Auction.com Reviews

I purchased a home on auction.com 4 years ago. I am very happy with the home. I did get to go to an open house before bidding. I would never recommend buying anything unseen. I have been looking at some lately with someone else and some of them are in pretty bad shape. That is to be expected when they are repos. You never know what the tenant will do before they leave. But overall I got a great house at a great price.

I have bought two houses from Auction.com and don’t understand these awful reviews. Auction.com has changed my life.

I bought my fist a two-family home for $96k and closed in 45 days. I spent about $70k fixing it up and five years later I am selling it for $650k. My second house two years later was bought for $38k, and I closed in two months. I put in about $42k to get it livable. I moved in with my wife and got it appraised for $174k.

This last year I won a two-family home for $53k, but after doing a title search, I found out the former owner had not been served the court papers correctly and was living in the house. So I backed out of the deal.

The key is to do your homework. Understand there is a risk in everything and be fearless.

As I read the reviews I feel like these armchair flippers are too scared to do anything and will see the problem in anything.

Customer service? You’re buying an old house that nobody wants, and banks think it’s too far gone so assume it has problems then imagine it has more. Be ready to cry. But after that, you’ll see how the trouble is worth it.

In response to some comments:

It’s clearly not s scam as it’s worked for me.

The $2500 on a credit card is charged as a penalty if you can’t pay for your winning bid.

You have to do a title search just to make sure the property is clear.

We closed via FedEx and never used an attorney.

Good luck to you all! I wish everyone could reach their dreams as this site allowed me to.

I've bought foreclosure properties from Auction.com. Their staff is friendly and usually knowledgeable. They don't have the greatest terms and conditions on their website if bidding online, since the terms are mainly just to protect themselves. But, they do a great job in person.

I have purchased 6 foreclosures. One through Auction.com, and the others at live auctions. In all cases, I was not able to get inside the property to do a thorough inspection. You can determine some things from the outside, but generally speaking, you should assume the house will need significant work, and that the previous owners knew they were going to lose the house, and stopped maintaining it and often sabotaging it upon eviction. This being the case, determine what the fair market value of the home would be based on comparables in the area, and bid at least 20% below that amount. Yes, the owner is trying to get as much as they can. This is true of all auctions. When the bid exceeds what you are willing to pay, stop bidding. Don't get mad. Stop bidding. It's business.

Auction.com identifies itself as a "Market Validation Program" (MVP). MVP is just a label to disguise a strategy to drive up the real estate market.

This potentially benefits most everyone EXCEPT the buyer (although they hope to convince buyers it is to their benefit otherwise the strategy fails) and tax payers.

It breaks down as follows;

-Buyer's potentially loose the advantage of low competition by competing in a broader buyer base and are encouraged to bid against themselves. As for the MVP service's so called "definitive decision date", it as NOT a sale date but only a deadline for whether the offer will be approved by the lender.

-Lender potential benefits: The MVP service provides a way to potentially inflate the selling price of short sale properties.

-Agents potentially could be eligible for higher commissions.

-Sellers may appreciate a quicker sale and a pause of any foreclosure action.

-Community potential benefits: Potentially higher sales prices would lift the "fair market value" and the local tax base (thru increased taxes), which can benefit local schools and infrastructure within the community.

I did make a good return using auction.com - once. Ever since then I've participated in numerous "auctions" that ended up this way:

1) Properties were bid way beyond the price necessary for a reasonable risk-adjusted return.

2) The auction did not expire when it was supposed to, instead being extended presumably (but not verifiably) to "reserve not met."

3) Most interestingly, probably the majority of properties were relisted! So whomever won the bid actually did not get the property, supporting the suspicion that auction.com does not actually have seller involvement until they bring their final price to them for approval.

We have decided to no longer use auction.com because we need to invest our own time in due diligence on their listed properties, which takes time, but have a very low chance actually of obtaining them. The effort investment in using auction.com is therefore not worth its expected return.

We have only tried to buy one home on auction.com, but I don't believe they are actually selling the homes they list. First, I've noticed that the same house will go up for auction 2, 3, or even 4 times, this should have been a warning.

We bid on a house that had previously been on MLS. We had tried to contact the realtor but she wouldn't return our calls. We had been by the house and knew that it was vacant and had even been winterized.

We won the bid. The seller came back and wanted a higher offer -- not a counter offer -- just said "offer more or we'll reject it." We increased our offer and the auction.com guy said it was above the reserve so they should take it.

We then got a call from the listing realtor ranting that we couldn't have bought the house because she had a buyer. Then she said she was going to "undo" our auction.com deal. THEN she offered us 5 thousand to flip the house to her if we DID get it!

Apparently she was able to "undo" our deal with the bank, because they rejected it again saying that the house had recently become vacant so they wanted more for it. Not true! The people were evicted and the writ served more than 2 weeks before the auction.

They have now put the house BACK on the website but we're through with trying to deal with them, except they won't return our earnest money. No reason -- just won't return our calls and won't contact the title company.

I think auction.com is fishing for buyers and that neither the reserve price or the winning bids mean anything. It sounds like they're not really authorized to sell the house at all -- they're just getting offers from the bidders and presenting them to the banks and hoping maybe they'll take the offer. Don't waste your time.

Went to a live auction run by Auction.com today in Corona, CA. Out of 150 properties on the board, only 14 actually went up for auction, the rest were either canceled or postponed. Of the 14 that went to auction, around 8 to 10 were "won" by creditors and the auctioneer made that clear. I think there are shill bidders in the back of the room that bid against investors to get the price up to some pre-determined reserve.

There are several helpers roaming the room trying to entice higher bids. I think banks use auction.com to try to sell less desirable foreclosure or REO properties sight unseen to unsuspecting buyers and investors. We had a budget and once the bidding got above our budget we stopped bidding so we didn't win the property.

When I checked on a real estate sold online website later that day, the property that was supposedly "bought" by the creditor didn't show up on the list as sold. There may be some good deals to be had on auction.com but buyer beware!

We located a property on Auction.com that is near our existing property. We have been trying to buy additional property in the area for our daughter and her family. This one would be perfect, and it is a 5-minute walk from our house.

We consulted our realtor about her experience with the site, and she said that her husband purchased a house through them. It wasn't an easy process, but he was ultimately satisfied with the process.

So far we have been through two rounds of bidding, being outbid by their shill bidding process. The reserve has not been met yet, and we suspect it is in excess of the value of the property.

The biggest problems are:

1. The picture they have is not the house for sale, it is the one next door.

2. The house is a manufactured home, which is not mentioned anywhere.

3. The map location is wrong.

If the home wasn't a manufactured home, it would probably be worth whatever their reserve is but, but it's not. I have pointed out the above issues twice to Auction.com. We will start the third round of bidding on Monday, and there have been no corrections to the listing. I guess they hope that buyers don't do their due diligence.

I also was told that because the home had FHA mortgage insurance, so ultimately the Feds will pay the bank the appraised value of the house if it doesn't sell, so they have no incentive to sell at a lower price.

I believe it would be safer to wait and see if the Feds do buy it and put it on the market. Then we will deal with them.

You can find good deals here but be prepared for your money to be tied up for an absurdly amount of time. I purchased a property, and it has taken two months to close. As a cash purchase with no contingencies, it shouldn't take even close to this long to close. Another thing to consider is finding your own company to close. I used theirs, and they charged me over $1500 on a $7500 purchase!

This was my first purchase, so I really didn't know what I was getting into. This was a house in my hometown so I knew something about it but knew nothing about the process. The customer service was awful at Auction.com. I made several calls to get information after the bidding, and I was talked to like I was an idiot, spoken to in terms that I had no idea what they meant and when I asked for explanations I got nowhere. I felt like this was intentional on their part. They rushed me to send the deposit money, but once that was done, I was in the dark until they got ready to talk to me. Thankfully, in the end, it turned out ok, but I don't think I will use them again simply because of the poor customer service, which is important to me.

I have purchased a few houses from Auction.com.

I have been a successful "house flipper" for many years now.

When I first dealt with Auction.com years ago, they were pretty decent. I felt they were on the up and up, but times have changed now...everyone and their brother are out trying to flip a house like they saw on TV. Well, Auction.com is not going to help you get rich...

It doesn't matter what the starting bid price is because it's not selling for that.

First check online or with a Realtor to see what the listed price is. I have found the reserve with Auction.com is usually around 5-8% less than that amount, but by the time you pay your auction fees and stuff, it works out to be pretty close to the same.

You NEED TO KNOW this amount because that is the price where you actually have a chance to purchase the home. Auction.com will AUTO BID the price up repeatedly to get the house up to the reserve amount, so they have a chance to close the deal!

If you don't believe me, then just try it on your own...

I constantly bid on a house and was outbid every time within 20 minutes. I waited for the same house to come back on "auction" since it didn't sell or meet the reserve numerous times, and I learned it would be back on in one week, pretty much every Sunday and would end on Wednesday. I seriously watched the same property 10 times, and as I write this, I am waiting for the next round, hoping the reserve will be just a fuzz lower because I really want it! But what I did was wait once, I waited for 2 days, and there were NO BIDS, so I bid at 1 am and yup, I was outbid by 1:30 am. This just confirmed to me that I was bidding against a computer.

Don't get me wrong, Auction.com will sell you a house, but you just won't get that smoking deal that you think you're going to. Be smart, and educate yourself on the property and what it's worth, and know your limits, AND STICK TO THEM! That's the hardest part. Especially with their auto bidding computer. They will make you think, "hmmm...it's only $1k more...I can do that." HA! Later you win and go over your budget by $10k.

Like I said in the beginning, I HAVE PURCHASED a couple of houses from Auction.com and actually closed the deals. I have also lost hundreds of auctions as well, and I am perfectly fine with that!

Good luck!

The company isn't a scam but things are not quite as they seem, and they make very simple tasks very difficult. First, it is not a true auction, they will bid you up to the reserve price behind the scenes, but if you read the fine print they admit to this. The worst part though is the way they handle their business. They are so difficult to communicate with. Calls go to voicemail, emails are like sending them into the black hole. They simply do not respond. They ask for you to do your part, they get right on that, but if there is an issue, they do not respond.

Example: I had my side in order, but the agreement they sent had the buyer (me) written incorrectly. They kept calling and emailing asking me why I wasn't signing or sending my deposit, I kept replying and calling people to rectify the contract, we just kept going around in circles. Once we got past that the seller accepted my offer and I was never notified or given next steps. Then I get a call that says I am supposed to have everything done for closing, but they never told me that or what to do. We had to delay closing. Ultimately the title did not pass with my attorney and the foreclosure would not stand up to case law, so had I not had my own attorney review it, I would have bought nothing. So the transaction was canceled, HOWEVER, 6 weeks after signing the termination agreement, I am still owed almost $6,000 in earnest money.

Every step of the process you have to deal with a different person, and they just don't do their jobs very well. It's a shame that so many foreclosures are now going through this company. Again, I don't think it's a scam, but I do think they will happily steal your deposit money if given the chance.

Do not bid on this property, The property is listed at 1,375 SF but is actually 850 SF. My realtor measured the entire first floor. She and I notified Auction.com and the listing agent that the listed SF was incorrect and they refuse to change it. At first I won the bid and it was listed as a 3-bedroom and 1 bath but the property only had 2 bedrooms and they refuse to except a lower bid. The property was relisted and I bid again. This has been going on for a month now.

Auction.com told me that they put in bids for the seller to up the price so whenever you bid they are going to out bid you until they get what the want. NOW yesterday the bid was at 45K and I put in 83K. Then I received a call from Auction.com wanting me to put in a higher bid. When I refused to do it, they stop me from bidding and left my bid so people could bid higher. This is fraud.

Property Details: (217 Mchenry Ave, Baltimore, MD 21208)

I'm going to the closing table tomorrow, and I have to say, I'm not happy. They tacked on several fees that my attorney said they had never seen anyone add to the buyers fees. They only have communication with the buyer when they demand your earnest money and signatures on the contract. Then you won't hear from them again. They have bad customer service, and I believe use unlawful tactics such as requiring you to use their title company. They also so to great lengths to keep you out of the property until closing. I will never use them again. Period.

I can not believe that such practice even survived so long in the United States. I want to warn anybody who are thinking to buy from Auction.com. There are several things you need to pay attention to. First, when you bid online, the Auction.com will bid against to raise the price. If your bid does not meet the reserve, they will keep up bidding against you. If nobody wins the bid, they will post the property one day later. Second, Auction.com has terrible closing services. You need to be careful what you signed for. Usually, you will have to pay the closing cost for the seller. The closing agency they are using is called Service Link. Both Auction.com and Service Link have terrible services. They only want money. They do not want to do the work. Most important, you need to ask them whether they have the key to the property. Our experience is that we paid everything for the closing and waiting for the key. Auction.com told us that they do not have key to the property. You have to break the door to gain access.

Hurry up and wait has been my experience with Auction.com so far. I won the winning bid in the middle of July. The first thing they do is send you a very lengthy contract that you should be able to have a lawyer review but they only give you 2 hours to sign and return it or you lose the chance to buy the home. Then they give you 2 days to wire the earnest money and any other paperwork they send you must be taken care of right away.

I was told that we could close on the house in 30 days since it is a cash deal. We were scheduled to close on August 15 but told a few days before that date that we would not be able to because the seller (bank) had not signed and returned the sale contract. I was then scheduled to close in another 30 days which did not happen because I was told that the seller (bank) has not returned the deed but on the extended contract, I could clearly see that the seller had signed the sales agreement in plenty of time to close on the first original date. I am on my fourth time having them extend the closing date which they say is due to them not receiving the deed back from the bank which frankly I don't believe because they have already lied to me once.

Unfortunately, it is easy to believe they would lie because of the customer service. I have been given the name and number of a few contact people during different parts of this process and anytime I've tried to reach out to any of these special people I've always got an answering machine with a message that my call would be returned within 24 hours. My calls have not been returned once! It's a joke, I don't know why they bother to give you these numbers? So here I am waiting until they are good and ready to let me finish this deal. I will write again to up date on my progress.

I tried bidding on a house, and the auctioneer was the only one bidding against me. They want you to keep bidding even if you have already reached the seller's reserved price so that they can get more percentage. It should be illegal for the auctioneer to counterbid the real bidders.

I had the worst experience with this people. After going through the running and the stress of submitting the signed contract, the proof of funds, and the earnest money within a limited time. After almost two months they send a cancellation. Obviously, the seller was protected at all times according to the contract! All the time wasted, and the wire money was a total loss. Shame on them! At least they could return the earnest money. Be careful with them!

Auction.com is rigged. A lot of shill bidding. I tried Aucton.com for one month, even for the same property twice, I could not take on the shill bidding and ended up buying from a realtor for less than my max bids.

Honestly, you will waste your time going to most online house auctions. The price is never there.

What they do is to keep you bidding when you don't know, in must of the cases, of the reserved price. And on top of that, they can bid as well against you to raise the price, making you the sucker! Just like a scam.

I will be happy the day a government agency regulates and penalizes this type of business that the only purpose is to scam the customers!

After reading bad reviews about Auction.com, it's a wonder that they still operate, but then it's all in the numbers.

A property in Mastic Beach, NY keeps getting listed on this website. The first auction brought in the highest amount of money but the bank said that it wasn't enough money (reserve NOT MET). Ok, I get that. The second auction came in at even less. I am not sure what the third auction did because I was not at my computer when it ended. I called Auction.com to get the final bid but was told that it was confidential. The bids are posted for everyone to see so that they can hopefully place the winning bid. I told the rep that if I was at my computer, I would have seen it.

They are in the process of scheduling another auction. The trend was that every auction came in for less money. The sad part is that the bank should have taken the first auction because that was the highest amount.

Whoever gets this house is in for some major surprises. One of the surprises could be the deal breaker, but the buyer won't find out until after the fact. See how easy it will be to evict a renter who is disabled.

I never placed a bid because Auction.com has a contract that gives the buyer absolutely no rights.

They list homes and say they're doing it for your lender, but your lender has no idea who these people are! It's illegal to advertise a home for sale for the lender before the Redemption period is over, and these people make it impossible for someone in Redemption to sell their house for a fair price because they claim to be able to sell it for way below market value, which is completely untrue. After the home is taken back through foreclosure it's listed with an agent, not with them because they don't have rights to sell it.

This is a scam! Buyer beware. No wonder they have so many law suits!

I won the bid and started going back and forth with them regarding the contract. They were taking their sweet time and not only that, but when we got their "purchase agreement" we saw that they could not even get the buyer properly listed on it. They are a group of completely incompetent individuals that care about nothing else other than enriching themselves, while hiding behind a long list of unscrupulous lawyers. When we finally got a corrected agreement, they insisted we get it fully signed and back to them in a couple of hours, otherwise the transaction will be canceled. But they took over a week to get us a corrected agreement.

Also be careful with the settlement and title companies they use. The majority are their subsidiaries, their fees are exorbitant, compared with the rest of the industry, and their quality of work severely inferior.

I wasted at least four days researching a property that was coming up for a live sale. I did a title search, drove by the property, and went ahead and got a cashiers check for 20 grand made out to Intercounty Judicial Sales Corp. I was ready to go and bid on a property live.

Anyway, I called Auction.com to make sure the check was made out to the proper company and to verify the location of the auction. Well, to my surprise the address listed on their site hasn’t had an auction their for over a year. I called Auction.com to report the bad information, and they were extremely rude. On top of that, they lied to my face and told me the auction was being held at the public safety building at 400 W State Street. Again no auction being held. I then asked them for the company's phone number, which they declined to give me.

Do yourself a favor and don’t waste your time with this deceitful company, they are definitely no good. Consumer beware. Because of this company’s shady tactics, I would never ever bid on one of their properties online. They are worse than any politician or sleazy used car salesman. Do not believe anything they tell you.

I bought a house from Bank of America through Auction.com. I found that my house is half on someone else's property. ServiceLink, their associate, had full knowledge. Stay away!

A nightmare. Keep getting danced around. I am going to escalate everyone keeps telling me.

I saw a house on Auction.com. I went to see it and liked it and won the house. The house advertised was the wrong house picture and legal address. The not so nice of a house down the road was the right house with not the right address advertised. I went to inform the people I'm the new owner of the wrong house I thought I won. She said I called Auction.com and told them they have the wrong house on the website but they left it on. I called Auction.com and they said read the contract, we are not responsible if we sell you the wrong house with the wrong address and picture as long as the legal description is right. When you look even today and it says you won this house, but I did not. Do I have a case I don't know, but maybe just a learning experience. If they were not greedy, they would do what's right.