It always amazes me how so many people seek the cheapest and not the best.

I know I am always going to blow my own or my industries trumpet.

I had an email last week from an agent making enquiries about fees. This particular agent has not used our services before(we get 5 to 6 new client enquiries per week).

I responded to the email to say that our company was available to conduct the auction on the date and time and also advised on the fee.

Our fee is $440 including gst and our regular clients do not even shrug at this fee.

The agent replied that she had only received $220 for the auction fee. I replied saying i have not done an auction since 2001 for this fee and i do not know any professional auctioneers that would in 2008 charge this fee. I recommended that the agent contact their franchise group and i also suggest that she contact a couple of franchise owners that i know in that group that may do it as a favour.

I was quite suprised with the response that i got.

The agent said that the last time she used an auctioneer that charged $220 they were very disappointed with the performance and service that they got and did not want to use that auctioneer again.

I have heard this so many times before. There is an old saying you get what you pay for.

The other thing that did suprise me was that agent and the agency was not prepared to make up the difference or was not willing to go back to the seller and recommend to them that they pay the extra.

An auction is a public display of the agency. If the auctioneer does not portray the agency and the agent in a good light then the chance of repeat and referral business is very minimal. A quality auctioneer can make the difference between getting the property sold and for the best price and getting no result with a property owner that is not happy and tells everybody else in the market place.

My recommendation is get a good quality auctioneer and be prepared to pay market rates to get that quality.

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On Thursday 19 June the AMAQ Foundation hosted its first Charity Gala Dinner, held at Gianni’s at Portside in Brisbane.

The night was themed Jazz on Portside, with a large crowd of supporters and guests gathering to celebrate the work of the AMAQ Foundation and to raise funds to enable the Foundation to continue a number of its vital projects.

Former Channel Ten News Anchor Marie-Louise Theile was MC for the night, with guests treated to a delicious dinner and accompanying jazz band. Several keynote speakers also addressed the crowd on the night, including former Federal AMA and AMA Queensland President Dr Bill Glasson; Dr Sarah Greenwood, an Overseas-trained doctor who benefited from the assistance of the AMAQ Foundation; Ms Emily Vagg, the very first recipient of an AMAQ Foundation scholarship; Dr Chris Schull, author of the medical textbook Common Medical Problems in the Tropics which is proudly supported by the AMAQ Foundation; and finally Dr Rob Sinclair, a Brisbane Dermatologist and President of the AMAQ Foundation since 2003.

The evening also included a general and silent auction as fundraising activities, with guests snapping up the items going under the hammer, including holiday packages, collections of art, photography sessions, and wine hampers.   

All who attended the Gala deemed the night to be a great success, and the AMAQ Foundation would like to extend its sincere thanks to the sponsors on the evening, MAP Funds Management, Family Care Medical Services, HLB Mann Judd, MDA National, the Independent Practitioner Network (IPN), the Federal office of the AMA, and Southerex Imaging. Thanks must also go to those who donated prizes on the night for the silent and general auctions, World Travel Professionals, Seaspray Resort Zilzie, Crowne Plaza Pelican Waters Golf Resort and Spa, Auscellardoor, Madonna Huddy, Ellie Neilson Studio, Omeros Brothers, Lexus of Brisbane, and Jerry Liu Photography.

The AMAQ Foundation would also like to acknowledge Mr Jason Rose, twice Queensland Auctioneer of the year, who worked as Auctioneer and also Gianni’s for the wonderful service on the night.

Technorati Tags: Charity Auction

Here in Queensland auctioneers and real estate agents are licensed by the Office of Fair Trading. The Office of Fair Trading is part of the Department of Justice and Attorney-General as part of the Queensland government.

As auctioneers and agents we fall under the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000

The industry call it PAMDA.

When conducting auctions of residential real estate throughout the state of Queensland there a number of interesting points that effect both the agent and the auctioneer.

Point 1 is displaying the auctioneer’s details at the auction.

If you read through section 13 of the act (as noted below)

The auctioneers name, license type and best practice would say your license number and the lettering must be a minimum of 1.5 centre metres. The one part of this that is constantly overlooked is that the details must be displayed for the entire auction period. This means that from the 1^st inspection of the property with the agent the auctioneer’s details have to be displayed. My recommendation for agents is to do up a contract board when the property is listed for sale i.e. a copy of the contract, title search, disclosure statements if it is a unit and of course the auctioneer’s details.

13 Display and publication of licensee’s name

(1) This section applies for sections 123, 158, 195, 252, 273, 328 and 3528 of the Act.

(2) The principal licensee must display in lettering at least 1.5cm in height at each place of business-

(a) the licensee’s name followed by the word ‘licensee’; and

(b) if the licensee is not the person in charge of the business at the place, the name of the person in charge at the place; and

(c) the category of the licensee’s licence.

Example for paragraph (c)-

Property agents and motor dealers licence (real estate agent).

(3) The names and category must be displayed in a conspicuous position at each of the principal licensee’s places of business so it is clearly visible when entering the place of business.

Examples for subsection (3)-

1 Display in a prominent position on the reception counter.

2 Display at eye level on a wall that customers view on first entering the place of business.

(4) In addition to the requirements in subsection (2), an auctioneer who conducts an auction must display the auctioneer’s name at the place of the auction-

(a) in lettering at least 1.5cm in height; and

(b) in a conspicuous position so it is clearly visible when entering the place; and

(c) for the entire period of the auction.

Point 2 is in relation to a bidders register.

It is now law that prior to the auctioneer accepting a bid the bidder has to be registered. Registration requires a name and address and produces evidence of such i.e. a drivers license

The bidder also has to be given an identification number.

My recommendation is to use Bidders Mate these paddles can be purchased through The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ)

Bidders can be registered at any point. I suggest agents commence the register at the first inspection. Even if a buyer says that they may be interested it is best to register them.

32 Auction conduct-bidder registration

(1) An auctioneer must, for each auction sale the auctioneer conducts at the same place on the same day, keep a register of all bidders at the auction registered under this section (the register of bidders).

(2) The auctioneer must-

(a) announce to persons present at the auction that bids will only be accepted from registered bidders; and

(b) subject to subsection (3)-ensure each bidder at the auction is registered as a bidder before accepting a bid from the bidder.

17 Property Agents and Motor Dealers (Auctioneering Practice Code of Conduct) Regulation 2001

Schedule (continued)

(3) If a bidder has previously been registered at an auction for the sale of livestock or used motor vehicles, the bidder’s previous registration may be applied to one or more subsequent auctions, provided the auction is conducted by the same auctioneer.

(4) The auctioneer may register a person as a bidder at an auction only if the person-

(a) gives the auctioneer the person’s name and address; and

(b) produces to the auctioneer satisfactory evidence of the person’s identity; and

Example for paragraph (b)-a driver licence with the person’s photo on it

(c) gives the auctioneer the name and address of any other person for whom bids are intended to be made on instructions given by the other person by telephone.

(5) If the auctioneer is satisfied of the person’s identity, the auctioneer must-

(a) record in the register of bidders for the auction-

(i) the person’s name and address; and

(ii) the bidder number assigned by the auctioneer to the bidder; and

(b) give the person a card or other thing with the bidder number on it for use by the bidder during the auction.

(6) The auctioneer must ensure the number on the card or other thing given to the bidder under subsection (5)(b) can be easily read by the auctioneer when the bidder uses it to make a bid

during the auction.

(7) The auctioneer must keep the register of bidders for 5 years after the date of the last entry made in it.

(8) Subsection (5)(b) and subsection (6) do not apply to livestock auctioneers.

Point 3 is about Sellers bids or Vendor Bids or Auctioneers Bids.

The auctioneer has to declare to the potential bidders that the seller or there representative has the right to bid. In doing so it must be declared to all parties. If there is a reserve price, then the sellers bid can not be placed at or above the reserve price.

When this was 1^st introduced a lot of the old school auctioneers were up in arms about it. From the consumers point of view it had to be done. It now has offered full transparency to all parties involved.

A lot of people are still confused about this seller bidding. The easiest way to explain it is as follows.

If the property was not going to auction and a buyer wanted to make an offer on the property, the agent would get the offer and take it to the seller. The seller then has a couple of choices, they can either accept the offer or they make a counter offer. Now you would hope that each party would keep making offer and counter offer until they agree (sale made). It is no different with the auction. A bidder puts up there hand (an offer) and if this bid is not at level acceptable to the seller then the auctioneer has the ability to make a counter offer(sellers bid). Two things can happen, we all hope that there is enough competition in the market place that the auctioneer does not need to make a sellers bid. If there is not enough competition then the offer counter offer scenario needs to be done to achieve a sale.

32A Auction conduct-seller bidder

(1) This section applies in relation to a seller of property offered for sale by auction.

(2) If the seller bids for the property when it is offered for sale, the auctioneer must announce to the other bidders that the bid is made by the seller.

(3) Also, if the seller sets a reserve price for the property under the Act, section 574A, the auctioneer must not accept a bid from the seller that is higher than the reserve price set for the property.

These processes are fairly straight forward and a very easy to comply with.

If you have any questions, please place them in the comments section below or talk with your auctioneer about them.

I hope this adds some clarity to the auction process.

Technorati Tags: Auction Laws, real estate auctions

After almost 3 years we thought it was time to update our website.

Our previous website has served us well but we wanted to make a few changes and add web 2.0 technology IE blogs,forums,pod-casting,video & audio.

Today’s property auction market is certainly a different one to how it was 12 months ago. It in fact has been a complete turn around. Last year record prices were being achieved with record numbers at open for inspections and registered bidders. This year, thanks to the change in economic conditions, has seen numbers at open for inspections drop, numbers of registered bidders going from 8-10 down to 1-4 and time on market know stretching out.

2 of the biggest problems in the market place are

1. Owners not adjusting their expectations to the current market
2. Agents giving owners price indication on the market 12 months ago not todays market.

Don’t get me wrong, every owner is out to get as much as they can (that is also the job of the agent) but it todays market buyers are voting with there feet and if they feel that an owner has an over inflated idea on price they are not even considering making an offer for the fear of wasting time. A number of agents are still giving over inflated prices to owners (called buying the listing in the industry) and these are the properties that are staying on the market. The properties that are selling at the moment are the ones where owners recognise the current market and have priced the property accordingly and where the owners are engaging professional agents that know how to get a deal together. There are to many agents out there that are just name and number takers and are sitting back waiting for buyers to make an offer.

This is probably enough ranting for now. Catch you next post.

Technorati Tags: Auctioneer, Real Estate

Jason Rose

Jason started his career as a country agent back in 1987. Specialising in Auctioneering, Jason travelled the East Coast of Australia. Jason’s determination to be the best that he could was proven with Jason being twice awarded Queensland Young Auctioneer of The Year and twice runner-up in the Australasian titles. In 1997, after 10 years in the bush, Jason decided to wash off the dust and the mud and move to Brisbane.

In 10 years Jason has conducted in excess of 2000 house auctions and is regarded by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland as one of the top property auctioneers in the state, being a finalist(Top 3) in the REIQ Auctioneer of the Year in 2000,2001,2003,2004 & 2006. In 2005 Jason competed against auctioneers from throughout Australia to be awarded Harcourts Australia Auctioneer of The Year.

When choosing an auctioneer to handle your sale it makes total sense to choose one who is acknowledged not just for their achievements within the industry, but also for their achievements on behalf of each and every client. That’s why Jason’s reputation as the man behind so many outstanding results is that will continue to grow with the support of the Award wining team at Auction Dynamics.

With Jason Rose and Auction Dynamics looking after your Real Estate interests, you can rest assured you’re in the most professional hands.

Technorati Tags: Auctioneer