Property Auctions

TheBoyEdwards_2

I'm struggling to sell my house and have been informed by my very disinterested agent that the market above 250k is dead in the area. As such, I am considering alternatives and someone mentioned selling the property through an auction. Have any of you experienced either buying or selling through an auction? Is there anything in particular that I should consider / research? Any advice in general?

Thanks in advance for your help.

terrierlady

at auction you and your purchase exchange contracts then and there, with 10% deposit paid by the purchaser, your solicitor is normally present. you should have somewhere else in mind to move to as the sale usually completes with 28 days.
Lots of people need to view the property before the sale so be prepared to get a lot of visitors.
If two people are keen you can achieve a higher price than normal but most people go to auction to purchase a bargain.

theGrinch

the risks and rewards of an auction are broader than a conventional estate agency sale. for example, you may or may not get a higher price at auction...all depends on the day.

fees are typically higher at auction (2%+VAT) but you will get an instant exchange.

I am baffled by your estate agents lack of motivation.

Do you know what a realistic valuation of your property is? How much above £250k is it? Personally, I think you sound like you made a bad choice in your estate agent and you are probably tied in for a while. If you are not then look for an estate agent local to you that is selling.

there are some good thread here regarding estate agents and I recommend you browse them.

dougk_2

Certainly if your house is on the market between 250k and 275k you will struggle as people do not want to pay the 3% stamp duty for a "little" extra. Its a mental and financial block.

Me and my partner have been looking and set our limit at £250k.... mainly based on the extra £5k+ in samp duty we would have to pay, the extra costs of a valuation and often the higher mortgage rates or lower LTV that you will be allowed. If we see a house at £260k we basically say to the estate agent will they accept less than £250k..... if the answer is no we don't even look.

What value do you actual want or need?

TheBoyEdwards_2

The house has been on the market for about 8 months and the price has fallen from £380k (which I thought was over the top, even at the time) to a more realistic £340k. We met with all of the estate agents and choose the one we considered to be the most professional and knowledgable (we actually bought the house through them). However, I feel that we are suffering from our success in bargaining the fees down to 1% (he was very relucant to go so low but I argued that this was all the relocation company were prepared to pay and he eventually agreed).

We are only considering an auction because the property is currently vacant and we have had very few peolpe around to look - the ones that have seen the property have all been excessively complementary but not taken things any further.

I was considering a reserve of perhaps £310k because I would be happy with that price.

Thanks for your replies.

m00nie

you say 340k is a more realistic price and you was thinking of a reserve off 310k, that is less than 10% of the price.

all though more people seem to be buying propeties from auctions nowdays and so you may get better prices 10% in a slowish market state still seems a little low to me imo.

at the local auction near me the houses usually go for around 75% with certain properties fetching more if the auction was busy etc..

if you are having no joy with the estate agents why not see about swapping them to another, or adding another and going multi. if you are prepared to drop 30k in an auction why not pay 2/3% for a multi agent. oe even a different one.

theGrinch

I really cant believe the £250k threshold has anything to do with selling a house at £340k or £310k. If you are talking £260k then maybe but not 60-90k more.

why dont you offer to pay half or all the stamp duty?

have you tried selling it online yourself? I also agree that you should consider multi-agency - that usually stirs up the initial agent.

kinster_2

I went to an auction recently a terraced house with the guide of £80-85k went for £166k Even though next doors were selling for £61k

TheBoyEdwards_2

Grinch,

It's not that the price of the house is close to £250k but that he suggested the market abve £250k in general is very slow.

I think I'll follow your advice and go multi-agency. It can't hurt.

Thank you all for your advice.