THE COURT AUCTION PROCESS
Upon the commencement of the auction you will be required to sign a form to register your attendance. You will print your name and whether you are attending the auction as a Bidder or an Observer.
The Registrar or auctioneer overseeing the auction will then read the Articles of Sale for the property to be auctioned (which are the details of the property and the rules governing the auction process) before opening the bidding.
The first bid must be in an amount of at least the assigned upset price for the property. A person can bid the upset price or any amount over it for the first bid, but all further bids must increase by at least EC$500 over the previous bid.
If there is no opposing bid after the last bid, the auctioneer will give the other bidders two final opportunities to bid again, before closing the bidding.
The successful bidder will be required to pay to the “Accountant General”, at the time of sale, a deposit of at least twenty five percent (25%) of the accepted bid. The balance of the winning bid price must be paid to the court within one (1) month from the date of the sale.
As an example, if the winning bid is one hundred thousand dollars (EC$100,000), the successful bidder must pay at least twenty five thousand dollars (EC$25,000) as a deposit towards the purchase price. If the successful bidder wishes to pay the full amount at the time of sale, that is not a problem.
By law, the successful bidder is entitled to possession of the property upon payment of the deposit. Any property taxes due on the property must be paid by the purchaser.
The purchaser will have to hire a lawyer to initiate the process to obtain a Certificate of Title to the property. Six percent (6%) of the purchase price or Inland Revenue valuation (whichever is more) is payable by the purchaser on the legal transfer of the property.
