As an experienced real estate auctioneer, I receive lots of calls each week from people frustrated that their home hasn't sold. What I have seen over and over is this - when a seller is really ready to emotionally let go of the house, the house sells. Based on our time together today, I don't think you're there yet. Financially you see the need. But you haven't been able to emotionally let go. You're clinging tight to memories, possessions and the house itself while at the same time saying you want to move on. It's like having allegiance in two opposite camps. You need to commit to one position in order to move forward and make progress. Once this happens, you'll be goal-oriented, the house will get ready quickly and be more appealing to buyers, you'll be ready to give up all the excess "stuff" that has become a burden and the buyers will materialize.
You'll eventually find that you carry your home in your heart. The physical home you've known to love and cherish over so many years is just a symbol of what's in essence a spiritual concept that can never be lost, destroyed, unloved, diminished, taken away, torn down, become a burden or lose value. So in the end, this process of selling a home is a giving up of what you cannot keep (the physical symbol of home) in order to cherish what can never be taken away. Rather than working hard to save or support your home to the point that it and the stuff inside owns and controls you - you'll find that the right sense of home is something that supports you and your specific purpose in life. There's great freedom in that true concept of home and you may be really surprised at the form it takes when you're finally ready to move forward!
An auction in conjunction with a short sale solves three of the biggest problems agents deal with on short sales:
1. Quickly getting one or more buyers on contract - Having a set date for receiving all offers sets an urgent deadline and gets one or more buyers on contract within 30 days. I once had 18 contracts come in within 48 hours and each buyer was represented by a different buyer agent. When the bank saw that stack of offers with similar dollar amounts, it was hard to argue that we didn't achieve market value.
2. Having a backup buyer already in hand - In an auction situation with more than one bidder, you can immediately get the high bidder on contract as well as a backup bidder. This eliminates the need to start over when a buyer bails on the deal.
3. Buyers don't walk due to impatience - The auction contract generally requires a much higher deposit than a conventional sale and the deposit is non-refundable. Once the bank approves the short sale (however long it takes), the buyer must close or they risk losing their deposit.
Most of our auction properties come from listing agents who feel they need a power tool to help get the job done. A relationship with a professional auctioneer can be your "secret sauce" in taking on more short sales.
You can find a professional auctioneer in your area who is a member of the National Auctioneer Association. Click on "Find an Auctioneer" at the top of this website: http://www.auctioneers.org
How do you keep a buyer's feet held to the purchase contract on a short sale when it can take forever to get bank approval on the deal? Through an auction contract that has no contingencies for financing or repairs and requires a hefty non-refundable deposit. We just closed yesterday on yet another auction/short-sale. There were 5 competing bidders at the auction and the buyer remained in the deal through plenty of dramatic ups and downs due to a non-refundable deposit. According to two separate appraisals prior to closing, the auction achieved 98% of current market value. The short sale was approved in 10 days as the bank liked the idea that the final purchase price was achieved through competitive bidding rather than just one buyer stepping forward with a low offer. Buyer and seller are happily moving forward in life. And the referring agent and buyer agent are heading to the bank with their quick commission checks. I love auctions!
Here's a snapshot of one event in an otherwise mundane week.
One of your luxury homes sold and will close in 10 days so you're out at the property checking security. The mansion sits on 5 wooded acres that backs up to more wooded acres in the middle of nowhere & deer wander the streets at all hours- it was very picturesque. And remote. (Important foreshadowing). For some odd reason, you decide to go out on a 2nd floor balcony for better views of the yard. Suddenly the wind slams the door shut behind you. Not usually a problem. Except you didn't check the lock on the knob and now you're locked out!
What to do?
Got the cell phone - yea! If you call 911, they'll come to the rescue but may end up chopping the front door down or damaging the pristine back yard.
Decide to call everyone you know but no one picks up. So now there are messages all over the area with your cryptic call for help. You could wait for someone to call back. Surely it wouldn't take more than 2 hours for help to arrive. But you might have the front door key in your pocket (and no, it doesn't work on the locked door).
How about yelling? Hmmm.... not likely to help as you're in the middle of 4 acres.
Should you jump? The drop looks bad but can't be more than 8-10 feet to the deck below. 
So you carefully lower yourself over the bannister and are hanging by your fingers. Then it happens. You lose your grip and before you know it, you've landed in a heap on the deck below. Stand up and do a quick body check. No broken bones - Yea! You do walk funny for a couple of days but no one asks why. They all know. And they saved your voice messages.
Question of the week - what would a sane person have done?
In a volatile market, real estate auctions can be an excellent vehicle to help establish market pricing quickly. If you set up a Google Alert for "real estate auctions", you'll notice that a lot of builders and developers are turning to the auction method not necessarily to "liquidate" a project, but to find the market price quickly. There's nothing worse than having a large number of townhomes, condos and single family homes sitting on MLS at a price that's obviously not correct for the market. Discounting the price slightly over time in order to find the market can be costly in holding and lost opportunity costs. Holding a real estate auction can cut that time down to 30-45 days. The market data learned through the auction process can be invaluable to the seller and help them move inventory quickly at market price. This is especially important as the buyer pool decreases during the Fall and Winter seasons.
We recently held an onsite real estate auction of nine new townhomes that had languished on the market for 18 months because they were overpriced. How overpriced were they? The builder (and their lender) found out in less than 45 days through the auction process. The prices were adjusted accordingly and all but two units were sold out quickly while the summer buyer market in this price range was actively shopping.
 |
|
|
Professional real estate Auctioneer/Broker/Realtor. I auction all types of real estate in NC, VA, MD, TX and teach accredited CE classes on real estate auctions for agents.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2012 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
