Investment property viewing

[Mia2023]

Hey guys,
I've found a property that I'm thinking of buying from auction, but I don't have enough knowledge on whether it's a safe investment or not. I wanted to take a builder/contractor with me on the viewing but I'm concerned about competition as I'm only an individual looking to buy their home.

I considered booking a level 2 survey, but I don't think they'd be able to complete it within the time frame provided for the viewing.

I definitely need some advice if I was to ever buy it, does anyone have any advice on what I should do? Any help appreciated. Thank you

 

[Murdochcat]

I would venture to suggest that making money out of homes at this time could be tricky to say the least

 

[Notch7]

Hey guys,
I've found a property that I'm thinking of buying from auction, but I don't have enough knowledge on whether it's a safe investment or not. I wanted to take a builder/contractor with me on the viewing but I'm concerned about competition as I'm only an individual looking to buy their home.

I considered booking a level 2 survey, but I don't think they'd be able to complete it within the time frame provided for the viewing.

I definitely need some advice if I was to ever buy it, does anyone have any advice on what I should do? Any help appreciated. Thank you

a builder might not know enough about the legal stuff

things like extensions built over or near public drains, asbestos, etc etc

 

[Mia2023]

Thank you!

 

[justigator]

I would never buy a property without a proper survey, but even then in my experience the reports tend to be full of stuff like "there may possibly be penetrating damp in xxx and we recommend that a specialist contractor be engaged to advise".

I recall having what was then called a structural survey on a house I bought in 1989, but the extra expense over an "ordinary" survey just bought me more verbiage.

I don't know what level 2 means; maybe things are a bit better these days - though when I bought my current house in 2019, the survey report was of little use.

 

[Mia2023]

Thank you! Level 2 was the type of RICS survey I was going to take on the property but the time frame of 30mins (viewing) wouldn't be long enough for them to complete it.

 

[Phreekst]

If you're looking at properties as an investment, it's worth considering international opportunities too.

 

[johnny2007]

Forget about surveys.
Nowadays, as others said, they give you a lot of "there MIGHT be xyz problem".
Probably, given the restricted time of viewing, an experienced builder is your best bet.
In the years I've advised most of my friends and family on house buying.
It's somehow easy to spot major problems like damp or large cracks (subsidence?).
Anything else can be fixed with the budget that a new landlord should have as contingency.
You're buying at auction, so fix yourself a max price which must be waaay lower than market price (65/70% ? Don't know today's market)
Then have a few £k to one side to refurbish the place.
Don't be sucked into a bidding war.
Give yourself a max bid and stick to it.

 

[johnny2007]

And first thing to do is check how many times the property has been on auction.
There are a couple of houses around here that have gone unsold at auction for years: surely something seriously wrong with them.

 

[Mia2023]

Thank you for your advice.

 

[Phreekst]

If you're looking at properties as an investment, it's worth considering international opportunities too.

I recently came across https://dubaiownersclub.com , which has useful insights on buying and managing property in Dubai. The regulations and processes there are quite different, but the rental yields are attractive.

 

[robinbanks]

I'm only an individual looking to buy their home.

Buying at auction might not suit you

Your comment is somewhat at odds with your thread title; buying property to make money from it is a very different process/approach to buying property to live in