The homes in Co Durham and Teesside with a 'nil' reserve price

But hundreds of homes across the UK have gone on the market in a slightly unconventional way, with houses going up for auction with a 'nil' or '£1' reserve price.

On Teesside and in County Durham, a number of homes are being auctioned off, but there's a catch – each one of the properties requires 'substantial investment.'

Here's the six homes that you can buy for a bargain price later this month:

'Nil' reserve: Two-bedroom mid terraced home on Jane Street in Stanley

'Nil' reserve: Boarded-up three-bedroom mid terraced home on Twelfth Street in Horden

'Nil' reserve: Three-bedroom mid terraced home on Argent Street in Peterlee

'£1 reserve': Two-bedroom mid terraced home on Brook Street in Bishop Auckland

'£1' reserve: Three-bedroom mid terraced home on Margaret Street in Ludworth, Durham

'£1' reserve: Two-bedroom mid terraced house on Stephen Street in Hartlepool

If a bidder is succuessful, new-found owners are still required to pay the standard auction admin fee of £1,074 including VAT. 

'It's becoming quite a thing, says auction boss'

Gurpreet Bassi, chief executive of Bond Wolfe Auctions, said: "Each of these properties obviously needs substantial investment, time and effort to return them into decent homes, but for the right investors they could be great bargains.

"It’s becoming quite a thing in auctions to give properties ‘nil’ or £1 reserve prices because sometimes they really do need a bump-start to get the right potential bidders involved.

“But I’ve never had an auction with as many as thirty-eight houses with ‘nil’ reserve tags, and this range of properties is likely to attract strong interest from potential buyers.”

The auction will take place at the Holte Suite at Aston Villa FC in Aston, Birmingham on Thursday, February 27 at 10am. 

Those with queries should call the auctioneer on 0121-3121212.