Introduction to Auction.com: The Asset Life Cycle: “Bidding"

[Jesse Vega]

Welcome back. 

In this section we will discuss how to better understand the asset lifecycle that auction.com utilizes to run their properties through auctions. This section will focus on live bidding on the website and not ‘in person’ live bidding. I will therefore, be referring to the ‘website bidding’ as ‘bidding’ for the rest of this post.

Pre-Register Stage

Bidding, typically has three stages. The first stage is the ‘Register Stage’. During this stage you are allowed to register for a property that you would like to participate during its bidding cycle. In order for you to register for an asset, you will need to answer a couple of questions about yourself for example, broker agent info, and agree to the terms of the auction. A bid deposit is typically required for new auction participants. Bid deposits typically start at $2500, but can grow to percentages of properties for more valuable assets. Auction.com has started to implement a plan that allows for bid deposit waivers that encourages bitters to participate in auctions. My personal account has grown to the point where I don't have to place a bid deposit anymore. One of the biggest advantages to registering for action on an asset is the dashboard. Being pre-registered will allow you to be ready with due diligence.

Bidding Stage

After being registered to bid the asset will be added to your dashboard; you are now in the bidding stage. This is the part that can make or break a deal. It is during this time that we set ourselves up to make the best decisions for our investments. Remember, we are not buying a home to live in, we are buying assets to make us money. This is why don't referred to any of these assets as houses, I prefer to use the term asset because that's the kind of mentality that I want to keep while making my investments. My second tip for you is that you familiarize yourself with current bid, bid deposit, bid increment, and counter bid. I will be explaining what these mean, and how they maximize your chances of landing a property in a future post.

Sold Stage

The last part of the bidding cycle is the sold stage. During sold stage the property mayor or may not have been sold. I know, very confusing indeed. This is why an experienced bidder or sherpa we'll always have the upper hand on bidders who act desperately. When a property is listed as “sold” it means that auction.com is working on procuring an agreement between the bidder and the bank to sell the property. Many things that can take place during this time a buyer may have realized what being bullish just landed them. Many first-time buyers push their luck and like to play chicken with other bidders escalating prices for assets above the threshold of intelligent investments. Luckily, during this post we learned to keep assets in your dashboard for just such occasions. I would like to encourage you to keep a spreadsheet with numbers and information on the assets themselves for the prices they may have sold for or where the bidding ended this will give you an advantage when try negotiate with acution.com or placing a bid on the same asset the next time he comes around.

On my next post I will be discussing the other forms of acquiring assets by pre-bid.