AN AUCTION firm is selling off a batch of properties in west Cumbria – and all will have a “nil” reserve price.

In a move that may help secure the area’s reputation for cheap property, Birmingham-based Bond Wolfe Auctions is marketing several local homes with no reserve price whatsoever, meaning that they could be snapped up for just pennies.

The company has previously marketed Cumbrian homes with a £1 starting price. The latest homes being sold include a Grade II-listed house on High Street, Cleator Moor.

Described as “impressive,” the former hairdresser’s shop comes with a duplex flat above.

Ian Tudor, from the Birmingham based auction firm, said: “This unusual property stands on the main road going through Cleator Moor and has good footfall next to various shops, pubs, cafes and snack bars.

“With the Cumbrian coast and the beautiful Lake District both just a short drive away, this property could be converted to various uses, subject to planning permission.”

Other Cumbrian properties with no reserve price include a two-bedroomed, mid-terraced house in Main Street, Frizington, complete with a £4,560 a year tenant.

In Hensingham, near Whitehaven, there are two two-bedroomed, mid-terraced houses, both in need modernisation.

Meanwhile, a pair of neighbouring three-bedroomed semi-detached houses at 9 and 11 Grange Road in Flimby, near Maryport, have been declared structurally unsafe and have permission for demolition.

Also sporting a reserve price of ‘nil’ in Flimby is a vacant three-bedroomed, semi-detached house with gardens at 9 Grange Avenue. Prospective owners would still have to pay the standard auction administration fee of £1,074 including VAT for each property.

Mr Tudor added: “By starting these auction lots at ‘nil’, we’re expecting intense interest in these properties because they all represent bargain opportunities.” The Cumbrian properties will join 215 lots at the auction in Birmingham on February 27.