Selling by Auction by Symonds & Sampson

Symonds &Sampson

Selling properties across the South West

Auctions with Symonds & Sampson

We have maintained our position as the southwest’s leading firm of property auctioneers with some very impressive results. Our region has expanded with entries as far west as St Ives in Cornwall and north and south Devon. In an easterly direction, we have sold land and property in Bournemouth and Hampshire. Our auction department has excellent coverage throughout our core areas of Dorset, Somerset, and Wiltshire.

Our traditional auctions are held in the room and livestreamed offering buyers the flexibility to bid in person, online, via telephone, or by proxy. This allows all prospective purchasers to bid in

real-time wherever they are in the world. Our auctions are held monthly and include a varied range of agricultural, residential, and commercial lots across our region.

Selling property can be stressful, but our experienced professionals offer comprehensive support and advice throughout the marketing process.

Our intensive marketing campaign includes targeted social media posts and print advertising as well as a launch at The London Office to ensure our properties are put in front of buyers looking to move out of the city.

Somerset

Devon

Dorset

Wiltshire

Hampshire

Cornwall

Meet the Auction Team

Mark Lewis FRICS FAAV FNAVA

Senior Partner, Auctioneer

mlewis@symondsandsampson.co.uk 01258 473766

Shula Harvey MNAEA Agency & Auction Negotiator

sharvey@symondsandsampson.co.uk 01258 473766

Meredith Wallis MNAEA ANAVA

Auction Partner, Head of Auctions mholmes@symondsandsampson.co.uk 01202 843190

Graham Barton MRICS Auctioneer, Surveyor

gbarton@symondsandsampson.co.uk 01297 33122

The Auction Timeline

6-7 WEEKS

Auction

8 WEEKS

Preparation for Marketing. This includes professional photography, including drone and elevated shots, floor plans, an Energy Performance Certificate, and a boundary plan.

Marketing particulars will be drafted for approval and auction catalogues printed. We will write to your solicitor to request the legal documentation.

The intensive six-week marketing campaign begins, and the auction is launched.

The lots are marketed on portals including Rightmove, Zoopla, and Prime Location, as well as Essential Information Group (a national auction specialist), Symonds & Sampson, The London Office website, and other affiliated sites like Plot Finder and Plot Browser.

Auction catalogues are circulated, and lots are launched at The London Office. Block viewings commence, and periodic marketing reports with the level of interest and viewing feedback are shared with our clients.

4-5 WEEKS

Legal packs are now available and bidder registration is open. Prospective buyers can download the legal pack from our website.

After reviewing the legal pack, interested parties can register to bid. We monitor the number of registered bidders to ensure that our marketing reports are accurate.

Thursday 15 May 2025 at 2:00pm

Digby Hall, Hound Street, Sherborne DT9 3AB

2-3 WEEKS

Bidders continue to register. We recieve most registrations during the final two weeks of marketing as buyers raise their final enquiries through their solicitors.

The reserve price is finalised and kept confidential between the auctioneer and the seller.

1 WEEK

The payment window opens. Bidders must preauthorise a £10,000 hold on a payment card. If the bidder wins the auction, the £10,000 will be deducted from the final amount as a part of the 10% deposit.

We provide our clients with the number of bidders who have pre-authorised the payment. This ensures that all the bids are genuine and transparent.

AUCTION DAY

The auction will be livestreamed and bids will be placed either in person, online, or via telephone/ proxy. Once the auctioneer drops the hammer, the contracts are exchanged, and the property is sold. The contracts are signed, and a 10% deposit is paid.

In case the solicitor is not present, one of our auction team will sign and forward the contract and the deposit to your solicitor.

Completion is normally within 20 business days.

The Advantages of Selling by Auction

Speed

Buyers and sellers alike are attracted to the speed, simplicity and security of selling land and property by auction. Legal packs prepared in advance enable the exchange of contracts on the fall of the hammer, and completion follows on a specified date (usually 20 business days).

Thus, it avoids the tense and often protracted period of wait during the conveyancing process. This method of sale has long been favoured by executors but is certainly becoming more common within the residential, commercial, agricultural, and even development sectors of the market.

Transparency

One of the main advantages of auctions is that they create a level playing field, whereby everyone is bidding openly, transparently, and competitively at the same time. This means the auction method is well suited if you are selling as an executor, or on behalf of a trust or charity as you can prove you have got the best possible price on the day.

Accessibility

Our auctions are live-streamed from the venue. Buyers, therefore, enjoy the choice of attending the auction in person, bidding in real time online, bidding by telephone, or submitting a written proxy bid in advance of the auction.

Reliability

When selling property by private treaty, there is a risk of sales falling through, of delays, and endless reasons for a change in circumstance; not so when selling by auction.

On the fall of the gavel, a contract becomes binding, the buyer pays the 10% deposit, and the balance is payable on completion, usually 20 business days later.

Ringwood, Dorset

Bedroom bungalow

New Milton, Hampshire

Lower Parkstone, Dorset

Bedroom detached house

Bournemouth, Dorset

Colehill, Dorset

2025 Auction Dates

I found Symonds & Sampson to be most helpful, very professional and enthusiastic. They took the fear of buying at auction online away by managing my proxy bid. EA

I recently sold my flat at Auction with Symonds & Sampson. The whole team have been first class, professional and competent with a personal attention to detail.