Buying cheap derelict property in UK could be harder than you might think. Finding the property might be the first challenge. Unless you happen to literally stumble upon such a property, If you do happen to find such a property, you could contact the Land Registry to see who the owner is. Some are happy to share information with interested parties. Some are not. If you encounter the latter, you
. could make a written request to the council citing the Freedom of Information Act. Or you could contact the local planning office. The owner may not want to sell. If the property has been vacant for a time, you could try to invoke the homestead act. With the promise to stay on the property for a period of time, typically this results in a grant to help improve it. The easiest way may be to go to a public auction. Check out what tax breaks are available. Currently for properties vacant more than ten years, there is no VAT tax. This is subject to change and by all means do your current research and have at least 25% above and beyond what you think you'll need for all the extra expenses that seem to crop up. Here is a link that goes into more detail: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2005/may/22/property.observercashsection
