Buying Real Estate at Auction

We understand that the thought of buying a home at auction can be somewhat intimidating. Most people only buy 1 or 2 homes in a lifetime. The truth is that buying a home at auction is a pretty simple process. The team at Enlisted Auctions would love to help you through each step.

Step 1. Determine your financial boundaries

The first in home buying, whether it is through a traditional real estate brokerage or buying at auction, is to determine your spending budget. For most buyers, this means a trip to your bank. Your lender can review your options and pre-approved you for a loan. The lender will give you all the details about the interest rates, monthly payments, loan terms, and more. Enlisted Auctions can recommend a lender if you are unsure of where to start.

Step 2. Start shopping

There are so many choices while looking for a home. The National Association of Realtors has invested millions into a website, www.realtor.com, to help make the search a little easier. Using this website, you will be able to weed through the houses that are not a fit and find a list of homes that are candidates for a closer look.

Step 3. Visit your potential homes

Enlisted Auctions recommends that you contact your Realtor, or Enlisted Auctions, to assist you in seeing the homes you have selected. The services of a Realtor (for a buyer) are compensated by the seller of the home. You will get expert help in negotiating, value opinions, contracts, etc at no cost to you. The Realtor will be able setup showing on the homes in which you are interested.

Step 4. Make an offer

This is where the auction method is slightly different than a traditional brokerage. In an auction, the price is determined through the bidding process. The bidding happens in an online auction in many cases. The buyers can place a “max bid” by submitting the maximum amount they are willing to spend, and the computer will bid for them. They can also bid incrementally as the price increases. In some auctions, there is a “Buy Now” price that allows the buyers to skip the auction process all together and buy the property without bidding.

You will need to register for the auction before placing a bid. You can register by going to the website, enlistedauctions.com, and clicking on the “View Catalog & Bid” button under the photo of the home. There will be a “Register to Bid” link shown. Click on that link and follow the instructions. It will ask you for basic information and your credit card information. The credit card will be verified as a real card but there will be no funds deducted. This information and card information is needed to verify that you are a real human.

Step 5. Purchase agreement

Congratulations! You bought a house! A representative from Enlisted Auctions will contact you after the auction to schedule a time to sign the purchase agreement. They will collect the deposit amount (shown in the terms for each auction) and provide you with copies of the agreement. You will take the agreement to your lender and they will start processing the paperwork right away. The closing agency or attorney will also receive a copy of the purchase agreement. This process usually takes about 30 days.

Step 6. Closing

Once the paperwork is completed you will go to the closing agency or attorney and sign the paperwork for your new home. They will collect the funds from your lender and hand you the keys to your new home. See, easy peazy lemon squeezy.

We look forward to helping you walk through the process of buying your home