I had an Open House this week on a property that is listed on hubzu.com for a starting bid of $234,000 and my MLS listing was for $287,260. The site says it will end the action if you are willing to pay $282,000. These numbers sound a bit confusing but I'm sure that once you play the game once or twice you will get the hang of it. Now what really has blown me away lately is the fee they are charging at the close of escrow. Hubzu is not the only one out there charging these fees but many bankers are as well, for instance, they require a $299 fee to be paid called a Technology fee and on top of that the buyer is required to pay $625 or 4.5% of the accepted bid amount whichever is higher, wow! As I've studied auctions in college, I can tell you that the property will be sold at roughly the same price with or without the fees, but as I mention the fees to one of my Open House guest, they just gave me a funny look and headed for the door...
