Auction PropTech startup aims to streamline legal process for buyers

A new PropTech startup is giving prospective buyers the opportunity to receive due diligence at a fraction of the time and cost of hiring a solicitor.

Aucspace is providing Legal Pack Summaries, which reduce hundreds of pages of legal documentation provided by sellers into an 'easy-to-read report of a few pages'.

The reports, which are prepared by in-house property lawyers, are viewable online and can also be downloaded.

They include section-by-section summaries, as well as suggested actions for buyers. Meanwhile, as legal packs change frequently on the run-up to auction day, the platform automatically makes revisions and alerts consumers once changes have been made.

Despite auctioneers recommending that buyers get legal advice on sellers' documentation, currently only a third hire solicitors knowing they might not win the bid.

According to Aucspace's survey of over 200 bidders, the remaining two thirds try to mitigate risk by wading through the documentation themselves or calling in advice from legally-savvy contacts.

Aucspace says it wants its low-cost, fast alternative to reduce the number of bidders who take the financial risk of going to auction uninformed.

The company was founded earlier this year by chief executive Andy Mendelsohn, chief operating officer Matt Geppert, and directors Daniel Shafron and Adam Russell.

It says its inspiration for launching comes from direct experience with the problem of expensive and costly due diligence.

Aucspace currently has two in-house property solicitors and will be expanding the team as it rolls out its platform to offer services for all upcoming UK auctions.

It has also been confirmed that Strettons is the first auction house to sign up for the service and has been providing it to buyers ahead of its next event which takes place tomorrow (September 16).

"Our priority in building Aucspace for the auction industry was using technology to enable more efficiency and transparency for buyers where there has been little," Andy Mendelsohn explains.

"It has been encouraging, at the same time, to see the auctioneers adapting during the pandemic with increased adoption of online practices."

"We are delighted to have Stretton’s lead the industry with offering our product directly to customers. Forging this ‘new normal’ is needed now more than ever," he says.