Between September and December I was starting to feel like the Fulham football manager, defeated! I hadn't acquired a property for three months so was left with one alternative, the auction rooms.
From my experience, December is one of the favoured months to buy due to most sensible buyers beginning to enjoy the Christmas festivities. So with the usual competition depleted and 'lots' with lower reserves (lots going in at this time of the year are usually more motivated), I believed it was an auspicious route to take. One could say I worked with sedulous care. In fact I would even go as far as to say I've never worked so hard! I picked out five auctions that covered my areas and was left with eighteen lots to ponder over. After viewing I narrowed the lots down to ten and began the funding exercise. Suffice to say, I manage to get funding in place and legals all done at no cost apart from my time. The result, a bit like the Ashes tour - embarrassing! I came close twice and one especially comes to mind, which did grate on me.
It was a Savills auction and I was bidding on the phone. It began with a few bidding scraps which resulted in myself and one other. My budget was £250,000 and we were bidding in £1,000 increments from £235,000. It reached £242,000 and I decided to jump to £250,000 hoping to secure it. As soon as I did the 'hammer man' blurted out that I was being tactical and assured my competitor that all he needed to do was bid £251,000 and it was his. Just before the final fall of the hammer my competition caved into the pontificated view of Mr 'hammer man' and bid £251,000. I was defeated, tired and not in my wife's good books.
At this time of year there are three family birthdays in a space of three weeks and with the Christmas preparations I was unable to assist my poor wife who was beginning to show the strain. So up to the 21st December I was working 24/7, unable to relax and enjoy one of my favourite times of the year and still had no deal to show for my efforts. Then I made a call on the 23rd December.
