Approaching seller before auction

[lornz]

Hello.

We have seen a fantastic house for sale which ticks all our boxes (first time buyers) the only catch is it's on for sale by auction.

Ideally we dont want to go down the auction route as we don't feel we know enough about the situation etc and would like to approach the seller before to propose an offer instead.

Has anyone got any experience of this.

Thank you.

As long as you realise they will probably want far in excess of the guide price and you can exchange immediately and complete in 28 days then go for it
Could be serious issues with the property though... very rarely do good quality places go to auction

Do you know what type of auction it is? There are two types and one affords a longer time scale.

I would be very cautious. The properties that go for auction are generally the ones that would take ages to sell via a normal process because of some fundamental flaw. The buyers at auction tend to be less cautious about such flaws as they are multiple-property landlords who know they won't be living in the property themselves so won't have to live with whatever the flaws are.

You could. But as a pp has said, there's a reason for going to auction. Often there's a fundamental issue, structural problems etc. I'd want to talk to the agent and find out more about the circumstances of the sale at the very least.

Also to withdraw from the auction the seller will expect you to commit and be in a position to proceed. After all, the auction will result in a guaranteed sale - once a buyer wins they can't back out. So you'll need to do all your homework and quickly.

Don't get carried away by the guide price. It's set low expressly to tickle people's interest, and will probably go way over that.

It’s not a given that there are issues with the property, lots of agents use this method of selling now, if it’s a modern rather than traditional auction it’s a way of retaining a deposit, stopping either seller if buyer pulling out without a good reason. You’ll have two months to exchange and complete. If it’s the traditional method it’s likely a property with issues or a sale forming part of a deceased estate, repossession etc.

You can approach the seller. However, they may prefer to wait until auction to see if the property reaches a price above the minimum price that they have set. Some auctions expect all money & fees to be paid in 28 days after sale, there are late payment fees, read the small print !

I thought you had to hand over the full cost of the property within 28 days too, after paying a 10% deposit on the day. It would be worth checking with your mortgage provider.

More info here, this is the company the majority of agents use www.iamsold.co.uk/auction

I sold to someone that did this. Auction date was getting close, they saw the house and arranged to view, wanted to buy it, were able to proceed quickly, so they bought it for the price it had been when it was with agents, no messing about, withdrew it from auction and moved out within a month.