Distressed Assets Weekly Briefing: 13 November 2026
Issue dated 13 November 2026
Welcome to the Weekly Briefing. In this week’s Property Auctions Podcast, I look at how higher rates and taxes change the price I’m prepared to pay. I’ve also pulled out two numbers worth a closer look from our market reports and a warning from my Skool group about social housing leases.
PROPERTY AUCTIONS PODCAST · EPISODE 11
Higher Rates, Higher Taxes, Better Opportunities?
In Episode 11, I look at how higher borrowing costs and taxes change what I’m prepared to pay, and where I think there’s room to negotiate.
PROPERTY AUCTIONS
The auction lots that didn’t sell
1,673 UK auction lots went unsold in September.
That’s 349 more than a year earlier, based on Essential Information Group’s figures for residential and commercial lots.
When a lot goes unsold, I want to know what happened on the day. Did anybody bid? How close did they get to the reserve? Would the seller now consider an offer? A quick call to the auctioneer can tell you whether it’s worth taking another look.
Then I go back through comparable sales, the legal pack and the cost of any work. I check the rent I can realistically achieve, allow for fees and test the deal at today’s borrowing costs. That gives me a price I’m prepared to offer.
THE MARKET DESK
What higher rates do to cash flow
In my November report, I ran the numbers on an illustrative £120,000 buy-to-let. A two percentage point rise in the mortgage rate cut monthly cash flow from £230.75 to £80.75, before tax and mortgage product fees.
FROM THE PROPERTY AUCTION PROFESSIONAL SKOOL
When the rent no longer covers the mortgage
I’ve been warning about these deals for some time. A member of my Skool group described supported living properties where the council cut payments after the adaptations had been made. They said the rent no longer covered the mortgage and residents had to move to alternative homes. It was not a member of my group who had bought it, but the story just helped support my long held reluctance to follow this route.
£42 a month on the open-market figures
In a separate case shared in the group, a provider had indicated £1,990 a month for a four-bed Liverpool HMO. The lease fell through, leaving an empty property and a £900 monthly mortgage. The projected open-market rent left £42 a month after the listed costs, before allowing for voids or recovering the refurbishment spend.
Before you buy or pay for adaptations, ask your solicitor to check who owes you the rent, when payments can change and who pays if the property is empty. Run the figures for a standard let as your Plan B. If there’s a rent-to-rent operator in the middle, ask how much margin remains once they’ve been paid.
The Regulator of Social Housing has also documented cases of councils requiring lower rents when homes were re-let and of providers going without cover for empty properties.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Property Auctions and Distressed Assets One-Day Course
Saturday 23 January 2027 · 10am to 6pm
London and LIVE online · £97
Join me, Claire Farrell and Josh Lee for a practical day on assessing auction properties, reading legal packs, arranging finance and setting your maximum bid.
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Best wishes
Dominic Farrell
m. 07801 445699
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