Vendors Bidding at Auction

Over time we have been queried by Agents in respect of when can a Vendor/s bid at an auction?

There are two instances when a Vendor can bid at an auction. These are set out below:

Vendor Bid
A Vendor has a mandatory ‘Vendor bid’ available to be used at the auction of their own property and several conditions need to be met for this type of bid to be allowed. They are as follows:

1. Only one bid may be made on behalf of the Vendor;
2. Immediately prior to making a Vendor bid, the auctioneer must announce that the bid is made on behalf of the seller or announce ‘Vendor bid’.

Vendor Bid – if one of the Vendors are bidding to purchase property
We are sure that many of you have been involved in obtaining consent to a loan when it involves the sale of a matrimonial home for a couple that is separating/getting divorced, or for the sale of a property for feuding co-owners. In these types of situations you find that sometimes one of the Vendors wants to bid at the auction with a view to purchasing the property. When this occurs there are certain requirements that must be met to ensure that the Vendor can in fact bid at the auction.

These requirements are as follows:

1. The Contract must disclose within it (usually by way of special condition) that one of the Vendors will be bidding to purchase the property at auction.
2. The Agent/Auctioneer will need to announce the registration details and name of the Vendor who is proposing to bid, prior to the commencement of the auction.
3. Whenever any bid is made by the Vendor, the auctioneer must announce that bid, the Vendor’s name and that the bid has been made by the Vendor as a co-owner of the property.

At Solari & Stock Lawyers, as well as our Property & Commercial Law Team, we have our Family Law Team headed up by Partner, Riccarda Stock and Senior Associate, Fiona Kirkman, both Accredited Specialists in Family Law. If you or someone that you know requires Family Law advice, please do not hesitate to contact our dedicated Family Law Team.