WITH property auctions little more than a hazy memory for many Irish people, British auction house Allsop, which is staging a auction of over 80 mainly distressed properties here on April 15th in alliance with Irish estate agency Space, is keen to remind us how an auction works.

And in the pressurised atmosphere of an auction room any advice on holding your nerve and not losing your shirt on a shack is probably appreciated.

A bit like Auctions for Dummies, and assuming that no advice is too basic, Allsop suggests getting a catalogue of the properties on offer before auction. Right so.

Next you should work out what you can borrow, because you have to pay a 10 per cent deposit just as soon as the hammer falls, and the rest will have to paid by the completion date on the contract.

Decide your budget before you enter the auction room, Allsop advises, and stick to it no matter what.

If a property doesn’t reach its reserve you can put in an offer after the auction. And remember, don’t wave your hands about needlessly. Once the gavel goes down, it’s yours, whether or not it is riddled with dry rot.

Allsop tells its British clients to do their research on house prices before setting fooot in their auction room.

But that advice doesn’t quite work here where there is no way of finding out what similar properties are making. With no house price register available to consumers, and estate agents bound by the Data Protection Act actual selling prices are all very hush hush.

It’s important to do a survey in advance of the auction because you are committed to buying once the hammer falls. Find out the surveyor the lender uses locally – you may not need to pay for a second valuation says Allsop. Also vital is that your solicitor checks out title for problems.

Then go forth and bid, it hopes.