- Name
- Sarah Sonke, Auctioneer/Broker
- Company
- AuctionFirst.com and REAuctionInstitute.com
- E-mail
- Contact Sarah Sonke, Auctioneer/Broker (AuctionFirst.com and REAuctionInstitute.com)
- Website
- http://www.AuctionFirst.com
- Office Phone
- (800) 220-6760
- Cell Phone
- (919) 601-7339
- Fax
- (703) 229-5959
- Address
- 2501 Blue Ridge Rd #250, Raleigh, NC, 27607
- Description
- 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.
About Us:
Welcome to my profile on ActiveRain!
I specialize in accelerated auction marketing of real estate. And unlike a lot of auctioneers, I work closely with real estate agents, sharing commission with both listing and buyer agents.
As a founder and instructor for the Real Estate Auction Institute, I teach a number of classes for agents on the topic of real estate auctions. These include a Fundamentals of Real Estate Auction class as well as a weekend Bootcamp for agents who have just passed their auctioneer license test. These classes enable agents to understand how to supplement their income by taking a listing to auction or representing a buyer at auction.
The secret sauce of real estate auctions is accelerated marketing. Imagine having only 4 weeks to find not only one, but several enthusiastic buyers for a property? Creating a sense of urgency and competition is what brings fair market value at an auction. It's very hard work but brings excellent results to the seller. And the sales contract has no contingencies, closes in 30 days, is a cash deal and the closings don't fall through. What's not to like?
See www.AuctionFirst.com for a more formal bio.
Areas of Expertise
Real estate auctions:
Luxury homes
Resort property
Commercial
Land
Estates
Pre-foreclosures
Auctions with short sales
Testimonials
** Wilmington, NC -- Dick Beals recently posted a great testimonial on my CE class on Active Rain.
** Raleigh, NC -- I was initially skeptical about an auction but willing to try anything after a contract on my property had fallen through. Not only did AuctionFirst achieve a much higher sale price than expected, but the sale closed in 30 days with no contingencies. They treated me with great care and respect that I'll call them in a heartbeat when I'm ready to sell my next property. M. Perry (Raleigh)
** Raleigh, NC -- I found Sarah Sonke and Susan Deitz to be top notch professionals who worked tirelessly to get this property sold and closed. If I had another "problem listing" I would turn to AuctionFirst in a heartbeat." Judi Margolies (Broker with Allen Tate in Raleigh)
** Sold in 3 weeks! Durham, NC -- David Hartman's a licensed Broker in NC who got a job offer in Maryland he couldn't refuse. But he and his wife Greta weren't looking forward to the job of selling their Durham home, packing, moving and house-hunting for a new home. David holds a NC Broker license and felt it might take eight months to find a buyer using conventional methods and a listing on MLS. Plus the family's home on busy Garrett Road was in need of painting and bathroom upgrades. The Hartman's chose an accelerated marketing campaign powered by AuctionFirst North Carolina with My Dog Tess as the listing partner. The result? The house was under contract in less than 3 weeks - a week before the scheduled onsite auction. Using the auction method allowed the family to set their desired closing date to coincide with the purchase of their new home in Maryland.
"**Our house had been sitting on the market for several months, and with more and more homes in our neighborhood entering the market, a sale did not seem imminent. We were concerned and nervous that we would need to continue payments on an empty home while living in another state. Additionally, new homes nearby were being offered at about the same price of our home. Our real estate agent had heard of AuctionFirst and recommended we try it. We were initially skeptical and wary of the success of an auction. But the results speak for themselves. The AuctionFirst team did an excellent job communicating with us each step of the way and bringing fresh attention to our home through their accelerated marketing plan. We are very grateful for the terrific job they did in quickly selling our home and would recommend their services to everyone." Harold and Kes Messinger
**Joanne Senyk of AvenueOne Properties in Austin was the Messingers real estate agent who referred the property to AuctionFirst. "It was such a relief not having to do the marketing," says Joanne. "It has been a great experience and I'd do it again."
**"This was the first home I'd ever owned. I loved being so close to downtown with easy access to work. There were so many things to do in that area. Although I knew that the unit would probably sell quickly, I didn't want to take any chances although I still wanted top dollar. Another agent I'd talked with wanted me to spend about $3,000 fixing up some things. Since I was already out of state, this would have been a complete hassle. I liked the AuctionFirst approach and we set an auction date for 3 weeks later. Linda wanted to have the auction prior to Memorial Day holiday so that we wouldn't lose potential buyers. The auction results were incredible. Next time I need to sell a property, it will definitely be with AuctionFirst," Greg Cohen.
**"When I found out that I was relocating to Houston and had to sell, I immediately worried about the inconvenience and risk of having something happen to one of my pets," says owner Kristy Stewart. "My friend recommended AuctionFirst which was a perfect solution to my problem. I wish that the high bid at auction had been higher, but was happy with the offers that came in right afterwards. Linda and the AuctionFirst team did an awesome job. I was amazed at the interested they generated. This is an awesome concept and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants more control over selling their home."
**From Mark Najem: "I was looking for an efficient way to sell my home. The market in my area is very soft for re-sale. Using the auction method would got serious buyers to me. I also felt that I was in control of the process and that AuctionFirst was really going to work for me rather than just treating me as another listing. The AuctionFirst team gave me their straight opinion of market rather than just sugar coat it to get a listing. It was a very fast way to sell an existing home in a very soft market. It took me about 50 days to close the deal. This started with the signing of the listing agreement to the date all closing papers were signed. I also liked the no contingency (where-is/as-is) aspect of selling the home. Buyers knew they were going to buy the home in its current condition. In other words, I did not have to fool around with fixing stuff. In my view this process saved me about (minimum) $20,000.00 in holding costs vs. the conventional method. By holding costs I mean the monthly mortgage payments, real estate taxes, utlities and maintenace costs that I would have paid given that it took about 12 months to sell existing homes in my area. My neighbors were surprised when they learned how fast my home sold, and that I actually recieved an offer above my orignaial purchase price. No small feat given the soft market. Across the street from us, a home sold in the conventional method after being on the market for about 18 months. It was a very nice home, but there was very little buyer traffic, even during open house events. The owner went through 3 agents. It did not sell because the agent found a buyer, but rather because another neighbor just happened to be looking to move his mother closer to him--in other words it was pure luck. I strongly recommend AuctionFirst to sellers. The team is truly a sellers agent with a unique approach to selling a home that works brilliantly!"
**Judith Koke sent us a thank you note: "Our house was on the market for 9 months with several local people interested but it did not sell. The Auction First staff handled all the paper work, pictures and advertisement of our house and the interest grew. Just having their support and keeping us informed was a great relief to us and they sold the house in less than 2 weeks. They made us feel at ease and took the pressure off us to sell our home. AuctionFirst was very exceptional and easy to work with. We liked the auction experience very much."
