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A detached house with extension potential in Furnace and a traditional three-bedroom property on the edge of Llanelli town are just two of the lots up for auction at John Francis' first property auction of the year, being held next week.

Requiring refurbishment, this three bedroom property with car parking leading to single garage has gardens to front, rear and side elevations. There is the potential to extend (STP) offering an exciting opportunity for developers and investors alike. Situated in a popular location in the village of Furnace, the house benefits from easy access to Llanelli town

One of the UK's leading property auctioneers says the impending stamp duty hike due to come into force in April has been the major driver behind a record rise in lot entries this month.

Auction House, which has a branch in Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire, says that 703 lots have been entered in its first round of auctions between 28 January and 26 February – a 13% rise compared to the same period last year.

Auctioneer Nick Cragg spoke of the boost in entries and said: "The Chancellor's introduction of an additional 3% stamp duty for investors and second-home owners has sent an

The first Acuitus auction of 2016 saw concerted investor buying of assets from all commercial property sectors as the sale raised £56.38m and 98% of the lots offered sold.

Of the 71 lots in the sale, 57 sold in the room and 12 prior at an overall average price of £817,000.

Acuitus auctioneer, Richard Auterac, commented: "We have been talking since last summer about the growing latent investor demand in the auction room and this was a tremendous illustration of that.

"We have been working painstakingly with sellers and their professional advisers to bring the right assets to the market at the

A property auction can be a thrilling way to buy property, and snap up a bargain. They aren’t just good for buying repossessed homes, it’s now possible to buy all kinds of properties at auction. However it is essential that you do your homework before trying to buy a property at auction, and you need to put a number of important things in place before you go. It does't matter what your reason for buying at auction is, the key to success is preparation.

Before you go to auction to buy a property there's a lot of groundwork that needs to be done. A good place to start is by making a list of must

It's important that you view a property before you bid for it at auction. There are so many things to consider and often the most important questions are forgotten.

Ask the relevant questions by taking our helpful checklist with you on your viewing. It may also be useful to take along the property details supplied by the auctioneer to ensure that their information is accurate.

Also check the property for signs of subsidence and confirm that the exterior is in good condition especially the roof and drainage. Double check the boiler, electrics and plumbing in the property and make sure they are

The main advantage of buying a property at auction is that you avoid the lengthy process of buying a house in the traditional way. At auction, the process happens in a matter of minutes rather than months and when the hammer falls, you own the property.

The other many benefits of buying property at auction are listed below. If these don't convince you, nothing will!

Low prices

Auctions really do offer the chance to secure property at bargain prices. Thousands of properties are sold at auction in the UK every year - and many are hard to value, meaning they often sell at below market value. You

House price growth in the UK increased to 9.7% in the year to January, up from 9.5% a month earlier, according to the Halifax.

Britain's largest mortgage lender said the last time that figure was greater was in July 2014, when prices were rising by more than 10%. Prices increased by 1.7% between December and January.

The Halifax said that the average cost of a house or flat in the UK had now risen to £212,430.

However, rival lender Nationwide has said the annual increase in the year to January was just 4.4%.

"The imbalance between supply and demand continues to exert significant upward

Buy-to-let landlords are set to be hit with new costs from April when a controversial extra 3% stamp duty charge is introduced.

Anyone owning a second property that isn't their main residence and buying another, or replacing the one they don't live in, is likely to get caught up in the changes.

This means if you already own a portfolio of buy-to-let properties, or have a second home, but plan to buy yourself a new home to live in and sell your old one then you will not have to pay the extra stamp duty.

The higher rates will only apply to additional properties purchased in England, Wales and

As of today the Right to Rent scheme came into play across the whole of England. Any landlords housing tenants that do not supply valid documents to satisfy the requirements of the Immigration Act 2014 now face up to £3,000 worth of fines per person.

Michael Cook (MARLA), Managing Director of Romans Lettings, comments:

Right to Rent has been introduced as part of the government’s reforms to build a fairer and more effective immigration system, and unfortunately, it’s the private landlords that are most at risk of facing the fines.

All private landlords or their agents - including those

Sales of more than £27m saw Sheffield’s Mark Jenkinson and Son record the best auction results in the whole of Yorkshire and the Humber for 2015.

Mark Jenkinson and Son, which has offices in Sheffield and Chesterfield, beat off competition from more than 20 other individual auctioneers across the region with sales totalling £7.5m more than the auctioneer ranked in second place.

In total £5.25m of property was sold during the record auction for the firm, while 91% of its lots were sold.

The city centre based practice is nationally renowned for being the region’s most successful firm of