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Selling A House at Auction
If I have to sell my house at auction would you recommend a local/regional auctioneer or a London based one for greater exposure?
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Hi Chrissa, I have followed you recent post and wanted to say how sorry I was for your loss. With regards to the house auction, my father-in-law auctioned his house (and it was a nice house, in a pretty Cumbrian village and was regarded as desirable) and it went for less than 50% of what it was valued at. Just wanted to forewarn you.
It was based in Newcastle but the house (bizarrely) also appeared on EBay (and there are quite a few on there). It was a large company but I can't remember the name of it. The house had been on the market for ages and he wanted his money out so he thought he would lose some of the value but it was a big surprise when it went for so little.
My mum sold her house a couple of years ago. It took 22 months to sell. Originally (when my dad died but before we got probate so we couldn`t actually do anything anyway) the estate agents was pushing for auction. It was a local estate agent. We went for private tender instead. Later on when mum said she would consider auction as she was desperate to go the agents said the market has changed now. Auctions seem to be for unique places that are difficult to price but as there is no market now for people buying, doing up and making huge profits, the auction market isn`t so buoyant. Our local agent (north devon) said he would show the house at London property shows anyway.
Hard to say, is it an 'ordinary' house that would be desirable to local people or does it have lots of special things that would require a certain type of buyer (is it huge, in a very desirable place, is it expensive, etc). If it's the first, then a local auctioneer and if the latter, a national auctioneer (in my opinion).
As I mentioned, we didn`t go for auction in the end because the market had changed. If you are going to, I would go for a good local agent with a few offices scattered around the area. They will have more knowledge of your area and what you are likely to get for it (and what reserve price to set). Our estate agents advertised my mums house in London at property shows and if someone is interested in a certain area they will check out all the local agents via the internet anyway.
you can get further information on selling house at auction at http://www.sellinghousesatauction.co.uk