When a Council puts flats up for sale by auction it often means (1) the properties were previously sold to the Tenant under the Right To Buy procedures (2) the purchaser had been granted a Council mortgage to cover the cost of the purchase (Councils were legally obliged to offer such mortgages when the usual mortgagors quite sensibly refused to touch the property or prospective borrower with a 10 foot pole) (3) the purchaser subsequently defaulted, did a bunk and left the property in serious disrepair - floor missing, bathroom fixtures etc ripped out are not unusual. The Council then has somehow to minimise its considerable financial loss and selling off the wreck in its capacity as mortgagor is often the most sensible way to proceed. Basically property sold at auction is the last resort. SimonM