Here at Windsor Auctions, we have, and at our sister auction house Lyme Bay Auctions, countless years of experience in auctioneering.

Both Harry and Simon along with their teams of valuers have a broad range of knowledge when it comes to the valuations and selling of fine art, jewellery, antique furniture and a myriad of other eclectic items.

And yet we didn’t have a clue about buying and selling property at auction, despite it being one of the most popular forms of auction.

This was before we spoke to property maestro Ben Temple, however, who has over 30 years’ experience in the property industry and he hosted a property auction course for 12 years.

Ben, who runs his own property agency called Rocket in South West London, talked us through the process on our podcast The Gavel and The Gabble, explaining the benefits, potential pitfalls and all the intricacies that come with property auctions.

So, you can either listen to what he had to say on The Gavel and The Gabble podcast, or you can read about it here:

What are the benefits to buying property at auction?

Of course, there is the obvious benefit that is true with any form of auction that you could end up finding yourself a bargain and paying well under market price.

Just last week, for example, I attended an auction on behalf of a client who was hoping to buy a particular property for £525,000 and was willing to go as high as £550,000, but we managed to purchase it for £520,000.

But, it’s also worth exercising caution in this regard as I have seen people overpay significantly on a number of occasions in the past.

Aside from potential bargain hunting, another key advantage to buying property at auction is the speed and certainty of the purchase.

Roughly 50% of property transactions through estate agents will fall through at some stage for various logistical reasons.

Whereas, at property auctions, as is the case with any other auction, when the gavel falls, the deal is done.

There’s no delay in signing contracts for six months as is the usual procedure with buying property, you exchange there and then on the day and pay the deposit before even leaving the building.

What are the downfalls to buying property at auction?

One of the biggest issues when it comes to buying property at auction is the lack of time.

Generally, the properties will start to be marketed two to three weeks before the date of the auction, although in some cases this can be extended a little, but either way, it’s not a lot of time to do all the preparation and research necessary.

This is especially true when it comes to getting mortgage financing organised and the alternative to this is applying for bridging finance, but it can be quite expensive in comparison.

 What are Ben’s top tips for buying property at auction?

• Do your research

 I can’t stress the importance of doing your research and checking your numbers enough.

When it comes to property auctions you can be spending huge sums of money and so you need to make sure you have valued the property properly in your own mind so you don’t overpay at auction and minimise your risk.

• Check the special conditions

It’s important to know your obligations should you win the lot. Are there any added fees? How long have you got to pay your completion money?

I’ve seen some horror stories in the past where people haven’t properly checked the purchase conditions.

I was once told the story of a young couple who went to auction to buy themselves a bungalow and they were outbid by another person in attendance.

Naturally, they were disappointed and two lots later a scout hut came up on the rostrum for £12,000 and they didn’t want to leave empty handed, so they bid and won it.

They did not, however, check the special conditions and in the end, it cost them around £100,000 due to various fees, unpaid service charges that had built up over the years and restrictive covenants.

So, not checking the special conditions can be a very expensive mistake to make.

• Visit the property

It can be tempting to bid on what you perceive to be a good deal in the auction room but it’s important to have visited the property beforehand.

You can make appointments with the auctioneer to visit and it will also give you an idea of how many people might be bidding by how many people have signed the sign-in list when you go along.

• Get a structural engineer to take a look

It’s important to know if there are any structural issues with the property before purchasing and structural engineer will tell you this so it’s worth getting them to take a look.

• Attend the auction in person

It’s possible to bid online nowadays or you can do it via telephone, but if you’re there, not only is it a fun day out, but it also gives you a slight advantage.

You can see who else is there, how many online bidders there are and whether there’s any hesitation from your bidding competitors, which can give you an idea of whether they might bow out soon.

What to look out for when buying property at auction?

There are certain checks you have to go through before buying a property at auction all around money laundering.

The auctioneer will give you a list of requirements, but there are a number of things you have to do and you have to provide your ID, passport, utility bills etc.

It’s to make sure your money is clean and that it’s coming from a trusted source.

Is buying property at auction a good option for first time buyers?

If you do your research, buying property at auction is no more risky than buying it on the open market.

As previously mentioned, financing could make it difficult for first time buyers and owner-occupiers, but nowadays there are more options to make that possible.

You have to be a bit braver to go down the auction route, but you could end up with a great deal and the challenges that come with it are by no means insurmountable, so it’s worth trying or talking to someone who can guide you through the process like myself or my team at Rocket.