UK’s cheapest cottages on sale for a grand total of £0 – but buyer will have to travel back to the Dark Ages
AN INCREDIBLE selection of cottages in an “awesome location” are up for grabs at £0 – but you might have trouble finding them.
The three former tin miners’ homes are situated in the picturesque village of Machen, South Wales.
Known as the Wesley Buildings, on Wesley Hill, the properties are rich with history and potential.
They sit on the beautiful Rhymney river and look out over the breathtaking Machen Mountain.
These cottages will be sold for whatever bidders want to pay with the highest bid, whatever that is, winning the lot
Gemma Vaughan
These blank canvases offer the perfect opportunity for potential homebuyers looking for a renovation challenge.
They all require total transformation as none of the properties – spread over three floors – have running water or electricity.
Access to the homes is also only possible by foot.
In fact, the dilapidated cottages are in total disrepair – but their location and cheap price tag could make them the perfect candidates for a property developer.
A lucky bidder could rake in thousands after flipping the historical houses.
Gemma Vaughan, from Newport-based Paul Fosh Auctions, said: “The vendor advised me that he bought the cottages back in 1979 when he arrived back from Saudi Arabia as a carpenter.
“He bought the property, his old family home, as he saw that it was up for sale.
“His great grandfather and mother were born there and his great grandfather worked in the tin mine in Machen.”
The auction agents described them as “a blank canvas to a developer”.
Planning permission would of course be required to carry out any works, and the overgrown land would need stripped back.
Gemma added that the properties “are in an awesome location” – near Machen, a large village three miles east of Caerphilly and close to Newport.
The cottages have been listed with a £nil reserve which means a single bid of just £1 would be enough to bag them – if there were no other higher bids.
“These cottages will be sold for whatever bidders want to pay with the highest bid, whatever that is, winning the lot,” said Gemma.
She added: “As the cottages are in such a derelict condition we haven’t been able to make an internal inspection.
“Those wanting to inspect the building are advised not to approach neighbouring properties but to contact Paul Fosh Auctions with any enquiries, in the first instance, to arrange a viewing.”
The properties will be sold online at the next Paul Fosh Auctions sale which starts from 12 noon, on Tuesday, May 14 and ends from 5pm, on Thursday, May 16.
House-flipping tips
A HOUSE-flipper who has made £45,000 on her latest home has revealed her tips and tricks for renovating on a budget.
Deborah Marshall, 47, has been flipping houses in Yorkshire for eight years alongside her husband Paul, 44.
- Do your homework
- Take a cue from the style of the house
- Steer clear of structural changes, unless they’re essential
- Cheapest isn’t always best for budget
- Don’t compromise on your dream kitchen
- Look out for discounts
- Bundle up your bathroom
- Compare quotes for the specialist jobs
- Stick to the plan
- Keep an eye on knock-on costs
- Decorate from the heart
- Furniture size matters
- Shop smart
- Avoid money pits
- Keep an emergency cash pot
It comes as the UK’s ‘cheapest house’ is on the market – but it may be difficult to find the front door.
Homebuyers may be excited to find the Welsh property on sale in the village of Dyffryn Cellwen in the Upper Dulais Valley, for such an astonishing price.
However potential owners will have to go “in with their eyes wide open” as the house is definitely considered a ‘fixer upper’, completely overgrown with brambles and foliage.
Meanwhile one couple ‘got carried away’ after buying a home from Facebook Marketplace – and said they ‘should have thought twice’.
Chris and Becky revealed the stress they faced when they moved into their rundown house in Wales.
They admitted the house was run down and was in desperate need of work.
Elsewhere in the UK, an ordinary three-bedroom flat went on the market for £115,000 – but inside it’s like “stepping into Narnia”.
Meanwhile, a man who brought a crumbling castle that was once fit for a king revealed how he bagged a royal’s paradise for just £1.
Martin Higgins, 60, from Brockham in Surrey, bought Betchworth Castle for cheap after the local council refused to restore it.
Plus, another homebuyer who hit “rock bottom” bought a “crumbling pile of bricks” for just £1 and turned it into her dream home.
Maxine Sharples snapped up the home in Merseyside infested with rats, rotten windows and sporting holes in the roof before transforming it.