Buyer Related Questions
- How do I register to bid?
- What forms of payment will you accept?
- How long will the auction take?
- What does "No Reserve" and "Absolute" mean?
- What is a bank letter of guarantee?
- What are the full terms of the sale?
- Are their any warranties on my purchases?
- What is a buyer premium?
- Why do you charge a buyer premium?
- How long do I have to get my purchases out?
- Do you take credit cards?
- Any qualification requirements to bid?
- I am nervous someone will take my bid if I sneeze or make a slight
move.
- I can't understand the auction chant, do you go fast or slow?
- Can you tell me about
the history of the auction industry?
Got a question you don't see here? Send us your question and we will
personally answer it and maybe post it here.
Submit A Question.
Seller Related Related Questions
- Why would I want to sell at auction?
- What is my estate worth?
- Do you work with real estate brokers?
- How soon can I have an auction?
- What if something is selling too low after I agree
to an auction?
- Can I place a floor or minimum I would sell for?
- Can I do real estate and personal property at the same time?
- What areas of the Country do you cover?
- How much does it cost to do an auction?
- Any hidden fees I have to pay?
- What do I do to prepare for an auction?
- How can I learn more about auctions?
- Do auctioneers have to abide by any kind of code of ethics?
- How do I decide on an auctioneer?
- When would I get my money from the auction?
- Can I make my own terms up?
- What if my property doesn't sell on auction day?
- What is the history of the auction industry
like?
Registering to bid is easy. You can do it at the event site or
right here, right now.
Just remember to bring your drivers license and check book.
We will accept cash, cashiers checks, money orders, traveler checks, Visa and
Mastercard or a personal or business check with a
Bank Letter of
Guarantee. Credit cards are not accepted at real estate auctions.
Auctions can be as short as a few minutes to 10 hours a day for multiple
days. The inventory to be sold will dictate the duration of the auction. At
personal property sales, we will generally sell between 50 and 80 lots and hour.
But things can get heated up and 200 lots an hour is possible - but not typical
for us. We go as fast as we can but as slow as we need!
No Reserve and Absolute mean the same thing in the auction world. Both of
these terms mean that the item or property will be sold to the highest bidder no
matter what the final price is. Auction law is pretty clear about these terms
and the seller is prohibited from bidding on the property.
The bank letter of guarantee is commonly used by auctioneers who will take
personal checks. The bank letter does just what it say - the bank is going to
guarantee the check is good. This means it can not be stopped nor will it be
returned NSF. Depending on the bank they may freeze funds in your account during
the term of the guarantee to protect themselves.
See the sample
here.
The terms and conditions of each sale can vary. But the standard terms can be
found here.
The quick answer is "No". One rare occasions there is a warranty made
by the seller but they are rare. Some items may have some balance of a
manufacturers warranty left but it is best to assume that there is no warranty
at all.
The buyer premium is basically a commission that the buyer will be
responsible for. For instance if a 10% buyer premium is being charge and you bid
$10 on an item - when you go to pay you will actually be charged $11.
The buyer premium has been used by many companies for a decade or so. The
auction method of marketing can be expensive for the seller so the buyer premium
is a way to help the auctioneer make the auction method more affordable for the
seller. Most auctions we conduct do have a buyer premium charge. They can vary
from 3% to as much as 15%. Be sure to check the specific sale and note the
premium charged.
One of the benefits a seller looks at when doing an auction is how fast the
items clear out of the site. Most seller look for all items to be removed within 24 hours of
the sale. Check the actual terms and condition of each auction though because
the removal time can vary.
We do take credit cards for personal property purchases. We accept Visa and
Mastercard only though. We can not take credit cards on real estate purchases
though.
So long as you are at least 18 years old, have a drivers license and can pay
for your purchases immediately after the sale you are good with us. Registration
requirements are more stringent for real estate auctions and you need to verify
those terms on an auction by auction basis.
Anytime there is every a question whether someone was bidding or not, we will
always ask. Do not be afraid of moving or enjoying yourself. Our auctioneers are
professionals and can quickly determine if you are bidding or waving to a friend
across the room. Have fun and relax.
There is a big difference in auctioning style as well as talent. We take
great pride in providing auctioneers that are business like, honest, easy to
understand and fun to listen to. We are not the old style English auctioneers
nor are we the rapid fire squeaky cattle auctioneer. You will be able to
understand us and have fun listening to us too.
There are a variety of reasons to sell at auction. In actuality, selling your
home or other asset through traditional means is a Dutch or reverse auction. An
auctioneer doing a Dutch auction starts at a high bid and begins dropping his
bid price until some say “Yes” and they win. The first one to speak up is the
winner. This isn’t much different than establishing a list price for your home
and entertaining bids through Realtor® offers. The real question though - Why
cap your potential selling price? A properly run conventional auction event will:
• Provide qualified cash buyers
• Cut the marketing time by up to 80%
• Close in 30 days with no strings attached
• Freeze the sales activity of like-kind properties on the market
• Focus all eyes on your property
• Be simpler for you – no time consuming and inconvenient showings over several
months
• Result in no contingencies
• Generate media attention
• Give you full control of the terms and conditions
• Guarantee market value on that specific day
• Allow for un-capped sale prices
• Cut carrying costs drastically
• Be exciting, entertaining and competitive
• Create a sense of urgency in buyers – must act on auction day
• Allow you to schedule a move with certainty
• Reach a broader buying population
Whether it is an estate or your home or commercial property, we would love to
talk with you. It is very difficult to give sale estimates or even quote costs
associated with an auction without seeing the inventory. If you have one piece or 2,000
let us know and we will try to give you an estimate.
ABSOLUTELY! We enjoy working with all real estate professional on both
the listing side and the buying side. We will compensate them at the same level
they are accustom to for conventionally listed properties. The Summit Auction
Group believes in the conventional brokers expert level and has a great
relationship with the brokerage community. The brokerage company owners and salespeople
in the business and their position in the marketplace is tried and true. We know
the best way to strengthen the auctioneer/Realtor® relationship is through
cooperation. Cooperation on several levels including; referrals, joint marketing
and revenue sharing.
Contracting for an auction should ideally be completed a minimum of 45 days in advance of
the desired auction date in order to allow for the due diligence and marketing
phases. We have done sales in as short a time as 20 days though. It really
depends on the property or inventory to be sold. Some commercial properties may take closer
to 120 days or more to properly handle it.
We always tell sells not to worry about each item. In a personal property
auction, some things will sell
cheaper than you think and others will sell for more. We look at the auction
like a coach looks at a baseball game. The goal is to win. You know you are
going to have a few strike outs, some singles, doubles, triples and a home run or
two. The goal is to WIN!
Most real estate does have a floor or minimum (also called a reserve price).
Hardly ever do you find reserves on personal property except for automobiles or
occasionally art. It is always best to sell with out a reserve because it
generates much much more bidding activity.
Sure - we actually recommend this. We have seen many times where only one
part or the other is done and a year or so later the other part is done. It is
cheaper to do it all at once and the larger variety of inventory generates more buyers.
Our staff has been involved in auctions all over the country. If we are not
licensed in your state currently, we can get licensed. We also cooperate with
auctioneers all across the nation. Call us no matter where you are located
for honest opinions and service.
There is nothing half-hearted about an auction. An auction is a serious
commitment to a marketing and sale process that does cost money. Generally,
auction events are partially capitalized by you, the seller, and partially by
Summit Auction Group. We can also structure the fees such that the winning
bidder actually participates in funding the event. There is a great deal of
flexibility in the structure of the pricing that can only be finalized once
a review of the property or inventory is completed and discussions proceed further.
NO! Not with our company. A detailed advertising campaign will be developed
for your event. This campaign is the backbone of the event and the costs
associated with the marketing campaign are generally the property owner’s
responsibility. For a real estate auction, this is by and large the only cost you have associated with the
auction. Our time, travel, staff and planning are our cost and investment in the
event. Some auction companies will bill the seller for all costs. We believe in
our capabilities and will invest in your property if we believe we can help you.
Summit Auction Group will not accept a property for auction if we don’t
believe we can sell the property. Personal property auctions can have
other costs associated with them and you would be provided with a firm
quote of those costs prior to contracting.
This is one of the benefits of selling at auction - you don't have to do much
at all. We invite owners to be as active in the process as they want but very
little is required of you. We provide a turn-key event for you.
There are several great ways to learn more.
Yes and no. Auctioneer that are members of the National Auctioneers
Association sure do. There is a strict code of ethics for the NAA members.
Non-members for the most part are still good honest professionals but their is
no code of ethics to guide them. We are members of six major organizations &
associations all of which have their own code of ethics - we abide by them all: NAA, IAA, NAR, IAR, BBB & our local Chamber
of Commerce.
The Summit Auction Group was founded on three core principals: Relationships,
Professionalism and Honesty. You come first in our business. Our mission
statement is: Facilitating the transfer of assets in a professional, honest
and timely manner always with positive client results.
You may be able to find another company to do the work cheaper or faster, but, we are confident you won't find another auctioneer with your
interest more at heart than Summit Auction Group.
When considering an auction there are many facts and situations that need to
be analyzed, and micro-decisions made before you can determine a sale
method let alone select a vendor to handle the sale. The easiest way to do this
is through a decision tree. The decision tree for the sale of an asset could
look something like this.
Just a few things to keep in mind when considering auction companies:
- Make sure they are members of the NAA and IAA
- Verify with the BBB their complaint status as well as their membership in
the BBB.
- If you are selling real estate, make sure they are members of the NAR and
IAR.
- If real estate, do they offer a competitive (3%) cooperating broker commissions?
- Are they technologically advanced and using the internet for marketing?
- Do they have a strong web site?
- Do they have "no sale" fees?
- Do you feel comfortable with them in face to face meetings?
- As for a firm quote of all costs charged to you for the auction.
Once you have come to the conclusion that an auction is right for you -
the EASY DECISION is who the right auction company is - Summit Auction Group.
Use the decision tree and get the answers to the above questions and you will
find the answers lead you to our firm.
Just call and talk to us and you will see why.
Now there is a important question. Auction law in most states calls for a 30
day settlement of all accounts. We will pay you 75% of the net proceeds on
auction day or within 12 hour of the conclusion of the sale. The balance will be
paid to you as soon as our internal audit process is done but for sure within
the 30 day time frame mandated by law. On average, we are making final
settlement on accounts with two weeks.
Technically yes. The seller does dictates the terms and conditions that bidders
must comply with. We have a good handle on the most beneficial terms that we
will suggest but if you have specific needs or circumstances that need addressed -
by all means we will address them.
If the bidding did not reach the reserve amount during the auction and no
sale was able to take place, we will begin our post-auction sales efforts. Both
Summit Auction Group and the local broker will get back on the telephone and
call all of the people that had expressed an interest in the property and try
to sell it to them conventionally. Many properties that do not sell auction day
are soon sold privately to parties discovered through the auction’s marketing.
Always keep in mind that auction day is the best day to sell but it is not the
last chance to sell.
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