It provides all the benefits synonymous with traditional auctions, including: speed and certainty of sale, transparency and zero risk of gazumping or double-selling, but with the added advantage of being able to bid pressure-free from the comfort of your own home or office via desktop, tablet or mobile phone.
We’ve created a guide to using our Online Property Auctions, which can be viewed below or downloaded for viewing later.
Durrants Online Auctions is a new, innovative and pioneering platform for buying and selling property.
It provides all the benefits synonymous with traditional auctions, including: speed and certainty of sale, transparency and zero risk of gazumping or double-selling, but with the added advantage of being able to bid pressure-free from the comfort of your own home or office via desktop, tablet or mobile phone.
In order to bid at Durrants Online Auctions you will first need to create an account by entering your contact details. This requires you to verify your email address, by clicking an activation link that we’ll send to you via email. Once you’ve created an account you can ‘watch’ lots that you’re interested in, ensuring that you’re kept updated throughout the auction cycle with notifications when the lot is nearly closing, allow access to the legal pack and provide you with an update on the result post-auction. In order to place a bid on a lot you will need to complete the bidder registration steps, as detailed below.
Please note, 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.
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.
In order to bid online you will be required to register a credit or debit card for the bidder security deposit. The bidder security amount will be clearly displayed when registering your card.
On the fall of the electronic gavel, the winning bidder’s card will be automatically debited for the bidder security amount, whilst all the unsuccessful bidder’s cards will have their shadow payments released (this can take several days depending on the card provider). For more information about this process please read the detailed explanation at the end of this document.
Once you have completed the bidder registration steps, we will review your registration to bid. We may contact you to obtain some additional information, so that we can electronically verify your identity with a credit reference agency – this is a quick and simple process which leaves a ‘soft footprint’ and doesn’t affect your credit score. You will be notified by email as soon as you have been approved to bid.
In general terms, you are strongly advised to view the property and take professional advice as to its condition and suitability. You should also ensure that you thoroughly read and understand the legal pack and any other associated documentation available online, and take proper legal advice accordingly. Finally, understand the contract you are entering into and the financial commitment that you will be liable for should you be the successful purchaser.
Guide Price
A Guide Price is an indication as to where the Reserve is currently set. It is not necessarily what the auctioneer expects to sell the lot for, and should not be taken as a valuation or estimate of sale price. The reserve will not exceed the Guide Price by more than 10% if it is a single figure Guide price, and if a Guide Price range is quoted, the Reserve will fall within that range.
Reserve Price
The Reserve is the minimum figure that the Auctioneer is currently authorised by the vendor to sell the property for. Please note that Reserve is liable to change throughout the course of marketing. The Auctioneer reserves the right to lower the Reserve during the auction to a level that matches the existing highest bid. In the event that there were no further bids, the bidder who placed that ‘highest bid’ will be declared the purchaser at the end of the auction process.
When the auction opens, you will be able to place bids in line with the pre-determined bid increment levels, using the bid increase (+) and decrease (–) buttons provided. Every time you submit a bid you will be clearly shown whether your bid was successful, and a full list of all bids is displayed on-screen at all times.
Maximum (Proxy) Bids
You are not restricted to placing a bid at the minimum bid amount, but can instead increase your bid and place a maximum (proxy) bid in the system. By setting a maximum bid, the system will automatically bid on your behalf to maintain your position as the highest bidder, up to your maximum bid amount. If you are outbid, you will be notified via email so you can opt to increase your bid if you so choose.
Reserve Prices
Virtually every lot is sold subject to a reserve price (the minimum price that the auctioneer is authorised to sell for on the day). When you submit a maximum bid, the actual bid placed by the system will depend on whether the reserve price has been met, as defined below.
If your maximum bid is below the reserve price
The system will place an immediate 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 and the system will notify you via email so you can place another bid.
NB: Your maximum bid is kept completely confidential – it’s presence or amount are not disclosed to the auctioneer, vendor or any other bidder.
Bidding example:
The current bid on a lot is £90,000. The reserve price has been set at £100,000 (not disclosed).
George wants to bid. The minimum bid amount is £91,000 but George decides to place a maximum bid of £97,000. This is below the reserve price, so the system places a bid for George at his maximum bid amount and he becomes the highest bidder at £97,000.
Jane logs on to bid. The minimum bid amount is £98,000 but Jane places a maximum bid of £105,000. The system automatically increases Jane’s bid to meet the reserve and she is now the highest bidder at £100,000. However, Jane still has a proxy bid of £105,000 “in the system” which will automatically bid on her behalf if anyone else places a bid. George is notified that he has been outbid. If no more bids are placed Jane would win the lot for £100,000.
If, however, George places a bid of £101,000, and Jane’s proxy bid instantaneously outbids him at £102,000 as this is the lowest bid required to make her the highest bidder.
If George then places a maximum bid of £105,000, the bidding would jumps to £105,000 and the bid would be with Jane as the highest bidder as she bid that amount first.
George then places a bid at £106,000 and wins the lot as there are no other bids and it is above reserve.
The online auction will close as per the advertised ‘Auction End Date’. However, if a bid is placed within the final 60 seconds of the auction’s scheduled end time, the auction will be extended by an additional 60 seconds – known as the ‘bidding extension window’.
If a bid is placed in the “bidding extension window,” the countdown clock will immediately reset to 60 seconds again, and the auction will only finish when an entire 60 second bidding extension window passes without any further bids being placed, i.e. 60 seconds of ‘bidding silence’.
Bid “Sniping”
Unlike eBay, bid sniping will not work on our online auction platform. There is no advantage in leaving your bid until the last few seconds as this will only initiate a further 60-second bidding extension window. This ensures every bidder has a fair and equal opportunity to place another bid.
Furthermore, if you do leave your bid until the last few seconds, you could risk your bid not being received by the server until after the closing time and therefore it would not be accepted.
Legal postion when you’ve won the auction
We offer property for sale by both immediate exchange of contract and conditional exchange of contract. It is imperative that bidders are aware which method is being used for the lot(s) they are interested in, and that they understand the terms to which they are bound by under each method. Both the particulars of sale and the legal pack will indicate which method is being used.
Immediate exchange of contracts means that the fall of the electronic gavel constitutes an exchange of contracts between the buyer and seller. Both parties are legally bound to complete the transaction – usually within 20 business days following the close of the auction, but this will be confirmed within the legal documentation.
Conditional exchange of contracts means that the fall of the electronic gavel secures the winning bidder with an exclusive ‘right to exchange contracts’ on the property within the prescribed time frame – usually 20 business days, but this will be confirmed in the terms and conditions of sale and/or legal pack. Unlike the immediate exchange of contracts, this method gives the bidder additional time to carry out surveys and secure mortgage finance before exchanging contracts, whilst the seller undertakes not to sell to anyone else during this period.
If you are the successful purchaser, we’ll be in touch following the online auction to discuss the next steps. The system will take the bidder security amount from your registered credit or debit card (all underbidders will have their hold on funds released); the contract will then be signed on your behalf with copies being sent to both your solicitor and the seller’s solicitor.
