Auctions - Nova News Editorial March 2015

A general Auction is a place that some people shy away from, as they are concerned that if they scratch their nose or wave at somebody else in the room they may buy something that they did not want. This is something of a misnomer; the Auctioneer will generally know his buyers and the way they make their bids.

The property Auction is a somewhat different place to be and from a sellers perspective can be a sound alternative to the more traditional way of selling by marketing at a fixed price. Some agents hold a catalogue sale where they may have 30 or more properties to offer during one session. These sales will appeal primarily to investors. You may well have seen a number of the local authority built homes in town being offered in one of these sales.

Several local agents conduct auction sales of single or several properties at one time. A parcel of land, possibly suitable for a pony paddock, a block of farmland, or individual houses. Property offered by auction will often be something that is slightly out of the ordinary, which will appeal to a number of potential buyers, hence creating competition, which will hopefully result in the selling price being higher than may have been achieved if offered at a specific asking price. More often than not the property will require some refurbishment, or total renovation.

The benefit to a seller is that, assuming the property is sold in the saleroom, he or she will achieve certainty of sale. There is no going back on the deal by the purchaser as, on the fall of the hammer, the buyer signs the contract and pays a 10% deposit, the equivalent of exchanging contracts. The deal is then completed 28 days after the sale date. Prospective purchasers have the benefit of local authority searches being available to them prior to the date of the sale and knowledge that they have every chance of buying the property on the day. They will of course have to have a survey done before hand and to get their financing in place, but if the property is the of the type that rarely comes available it is worth having to go to that minor inconvenience.

If you need advice on whether or not your property is suitable to sell by auction then I will be able to help you, having had many years experience in being involved with these type of properties. If you want to experience the atmosphere of a saleroom go along to the next Auction, the agents always advertise them well in advance. It seems that my anticipation of increased interest rates around the election will not transpire and rates will remain low for the foreseeable future, good news for the property market.

See you in the saleroom.

Andrew Mason Independent Valuer 07507 928008
Email andrew.mason1551@gmail.com