Why You Should Retain The Bounds Auction Company
The Bounds Auction Company strives to create a comfortable and enthusiastic bidding environment.
Our experience shows.
Our experience makes the difference.
Because Auction Works!
From initial strategy & planning, through property preparation, staging, marketing, clean out, personalty disposition to closing and post-sale planning & consultation. We are with you every step of the way.
Case Studies
Case #1 Commercial Real Estate
Property Type:
- Estate Owned.
- 1700’s stone farmhouse structure. Multi Use Zoning within a commercial use overlay with a historical designation.
- Formerly a bar restaurant with dwelling above, on 1 ¼ acres.
- Highly visible moderately high traffic suburban community location.
Property had not been on the market in over 80 years and had not been listed prior to the auction marketing.
Condition:
- Closed in excess of 15 years.
- Building obsolete and in very poor repair.
Special circumstance: Owners also had a PA. LCB license that was in escrow with the State of PA. Such a license is moblie and is considered personal property.
Pre sale services required:
- Review and evaluation of all contents of building, garage and grounds.
- Removal and delivery of items executrix wished to retain and placing other saleable items in appropriate sale venues.
- Retain and oversee clean out labor removing 11 tons of refuse, removing varmints and striping building down to bare wood floors, washed, deodorized, and secured.
- Police grounds removing abandoned car and a large steel oil storage tank.
- Complete legal review of all pertinent ordinances, required permits and LCB requirements.
Strategy: Due to the multi use zoning and severability of the LCB license, engage as diverse of a bidder profile as possible by offering the property in a three stage bidding format that would allow bidders to bid:
A. on the real estate alone,
B. the LCB license alone, followed by,
C. the two combined with bidding opening at 5% above the achieved total.
Marketing:
- Twin 8’ X 4’ full color signage with large banner on front of building 45 days prior.
- Extensive direct mail targeted to retail/office property investors and developers as well as private and corporate restaurant/bar operators over the entire Delaware Valley 45 days out from day of sale.
- Moderate regional newspaper display ads running alternatively through suburban and major market 30 days out.
- Large Google ad-word campaign 45 days out.
- An extensive Bidder’s Information Package was prepared including all disclosures, ordinances LCB forms, photography, including aerial, demographics and highway statistics and made a available on line.
Public Relations: Having received so much interest during the early phase of property preparation, we engaged our public relations consultant to get the story out. Why had this property sat for over 15 years? Our PR agent produced multiple newspapers spots that resulted in letters to the editor- a radio interview 5 days prior to the event and TV coverage day of sale. PR makes people talk - and talk increases the perception of value of the property.
Terms: $10,000 deposit to bid increased to $25,000 for the LCB license, $100,000 for the real estate and $125,000 if combined, certified funds, check with bank letter of credit or electronically. 30 day closing. 10% Buyer’s Premium, reserve by seller’s acceptance. No contingencies.
Type of auction: Live on site with real time internet bidding and voice only webcasting.
Outcome: Due to the strong local interest, a few antique bar items were held out for a mini memorabilia auction to warm up the event. That, and the PR produced a truly stunning turn out. We received strong pre-auction opening bids on both the real property and the LCB license that were not advanced.
Once combined bidding was opened, seller’s acceptance was quickly received and surpassed by another 12%. Placing that bid on hold, we asked if there were any interest in reopening the bidding on the real estate alone in excess of the combined bid and receiving none, announced it sold in combination to a local restaurant owner represented by a Realtor, looking to expand his portfolio of restaurants for a price realized of $1,100,00.00
Case #2 Estate Sale
Property Type:
- Living Estate supervised by Trustee.
- Personal Property including multiple antique autos, related memorabilia, accessories, vintage juke boxes & arcade games. Autos included but were not limited to a 1948 Mk IV Jaguar Saloon, a 1934 Pierce Arrow 1240A V -12 Sedan, a 1956 MK VII Jaguar Sedan and a 1931 Model A 'Special Deluxe' Roadster.
- A vast collection of antique radios, radio tubes, parts, Victrolas & Gramophones and a large variety of collectibles.
- 14 rooms of antique furnishings, pianos, carpets and decorative arts.
Property Condition: Varied. Autos hadn't been run in a number of years. At a relatively small expense to the seller, all autos were inspected by a local mechanic familiar with the collection who specialized in vintage autos and all but one was quickly rendered to running condition. This preperation made a bankable differance in value
on sale day.
Strategy: Overcome tight conditions due to the crowded nature and poor condition of the buildings while exposing the merchandise to the maximum number of potential bidders. Moving all this merchandise would have been cost prohibitive and detrimental to the sellers. This required multiple auctions and a variety of auction venues.
3 categories were defined:
1. Vintage Radio Collection
2. Autos & Vintage Arcade
3. Antiques, Collectibles, Decorative arts and Furnishings.
Marketing: Each auction received a variety of special attention and included:
- Specialized list direct mail
- E-mail blasts to specific collector groups
- Special interest advertising publications
- Google ad-word
- Local publication display ads
Each offering had its own preview day and pickup dates
Type of Auction (s):
Auction #1, Vintage Radios. On line only timed.
This best suited the collector nature of these bidders. 250 + lots offered including 1,500+ vacuum tubes.
Auction #2 Classic Autos & Arcade. Live /On Line hybrid.
Combining live bidders on site with those on line relayed via cell phone to associate auctioneer as there was no hard wire internet access at the site.
Auction #3, Antiques, Collectibles & Furnishing.
Live, Real Time, On line only bidding.
No live bidders. Due to the large amount of merchandise, this was a 2 day, 2 session offering of 350 +/- lots a day.
Terms: 15% buyer's premium, no reserves, as is , where is, buyers responsible for removal of merchandise.
Outcome: In excess of $250,000 realized, with only a minimum of expense in preparing the merchandise for market. Sold to bidders over 14 States!
ALL merchandise was sold DIRECTLY from the premises without a great deal of exposure to the sellers, excess traffic or disruption to the small community. Price realized for the Model A Roadster was that year's record price for such a vehicle.
Case #3 Residential Real Estate
Property Type:
- Private Seller
- Suburban Southern New Jersey
- Single family home, 4 bedroom, 2 ½ bath .41 wooded acre, cull du sac.
Property Condition:
- Excellent.
- All mechanicals recent, all appliances included.
- Sited near Patco rail line to Phila or Atlantic City w/connections to NYC
- Property showed wonderfully and was move in ready
- Property had been listed for an extended period with a local, national franchised Realtor generating little interest resulting in repeated retracted offers and contingency demands.
Owner had already purchased another property He had a strong equity position and as a professional financial analyst, was well aware of his cost to carry the property.
Time was of the essence.
Strategy:
1. Remove contigencies
2. Attract new interest and alternative bids
Marketing:
- 1st class posted sign on property, extensive bandit signage.
- E-mail blasts to area Realtors and to “opted in list of investors
- Newsprint ads limited to local “free” merchandisers
- Extensive Google ad-word campaign
- Listing on multiple auction listing sites both regional and national
- 3 Pre - scheduled open houses and a complete Bidder’s Information Package available online
Type of auction: Onsite live with live internet bidding available and voice only webcast.
Terms: 10% buyer’s premium, confidential reserve with a $200,000 opening bid,
10% high bidder deposit. No contingencies.
Outcome: Marketing produced new interest , great turnout at open houses and enough registered bidders to produce good bidding that achieved $245,000.00 from a cash buyer who would close the next week. While a little short of his desired reserve, the seller quickly realized that it was to his advantage to accept on the spot.
Case #4 Multi Family/Investment Property
Type of property:
- Urban duplex in rental market
- Two small units, ground floor 1 bedroom, 2nd floor two bedroom, unutilized full basement
- Renting at less than $1,000.00 per month on month to month leases
Property condition:
- While a rather unattractive building on the exterior, both apts were in reasonably good repair, no required repair issues.
- Both tenets were long term and desired to remain.
- Corner location across from a very active fire department station, on street parking only, stable neighborhood on a block of primarily single family row homes in good repair.
- Owner had serious health issues and simply wanted to cash out. He had been doing all the management and repairs himself and had 100% equity.
- Property had not been offered to the market in over 40 years and had not been listed prior to the auction marketing.
- The community’s market at that time was weakening, coming off a recent high, with a growing inventory both in rental and single family row homes.
- No presale services were needed.
Strategy:
1. Engage local investors
2. Qualify them with a strong deposit requirement
3. Further insure a closing by removing any contigencies
4. Sell to the highest bidder, in less than 45 days
Marketing:
- 3'X3' sign on building 45 days prior
- Highly targeted direct mail program to local investment property owners
- Two week modest display ads in local weekly community publication
- One run citywide newspapers’ real estate and auction sections
- E-mail blast targeted to local Realtors
Terms: By confidential reserve, $20,000 deposit, 10 % buyer’s premium, 30 day closing. No contingencies.
Type of auction: Live cry at site.
Outcome: Good attendance of local investors produced primarily by the direct mail program, with a few being Realtor represented.
Sold for $179,000.00 to a 1st time investor well in excess of reserve closing in less than 30 days.