The conditional auction modern rip off

diana11 · 30 March 2015 at 8:40PM

A friend of mine is trying to sell his property and has somehow ended up with his property up for auction with this terrible firm. He is trying to get out of their 60 day contract because it didn't sell at the last auction. Unfortunately they have told him that he cannot pull out until after 60 days are up and have now lowered his starting price for bidding without his consent.

I am sure this is not lawful!

jamie11 · 31 March 2015 at 2:32AM

diana11 wrote: »

have now lowered his starting price for bidding without his consent.

I am sure this is not lawful!

Has he read all the small print in that contract?
I would think that he must have the only authority to put a reserve price on his property.

If you're talking about the guide price though, that is there to encourage hopeful's to just start the bidding.

eddddy · 31 March 2015 at 9:51AM

Hi diana11

I am definitely no fan of this company (their non-refundable fee seems outrageous), but from what I've seen, their contract seems very clear. Clause 1 says:

1. SOLE SELLING RIGHTS & CANCELLATION: On signing this contract you agree for the auction coordinator and partner agents to market your property for sale by auction for a minimum period of 8 weeks. This agreement may be cancelled by either party on giving 21 days notice in writing to each other.

And if you are referring to the starting bid, their contract also explains:

Note 1 — Starting Bid. Starting bids are quoted as an indication only and used to encourage interest when advertising.

Note 2 — Reserve Price . The property will be sold subject to a reserve price being reached. This is a confidential figure between you and lam-sold Ltd known as the 'auction coordinator, The property will not be sold below this figure without authorisation from you. The reserve price for the property is fixed once this contract is signed. If you wish to increase the reserve price there is a charge of £500 plus vat.

Some EAs put some very dodgy clauses in their contracts, it's really important to read and understand them before agreeing to them.

moatmeister · 5 August 2016 at 6:59AM

Elderly disabled family member is trying to sell house to facilitate a move to more suitable ideal local bungalow which is not yet on the open market. Bungalow seller is hanging on for us but understandably beginning to lose patience. We learned about I Am Sold yesterday after our traditional sale fell through due to buyers messing about. I have read through the posts on the forum but anybody got any more recent experiences of this type of method of sale?

Or any suggestions how to encourage the sellers to stick with us?

AnotherJoe · 5 August 2016 at 7:31AM

Why don't they lower their price, which is the end effect of using one of these companies anyway?

tillybaby · 24 September 2016 at 2:13PM

I too am desperate and of low intelligence. My other downfall is that I trust people and believe what I was told or in this case not told. After approaching my estate agent he did give me a contract to sign but stupid me thought it was for him to sell the properties in auction. He knew this was my first time so did need guidance not conning. He also brushed over the £6000.00 fee but it was said in such a way that it was the seller that had to pay and not me so don't worry and that he said so I didn't. The first I had heard of I am sold was via an e-mail with links to you tube which I didn't bother to watch initially as it had cartoon characters and so thought it was just an advertising scam. However the auction duly took place after I am sold firstly advertised it that was three weeks later than it actually was. People thought they had longer than they actually did to raise the money, when I pointed this out to the agent it took her a while to grasp what I was getting at. I cannot even describe the debacle on the actual night of the auction but I am now paying to terminate my contract as I cannot even be bothered to talk to anyone from this firm again. Just be aware and avoid at all costs and if you can go down a different route, then please do.