The purchase recorded in May 2025

In my account published on 22 May 2025, a mentee secured a tenanted two bedroom freehold house in Liverpool for £60,000 after it failed to sell at auction. She had missed other opportunities, but had kept to her buying criteria rather than increase her price simply to secure a property.

We had prepared for the possibility that the property would remain unsold. Her opening offer was £55,000. The eventual agreement was £60,000, below the reserve recorded in the original account. The house was described as well maintained and in a suitable rental area.

This was a historical acquisition, rather than a property currently offered for sale. Its value as a case study is the sequence of research, negotiation and decision making.

Why the work continues after the auction

An auction has 3 stages: prior to auction, the bidding itself and the period afterwards. A property that fails to sell can still be a great investment, but you need to understand why it attracted insufficient interest.

Find out whether the obstacle was the price, condition, legal pack, tenancy, funding requirements or the seller’s expectations. The reasons may be manageable. They may also make the purchase unsuitable. An unsold label is a reason to investigate, not a valuation.

A useful offer gives the seller something concrete to consider: a price supported by your appraisal, a credible funding position and a timetable you can meet. Have your solicitor establish when you would become committed and which terms apply.

The rent comparison, and its limits

Our assessment at the time put annual market rent at £9,000. On the £60,000 purchase price, that represented a projected gross rental yield of 15%. The same assessed annual market rent on a separate £114,000 auction purchase would produce approximately 7.9%.

Those figures explain why the purchase price matters. They do not establish the net return: market rent was an assessment, and the calculation excluded buying costs, repairs, management, insurance, borrowing and tax. The properties also required their own individual assessments.

The worked comparison is already included in our rental yield guide. Use that guide to distinguish gross yield, operating income and cash flow. A higher headline percentage is useful only when the rent and expenditure withstand scrutiny.

What property sourcing in Liverpool should involve

• A clear brief covering your available capital, income objectives, experience and appetite for risk.
• Street-level research into rental demand, condition and comparable completed sales.
• Inspection of the property and an appraisal of the work needed.
• Solicitor review of the legal pack, tenancy documents and Special Conditions of Sale.
• Funding and a maximum offer based on the complete investment, with reserves for a less favourable outcome.

Our property sourcing service in Liverpool brings these questions together. The starting point is whether the particular purchase fits your plan.

For independent preparation guidance, read the RICS property auctions consumer guide. It explains the importance of researching the sale particulars, conditions and legal pack, and obtaining professional advice before committing to a purchase.

The role of a property mentor

The achievement was the buying decision. My mentee had maintained her discipline when other properties did not work, then acted when the evidence supported an offer. No subsequent grant, refinance or sale outcome is assumed in this account.

A property mentor can help you challenge the appraisal, prepare questions for your professional advisers and recognise when to proceed or walk away. Explore the sourcing track record for other historical examples, or discuss your own buying brief with us.

Continue your property education

Explore property auction courses, read Dominic’s property auctions book or listen to The Property Auctions Podcast. These resources complement the practical work of developing an investment brief with your property mentor.