Here at Bamboo, we have seen auctions run in several ways and with varying degrees of success. With this in mind, we have put together a ‘Best Practice’ list to ensure you’re doing everything possible to provide a strong result for your vendors.

Pricing

Work with your vendor to set the reserve as low as they can. This allows the guide price to be as competitive as possible and increases the likely sale price as demand drives the price up.

Where possible, agree on a lower second ‘discretionary’ reserve to revert to during or after the auction has ended (if needed). By this what we mean is, if an auction isn’t looking promising then you can lower the reserve to this 2nd discretionary figure to increase the sale chances, as you’ve already had consent from the vendor and made a plan in advance.

The Listing

Make sure the listing is clear, informative and accurate with all the required information. For further guidance, please check our listing checklist.

Marketing

List the property as ‘Starting Soon’ and begin marketing even if you don’t have a legal pack. We often see watchlists grow before the pack has come in, so there is no need to wait. Do not mark the auction as ‘Live’ (open to bidding) until you have the legal pack.

Consider when to push the property onto the property portals. Publishing the property on the portals when you have the legal pack and can go live can optimise your visibility at the key early stage. Ensure your portal listing directs buyers to the auction page of your website and states what they need to do when they get there (register and enter their details) - Use our Portal Wording Template.

Managing the Auction

Watchlists - Monitor who is on the watch list for your properties. You can view not just who is on the watchlist, but what stage of the bidder registration they are at. This includes whether they have passed the ID check and added card \ solicitor details which are all requirements to be able to bid.

A few days before the end, use the ‘copy emails’ function to remind the watchlist to get their account ready to bid and offer your assistance. Remember to communicate with the watchlist again to say that the bidding has begun.

Legal Documents - Regularly check the activity in the legal documents section in the dashboard to judge which buyers are serious. Consider contacting those buyers to gauge their interest, budgets and tackle any concerns, objections or queries they may have.

Portal Stats - If the portal stats, page views, watchlist and enquiries are looking thin, then speak to your vendor and look at: options such as lowering the reserve to the pre-agreed discretionary reserve and even extending the timer and market the property for a longer period.

Post Auction - After the auction, contact the winning buyer to congratulate them and explain the next steps (remaining 10% deposit etc, exchange period)

For more information, help and advice, please reach out to your Customer Success advisor or any member of the Bamboo team.