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If you’re clued up on how auctions work, then you could pick up a real bargain when a house you’re interested in goes under the hammer. There are some key differences in the auction conveyancing process when you decide to go down this route though, when compared to a standard purchase. Find out more about these differences below.
Exchanging contracts when buying a house at auction
The biggest difference is that as soon as you’re successful with a bid on a property at auction, you enter into a legally binding contract when the hammer falls. When you’re not buying at auction, this only becomes the case once written contracts have been drawn up and exchanged.
Instructing a conveyancer for auction properties
When buying at auction, it’s always a good idea to instruct a conveyancer or solicitor ahead of the auction. You can then give the legal documentation, or auction pack on the house you’re interested in, to a conveyancer to check prior to bidding. The auction pack can include:
Official copies of the Title Plan including title deeds, Land Registry documents and boundary information.
Any results from conveyancing searches if carried out, including Local Authority and Environmental Searches
Property information form
Fixtures and fittings form
Special conditions of sale
Property certificates, such as an energy performance certificate, or planning permissions
Any other relevant documents, such as leasehold documents.
When going through the standard conveyancing process, where your conveyancer would organise things such as the property searches and obtain certain documentation, however every house that’s sold at auction should have these things in an auction pack. This includes documents such as the title deeds, special conditions of sale, outstanding liabilities and local authority and water & drainage searches. If they don’t have all of these documents, it’s likely that strict contract clauses have been written in to exclude any liability. As you’re entering into the legal contract effectively at the offer stage, it’s important that you don’t jump into an auction without professional advice in regards to these documents.
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