There are so many house selling options, and the best way for you to choose which route is best for you is to have all the facts laid out in front of you so you can make an informed decision.

Smart Auction UK, a modern auction house that had reigned over the modern auction market for almost 50 years. Its no wonder we have the expertise that some agencies lack, and why we break records for property sales year on year. So, what exactly can a modern auction house offer you that others can’t. Were here to provide a comparison so you know exactly what you are getting yourself into and show you why our auction house is different.

Lets compare the most common routes of property sales, and why we believe that modern auction trumps the rest.

• For Sale By Owner (FSBO)
• Private Treaty (through an estate agent)
• Traditional property auctions
• Cash Buyers

For Sale By Owner

Properties for sale by owner means that you are selling the property yourself, without an agent, usually posting on sites such as Gumtree or Facebook marketplace. The thought process behind this is usually that you can sell your property without having to compromise on price or without having to pay an agent – great right? Let’s take a closer look.

Properties FSBO usually attract a lot of tyre-kickers or time wasters. Owners have no way to check if the buyer is legitimate or even have the funds or Mortgage in principle to begin with. Thinking about asking for proof of funds like a bank statement or mortgage certificate? Forget it. You could be anyone in the world, you have no proof of legitimacy and there is no way anyone is sending you a bank statement or their mortgage approval certificates. This means that only 1 in 10 people will actually be serious buyers, and the chances are that they may not like the property when they view it. This means that you would have to conduct over 100 viewings just to get the chance to sell to someone who might actually be interested, and that kind of interest just simply isn’t going to be generated through sites like Facebook or Gumtree.

What about marketing on Rightmove or Zoopla – nope. These sites only allow marketing by regulated agents, who pay huge sums monthly to promote properties. That’s right, marketing on the open market usually comes with a minimum qualification of around 20-30 listings per month. Serious money over the course of the 4-6 months it would take to sell the property based on the UK average.

Comparison to modern auction

We have the buyers on our book waiting to buy property. We have accumulated almost 50 years worth of loyal investors and buyers, plus we market your property on all the normal sites including Rightmove, Zoopla and Onthemarket. We can actually generate the interest that you need to get your property sold within 28 days, because we have a huge amount of buyer consistently looking to buy property after property to expand their portfolio.

• No 4-6 month wait – we sell in as little as 28 days
• No need to pay for marketing, we pay for all of that
• No need to pay for an estate agent, we pay for that too
• Our service is free of charge to sellers

Private Treaty

This is probably the most common route to sell property in the UK right now. Its normalised and unfortunately there are dark secrets under the skin of estate agency. You will approach an estate agent who will ask you what price you want for your property. Now, would you believe that people tend to over value their property? Shocking – we know. This is usually down to emotional attachment, previous purchase price, and general bias toward the property and its merits. When an estate agent hears a figure, they know that if they cant get close to that figure, you will try and find another agent who can. So what does that agent do? They give you a figure you will be happy with to win your business and get you to sign that contract. Unfortunately a few weeks after this you will hear the disappointing news that the market isn’t performing well, property price have plummeted, there is too much competition in your area and your property wont sell for the price it is listed. You will be convinced to lower your property price, probably to the actual value of your home, the price it should have been listed for in the first place. This also now means your adverts are amended. This price drop can be seen simply with a chrome extension and investors just see that within 3 weeks you have dropped the price of your property – well, your bound to drop it more if your so desperate to sell right? So they wait. Everyone waits for the next price drop. You are also no longer at the top of right move, you’re a month down in the listings and the people who actually priced their property right at the start are on page one selling day in day out. This is probably best to avoid, and is one of the main reasons properties sit on the market for an average of 4 – 6 months before being sold.

Comparison to modern auction

We don’t have the time to promise you the world. We will give you a genuine realistic figure that we know the property will sell for. A common mistake is thinking properties at auction sell for below market value, this is completely false. The actual definition of “market value” is the amount for which something can be sold on a given market”, or the price for which people will pay for an item or in this instance, property. If 15 people bid on a property, it will reach its maximum potential market value, or the price in which someone is willing to pay for your property. You can be sure of this considering some of our clients are international investors.

• We will obtain the maximum market value for your property
• We will not charge you a fee – our service is free to sellers
• We wont inflate the price of your property just to get you to sign a contract. We will give you the genuine price of your property, take it or leave it.
• We sell properties in as little as 28 days
• We have investors and buyers waiting for property to purchase

Traditional Property Auctions

Traditional property auction involves in person auctions, where you attend a crowded room full of people. The auctions tend to happen once every 3-4 months once they have accumulated enough stock. They also send out brochures and give people enough time to look at the properties, view, make decisions and do their research. A traditional auction house can be great for selling your property at the right price, however their reach is limited, it is depended on people being available on a certain time at a certain day, mostly involves travelling and there is no security at the fall of the gavel. Furthermore, the time scale can be long and tedious and there is no guarantee of sale at the end. Yes, they are a great option – but not the best.

Compared to modern auction

Modern auction gets rid of the uncertainty, with contracts exchanged at the fall of the hammer. It also takes less time to sell, is not as much red rope, is accessible from anywhere in the world and can therefore give you more money. With Smart Auction UK, you also don’t pay a penny to sell your property, whereas with traditional auctions you would usually pay a fee due to the costs they have to incur, including the venue, the brochures and the cost of hosting the auction.

• We ensure certainty, with contracts exchanged upon the fall of the hammer
• Our auction is accessible from anywhere in the world
• We have more buyers, meaning more bids and more money
• We sell in as little as 28 days
• We sell our property for free of charge as the buyer pays the fee

Cash Buyers

Of course, everyone knows cash buyers will offer you a lower price for your property. They know you are desperate to sell, and they will offer you less. They also have good reason for this. They will have to spend money to modernise the property. They are offering you convenience and speed and they have to part with the lump sum in cash. They will have to then list the property back on the market and wait for it to sell. You are essentially passing that hassle on to them, and that is the price you pay.

Comparison to modern auction

With modern auction, we don’t have to wait to resell the property, we don’t have to do any upgrades or essentially “piggyback” with the property. We are just connecting the buyer and the seller. We essentially work on the sellers behalf to match them with a property and find them a finders fee. So you get the full value of the property without having to compromise on price. We can also complete quickly, with cash buyers able to complete within 28 days.

• We can sell in as little as 28 days
• We will get you the market value of the property
• We wont try to back out or drop the price at the last hurdle
• We will connect you with one of our buyers who will purchase the property and can complete in as little as 28 days

All in all modern auction houses are fast, free, secure, reliable and trusted. We can sell your property for free at the right price within as little as 28 days. Still think its too good to be true? Call us today to see what we can do for you, and check out our 5 star google reviews!

Call us or send us an enquiry.