Has Anyone Ever Auctioned Their House?

My parents are keen for me to sell Snowdrop Cottage so that they can have their investment back to share amongst myself and my four brothers and sisters

As its not a sellers market at the moment I was thinking about renting it out and received some excellent advice from members on here. My parents were adamant that they didn't want to go down that route, for various reasons and I tried to discuss various options but they were having none of it.

However, my dad has now suggested looking at the possibility of putting in an auction...I've seen properties advertised in this manner but have no idea what it costs to do it, how can you guarantee you meet your reserve price, what are the things to look out for?

Does anyone have any ideas please?

Sorry, no experience of property auctions. Having spoken to an estate agent recently - he said sit tight.

First thing you need to do, is find a Estate Agent who are involved with property auctions.... there should be one or two in your area... who specialize in Auctions... they usually have them on a regular basis..say once a month or so.... they will advise you in all you need to know...i.e valuation and so on.

You can put a reserve on your property , but there is no guarantee you will reach it on the night/day.

If it does not reach the reserve, you may find someone will come and offer you a little less, after the auction..then it will be up to you to except or not.

Property auctions are a gamble, you may make your reserve or even get more , it all depends on who is interested in your property.

Don't forget the current market is slow at the moment..so it may go against you, but then again it may not!!!

Good luck.

I've no experience of selling at auction, but I think you would have to pay commision to the auctioneer, but how that compares to estate agents fees I have no idea

Thanks everyone

With the market being so slow I really thought it best to sit tight and maybe rent it out for at least 6 months but my parents are quite insistent...trouble is that I own 2/3rds of the house so that means my share will go down too if we try to get rid of it quickly.

I shall certainly try to find those estate agents that hold the auctions and get some information from them

Auctions are a lot more expensive than selling in the normal manner - plus you have certain expenses/fees to pay whether or not you meet your reserve.

Its completely pot luck whether you meet your reserve (or massively exceed it).

On the positive side, if it does go to auction, the buyer is committed then and there - no pulling out (well they can, but it costs them).

Worth talking to to a property auctioneer or two as they will have the experience - I would particularly ask them how well attended the auctions are at the moment, what their success rate has been over the last 2 or 3 auctions and whether your property would be likely to go well at auction.

Thanks Fiona...that all seems sensible and things I wouldn't have thought to ask. I have noticed on Rightmove that a lot of properties are now being auctioned, perhaps its peoples last chance to sell before being repossessed, such a sad sign of the times. xx

You would have arrangement fees from the estate agents plus your commission and I believe taxes at the auction. A lot of people go to auctions to pick up a bargain property though so don't be surprised if it doesn't make your asking price.

We've got a property in the UK which we thought about selling before we moved to Germany, it was just at the start of all the credit crisis. We looked around and saw properties had been on the market for a while and there were a lot in the estate agents showing a reduced asking price. After a bit of discussion we decided to rent and sit on the property until the market improves enough to sell it.

Heidi