour grapes on my part because I wasn't successful.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-11-2014, 03:32 PM
 
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
6,957 posts, read 22,218,225 times
Reputation: 6467
I represented 2 buyers on auctions. One was an online auction and 1 minute before the end the listing agent made a bid which caused the price to go up 2K for my client. The other was live and my client outbid the others at the auction.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-11-2014, 05:34 PM
 
Location: Southern California
4,453 posts, read 6,761,230 times
Reputation: 2233
I bought at an auction over 15 years ago, I felt the prices were good. I went to one a few years ago and the bargains weren't what they use to be. Too many buyers nowadays, too much money out there, too loose lending.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-11-2014, 06:08 PM
 
Location: Boise, ID
8,046 posts, read 28,352,315 times
Reputation: 9469
My dad buys properties at auction often, at least 25-30 over the last 4 years. Either keeps them as rentals or fixes them up and flips them.

He has done 2 types of auctions.

He bought 2 properties at tax sale, which in my area is done through bid4assets.com, and is like an ebay bidding deal, except the bidding continues until no one bids for 5 minutes. The biggest downside to that was that the title companies will not issue clear title for 20 years unless you hire an attorney and go through the process for quiet title, which takes 6 months and isn't free. One of the properties also had a myriad of tax liens that he had to jump through hoops to have cleared.

The rest of the ones he's bought have all been foreclosure auctions, where you go into a room and bid against other live people (if anyone else shows up). The bank sets the starting bid and bidding starts at that + $1. We've bought several at that base amount, because no one else showed up. Sometimes the bank's starting bid is unreasonable, and no one bids.

Downsides:
You typically can't look at the inside of the house first, so you are basically bidding blind. The house could be trashed. Even if you can see inside (my dad knocks on the door and offers the occupant cash to let him look around, usually works), you haven't had an inspection, so you are still somewhat blind.

If the owner is still occupying, you'll have to evict them. We had to do this once. If a tenant is occupying, you may have to honor their lease (I haven't heard whether the Protecting Tenants At Foreclosure Act of 2009 has been extended again yet. I think it expires next month currently)

You inherit any outstanding municipal utilities, and HOA dues. So do your homework and know what you are getting into.

Typically, you have to pay cash, no loan.

Often the opening bid isn't posted until the morning of the sale, and the sales are often postponed, sometimes several times. So it takes a lot of time to research each property, and you have to do it not knowing whether the property will be in your price range, or when it will go to sale.


There might be more, but that's all I can think of right now.

Upsides:
You can sometimes get a really good deal.

That's about it


There are other types of auctions, like estate sales and sheriff's sales, but these 2 are the ones I'm personally familiar with.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-11-2014, 07:15 PM
 
Location: NYC, CHI, UK
520 posts, read 596,416 times
Reputation: 872
I bought my condo through Hubzu. Bidding was in 1k increments and the bidding continues until no one bids for certain time. When I won, at a low price, they ended up giving me a high counter offer, due the reserve price. I declined, and the condo went back to auction. I bid again on the next round, same condo, and won. This time, their counter offer was lower than the original one.

My experience was with Hubzu only, and their customer service is based in India. I remember the first week after I won, there was lots of communication with Hubzu's customer service - signing documents, earnest money, proof of funds, etc. Then, a few weeks before closing, they were quiet. You wouldn't even think you'd just bought a house there was no communication. Even my attorney was frustrated with them. The week of the closing communication started right back up quickly, and I was sending my money, signing more documents, etc., and I had my condo. They sent me the deed via Fed-Ex. Aside from the lack of communication in the middle of the sale, I was fine with everything. For a first time home auction (and first time homeowner), it was relatively painless.

For my condo, I was able to make an appointment to view the place before/during the auction. There was a local agent assigned to the unit who could arrange viewings. I couldn't as I was buying from out of state, but he described the unit in detail and I had already known about the building from researching past sales. I was very lucky because the previous owner left it pretty much pristine. I only needed to make cosmetic changes.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-17-2014, 02:00 AM
 
367 posts, read 483,413 times
Reputation: 186
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lacerta View Post
My dad buys properties at auction often, at least 25-30 over the last 4 years. Either keeps them as rentals or fixes them up and flips them.

He has done 2 types of auctions.

He bought 2 properties at tax sale, which in my area is done through bid4assets.com, and is like an ebay bidding deal, except the bidding continues until no one bids for 5 minutes. The biggest downside to that was that the title companies will not issue clear title for 20 years unless you hire an attorney and go through the process for quiet title, which takes 6 months and isn't free. One of the properties also had a myriad of tax liens that he had to jump through hoops to have cleared.

The rest of the ones he's bought have all been foreclosure auctions, where you go into a room and bid against other live people (if anyone else shows up). The bank sets the starting bid and bidding starts at that + $1. We've bought several at that base amount, because no one else showed up. Sometimes the bank's starting bid is unreasonable, and no one bids.

Downsides:
You typically can't look at the inside of the house first, so you are basically bidding blind. The house could be trashed. Even if you can see inside (my dad knocks on the door and offers the occupant cash to let him look around, usually works), you haven't had an inspection, so you are still somewhat blind.

If the owner is still occupying, you'll have to evict them. We had to do this once. If a tenant is occupying, you may have to honor their lease (I haven't heard whether the Protecting Tenants At Foreclosure Act of 2009 has been extended again yet. I think it expires next month currently)

You inherit any outstanding municipal utilities, and HOA dues. So do your homework and know what you are getting into.

Typically, you have to pay cash, no loan.

Often the opening bid isn't posted until the morning of the sale, and the sales are often postponed, sometimes several times. So it takes a lot of time to research each property, and you have to do it not knowing whether the property will be in your price range, or when it will go to sale.


There might be more, but that's all I can think of right now.

Upsides:
You can sometimes get a really good deal.

That's about it


There are other types of auctions, like estate sales and sheriff's sales, but these 2 are the ones I'm personally familiar with.

How many of those properties would you say were not worth getting? Did you lose money on any of the properties?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-17-2014, 06:16 AM
 
Location: Cary, NC
43,013 posts, read 76,500,303 times
Reputation: 45323
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMenscha View Post
I represented 2 buyers on auctions. One was an online auction and 1 minute before the end the listing agent made a bid which caused the price to go up 2K for my client. The other was live and my client outbid the others at the auction.
Friends saw the same thing.
In the late stages, they were bidding against the listing agents who stopped just short of reserve price. The agents were trying to shill them to reserve price.
It wasn't revealed until after bidding ended that it was the agent bidding. It was in the fine print of the Terms of Use that the agent could bid.

Everyone stopped short of the reserve price, so no sale. Then the friends purchased the property for less afterwards.

Stay on your toes in an auction. Read the rules. Don't get Auction Fever, as it can be expensive to cure.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-17-2014, 09:30 AM
 
8,539 posts, read 12,259,217 times
Reputation: 16432
Quote:
Originally Posted by yellowsnow View Post
My opinion but I believe at least some of the auctions are rigged. The auction company decides what the house should sell for and has their shills in the audience place fake bids till the price is what they want. If a shill wins the bid, no harm, no foul and they will try to sell it again in a couple weeks. It's not really an auction, it's all fake. They just SAY no reserves to pack the place and attract bidders.
I've participated in a number of real estate auctions, both online and in-person, but I can't say, for certain, that I've witnessed shill bidding--which is illegal here. I know it still happens, though. In fact, there was a court case a few years ago about an auction sale of a significant island in one of the Great Lakes. The owner had wanted to place a reserve price on the auction, but the auctioneer talked him out of doing so. The auctioneer told him that he would have a shill bidder in the audience to make sure that the price got up to the minimum he wanted.

Come auction day, however, few people showed up to bid--including the auctioneer's shill. The island sold for a fraction of the price anticipated. The owner tried to back out of the sale and the Buyer had to sue for specific performance. The owner argued that he was promised that the price would be higher...but the Court ruled that the owner and auctioneer were trying to participate in a fraud, so it was ordered that the sale be completed.

Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top