Auction Selling Guide

Auction Sellers Guide

Property auctions are a transparent, fast and cost-effective way of selling property. With the shift to remote-only bidding and pre-registration to bid, we have more visibility of interest in each property and can advise on the best approach for a successful sale.

Subject to agreeing on a realistic reserve price (minimum sale price), most properties are suitable for auction with sellers ranging from banks and charities to individuals, property companies, public bodies and receivers.

If you are thinking about selling a property at auction, our experienced auction team is on hand to let you know if it's suitable for auction and provide a free informal appraisal.

If you are looking to buy, you may find this guide helpful or see the "Note to Bidders".

Auction process

If you decide to proceed to auction, we will discuss and confirm in writing the timescales, commission, auction expenses and our terms of engagement.

Before things progress, Strettons require proof of your identity, property ownership, and authority to sell.

There will be an entry fee contributing to auction marketing, including an appropriately sized listing in the catalogue, portal advertising, board and general advertising, which all serve to give your lot wide-scale exposure to potential buyers.

Once we have been instructed, we will prepare a catalogue entry for you and your solicitor to approve. Please note that we will be working to strict catalogue production timescales, and in some cases, we may need to coordinate pictures and details remotely.

Your solicitor will need to prepare a legal pack containing special conditions of sale, title documents, details of occupancies, searches, planning documentation and office copy entries. We will also require your solicitor to confirm you have the authority to sell the property. Where relevant, you will also need to provide an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). This Legal Pack will be available for download by potential bidders via our user-friendly system. Once the legal pack has been uploaded, your solicitor can make changes until 9 am on the day of the auction. Our system will then notify registered potential bidders of these changes to the property ahead of the auction.

Three weeks before the auction sale, marketing will begin on a nationwide scale, both online and offline. We will organise viewings where appropriate and answer incoming queries that will help ensure the bidders are qualified on the day.

As we approach the auction day, we will finalise the reserve price with you, which will be the minimum price you authorise us to sell.

Once a bid for the property has been accepted, it is placed in a binding contract. The buyer will be required to complete a Memorandum of Sale and provide a 10% deposit within 48 hours of the hammer falling.

We will send the purchaser's contract to your solicitor with completion due to take place within the stipulated timeframe, usually 20 working days. The cleared deposit funds will be paid to your solicitor less our fees.

If the property fails to sell on the day, we may be able to agree to a sale shortly afterwards as we continue to market the property.

How can we help?

If you want any informal advice or want to know more about auctions, please do not hesitate to contact our team.

Alphanumeric and special characters (-_.) are only allowed.
Alphanumeric and special characters (-_.) are only allowed.
Enter a valid phone number, Ex: 01234 567 890.
Enter the enquiry message.
By clicking submit enquiry you agree to our privacy policy. We take great care to protect any personal data shared with us.