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Sell a home in 13 minutes

By
Real Estate Agent

The headline above was in the paper recently with an article about  Abal Auctions. It said they will sell a house in 13 min ... for market value.   Oh, not really 13 minutes, that's just how long the auction takes. They market for 29 days first and take bids through the internet the entire time up to the time of the auction.  And by market value, they mean the highest bid.  Doesn't sound so hard when you put it  that way. 

man at auction

They also do minimum bid auctions, which may be more of a challenge than absolute auctions, but they say they don't do reserve auctions. They have a home inspection done and make the results available to potential buyers prior to the auction which seems like a very good idea.
I've heard both bad and good stories about auctions. The good ones are really good and the bad ones are horrid. Buyers should do thorough research on a house before buying at auction.

Comments(17)

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Praful Thakkar
LAER Realty Partners - Burlington, MA
Metro Boston Homes For Sale

Colleen, I had tried round-robin auction for a short sale and yes, did end up with a buyer. Though not in 13 minutes....

Jun 25, 2011 10:55 AM
Toni Weidman
Sailwinds Realty - Trinity, FL
20+ Years Selling Homes in New Port Richey, FL
Sounds impressive until you hear the rest, Collen. Good post.
Jun 25, 2011 10:56 AM
Retired Notworking
Tallahassee, FL

The headline really caught my attention, but figured it was a come on.

 

Jun 25, 2011 10:59 AM
Mara Hawks
First Realty Auburn - Auburn, AL
Inactive-2012 REALTOR - Homes for Sale Auburn Real Estate, AL

This helps understand the auction process, which, up until now, has mostly gone over my head! Thanks for the breakdown.

Jun 25, 2011 11:00 AM
Brenda Mullen
RE/MAX Associates - San Antonio, TX
Your San Antonio TX Real Estate Agent!!

Geez, I really hope home sellers don't think this is all there is to selling a home :).  That title would catch anyone's eyes :)!

Jun 25, 2011 11:09 AM
Retired Notworking
Tallahassee, FL

You're right Brenda, they make it sound so easy ...

Jun 25, 2011 11:12 AM
Gary Woltal
Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX
Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Hi Colleen. Great info on auctions. I wonder as a bidder how you tell if you are in a good auction situation or those bad horrid auction situations you mentioned???

Jun 25, 2011 11:16 AM
Nor Yeretsian
Envoy Capitol Realty Inc. - Toronto, ON
Envoy Capitol Realty Inc., Brokerage Toronto

The headline was interesting and attention getting,,,what do they charge for all this?

cheers

Nor

Jun 25, 2011 11:21 AM
Retired Notworking
Tallahassee, FL

In one bad auction story I heard that the title wasn't clear and in another one, the property had been flooded with 18" of standing water in the yard three times in the last year. In the first case, a title search would have found the problem, in the second one, the information came from neighbors. I would definitely talk to neighbors before buying any auction property.

Jun 25, 2011 11:25 AM
Retired Notworking
Tallahassee, FL

Nor, I don't think the article mentioned Abal's commission, but at an auction I attended last week, the auctioneer added 5% to the highest bid as their commission. Seller pays nothing ... no wonder sellers like this idea.

Jun 25, 2011 11:27 AM
Karen Seeman
Exit on the Hudson Realty - Tenafly, NJ
CDPE, (201) 247-0556, bergencountyhomes4sale.c

Colleen, thanks for posting about auctions.  If you think about it, we're actually in an auction business all the time.  We're just not centralized like an exchange or auction house. 

Buyer and auctioner beware!

Don't get caught buying a pig in a poke

Jun 25, 2011 11:28 AM
Larry Bettag
Cherry Creek Mortgage Illinois Residential Mortgage License LMB #0005759 Cherry Creek Mortgage NMLS #: 3001 - Saint Charles, IL
Vice-President of National Production

I love this post.  Caught my eye.  Been to a lot of auctions and have sold a home on auction.  Good stuff!

Jun 25, 2011 11:29 AM
Virginia Gingras
West USA Revelation - Gilbert, AZ

I have a listing that has been on the market for a while...yet I would have great hestitancy in using an Auction.....

Jun 25, 2011 11:47 AM
Anna "Banana" Kruchten
Retired Broker/Owner - Phoenix, AZ
602-380-4886

I bought my very first income property at an auction back in 1980 while I was still in college. Looking back it was pretty stupid move as I had little to no money, no real job and had gone to buy some antiques, not a house!  It was so cheap I couldn't pass it up.  Thankfully my Dad helped me out and I ended up making some money on the deal.  HUGE lesson in real estate.  Today's auctions are a whole other deal. There are some companies that are well know in the Phoenix area and have a good reputation and there are some that are total snakes.  Best to have an agent represent the buyer - before, during and after. And....I woudn't trust an inspection done by anybody other than who we hired!

Jun 25, 2011 12:21 PM
Deborah Byron Leffler BzyBee Real Estate Lady!
Keller Williams Realty Boise - Nampa, ID

Interesting isn't it?  And the headline is very eyecatching!   

I have attended auctions but have never had a client win the bid....but I think most have a buyers premium...but I think in our area the seller pays a commission and all the advertising costs!

Jun 25, 2011 12:22 PM
Dee Mayers
Covina, CA
San Gabriel Valley, CA

Auctions are for the brave.  However, more and more people are looking for bargains and go to auctions to buy.

Jun 25, 2011 01:49 PM
Yolanda Hoversten
Self Employed - O'Fallon, IL
Referrals for O’Fallon, IL & the Metro East

I attended one just for the education, and if you didn't know the prior marketing, one would think that you're buying the properties sight unseen. This auction I attended had the sellers paying the commission.

It's not for the faint of heart, at least not my heart. lol

Jun 28, 2011 05:16 PM