Bid on Britney Spears' Rental -- But Not Too Low

Obviously some people think that the best way to market a property is to maximize the fact that someone famous -- in this case Britney Spears -- once lived here. For the record, she leased this place for about two years ending earlier this year, but never owned it.

And equally obviously, some people think that the best way to get some mojo going about a house being sold is to put it up for auction. This isn't a sheriff's auction on the courthouse steps. This is a marketing tool.

Time for a little class in Auctioning 101: There are two kinds of auctions. In an absolute auction, the house will be sold to the highest bidder that day -- no ifs, ands and buts about it. This is not an absolute auction; the good ones rarely are.