Auction.com

I bid on the same property during three different "auctions". The first time, the reserve wasn't met. So they listed it again. I bid the second time and was out bid; however the reserve still wasn't met. Auction.com contacted me and said since I was the highest bidder (because they are the ones that out bid me) that "one the bid" and the seller was willing to accept my bid. After spending HOURS working with Auction.com and my mortgage company, I received an email notifying me that "the seller declined my contract" because they thought the house was worth more. It's not. They subsequently listed the property again. I bid again and was going to out bid myself so that I could get the next bid which is what I thought the property was worth. Before I could click the bid button again, the system notified me that I had be out bid... this happened in less than a second. Then the next day Auction.com called to get my feedback. I let them know that I didn't appreciate the fact that their system out bid me before I could out bid myself. They told me that it wasn't their system but another potential buyer. I called BS because there is NO WAY that someone could receive a notification and bid that quickly. Auction.com is a scam.

DO NOT BID! DO NOT USE THESE SCAMMERS! They put a hold on your credit card when you bid, then when you DON'T win, the hold is left on your credit card even though the auction is over. Wish I could give them NO STARS. Use Realtybid or ANY OTHER auction place.

I had registered for an auction that started on Feb 21,2022 and supposed to end on Feb 23,2022. I was waiting for the 22nd afternoon to place my bid when suddenly the auction was canceled. Then they supposed to start the auction today, according to their website. When I went to register, the property said "pending" and there was no option for auction. This website is rigged! They probably found someone to buy it and left all of us, interested buyers, with no fair chances of bidding... what a waste of time. False advertisement should be illegal and there should be a sanction for companies that don't stand by customers and proved wrong information. DO NOT USE THIS WEBSITE... THEY ARE NOT SERIOUS... FALSE INFORMATION AND NO ONE TO TALK TO THAT CAN GIVE YOU A REAL ANSWER!

I've been reading some very bad reviews from people and collectively they are correct. What I have experienced with these guys is poor service. Once you win the auction you are setup with a contact person, designated go-to person. The first email I received from my agent was a demand to send EMD within 24 hours. OK, I understand that part. The next part of the demand is to sign and return a contract within 2 hours. I am an investor and I prefer to take these contracts to my attorney to review and explain to me any pitfalls.
I attempted to contact my agent and it rolled into voicemail. The voicemail says he will return my call in 24 hours. Already this will put me past my deadline. I read it as a delay tactic to force you to abide by any terms in the contract.

I communicated several times through voicemail and email. I received slow to no response. One of the emails I received urged me to contact his higher up. I did on two occasions and received no response. I guess that makes sense, the boss
Sets the tone for the employees. While I disliked the service, I now know what to expect on my next endeavor with auction.com. I think it's an easy service, definitely better than attending a live auction where properties can be cancelled and postponed.

Use the service and focus on low prices. Bid on many properties expecting to lose many. All you need is one right?

In hindsight, the service is terrible but not unbearable, as long as you keep the right perspective.

Hope this helps!

Andres Hernandez
H3 First Investments LLC
www.h3first.com

They list a property as a Banked owned foreclosure once you are the high bidder and you have won the property, and they have collected the earnest money They will change it to Privet Seller, and when you ask them why was it changed they say it was a typeerror, They want to keep the earnest money, this is Not over By any Means I will Not Allow Them to Get away with This type of Bossiness Practices

I bid on 5414 Wagon trail in Robstown TX area. The house had it's flat roof torn off due to in-line high winds. The roofer installed a faulty roof and did not honor the warranty. A lien was placed on the house that clouded the title and meant the homeowner could not borrow against the equity. I spoke to the owner and was informed that the roof needs to be completely redone and Windstorm certificate acquired. The appliances in the kitchen do not work. The septic system needs work and there is over $100,000 of repairs needing to be done based on insurance estimates. I did the math and decided that I would have to invest over $170,000 to make this house sellable or livable. I decided to bid on the auction. I bid the minimum of $65,000. The required increment was $25,000. Auction.com bid $90,000 immediately for the seller. That meant my next bid had to be $$115,000. That amount was more than I would pay. OVER THE NEXT TWO DAYS, ONLY AUCTION.COM BID FOR THE SELLER. Over 12 seller bids in a row AND THE LAST BID WAS OVER $175,00! THE RESERVE WAS NOT MET. So beware, the website bid history makes it look like there is bidders' interest when it is really seller bids against themselves. I think this is shady and dishonest.

When you buy a house at Auction.com it's because it couldn't sell through a realtor at any price, so that should tell you the house has serious issues and might need complete new drywall, roof, foundation repairs, plumbing etc... (and even worse - title or lien issue)

The house I bought required 75K in repairs, but it was really really cheap, so is that a scam or a good way to get your foot in the door and earn some sweat equity. People need to decide for themselves how much stress you want in a purchase of this magnitude. But please don't expect a Ferrari for the price of a pinto. (and it better be cheap or you're a fool for bidding because these homes have issues and those pretty pictures are usually old and don't show all the damage from being vacant)

(and if it's nice and not a junker, then you'll pay a normal price for it. The only good deals you might get if you're lucky are for totally trashed homes that have major defects. The kind of homes the realtor wish you wouldn't be able to inspect and that's why it's a perfect match - these homes don't allow an inspection)

I had a horrible experience with auction.com today. They advertised a foreclosure I had been following for the past month or so. They told me if it was going to clear for auction it would likely clear the morning of the sale. I lived about an hour away from the auction so I went before it cleared knowing there's a chance I would miss it if it cleared at the last minute so I went. Nobody was present to conduct the auction. The website claimed registration starts at 9 and the auction starts at 10. I confirmed with auction.com via their customer support instant chat while I was at the auction site at the auction time that the property hadn't cleared and that the auction wouldn't be happening today. So I leave at 10 seeing that nobody is there to conduct the auction and confirmed auction wouldn't be happening by auction.com. I get home and see an email saying property cleared for sell. After calling multiple times to see how a property can clear for sale after the auction was supposed to have already happened and if the auction is happening maybe later today I was given a 1-800 number to the debt company conducting the auction, who then told me they don't follow the auction time and that they actually have from 10 to 3 to be there to conduct the auction and that they come when they can. To me this practice is so wrong, so many lies, no clear answers, poor communication among staff and business who is actually conducting the auction.

I have purchased 2 properties, and have been under contract on 6 properties with Auction.com. The two properties I have closed on had NUMEROUS issues that the seller knew about that were not disclosed. Thankfully, I found out some of the issues on the other properties and refused to close on them. Instead of accepting the fact that they knew about certain issues and did not disclose them and that was the reason we did not close, they blamed it on me and are trying to keep my earnest money. The latest issue with a house we were closing on was undisclosed major water damage, one of the most heinous issues was a house that was deemed as uninhabitable due to being a "meth and fentanyl lab". The seller had to serve the foreclosure documents to the occupant while he was incarcerated, nothing was disclosed. My account is now restricted, and that is ok by me. I refuse to do business with Auction.com any longer due to the repeated noncompliance with disclosures. I suggest that no one do business with them. They are unprofessional and should not be in business due to their lack of moral compass and lack of ethical business practices. If you do move forward with doing business with Auction.com, be VERY careful! Call the city, call the county, call anyone you can in regards to the property you are interested in buying. Photo is of a property I was under contract on that was on a demo list due to squatters and human waste inside the property as well as used needles. The debris in the photo is a mix of human feces and other debris. The subflooring is destroyed due to urine contamination and is soggy because of the urine. The house smells of feces and ammonia so bad that it is recommended not to enter, and if you do to have the proper PPE. They did not disclose anything and had very old nicer photos attached to the auction listing! The seller had disclosed, but Auction.com withheld the information on their auction!

Almost every money scam is based on the victim's greed. I have not been riped off by Auction.com, but I have bid on a few homes they have listed, and I'm not happy about the way it works. It does appear to be a slippery hustle. Basically, the owner of the property (usually a lender) lists the property with Auction.com, and the owner sets a reserve price. The reserve price is not the same as the "opening bid." The reserve price is a BIG SECRET. As you bid, Auction.com also bids against you to drive-up the price to meet the "Secret Reserve Price". Auction.com will tell you this going in, and it is also explained in detail on the Better Business Bureau complaint site. Futhermore, Auction.com does not allow you to inspect the property in anyway. Perhaps they legally can't allow inspections, but they could do this right by conducting a "forced eviction" prior to listing the property for sale. You (the new buyer) can't get a loan on most of the homes listed on auction.com the banks will not loan money on them. The banks are smart enough to not give you a loan on a house you cannot inspect. Much like a casino, it appears the cards ar stacked against you, and the house will almost always take you.

http://nypost.com/2014/12/25/lawsuit-targets-googles-auction-com/

auction.com is FRAUD

Many have been scammed by this company --- This company is a sham

This house has been on acution three times. Pulled off the first two for Unknown reasons per auction.com, someone sent them a email telling them to do it.
The realtor attached didn't have any information and refused to show the house, then when we complained she showed us and knew all about the inside of it,,, hmmm, how could that be? You said you knew nothing about it.
Third auction time, bidding jumped from 50,000 to 110,000 then 160,000 they said it was a mistake and took the website down for "maintenenace"
Web site comes back up and it is showing the same, customer service now says it is correct.
While im talking to him it jumps to 210 and then to 285,000 suddenly the "Bid increments" went from 50K to 25K. Now they are going down? And is still says reserve not met. Really?
This place is crooked... this home is nowhere near 285,000 it only fair markets valued at 148K and that was in the best days of the real estate market.
RIDICULOUS don't waste your time and make sure you call to REMOVE the hold of the deposit on your credit card account.

They like to hold on to your money after they recieve it for a deposit. No customer service they take a very long time to answer the phone or answer the chat assistant and when you do get ahold of them you just wish you had not, there is no help. Properties Rarly sell they set the reseverse for the properites above market value. They say 3 days to refund money auctions go on for atleast 3 days then another three but nope a week goes bye and no one to get ahold of. I have never seen anyting actually sell, they repete the same auctions over nd over. Unless you watch the auction to the end you dont see that the reserve was. You can rarely inspect the property even when it is empty so you can not see the damages in the inside. The banks they deal with try to hide this and so does aution.com. Unless you have first hand knowledge of the property do not bid! Huge waste of time, horrible to deal with.