Fosters Law Ltd - Thanet

Fosters Law

Auction expertise from Fosters Law

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Auction considerations

At an auction, the process of buying or selling a property is condensed into a matter of minutes rather than months. For both buyer and seller this speed can prove to be extremely advantageous; however, it should not diminish the significance of the transaction – there are many considerations for both parties. Fosters Law have built a solid reputation in acting in this specialist market.
Whether you are a first time buyer looking for your initial purchase, a professional landlord managing a portfolio, or a limited company acquiring assets, the experienced staff at
Fosters Law will tailor the service to your requirements.

The legal process

Whether you are buying or selling at auction, the legal process can be divided into two distinct stages:
  •   Stage 1 – all work up to and including the auction itself
  •   Stage 2 – all work after the date of the auction, up to and including completion and registration of the transaction
At Fosters Law, we recognise that there is always an element of risk at an auction: if you are a Buyer, you may be outbid at the auction itself or otherwise fail to acquire the property; and if you are a Seller, the property may fail to sell at all, or may not reach its reserve price. This can lead to a substantial waste of time and money.

We have therefore created a scheme based upon the two stages referred to above, and have split our costs to incorporate “Stage 1” and “Stage 2” fees. In short, you pay 50% of our standard fees for each stage, together with any VAT and other disbursements. If you only want us to act for you on a single stage of the transaction (either pre- or post-auction), you only pay half our normal costs; however, if you want us to act for you on both stages, then you simply pay our usual fees – which are extremely competitive anyway!

Of course there are other legal issues involved with buying at auction that apply to the house buying process in general. For example, Stamp Duty may be payable - this is the government tax on property transactions that must be dealt with in order for the purchase to go through.  This can greatly add to the cost of the purchase and potential buyers should not forget to include this and other costs when budgeting.

For more information, download our helpful guide.  We work nationally with a number of auctioneers, if you are attending an auction and wish to ensure you recieve specialist legal advice please contact us in advance and we will liaise with the Auction House.