I received a call yesterday from a very successful REMAX agent here in Columbus. He usually carries between 75-100 listings and has a very successful team. His listings go from about $400,000 up to $2,000,000.
The call was out of the blue, but on my cell. I don't post my cell online, so he had to have gotten it from someone else. Regardless the conversation was interesting. He asked for a meeting as soon as possible. Ok. No problem there. So I asked him what topic he would like to discuss? "Real Estate Auctions" was the answer. Is there any particular property that I should look at to prepare? The answer here was interesting. He said no, that about 20% of his clients were in need to sell situations and that he wanted to put together a co-marketing effort to reach out to affluent consumers who would embrace selling at auction.
I don't know how many other auctioneers are getting these calls, but I suspect it is just going to increase. NAA auctioneers have been saying for a long time that auctions are vehicles for selling property at market rates in a short period of time. It is not just for distressed assets (although we do a lot of those).
I look forward to seeing everyone at the auction. Happy bidding.
Do you have questions about distressed assets, receivership or bankruptcy sales, auctions? Email me at rfk@gryphonusa.com and I'll try to answer it in an upcoming post.
Richard F. Kruse is the President of Columbus, Ohio based Gryphon USA, Ltd. (www.gryphonusa.com). The Gryphon Organization includes Gryphon Asset Management providing receivership and consulting services in the distressed marketplace, United Country Gryphon Realty & Auction Group (www.ucohiorealty.com & www.ucohioauctions.com) providing real estate brokerage and auction services throughout Ohio and OnlineAuctionUSA.com (www.onlineauctionusa.com) providing commercial asset liquidations from the Midwest to East Coast.
United Country Gryphon Realty & Auction Career Opportunities Available. Call 614-885-0020 x 17
I have only really tracked two auctions in my area. In both cases, once everyone got paid, the buyer paid more than they had planned and ended up paying very close to original asking price and the seller walked away then less than they thought due to the auction specific fees.
The jury is still out for me on this, but having multiple options for getting your home sold or buying a home are always a good thing.