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Ever thought about buying or selling property via auction? No? Well, get this: more than three quarters of all property in Australia is sold this way. So have we been missing something?
“Yes,” says Michael Pashut of property auction specialists, Auction Place. “Public sale is probably one of the oldest and most dynamic means of commerce, but we’re a little behind our Aussie brothers. Perhaps because of a lack of Auction culture in SA (particularly in terms of residential property) we tend to mistakenly view Auctions as either forums for a select few (those who really have the ‘big money’ or know the ‘game’) or alternatively, the place to go to sniff out that job lot/ liquidated item/ bargain.”
First banish the thought that you need to be an old ‘pro’ with a good nose for money or some special insight into the auction process - property auctions are for everyone! A good place to score a bargain? “Perhaps,” says Michael, “but ‘goedkoop still tends to end up being duurkoop’. Actually, there’s more likelihood that prices at auction will tend to reflect real value than being a steal. “That’s good news for buyers. A look at some of the top properties in Cape Town sold via auction bears this out.
Strict legal criteria govern the auction process and protect those who use and supply it. “What many people tend to forget,” says Michael “is that auction companies have no vested interest in a sale or purchase – we’re facilitators, not salesmen. Transparency is in fact what makes auctions so equitable. Where else do you, as a buyer, actually see/hear who you’re competing against? Where could you as a seller be assured that a third party doesn’t have a hidden agenda and isn’t serving two masters? Where else do you get the chance to ‘suss out’ the real desirability of a property simply by seeing who wants it and how much they’re prepared to bid to get it?”
The days of the cluttered auction house, with everything but the kitchen sink on offer are fading fast. Auction, especially in the Property sphere is fast moving way beyond a simple fall of hammer, with a few newer players providing highly professional, user-friendly and service-driven offerings.
“At Auction Place, for instance, though we essentially co-ordinate and market auction events, a very large part of what we do is also dedicated to providing an A-Z of allied services for our customers. These include everything from independent valuations and assessments to bond origination, conveyancing, specialist sectional title clearances/rule-checks etc. So, even if you’re an auction first-timer, there will be skilled, qualified people there to assist you.”
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