Real Estate Auction (Orlando, Hudson: bank owned, sale, foreclosed)

[beckycat]

If a home was going to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, would you attend? Would you possibly bid if the price was right? I'm pertaining specifically to this area.

[AONE]

depends on the auction, who is running it and what the parameters are for it. an auction doesn't mean it will be sold and a low bid doesn't mean you can get it. I'd personally rather find my deals with the parameters I use.

[HopToIt]

Originally Posted by beckycat

If a home was going to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, would you attend? Would you possibly bid if the price was right? I'm pertaining specifically to this area.

I'm not so sure I would either. Without an inspection and history of the house (which I assume you wouldnt get at an auction, maybe you would), I would take a little more time and walk through the house with an inspector, etc. Maybe this can be done at an auction, I dunno, but I wouldnt think it would.

[PilotAlso]

Try finding a home which is heading to auction. These are already bank owned. From what I've found, the bank prefers to grab a solid offer before letting it go to auction.

Investors and groups have been perched on these properties. It appears that they wait until a private party makes their offer. Somehow "wink wink" the investors come up with offers just above the private offers on properties which are priced where they can make money.

If no offers appear before the auction, the investors sit back and cherry pick at crazy prices.

A lot of INSIDER stuff going on in Florida and throughout the country. Kind of sad but that's the way the game is played.

A private party with cash can sometimes squeeze in and grab a bargain if they pick a property that might have less investment potential i.e. the profit margin potentials are too small. The home may be a great buy for someone wishing to use it as their home but the investor figures it may involve more work or the buy-it numbers don't work for short term profit.

To answer the question, YES, I would attend an auction and bid on property but I would HAVE To know about the property first hand BEFORE I'd make any commitment.

[Silent1900]

I attended several of the REDC and Hudson & Marshall auctions held in Orlando over the past 18 months. Even though I did not buy anything, I do not regret going....interesting experience. Learned a few things:

1) The chances are 50/50 that you get to see the inside of the place prior to auction. The companies line up local realtors to host the open house hours, but I stopped by plenty that no one had bothered to open. If you are working with a realtor, they should be able to get you in.

2) The early auctions had many properties that were not sold even though they went through the bidding process. The high bid did not meet the reserve set by the bank. The later auctions, the banks were taking pretty much anything.

3) If the property you were interested in came up later in the auction, chances are you could get a steal...the rooms were half empty after the first 40 or so properties.

4) The properties were a mixed bag as far as condition. I saw some that came complete with swampy pool, and others that were pristine.

5) The better bet would be to see what properties were scheduled for the next auction, and try to make a deal on it beforehand. Throw out a lowball offer and hope for the best. The banks know they are going to take a beating at auction anyway.

[beckycat]

Let me clarify things. I'm not talking about a foreclosed home or bank owned home. I'm talking about a traditional seller. You would be able to see the house. The house is only five years old without any problems. There would be an open house the entire weekend with bids being accepted through out the weekend. It would then be sold to the highest bidder at the end of the weekend as long as they have met the reserve. I hope this clears things up.

[HopToIt]

If you can go through with an inspector (just to be sure everything is good), and you can do a little background check on the neighborhood, schools, etc... I dont really see anything wrong with that.

[Cigarboo]

I went to an owner auction many years ago. It was definitely a creative idea to sell a home. The owners put out flyers and took out ads in the local papers advertising the sale of the home with a minimum bid and of course the home going to the highest bidder at the end of the weekend.

If I'm remembering correctly, they had an all day showing on Saturday and were taking bids until Sunday at a certain time. The owner had a sign in list so she could keep track of everyone coming through. There were quite a few people that showed up. Her reserve price was about 15-20% less than similar homes at the time. This was pre-bubble times, but better than what we're experiencing now.

We looked at the home but did not put in an offer. I presume it sold. I'd imagine this sort of thing attracts more local buyers. People with realtors and out of state folks would probably be few because in this particular case, it was a FSBO(buyer would have to pay the realtor commission, if buy has a realtor). I also would not come into town just to see one house that needs an offer pronto, unless it's a home I've had my eye on and must have.

These days it's hard because there's a chance the minimum price might not be met, even if it's the lowest the seller think she would take. I suppose it could be worth a try. If the seller sets a very low reserve, she better be prepared to accept it and not count on a bidding war. Multiple bids are always nice, but these days, it's hard.

So as far as attending another one, I would if that's a house that had the exact features that I've been shopping for and I was living locally. It's not the way I would want to buy a home because I like a little more time to think about a home and I don't want to bother with the thought of a bidding war. We went to the auction back in the days when we were first time buyers and weren't sure what we wanted/could afford.