Introduction to Meller Braggins Property Auctions

Meller Braggin’s online property auctions is a new innovative and pioneering platform for buying and selling property and investments.

It provides all the benefits of a traditional face-to-face auction, including speed and certainty of sale, transparency, and zero risks of gazumping or double-selling, but with the added advantage of being able to bid stress-free from the comfort of your own home or office via desktop, tablet or mobile phone.

Auction Registration

So you are able to place bids at a Meller Braggins Online Property Auction, you will need to create an auction account. Once you have completed your account details our auction team will need to verify your email address – you will receive an activation link that is sent to your email address. Please verify your account as soon as possible.

Your online auction account will allow you ‘watch’ auction lots that you are interested in (you are kept up-to-date throughout the auction cycle), as well as obtaining access to the legal pack.

Bidder Registration

As well as creating an auction account you will also need to complete a bidder registration which enables you to bid on property lots.

The first time you register to bid you will be asked to verify your mobile number and upload copies of your photo ID (eg; driver’s license or passport) and recent proof of address (dated within the last 3 months). This is required so we can keep in touch and helps us confirm your identity in the event of you purchasing from one of our auctions. We will also need you to supply your solicitor’s details too.

Accepting Meller Braggins Terms & Conditions

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 a property you have registering to bid on. You will need to read and accept before you are able to bid.

Once accepted, you will receive a copy of the document(s) via email for your own records.

You should also ensure you have thoroughly read and understand the legal pack available online before continuing to bid.

Payments

So you can bid in our auctions, you need to purchase tokens which are valued at £5,000 per token. You will need one token (£5,000) for every property you want to bid on. You will need to purchase enough tokens (no later than thirty minutes before the conclusion of the auction lot) to bid on every property you are interested in.

For example:

You want to bid on lot 2, lot 6, and lot 20 so you will require three tokens. Your deposit will be 3 x £5,000 = £15,000. You only win one of the lots so your remaining £10,000 will be refunded immediately after the auction.

If you are planning on bidding on multiple properties, please make sure you buy the correct amount of tokens in the first instance.

To purchase a token, please contact our auction team who will connect you to our accounts department. Our accounts team will then manually take payment for your token via bank transfer or card payment. Please note, that we do not accept American Express card payments.

Bidder Security

For each auction lot, you win, there will be a required minimum deposit of 10% plus the buyer’s premium to be paid as soon as possible after the auction has closed. This will also be less than your token amount of £5,000.

For example:

You have won lot 2 of the auction and the winning bid was £100,000 with the buyer’s premium being £2,000. The costs are broken down as:

Your deposit: £10,000 (10%)

Buyer’s premium: £2,000

Total: £12,000

Less the token amount: £5,000

Total to pay: £83,000

Once the auction has closed a member of the team will contact you to request the outstanding balance to be paid.

Auction Review

Once you have completed the bidder registration steps, the Meller Braggins auction team will review your registration to bid.

We may contact you in the event that we may need further information so that we can verify your identity with a credit reference agency. This is a process that leaves a ‘soft footprint’ and has no affect your credit score. Approval for bidding will then be sent to your email address.

Due Diligence

We advise all our bidders where possible to view the property of interest before bidding and take professional advice as to its condition and suitability.

You need to have thoroughly read and understood the legal pack and any other associated documentation made available. It is your responsibility to get any legal advice accordingly.

Finally, you need to understand the contract you are entering into and the financial commitment that you will be liable for, should you be a successful bidder.

Bidding

Once 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 (displayed on the screen). Each bid submission will be shown along with if you are successful with your bid against others.

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 – its presence or amount are not disclosed to the auctioneer, vendor, or any other bidder.

Bidding example:

  1. The current bid on a lot is £90,000. The reserve price has been set at £100,000 (not disclosed).
  2. Tom wants to bid. The minimum bid amount is £91,000 but Tom decides to place a maximum bid of £97,000. This is below the reserve price, so the system places a bid for Tom at his maximum bid amount and he becomes the highest bidder at £97,000.
  3. 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.
  4. Tom is notified that he has been outbid. If no further bids are placed from Tom, Jane would win the lot for £100,000.
  5. If, however, Tom then places a maximum bid of £105,000, the bidding would jump to £105,000 and the bid would be with Jane as she bid that amount first.

Bidding Extensions

The online auctions 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 within the ‘bidding extension window’, the clock will reset again to add another 60 seconds. The auction will only finish when an entire 60-second bidding extension window passes without any further bid being placed. (60 seconds of ‘bidding silence’).

Bid ‘sniping’ – Does it work?

Unlike eBay, bid sniping does not work on our online auction platform. There is no advantage in leaving your bid until the last few seconds as it will initiate a further 60-second bidding extension window which ensures every bidder has a fair and equal opportunity to place a further bid.

Additionally, if you do leave your bid until the final few seconds you could risk your bid not being received by the platform server until after the closing time, and therefore not accepted.

Virtual falling of the Gavel

Legal position when you have won the auction

All properties we offer for sale via our un-conditional online auction will exchange contracts immediately.

Exchanging of contracts means that when the virtual gavel falls it constitutes an exchange of contracts between the buyer and seller. Both parties are legally bound to complete the transaction – usually within 28 days, but this will be confirmed within the legal documentation.

If you are unsuccessful

Unused tokens that you have purchased will be refunded to you:

  1. Tokens that were paid for via bank transfer will be returned to you within 5 working days following the end of the auction.
  2. Tokens that were paid for via card payment will be returned to you within 10 working days following the end of the auction.

Post Auction

If you are the successful bidder, once the auction has completely closed one of the team from our auction department will be in touch to discuss the next steps. The auction system will automatically take the bidding token as security; the contract will then be signed on your behalf with copies being sent to both your solicitor and the seller’s solicitor.

Need to speak with Simon or Richard about the next Meller Braggins Auction? They are available on 01565 656544 to provide any further information you may need or via email.

 

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