BEST ANSWER
FIRST ANSWER
Getting back what you paid for it will depend on current market conditions and how much did you pay for the house. It is impossible to tell without doing some comparables and knowing how much you pay for it.
General auctions are not too bad, and you can list it with a reserve price. If the biddings do not reach the reserve price, then you don't have to sell. One of the many problems is that you are limited to a very small pool of buyers (the people present at the auction that day, bidding on those 5 minutes on your house), which will limit the bids. Those people will also be looking for huge discounts in exchange for the rights they are loosing - most of them would have never even seen your house.
A better alternative is to do what banks are currently doing. List in the property in the open market at a very low starting point. That will guarantee you several offers within a few days and it will be like an auction. Just let everybody know what is going on and make clear from the begining what it is and that you will be taking a few days to collect bids. With that approach you will be listed on the MLS reaching almost every possible buyer available, the "auction" can last a few days (rather than 5 minutes) which will increase your chances of higher bids, and the bidders will be willing to go higher since they will have the chance to preview the property before bidding. Increasing your exposure to all the potential buyers (which a good agent should be able to do for you) will guarantee you to get the most possible amount of money for your home.
Good luck and please let me know if I can be of assistance.
Carlos J. Ramirez, PC, ABR, CNE
Associate Broker, HomeSmart -
http://www.SmartAZRealty.com
Sat Jul 11 2009, 10:26
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity