Has anyone bought a house homes under the hammer style

[ElephantGrey101]

I am looking to buy a house and a lot of the houses in my area are sold by auction. Some of them are a complete wreck which I wouldn’t tough but others are practically identical to the house down the road but sell significantly cheaper.

I will be a cash buyer which I think makes a difference. I am happy to decorate and put in new bathrooms and kitchens but not deal with major structural problems.

A lot of the houses that go up for sale are student houses if that makes a difference.

Do you think it is worth looking into?

Colleague & husband did this. Got a bargain although the house still needed 20k spending on it, and they had to wait ~4months before they could move in.

I thought every auction buyer had to be cash or private loans or a developer/builder with fast mortgage options.

I think you can get a normal mortgage if you buy a house with a kitchen or bathroom but I have no idea how you actually do it and if it is realistic.

Current property was bought via auction
Property is liveable, just needs updating to modern standards eg had no central heating etc

Suggest you visit the properties before purchase
If you buy, the auction company will have late payment fees, so ensure that you have all your money in place + fees to pay in full within their timescale

5 years later we are still in the process of doing the improvements, because it takes time & money

Don't under estimate how much improvements cost !

Good luck

Bought at auction, paid & moved in within about 1 month
We relocated

The auction company can recommend you with a solicitor to complete the paperwork

I know someone who was on homes under the hammer! - auction really worked for them, saved them about £20k 20 years ago so a fair chunk

You have to complete within a short period of time , so need to have funds ready to go.

Usually 28 days. The fall of the hammer is the exchange of contracts, so money arrangements & survey needs done first, before/if you secure the property.

I’ve bought property at auction 3 times and sold once.
Things to be aware of: You exchange contracts at the auction. You will be whisked away to read and sign the contract within moments of the hammer going down. So you need to identify a property, or 2 or 3 that you’re interested in. Get to the auction early, get your bidding number and read the legal pack for each property. Make sure you know how much the deposit is ( usually 10%, read carefully it can be higher) that you pay on that day, and the completion time ( usually 28 days) You need a solicitor who is used to dealing with auction properties as you need and she/he need things to roll quickly.
You can’t always view the inside of auction properties, walk around the outside if you can, or better still, get a builder to look with you.
Set a maximum price and remember there will be an auction fee on top of purchase price. Do not jump in with the first bid. Do not look too enthusiastic. If you attend the auction with partner/friend/ your mother do not talk about the properties so anyone else can hear. Do not look excited—- poker face needed. Some people just bid to up the price and if you look too enthusiastic some bastard will do this. ( I’ve seen and heard them)
if you can, go to a property auction first to get the feel of it. And don’t get carried away..

For those of you who bought did you buy with a mortgage?

How much is the auction fee?

I don’t think I have much of a poker face so I will have to practice. I really like the idea of completing and getting the house quickly.

Some of them use the modern form of auction which is like an auction over a month. Has anyone done that?

The auction fee will be clearly displayed on the auction company website