The main benefit to me of buying at auction has got to be the value. Compared with the prices going through high street estate agents I paid 33% less.'

Sam Dee, buyer of a residential property at auction.

The UK is awash with bargains

In two recent auction sales the subsequent properties sold for prices that would not be found in any estate agent's window:

•        A three-bed city flat in Birmingham sold for £8,500. Less than the price of a new car.

•        A studio flat could be had in south London for only £9,000.

•        £17,250 is all that was needed to obtain a two-bed flat in a Dower house within half a mile of
the centre of Lincoln.

•        A three-bed house in London with a private garden sold for less than £40,000.

These results reveal that there are plenty of bargain properties out there, if you only know where to look and how to go through the auction process.

What you will learn from this auction property guid

In the following pages you will be shown:

•  How auctions work;

•  Where to find auctions;

• How to spot a bargain;

• The price you should bid up to;

• The costs of buying at auction;

•  How to handle the legal aspects of the purchase;

•  How auctioneers operate

• The best bidding tactics;

•  How to sell at auction;

• What the pitfalls are;

• How to avoid losing a lot of money.

Auctions are full of the air of mystery, but with the aid of this web site, you will see how the auction procedure really works. It will enable you to have a clear idea of how to approach a property auction and it gives you the opportunity to pick up a bargain, saving you thousands of pounds compared with making a purchase through conventional channels.

Auctioneer's Anecdote: Repossessions at rock-bottom prices

Early in 1993 was a period when many building societies were using the auction room to dispose of their large portfolio of repossessed houses and flats. At the time, most auction houses were reporting successful sales of between 60 per cent and 75 per cent of the properties they were offering, but certain auctioneers publicised that they were having virtually a 100 per cent success rate in the sales of properties they were offering for one particular leading building society. To experienced auction dealers, this meant that many bargains were available and the reserve prices were set at attractive levels.