RealForeclose.com
The dominant platform for Florida judicial foreclosure auctions and a growing share of other judicial states. Clerk-of-court administered — technically operated by GrantStreet Group on behalf of individual county clerks.
- Property type — judicial foreclosure sales (primarily Florida; also some Indiana, Mississippi, Texas counties)
- Registration — free at realforeclose.com. Separate registration per county jurisdiction.
- Deposit — 5% of winning bid, due immediately via wire or ACH.
- Balance — 95% balance due by noon the next business day. In certified funds.
- Buyer premium — varies by county; typically 0% (Florida often has no buyer premium; some counties charge modest service fees).
- Title warranty — none. Sale subject to any surviving liens.
Auction.com
Largest online foreclosure auction platform by volume. A ServiceLink subsidiary (a Fidelity National Financial company). Covers trustee sales in non-judicial states plus substantial REO inventory from major banks and servicers.
- Property types — trustee sales (California, Texas, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, other non-judicial states); bank REO auctions; short-sale auctions
- Registration — free. Must verify identity and provide bidder deposit before bidding.
- Bidder deposit — typically $2,500–$5,000 held during bidding. Applied to winning purchase; refunded otherwise.
- Buyer premium — 5% technology feeadded to winning bid. Meaningful — on a $200K purchase, that’s $10K on top. Must be priced into MAO.
- Reserve — many listings have undisclosed reserves; sale doesn’t happen unless reserve is met.
- Balance — varies by property type. Trustee sales typically due within 24 hours; REO auctions may allow 30 days for financing.
Hubzu
Altisource Portfolio Solutions platform. Primarily bank REO inventory, particularly from Ocwen and subsidiary servicers. Sometimes uses reverse-auction format (price drops over time if no bid).
- REO focus; not trustee or judicial sales
- Buyer premium typically 5%
- Extended closing timelines (30–45 days typical)
- Financing permitted — conventional or investor
- Typical reserve pricing (occasional no-reserve)
Xome
Mr. Cooper (formerly Nationstar) subsidiary. REO and short-sale focused. Integrated with a title and appraisal services company which can streamline the closing process for investors using Xome’s bundled services.
- REO + short sale focus
- Buyer premium 5%
- MLS-linked listings; often accept conventional offers alongside auction bids
- Flexible closing timelines
bid4assets
Multi-state government auction platform. Dominant in California tax deed sales (covering San Francisco, San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles counties and others), plus Texas and Washington tax sales, government surplus, and judicial foreclosures in select jurisdictions.
- Tax deed auctions (primary strength)
- Some judicial foreclosures
- Government surplus real estate
- Bidder deposit required; varies by auction
- Buyer premium 5–10% typical
- Balance due quickly (often 1–3 business days)
Zeus Auction
Another multi-jurisdictional platform, growing share of judicial foreclosure auctions in several states. Particularly active in Mississippi, Alabama, and secondary markets. Mechanics typically follow the county’s prevailing rules (deposit, balance, warranty) with Zeus providing the online bidding infrastructure.
Treasury.gov / irsauctions.gov
IRS-seized property auctions for unpaid federal tax debts. Property types: residential, commercial, industrial, boats, aircraft, collectibles. Residential is the minority but exists.
- Listings at treasury.gov “auctions”
- Typical deposit 10% of high bid at sale
- Balance 30–60 days
- No buyer premium typically
- 180-day federal redemption right — the delinquent taxpayer can reclaim the property by paying the winning bid plus interest
GSAauctions.gov
Federal government surplus real estate — former military bases, federal buildings, VA hospitals, excess federal property. Rare residential inventory; mostly large commercial or industrial parcels. Require specialized commercial underwriting.
Buyer premium is part of the price
The 5–10% buyer premium adds meaningfully to the effective price. Winning a property at $200,000 nominal on Auction.com with a 5% premium actually costs $210,000 at close. On MAO math, that’s 5% off the profit margin — sometimes the entire profit margin.
Professional auction bidders always calculate MAO inclusive of buyer premium. If the 70% Rule yields MAO of $150,000 and the platform charges 5% buyer premium, the maximum actual bid is $142,857 (so that $142,857 × 1.05 = $150,000). Missing this adjustment is how profitable deals become breakeven.
Common pitfalls
- Buyer premium math. Forgetting the 5–10% premium. Bid the wrong number, win the wrong deal.
- Undisclosed reserves. Many REO auctions have reserves the platform doesn’t reveal. You win the bid but the seller rejects because reserve wasn’t met. Deposit may be held while you wait.
- Balance timing. Failing to wire balance within the required window forfeits the deposit. On RealForeclose, noon next business day is non-negotiable.
- No interior inspection. Almost always auction-standard: you’re bidding sight-unseen on the interior. Budget for surprises.
- Title warranty varies. Some platforms convey clean title; many convey “trustee’s deed without warranty.” Understand what you’re getting before bidding.
- Online bidding lag. In the final seconds, network lag can cost you a bid. Don’t try to snipe the closing second; bid earlier with safety margin.
- Forfeited deposit. Failing to close a winning bid typically forfeits the deposit entirely, plus the platform may ban you. Don’t bid unless you can absolutely close.
- Post-sale surprises. Bidding platforms sometimes disclose new information (occupancy, title defects, condition) between the winning bid and close. Read every post-sale notification.