ACQUIRING
Acquiring a Property
via Auctioning
The Auctioneering Opportunities
BY DREW HOOK
T
he property market is one of the fastest
growing categories in the auction business in
South Africa today, with a success rate of over
70%. Accelerated marketing or auction is no longer
thought of as a last resort, with many of the world’s
largest companies now use the auction method of
accelerated marketing as a tool of rapid and positive
change, with public auctions as the property owner’s
first choice.
The Auctioneering Opportunity
Selling property now, as opposed to later, guarantees
more money in your bottom line.
The accumulated cost associated with holding your
non-performing mortgaged property, such as interest,
taxes and maintenance, are often over looked and can
take a large portion of your bottom line revenues.
When a house is put on auction, buyers come
together for one competitive bid process. Your
property is exposed to a detailed advertising &
marketing campaign, resulting in a public event on
a specific day. By selling your property at auction,
every interested buyer will make themselves available
with money in hand on a specific day and the asset
conversion process is so precise you even know what
day to make your deposit.
The Auction Process
The time to for action starts when the auctioneer
announces your lot. The auctioneer will only register
bids if the auctioneer sees a definite gesture, no
scratching of the nose and such. The bidding process
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Residential Handbook 2015
is quite organised with the auctioneer only ever
registering the bids of two people until one drops
out and then they look for another bidder. Telephone
bids are quite common with someone from the
auction house bidding on behalf of the person on the
telephone.
Often the auctioneer will open the bidding with
one person making a bid and then no other bids until
the auctioneer has announced the property will be
sold on the third and final asking. At this point just as
the hammer is about to come down someone makes
a bid and the bidding war starts. Once a successful
bid is placed there will be some forms to fill in and
the deposit to be paid plus a fee to the auction house.
The balance of the money will be required to be paid
usually within a month although the vendor can
stipulate a shorter time frame if they so desire
In some cases the lot can be withdrawn if the bids
for the property are not accepted, as they do not
reach the level close enough to the reserve price set
for the property (sometimes left to the auctioneers
at the instructions of the seller). However if this is
the case then it’s best to see the auctioneer after the
auction to attempt a new deal with the vendor.
Property auctions, whether they be commercial
auctions or house auctions, are not for everybody but
have become a viable option for any seller or buyer
looking for the best deal.
RESOURCES
http://capetownproperty.blaauwberg.net/
www.reimag.co.za