Auctions? Yea the tv shows don't exaggerate completely.....

Johnathan Smith · 2025-11-13T10:45:17-08:00

So I’m an investment agent, and recently I’ve been going to auctions to prepare myself for getting into the fix-and-flip game. I’ve worked with investors for a while now, and I’ve seen the kind of money they make on these properties, so I figured it was time to join the party. After walking through so many properties with investors and sitting in on meetings with general contractors, I’ve realized that where most people lose money is in the acquisition stage, when you don’t fully assess the property and miss major issues. So, I’ve been using auctions as a kind of “quiz” for myself: I’ll analyze a property, decide what I’d pay for it, and then compare that to what other investors say they’d buy it for. I went to one recently in the Franklin area, my fifth auction so far, and this one honestly felt like a TV show. It started with two investors driving the price up against each other, and just when one seemed to back down, a third “rogue” investor jumped in with a bid no one could top. I realized they were basically pushing the others to their max so they could swoop in and win it. And it didn’t stop there, one guy signaled his bids by shaking his leg, and another by tilting his glasses. I couldn’t believe it; it was straight out of something you’d see on TV. Have you been to an auction before? If so, what was your experience like? If not, how are you learning the fix-and-flip game?

Brandon DiOrio

Rental Property Investor · Franklin Tennesee · Member since 2019 · 19 posts · 7 votes

10mo

Hey Jonathan, I had just moved here from Minnesota a bit over a month ago and would love to connect and talk flips. I had worked a few in Minnesota and want to figure it out here

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Myrna Gourgy

Nashville, TN · Member since 2018 · 35 posts · 23 votes

10mo

When I first got into real estate nearly a decade ago, auctions were my best friend. I wasn’t even bidding at the time. I’d run my own numbers, watch how experienced investors moved, and see what properties actually sold for. It taught me so much about reading a deal and understanding investor psychology.

You’re right on the money. Most people don’t lose during the renovation. They lose when they overpay or miss something big during acquisition. I’ve walked hundreds of properties with investors and it always comes back to how well we assessed it up front.

Also just to add some extra value, if you’re serious about flipping, going to meetups is one of the best ways to level up. That’s where I’ve built real relationships with contractors, buyers, lenders, and other agents who are in the trenches. Nashville has a strong investor scene and if you show up consistently, people take notice.

As for the market, Nashville proper is competitive, but there are still deals in surrounding areas. I’d look into Madison, Antioch, Columbia, even Clarksville. Lower price points, strong retail demand, and still room to add value if you buy right.

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Antonio Holt

Investor · Memphis Tn · Member since 2018 · 5 posts · 1 vote

8mo

I’ve been to plenty of auctions, and what you described is 100% real — not TV drama, just seasoned operators doing what they do best.

Auctions are less about the property and more about psychology, discipline, and acquisition control. The best investors in the room usually aren’t emotional bidders — they’re price enforcers. They’ll push others to their max, let ego and adrenaline do the damage, then step in only if the numbers still make sense. When they don’t, they walk without regret.

The signaling you noticed (leg shaking, glasses, subtle cues) is also real. Some teams coordinate, others just have tells. Either way, it reinforces the biggest truth about auctions:

You don’t win auctions by bidding — you win them by knowing when NOT to bid.

You’re also dead-on about where people lose money. It’s almost always acquisition, not rehab. Miss foundation, roof structure, drainage, layout inefficiencies, or neighborhood ceiling prices, and no contractor can save the deal.

Using auctions as a “quiz” is actually one of the smartest ways to learn:

You’re training your buy box

Stress-testing your numbers

Learning crowd behavior

Seeing what real investors pay, not what podcasts say

One important caution though: auctions are unforgiving. There’s no inspection contingency, no renegotiation, and no emotional discounts after the fact. That means your buy price must already include your ignorance tax — because even experienced investors still miss things.

Most flippers don’t fail because they can’t manage a rehab.

They fail because they overpaid with confidence.

If you’re serious about getting into fix-and-flip, keep doing exactly what you’re doing:

Analyze relentlessly

Compare your numbers to winning bids

Learn why someone walked, not just why someone won

Assume the winning bidder knows something you don’t — or is about to learn a painful lesson

Auctions are the deep end of the pool. If you can learn to stay disciplined there, everything else in flipping gets easier.

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Mike Kirby
Rental Property Investor · New Braunfels, TX · Member since 2021 · 289 posts · 256 votes
8mo
Quote from @Antonio Holt:

I’ve been to plenty of auctions, and what you described is 100% real — not TV drama, just seasoned operators doing what they do best.
Auctions are less about the property and more about psychology, discipline, and acquisition control. The best investors in the room usually aren’t emotional bidders — they’re price enforcers. They’ll push others to their max, let ego and adrenaline do the damage, then step in only if the numbers still make sense. When they don’t, they walk without regret.
The signaling you noticed (leg shaking, glasses, subtle cues) is also real. Some teams coordinate, others just have tells. Either way, it reinforces the biggest truth about auctions:
You don’t win auctions by bidding — you win them by knowing when NOT to bid.
You’re also dead-on about where people lose money. It’s almost always acquisition, not rehab. Miss foundation, roof structure, drainage, layout inefficiencies, or neighborhood ceiling prices, and no contractor can save the deal.
Using auctions as a “quiz” is actually one of the smartest ways to learn:
You’re training your buy box
Stress-testing your numbers
Learning crowd behavior
Seeing what real investors pay, not what podcasts say

One important caution though: auctions are unforgiving. There’s no inspection contingency, no renegotiation, and no emotional discounts after the fact. That means your buy price must already include your ignorance tax — because even experienced investors still miss things.
Most flippers don’t fail because they can’t manage a rehab.
They fail because they overpaid with confidence.
If you’re serious about getting into fix-and-flip, keep doing exactly what you’re doing:
Analyze relentlessly
Compare your numbers to winning bids
Learn why someone walked, not just why someone won
Assume the winning bidder knows something you don’t — or is about to learn a painful lesson
Auctions are the deep end of the pool. If you can learn to stay disciplined there, everything else in flipping gets easier.
"You don’t win auctions by bidding — you win them by knowing when NOT to bid."

I love this quote. I'm not a flipper, I buy and hold. I have seen it all at auctions. I started buying in 2017 after I retired because I was bored. I was shaking like a leaf when I won the first auction for $70,000. We still have that house and it has made us $151,200 in rental income plus the house is now worth $250,000 and after a full gut remodel we had $150,000 into it.

I've walked away from many auctions since then just shaking my head at what people overpaid for, acting like they had just won the lottery when they literally paid $100,000 more than the property was worth.
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Allan Smith

Contractor · Nashville, TN · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

7mo

I have mixed feelings about the auctions. It seems like the prices get bid up to retail pricing or even higher sometimes due to the emotion of getting into it. I've bid on a few but have not acquired any property that way. I think some of the investors we (GC) renovate or build for have bought at auctions though.

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Auctions? Yea the tv shows don't exaggerate completely.....

Auctions? Yea the tv shows don't exaggerate completely.....

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