Auction house solicitor

gemmacots

Hello, I am looking to bid on a property at auction and am in the process of trying to source a solicitor who has the expertise to deal with the sale within the 28 days deadline. I would also like them to take a look at the paperwork prior to auction. I have looked online but wondered if anyone can recommend one as I am a bit worried about choosing one found online with limited reviews. Thank you 🙏 

Albermarle

Have you rung around any local solicitors?
I would have thought looking at the legal pack in advance of the auction, and doing a quick conveyance was just normal run of the mill stuff .

Tiglet2

It is definitely recommended that you instruct a solicitor to peruse the legal pack before you bid at the auction.  You'll have to pay a few hundred pounds for them to do that though. 

The solicitor will look at the pack and report to you on their findings - you might decide the property isn't for you, or if you do bid, you might not win the auction, so the fee paid to the solicitor is lost.  However, for such a large purchase, it is important that you know exactly what you are buying and that you are happy to go ahead once you are satisfied with the solicitor's report.

Presumably the solicitor will want to act for you to do the conveyancing once you've won the auction.  They will be largely governed by the timescale insisted upon by the auction house.  It does sometimes overrun if a party is slow to respond, but generally that won't affect the purchase as long as progress is being made.

When contacting local solicitors, ask specifically if they would be willing to undertake the perusal of the legal pack before the auction takes place.  If a solicitor doesn't think they can do this in the time available, they should tell you.  Don't go for a 'factory' type conveyancing firm, instead choose a firm where a qualified solicitor will looking at the paperwork and has the availability to do it quickly.

GDB2222

Really, once you have bought it at auction, there’s practically nothing Useful for the solicitor to do. The important work they do is going through the auction pack prior to you bidding. 

gemmacots

Thank you you all so much for taking the time to respond, much appreciated. I have asked my local solicitor but he doesn’t take on auction properties due to the tight timescale so I assumed local ones would say similar. I have read online that there are ones who specialise in auctions. Was just hoping that someone could maybe recommend one they have used in the past. But I will call around to ask. The auction house recommends one but not sure I would trust to use one they recommend or I may be wrong? I would definitely pay for them to check ahead of the auction. Thank you all 😊🙏

user1977

gemmacots said:

I have asked my local solicitor but he doesn’t take on auction properties due to the tight timescale

Did you ask whether he could suggest someone else?

gemmacots

user1977 said:

gemmacots said:

I have asked my local solicitor but he doesn’t take on auction properties due to the tight timescale

Did you ask whether he could suggest someone else?

Yes I have, am waiting to see if he can recommend one 🤞

Yorkie1

Is this definitely a standard auction, or a Modern Method of Auction? The latter has some additional issues to be aware of.

Also, if you are buying with a mortgage, that can add extra complications in meeting the auction deadline.