There are several ways to locate real estate auctions. If you are looking to
buy real estate in a particular town, start there with the local newspaper.
Read the newspaper’s classified section, looking under subheads such as
“Auctions,” “Real Estate,” or “Land or Houses or Sale.” Don’t expect to phone
the newspaper to ask them if they’ve had any real estate auctions listed in the
last month or two. Newspapers work on tight deadlines and won’t likely have time
to address your question. Make time to stop in to flip through their archives.
Most papers keep issues for several months – even years—back. Or, stop at the
local library to read through the newspapers filed there.
The newspaper can be a valuable resource for you if you are not from the
community in which you hope to purchase property through a real estate auction.
Does the paper report a good, local economy? Does it picture a close knit
community that works together well to improve playgrounds, schools, old downtown
districts? You can learn a lot about a town through the pages of its newspaper,
even if you’ve never been to that town before.
Another stop as you’re searching for real estate auctions is the real estate
agent. Stop at all the agencies in town. A phone call would even be appropriate
in this case. If the agents cannot tell you of any upcoming real estate
auctions, they can probably direct you to some real estate auction businesses.
If they don’t know of any upcoming real estate auctions, leave your name and
number and ask them to call you if they hear of any.
Try the phone directory’s business pages. Look under the categories “Real
Estate,” “Auctions,” or “Real Estate Auctions.” If the community in which
you hope to buy through a real estate auction is a decent size, it might have
several auction businesses listed.
There’s always the Internet. Use your favorite search engine to type in the
words “Real Estate Auction” or “Real Estate Auction” followed by the city in
which you hope to buy.
If you haven’t searched online for real estate auctions yet, you’ll be amazed
by how many responses will turn up.
As you begin your search for real estate auctions, you may find that you’re
not so dead set on a real estate auction after all. Maybe you will run across a
listing in the newspaper or through a local real estate agent with a price
similar to what you were willing to spend at a real estate auction.
If you are truly interested in the real estate auction, you’re certain to
find one that sparks an interest. Before you get involved in a real estate
auction, do a little background work. Will you need to submit a sealed bit or
will the property actually be on the auction block? How much money will you need
to put down if you win the bid at the real estate auction? Find out what rules
apply if this is your first real estate auction. If you consider yourself a real
estate auction pro, don’t forget that rules and regulations sometimes change
from community to community. Make sure you know what’s expected of you at this
particular real estate auction.
