Episode 298 - The £50 check that could save you £29,000 at auction

The £50 check that could save you £29,000 at auction

In this week's episode of The Property Rebel, Arsh Ellahi talks through one of the most expensive mistakes in property: bidding at auction without reading the legal pack. He admits he has bought blind himself because of the tight auction timeframes, and he is clear that it is a risky strategy nobody should copy. If a property is in an auction, there is usually a reason, whether that is a title issue, a problem with the building, missing searches or fees buried in the contract.

Arsh then shares the story of an investor who booked a One Hour Property Coach call with him after buying a block of three flats in Wolverhampton for £200,000 at £25,000 a year rent. No viewing, no legal pack review. When Arsh went through the pack, there were no searches, no tenancy agreements, and a clause making the buyer pay the seller £29,000 of rent arrears, plus the auction fees, the seller's legal fees and other disposal costs, pushing a £200,000 buy towards £250,000 with £20,000 already down. Off the back of problems like that, Arsh has built auctionpackpro.co.uk, a platform where you upload the legal pack before you bid and get a report back within an hour for £50, listing what is in the pack and what is missing so you can hand it to your solicitor and decide properly.

In this episode, you'll learn:

Why properties end up in auction in the first place The red flags Arsh looks for in any legal pack How hidden fees turn a £200,000 buy into £250,000 What the 28-day completion deadline really means if you cannot complete Why you should never bid without seeing the tenancy agreements How Auction Pack Pro appraises a legal pack in one hour for £50 Timestamps

00:00 Intro

00:53 Property Investor App reminder

01:47 Buying at auction blind

03:20 The Wolverhampton coaching call

04:35 Red flags in the pack

06:02 The £29,000 rent arrears

06:49 The 28-day completion trap