Hi,

I've stumbled upon into a website that are listing properties that are up for auction.
It seems to be all online with you appoint their agent to do the bidding with no fee.

How do I know if this thing is legit or not?

Kindly advise, thanks.

Is not a requirement to bid through an agent. I won an auction property diy.

There are pro and cons about diy bidding and through agent.

If diy, you decide whether to cont if the bid price keeps going higher. Also you need to do research on the property prior to bidding. Research includes physical and legal, otherwise you may face delay in completing the transfer transaction.

If through agent, you give him the max price, then he will stop if it keeps going higher. Bidding is fast pace and needs split second decision. Time is wasted calling you for further instruction. If you have doubts, he will be able to answer your questions.

For the services he provided, if you win the bid, he will be paid a commission, provided he is a registered auction agent with the foreclosure bank.

This post has been edited by mini orchard: Jul 25 2025, 07:21 AM

How do I know if an agent is registered with the bank or not?

Also how do you do diy bidding, where do you get the information where it will be held, etc.

If the agent is not registered with the bank, normally he will ask you to pay his commission. This is provided by law as the agent is only allowed to collect his fee from either seller (bank) or buyer.

Most bidding are done online. Once you registered with the auctioneer and have paid the bidding deposit, they will provide you the necessary info to log in to bid on the day of the auction.

The property info is in the POS (Proclamation of Sale) and available from the auctioneer. You have to find out who is the auctioneer. This is where I stated earlier if you diy, you need to do plenty of research .... seriously, plenty.

Also read articles on pros and cons in buying properties through auctions. Don't buta buta buy just because your friends are buying.

My advise is if you have no experienced buying and selling properties previously and this is your first time buying, go through an auction agent.

This post has been edited by mini orchard: Jul 25 2025, 10:26 PM

there's another long thread on auctions. I did my research there and so far have bought 2 auction properties.

both cases I used agents but I was also present during the bidding process. personally, I don't see any downside in using agents for buying auction properties as they'll ask for commission from the auction bank, not you.

Auction properties