Buyers Guide To Living Property’s Online Property Auctions

Living Property offer two forms on online property auction, these are:

Unconditional Auction - Unconditional auction, also goes by the name of ‘traditional’ auction, is the most common form of auction sale, whereby the property is sold ‘under-the-hammer’. When the ‘hammer’ falls the auction ends and a binding contract is formed between both buyer and seller at a sale price fixed by the buyer's final and winning bid.

Immediately after the auction concludes the purchaser pays over to the auctioneer typically 10% of the sale bid price plus any other costs and fees disclosed in the property particulars and Special Conditions of Sale, to be found within the Auction Legal Pack. The buyer is contracted to complete the purchase in a typical timescale of 28 calendar days, failure by the purchaser to complete the sale would find the buyer in breach of contract and subject to being pursued for financial restorations. 

Unconditional is the ultimate method of property sale for providing transactional speed, certainly and transparency.

Unconditional auction is the favoured method for selling residential, commercial, land and investment properties, in particular housing that is unmortgageable and requiring modernisation or structural repair.

If you are a potential purchaser looking to buy a property asset at auction, it is important that you undertake due diligence on your target property and ensure that you have funding in place to meet the requirements of the purchase.

Conditional Auction - Conditional auction, also known as the ‘Modern Method of Auction’, is a sales process that uses the competitive bidding method to secure the sale price, after which the buyer pays over a non-refundable Reservation Fee to the auctioneer. The legal representatives of both the buyer and seller are instructed to proceed with the conveyance, aiming typically to exchange legally binding contracts within 20 business working days, with contract completion taking place typically within 28 days.

Conditional auction sales are typically relevant to good condition freehold or leasehold residential housing that is mortgageable that might be vacant, tenanted or whereby the seller is vacating and not buying on. 

What is a guide price - Properties will be advertised with a guide price, which is based on the seller's likely reserve price. The guide price has to be within 10% above or below the reserve price when a single figure is stated. If the guide price is a bracket figure the reserve price cannot exceed the top end of the bracket price.

What is a reserve price - The reserve price is the minimum price which the property can be sold for, this price is confidential between the auctioneer and the vendor and cannot be disclosed.

How long does an online auction last - Properties will be advertised on our website prior to the auction starting as 'coming soon' lots, once the legal pack has been finalised the property will become live. You will be able to submit bids typically 5 days before the auction closes.

Is my bid binding - An Unconditional Auction is legally binding, you will immediately exchange contracts and you will usually be granted 28 days in which to complete your purchase. A Conditional Auction is generally binding unless the property is found to be unmortgageable, in which case the buyer is required to provide proof to the auctioneer.

Completion timescales vary and we recommend you check the legal pack to confirm for each individual property.

How do I place a bid - If you are bidding on an online auction property you must first create an account.This is a very quick and simple process. In order to bid, you will need to be authorised for money laundering purposes, this will be carried out at the registration stage. This check will leave a soft footprint on your credit report (but it should not affect your credit rating). The registration process also requires card details to be entered, however the card will not be processed unless you are the successful bidder. Once you have registered, you will be able to search, download legal documents and arrange viewings.

What if the reserve price isn't met - If the property fails to meet the reserve price it will remain unsold. You can contact the auctions team and at this point you'll be able to make an offer which will be referred to the sellers for their consideration. Alternatively, the property may be offered again at a lower price.

What if I'm not available at the end of the online auction - If you are unavailable at the time the auction is scheduled to end it is possible to enter your maximum proxy bid in advance. The bidding will still increase in the relevant increments up to your maximum proxy bid.

How do I read the legal pack - The legal packs are available to view by following the link on the individual property page.

We recommend that you get advice from a solicitor or legal representative and ask them to read the legal pack on your behalf, so they can guide you accordingly.

Can I get a mortgage - Buying via conditional auction offers a longer exchange and completion date than the more traditional unconditional auction route. This gives buyers the flexibility to consider applying for a mortgage, if they wish to do so. For Unconditional auction financing buyers can seek out a number of short term unregulated finance providers that provide this type of specialist auction financing.

However, not all properties are suitable for mortgage security and we strongly recommend that you arrange for an independent survey to be carried out to ensure the Bank/Building Society will lend against the property.

Can I have a survey - Yes, of course, we highly recommend that you have a survey to ensure you're happy with the property and the Bank/Building Society will lend against the property, if required.

How do I get further advice - Our auction experts are available to offer you all the help and guidance you need, to ensure you're comfortable with buying at auction. Please give them a call if you have any questions and they'll happily guide you through the process to ensure buying at auction is the best route for you.

Call 01502 558538 or email auctions@livingproperty.co