Can I get my deposit back if I pull out?
You will have paid a 10% deposit on the day of the auction. If you fail to complete the purchase, the seller is entitled to keep the full deposit.
This is standard practice in auction transactions and is fully enforceable under contract law.
It doesn’t matter whether:
- You are unable to obtain mortgage or bridging finance.
- You discover legal issues after the auction.
- You have a change in personal circumstances.
- You feel the property is no longer suitable.
Once your bid is accepted, you are contractually bound to complete the purchase.
What happens to the deposit?
Unfortunately, you cannot get your deposit back if you decide to pull out after winning a property at auction.
At auction, contracts are legally exchanged immediately when the auctioneer’s hammer falls. From that moment, you are fully committed to buy the property, on the terms set out in the auction legal pack. This is true even if you later change your mind, run into funding issues, or discover something about the property that you do not like.










