Done well, cross sales pay for the marketing budget. Done badly, they cost you the customer.
SDL Property Auctions partners with estate agents across the UK to give vendors a faster, more secure sale route. Live auction events, daily timed auctions and Buy It Now properties - all with exchange on auction day and 28-day completion. An additional service your vendors want when private treaty is not delivering.
The UK property market's reliance on private treaty means agents and vendors routinely lose agreed sales to gazumping, mortgage delays, survey problems and changed minds. Auction eliminates most of these risks - exchange on the day, non-refundable deposit, 28-day completion. SDL Property Auctions gives your vendors this option without you needing to run auctions yourself.
Vendors who have experienced one or two fall-throughs are often open to auction as an alternative. SDL Property Auctions provides the security of exchange on auction day with no withdrawal after bidding closes.
Unusual, hard-to-value or niche properties that are not generating private treaty interest can achieve competitive prices through an auction process where multiple interested parties bid simultaneously.
SDL Property Auctions' 28-day completion timeline and same-day exchange gives vendors who need to move quickly a route that private treaty cannot reliably provide.
SDL Property Auctions handles the entire auction process - marketing, legal pack preparation, bidding platform, exchange and completion management. Your agency benefits from the referral relationship without the operational overhead.
SDL Property Auctions works as a partner service alongside your existing private treaty operation. You refer suitable properties and vendors; SDL handles the auction process end to end.
Auction events with a live auctioneer at the rostrum, live-streamed online with telephone, proxy and online bidding available. Suitable for properties with strong buyer interest that will benefit from competitive bidding in a public forum.
Daily timed auctions where properties are available for bidding 24/7 for a defined period set by the seller. Bidders place bids online at any time, with an eBay-style countdown to auction close.
Fixed-price immediate purchase with reservation agreement or exchange of contracts on the day. No negotiation, no risk of gazumping, no waiting for the price to be agreed.
SDL coordinates the preparation of the legal pack required for auction - title register, searches, property information forms and any special conditions. Vendors benefit from having this prepared upfront.
SDL Property Auctions operates a referral programme for estate agents who introduce properties. Your agency earns a referral fee and your vendor gets a specialist auction service without the relationship moving away from your agency.
Properties entered into SDL auctions are marketed in the same way as private treaty properties - portal listings, social media, direct marketing to registered bidders and SDL's database of active property buyers.
Most agencies are up and running quickly. Here is how it typically goes.
SDL Property Auctions assesses whether the property is suitable for auction and which format is most appropriate given the property type, condition and vendor's timeline.
SDL explains the auction process, guide price setting, legal pack requirements and the exchange and completion timeline to the vendor.
The legal pack is prepared and the property is marketed across portals, SDL's bidder database and social media ahead of the auction.
The property is auctioned in the agreed format. On exchange, the winning bidder pays the deposit and the sale is legally binding.
Completion takes place within 28 days of auction exchange. SDL manages the process through to the keys being handed over.
As a supplier on Kerfuffle and Compare The PropTech, SDL Property Auctions works with your Kerfuffle account manager to ensure members get the best possible commercial terms before anything is signed.
Standard route
Off-the-shelf pricing
Your terms, reviewed before you sign
Commercial terms, scope and onboarding timeline are agreed per agency. Book a call and the team will scope it live - with your Kerfuffle AM in the room.
SDL Property Auctions has 63 verified agent reviews at a perfect 5.0 on Kerfuffle. Read what estate agency directors say about the partnership experience, the vendor outcomes and the auction process before you refer your first property.
Already a Kerfuffle member? Write a review of SDL Property Auctions →
A walkthrough of the three SDL auction formats, the estate agent referral programme and a look at recent auction results for comparable properties in your market.
A walkthrough of the three SDL auction formats, the estate agent referral programme and a look at recent auction results for comparable properties in your market.
SDL Property Auctions was incorporated in 2011 and has grown to become one of the UK's established residential and commercial property auction houses. Operating live auction events, daily timed auctions and Buy It Now sales from their Nottingham base, SDL works with estate agents across the country as a referral partner - providing a specialist auction service that extends what an estate agency can offer its vendors without the overhead of running auctions internally.
A small group of suppliers on Compare The PropTech participate in PropTech That Pays Back - a Kerfuffle programme that rewards estate agents with kredits when they actively use the tools they invest in. See which suppliers are participating, what agents are saying, and how to start earning back on your subscriptions.
Kerfuffle members get member-only commercial terms, prioritised onboarding and a named account manager throughout. Book a Zoom with the Kerfuffle team to talk through the options.
Want to talk through how this would work for your team?
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