HOW TO BUY A HOUSE FOR A PENNY
SMALL CHANGE: Win a house for a few pence
By Emily Garnham for express.co.uk
THE OLD saying ‘safe as houses’ is redundant thanks to the fluctuating and volatile nature of the housing market.
But now there’s a way to play the property game without risking it all - and you could bag yourself a four bedroom detached Staffordshire house for as little as a penny.
Online auctioneer Humraz sells anything from gold bullion to family homes to the lowest unique bidder.
So if you bid £0.03 and no one else matches your bid, you get the prize.
***VISIT HUMRAZ'S ONLINE AUCTION ROOM AND HAVE A GO!***
Humraz founder Asmat Monaghan told express.co.uk: ‘We wanted to find a system to help people in this country get on the property ladder and lowest unique bids were an obvious route for this.
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STRIKE GOLD: The online auction house also sells gold bullion
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“We developed our auctions to give anyone the opportunity to purchase assets like property for a fraction of their value. There is nothing like this anywhere else in the world – it’s a totally unique new concept.’
What’s the catch? To take part you have to buy a virtual seat at the auction and the cost of the seat depends on how much the lot is worth.
If you want to bid on a three-bed semi in Northern Island worth £190,000 you’re looking at paying between £35 and £95 just to get involved.
But Ms Monaghan points out that property auctions always involve some financial risk as bidders have to pay for surveys and legal work before they can even place a bid.
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Only time will tell if this frenzied property free-for-all is a hit with punters
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“There’s an element of risk involved in our auctions,” she admits.
“But it’s minimal compared with a traditional auction. And the reward is much greater too.”
The auctioneer sells seats until the cost of the lot is covered, so for Humraz, there is no risk. And the higher the seat price, the fewer the bidders there are.
And at the end of the auction the seller is also guaranteed to get exactly what their home is worth.
In theory it’s a sound idea and in practise it’s Internet war. Once the auction kicks off, all hell breaks loose as bidders use their hundred-bid limit to find the lowest unique price within the time limit.
Handy arrows indicate what prices the unique figure falls between - so no one is stabbing in the dark.
Only time will tell if this frenzied property free-for-all is a hit with punters.
Observers say it will attract youngsters desperate to get a foot on the property ladder and those who like a flutter - but whether or not it will attract property investors is another story.
***BACK TO PROPERTY FOR MORE TOP STORIES!***
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Founder Asmat Monaghan with her daughter Hinna Khan
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PENNY AUCTIONS
17.08.09, 11:33am
Well i think the better is gozila.co.uk penny auction. Unlikely to others it really allows players to win valuable items.
By the way, most of penny auction sites uses bot's , so you realy need to calculate your cash and calculate how many auction earned from the item you bid to.
My suggest is to use ebay, with non-cost bid system.
Mark
• Posted by: markyone • Report Comment
DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE BAD?
17.07.09, 9:03am
I don't think the previous commentor has even bothered to look at the site. They have to run the auction to make the money for the house - and no one pays until the auction runs.
As for the comment: -
"they probaly get a commision of the seller from the sale"
What you mean like an estate agent? Hwo awful.
• Posted by: man7 • Report Comment
SCAM
24.03.09, 1:58pm
this idea is fine as long as the person running it are honest,
1. how does a player know how many have already singed up and paid for the auction, only these women know that
2. they probaly get a commision of the seller from the sale
3. This works on the basis that players do not know how much the seller wants for the property
4. On that basis alone you could keep selling auction places and keep saying we have not reached the sellers price yet
• Posted by: Maharg • Report Comment
SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT IDEA!
05.02.09, 9:52pm
I'm tempted to enter myself, I think this shows lots of initiative and good timing!
I've read that there are many house raffles and competitions in the UK at the moment, given the poor conditions in property market.
This competition in Devon did reallly well, but have they picked a winner yet, does anyone know?
http://win-house.co.uk/blog/competition-updates/9-win-a-devon-property-with-fishing-house-competition-closes-two-months-early.html
• Posted by: jimmy_peckham • Report Comment
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