Bid to Win at Foreclosure House, Auto and Estate Auctions
thanks lucy96734 Flickr
Most of us know how to bid to win for an online auction like EBay. But what do you do when you have to be live and in person? Right, it can be intimidating. I have been to a number of live auctions, houses, contents of an estate, and government auto auctions. The same principals apply to all of them. This is especially relevant in today’s economic climate.
1. Do your homework. Inspect the items before the day of the auction as much as possible. Take pictures and look for markings of antiques, collectibles, ect. Google any details for potential value, history. Ebay may also give you a real good idea of market value. For real estate do a tittle search at the local court house and online. Make sure the house is clear of any liens. have a friend that waits in the recorders office till the auction starts to alert me to any last minute liens. You don’t want to end up with a costly liability instead of an asset. I Also get comparables aka comps of past property sold in the area.
2. Get to the auction early. Initially sit back watch and listen. If you have someone who is very observant bring them they may be a big help. This could potentially tell you who else is interested in what. This will also show you the norms at that auction.
3. Be Intensely Confident. When bidding do not be wishy washy. Be a strong bidder and have your best poker face unless you want to let the person know you won’t back down. By this I mean I typically only look at the auctioneer until the other bidder gets out of hand and I want an item. At this point I make direct eye contact with the bidder each time I bid. Seems small but typically this get the person to back off. Its not physically but rather mental intimidation.
3. Know your max bid and do not exceed it.
4. Bid high right away! If and only if there is a great deal of interest in an item “That you must have” start out with a high bid. Lets say, the auctioneer starts out at $100. The item is worth $1500. Your max bid is $1000. Just after the auctioneer says $100 you say $900. This will scare off the people that may just bid for the fun of it. Thus avoiding a bidding war and getting out bid just cause they got caught up in the moment.
5. Collude. I went to an estate auction for contents and there was me and another guy bidding on one thing after another. After a while we realized there had to be a better way. So we decided to just take turns while agreeing who wanted what, more. The teamwork saved us a ton since we were just driving up the prices against each other. I have seen others do the same at auto auctions.
Finally enjoy your bargains and the bidders high. I mean let’s face it…..Everybody likes to win.
Stumble It!
I agree with you on every single point of those, especially starting the auction with a high bid.
Ismail
Ismail
September 27, 2008