Auctions are Fun, Affordable
If you’re afraid to list your home in this slow sellers’ market, if you have good equity in your house, and if you need to move FAST, then an auction may be a great option for you. When you auction, you can go from contract with an auctioneer to closing in 60 short days. And typically, homes up for auction DO SELL… maybe not for what it would sell for if you have the time for a protracted listing period, but for what the market will support that day.
Way back when, auctions were thought of only as a last resort - someone had passed away and the kids had to sell or the homeowner was about to lose their home and needed to get rid of it fast. Today’s auctions are for the seller who doesn’t want to wait around forever for the home to sell. They don’t have to keep it clean in case someone wants a last minute showing. They establish the time frame for the sale - a sale that is final. There are no contingencies when an auction is held - homes are sold as is, where is.
When you buy a home at auction, you typically have to put down 10 percent. So if you’re in for $100,000, you’ll have to come up with $10,000. Auctioneers are typically willing to work with the buyer - that is they’ll ask for a check but it may be post-dated by a few days to give you time to move money into the account. If the buyer defaults on the sale they lose their 10% down payment.
A major fear that sellers have is the possibility that they’ll have to sell the home at a price much lower than they expected. In these cases, the auctioneer and the seller may put a reserve on the home so if the bids are laughable at the end of the day, the seller does not have to sell. The only thing the seller is “out” are costs associated with advertising the auction.
Photo from Bob Parks Realty, LLC Auction Division.
