I am an absolute shopaholic. I spend a lot of time patronizing literally every type of business under the sun. As an avid consumer, I believe that I have advice that I can give businesses that can help them become more successful and serve there customers better. Even though I am the only one working on this blog, much of what I write comes from endless conversations with friends and family members who have experienced frustrations when patronizing businesses, big and small. My name is Alice Stark and I hope you enjoy the journey that we will be going on together!
If you walked through a model home and found that you loved the furniture inside of it, you can purchase this furniture for yourself. This allows you to save a lot of money as this furniture is generally discounted significantly when compared to buying the same furniture from a retail store. Below are some tips on how you can do this so you can get your home set up the way you want.
Talk to the Real Estate Agent
When a model home is sold, many people do not want the furniture inside of it or the seller may not offer the furniture. Instead, they will auction off the pieces. In many cases only certain people are invited to these auctions, such as the homeowners in the community, as well as people that are already a member of the auction.
You can, however, ask the real estate agent selling the home if you can be part of this auction. If they do not know this information they can find it out for you. Once you receive the auction name you can look it up online so you can determine where it is. You will then have to pay a fee to become a member of the auction. This fee is generally a yearly fee and it is inexpensive.
Once you become a member you will receive a membership card that you must show when you attend an action. You will be sent mailings/emails with times and dates of local auctions. These mailings or emails will show photos of what is going to be sold at the auction.
Attend the Auction
In most cases, the auction is held in a large model home, as there are likely hundreds of items at the auction from furniture to home décor. Make sure you bring a lot of cash with you as many auctions will only take cash for purchases you want to make.
In most cases, you will have a certain amount of time to pick out the items you want. Once the bidding starts, the auctioneer may tell you there is a minimum starting bid. In many cases, however, you can start out the bid at whatever you want.
To help you with your bid, look up the furniture you like online to determine the price of it. Once you do this, take a certain percentage off this price, such as 30% or 40%, and start at this number. If there is no minimum bid, always start out very low as you never know if anyone else will be bidding on the furniture that you want.
Buying model home furniture in this way can be fun and in the future, you can attend more auctions to get things that you may need for your home.
Share2 July 2017
