Singing Pig

I had some time on my hands this week so I visited my first commercial auction to see what its like.

I'd studied some of the more interesting lots before I went in and I've come to the conclusion that its still better to find your own deals without relying on auction houses.  2 of the lots in particular sold for double the guide price, and a lot more land deals went to building contractors who can afford to pay more.

Their were also a lot of lots being sold where the buyer must have a good imagination as what to do with it.  Small pieces of land, usually used as a sub generator for a power company with no planning permission and from the looks of things not really suitable for housing of any kind....any ideas?

Also, and I know this is an old struggle, but lots of land being sold where planning permission isnt granted AND documented that it has actually been refused months earlier......how is anyone making any money here?  I thought the days where you could have a planning officer in your pocket were gone as a higher % of applications now go to a board.....or can they be shielded from a board??

Although I do know their are some people that make all their purchases using auctions.

Can anyone else share their experiences of auctions....have you bought/sold? do you find them a good source of bargain investments?

I actually go after sites with refused planning permissions. They often represent good value and so often the refused planning application is a joke and deserved to be refused. Make sure you check the reasons for refusal - if it is on design grounds or overdevelopment then you should be able to come up with a scheme that would be more suitable to the planners. One trick that I use is to go to the planners and ask what they would like to see there... gets them onside from day one.

Regards the substations and telephone repeaters you see for auction they are probably being bought up as they represent a 'brownfield site'. If you can then buy additional land around the repeater you may have a chance of getting permission for a development because it is not a straight greenfield site.