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User Stats

38
Posts
1
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Bobby Barlow
  • Houston, TX
1
Votes |
38
Posts

Hubzu bidding irregularities

Bobby Barlow
  • Houston, TX
Posted

We are trying to win a hubzu house. This morning the starting bid was around 135000 with absolutely no bids. This afternoon there is a bid around 160000. But if you click on bid history it only shows one bid. How is that possible? If only one person bid wouldn't it be like 136000. Is this an attempt by hubzu to make it look like many people are bidding it up.? Or do they just show high bid? we have been watching the price both end auction now price and starting price fall for months and it is just now getting where we need it to be in our budget. And now all of the sudden there seems to be lots of goofy things happening. We were hoping to win this house in the next couple of weeks. But now strange things are happening. Any ideas?

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23,418
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13,512
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Wayne Brooks#1 Foreclosures Contributor
  • Real Estate Professional
  • West Palm Beach, FL
13,512
Votes |
23,418
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Wayne Brooks#1 Foreclosures Contributor
  • Real Estate Professional
  • West Palm Beach, FL
Replied

May be a legit bidder....I have clients to put in close to their max bid a day or two before bidding expires.  Others like to chip away at it.  You can't concern yourself with who's doing what, just bid what you're comfortable with.  I see more buy and hold buyers with success at these auctions, as opposed to flippers.

User Stats

38
Posts
1
Votes
Bobby Barlow
  • Houston, TX
1
Votes |
38
Posts
Bobby Barlow
  • Houston, TX
Replied

If it was a legit bidder wouldn't it just go up incrementally as others bid against it. This went up 25000 with one bid

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User Stats

23,418
Posts
13,512
Votes
Wayne Brooks#1 Foreclosures Contributor
  • Real Estate Professional
  • West Palm Beach, FL
13,512
Votes |
23,418
Posts
Wayne Brooks#1 Foreclosures Contributor
  • Real Estate Professional
  • West Palm Beach, FL
Replied

No, it goes directly to whatever number you bid.

User Stats

38
Posts
1
Votes
Bobby Barlow
  • Houston, TX
1
Votes |
38
Posts
Bobby Barlow
  • Houston, TX
Replied

ok I see then. I did not know that I thought it was auction style. I'll have to rethink my strategy. I think it's near the reserve now so I could be very close to winning it and also very close to losing it

User Stats

380
Posts
201
Votes
Chase Gochnauer
  • Investor
  • Des Moines, IA
201
Votes |
380
Posts
Chase Gochnauer
  • Investor
  • Des Moines, IA
Replied

It generally is auction style but bidders that are familiar with the process, know that the reserve is probably 20% higher than starting bid so they don't waste their time on incremental bids. As with other auction sites they can be a nightmare to navigate but can yield some deals.

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1,804
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1,173
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Chad U.
  • Investor
  • Boca Raton, FL
1,173
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1,804
Posts
Chad U.
  • Investor
  • Boca Raton, FL
Replied

In Hubzu, typically you can put in an "Autobid" which is supposed to increment your bid by $1000 each time.  However, I think you can put in your bid at whatever you designate just to try and get it off the table.  The last property one I won, it took me 4 rounds of bidding on it - it kept saying "Reserve Met" everytime and sold to another bidder much higher than my max.  Lo and behold a week or two later it would be up for bid again.  Quite often people bid these up, then fail to follow through with honoring their bid, so it comes back online again.  Keep trying and keep a lookout for it again.