We work through partner estate agencies rather than taking instructions directly. Your agent keeps the relationship and handles the property; we supply the auction, the pack coordination and the buyer side.
What auction gives a seller
A date. Marketing runs to a fixed end, so the sale resolves instead of drifting.
A committed buyer. A winning bidder has passed identity and funding checks and has money at stake from the close. The fall-through rate is materially lower than a private treaty sale.
A protected floor. The reserve is confidential and the property does not sell below it.
The process
- Valuation and method. Your agent advises on the guide price, the reserve and which method fits the property.
- Pack preparation. Your solicitor assembles the legal pack. This is the step that sets the timetable — starting it early is the single biggest thing within your control.
- Marketing. The lot goes live with viewings running alongside bidding.
- Auction close. If the reserve is met, the lot sells.
- Exchange and completion. On the timetable the method sets.
What it costs the seller
On the Modern Method the buyer pays the reservation fee, which is how the auction is funded — so the seller commonly pays no auction fee at all. Your agent’s own fee is separate and is a matter between you and them. Your solicitor’s costs are yours as in any sale.
Setting the reserve
A reserve set above what the market will pay produces an unsold lot and a wasted marketing period. A guide price set well below the reserve draws bidders who were never going to reach it. Both are common, and both waste the fixed date that makes auction worth using.