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10/1/2019

In over 20 years of hosting real estate auctions, Bid4Assets has seen plenty of sellers generate unexpected value from land investments. A lot of them start the same way. A seller has a parcel of land they are so eager to liquidate that they list it for $1 and pray they don’t have to think about it again. What many sellers fail to realize is that their trash might be a buyer’s treasure. And with approximately 750,000 registered bidders, those buyers are on Bid4Assets.

Here are 3 auctions, all from the same seller and all starting at just $1 no reserve, that recently sold on Bid4Assets. They serve as perfect examples of what you can start doing to take your land auctions to the next level and attract a flood of bidding.

1. 20 Acre El Paso, Texas Parcel w/ Mountain Views: Final Bid Price- $11,050

https://www.bid4assets.com/mvc/auction/801039

The first auction on our list is a Texas land parcel that went up in May 2018. It is an example of an auction caught fire the day it went up and continued to receive attention for the nine days it was live. It is not hard to see why. This auction covered all the basic things we like to see in a strong listing. It had a fantastic main image, clear terms (yearly taxes, closing costs etc.), and emphasized the item’s selling points (no liens, taxes current etc.). Finally, it was competitively priced at $1 with no reserve.

In the end, this auction attracted 169 bids and was won by a California investor for $11,050. A good takeaway from this auction is be incredibly upfront in your descriptions. Bid4Assets has the buyers to get your parcel sold. But they won’t give your auction a second look unless you answer their primary questions upfront.

2. 80 Acres East of San Diego, California: Final Bid Price- $12,525

https://www.bid4assets.com/mvc/auction/823775

This next auction has a few interesting takeaways. First, from a technical standpoint it gets everything right and largely for the same reasons as the auction we just looked at (great main image, great description etc.). The smartest thing the seller did, however, was add a marketing service that would showcase his auction on Bid4Assets’ homepage, the highest traffic page on our website.

By just getting this auction on the Bid4Assets homepage, the seller caused bidding to explode within 3 hours of it going live. The thing to takeaway here is that sometimes, even when your auction is doing everything right, it may be worth it to invest in some of Bid4Assets’ marketing features to separate yourself from the crowd.

Ultimately, this auction attracted 102 bids and sold for $12,525 to a Pennsylvania buyer.

3. 9 Acres Near Lake Havasu City, Arizona: Final Bid Price- $13,200

https://www.bid4assets.com/mvc/auction/872584

Finally, we have one more auction where everything went just right. This item attracted buyers almost the moment it went up and bidding even went into overtime at the close of the sale.

Once again, this is an auction that gets all the basics we’ve previously covered right. But the thing to really emphasize in this auction is how in-depth the description is. The seller provides details on the parcel’s history, its current tax status and even breaks down some unique plants available on the land.

This leads to perhaps the most important lesson you can learn to create better listings: Put yourself in the place of your prospective buyer always. Ask yourself what someone who genuinely wants this property would want to know about it then make sure to provide that info in your listing.

This auction attracted 94 bids and finally sold for $13,200 to a California land buyer.

So, to bring everything together, be upfront in your descriptions, invest in marketing when you want to quickly expose your property to buyers and above all learn to think like those buyers. Always remember, you may not want this parcel (that is why you’re selling it) but someone out there truly does. Cater your listing to them.

These land auctions serve as a great template to work off. But keep in mind that your own property is unique. It is your job as a seller to figure out which points to emphasize in your listings and make your property shine. Then just sit back and let Bid4Assets’ buyer base take care of the rest.