We’re really excited to announce the launch of our new online property auction.
Our online platform will open up our auction to property buyers from all over the country.
It will enable someone sat at a computer in Surrey to bid and purchase a property from Manchester – all from the comfort of their own home!
This virtual method of selling gives our vendors the opportunity to have their house seen by a nationwide audience 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
By making our properties accessible to more buyers, it generates a lot more interest. This is ultimately going to create a greater opportunity for our vendors to sell their property for the highest possible price.
Although online auctions encourage higher levels of interest from a wider audience, there are more reasons to use them than that. We understand that sometimes, selling your property through a traditional in-room auction might not be what’s right for you.
This is why online auctions are so great. They allow you to sell fast whilst maintaining the same certainty of sale and transparency that’s offered with a typical auction sale.
The process of entering your property into our online auction is the same as a normal auction. It’s what happens after you’ve decided to dive into the online auction world that’s really exciting.
When it comes to the actual sales itself, there are two different options to choose from.
– A traditional online auction is very similar to a live auction sale. With this option, the exchange of contracts happens immediately at the end of a specified time period, which confirms the sale. Of course, this transaction will only go ahead if the reserve has been met or exceeded – which is the same as an in-room auction.
– A conditional online auction allows a longer period of time to pass before the sale is agreed. This option will give a successful buyer 56 days to exchange contracts and complete their purchase. Although this is a slightly longer process, it’s likely to attract additional buyers. It will give prospective buyers longer to raise their finances for the property and get any additional requirements in order.
Like a live auction, every bidder is required to provide payment details in advance of the bidding as a form of pre-authorisation and you will need to be registered to bid. Regardless of the method of sale, payment will be made at the end of the auction – giving the seller confirmation their property has sold.
Firstly, you’ll need to choose your method of sale – which are the two options we’ve just talked about.
Once you’ve chosen your method of sale, you’ll then need to agree on a reserve price.
You’ll be able to set your own reserve price which is the lowest offer you’re happy to accept. This is different from the marketing price, which with our expert guidance, you’ll be able to set too.
We set two separate prices to take out any risk of buying at auction and to generate as much interest as possible.
Next, you’ll need to set the length of the auction. We’d recommend a longer auction period as this will help increase the chance of achieving the highest sale price.
However, if you need to work within a shorter timescale that’s absolutely fine too.
One of the best bits of our online auction has to be that you can see and manage online, live offers as they come in.
You’ll be able to see real bidders battling it out to buy your property all from your own device. The bids will be placed in minimum increments according to the property’s value.
Any bids that are placed in the final 60 seconds of the auction will extend the timer by a further 60 seconds. This will allow buyers extra time to decide whether they want to bid to keep the process as fair as possible.
If you’ve chosen to sell via the traditional online auction route, the successful bidder will be charged a holding deposit. After this, the exchange can take place and you legally have to sell the property for the full purchase price.
If you decided to go with the conditional online auction method, an exclusivity period will begin for your property. This period will last for 56 days and you will be required to exchange and complete within this time frame. The buyer will still be charged a reservation fee using this method of selling.
If the seller fails to exchange contracts and complete within 56 days, the reservation fee is fully refunded to the buyer and you may still have to pay a fee to the auctioneer for their services.
If the buyer fails to exchange the contract and complete within 56 days, they will not get their reservation deposit back. The seller will then be able to relist their property for the next auction.
And that’s it – it really is the simple, fast and secure way to get the best price for your property.
You set the guide price, you monitor the live offers as they come in, and most importantly – YOU are in complete control.
If you’d like to find out more about selling your property at auction, get in touch with our auction team today.
Call 0161 443 4740 or email [email protected].
