Real Estate Services

Real Estate Services

At Kraft Real Estate Services, we are a full service real estate brokerage giving sellers the option to list their home traditionally or marketing through the auction process. Read below to learn more about all the services we offer.

Real Estate Auctions

Kraft Real Estate Auctions has years of experience selling commercial, residential, and farm properties. A Real Estate auction is a great way for buyers and sellers to achieve a price that is indicative of the true market value of a property. Generally properties at auction sell for 90 to 120 percent of what similar properties have sold for through a traditional listing with a realtor.

When marketing your property, we market the individual property through multiple channels: online, print, mailers, and yard signage. For online marketing, our marketing covers our website and multiple auction websites, the MLS which also covers Realtor.com and other major real estate websites, and social media including our 20,000+ followers on Facebook. For print advertising we still advertise in local newspapers and create auction flyers for each property. We will also create a mailer and mail that to a list of previous clients plus the 100 surrounding property owners. Lastly we will use yard signage to attract attention to the property. With all of this coverage, we are sure to find the right buyers for your property.

Also prior to the auction, we will hold an open house and allow buyers to schedule private showings to view the home. So buyers have ample time to see and inspect the house prior to bidding.

After a property is sold, the closing process is very similar to a traditional real estate sale. A broker working for Kraft Real Estate Auctions handles the contracts and closing. A key difference between auctions and traditional real estate sales is that properties sold at auction are sold “as is, where as”. This means there is no warranty and no inspection on the property; however, bidders are free to set up an appointment to inspect the property prior to the sale and do their own due diligence. Though we do disclose any issues of which we have knowledge, the seller does not need to correct these issues to close on property.

At Kraft Real Estate Auctions, real estate sales almost always occur on-site or online and may be sold one of three ways: absolute, seller’s confirmation and published minimum bid.

An absolute or no-reserve auction means the property will sell regardless of price. Often sellers find the prospect of this type of sale daunting, but absolute auctions generally attract the most buyers. Also, in this type of auction, both the buyer and the seller can be sure the sale price is the true market value of the property.

At a seller’s confirmation auction, the seller has a right to confirm or deny the highest price reached through competitive bidding at the auction. We allow sellers 24 hours to decide, which means the highest bid remains valid for that time period. If a seller immediately confirms the bid, the auctioneer will make an announcement to the bidders and ask one last time for bids. At that time the bidders can increase their bid, but if no change occurs the home is sold!

If a seller decides to use a published minimum bid, they decide on the lowest price they would be willing to take for the property. This information is announced in the listing and marketing prior to the auction. If the published minimum bid is reasonable and in line with true market value, it can encourage more bidders to come to the auction because they are certain the home will sell for that price.

Another exciting point to a real estate auction is we do not charge a commission, but we charge a buyer’s premium. So the buyer actually pays for the home to be sold, not you the seller. From the buyer’s premium we also offer participating brokers a commission if they bring a successful bidder to the auction. The only cost to the seller is marketing cost, which varies from property to property depending on the marketing needed for that home.

The auction process can be the easiest way for a seller to market their home and achieve true market value for their home. All buyers must follow the same terms, so there is no guessing which offer is the best because all buyers are playing by the same rules. Time and time again sellers are amazed in this market what their properties are selling for at auction, because we marketed the property to get the highest offer not just the fastest offer like the traditional real estate market.

Traditional Real Estate Listings

Kraft Real Estate Services also offers traditional listing services. Jay Mayden, the managing broker for Kraft Real Estate Services, oversees and manages all of our listings. Jay has decades of experience owning his own brokerage, being a managing broker for the largest real estate firm in Northwest Indiana, and now has brought all that experience to Kraft Real Estate Service to serve our clients best.

Not all properties are best suited for an auction, and with our experience we can help guide you in the right direction of what is best for your property. Please allow us the opportunity to work with you on any and all of your real estate needs.