Has anyone sold a property by Auction?

[OneFinger]

I am in the position of having to sell a relatives property. Various agents have suggested selling by auction as the property is chain free and vacant etc.
I would be really grateful if anyone could tell me of the positives or negatives around doing it this way rather then the more traditional way.
I (think!) Im reasonably comfortable with the actual process, but any advice welcome on that side too..
Thank you

Never sold by auction myself - the pros I guess are that they cannot drop the house price like you could in a conventional sale… the cons… You might not get what you wanted for the property.

You can also generally complete quicker on an auction sale.

As a buyer I was looking into this but I was put off by the fees and the fact that everything needs to be completed really quickly.

I think auctions are fine if you are a cash buyer but regular buyers who need time to do a survey and mortgage application might be put off, so you might reduce the pool of interested buyers.

Also property developers who usually buy at auctions might be a be thin on the ground at the moment with the high cost of materials/workmanship so there is no guarantee you will get a quick sale either.

If I were you I would list it with an agent as a normal sale to start with and switch to auction, which the agent can do for you, if there is no interest.

Selling by ‘modern’ auction means the purchasing party pay the fees, usually minimum of £6k or 4.2%, whichever is the greater.
A canny investor will reduce their offer accordingly.
Therefore the agent gets much more commission than a usual sale and you get a reduced price.
In theory, it does complete in 56 days though.

Thanks for the thoughts.
The property is in good repair and I have no reason to think it won't sell via the traditional route.
Im wondering if it is a commission raising suggestion by the agents - but I'm naturally cynical!
The 'all over and done with in 56 days' bit is very tempting though!