Going Once...Going Twice....The World of Auctions (Part 2)

For those of you who have been following my blog about the first "On Site" Auction in Redmond, Oregon.... here's the scoop!

After holding the home open for the two previous Saturday's from 12-4PM, Terri and I once again opened the home to prospective bidders at 2:30 on December 5th, the day of the auction.

Ads had been running in the local and regional papers as well as on line. Both Terri and I had contacted our client base and invited area agents to sign up and participate. By 4PM there were roughly 20 people at the house; by 4:30 there were 31 total with just about 20 actually bidders actually registered to participate in the process.

Willing bidders had to have proof of identity, a cashier's check for $2500 and the ability to show proof of funds and write a personal check for the balance of the earnest money (5%). The $2500 was redcuded from the original $5000 we had been instructed to ask for at first, but as we learned the rules of the game changed online almost daily. The winning bidder would then need to write a personal check for 5% of the accepted bid + a 5% buyer's premium. Therefore if the winning bid was $200,000 then the final sales price would be $210,000 and the bidders 5% would equal $10,500. Closing needs to occur within 30 days if this is a cash deal and 45 days for financing.

The auctioneers and staff arrived at 4:25PM, a tad late due to problems at the previous auction. After rushing to confirm on line registers and then register any last minute bidders they assigned bid numbers. At 4:40PM they reviewed the auction and bid process and held a "mock auction" to show how the process would move along. The Auctioneer again read a mile long disclaimer how houses are sold strictly as is, that there was no real estate representation on the part of the seller and that any agents involved were simply there to facilitate the access to the property, etrc.., and the hidden little gem that there was an "undisclosed reserve" for each home that the bank has authorized the auctioneer to reach for a successful offer. Therefore, even if at final bid the bank has a 15 day right to review the bid/offer and decline it if it is not within an acceptable margin of their reserve.

Off and running at 4:45PM and wham the first house sold (we hope) for a fraction of it's original value and only $95,000 over the opening bid price. The second home followed suit moving just as quickly and it had an accepted bid of $165,000 for a home initially on the market at $300,000. Both homes went in less than 15 minutes total! Now let's just get them to close by january 10th!

So if you're looking for help with purchasing forecolsed or auction homes in Central Oregon feel free to call!