Anyone bought their house at an auction?

[Gem13]

I am despairing as we have found 'the' house. The only problem is that it's up for auction...

We have put in an offer above the guide price (as suggested by property developer friends) to see if we could buy it this way but there's been loads of interest in it and they've turned us down. We plan to put in another offer in a couple of weeks and see how that goes, otherwise we're off to the auction.

We can go up some (but not massively) but we are in love with the place and have already 'moved in'.

Any encouraging stories? Estate agent tips? No negative ones please - I'm 10 weeks pg with number 2 and feeling very hormonal!

I wanted to buy by auction but it didn't happen in the end! That was helpful wasn't it. Good luck though. My completion date happened to coincide with my due date!!

Did you ever see the itv program about people buying houses at auction? There was a couple trying to buy a house from the registry office while getting married. That was dh and I. We didn't get the house in the end as the price went up above our limit. We have also bid on another place that we didn't get at another auction.
The auction itself isn't actually all that bad. You have to be prepared. Know what your own limit is. Don't bother bidding until the price goes up a bit (I've been told only amateurs bid in the beginning). In my experience houses nowadays often go for quite a bit more than the guide price. Though every once and a while they don't so who knows, you may get lucky. Make sure you look into all the rules like how much and in what form (cashier's check?) you have to have on the day of the auction and also when (usually 28 days) you have to come up with the rest of the money (this is important as mortgages don't usually happen this quickly). Get your solicitor to check out all the paperwork, searches etc. in advance.
The coldfeet auction episode was pretty accurate.
Where is the auction?

Wish I'd seen the programme - not least becuase it would be nice to put a face to a name! Getting married and bidding on a house on the same day sounds hugely stressful.

The problem is we don't want ours to go to auction as we're not confident we'll get it. That's why we're trying to wave money under their noses now and encourage them to think about the auction fees they'll save (15% I think). Each time we've been to the house (5 times now!) there's been at least 2 other people there. There's been masses of interest and we just feel the agents are going to milk it.

I just want them to come back and say 'yes, it's yours and off the market'...

When a property is up for auction, it has more than likely gone into the hands of the orginal lenders, they will only take a property off the market even when you have made an offer above the asking price/guide price, if you are in a position to complete quickly, ie FTB (First time buyers)have a mortgage in place and have a covering approval note from a lender, or you have the cash to complete with 10 - 14 days. All they are interested in is getting the best price and quickly. Sorry...bit late for you I know but it may help others in a similar situation.

My mum did. It was quite a nice house and I was surprised it didn't sell any other way. I agree that by this stage it will probably go to auction for a speedy sale. I also think guide prices are very much on the low side to tempt bidders. Sorry but good luck. You never know until the day.

Thanks for your replies. It's not too late as they haven't set an auction date yet... that's the problem.

Our bid was 20% above the guide price and we stressed that we wanted to complete quickly and that wasn't good enough

We're pretty sure it's part of someone's estate (i.e. they've died, not part of a country estate!) and I guess whoever's set to inherit has been waiting a while (house hasn't been lived in for over 2 years) so hanging on to get as much as possible doesn't seem to be an issue.

I'm hoping to revive this thread in a few weeks and say 'we've got it' but we're already feeling despondent about it.

We will keep trying...

Gem13, have you tried finding out via Land Registry who actually owns the house and approaching them direct? If they are indeed dead, then there's not point, obviously, but it's just a wild idea.

Gem13- you haven't said if you are in a position to proceed quickly or not, it doesn't really matter how much above the asking/guide price you go, if you are not really able to proceed then they will not take you seriously....you need proof of funds...Solicitors details...etc (Believe me I work for an Estate Agent)it doesn't matter how long the property has been on the market/empty the same thing will apply anywhere No proof of funds = No sale.