When buying at auction be prepared as it’s unconditional

Unless you have purchased at auction before you may not know that any purchase under auction conditions is unconditional. An unconditional sale means you can’t make your purchase contingent on having your finance approved, a good building and pest report or strata report, on valuation or completion of another sale. Unlike private treaty sales there is no cooling-off period so once the hammer falls and you sign the contract you can’t change your mind.

If you would like some variation to the contract terms of sale should you be successful at the auction (e.g. a longer settlement period, access prior to settlement or a 5% deposit instead of 10%) you must have the vendor’s agreement in writing before the auction. Keep in mind that the selling agent, the auctioneer and the solicitor who prepared the contract work for the vendor, so you need a written agreement from the vendor, which usually comes via their solicitor to yours, to vary any terms.

If you want to discover how to save thousands when buying a property at or before auction then grab a copy of my book The Insider's Guide to Saving Thousands at Auction.

Related blogs: Key Auction Tips series:

• Part 1 - Understanding the auction process
• Part 2 - Organise Your Finances and Research the Market
• Part 3 - The Psychology of Auctions
• Part 4 - Selling Agents' Tricks of the Trade
• Part 5 - How to Prepare Your Auction Strategy

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