A sale by auction is the only method of sale where the seller is, via their auctioneer, actively able to seek higher offers at all times during marketing, a procedure that is accepted by purchasers as being ‘par for the course.’ It is for this reason that over the past 18 months we have been able to achieve prices that have exceeded expectation by considerable amounts. Our clients have not only been delighted with the amounts received but also the speed in which contracts have been exchanged and by this I mean immediately! You see when I advise a client I have a buyer for their property, my definition of a buyer is someone who has the cash, does not require a mortgage or survey, is not involved in a chain and is certainly not someone who will take three months to exchange contracts providing nothing other than uncertainty during the somewhat antiquated and highly unreliable ‘other method of sale’ we adopt here in the UK.

The auction method of sale be it, before, during or after the auction is not rocket science but instead extremely efficient, transparent and to use that word again, immediate! We do all of the work in advance, have all of the legal documentation cleverly stored on our bespoke website ready for a purchaser and or their solicitor to download.

Recently, I received a viewing request for one of our properties in West Sussex from a gentleman who did not live locally but had been in the vicinity the weekend prior and had seen the property from the outside. He had downloaded the entire contents of the legal pack and was happy with all of the documentation provided so I arranged to meet him at the house. Due to the geographical distance between the property and where he lived he asked what would be the procedure in the event he wanted to make an offer? I simply said that if he wished to email me his money laundering documents I would bring the formal contracts with me to the viewing ready for him to sign once he had transferred the 10% deposit. I headed off to the viewing with my client fully briefed and waiting for my call following the viewing. After the viewing, the buyer, as good as his word made an offer on the basis he would exchange contracts there and then. As you would expect, some negotiating for the owner was necessary however, once the price was finally agreed, the deposit was transferred, contracts signed and exchanged whereupon completion took place 28 days later. Job done as they say, efficiently, quickly with absolutely no delays hassle, aggravation or uncertainty incurred by either party.

Now this is how to sell a property is it not!

By Simon Caplin, Auctioneer, Parsons Son & Basley – 01273 274010 / www.psandb.co.uk