Buying at an Auction and Clearing your Property

Posted on 28/10/2020

Buying and Clearing Property at Auction

More people are turning to auctions now as a way of securing a property quickly and cheaply, and in doing so almost always need to employ the services of a home clearance company.

Buying at an auction:

Before you go to an auction with the intention of buying a property, you should attend a few to get used to what they are like and to understand what the processes and specific terminology are, try to speak to people who have already bought from an auction and therefore know what it involves/have made their own mistakes.

Decide which auction you intend to attend with the intention of buying and source a catalogue detailing the properties for sale and the prices they are listed as. Choose one or two properties from the catalogue, research them and if you like them arrange a viewing. If there is a property that you are interested in bidding on, there are some things you’ll need to do before the auction:

• Get your solicitor to look at the catalogue and do some research into the property for you, ask them to review the legal pack sent from the home sellers solicitor to yours, this will include title deeds and the conditions of the sale.

• To apply for a mortgage to finance buying the house you will need to have a valuation done on the house before the auction. If you win the bidding for the house you will have up to 28 days after the auction to pay the balance you owe, minus the deposit you will have to make on auction day.

• Make sure you have a deposit with you on the day of the auction in case you in the property.

• Make a decision as to how much you are willing to buy the property for and try your best not to go over this.

• If the property is listed as ‘unless previously sold’ it may mean that the seller would be willing to sell before auction day, so if you are interested make an offer ASAP.

• Before going to the auction, make sure that the property you are intending to bid on is still up for sale.

Clearing your property:

Once you have bought a property and have the keys and all the relevant paperwork, you must start the process of a house clearance. If this does not look like a particularly big job, or you are in no rush to get it done, then you can clear the house yourself. If you are living at a distance from the property, or the house is in a state that would take you alone ages to clear out, then you may want to consider hiring a clearance company to clear the property for you.

If you do decide to use the services of a clearance company then you should try to get a number of quotes from various companies, and ask them the following questions:

• Is the company a member of the UK Housing Clearance Association?

• Does the company have liability insurance?

• What processes does the company normally adhere to? i.e. when will they arrive, how many people will they send and will they be in uniform, how long will the clearance take and what hours does the company work each day, etc.

• What price can they offer you and could anything increase or reduce the price you pay? Will they provide you with a written quote before the job? And an invoice detailing the company’s contact information once the job has been completed?

• Will they provide you with a waste transfer note or a receipt that clearly shows that the company takes responsibility for correct disposal of your rubbish.