Start Here
When you’re selling your property, it’s of vital importance to know who you’re working with.
This is our independent Clive Emson Auctions review. Our private researchers analysed their company records, strengths and weaknesses.
In here, you’ll find everything you need to know about Clive Emson Auctions and whether you should trust them to sell your property quickly.
Your next step
Once you’ve read our impartial guides, you’re completely free to choose an auction house or a cash homebuyer and contact them yourself. There’s no obligation to use our introduction service. We’ll be happy to have helped you to find a company you can trust and stop you being taken for a ride. Our work here is done!
However, we understand that choosing a company to buy or sell your home is a big decision, so if you prefer, you can break it down into easier steps.
First, click the cash offer calculator button below to see how much cash buyers offer for properties like yours. It’s completely free to find out, and it only takes a couple of clicks. You don’t have to give any personal information, just an estimated value of your home.
Then, if this figure works for you, simply add a few more details of your home and we’ll connect you with the cash homebuyer we think is best suited to you.
If you’d rather take the auction route, click the ‘free auction appraisal’ button and we’ll put you in touch with the auction house that we think is the best fit for your property.
Our recommendations cost you nothing and they guarantee you the very best service. The PSW is well-respected within the industry and companies will go all out to prove that they’re worthy of our recommendations, so that we keep sending customers to them.
Click below to start your home selling journey.
Company
Established in
1989
Members of RICS
Yes
Members of Propertymark
Yes (NAVA, NAEA)
Trading standards approved?
Not stated
Members of TPO
Yes
Registered with ICO
Yes
How often are auctions held
8 auctions per year
Online auctions
Yes
Fees
3% + VAT (min £1,950 + VAT)
£350 + VAT upfront listing fee
Complaints procedure
Yes
Customer service
4 / 5
Trustpilot service
5 / 5 (1 review)
Google rating
4 / 5 (38 reviews)
Clive Emson Auctions is one of the largest auction houses in the south of the UK, with five offices covering Kent and Essex to Exeter and Cornwall. They are an independent company run by auctioneers, and unlike most auction companies, they are not part of an estate agency group.
- PSW Rating
4.5 / 5
1. Clive Emson Auctions: Company Overview
(source: Companies House)
- Listed with Companies House: 30th June 1989 (as Regional Property Services Ltd)
- Registered Office: Rostrum House, Rocky Hill, London Road, Maidstone, Kent, England. ME16 8PY.
- There are four registered directors, Clive Emson, James Emson, Kevin Gilbert and Sam Kinloch
- Company number: 02399687
- All the information seems up to date and correct
Clive Emson Auctions are one of the leading land and property auction houses in the UK. They describe themselves as an ‘independent high profile auction facility for everyone wishing to sell/buy land and property of all shapes, sizes and values, while maintaining a commitment to quality and service’.
They sell land, commercial properties and residential properties across the South of England, with over 1000 properties offered across eight auctions per year. These lots range from a single lock up garage at £20,000 to detached homes at £½ million and investment properties like blocks of flats at over £1 million.
Auctions are held online and last for approximately 48 hours.
Auction houses such as Clive Emson Auctions offer a quick and easy way to sell your property compared to the six months or more of stress you could face when selling on the open market. You may also get more for your property than you would selling to a quick cash homebuyer. However, with just seven sales per year, you could have a wait of up to two months for the next sale if your property does not sell.
Auctions will charge commission, in this case 3% + VAT, along with an auction entry fee that will not be refunded if your property fails to sell. You also need to factor in legal fees for the preparation of documents both prior to the listing and following the sale. These fees are comparable with an open market sale through an estate agent, whereas with a quick cash sale, there are no fees, and in most cases, no legal costs either.
Auctions may generate a higher selling price for your property than a quick cash buyer, but it is still likely to be less than an open market sale could generate. It is also worth noting that there are no guarantees on price or speed of sale with auction houses. A cash home buyer may not give you as much for your home, but they will guarantee your sale in as little as seven days.
2. Clive Emson Property Auctions: Strengths & Weaknesses
Clive Emson Auctions hold eight auctions per year with around 150 – 180 lots in each. These are online auctions which last for around 48 hours, but the deadline can be extended if there is significant late activity on a property.
Clive Emson Auctions boasts a moderate success rate. Their September 2024 auction had 180 lots of which 120 sold, representing a 66% success rate. Their July 2024 auction had 165 lots of which 98 sold, representing a success rate of 59%. This is around average for the industry.
The Clive Emson website is very friendly and accessible, offering a ‘warm welcome to visitors’ and showing genuine understanding with wording such as ‘buying or selling by auction may appear daunting at first glance but we hope the links below will help alleviate any worries or fears’. This reflects a very customer friendly attitude that removes a lot of the concerns for first time auction buyers or sellers.
Their independent reviews are good, if limited, and while they do list a lot of excellent testimonials on their website, it can be difficult to verify these.
On the negative side, Clive Emson Auctions cover a wide range of commercial and residential properties of ‘all shapes, sizes and values’, as well as land. This may dilute both the quality and quantity of bidders for your home. With just a few residential properties in the mix each time, there may not be as many potential buyers as a more residential-focussed auction house.
Are they Propertymark members?
Yes, Clive Emson Auctions are members of Propertymark for NAVA – the National Association of Valuers and Auctioneers and for NAEA – the National Association of Estate Agents.
These memberships not only mean that you’re guaranteed to be talking to a professional who will give you up-to-date advice and guidance, they also mean that your auction house will follow an established code of conduct.
Are they TPO members?
Yes, Clive Emson Auctions are members of the Property Ombudsman and operate to a strict code of practice. They also agree to independent arbitration by TPO in cases of disputes.
TPO offers independent adjudication on disputes and can mandate compensation payments up to £25,000 in cases of proven financial loss. Membership of TPO gives you have an additional method of resolving complaints that can’t be resolved between you and the auction house.
Are They Regulated By RICS?
Clive Emson Auctions are registered with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, giving them further credibility and giving you further peace of mind.
Using a RICS member gives you the peace of mind that your auctioneer follows the Common Auction Conditions and ensures that clients are provided with terms of engagement that are fair and clear and meet all legal requirements and relevant codes of practice including reference to complaints-handling procedures and, where it exists, an appropriate redress scheme.
Are they Registered With The ICO?
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent regulatory body set up to uphold information rights. The ICO also governs all forms of data collection and advertising intelligence.
Clive Emson Auctions have been registered with the ICO since 2002.
Are they GDPR Compliant?
The Clive Emson Land and Property Auctioneers website has a formal privacy policy, listed under the ‘About Us’ tab. This explains how your data will be collected, stored and used. This suggests that the company is GDPR compliant and will follow established codes of practice.
This privacy policy states that all personal information will be held and used with the ‘strictest of confidence at the forefront of all actions’. However, this does not mean that you will not receive marketing messages from the company or their associates.
The Property Sales Watchdog recommends that you should always be very careful about what information your disclose and what cookie policies you agree to. You should always have a choice, and you should read any cookie / data use agreements carefully rather than just clicking yes to clear your screen.
Have They Traded For More Than 5 Years?
Clive Emson Land and Property Auctioneers was formed in 1989 with just a single auction. They have grown rapidly since then, spreading out from Kent to cover the whole of the South of England.
We use the ‘over/under 5 years trading time’ as a rule of thumb to gauge whether a company is an established entity with a lot of experience under their belt, or just a newly founded business that may not have the expertise or reputation you can rely on. With 35 years behind them, Clive Emson Auctions have far exceeded this benchmark.
How often Are Auctions Held?
Clive Emson Auctions hold property sales online eight times a year, handling around 1000 properties and parcels of land. This means that there is an auction every six or seven weeks. Each of these auctions carries around 150 lots covering a both a wide area and a wide range of property types.
Auctions are held online and last for around two days – although they may be extended beyond the initial end time. To place a bid, you need to have registered in advance and provide compulsory information such as proof of identity and your source of funds, in order to comply with money laundering regulations.
Working with a network of over 650 estate agency outlets throughout Southern England, Clive Emson claim that their marketing is supported by more estate agency offices than any other auctioneers practice.
what does it cost to sell with Clive Emson Auctions?
Clive Emson Auctions do not list their charges online, however our sources state that they charge a seller’s fee of 3% + VAT, with a minimum of £1,950 + VAT. This is high compared to the industry average and more than most other auction houses.
Sellers also have to pay a non-refundable deposit of £350+VAT upfront to enter an auction, and this will not be returned if the property is withdrawn or goes unsold. This is around the standard charge for the sector.
How long does it take to sell?
Looking at their recent auctions, Clive Emson Auctions are moderately successful, with many properties listed as delayed to the next auction. We looked at their ‘sold’ rate for the last two auctions and these were 66% and 59% of the lots offered. That means one in three lots will go unsold at their auctions.
With 35% to 40% of properties going unsold at their first auction, a sale is far from guaranteed, and with just eight sales per year, you may have to wait six weeks or more for your next opportunity to sell. These two factors combine to seriously reduce your chances of a quick sale.
If you fail to sell at more than one auction, you could end up selling no faster than you would with a traditional open market sale through an estate agent, while achieving significantly less for your property.
On the positive side, Clive Emson Auctions do work with a network of 650 estate agents, and this could provide alternative ways to find a buyer if your auction sale is unsuccessful.
If your property is sold at auction, then the deal is done and there is no risk of the sale falling through, as there would be with a sale through an estate agent. As soon as the hammer falls the sale is binding and contracts are exchanged. The buyer must pay a 10% deposit, which they forfeit if they fail to complete the sale within 28 days. This process provides you with a very fast and certain sale, which will not be affected by surveys, cold feet or the countless other issues that can scupper an estate agency sale.
However, this tight, four-week completion timescale may not leave enough time for potential buyers to arrange a mortgage, and so this will limit potential buyers to developers, investors and cash buyers. If you need a certain fast sale, for personal or financial reasons, a quick cash buyer could be a better option, as your sale is guaranteed in as little as seven days.
Anything Else Suspicious?
We didn’t find anything that raises suspicion during our thorough research of Clive Emson Auctions. Our investigators sifted through all of the data and legal records of Clive Emson Auctions and everything was clean.
However, we’ll redact this paragraph at the first glimpse of dodgy practices.
We never stop researching and our unbending commitment to excellence doesn’t waver. This paragraph is only valid up until the ‘Last Updated’ date of this review, which can be found at the top of this page.
Anything Else You Should Know About?
As far as we are aware, Clive Emson Auctions haven’t received any additional awards or prizes.
There’s nothing more we could add.
3. Clive Emson Auctions: Customer Experience
To assess the overall user experience (UX) of www.cliveemson.co.uk we first analysed their website for ease of use and intuitiveness.
Unlike many composite property services companies, the Clive Emson Land and Property Auctioneers website is solely dedicated to auctions. It provides a friendly welcome and explains all you need to know in simple, approachable language.
The website has an auction buyers’ and sellers’ guides, past and future catalogues and an About Us section that includes a meet the team tab where you can put a face to the names you are dealing with. This creates a very friendly website and will put many sellers’ minds at ease, especially if they are unfamiliar with selling a property at auction.
First Response Time
We calculated their First Response Time (FTR) by messaging them at approximately 4 PM on a non-holiday weekday (on a Thursday to be exact) and used a stopwatch to estimate how long it took them to respond.
Clive Emson Auctions responded in 1 minute 25 seconds.
Which is much faster than the industry average. And a fast FRT is something we consider highly important, especially in this sector.
A faster response time suggests that the auction house is better equipped to deal with customer queries.
And if they’re better equipped to deal with customer queries, then it means they’re investing their resources where it matters the most.
Client Satisfaction Guarantee
We also asked if they offer some sort of ‘Client Satisfaction Guarantee’, and if yes, what would that guarantee consist of.
The Clive Emson Auctions website does not list a specific guarantee, but it the general approach of the website, as discussed above, shows that they are friendly, welcoming and customer focussed.
Client Complaints Procedure
Clive Emson Land and Property Auctioneers operates a Complaints Handling Procedure (CHP) in accordance with the requirements of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). This can be found under the About Us tab on the top of the screen.
As they are also members of the Property Ombudsman service, customers of Clive Emson Auctions have the extra protection of independent mitigation for any disagreements that cannot be solved directly with the company.
Speaking To Past Customers
A legitimate auction house that does what it promises shouldn’t have a problem letting you speak to their past customers.
Of course they need to have the permission of the individual involved and provide some kind of proof that it is a genuine past client of theirs.
We strongly encourage all our readers to ask to speak to a past client.
4. Clive Emson Auctions: Online Presence
In this section, we’ll discuss what the public thinks of Clive Emson Auctions and what online reviews the company has received.
Keep in mind that online reviews can be easily faked. The company in charge might hire fake review writers to write positive reviews. Or on the other hand, their competitors might hire fake review writers to write negative reviews and tarnish the said company’s reputation.
Also, social media followers can be artificially inflated.
That’s why we deem this section as purely anecdotal.
Customer reviews
- Trustpilot rating 5/5 (1 review)
- Google rating 4/5 (38 reviews)
Domain Rating
- Domain Rating (DR) – 42 / 100
- Search Traffic – 8,500 unique visitors per month
Social media presence
- Facebook – 3.5K followers
- X (Twitter) – 1,256 followers
- LinkedIn – 956
- YouTube – 2.1K subscribers, 3.2k videos
Media Mentions
- N/A
TV Channel Features
- N/A
Clive Emson Auctions are active on Facebook, X (Twitter) and LinkedIn, and they also have an extensive YouTube channel with over three thousand informative videos.
We didn’t find anything suspicious with Clive Emson Auctions’ social media or online presence, and their relatively low customer reviews should be taken in context as explained above. We also didn’t find anything suspicious with their domain rating and backlink profile nor their unique monthly search traffic.
The Final Verdict
Clive Emson Land and Property Auctioneers have grown impressively since they first began in 1989, spreading across the South of England. This speaks volumes about their levels of customer service and their success in finding buyers.
They have a moderate success rate for auction sales, although their fees are rather high at 3% + VAT. Sellers may also find residential properties lost amongst the wide range of lots, ranging from land to commercial and investment opportunities.
That said, Clive Emson appear to have a strongly customer-focussed approach and with five branches spread across the South, sellers can access expert advice from a local team without having to travel too far.
They are members of all the relevant organisations, including Propertymark, The Property Ombudsman and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. This shows a professional approach that operates to respected codes of conduct and is open to independent scrutiny and dispute resolution.
On balance, Clive Emson are a solid option for selling properties or land of any kind by auction in the South of England, though buyers should be aware of their fees and moderate success rate when making their choice.
Get The Best Cash Offer For Your Property
Your next step
Once you’ve read our impartial guides, you’re completely free to choose an auction house or a cash homebuyer and contact them yourself. There’s no obligation to use our introduction service. We’ll be happy to have helped you to find a company you can trust and stop you being taken for a ride. Our work here is done!
However, we understand that choosing a company to buy or sell your home is a big decision, so if you prefer, you can break it down into easier steps.
First, click the cash offer calculator button below to see how much cash buyers offer for properties like yours. It’s completely free to find out, and it only takes a couple of clicks. You don’t have to give any personal information, just an estimated value of your home.
Then, if this figure works for you, simply add a few more details of your home and we’ll connect you with the cash homebuyer we think is best suited to you.
If you’d rather take the auction route, click the ‘free auction appraisal’ button and we’ll put you in touch with the auction house that we think is the best fit for your property.
Our recommendations cost you nothing and they guarantee you the very best service. The PSW is well-respected within the industry and companies will go all out to prove that they’re worthy of our recommendations, so that we keep sending customers to them.
Click below to start your home selling journey.
We’ve independently investigated all the UK’s top fast home buyers with our cast-iron 18 point checklist.
And by using the free Safe Connect™ programme we’ll introduce you to our most recommended & strictly vetted home buyer.
The Safe Connect™ programme was created to ensure you not only get the best possible, genuine cash offer, but also to protect you in this unregulated market.
If you click the orange button below, we’ll automatically Safe Connect you to the best property buyer in the UK – as vetted by our team of investigators. And most importantly, you’ll see exactly why we objectively classified them as the best property buyer in the UK.
If you use the Safe Connect™ programme to connect with a cash home buyer, we’ll personally hold them accountable. We’ll ensure they go the extra mile and treat you like a VIP.
The Safe Connect™ programme is a free service. There are no additional fees or costs on your end.
Safe Connect™ ensures there will be no last-minute price drops and no nasty surprises. It’s quick, easy and it eliminates all headaches.
Our strictly vetted partner will know that you’re coming through Property Sale Watchdog and they won’t dare to mess you around.
Compare Companies
Clive Emson Auctions is just one of the many fast home-buying companies in the UK.
In order to make sure you choose the right one, it’s best if you compare them all.
Look at their strengths & weaknesses, their pros & cons and make an informed decision.
It’s essential to know you’re in safe hands, that’s why we’re here to help.
Use our company comparison table to find a reliable and trustworthy service, and decide whether expediting the sale of your property is the right thing for you.
Content Updates
This review is being constantly screened by our investigator team and will be corrected in line with the emergence of new evidence.
If a company contacts us with a genuine and verifiable piece of information which supports their cause, then we’ll immediately redact the review and point to the new information.
On the other hand, if we discover that a company which we’ve previously praised for a certain industry trait, starts to dabble in dodgy practices, we’ll also redact the review immediately.
We’ll point to our new findings and we’ll adjust the table metrics and scores accordingly.
For this reason, make sure to take notice of the ‘last updated’ date at the top of this page.
More To Explore
The Complete Guide:
What is a Memorandum of Sale And How to Use it
Read More >>
The Bulletproof Guide:
How to Sell Your House Fast and What's the Catch
Read More >>