Walk away with your new property in 56 days. No delay, No hassle
Buying property is one of life’s most rewarding experiences. Whether it’s a new home or an investment, it’s one of the most important purchases you can make. However, buying on the open market can turn this rewarding experience into a long and stressful one.
The open market is full of unmotivated sellers. People who are in no rush to move and are just testing the waters to see what their home could sell for. It is also full of people stuck in chains who are unable to sell quickly or at the price you need.
Auction overcomes these barriers. Our sellers are motivated. They’re not stuck in chains or being set unrealistic expectations of the price they’ll receive. Our seller reserve prices are realistic and based on an auction valuation.
Below is our step-by-step guide to buying through the modern method of auction. It’s an online auction that allows you to bid, reserve and exchange contracts within 28 days and complete the purchase within 56 days. That’s enough time for you to get your ducks in a row, but not so long that the purchase becomes a burden.
If you would like to see an example of online auction before registering for a lot, then you can watch our next auction by clicking here.
Step one- Book a viewing
You have the option to view our listings before registering your interest. Our viewings are held as open days where multiple parties attend at once. These are usually held 1-2 weeks before the auction.
To register for a viewing, you can either book on the website or make an appointment over the phone. When you come to view the land or property you will be greeted by one of our friendly members of staff who will be happy to answer any question that you may have.
If the property that you are viewing needs work, then we recommend bringing a builder. This will help you to establish refurbishment costs before you place a bid. The more information you have upfront, the clearer an idea you will have of the maximum you can afford to bid.
Step two- Due diligence
Doing your due diligence before purchasing the property will help to make completion a much smoother process.
After your viewing, you may want to book an independent survey. This will give you peace of mind in knowing that there are no structural issues or hidden problems.
After the viewing, you might want to get the ball rolling in advance of the auction. This will include things like arranging mortgage or raising finance (if necessary) and instructing your solicitor in advance.
This is also the step where we advise instructing a solicitor to analyse the legal pack. Each of our listings comes with one. This can be downloaded online from our website by visiting each Lot under “Legal Documents” section.
Step three- Register your place
You can watch our online auctions for free if you want to get a feel for how they work. However, to bid on one of our lots you must pay a reservation fee. If you are not the highest bidder, then this fee will be refunded. You must pay an individual fee for each lot that you wish to bid on.
To do this, you’ll need to create an account with us. You can create one by clicking here. All we need from you to create this account is proof of identification and proof of address. We accept any of the following forms. Please note that you only need to provide one document from each list.
Proof of identity:
• Current signed passport
• Current full UK photocard driving licence
• Current full UK driving licence (old version) (Provisional driving licence will not be accepted)
• Resident Permit issued by the Home Office to EU nationals
• Inland Revenue Tax Notification
• Firearms Certificate
Proof of address:
• A utility bill issued (within the last 3 months)
• Local Authority tax bill (current year)
• Bank, Building Society Statement (within the last 3 months)
Once we have your details stored, we’ll send you email updates when we list a new property/piece of land that matches your criteria.
Step four- Submit your bidding form online
Viewing our lots is free, but to place a bid you must first submit your bidding form and pay reservation fee (4% minimum of £6,000 Plus VAT). This reservation fee payment is securely taken online on our website by placing a pre-authorisation hold on your card only. If you are not the highest bidder, then the hold on your card will be immediately cancelled post-auction with no administration costs. You must follow this process for each Lot you want to bid on.
Just remember that you need to be prepared to exchange contracts and complete within 56 days. Being the highest bidder and then failing to exchange contracts will result in you losing your reservation fee, and any additional costs incurred. For your peace of mind, you should have finances in place before registering to bid.
Step five- Auction Day
All our auctions are held online and start at 12pm. Due to them moving online, you can now watch and bid remotely. So, if you want to bid from a coffee shop or your living room, the choice is yours. Multiple properties are auctioned on the same day, so you can bid on more than one lot if multiple properties capture your interest.
If you have registered, completed your bidding form(s), and paid your reservation fee, then you will be authorised to bid on your selected LOT.
DURING THE ONLINE AUCTION
You will be able to bid once the auction has started - this will be in pre-determined bid increment levels using the on-screen buttons. You will be able to see your own details on-screen to aid with the process, but these will remain private to you and cannot be seen by other bidders. Other bidders are represented on-screen by a bidder number, i.e., Bidder 2 or Bidder 3, and are listed in numerical order. An on-screen header will also indicate if you are the current highest bidder or if you have been outbid.
* Timing and Bid Extensions/sniping
Bid extension is similar to a virtual version of a live auctioneer raising the hammer and inviting final bids before closing the Lot on the fall of the hammer.
'Sniping' is a practice seen on eBay and other auction sites. It is where you leave a bid until just before the auction is due to finish in the hope that you are the last and highest bidder. Our system extends the end of the auction by one minute every time an additional bid is placed after the scheduled closing time, so long as there was a bid placed in the last scheduled minute, the clock will start again until there has been one minute of 'bidding silence'.
At this point, the virtual hammer falls to signify the end of the auction and whoever offered the highest amount wins the property.
If you successfully win the auction, then a member of our team will contact you. They’ll help you with the next steps and give you any information that you need. At this point, you’ll have 28 days to exchange contracts, you then have a further 28 days to complete the sale.
If the modern method sounds quick and effective, that’s because it is. The whole process is designed to leave you walking away with a new home or addition to your portfolio in as little as two months.
Buy your new property today
Modern method of auction offers bargain deals and quick sales. It is a place where you avoid unmotivated sellers and unrealistic asking prices.
Due to its rising popularity, auction is no longer just a place for run-down properties. You can now find pleasant family homes and buy to let opportunities.
You don’t need to be an investor to benefit from the modern method of auction, but if you are, then it’s a good place to find a bargain.
Register your place on our system here. No payment will be taken upfront, and you will have access to view and register on all our listings.
