Property Auction Legal Pack Review Checklist

Who this is for

Know what you are bidding on before auction day. Record each document in the pack, the issues and answers, the extra costs and your final checks.

Buyers looking at a property at auction, online or in the room, and anyone reading a legal pack with a solicitor before deciding whether to bid.

What this helps you track

• Which documents are in the legal pack and which are missing
• Issues found in each document and the questions raised
• Answers from the auction house or seller and your solicitor's comments
• Extra costs written into the conditions, as stated
• Viewing, survey, money and addendum checks before you bid

How to use it

1. Write the lot, the auction house and date, the guide price and your go or no-go once decided.
2. Tick each document as you find it in the pack, date it when read, and note any issue in plain words.
3. Tick asked when you send a question, and write the answer or your solicitor's comment beside it.
4. Copy each extra cost exactly as the conditions state it, next to its line.
5. Work through the final checks, including the addendum on the day; fill it in on paper or in the browser version, which saves in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Should a solicitor read the legal pack?

For anything technical it is worth it, and many buyers do. Ask them to look at the title, special conditions and searches in particular, and write their comments in the last column so everything is on one page.

What is an addendum?

A list of late changes or corrections the auction house publishes before or on the day. It can alter the conditions or the lot, so check the latest one before you bid and note anything new.

Why list extra costs separately?

Auction conditions can pass costs such as fees, searches or arrears to the buyer, on top of the price. Writing each one down as stated shows what the lot really costs; the sheet supplies no amounts.

How is this different from the auction bidding limit sheet?

That sheet works back from your total budget to a maximum bid. This one records what the legal pack says and what is still unanswered, so you know whether to bid at all.