Episode 68 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to the show. Over the years, I must have

visited hundreds of property auctions, but you know what?

I never get bored of them because they're so interesting.

It never ceases to amaze me how much is on offer.

So, get down to your local auction house

and buy your next home under the hammer.

Keeping a calm head when buying a property at auction

can just give you the edge.

Yes, the trick is, don't panic, Captain Dion!

Keep a cool head.

Did today's buyers take that advice?

Let's find out.

In Stoke-on-Trent, my inner David Bellamy emerges,

as I get to the root of the problem.

Here we are in the forest of Blurton.

Whereas can anyone see the wood from the trees

with this huge barnstorming project in Norfolk?

This is very, very exciting.

And in Tooting, South London,

Lucy wonders if a split-level flat could ever grow on you.

Let's face it, there's not MUSHROOM in here(!)

All these properties have been sold at auction and we'll find out

who bought them and what they paid when they went under the hammer.

Your lot, sir, well done.

This is Blurton in Staffordshire.

Once the hunting ground for the Duke of Sutherland.

Anyone hunting here now would find instead a huge swathe

of housing estates.

It's about four miles south of Stoke-on-Trent and,

with its own local amenities and a multi-million pound overhaul

of the housing stock a few years back,

this has become a very pleasant place to live.

What I do like about areas like this, that are predominantly

filled with bungalows, they always seem to be clean and tidy.

There's no rubbish anywhere and the gardens do seem to be immaculate.

There's a real sense of pride in their neighbourhood.

Now, the property I'm here to see is this one here,

it's a two-bed and has a guide price of £75,000.

All the indications are that this bungalow has been well maintained and cared for.

Nice front lawn, there's even a garage.

Let's hope it continues on the inside.

OK, we are into a small porchway area, lounge there,

but I'll come back to that.

We've got some hanging space there for your coats.

Into the kitchen, which isn't a bad size at all.

Notice the textured ceiling, you'd want to get rid of that,

that's quite dated, as is the kitchen as well.

Brand-new kitchen here would really spruce this up.

And in here, we've got a bit of storage space for your baked beans.

But I'm thinking you could create a little bit more space

just by taking that out, make yourself a bigger kitchen.

Front door there, and your back door there,

both coming into the kitchen.

Would you want that? I'm not sure.

So far, I'm happy.

Yes, I do think a small configuration change in the kitchen

is worth considering.

Certainly there is one entrance door too many.

And blocking out one of those doors

would create more space in the kitchen.

At the back of the property, you've got two decent-sized bedrooms,

both with windows looking out onto the back garden.

I've also seen that there's central heating as well.

It does look a little bit dated,

so if you are going to modernise this place throughout,

you'd want to bring the heating up to date as well.

And I'll say the same for the family bathroom,

I'd retile and pop a new bathroom in there as well.

Into the lounge area, which is a good-size lounge.

Nice big window, looking out onto the front garden, lots of light coming in.

And over here, you've got a '70s brick feature fireplace.

OK back in the day, but I'd want to get rid of it.

So, carpet throughout, get some paint in here as well.

Brighten it up a bit and I think

you'd possibly get this place back to its best.

There really isn't much needed doing here

apart from a good refurbishment.

There are no cracks, there's no subsidence, no sign of damp,

the roof isn't looking like it's going to collapse either.

So inside at least,

it really is a pretty straightforward project,

but outside, I think I might have unearthed a small problem.

Here we are in the forest of Blurton.

It's not really a forest at all.

These trees would have been planted years ago,

just to create a little bit of privacy

but they would have been small trees,

but, unfortunately, small trees can grow to be very big trees,

which unfortunately, come with very big roots.

So definitely some digging needed to get those trees out.

# Zipping up my boots

# Going back to my roots... #

And roots, as we know, can dry out soil and cause subsidence.

They can also cause havoc with drains.

Here they are coming out of the driveway.

I think some serious tree surgery is called for.

The back garden could do with a makeover too.

It's surely crying out for patio doors,

some decking, or a paved area.

Maybe a pond. I've always wanted a pond.

A barbecue perhaps? That would be nice.

Well, that's my wish list anyway.

What about a local property expert?

What does he think of this bungalow and what would he do with it?

If it was my property, I would leave the layout as it is.

It's going to appeal mostly to the retired.

It's already got well-proportioned rooms.

And works well.

This bungalow is proof that not all auction properties are nightmares.

It only needs a face-lift, but that means it is hard to see

anywhere where you could add value if you wanted to flip it.

But it has what sounds like a modest guide price at 75 grand.

Does that reflect its value?

What could it sell for, though, with a decent makeover?

Refurbished, I would expect to place this property on the market

between £120,000 and £125,000.

That is promising.

And rental returns?

Once renovated, in the current climate,

I would expect the property to rent

between £500 and £525 per calendar month.

This is a good house and it's solidly built.

It does need modernising and you may want to knock it about just a bit,

but it's in a real sought-after area.

Let's find out who really wanted it when it went under the hammer.

Lot number nine,

we now go to Blurton in Stoke-on-Trent.

Two-bedroom, semidetached bungalow.

Gas central heating, double glazing.

Off-road parking, as it is in a cul-de-sac position.

Two bedroom, semidetached bungalow.

70 to get it going.

70 bid, thank you. At £70,000.

71. 72.

73. 74. 75.

At £75,000.

To my right. 76.

77. 78.

78, seated. At £78,000.

79 anywhere else?

79. 80.

81. 82.

83, sir? 83.

84? 84.

85. 86.

Shaking his head, 86, still with you, sir.

£86,000.

87, new bidder.

88? 88.

89. 90. 91.

New bidder. 92.

93. 94. 95. 96.

97. 98. 99.

99, still with you, sir.

£99,000. 100 anywhere else?

If not, 99,000 once...

Twice...

Third, and last time at £99,000...

Bought it, well done.

The hammer fell at just below 100 grand at £99,000

and the successful bidder was Steve.

And, this was to be a joint project with his elder brother, Tony.

I was intrigued to know why the brothers bought the bungalow in Blurton.

-Tony, nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-Steve, nice to meet you too.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

You've found yourself a bit of a gem here.

-Yeah, definitely, yeah.

-Why this particular property?

We wanted a bungalow for me mum because

she's not great on her feet now.

-She won't mind me saying that, I don't think, will she?

-Yeah.

-You'll find out.

-We will.

-You'll find out!

-Yeah.

-She's away at the moment, so...

-Yeah.

And you said the area was nice, didn't you?

Yes, it's an area I know well, actually.

Father-in-law and mother-in-law live close by.

So it's ideal for her.

And has your mum been to see the property?

Yes, she was very pleased about it because I think it's something

that she wanted, as well, a bungalow, you know,

something on one floor that she can get around.

-She knows the area anyway, doesn't she?

-Yeah.

I wasn't going to tell Mum that we'd bought it.

I was going to say that we hadn't...

We'd lost out.

But you said... I mean, he's the sensible one,

he said, "No, tell her, because she might want some input."

-Yes.

-Into what goes in and what colours she likes and everything.

Didn't want to bring her up when it's all done and say,

-"There you go."

-There you go, yeah.

-Look at the tiger skin wallpaper.

-DION CHUCKLES

Steve sells industrial cleaning equipment,

so let's hope he sticks to the day job and not the decorating.

Only kidding, Steve.

What a great thing for the brothers to do,

get their mum a house.

And with their sisters and the family members nearby,

this does look like a perfect location.

But currently it's not quite a perfect home,

so what changes have they got planned?

There's an area in the kitchen that we can knock it through

and make the kitchen much bigger.

So, in general, we're changing the kitchen, take the front door out.

Keeping the side door, but putting a set of patio doors in the back,

so that she can get out to the garden easier really.

New bathroom, new kitchen and new central heating.

We'll have to cut the grass as well, then.

Yeah, we'll have to cut the grass obviously. Well, Steve...

-LAUGHTER

-He's got that job.

I thought we were going to keep all the windows

and you've decided take 'em all out, haven't you?

They're a bit dark.

-Yeah.

-It's a bigger job... I'm good at bashing out,

but I'm not very good at putting back in.

Yeah, that's right.

There's a few roots coming through in the driveway.

What are your plans for those trees?

We'll those out, take the roots out.

New drive and everything.

Get a proper tree surgeon on them and check the other trees as well,

make sure they're safe and that.

Has your mum changed anything, or wants anything moved

that you weren't going to do in the first place?

-Well, she wanted...

-External doors.

..glass doors rather than solid doors inside.

A wood floor in the lounge.

And she wants a fireplace putting in, rather than, you know,

obviously, a proper surround.

And other than that, no, she's happy with everything else, yeah.

And how much is it going to cost to do the work?

I'd probably say about 10,000 to 15,000.

Tony runs a heating company, who will do most of the plumbing work.

He also knows people in the trade that can come in

and help him carry out the other changes to the house.

They hope to have it ready for their mum to move into

in four to six weeks.

So, how is it going to work? Who's going to take charge?

I will.

Right, as this is for your mum,

standards are going to have to be pretty high, I would imagine.

Right up there, yeah.

She drives you pretty hard when she wants to.

Yeah, when she wants you to do things.

-Yeah.

-Who is going to be the site foreman? Mum?

-Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

-We'll have to get her a hard hat, won't we?

-Will she be over...?

-It will mess her hair up.

Steve, will she be over, coming to check on things -

I don't want it like that, I don't want it like that?

-Yeah.

-I think she'll be pretty...

She'll trust our judgment a lot.

And I'll blame him if it's wrong. I'll say, Tony did that.

-Yeah.

-Blame the older brother.

-Good on you.

Great, great project, chaps. I wish you all the best.

-And your mum will be really happy.

-Thank you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-No problem.

-Thank you.

So, brothers Steve and Tony are renovating this house for their mum.

What a really nice thing to do.

It should be a straightforward project.

Will they stay within their timescale and budget?

Will they get it right for their mum?

Or will they be sent to bed with no supper?

You can find out how they get on later in the programme.

It was back in the summer of 2012

when I found myself exploring the pretty Norfolk village of Upwell,

situated on the Well Creek and just 25 miles from King's Lynn and Peterborough.

Its rural setting makes it a perfect destination

for any dreamers looking to escape from the city.

For a lot of people, the absolute epitome of property developing

is to take an old barn

and convert it into something you could live in.

Well, here on the outskirts of Upwell is a project

that could provide the bare bones for such an ambitious project.

It's a barn, there you go, the guide price was £95,000 plus.

Square footage, sounds enormous, almost 3,500.

The only slight problem is access.

Cos that's the barn...

..and this is the fence around it.

Oh, well.

# I can't stand fences

# Don't fence me in... #

The barn on offer was over 150 years old, on a good sized plot,

and, best of all, came with planning permission

to convert it into a four-bedroomed house.

This is very, very exciting.

What are we going to find?

I mean, with barns, you never quite know.

Um...in this case, it's not in bad condition.

At least it's reasonably clean-ish.

Well, there's no stuff that you might find in barns that have been used for cattle.

A big room over there, big room here, another large room here.

And then finally through here to one final really large space.

So, what have you got? Four rooms, square footage, massive.

Fairly good, solid concrete floors.

Now, that potentially is good.

On the other hand, I think there is going to be no damp proof course,

nothing, so all this is going to have to come up.

As usual, with barns,

there's got to be quite a few things you have to adhere to when it comes

to changing them into somewhere you could live.

Unless you're a farm animal.

But with no services in place,

a structural survey that showed spalling,

which means the concrete is flaking,

a bowing roof, sagging walls,

shallow foundations and the need of underpinning, well, in essence,

this wasn't much more than a shell and a footprint for a building.

But, then, there were those plans.

Believe it or not, the house that's been basically passed

uses all of the floor space of the existing barn.

This is downstairs.

This is where I'm standing, here.

Leads basically through this door into a bedroom.

Over there, you've got a drawing room and a library.

This extraordinary living area here, leading onto a kitchen,

massive kitchen/dining family room.

Where it starts to get really exciting from my point of view is upstairs

because in both the drawing room/library

and that massive living room, you've got this huge gallery area,

so it retains the whole feeling of the building.

Four bedrooms, absolutely massive ones though.

Of course, at 3,000-odd square feet,

you're looking at a huge build cost for this.

But at the end of the day, you are going to end up with

one extremely impressive property.

Though a £95,000 guide price may have seemed inviting,

the build costs alone could double or even triple the investment.

Which is perhaps why when it went to auction,

it got a rather lukewarm reception.

We move on then to lot number 25,

which is a barn, the development opportunity there.

Gave you a guide of 95 for that.

Where do you want to be for that one? Start me at 90 for it?

80, if you like?

75 to get me started? 75 in the room.

£75,000 surely.

75 for it anywhere?

At £75,000, I'll take 75 to start me.

At 75,000. 75 anywhere?

If not, I'm going to move on. 75 anywhere?

No, we'll move on, then.

So, the fear of all the potential unknowns kept any bidders

sitting firmly on their hands.

But eventually, a buyer did step forward in the form of

David and partner Julia, who bought it for £80,000.

Julia, David, great to meet you both.

-And you.

-Congratulations.

Now, tell me what happened there, then, cos it didn't sell.

It didn't seem to have any interest at all.

Why do you not think anybody else wanted it?

We don't know. We might find out later.

It needs a lot of work doing, underpinning.

A lot of structural work needs doing, which is obviously not cheap.

But the budget we've... We've factored in the budget.

So, tell me about you two, then, is this something you do?

How did you end up buying a barn?

We've been looking for about five years.

I've got a small portfolio of buy-to-lets back in Yorkshire

and Julia, you look after your...

I look after my mother, who is disabled.

-OK.

-So I spend time between Surrey and Yorkshire.

This is going to be a family home.

I mean, obviously, you can't see the views very well at the moment

because of the overgrowth in the garden.

But they are to die for, apparently.

-This is the first time Julia's been here.

-I haven't seen it before today.

MARTIN GASPS

Yeah, straight up. I came down about six weeks ago, took some pictures,

some video on the camera.

And this is the first time you've been here.

-I didn't know that he'd actually gone ahead with it.

-What?

-And put money on the table.

-And put money on the table.

-And bought it.

-So you didn't know anything about this?

-No, he told me, "I've just bought a barn."

-I bet there were a few tears, weren't there?

-Yes.

It's too late now.

I mean tears of happiness, not tears of...

No, it was happiness.

So, both David and Julia were happy to get the barn.

But, of course, it wasn't just the bricks and mortar they were buying,

it also came with those approved plans.

So, let's go on to talk about the plans.

Because they are to create a massive house.

It's big. And it sits on a third of an acre of the plot.

So the garden somewhere is 100 feet long.

-But the idea is to keep the plans and follow them through exactly as they are.

-Mmm.

We are going to build to the plans, as the plans dictate,

which gives us four bedrooms, four bathrooms, two living rooms,

a kitchen, a study.

And the couple were planning the accommodation to be high-end.

The red gloss kitchen, oak finishes, granite worktops,

and David was hoping to do a lot of the labouring himself

to keep the costs down.

And with a £180,000 to £200,000 budget,

and an 18-month to two-years timescale, we left them to it.

When we returned two years later,

we were hoping to see some progress but sadly, we were disappointed.

# Nothing ever happens

# Nothing happens at all

# The needle returns to the start of the song

# And we all sing along like before. #

Yes, it seems the project had got stuck in a bit of a loop.

I was going to use bridging finance and to cut a long story short,

the bridging finance didn't release enough funds,

so I had to forfeit my 10% deposit at the auction

and didn't buy the property.

It then went back to auction a couple of months later,

didn't sell. It then went back to auction a few months later,

where I did have the funds.

When I originally bought the property at the auction,

the first time, I agreed a price of £80,000

but I then bought the property two auctions later for 58.

So even if you take into account that I lost my 10% deposit

and about £1,000 for costs, etc,

I'm about £12,000 up.

As well as repurchasing the barn,

David also resubmitted modified plans to extend the planning consent

for another three years.

And to make the finished building more environmentally friendly.

I'm going to implement some sort of green energy into the property,

so things like a rainwater harvesting system,

and like an air source heat pump

because we don't have gas in this part of Norfolk,

so I'm going to incorporate some green energy.

I now have full building regs plans

so I know how big the rooms are going to be.

And we are looking at about £212,000 to £220,000.

So, a new budget and a new start

but still another two years of work ahead for David.

So, did the stop/start project ever reach a successful conclusion?

You can find out later in the show.

Coming up in Tooting, South London, Lucy is spoilt for choice.

There's so much you could do with this property.

I'm quite excited.

And, of course, we return to Norfolk to see what finally happens

to David's old barn.

But first, I was in the Stoke-on-Trent district of Blurton,

where I came across this two-bed, semi-detached bungalow

that was just a little bit dated.

You've got a '70s brick feature fireplace.

OK back in the day, but I'd want to get rid of it.

So, carpet throughout.

Get some paint in here, as well.

Brighten it up a little bit and I think you'd possibly get this place back to its best.

This property was bought for 99 grand by brothers

Steve, on the left, and Tony, with a very specific reason in mind.

So, why this particular property?

We wanted a bungalow for me mum because she's not great on her feet

now, she won't mind me saying that, I don't think, will she?

-Yeah.

-You'll find out.

-We will.

-You'll find out.

-Yes.

What a great thing to do.

Get your mum a good practical home and the lads hadn't just bought it,

they were going to do it up for her, too.

Right, as this is for your mum,

standards are going to have to be pretty high, I would imagine.

Right up there, yeah.

Steve, will she be over coming to check on things -

I don't want it like that, and I don't want it like that?

I think she'll be pretty...

She'll trust our judgment a lot.

And then I'll blame him if it's wrong.

-I'll say Tony did that.

-Yeah.

Tony is a heating engineer and was going to do

a lot of the refurbishment work and project manage,

while Steve would offer a helping hand.

And their budget?

Well, they hoped it would be around 10 to 15 grand.

But since it's for their mum,

it was going to be more like whatever it costs.

Timescale wise, they were in no rush

but they hoped to complete within four to six weeks.

Now, 13 months later - you certainly haven't been rushing, lads, have you? -

we're back.

Well, the forest of Blurton is no more

and is now a much more practical and better-looking driveway.

I'm liking what I'm seeing.

And with that front door now replaced with a window,

it's through the side entrance we go.

Wow!

What a cosy and lovely home they've made for their mum.

# All for you... #

Completely replastered, rewired, redecorated, new fireplace, the lot.

And what about that kitchen?

Yeah, that's a top job, too.

By blocking the front door and having a cupboard removed,

they've created a nice, little dining area.

Not only have they done a fabulous job upgrading and modernising

the bungalow, they've made it much more practical for Mum

with a walk-in and sit-down shower replacing the bath.

And patio doors in the rear of the bedroom

for easy access to a much improved garden.

I've got to say, I love it, but more importantly, does their mum, Sheila?

# It's all for you. #

She loves it. Thinks it's great.

She loves all the colours...

Because we gave her the input and said, what colours do you want?

Um, and what would you like?

You know, this, that, and the other.

-And she's chosen a lot.

-She said where she wanted...

-Yeah.

-And then you mixed them up, didn't you?

-Yeah.

OK, lads. So, while Steve was muddling up the paint colours,

who was doing the other extensive range of jobs?

We just shared it, to be honest with you.

But you did more because of your trade and everything.

I was more labouring and...

I mean, I've done all the painting, but you've done all the plumbing,

you've put all the skirting on and the doors and everything.

Tony lives closer to the house than Steve

and, with his heating engineer skills,

he was always down to do a lot of the changes,

with a little help from his friends and tradesmen that he knows.

But what was it like working together as brothers?

I was painting and then as I was painting, he was making a mess,

so I had to go round painting again.

I must have painted...

In fact...these floors...

I must have painted the kitchen about seven times.

-Yeah.

-Because we lost the colour.

And when we put the kitchen in,

there was marks everywhere and when I came to paint,

it was a different colour.

-Yeah.

-We didn't know what the colour was, did we?

We should have known because most of it was on the floor.

It seems those painting skills come from years of experience.

This isn't the first time we've worked together.

-We have worked together on...

-When we were 12.

Yeah, we painted...

We painted a bathroom once.

-Brandy gold.

-And when I said the bathroom...

The bath, the toilet, the floor.

-So this one went about the same way.

-Yeah.

It's come off well, though, hasn't it? It has come off good.

It came off good when you went home, yeah.

Now, now, lads.

It's all about teamwork.

I think, reading between the lines, they had a lot of fun doing this.

But with full-time jobs of their own,

and perhaps more complicated changes than they first originally thought,

it's taken ten times longer than planned.

And budget-wise?

The budget, same as the plan of action,

went out of the window quite quickly...

Within about a month, that went out of the window.

Yeah, we probably spent probably about 25 on it.

Well, they did say it was going to be no expense spared for their mum,

but 25 grand does mean, along with their 99 grand purchase price,

that they are looking at a total spend of £124,000.

I'm sure they feel it's worth every penny.

But would two local experts agree?

It's my first time at the property.

But I think the finish is absolutely exceptional.

You can see they've worked very hard all the way round

and I'm very impressed with what they've done.

The job's been done extremely well.

The finish is good and it's been done to quite a high standard.

The layout of the property has obviously changed

and I think what they've done has really benefited it,

certainly for the resale and the rental value.

It works a lot better. The bedrooms are set up.

You've got great access points. I'm very impressed.

I think the main selling point of the property is most definitely the bathroom.

They've spent some money in that room

and it looks really, really good.

OK, so how does that translate into financial terms

on a property Steve and Tony sank 124 grand into?

The resale value for this property now that it's been finished,

I would suggest would be somewhere between £125,000 and £130,000.

The property in the current market would achieve somewhere

in the region of £125,000 to £130,000.

That's pretty much what I would have expected.

-What we would have thought.

-Yeah, yeah.

Going off the value of the street, you know.

So, currently, on the resale market, it would just about break even.

And rental?

The rental market for the property, I would suggest,

would be between £500 and £550 per calendar month.

In the current rental market,

the property would achieve £525 per calendar month.

Yeah, probably going to have to evict Mum, then.

Yeah, no, that's about right.

-Spot on, I think.

-Yeah, yeah.

Watch out, Sheila. Better get your bags packed.

Steve and Tony quite like the sound of that 5% annual rental yield.

So, come on, lads, you've clearly had a lot of fun doing this.

Tell us if this double act is ready to take on any more refurbishments.

-You...

-No, you...

-No, you

-because...

-No, because you.

-No, you do this bit.

-No, go on.

-Yeah...

-And action.

Take two.

Quite. We are looking, aren't we?

-We are looking to buy another investment.

-Yeah, we are, yeah.

-We are just going to weigh up the pros and cons.

-Yeah.

We never did this as a commercial venture anyway,

did we, otherwise we'd have made money on it?

Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely, yeah.

Yes, often in property refurbishment, profit is the name of the game.

But it wasn't that type of project here.

The two brothers have shown that they can definitely walk the walk

and certainly talk the talk.

He'd got what he wanted about 20 minutes ago when you were still talking.

What you need to do is just, like...

-Don't you do that?

-Yeah.

-Yes, we do!

Tooting in south-west London is known for its bustling markets,

busy high street and green spaces.

It also boasts the Tooting Lido,

which is the largest open-air swimming pool in the country.

Lucy is taking the plunge and seeing what the local property market has in store.

Not far from Tooting high street and close to not one

but two tube stations is the property I'm here to see.

Now, it's a first-floor, three-bedroom flat

in this detached period property.

Now, it looks in a bit of a scruffy state on the outside.

It could do with a lick of paint, so not a great start.

But the guide price at auction was £400,000.

So, I'm going to go in and see what you get for your money.

# She whispers

# You get what you pay for

# We could cost some... #

Well, inside the flat...

Wow! Straight away, I'm loving those high ceilings.

It really does give you the feeling of space in here.

Fantastic.

And it's such a big, spacious flat.

I mean, where do you start?

You've got one, two, three rooms here, a little staircase down there.

And let's go through into here, well, I think this is a bedroom.

It could be a lounge but it's a fantastic space.

Three big windows here.

Letting loads of light in.

Again, these lovely high ceilings.

There's so much you could do with this.

Through into here and this is definitely the lounge.

You can see there's an old gas fire over here.

But the character in here is what I love.

I know it's dated,

I know you've got to change the wallpaper and the carpets and, look,

there's even a little bit of damp coming in through there,

I think the lead flashing from the roof out there has gone,

so that's left that all a little bit flaky,

so someone is definitely going to have to sort that out.

But I like the high skirting boards, I like the high ceilings,

you've got a lovely little picture rail,

there are bits and pieces within the flat that you really could bring out

and make them look fantastic.

A great space here, there's so much you could do with this property.

I'm quite excited.

# I do get excited... #

There is plenty to get excited about here,

but this flat has its ups and its downs.

For those of you who think a flat means, well, it's a flat,

well, think again.

This is a split-level flat and the layout, well,

it's not ideal, with the kitchen and bathroom down here.

There is more character with the fireplace in the kitchen

and it's a decent size.

Like all the rooms really.

Well, almost all.

One of the only rooms that could be considered small in this flat

is this bathroom but take a look at this.

That's a big cupboard.

The cupboard alone is the size of some bathrooms I've seen in Central London.

I reckon that's easily big enough for a shower, but if not,

it's really useful for extra storage, and let's face it,

there's not MUSHROOM in here!

Yeah, right, Lucy.

That was a truly terrible pun.

I should know, because I'm such a FUN-GUY.

Anyway, on a serious note, fungi, including mould, are no joke.

They come with a health warning.

Some people, especially those with existing allergies,

chest conditions including asthma, or weak immune systems,

can be affected. Their spores are released into the atmosphere,

particularly when a damp environment gets warmer.

So, to stop the mushrooms,

you need to find the source of the damp and get it sorted.

Mushrooms aside, there is a reason why this flat could grow on you.

Now, in a converted building like this, it's usually

the ground floor property which gets any outside space,

or it's divided up and the upper flats,

well, they get just a little slither each.

But in this case, like the flat itself,

your share of the garden, well, is quite sizeable.

In fact, it is that portion on the right,

stretching from the rear of the building right up to the shed.

So that is huge!

Although I'm not sure about the outside bath.

A bit chilly for that today.

# Me, I stay gritty up to my ears

# Washing in a bucket of mud... #

You certainly don't want to throw your money down the drain

when buying a property, so it's good to get a professional opinion.

We've asked along an estate agent

to see what he thinks of this large flat and its unusual layout.

I think I would tweak it.

Having a bedroom directly off the lounge is a bit strange.

So I think that's one thing I'd do straightaway.

I think the rest of it's OK, configuration-wise,

but that's one thing I'd particularly do.

One of the things about the property that's really noticeable, is its condition, from the exterior,

which may be a problem for the owner in the sense that he's only owning

the flat itself and the rest of the street is so well maintained,

so it really shows out as a bit of a sore thumb in some ways.

Of course, any work to the communal area or outside would need to be

agreed by the freeholder and that's not always straightforward.

Back to the flat and the good news is there's a lengthy 115 years

left on the lease.

So, what could this flat, guided at £400,000, be worth

once refurbished and that layout tweaked?

The resale value on this property would be in the region of £500,000.

And rental?

I think you're looking at £1,650 per calendar month for rental.

This is a sizeable three-bedroom flat in a great location

and it's not in too bad condition,

nothing that a full refurb wouldn't fix anyway.

So, who bid for this tempting Tooting property?

Let's find out at the auction.

This is a three-bed, first-floor flat, requiring modernisation,

close to local amenities, Tooting, always popular.

Someone might get a good deal here.

It's not going to go below 350 for a flat in Tooting.

Bid me £350,000.

Anybody here for Lot 213?

350, I've got at the back.

350. Looking for 355.

No? If not... 355.

355. 360. 365. 370.

375. 380. 385.

390. 395. 392, if it helps?

No? If not, it's at the back.

£390,000.

More competition anywhere?

If not, 390 for the first...

390 for the second...

395, just caught your eye.

395.

400,000. 400.

405. Yes, no?

One bid and that's it?

Fair enough.

It's with you, sir. £400,000.

Don't bid against yourself. 405 anywhere else?

If not, 400 for the first, 400 for the second,

400 the third and final time...

Are we all done? Sold, 400,000.

The successful bidder who waited over eight hours on the day

for one of the last lots was Fatos.

His patience paid off,

as he paid bang on the guide price of 400,000 for this flat.

I wonder if he thinks it's worth the wait.

# I have waited oh so long...

# Please don't tell me, baby

# I was wrong. #

Fatos, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-So, here we are, you bought the flat at auction,

you must be so pleased.

-I am.

-So, what is your plan?

Why have you bought it?

I bought it to renovate and then sell it again.

It's like investment.

So, why have you decided to do this? Are you a developer?

No, I'm not. But I've got my cousins to do the job for me.

They are very good at it.

Have you ever done anything like this before?

I have done another house.

I have done my own house, which I bought it about two years,

two years and a half ago. And, er...

Once I did it, the same estate agent guy came to value

and the value was up £100,000.

So, you've added £100,000 to your own property,

which has made you think, let's do it again.

Let's do this again.

So, what are you going to do to this property because this is

a fantastic flat in a great location, between two tube stations?

I'm going to do a new kitchen, new bathroom, basically everything new.

Everything, rip off everything and put everything new.

So, when you say start over again,

do you literally mean rip out everything?

Because there's some nice, little features hidden here.

You've got some deep skirting boards,

a lovely little picture rail up there.

Some cornicing.

Are you going to keep any of that, or rip it all off?

I will try, but to be honest,

I prefer the modern rather than the old-fashioned.

Well, each to his own, but once original features are gone, they are gone.

So, always give it careful thought.

Fatos is going to give this place a high-end modern finish.

Either way, the sheer amount of work needed here won't come cheap.

So, what's your budget for the work?

Budget is about £20,000.

Oh, OK.

Yes. Because as I said, I like everything new,

so I don't mind spending money.

But I'm thinking that's quite low.

-20 grand?

-Yes, 20 grand, I think, 20 grand.

Well, I hope your calculations are good.

I'm very good at maths.

So, then, that means the flat is coming in at £420,000.

Yes. There's the fees...

Have you spoken to any local estate agents?

What do they think you could market this for?

They say that when it's done at the high-end, it will...

The market will be 600, 650.

-Wow!

-That's what they say.

That's incredible, and that has put a big smile on your face.

-Hasn't it?

-Yes.

But do you feel that you might have to do this to a top-end state?

In really good nick?

I like to do that.

I can't wait to see it. How long is it going to take you?

-Two to three months.

-Two to three months.

-Are you in a hurry?

-I am.

-Why is that?

-Because I need to buy another one, once I've sold this.

-So, you've got the property bug, haven't you, Fatos?

-Yes.

Yes, we all know about the property bug, don't we?

Fatos definitely has a bad case of it because he's also training

to be a quantity surveyor at university.

So, why have you chosen to study quantity surveying?

Because it will help me to understand the building more...

Expenses, so next time when I go to auction,

I know how much I want to spend before bidding for another property.

When you tell me it's going to be £20,000,

I'll have to shut up and agree with you.

Is it something that you're really enjoying?

I really enjoy it and I really want to do this.

It's been fantastic meeting you today.

I cannot wait to see what this is going to look like for £20,000.

20 to 30.

Oh, you've just jumped up £10,000.

Yes, because of the contemporary kitchen.

-So probably that.

-So, now it's 20 to 30.

-OK.

-We'll see. But I aim for 20.

Well, it's brilliant. Good luck.

I hope you do aim for 20 and stick to that.

-Take care.

-Thank you very much.

So, Fatos wants to modernise this flat,

he's got his cousins standing by to do all the work,

and he's in a hurry to get this done and move on to the next.

But there's a lot of work to do here first and he's only got a 20...

Or is it 30 grand budget?

So, will he be able to stick to that

or will it cost more than he expects?

You can find out how Fatos gets on later in the programme.

Well, we earlier saw what one of our buyers had managed to achieve,

-but what about the other two?

-Yeah, will things be good, or not so good?

We'll wait no longer. Let's just find out.

It was back in 2012 in the small Norfolk village of Upwell

where we first came across this exciting development project.

It's a barn, there you go, the guide price was £95,000 plus.

Square footage, sounds enormous, almost 3,500.

The only slight problem...

is access because that's the barn...

..and this is the fence around it.

And access wasn't the only issue for this 150-year-old barn.

It had no services,

would need underpinning,

had a sagging roof, no damp course,

there were severe cracks and a whole host of other issues,

but overriding all of that,

the most important thing it had was planning permission to be converted

into a four-bedroomed house.

Though on auction day,

that wasn't initially enough to entice would-be buyers.

£75,000, surely?

75 for it anywhere?

At £75,000, I'll take 75 to start me.

At 75,000.

75 anywhere?

If not, I'm going to move on.

75 anywhere?

No, we'll move on, then.

# Don't you want me, baby

# Don't you want me, now... #

So, the barn didn't sell, but after the auction,

Yorkshire-based David decided it was worth taking a chance

and agreed to buy it for £80,000 to convert it into a home for him

and his partner Julia.

So, let's talk about the plans

because they are to create a massive house.

It's big and it sits on a third of an acre, of the plot.

So the garden, somewhere, is 100 feet long.

-But the idea is to keep the plans and follow them through exactly as they are?

-Mmm.

We are going to build to the plans, so as the plans dictate,

which gives us four bedrooms, four bathrooms, two living rooms,

a kitchen, a study, so there's plenty of accommodation.

Wind forward two years on and the project hadn't moved forward at all.

In fact, if anything, it had gone in reverse.

To cut a long story short,

the bridging finance didn't release enough funds,

so I had to forfeit my 10% deposit at the auction

and didn't buy the property.

It then went back to auction a couple of months later.

Didn't sell. It then went back to auction a few months later,

where I did have the funds.

When I originally bought the property at the auction

the first time, I agreed a price of £80,000.

But I then bought the property two auctions later for 58.

So, a bit of a false start for David,

but having resubmitted the plans,

he not only got it at a cheaper price,

he also had more time to complete it.

Now, another two years have ticked by.

Has David finally got that dream four-bedroomed house?

# Oh, baby

# It's just like a movie I've seen before

# I can get the picture right now

# The grass is looking greener over there... #

Why do I feel this all looks so familiar?

# Like a movie I've seen before... #

I bought the property with me and Julia

but unfortunately, we split up, so it was decided that

I didn't want to do it any more because I sort of

fell out of love with the project

and decided to let somebody else have a go.

What a shame. And with David living over three hours away in Yorkshire,

once the building had started,

you would have had to commit wholeheartedly to the project,

which clearly David wasn't any more.

# You've lost that loving feeling

# Oh, that loving feeling

# You've lost that loving feeling

# Now it's gone, gone, gone

# Oh, oh, oh, oh... #

In fact, the barn has been up for sale for nearly two-and-a-half years

but finally he's got a buyer, so how does he feel about his purchase now?

As I'm getting close to the sale, I'm quite relieved

that I can obviously move on, sell the property,

and use the money for other things.

And what about the finances?

How much of his money has been tied up here?

The barn cost me £58,000 at auction the second time.

But obviously, I lost £9,000 in fees at the first auction,

but the only other cost has been £1,800 getting my plans drawn up.

So, with an investment just shy of £69,000,

is he right to cut and run?

What do two local estate agents think about the building

and the current plans for it?

First, the agent who saw the property back in 2014.

The property looks very similar, I have to say, from two years ago,

and from a local's point of view, we would love to see

some development of the property to restore it or make it into

what I consider could be a fantastic home.

There's a great demand for barn conversions.

There's not many barns available in the area at the moment that haven't

been converted or work done to them.

The current plans in situ are going to make a fantastic

contemporary home for somebody, in a really, really nice location.

The plans, I think, are quite ambitious for the property,

but it's a good sized plot. If I was personally with the property,

I would certainly investigate the opportunity

of demolishing the total building.

Whether the old building remains or not,

I do hope something eventually will be built here,

and though David hasn't really ended up with what he hoped for,

has he ended up with any profit on his £69,000 investment?

Looking at the property, I believe that as it is,

the property would have a value

in the region of £120,000 to £125,000.

As it is, we'd recommend a sales price

of between £110,000 and £120,000.

I'm happy with those figures because they are the figures I expected,

and I've achieved 110 sale price.

So, in the end, letting the grass grow under his feet

has netted David a pre-tax profit of 41,000,

so hardly a disastrous project.

But even if he no longer wants it to be his home,

is David missing a trick by not doing the conversion?

I believe if the property was finished to a good specification,

the value of this property would be

in the region of £425,000 to £450,000.

Once completed as a five-bedroom property, you would be looking at

a range of between £330,000 to £350,000 in the current market.

From hearing those values,

I think it's the right decision in selling the property because,

ultimately, my heart is not in the conversion any more and I want to

move on and use the money for another project.

And after four years on this one project,

moving on the seems like just the right thing to do.

# It's time to, it's time to It's time to move on. #

It was in the Tooting area of south-west London where Lucy found

a three-bedroom flat situated on the first floor of a Victorian building.

With clear signs of damp and poor decor, it was far from perfect,

but what it lacked in appearance, it made up for in the space it offered.

You've got one, two, three rooms here, a little staircase down there.

And let's go through into here.

Well, I think this is a bedroom.

It could be a lounge, but it's a fantastic space.

Three big windows here, letting loads of light in. Again,

these lovely high ceilings. There's so much you could do with this.

And if the size of the flat wasn't impressive enough,

it even came with its own bit of garden, complete with a sunken bath.

The man who reckoned he could give it that much-needed update

and modern twist was Fatos, who bought it at auction for 400,000.

I'm going to do a new kitchen, new bathroom, basically everything new.

What's your budget for the work?

Budget is about £20,000.

Ooh, OK.

Yes, because I like everything new, so I don't mind spending money.

But I'm thinking that's quite low.

-20 grand?

-20 grand, I think, 20 grand.

Ooh!

# Some people say

# I'm an optimist, yes, they do. #

Hmm. Yeah, 20,000 to 30,000 sounded a little optimistic to get it

to the standard for the London market.

But Fatos was hoping to use cousins and friends already working in

the building trade. Meanwhile, he would project manage this

and combine it with his university course in quantity surveying,

and his timescale, well, he hoped it would be ready for

the resale market in two to three months.

# Some people say

# I'm an optimist, yes, they do. #

And now, five months on, we're back.

Wow, that's impressive.

Fatos may have gone back to basics with wooden floors

and exposed brickwork in the three bedrooms, but it looks great.

He's even added a very contemporary en suite to the master bedroom.

And the lounge may have lost a door, but it's gained so much style.

But what about that sorry downstairs kitchen?

Has he found a way to give it that wow factor?

He sure has.

The kitchen is my favourite part of the house, or the flat.

I chose the colour and the design, and I put the island in the middle,

which is with the cooker as well, and it's really nice,

especially when friends come.

You cook for them and you enjoy cooking and talking to them,

so I'm really pleased with the kitchen.

So, the kitchen is looking just fab,

but what about the adjacent bathroom?

That doesn't disappoint either.

He's even found room to install a separate shower.

There are now no signs of damp,

which turned out to be a leaking pipe from upstairs.

And though the garden space still needs work,

inside, this has been

a no-holds-barred, stylish refurbishment.

I have been told, and I believe the standards are very high standards.

I mean, I have not left anything to chance.

So I bought the most expensive stuff on the market.

I have very good electrician, plumbers,

all the guys did a brilliant job.

And despite most of the work being done by his cousins and friends,

while he project managed a couple of days a week,

surely that £20,000 to £30,000 budget has gone out of the window.

I ended up spending 60,000 on it.

It's a bit double, but I wanted to have the most expensive stuff

because the flat is worth it. The space, you cannot go cheap

on this kind of refurbishment, so I spent about 60,000.

But even a £60,000 spend seems pretty impressive

for the standard that he's achieved here.

Along with his £400,000 purchase price,

he's now committed £460,000 to this three-bed, first-floor flat.

But even in the competitive London market, will this flat make waves?

What do two local estate agents think?

First, the agent who saw it last time.

I think they've done a really good job.

It's obviously not speculative turnaround,

they've done a nice job and any buyers will come in

and enjoy what they've done.

I think the vendors have done very well by mixing up the property,

in terms of a bit of old with modern.

It gives it that cosy homely feeling.

Yeah, I think the balance between modern and character's come out

very well, actually. It strikes me that it's always a difficult balance

to get, and with the floors sanded and the double glazed sashes,

it makes a difference.

There is no doubt that the flat looks the business,

but has it done the business, with £460,000 invested here by Fatos?

This property could sell on the open market between

£675,000 and £700,000.

I believe this property could sell for £680,000 to £685,000.

I think the value is all right.

I am hopeful to achieve this amount of money.

Wow! That's a potentially cool £215,000 to £240,000 pre-tax profit.

The agents also thought a rental return of around

£2,100 per calendar month would be possible,

which would give a yield of around 5.5%.

So, all in all, what an amazing result.

Does Fatos have any advice to offer would-be developers?

Just go for it.

Trying is always worth it.

Hopefully, you've enjoyed today's stories.

Yeah, and maybe you've learned a little bit along the journey too.

Yes, but there are lots more auction stories out there,

and we'll have them for you next time here on Homes Under The Hammer.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.