Attending a property auction for the first time...

This can be both exciting and nerve wracking.

Most people recommend that at the first property auction you attend, you don't actually bid on a property: but rather watch and see and get a feel for both how they work, and the current state of the market.

Are properties currently going for around the guide price, or under, or quite a bit above? How much appetite is there? How well attended is the auction?

All this can give you a valuable insight and information that will be useful when it comes to the next auction and you may be interested in bidding. For instance, if you know properties are currently going for well above the guide price, then it might stop you getting too excited when you think you have spotted a total bargain, as it may actually end up going for quite a bit more!

What are your tips on attending an auction?

Re : Attending a property auction for the first time

I have been to one or two property auctions.

They are always interesting as you never quite know what is going to happen, and choice lots can go really cheaply or there can be a lot of bidding on strange lots that already seem to be at their value, so the thrill of being able to pick up a bargain is always there.

I think the key is that once you have the auction catalogue to do thorough research on the properties you are interested in, as a minimum you must have a viewing, and if you really like it then should consider a survey too if you are prepared to bid what you think will be the realistic rate for the property.

Certainly don't buy on impulse, that's the worst thing you can do, but is quite common when people go for a lot and are disappointed as it goes for above budget they then bid and get what appears to be a bargain at a consolation price but could end up with a wreck with subsidence problems and much more besides - so always be disciplined and if you don't get the lot you have researched then wait until next time, property is a long term game after all!

Re : Attending a property auction for the first time

I have only been to one property auction and whilst it was exciting it was overall quite disappointing.

There was a property that I liked locally and noticed it was up for auction. This was a couple of years ago.

I found out that the estimated price was a real bargain so spent some time going around the property to see what it was like and decided it was worth making a bid on.

I then went to the auction and waited for the lot to come up, but never even got around to bidding because before I knew it the price had gone to £50,000 over the guide price and continued to go up to almost double what the guide price was.

So I felt a bit cheated that the price suggested was so far out as I wasted time and effort when if the guide had been realistic I would not have bothered. Was this just unlucky or do the auction houses set guide prices low on purpose in order to stimulate more interest in the properties?

Re : Attending a property auction for the first time

Attending a property auction can be either great fun or very disappointing, depending really on what you expect to happen and whether you are bidding on any property or not.

Because people do and can get carried away bidding in an auction forgetting that it is real money that is being bid and that if they win they have to find it in a very quick period, then it pays to attend a couple of auctions just to get an idea of what happens before actually starting to bid!

Re : Attending a property auction for the first time

Whilst there is no doubt they can be exhilirating, property auctions are no doubt also potentially dangerous!

People can get carried away on adrenalin and also they can make bad buys: for instance if the property they want goes for much higher than they were prepared to pay they don't want to waste their time and therefore make impulse decisions to bid on other properties that they've not seen.

This is always bad: never bid on a property you haven't been to see just out of disappointment - it may be human but bidding out of disappointment or frustration on some other property is very likely to end in tears, and a big cheque that you have to write!

Re : Attending a property auction for the first time

I agree with all those who have posted that checking out how auctions are held etc is by far the best way to go about fib=nally bidding at an auction as many firms hold them in a different style.

the one thing that has always amazed me a many of the bigger property auctions is just how much noise there actually is around you.

Peopel tend to move around al ot dropping in and out of the room, chatting to one another this can be hugely disconcerting for the novice buyer.