Auction attracting investors
The Cheffins auction website had 26,000 hits for its February auction, apart from the 4,500 catalogues mailed out to the database of on-line subscribers. Auctioneer Simon Gooderham says: “The high level of marketing is one of the many advantages of buying or selling by auction, and once again the auction revealed a positive attitude among investors on the lookout for commercial properties.”
A disused water tower, a former hotel and a block of two shops and offices were among the range of houses, plots and farmland offered last month.
Simon Gooderham said: “Getting involved in an auction can seem a daunting process but with the right guidance it can often prove to be one of the most exciting and satisfying methods of achieving a good result, particularly in the present market.
“Although it’s a uniquely public way of selling or buying properties, an auction has the advantage of speed. Once the hammer falls, a deal is done.”
And exciting it can be when a couple of bidders show real determination. Several times at last month’s auction, the auctioneer’s hammer was about to come down for the third and final time when last minute bids flew across the saleroom, starting a further phase of bidding, and sending a frisson of excitement through the 200 or so people in the room.
To help buyers or sellers of properties to understand the auction process, Cheffins have just published a guide explaining the process from beginning to end. A copy can be downloaded at www.cheffins.co.uk/propertyauctions.
To bid at auction you must register beforehand with the auctioneers and obtain a bidding number. You must also have the means to pay a 10 per cent deposit if you buy a property.
If you are unable to attend the auction you can bid by telephone. The auctioneers will arrange for someone to liaise with you during the auction and make bids for you. Alternatively, you can use a proxy form.
For each property, sellers will prepare a Legal Pack which contains all the key information such as copies or details of title deeds, searches etc. Your solicitor will examine these for you ahead of the auction.
Most properties are offered with an undisclosed reserve price below which the auctioneer cannot sell. However, if a property fails to reach its reserve, it’s worth talking to the auctioneer immediately after the auction to see what scope there is for negotiation. Often up to a third of properties are sold after the auction, having failed to reach their reserve.
What sort of properties sell at auction? Virtually anything but particularly refurbishment projects, plots of commercial, residential or farmland, investment properties, repossessions and ‘quirky’ properties.
The next auction is 6 May.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT SIMON GOODERHAM ON 01223 213777.
