Before the auction
- Read the legal pack with a solicitor, including the special conditions and any addendum
- Arrange finance in principle: know what a lender will lend on this lot
- Have your deposit and the auctioneer's buyer's fee ready
- Register to bid and complete the identity checks
On the day
When you win, you pay a deposit, usually 10% of the price (often with a minimum), and the buyer's administration fee. The contract is binding from that moment.
The weeks that follow
- Days 1 to 3: confirm the loan with your lender and pay for the valuation
- Week 1: the valuer visits; your solicitor raises any final questions
- Weeks 2 to 3: the lender issues its offer; solicitors complete the legal work
- By day 28: the lender releases the funds and you complete
Lenders who know auctions can move this fast. Getting your documents to them on day one is what keeps the timetable.
If completion runs late
Late completion usually costs interest on the balance for each day late, and after a notice period the seller can keep your deposit and resell. Check the special conditions for the exact terms before you bid.
See it on a real lot
Every lot on Auction Watch has a finance view and a calculator that opens on the loan that fits it, with indicative terms on screen in a minute.
This guide is general information about how auction finance usually works in the UK. It is not financial, legal or tax advice, and rates and limits change. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a loan secured on it. Auction Watch is not a lender and does not give financial advice. If you ask for terms, we pass your details to lenders and brokers we work with, who may pay us a fee for the introduction; they make their own decisions and offers. If you are buying a home to live in yourself or for your family, that is a regulated mortgage: we only introduce you to a firm authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.