Heading to auction today... any tips?

byrneand

Hi Guys,

Title pretty much says it all really..... got our limits sorted, checks, finance as advanced as far as possible and solicitor ready to go.... just need to try and get a decent price and so I was wondering if any savers have got any tips for an auction novice??

Thanks in advance!!

pawpurrs

Try and be unemptional about it, stand near the back so other bidders, cant see the whites of your eyes, so to speak. Try not to be nervous, dont bid too quickly if no one starts the bidding, as the auctionner may start lower. Dont get swept up in auction fever, and bid more than you want. If you are emotionally attached to the house, perhaps have a friend bid for you.

suisidevw

I assume you've got somewhere specifically you're 'aiming' at? Did you have a survey done in anyway, new build or anything?

byrneand

Yeah we had a survey done on the property which came back fine. Obviously this is lost if we don't complete at the auction but that's one of the risks that you take and shouldn't be factored in to your final bid.

Kind of figure you set limits for a reason, there's heaps of auctions where properties come up so to just be fairly mechanical about it.

GDB2222

Once you start bidding, be fairly brisk with your re-bid if someone over-bids you. Don't dither and let him think that just one more bid from him and you'll drop out. You want him to think that there's no point in his continuing to bid. Of course, if he's determined, there's nothing you can do about it, and the bidding will go on until one of you reaches your limit.

Doozergirl

Stand right at the back or at the side against the wall so you can see everybody.

I always leave bidding until the last possible opportunity. Sometimes I've never get to stick my hand up even but if you watch the bidding it's clear to see whether they are 'bidding off the wall' or whether you have genuine competition. Then step in once it's slowed down. It may never work but if your competition is genuinely wavering at that point, coming in as a surpise can sometimes puts them off going much higher than their top price. On the other hand, you might just find that the competition just keep going. Be confident with each bid.

The last house we bought they bid it off the wall to £175,000. The auctioneer eventually told us what the reserve was because he couldn't sell it to the non-existant bidder at £175k! We didn't even put our hand up until he told us the actual reserve price which was well within budget - would have been pretty rubbish if we'd been bidding higher against someone who didn't exist! They do try to bid them up towards the reserve if there isn't much interest initially and you can end up paying too much so watch very carefully. If there are two of you, one bid and one watch intently! If there isn't too much interest, there is the potential that it doesn't sell. Don't worry, you can approach later and negotiate the deal.

dopester

How NOT to bid at auction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NSnShgwG3U

byrneand

Brilliant team. Thanks for all the advise. Just heading off now. Will try my best not to re-create above video.

suisidevw

All the best. My dad saved over £100k at auction on a property. Good luck!

Doozergirl

Good Luck! Let us know how you got on.

Forgot to tell you that your heart will be in your mouth when the lot comes up

GDB2222

Doozergirl wrote: »

The last house we bought they bid it off the wall to £175,000. The auctioneer eventually told us what the reserve was because he couldn't sell it to the non-existant bidder at £175k! We didn't even put our hand up until he told us the actual reserve price which was well within budget

I'm quite surprised at that. They normally only take bids from the walls until the bid before the reserve. For example, if the reserve is £150k and they are taking bids in £2k jumps, they will only let the walls bid up to £148k, so if there is someone in the room who jumps in with the next bid, they will actually buy it at the reserve price.