| Whether you're after a nice town house or a luxury | | | | you tell the property auctioneers how much you are |
| country property, the kind of home you're looking for | | | | willing to pay and they will add your amount into the |
| will come up sooner or later at one of the UK's many | | | | live auction; or to bid over the phone. Many auction |
| auctions. | | | | houses also allow you to do live internet bidding. These |
| But these auctions aren't necessarily friendly places to | | | | are great if you are scared of the auction room or |
| go spending. You're basically in a three way battle | | | | want to keep a low profile. The only problem is that |
| between you, anyone else who wants to buy the | | | | you can't get a feel for the atmosphere in the room, or |
| property, and the property auctioneers. | | | | see who you are bidding against. |
| It's their job to get as much for the house as possible. | | | | 4. Be a jumper |
| That's what the client selling it has employed them to | | | | This is the term used for someone who bids for |
| do. Whereas you want to pay as little as possible! | | | | something at the very last moment. It's a powerful |
| Here are five smart tips to help you beat the other | | | | way to ensure you get the property you want. |
| bidders in the room and spot any tricks property | | | | Let's say a house has lots of people trying to buy it, |
| auctioneers may use. | | | | and the auction eventually becomes a battle between |
| 1. Stand out: | | | | two people. Your job as a jumper is to wait until the |
| If you're there to bid, make sure you can be seen. This | | | | last possible moment… then just before the |
| doesn't mean wearing a high visibility jacket. Rather, | | | | auctioneer bangs his gavel, shout out a bid. To make it |
| don't hide at the side of the room and hope that the | | | | really powerful, make it a grand or two more than the |
| property auctioneers spot you feebly raising your hand. | | | | current high bid. |
| Think about all of the multi-tasking the auctioneer has | | | | This is a psychologically powerful move. Of the two |
| to do, and make his or her job easier. | | | | people battling for the property, one has already pulled |
| 2. Use an agent: | | | | out, and the other was expecting to get the property |
| A very viable alternative to attending the auction and | | | | for a certain price. Neither are likely to want to enter |
| bidding yourself is to get someone else to do it for you. | | | | another bidding battle with you. |
| A bidding agent will take instructions from you, including | | | | 5. Spot phantom bids |
| a strict ceiling of the most you are prepared to pay. | | | | Sometimes property auctioneers will seem to be |
| They will then attend the auction and bid on your | | | | receiving bids from the room - but actually there is |
| behalf. | | | | no-one bidding! These are made up phantom bids. The |
| There are pros and cons of using someone else. They | | | | auctioneer will throw them in to try and get the auction |
| will have less emotion during bidding, which is good as | | | | moving and generate some excitement. |
| they won't be tempted to spend more than the budget. | | | | By law, they can only do this up to the reserve - which |
| On the downside, they might not be able to push your | | | | is fine with them as it means they get the property |
| maximum by a few pounds, where that might be the | | | | sold. If you can spot it happening, it could be a good |
| difference between winning or losing the property. | | | | way of getting your hands on a bargain. |
| Some experts recommend hiring property auctioneers | | | | Sometimes auctioneers will subtly tell bidders that the |
| from another company to bid for you, as they will | | | | reserve has been reached by using a sentence such |
| know all of the tricks and be more likely to get the | | | | as "it's in the room" or "it's going to be sold". So if you |
| property at the right price. | | | | spot a house with phantom bids, little interest in the |
| 3. Bid by proxy, phone or internet | | | | room but that has hit its reserve price, you've got a |
| Other options open to you are to bid by proxy, where | | | | potential bargain on your hands. |