Guide to Online Property Auctions and Bidding

Currently, all our auctions will be exclusively conducted online.

To bid on a property, you will need to register and apply to bid online with us before the auction.

The system we use provides all the benefits of traditional ballroom auctions such as speed transparency and certainty of sale, whilst being able to bid from the comfort of your own home or office via desktop, tablet or mobile phone.

The Process

In order to participate in our Online Property Auction, you will need to create an account.

  • Go to the lot you are interested in.
  • Click the blue “Bid Now” icon in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen.
  • Click ‘Register/login to bid’.
  • This will take you through to the Passport system where you can click the green button on the left-hand side that says ‘Click here to sign up for free’.
  • You are required to enter your name, email address, mobile phone number and password.
  • Once completed, an activation email will automatically be sent to your Inbox where you need to click the verification button and you will then be provided with the next steps that you need to complete in order to bid.

Once you’ve created an account you are able to ‘watch’ lots that you are interested in (you will be kept updated on that lot throughout the auction cycle), as well as gain access to the legal packs. In order to place a bid on a lot you will need to complete the bidder registration steps, as detailed below. Once fully registered you will be able to bid on any lot within the auction, but note that if you are the winning bidder of a lot and want to bid on multiple other lots then you will need to register your credit or debit card for an additional bidder security deposit.

The first time you register to bid you will also be asked to verify your mobile number and upload copies of your photo ID (e.g. driver’s licence or passport) and recent proof of address (dated within the last 3 months). This is required so we can easily keep in touch and helps us confirm your identity in the event of you purchasing a lot. Please note, registering for the legal pack is not registering to bid.

You will be registering as the authorised bidder/purchaser. If you wish to purchase in a joint or company name, you will need to provide us with sufficient identification for this to be actioned. For limited companies, we require two forms of identification for all directors i.e. passport/drivers licence and recent utility bill (dated within the last three months).

You will be asked to provide two separate forms of identification. We require one photographic ID and one with evidence of your address. Both must be in date and the utility bill must be dated within the last three months. A passport and driver’s licence may also suffice.

Ensure you read, understand and accept the terms and conditions

You will be asked to read and accept our Online Auction Terms and Conditions. Additionally, there may be specific documentation relating to the sale of the property you’re registering to bid on that will need to be read and accepted before you are able to bid. Once accepted, you will receive a copy of the document(s) via email for your own records.

Register your credit or debit card for the bidder deposit

In order to bid online, you will be required to register a credit or debit card for the bidder security deposit. Our system uses Stripe who provide a secure, online card registration facility, and they will attempt to place a hold on funds on your account for the bidder security amount (often referred to as a ‘payment shadow’ as no money will be taken at this stage). The bidder security amount will be clearly displayed when registering your card. The payment window will open five days prior to the auction. On the fall of the virtual gavel, the winning bidder’s card will be automatically debited for the bidder security amount, whilst the unsuccessful bidders will have their shadow payments released (this can take up to 5 working days depending on the card provider).

Complete an online anti-money laundering check

We are required to carry out an online anti-money laundering check on all parties wishing to bid. This check leaves a ‘soft footprint’ on your credit report, but will not affect your credit rating.

Final Step – Auctioneer Review

Once you have completed the bidder registration steps, we will check your bidding application and you will be notified by email as soon as you have been approved to bid.

Auction Day

When the bidding opens, you will be able to submit bids, in line with the bid increment levels which have been pre-set by the auctioneer, using the bid increase (+) and decrease (–) buttons provided. Once you have filled in your preferred bid amount and clicked the ‘Place Bid’ button, your bid will be submitted. Every time you submit a bid you will be notified whether your bid was successful, and you will be able to see a full list of all bids on-screen at all times.

Automatic Bidding/Proxy Bidding.

You can of course submit your maximum (proxy) bid in the system. By submitting your maximum/proxy bid, the system will automatically bid on your behalf, up to your maximum bid level. If you are outbid, you will be notified via email so you can opt to increase your maximum/proxy bid if you choose. When you submit a maximum bid, the actual bid placed by the system will depend on where the reserve price is in relation to your maximum bid. If your maximum bid is below the reserve price – The system will automatically place a bid at your maximum bid amount.

If your maximum bid is at or above the reserve price

The system will automatically increase your bid to be at the reserve, and will only bid again on your behalf if you are subsequently outbid by another bidder (up to your maximum bid amount). If another bidder has already placed the same maximum bid or higher, they will be the highest bidder at your max bid level and the system will notify you via email so you can increase your maximum bid. Your maximum bid will always be kept completely confidential.

From the moment the bidding window opens on the day of the auction at 8 am, bidders are able to place bids on any of the available lots in the auction catalogue.

The scheduled end time of each lot is shown through the bid now button.

– Each lot has a bidding extension window. If a bid on lot 1 is placed at 10:02:30 seconds, the bidding window extension is activated. If another bid is placed in the bidding extension window, the countdown clock will immediately reset to 30 seconds again, and the auction will only finish when an entire 30-second bidding extension window finishes without any further bids being placed, i.e. 30 seconds of ‘bidding silence’. This ensures every bidder has a fair and equal opportunity to participate and place another bid.

The end time on each lot will be updated during the auction, and it is quite common for the end time to be put back due to bidding in the extension window.

If the bidding window resets a further 4 times, the lot will close a maximum of two minutes later.

– Lot 1 must complete the countdown before the countdown begins immediately in Lot 2. This is the same for every lot, the previous lot must complete its countdown for the countdown to begin on the following lot.

If you make a bid, the system will notify you if you are the highest bidder. If you have been outbid, it will also inform you of this. The bidding history will show how many current bidders are placing bids on each lot.

Final steps purchasing your auction property

If you have been successful and purchased a property, we will be in touch following the online auction to discuss the next steps. The system will automatically take the bidder security amount from your registered credit or debit and if there is an outstanding amount to make up the 10% deposit you will be asked to transfer the balance. The contract will then be signed on your behalf with copies being sent to both your solicitor and the seller’s solicitor.