Legalbrokers.eu

Legal Brokers BVBA auctions movable assets it recovers for financial institutions, leasing companies, receivers and curators, liquidators, notaries and court bailiffs after an insolvency, a bankruptcy or an unpaid debt. Beside tracing and recovery it does debt collection, valuation and inventory of movable assets, liquidation of stock and damaged goods, and guidance through a discontinuation, relocation, take-over or restructuring, which is why whole workshops and fleets sometimes appear as one sale. Remarketing runs as private and public auctions - the public ones held with a public officer present - plus private treaty sales of industrial kit and take-over and real-estate sections where you cannot bid online. The saleroom is at Mallebaan 8 in Brecht, Belgium, with further Brecht halls at Vaartkant links and Vaartdijk, the sub-site DS Auctions, a Limburg branch at Caetsbeekstraat 9 in Bilzen, a LEGENDS showroom in Hasselt and a Dutch arm in Breda; clearances also run on site at one-off addresses such as Brasschaat, Menen and Bilzen-Hoeselt. Listings run in Dutch, French and English.

What you can buy

• Cars and vans: used stock with the faults spelled out - a 2024 Tesla Model 3 whose battery is almost dead, a 2024 BMW 218iA Active Tourer, a Hyundai e-Kona missing part 2 of its registration certificate, Renault Kangoo and Trafic vans, a Mercedes C200d estate, Fiat 500X, Citroen Berlingo, Ford Transit.
• Trucks and site equipment: Volvo FE rigids, Hyster and Nissan forklifts, a Kubota mini excavator, a fast-erecting tower crane and logistics gear such as paper-roll clamps.
• Production machinery: the hundred-odd catalogue sections run from metalworking and woodworking to weaving and yarn machines, food processing and packaging, plastics and rubber, maritime and aviation - several stand empty between sales.
• Two-wheelers and leisure: a KTM 1290 Super Adventure S, with quads, caravans, mobile homes and classic cars as standing categories.
• Office and IT: Konica Minolta Bizhub copier-printers, office furniture and whole office contents from closed businesses, next to categories for computers, laptops and servers.
• Home, garden and clearances: kitchen and catering inventory, tables and chairs, dedicated sales of lawnmowers, of electrical material and of aquariums, and full fit-outs such as the Brasschaat bathhouse.
• Valuables and collectables: a diamond sale, paintings, art and antiques, with jewellery, watches, wine, spirits and musical instruments as standing categories.

How the bidding works

Register first, as a business or as a private person - free webmail addresses such as gmail or hotmail are refused, and the law keeps some goods off-limits to private bidders without a VAT number. Sales are timed online auctions, lots closing a few minutes apart, with proxy bidding and the occasional "buy now" price. A bid inside the final five minutes pushes that lot's closing back by another five, so nothing snipes shut. Viewing is usually every Friday, from 08:30 to 15:00 or 15:30 depending on the sale, with the Brecht lot pages giving 08:30-12:00 and 13:00-15:00, and by appointment for one-off addresses like Menen or Brasschaat. You download the allocation document yourself from the Documents tab; payment falls due within two working days and goods are collected the Friday after the award. Bilzen sales run differently: collection within ten days, then storage at EUR 10 per day excluding VAT.

What to check before you bid

Two fee regimes exist and they are not interchangeable. Professional lots carry 17% commission plus 21% Belgian VAT charged on the hammer price including that commission; margin lots, flagged MARGE in the title, carry 21% commission with VAT at 0% and nothing to reclaim. Work out which one applies before you calculate a landed cost, because it changes the maths for an intra-EU buyer entirely - and buying VAT-free intra-community takes a valid, verified VAT number plus a completed CMR transport document handed over at collection. Many lots also carry the note that attribution happens only with the owner's approval, so a creditor or trustee can still refuse your winning bid. Damage notes are unusually frank - flat tyres, broken lights, engine and oil warnings, cars that start only on a booster - and every damage point has its own photo, but goods sell as seen and untested for function, so the Friday viewing is worth the trip. Check paperwork: a missing part 2 of a registration certificate is a real obstacle when you re-register the car abroad. There is no in-house haulage and staff will not help you load, so bring tools and price in a trailer or shipper, and expect terms and invoices to follow Belgian law before the Antwerp courts, the Dutch text prevailing over the translations.