Bidding site on an auction. Need of surveyor?

[Tastebuds]

I am going to an auction soon to try to buy a property:

• The property has an old garage that will have to be fully demolished to build a new house. So, you are buying a site...
• The property will need to be changed from Commercial to Residential. This should not be a problem as the neighbour did it with a very similar property/case (I know him personally)

I know that the basic rules of going to an auction includes

• engineer inspecting the property
• Solicitor checking the title deeds

I get using an engineer if you want to check if the house structure is sound... However, if you intend to demolish the property, would getting an engineer be really needed? What can he/she check?

Thanks

 

[newtothis]

Two things spring to mind when reading this:

- Planning permission is not guarenteed, regardless of whether there are similar cases nearby
- First thing I'd check if you're planning to demolish an old garage is whether there is any asbestos in it. If there is, demolition is likely to prove expensive.

 

[Tastebuds]

Two things spring to mind when reading this:

- Planning permission is not guarenteed, regardless of whether there are similar cases nearby
- First thing I'd check if you're planning to demolish an old garage is whether there is any asbestos in it. If there is, demolition is likely to prove expensive.

Thanks for your reply!

You are right that PP is not guaranteed, but I guess the engineer opinion would not count at this pre-sale stage?

Good point about the asbestos.

Thanks again

 

[Tastebuds]

The property is Zoned objective z4 "To provide for and improve mixed-serviced facilities"

 

[galway_blow_in]

I am going to an auction soon to try to buy a property:

• The property has an old garage that will have to be fully demolished to build a new house. So, you are buying a site...
• The property will need to be changed from Commercial to Residential. This should not be a problem as the neighbour did it with a very similar property/case (I know him personally)

I know that the basic rules of going to an auction includes

• engineer inspecting the property
• Solicitor checking the title deeds

I get using an engineer if you want to check if the house structure is sound... However, if you intend to demolish the property, would getting an engineer be really needed? What can he/she check?

Thanks

invariably a solicitor will warn against buying at auction , they are so inherently ubber cautious and terrified of anything which isnt vanilla that their default position is to tell you not to proceed

based on experience , i think its often better to simply either be willing to walk away or take a chance with auctions and be prepared to deal with whatever comes afterwards as solicitors are not much help , covering their proverbial is their only real priority despite all the fancy dressed up jargon

 

[Tastebuds]

I see

invariably a solicitor will warn against buying at auction , they are so inherently ubber cautious and terrified of anything which isnt vanilla that their default position is to tell you not to proceed

based on experience , i think its often better to simply either be willing to walk away or take a chance with auctions and be prepared to deal with whatever comes afterwards as solicitors are not much help , covering their proverbial is their only real priority despite all the fancy dressed up jargon

Yes, they will be of no help for all complications that can come after buying. Their only help is checking the deeds as far as I understand?

 

[galway_blow_in]

I see


Yes, they will be of no help for all complications that can come after buying. Their only help is checking the deeds as far as I understand?

not what i meant at all , solicitors are an inherently cautious bunch , to the point of advising against as a default position , auctions are far more risky than private sales in that you are wed to buying once the gavel drops , if you are prepared to deal with potential unseen issues in the aftermath , the solicitor will of course be needed and most likely will be able to resolve outstanding issues

i know im generalising but ive yet to meet a solicitor who recommended taking a chance on anything , no matter how big or small , there is a degree of going with your gut when it comes to auctions

 

[Tastebuds]

not what i meant at all , solicitors are an inherently cautious bunch , to the point of advising against as a default position , auctions are far more risky than private sales in that you are wed to buying once the gavel drops , if you are prepared to deal with potential unseen issues in the aftermath , the solicitor will of course be needed and most likely will be able to resolve outstanding issues

i know im generalising but ive yet to meet a solicitor who recommended taking a chance on anything , no matter how big or small , there is a degree of going with your gut when it comes to auctions

Ah, I understand you now. Thanks for your advice!

 

[mf1]

not what i meant at all , solicitors are an inherently cautious bunch , to the point of advising against as a default position , auctions are far more risky than private sales in that you are wed to buying once the gavel drops , if you are prepared to deal with potential unseen issues in the aftermath , the solicitor will of course be needed and most likely will be able to resolve outstanding issues

i know im generalising but ive yet to meet a solicitor who recommended taking a chance on anything , no matter how big or small , there is a degree of going with your gut when it comes to auctions

This is just nonsense. Ignore all of it. I've had clients "go with their gut" (what does gut know or have anything to do with it?) at auction and seen them landed with title issues that will dog them if they ever want to sell.

mf

 

[galway_blow_in]

Solicitors always exaggerate potential issues, they get paid to tell you to do nothing in case of

 

[PaddyBloggit]

Solicitors always exaggerate potential issues

That's their job! A good solicitor is one who is overly cautious and crosses the t's and dots the i's.

I bought a property a few years back and there were issues with a right of way. My solicitor made sure everything was spot on before he signed off on the purchase - despite all the pressure coming from the seller's side so close quickly. He took his time and I'm forever grateful that he did. All fell on the seller and his solicitor to sort and it took the bones of six months to fix. But fixed it was.

My solicitor was well worth his fee.

Caveat emptor buying at auction if you don't do the full research. No solicitor be able will fix your title/legal issues adequately if you commit to buying a pup.

 

[galway_blow_in]

That's their job! A good solicitor is one who is overly cautious and crosses the t's and dots the i's.

I bought a property a few years back and there were issues with a right of way. My solicitor made sure everything was spot on before he signed off on the purchase - despite all the pressure coming from the seller's side so close quickly. He took his time and I'm forever grateful that he did. All fell on the seller and his solicitor to sort and it took the bones of six months to fix. But fixed it was.

My solicitor was well worth his fee.

Caveat emptor buying at auction if you don't do the full research. No solicitor be able will fix your title/legal issues adequately if you commit to buying a pup.

That's a private sale where there is plenty of time to check things out

With auctions, they won't give there blessing to almost everything as you are bound to follow through

 

[PaddyBloggit]

With auctions, they won't give there blessing to almost everything as you are bound to follow through

But you can't blame them for taking that stance.

If they give their blessing for an auction purchase and it goes belly up, they know they'll be blamed as they're the professionals who said go right ahead and bid like mad.

 

[galway_blow_in]

But you can't blame them for taking that stance.

If they give their blessing for an auction purchase and it goes belly up, they know they'll be blamed as they're the professionals who said go right ahead and bid like mad.

then they are really no use prior to auction which is my exact point , there is always something which makes them uneasy , not being able to pull out of a deal ( like with a private sale ) as is the case with auctions , causes solicitors to be irrationally cautious , now im mostly refferring to receivership sales where information is lacking , plenty of auctions have properties where all info is fully clear in advance

i missed out on a bargain property in dublin earlier today , i went with my solicitors advice and didnt bid but the same solicitor also advised me strongly against a second property for sale at the same auction ( again title issues ) which i expressed an interest in due to the nature of the tenant ( government tenant ) , i could never have afforded to buy the ( second ) property in the first place as it went 60% above reserve but that it made this amount suggests to me that enough people believed the risk was worth it , there were dozens of bids

the property i could have afforded went 10% below where i could have comfortably bid to , had i bought it , i could have paid up and still had enough to clear my existing loan on a property i bought nearly eighteen months ago

bottom line , when it comes to auction properties which are anything but vanilla , consulting a solicitor is usually a waste of time , i have a five hundred euro + vat bill with my solicitor for looking over two titles , no arguement there , i owe them for a service but id never ever do it again were i to consider buying at auction

 

[cremeegg]

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Your solicitor should tell you what the problems are or are likely to be.

Armed with that information you can make a decision to go ahead or not.

 

[galway_blow_in]

This is just nonsense. Ignore all of it. I've had clients "go with their gut" (what does gut know or have anything to do with it?) at auction and seen them landed with title issues that will dog them if they ever want to sell.

mf

very few issues cannot be resolved eventually if enough time and money is invested , that the deal looks foggy from the outset is the very reason value can be available , it deters most people from bidding

solicitors get paid irrespective of whether they like the smell of a deal or not so they invariably advise against when dealing with even the tiniest sign of a grey area , they wont even describe how unpalatable something is on any kind of scale , what looks like a one in terms of risk to most people is an automatic ten to a solicitor , they have a very easy job for the most part

 

[cremeegg]

very few issues cannot be resolved eventually if enough time and money is invested , that the deal looks foggy from the outset is the very reason value can be available , it deters most people from bidding

I agree absolutely.

A good solicitor should help you peer through the fog.

solicitors get paid irrespective of whether they like the smell of a deal or not so they invariably advise against when dealing with even the tiniest sign of a grey area , they wont even describe how unpalatable something is on any kind of scale , what looks like a one in terms of risk to most people is an automatic ten to a solicitor , they have a very easy job for the most part

Its not a question of an issue being a 1 or a 10, the question you must ask is, do I understand the issue. Have I a plan to resolve it.

I bought a property with an issue some years ago. My solicitor investigated the issue carefully and outlined it to me. When I felt I understood it, I was happy to go ahead with the purchase.

A sensible solicitor should not advise you how to react to an issue, thats your decision. Their role is to keep you informed as far as possible what the issue is.

 

[Tastebuds]

Thanks for all your contributions everybody!

In terms of bringing an engineer or not to check a garage that you plan to demolish if you buy it at an auction, the only 2 reasons I can think of are:

• to check if there is any asbestos in it as the demolition will be more expensive as @newtothis mentioned in previous post
• case the planning permission does not allow demolishing and you are forced to build within the garage constraints?

any other idea?

Thanks

 

[Black Sheep]

Could you have a chat with the local Planning Officer to get an idea what might be allowed there ie. complete demolition/re-build residential/commercial etc.

As that was a garage were there petrol pumps there with underground tanks or any other nasties?

 

[Tastebuds]

Could you have a chat with the local Planning Officer to get an idea what might be allowed there ie. complete demolition/re-build residential/commercial etc.

As that was a garage were there petrol pumps there with underground tanks or any other nasties?

Having a chat with a planning officer would be great. How do you go about that? Are they contactable for the general public?

I called it "a garage" but that is not technically correct...It used to be a printing workshop. So, there are no pumps or tanks

Thanks!