My First Real Estate Auction

Today I attended an auction for a condo in Largo, MD. We were allowed in an hour before the auction to investigate the unit. I was actually surprised that there were so many people there - my guess is 8-10 sets of people bidding.

The bidding started at $20,000 and quickly climbed to a point that eliminated many of the buyers present.

I'm not sure what I expected but it kinda felt like I was on an episode of Storage Wars. It was very civilized and controlled and the unit actually sold for very close to market price.

One interesting thing was that the buyer is charged a 5% auction premium which is added to the sales price but this auction company only offered 1% commission to an agent who brought their client. That means at opening bid price I had the potential of earning a whopping $200.

Most buyers shy away from auctions because they aren't contingent on financing. However, it seems that they would be good ways for cash buyers to scoop up some good investment properties.

Having attended one and seeing that it really wasn't that strange I no longer feel intimidated by the concept and I look forward to attending more in the future.