Auction roundup – despite a dreary December…

Auction roundup – despite a dreary December…


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PIT takes a closer look at the latest auction news, from MSP Capital’s brand-new bridging loan to support auction growth and Clive Emson’s seafront homes coming to auction, to Bond Wolfe’s unique lots on offer at its upcoming December sale.

MSP Capital launches bridging loan amidst auction growth

A property finance specialist is championing renewed confidence in UK real estate with the launch of a bridging loan product aimed at the growing property auction market.

MSP Capital’s new Property Auction Finance Loan is specifically tailored to those looking to buy residential properties at auctions with rates starting from 0.54% per month.

The product is available to private individuals, joint borrowers, limited companies and LLPs.

It applies to all residential property types that are vacant, let on AST (assured shorthold tenancy) or in need of refurbishment, with commercial properties considered on a case-by-case basis.

The launch comes amid a huge rise in UK property auction activity. According to the latest EIG report, £539.5 million worth of property was sold at auction in September 2021 – a 15% hike in value compared to the same month in 2020.

At the same time, Google search engine data has shown a 50% rise in enquiries about property auctions over the past year.

Chris Wright, auction product lead at MSP Capital, comments: “We’ve been providing bridging loans for many years and, based on lots of conversations with borrowers and prospective borrowers, people are telling us they are really keen for MSP Capital to offer this kind of finance specifically for property auctions.”

“The stamp duty holiday combined with the migration to online auctions due to the pandemic has spurred many would-be homeowners to choose the auction route over estate agents. It is a truly dynamic market and not only for investors or developers. Interest in auctions from all kinds of buyers is growing faster than other parts of the property sector.”

“People are attracted by the speed of potential sales and the ease of bidding online that has opened up in the past 18 months as traditional auctioneers have responded to evolving customer demand for digital-first solutions.”

With timing an all-important factor when it comes to property auctions, MSP Capital has ensured its Property Auction Finance Loan can be pre-arranged, giving bidders the confidence that funds are in place before the gavel, or auctioneer’s hammer, falls to indicate a binding contract.

In addition, its onboarding process helps ensure that funds can be drawn down in less than 28 days to meet the typical auction payment deadline.

As an additional bonus, the new loan product comes with zero exit fee options, fixed legal fees and no valuation fee for properties worth less than £1 million.

Clients can borrow up to 70% loan-to-value on residential properties, with a maximum single property value of £3 million.

Martin Higgins, managing Director at MSP Capital, adds: “This is all about expanding our product range so we can continue to offer flexible, tailored solutions to our clients. Our team have worked hard to launch the Property Auction Finance Loan in line with the clear market demand we see.”

“The product is the latest of several specialist bridging loans we have launched recently, including our Development Exit Loan, which is designed to help developers crystallise their profit and keep moving forward on their next project. Look out for more product launches next year as we continue to go from strength to strength.”

Head for heights at Clive Emson’s December auction

An imposing walled lift structure built into the undercliff at Ramsgate, Kent, is among 126 lots being offered by Clive Emson across England in the firm’s last of eight auctions this year.

As seafront real estate goes, this one has had its share of highs and lows. The vertiginous disused property, with the central panel infilled with graded blue glass, an engine house and spectacular views of the English Channel, is guided at £20,000-plus (lot 12).

Close to the site are a former café and public toilets, with redevelopment permission for similar facilities along with eight seaview flats and a rooftop bar/restaurant over five storeys. It’s guided at £500-550,000 (lot 15).

Managing director James Emson says: “Our December auction, including the two lots in Ramsgate, unwraps the third-highest number of lots for us this year and is indicative of the strong interest in auctions as a transparent, efficient, convenient and global way of selling and buying residential and commercial property in our digital era.”

“The power of technology has given us a great opportunity to better understand the demographics of those engaging with our online auctions, mostly from mobile devices, and I am impressed by the interest we have generated globally.”

He adds: “For example, during our last marketing campaign, we attracted prospective buyers from 25 countries – with Spain, USA and France in the mix. Just under 60,000 unique users were reported in our November auction of 105 lots, so it was not surprising that we again achieved a sale success of 80% on behalf of sellers.”

On a plot with uninterrupted views across the Thames Estuary towards Southend and North Sea, a five-bedroom detached house in Sheerness, Kent, with workshops, stables and paddock, is guided at £390-400,000 (lot 43).

In line with the water theme, a boatyard and some 120 acres of mudflats, near Rochester and with views across the Medway Estuary in Kent, are guided £370-380,000. The current rental is £8,150 per annum (lot 79).

A double-fronted property in the heart of Cornish coastal resort St Ives is guided at £375,000-plus freehold – it is currently arranged as three retail/artist studio rooms on the ground floor with a self-contained studio flat above (lot 9).

The highest value lot in the auction, guided £1.5-£1.75 million, is a former adult college in Sittingbourne, Kent, dating back to 1878 as a grammar school. It has planning permission for conversion into 18 large apartments and four new-build bungalows (lot 109). You can view the video tour here.

Bidding is live from Monday, December 13 and ends on Wednesday, December 15.

Holiday homes and city centre properties for sale with Bond Wolfe

Bond Wolfe has announced the latest exciting lots set to go under the hammer at its December auction.

These include two more holiday homes on a 35-acre country park in Cornwall. The long leasehold holiday bungalows are at numbers 81 and 91 Hengar Manor, St. Tudy, near Bodmin, and have guide prices of £20,000-plus and £35,000-plus respectively.

Both properties have access to the country park’s nine-hole golf course, tennis courts, fishing lake, swimming pool, popular bar and restaurant.

The pair of lots follows four previous sales of Hengar Manor homes in recent Bond Wolfe auctions, with the last one with a guide price of £35,000-plus selling for £56,000 at the company’s October auction.

Gurpreet Bassi, chief executive at Bond Wolfe, comments: “After a great UK summer which saw record numbers of Brits increasingly enjoying staycations, there is a continuing strong demand for holiday homes.”

“We’ve sold four previous lots at Hengar Manor and all received huge interest from bidders, reflecting the fact that this country park is only a short drive from Cornwall’s beautiful coastline.”

The property at 81 Hengar Manor is a two-bedroomed holiday bungalow with a combined lounge, kitchen and dining area, two bedrooms, a bathroom, toilet and allocated parking. The property is sold fully furnished and will include any forward bookings.

The property at 91 Hengar Manor is also a two-bedroomed holiday bungalow that would be suitable for use as a family holiday home or as a furnished holiday let.

It has an open plan lounge, kitchen and dining area with integrated appliances, one double bedroom, one twin bedroom, a shower room with toilet, a private patio outside and an allocated parking space.

Also coming up for auction is one of Wolverhampton’s most prominent city-centre buildings, housing a large Job Centre Plus office, with a guide price of £1.25 million.

The building, also occupied by Merkur Slots, extends to 18,784 sq ft and, alongside its potential for redevelopment, Chapel Court in Market Street currently generates £145,966 per annum in rent.

A three-storey end of terrace property, the majority of Chapel Court is occupied by the Secretary of State for Communities and serves as a Wolverhampton Job Centre Plus, with a single retail unit occupied by Merkur Slots UK.

The property is well presented throughout and there is a service yard accessed from Castle Street to the rear of the property.

It stands close to the Mander and Wulfrun Shopping Centres, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Crown Court, Wolverhampton College, bus, coach and railway stations, with a broad mix of local and national retailers, bars, restaurants and coffee shops nearby.

Ian Tudor, joint managing director auctions at Bond Wolfe, says: “We are delighted to be offering the prime freehold of this property for sale at our next auction; it is an excellent investment offering future redevelopment potential – subject to obtaining the necessary planning permissions of course.”

Elsewhere, a substantial pair of neighbouring mid-terraced houses in Birmingham that have been converted into six self-contained flats will feature in the sale, with a joint guide price of £150,000-plus.

The attractive period properties at numbers 3 and 5 Anderton Road, a short distance away from Stratford Road, are currently bringing in rents of £33,780 per year, which would represent a healthy yield of 22.5% based on the guide price.

Bassi described the lot as a ‘great purchase’ for a landlord seeking to expand their portfolio, with a very manageable situation of six sizeable flats in the same location.

“But if the new owner preferred, they could easily be converted back into a pair of large, single-family homes, although this sale is subject to existing tenancies,” he says.

The three-storey dwellings stand back from the road behind a front garden, with a larger rear garden and plenty of well laid-out space inside.

On the ground floor is a communal entrance and hall, with Flat 1 in number 3 having a reception room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom, and Flat 1 in number 5 having its own hall, reception room, dining kitchen, two bedrooms and bathroom.

A communal landing on the first floor leads to Flat 2 in number 3 and Flat 2 in number 5, each of which have their own hall, store cupboard, reception room, kitchen, two bedrooms and bathroom.

There’s another communal landing on the second floor leading to Flat 3 at number 3 and Flat 3 at number 5, each with their own hall, reception room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

The properties also lie in vibrant area of Birmingham, close to the renowned Balti Triangle and less than half a mile away from Small Heath train station.

These highlights are just some of the total 197 lots that will appear in Bond Wolfe’s next auction which starts at 9am on Wednesday December 8. The auction will be live-streamed via Bond Wolfe’s website with remote bidding by proxy, telephone or internet only.

For more details and to register to bid visit Bond Wolfe’s website, email [email protected], or call 0121 312 1212 or 01902 928 510.

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