Auction site used to sell multi-million dollar home

By Marlee Ginter | WOOD 8 TV

 Buying or selling a house can be a stressful process.

But what if you didn't have to put the "For Sale" sign out in the yard then sit and wait?

When you imagine an auction — you may think of secondhand stuff no one wants. But that's not always the case.

Some are placing bids on their next home. 

"The benefit for the buyer is they get to pay what they want to pay. They get to place a bid and if that's the value — they win then they can get it," said Scott Kirk, president and CEO of Interluxe, an online real estate auction company.  

You can't see it from the road, but nestled in the trees at 6479 144th Ave. in Ottawa County, sits a two-level mansion set to go up on the auction block.   

The four bedroom, seven bathroom and three kitchen home comes furnished and was once listed for more than $5.65 million.

Kirk auctions off multi-million-dollar luxury homes priced from $2 million and up around the world. 

"They (the sellers in auctions) have the benefit of bringing the maximum value forward in 45 days whereas property in excess of a million dollars typically sits on the MLS for over a year," Kirk said.

Anyone interested in bidding has to pay a $100,000 refundable deposit. 

The buyer then closes on the house 45 days later. 

"In Australia, nearly 80% of real estate is sold through auction currently. It's actually one of the oldest ways of transacting trade throughout history," Kirk said.

He says it's the best way to purchase and it should be expanding.