A UK-based real estate Web portal is offering those who wish to own a home in Dubai, but are unable to pay cash or raise finance, a unique opportunity through a simple but effective auction concept.

Following the failure by two major real estate developers to sell a single property at their auctions, because none of the bids met the reserve, humraaz.com has introduced to a new to beat stalemate caused by reserve prices.

Humraz.com auctions work on the basis of charging their members a fee, what it calls a 'seat', to take part in an auction. The fees are then used to pay for the property. This means that the person who wins the auction has nothing more to pay, not even their winning bid, and the seller receives the full market value.

The auctions are like an exciting online game with all the buzz and adrenalin-rush of an auction, but without the risk of escalating costs.

The first Dubai property on the site is a four-bed apartment in the established Green Community. Seats for this auction cost around $50.

Owner of the property, Steve Halligan explained: “With Humraz, the seller covers the costs by selling seats to take part in the auction. As there are a limited number of seats for each auction, each bidder can buy only one seat and all bidders are able to place the same number of bids, so it is a totally level playing field.”

Once the auction starts, bidders enter their bids online and compete to have the lowest unmatched bid when the auction closes. To make things easier each bidder is able to view live information about their bids and the exact direction of bidding.

Seat holders are only charged when there are enough people to cover the costs.

Halligan went on to explain: “I first read about Humraz in the UK national newspapers and began to wonder if this would be a good way for us to sell. It is such a simple idea and very powerful.

“The property is paid for from the sale of the seats, the winner walks away with a home without the worry of mortgages or debt and everyone will have enjoyed the thrill of bidding as the auctions are very entertaining,” he added.

The sooner the seats are booked up the sooner the auction will run, the seat prices rise as you get closer to the auction, much like flight prices are cheaper the further in advance you book them.- TradeArabia News Service