Welcome to the Real Tea Podcast, brought to you by Tennessee REALTORS®. I’m your host, Angela Shields. This podcast is created for Tennessee REALTORS® to get the “tea” on all things real estate in Tennessee. We’ll bring you engaging conversations with esteemed guest in the real estate industry and cover a wide array of topics including current events, governmental affairs, education, and legal updates.
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Angela Shields (AS): Alright, today we have a great session for the Real Tea Podcast. We have a special guest, Mr. Jay Cash, the auctioneer, who is a REALTOR® member with us as well. But I am really excited about this topic today.
Jay Cash (JC): Hey, I’m thrilled to be here. This is such a fun show podcast to be on, and this is a topic that I think every REALTOR® knows a little bit about, but not quite enough. So let’s peel back the curtain and discuss everything anybody’s ever wanted to know about real estate auctions.
AS: I’m excited to learn yourself. Let’s do it! But before we let you jump off into that topic, you’ve probably heard the show enough to know. I’m going to ask you this question. We’re called the Real Tea Podcast, and therefore we ask every guest, “What do you take in your teacup?”
JC: What do I take? My teacup? I have no idea. What did Chris Garrett say on his? I have no idea.
AS: I don’t even remember. I’m sure it was something fancy.
JC: I like to say his name because he and I, we became REALTORS® in the same class together, and he’s gone on to do some pretty impressive things, and I’m proud to see where he’s at. And I think a lot of my success has come because of him and other folks. So I’d like to lean on him and say, “What did what did Chris say and his and his teacup?” What did you–What do you put in your teacup?
AS: Well, it depends. Sometimes– If I tell the truth, it’s usually coffee. I drink my tea at night.
JC: That’s what I was going to lean towards as well. Actually, it would be just– If you’re at Starbucks, the green tea. Can I use green tea? Green tea. Extra ice would be nice. That’d be alright. Let’s just go there. No sweetener. That’d be okay.
AS: I’m not a sweetener person either. I’ll drink mine straight. 100% straight.
JC: Be curious if something motivational somebody says in that answer or not but that’s a good one.
AS: The one that I remember, I think that jumps out to me is Hagan Stone. Because he gets his from Europe somewhere. So he likes the fancy teas and they are so good.
JC: Oh, green tea. No extra ice. Yeah, that’d be good.
AS: Awesome. Alright, so auctions, we’ve all heard about auctions and of course, for my mind, what I think about is somebody standing up there that can talk really, really fast. So can you do that?
JC: I can do that. That is what part of what the job entails.
AS: You have to learn to do that. Yeah. That’s amazing. It’s a talent for sure. But– So we’re talking about auctions and how they how they come into play with real estate. Tell us, for somebody who might not be familiar, how does a real estate auction kind of– Let’s just start with how it works.
JC: Yeah, so whenever I meet with the REALTOR® for the first time or a seller for the first time, everybody has a connotation of what they think an auction is but I like to just kind of start with the finest assets in the world are sold at auction, from automobiles, racehorses, fine art, jewelry… Real estate is no exception. So if you’ve got an asset that’s subject to getting multiple offers, if you’ve got a property that’s unique, hard to appraise, hard to come and auction can be your best friend.
If you’re a REALTOR® or a seller selling and wants to sell a piece of property. Unique, hard to appraise asset to do very well. Anything can be sold at an auction. Any kind of property, any kind of piece of real estate can be. It always comes down to the seller situation, and that will dictate whether or not an auction is right for them.
So when we’re talking here the next few minutes–20 minutes or however, just know that anything can be so commercial, residential, farmland, you name it, it just comes down to what is the seller situation and in the market we’re in now, or throughout Middle Tennessee or Tennessee altogether, an auction really will just accelerate the sales process into a shorter time frame, where the seller is in full control of the transaction.
We set the terms, the conditions, everything is set up front and it’s really the most fair way for a buyer to purchase because they don’t have to worry or wonder, “What are other people offering? What contingencies are being waived in a multiple offer scenario?” You don’t have to worry about any of that because the terms and conditions are the same and they’re fair for all the buyers.
They all compete on a level playing field, and auction isn’t always right for everyone but in most cases, it can be a seller’s best friend and a REALTOR®’s best friend.
AS: I see. So we were talking earlier about auctions and how it fits with the MLS. So talk to me about that.
JC: If– For folks in Middle Tennessee are our friends at Realtracs have been so good to us over the years. It’s not perfect, it’s not great, it’s not the best, but it is so much better than it could be. And I would say it probably is actually one of the best. Could it be better? Yes. In the past, it’s been difficult to list auctions on there because there’s no set price.
If it’s an absolute auction or if it’s a reserve auction, there’s just it’s pretty good the way we have it. You got the little toggle switch where you can choose to see auctions within the MLS. But when you talk to other auctioneers across the country, you see how much better off we are here in Tennessee because of our MLS. That allows us to input auctions and I don’t think anybody should check the box that excludes them because there are many, many fine properties, from dog houses to luxury houses all are fit within the gamut of an auction. So over the years I’ve seen that grow where there would have to be a list price of some sort, which makes no sense at an auction. So now it’s just, you know, auction. It says auction up there. And so it’s pretty friendly. I think there’s things we could do that we could tweak it, and we’re always giving our feedback of how we can make it better. But it’s open and it’s there, and it’s a great way to find auctions. And most auction companies are utilizing it, not all and that’s their choice to do that. But I think you definitely should.
AS: So, a way to see everything that’s on the market is to make sure you’re looking for the auctions as well.
JC: Yes.
AS: So, you mentioned reserve price and what was the other one?
JC: Absolute.
AS: Absolute price. What’s the difference?
JC: Alright, so in Tennessee all auctions are conducted with the reserve unless stated otherwise. So if you’re driving down the road, you see an auction sign or if there’s an ad on Facebook or wherever you see your advertising–if you see auction, you need to assume there’s always a reserve. All auctions are with reserve. Unless stated otherwise, the otherwise would be absolute.
Or it may say selling without reserves. That means it sells to the highest bidder regardless of price. There’s no minimum bid, there’s no reserve or any kind. Whatever the final bid is, that’s what the property is going to sell for. And throughout Middle Tennessee, which is where we call home, the majority of our auctions are all absolute. They sell to the highest bidder.
There is no set reserve price. And there’s reasons a seller should go with an absolute auction. There’s also reasons you should set a reserve. And a good, competent auctioneer would be able to explain which in which scenario would be the best for the particular asset or seller situation.
AS: So what are some of the benefits? Excuse me. What are some of the benefits for going with an auction versus just a regular listing?
JC: Well, if time matters, if the end of the day auctions provide confidence and certainty, you’re getting the most money. It’s not a right way or a wrong way. When I meet with REALTORS®, I some of the top brokers in Middle Tennessee, I’m proud to call friends, and we work together regularly because they know how to leverage an auction to get the most money out of a property.
You name the city, name, wherever it is. I could tell you, you know, an auction will work if it’s properly advertised and properly conducted. But why? You would want to maybe consider or a realtor consider referring a property to an auction is if it’s, let’s just say unique. Hard to appraise. So I’ve said that already today. If it maybe isn’t in the best condition, where you know it’s going to get eaten alive on home inspections and such, that can be a good thing.
If you’ve got a property that is overly improved and there’s, you know, again, it just goes back to it’s impossible to comp as good as so many of us are as real estate brokers. It’s a guessing game. “What is this property going to bring? What is it worth?” You don’t want to grossly over list it. You don’t want to list, you know, price it too far underneath.
And what an auction provides is confidence and certainty. It’s bringing its fair market value. As long as it’s properly advertised and conducted, it will do that. When you’re having an auction, the seller sets the terms and conditions. It kind of alluded to that earlier. You know, exactly when the closing date is going to be. The seller will set that with the auctioneer and the REALTOR®.
We’re all in the same team working together, but we’ll set the terms and conditions. How much money is required now? It could be a percentage or a flat rate fee. It could be 10% down the day of the sell. The balance is doing 30 days. There are no contingencies. And that’s what is nice about an auction, is that a seller can move on with life.
They know it’s going to sell on Saturday, June 13th at 10 a.m., and in 30 days it’ll be closed and over with. Whenever some sellers have sell off home contingencies, their house is just sitting on the market waiting, waiting, waiting. Well, an auction forces the market to show up and participate in bid versus just waiting for an offer to come.
It also depends on the asset, if it’s going to be super hot or not of an auction, but it needs to be something generally that people are going to want, you know, a property that’s going to be in demand or desirable. Otherwise you just got to use your judgment on, you know, how well is it going to perform when you have an auction, which is ultimately what everybody wants to know, what’s my place going to bring? And a good auctioneer will try to get you in a general ballpark of what that number looks like.
AS: So when you when you talk about contingencies and such, or are there times that you would have somebody say cash only.
JC: Yeah. So really at auction it, it sounds like it’s cash only, but I’d say the preponderance of buyers at auctions are always borrowing money one way or another. It could be just a conventional loan. It could be a lock pulling it out of some sort of retirement account or investment account. It’s not. Every auction company may have different tolerances they allow, but for the most part, the majority of good auction companies in Middle Tennessee and the state and the southeast will allow for financing.
It’s just not contingent upon it. So if you pay $1 million for a property and it appraises for $900, well, you’re going to need to figure out something or you’re going to lose your earnest money deposit. It’s not contingent upon it. So financing is acceptable. Most people do. Just make sure you’ve got your ducks in a row, and you know you can perform within the 30 or 45 day period.
AS: And our REALTOR® is able to be a part of a deal that goes to auction.
JC: Yes. Like I said, some of the best REALTORS® right now, I could just start to pull up my phone and just start naming top producers in every county in Middle Tennessee that text or call, often with properties, and they know how to leverage an auction. So most auctioneers that not all, but most will co-op and work with a referring agent if you have a client.
So if you got a listing, that percentage or fee could be whatever you want to negotiate with that particular auctioneer. Some are going to be more favorable to splitting it right down the middle 50/50. It could just be a percentage of whatever the property sells for. But REALTORS® can make a lot of money referring properties to auction, and they get to look like the hero of the deal of the transaction.
You can also make a little bit with the buyer’s agent. That’s not as much fun. It’s a lot more work involved in that, but you can have success with the representing a buyer at an auction. Not always, but definitely. There’s plenty of auctioneers that will co-op with a realtor. And again, it’s just like anything else that you could look for title companies.
You could look for handymen, home inspectors. You know, there’s there’s there’s good in every field. There’s good auctioneers, there’s great. And then there’s bad ones just like there is, you know, you’ve got closing companies and that couldn’t even close the front door versus close the transaction. So you got to figure out who the good ones are versus those that are need to, you know, probably not be doing what they do.
AS: Sure. Like you said, in every–
JC: Every fields that way. Yes, absolutely.
AS: So are there unique rules that that Tennessee REALTOR® should be aware of when it comes to.
JC: When it comes to having an auction, it is very similar to like when you first get your license as an auctioneer. It’s similar to being a REALTOR®. It’s similar because it’s estate license. It’s issued by the state. There’s a governing board. There’s the you know– TREC oversees all real estate license and then there’s the Tennessee Auctioneers Commission that oversees auctioneers.
So we have the dual license. In order to sell real estate at auction, I have to have a real estate brokers license as well. So we have that had that for as long as I’ve had an auctioneer’s license. So in Tennessee you’ve got to have auctioneers license and you’ve got to have your real estate license. And then beyond that, the actual auction, there’s tons of nuances that have to be included in all your advertising.
Similar to a REALTOR®. There are certain protocols that have to be met and contracts have to. There isn’t a set, standardized form like we have as REALTORS® with the real estate with [Tennessee REALTORS®]. All auction companies kind of have their own different, you know, layout and verbiage that’s used but overall there are certain parameters that have to be in every contract. But mainly just have to have your license and know how to stay out of trouble. Don’t don’t make any bozo mistakes that will get you jammed up, but no different than being a real estate agent. There’s certain rules and, you know, code of ethics that we all have to follow. Just like [Tennessee REALTORS®], there is the Tennessee Auctioneers Association. And that’s one of the things I tell REALTORS® to look for.
When you’re going to hire an auctioneer, you want to find somebody that is a part of their state and national association. Why would you be in the industry, but not be a part of the one association that represents what you do? Just like there’s great, probably great real estate agents that aren’t realtor members, but it makes me question twice. Okay, well, what’s up for you not to be you know, there’s a certain level of expertise or competency you know, you’re dealing with. When you do see that you’re working with a realtor member versus someone who’s not. And everybody has their own reasons. But I can’t think of a reason why you wouldn’t be a part of your state or national association.
So it’s very similar. You got your state and local associations, you’ve got your state license laws, you’ve got errors and omissions insurance. And then just, you know, a book full of rules that we have to abide by at auction.
AS: And to throw a random question at you is when you think about auctions, is there a particular story? Of course, not giving names or locations, really? Is there a particular story that comes to mind, that favorite story of an auction or anything like that?
JC: There’s so many. There’s so many. I mean, I dream to be where we are now, where we’re, you know, I just wanted to have one auction a month when I got started, and that was hard to do. Now it’s, you know, we’ll have 12 in a week sometimes depending on how many it is. And there’s there’s auctions all over Middle Tennessee.
But I tell you, I narrowed down the stories to really the ones that matter where with the money really makes a difference, where it never makes a difference for everybody. But when it can be life changing, where, you know, it could be a lot. And Dixon, we sold recently, you know, seller didn’t know what to do with it, inherited it.y
You know, local local folks that offered her $40,000. Maybe it’s worth $40. It’s probably not worth $40. Didn’t know what to do with this little light she inherited. And we ended up selling it for $100,000. Well, that’s that’s a lot of money to someone that has never seen that kind of money before. And then there’s others where, you know, a farm that, you know, you’re projected to bring $3 million brings $4.3 million.
But it’s really just when I find that we have the best auctions for sellers, when they’re not being needy or not being greedy, when they just want the most, everybody wants the most money they can possibly get. They’re not trying to be stingy about it. They just want a fair market price. They want confidence and certainty. They’re getting all they can.
And those usually make for the best sales. But really, it’s just I would narrow it down to when you’re making an impact in someone’s life by, you know, selling their asset for maybe more than anybody thought it would bring. And that’s what an auction can do. It will set fair market value. There’s many times an auction will far exceed a previously listed price of of a property that’s been listed. There’s other times that an auction can maybe hurt your feelings a little bit, because the market says it’s not worth what we thought it’s worth. And that’s why having a good auctioneer that knows how to promote and put the property in front of a buyer base it’s willing to pay the most, is so important. There’s top performing realtors that will list a property and it just doesn’t move for whatever reason and you try to chase it with price reductions and it’s still just sits there. Then we follow it up with an auction and we have 30 people show up wanting to compete on it. And you wonder, where have you all been the last six months? There’s nothing wrong. There’s no wrong answer. When I sit down with the seller, you’re not.
We’re not going to let you make a wrong decision. You’re either going to list it or we’re going to have an auction. But we’re going to let you weigh the pros and cons of both for you to make a business decision for the realtor to make a business decision, should we have an auction here, or should we just list it and it will all come back to the seller situation and it will dictate whether or not an auction works for them or not.
AS: And that’s interesting as as I’m listening to you, I’m kind of picturing it in my mind. So on average, how long would you promote it before the day of the auction?
JC: Typically, an auction campaign might be two to three weeks. Okay. Like if you have an auction, it’s going to be six months from now. There’s no urgency. Why get excited over a property that’s selling in October when it’s April, you know, so there’s no need to promote it or advertise it. But usually it’s two to three weeks of a highly saturated marketing campaign that is very similar to what a REALTOR® will do. Very similar. Just different because we don’t have to list a price. I think my job is so easy. I don’t have to pick a price. I don’t have to look at comps. It’s going to bring what it’s going to bring as long as it’s properly advertised and conducted. And that campaign is usually, like I said, two to three weeks. And it’s it works.
AS: Is there any type of preview period?
JC: It should be. Should be I mean, there’s so many things I want to just start rattling about. But yeah, the far is the preview periods. The world we’re living in now, all auctions are really turning into simulcast events where there is a live component where you can show up and bid at the property, and then you could also bid online, you know, where it’s just a live streaming event where you can see video and audio of the auction, but you could be in Knoxville and the property be in Murfreesboro, and you can participate without being there in person. There’s a lot of pros to that. But obviously, just like selling a house any time or if you’re buying a car, I think it’s good to test drive the car you’re buying. Look at it. There’s some people that don’t need to do that. They don’t have to look at the car before or drive it, or they don’t have to see the house, but it makes me feel better.
We just this weekend we were in Hartsville, Tennessee, and the buyer was online from Colorado. They came to look at the open house twice, had two open houses. They came to both of them before and then the day of the auction on Saturday, they just participated online, which was a lot of fun. They could watch and see it, but they’re on a computer and we had a crowd of bidders in Hartsville participating.
So yes, there’s always opportunities. Some auction companies are peculiar, and maybe they don’t. And if I always say if you’re a realtor or a prospect or a buyer and you’re logging on and you’re trying to find information and you don’t feel warm and fuzzy or you’re confused or you don’t understand the terms and conditions, that ought to be a red flag right there, because it should be very simple.
Auctions are simple. They’re transparent. Shouldn’t be any confusion on on what’s expected of you as a buyer or if you’re a realtor, what’s expected of you. And so I always say like if it’s making you feel kind of uneasy or you don’t know, then start asking questions or call me or call somebody that you do know that is competent, and I will help guide you through what you should be asking.
AS: And or most of the time, as are you buying as-is? Or do you get the disclosure?
JC: That is really one of the benefits of an auction, and it’s as it’s selling as-is. That doesn’t mean we’re there to hide any obvious issues with the house. Like if there’s a blatant defect, there’s a sinkhole, you know, off the back of what? We’re not going to hide that all of that is, you know, up front. It’s as-is as in the seller is not going to come back to do any kind of grooming, cleaning or maintenance after the fact.
There is no negotiations like that. It’s funny how a REALTOR®, no matter who they are, if they put it on the MLS as a traditional listing and it says as is anywhere in the remarks, people just think, what’s wrong with it? My gosh, oh, what kind of stigma that causes. And there’s no stigma. It’s just saying we’re not going to fix anything.
You’re buying it just the way it is. Inevitably, you still will get an offer that’s subject to an inspection. It may be a pass fail, which means they’re not going to ask for repairs, but they’re either going to accept it or not, which is fine. And we allow that at an auction, too. If you want to come in and inspect it, look at it but we’re not going to fix anything. But it’s so funny how an auction can list and be as is, and nobody questions anything. Versus if you put it online traditionally on the MLS, everybody thinks there must be something wrong with it or what’s what’s the issues here and there isn’t any. It’s just the difference of an auction and a listing.
AS: And when you talk about marketing, is it that you have like a base that you market to, or is it marketed to.
JC: Everywhere, everywhere, you know, when it’s online or around the world? We’ve this year alone, we’ve had buyers from South Carolina to California, which is fun. Colorado was this weekend. Two weeks ago we were in Winchester and all of the bidding, there was very few people in person kind of hurts my feelings, and there’s not that many people show up in person.
But the two bidders came down to Indianapolis and bidders in Virginia, and it was ultimately just them back and forth and bidding online and hardly even need me there just need a computer to do it. But yeah, it can be preview before and seen before and. Yeah, exactly.
AS: Wow. Any idea how many auctioneers we have?
JC: You know, I think like licensed in Tennessee– So in Tennessee there’s different levels of your license. There is the bid caller only. So that’s the guy that just talks fast, but they’re not handling any money. That might be a person that works at a car auction facility that just sells cars there. They show up, they sell for two hours, and they get a paycheck and they go home.
So that is a different class of an auctioneer’s license than what maybe I’m doing where where I’m handling money. We’re taking earnest money to posits. Or we may have an estate sale. We’re selling personal property, we’re handling money. So our license is a little more restrictive on what we can do and what we have to be liable for when we’re handling other people’s money, obviously. But yes, I forgot the exact question you just asked me, but I know about licensing and–
AS: About how many.
JC: How many, I think. Is it like, I don’t know, I’m going to crucify if I’m wrong, but it could be 2,000 or so. It’s not that many. It’s not that many in Tennessee. It’s a pretty small bunch.
AS: How often do you find that the property is with an estate sell where you’re selling just everything?
JC: It’s often that’s usually the number one call is somebody died and they have a lot of stuff to sell. And personal property is the toughest asset to sell and at least Middle Tennessee, I say that, but I went to Decatur, Tennessee. Forget what county Decatur was in. I have no clue what county that is but we were just down there.
And I mean, it was like olden times had a huge yard full of people, and it’s just kind of like a glorified yard sale selling pots and pans and, and the tools and all sorts of things in the front yard. And it really just fits on the community and where you are in Middle Tennessee, it’s hard to get a crowd to show up.
All of the estate sales are done online. It’s just bidding online from your computer. You don’t come in person, but a lot of the auctions we do are estate sales where somebody passed away. But that’s not always the case. Many times it’s sellers that value their time. They value certainty, and knowing when they can have a definite date of when a property is going to be sold. They don’t wait around for wondering when an offer is going to come. They can set it and force buyers to have to act. And really, I have no clue what percentage of even our business is a state. It’s a lot. It’s a lot. It’s tomorrow I’m going to go meet a lady that’s inherited 14 properties from her, from her brother. And we’re just going to go try to go look at them all. See what all they all we’re going to be able to sell them all in one setting at an auction. And I think I don’t think I know they will bring more money in an auction setting than they would trying to sell one at a time. And then for the sake of just peace of mind, getting them all sold in one setting versus weeks to months.
AS: So if you had someone who was listening that might have an interest in and they’re thinking about auctioning, “Sounds kind of interesting, I might be in interested in getting into that profession.” What would be some tips you might get?
JC: That I would say first, go to auctions and visit with an auctioneer and just learn what really goes on the next question. The next thing will be you got to go get your auction license, which is like ten days, two weeks. Similar to becoming a real estate agent, you got to go to class for two weeks. Most of that is in person.
So you got to go to an accredited auction school, pass your auctioneers test there, then come back. Apply for your apprenticeship in Tennessee. In Tennessee, the apprenticeship is only six months, which is not long enough, but it is what it is. It’s six months. And then from there you’re an auctioneer. What’s really neat, if you’re watching right now, the neat thing about the auctioneers license is you don’t have a brokerage.
There’s not like a principal broker like you do. If you’re at name the XYZ Realty, you know your affiliate broker, then you have your broker and then you all work with under that umbrella. In Tennessee, every auctioneer is essentially their own owner. They own the company. They are the company. They’re not necessarily a part of a big brokerage or whatever that, you know, each auctioneer, if you were an auctioneer and you had your license, you would be fully fledged. You didn’t have to associate with the company at all. You are the auctioneer and can operate your own company. There is no brokerage that you’re a part of. There is no longer a firm license anymore in Tennessee. That got removed a few years ago of trying to make the auctioneer industry more inclusive, more easier. The barrier to entry, they said, was too difficult.
And so the state legislator changed the laws on just making it easier to become an auctioneer. Removing the apprenticeship from two years to six months was looked at as a good thing, like, hey, it’ll be easier. But what we’ve learned is six months isn’t long enough to learn anything. You know, there’s some folks that get their auctioneer’s license they can’t find anywhere to put their apprenticeship for six months because no auctioneers want to.
It’s six months isn’t enough time to learn. You know, it really probably does take two years. When you’re done with your apprenticeship. After six months, you realize, hey, I don’t I don’t know enough yet to really go out and be successful at it. You know, it took me 20 years to learn how to figure out what I was doing.
AS: And you were.
JC: Born in and I was born into it, and I’m proud to be doing it. But it’s it’s a long grind, just like anything else you know, you sit around and look at all these other top producing agents and auctioneer. “How did they get there?” Well, they never quit. That’s the one thing they just kept at it, kept at it, and eventually it will take off. But it’s fairly simple to get your auctioneer’s license in Tennessee.
AS: Well, it’s obvious you’re very passionate.
JC: Yes, ma’am.
AS: So I’m going to wrap up by asking tips for REALTORS®. You’ve given a lot, but what would be your final tips to REALTORS® about how they can learn more about the auction process, how they can get involved and not be afraid of it?
JC: Yeah, the first thing would be just go out and interview an auctioneer. Look at somebody that you think I would like to associate with this person, this company. They look like they’ve got their act together. They don’t look like they’re just, you know, part time or halfway into it. They are full on auction company. I’m very critical of other auction companies or auctioneers that dabble in everything.
Hey, you’re going to be an expert. You got to pick one thing, you know, and it’s being an auctioneer and real estate broker. And Tennessee, Western Kentucky, that’s all I know how to do. And I’m the best at it, I think. But find somebody you can associate with that you can trust your reputation with, because we know how hard it is to get a client to nurture them and then to be able to when I got to hand it over to somebody else, that you got to be able to trust them, that they know what they’re doing and to just show up, interview them, go to other auctions, check out their digital footprint online, see how much business they’re doing, and see if it’s something that you would want to be associated with. And then look for someone that’s going to be transparent.
I’ve learned that over the years. Years ago, decades ago, I’d say that, you know, a lot of auctioneers, they weren’t welcoming of REALTORS®, didn’t want REALTORS® to know what was going on. And it’s just mind blowing that that would even be a thought. Find somebody that’s going to be transparent. It’s going to be part let you be a part of the transaction from start to finish. You can make a lot of money. If you refer sellers to auction, you can make a little bit of money if you represent a buyer.
And just don’t be afraid of asking questions. There’s a there’s a class that I teach for [Tennessee REALTORS®] that is always packed. The room is always full when it’s over. It’s just people have dozens of questions after it’s over. And I love just teaching REALTORS® what they need to know so you can sell more properties at auctions. Many times an auction can solve a seller situation easier than a listing can, but nobody understands how auctions work, so you’re very hesitant to refer someone to an auction when you yourself don’t even understand it.
So I love just to educate REALTORS® on how the auction works, how it can benefit their client and themselves, obviously by getting paid. And that’s the best thing, is don’t be afraid to ask questions and and go do a little bit of research and call me when you’re ready.
AS: Especially now that you’re seeing it in the MLS. I think it’s very important to make sure you understand it. And I’m so glad you mentioned the class because I wanted to give that plug. Yes, I think it’s important if you have the opportunity to take that class, to jump in there and take it, and we’re going to look at bringing that back to our content.
JC: Yeah. Going, going, gone. Auctioneers and brokers. It was a clever name. I can’t remember exactly what we call it, but I think we’ve taught it maybe 600. It is insane how many people have taken it over the years in the amount of people that have gone on to leverage an auction? There’s no right way or a wrong way. There’s no wrong or right answer other than whatever’s in the seller’s best situation. And many times the auction can be the easiest, simplest way to get the most money. And realtors can still look like the hero, and it works well for everyone.
AS: That’s awesome.
JC: Yes, ma’am.
AS: Well, thank you so much. Thank you here and sharing all of that. It’s I think it’s fabulous to be able to expand our knowledge on that.
JC: Absolutely. Thank you for letting me come.
AS: Yeah.
JC: Thank you ma’am.
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So thank you all for joining us today on the Real Tea Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Then visit tnrealtors.com to submit your questions and topics for future episodes of the Real Tea Podcast. Thanks for listening.
