Conveyancing on a house bought at auction.

Frances63

Hi all, can anyone

PasturesNew

There are solicitors who do specialise in it. A solicitor has to move a bit faster because of the 28 day deadline; usual solicitors can drag their feet a bit. You will find a few will advertise in the auction catalogue itself. Otherwise just phone around for some quotes/estimates. But impress upon them it's an auction property and can they confirm that they would be able to do your conveyance in line with the terms of the auction and any special terms in the deal - i.e. sometimes you have to complete within 14 days.

I'd not expect it to be cheaper. A solicitor isn't having to deal with a lender, but they are having to move faster and more decisively to get it all done on time.

Yes, hammer down, you pay 10% immediately, that is exchange.

For searches, you can do them yourself before the auction, and/or check if there's a HIP available, which might contain some recent ones (or they might be out of date). Check with your Council, some will do a Search While You Wait Service at their offices.

No idea on price. Price varies from solicitor to solicitor and area to area.

greenface

ask your new found solicitor these questions and learn alot more before you commit at auction because once that hammer goes down you have to have it all in place ready to buy 28 days can go in a good lie in bed

GDB2222

Really, I can't see much point in having a solicitor look at it after you have bid. If you 'win' the auction, you have already committed to buying the property, and the completion stage is a doddle.

It's much more sensible to get a solicitor to advise you before the auction. The 'legal packs' are available beforehand, and that's the time to check.

Likewise, you need to get any survey done before the auction.

Catti

I agree with GDB2222 completely! When I get instructed to act on an auction purchase, I loathe it if the clients haven't brought in the auction pack beforehand. This allows me to look at the title and advise the potential buyer of any likely problems before they commit to buy it on the day. When instructions come in just to deal with the completion, it is too late to deal with those problems and I have seen many cases where there are issues that the buyers did not expect and are then very unhappy about.

Don't forget there are usually reasons for a property going to auction - sometimes because a title problem makes it difficult to sell! A seller may hope that this is not picked up at the auction!

Richard_Webster

I agree with a number of the previous posts. The real work for a solicitor that takes the time is done before legal commitment.

Trouble is that the work has usually to be done in a very compressed timescale between the client bringing in the auction legal pack and the auction itself. To be done properly if there is not time to ask additional enquiries of the seller's solicitors and to get answers, any pre-auction report we prepare has to explain risk factors and the significance of a number of potential possible answers to questions we haven't had time to ask. This tends to increase the cost because it has to be done at the expense of other matters.

After the auction I would reckon on charging about half the normal rate for dealing with the post contarct work, drafting a transfer deed, carrying out last minute searches, completing and registering the transfer at the Land Registry. All the disbursements like SDLT and Land Registry Fees will still have to be paid.

Trollfever

Just to add that auction purchasers need tame:

Solicitors.
Valuers.
Mortgage Lenders.

Professional buyers will have these in place.

sjcollett

Hi, if you want we buy a lot at auction and i use a wonderful solicitor who really is unlike all others - he does the ob when he says he will and at a fair price. i cannot recommend him highly enough. if you want pm me and i will give you his details and you can talk to him and see if you want - he's not on his own, works at a big company - but i only ever deal with him. thanks

Entertainer

You can do a personal search for any properties you are interested in, about £10. Quite frankly most of the conveyancing process is red tape, the really crucial information is inspecting the property and ensuring it's integrity (which your solicitor never does) and establishing title which is easy if it's registered. Watch out for things like short leases.

If you are a cash buyer, why not do your own conveyancing? Once the hammer has gone down and you've exchanged, the part of the process where you can protect your interests is over. The time when "professional" advice is of use to you is before exchange.

GDB2222

You can do your own conveyancing if you wish, but you ought to buy a good conveyancing handbook.

Quite frankly, though, you would have to be mad to agree to pay £175k without even seeing the legal pack - or are you saying you will look at the pack on the day of the auction? By the way, most auction houses have the legal packs available online. If it's the Clive Emsom auction on Monday you are talking about, the legal pack costs £15 to download for one lot. If it were me doing this, I would pay the £15, download the pack, and email it to a helpful solicitor.

Richard_Webster

I can't understand why a solicitor would charge full conveyancing fees if they are only doing the final stages, surely it should be cheaper?

Please look back at my earlier post on this!