Auction News
Property Sealed with a Kiss with a Goat thrown in for Free!
Symonds & Sampson's property auction department have been as busy as ever during November holding sales for lots in Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Devon totalling £1.67million. Auctioneer Mark Lewis was very pleased with the results saying "we had a little bit of everything with land near Exeter and Yeovil, a bungalow in the middle of some triple SSSI land close to the New Forest in Hampshire selling for £300,000, building plots in Tisbury, cottages in Cann and Tisbury, industrial units and smallholdings."
"One property excited the purchasers so much that a lady who bought threw her arms around me and gave me a kiss, which was soon followed by her mother, which was a great bonus and goes to show how the auction system can work so well because buyers know the property becomes theirs on the fall of the hammer. One of the most unusual lots, however, was a smallholding near Bridport where the owner insisted that the purchaser have the resident goat that had been on the farm for years. You don't often get something for free and the buyer was quite surprised and thought that I was kidding!"
Our auctions will start again in February 2008 and we hope to emulate this record year which has given us a turnover of £32million and ensured that we have stayed as the leading auctioneers in the region."
For further details telephone Mark Lewis on 01258-473766.
Auctions Return to Sturminster Market
September 28th was an auspicious day when Symonds & Sampson held a property auction at the new Exchange building on the site of the old Sturminster Market.
“It was a great occasion” according to Auctioneer Mark Lewis “The Exchange is the most beautiful building and to hold an auction on the spot where I made my auctioneering debut selling pigs 28 years ago was a great honour. The hall was filled to capacity with an anticipated crowd of about 400 people including many farmers taking a step down memory lane. A slide show was played before the auction of old photographs of the market from the early 1900s right through to the day the market closed and it gave a nostalgic backdrop to a very successful auction with over £2.3million raised including our 13th lot, a jeroboam of champagne sold in aid of the Sturminster Newton Museum.”
Symonds & Sampson’s next auction will be on 26th October at
Sherborne.
Properties Moving in Dorset
Estate
agents often talk about being on the move but at Symonds & Sampson's auction
on 28th September they literally have two houses that are physically changing
their position.
Broad Oak House at Manston is a large Georgian house with outbuildings and six acres with glorious views over the surrounding countryside. The property needs a little bit of modernisation but there are also severe cracks in the property and the auctioneers are recommending that a structural surveyor looks at the building.
At the same auction, Little Orchard at Bedchester near Shaftesbury will also come under the hammer. This is a very pretty brick and flint four bedroom house which was originally two cottages. Occupying a good position, again with lovely views, the house has suffered some major subsidence and is now available as a repair and refurbishment or a knock down and rebuild and the owners have received planning permission to erect a modern property on the site.
Auctioneer Mark Lewis says "the interest in both properties so far has been strong" but admits "it is difficult to show the extent of the cracks because the photographs only show the outside of the property but I do not anticipate buyers being put off. So many people are looking for building projects."
Full details can be found on the Symonds & Sampson website at www.symondsandsampson.co.uk or by calling 01258-473766.
Couple become King and Queen of the Castle at Symonds & Sampson Auction
Symonds & Sampson’s latest auction at Kingston Maurward was another 100% sell-out with properties being offered in Dorset and Somerset bringing a sale total of £1.67million.
Auctioneer Mark Lewis was relieved with the result because the number of viewings had been down and he partly puts this down to the weather which kept away the day-trippers, but eventually made little difference because the quality of the viewings brought forward bids on nearly all of the lots.
"The highest priced property was a lovely five-bedroom
farmhouse that had been in the same family since the mid-1800s on the outskirts
of Weymouth. It had almost a French feel about it" said Mark, "and the guide
price of £450,000 was easily exceeded and the hammer fell at
£504,000.">
"Properties in Bridport Road, Dorchester sold well with a building plot making £157,000 whilst land near Beaminster made over £11,000 an acre which we believe is a record for that area."
"One of the most attractive lots, however, was Castle Cottage at Okeford Fitzpaine. A chocolate-box property in need of updating, improvement and possible extension, Castle Cottage was a dream and a couple from Ringwood fell in love with it and ended up paying £336,000. Afterwards they said that they really felt like the ‘king and queen of the castle’."
This now takes Symonds & Sampson’s auction total for the year so far to £24million and they are now taking entries for their autumn auctions which will take place from Hampshire through to Devon. Please telephone Mark Lewis on 01258-474266.
Symonds & Sampson change their spots with Leopard Films
Symonds & Sampson have been on television a lot in the last few years following a major interest in their property auctions and the programme "Homes under the Hammer" on BBC1 has promoted the firm and various lots that they have auctioned.
The firm have now been approach by Leopard Films who make the hit show "Cash in the Attic" and are looking for people to be involved in a brand new ITV1 series about buying property at auction.
They are looking for first time auction buyers, auction regulars, developers or property dealers who would like to be involved in a great new show.
For more details please telephone Mark Lewis on 01258-474266.
Room to Bursting Point at Symonds & Sampson’s Auction
It was standing room only at The Sherborne Hotel on Friday 22nd June for Symonds & Sampson’s latest auction where properties in Dorset, Somerset and Surrey were offered for sale.
Auctioneer Mark Lewis said he was very concerned before the auction that the room would not be big enough and with inclement weather there was no other choice than to cram everyone in.
Land was sold at Yetminster and Chartknolle near Beaminster together with
some pastureland land at Sedgehill near Shaftesbury, but the real excitement
came for some of the bigger properties. A Grade II Listed cottage at Stoke
Abbott sold for £218,000, Orchard Farm at Podimore sold immediately after the
auction for £440,000 but the eyebrow raising prices were for a garden in
Guildford situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and designated as
Green Belt. Guided at £100,000 this sold for £268,000 and a beautiful cottage
and mill house at Rimpton near Yeovil with a guide price of £295,000 sold for
£486,000.
Mark commented "this now takes our sale of auction properties this year to over £22million which is a record for the firm."
Further entries are welcomed for the September and October auctions. Please telephone Mark on 01258-474266.
Romance in the Air at Symonds & Sampson Auction
Symonds & Sampson’s latest auction took place on 25th May at Kingston Maurward where properties were offered for sale in Dorset and Somerset. It was another resounding success with a sale total of £4.162million and auctioneer Mark Lewis was delighted.
"Kingston Maurward is a very special venue but they have become very popular for weddings and as our auction was on a Friday before a marriage on the Saturday, our auction took place within the wedding marquee. There was good humour amongst the huge crowd and at one point the room was overflowing so much that I nearly took the auction outside. There were strong prices paid and everything was captured by Lion Television who were filming Homes under the Hammer for the BBC."
"Of particular note was a building plot at Holwell near
Sherborne which I had sold at auction five years ago for £250,000. We put a
guide of £320,000 this time and it sold for £416,000. Some barns at East Compton
near Shepton Mallet reached £352,000 but the star of the show was a property
called Owl’s Rest at Hermitage near Sherborne. Guided at £350,000 I had taken
numerous telephone calls about this property and we ended up with seven bidders.
My gavel fell at £562,000. The man who bought was embraced by his wife because
they had both fallen in love with the property."
"Abbots Hill Farm at Halstock and Mountover Farm at Rampisham were sold prior to auction at figures well above the guide and we expect a few post-auction sales will take the total to over £5million."
Symonds & Sampson’s next auction will be at The Guildhall in Salisbury on 15th June.
Records Fall as the Cameras Roll at S&S Auction
Symonds & Sampson LLP enjoyed international publicity from their auction on 27th April when 30 properties went under the hammer and over £4million was raised. "Some of the interest that we had received was amazing" said auctioneer Mark Lewis. "We made some of the national newspapers, local television and radio and even received a mention on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and buyers flew in from Paris and Frankfurt to take part in the auction."
"We split the day into a morning and afternoon session to make sure that we could accommodate everybody and our friends from Lion Television filmed the auction for their BBC programme "Homes under the Hammer"."
"In the morning session, notable prices were Crossways at Penselwood guided at £325,000 which sold for £426,000, the Cottage at Huntingford guided at £200,000 selling for £286,000 whilst land on the edge of Gillingham with long-term planning possibilities sold for over £10,000 per acre, a record for grazing land in that area."
"In the afternoon, we sold properties mainly in West Dorset. Catching the eye was a bungalow near Dorchester with a guide of £140,000 which sold for £182,000, a building plot at Beaminster selling for £165,000 and a lovely cottage at Whitchurch Canonicorum for £370,000."
"The real excitement, however, came for a two
bedroom chalet at Burton Bradstock which was perched on top of the cliff with
glorious views of the sea and Lyme Bay. An article appeared in the London Metro
magazine the night before and somebody going home on the tube read it and rang
me at 12noon, in between the morning and afternoon session, enquiring how he
could bid. After telegraphically transferring the money into the firm’s client
account, he bid over the telephone securing the property for £364,000. The
previous record for a beach chalet was £235,000 for one of the wooden bungalows
that I auctioned last year at West Bexington, so the bar has now been set at a
very high level."
Symonds & Sampson’s next auctions will be on 25th May at Kingston Maurwood, in Salisbury on 15th June and then back in Sherborne for 22nd June. Further enquiries from Mark Lewis on 01258-473766.
Overflowing Symonds & Sampson Auction
On 19th April the Symonds & Sampson auction at Wimborne
attracted so much interest that the room overflowed.
Auctioneer Mark Lewis explained "we had a property for sale in Wimborne called Five Gates, a stunning Victorian house in need of updating. It attracted enormous interest not only from individual purchasers but also the local community and we booked a room to hold sixty people, but ended up with a crowd of over double that."
"It was not a problem and we took the auction downstairs to the dining room. The guide price of £395,000 was easily exceeded with the hammer falling at £534,000."
"Auctions are becoming so popular nowadays and we are finding that we need bigger and bigger venues. When there are too many people it is rather fun and there was a good Dunkirk spirit."
Symonds & Sampson’s next auctions will be in May and June and for further details please contact Mark on 01258-473766.
March Auction to Break All Records
Symonds & Sampson's auction on 29th March at The Digby Hall, Sherborne is set to break all records with 36 lots covering Wiltshire, Somerset and Dorset which will be the largest collective sale ever to take place in the county.
Auctioneer Mark Lewis says "the last time that we held a big sale in Sherborne we attracted a crowd of 675 people so this time we are going to split the auction. It will start at 11am with properties in Somerset and Wiltshire and then continue at 2pm with the lots in Dorset."
"It promises to be a very special day with the BBC team expected to be there and we will look forward to seeing you."
For catalogues please log onto the website
www.symondsandsampson.co.uk/propertyauctions/forthcomingauctions
or telephone 01258-473766.
Apprentice gets Qualified and Promoted
When James McKay joined Symonds & Sampson he was seventeen and decided to leave school to pursue a career in Estate Agency. Just eighteen months later he has not only achieved an NVQ in the Sale of Residnential Property but he is on course to become one of the youngest members of the National Association of Estate Agents and has now been promoted to Junior Negotiator at the Bridport office.
James's mentor Mark Lewis, a Partner at Symonds & Sampson said "as soon as I met James I realised he had great potential. He is articulate, gets on very well with people and I have received good reports from both buyers and sellers about his professional manner. He has worked extremely hard for his NVQ and I am so delighted to be able to promote him to a position that I would normally reserve for someone at least five years older than him. Great credit must go to Business Link who have guided James through a quite intensive programme and we wish him all the very best in his career change."
"Another promotion from Sturminster Newton is Christine Slater who will now be running our Salisbury Estate Agency and this is another great opportunity for her. She has been one of our most loyal and dedicated members of staff. Christine joined us five years ago as a secretary but soon rose from Junior to Senior Negotiator and now this managerial position in Salisbury reflects her flair for the business."
"Joining us at Sturminster Newton will be Tiggy Elliott who I feel will be another great success. She has worked in different parts of the world before coming back to settle in Dorset where she grew up and went to school. I hope you will all welcome her into the community and meet her when she comes to value your house!"
To get in touch with Mark or Tiggy, please telephone 01258-473766.
Sparkling Success for Superstitious S&S
The large crowd at Symonds & Sampson's Christmas Auction in Sherborne were in good spirits when 14 lots went under the hammer raising just over £2million on 6th December.
"There was a terrific amount of goodwill in the room with over 300 people present and telephone/proxy bidders from home and abroad" explains auctioneer Mark Lewis.
"We had a mix of properties in Dorset, Somerset and Hampshire with some very strong bidding for all lots and some record prices."
"Land at Netherbury, Bridport went to new levels at £8,500 per acre, whilst a bluebell wood near Corfe Castle made £8,700 per acre. This was surpassed, however, by land at Bayford, Wincanton at £11,000 per acre, a new record for us in that area. Values in the New Forest National Park continue to amaze us, when land at Thorney Hill sold for up to £14,600 per acre."
The most competitive bidding happened on five properties when prices were well ahead of expectations. A building plot at Yetminster sold for £120,000, a pretty cottage at Henstridge £172,000, a Grade II Listed cottage at Kingston £310,000 and Home Farm House, Uploders £436,000.
A new record for beach huts at West Bexington was set when a chalet made £235,000, over double the guide.
"We had a quandry before the sale" explains Mark "when we realised that we had 13 lots and being a superstitious team, we decided to add a 14th lot which was a Jeroboam of Champagne which I auctioned in aid of the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance. We had some very generous bidding, everybody dug very deeply and it sold for £250. It was a fantastic way to finish the year."
Symonds & Sampson will be holding auctions throughout 2007. For a free auction appraisal please telephone Mark on 01258-473766.
Stocking Filler Auction just in time for Christmas
Symonds and Sampson will be holding their final property auction of the year on December 6 at The Digby Memorial Hall, Digby Road, Sherborne.
Entries include a Grade II listed cottage in a large garden in North Dorset, a two bedroom cottage for renovation and improvement in South Somerset, substantial properties at Hazlebury Plucknet and Uploders near Bridport and a beach hut at West Bexington right on Chesil beach.
There is also quite a lot of land, especially with buildings, in south Somerset and Fordingbridge in Hampshire whilst at Bransgore near Christchurch there will be three lots of pastureland and further acres at Netherbury near Bridport.
For anyone interested in purchasing woodland there will be a good block near Corfe Castle.
For further details please contact Mark Lewis 01258 473766.
The London Office to the Rescue
What do you do when you want to bid at auction but you can't get there?
Mark Lewis at Symonds & Sampson explains that at his property auctions, he has a special proxy or bidding form allowing absentee bidding.
"Buyers can only bid, however, if we are holding a cheque" Mark explains "and we have to get everything in place before the auction starts".
At the firm's sale on 3rd November, one London buyer telephoned on the morning of the auction wanting to bid, "but we were not in funds so he went to The London Office in Pall Mall, filled out the correct form and left them a cheque."
"It is yet another example of how important The London Office is to Symonds & Sampson. We hold exhibitions at the premises, they introduce buyers to us and on Friday they enabled someone to bid and buy. We were under pressure but it worked."
The auction held at The Digby Memorial Hall in Sherborne was a great success turning over £1.5million with the highlight being Higher Muckleford Farm, a delightful house near the River Frome, west of Dorchester, selling for £620,000.
A third of an acre with a shed sold for £31,000 with the under bidder being a telephone caller from Azerbaijan. Six acres of meadowland with river frontage sold to our telephone bidder in London.
Elsewhere, a cottage at Hinton St. Mary sold for £318,000 whilst a 19th Century single storey dwelling sold for £172,000.
Symonds & Sampson's next auction will be on 6th December back in Sherborne. More details from Mark Lewis on 01258-473766.
Lucky Spot for Buyers at Devon Auction
Symonds & Sampson's 14th property auction of the year was a resounding success with a 100% clearance, turning over £1.44million.
Auctioneer Mark Lewis said: "We had some remarkable prices with buyers very keen to buy properties on the Dorset/Devon border. We had a packed room as usual and each lot was fiercely contested.
Of particular interest was a property called Little Hawley near Axminster which I successfully sold in July for £222,000. The buyer then found that he could not complete on the purchase, thereby losing his deposit of £22,000 and we put the property on for sale again. This time it went to a buyer who paid £248,000 which, when we usually consider that the summer is a better selling month than the end of October, was a remarkable feat.
The most interest was shown in Silverdale Farm at Uplyme which was a gorgeous period house in need of complete renovation and updating set in 14 acres with a guide of £400,000. With a dozen bidders in the room, the bidding increased rapidly with my gavel falling at £752,000.
It was interesting that the buyer and his wife then moved away from their position and sat down and a man immediately stood where they had been as he believed that this was a lucky spot and would enable him to buy the next property. It worked. He bought a house called Mourino at All Saints near Axminster for £361,000.
It goes to show that not only with property is it location, location, location, it is also where you stand in the room!"
Symonds & Sampson's next property auction will be on 6 December 2006 at Sherborne.
Record Smashed at Dorset Auction
On Wednesday 27th September the whole of Sherborne seemed to come to a standstill when Symonds & Sampson held their first property auction of the autumn at The Digby Hall. Car parks were full to overflowing, shops, restaurants and pubs reported an increase of business and the auctioneers had never seen the room so full.
Auctioneer Mark Lewis said that it was quite overwhelming. "We had 32 lots in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire and it was the largest collective property auction ever to take place in the County so we thought there may have been quite a few people attending, but apparently there were over 600 people which was extraordinary."
"We also welcomed the Lion Television crew who were filming yet again at one of our auctions for the BBC morning programme "Homes under the Hammer" and this will be shown in the spring of 2007."
Properties included farms in Dorset and Somerset, land, building plots, cottages and farmhouses for renovation in Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset and prices exceeded all expectations on many of the lots with over £4million raised at the sale.
It was interesting to welcome buyers from the locality as well as throughout the South of England and some people flew in especially from Geneva and Paris. The auction also produced a record price for agricultural land when some fields at Wyke near Gillingham sold for over £60,000 per acre. "I did not talk to the buyer afterwards" said Mark "but I assume he hopes to get planning permission on the land one day."
One of the stars of the show was Wheatsheaf Farm at Corton Denham where over 100 people looked at the farm throughout the viewing days. After fast and furious bidding, the four lots sold for £690,000.
Riding Gate Farm at Wincanton also produced a very good result when a barn with permission as a workplace home sold for £190,000. "I have sold a lot of properties with this planning condition attached and it seems to be making little difference to the eventual sale price so it is quite interesting to see the interest that it generates."
For a full list of results please log onto the Symonds & Sampson website and we will look forward to seeing you at our sales on 26th October in Devon and 3rd November in Sherborne.
Record Entries for September Auction
Symonds & Sampson's property auction on 27th September at The Digby Hall, Sherborne will be the largest collective property auction to be held in Dorset and includes 26 lots, being some of the most exciting properties to come to the market this year.
Auctioneer Mark Lewis says "when we started to put together the catalogue we realised that we were receiving some exciting entries and as soon as the properties were put onto the seven websites that we use, the email traffic has been tremendous."
"Wheatsheaf Farm at Corton Denham is a property that has been in the same family for 400 years. Located on the edge of the village, three miles from Sherborne, it consists of a farmhouse in need of renovation, farm buildings and land with the most stunning views for sale in four lots."
"Riding Gate Farm at Wincanton is also in four lots and includes a house and four acres for improvement with planning permission to extend, a cottage for rebuilding and sixteen acres and workplace barns and six acres. There is also an eight acre pasture field."
"Mount Pleasant at Martinstown is a two bedroom bungalow requiring complete renovation together with farm buildings and seven acres and The Smithy at Totnell, Leigh is a three bedroom cottage for updating with a paddock."
"We also have a good entry of properties in the Bridport area including a three bedroom detached Woolaway bungalow in three and a half acres at Waytown, a three bedroom semi-detached house in need of updating in the centre of Bridport, barns for conversion to four holiday units at Netherbury and near Blackdown, Beaminster there is a former detached smithy adjoining open fields for renovation."
"We also have a cottage at Bourton, a Grade II stone detached house at Tatworth, South Chard, Somerset and a bungalow and building plot at Wonston, Hazelbury Bryan."
"The land that we have in this auction covers a wide area. We will include an attractive pasture paddock with range of traditional buildings at Wyke, Gillingham, land and pony shelter at Wool, South Dorset, 1.9 acres at Cattistock as well as the other lots included with the farms."
"It will be a big day and we look forward to seeing you all there. We will have refreshments available for those who have come not only from away but also all locals as well."