Auction Sellers Guide

Almost any type of property is suitable for an auction: houses, flats, commercial units, investment properties, land, and development sites. The transaction will need to be chain-free.

Choose between a traditional online auction and a conditional online auction.

Traditional Auction

• Exchange occurs online, immediately at the end of your chosen time period. 
• Buyer pays a deposit as part payment of the purchase price
• Attract cash buyers (or buyers with pre-arranged financing)

Conditional Auction

• A reservation agreement is entered into between you and the buyer immediately at the end of the auction, with exchange occurring up to 20 working days later.
• No deposit as exchange has not occurred, the buyer pays a non refundable fee, which will be lost if they don’t proceed. 
• Attract additional buyers - including those who require a mortgage to purchase.

Your reserve price is the minimum figure you are willing to accept for your property. Setting this realistically is key — it needs to be competitive enough to attract bidders, while still meeting your expectations.

Our team will guide you through this process to ensure your reserve is both achievable and aligned with the market. Once agreed, you’ll sign our auction contract and provide proof of identification, in line with Money Laundering Regulations.

• Your property will only sell if bidding meets or exceeds that figure.
• If your property does not meet the reserve price, it won’t be sold. We’ll work with you to review interest and discuss alternative routes

With Breckon & Breckon Online Auctions, you can choose the length of your auction period — typically 4 weeks from the date your property is listed online.

• A longer auction period usually generates more interest, more bids, and a greater chance of achieving the maximum market value.
• A shorter auction period offers speed, making it ideal if time is of the essence and you want a quicker exchange date.

You will need a Solicitor to prepare your legal pack in advance so buyers have full clarity before bidding.  If you already have a Solicitor, we can provide them with a list of items required; alternatively, we can introduce you to a legal partner, who offer a fixed-price service exclusively for Online Auctions.

Whichever route you choose, we’ll guide you through the process to make sure everything is ready in time for your auction launch. 

Bids move up in set increments based on the value. And here’s the exciting part – if a bid comes in during the last 5 minutes, the timer jumps back to 5! That way, everyone gets a fair shot, and the auction stays competitive right to the last minute.

Exchange – Traditional Online Auctions

When the auction timer reaches zero and the reserve has been met (or exceeded), the successful bidder is legally bound to purchase the property.

• A holding deposit is automatically charged to the buyer and held in a secure client account, under the terms of a holding deposit agreement.
• Exchange takes place online, instantly at the close of the auction.
• A memorandum of sale is automatically generated to evidence this exchange. Unless you specifically request otherwise, your auctioneer will sign this document on your behalf.

Remember: if there is a successful bid, you are legally obliged to sell the property for the full purchase price.

Reservation Period – Conditional Online Auctions

When the auction timer reaches zero and the reserve has been met (or exceeded), the reservation period begins.

• The successful bidder has 20 working days to exchange contracts.
• A reservation fee is charged automatically to the buyer. This fee is payable to your auctioneer/agent for conducting the auction and handling the sale.
• The auctioneer is authorised to sign the reservation agreement on behalf of both parties.
• If the buyer fails to exchange within the 20 working days, they forfeit the reservation fee, and the seller is then free to relist the property or sell it to another party.

If the seller fails to exchange within the 20 working days (by their own act), the reservation fee will be refunded to the buyer, and the seller may still be liable to pay the auctioneer’s fee for services rendered.

Identity and anti-money laundering checks are carried out on all bidders before they place a bid. This process involves buyers providing passport and/or driving licence details, which is checked against a variety of sources, including the electoral roll and with credit check providers.

Buyers are also asked to supply their solicitor’s details and provide a UK payment card for automatic fee collection.

Traditional Online Auction

If a bidder is successful, they are automatically charged a holding deposit, which is held as agent for you (less any admin fees payable and subject to any online auction listing terms and conditions).

This amount will be set off against the amount of the 10% deposit, which is payable by the buyer by 12pm the next business day of the end of the auction.

The holding deposit will, subject to the online auction listing terms and conditions, be transferred to you once the buyer has paid the remaining 10% of the deposit.  

In the unlikely event that a bidder fails to transfer the full deposit amount, we will still transfer the holding deposit to your solicitor for your account (less any admin fees)

Conditional Online Auction

If a bidder is successful, they are automatically charged a reservation fee payable to the auctioneer/ agent for conducting the auction.

The bidder then has the reservation period (usually 20 working days) to exchange and transfer the deposit (being 10% of the purchase price)

If the buyer fails to exchange within the 20 working days, they forfeit the reservation fee, and the seller is then free to relist the property or sell it to another party.

If the seller fails to exchange within the 20 working days (by their own act), the reservation fee will be refunded to the buyer, and the seller may still be liable to pay the auctioneer’s fee for services rendered.

Yes, provided you do so before the reserve is met