Buying at auction

RHemmings

Has anyone ever bought a property at an auction? Especially an "average FTB", rather than an investor with large amounts of cash? If someone has, how did you get the mortgage arranged in time after the purchase?

real1314

I haven't done it, but you can get some of the steps in place before the auction:

1. you can arrange a "mortgage in prinicple" based on your earnings at any time. Most banks / BS's will do this using their standard multipliers.

2. You can often arrange a survey prior to the auction.

the problem is that you'd pay for a survey without being sure that you will be able to get the property for the price the survey gives, and once you bid you are legally committed to buy.

Having been to quite a few auctions over the past 12-18 months, I don't think that you really get a great number of bargains thesedays, some sell for about the same as you'd pay via a normal sale, others only get bid up to bargain levels but don't meet the reserve.
Also, the guide prices you see are not necessarily anywhere near what the properties go for.

Debt_Free_Chick

real1314 wrote:

2. You can often arrange a survey prior to the auction.

the problem is that you'd pay for a survey without being sure that you will be able to get the property for the price the survey gives, and once you bid you are legally committed to buy.

OMG you'd be mad to buy at auction without a survey!! :eek:

You cannot back out of completing, when you buy at auction. If you bid without a survey how do you know what you're buying? The property could be riddled with all sorts of problems that prove to be very, very expensive to rectify.

I would say that a survey before attending the auction is strongly recommended for all buyers - but an absolute must for the average FTB. You might also want to consider the searches too, or you might find out later (when it's too late) that there are plans to build a superstore next door.

Regards

vicker

I looked into this a little when i was a FTB and visited a couple of auctions. One of the EAs had a handy guide for buyers which you could pick up if you chose. I've binned it now (was a few years ago) but this may be a standard thing eas do to help buyers.

clutton_2

most auctioneers send you a hefty legal pack about a property if you are really interested prior to the auction date - last one cost me £10, worth it for the research value any time.