How Bid4Apt rent auctions work

Listings and auctions

Every rental on Bid4Apt starts as a regular listing with an asking rent. A landlord can leave it as a listing, or promote it to an auction. While an auction is live, the listing shows the current high bid, the number of bids, whether the reserve has been met and the time remaining.

Lease terms come first

Landlords attach lease terms to each listing: pet policy, smoking policy, minimum credit score, criminal-history policy, lease length, security deposit and any other terms. Renters must accept these terms before they can bid on that auction.

Bidding rules

• Bids are monthly rent amounts. The first bid must be at least the starting rent.
• Each later bid must be at least the current high bid plus the landlord’s minimum increment.
• Landlords can’t bid on their own listings, and bids are only accepted while the auction is open.
• If an auction has a rent-it-now price, a renter can end the auction immediately at that rent.

When the auction ends

At the end time, the highest bid wins if it meets the landlord’s reserve (or if there is no reserve). Both the landlord and the winner receive a message in Bid4Apt Messaging, and the landlord arranges the application and lease signing. If no bid meets the reserve, there is no winner and the listing stays active.

Fees

Searching, listing and bidding are free. Landlords pay an auction entry fee when they promote a listing to an auction; the auction goes live once the fee is confirmed.