Property auctions are not the reserve of professional property developers, residential property auctions are accessible to all buyers. Even if you’re a first time buyer, or simply looking to climb up the property ladder, residential property auctions could yield a great property at a fantastic price.

Secure a property development loan

Property developers will have secured funding in advance so that they can purchase the land and/or property they want to develop at auction.

Private lenders tend to offer fast turnaround times between application and receiving the money making them the perfect option for those looking to capitalise on auction bargains. Apply online here.

If you’re looking to take out a mortgage or personal loan, make sure you read our tips for debt management.

What sort of properties sell at residential property auctions?

Property auctions are well known for being the place to pick up a bargain repossessed property.

This is true, a lot of repossessed properties are sold at auction as it’s a fast way to sell a property, which is essential in the case of a repossessed property. However, it isn’t just repossessed properties that go up for sale, there are many other residential properties there too. Read more on housing today.

Emigration, divorce, debt, inheritance properties; there are lots of reasons why people want to sell a property quickly, and auction is just the place to do it. The good thing about selling at auction is that, as long as the reserve price is met, the sale is pretty quick (usually a few weeks) after the hammer is down.

There are no buyer chains or other scenarios that can slow down a sale or see it fall through altogether that can happen when a property is sold through the traditional avenues such as an estate agent.

If you’re looking at it as a buy-to-let investment property, make sure you know the legal responsibilities of being a landlord.

We’re looking at it from the sellers point of view, but all these things are great for buyers too. A fast sale without a chain is perfect for first time buyers and cash buyers as they don’t need to wait around for a sale.

Going to an auction for the first time

If you’re buying a property at auction for the first time, it will help your performance at the auction enormously if you research residential property auctions before you go and bid for the first time. Visit a few of them and watch the auction in action to see what the lingo is like, how people bid, how quickly they bid and so on.

This way you’ll get an idea of what the actions of other bidders are and enable you to ‘read’ the auction room better and this will make you a better bidder. It may sound intimidating but it isn’t, however if you’ve never seen an auction in action and you turn up to bid, you may be overwhelmed by keeping up with all the protocols and miss your chance of getting a great deal on a property.

Go a few times beforehand and you’ll feel like a pro when you get there.

The last and most important point of all types of commercial and residential property auctions is to always set a bidding limit for the property you’re bidding on, and make sure you’ve visited the property and had a survey carried out on it before you decide to bid on it.

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