Bidding at an auction-what do I need to do in advance?

I've seen a great property that I absolutely love and I've decided to throw my hat in the ring..... It's going for auction soon and although I've never ever been to one before, I feel a that I have at least a little knowledge of how they all work, thanks to some extremely useful advice on this site.

I've instructed my solicitor to check out the title deeds, and have a surveyor pal coming around to inspect the property this week. Have discussed the financial aspects with him indoors and we've agreed a reasonable ceiling (we can probably go up to 30% over the initial asking price). I plan on sitting near the back and not bidding until nearer to the end, and will be ready to stump up 10% deposit on the day.....

Anything else I need to do?? Advice and tips from seasoned auction pros welcome!!!

Re: the auction.....!

You will need an "auction letter" from a lender confirming the maximum mortgage they will advance - to that end you will have to make a formal application with all your supporting evidence (payslips, P60, bank, mortgage and loan statements, proof of ID, address and savings). They will also need to see a copy of the structural survey and/or get their own valuer to inspect the property. If your bid is successful you can not withdraw from the purchase so all the elements - legal, financial and survey - need to be in place.

When is the auction?

Sarah

www.rea.ie

Re: the auction.....!

Please post with more meaningful thread titles in future.

Bit harsh CCOVICH, it looked perfectly clear to me!

Sarah

www.rea.ie

If the house is old (especially if it has earthenware pipes), I would also consider getting a CCTV survey done on the drains - it will establish if there are cracks, mis-aligned pipes, problems with roots from trees etc. Should cost about €300 - incl report & VHS tape. Any drain cleaning co. should do this and give report to your engineer.

Sarah W said:

Bit harsh CCOVICH, it looked perfectly clear to me!

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You're entitled to your opinion but as a moderator I'm entitled to moderate without being second guessed.

Fair enough CCOVICH, I bow to your mighty moderator status....

Sarah, many thanks as always for your good advice - do I need to have this "auction letter" on the day? (auction is next week)

And Lorz, it's a fair point re the drain survey, but it seems like a significant outlay for a property I might not even own in the end!

Dunners said:

Sarah, many thanks as always for your good advice - do I need to have this "auction letter" on the day? (auction is next week)

And Lorz, it's a fair point re the drain survey, but it seems like a significant outlay for a property I might not even own in the end!

Click to expand...

Yes - you'll need to get your info together ASAP and get it into your broker or bank ideally before the end of this week - they'll need to see the valuation report as well before they will issue the letter. Once the hammer comes down if you bid if the successful one there's no pulling out and if you can't subsequently get a mortgage or a bigger enough mortgage you could forfeit your deposit.

Sarah

www.rea.ie

Thanks for that Sarah. Better get my skates on so!
Bank has already verbally confirmed so I'll get cracking on the paperwork.

Get your solicitor to attend the auction and bid on your behalf. Give him your max price and leave it at that. It's all too easy to get caught up in the heat of the auction and spend more than you had bargained for. The auctioneers job is to get as much as possible for the vendor and if this means getting people to spend more than they intended, then he is doing his job properly .

Murt.

Ask agent/vendor for particulars of sale. Your solicitor may have these or be getting them. When we were buying some time ago some of the properties had specific 'attachments' - eg closing date was not to be before end June etc.