Hubzu.com Prior or related companies may be; Ocwen Loan Services, Altisource, or other online auction sites for real estate services. I believe Zillow and Trulia advertise for them. "Won" the auction, since I did not meet reserve, they RELISTED w/my winning value Florida

Hubzu.com is a real estate auction online company.  I am a "Buyer", but at this point feel ony "used" to further their auction business.

If anyone actually was able to go through the process and actually end up with a home after using these people, they should counter my comments, and should feel blessed that they are so much more fortunate than everyone else.

For one thing, their purchase agreements are absolutely outrageous, if not actually unlawful.  These little documents run for 32 pages long, and have one outrageous requirement after another.  So, you may read it and think to yourself, well, it IS an auction and it IS "as-is", "where-is", as they like to say. 

However, my biggest gripe is when you get to the place where you have run all over the place, checked out everything you can, recognize that the house is just about shot because in my case, notice that the plumbing had been wrecked, torn out, scavenged and etc., before I even bid on it -- but I made my bid low enough to fix everything.

So, I place my bid and had an "immediate" counter; which I strongly suspect was NOT from another valid bidder, so I jumped it up a $5,000 tick to ensure they would think twice about continuing.  Well, I WON the auction!!  Hurrah!!  Right?

Well, not so fast!  They turned down my bid offer since I didn't Meet the "Reserve", although I knew that I was bidding at least 90% of the reserve price.  They indicated that bids would be considered even if they didnt meet reserve and would be brought before the "bank owned" persons for consideration.

Don't believe it for a minute!  If they talked it with the owner, he was up at 3 AM - but what really irks me is that I was just being used.  Now the house is "Bang!!"  Back on the auction site and guess what the beginning bid is?  Mine, exactly.  So, all I did is stay up half the night to help them further gouge some other person that wasn't quite as careful as I.

Yes, also there is a place on the bid form where you have to agree to keep your bid "valid" for a period of up to 120 days (I chose 15 days as the shortest period of time) - so they can continue to relist it and start every bid at my bid, since they are "keeping mine in their pocket, so to speak".

But, the most terrible thing of all is that you are "coerced" into using their Florida closing agents and title work people if you want to pay with cash --- and can only choose your own local agents if you agree to finance the property.  And, ah, by the way, if you seem to find that you can't arrange financing (lots of places don't care for foreclosures that have missing plumbing, or ah, some other missing things) - then "Boom", they can charge you unnamed "cancellation fees" and keep your ah, 5 to 7% required earnest money.  I don't know how much of their process is illegal, but its gotta be a bunch, especially with crossing over state lines and jurisdictions.

Run, folks, run!!!  And please, someone shut these outfits down!!