Episode 71 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to the show.

Now, the world of property provides an ever-changing

and challenging environment which really fascinates me and Dion.

Yes, but there's one key principle - get it for the best price possible.

But that's not always as easy as it seems.

No, but one way you could stack the odds in your favour

is by going to your local auction house.

Buying at auction is a very popular way to approach things.

Every month, millions and millions of pounds is spent at auction.

So, with all that auction action going on,

what inspired the buyers on today's show?

We are off to the seaside and in Lytham St Annes near Blackpool,

so the question has to be...

Have we got a view?

Lucy loved this Georgian property in Faversham, Kent,

and will echo that sentiment.

Echoey, echoey!

And I see an ex-local authority flat in North London and, as always,

first impressions hinge on the entrance.

Oh! What a lovely front door.

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.

Well done, sir.

Six miles from the bright lights of Blackpool in Lancashire

is Lytham St Annes, a traditional coastal town.

It's been described as one of the gems of the Northwest.

# Life's a beach... #

And I've found a property just a hop, skip and a jump

from the beach, with a park right on its doorstep,

so you have to say the location is spot-on.

So, just across the road from that beautiful park,

and hopefully with views over it, is the property I'm here to see.

It's a first-floor flat,

it's got three bedrooms and a guide price of £75,000 to £85,000.

Let's take a look.

If the location isn't enough to impress you,

then the building should.

Built from locally produced engineering bricks,

this Victorian building oozes character.

Along with the well-maintained communal garden,

it also has private parking.

Just look at that beautiful staircase

that I've just come up to get to this flat.

Very, very nice.

And into this very spacious hallway.

There's lots of light in it.

Got a door just here which I can see, actually,

as I approach it, that it's sealed up.

Into the lounge, and what a lounge it is.

Let me just check something first. Have we got a view over the park?

And, yes, we have.

Albeit from the side of the building,

but it's a view all the same.

What a really nice-sized lounge.

Central heating's already in.

Wow. What a very positive start.

Yes, light, airy, beautiful bay windows with views

and a £75,000 to £85,000 guide price.

But not only that, there are loads of original features,

from skirting to architraves, and I love those panels on the wall.

I suspect there may be a few more gems

hidden behind that fireplace or under the carpet.

So what else has this flat got to offer?

So, around the corner, we have got this bedroom.

And that sealed doorway that was there comes into this bedroom,

but it's hidden behind these wardrobes

and it's sealed up because you've got this door here.

A very nice-sized bedroom, nice high ceilings.

The decor could do with changing, but I'm happy so far.

A little bit further down the hallway

we have got the kitchen and the bathroom.

Now, that kitchen just feels too small

for the size of this property,

and I definitely want something a little bit bigger than that

and a bit grander.

And the two further bedrooms are down here.

Now, it might be that you sacrifice one of these bedrooms

to create that bigger kitchen.

That's a possibility.

I'd think about creating a kitchen/diner in that bedroom

that has the blocked-up door from the lounge.

You could make the bathroom bigger

by knocking through that tiny kitchen

and maybe have a utility room.

Of course, you probably need permission

from the management company looking after the block,

which brings me to another important issue.

The management company, or the residents of this building,

have put restrictions on this place being rented out,

so if you do buy this place,

you're either going to have to live in it or sell it.

So, no buy to let here.

Hopefully whoever fancied this flat

will be happy to compromise on this issue.

# You've got to give a little

# Take a little

# Pay the price, make a sacrifice... #

If you were looking to sell this flat on,

it might just come down to the maths.

Would it be worth sacrificing that biggest bedroom?

Let's find out what a local estate agent thinks.

I would say that to lose one of the bedrooms

and make it from a three- to a two-bed flat,

it may not affect the value,

cos obviously having a three-bed flat

isn't really that common anyway.

OK, so, that could be the way forward,

but what about the no-letting clause on the flat?

Would that be detrimental to its appeal?

Having the restrictions doesn't really affect the value.

It may restrict the number of people that look to purchase it,

but it won't affect the value.

If anything, it may attract somebody to buy it to live in and think,

"Well, that's good.

"I'm not going to have anybody renting it next to me."

That's good news,

but with resale the only option from an investor's standpoint,

could that route result in a profit for this flat

that was guided at 75,000 to 85,000 grand?

If the property was renovated from a three-bed to a two-bed,

sacrificed the bedroom to make a larger kitchen

and more living space, then I would market the property at £140,000.

If the property was renovated

and just left in the complete same layout it is now,

I'd probably expect the value to be around £125,000, £130,000.

I do like this place and I can kind of understand

why the residents have got restrictions on it being rented out.

They are managing this property themselves,

and it looks like a well-maintained block to live in.

So were there bidders who were desperate to live here

or did the restriction put off would-be landlords?

Let's see what happened when it went under the hammer.

OK, there's a telephone bid on lot number 47.

We're going posh.

Three-bedroom, first-floor apartment. 80 to start.

70. I need a bid.

70 here. At 70, I'm bidding twos.

72 seated there. 74.

Where's the original bidder? 74. 74. 76 here.

Can you?

76 I've got. 78. 80 on the aisle.

82. 84. 86.

88. 90. 92.

No. With you at 90 to the rear.

Been with me all the way. At £90,000.

I'll take one. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95.

A shake of the head. At 94, back with you, sir.

At £94,000.

At 94 first time and second time. At £94,000, I'm selling this.

Be sure. At £94,000, all done. Selling away.

Well done, sir. 386.

After a bit of a battle,

the hammer fell at 94 grand and the successful bidder was Mark.

He lives in 45 minutes away in Manchester,

so I was intrigued to find out

what brought him to this coastal town.

-Mark, nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-Apart from this amazing location,

what was it about this place that you loved?

St Annes is a place I've visited quite a few times over the years.

I've got grandparents who live less than a mile away,

-so, yeah, I've been coming here for 28 years.

-OK.

Obviously, I know the area well and it's lovely here.

And were you looking for something like this, a flat,

or were you looking for a house?

This is my first solo renovation,

so it kind of ticked the boxes of it being a flat

in a building that's well-maintained

and there shouldn't be too many major problems with it.

-What's your background?

-In the past, I've helped my parents.

They've got three at the moment that they rent out.

They bought them in disrepair and had to renovate them

and get them up to scratch and rent them out,

so I helped out with three of them.

So what was your job beforehand?

Beforehand, I was doing media forensics.

-Were you really?

-Yes.

-That's just gone straight over my head.

-THEY LAUGH

-It does with a lot of people.

So what is media forensics?

It's forensics to do with audio and visual,

so it's a lot to do with CCTV, audio enhancements

-and crime scene reconstructions.

-Really?

Yeah. It's a very niche market.

Yeah, it is a niche market. I've never heard of it before.

No, not many people have.

But, yeah, I left that behind

and went travelling in New Zealand for two years.

Started doing property management over there

and then obviously, with the background in renovations,

decided to come back and give it a really good go at renovation.

-That's amazing. In New Zealand?

-New Zealand, yes.

-It's a long way to go.

-It's not a hop, is it?

-No, it's not. No.

So how long were you there for? When did you come back?

I was there for two years.

It was initially a short-term holiday.

I went there, loved it and ended up staying for two years.

So, yeah, I've only been back two months now.

-All change now.

-All change, yeah.

-A new direction into property.

Yeah, so it's nice to have a new direction and move forward a bit.

So, having gone around the world,

he now finds himself exploring options nearer to home,

but what direction does he hope to take the flat in?

Tell us what you're going to do.

It just needs complete stripping out at the moment.

Obviously, new kitchen, new bathroom, carpets.

I think there's two windows which are double glazed,

but the rest are all single and cracked,

so it needs a complete overhaul, really.

I don't think at the moment

they're making the most use of the space,

with the kitchen being as small as it is,

so there's scope to change things round, change the layout.

Tell us what you're going to do, then.

How are you going to make use of the space and change things around?

At the moment, it's a three-bedroom,

but two of the rooms are quite small.

I don't think it needs to be a three-bedroom,

so there is scope to change it around.

This is the master bedroom,

so maybe change this into the kitchen.

Knock the bathroom and kitchen into one, maybe.

-Make that into a bedroom...

-OK.

-..and just change it around a bit.

And are you going to get involved in that kind of work?

Do you get people in to do it for you?

I've got quite a few friends and family in the trade,

but a lot of the work I'm going to do myself

-and try and keep the cost down.

-Are you really?

-You're going to get your hands dirty?

-I hope so, yeah.

So how much have you got in your budget to turn this around?

To do it properly, I'm hoping between 15,000 and 20,000.

Along with that 15 to 20 grand budget,

he hopes to complete the flat in three to four months,

and having done all his homework,

he did know he wasn't going to be able to rent the flat out.

But did that to change his thinking on it at all?

It was bought as a renovation project to sell,

but obviously after looking round and doing work on it myself,

it might end up that it might be my place to stay and live,

so we'll just see how it goes.

That doesn't surprise me cos when you come in here

-it is quite homely, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-You feel homely as soon as you come in.

-It is, yeah.

Would you change the way you were doing this place

if it was for yourself?

I think it's always best to do it the way you want it anyway.

That's part of the fun of doing it, that you do it how you like it.

Listen, I wish you all the best on your first project.

You've chosen somewhere really nice. Good luck to you.

-Thank you very much.

-Take care. Cheers.

I think Mark would be wise to sacrifice a bedroom

for a bigger kitchen and living area.

I really like this place

and if Mark doesn't move in, I might.

You can find out how he gets on and who's living here

later in the show.

It was in March, 2014

when we were in the market town of Faversham,

just under an hour's train journey from London,

where Lucy saw an amazing listed Georgian property.

OK, this is what you call a hallway.

Wow! Look at that beautiful arch.

Although it does feel very clinical.

It's got that commercial feel to it.

There's lots of strip lighting everywhere,

and that's because it was previously used as a youth centre.

Now, this place is just vast and echoey.

-ECHOING:

-Echoey!

Echo!

Brilliant.

# Didn't you say we would stay

# Till we heard the last echo, echo, echo... #

What does bear repeating is that this was a former youth centre,

so you'd have to apply for change of use

if you had any other plans for it.

But it also has a much more modern extension at the back

that, for Lucy, was a bit old-school.

And this is where, well, it just feels to me as though

I've been transported back to my old secondary school.

It's like a corridor feel to it,

and this is where the original part of the house

and the new part meet.

So we've got a couple of loos over here,

some other redundant spaces,

and what do you think this room is going to be?

Ta-da! A sports hall, of course.

It's massive.

-ECHOING:

-If you thought that room was echoey, listen to this!

But I'm sorry, I need to just quickly do something.

Bear with me.

No, Lucy, don't do it!

D'oh!

Well, Lucy didn't drop the ball

when she looked around the rest of the original building.

Now, that is what you call an arch window.

Look at that. It's magnificent.

Sadly, you have to look out onto that sports hall

with the asbestos roof, but you can't have everything.

So up these steps and you've got an amazing landing space,

again exactly what you would expect in a house like this.

And all the rooms leading off,

just got amazing proportions, lovely ceiling height.

They've all got the original sash windows.

And then through here into the room at the front of the building,

and there's just so much light coming in.

Quite interesting, because you can see somebody has started

to rip down the fake walls.

Look.

There's walls that have been put on but they've been taken off,

and over here you can see the original cornicing.

And my, that is absolutely stunning.

Can you imagine what this place will look like

once all these fake walls have been ripped off

and the original features put back in?

The longer I'm walking around this house

and I'm falling in love with it even more.

# I can't help

# Falling in love with you... #

Lucy wasn't the only one who was head-over-heels

for this property, as it had plenty of suitors at the auction.

Loads of accommodation, arranged mainly in two buildings.

Lots of possibilities for future uses,

subject to planning on this one.

Where do you want to start me? Guide is 220.

£220,000. Where'd you want to start? Start me at 200, then.

I don't really mind. £200,000 straight in.

It was the last lot of the day and it may have been slow to start,

but determined bidders soon pushed the bidding

well beyond the guide price of 220,000.

We re-join at 400,000.

400,000. Keep with it. 400, it's with you.

405 now. With you at 405 now.

405. 410.

At £410,000, it's back with you, then, for the first time.

At £410,000 for the second time.

This is your last chance, maybe. 410.

It's with you, third and final time if you are sure you're all done.

At £410,000.

Well done, sir. It's yours at 410. Well done.

The winning bidder paying 410,000 for this

was film director and artist Paul.

# I got 35 millimetre dreams

# 35 millimetre dreams... #

And he was ready for his close-up with Lucy.

Paul, I've gone weak at the knees with this house.

I absolutely love it.

Why did you buy this?

How did you find this and what have you bought it for?

Well, weak at the knees is a very good reaction.

Ladies don't go weak at the knees

very often with me nowadays... SHE LAUGHS

But I bought it from the catalogue.

I obviously viewed it before I bid, but I thought, "This can be a home.

"This is a Georgian house."

Oh, I'm so glad you've said that.

Because straight away, walking around here,

I would love to see this as a home, because it's just so handsome,

it's just got wonderful windows.

The configuration of the rooms is pretty much as it was 200,

250 years ago.

The rooms are the Georgian proportion,

so all you need to do is strip it out, go back to the basics.

Are you going to replace things like the sash windows?

This is Grade II listed, which means that all the exterior

is subject to council approval and control.

And I wouldn't want to replace the sash windows.

I mean, I'd like to insulate them with a double-glazing behind,

but judiciously, so that it doesn't interfere

with the look from the outside.

At the moment, it's like a cake with a beautiful outside

and a deteriorating interior.

Paul wanted to have his cake and eat it

because he also planned on turning the old gym

into his own private artist studio.

I do three things.

I'm a photographer, a film-maker and an artist.

And that studio will be used for all those functions.

1,500 square feet, a wonderful space.

This blockbuster had a healthy budget of up to £150,000.

Well, I'm really intrigued to find out about your film-making.

Yes, yes.

I've worked with Paul Scofield, Dirk Bogarde.

Lots of, you know, quite well-known actors.

I directed Tom Baker's exit from Doctor Who.

# So, all I need

# Is a time machine

# A one-way track

# Cos I'm taking it back, taking it back... #

We time-travelled four months into the future

to see how Paul was getting on.

He was just a little over halfway into this interesting project,

and he'd made some good progress.

The first job was transforming the former gymnasium

into his artist's studio, which was very pleased with.

I couldn't really ask for anything better.

We've left just one hoop on the wall to show what it was.

I put on a mezzanine floor

to work and to bring the level of my artistic endeavours

up to where the light is best.

And that's also good for storage and desks and computers

and things like that,

and it gives a fantastic view down into the studio space.

But inside the much older Georgian house,

the changes were glimpses of what the house could be

when fully restored.

Work like this takes time,

and, of course, a considerable amount of money.

When I said 150,000, I was hoping it would be less,

and I think it will be.

I'm probably spending about 10,000 a month

and I've spent something between £40,000 and £45,000 so far.

But I think if you look and see what's been achieved with that,

it's not bad.

We're into month four.

I reckoned it would be a nine-month, at least.

Everybody who comes in now feels that...

..we're doing quite well.

With 15 years of property developing experience behind him,

Paul had every reason to feel confident

and he wasn't intimidated by the scale of the task at all.

To make sure that the changes that I impose upon the house

are in the character of the original architecture,

I want to make sure that it's got those touches

that make it personal to me, so it'll never really be finished.

One wants to keep the best of the past.

Find out later if Paul has finally managed

to take this house back to its elegant heyday

by restoring this Georgian masterpiece

two and a half years on.

# Taking it back, taking it back. #

Coming up, I try to get my head around a flat in North London

with unexpected features.

That's also a bit weird.

It's got sort of bits of kitchen unit in it.

And we finally find out if Paul

has completed the work on his Grade II listed Georgian home.

With a house like this, it's never quite 100%.

DION: Time now to head back to the sandy beaches of Lytham St Annes.

Just a short walk away from the seafront,

I saw a three-bed flat

in a very impressive Victorian building.

It had grand rooms and period features in abundance.

Just what you might expect,

although not all the rooms were impressive.

Now, that kitchen just feels too small

for the size of this property.

And the two further bedrooms are down here.

Now, it might be that you sacrifice one of these bedrooms

to create that bigger kitchen.

So far, so good,

but there was one important issue with this property,

and it was a serious one if you were planning to let this flat out.

The management company, or the residents of this building,

have put restrictions on this place being rented out,

so if you do buy this place,

you're either going to have to live in it or sell it.

This restriction didn't put

first-time property developer Mark off.

He played 94 grand for this.

He had experience helping his parents

renovate their rental properties

and had worked in property management for two years

whilst living on the other side of the world in New Zealand.

He'd only been back two months

and his plans for this flat might've been turned upside down.

It was bought as a renovation project to sell,

but, obviously, after looking around

and, you know, doing work on it myself,

it might end up being my place to stay and live,

so we'll just see how it goes.

Would you change the way you're doing it

if it was for yourself?

I think it's best to do it the way you want it anyway,

and that's part of the fun of doing it,

that you do it how you like it.

Mark wanted to do a lot of the work himself

and significantly change the layout

in three to four months, which was a big ask,

so I'm not surprised we are heading back three months later than planned

to see how he got on.

The small bedroom is now a very sleek bathroom,

so what happened to the old one?

Now this is better.

The small bathroom and kitchen have been knocked into one

so there's a good-sized bedroom here.

The other bedroom is where it was at the back.

Of course, now we seem to be missing a kitchen.

As planned, Mark has turned the large bedroom

into a proper kitchen that this flat deserves.

As with the rest of the flat, he's gone for a modern look,

as new plumbing and electrics were required here.

It's a shame he had to lose a lot of the period features

but sometimes, it can't be helped.

Mark has also lost a bedroom,

but with the increased living space on offer,

I think it was a wise choice.

For his first solo project,

Mark has done a great job and can be proud of the graft he's put in.

Most of the work I've done myself.

Obviously, certain things like the electrics and the plumbing,

I've had to get experts in.

I've learnt a lot, and having tradesmen in to do jobs with me,

I've shadowed them and seen what they do

and obviously learnt a lot from that as well.

I'm most pleased with the kitchen, I think -

just for the time and effort that's gone into, you know,

from the initial planning stages to getting the layout right.

There was times, you know, in the middle of it,

where I just thought it was a million miles away,

but it's great now just to see it nearly finished.

He may have added some new skills whilst renovating this flat,

but do the figures for the work still add up?

Mark hoped all the work would cost between 15 and 20 grand.

I think the initial budget was just a basic refit,

but, obviously, the spec's gone a lot higher now.

So, in the end, I've spent about 24,000.

Well, by upping the spec and getting things just the way he likes it,

I take it Mark is ready to move in.

Um, I was. It's just...

It's nice round here, but it's so quiet,

so I think now I'm just going to be selling the property

and moving on to the next one.

# Shh

# It's oh so quiet

# Shh

# Shh... #

Oh, well, then.

Mark is still in his 20s, so I can understand why a vibrant city

like Manchester might be more his style.

Someone else can enjoy living in this lovely flat

in Lytham St Annes, which is...

# So peaceful until... #

Time to shatter the peace and quiet

by asking two local estate agents along

to hear their thoughts on the changes Mark has made

on this flat.

First, let's hear from the agent who saw it last time.

The main selling points to the property

are its proximity to St Annes,

the park, and the excellent finish of the kitchen.

It really is phenomenal.

There's no real negatives to the property.

Obviously, it was a three-bedroom before.

That would've suited some people,

but the excellent finish throughout will make a difference.

I think the layout works really well.

The getting rid of the three bedrooms and having two

and a lovely big dining kitchen

is really what the buyers will be looking for

for this type of property.

As we know, Mark isn't planning on living here,

but because the management company of the building

have put a restriction on the flat, he can't rent it out.

Bearing in mind Mark has spent a total of 118 grand on this,

what kind of figure could it be worth?

In the sales market,

this property will fetch somewhere in the region

of £140,000 to £145,000.

In the sales market,

I would feel the property should be able to achieve

in the region of £145,000.

The sale valuation is around what I was expecting.

I was working towards about £145,000 at the start of the project.

Obviously, with going over on the budget,

it's pleasing to know that it's at the higher end

of what I was expecting.

Even though Mark went with high-spec and over budget,

he could still come away with a pre-tax profit of £27,000

if he gets that top valuation.

Well, Mark won't be staying here,

but will he be staying with property development as a career?

Overall, the experience has been very good.

I've learnt lots and obviously,

I can take that forward into the next project.

I'm in New Southgate,

a residential suburb of North London.

It has both a railway and tube station,

from where it takes 25 minutes to reach the city,

so it's well located and you can certainly get more property

for your money than in certain Central London spots.

This is especially the case

with ex-local authority properties,

and that's what I'm here to see.

In this case, the guide price is 210,000 quid.

Let's have a look.

I like the fact these blocks are only three storeys high,

although the one I'm here to see is on the ground level,

which isn't usually as popular as the favoured middle floor.

The communal areas are functional and clean,

so nothing major to worry about so far.

Oh! What a lovely front door.

Well, you know, first impressions really matter.

I know it's silly - it's just a door -

but, actually, it really sets the scene.

I don't know if the rest of the flat's going to match up to that

but we always talk about first impressions when you see a property,

and a prospective purchaser would see that and go,

"Ooh! Nice door." Well, maybe.

Anyway, a bathroom there. Looks like it needs refurbishing.

It needs the door treatment, actually.

A living room there.

That's a bit weird. It's got some kitchen units in it.

So, OK, we've got a kitchen-living area there.

And then, a bedroom.

That's also a bit weird.

It's got sort of bits of kitchen unit in it.

My guess is that was originally the kitchen

and it's been basically taken to bits...

Boiler's still there, but the rest of it taken out.

..to create a third bedroom.

Now, in London, that probably makes sense,

cos a three-bedroom flat's obviously going to be worth more

than a two-bed.

On the other hand, is that good for that living area?

I'm not so sure.

You'd need to seek some professional advice on that one for sure.

Hmm.

# There's no use in trying when the pieces don't fit any more

# The pieces don't fit here any more... #

You can't just go bunging kitchens into any old place.

First, you'd probably need the freeholder's permission.

Then building regulations approval is needed to cover drainage,

ventilation and escape in case of fire, amongst other things.

The real conundrum here is that by adding a third bedroom

you would lose the good proportion

and practical layout which are normally associated

with ex-council properties.

That being said, I can see the attraction financially.

I'm definitely in two minds on this one.

So, down the end of the corridor here,

you've got bedrooms one or two, or potentially three.

They're not a bad size.

They've got these fairly old-fashioned built-in units

which you'd probably want to take out cos they definitely

shrink the size of the room.

It looks like you've got relatively new sockets and light switches,

but don't be fooled.

This is a really important point.

It's very easy just to stick a new switch on like that

and you think, "Oh, new electrics,"

but, of course, what's behind there is what's important -

the wires that run up and down and, of course, the consumer unit.

So don't assume just cos it looks new

that in fact the wiring is new as well.

But one other thing to point out while we're in here,

down here looks to be a bit of damp of some sort.

That could be just condensation, it could be a bit of rising damp.

You just want to check that out.

It could be just the house - flat, rather -

has been left unoccupied for a while.

It doesn't look too serious,

but it needs to be investigated before it gets any worse.

All in all, yeah, it's all right.

That wasn't really praising, was it?

It's fine.

# Ain't that fine

# Ain't that fine... #

OK, I'm not exactly bursting at the seams with adulation here,

but aside from the rather suspicious looking kitchen units

in the living room, this flat is pretty much as you would expect.

Can we say the same for the outside?

Well, as with any flat,

outside space is an absolute premium,

and in this case you do have

-what's described as a shared garden.

-HE CHUCKLES

There's somewhere where you can hang your washing, which is good,

and then to cap it all you have your very own little storage shed.

Extra storage in a London flat is a definite bonus.

You could certainly fit a bike or two in here no problem.

Time now to get the thoughts of a local estate agent

on this flat, guided at £210,000.

First impressions of the flat are good.

The decor is good.

It seems all structurally fine,

but obviously somebody would have a survey, I suspect.

But generally speaking, it's quite a clean, bright,

pleasant flat.

Well, we're in agreement on that,

but let's get the professional's opinion

on that two- or three-bedroom conundrum.

Conversion-wise,

I think it would be better to leave it as a three-bed.

You might be able to sell it for a little bit more money,

and it may be a better situation

for an investor to purchase something that's a three-bed flat.

So what difference would the numbers make,

bearing in mind that guide price of 210,000?

As a three-bed,

I would say it could sell for in the region of £365,000,

and as a two-bed, I would say that this would sell

For somewhere in the region of £350,000.

Well, it's a nice enough flat in a good location.

Clearly the biggest question on this one

is whether or not you leave it as a three-bed, sort of,

or you reinstate the kitchen where it originally was.

I guess that will be down to the buyer.

Let's find out who that was when it went under the hammer.

Ground-floor flat in need of modernisation.

Who'd like to get me started on this?

You're bidding? How much? 240, OK.

We'll go upwards from there. 242, thank you.

244. 246.

248. 250.

After a hesitant start, the lot gained interest,

and we return to bidding at £270,000.

270. 272.

274. 276.

No? It's with the lady and gentleman here in the middle on my right.

Anybody else for lot 132?

Bids... 276, yeah?

276. 278. 280.

282. 284.

Back to you in the middle here on my right.

282 for the first, 282 for the second,

282 for the third and final time.

All done?

Sold, 282. Well bought.

The successful bid of 282,000 for this ex-local authority flat

was made by property developer Tina.

On this occasion, Tina had bought this property

with her business partners,

so I'm keen to hear what they have planned for it.

-Tina, lovely to meet you.

-Lovely to meet you, Martin.

Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy this flat.

Basically, this flat actually fits our budget,

and I saw the location is up-and-coming.

It is close to another project I'm working on,

and in terms of timescales, fitting into our time as well,

there's only three to four, maybe four to five weeks' work here.

-So is this something you do?

-Yes, yes.

I trained as a medic.

-A medic?

-Yeah, about 15 years ago,

and then I moved onto doing neuroscience research.

-Neuroscience research?

-Yes, yes.

I was a scientist for ten years,

but I always wanted to be an architect,

even when I was a little girl.

So it's kind of just a career change,

that I want to do something I really want to explore, a new area.

Wow. I don't know how many neuroscientists

turn into property developers.

I've never spoken to one on the show before, so that's a first.

-OK.

-It just goes to show. Wow.

What was it about this flat you liked?

There's not too much work involved.

It's actually in quite good condition

apart from moving the kitchen back to where the kitchen is,

so it's quite straightforward.

With a view to what? Renting it out or selling it on?

So we want to turn this one over quickly,

put it on the market and sell it on,

and then we will start looking for the next project.

You mentioned there moving the kitchen back to where it was.

Obviously, at some stage, somebody has moved the kitchen into here,

-presumably to create a third bedroom.

-Yeah.

-And you're taking away that third bedroom.

-Yeah.

In the world of moving it on quickly to maximise profit,

is that the right thing to do or not?

Well, I think personally that will be the right thing to do

because you can see this living area is not that big

and the kitchen is not connected even.

-Oh, wow.

-They've just literally dumped it here,

created a third bedroom.

-Ah.

-And within the area, I don't think this works,

so there's two nice-sized bedrooms down the corridor there,

and whoever buys this can do with a nice kitchen,

a proper kitchen/diner, use the other bedroom.

Right, OK.

And have you checked what difference that will make

to the price at the end of the day?

I went to two agents.

Estate agents came through and straight away they said

this one has to be moved back.

-Oh, did they?

-Yes, they did, so this is not big enough.

It just goes to show that, when it comes to property developing,

professional opinions can differ.

Tina's research has led her to conclude

that it's better to put the kitchen back.

Given there are not going to be any major refitting costs,

she's certainly giving that opinion serious consideration,

but I'm wondering if it's the right decision.

So you paid £282,000 for this at auction.

How much are you hoping to spend on the refurbishment?

We have a budget of around 12,000...

-Right. OK.

-..with a 3,000 contingency.

We're kind of thinking about four to five weeks.

-And who's going to do the work?

-My builders.

-OK.

-Yes.

-Are you going to get your hands dirty?

Not very much, apart from choosing the colours,

maybe doing a bit of cleaning before professional photo shooting.

-Ah, well done.

-And that's pretty much...

And is this something you see being your career from now on?

I think so. I really enjoy the progress,

and you can see how you turn a property

from not being loved for a long time

into somebody's lovely home, so I enjoy the progress.

Listen, congratulations. Good luck with it.

I look forward to seeing how you get on.

Thank you very much.

In London, in this property market,

I'm so nervous about losing a bedroom in this flat.

I'd really want to canvass even more opinion than Tina has

to find out exactly how much difference it made

before I actually move that kitchen back into the bedroom.

It really is an interesting one.

What will she decide? You can find out later in the show?

Well, earlier, we saw how one of our properties had turned out,

but what about the other two?

Yes, all sorts of problems can crop up.

What have our buyers on today's show had to deal with?

Why don't we find out?

We now return to Faversham,

and that fantastic Grade II listed Georgian property Lucy saw earlier.

Despite some beautiful original features,

it would be fair to RECORD that the building

has had a utilitarian feel,

because it was used as a youth centre previously,

and the biggest clue for this was at the back.

Ta-da! A sports hall, of course! It's massive!

Someone who thought this was a slam dunk

was artist and film-maker Paul.

He paid £410,000 for it,

and certainly had a vision for this amazing lot.

I thought, "This can be a home. This is a Georgian house."

Oh, I'm so glad you've said that,

because straight away, walking around here,

I would love to see this as a home.

When we returned four months later to see the progress of the work,

we saw that Paul had turned the old gym

into his artist's studio.

But the work on the main house itself was still taking shape.

I want to make sure that it's got those touches

that make it personal to me, so it'll never really be finished.

One wants to keep the best of the past.

Although artist Paul had said the house would never be finished,

we are back a little over two years later

to see if this masterpiece is ready to be exhibited.

Wow!

The area that links the house to the gym is fantastic!

But what about the Georgian house? Dare we look? Is it finished?

Yes, it is finished, and it looks fabulous.

You may have lost a bedroom,

but you've gained a stunning bathroom.

There are still three very large and characterful bedrooms up here,

including one with a master en suite.

And what is Paul's favourite part of this lovely Georgian house?

Well, the answer might surprise you.

My favourite part of the house is the washroom.

The washroom is wonderful.

I don't know why, but when I go into it,

I feel totally at home.

I go in and prime canvases in there, I hang up my clothes in there.

It's the size of a small cupboard,

but I think I'm probably as happy in the washroom

as I am anywhere in the house.

Er, it's a perfectly nice room, Paul, but really, the washroom?

-The WASHROOM?!

-HE LAUGHS

And I suppose ultimately I'd prefer to be out here than in the washroom,

but you wanted an honest answer, so I gave it to you.

Well, I'd find it hard to pick a favourite room here.

They've all been decorated and furnished

with impeccable taste and a sympathetic eye.

Paul has been meticulous

in preserving the integrity of the house.

Fireplaces have been cleaned up, sash windows restored

and floors replaced with reclaimed timber.

There's also a studio flat just at the end of the linking room,

which means an assistant or intern can stay here

whilst working with Paul.

I can see why he would need some help,

even just to look after all the paintings

that he's accumulated in the last two years

since we were here.

You know, I've got probably 100 paintings,

you know, dotted around here.

Well, you need a place this big to actually be able to, you know,

take some down and put others up.

I used to keep them in a garage in Dulwich.

Nobody ever saw them.

They sort of went mildewed,

and you'd pull them out and they were all stuck together.

Well, here, they're looked after.

So, I think that's how I see this house,

as a repository of a lifetime of collecting and of making things.

It sounds to me like, two years and six months later,

this house is finally complete.

Well, with a house like this, it's never quite 100%.

I would say we're 95%, 96% there,

and probably that 5% will continue to run as long as I'm in the house,

because it's like the Albert Bridge, you know -

you paint one end and then you get to the other end

and you have to go back to the beginning.

And what is really very, very rewarding,

because it's on a corner, and a lot of people pass by here,

I sit with my panama hat,

the elderly gent with, not a watering can,

but a rather modern hose, watering everything.

People do stop and say how much they've enjoyed watching it

be salvaged, saved, and now be restored

to something like it might have looked in 1790.

It's certainly a grand old house

with a grand price tag for all the work.

Originally, Paul thought he'd spend no more than £150,000

doing the work, but he's now spent £230,000.

Do you know what, though?

I think you can see every bit of it, and it's been well worth it.

I could spend another 100,000 on the house easily,

but it's now highly habitable, and beautiful to be in.

Part of the problem this afternoon is going to be when

you get your two agents in, cos one of them, the local one,

is going to put a low figure on it,

and the London agent's going to put a high figure on it.

And if the high figure was actually obtainable,

there's a temptation to sell,

because you're sitting on quite a lot of equity,

and I'm a single person, you know, living alone here.

So there's going to be a tension within that.

Well, now seems like a good time to test

and see if Paul's theory is correct.

We asked two agents along

to give us their thoughts on the property.

First, the locally based agent.

It's absolutely stunning.

I mean, the house has transformed dramatically

since I saw it last time.

Beautifully presented, period features restored.

It's absolutely gorgeous.

My first impressions of the property are wonderful.

I think the owner's done a really, really good job.

I particularly like the attention to detail when it comes to the colours.

It's a Georgian property,

and I think the owner's made a real effort

to try to bring the colour scheme of that period into the property.

The only slight negative I think that we have here

is the lack of outside space.

There isn't a garden.

There is outside space, and there's plenty of private areas you can sit,

enjoy a glass of wine, sit and chat.

Unfortunately, in terms of garden for children,

it's a little bit restricted.

With only one negative point from the agent,

will Paul's theory on their valuations prove right?

And will Paul be tempted to recoup some of his £640,000 investment?

Let's begin with that locally based agent.

I would pitch this property between £950,000 and £1 million.

I would recommend for sales a guide price of in the region

of £1.25 million.

Well, it turned out Paul was right, and for good reason.

He knows the sheer size and grandeur of this house

could cost three times as much in certain parts of the city.

So, with the property only an hour's train journey

to Central London, if marketed there,

it's sure to have a wider market appeal

and fetch a higher price than the local market alone.

But what does Paul think of those valuations?

I'm pleased that the local agent is valuing up to a million,

because that's an expensive house here.

And at 1.25, this would be the most expensive house

in the immediate town, which is thrilling news.

That top valuation, if he could get it,

would mean a potential pre-tax profit of £610,000.

So quite a lot of tension, then, for Paul.

However, he's not made up his mind yet, and who can blame him?

After all the hard work and creating a terrific studio to work in,

it would be a hard one to give up on.

What are his feelings about the last two and half years?

Well, traumatic, of course. You know, don't do it!

HE LAUGHS Stay away from the auction!

All those things.

But then, you know,

we're attracted to that dangerous edge, aren't we?

You know, to doing something that's a little bit different,

just because we're here, most of us believe, only once,

and so take advantage of it, and have some fun and, you know,

put the boat out a bit.

Back now to the London suburb of New Southgate,

and that ex-local authority ground-floor flat.

Normally, ex-local authority flats have good layouts.

This one, not so much.

A living room there. That's a bit weird.

It's got some kitchen units in it.

So, OK, we've got a kitchen-living area there.

And then a bedroom.

That's also a bit weird.

Well, actually, not all that weird.

Someone had been trying to maximise the number of bedrooms here,

and it kind of makes sense,

given that a third bedroom in London gives higher yields.

But admittedly, it didn't make for a great living space.

But former neuroscientist and now property developer Tina

bought it at auction for £282,000,

and was definitely utilising brainpower.

You mentioned there moving the kitchen back to where it was.

Obviously, at some stage,

somebody's moved the kitchen into here,

presumably to create a third bedroom.

-Yeah.

-And you're taking away that third bedroom.

As a living area, it's not that big,

and the kitchen, this one, is not connected, even.

-Oh, wow!

-So, they've just literally dumped it here,

created a third bedroom.

-Ah.

-And within the area, I don't think this works.

Tina had a budget of £15,000

and a five-week timescale for her builders

to get the work done and have the flat ready

for the resale market, so it's time to put the former scientist's work

under the microscope - nearly four months later.

The experimental unfitted kitchen is gone,

so this flat has returned to its two-bedroom beginnings.

But there is something else here you might find illuminating.

# Want you to see everything

# Want you to see all of the lights

# Fast cars, shooting stars

# All of the lights, all of the lights... #

Tina had pushed the boat out with a bespoke lighting scheme.

Now let's put the spotlight on the new kitchen,

which does look stunning.

And lighting wise, it hasn't been left in the dark either.

It's quite the transformation, and Tina should be very proud.

We had totally refurbished this flat throughout,

but we carried out a little bit more work than we originally planned.

As you can see, the older ceilings are new

and we created rafter ceilings.

And we had a new kitchen done to a really good standard

and as well the bathroom is all brand-new.

New flooring, new wall, some of the plastering,

that's pretty much what we have done.

Inside out, all new.

And the modernisation continues in the two remaining bedrooms,

which are much bigger having had the fitted wardrobes removed.

But did Tina and her team ever consider keeping that third bedroom?

It's not a massive flat.

It does need a proper kitchen

to accommodate the needs of people living here,

so it's a good move to put it back to where it should be originally.

We're losing one bedroom, but, in fact,

we're not because it shouldn't be there in the first place.

The kitchen is just lovely,

and I think Tina has made the right call.

This flat is certainly the cat's whiskers,

but the rewiring proved a bit of a challenge.

The ceiling's all concrete,

so one of the choices is you chisel down the concrete

to get the new wires extended,

but that is not the best because we can't afford the ceiling

to get any damage to the upstairs floor.

So what we did is we dropped the ceiling slightly,

but only at the edge.

It's got rafter ceilings

and that can accommodate the spotlight as well,

the LED strip.

We could have simply just doubled the ceiling up,

but because we encountered actual work anyway,

so we thought, me and my company, as a team,

thought we'd make a good feature out of it.

It's a credit to Tina and her team

that they were able to take a problem and solve it creatively,

but how did these unforeseen issues impact on their budget?

So the budget has almost doubled from the £12,000

we originally planned.

Now it's reaching 24,000,

and the main reason for that is we had to make a new ceiling

and make it quite a feature.

That's increased the labour of my tradesmen and also material-wise.

The kitchen has replaced original budget free-standing appliances

to fitted appliances,

so it is a much higher standard than we originally planned.

Tina has spent twice her budget,

but what happened to her five-week timescale?

It ended up taking us, from originally planned,

five weeks to ten weeks, because, A,

we had a bit of delay getting the consent and permission

from the freeholder.

B, we had to make a new rafter ceiling.

And also we have increased our standard, finishing's very high,

so the details do need extra time

to get the tradesmen complete to a spotless standard.

So it seems double has meant trouble here.

But with a total investment of 306,000,

is there a profit to be made?

Time to hear from the professionals.

We've invited along two local estate agents

to get their opinion of this property.

First impressions of the property is it's very spacious, good size.

Two good-size bedrooms,

lovely fully refurbished kitchen and bathroom,

everything throughout.

The standard of the finish for this property is exceptionally high.

It's probably one of, or THE best flat I've seen

in and around this area in terms of finish.

So the agents are impressed.

But did Tina make the right call

about returning this flat to two bedrooms.

Converting this property back into a two-bedroom

was definitely the right thing to do.

It gives you two really good-sized bedrooms,

which people want in this area, and a lovely fully refurbished kitchen.

You're going to eat into your yield

a little bit in terms of the rental value,

but overall in the long-term and grand scheme of things,

I think it was the right thing to do.

So it may affect the rental value

but, as Tina plans to sell this property on,

what could it be worth?

I would recommend an asking price of £375,000,

and I would expect to achieve offers in excess of £350,000.

In my opinion, this property on the sales market

will achieve a price in the region of £350,000.

Based on that estimate, Tina could achieve a pre-tax profit of £44,000

and the top rental value of £1,500 per calendar month

could mean a yield of almost 6%.

What does Tina think of those valuations?

We're happy with a 350 mark,

but we would like to achieve it higher

because we think the time and the thought put into this flat

we hope somebody will appreciate to a higher value.

The flat looks great,

so has she got any illuminating words

for aspiring property developers?

It's going to be a challenge every step,

but it's great fun and whoever wants to join the crowd

of buying and investment in the future, please do.

When it comes to property developing,

no matter how experienced you are,

there's always something new you can learn.

Yes, and we'll have plenty more stories for you next time,

so make sure you join us here on Homes Under The Hammer.

-Bye.

-Goodbye.