I have an elderly relative whom shares ownership of a property with two others. If the others with whom she shares the property decide to sell the property at a public auction, would my elderly relative know? If she did know, could she put in a bid at auction? How would one know if a particular property was to be auctioned?
Lastly, what is the typical length of time it would take to sell a property at public auction if one of the owners is not in agreement with the sale?
Dear Sir/Madam,
Your relative would know because the court would serve notice at the address of the property to be auctioned.
In the case of joint owned property, if one of the joint owners wishes to sell and the others refuse he can force a sale through a public auction. Please read our article on Dissolution of Joint Property Ownership.
Yes of course she can bid at the auction. These auctions are now taking a minimum of one year as the law courts are now clogged. The auction itself only takes less than 15 minutes and its very informal.
In any case, in most public auctions no one is bidding because properties have been unrealistically priced and therefore the mortgage on them is too high for it to be a good business deal.