Distressed Property Listings

It is often said in property investment circles that the key to making a profit is in the purchase price. Phrases like ‘buy low, sell high’ or ‘buy at the bottom and sell at the top’ are frequently repeated by investors. However, it is certainly easier said than done!

Walk the Talk

The question that many new to property investment ask is, how do you find these kind of properties that can be purchase at a low price or discount? There must be some kind of distressed property list available right?

There are many techniques that expand upon the traditional approach of building relationships with estate agents in the hope that they will offer bargain properties to you first before they hit the market. However, this strategy is likely to be less effective in a heated up market. What else can an investor looking for below market value (BMV) or discounted property do to increase their chances of finding a great deal?

Finding Motivated Sellers

The holy grail of buying BMV property is often closely aligned to the motivations of the vendor and how keen they are to sell. Find a seller who has debts to pay off or needs to move away in a hurry and suddenly the asking price becomes much more reasonable in comparison to similar properties. This leads us onto the question of, how do you find these magical motivated sellers? Well there is no one fail safe technique but instead many indicators and leads that can help you along the way.

By far the easiest way of finding motivated sellers in this age of online property portals is in the scrutinising of the actual property listing details. Apply some basic detective work and you’ll be amazed at what you might uncover!

The following are just a few pointers to look out for when browsing property listings that could lead you to a motivated seller:

• The same property is listed with multiple agents
• The property has a low EPC, ideally E or below
• The listing photos include kitchen and bathroom fixtures taps and toilets etc that have been covered’ with ‘do not use’ tape
• The same property has been the subject of several price reductions and/or terminated sales
• The property is a probate
• The listing includes words such as LPA Receiver or Mortgagee in possession or provides details of offers made

Applying the above criteria to property listings as you conduct your usual search will yield results over time but it is obviously a tedious not to mention time consuming process that needs to be repeated daily across the online portals.

To aid your search, we automated the above and created the UK Distressed Property List. The weekly list contains a wide selection of properties for sale across the the UK flagged by our unique search algorithm as being distressed and having potential to be purchased at a discount.

What does the UK Distressed Property List look like and how do I get it?

The list is compiled daily and contains new to market as well as existing property for sale across the UK. Each property in the list is categorised by location along with summary details and a direct link to the online listing for full details and quick follow up with the agent. Take a look at the preview below to get an idea of how the UK Distressed Property list can help your deal sourcing process.

Here is a small selection of the 462 distressed properties identified so far in April 2024