Busting auction myths is our speciality. We believe its important for all our buyers and sellers to understand the auction process from back to front and top to bottom before they make the choice to use our services. So we are back today with another myth.

Sellers believe they have little to no control over the time scale in which their property sells. Some believe it sells and keys are exchanged on the same day – wrong. Some believe that the property will be exchanged within 1-2 weeks and they will have to find a new place to live within this period – also wrong.  Some also believe that there has to be a mad dash for them to find a new property in a very quick time scale ask they have no control over when the keys will be handed over – wrong again.

Depending on your circumstances, there is truth that a property sale and exchange can be completed within 28 days. Which is great if you are not living in the property or already have alternative accommodation in place. However what if you live in the property? What if you need to find a new place to live before you can move out of your property. Getting yourself into a chain with an estate agency would surely be easier, right? Totally wrong!

So, how do auction timescales really work and what does that mean for live-in property owner.

There are two types of timescale terms that we offer in our auction. Conditional, and unconditional. Lets break these down.

Conditional

Some of our properties are sold subject to some conditions. The buyer is legally bound to buy and the seller is legally bound to sell in 56 days+. This means that the sale, legal formalities are done and keys are handed over after 56 days+ of the fall of the hammer. This can be extended up to 6 months after the exchange of contracts has happened. But does this mean that the buyer can back out?

No. On the fall of the hammer, the legal contracts must be exchanged within 28 days, the buyer would pay a 5% non-refundable Deposit and a Reservation Fee of up to 5% plus VAT (to a minimum of £5,000 plus VAT) to secure the property. The property would then be placed with each parties solicitors, ready to be completed upon the go ahead of the seller confirming that have a move in date for their new property.

Unconditional

The buyer is legally bound to buy and the seller is legally bound to sell within 28 days. This means that the sale, legal formalities are done and keys are handed over after 28 days of the fall of the hammer.

On the fall of the hammer, the legal contracts are exchanged straight away, the buyer would pay a 5% Non-refundable Deposit and a Reservation Fee of up to 5% plus VAT (to a minimum of £5,000 plus VAT) to secure the property.

So, who decides if its conditional or unconditional sale? The seller. The seller will include this information in the legal pack before the property is even put into the auction. Meaning the buyer will have to abide by the timescales given. This means that the seller is in complete control of the completion time scales, no need to rush to find a property within 28 days, as they can have 6 months to find their new property and obtain a completion date. The move in and exchange of keys can then happen on that date, just like it would if you were in a property chain.

Yes – we can sell your property within 28 days for free, but the move in and out timescales are down to the sellers’ circumstances. We allow you to put conditions in place, giving you the time and peace of mind that you won’t be left stuck in a sticky situation.

You can see some of our auction successes here, and below is another one we sold just last week.

Want to be the next auction success story, and interested in selling your property in 28 days, completely for free? Contact us today to get the process started.

If you want to learn about the modern online auction, see if auction is right for you here.

Call us or send us an enquiry.