Buyers Premium Rip-Off At Property Aution

Buyers Premium Rip-Off At Property Aution

13:41 PM, 28th February 2014, About 10 years ago 19

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Buyers Premium Rip-Off At Property AutionHelp! I have just purchased a property at auction for the first time.

I read through all the T&C’s in the brochure and legal pack and also took professional advice from my solicitor.

Neither of us were aware of a Buyers Premium so it was a bit of a shock when £3,000 was added to the bill!

Apparently it is in small print on page 100 and something!

I am due to complete next week.

Any suggestions please?

Thanks

Sally


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Comments

Sally Tattersall

16:11 PM, 28th February 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Sam Collett" at "28/02/2014 - 16:00":

I need to see the legal pack for myself, but I really left it to my solicitor let me know if there was anything different before I bid. Interestingly, it also appears that my solicitor has done the searches again - local search, environmental search, drainage search which he is billing me for.

It's all a bit of a mess really!

Sam Collett

16:19 PM, 28th February 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Sally Tattersall" at "28/02/2014 - 16:11":

If the searches were out of date the solicitor would have had to re-do - other than that, they should not charge you again for info you already had. Please note searches are different to enviro report!

I would advise you to go to the auction house website and see if you can download the legals. In the very least, can you call the auction house and ask them to email you the special conditions document and you can check that for yourself. This is only a few pages long and will benefit you from reading before you speak to your solicitor next.

Sally Tattersall

16:27 PM, 28th February 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Sam Collett" at "28/02/2014 - 16:19":

Thanks, I'll have a look for myself but in any case, my solicitor didn't mention anything I should be aware of! Lesson learned etc!

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

16:29 PM, 28th February 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Sally Tattersall" at "28/02/2014 - 16:27":

The more I read the more that it is obvious that you have a water tight professional negligence claim here!
.

Sally Tattersall

16:32 PM, 28th February 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "28/02/2014 - 16:29":

I hope so because it really was a shock. The solicitor was working from home the day he looked at the legal pack so maybe he had his mind on other things!

Glenn Ackroyd

18:05 PM, 28th February 2014, About 10 years ago

I doubt you get much joy with the terms of the Auction Company.

These Auction companies are springing up offering 'No Sale Fees' to sellers - they then bung them through auctions. Up north there is one agent charging £5k.

They are even doing the rounds offering to split fees with Estate Agents who introduce properties to them.

However, the reality is that this is costing the seller £5k in lost potential sale price. Eg, if I was willing to pay £100k for a property, but new it had a sale fee of £5k, I'd only bid up to £95k - with no fee, I'd bid higher.

Professional buyers stay away from these auctions, thereby limiting buyers which will have a knock on effect in terms of price achieved.

Anne Nixon

0:03 AM, 1st March 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Glenn Ackroyd" at "28/02/2014 - 18:05":

Hi Glen,
Having bought at the auction you mention, the total fee for buyers here is nearer £6000 when vat etc is included, but as you say, if this is factored into the price you are willing to pay then there are still bargains to be had and in defence of the auction company they are very upfront about clearly stating the cost involved for the buyers, so no nasty shocks here.

Neil Robb

19:41 PM, 1st March 2014, About 10 years ago

Hi Sally

I have bought a number of properties at auctions in the past.

the auctioneer normally starts with a disclaimer explaining the normal fees apply then give a brief on certain types of fee and the addendum banks selling you pay for there costs as well as your own. And when the hammer goes down it is yours so don't bid if you are unsure.

I have never had to pay those kind of fee's the most is £1200.approx

If you buy at the right price you can normally save at auction compared to market value.

In all the small print there are so many clause's. So if you got the property at a good price just put the additional cost down to your capital expenditure if it is an investment.

Basically what I am saying if you paid a good price then you have done ok.

We all make mistakes but if you learn from them and be positive it wont be so hard to live with.

John Daley

12:14 PM, 3rd March 2014, About 10 years ago

Hi Sally,

I think this falls foul of the Consumer Protection legislation. Simply put, all charges must be clearly and prominently stated in the terms. Burying a large fee in a long small print document is likely to contravene the CPR 2008, especially as this may have a material effect on your decision to purchase.

Contact the OFT, but be quick as they are being closed next month or contact your local Trading Standards office and make a complaint.

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