Property Auction at a Lesser Price

Many properties have repossessed this year. Due to recession, there has been an increase in home repossession. According to a survey, there were nearly 19,000 properties that were repossessed in the first half of 2008. It is not easy to digest who have lost their houses. If you are planning to buy your dream home at a reasonable price, you can look for those repossessed properties which are now available for auction, at a lesser price. If you would have purchased a new home you would have paid 50 percent more but if you buy the same house through auction you will pay half the amount. In the past three years there has been an increase in the percentage of repossessed properties that are auctioned by over 300 per cent. In numbers the repossessed properties that were auctioned were nearly 3,102 in the first half of 2008 from 800 in the first half of 2005.

A survey from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors tells that the properties that were sold easily through auction over the past three years are going through a bad phase due to credit crunch. But there is a plus point with less competition in auction you can bargain for the property at a price you wish to buy. Many bankers and lenders sell repossessed properties on a single day itself because they want to receive their amount and so they don’t wait for achieving a higher price. Due to this many properties are sold at a low price which is enabling investors to get some excellent deals. Even newly build flats are being sold at huge discounts. If you buy a property at auction you can save as much as half the value of the property. But remember before you step into the auction room do your homework well.

See to it that you auction the property at a price that you can afford, because if you raise your hand once you have to buy the property. The timescale that is involved in a property auction is much tighter when compared to real estate agent. If you’re planning to buy a property through auction see to it that your finances are in place, as there is limited time frame. You have to make 10 percent of the purchase price on the day of auction and the rest within 28 days. So contact a lender in advance who will help you out. Many lenders will not be able to process the mortgage application in such a limited period of time. So it would be better if you take guidance of a good broker. Remember to inspect the property properly before going for a bid. Some auction properties have legal minefields like bad titles of ownership. So try to spot it in advance. On the day of the bid you should have 10 per cent of your maximum bid, solicitor’s bid, two forms of identification and auction catalogue. If you don’t carry these don’t go for a bid.