Don't forget to sign up for Property Notification emails of new properties added in your area. This is a free feature, no subscription needed.
Alerts are available to bidders immediately upon login. The Bidder Alert window will notify you of any emails that have been sent to you by RealtyBid.com, including outbid notices, high bid confirmations, contract questionnaires and contract documents.
All of these specific emails are retrievable from your Alert window.
While you will still receive emails from Realtybid.com through your personal email system, you can now also utilize the Alert window to retrieve email notifications and any documents that are linked within those emails.
To bid on this site, there are two options. You can either bid from each property's Bid Page or you can bid from your My Properties page.
My Properties is a convenient location where you, the bidder, can monitor properties of interest to you and properties on which you have already bid. This feature allows you to view and bid on your properties of interest. If you are bidding on multiple properties, use of the My Properties page is a must (Investors should also take advantage of the site's BidAssist™ feature. See the information below). My Properties is the simplest way to watch and bid on multiple properties.
If you are only bidding on one property, you would probably want to bid directly from that property's Bid Page.
Any property submitted by a bidder to My Properties will be stored for seven days after the conclusion of an event. This provides you the option to go back and review all bids placed on your properties of interest for up to a week after each bidding event has ended.
There is also a link on the bottom of the My Properties page that will take you to your My Properties history, allowing you to view all activity on each property for up to six months after the conclusion of any bidding event.
You must be a Registered Bidder on the site to use the My Properties feature.
BidAssist™ is an automated bid process designed to assist with bidding during an bidding event when you are away from your computer.
To use BidAssist™, determine the top price you're willing to pay for a particular property. When submitting your bid, you enter the maximum amount you'd be willing to pay into the BidAssist™ box.
The BidAssist™ system then compares your bid to those of the other bidders. The BidAssist™ system places bids on your behalf, using only as much of your bid as is necessary to maintain your high bid position. BidAssist™ only bids one bid increment at a time against an opposing bidder and will bid up to your maximum amount.
If you are a property’s high bidder and are logged in, you will have the opportunity to “update” your BidAssist. When applicable, the “Update BidAssist” button is available just below the “Place Bid” button on each Bid Page.
Via "Update BidAssist," you can raise, lower or end your BidAssist. Please note that if you choose to end the use of BidAssist, our system will stop bidding for you but CANNOT delete bids that have already been made for you using your previously chosen BidAssist amount.
If the bidding for a property is moving rapidly and you try to place a bid that is lower than the current leading bid, but your BidAssist™ amount is higher than the leading bid, your bid will be taken at the next available bid increment above the current leading bid.
For example, if the current leading bid is $100,000 and you place a bid of $99,000 with a BidAssist™ amount of $105,000, the computer will reject the $99,000 but will accept and place your bid at the next bid increment of $101,000 (assuming a bid increment of $1,000). You will then be protected up to your maximum Bid Assist™ amount of $105,000 against any other bidders.
BidAssist™ is extremely helpful if you must be away from your computer during the close of bidding. It is also useful if you are bidding on several properties and want to ensure all of your bids are placed properly during the close of the bidding. Occasionally, at the close of an event, a bidder may have difficulty placing his bid due to heavy bidder traffic or the slow connection speed of his computer or ISP.
The countdown clock on RealtyBid.com should be considered accurate but not exact. Many processes can affect what actual time a user sees on their screen such as computer processor speeds, internet connection speeds, etc., so please do not wait until the last few minutes of an auction to place a bid. It is highly recommended that if you intend to place a bid, you should do so early to get a feel for the bidding process, and you should also use BidAssist, a feature designed to allow the computer to bid for you at the end so you are assured of getting your bids placed. If you choose to wait until the last few minutes or seconds of the countdown clock to place your bid and your system lags or your bid does not get placed, RealtyBid bears no responsibility for re-offering the property or causing your bid to be placed for you. If it is determined that there was a system issue that may have prevented a bid from being placed, RealtyBid reserves the right to review all bids and possibly re-open the bidding on a property. This determination will be made on a case by case basis and is at the sole discretion of the company. The intent of RealtyBid.com is to always provide a fair, level and transparent bidding environment for our consumer audience.
BidAssist™ is used as a tiebreaker. For example, if two bidders end in a tie for a property, the bidder who placed the bid first through BidAssist™ will be declared the winner because the BidAssist™ was the first bid placed and has priority over the other bidder; however, if your BidAssist™ pushes another bidder to their maximum BidAssist™ amount, you will be required to top that bidder's amount by the next bid increment.
The system will not allow you to just match another bidder's maximum bid, unless both BidAssist™ amounts are exactly the same. In this rare case only, the first BidAssist™ amount entered into the bidding system wins.
BidAssist™ is now active for the highest bidder after the bidding ends if that bidder has chosen to carry over BidAssist™ into the Post Bidding phase.
For many properties, if the property's reserve price is not met prior to the conclusion of bidding, a Post Bidding/Negotiation period will ensue.
Post Bidding activity for the property can be monitored at that property's Bid Page under View Post Bidding. It is the bidder's responsibility to monitor the activity on the website regarding bids during that time.
For the highest bidder at the conclusion of the bidding, the BidAssist™ feature will remain active and protect that bidder to his maximum amount even during the Post Bidding period if he so chooses.
This feature is only activated during the Post Bidding period if, when he places his bid, the bidder checks the box to indicate that he wants his BidAssist™ to remain in effect during the Post Bidding process. This required box reads:
"Would you like to carry your BidAssist into Post Bidding negotiations if you are the High Bidder at the end of the bidding event and the reserve price has not been met?"
