Property Auctions
Residential property auctions, whilst still far from the main way of buying a home in the UK, are now fairly common and you can find out about property auctions by contacting your local auctioneer who will then send a properties catalogue. It is advised that you do not just turn up at the property auction and start bidding wildly as there are likely to be a number of experienced property hunters there. If you are interested in bidding for a property at auction, you should make sure you have attended at least one auction beforehand to allow you to take in the atmosphere and processes of the auction hall. If there is a property which you like the look of then you should have a price in mind you are willing to pay up to for the property and not go above that amount in the heat of the bidding/moment.

Auction hall procedure is fairly standard. Once the bidding has started, bid amounts tend to go up in £5,000 amounts. Pre-planning is vital and as already noted you should not bid on properties that have not already been fully researched, often properties will be sneaked into an auction, with the seller hoping that any faults it has may not be noticed.

Buying a property at auction has some clear advantages: Certainly, there is some excitement about using this process and there is a possibility of landing a property bargain. On the other hand, there is always the possibility of convincing yourself to buy a property which you had not set your heart on initially.

Private House Sales
More and more people are now using the internet to buy and sell property (good job really as here at welcome home we live in the virtual world!). Known as a private sale, this process involves bypassing estate agents and communicating directly through the buyer or seller for the home of your dreams.

Advantages to this kind of house purchase are clear, as you can reduce down the associated costs of a house purchase by about 1.5%-2.5% of the purchased property’s value (the amount that an estate agent often charges). It should be noted that you will still need to factor in other associated costs such as surveyors and solicitors and some property websites do charge a membership fee for using their service. The biggest benefit of a private sale is it negates the possibility of being gazumped.