If You Can Not Sell Your Home Try An Auction
Most home sellers resist auctioning their houses, considering it an act of desperation. Auctions can deliver a better bottom line than many people realize, however, and are often only a bit more costly than a good broker. The increasing number of mortgage companies auctioning off defaulted property is collecting an average of 90% to 100% of the appraised value of a home in some cases, as much as 105%. Moreover, depending on the form of the auction you choose, if you think the last bid you receive isn't high enough, you don't have to sell. "In a slow market, buyers are extremely fearful of paying too much," says Cynthia Logan, who has managed auctions for Alliance Mortgage Co. in Jacksonville. "So when they're going through traditional channels, they tend to make offers that are way too low, or they just walk away." The competition of an auction, according to Logan, usually pushes the bidding up toward the fair price. Moreover, auctions virtually assu...