Bid4Assets, established in 1999, was the first online real estate
auction
An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition e ...
website to operate in the United States. The company auctions distressed real estate and personal property for private investors and federal and local government. It has served the
United States Marshals
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforceme ...
, the
U.S. Department of Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
and over 100 counties throughout the United States. To date, Bid4Assets has sold over 125,000 properties nationwide and grossed over $1 billion in sales. The company is based in
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, in practice it is an edge cit ...
.
Notable auctions
Notable auctions conducted by Bid4Assets include:
* In June 2000, the presidential yacht,
USS ''Sequoia'', sold for $2 million to Gary Silversmith.
* In September 2000, Bid4Assets conducted the first-ever internet-based
tax sale for Kern County, California. Bid4Assets has conducted tax sales via online auction for 50 of the 58 counties in California.
* The original Watergate lock
* The
Beastie Boys Grand Royal record label,
* In July 2002, Bid4Assets conducted an internet-based tax sale for Washtenaw County, Michigan. This was Michigan's first-ever online tax-foreclosed property auction.
* In 2005, Bid4Assets sold the Sandshaker Lounger, Package Store and Sandwich Shop, a popular Pensacola, Florida hangout. The property was forfeited to the United States Marshals Service as a result of
Operation Sandshaker.
* In 2006, Bid4Assets auctioned a 1990 Mercedes-Benz C-11 race car driven by
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
.
* In October, 2010, Bid4Assets hosted one of the largest online real estate auctions in the history of the United States in which over 13,000 properties located in
Wayne County, Michigan
Wayne County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the United States Census placed its population at 1,793,561, making it the 19th-most populous county in the United States. The county seat is Detroit. The cou ...
, were auctioned due to unpaid real estate taxes. In 2011, the Wayne County Treasurer's Office netted a record $32 Million from the Bid4Assets online auction of 14,000 tax-foreclosed properties, double the amount collected the previous year.
* In September 2011, the
Golden Eye Diamond, a flawless 43.51-carat Fancy Intense Yellow diamond sold for $2,843,623 to Jerre Hentosh. The auction was a federal forfeiture conducted on behalf of the United States Marshals Service.
* In February 2014, Bid4Assets conducted Clark County, Washington's first internet-based tax sale. Bid4Assets has conducted tax sales via online auction for at least a dozen counties in Washington.
* Bid4Assets has also pioneered internet-based tax defaulted property sales in Idaho, Nevada, Virginia and Missouri.
* In 2015, as part of a San Francisco tax sale, Bid4Assets auctioned a private cul-de-sac in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods of San Francisco. Tina Lam and Michael Cheng purchased the property for $90,000. The story received national attention and the city ultimately reversed the sale.
*In June 2020 Bid4Assets conducted Utah’s first internet-based tax sale for
Iron County, Utah
Iron County is a county in southwestern Utah, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 46,163. Its county seat is Parowan, and the largest city is Cedar City.
The Cedar City, UT Micropolitan Statistical Area in ...
. All 135 properties either received a bid or were redeemed for payment of taxes.
*In October 2020, Bid4Assets pioneered Pennsylvania’s first internet-based sheriff sale for
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the 73rd-most populous county in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 856,553 ...
. Montgomery County’s sheriff was quoted as stating “COVID-19 was clearly the precipitating factor and an online auction is a safer way to go in the current health crisis."
References
External links
bid4assets.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bid4Assets
Online auction websites of the United States