Buying at Auction Guide

Auction Centre - Inner West Auction Rooms - Raine&Horne Marrickville

Auctions can appear daunting at first when in reality they provide a simple, straightforward method of purchasing a property. To help you with any auction night nerves we’ve provided a simple guide that walks through the basics of an auction night with Raine&Horne Marrickville.

 

Preparation

If you've never been to an auction before it can be helpful to get familiar with the process by attending other auctions in advance. This will give you a good understanding of how auctions work and what happens before the fall of the hammer. We invite members of the public to attend any of our auction events, call our office to find out when our next auction is being held.

Before the auction, it's also important to carry out your due diligence on the property. If you're successful on the night there is no cooling-off period so you should have carried out all the necessary inspections and reports beforehand. You should always:

  • Conduct a thorough inspection of the property
  • Have a pest and building inspection or strata report prepared
  • Get your solicitor or conveyancer to review the contract
  • Organise pre-approval with your bank, lender, or mortgage broker
  • Prepare for success and make arrangements to pay the deposit

 

Getting there

Our auctions are held at the Inner West Auction Rooms at the Marrickville Pavilion, 313 Marrickville Road, Marrickville. There is limited underground parking which is available to our client. This parking fills up quickly so you may need to arrive early to get a good spot.

 

Registration

In order to bid on the night you will need to register. All you need to bring is a photo ID (either a passport or driver’s license). Once your details have been recorded, our staff will give you a bidder’s number which you hold up for the auctioneer when you place a bid.

Some of our auction events can be very busy and many people now register online. You can register online by visiting our Auction Registration page. 

Registration opens at 5:00pm. The auctions commence at 5:30pm.

 

Authority to Bid

If you can't make it on the night you can arrange for a friend or family member to bid on your behalf. They will need to bring the required documentation with them in order to bid for you and this must be arranged prior to the auction commencing. You must arrange the required paperwork in advance and ensure theperson bidding for you brings copies  with them on the night. 

Are you intending to purchase the property using a company, trust, or self-managed super fund? You will also need an authority form as you are bidding on behalf of a legal entity. Even if you are the director of the company we need evidence that you have the legal authority to purchase the property on the company's behalf.

All the forms you need are available by visiting our Forms & Guides page.

 

The deposit

At the fall of the hammer, the property is sold and if you are successful you must pay the deposit straight away. There are a couple of ways to do this:

 

Paying by cheque

It may seem old-school but many buyers still bring a cheque or arrange a bank cheque to be made out in order to pay the deposit. Any cheque needs to be made out to ‘Michael Smith Real Estate Sales Trust Account.’

 

Electronic funds transfer

You are more than welcome to pay for the deposit via EFT. It is important to discuss this with your bank well before auction day. You need to ensure they will extend your daily transfer limit to a level high enough in order to cover the full deposit required. They may require you to set up additional security features or accounts so give them a call as soon as you consider paying in this way. 

 

If you have any concerns about the deposit don’t hesitate to contact our office prior to the auction on (02) 9560 7599.