Welcome to Houses for Auction

Auction House Buyers Guide

Once you find a property in the auction catalogue you need to prepare for your bid.

Before the Auction

You will normally only have a few weeks before the auction day, so you should make sure you have time to inspect the property. Make sure you feel comfortable with the level of renovations and decorations required and that your budget can accomodate any costs involved, remembering to build in contingencies for unforeseen expenses.

Commission a RICS Survey

A RICS survey will highlight any major flaws or defects in the property, costing between a few hundred and a thousand pounds depending on the type of survey required. You will typically require a full structural survey, which is the most expensive type, but it will cover structural integrity such as checking the fundations and building work, and future maintenance costs such as replacing the roof or repairing the floors. For more information on surveys visit the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors website.

Remember that the cost of any survey will be an expense even if you don't make the winning bid, so take care to inspect the house beforehand. Check the local market before you pay for a survey to ensure you know the true value of the property and still want to bid.

Not all houses bought at auction will require a survey. Some modern houses still have a builders guarantee or buildings insurance which typically lasts for 10 years after the house is built.

Mortgage lenders will usually require a survey on the property unless you secure the loan against your own property. Check with a mortgage broker for expert advice as to whether you will need a survey and what type of survey you will need, being careful to ensure that the survey company you select is recognised by your lender.

Snagging

Unlike a survey, a snagging service views a house with the intention of spotting every last detail about the condition of the property. Generally used by home buyers on the open market, the intention is to find faults which can be used to negotiate a reduction on the price of the property. This is less important for houses bought at auction, where there is no negotiation on the price.

Due Diligence

The process of determining the true value of the property is part of the due diligence process which you should complete for each house you consider buying (at auction or otherwise). It means taking care to ensure you know everything you should about the financials involved in owning the property before you buy it. This involves considering the re-sale value of the property and the local housing market to determine any factors which may influence it's price or rental value.

Local Housing Market

Local investment, School catchment areas, planning permissions, business growth, regeneration projects, transport development and thousands of other factors can have both positive and negative effects on the housing market, so do your due diligence meticulously if you want to stay ahead of the pack.

There's no hard and fast rule about discovering this kind of information, but consider approaching new build developers in the local area for brochures of their latest developments. They will have researched the local market and will be promoting all of the (positive) reasons for buying a house in the area. Negative effects can be seen where properties are on the market for long periods of time without a sale.

If you're considering buying property to let then you should also consider the local lettings market. This is simply a case of visiting local lettings agents and asking for rental details of properties similar to the one you want to bid on. Ask whether there are many properties to rent in the local area to determine how much competition there will be.

At the Auction >>