Selling at Auction
Need to sell quickly
Want to settle an estate and require transparency
Want the security of a certain sale
Want assurance that you’ll get the best possible price
Speed
There is no faster way to sell your residential property, mixed use, commercial property or land. The whole process from instruction to completion can take as little as eight weeks.
Success
Auction gives you a better chance of selling your property than you would have by using an estate agent alone. In recent years, Hair & Son has sold on average 85%-90% of all lots offered, which gives you a much greatly improved chance of a sale.
Legal and Binding
Once the hammer has fallen, you have exchanged contracts with your buyer and they are legally committed to the purchase. On average, one third of sales through estate agents fall through after they have been agreed, so selling by auction is a far more secure way to sell.
Marketing
We have developed a targeted database of local, regional and national buyers, so your property can be proactively sent out to these people. Your property will also be featured in online property portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla, our high quality catalogues which are mailed to prospective buyers, sent via email to our database of contacts, and shared with thousands of interested people via our website and on social media.
Block Viewings
To help develop the potential for competitive bidding, we organise Block Viewings. These are short time slots which allow any prospective buyers to come and look around the property, guided by a member of the auctions team who is on hand to answer any questions they may have, as well as being able to assess their interest. By doing this, the team can help to guide you in setting the right reserve price.
Competitive Bidding
The aim of an auction is to generate interest from two or more prospective buyers, which will lead them to bid against each other in the auction room, and will help your property to achieve the best possible price on the day. Sometimes those buyers are so keen to acquire the property that they put in a pre-auction offer, and if this figure is higher than we would expect to reach in the auction room, we may recommend accepting the offer under standard auction rules, with contracts needing to be exchanged prior to the auction day.
Best Possible Price
Properties for sale at auction will often achieve a final sale price in excess of the original guide price set, and regularly the result is in the region of what might have been acceptable for sale through an estate agent (Private Treaty sale). What you can guarantee is that it has achieved the best possible price on the day. This is a key point for properties coming to auction via probate, as the executors of the estate have a duty to achieve the best price possible.
Set Price
With private treaty sales through an estate agent, the offer price agreed is not necessarily the price you will finally receive, with discounting due to any survey findings or last minute gazundering. With auction, there is no room for negotiation after the hammer falls, it is the buyers’ responsibility to fully research the property before bidding.
Timescale
If you are looking to sell your home or property quickly, then auction is probably the best option for you. From the time you instruct the auctions team to list your property, you will know the date that it will be up for auction, and legal completion is usually set for 28 days afterwards. This is a fixed timescale and is legally binding for both parties. This means auction is the best option for anyone with time constraints, such as those relocating, under financial pressure, or wanting to dispose of an investment property.
Continued Income
If you are looking to sell an investment property, there is no need to sell with vacant possession, as we have a large number of buy to let investors looking to buy. By retaining your tenant, you will continue to receive rent until the completion date, and the purchaser will receive income from that date onwards. Hair & Son sells a variety of occupied properties with tenancy agreements in place, including assured shorthold tenancy (ASTs), regulated tenancy, assured tenancy and commercial lettings.
Buying at Auction
Search
Register for our Property Alerts to be kept up to date by email with all the latest lots that match your requirements.
Contact our Auction Team to receive information about upcoming auctions, auction catalogues and late entries.
Details
When you have found a property you are interested in, look at the particulars on our website which will contain details about the lot including photos and guide prices.
You may also wish to look through the catalogue which is available on our website normally three weeks before an auction date.
Block Viewings
Make sure to attend one of the block viewings and ask any questions you may have to one of the team. If possible, visit the property again at another viewing if you are interested, and also take someone with you to help you make a better judgement before deciding to bid.
Survey
As a property at auction may not be in the best condition, it is important to consider having a survey or inspection before you choose to bid.
Make sure you have received any reports before the auction so you can make an informed decision before bidding begins.
Legal
Appoint solicitors as early in the process as possible. They will need to inspect the legal packs for any properties you are interested in, and check other information such as searches and planning permission, which are all available online.
Their advice at this stage could prove invaluable as you cannot change your mind after the hammer falls and you have exchanged contracts.
Finance
On the day of the auction, will need to pay a deposit of 10% of the purchase price (subject to a minimum amount), any buyers premium, as well as the auctioneers administration charge. These figures can be found in the catalogue here.
The remainder of the purchase price and fees will be needed for completion (usually within 28 days of the auction).
It is important to also speak with your insurers, as after exchange, you will be responsible for the insurance of the property.
Auction Day
Make sure you check the addendums list which will list any lots that have been withdrawn or sold prior, postponed until a later auction date, or any last-minute changes to the catalogue entries.
Afterwards
When the hammer falls, you have exchanged contracts and have entered a legally binding sale.
If you are the winning bidder, you will need to pay your deposit and fees.
If a property fails to reach its reserve and it is not sold in the room, you can speak with a member of the Auction team to express an interest. It may be possible to negotiate a sale after the auction, which would proceed under normal auction rules.