Auction / survey questions

Lwilsh

Me and my husband are looking to buy a house to rent. We have seen some for auction. The house we are looking at is 90k we understand we pay fees at auction of 6k or 10% of the sale. We understand we pay £300 for the info pack. we want to know if we do a survey before hand and it’s say £3-600 and don’t win will loose that money. Surely people can’t loose this each time they go to an auction and don’t win, or maybe they do? It seems like a big loss if you were bidding on more than one? . 

This would be our first but to let mortgage and would love some information. Homes under the hammer makes it look simple. 

user1977

Yes, you lose anything you spend on your due diligence if you aren't the successful bidder (or decide not to bid).

Lwilsh

So that means the same property could have numerous surveys done by different people? 

user1977

Lwilsh said:

So that means the same property could have numerous surveys done by different people? 

Of course. Though many auction buyers are the types who will make their own mind up without a survey.

macman

Lwilsh said:

So that means the same property could have numerous surveys done by different people? 

So you think that each surveyor will be happy to do a survey and then only get paid if their particular client is the successful bidder? Good luck with that one.
It looks simple on HUTH because it's not real: it's just TV light entertainment.

TBG01

Lwilsh said:

Homes under the hammer makes it look simple. 

That’s because, ‘Mr & Mrs Smith weren’t aware they now had 28 days to complete. Mr & Mrs Smith are struggling to find a Solicitor who has capacity to take on the file. Mr & Mrs Smith were not aware of the additional Stamp Duty they would also have to pay’, isn’t as appealing as ‘Mr & Mrs Smith bought this property for £30,000.00 at auction which is now worth £80,000.00’.

Markneath

Generally I find most of the houses I see at auction are overpriced for what they are, I also know of houses local to me that have sold for a lot less than !!!!!! under the hammer’s agents valuations! 

Lwilsh

macman said:

Lwilsh said:

So that means the same property could have numerous surveys done by different people? 

So you think that each surveyor will be happy to do a survey and then only get paid if their particular client is the successful bidder? Good luck with that one.
It looks simple on HUTH because it's not real: it's just TV light entertainment.

No I was thinking of a survey had already being done they wouldn’t want to go do it again and maybe that cost for the first would be split? Like I said I don’t know hence asking. 

Lwilsh

TBG01 said:

Lwilsh said:

Homes under the hammer makes it look simple. 

That’s because, ‘Mr & Mrs Smith weren’t aware they now had 28 days to complete. Mr & Mrs Smith are struggling to find a Solicitor who has capacity to take on the file. Mr & Mrs Smith were not aware of the additional Stamp Duty they would also have to pay’, isn’t as appealing as ‘Mr & Mrs Smith bought this property for £30,000.00 at auction which is now worth £80,000.00’.

Exactly, though it does go through their initial outlay. Like I say we have some money to invest and property seems to be the way to go. It’s just finding out beforehand the things I can’t seem to find a answer for elsewhere. 

user1977

Lwilsh said:

macman said:

Lwilsh said:

So that means the same property could have numerous surveys done by different people? 

So you think that each surveyor will be happy to do a survey and then only get paid if their particular client is the successful bidder? Good luck with that one.
It looks simple on HUTH because it's not real: it's just TV light entertainment.

No I was thinking of a survey had already being done they wouldn’t want to go do it again and maybe that cost for the first would be split? Like I said I don’t know hence asking. 

It would normally be considered a conflict of interest for the same surveyor to be advising competing bidders.

cymruchris

If you ask someone to do some work for you - that someone will want paying - no matter the outcome of your bidding. 

From my understanding most bidders aren't people that are buying for themselves, and are tradesmen and investors that take a look at a property and bid what they think it's worth, keeping in mind potential horrors that may come later, and keeping their values in line accordingly.

It sounds like you are wanting to buy an auction property 'cheap' while doing all the traditional stuff that people do when they buy a normal house. Therefore, if you want those things, you're better off buying a normal house in the normal way. 

Many (not all) houses at auction will have some kind of issue which is why they are there in the first place - sometimes that might be through repossession, or there may be significant renovation needed, or both. Those experienced in the market will know roughly what to look for to establish if something is worth bidding on. They sometimes get it right, they sometimes get it wrong. Mostly they can afford to dig themselves out of a hole it if they get it wrong. Can you?