Q. What is a Real Estate Auction?
A.  A method of selling real estate in a public forum through open and competitive
bidding. Also referred to as: public auction, auction sale or sale. A real estate auction is
an increasingly popular way to buy or sell real estate.  It allows a property to be sold in
weeks, not months or years.

Q. What is a bid?
A. A prospective buyer's indication or offer of a price he or she will pay to purchase property at auction.

Q. How is an auction company compensated to sell a property?
A. Auction companies like real estate firms charge a commission on the sale price of the
property.  The commission can be paid by the seller, buyer, or a combination of both. The fee charged to the buyer is
the buyer's premium.

Q. What is a buyer’s premium?
A.  An advertised percentage of the high bid or a flat fee added to the high bid to
determine the total contract price to be paid by the buyer.

Q. Are there various types of Auctions?
A. Yes there are several types of Auctions such as:

Absolute Auction.
This is an auction with no minimum bid amount, no set starting bid, no seller confirmation of the high bid price no
reserve (Also known as an Unreserved Auction, No-reserve Auction or Auction Without Reserve). This means the
property is sold to the highest bidder, regardless of the price. This type of auction is designed to attract the
maximum participation from the buying public as the seller has committed to convey their property to the highest
bidder without limitation.

Minimum Bid Auction.
An auction where the auctioneer accepts bids only at or above an advertised minimum price. The advantage for
buyers is that they know up front that they will be bidding at or above that price.

Reserved Auction
This type of auction, the seller has the right to accept or reject any offer that falls below a confidential reserve
price. The seller must accept any bid higher than the reserve price. If the minimum is not reached you are not
obligated to sell your property. A reserved auction provides the benefits of competitive bidding and allows the
seller comfort in a fair-sale-price.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Wadsworth Steele
Auctions
3 bdrm Home $585,000
3000 sqft  $600,000
Condo $1,000,000