Take The Risk Or Not?

I am a risk taker and always have been, with lots of things. I am still that way. So I say, yes, take the risk. And I did. I placed bids on a few different properties, 4 in all I think, at different times. I would bid and bid again, always having "my max price" in mind, and never going over that. 

It's hard to determine what something is wroth, especially a house, when you can't see it in person. So I bid on this house and that house, but didn't win the auction. That's fine, again, time wasn't working against us. We can really wait this out as long as needed. 

The other factor in all of this is there is a reserve set. If you are unfamiliar with what a reserve price is, it is the minimum amount the seller will take for whatever you are purchasing, however, only the seller knows what this amount is. So it is always a guessing game from the buyer's perspective. I've done this many times in the past on eBay, but now we are talking about a lot more money.

I think I had bid on my 4th house when I get a phone call. The phone call came from auction.com, and not only did one person call, but two people did. Hmmm. Why? I didn't answer the phone either time, but they both left voicemails. Both left the same message. The house I was currently bidding on that was due to end that evening, well I was really close to winning, and if I bid one more time, I would win the auction. Hmmmm. Sales tactic? I dont't know, but I didn't take the bait. I had set "my max price" and had bid my last bid. Perhaps too bad so sad for me. Needless to say, I didn't win the auction. Back to square one.

The curiosity that always kills me, ya, I keep looking. Well this time my looking paid off in a big way. With the houses I had previously bid on (by this time one was actually sold on auction), I was able to find the reserve price on each one! Holy Shit! Someone fucked up, and in my favor. Lucky me! I don't know how this happened, but it did. So I took a screen shot of each one so I could double check my memory, and shared the news with my husband. 

As it turns out, the most recent house I had bid on, the one I received phone calls about, ya, they weren't lying. I was damn close to that reserve price with my last bid! But now I had to wait. Because houses are on for 48 hours then off for 5 days, and it repeats. Excellent, because this gave me time to consider if I wanted to buy any of these houses, now knowing what each one would cost.