buying at auction?

[hatesponge]

Has anyone done this? Any advice?

Basically house I was previously v interested in (but never got to view as it got 'sold' before agent could arrange a viewing) is now up for auction, the sale apparently having fallen through - not sure why the estate agents didnt remarket but anyway....

It was up for sale for £235000 however the guide price at auction is £160000; is it really likely to go for that much less? If I do decide to go to auction & bid, do I need to take evidence of finances etc with me? Have only ever been to a car auction (unsuccessfully) so no idea how it works with houses! Plus had totally dismissed this house so thinking it might be a possible again seems rather odd

From what I've seen on various house buying programmes - you need to be able to complete very quickly (28 days seems to be common, although it can vary).

I would ring the auction house in the morning.

How exciting!

went to one a couple of weeks back. didn't get the wreck, went for 2k over our limit, which was slap bang in the middle of the guide price range.

Anyways, usually there is a auction pack available from the seller's solicitor, the estate agent will have their details. we got hold of this, for £30 admin/copying fee, and got our solicitor to give it the once over before the auction (only the day before in our case!) to check for any odd conditions of sale. Bascially as Littlefish said, you have to be able to complete within 28 days under standard T&C. I'd recommend you have relevant finances in place as you exchange contracts after the hammer's gone down. Don't think ours wanted evidence of finance as such, just a 10% deposit on the day by cheque only. They will also tell you what id/address proof is required too.

Good Luck, I found it totally nerve wracking.

When is the auction? Do you have time to do a survey? Ideally you should do one before purchasing so that you know before going in that the house is structurally sound etc.

Remember if you are the successful bidder you will have to exchange contracts there and then and leave a non-refundable 10% deposit.

Well, phoned the estate agents today (all viewings have to be arranged via them) to ask to view tomorrow or at the weekend....they havent come back to me

guess I will have to try again tomorrow. Auction is next Weds so is not exactly as though there is loads of time!

I want to see round it properly now so I know if its worth rushing around sorting finances etc in case I'm successful at auction but at this rate I won't even have got through the door by next week!

Are you friendly with a builder or know of a structural engineer? It might be too late for a proper survey but a builder/structural engineer maybe able to tell you when you're both looking around if they can see any problems that you may not be able to pick up on. We did that for a property but we lost out on the house.

What happened? Any news?

Why don't you try & make an offer on it now? I know a lot of properties are sold prior to auction. Good luck