About Us

Company Overview - How It Started

Ben Stern, founder and CEO of 123Sold.com, is an expert at the purchase and sale of real estate. As a recognized authority in the foreclosure investment market, Ben Stern has been featured in numerous articles in various publications, including The Miami Herald, The Wall Street Journal, South Florida Business Journal and The Sun Sentinel. Since entering the business in 1988 as a Real Estate Broker and Investor, he has purchased and sold thousands of properties. During the Real Estate “boom” of the early 2000’s, Ben Stern expanded his business to become the largest purchaser and seller of existing single family homes in South Florida. In 2005, the “boom” began to show signs of weakening. Ongoing news reports of a softening market had a chilling effect on buyers. Then, the devastation of Hurricane Wilma in October, 2005 destroyed what remained of the South Florida real estate market. At that time, Ben Stern had 191 properties in his inventory that he needed to sell. Buyer interest was virtually non-existent.

Traditional selling and marketing strategies stopped working. Lowering prices did not work. Remodeling and renovating the properties did not work. Installing lush landscaping did not work. Offering higher commissions and bonuses to brokers did not work. Open houses did not work. Even offering to pay the buyers’ first year of mortgage payments did not work. NOTHING WORKED!

In another attempt to attract buyers, Ben Stern came up with an innovative approach to sell his properties. He decided to allow the buyer to determine the market value by holding an absolute auction. On the day of the auction over 3,000 individuals streamed into the Broward County Convention Center to participate in the sale of 104 of Ben Stern’s properties. IT WORKED!

The properties sold and in many cases, for more than the previously listed price.

Due to the overwhelming success of the auction, many other sellers approached Ben Stern to organize another auction in order to sell their properties.

A few months later, largely on behalf of these sellers, Ben Stern conducted a second auction of over 160 properties. Sellers readily paid up front fees of up to $4,000 per property to participate in the auction. Once again, the buyers came and the properties sold. Once again, IT WORKED!

Ben Stern came to a number of key conclusions from these auctions:

• Auctions work.
• Auctions create markets.
• Auctions turn spectators into bidders and bidders into buyers.
• Most buyers purchased properties relying solely on photographs displayed on the promotional website or photos displayed at the auction.
• There is a huge demand by sellers to dispose of property via auction.
• Buyers are attracted to auctions by the notion of getting a bargain.
• Buyers and sellers are attracted to auctions because they offer results in an accelerated timeframe.

As a result, the concept for 123Sold.com was born.

HOUSING AUCTION DRAWS THOUSANDS 'THESE AREN'T BARGAINS,' PROPERTY SPECULATOR SAYS

[Broward Metro Edition]
South Florida Sun - Sentinel - Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Author: Macollvie Jean-Franois Staff Writer Staff Researcher Bill Lucey contributed to this report.
Date: July 30, 2006

Wanda Brown has been trying to buy a house for some time, but without success.

When she saw an advertisement for the Great South Florida Real Estate Auction on Saturday, the Plantation resident rushed over to the Broward County Convention Center to take her chances. She brought along a $2,500 registration and bidding fee and quickly set her sights on a three-bedroom, two-bath single family home in the Breezeswept Park Estates in Plantation.

A few others among the 2,000 who filled the Floridian ballroom also liked the property. The winning bid was $292,000.

"That's overpriced," said Brown, 48, a school board maintenance employee. "I know the houses in that area. It's a nice area, but it's no $300,000 house."

Many potential homebuyers, Realtors and speculators who attended the daylong auction of almost 100 properties shared Brown's feelings. Some were also taken aback by the "as-is" contract terms they received in their registration packages.

But to Ben Stern, whose Synergy Group real estate firm owned the properties, the turnout meant South Florida's housing market remains in a slump since sellers set prices high and buyers wait for those prices to be reduced. "It tells me that the market is ready for this," Stern said.

Residential home auctions are becoming popular with sellers nationwide, as properties are taking longer to sell than in previous years. Public auctions generated more than $14 billion in sales in 2005, according to the National Auctioneers Association. Such auctions accounted for 6 percent of all U.S. real estate sales in 2004 and are expected to grow to 30 percent by 2010.

Potential homebuyers hear the word auction and think "steals." Many are left disappointed.

"The prices are what you would pay at market prices," said Mary Parks, a Hallandale Beach speculator. "I expected better bargaining, and this is not. These aren't bargains."

The beginning bids, which some considered high, immediately forced the properties out of many attendees' budgets.

Laurel Walters, of Boynton Beach, was among those who got their $2,500 registration fee back after considering the other fees the winning bidders would have to pay; closing costs, a 10 percent premium added to the winning bid and other contingencies put the properties out of range immediately.

"Here, people got carried away," Walters, 35, said. "This is for somebody who can absorb a great amount of risk."

Stern said the lowest winning bid was $86,000 for a Lake Worth house. The highest bid was about $600,000, for a Tamarac house.

Merly Grigou and her mother, of Plantation, were among the purchasers. Upon obtaining financing within one month, they are set to walk away with a six-unit Fort Lauderdale apartment building on which they bid $522,000. "Everybody's trying to buy a piece of property now, so why not?" Grigou, 24, said. "Some of the prices a little bit high. [But] this is a good start for anybody looking for something to invest in."

Staff Researcher Bill Lucey contributed to this report.

Macollvie Jean-Franois may be reached at mjfrancois[at]sun- sentinel[dot]com or 954-356-4694 . Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.