Alternately titled: How I Sold a Condo Without Saying A Word!
Back a few months ago, I was contacted by an auctioneer in Florida who had a condo in downtown Dallas, Texas to auction. I contracted with him to do the bid calling (I'm a licensed auctioneer in addition to being a licensed real estate agent). The property was listed as bank-owned with another broker for quite some time with no buyers in sight.
The sale was scheduled for this past Saturday at high noon. I previewed the condo when I first got the assignment, then put it on the back burner since there was a couple months until the sale date. This past Monday, I followed up and checked the listing in MLS. Surprise! It showed "pending." So I called Florida and was told to sit tight until Thursday. The buyer was doing inspections and could still walk away. I didn't hear anything on Thursday. On Friday morning, I was told the auction was cancelled.
I got several frantic calls on Friday afternoon. Seems the buyer walked away from the closing table and the auction was back on! I called the listing agent. I wanted to find out the amount on the contract. Surprise again! It was significantly less than what I was told I could sell the unit for without having to check with the bank first. I told this to the listing agent. That meant if there was going to be an auction on Saturday, not only would the sales price have to be higher, but there would also be a 5% buyers premium added. I was informed that there were at least 2 other buyers who were planning on coming to the auction that she knew about.
So, Saturday morning I'm cruising down the Tollway to Victory Park in downtown Dallas and the cell rings. Oh no! Not again! The dead deal might still have some life in it! If the Friday buyer delivers a check to the listing agent at the condo prior to the noon start of the auction, I'm out of a job. And that's just what happened.
Have you ever been on jury duty? You sit out in the hallway wondering what the heck is going on in the courtroom prior to jury selection. Then the baliff comes out and thanks you for your service and says that just by being there, you were instrumental in getting the case resolved. That was this auctioneer's role this past weekend. And I never had to open my mouth.
