When you decide to sell at auction, you will need to choose a suitable auctioneer.

There are many to choose from, some specialise in auctions only. You can also make use of an auctioneering division within an estate agents.

Of course costs, reputation and process will slightly vary when choosing an auctioneer.

Selling a house at auction can cost up to £1200 plus VAT for a solicitor, with 2.5% of the house value on top of that for the auctioneer fee.

So we would suggest a budget of around 1.5% - 2.5% of the sale price to cover costs.

Sometimes you are also required to pay for advertising and legal costs, often in advance of a sale so consider this option carefully before you spend.

Using more established companies could be beneficial as they will have the largest database of potential purchasers, meaning more people who will see your listing in advance of the auction and hopefully lead to a more successful price.

Your next step would be to instruct a solicitor to prepare contracts, the legal pack and any special conditions that you require for the upcoming sale.