Auctions

It’s a dedicated event that’s focused on the sale and purchase of properties to the highest bidder.

A seller will enter their property or land (known as a lot) into the auction. Prior to the auction taking place, the seller will agree a reserve price for the lot with the auctioneer. This means that the property/land won’t be sold for less than the pre-agreed agreed sum. Once the hammer goes down on lot, the winning bidder is legally bound to purchase it. A deposit of 10% of the sale price is payable on the day plus any fees that are due – these will be outlined in the legal pack for the lot.

We charge a fixed fee to prepare the auction pack and sell a property on your behalf. We can also review the legal pack of a property you’re interested in.

It depends on the auction contract. We can advise you of any fees prior to the auction taking place.

We always provide a written estimate at the outset of a transaction based on the information provided to us at that time, so that you know where you stand and to ensure that there's no misunderstanding between us at a later time. 

In the case of residential conveyancing, we're usually able to offer a fixed fee for our time. We'll quote a fixed fee for the work normally undertaken in a standard case and will provide you with a list of additional fixed fees that we would charge if you require additional work to be undertaken. Examples of this would be arranging a Title Indemnity Policy, dealing with a Help To Buy ISA, preparing a Trust Deed or dealing with a Deed of Covenant. Furthermore, we may also be prepared to work on a “No Sale No Fee” basis – please ask about this if it is of interest to you. 

We'll always honour the fixed fee quoted unless the information relied upon by us at the time of the estimate was incorrect or it subsequently becomes apparent that there's an aspect of the transaction that will significantly affect the amount of time that has to be spent by us – in either case we'll notify you of any such development before we proceed further. Examples of circumstances that might change the cost would be if the property is a flat, not a house as you initially informed us, if a lease extension is required or if the ownership is defective and remedial action is needed. For a free quote and breakdown of related disbursements known at this time, please use our quote enquiry form.

In addition to receiving instructions direct from buyers and sellers, we also work alongside brokers, referrers and property agents who refer clients to us. If we've agreed to pay to them a referral fee for recommending us to act for you then we'll disclose the amount to you and we'll pay the amount involved to the referrer out of our fee.

It’s usually 28 days depending on the auction contract. If you intend to bid, you should ask us to review the contract for you before the auction and advise you of any legal requirements.

Unfortunately nobody can say for sure how long the process will take – every transaction has its own different circumstances. The length of the chain of properties and the speed at which other parties involved in the transaction work will all be relevant. Furthermore if a new mortgage is required by one or more parties involved that can also cause delay as generally speaking mortgages appear to be taking longer than people expect.

For a property bought at auction the date is fixed and the sale must usually be completed with 28 days. However, a cash transaction where the buyer isn't dependent on obtaining a mortgage could be completed in a shorter period providing all parties are willing and able to work together to achieve this.