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Renovation Properties For Sale

Are you looking for properties that you can renovate and add value? We have some fantastic flip opportunities available below market value.

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Jessica Chambers

Written by: Jessica Chambers, Reviewed By: Jonny Christie

First Published: Oct 13, 2020 | Last Updated: May 02, 2025

Buying a property to renovate is a big decision. Not only does transforming a do-er-upper into an investment-worthy property take a lot of work, but you may not see a healthy return on investment if you make poor decisions.

On the flip side, choose the right type of renovation property for your specific goals or needs, and you’ll end up with a profitable addition to your property portfolio. 

As a property investment expert, I’ve sourced renovation properties for countless clients. I’ve learned that there are certain non-negotiables when investing in properties and certain considerations you need to make.

I’m going to share them with you in this guide on how to find renovation properties in the UK.

Table of Contents

FYI: If you’re looking for a bit of a do-er-upper? Maybe you want to flip it for a quick profit or perhaps turn it into a property you can let out. Whatever the reason, we can find you a great deal.

Finding a UK renovation property: getting started

Before searching for renovation properties, you need to know what you’re looking for and how much you have to spend.

First of all, you should set a budget that considers the costs of acquiring your property in addition to possible survey and renovation costs. A clear budget will give your property search a definitive direction, as you’ll have a clear gauge of feasible property types and locations.

Armed with a precise budget, you can also decide whether you want to take on a:

  • Full renovation project that involves tackling complex structural issues like subsidence and redesigning or restoring certain aspects of the property from scratch. These property types are typically cheaper, but the renovation work is usually more costly and time-consuming.
  • Light renovation project that involves more superficial updates and refurbishments like new bathrooms or kitchens, light plastering, decorating, fixture upgrades, and garden maintenance. These property types can be a little more costly to acquire than full do-er-up-ers (depending on location), but are usually cheaper and easier to renovate.

A property renovation budgeting example for your reference:

Expense typeCost
Property mortgage deposit£12,000
Acquistion costs (stamp duty, survey, and solicitor fees)£9,000
Renovation costs or budget£15,000
Total:£36,000

Note: This is an example based on buying a £120,000 property with an appropriate mortgage, rather than buying the property outright. You can use this budgeting table as a template and tailor it to your specific situation.

Property renovation return on investment (ROI) calculation example:

Another key part of the property investment process is understanding how much you stand to profit from your investment. 

When investing in a renovation property, you’ll be subject to a lot of variables, including fluctuating market prices, current labour and material costs, and holding obligations (paying the bills while in possession of the property). 

But, you can use this calculation example to get a solid idea of the ROI you might earn from  a potential renovation property:

Calculation:

Property value: £120,000

Investment cost breakdown:

Property purchase and acquisition costs: £21,000

Renovation costs: £15,000

Projected holding costs: £6,000 (mortgage and associated bills for an estimated six to eight-month period).

Selling costs: £7,000

Total:  £49,000

___

Target Selling price: £210,000

Final ROI calculation:

Selling price – buying value: £210,000 – £120,000 = £80,000

Total ROI: £80,000 – £49,000 (investment costs) = £41,000 gross profit.

Did you know? According to the RICs Residential UK Property Survey, the housing market started to pick up momentum towards the end of 2024, with a 5% rise in new buyer enquiries. Based on this trend, now  may be time to consider sourcing a new investment property.

Finding a UK renovation property: getting started

Insider Tip

According to real estate expert Damon Woodward, you should do the right level of background research into any potential investment property. Speaking on the subject, he advises:

“Look at the history of any property you are planning to buy, and see what it last sold for.”

Now that you know how to get started and calculate your potential return on investment, I’m going to explain some of the essential steps on how to find the right property to renovate.

1. Know what to look for in your property search

Streamline your search and find renovation properties that suit your exact needs rather than sifting aimlessly through irrelevant ad listings by using a mix of trusted platforms, including:

  • Rightmove
  • Zoopla
  • Prime Location
  • Local estate agents’s websites

Breaking your search down and connecting with relevant renovation properties will require you to set the correct parameters in your target location.

For example, if you’re looking for two-bedroom properties in Stoke-on-Trent and they typically sell for £160,000, you could filter your search for properties of up to £120,000 to uncover potential renovation opportunities.

When you uncover potential property investment opportunities, you can create a shortlist and dig a little deeper into each listing to gauge their renovation or refurbishment potential.

First of all, you should study the photographs of each listing with a keen eye. Typically, houses that need renovation are listed with fewer pictures—so this is something worth considering when whittling down your shortlist.

Property Listing Review Checklist

Step 1: Examine the listing images
Step 2: Study the listing descriptions

While there’s no exact shortcut here, looking for these key visual cues and nuggets of information will help you find some of the best property investment opportunities in your area.

FYI: I would advise avoiding any ‘investment opportunities’ that come with tenants in situ if you’re looking to renovate and flip the property. In my experience, handling a tenant in addition to a renovation project can become confusing, costly, and time-consuming unless you’re looking to make immediate rental income from your investment.

2. Set up smart alerts from trusted property sources

Now you know where to find renovation properties, you can make your search even more efficient by setting up smart alerts on third-party sites.

The property market moves fast—and it can be competitive—so it’s important to leap on fresh investment opportunities as soon as they hit the market. To do so, I recommend setting up smart alerts across various trusted property marketplaces (like Rightmove and Zoopla).

To avoid informational overwhelm and to increase your chances of success, I advise: 

  1. Setting up a separate email address dedicated to your renovation property search.
  2. Setting detailed email alert parameters that include property prices, specific postcode locations, and property types.
  3. Schedule time to check in with and examine your property alerts several times a week to capture any valuable investment opportunities as they hit the market.
  4. Sign up to property alert newsletters and social media groups in your target investment areas to connect with additional (and lesser-known) property alerts.

3. Enlist the help of a trusted property sourcing expert

If the above sounds like a lot of work, you’re right—it is. While these techniques are incredibly useful when searching for property to renovate, some of the best opportunities live off-market.

Working with a property sourcing expert, you can connect with the best off-market investment opportunities in your target area without having to scan highly-competitive property listings for hours on end.

At the Property Sourcing Company, we’ll find prime renovation properties tailored to your exact investment needs. Our trusted team of experts will also handle the entire sales process for you end-to-end and provide personalised support every step of the way.

What kind of properties do we sell?

We offer opportunities with all kinds of residential property and buy anything from small flats to large detached homes.

If we see opportunities that we feel would be profitable for house flipping, we’ll more often than not pass these on to our investor database.

That said, we often see particular kinds of properties that work really well for renovation projects, which include:

The types of investment opportunities you’ll find with The Property Sourcing Company

Are you wondering where to find renovation properties? Here are some examples of the kind of investment opportunities we’ll find you at The Property Sourcing Company.

Fire and water-damaged properties can be attractive investments, but they come with risks and require much renovation work to be flipped successfully. Fire and water-damaged properties are often sold for significantly below market value and, with a full refurb, flipped for high returns.

Often, the beneficiaries of inherited properties will want to sell them fast, so investors will have to tackle faster investment times. That means inherited properties typically sell for below market value and don’t always come in the best condition, making them ideal for a flipping or a rewarding refurb project.

Repossessed properties can be attractive to property investors as their buying prices are usually very favourable and transaction times are fast. They also come with the potential to add value with diversification options.

Structurally damaged properties are a niche area of property investing with high potential rewards, but they can make risky investments. Structurally damaged typically sell well below market prices, offer creative freedom, and often result in higher returns. But these types of properties do come with complex renovations and hidden costs that you should weigh up before making a commitment.

Find your next renovation investment with The Property Sourcing Company

If you want to know where to find renovation properties that will offer a real ROI, it’s time to try The Property Sourcing Company.

Not only do we offer large discounts on prime renovation investment opportunities, but we’re completely transparent about our fees and processes. We’ll also tailor our investment opportunities to your exact needs and handle the entire buying process for you.

Are you ready to find the best renovation properties without the fuss or the hassle? Get in touch with us today. We look forward to speaking with you.

Here are two great examples of our past refurb to flip deals:

Tividale HMO Example

Tividale, B69

4 double en-suites, 1 single en-suite, 1 single

Kept in good condition internally and externally w/ professional
management

20% Discount, 14.8% Yield!

Warrington, WA5

6 bed HMO – Leasehold 871 years remaining (standard
construction)

£44,400 rental per annum

20% Discount, 15.9% Yield!

Frequently Asked Questions

Buying a property that is in need of renovation can give you an opportunity to purchase something that would typically go for a much higher value if it was in a good condition.

Finding the right property to renovate can be a lucrative investment strategy. It allows you to buy property well below market value, renovate it, sell, and turn a quick profit. You also have the option to buy a property to renovate and let it out to earn a consistent rental revenue stream.

But buying properties to renovate does command considerable time, effort, and financial investment upfront, along with the risk of unexpected costs and project delays. While investing in renovation properties offers the potential for healthy profits, you should work with a property sourcing specialist to ensure you make the best investment for your specific needs.

It depends whether it is considered habitable, which means it has a working bathroom and kitchen, if so yes you can get a traditional mortgage. 

It’s a bit of an industry rule of thumb, it states that the maximum you should pay for a property is 70% of the value after it has been renovated. 

For example, if you’re looking to buy a house in poor condition, and all other houses on the road are worth £100K – the maximum you should pay for it is £70k. 

This isn’t gospel, and you should always do a lot more research than this.

Yes – house flipping can still be a very good money making strategy, you just need to find the right property & have the right skills, patience and knowledge to be able to do it.

We deal with a lot of properties that are in need of renovation, and regularly sell them to house flippers. The main bit of advice that we can give is to know your budget & your capability to renovate the house within the required timeline, delays are very costly and cut into your margin significantly.

Jessica Chambers

Article Written By: Jessica Chambers

Jess is our Investment Team Manager, she has a wealth of experience in property investing and  finance, working with a wide range of different types of investments from BTL, Flips, HMOs and more over the years. Experience she often shares on The Property Sourcing Company website.

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