I’ve always wanted to buy a property at auction, do it up to a liveable standard and rent it out.
I’m in a position now where I can afford to do that and get myself started. Wondering if anyone else has any experience in this and any tips I should know about?
Yes I bought one once
tips
Set your price dont get carried away in the room.
Auctioneers can and do fabricate bids if the property has little interest.
Sellers can and do bid on their own property.
Have more than one property to bid on with set prices, don’t be tempted to carry on and on bidding.
It will always cost more than you think to do up , unless its a fairly modern property, there is a reason the seller is going to auction to sell the property.
Be aware what you are taking on.
Read the documents.
Visit the property prior.
Visit an auction prior to buying to get a feeling for what happens.
If the property you’re interested in doesn’t reach the reserve put a bid in after the auction .
That’s something I’d not even considered, when selling on eBay though I admit I do the same thing sometimes so I suppose it’s a bit of karma for that.
I think a lot of it and renting / refurbishment will be a case of me fore-planning risks so that in case something does go wrong there’s a plan. Then when something goes wrong I’ve not planned for I can put effort into ensuring that’s resolved/mitigated for the future.
if you are renting make sure you have all the correct paperwork in place , there are unfortunately renters who sometimes refuse to pay rent and are quite difficult to get out
I’m not disputing that this happens, but I’m sure it’s illegal; either specifically, or it would be considered to be fraud.
I do like this quote in the article “Somebody should have picked up any major structural defects.”
lol somebody else ?
I think its termed " bidding off the wall " I have seen it several times where the auctioneer starts off at a blistering pace taking bids from areas of the audience where nobody is moving 
probably quite difficult to prove they are doing it
It almost definitely would be illegal but how could you prove it?
Another thing I’m toying with is to whether to set it up as a limited company instead of personal ownership. I’m under 30 and assuming the first one went well I’d look to add more when it’s financially viable to do so.
My assumption so far would be that I’d have a directors loan to the company from me to finance the first property, repaid at 0% interest to myself.
Do you need all cash to buy a property at auction? i.e. you can’t get a mortgage.
I’m not sure but at least for the first one I’d be personally financing it
depends if the property is "mortgageable " most require a Kitchen I think, and depends on the construction in certain cases
Virtually impossible, I’d say. It would be fun if the bidding suddenly stopped and the auctioneer has to sell ‘to the wall.’
The relevant legislation is the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, and the Fraud Act 2006.
they then just say reserve not met and move on to next property
Just bear in mind also that you are looking for a “bargain” and its the auctioneers job to get the best price that is possible on the day for the property , be aware of the price that is good for you and value for money for the property, dont get dragged along because you’ve been to x number of auctions , spent x days viewing properties and I need to buy at this auction.
You are buying with little cheap recourse if things dont seem as indicated ( eg Guardian article ) - buyer beware
please also remember that most tenants are not like this, and are just human beings who need somewhere to live.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand that tenants not paying rent etc is a huge issue, but the number of rental properties I’ve seen where the landlord has spent the bare minimum on fitting out a property is ridiculous. If you do the property up nicely and reference your tenants properly, you’ll be much less likely to get the sort of people who don’t pay rent and trash the place
oh I agree few and far between, but when you get one through no fault of your own having provided a decent place for them to live