Auction.comReviews 434

THEY LIST THE PROPERTIES THAT THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO LIST / SELL.

I CONTACTED THE LENDER (BANK OWNED PROPERTY) TO GET DETAILS ON THE PROPERTY THEY OWN THAT WAS AUCTIONED.

THEY TOLD ME THEY HAD NO LEGAL CONTRACT WITH AUCTION.COM TO LIST THEIR PROPERTY.

I CALLED AUCTION.COM AND SOME OLD WOMAN REPLIED FROM HOME! NOT EVEN INTRODUCED HERSELF AS AUCTION.COM AFFILIATE.

JUST A JOKE, STAY AWAY FROM THIS CRAP, THEY WILL NOT STAY AFLOAT TOO LONG

You would have to be crazy to use auction.com! A complete scam. They change the rules as they go. It's no auction at all. The price is set and they are simply trying to amplify the purchase price. Here are the (illegal) tactics that occur in real-time:
1. They pump the price automatically after you bid. It happens in 2-3 seconds. This is simply a ghost bid to get to their reserve price.
2. The increments change as they see fit. First it will be $2,500... then changes as the time draws to close to $1,000 and then $500. Rules change as they see fit.
3. They add time. You could be the high bidder when time runs out. Then instantly they add more time (because they are pumping the price).

It's not an auction.

I for one don't understand how the states attorney general(s) would allow this practice to continue. If you read thru these post you should get an understanding that if you are bidding on a property via their web site, you most likely are bidding against yourself.
Auction con should be the proper name for that site.
If you start bidding on a property that has a reserve, might as well pay full price via a broker, wait until it goes back to the lender. Auction con will counter bid any bid including their own counter bids to jack up the property to the reserve. So you want to be screwed more? If it is owner occupied, add another 10k plus whatever damages which could be considerable, and if that prior owner had outstanding debts
There may be lien rights to follow against that property even thou it was foreclosed.
You are in a no win game with auction con. I have seen them relist a property maybe 9 times, i think part of it may be the lender trying to get the insurance from the loan. Only if HUD knew what games were being played by these lenders to gain more monies from the insurance. Or is it freddymac don't know.
Again as stated by others here, you have no recourse against auction con, take a look at their closing docs. Best advise stay away, report to your local attorney general..

I have not used auction.com but am considering it and have read through many of these negative reviews. Here's my attempt at separating what are real versus fake concerns.

But first I need to point out the obvious: the point of auction.com, like every other auction site, is to get the highest price possible for the seller. It is NOT to get you the best deal. If you get this backwards you will probably have a bad experience.

Common fake complaints:
They don't show the reserve: Think about this... what would your opening bid be if they did? The reserve amount of course. By not showing it there is a chance you will bid above the reserve right off the bat. Remember the main point is to help the seller, not you. BTW, eBay has been doing the same thing for years.

The site bids against you: This is one of the first things disclosed on the property's auction page. If you're bidding tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars without knowing how this works upfront, you're being very foolish bidding in the first place. This is the logical way to manage the reserve not being published. You may not like it, but it make sense.

Time added to the auction: Another common practice with online auctions. Remember the original point. Any auctioneer's goal (live or online) is to maximize sale price, not get you a great deal. Sites often have rules that say they will add x minutes after the last bid to solicit a higher bid. They want to keep the auction going as long as possible to keep the bidding going higher. If you're upset over this, you don't understand auctions.

Reserves too high/closing was a hassle: These are not the site's issues. You are most likely buying a REO (real estate owned) from a bank that has completed the foreclosure process on the property. It is a painful process. PERIOD. They are a pain in the neck to deal with. If you're trying to get a screaming deal by buying this way, the hassle factor is part of the price you pay.

Real complaints:
Poor customer service / rude agents: These could be absolutely true since no organization is perfect here. But also remember that these agents can be a reflection of the people writing the reviews. Think about it this way. The winning bidder calls the site's customer service because they're already frustrated that they can't get the deal completed. But the agent doesn't have any control over the bank or reo company to keep things moving. Everyone is going to end up frustrated in the scenario.

Hope this helps some of you to decide whether or not you want to try the site.

I have purchased (live) 6 properties from various auction companies. Auction.com is by far the worst.
1. Their "estimated opening bid" is a total work of fiction by some kid behind a computer. Case-in-point: I'm currently looking at a property where the owners owe $417k on the primary and they estimate it to open for $260k.
2. The last time, they had an estimate of 117k and at the auction, they said it had an opening bid of 117k but would not take less than 134k. Strange.
3. When they do get the real opening bid from the bank (usually 2 days prior to the auction), they rarely post it. Other companies post it and what it sold for at auction.
4. They won't divulge what the property really sold for.
I have actually skipped auctions run by Auction.com just to avoid the circus that they are trying to create.

After successfully bidding the highest amount on a house ( At least 14th time on website to bid) I was instructed to jump thru hoops like a circus dog to download 80 docs and wire funds of over 7,000.00. Did it and met all requirements, told by rep from auction.com mortgage company would contact us as to the status. Well bid was declined, its been over 4 days now and my 7,000.00 earnest money not yet returned. And the price I offered was a fair price and it took wells fargo over 2 weeks to let me know the status of my offer. This was a waste of time for all parties involved. Banks should but the reserve out for public knowledge and save alot of time and BS

This is the worse company I deal with. Please keep out of them and save Time, money and headache.
I won a bid on Porter Tx. They take 2 months to do the closing. Diferent peoples take your file and no one know what to do. They sent me 2 extensions after the first closing date expire.
After all this c... p I told them I don't want to continue, theirs answer was " if you don't cooperate by sign the extensions you gonna lost your E. Money ($12.000)
I never, eeeeeeeeever deal with this crap company again. They should not be on business.

Ohhh yes they know how to play you and they DO have a bunch of people bidding "AGAINST YOU" SITTING AT THE AUCTION.COM OFFICE! They have the timing down, the formula down, and the profitable arrangements with the banks to do this to you! Do not, Do NOT, DO NOT even fancy yourselves buying a home from this low integrity company. LET ME "take the hit" here and warn you. Buy "By Owner" or through a legit Real Estate Agent! You will go waaay sideways working with Auction.com and don't believe the higher stars reviews. I learned my lesson the hopeful, long and hard way with this company. Click out of their site and MOVE ON!

I participated this BS online auction for a house estimated for $230 000. I was the highest bidder with $225 555 when auction officially ended(+ you have to pay additional 5% over the final bid if you win when the "auction" ends). Then after few seconds I received a call from a person that said bank is next to him and how much more can I pay!? So the "AUCTION" started to keep adding minutes and the bank's reserved price was never met till "THE AUCTION" really ended. House was "sold" for $246 555.
After 2 weeks house came back online for sale.
IN TWO WORDS-DONT WASTE YOUR TIME! THE RESERVED PRICE OF THE BANK IS THE MARKET VALUE OF THE PROPERTY.

This company listed my deceased parents home as a foreclosure. The home was still owned by the estate who had received no notice of the house being foreclosed. After further investigation, we learned that someone had stolen my mother's identity and opened a credit card in her name, to a po box across the state. After proving to the collection agency that she had passed away 6 years earlier, they wrote off the charges and cancelled the auction. We have been trying to contact Auction.com for weeks. We have sent them numerous emails, with court documentation proving the house is not being foreclosed, with no response. I have engaged in two separate live chat sessions (there is no number to actually talk to a real person with these people) with their representatives with the promise that this would be looked into and removed with no response. The false listing of our property is now impeding the legitimate sale of this property and has forced us to take legal action to have the listing removed.

Some of these reviews are hilarious. My favorite is how auction.com apparently makes a lot of money off the deposit... i know for a fact they have never once charged my credit card the $2500 fee. They put a pending $2500 charge on my Amex, but it never goes through. So there is NO way for them to have money in their account making interest. They do this to make sure the people bidding actually have money and are serious about bidding, not because they make magical interest from non-existing charged. Like who really believes those dumb posts?

I have purchased 5 properties via auction.com this year already. Some thoughts:

1 - YES, they use fake automatic bidding they call "Counter Bid". Hell, they literally state the fact on auctions. So why would anyone be shocked at this? If you are posting a review saying its shady, maybe look in the mirror and realize, you are not intelligent enough to read and should stay off the internet.

2 - Auction.com is a middle man. They are not bank, title holder, escrow company or anything else. They provide a marketplace to buy foreclosed homes from banks, nothing else. Banks suck. Banks are slow. Banks don't care about your timeline, they care about their internal process. If you want to deal with houses owned by people and have a more smooth process, check you local MLS and work with an agent. Buying from banks SUCKSSSS, but there is so much more upside if you are willing to do the work.

3 - Auction.com does not force you to bid. Figure out what you think the value of the house is, and don't bid above it. The reviews that say the reserve is too high, well again, the banks are dumb and slow. The house will not sell and it will just continue to be listed and relisted until they find a dumb buyer or they lower their reserve. This is NOT auction.com's fault. They do not own the house.

I only gave a 4 star because I am sure auction.com can do a better job communicating during the process, as needed. They also could do a better job providing access to homes if unoccupied. And finally, they will call you and try and engage with you to encourage bidding. I dont need this call. I respond the same way every time, I will bid what I think its worth and if the bank has a reserve higher than that, they should either a) hope for a stupid uniformed buyer to come along or b) expect to not sell the property and continue to have holding costs until they wise up and lower their reserve.

Good luck house hunting!

We were contacted by several family members asking if everything was ok. They had seen our home on auction. Com and zillow as a foreclosure and it was up for auction. I pulled the listing up and in fact it was pictures of our home! The address was not correct, the description was not correct, (said it was 2 bedrooms 1 bath our home is 4 bedrooms 2 baths) it also said property that was being auctioned had 10 acres, we only have 4! I have been working for 3 days to get our home pictures off their site. This has truly been a nightmare. We also contacted our bank to see if an error had been made and they said they have absolutely no knowledge of this and did not supply and information or pictures, our account was in perfect standing. People are currently bidding on pictures of a house that obviously is not for sale or a foreclosure! A night mare to say the least

Delays that have gone weeks beyond the 30 days stated in contract. Buyer is bound to contract, Seller is apparently not. Winterization companies destroying front doors and door frames to gain access. Notices posted on front doors after closing stating that they will secure the property again. Winterization company that went in the day before closing and stripped everything out that wasn't bolted down. Not getting access to many of the vacant homes so you can get an idea what you are bidding on. Being charged crazy amounts in closing costs such as $600 for a smoke detector installation and inspection. Total charged was $900 so I guess I am lucky to pay only $600? Lawyer for seller thought charges were justified. It was an "as is" property. Inspection was not even needed. I could have done it for $50 fire department inspection fee and $40 for detectors. Problems with getting clear titles so a closing can occur. Make sure all utilities are paid in full before you close so you don't get stuck paying them. I see a not for viewing listing for a tri-level that notes that pipes may be broken and water was coming out of lower level windows. What kind of mess is that going to be? $1000 or $20,000? I have bought 5 homes through auction.com and so far haven't been burned on a deal, but I do all the needed work myself. Much of the work is cosmetic with a few surprises along the way. Know your market and estimate high on what you think a house will need done and bid accordingly. Utilities, real estate taxes and insurance can eat into your profits if you plan to flip. And don't forget your real estate agent will want 6% commission to sell. If a property gets too high for you at auction.com, stop bidding. I see some properties that have been listed for many months. I don't know why they won't just publish a reserve on them and sell them.

You will see the same house listed 6, 8, 10 times because it failed to meet an unpublished reserve. They now list a few homes with published reserves, but the published reserves are far above market prices. I have purchased a few properties from them, but nothing in the past four years due to unrealistic reserves. I have written to the people in charge and was told they don't set the reserves. In my opinion the lenders who set the reserves are totally unaware of local market conditions and this site is a waste of your time.

I am a Realtor, and was contracted to do proxy bidding for auction.com's internet clientele. I completed all paperwork and provided all necessary tax information... I worked for auction.com in Georgia on the first Tuesday of October, November, and December.
After not receiving payment with a variety of excuses, I have refused to do any further proxy bidding for them. I will be following up legally, however I want to share my story publicly so that people understand their shady behavior in a situation that is very clear and straightforward.

Thank you for your time and attention,
Sheila in GA