Auctions     General Notes for Bidders     Auction Properties for Sale
At Bassets, we take time to get to know our customers so that we can advise them as best we can. This includes how best to go about selling their land or property. Unfortunately, many agents tend only to mention the more usual way (“private treaty”), however there are two other options: selling by tender and selling “at auction”.

As a member of our industry body (The National Association of Estate Agents) we are obliged to know our clients and advise them on all methods of sale.

Approximately 5% of all residential property is now sold at public auction across the UK, although in the Salisbury district that figure is likely to be less than 1%.

Auctions now hold huge appeal and benefits for sellers, but why?

Why Sell at Auctions?
There are a number of reasons for selling at auction but the main ones are;

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Certainty that the sale will go through provided that the reserve price is reached on the day. Completion within a Short Timescale – typically within 8-10 weeks of being instructed. Best Price achieved on certain lots (e.g. plots or land with or without development potential, attractive properties in highly sought after locations). Market Price achieved on certain lots (e.g. plots or land with or without development potential, attractive properties in highly sought after locations). Choice of Special Conditions which can be attached to the sale (e.g. you sell a plot of land at the bottom of the garden with a restrictive covenant that the property built cannot be higher than a single storey so as not to overlook your existing property).

Typical Lots
The following is a non-exhaustive list of properties potentially suitable for auction:

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Building Plots. Land/Property with/without development potential. Unique property. Derelict properties. Properties with structural problems. Properties with short leases. Parcels of land. Defective titles. Freeholds. Lock up garages. Investment properties. Commercial premises with development or residential potential. Property of unusual construction types (eg concrete).

The Process
The process of auctioning a lot is a brief one (generally 8-10 weeks from instruction to completion). This means that a lot of work has to be done in a short space of time.

Solicitors need to be instructed straight away to put together a legal pack (including proof of title, searches, contract) for prospective buyers. At the same time ideally a survey should be commissioned, where appropriate. There is then a very structured, busy 5 week period of advertising the lot, conducting viewings, sending out packs to buyers and their solicitors, and liaising with you the owner regarding feedback. An appropriate reserve price must be set for the lot to be auctioned.

At auction, we as the auctioneers are allowed to bid for you up to (but not at or beyond) the reserve price. Assuming the reserve is met or exceeded, when the gavel falls the lot is sold to the highest bidder. Exchange is immediate and the auctioneer is authorised to sign the contract on behalf of the buyer and seller with a 10% deposit paid by bankers draft. Completion is typically 4 weeks later.

Interested?
You can register your interest as a buyer or seller by emailing us at: auctions@salisburybassets.co.uk