Hey! Let me break down these auction websites from my experience using them - it'll help you figure out what works best for your investing strategy.
So RealAuction is like the bare minimum you need to actually bid. Think of it as your basic auction paddle - you get property addresses and auction dates, but not much else. Fair warning: don't expect it to tell you about any property issues or liens - you'll have to dig that up yourself.
The Clerk's website is where all the official stuff lives. It's kind of like the property's medical records - every legal document, judgment, and foreclosure filing is there. Some savvy investors find great deals just by getting really good at combing through these files.
Now, PropertyOnion.com? That's the game-changer. Instead of jumping between different websites and spreadsheets, everything's in one place. It's like having a research assistant who:
Pulls together all the auction listings for you
Gives you helpful extras like property values and market data
Connects you with other investors to share tips and strategies
Most investors I know use all three together:
Start on PropertyOnion.com to scout potential deals
Double-check everything on the Clerk's site (seriously, don't skip this step)
Head to RealAuction when you're ready to bid
Just remember - RealAuction won't tell you everything you need to know. I've seen people get stuck with nasty surprises because they didn't do their homework. The Clerk's site has all the important stuff, but it can be pretty overwhelming at first. PropertyOnion.com helps organize everything, but always verify what you find there.
What about you - have you started using any of these sites yet? Are you looking more at foreclosures or tax deeds?
Hey there!
Great question—this is something a lot of investors ask when they’re getting started with Florida foreclosure and tax deed auctions.
You’re absolutely right about the roles of each platform:
✅ RealAuction – This is primarily a bidding platform used by many counties. It’s essential for placing bids, but as you noted, it provides limited information—typically just case numbers, addresses (when available), and basic case details. You’ll need to do outside research on title, liens, and property condition.
✅ Clerk of Court Websites – These are the official records for each county. They contain case dockets, notices of sale, and final judgments, which are critical for due diligence. However, navigating them can be time-consuming, and not all counties have user-friendly systems.
✅ PropertyOnion.com – We aggregate foreclosure and tax deed auction properties from multiple counties into one searchable platform, making it easier to track opportunities across Florida. Then we add 200 data points to each property using both private and public data sources.
But we go beyond just listings—we provide tools like title research reports, deal alerts, and expert content to help investors avoid costly mistakes.
How PropertyOnion.com Saves Time:
🔍 All-in-One Search: Instead of jumping between multiple county sites like appraiser, tax collector, clerk of courts, you can see all upcoming auctions in one place. You can find all the upcoing foreclosure auctions with 3 bed 2 bath houses with 1500sqft to 2000 sqft in a specific zip code in one easy to do search that takes 10 seconds. It would take you a week to do same search by using only county sites, and bunches of spreadsheets.
📑 Title Research Reports: Since auctions are "buyer beware," our research reports help you spot red flags before you bid.
📡 Auction Tracking & Alerts: Stay updated on properties you're watching, so you never miss a deal.
🏠 Community & Investor Education: Connect with experienced investors, access guides, and learn best practices from people who’ve been through the process.
Do You Still Need to Check Official Sources?
Absolutely. While we provide tools to streamline research, it’s always a good idea to verify final details directly from the Clerk’s site and RealAuction. We help cut down the legwork, but due diligence is still key.
Major Pitfalls to Watch Out For:
Hidden liens or title issues – Not all liens are wiped out at auction, so understanding the risks before bidding is crucial.
HOA complications – Some properties have outstanding HOA dues that can survive foreclosure.
Occupied properties – Winning an auction doesn’t mean immediate access; you may need to handle evictions.
Most experienced investors use all three platforms in their workflow. PropertyOnion.com is a time-saver and risk-reducer, but no tool replaces smart due diligence.
David,
As a seasoned investor and one of the foreclosure porfessors at property onion I can probably address the differences.
I am not sure if by RealAuction you mean Realforeclosure site, but this is the third party that hosts most of the live online auctions, each one connects directly to each county clerck but is straight foreward dates, files and numbers. No images, market values or other valuable infomation. Ultimetly, unless the auction is still done in person at the county clerck (just few left), you must bid through this site. Deposits, final payments, etc.
County Clerk will only share files and dates, is the source of all records and how properties are filed to foreclosure. Unless the auciton is in person at the court, you will have to use RealForeclosure link for the designated county.
Property Onion is the hub of all information, images, values and documents abvailable all in one place. Is not only interactive but has resources like title searches, skip traces and more. There are articles, books and courses to learn all the ins and out of Foreclosure, Tax Deed, Tax Liens and more.
As na investor before PropertyOnion, I used to search 4 or 5 differenty websited to be able to gather the information needed to make an educated decision on how and if to bid on a proerty.
I hope this helps.
Hello David about your question is very valid.
Real Auction is a platform/technology for government implementation - this is not a end user platform.
Clerck of courts of any county will always be used to go deep with due diligence.
PropertyOnion like any other data provider what it does is to consolidate the information to be more user friendly and access to the information quicker and organized. When technology was not advanced or people who start with a budget needs to. go one by one county to find the information rather than one click with a data provider like propertyonion.
As an investor you always need to double check with due diligences, clerck of court, county appraiser website, map location, GIS, etc. And a platform such as property Onion provide with one click the links needed for better analysis.
Wishing the best!
