Everything you need to know about selling property through Richards & Co — from valuation and reserve, through marketing and the room itself, to completion within twenty working days.
Estate agency works for some properties — but not all. Where a sale needs to be quick, where the property is unusual, tenanted, in probate, or simply too good to leave to a single private buyer, auction tends to deliver a stronger and far more certain result.
At auction, contracts exchange the moment the gavel falls. Completion follows within twenty working days. There is no chain, no late renegotiation, no withdrawal. The price is set by the room, not by the slowest buyer in a queue.
From the first conversation through to monies cleared in your solicitor's account. Each stage is handled by a senior partner — never delegated, never outsourced.
A senior partner carries out a full valuation of the property, inspects the title, and gives you an honest view of what auction is likely to achieve. We tell you what we'd recommend as a reserve, and whether auction is genuinely the right route for the property.
Once you instruct us, we work with your solicitor to assemble the legal pack — title, searches, leases where relevant, EPCs, and the Special Conditions of Sale. A well-prepared pack is the single biggest driver of bidder confidence on the day.
Editorial photography, floorplans where appropriate, and a properly written description. The lot is placed in our printed catalogue, on Rightmove and Zoopla, and circulated to our buyer list — over eleven thousand active investors and developers.
Block viewings are arranged so interested buyers can inspect together — this creates competitive tension before the room. We monitor demand throughout, brief you weekly, and discuss whether the reserve needs adjusting in light of interest received.
Bidding takes place online — open to registered buyers across the country and beyond. If the bidding meets your reserve, contracts exchange the moment the lot is sold. The buyer pays a ten percent deposit on the day and is contractually committed to complete.
Solicitors complete within twenty working days of exchange — a fixed deadline the buyer is bound to meet. Funds clear into your solicitor's account, the property transfers, and the matter is closed. Faster, longer or bespoke completion windows can be agreed in advance.
Auction pricing isn't a single number — it is two figures working together. The guide attracts buyers into the room. The reserve protects the floor. Understanding the difference is the single most important thing a seller can do.
What we advertise to the market
The guide price is the figure published in the catalogue, on the portals and in our marketing. It is designed to attract the widest possible pool of buyers into the bidding process and set expectations for the room.
The figure you are protected at
The reserve is the minimum figure you are prepared to accept. It is confidential between you and the auctioneer. If bidding does not reach the reserve, the property simply does not sell on the day — and we continue marketing it immediately afterwards.
Many sellers compare an auction figure against a private-treaty asking price and notice a difference. This is normal — the two methods operate on entirely different pricing models. Estate agency starts high and negotiates down. Auction starts low and competes up.
Drawn from the conversations we have most weeks with executors, solicitors, accidental landlords, and private clients considering the room for the first time.
A senior partner will carry out a full valuation, give you an honest view, and leave you with a written appraisal. No obligation, no pressure, no fee.