How buying at auction works
Auctions are fast and binding. This page explains what you are committing to, before you commit to it.
Conditional
Sometimes called the modern method
Winning reserves the property for you. You pay a reservation fee to the auctioneer and then have an exclusivity period — typically around 28 days to exchange contracts and a further period to complete.
That window is what makes it workable with a mortgage. It is not a free option: the reservation fee is payable whether or not you go on to complete, and you can lose it if you pull out.
Suits: buyers needing finance, or a little time.
Unconditional
The traditional method
Winning forms a binding contract to buy, there and then. You pay a deposit immediately and complete on the date in the auction conditions — commonly 20 working days later.
There is no cooling-off period and no subject-to-survey. If you fail to complete you can lose your deposit and be liable for the seller's losses. Have your finance and your survey settled before you bid.
Suits: cash buyers, or finance already fully arranged.
Step by step
Every lot has a legal pack — title, searches, leases, certificates. It forms part of the contract, and you are expected to have read it before you bid. Sign in to open it; you do not need to be a registered bidder yet. If an addendum is published later, you will be asked to read the new version before you can bid again.
Registration is per lot. You will be asked for identity documents, an anti-money-laundering check and confirmation of where your funds are coming from, and to sign the bidder terms. Leave time — the checks are not instant, and you cannot bid until the auctioneer has approved you.
A refundable authorisation is placed on your card. It is held, not taken. If you do not win, it is released. If you do win, it is applied as set out in the bidder terms you signed. The amount is set by the guide price and is shown on the lot before you commit to anything.
Bidding is online and timed. You can bid a single amount, or set a maximum and let the system bid the smallest step needed to keep you in front — your maximum is never shown to anyone. If a bid lands in the last moments, the clock extends, so a lot cannot be won by sniping it.
If you are the highest bidder and the seller's reserve has been met, the lot is yours on the terms of that sale method. If the reserve was not met, the auctioneer will normally put your bid to the seller. The reserve itself is confidential and is never published — the page only ever tells you whether it has been met.
What it costs
Every lot states its own fees before you bid, and the bidder terms you sign set them out in full. Expect a refundable card authorisation to register, the auctioneer's fee if you win, and the ordinary costs of buying a property — legal fees, searches and Stamp Duty or its equivalent where you are buying.
Scotland
Scots property law is a different legal system, not a regional variation. A Scottish lot is sold under Articles of Roup rather than the Common Auction Conditions, the contract is a Minute of Preference and Enactment, and you take entry on a Date of Entry rather than completing. A bid below the reserve may be held provisionally, which binds you for a set number of working days while the seller decides. Each lot shows the terms that actually apply to it.