*BUYING AT AUCTION WITHOUT VIEWING IS A BAD IDEA.

‘Always view first’ is a basic piece of advice when buying at auction. Jorge Giro ignored this advice when he bought a house in Roses, Spain, recently. When he entered the house for the first time, last week, he found the mummified body of the previous owner.

The former owner had missed her mortgage repayments for the simple reason that she was dead. The bank repossessed the house and put it on the market without looking inside!

A sad commentary on modern life.