Have you paid an Auction Ignorance Tax? I bet you have! That was the most arrogant way I could think to start this article. I’ve done that to make you read the whole article. Ignorance is a choice, and it is a very expensive choice to make.

A grounding statistic is that a little over three quarters of winning bidders at auction fail to read the legal pack prior to securing the property. This includes failing to assign the legal pack to their solicitors to read on their behalf.

Shocked? Well, if you are not shocked - I was right and you have paid an Ignorance Tax and potentially more than one. Now I say ‘an’ Ignorance Tax because there are several taxes you may not be aware of, so below is a run through of some of the regulars we encounter. With a breakdown of what they mean, how to spot them and protect against them and why that specific tax is there in the first place.

Now I use the word tax liberally here, in this article I will share two examples below which relate to hidden fees or hidden matters that can restrict your access to funding. These ‘taxes’ are avoidable and evade-able without criminal repercussions.

1. The Alphanumerical Trap
To all you skilled and efficient speed readers, this one’s for you! When you are speeding through a document, what instantly grabs your attention? (Pick one of the following - and no fibbing).

Example A:
In addition to the Price, the Buyer shall pay to the Seller two point seven five per cent plus value added tax of the Price as a contribution towards the legal and agents’ costs incurred by the Seller in connection with the sale of the Lot.