Can i auction my own house

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Table of Contents Expand. How House Auction Buying Works. How Homes End Up at an Auction. Attending the Auction. Finding Real Estate Auctions. What Bidders Need to Know. The Bottom Line. Key Takeaways: Buying a home at auction is riskier than buying through the usual process.

It is vital to be well educated about how real estate auctions work. You can find home auctions through local governments, real estate agents, and online sites such as RealtyTrac. If you cannot afford the risk of buying a property in poor condition, stick with auctions that allow you to inspect the property before bidding. Review and understand all auction rules and do your due diligence on any property you are interested in—for instance, check for claims, liens, and occupants before you bid.

Related Articles. Partner Links. Read the pros and cons of buying and selling through auctions. How a Short Sale in Real Estate Works In real estate, a short sale is when a homeowner in financial distress sells their property for less than the amount due on the mortgage.

What Is a Lender Confirmation Auction? A lender confirmation auction is a foreclosure sale in which the high bid must be accepted by the lender before the sale is finalized. What Is a Home Lien? A home lien is a legal claim placed on a home. Closing Costs Closing costs are the expenses, beyond the property itself, that buyers and sellers incur to finalize a real estate transaction. Investopedia is part of the Dotdash publishing family.

Buyers bid on the property, and the person or entity that puts in the highest bid by the end of the auction ends up winning it as long as they meet any set minimums. If you are thinking about selling real estate at auction, it's worth understanding the full process, as well as your options during the auction process.

It's also good to have an idea of the pros and cons of selling a property through an auction. The real estate auction process is usually a multi-stage process that begins when a property owner first contacts an auction company.

Often, the first step of selling a property at auction is analyzing it to see if it is a good fit for the auction process. The next step is to put the gears in motion to sell the property at auction. As the seller, you can choose to set a reserve for the auction, meaning you won't sell the property if the bids come in lower than a specified amount.

You also have the option of setting up an auction without a reserve. An auction professional can advise you on your sale's reserve strategy. You can also decide if you'd like to sell the property through a live auction, an online property auction , or a hybrid of the two. As the seller, your situation and needs determine the timeline for the sale and the date for the auction. After you've decided on the format of the property auction and a timeline for it, it's time to start marketing.

The auction company you are working with will help promote your sale and get the information about your property out in front of the most appropriate prospective buyers. Marketing the property typically takes place for about 30 days before the auction date. Once the day of the auction arrives, buyers will place their bids, and the person or entity who exceeds your reserve with the highest bid will win. Since the auction process usually takes place on an accelerated timeline, the winning buyer often signs the purchase agreement on the day of the auction.

Typically, closing takes place within days of the auction. One way to determine whether or not selling a property at auction is the best option for you and your property is to use a method known as the two-thirds rule. Under the two-thirds rule, if two out of three of the components that influence the real estate transaction lean toward auctioning a property, an auction is often the best course of action.

What are these three components? Selling commercial, residential or any other type of real estate through an auction has several benefits for the seller. An auction often gives you more control over the sales process, compared to the method of listing a property for sale and waiting for buyers.

There is also usually less hassle for the seller, as you don't have to fix up the property or wait for the results of inspection before moving forward with the sale.

Among the benefits of a real estate auction are:. When you list a property on the market, there's no way to know how long it will take for the property to sell.

A residential property could sell in less than a month or it could linger on the market for months, if not years. During that time, you might feel you need to lower the price of the property to attract more buyers. With an auction, you choose the date of the event, and people who might be interested in your property know they will either have to log onto the auction website on that day or attend the auction in person if they want a chance at the property.

In many ways, auctioning a property helps create more interest and demand. People who are interested in purchasing real estate at an auction are usually ready to jump in and make competitive bids.

While it's possible for a bidding war to break out when you're selling your property through a real estate agent or privately, the auction environment encourages competition for your property by design. It usually takes a lot of hard work to get a property ready for a private sale or for sale through a real estate agent. Often, you need to fix up the property and make it look more attractive. To do that, you might need to hire a staging company to arrange furniture inside the home or building.

Depending on the condition of the property, you might need to hire an inspector and perform some repairs to make it more appealing to buyers. People who bid on properties during an auction understand the property is for sale "as-is" and are provided with extensive property information up front.

There are typically set times to visit or view the property before the auction, so you don't have to worry about keeping a property show-ready all the time or scheduling showings either directly with the potential buyer or through a real estate agent.

Once the auction is over, there's no need to worry a negative inspection will cause the buyer to back out. Real estate auctions often require buyers to make cash deposits or to be pre-qualified for financing before they bid on the property. As the seller, you won't have to deal with "lookie-loos" or people who are curious about the property, but not genuinely interested in making a bid.

Often, the people looking to buy at a real estate auction have an agenda and specific reasons for purchasing through an auction, rather than a real estate agent or private sale. They might be experienced real estate investors or first-time buyers who are looking to get a foot in the door in a competitive real estate market. As the seller, your prospective buyers also go through a screening process in order to be qualified to bid on the property.

Real estate auctions can sound ideal, but it's essential to understand they aren't perfect. There are some potential disadvantages when you decide to sell a property at auction. In some cases, when people hear a property is for sale at an auction, their first thought is, "What's wrong with it? The reality is, almost any type of property can successfully sell at auction. Perceptions of auctions are beginning to shift, and people now realize there are valuable and exciting properties available.

Although an auction puts the seller in the driver's seat and lets you set the reserve — if you wish — and the sale date, setting up an auction doesn't guarantee your property will sell.

It is possible no one will attend the auction, or no one will put in a bid. However, if you partner with an experienced auction professional to formulate your strategy and market your property to a targeted buyer audience, this is much less likely. Depending on the market conditions and the desirability of your property, people can get into a bidding war during an auction, driving the price up.

However, the opposite is also possible. Interest in the property might be low, and the highest bid you receive might be for less than you want to accept. Depending on how your property sale is structured, you may choose to reject the high bid and either hold another auction or try another method to sell the property. Your professional auction advisor can help you to avoid this scenario as well by researching the market and property in order to set realistic expectations for the sale of your real estate.

A knowledgeable and experienced professional knows the market and can give you an educated and researched assessment of what kind of interest your property will attract. If you decide an auction isn't the right option for your property, you have a few more choices.

One is to sell property privately, a process often known as "for sale by owner. Another option is to work with a real estate agent, who will list your property on the MLS, offer advice on ways to make the house attractive to buyers, help you price the property and help you negotiate with buyers. Real estate agents earn their income by charging a fee that's usually equal to 6 percent of the sale price of a home.

A private sale takes place when a piece of real estate isn't on the MLS and doesn't get directly marketed to real estate agents. Sellers who are listing their properties for sale privately also aren't working with a real estate agent.

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My Favourites. Call enquiries sdlauctions. Register to bid in our upcoming National Property Auction here. Do Spend time considering which auctioneer to use There are lots of auctioneers around, some of which are dedicated auction houses and some of which are auction departments within an estate agent.

Get a free auction appraisal You may not have yet considered an auction sale. Let the auctioneer do the work for you Once you have instructed us to sell your property, you can then relax and let us take the strain. Enjoy the security Not only can you feel secure in the knowledge that once the gavel falls on the successful bid, the buyer is committed and cannot pull out of the sale, you can also relax knowing that only a few weeks later you will receive the money in your bank.

Worry about viewings We will carry out the group viewings for you with one of our accompanied viewers. Worry about fall throughs The auction process is a secure one, with contracts exchanged or a reservation agreement made, upon the acceptance of an offer. Auction Advice. A step by step guide to carrying out a telephone bid Read more.

A step by step guide to carrying out an internet bid Read more. A step by step guide to carrying out a proxy bid Read more.

A guide to… viewings Read more. Auction tips for professional investors Read more. How to buy a property at auction Read more.

Why Auction? Selling at auction Read more. Selling an investment property Read more. Where to sell property online Read more. Callback Request If you are human, leave this field blank. Book Viewing If you are human, leave this field blank.

Instructions To book a viewing simply complete the form below. Telephone no. Property Address. Making an offer and haggling over the price Clever questions to ask the estate agent How long does it take to buy and sell a home Sealed bids explained See more advice guides Getting a survey What sort of survey should I have?

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How long does it take to buy and sell a home. Win your mortgage paid for 6 months start remortgaging now. How to sell your house at auction Let buyers fight it out at auction and hopefully they'll drive up the price of your property - but you need to know what you're doing and how to make sure the auctioneer doesn't take advantage.

Related guides Top Tips: How to make your home more valuable and sell faster Step-by-step guide to selling your home What price should I sell my house for? Should I sell my home myself?