Craze for house auctions sets clean-up code on way

Back in 1998, she and her husband saw the advertisement for the elegant, spacious home in a quiet area and realised it had that magic combination of factors.

They paid $335,000 at auction, but the experience left them bitter and upset.

Not only did the house need more work than was first apparent, but the way the property was sold turned them off auctions.

They felt particularly tricked by a phantom bidder.

"We felt pressured and it was a confusing situation," Mrs Beadle said. "No one explained the process to us and it was terrible.

"There was a ghost bidder there who vanished into the crowd at the end. It's a very manipulative process."

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