Investor · Colorado Springs · Member since 2016 · 234 posts · 150 votes
I bid on a property and stopped when it got to my highest possible bid. It looked like it got bid up way past when it was reasonable. Two days later, I got an email that it's being re-listed at the original starting price. Is the site a scam? Has anyone bought a property successfully from the site? What was your experience?
@Ruth Bayang if you don’t mind me asking, what was the website you used? I want to make sure that whatever I use is legit and safe. So if you wouldn’t mind helping me out, I’m 18 and I’d be putting it all on the table if I bought my first house since I don’t have much
It's likely that whoever won the bid did not meet the reserve price. Don't be so quick to assume a scam. I've never bid or bought from Hubzu. But I just bought a 4-plex on a similar auction site. This same property was for sale a few weeks prior - someone "won" the bid. But it was relisted at the original starting price.
Always bid up to your max and nothing more. And there is no guarantee of free and clear title on these online auction sites. So make sure you do your homework before bidding.
It's possible that the winning bidder got cold feet or did his/her due diligence after winning the bid and backed out.
I have listed a few homes for Hubzu, they are legit and part of Altisource - Ocwen.
I always tell the buyers and agents that they need a lot of patience with online auctions. Sometimes I give the buyers a Rabbits Food for good luck. (Friday Humor)
Hi Ronald Bourgeois. There are numerous posts on here about HUBZU. I think you may find them useful. I suggest just doing a search for HUBZU and you should get enough info to help you with your matter.
Thanks all. Lots of people seem to think it's a scam if you search the internet, but that's probably true of many things -- and people do love to complain :-0.
I'd love to hear from someone that's bought a property from them. How did it go?
I just closed on a property from Hubzu on Thursday 11/3/16. The transaction went kinda smooth in my opinion. The only issue I had was their need to postpone my original closing date to do a land survey. They did try to charge me close to $4,000 for the survey after I declined it in my original paperwork, but quickly removed the charge once i brought it to their attention. They were very responsive to my phone calls, I never had any issue getting in contact with their agents. Every time I called he answered his extension.
I have purchased from HUBZU and represented clients on purchases through HUBZU - it isn't a scam, but the properties in my experience can have ridiculous reserve prices - The email you received is standard operating procedure - they send a "buy it now" second chance email after the auction doesn't meet the reserve. I have seen them restart auctions every other week for a year on a property. Then they eventually reduced the reserve to a reasonable level and we bought. Keep bidding - eventually the "Second chance" email and reserve price may meet your target - Unless some other fool pays too much first!!
@Ruth Bayang if you don’t mind me asking, what was the website you used? I want to make sure that whatever I use is legit and safe. So if you wouldn’t mind helping me out, I’m 18 and I’d be putting it all on the table if I bought my first house since I don’t have much
@Ruth Bayang if you don’t mind me asking, what was the website you used? I want to make sure that whatever I use is legit and safe. So if you wouldn’t mind helping me out, I’m 18 and I’d be putting it all on the table if I bought my first house since I don’t have much
Thanks for the comments everyone. Just an update. Since I posted this question nearly 3 years ago, I have bid on a few properties, however, I have not personally acquired a property from Hubzu because the reserve prices were ridiculously high. As an agent, I recently helped a client acquire a property and it went smoothly. In my experience, it takes patience and perseverance to pursue a property (for the reasons noted by Jeff Wallace in his comment above).