New Jersey has one of the lowest costs of living in the United States as of 2014, which makes it a good place to raise a family. It is also a bonus that it sits close to New York, where working opportunities and attractions are abundant.
But that does not mean you cannot go cheaper. There are many more ways to save money while living in Jersey, and one of these is to join government auctions.
How come the government has an auction? That question is valid since we know that government agencies and its affiliates such as schools, police force, or health care facilities should not be involved into any business.
Yet they do acquire assets or properties such as cars, money, jewelry, boats, etc. They build these because:
They also need equipment and supplies to provide services. Can you imagine the police department without any vehicle? How can they respond to emergencies?
They need to upgrade. Technology has been changing rapidly over the last 10 years, and while some are plainly awful, most are a great convenience. For instance, we already have cars that run on less fuel and more electricity. Or we have laser printers that are certainly way better than their predecessors such as dot-matrix printers.
They are also responsible for seizing assets. The police force, for example, have plenty of these seized properties in relation to civil forfeiture. This simply means that as long as there is suspicion that the asset has been obtained through illegal means such as drugs, theft, terrorism, or money laundering, the government can file a case against such asset and obtain it.
What happens to all these assets? Many of them have to be disposed as keeping them is bound to put a lot of strain on funding. For every item they keep, they have to spend money on its storage, maintenance, etc. Rather than continue keeping those they do not really need, it is better if they are disposed and recoup all their expenses, use the funds to buy better and newer assets, or even fund other programs.
They Are Good for You Too
While these auctions are good for the government, they are also fantastic for you too since you are now given a chance to buy a well-maintained and sometimes recent asset for more than 60% its typical price in the market. This is the power of auctions. Since you have so many choices, you have more control what to buy and how much to spend.
Some auctions are published in your local community centers and government departments, but did you know that there are hundreds that you don’t know of? This is the purpose of an auctions listing such as Gov-auctions.org.
The website doesn’t offer auctions but gives you an updated list of all government auctions happening in Jersey and nearby states. All you have to do is to keep track on your favorites. Make sure that you regularly check the list too as new ones are added every week.
