Great Tips For Having A Successful Yard Sale #4

If you’re placing an ad in your local newspaper (or an online community), be sure to mention a rain date. This prevents you from having to advertise your yard sale a second time, if the weather doesn’t cooperate. Your rain date should be the following Saturday, if at all possible.

Great Tips For Having A Successful Yard Sale #3

It’s also a good idea tostate an end time, so people won’t make unnecessary trips to your sale. I usually run my yard sales from 8AM to 3PM. This lets all potential customers know that the goods definitely will be put away at a certain time, so they must arrive before that time.

Great Tips For Having A Successful Yard Sale #2

Yard sale junkies rise with the sun every Saturday to search out the best bargains, so be sure that your sale starts early. Get your tables set up by at least 7AM and start your sale at 8AM. However, don’t sell anything to earlybirds though — because this will irritate other customers who are searching for specific items and arrive at your sale’s official start time only to find they are gone.

Great Tips For Having A Successful Yard Sale #1

Choose a Saturday for your yard sale. It’s the absolute best day for a yard sale.

For many would-be sellers, the thought of auction day brings about an overwhelming feeling of anxiety and nerves.  The best thing you can do is to be prepared.  Knowing how the auction will run and understanding possible outcomes is likely to reduce your stress levels.  To help you get in the know, we have outlined a typical auction and what you can expect.

Before the auction

Schedule of Procedures

Your agent should provide you with a detailed schedule of what is likely to happen on auction day.  If this is not provided then you should ask him/her to do so.  Issues may include: where should I be during the auction, what if no-one bids, what happens if we don’t reach the reserve, should I have my family and friends with me for support?

Attracting a crowd

On the morning of auction day, your selling agent will go to nearby streets and busy roads to place sign boards (also known as ‘A frames’).  These are intended to attract passers-by and publicise the auction.

Meeting the agent

You should have met with your agent a day or two prior to auction to finalise most details so the auction day conference will really be a confirmation of that meeting.

In most cases your selling agent will meet you at the property about 45 minutes before the auction is scheduled to commence.  During this meeting, you will confirm important information regarding the auction, such as;

–        Your reserve price

–        How many bidders are anticipated to attend

–        How and when you will communicate with the agent during the auction

–        Bidding increments

–        What happens if the reserve is not met

–        How any vendor bids will be used

–        Confirm that you or any friends will not be bidding at the auction

Pre-auction inspection

Most agents will open the property for inspection at least 30 minutes before the scheduled auction.  This allows potential buyers to have a final look at the property, so it is important to ensure that your house is well presented and looking its best.  During this time, the agent must display the mandatory rules and information regarding the auction in a prominent location for potential buyers to see for at least 30 minutes prior to the auction commencing.

During the auction

Auctioneer Announcements

Before the auction gets underway, the auctioneer will provide an introduction of themselves and the agency that they work for.

In accordance with auction rules and laws, there are several mandatory statements that an auctioneer must announce before the auction can commence.  Once all legal announcements have been made, the auctioneer will proceed with describing the benefits of purchasing your property.  As this is their last chance to engage the crowd and get them excited, they will often provide a detailed description of your property and list the valuable features and benefits.

Bidding at the auction

One the auction preamble is concluded, the auctioneer will call for an opening bid from the crowd.  If no opening bids are received, the auctioneer may commence the auction with a vendor bid.

From this point onwards, the auctioneer will control the flow of the bidding.  As the bidding continues, the outcome of the auction could be one of two options:

• Your reserve price is met – if this occurs the auctioneer will declare that the property is “on the market”.  After the highest bid has been made, the auctioneer will drop their hammer and the property is declared as sold.  Once the hammer falls, no more bids can be accepted.

• Your reserve price is not met – if your reserve price is not met, the auctioneer may ‘pass in’ the property.  If this is occurs, you are obliged by law to enter into private negotiations with the highest bidder.  If you cannot agree on a sale price with the highest bidder, the auctioneer may approach other bidders to try and negotiate a sale.  If the property is passed in on a vendor bid, by law any auction report must state this to be the case.

After the auction

Depending on the outcome of the bidding process, you may take either of the following actions after the auction is over;

• Your property has not sold – if the outcome of the auction was that the property did not sell, you will discuss your options with the agent.  This may include re-advertising and marketing the property for sale at an agreed price.

• Your property has sold – if your reserve has been met and the property has sold, the auctioneer will invite the purchaser to sign the contract of sale and pay the deposit.  Your house will then be sold and the stress of auction day will be over!

Keep out of the way until the purchaser(s) have signed the contract, no matter how pleased you may be.  Let the professionals handle all the paper work.  Your presence will only delay the sign up process.

Before you sign the contract, confirm with the agent that the deposit has been paid.  Once you counter sign the contract an unconditional contract exists between you and the buyer and you may meet with them knowing the sale is complete.

Rule 7. Keep your highest price a secret

Once the home reaches the sellers’ lowest price (the reserve), it is going to be sold to the highest bidder. Let’s say $320,000 is the reserve and your highest buy price is $350,000. Under
no circumstances will you exceed your highest price (you can’t afford to).

Thousands of buyers are paying thousands of dollars below their highest prices at auctions. All because the agents do not understand the principles of negotiation. As one buyer said, “It is like stealing money from the sellers. Why do the agents let this happen?”

The losses for sellers and the wins for buyers are caused because the auctions start at a low price instead of a high price. And when something starts low, the chances are that it will finish low – or at least lower than it would have finished if it had started high.

Rule 6. Do not bid too soon

The most important rule at an auction is NEVER BID UNTIL THE PROPERTY REACHES RESERVE. Until then, it is not for sale and it makes no sense to bid on anything that is not for sale. No matter how much pressure you receive, do not play into the agent’s hands by bidding too soon.

Dummy Bidding

Agents are so desperate for early bidders, they will do anything to get the bidding up from its low beginning.

The television program, Money, once did an expose` on dummy bidding. Hidden cameras filmed an agent boasting how he paid dummy bidders. Later, a reporter asked him if he ever paid dummy bidders. His answer was “No. Never”. The TV program showed two scenes – one with him proudly describing his deceit and the other with him denying it publicly.

Dummy bids are a central part of the auction system, despite the denials of agents and Real Estate Institutes.

But dummy bidding stops once the home reaches the reserve price and is ‘officially’ for sale. And that is the only time you should bid.

The Reserve Price

The reserve price is the lowest price the agents have been able to ‘crunch’ sellers into accepting.

And this is where auctions really favour you as a buyer. You will know the sellers’ lowest price, but no-one knows your highest price.

With the attention on the sellers’ lowest price, buyers save thousands at auctions.

Rule 5. Get legal advice

Some homebuyers try to save hundreds of dollars and in doing so they risk thousands. Don’t let this happen to you. If you are keen to buy a home at auction, consult a lawyer before you sign anything or spend any money. A home costs hundreds of thousands and a lawyer costs hundreds. And remember, the last person to take advice from about a real estate auction is the auction agent. You can have your lawyer speak to the agent on your behalf. Some lawyers will even accompany you to the auction. Good lawyers are great value when buying a home.

Rule 4. Know the true value

The time and cost of basic research can pay handsomely. Obtain the sales details of similar homes in the area. Similar information is also available in most areas through local councils.

If you feel you have a good chance of buying the home, you should consider contacting a registered valuer for an accurate and unbiased opinion. The money spent on a valuation is well worth the risk.

It would be far easier for everyone if all homes had an independent valuation before they were sold. Both sellers and buyers would have the benefit of independent and unbiased information.

However, a valuation, while unbiased, is still only a guide. If you love the home you might willingly pay more than the ‘value’. But at least you have the benefit of a valuation on which to base your decision.