Bidx1 house purchase

Bythefire

Came across this website recently.

Has anybody bought a house this way? I am looking at one going for auction soon, the price has dropped, not sure if that is good or bad.

Any pros/cons/advice??

The_Conductor

Bythefire wrote: »

Came across this website recently.

Has anybody bought a house this way? I am looking at one going for auction soon, the price has dropped, not sure if that is good or bad.

Any pros/cons/advice??

Bidx1 is the new name for Allsop.
Its an auction- and the general rules apply- you are bidding blind- you need to know what you're doing, and what your limits are.
They drop the prices to drum up interest in particular properties- it means nothing whatsoever- and has no bearing on what the property achieves.

You will need to pay a non-refundable deposit on the day- its not like buying a house from a private vendor- you can't walk away if you decide its a shack after you've bought it- at very least you'll loose your deposit.

You need to know the property- what a reasonable price for it is- and stick to your guns and not go over your limits.

CeilingFly

The_Conductor wrote: »

They drop the prices to drum up interest in particular properties- it means nothing whatsoever- and has no bearing on what the property achieves.

.

On BidX1 (and when it was called allsop) they set what they call a "Maximum Reserve"

Once the price reaches this level it is "on the market" and if no other bid than yours is at or higher than this level, the property is sold to you.

Properties in unpoular areas or in need of work can go at this price, but anything in good condition in a reaonable area will sell at a higher price, but not often that substantially higher.

The pros are you can get value

The cons are that its buyer beware - once the hammer goes down on your bid, you must complete the purchase. Doesn't matter if you find the house is falling down and full of damp, you cannot walk away.

LirW

Might be good to mention that a lot of the properties have distressed paperwork.
You need to have the funding sorted, that needs to be waterproof, you can't pull out and you need to close in the given timeframe. Otherwise the deposit you pay is gone.
If you're going for a mortgage, you need the okay from the bank, just AIP won't do it. And you need to get the paperwork checked from a solicitor beforehand if there are any issues mentioned. The documents are in Law speech, there is no way you could understand what's in there without experience. There might be title issues, fire safety issues and a whole lot of other things that can be dealbreakers for the bank and are outlined somewhere in between and you'd never find it.

Only go for it when you're 100% sure what you're doing and even more so when you're getting the bank involved.

If all of that is sorted out and you're confident, have fun bidding, but stick to your budget!

TooObvious

It's worth knowing that some of these properties haven't even been accessed by the selling agent.

So, I know of a property in New Ross which was advertised for sale as a 1 bed apartment on one of these auctions - an owner of the apartment above, had cash and knew that the apartment below was the exact same as hers - a 2 bed. She bought it for in and around €35k if I recall correctly. So there are definitely deals to be had - but you gotta know the property.

LirW

Aren't most properties having at least one open viewing date or did that change since Allsop has become BidX?

Graham

Bythefire wrote: »

Came across this website recently.

Has anybody bought a house this way? I am looking at one going for auction soon, the price has dropped, not sure if that is good or bad.

Any pros/cons/advice??

Don't mistake the figure you're seeing for a price. It's not.

The figure you're looking at could better be described as somewhere around the minimum starting price.

The actual, real, on-the-day selling price is quite often significantly higher.

Bythefire

Thanks to you all.

It is in a nice part of town, I was at the showing this afternoon and it looks good. It needs some work to make it look more modern. I was going to get an engineer to look at it this week for potential structural problems. .

The auction is soon, I do not think it's enough time to get paperwork checked by a solicitor. Is that made available for a potential purchaser? Would a week be long enough to get it checked?

It's half mortgage and half cash I have to buy. I have a price in my head that I would stop at.

It's an area I could live in with access to all amenities I would want.

CeilingFly

Once you sign up to the site all the legal papers are there to download.

A local solicitor will be able to go through it and look for anything untoward.

I'd certainly try and get an engineer to have a look especially if it looks like some work is required.

Bythefire

Ok, that's good to know. I will get onto that tomorrow.

There didn't appear to be cracks or damp etc. but it needs new windows as the timber frames have seen better days, floors, bathrooms, kitchen and an all over paint.

Bythefire

Ok, no solicitor then.

I will put a bid on once it opens and see what happens.

busylady

It is extremely unlikey that you will be able to drawdown your mortgage in time for the closing date whcih is usually set at 4.weeks after the auction date -and if the property is being bought as an investment property your own solicitor will have to deal with the bank's solicitor also, which adds a week or 2 on to the process. You will risk losing the deposit paid at the auction if you cannot close on time.

Bythefire

Even if mortgage was approved almost 5 months ago?

I am looking to buy to move into it myself and decorating it and doing the work needed over the next 18 months.

JustLen

Link to the property? May be able to give some advice.


You need to make sure you do your homework.

In general a property will only go through bibx1 for 4 reasons:

1. Issues with condition
2. Issues with paperwork
3. Some negative attachment such as issues with the estate or neighbours or having been tangled in some financial issue
4. Failed to sell previously on the open market by private treaty.

Most of the time a property will go to an agent to sell, unless no agent will take it due to:
A. They dont want to deal with the issues
B. Its just a crap property

There are good deals to be had providing you take your time and make decisions using your head and not your heart.

It goes without saying you should take advice from a GOOD solicitor and engineer.

The agent in bidx1 usually will never see the property and will allow access via a third party - they will have little to no info on the property.

Its simply a way of shifting bottom of the barrell stuff.

Jet Black

If it needs 18 months of works, which sounds extensive, the bank could require whatever the refurbishment cost to be paid upfront. So this means if the house needs 20k worth of work and mortgage is 100k they will only give 80k until all works are done. I bought something that needed a little work which I did myself, needed new floors, kitchen, walls plastered and painted. I estimated costs at around 5k so they left me short the 5k at drawdown that I had to provide myself.

davo10

Op, do not bid on the property at auction.

Auctions are not for the uninitiated nor those who know not what they are doing.

If you bid, and you are the only bidder, when that hammer drops, the property is yours, warts and all. Unlike a standard house purchase where you can back out up to the day contracts are signed, at auction the contract is formed when your bid is accepted. If the property has a problem with the survey and your bank won't release the funds, you could lose thousands of Euro.

You nee to know exactly what you are getting yourself into, what rights you have, and what you are committing yourself to when your bid is accepted. Auctions are really for experienced buyers and cash buyers, if you are neither and the property is not what you expected, then you are in real trouble.

Remember, it is not a requirement that the auction house give you a comprehensive discription, the information they do provide must be accurate though.

busylady

Bythefire wrote: »

Even if mortgage was approved almost 5 months ago?

I am looking to buy to move into it myself and decorating it and doing the work needed over the next 18 months.

You will need a specific letter of loan offer for the property - if you have loan approval already it is probably approval in principle ? The bank will need to do a valuation of the property before issuing the letter of offer and this will take a couple of weeks to be issued. Your own solicitor will have to be satisfied with the title as they will have to certify the title for the bank.

If it's not an investment property, there will be no bank's solicitor to deal with , so that will make it quicker.

JohnCleary

Bought at the first ever Allsop.... it was like a zoo outside.

I was 'warned' by many people not to even think about bidding.

I did, I won, I bought, I lived, I owned my own place on my 25th birthday.

Sold it 3 weeks ago (so 5/6 years later). Best investment I ever made.


Would I do it again? Probably not! My naivety paid off in that instance.

I'll never forget when the hammer dropped.... spotters huddled round me so I couldn't run out the door. I was ushered upstairs where I was given contracts and handed over a cheque for 10%

Fun day out in Dublin, more fun than going to the real zoo!

LirW

JohnCleary wrote: »

Bought at the first ever Allsop.... it was like a zoo outside.

I was 'warned' by many people not to even think about bidding.

I did, I won, I bought, I lived, I owned my own place on my 25th birthday.

Sold it 3 weeks ago (so 5/6 years later). Best investment I ever made.


Would I do it again? Probably not! My naivety paid off in that instance.

I'll never forget when the hammer dropped.... spotters huddled round me so I couldn't run out the door. I was ushered upstairs where I was given contracts and handed over a cheque for 10%

Fun day out in Dublin, more fun than going to the real zoo!

Did you buy cash or mortgage?

The big problem I see is that the OP doesn't have the bank on board. Approval in principle doesn't mean you'll get a mortgage on that very property.
In the legal papers the deal breaking problem is often outlined in a one- or two line clause and that's why a solicitor needs to check it. All that wouldn't apply to a cash buyer.
If you can't close within the closing date (it's usually 2 - 3 week) you lose your deposit.
The OP doesn't seem properly prepared for this auction, if he bids and the hammer falls and it's his and then the bank refuses mortgage that property, the 10% deposit is gone.

chicorytip

Graham wrote:

The actual, real, on-the-day selling price is quite often significantly higher.

If you look at the results of previous auctions on the BidX1 website it's clear that the majority of lots sell for, on average, 20-25% higher than the listed guide price so there is very good value to be found. Dublin City and County is the exception, of course. All properties listed are repossessions from mortgage defaulters being auctioned on behalf of financial institutions (vendors).

shenanagans

If you register with BidX1 website, you can access the legal documentation for upcoming properties. You should get these documents and have a solicitor have a look in advance for auction.

Also if you are successful at auction, you will have to confirm to BidX1 who your solicitor is immediately as in the morning after the auction if not on the day itself so you need to know who will be representing you so be prepared and get quotes etc. Don't wait until the auction, you'll be under pressure, best to have your research done.

CeilingFly

chicorytip wrote: »

All properties listed are repossessions from mortgage defaulters being auctioned on behalf of financial institutions (vendors).

Some are, certainly not all.

Some are probate sales, (a lot more than you'd think)
some are simply "lets just sell it" sales, some are certainly repossessed properties, its a big mixture.


Big advantage of auction for many people is the quick sale process - a private treaty sale can take 12 months from beginning to end (I've experienced it)

davindub

Bythefire wrote: »

Thanks to you all.

It is in a nice part of town, I was at the showing this afternoon and it looks good. It needs some work to make it look more modern. I was going to get an engineer to look at it this week for potential structural problems. .

The auction is soon, I do not think it's enough time to get paperwork checked by a solicitor. Is that made available for a potential purchaser? Would a week be long enough to get it checked?

It's half mortgage and half cash I have to buy. I have a price in my head that I would stop at.

It's an area I could live in with access to all amenities I would want.

Do not buy without investigating the title. If the title is a load of ****, you still won't be able to walk away. A lot of houses with title problems are sold through auction when they fail to sell or the owner doesn't think it will sell. There are some good properties listed, but you need to be 100% aware of the risks before buying.

lalababa

What paperwork do you need to see to check title?
If there is a charge from a bank on the folio registration what paperwork do you need to see/have to make sure whoever is selling has the right to sell?
'coz was just looking at a legal pack from an auction there...

Arklow10

Before you bid:
Talk to bank re loan BEFOREHAND and get it agreed in writing
Check re an engineer is best to do this survey - personally I would use a an architect or a Chartered Building Surveyor, or even a very good builder you really know and trust.Their report will be full of get out clauses, they cannot inspected what is behind the walls, may not have attic access etc.
You should be able to get this property for a minimum of 10% BELOW market value for the condition its in , but you carrying the higher risk.
After you purchase you will be lots of other things you did not notice/factor in when doing the inspections!