Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA) on September 10, 2002 at 19:34:43:
The movers quote was also high, another mover might have done it cheaper (over 1/2 the price), and an address was given for the mover to give the bid.
You know what, we all don’t know if this fella already knew about the auction and had planned to go. Thus, he ‘might’ have given a high bid to discourgage competition.
We just don’t know.
saw an unethical practice @ auction - Posted by jim
Posted by jim on September 09, 2002 at 15:58:59:
A house was auctioned Sat by the County Board of Commissioners due to setting too close to the highway. House has to be move within 45 days after auction. I was talking with a guy prior to auction and he said he was quoted by a mover $25k to move the house 2 miles. Right before the auction started the mover shows up and bids against the client. The mover continues to bid until he wins the house. It was unbelievable. This reputation will spread fast. POOR POOR Judgement!!! Greed will bite him.
You only saw ONE unethical practice @ auction ? NT - Posted by David Krulac
Posted by David Krulac on September 10, 2002 at 16:16:39:
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Re: saw an unethical practice @ auction - Posted by Dave T
Posted by Dave T on September 10, 2002 at 13:16:27:
Sorry, but I guess I missed something in your post. What was unethical?
I don’t see that the other investor was a “client” of the housemover, simply because the other investor obtained a quote. As long as the mover gave an honest estimate, I don’t see an ethics issue here.
The mover apparently had the same public information that was available to the other bidders at the auction. I agree that the investor showed poor judgement by alerting his potential competition to the opportunity. Unless the mover deliberately hyperinflated his quote or misrepresented the complexity of the project to scare away a bidder, I don’t see anything unethical on the part of the mover.
Re: saw an unethical practice @ auction - Posted by Al - So Cal
Posted by Al - So Cal on September 09, 2002 at 16:47:53:
Not really. Whenever you have valuable info you never
divulge it until you have it tied up.
So many people naively let it slip and they lose the
investment.
Sad but true that you dont trust when theirs money
on the line.
Sorry to hear you got burned.
Re: saw an unethical practice @ auction - Posted by michaela-ATL
Posted by michaela-ATL on September 10, 2002 at 14:24:46:
davet,
i disagree. this was a complete ‘conflict of interest’. sure the mover had access to public info, but did he know aobut this deal before? i doubt it or the honest thing would have been for him to say:“before i quote on this i need to let you know, that i’m competing with you on this.” or something similar. he only came about the info because a potential customer of his trusted him and asked him for a quote. i wuld think it’d be pretty impossible to get a quote for moving a house without giving address, due to the different bridges and widths of streets, that have to be considered for the move. it’s just like jerry’s unethical investor deal, that he’s posted about. that investor had access to the same info, but the fact of the matter is, he got most of the info from jerry, trusting him and asking for advice.
just my thoughts
michaela
Re: saw an unethical practice @ auction - Posted by jim
Posted by jim on September 10, 2002 at 07:20:51:
Al–
Appreciate the response. Actually I wasn’t going to bid. I was just there to see how much it sold for. I’m bidding on the land in the near future. However, this was a great learning experience.
Re: saw an unethical practice @ auction - Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA)
Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA) on September 09, 2002 at 23:52:56:
I am with ya. Loose lips and all. Once that mover heard the news, he had an inside edge on ALL the competition. His costs for the move will be significantly less than someone who has to hire ‘him’ to do it.
Future estimates in this direction of moving should be done in ‘generics’; not the friggin’ address. 
Re: saw an unethical practice @ auction - Posted by Ben (NJ)
Posted by Ben (NJ) on September 10, 2002 at 19:34:36:
I agree. Its pretty sleazy. A friend of mine once took a newbie under his wing and brought him to a tax sale auction. Before the sale he demonstrated how he did his due diligence and pointed out why some properties were better than others etc. Then he told him to observe the bidding. Imagine his surprise when his newbie began bidding AGAINST him on his target properties using my friend’s information and strategy! The sad part is my friend vowed to never help another newbie. This is how people get bitter and cynical.
Re: saw an unethical practice @ auction - Posted by jim
Posted by jim on September 10, 2002 at 15:10:24:
Michaela–I agree with you 100%. This guy new nothing about the sale until introduced to it by the potential client. The client had all intention to use him. The movers quote was also high. My gut feeling is after he saw the house he inflated the price to discourage the investor. A commercial builder that went to the auction with me said he knew two people (established movers" that would have done the same job for $10-$15 less. Heck–the house was only going to be moved less than 2miles. Anyway–just my .02. The investor was a very well known Dr. in the area. I don’t think the mover’s business will increase from his practices. Bad news travels fast.