@SD Realtor
I am not a conspiracy guy… but does anyone think the lenders would place any shills at the auction to promote bidding?

Geesh, what will the NAR think of you now!!..
Actually I think they will. Right off the bat, on the first houses watch. The shills will be there to try to get everyone worked up, and the auction moving. Look for the same people bidding on houses in very different locations, different conditions. The shills will want to make the bidders feel that they will have to bid high to get the house. Also look for houses that were up for bid on last auction, see if they reappear.

I think this may be a flop, but we won’t hear it. Loan qualification will kill a lot of the potential buyers, but that will happen after the bidding. Are they requiring any ‘earnest money’ to bid? Watch for these houses to reappear. In fact, that might be a good thing to track. The number of times a house reappears on the auction.