
VAN DE REE REAL ESTATE AUCTIONS EXPLAINED
The VanDeRee Auction company was founded in 1934 by George VanDeRee and we have been serving Florida since 1970.
Typically when people hear about real estate being sold at auction the first thing that comes to mind are foreclosure sales or distress situations. We DO NOT do those types of auctions. In fact, of the thousands of auctions that we have conducted, there was only one auction that was a distress/foreclosure, bank owned property. We believe that a VanDeRee real estate auction is simply a better way to sell your property.
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Why are auctions for real estate so successful? An auction sale can save you time and money. We compress 6 months of marketing into a short 45-60 day marketing period. All of the Due Diligence is done before the auction occurs. Seller’s Disclosures, Community information and sometimes inspections will be done well in advance of the auction event and made available to all of the bidders. It is vitally important that full disclosure in the sale is created and given before the auction occurs in order for the buyers to feel confident in bidding on the property.
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We take great pride in our ability to get the best price for real estate at auction. Year after year, our closing statistics fall in the 90% range, hitting 100% last year (all of the properties that we auctioned were sold and closed to the satisfaction of both the buyers and sellers). There are two types of auctions available to you, Subject to Confirmation and Absolute Auction.
Subject to Confirmation. If you opt for this type of auction you have the right to accept or reject the high bid, and you can place a minimum bid price on the house (this is an amount that the house has to bring, and it would not sell below this amount). Most sellers choose this type of auction.
Absolute Auction. At an absolute auction the property is sold to the highest bidder without any reserve. This type of auction will generally bring the highest bid for the seller. This is because with an absolute auction, you will have more bidders and more bidding activity at your auction. The more bidding, the higher the price.
As the seller, you would decide which type of auction to have, and together we would create the terms of sale that are most beneficial for your auction.
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Marketing an Auction. Once a property is scheduled for auction, we will create a special marketing strategy for that property and that auction. We can do everything from using Artificial Intelligence in social marketing to strategic mailing campaigns, telemarketing and boots on the ground putting up signs for the open houses. We like to have an open house at least once a week, every week prior to the auction. 4 to 6 weeks is usually the optimal time frame.
Auction Day. The Auction method of marketing real estate is the most transparent and fairest way to sell a property. The bidding is open for all to see and the terms are set to create a level playing field for all parties. Most auctions are conducted online using the bidding link on our website at vanderee.hibid.com. If any bidders need help with this, we can arrange for them to bid through our office in person or by phone. The typical auction duration is one week.
Post Auction. After we have secured the contract with the buyer, we will coordinate the closing with the title company, other Realtors, mortgage brokers or banks, surveyors, etc. as needed until the closing is ready.
Auction Fees. Nearly every auction company uses a Buyer’s Premium. We at the VanDeRee Auction Company use a 10% Buyer’s Premium in the sale of real estate. A buyer's premium is a fee, to the bidder and added to the bid price. So, if the property sells for $1,000,000, the buyer pays an additional $100,000 for a total purchase price of $1,100,000. Naturally, the Buyer’s Premium is something that is explained to everyone in great detail and every bidder will be made aware of this during the bidding process. It is common for a seller to pay a small auction fee to cover the initial marketing expenses. This fee is negotiated between the auction company and seller after a thorough analysis of the subject property and current market conditions.
Although we're based in Southwest Florida, we have successfully completed sales transactions across the United States and Internationally.
If selling your property at auction make sense to you, please let us know. We would be happy to explain the process in depth and answer any questions you might have.

HOW TO REGISTER AND BID ON AN AUCTION
Buying real estate via auction is a very transparent process. You can go online at any time during the auction period and see the current bid price and the next bidding increment. When you are ready to bid on a property, follow the simple steps below.
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Creating an Account to Bid at Auction:
First go to www.VanDeRee.com and click on the auction you would like to register for.
1. Click login/new bidder at the top of the current auctions screen.
2. Click on the "NEW BIDDER" button to register.
3. You will be asked to enter your email and confirm your email. Each email can only have one account.
4. Next enter your personal information and create a user name and password. (Please keep your password in a safe
place that you can find it. Password is case sensitive.
5. Once you have created an account you will be able to login to your new account.
Registering & Bidding:
1. Once you have registered to bid you will be asked to register for each individual auction. (Not each lot)
2. At this time you will be asked to register with a credit card to verify your identity. There is NO charge to set up an
account or register, your credit card verification is only to establish that “you ARE actually you”, in other words, to verify
who you are.
3. Now you are ready to place a bid. Please keep in mind that bidding can only be done after the auction opens. There
are two ways to bid.
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You can bid to the next increment. Bidding is set up with predetermined bid increments. (As the price increases so do the bid increments)
OR
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You can place a MAX bid. You are able to put in your max bid and the auction software will bid on your behalf. With this method you do not have to keep watching the auction, and no one will see your max bid.
4. Once you are the winning bidder, after the auction we will send you a contract to sign and discuss to arrange your
initial deposit to be made. 7 days after the auction, a second deposit will be made as well so that you will have 10% in
escrow.
If you are the second highest bidder (back up bidder) then we will send you a contract as back up bidder. You will only
move up to become the high bidder IF the winning bidder defaults on closing, after which you will have ample time to
close.
If you have any questions, please contact Neal VanDeRee by email at AuctionFL@aol.com