Has anyone sold their home at auction?

Re realistic pricing, my mother's house had to be sold after she finally went into a care home.

My brother was handling the sale, and since we certainly didn't want the place empty over the winter, and looking more and more forlorn and unloved, he asked for a realistic price, not what the EA thought he wanted to hear.

The EA gave him 3 prices - one very optimistic, could take 6 months plus; one more realistic, maybe 3 months, and the third, 'I'll sell it in a week.'

Brother went for number 3 - there wasn't actually a vast difference - and it did sell within a week.

Would just like to add my agreement about price. There are few actually unsaleable houses, just those with the wrong price. I cannot believe how many times I've heard people say they have gone with the agent who gave the highest valuation. Its just not the way to do it. When it comes down to it a house is only worth what the actual buyer is willing to give. If you do feel that an auction might be the answer to your problem then do some research as to the agents in your area who actually specialise in that field. Its all about buyer perception....if a potential buyer feels they are dealing with an agent who knows his job and can be trusted to nurse the deal ( a good agent who really stays with it and sees it through is worth its weight in gold) they will be reassured. A buyer's perception of the property they are purchasing is important, same as anything else. Hence the vendor's choice of agent can have quite an influence in the perceived quality or value of the property.
A few years ago we had a large rural property to sell and approached the local agent ( a large firm with at least 20 offices but not national). They seemed keen enough and felt it would sell but would need to go on the 'Country house' listings and need a few extra photos etc. A month passed and there was no sign of brochure etc let alone potential purchasers. We cancelled contract and contacted large 'posh' national firm who had higher fees but a very prestigious reputation. Impressive young man from local office called and waxed lyrical, organised photos and promptly added 20% to previous agent's valuation. The property hit internet and within 24hours we had a firm offer from a very keen buyer from other side of the country. Yes the fees were a bit more but the agent was great at keeping us informed and fielding what turned out to be a rather 'needy' purchaser who needed lots of reassurance, in any case the eventual price more than made up for it.
A few years previously we also had to cope with selling an elderly relative's large ramshackle house and that too was handled very well by a firm in the area who specialized in non typical properties. Estate agents do get a rough press but they are not all the same.

Consider changing your agent, and reducing the price

When you say "up here", can you indicate how far up please? We are coming to the UK ostensibly to buy a house in July. My OH is a railway enthusiast [other long-suffering wives will understand how this works]! Please can you somehow let us know more or less where you are situated. Despite the single glazing, this could probably be rectified by a specialist company. BTW it has snowed here in the Haute Savoie this morning - we are not exactly on the Lake edge, but at 450 meters. Lausanne opposite is also white!

I had an unusual house that I was having trouble selling. I approached our local, very well known, auction house and they weren’t interested. I sold after two years for £60000 less than the valuation.

Post link for on here OP and we will give honest feedback!

Anyone who buys at auction is looking for a bargain. You will get less than market value and then you have lots of fees to pay.
I would say that your best bet would be to lower the asking price with your agent to get more interest. Or change your agent before doing this. You need an agent who will put the effort in to getting people through the door.

The OP agent seems to be doing a good job based on the numbers of people viewing the property. Zoopla is a well known site and many potential purchasers look there as well as Rightmove. Zoopla also advertise on the TV. You can simply ask your agent to advertise on Rightmove. Several years ago, I had a house up for sale with an agent (pre-internet) who was not advertising where I wanted them to. I told them what I wanted them to do, They said they didn’t do that. I told them that I would then have to change to another agent. They then agreed to advertise where I chose, with no extra charge.

I agree with others - you need to get the property on Rightmove. Sorry to ask but what kind of cheapskate / amateur EAs are you registered with who don't even do that? As others have said, some buyers only look on Rightmove. So, in your shoes, my first move would be a different Agent (just check the exit agreement with your current one). Maybe ask around for recommendations for those who have recently sold a property in your area? Also, think about more specialist agencies - i.e. those who specialise in properties in a higher price range (you may have to look at the County at a whole to find them - not sure where you are, but there are often "Country Life" kinds of magazines where such estate agents can be found advertising - they don't mind travelling quite long distances to view expensive properties). Good luck.

We bought our house at auction. We were lucky as had good advice from our bank manager who did the bidding for us. We did pay more than the asking price so it can be quite lucrative for the seller. You can attract potential buyers by giving a low and high price guide but the bidding can exceed that. It worked for us as buyers and I think it was good for the seller too. We're still here 40 years later.

You definitely need an agent who uses Rightmove as well as Zoopla . Having moved quite recently I know it was always Rightmove we looked at first as they had a larger section of the market. Good luck, it is the most stressful thing to do but keep in mind that you loved the house once and there will be someone else who feels the same, it’s just a question of finding them.

Good

Auctions, free of an unreasonable reserve, can stop the agony.

Your Energy Performance Certificate for your old railway station will probably show that it is too energy inefficient to rent out.

Bite the bullet and get it sold so you can enjoy the rest of your life.

Advise your estate agent of the upcoming auction date so they have an opportunity to redouble their efforts to sell it for you.

Gook luck!

Are you sure it's realistically priced? I know it's not so easy to know with one-off properties, but from experience of relatives trying to sell - two cases of on the market for absolutely ages and sold only after a fairly hefty reduction - unless there's something intrinsically wrong with it (e.g. next to a noisy pub) it's usually the price.

It's quite common for estate agents to value 'optimistically' in order to get the business, which is what happened in both those cases, I'm sure.

I do think a property should be on both Rightmove and Zoopla - first ports of call for most people looking to buy.

Have you thought of putting an ad in one of the magazines for railway enthusiasts? We have a narrow boat and regularly see ads in the back of related magazines for canal side properties for sale.

Friends of ours with a very unusual house found an agent who found buyers privately and it didn't take very long to sell. It was in vg order however.
Mine would be like yours.

Another friend changed their EA after 6 months with no viewers. The new agent took better photos and was on right move etc. It sold.

There are companies that guarantee to buy your property immediately but do offer less than market value. This is an answer to moving quickly if you can afford it (and if they will accept a specialised property like yours).

P.S. stay well clear of the likes of Purple Bricks as mentioned by another poster. They are having financial problems and with any fee upfront organisation there strategy means once they have your money they have no real incentive to do any chasing. Unusual properties need very pro-active agents, someone who searches out potential buyers by advertising widely and vetting its potential purchasers.

I'd be inclined to go for another agent (but do make sure you exit your present arrangement properly - there can be problems if its not done correctly). Your unusual property needs careful handling and a wider audience.

There are some specialist estate agents for this type of propertty. I did a google search and came up with this:

www.railwaystationcottages.co.uk/railway-properties-for-sale/

you need to be with an EA who subscribes to rightmove, mosaicwarts. RM is often the only site that buyers look at. I can see the attraction of an auction, gets rid of quickly and no long drawn out process. If you can afford it then do it, always better to move on with life, even if it costs money.

I am in selling process right now, almost finished but I had to drop by 11% to sell in good time. Depends on your age but for me, well life is too short to hang about and it sounds as though you need to be out and settled into a new home for next winter. Do it, get it over with

My son sold his house by auction (although not in Uk) but he got more money than he was expecting
Why not advertise it to a wider audience if your local chap is only using one avenue Lots of advertising about Purple bricks and Rightmove at the moment are they any use to try
If it’s a listed building surely there is a local scheme to help with funding to get the roof done have you checked this out

I think selling a house when on your own must be terribly stressful

as its listed why not crowd fund to fix the roof and get rail enthusiasts involved in helping with the work it needs done.There are always people looking for something to do with their time .Maybe your local paper could run a story on it and see if anyone comes forward to offer help .Good luck with it I hope it and your sanity can be saved .

Sorry for your situation. Just wanted to say the property sounds wonderful

Thank you paddyann, a great idea but I can't do it here. The house needs too much work done to rent out unfortunately, when my husband became ill he lost his strength, and didn't want workmen here. When he died it was like the house died too, everything went wrong at once.
I've tried to keep on top of the minor repairs I can afford but the roof situation is becoming desperate.