PropLens · 62 Cairnwell Place, Kirkcaldy, KY2 6BJ

Offer range · Development (hold-intent)

£49,000 (auction guide — Prime Property Auctions)

Asking (auction guide)

Guide price; transactable price likely above reserve

Step down −£24,000 · −49% to reach 15% cash-on-cash

£25,000

TargetUpper end · 15% c-on-c hurdle

vs asking

−49%

Step down −£5,000 · − to reach 20% cash-on-cash floor

£20,000

Lower end · 20% c-on-c floor

vs asking

−59.2%

Range £20,000 – £25,000 Bid band · vendor needs motivation to engage

Sanity flags

At asking £49,000 the price sits 49% above the methodology upper end of £25,000. A significant adjustment from the vendor (or higher rent than the methodology supports) is needed to land within the investor range.
Vendor markets the rent at £7,800–£8,400 p.a. (~£13.50/sqft on the estimated NIA), c. 53% above methodology ERV of £5,500 (£9.49/sqft). Treated as unverified marketing per §3 of methodology.
NIA not stated in the listing. NIA not stated in listing. Estimated at 600 sqft from photos and the room schedule (entrance hallway, 4 office/work rooms, kitchen, WC, storage). Investor should obtain a measured survey before exchange.

Stabilised income

£5,500/ yr NOI

£5,500 ERV − op. costs → NOI

Vacant. NOI = methodology ERV (Kirkcaldy small-commercial £9.49/sqft × 600 NIA est., Fair condition). Vendor-claimed £7,800–£8,400 treated as unverified marketing.

Cost to stabilise

£15,000one-off refurb

£25/sqft light refurb × 600 NIA

Funded with the purchase — already in equity required on the explorer.

Offer explorer

Your offer

£25,000

Equity required

£0

Lender lends £16,250 against VP £25,000

Cash-on-cash

DSCR @ 8%

4.23×

Same at any price

Net cash flow

£4,200

NOI − debt service (fixed)

Lender lens · five ratios

DSCR @ 8% rate 4.23× Strong

Stress DSCR @ 10% rate 3.38× Strong

Debt Yield (NOI / Loan) 33.8% Strong

Yield on Cost 0% Viable

Net Initial Yield 0% Viable

65% LTV · 8% IO · 7% costs · NOI £5,500 · VP £25,000 (lender basis) · Refurb-to-let £15,000 (£25/sqft light refurb × 600 NIA)

Thesis

Small ex-beauty-salon unit on a secondary side street in Kirkcaldy, marketed via Prime Property Auctions at a £49,000 guide. The property is vacant, in Fair cosmetic condition, with a useful cellular layout (4 work rooms + kitchen + WC + storage) and 100% small-business rates relief on a £3,200 RV. Lapsed planning for a 2-bed residential conversion is hinted in the listing but unverified.

The methodology lens prices the asset off a deliberately conservative ERV (£5,500 on an estimated 600 sqft NIA at Kirkcaldy office £9.49/sqft, Fair-adjusted), capitalised at the small-Scottish-town ARY of 14.25%. After 12-month void, 6-month rent-free, and £15,000 cosmetic refurb, the investor range lands at £20,000–£25,000. Asking sits 49% above the upper end of this range.

Three things shift the analysis if verified: (1) actual NIA is materially higher than 600 sqft, (2) the vendor-claimed £7,800–£8,400 rent is achievable with named comparable lettings, or (3) the lapsed 2-bed planning can be revived and the conversion exit pencils. None of these are present in the listing pack; each is a pre-bid diligence task.

What's wrong with it

NIA not stated. The investor is bidding without a measured floor area, which makes any £/sqft check unreliable. Estimate of 600 sqft is derived from photos and the room schedule, not from a survey.
Rent claim £7,800–£8,400 is vendor marketing with no comparable lettings cited. £13.50/sqft is high for a Kirkcaldy side-street unit and conflicts with Edozo's median £11.16/sqft (LOW confidence) for the town.
Auction guide pricing is below reserve. The transactable price is not the guide; the investor needs to set a maximum bid based on the methodology range, not the marketing number.

What's right with it

Small lot size means low absolute capital at risk. £20–25k cash purchase via SSAS or personal name is straightforward and avoids commercial-mortgage minimums.
Cellular layout is letting-ready in cosmetic terms. A £15,000 refresh (paint, flooring, signage) is the minimum and is well below the income uplift it unlocks.
100% rates relief while occupied (SBBS) and while vacant (empty SBBS extension). No empty-rates drag during the lease-up window.

Risks

Lease-up risk on a secondary side street with limited footfall. The methodology assumes 12-month void; longer voids materially compress the cash-on-cash return on a low-rent asset.
Auction-pack legals: confirm tenure, VAT election, easements, and the lapsed 2-bed planning status. Auction T&Cs typically include a 28-day completion and a 10% deposit on the hammer.
Vendor's rent claim sets buyer expectations that may not be achievable. If the next tenant pays £4,800/yr (£8/sqft) rather than £8,000/yr, the equity return halves.

DD gaps

Measured floor area survey (NIA / GIA / IPMS). Mandatory before bid.
Verify lapsed planning for 2-bed flat conversion via Fife Council planning portal — application reference, date of refusal/grant, lapse date.
EPC certificate and electrical condition report. EPC band E minimum for new commercial lettings under MEES.

Considerations

Asking sits 49% above the methodology upper end on conservative rent assumptions. If the vendor claim is achieved, the supportable price rises; if methodology ERV is correct, the asking is the wrong number.
Auction format means a transparent price discovery but also a hard close. Set a maximum bid before the auction; do not chase the lot.
Kirkcaldy KY2 6BJ is a postcode mix of residential and small commercial. The "main road plot" framing in the listing is generous; verify on Google Street View before bidding.

SSAS variant (50% LTV)

If transacted via SSAS at 50% LTV, the range adjusts to £20,000 – £25,000. In practice, the loan size at 65% LTV (£16,250) is below most commercial-mortgage minimums anyway, so a cash purchase via SSAS — at £20–25k — is the realistic transaction structure.

Quick facts

Asking: £49,000
NIA (est.): 600 sqft
£/sqft asking: £82
Tenure: Heritable (Scottish freehold) — to be confirmed
Condition: Fair
RV: £3,200
Rates relief: 100% SBBS
Lease: Vacant possession
Use: Class 1A (Scotland) — retail / personal services
Portal: Rightmove
Agents: Prime Property, Glasgow
Format: Timed online auction

Headline numbers

Range: £20,000 – £25,000
Discount to upper: −49%
NOI (methodology ERV): £5,500
NOI (vendor claim): £7,800–£8,400
Refurb to let: £15,000
All-in @ upper: £41,750
VP (lender basis): £25,000
NIY @ asking: 11.2%

Property & Valuation

Facts, condition, comparables, valuation stack, and purchase-cost schedule for due-diligence reference.

Facts

Address	62 Cairnwell Place, Kirkcaldy, KY2 6BJ
Asking (auction guide)	£49,000 (auction guide — Prime Property Auctions)
Sale method	Timed online auction via Prime Property Auctions
Property type	Small commercial unit (former beauty salon) — cellular layout
NIA (estimated)	600 sqft — not stated by vendor; estimated from listing room schedule
Layout	Entrance hallway, 4 office / work rooms, kitchen, WC, storage
Last use	Beauty salon (visible from shopfront signage and interior fit-out)
Tenure	Heritable (Scottish freehold) — to be confirmed
Tenancy	Vacant
Rateable Value	£3,200
Rates relief	100% Small Business Bonus Scheme (occupied) / empty SBBS extension (vacant)
Planning history	"Previously had planning for conversion into 2-bed flat" (per listing — verify lapse / status)
Use class	Class 1A (Scotland) — retail / personal services; previous Class 1A use as salon
VAT	Not stated — confirm in auction legal pack
EPC	Not disclosed
Agents	Prime Property, Glasgow
Portal	Rightmove — listing

Photos

Physical assessment

Exterior: mid-terraced two-storey building with pink-painted brick. The unit occupies the ground floor of a small block on Cairnwell Place, a secondary street off the main retail spine. Separate pedestrian entrance with mailbox; first floor appears separately accessed.
Interior: cellular fit-out from previous beauty-salon use. Painted pink and lilac throughout, vinyl plank flooring, display cabinets in entrance, plumbed kitchen and WC visible in photos. Wallpaper showing some peeling in the kitchen area.
Layout efficiency: 4 separate work rooms + kitchen + WC + storage in a small footprint suits a multi-room operator (salon, therapy, small office) but the rooms are likely sub-200 sqft each. Open-plan retail is not viable without removing partitions.
Services: mains plumbing confirmed (kitchen + WC). Electrics, heating, EPC not stated — assume operational but pre-refurb-quality.
Visible issues: dated décor, wallpaper damage, signage still bearing previous tenant's branding. Suspended ceiling tiles in main work rooms suggest 1990s-era refurb. No obvious damp or structural issues from photos.
Surroundings: Cairnwell Place is a mixed residential / small-commercial side road. Listing claims "main road plot" but photos show a residential context. Daily footfall claim is overstated; 4 minutes from Kirkcaldy Station is broadly accurate.
Condition rating: Fair — vacant, dated, cosmetic refresh required before re-letting. Listing makes no claim of recent refurbishment.

Per-unit income

Component	Figure	Note
Stabilised ERV (methodology)	£5,500	600 NIA × £9.49/sqft (Kirkcaldy office <1,500 sqft median £11.16/sqft per Edozo, LOW confidence, × 0.85 condition)
Vendor claim	£7,800–£8,400	Listing states "could potentially achieve £7,800–£8,400 p.a." — unverified, no comparable lettings cited. Implied £13.50/sqft on estimated NIA.
Landlord costs	£0	FRI assumed; small unit, single-let
NOI (analysis basis)	£5,500	Methodology ERV used; vendor claim recorded but not adopted

Year 1 cash-on-cash will be lower depending on lease-up speed. Vacant since (presumed) salon ceased trading; no disclosed letting interest.

Yield selection

Step	Reasoning
Sector	Small commercial / retail / personal services — former beauty salon, cellular layout, suits microbusiness or sole trader
Location tier	Kirkcaldy is a small Scottish town. Cairnwell Place is a secondary side-street location off main pedestrian footfall (despite the listing description). "Other small towns" retail band per yield-selection-guide: 11–14% prime, 14–17% secondary.
Base ARY	Midpoint of small-town retail prime band = 12.5%
Lot-size adjustment	+175 bps for sub-£500k lot
Selected ARY	14.25% (rounded to nearest 25 bps)

Kirkcaldy edozo data is LOW confidence (2 small + 2 mid comparables for offices). Cross-check: at vendor-claimed £8,000 NOI, asking £49k = 16.3% NIY — above the methodology ARY range, consistent with "below-the-line" pricing typical of auction lots that need refurb plus lease-up.

Valuation stack

Basis	Value	Calculation
VP (MV3)	£25,000	£5,500 / 14.25% less 12mo void (£5,500), 6mo rent-free (£2,750), reletting (£550), empty rates (£0 — 100% SBBS), holding (£4,200)
Rack rent value (ceiling)	£39,000	£5,500 / 14.25% capitalised; theoretical, assumes zero void
Rack rent at vendor claim	£59,000	£8,400 / 14.25% (illustrative only — vendor rent unverified)
Asking	£49,000	Auction guide. £81.67/sqft on estimated NIA. 49% above VP-based upper end.

T&R not shown — 100% vacant. ARY 14.25% = Kirkcaldy small-town retail/commercial midpoint 12.5% + 175 bps sub-£500k lot. Sensitivity: at 12.5% ARY, rack value = £44,000; at 16% ARY, £34,000.

Acquisition benchmark

Kirkcaldy is not separately listed in the location benchmarks file (limited Edozo comparables). Closest comparable: Dundee city centre at £100–122/sqft indicative CV for secondary office. Kirkcaldy commercial CV is typically below Dundee — a £30–60/sqft range is plausible for secondary small-town commercial.

Asking £81.67/sqft on the estimated NIA sits within the plausible CV range. The asking is not absurd in capital-value terms; the issue is the income-based view: even at the vendor's claimed £8,000 NOI, capitalised at 14.25% the rack rent value is c. £56,000 — only marginally above the asking — which leaves no headroom for void, refurb, or the investor's hurdle return.

Auction context matters: Prime Property's "fantastic price to ensure Auction sale" framing suggests the guide is set below reserve. The reserve is the price that actually transacts.

Purchase costs

Cost	At upper end (£25,000)	At asking (£49,000)
LBTT (non-residential, Scotland)	£0	£0
Legal fees	£4,500	£4,500
Disbursements	£650	£650
Broker fee (1%)	£250	£490
Lender arrangement (2% × 65% LTV)	£325	£637
Lender legal	£2,500	£2,500
Surveys	£2,000	£2,000
Auction admin (5% buyer's premium, typical)	—	£2,450
Subtotal purchase costs	£10,225	£13,227
Refurb to let (600 sqft × £25)	£15,000	£15,000
Empty rates during void	£0	£0
All-in (price + costs + refurb)	£50,225	£77,227

Auction lot — typical Prime Property buyer's premium ~5% + admin fee. Confirm in the auction T&Cs before bidding. RV £3,200 qualifies for 100% SBBS or empty SBBS relief; no empty-rates liability during the void.

Strategy & Appraisal

Value-add angles, holding-structure recommendation, and supporting analyses for the bid thesis.

Value-add angles

1. Single-let to microbusiness (salon / therapy / small office) Moderate

The cellular layout suits a salon, therapy practice, or small office back to its previous use. Light refurb (paint, flooring, signage) at £25/sqft = £15,000. Methodology rent £5,500 (£9.49/sqft, Fair condition); vendor claim £8,400 (£13.50/sqft) sits ~53% above and is unverified.

Max purchase (15% c-on-c, methodology rent): £25,000. If the vendor rent is achieved, the supportable price rises materially — but verifying the rent before bidding is mandatory.

2. Residential conversion to 2-bed flat (previously consented) Strong (subject to consent revival)

Listing notes "Property previously had planning for conversion into 2 bed flat". Kirkcaldy 2-bed flat resale values c. £70–95k (sold prices for KY1/KY2 postcode sectors, last 12 months). Conversion cost at Commercial-to-Residential £125/sqft × 600 = £75,000.

Net GDV (5% sales costs): £71k–£90k. Less conversion (£75,000) less prof fees (£7,500) less finance during build (£14,880) less required profit 20% of GDV (£16,000) = land available for site ≈ negative. Does not pencil at conventional dev margins. Owner-occupier hold-intent works only if buyer accepts no developer profit. Verify lapsed planning at Fife Council portal.

3. CMO (commercial multiple occupancy) — multi-room rental Weak

The cellular 4-room layout could be marketed as serviced rooms (therapy, beauty, micro-office) at £350–500/mo per room. 4 rooms × £400/mo × 90% occupancy = £17,280 gross. Less operating costs (mgmt, utilities, insurance, cleaning) at 30% = £12,096 net. Capital uplift at ARY 14.25% = £85k stabilised value.

Reality check: Cairnwell Place is not on the main pedestrian footfall route; demand for serviced rooms at that location is unproven. Kirkcaldy's microbusiness pool is smaller than Edinburgh or Glasgow. Treat as upside scenario, not central case. Refurb step-up to Cellular £50/sqft = £30,000 required for shared WC, separate metering, signage.

4. SSAS pension hold Moderate

Commercial use means the property qualifies for SSAS purchase. 50% LTV: loan £12,500, debt service £1,000, net cash £4,500. SSAS range £20,000–£25,000.

Suits: small SSAS with bolt-on capacity, looking for a tax-free hold against modest rental income. Cash purchase via SSAS at £20–25k is straightforward; the lot size is below most commercial mortgage minimums (£100k+) anyway.

Timing	Scenario	Value	Implication
Month 0	Auction completion + refurb mobilise	All-in c. £50,225	Cash purchase or SSAS at upper-end price. 28-day completion typical.
Month 2	Refurb complete, marketing for let	—	Cosmetic refresh only; cellular layout retained
Month 12	Stabilised let at methodology ERV	£39,000 rack value	If achieved, holds against methodology lens
Month 18+	Refinance commercial mortgage	Not viable below £100k lend	Loan size c. £16,250 is below commercial-mortgage minimums. Stay in cash / SSAS.

Small lot economics — refinance is generally not practical. The deal is a cash-yield hold, not a leverage play.

Rent achieved	Exit @ 12.50%	Exit @ 14.25%	Exit @ 16.50%
Methodology − 30% (£3,850)	£31,000	£27,000	£23,000
Methodology base (£5,500)	£44,000	£39,000	£33,000
Vendor claim (upper) (£8,400)	£67,000	£59,000	£51,000

3×3 stabilised exit-value grid. Methodology base = £5,500 rent at 14.25% yield = £39,000. Vendor-claim case (£8,400 at 14.25%) = £59,000.

Holding structure

SSAS is the cleanest structure if the investor has pension capacity — the lot is small enough to fund in cash from a single member contribution, and the income / gains are tax-sheltered. Ltd company SPV works for an investor without SSAS, but the loan size (£16,250) is below the minimum lend threshold of most commercial lenders, so a cash-buy via SPV or a personal-name acquisition is more realistic. Personal-name ownership is acceptable for a commercial unit at this scale, particularly if the investor is a basic-rate taxpayer with no Section 24 mortgage interest restriction (commercial mortgage interest remains deductible).

Sources

Edozo Insight 2026 — Kirkcaldy office <1,500 sqft rate £11.16/sqft (LOW confidence)
Ryden 2025 — Scottish small-town retail / commercial yields
Scottish Government — Small Business Bonus Scheme thresholds 2026
Prime Property Auctions — listing brochure / online auction
Rightmove — listing page
Fife Council planning portal — to verify lapsed 2-bed flat consent (DD task)

Jurisdiction

Scotland