288 thoughts on “Dealing with property auction issues”
Hi
I have recently bought a suite that I had not been out to view. I have paid £13,000 for a bedroom with en-suite in penthouse that has 4 suites as was advertised. I have found out that the suite I have bought does not come with an en-suite (the other suites have them). By the looks of things the suite I have purchased comes with access to the shared bathroom.
What are my rights to break the contract for mis representation?
Thank you for your comment and I am sorry to hear that you are having this issue. Purchasing a property at auction is a high risk activity and whether there is a claim for misrepresentation will depend on what was actually in the auction pack or other paperwork supplied to you and other bidders, as you would have to be able to point to a specific statement by the seller that was false and that you relied upon. It also will depend on the content of the contract, as there may be an entire agreement or non-reliance clause in it or the auction’s conditions.
We are afraid, however, that we cannot give anything other than general guidance on our website, primarily for the fact that without considering the position in detail with our clients, we cannot give accurate advice.
If you wish to go through this with us further, please feel free to contact us for a confidential discussion.
I brought a property at an auction, and after renovating the property we tried to sell and found we had red ash in the floors. We got the usual report completed and to our surprise the company we contacted, knew all about the property as the previous owner who had sold it at auction, got this same company to carryout the testing and to verify there was red ash. He obviously choose not to let the auction house know there was red ash, even though you asked when putting a property up for auction if you have any reports pertaining to the property being sold. Generally when buying from this particular auction house, they would tell me if the property potentially had red or black ask. To what degree is this classed as misrepresentation by the seller. To remove the red ash cost £10,000 and the removal and replacement of all fittings. And added an extra 6 weeks to before we could sell again.
We are sorry to say that it is quite unlikely that there is any sort of claim here. Unless something specific was said about the position, as a minimum that the property was structurally sound and free from defects, then there can be no false statement that has been relied on when entering into the contract (i.e. making the successful bid).
A seller, at auction or otherwise, has no obligation to volunteer information about the property, including materials used in construction. This is normally the remit of the buyer’s surveyor. It is also highly unlikely that there was any duty of care on the auctioneer to identify the problem. It is a matter of “caveat emptor” or “buyer beware” insofar as it is down to the buyer to decide whether or not they wish to make any bids based on the information that they have.
I bought a land in an auction for £3000 only to discover in the legal pack that i need to pay extra £3000 for the seller legal fees and extra £650 for searches . All these are in addition to the auctioner fee of £1000. This is rediculous. i have already pay £4000(3000+1000) and i am wanting advice how i can get a refund as i cannot complete the purchase due to the 3k legal fees
Thank you for your comment. Unfortunately it does not sound as though you have any option but to complete the sale.
Whilst we can only provide general guidance and pointers, and would need to consider the documentation and circumstances in more detail, if the terms of the contract were set out in the auction pack (as they normally would be) and these contained obligations to pay certain sums, then you will likely be bound by these.
Thanks for your reply. It is clear cannot complete the purchase because it does make any sense to pay over £5300 to buy a land worth only £3000 which means i will forfiet my money. There is a suggestion online that i might be able hold ground under “unfair contract terms” . Nonetheless i will also complain to my card issuer. Lesson learnt, stay away from property auction Never never again.
What would happen if purchase not completed? The 10`% deposit or £3000 requested happens to be the wining bid and that has been paid. And also what are my chances of deposit refund from Section 49(2) of the Law of Property Act 1925
We are unable to give specific legal advice on our website. We are only able to provide general guidance which should not be considered a substitute for bespoke legal advice. This is primarily because without considering the circumstances as a whole, including the exact terms of any auction conditions, we cannot give accurate advice.
Section 49(2) of the Law of Property Act 1925 gives the Court a mechanism and legal discretion to refund a deposit. The Court will always apply the overriding principle that the deposit exists to ensure performance of the contract i.e. completion. The Court also recognises that there must be certainty with respect to the purpose of and intention behind paying a deposit. The Court does not exercise such discretion other than in exceptional circumstances. As mentioned, we cannot give specific advice but we would consider it unlikely that an unwillingness of a seller to complete on a purchase for no other reason than the contractual terms identified before the contract was entered into are no longer acceptable to the buyer.
Thanks you very much. One more question pls. The searches for the land was dated 24/02/2020 is that still valid for 11/11/2020. The seller solicitor searches were done in march
We are afraid we cannot say without considering the title documentation in detail but the basic position is that the buyer would need to be satisfied with the information that they had been provided with and if not, undertake their own enquiries and searches.
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Hi
I have recently bought a suite that I had not been out to view. I have paid £13,000 for a bedroom with en-suite in penthouse that has 4 suites as was advertised. I have found out that the suite I have bought does not come with an en-suite (the other suites have them). By the looks of things the suite I have purchased comes with access to the shared bathroom.
What are my rights to break the contract for mis representation?
Thank you for your comment and I am sorry to hear that you are having this issue. Purchasing a property at auction is a high risk activity and whether there is a claim for misrepresentation will depend on what was actually in the auction pack or other paperwork supplied to you and other bidders, as you would have to be able to point to a specific statement by the seller that was false and that you relied upon. It also will depend on the content of the contract, as there may be an entire agreement or non-reliance clause in it or the auction’s conditions.
We are afraid, however, that we cannot give anything other than general guidance on our website, primarily for the fact that without considering the position in detail with our clients, we cannot give accurate advice.
If you wish to go through this with us further, please feel free to contact us for a confidential discussion.
I brought a property at an auction, and after renovating the property we tried to sell and found we had red ash in the floors. We got the usual report completed and to our surprise the company we contacted, knew all about the property as the previous owner who had sold it at auction, got this same company to carryout the testing and to verify there was red ash. He obviously choose not to let the auction house know there was red ash, even though you asked when putting a property up for auction if you have any reports pertaining to the property being sold.
Generally when buying from this particular auction house, they would tell me if the property potentially had red or black ask. To what degree is this classed as misrepresentation by the seller. To remove the red ash cost £10,000 and the removal and replacement of all fittings. And added an extra 6 weeks to before we could sell again.
Thank you for your comment.
We are sorry to say that it is quite unlikely that there is any sort of claim here. Unless something specific was said about the position, as a minimum that the property was structurally sound and free from defects, then there can be no false statement that has been relied on when entering into the contract (i.e. making the successful bid).
A seller, at auction or otherwise, has no obligation to volunteer information about the property, including materials used in construction. This is normally the remit of the buyer’s surveyor. It is also highly unlikely that there was any duty of care on the auctioneer to identify the problem. It is a matter of “caveat emptor” or “buyer beware” insofar as it is down to the buyer to decide whether or not they wish to make any bids based on the information that they have.
I bought a land in an auction for £3000 only to discover in the legal pack that i need to pay extra £3000 for the seller legal fees and extra £650 for searches . All these are in addition to the auctioner fee of £1000. This is rediculous. i have already pay £4000(3000+1000) and i am wanting advice how i can get a refund as i cannot complete the purchase due to the 3k legal fees
Thank you for your comment. Unfortunately it does not sound as though you have any option but to complete the sale.
Whilst we can only provide general guidance and pointers, and would need to consider the documentation and circumstances in more detail, if the terms of the contract were set out in the auction pack (as they normally would be) and these contained obligations to pay certain sums, then you will likely be bound by these.
Thanks for your reply. It is clear cannot complete the purchase because it does make any sense to pay over £5300 to buy a land worth only £3000 which means i will forfiet my money. There is a suggestion online that i might be able hold ground under “unfair contract terms” . Nonetheless i will also complain to my card issuer. Lesson learnt, stay away from property auction Never never again.
Hello Mark,
What would happen if purchase not completed? The 10`% deposit or £3000 requested happens to be the wining bid and that has been paid. And also what are my chances of deposit refund from Section 49(2) of the Law of Property Act 1925
Thank you for your further comments.
We are unable to give specific legal advice on our website. We are only able to provide general guidance which should not be considered a substitute for bespoke legal advice. This is primarily because without considering the circumstances as a whole, including the exact terms of any auction conditions, we cannot give accurate advice.
Section 49(2) of the Law of Property Act 1925 gives the Court a mechanism and legal discretion to refund a deposit. The Court will always apply the overriding principle that the deposit exists to ensure performance of the contract i.e. completion. The Court also recognises that there must be certainty with respect to the purpose of and intention behind paying a deposit. The Court does not exercise such discretion other than in exceptional circumstances. As mentioned, we cannot give specific advice but we would consider it unlikely that an unwillingness of a seller to complete on a purchase for no other reason than the contractual terms identified before the contract was entered into are no longer acceptable to the buyer.
Thanks you very much. One more question pls. The searches for the land was dated 24/02/2020 is that still valid for 11/11/2020. The seller solicitor searches were done in march
We are afraid we cannot say without considering the title documentation in detail but the basic position is that the buyer would need to be satisfied with the information that they had been provided with and if not, undertake their own enquiries and searches.