According to recent reports from the Council of Mortgage Lenders repossessions are set to hit 75,000 by the end of this year. Usually these properties are then resold at auction as mortgage providers seek to recoup as much money as they can swiftly and efficiently. Properties make it into the auction catalogue for a number of reasons - repossession, probate…but the common factors are that they are properties which haven’t or are unlikely to sell quickly via more conventional routes. But beware, not all properties which come under the hammer are bargains.

If you are thinking of trying to pick up a bargain at auction here are a few tips to help you on your way.

• Keep on your toes  Most auctions are advertised only about a month in advance in the local, national and trade press. Check out the Essential Information Group for a one stop shop of all listings.

• Don’t stay local  If you’re looking for a real bargain, look outside your local area but make sure you’ve done your homework and researched the area and the selling prices of properties there. Similarly some properties in your locality will be auctioned by auction houses in London or elsewhere and there may be less interest as a result.

• Call in the professionals  Although you will get a lot of information from the auction catalogue you do need to appoint a solicitor to check the document pack for the lot you’re interested in (cost around £25). Similarly when you visit the property take a surveyor or a builder with you.

• Look before you leap  I would never buy a property without looking at it. Viewing times are set by the auction house and are a good opportunity to check out the competition as well as having a good look at what you’re spending your money on. A full survey is not always necessary - except for the very nervous or where you are really stretching yourself to afford a property. You will have to pay upwards of £500 even before you know the property might be yours. A ‘walk through’ by a surveyor or builder you trust is cheaper.

• Remember the guide price is only a guide  Expect to pay over the guide price. If you are tempted to make an offer before the auction in an attempt to secure the property, forget it. This can drive up the price. Far better to express interest in writing and ask to be kept informed if the property is about to sell before auction.

• Cash is king.  You have to have your finance in place before the auction and you may not get a mortgage offer for an auction property.10% of the selling price is due to be paid on the day of the auction with the balance up to 28 days later. Check that your mortgage lender can meet these criteria before you bid. 

• Keep your wits about you  Once you’re in the sale room, everything happens very quickly. Take someone with you - either solicitor or friend. Make sure you listen to all announcements about procedure, what’s been sold or withdrawn and read the addendum sheet which revels any omissions or errors in the catalogue. I’d suggest going to a few auctions beforehand to get some pre-match experience and learn some tactics about when to bid from seasoned pros.

• Don’t fall in love  Know your limits and stick to them. You are buying an asset not choosing a life partner. If you lose out on this one something else will come along. This is business not marriage.

• A friend in need  Don’t underestimate the importance of having an extra pair of eyes, ears (and potentially hands if you feel you can’t do the bidding yourself!) to rely on.

• It’s not over till it’s over  Some properties do not sell at auction. With the sellers on the back foot, you may be able to negotiate a post-auction bargain.

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I see that Nest not invest has reappeared as the current exhortation to anyone thinking about climbing on to the property ladder. I haven’t seen it in the press since the last recession but it seems to have taken over from last year’s favourite make do and mend.

Irrespective of its popularity with the media, it is sensible advice. Houses have a nasty tendency to go down in price as well as up, a fact that we seemed to have forgotten.  Yet this only really matters if you have to sell and are not trading up. For first time buyers who have nothing to sell there are bargains to be had right now.

So is it the right time to buy? The answer is overwhelmingly yes if you have a reasonably large deposit and can get a mortgage…oh, and you’re not thinking of selling for a while. The best deals seem to be for buyers who have accumulated a deposit of at least 30% of the purchase price and can sit tight on the property for 2 to 3 years, according to Jon Cooke, director of the Guild of Profesional Estate Agents. He goes one step further and says that he would advise a son or daughter to buy their first property in the current market.

If you are currently weighing up the buy now/rent for a while options then here are some tips to help you decide.

• Do your homework. Know your chosen area well and view as much as you can to get a feel for what’s available and what’s selling. Try to locate up and coming areas and those with good transport links and well respected schools.
• Negotiate hard. You can expect to pay at least around 20% less for a property now than you could for the same property in summer 2007. 
• Choose something which will hold its value rather than taking your chances on a risky property. Ground floor period conversions with gardens are a good bet as are family houses with gardens in the catchment area of a well regarded school.
• As a first time buyer, buy bigger than you need if you can afford to. Then you have enough space to expand and can take in a lodger if times get hard.
• Aim to have at least 30% of the value of the property as a deposit to be sure of securing a good mortgage deal.

For some time now I have been considering ringing the changes at Country Gate to give me time to concentrate on one very special project and to make better use of the expertise and contacts we have built up in the past two years. It has proved to be much trickier than even I could have anticipated. However the decision is now made and I am happy with it.

From March we will be rationalising the property services we offer. Full details will be published on our updated website over the coming weeks but essentially we are concentrating on relocation work. We no longer intend to manage any renovation projects. 

This means that I can devote more time to  Country Gate Gardens. This started out as a family project - a desire to make our garden more productive and has gradually spread to include work for others. ( I can’t say no when people ask me to get things done.) One of our first projects is a very exciting design for a local school involving artwork, sculpture and a productive garden. Then I’m moving on to a series of potagers, herb gardens and windowbox allotments for local clients. I think we’re all  going to be busy this year.

This blog will become a property blog in future and you can find out what’s happening ’on the plot’ here

Last night’s heavy snowfall in Wiltshire has hidden the embarrassing fact that the side of our house was beginning to resemble the local recycling centre. Rachel, my next door neighbour is moving house. This is not any old house move but one of those once in a lifetime operations - onto a narrowboat at the other end of the country. As a result she is saying goodbye not only to her home of the last fifteen years but also to the large part of her lifetime’s possessions. Some have been sold at auction, at car boot sales, via postcards in the local shops; some have been given away to friends and neighbours or via Freecycle and a few have made their way to the recycling centre. Very little has found its way to landfill. What a girl!

Consequently we are now the proud owners of amongst other things an old church pew, a handforged metal nodding dog called Rusty (pictured above in the snow) and a Lloyd Loom chair which is on its way to be reupholstered. Rachel can start off her new life uncluttered, knowing that her unwanted possessions have found a good home. And her removal bill is a fraction of the cost that it would have been if she hadn’t gone through the decluttering pain barrier. Sadly it’s not something all my clients manage to achieve.