Photo provided by Todd Talbot
Todd Talbot—or T.Talb, as we like to call him—creator and owner of iBidForAcent.com, is taking a Diddy-like approach to the auctioneering and real estate world. While owner/creator of iBidForAcent.com, Talbot also bought a $81,000 foreclosure then completely remodeled it, bringing its current appraisal value up to $125,000.
In most likely the first-ever auction of its kind on the Internet, Talbot launched a real estate penny auction for the 4-bedroom, 2-bath Glendale, Ariz. home.
Talbot explains that at 5 p.m. today, “Open bidding will end, and 20-second extended bidding will begin. At that point a 20-second timer clock will start a countdown. If someone bids during that time, the clock automatically re-sets for another 20 seconds. This will happen until no one bids during the 20-second period.”
After the 20-second period ends, the auction ends; the last registered bidder is then declared the winner.
The minimum for which the house can sell is $2,750. Talbot suggest that the winning bid could be as low as $5,000.
To keep the bidding from stalling due to the reserve, Talbot gave incentives. The person with the highest number of bids during the reserve period automatically gets $15,000, while the second highest gets $5,000.
For the house, a bidder will pay a fee of 60 cents per bid.
If this first auction proves to be a success, Talbot is considering expanding to other cities. Could penny auctions take the real estate world by storm? Voice your opinion.
