Your software’s auction manager is a simple way to manage and process auctions at your facility. You can learn about how to setup auction manager on our help site. This article will direct you in how to use the auction manager.
Schedule an auction
After activating auction manager, when you access the Past Due tab, you'll notice the Auctions tab at the top right.
On the Auctions page, all of your tenants who’ve reached the auction stage of delinquency will appear. You'll see their unit numbers, number of days past due, current balances, and dates their accounts are paid through.
To schedule an auction, select the New Auction button. The New Auction window will open. Enter the auction date, time, and auctioneer in the fields. Add details in the section titled Add Note. Next, click Save.
The next step is to add tenants to the scheduled auction. To add a tenant to an auction, click the Add to Auction button next to the tenant's details.
After clicking Add to Auction next to a tenant's name, the Select Auction window will open.
If you have more than one auction scheduled, use the dropdown under Select Auction to select the auction to which you'd like to add this tenant. If you have a letter setup for 0 days after the unit is scheduled for auction, you'll see a Lien Letter Notice or auction notice at the bottom of the window. You can choose which address to send the notice to and select an additional contact to get a copy of the notice as well. To have a lien letter sent to the additional contact person, check the box next to Automatically send to additional contact(s) and the tenant's additional contacts will dropdown so you can select how the lien letter is sent.
If you have auction fees set up, you’ll also have the option to remove the auction fee by unchecking the box next to Apply auction fee. The auction fee will be applied to the tenant's account immediately. If you do not have auction fees or auction notices set up for your facility, the option to apply an auction fee or send a lien notice will not appear.
To add the tenant to an auction, add a note and click Save.
Once you've added a tenant to the auction, their tenant details will no longer appear in the list of units available for auction. This prevents you from scheduling the same unit for more than one auction. Additionally, you can remove them from an auction and move them to another scheduled auction at any time.
To see details about a scheduled auction, click the arrow next to the auction date. Details about the units scheduled for the auction will drop down.
Process auctions
After an auction has taken place, the Status heading in auction manager will say Needs Action. This change will appear the day the auction is scheduled. To process an auction, select Needs Action.
The details about the units included in the auction will drop down. Here, you'll have several options to process the units involved.
If the unit did not sell at auction and you plan to auction it again, select Remove from Auction and the unit will return to the list of units available for auction. Otherwise, you can select Process, then check the box next to Unit did not sell in the Auction Sale window under the bid amount field. You will be given the option to move out the tenant without returning their unit to the auction list. You may then choose to write the outstanding balance off as bad debt from the move-out success screen.
If a unit sold, click the Process button next to the unit details.
The Auction Sale window will open. On this screen, enter the amount of the winning bid next to Bid Amount. If you are charging an auction commission, you will see the auction commission amount as a line item under the unit details. Select a payment method, enter the payment amount, and process the payment for the winning bid. You'll need to enter the winning bidder's details under Buyer Information. Once you've entered all necessary information, select Payment.
You will see a confirmation that the unit has been sold at auction. You can choose to close this unit to move out later, or select Move-out Tenant. Additionally, you can print out or email the bidder's receipt for their auction payment.
An auction receipt displays the bidder's information, the unit they purchased, and the amount the bidder paid for the auction. You can also access the receipt from the unit page.
If you previously closed the Auction Sale window before moving out the tenant, you can move the tenant out by revisiting the Auctions tab. Even if you have processed an auction and added the winning bid amount, tenants will remain on this tab until you complete their move-out. You can move out a tenant whose auction has been processed from the Auctions tab by clicking the Move Out button.
Moving out tenants after an auction
The move out process will vary depending on the outcome of the auction:
- The winning bid was less than the amount due on the tenant's account
- The winning bid exceeded the amount due on the tenant's account.
The winning bid was less than the amount due on the tenant's account
If the bid amount is less than the tenant's overdue balance, you'll notice that there is still a balance on the account. To continue the move-out process, select Complete Move-out.
After selecting Complete Move-out, your tenant has been successfully moved out. Next, you'll have the option to Write off bad debt. To write off debt, simply select Write off bad debt.
On the next screen, you will see an outline of the charges that remain on the tenant's account. Enter the amounts of each charge that you'd like to write off in the fields next to the charges. You'll also need to type in a reason for writing off the bad debt in the field provided. This field is required. Last, select Write off bad debt.
When bad debt has been successfully written off, you'll see a confirmation. Your move-out will now be complete.
The winning bid exceeded the amount due on the tenant's account
If the winning bid is a higher amount than what the tenants owes on their account, follow the same steps for move out as you would for any other bid amount. After you've entered the bid amount for your auction and proceeded to the Move-out screen, you'll see the difference between the bid and the tenant's balance available to refund to the tenant. As is in accordance with auction laws in most states, any money left over after all of the open charges on the ledger have been paid should be refunded to the tenant. On this screen, you can choose to enter a note if you wish. To continue, select Next.
The next step prompts you to enter a reason for the refund. This field is required. In this section, you will also enter the mailing address for a refund check to be sent. You can use the tenant's address on file by selecting the box next to Mailing Address.
A confirmation screen will be displayed to show you that the move-out has been successful.
The procedure for issuing a refund check is determined by your facility's policies and preferences in your Refund Settings. You can learn more about refunds at move-out on our help site.
When you view the tenant's ledger, you'll see an entry in the amount of the refund with the classification of Excess Auction Proceeds.
View auction details in Reports and on the Task List
You can find out which units at your facility have triggered the delinquency stage for auction on your Task List. To view your tenants who are scheduled for auction, access your Task List and click the arrow next to Delinquency. Clicking Schedule Auction from here will take you to the Auction section of your Past Due tab. Additionally, if you have auctions that are ready to be processed, you can select Process Auction to take you directly to the Auctions section of your software.
There are also two reports you can run to view auction details:
- Auction Schedule: This report gives you a list of upcoming auctions that are currently scheduled to take place during the time frame that you specify. It will tell you the date and time of the auction, in addition to the auctioneer's name, number of units, and the sum of the current balances due for the units scheduled.
- Auction Summary: This outlines which units have been auctioned during the time frame that you specify. It details the unit number, move-out status, account name, buyer name, amount owed on the unit, proceeds from the sale of the unit, tax collected, and net.
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