by Kevin Gilbert MRICS FNAVA Clive Emson Auctioneers
Residential properties in need of Restoration, Refurbishment, Renovation and/or Repair are the right 4R’s considered ideal for a selling by public auction. The idea of selling (and buying) property and land by public auction may appear complex, but in fact can be an easy means for selling certain properties and the only way to establish the right price, especially where properties are unique and difficult to value; appeal to a wider audience of prospective purchasers than a local estate agent may be able to provide; or perhaps there are sensitive circumstances surrounding the sale.
It is for this last reason why selling by auction is ideal for executors, benefi ciaries, local authorities and other statutory bodies, receivers, trustees, companies and other such vendors. But as our auctions are public aff airs, both buying and selling by auction is available to everyone.
The whole point of submitting land and property into our auction catalogue is not to find just one potential purchaser, but to fi nd several, all at the same time and then allow them to bid simultaneously in the room where this ancient method of selling can be used to its full force to achieve the best possible price.
It is generally recognised that if the property/land is sold under the hammer on the auction day it has achieved “the best possible price”. Lord Macnaughten commented “The prices which the public are asked to pay are the highest prices which those who bid can be tempted to offer by the skill and tact of the Auctioneer under the excitement of open competition”. This is still the case today!
Remember it is at the fall of the auctioneers’ gavel when the contract is made so there is no going back, you have sold. Completion follows swiftly, usually within 28 days!
But what is a suitable lot?
There is no real definitive answer to this question, but to coin a phrase, all properties are suitable, but some are more suitable than others! For residential properties (houses, fl ats, bungalows, cottages and
maisonettes) they are best if they fall into any of the following categories: for renovation, restoration, residential property by public auction is that for vacant properties, the worse condition that they
are in, the better they are for auction. However, there is always an exception to the rule. Auctions can, and often do, include modern properties, but these will almost always be those where the vendor has to sell quickly, albeit at a lower priceoften suitable for a fi rst time buyer or investor.
Other properties which may be suitable for selling by auction can include tenanted properties, both commercial and residential, vacant commercial premises of all descriptions, building plots and conversion projects, farms and small holdings to woodland, grazing and amenity land as well as garages and unusual lots. In the past the unusual lots have included a road, a bridge, a piece of beach, a redundant former reservoir and even a disused railway!