I attended a class this morning called “Agency and the Agency Relationship for Real Estate and Auction Professionals” – free continuing education classes are good especially when I have to have 16 hours by the end of the year!

The auctioneers both hosting and class and in the audience stated repeatedly how much they love working with real estate agents.  With my own company, we can make “auction referrals” to our auction team in certain selling situations.  For example, if the seller has a lot of equity and needs to sell the house FAST.  Of course the auctioneers love these referrals … I don’t know for certain that it’s their bread and butter but I’m fairly sure that referrals really do help them stay in business.

However, after the class I’m not entirely convinced that auctioneers do like real estate agents … on the buyers’ side anyway.  While they say they try to allow buyers the opportunity to inspect the house in the 10-day window that the home is being advertised for auction, in reality it’s hard to find an auctioneer agreeable to meet the agent and buyer for the inspection.  And there are no lock boxes to gain a key for entry.

In addition, unless you register your buyer 48 HOURS in advance of the auction, they are not considered your buyers according to the auction company.  Okay… that’s fair enough.  I wouldn’t like if I was auctioning a property and an agent just showed up and said to a person attending, “Hey neighbor. Let me say that I’m representing you and I can get paid by the seller!”  I agree there must be a way to manage random agents from showing up the day of and saying they represent someone just to collect money for nothing.

HOWEVER, the auctioneer teaching the class said with the 48 hour notice they require, they also require the agent to provide the agency agreement form to PROVE to the auctioneer they are really working with the buyer.  To me – and this is just my opinion – that’s overkill.  If you have a buyer and take the time to register them 48 hours in advance with the name, address, phone number, etc. of the buyer, then that should be proof enough you ARE working with them.

Again just my opinion, but give me a break. Auctioneers should welcome agents who bring buyers, not dig in their heels and make them PROVE IT.