Real Estate Auctions

[Charles McPherson]

I would like to hear your experiences if you have bid or purchased a house through a real estate auction site.

My partner and I have purchased 2 but have bid on several others.

There is something.everyone should be aware of when using these sites. My partner asked a phone agent for one of the "Auction" sites if they bid on the homes to get the price up. The phone agent stated that they did. I really don't have a problem if they stop at the reserve but we have found it's not the case. There have been several times we have been out bided and it appeared the winners backed out and we would get a call from the auction asking if we still wanted the property. After thinking about it I realized that there was no other bidder as this had happened to often and bidders are not going to throw away the 2500 deposit that easy .

On another occasion my partner was called by the company and was asked if he still wanted a home he was out bid on and he excepted at his bid price and sent the $5000 deposit. They called a few days later and told him his offer was not excepted and now they can't find the $5000. We have receipts so it's taken care of but still a lot shaky if you asked me. There have been other issues but will not share here.

What have you experienced with auction sites?