geek84 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Good Morning folks I am thinking of going to a property auction in order to secure the purchase of a property that I am interested in. It will be my very first time, so I’m not sure what to expect. Would someone be kind enough to explain the process to me? I presume I am allowed to view the property before the auction goes ahead? Presumably, at the auction, you just shout out the next highest figure that you are prepared to pay until you hear the words going, going, gone!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 * Contact the auction house and get a copy of the auction brochure. * The auctioneers will have specific days & times that viewing will be scheduled. Find out and attend. * You will need to have your finances in place before the auction as you will only have a short period to complete if you are the successful bidder ( usually 28 days max). * Make sure you get the legal pack which will state the terms & conditions relating to that property. * Get your solicitor to check the legal pack out before the auction. * Guide prices are to lure you in....actual prices are often much higher. * Don't get carried away and bid more than its worth. Set a price before you attend the auction and don't go higher. * Buying at auction is not for the faint hearted. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 I cannot emphasise enough to you to make sure you view the property and learn everything you can about it and at least have a survey by a professional or quality look-over by perhaps builder friend. Auctions in the UK have laws going back to King Alfred and they can be obscure and there is no going back once the hammer comes down on your bid........as many people have discovered to their cost when they discover they have bought a bag of nails. One of the most recent cases I can relate to is a person who bought a house of non standard construction ( concrete panels) and he got it for a bargain knock down price or so he thought. He wasn't aware of the construction and hadn't viewed the property but bought on pure auction fever impulse. He now knows why it was so cheap and with nobody bidding on it. It was riddled with "concrete cancer " He sold it on some months later at auction for a really heavy loss which cost him several thousand pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 One property auction some years back had a property that I was interested in. But, after viewing it I realised its condition was far worse than I had expected and would take far more money to renovate than I was prepared to spend. It was really only suitable for a small builder.....there were holes in the roof, floors missing, no kitchen or heating, a terrible mess etc etc. After the auction I checked the prices achieved and was amazed that the property had been sold way over its value. Its value was easy to estimate as similar OK properties in the street had recently been sold. I assumed someone had bought it without viewing and must have had a nasty shock. What was even more amazing is that the same property was on the auction list 2 months later .....no work had been carried out on it......and sold for even more. Another buyer who hadn't viewed it perhaps ? My agents tell me that virtually every week after 'Homes Under the Hammer' they have people in their offices asking for suitable property to renovate. Be careful......don't get carried away, there is an awful lot of rubbish out there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave A Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 We attended one several years ago, we had the property surveyed professionally and the valuation came in at £85K. We bid a lot higher than that (131K), what you don't initally realise is each bid puts you two multiples up, i.e. if the bids are going up in increments of 1K, for you to increase your bid actually costs you 2K. It's very easy to get carried away, luckily my wife was sat next to me and we (SHE) stuck firmly to our limit. The guy still has it and all these years on, I have seen a rash of tradesman's vans outside for the last 3 weeks, this is on top of all the expense he had rennovating it the first time round. The bloke who won the auction had all his mate's slapping his back in congratulation. I now wonder whether they were in the building trade. We ended up buying the place that had just came on the market as we were driving home from the auction, unbelievable. Exciting places, just don't carried away. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mortitia Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Agree with all the above. Most legal packs are free to download these days - well they are with Allsops. Homes Under the Hammer is worth viewing just to see the ones that don't work out but they never go into the short leaseholds in enuf detail to warn punters off IMO. When bidding Geek you just indicate with your hand or paddle number that you want to bid - no shouting out. The auctioneer will shout the current bid price. Definitely set your price limit and stick to it BUT don't set your ceiling price ending with a zero or a 5. Others often do this so if you bid £1K more you may well be the winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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