The housing market can be frantic at times, and it can be difficult at times to find a property depending on your financial circumstances.
The average asking price an estate agent in Leicester is going to ask for a property is around £272,000, which assuming a maximum mortgage multiplier of 4.5 times the annual household income, requires a buyer (or most likely a couple) to earn £60,000 per year.
This is nearly twice the annual average income after taxes, which means that people will look anywhere for a potential bargain, including at auction.
However, the law of caveat emptor applies even more to property auctions, as a couple who ultimately bought a house by accident can attest to it.
Cal Hunter and Claire Segeren were hoping to move in together and so went to a property auction to try and find a flat in Glasgow they could call their own.
Unfortunately, the lot numbers were mixed up, so instead of putting in a £10,000 opening bid for an apartment, they instead placed the only bid for half of a derelict villa in the village of Dunoon.
Instead of cutting their losses and trying to get their money back, or demolishing the decrepit building and starting over, they decided to try their hand at restoring it.
First of all, they found all of the owners of the property after it had been sold in pieces and bought the whole building to restore it as three separate apartments that would be used as holiday-let apartments.
Mr Hunter had some carpentry skills, Miss Segeren had construction skills of her own and the local community have come together to help restore a local landmark, delighted that a building that had unfortunately become an eyesore was being restored instead of being left to rot.
The property that was worth £10,000 at auction has been valued at closer to £500,000.
