Bid-on-the-City Experiences, Anyone?

Here is one previous thrad on it that I'm sure you've read.

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/13510-sold-maybe

But sorry, I have not had experience with them.
And I wouldn't if the seller isn't obligated to sell at a reserve price or min bid.
However if the property is only avail to your client that way you may have no choice.

Good Luck!

As I understand it, they want to charge my buyer (if successful) 3% on top of the purchase price which becomes my commission...That sure is gonna be popular!

This seems rather unmarketable, so I told my buyer to go to BOTC on her own, and best of luck.

If BOTC doesn't sell the apartment, I will work to get a listing from that seller. He is so eager and willing to do ANYTHING except list with a broker and get the place sold.

The Bid on the City website really need improvement. The form they want me to sign has the wrong date on it, so they told me just to cross off the date and write in something else...nothing about it inspires confidence.

{Manhattan real estate agent.}

In the other thread, truthskr sats that Urbandigs gave them a mention.

Urbandigs, calling Urbandigs; we need some feedback here.

I believe word on the street (or from the unicorn) is that he is crazy busy.

the ud link
http://www.urbandigs.com/2009/09/five_manhattan_properties_up_f.html

Good, he's busy; but CRAZY, I don't think so. ;-)

Fluter: there may be bad news for you: i don't know about BOTC, but the last time around when these type of services popped up, they had contracts with sellers which gave them an exclusive for 2 to 3 months AFTER the auction, and giving them "exclusive" rights to those buyers who attended and/or bid at the auction (or bought a bidders packet, or....).

Oh, wow, 30yrs! That is definitely possible, as such clauses are so common in r.e. as you know.

Actually, it's not bad news for me, I'm not the one who is stuck with an apartment I needed to sell yesterday.

When I spoke with him, he clearly didn't understand exactly what he signed with Bid on the City. He's smart and sophisticated, but he's very busy. And BOTC doesn't make it easy.

The best thing about Bid On the City is the catchy name. I spent quite a bit of time on their website, and called their "customer service" twice. Basically customer service sends you back to the website, which feels like it isn't quite done yet. Customer service sounded so bored, like they really didn't want to be bothered talking to me.

So after all that, I really don't understand exactly how this operation works, or what happens under various scenarios.

And if I feel that way, imagine how the typical buyer is going to feel. The buyer who is still not quite clear about the difference between a co-op and a condo, for example--real people.

The BOTC idea may have legs, I dunno, but the execution really needs improvement, in my view.

{Manhattan real estate agent.}

Fluter: as mentioned above by truthskr10 I have already started a post on this topic. there are some pros and cons on that thread.

Here is my previous thread.

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/13510-sold-maybe

"The BOTC idea may have legs, I dunno, but the execution really needs improvement, in my view."

One of the best quotes of all time was from John McKay, the famous long time Football Coach of USC. In 1976 The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, first year in the league as expansion team, lured him into pro football; a feat which many other teams had tried unsuccessfully to do. Motivating his decision was the combined fivefold salary increase (totaling $2m per year) and the prospect of building a franchise from the ground up. They finished with a 0-14 record. In an interview, he was asked what he thought of his teams execution and he said "I'm in favor of it."