288 thoughts on “Dealing with property auction issues”
We sold our house with planning permission for nine flats to be developed on 23/03/21 at auction with completion on 6/06/21.
The new purchaser decided not to go ahead with the development and put the property back into auction on 20th April, using our legal pack.
Is it legally possible to re-auction a property that you haven’t completed on? I I would have to expected they would have to wait until after the completion in June?
We have also had a number of new prospective purchasers coming round and to view the property in advance of the auction on 20th April without being told in advance and they seem to be under the impression we are the sellers, when in fact we’ve already exchanged with the purchasers.
Thank you for your comment. From what you have said it is unclear whether you put the property back into auction or they have.
A property put in for auction is a binding legal contract and the top bidder is considered to have exchanged contracts once the hammer falls upon the auction. I can see that completion has not taken place yet. In theory, if contracts are exchanged then there may be a possibility for them to sell their equitable interest under the contract for sale at auction but they would have to make it clear that that is what a purchaser is in fact buying. However this will as always depend on the terms of the original contract of sale they formed with you and the terms of the auctioneer.
It may be worthwhile if you were to contact us to discuss this in more detail so we can work out what exactly what you are seeking to achieve in respect of this.
I purchased some land at auction, my solicitors have completed the necessary checks and we were ready to complete in the agreed timeframe. The seller has been ignoring me for 5 months now, no response to requests for information from my solicitor, just total silence. I’m not sure what’s left to do. I’d be happy to forget the purchase if I can get the money back that I’ve paid to the auction house and in fees to the solicitor, or to complete as planned but I’m just not getting anywhere. Now my solicitor has stopped replying as well. How can I reach an end to this?
Thank you for your comment. While we are unable to give specific advice without having taken full instructions and reviewed all the documentation, at a property auction, once the hammer falls, the winning bidder has entered into a definitive contract to purchase the property. It is legally binding in the same way as exchange of contracts would be in a traditional sale of property.
Therefore, you can take steps to enforce the completion of the transaction. You can do this by serving Notice to Complete upon the seller and then issuing proceedings for an order requiring them to complete the sale, though to get such an order you will have to show that you are ready, willing, and able to complete it. This means you will need to show that there is funding in place or that you have the sums to pay the balance due from you on completion to hand. You can also seek damages from the seller for losses you have undergone as a result of this.
This is something that we may be able to assist you with. Please contact our Litigation team for a discussion in complete confidence.
Hi, I showed my friend who is a builder around a flat which was up for auction and was being sold by another friend of mine. He made a good offer, almost 34% higher than the auction starting price. My friend, the vendor accepted his offer and he agreed to pay the auction house fees on top.
Today he was going to the auction house to sign the contract. They had already asked for a deposit which was put into their account today and now he has been told that they are still showing people around the flat and she has received a counter offer of £10,000 more, which she is looking to accept.
Should the auction house still be showing people around the property after they have accepted my friend’s deposit? He feels that the auction house have put somebody else in line to buy it, thus upping their own fees.
Thank you for your comments. Please note that without sight of the terms and conditions of the auction the advice that we can give you is in fact limited. However, in general it will depend on whether or not contracts are actually exchanged. That a deposit was paid may not necessarily amount to an acceptance of the contract; it may have been taken as a payment in exchange for a period of exclusivity or non-solicitation. Moreover, any and all communications are likely to be subject to contract. Unless and until the contracts are exchanged, it may be difficult to determine whether there is anything that can be done here.
It may be worthwhile if this person was to contact our litigation team at our Braintree office for a confidential discussion.
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We sold our house with planning permission for nine flats to be developed on 23/03/21 at auction with completion on 6/06/21.
The new purchaser decided not to go ahead with the development and put the property back into auction on 20th April, using our legal pack.
Is it legally possible to re-auction a property that you haven’t completed on? I I would have to expected they would have to wait until after the completion in June?
We have also had a number of new prospective purchasers coming round and to view the property in advance of the auction on 20th April without being told in advance and they seem to be under the impression we are the sellers, when in fact we’ve already exchanged with the purchasers.
Thank you for your comment. From what you have said it is unclear whether you put the property back into auction or they have.
A property put in for auction is a binding legal contract and the top bidder is considered to have exchanged contracts once the hammer falls upon the auction. I can see that completion has not taken place yet. In theory, if contracts are exchanged then there may be a possibility for them to sell their equitable interest under the contract for sale at auction but they would have to make it clear that that is what a purchaser is in fact buying. However this will as always depend on the terms of the original contract of sale they formed with you and the terms of the auctioneer.
It may be worthwhile if you were to contact us to discuss this in more detail so we can work out what exactly what you are seeking to achieve in respect of this.
I purchased some land at auction, my solicitors have completed the necessary checks and we were ready to complete in the agreed timeframe. The seller has been ignoring me for 5 months now, no response to requests for information from my solicitor, just total silence. I’m not sure what’s left to do. I’d be happy to forget the purchase if I can get the money back that I’ve paid to the auction house and in fees to the solicitor, or to complete as planned but I’m just not getting anywhere. Now my solicitor has stopped replying as well. How can I reach an end to this?
Thank you for your comment. While we are unable to give specific advice without having taken full instructions and reviewed all the documentation, at a property auction, once the hammer falls, the winning bidder has entered into a definitive contract to purchase the property. It is legally binding in the same way as exchange of contracts would be in a traditional sale of property.
Therefore, you can take steps to enforce the completion of the transaction. You can do this by serving Notice to Complete upon the seller and then issuing proceedings for an order requiring them to complete the sale, though to get such an order you will have to show that you are ready, willing, and able to complete it. This means you will need to show that there is funding in place or that you have the sums to pay the balance due from you on completion to hand. You can also seek damages from the seller for losses you have undergone as a result of this.
This is something that we may be able to assist you with. Please contact our Litigation team for a discussion in complete confidence.
Hi, I showed my friend who is a builder around a flat which was up for auction and was being sold by another friend of mine. He made a good offer, almost 34% higher than the auction starting price. My friend, the vendor accepted his offer and he agreed to pay the auction house fees on top.
Today he was going to the auction house to sign the contract. They had already asked for a deposit which was put into their account today and now he has been told that they are still showing people around the flat and she has received a counter offer of £10,000 more, which she is looking to accept.
Should the auction house still be showing people around the property after they have accepted my friend’s deposit? He feels that the auction house have put somebody else in line to buy it, thus upping their own fees.
Many thanks. Cat
Thank you for your comments. Please note that without sight of the terms and conditions of the auction the advice that we can give you is in fact limited. However, in general it will depend on whether or not contracts are actually exchanged. That a deposit was paid may not necessarily amount to an acceptance of the contract; it may have been taken as a payment in exchange for a period of exclusivity or non-solicitation. Moreover, any and all communications are likely to be subject to contract. Unless and until the contracts are exchanged, it may be difficult to determine whether there is anything that can be done here.
It may be worthwhile if this person was to contact our litigation team at our Braintree office for a confidential discussion.