Frequently Asked Questions

Our partner agents provide 3 prices: a starting price, a guide price and a reserve price.

The Reserve Price is a confidential figure. It is the minimum price that the seller is willing to accept for the property. It cannot be more than 10% above the guide price.

The Guide Price is effectively the marketing price. It is the indicative price of the property's worth, but it is also informally a guide on where the seller's reserve price might be. The seller's reserve price might be the same or lower than the guide price, so it is important not to assume that the guide price is exclusively tied to the reserve price.

The Start Price is the price that the auction bidding will commence at and the first bid that bidders are able to place online.

Properties at auction are priced to sell in a competitive process. This means that pricing is designed to encourage buyers into the market to compete for the property by placing higher and higher bids. The aim is to achieve the best possible price for the property in the shortest amount of time.

The auction process takes significantly less time than private treaty. The valuation and preparation period usually takes around 2-3 weeks. This is to allow time to produce and upload a legal pack, which is all the documents that a buyer could reasonably need to make an informed decision on whether to place a bid.

The auction can run for any duration, with a 20 working day completion period starting as soon as the timer hits zero (subject to your reserve price being met). On average, from first contact to completion, the process usually lasts around 6 weeks.

Yes. Properties for sale by auction are allowed to have a reserve price, the minimum price that a property can sell for. If bids do not reach the value of your reserve price, your property will not be sold. The reserve price does not have to be made public by the auctioneer. However, the reserve price must be no more than 10% higher than the property’s guide price (the price at which the property is marketed).

While there is no perfect formula for auction duration, our data has suggested that property auctions lasting between 14 and 21 days have enjoyed the most success on our platform.

Yes. The auction process requires sellers to provide a ‘legal pack’ prior to auction. This is to allow all buyers to inspect the same information before purchasing. It may be possible to get the cost of your legal pack reimbursed upon the sale of your property. We advise that you discuss this with your estate agent.

Congratulations! The process is slightly different depending on whether you are successful in a traditional online auction or conditional online auction:

TRADITIONAL ONLINE AUCTION

If you are the successful bidder we will charge you a buyer fee and a deposit contribution which is held in a secure client account as agent for the seller as a holding deposit (see below for further details on Fees). You should check the “Buyer Information - Fees” document contained as part of the legal documents for each property. You then have until 12pm UK time the next business day to:

1. pay the remainder of 10% of the purchase price; and
2. submit all signed sale documentation and any requested AML documents.

You should contact your solicitor immediately after winning the bid (we will also contact you and your solicitor).

If you do not carry out these steps before 12pm UK time the next business day, you may forfeit the entire amount of the holding deposit.

CONDITIONAL ONLINE AUCTION

If you are the successful bidder we will automatically charge you the Reservation Fee amount (using the payment details provided). Please check the “FEES” section for this figure. Where appropriate, the agent responsible for the sale of the property may collect the remainder of the fee should any amounts of the Reservation fee be outstanding.

You should check the Reservation Contract document contained as part of the legal documents for each property. A reservation agreement is produced at the end of the auction and the estate agent is authorised to sign this on behalf of both the successful buyer and the seller to evidence that an exclusivity agreement is in place between both parties.

You then have 20 working days to exchange on the property.

You should contact your solicitor immediately after winning the bid (we will also contact you and your solicitor).

If you do not exchange on or before the expiry of the 20 working day period, you may forfeit the entire amount of the reservation fee.

At Bamboo Auctions, we do not charge any fees to sellers. We will refer you to one of our partner agents who can advise you of any fees that may be charged by them as part of their service.

Buyer Fees are specified on the individual property listing and are charged immediately at the end of the auction period. Click the “Fees Apply” link which appears underneath the timer. You can also see all fee information in the pop up that appears after you click “Bid”. If you are unsure of any fees, please contact us before bidding.

No! Any bids made in the last 5 minutes will reset the time to 5 minutes. This is to give all bidders a fair chance at placing another bid if they wish. Bid as early as you can so you don't miss out.

We also give you the ability to place an automatic proxy bid, which will bid on your behalf in the increments set by the agent, up to an including your highest bid. Where two automated proxy bids of the same amount are received, the automatic proxy bid that is placed first will take priority.

You will find all sorts of property on Bamboo Auctions. Predominantly, you can buy residential, commercial and mixed use properties, and you can also bid on land and ground rents. We’ve even had a loch and a houseboat listed for sale on our site.

You can access the legal pack for each individual property on each property listing page. You will need to be logged in in order to download and print the legal documents.

We recommend you use a solicitor or conveyancer to review the legal documents.