Auctioneera - anyone used them?

Dubhurler4

Hi All,
I’m looking at putting a house on the market in Cork in the coming months. Has anyone experience of dealing with Auctioneera as agents? They seem to have the lowest fees by far and I was wondering how their service compares to other EA?

There has been a couple of threads on this, some complimentary, some less so. It seems they subcontract the viewings to regional agents who may not know a lot about the house/immediate area. Some like the fact that you can see bids online, but that is also open to manipulation. If you are going to go with an online seller, would you not consider advertising it yourself on daft?

Dolbhad

Dubhurler4 wrote: »

Hi All,
I’m looking at putting a house on the market in Cork in the coming months. Has anyone experience of dealing with Auctioneera as agents? They seem to have the lowest fees by far and I was wondering how their service compares to other EA?

As a previous purchaser I had viewed two houses being sold auctioneera in Cork.

Both houses had people at the house who were only taking details to send out information on the house - which I never got even though I followed up. They had no information on the house or area and just let us to our own devices so weren’t auctioneers. All they could tell me was no offers on the property at that time.

I wasn’t familiar with the company at the time so googled and saw they were looking for staff to just attend the property so clearly they are not agents at the house that will sell your property.

I’d either pay more for a better auctioneer or do it yourself as what they offered didn’t seem worth whatever you paid them.

Dubhurler4

Thanks for the feedback. I thought they were similar to a traditional EA but it appears not. I’ll probably go with a local EA.

Dolbhad

Dubhurler4 wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback. I thought they were similar to a traditional EA but it appears not. I’ll probably go with a local EA.

I’ve met some great auctioneers and bad ones.

I’ve had auctioneers not update us on bids so we place further bids or had some who I’d to follow up a few times to get a viewings.

The good ones know the area and plans for future and also have looked into purchasers to ensure they are organised etc. That’s the one you want - you want as least hassle as possible but who can get the best price you can.

Get recommendations or even turn up for a viewing and see how they treat purchasers or how easy they are to contact.

I think going rate is 1.2-1.5% purchase price of the house. Maybe bigger crowds like Sherry Fitz may be more.

Although the auctioneer works for you, the auctioneer we bought the house from was excellent. And if we ever sell the house I’d go to her to sell it.

Cian59

I'm currently buying an Auctioneera property so just a perspective from the other side.

It's correct that the person attending the property doesn't have much information or details. However, I think it depends on how unique your property is. If it's a standard property, the property will sell its self in this climate. Nothing the agent is going to say is going to sway a purchaser. If it's a unique build in a strange location, then maybe go for a traditional agent.

Auctioneera do the listing, photos, floor plans etc all to a very high standard. The auction element I think does edrive up prices a small bit so good for you.

Cian59

Cian59 wrote: »

I'm currently buying an Auctioneera property so just a perspective from the other side.

It's correct that the person attending the property doesn't have much information or details. However, I think it depends on how unique your property is. If it's a standard property, the property will sell its self in this climate. Nothing the agent is going to say is going to sway a purchaser. If it's a unique build in a strange location, then maybe go for a traditional agent.

Auctioneera do the listing, photos, floor plans etc all to a very high standard. The auction element I think does edrive up prices a small bit so good for you.

Have to disagree completely with this, unless you were brought up/live in the immediate area you want to buy in and know the seller, an informed EA should be able to provide important information about the area, house and seller. It’s not just about selling the house, it’s about getting the highest price achievable for it. Nothing worse than being shown around be a clueless EA who knows nothing about the property.

Sweet.Science

I sold with them . No complaints

Dolbhad

Dav010 wrote: »

Have to disagree completely with this, unless you were brought up/live in the immediate area you want to buy in and know the seller, an informed EA should be able to provide important information about the area, house and seller. It’s not just about selling the house, it’s about getting the highest price achievable for it. Nothing worse than being shown around be a clueless EA who knows nothing about the property.

That’s it. As a purchaser looking in certain areas and meeting the same auctioneers again and again. Sometimes I’ve been outbid and auctioneer has been in touch afterwards to say they have a house in price range coming up. It’s so competitive now that auctioneers can have a list of potential purchasers so can sell the house quicker and achieve a good price. They have looked for proof of AIP etc before placing bids. I found none of those checks in place with auctioneera. I could have placed all the bids I want online but when it came to it wouldn’t have had the funds in place to buy wasting sellers time.
For me buying if I was leaving in the house, I want to keep viewings down to as low as possible so I’d want someone organised and on the ball.


Now equally I’ve met auctioneers who were terrible and probably charged 3 times what auctioneera charged. It’s like solicitors - don’t necessarily go for cheapest and get referrals.

Dubhurler4

Thanks everyone for the useful feedback. I have a preferred local EA based on viewing several properties with different EAs as a purchaser. I’ll probably meet them and maybe put a call into Auctioneera but will go with the one I think will ultimately do the best job and get the best price, even if it means paying a bit more.

frebel

Interested in hearing if people feel the Auctioneera service has improved since this thread started 2 years ago... the difference is price is significant vs my 1st quote from EA

Was recently quoted 1.75% by a well known international agency in Cork (a discount from 2% because they really want to see my house!)

If I get the the high end of my target sale price, that could end up being between 7.5k in a market with short supply (5 and 6k excl vat with another 850 for marketing excl vat (photos, marketing via daft, myhome, examiner article)

The house is well maintained and in a very popular area so it won't be a particularly hard sell... I realise that a bad agent can be dose but if the house is right the bids will push it through... My main concern is how well vetted the bidders are in terms of funds with auctioneera but paying an extra 5k doesn't make sense either... Am I missing something? appreciate any feedback...

herbalplants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120346993#Comment_120346993

I have personal experience of Auctioneera (on behalf of family) and all I can say is they done a great job at a fraction of the cost. They follow the same procedure as traditional estate agents.

They do the viewings, they do prep for the viewings, they keep close contact with the seller, they give you feedback by email after the viewings of what people express as opinion, they pass questions back to you from prospective buyers which you respond via their platform.

People here will tell you, they are not good and they don't vet potential buyers.

My experience with big estate agents like DNG, SherryFitz or Karen mulvaney, bids were placed with absolutely not providing any proof of cash or AIP whatsoever.

The beauty of it, you pay a fraction of the traditional estate agent fee.

You said house is in known area, etc so it will sell itself.

frebel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120347046#Comment_120347046

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120347046#Comment_120347046

cheers @herbalplants this confirms what I had already been thinking

Nothing surprises me now

Know someone who used Auctioneera and were very happy with them, achieved good price for their house.

RichardAnd

My experience with Auctionera has been very poor. I registered with an email an a phone number, provided an AIP document with blanked out figures, and I was given free reign to "bid" on any property on the site. Maybe that has changed, but if not, that's simply shocking.

I only looked at a single property on the site, and it went 80k over its 200k asking price. I've also heard stories that a lot of their sales fall through after going sale agreed. Personally, I would not sell or buy with them.

3DataModem

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058145860/auctioneera-anyone-used-them

I have purchased a property via Auctioneera. It was a pretty slick process. However they absolutely do not get max price, I would only use them (as seller) for properties with high liquidity generally, or for a distressed sale (e.g. executors, receivers) as there is no ambiguity in the process / price settings.

herbalplants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120351904#Comment_120351904

Just wanted to mention so you bid as a buyer with them but the process was pretty transparent wasn't it on their portal?

I have bid with DNG and Karen Mulvaney and I didn't even provide any AIP or proof of funds and in first instance the house went for 75 k over the asking and in the second case it was 200k over the asking price!!! And no transparency at all. I am sure DNG invented bids as it was only two buyers,myself one who pulled out early in their game.

I didn't provide proof for source of funds.

So how is traditional estate agent different may I ask you? This was last year.

Two of my friends were selling just before me, and their experience with traditional estate agents were very different, lack of communication, etc and a whooping bill at the end of the process...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120352601#Comment_120352601

Did both the houses that you were bidding on sell? If they did at 75/200 above asking, the sellers must have been thrilled with the auctioneers performance.

herbalplants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120353239#Comment_120353239

The estate agent done f all, the house was unusual in a spot where houses don't come for sale often this is why achieved 200k over, nothing to do with the estate agent.

MrMusician18

Auctionera is a joke tbh. It's all the pressure and urgency of an auction without the follow through of the commitment to buy.

Not a fan of their model at all.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120353363#Comment_120353363

Did they not advertise it, arrange viewings, answer queries, record bids and inform the vendor?

What the fuuck do you think auctioneers do, hold your hand and tell you “there there, you were just unlucky with that one”? The auctioneer works, and is paid by the seller, not the buyer. If the properties sold for 75/200k over asking, then they did rather a good job.

DFB-D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120353404#Comment_120353404

I agree.

I have bid on a few of their properties where bidding went mad in the additional time added on, and these properties ended up back on the market and still not closed yet. But the bidders that were there the first time are not bidding (including me) this time around.

I think selling in a upwards market is easy, but do they get the best price if serious buyers know to avoid them?

frebel

So to summarise, I'm hearing a few conflicting reports for both traditional EAs and Auctioneera but in an attempt to clarify the major differences assuming the agents working for both are equally capable

Business Models

A flat fee would seem obviously be less of an incentive to sell for a higher price but once a traditional EA gets close to the market price, there is very less incentive to go higher even based on the percentage model...ego if anything might encourage to work harder for the higher price.

eg. 300k offer for a house with potential for 330k. EA fees of 1.75% would mean just 525 of a difference for them for the extra 30k... yet the client pays 4.5k more than Auctioneera model

Conclusion: Not sure if one side stands out... While a good agent might get a great price for someone, it might not correlate that it was down to their ability...and I don't think their fee incentive benefits the client that much in the end compared to the price they pay

Screening Buyers/ bidding process

My guess is that a traditional EA could have more experience/ skill spotting the most suitable client as well as the fact that bidding by email over the course of a few weeks doesn't lead to people bidding beyond their means as can be the case for the auctioneera model...(think the auction kicks in 15 days after the asking price is met and each bid extends the deadline slightly...I know of somone who was genuine but got carried away ebay style to a bid beyond their means)

Conclusion: Two good agents working under both business models might still not screen people that well, but the auctioneera model might just let people get too carried away...(which also had upsides for sellers)

Overall conclusion? try to get an EA with lower fees? 1% fees for example could save 3500 or so...

Appreciate all the feedback and any suggestions for low fees EAs in Cork via DM!

Aph2016

Anyone paying 1% to an auctioneer is nuts. If the house is well kept and in a good area, it will sell itself. You could even sell it yourself and just advertise on Daft.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120356368#Comment_120356368

Of course a house will sell, if you offer to sell it at a price below what others are willing to pay and are willing to put the time in to deal with time wasters/viewings.

The auctioneers job is to get bidders to pay as much as they can for your most valuable asset. If you can do that, you saved yourself a whopping 1%, if you can’t, you may have lost out on tens of thousands of Euro on an asset sale which may only happen once in your lifetime and affects what you can afford to pay for your next home.

I think you need to give more thought to it than just saying a good house will sell itself.

herbalplants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120356397#Comment_120356397

When is the last time you sold a house? And what auctioneer did you use?

You may be a bit detached from the real world.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120356917#Comment_120356917

I’ve been buying/selling/developing property for nearly 30 yrs, I still own commercial and residential properties and come into contact with auctioneers reasonably regularly as a result.

On the one hand you claim the EAs you were dealing with were inventing bids, on the other hand you say that he/she did f all, that the properties were in such a good area that it isn’t a surprise they went 75/200k over asking. It seems odd that you acknowledge the appeal of the properties, but are confident other bids didn’t actually exist.

Im always bemused by people such as yourself that don’t seem to understand that the auctioneer does not work for/paid by the buyer, and their job is to maximise the price achieved for their client. Yet you think they do f all, and whinge about fake bids when you don’t get the property you want at the price you want.

If knowledge is gained through experience, then unless you are an experienced buyer/seller, I’m confident I have more knowledge than you.

herbalplants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120357208#Comment_120357208

I agree you have more experience than me though, yet I still don't agree with your point on estate agents no matter how bemused you may be.

Horse Quack

My God these guys are annoying to deal with.

They only ever seem to have two viewing slots available for any property. Never at weekends and one is always slap bang in the middle of the work day.

Have a viewing booked in with them later this week. Saw another property about 500m away and tried to get a viewing there just before or after the other viewing and the concept of showing two houses one after the other just broke the guy’s brain. It’s either early afternoon this week or late afternoon next week.

They might be saving the seller a load of money but they’re probably putting some potential buyers off.

Claw Hammer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120804483#Comment_120804483

It is sometimes not the agents fault. Some owners live in the house for sale and lay down times they are prepared to facilitate viewings. Agents also sell multiple properties and schedule appointments in advance. That is the business world.

Horse Quack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120804906#Comment_120804906

I get that and in this case they’re both empty.

Most local estate agents, in my experience, will try to have a number of viewings close to each other because it means that the same estate agent can do all the viewings and often the same potential buyers are viewing multiple properties.

Obviously that isn’t always possible particularly when the properties are far apart but these are two estates on opposite sides of a road.

Every interaction I’ve had with auctioneera so far has been negative.

J_1980

Had the auctioneera agent value my property at 500, “to get interest and sell in mid 500s”.

listed with another agent in high 500’s and had several offers in 600’s.

luckily I know the market quite well, but someone who doesn’t might fall for the quick sell pricing.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120807042#Comment_120807042

If you posted that before the 600’s came in, you would have posters telling you that the second EA was only valuing it higher to get the business. Go figure.

RichardAnd

They come up every so often on this board, and the opinion offered varies from person to person. In my opinion, they are to be avoided. I've seen more than one property go tens of thousands over the original asking price, go sale agreed and then be back on the market in a few months with a different agent.

If I wanted to sell my house, I would not touch them, and I avoided them utterly when I was looking to buy. That's just my two cents.

Claw Hammer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120805089#Comment_120805089

The auctioneer might not like you.

RichardAnd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120809907#Comment_120809907

Just a point, I think that the use of the word "auctioneer" to describe Auctionera is totally unsuitable. What that does is not an auction; it's a bidding war platform. In a real auction, bids are binding, but that site allows anyone to sign up and "bid" on property without any real checks. When I joined, I merely provided an AIP letter with a blanked out approval amount, and I was able to bid on any property on the site, even though that were well beyond my budget.

Some people have likened Auctionera to Ebay, but this is unfair. On ebay, fake bids can get an account banned!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120818172#Comment_120818172

If you are going to be pedantic, you are wrong.

Auctioneer just means a person who conducts the sale of property/goods, usually to the highest bidder. What you are describing is the distinction between a private treaty sale, and sale by auction, auctioneers can conduct both. There are few better examples of a “bidding war” than standing at a property auction and watch interested bidders try and outbid others.

herbalplants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120818172#Comment_120818172

I am sorry for your experience with Auctioneera.ie.

But honestly, I have bid on few occasions with traditional estate agents like DNG for example without supplying one single document of proof that I had access to the funds, not even an AIP. So what is better about the traditional estate agent?

herbalplants

Also want to add that estate agents (traditional ones!) are misleading with the way they present you the information.... I experienced this only 2 days ago... When they told me about this house which was coming up for sale... And why the vendors were selling.I done my own homework and in fact the vendors are selling for a total different reason. And this particular house has been sold and bought few times in the last decade. Seem to be sold every 4 years. So yes this is from a traditional estate agent.

I know Dave will tell me now that estate agent is acting on behalf of the vendor but transparency is still missing out of traditional agents completely.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120819507#Comment_120819507

It never interested me why a vendor is selling, can’t see why it would matter to you, or why you think the EA should tell you. Would you want a buyer to know you need to sell? I doubt it.

herbalplants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120820085#Comment_120820085

Yes, i wouldn't want to buy a house I need to sell in 4 years too. Absolutely.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120820320#Comment_120820320

A lot happens in 4 years, if you want to tell buyers you need to sell, you are giving them information that influences their bidding, seems an odd strategy, but everyone has a different approach, no doubt the buyer would think you are desperate.

Claw Hammer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120818172#Comment_120818172

Just because you don't like a word doesn't mean that people can't use it. There are different licences for people involved in the letting management and sale of property. Some licences are limited to lettings only. Otheres are for sale. All licences for sale also permit the holder to conduct auctions. The holder of such a licence can conduct a sale either by private treaty or auction. Just because a sale is being conducted by private treaty doesn't mean that the licensed agent is not an auctioneer. A surgeon who writes a prescription for a headache is still a surgeon, not a doctor.

It is not surprising you are having so much difficulty with sales agents.

RichardAnd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120830829#Comment_120830829

There are many reserved titles. I can't call myself a doctor if I'm selling supplements from an online store.

Look, I merely gave an opinion of Auctionera. If you're happy to deal with these people, then that's great. I thankfully don't have to deal with EAs anymore.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120833336#Comment_120833336

You can if you are a Doctor.

RichardAnd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120833356#Comment_120833356

I'm not :).

Claw Hammer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120833336#Comment_120833336

It is nothing to do with reserved titles. A doctor whi is selling pills from an online store is still a doctor. An auctioneer who sells a property by private treaty is still an auctioneer. I would not deal with Auctioneera, but that is beside the point. If they have an auctioneer's licence they can be described as an auctioneer. EAs are just one part of the messy business of dealing in property in this jurisdiction.

RichardAnd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120833883#Comment_120833883

Point accepted. They may be licensed auctioneers, but that does not mean that what that site does is an auction.

Claw Hammer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120834011#Comment_120834011

No one ever said what they did is an auction.