Buyers find deals at home auctions

Tampa, Florida - Crowbar in hand and with mighty swings, Rich Ratcliff is tearing down in order to build his dream. He just started remodeling a triplex that he thinks has a lot of potential.

"It takes a lot of vision," Ratcliff says looking at all the work left to be done.

Ratcliff purchased the Palmetto Park house two months ago at an auction for foreclosed homes. He says it was quite an exciting night.

"The minute you raise that little white card... your heart rate goes from about 70 to 170 instantly."

On Tuesday, workers at the Tampa Convention Center set up for a similar auction run by REDC. The auction company expected about 1,000 people to come and at least check out the possibilities.

"That's what you come to an auction for," says Robert Michaelis of REDC. "You don't come to an auction to pay retail. You come for a deal and they'll find deals tonight for sure."

REDC will auction off more than 100 homes in the Tampa area. They range from town homes, to fixer uppers to fancy places in good shape.

And while there may be deals, Michaelis urges prospective buyers to do their homework-check out the house, check out the neighborhood, check out your financing.

"We don't want anybody coming in here buying on a whim; those deals don't close, so we want the informed buyer," says Michaelis.

Ratcliff is pretty handy with a saw and he thinks he got his place at a cut rate. He paid $39,000 at auction, which is about $5,000 less than he was prepared to offer the bank. And after a lot of sweat, he's convinced his winning bid will be a winner.

REDC conducts auctions throughout Florida and in the Tampa Bay area every couple of months. For more information on how the auctions work and the properties available click here.