Auction Legal Pack Review — Get Your Full Risk Report in Minutes

The legal pack is the only due diligence you get before you're contractually committed to buy. The hammer falls, contracts are exchanged — and everything in that pack becomes your problem.

Most buyers either don't read it properly, or don't know what they're looking for. PackCheck reads the full legal pack for you and flags what matters — the red flags, the hidden costs, the missing documents — in plain English, in minutes.

How PackCheck Works

1. Download the legal pack from the auctioneer's website
Every reputable UK auction house makes the legal pack available online before the auction — Allsop, SDL, Auction House, Barnard Marcus, Clive Emson, and dozens more.

2. Upload the PDF to PackCheck
Single document or multiple PDFs — we handle standard packs, scanned documents, and the multi-file packs that major auctioneers now use.

3. Receive your plain English report
Within minutes, you get a structured risk report covering every document in the pack — what's there, what's missing, what matters, and what warrants a closer look.

4. Bid informed — or walk away informed
Use the report to decide whether to instruct a solicitor, adjust your maximum bid, or skip this lot entirely. Either way, you're not guessing.

What PackCheck Analyses

Special Conditions of Sale

The most important document in the pack — and the most dangerous one to miss. PackCheck reads every clause and flags:

• Requirements to pay the seller's legal fees (commonly £500–£2,000)
• Buyer's premiums and administration fees not obvious from the catalogue
• Unusual completion periods (under 20 working days is tight; under 10 is a red flag)
• Overage and clawback provisions
• Indemnity insurance requirements passed to the buyer

Title and Ownership

• Title class: absolute (clean) vs possessory (concern)
• Restrictive covenants — what they restrict and how old they are
• Easements and rights of way affecting the property
• Outstanding charges or mortgages to be discharged

Lease Analysis (Leasehold Properties)

• Remaining lease length — flagged against mortgage-threshold benchmarks
• Ground rent terms and review schedule
• Service charge history and reserve fund status
• Subletting restrictions and alteration covenants
• Pending major works disclosed in management information

Missing Documents

PackCheck checks what should be in the pack against what's actually there, and tells you what's absent and why it matters:

• Missing searches (Local Authority, Drainage, Environmental)
• Absent management information pack
• No building regulations certificates despite visible works
• Missing tenancy agreements on tenanted properties
• Absent TA6 or TA10 forms

Search Review

• Flood risk zone flagging
• Enforcement notices and planning issues
• Conservation area and TPO status
• Outdated search dates flagged with context

Who PackCheck Is For

Active auction investors reviewing multiple lots before each auction. Use PackCheck to triage 15 properties down to 3 worth instructing a solicitor on. The time saving is significant; the cost saving is even more so.

First-time auction buyers who've found a property they're excited about and want to understand what they're getting into before committing to a 10% non-refundable deposit.

Buy-to-let landlords adding to a portfolio via auction and wanting to move faster without moving blind.

Property developers analysing auction lots for title issues, planning history, and covenant restrictions that could affect a development plan.

PackCheck vs Solicitor Review

PackCheck is not a replacement for a solicitor. It's a triage tool that makes solicitors more effective and less expensive.

The recommended workflow: Use PackCheck on every pack you download. Instruct a solicitor on the 1–2 you're serious about. Brief the solicitor on what PackCheck flagged. Your solicitor works faster; you spend less on abortive reviews.

Real Situations Where PackCheck Catches What Buyers Miss

The hidden seller's costs clause
A buyer is interested in a terraced house at guide price £145,000. The catalogue looks clean. But buried in the Special Conditions: a requirement to reimburse the seller's legal costs (£1,200 + VAT) and search costs (£650) on completion. PackCheck flags it. The buyer adjusts their maximum bid accordingly — and still wins.

The lease length trap
A flat in South London, guide price £180,000, looks good value. PackCheck's lease analysis: 73 years remaining. Below 80 years means no mainstream mortgage lenders, and the extension calculation now includes "marriage value" — adding £15,000–£25,000 to the extension cost. The buyer either doesn't bid or prices this in.

The missing management pack
A leasehold flat with a service charge of £1,800/year. The management information pack is absent from the legal pack. PackCheck flags it as missing. The buyer contacts the managing agent and discovers: major works to the roof scheduled for next year, estimated cost £120,000 split between 8 flats — £15,000 per flat. The guide price suddenly makes sense.

The overage clause
A plot of land in a suburban area, apparently ripe for a single dwelling. PackCheck identifies an overage clause in the Special Conditions: 30% of the planning uplift for 25 years. On a plot where planning permission would add £200,000 in value, that's £60,000 to the original seller that the buyer hadn't factored in.

Frequently Asked Questions