Lynda Grey Britain's Empty Homes

There are nearly 1 million homes lying abandoned in the UK,

just waiting for someone to breathe life back into them.

Whether it's a tired semi or a rambling mansion, we're on the search for Britain's Empty Homes.

We're on a mission to discover how empty properties can be turned back

into homes again, and to show you how one could become your next home.

'First, I'll be trying to convince a home-hunter how readily a vacant house could be transformed

'to suit her needs.'

As you can see, it does need an awful lot doing to it.

-Are you daunted by it?

-No!

-"No!"

-Takes a lot to daunt me.

'We're on the beat with the people whose job it is to track down the owners of abandoned houses

'to get them lived in again.'

You've got a roof terrace. Doesn't get much better, does it?

And we'll be looking around a couple of homes that have been rescued

from ruin and lovingly restored.

To the uninitiated buyer, standing on the threshold of an empty property

may not immediately be that appealing. But once having seen inside and recognised the potential

on offer, it's easy to see how many of these buildings can be transformed into dream homes.

Lynda Grey is on the hunt for a new home to buy in Yorkshire.

Since she successfully sold her home a couple of months ago,

she's living in rented accommodation with her youngest daughter, Becky.

But now Lynda is looking for a place to do up to call their own again.

'I'm struggling, really, to find what I want to live in.'

So I'm temporarily renting here, so that I can make sure I get the exact property I'm looking for

this time around, because I'm hoping that's going to be my final home until I retire.

'We're very sociable people. We like to entertain quite often. My daughter has lots of friends round.

'So I need the space for her and her friends when they come round,

'but I also need somewhere that I can get away from them and their noise.'

We've realised, with the dog, we need a garden, definitely.

That's a real important criteria.

As a self-employed book-keeper, Lynda needs a home-office,

and add to that an extra guest bedroom for family and friends.

'I'm really looking forward to finding a property that we can renovate.

'I've done a lot of renovations'

over the years, so I'm hoping that this will be my last one!

'So Lynda's up for a challenge, which is why I want to convince her

'that taking on an empty property could be very rewarding indeed.'

-Hi, Lynda.

-Hello.

-Nice to see you.

-And you.

Now, just give me a sort of rounded picture of the kind of property you're looking for.

I want, um, an open-planned space, kitchen/breakfast room.

If we have a nice lounge with an open fire, that would be lovely, that would be our sort of warm space.

-So it sounds like you're quite a practical person.

-Yeah, I am, yeah.

-So knocking down walls, that sort of thing, not a problem?

-No. I'm up for knocking things down,

destructive things! But I'm hoping that maybe some of my friends will give me a bit of advice

-on the creative side of things, to be honest.

-Yeah.

-Given that you're renting, you are hot to trot, aren't you? You're ready to move.

-Yeah. Cash buyer.

-Now, how much cash are we talking about?

-Um, well, the maximum,

to incorporate all the renovations etc,

-probably 450 is my budget.

-450.

-Yeah.

And in terms of area, where would you ideally like to be?

I'd like to be in Harrogate or Knaresborough, or in between the two.

-Hopefully, we can find you something interesting.

-Yeah, I hope so!

So Lynda wants a place somewhere in the region of Knaresborough and Harrogate,

where she can have open-plan living but with a living room of her own, too,

three to four bedrooms, and a garden for Rocky the dog,

all for a budget of £450,000.

So, the first place I have lined up for Lynda to view is in the handsome town of Harrogate.

Famous for its fortifying spa waters, it also has some of the most desirable properties in Yorkshire.

Unearthing a vacant gem here could provide Lynda with the potential for a perfect home and within budget.

OK, Lynda, let's stop here. This is actually on the market

for 379,950.

-I'd have expected that.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Obviously, you've been thinking about property in this area.

-Yeah.

D'you think that's a fair price?

Um, well, I'll have to have a look inside to tell you that, really!

The million-dollar question! Right, come on.

'The house has been waiting for a buyer to recognise its potential since its owner moved out

'a few months ago. It's got four to five possible bedrooms of varying sizes,

'a kitchen-diner, a large garden and not one but two living rooms.'

As you can see, Lynda, this is technically another reception room,

but in terms of your big, open-plan kitchen-diner,

come and look at this...

-Gosh, it's a big kitchen, isn't it?

-Isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Could easily get a table in here as well.

-Oh, yeah. Yeah.

-But you could, as well...

-Take out the wall.

-Yeah, take a lot of this out and give you a real flow through.

-Yeah.

-And it would be...

-A living kitchen, actually, wouldn't it?

-A sort of living room/kitchen.

-This is probably where you'd spend most of your time.

-Yeah.

With a cosy reception room next door with the fireplace and all that.

When I walk into properties, I either like them straight away or I don't, and I like the property,

-I must say, I like the feel of this.

-Let's continue with the downstairs.

We've got two bedrooms down here for you to have a look at.

And let's think about Becky.

Now, down here, quite a big shower room and bathroom.

-OK.

-Separate WC in there.

Technically, this has four bedrooms on the spec. That's one of them.

-OK.

-Not a bad size. But you may have a few other ideas for that.

But this is what I'm thinking for Becky...

Do you think your daughter would be happy in here?

My only feeling about this is it's not very big,

-for a room for Becky.

-Gosh, I wonder how much stuff she DOES have!

-A lot! She's a girl!

-Yes, silly me - of course!

Um, well, I suppose that leads us on neatly to think about somewhere for YOU,

being the other girl in the family,

-and somewhere that can incorporate all YOUR stuff.

-Yeah.

-We're thinking you would be...

-Upstairs.

-..upstairs.

Now, this, in terms of a bedroom

-for you...

-Yeah.

-..what do you think?

-Nice size, yeah.

-Definitely.

-But across the landing there is another separate bathroom

and a couple of rooms which I think are quite interesting.

That's the bathroom.

This is quite funny. Bit more storage. Have a look at that!

-Lovely!

-Clearly, a little girl's room once upon a time,

-but you can use that as storage.

-Yeah, definitely.

There's another room here, have a look at this one...

-Yeah, you could have quite a lot of wardrobes in here.

-Loads.

I can imagine you being up here and then, you know, the kids would have the run of downstairs.

-And then you've got all that great big reception space as well.

-Yeah.

-It would work well.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

So we've dealt with you, we've dealt with the kids, how about the dog?

-The dog.

-The dog! Let's look at the garden.

OK, somewhere for the retriever.

I don't know how much of a garden you want.

Always difficult to know until you see one. Size-wise, would this work?

It's a perfect size for me, absolutely.

So now Lynda's seen it all, time to get some costs.

We asked a local architect to come round and measure up for knocking through the kitchen,

reconfiguring the living area and for an overall cosmetic updating throughout the house.

-He's given us a quote of round about £30,000. So, 410...

-Yeah.

-..or thereabouts.

-It's certainly shy of 450.

-That's not a bad price, actually.

-Yeah.

-Yeah. A lot of house for that.

-It IS a lot of house for that.

-It's one to think about, anyway.

-Yeah, definitely.

-Let's keep searching. Come on.

'Taking on a project of some magnitude is often best tackled in stages,'

which is just what Pippa Peyton and her husband, Scott, did

when they bought a crumbling manor and coach house in Oxfordshire.

We literally drove up the driveway, saw the house

and just said, "Yes, we want it."

The house itself was empty for about 2½ years

and the previous owners had lived here for about 50 years,

so we knew that it was a very well-loved family house,

although in need of some significant renovation.

The coach house itself was still in its existing form

with three coaching bays

and next door was a stable

with what had been a hay barn above it,

which had had some kind of conversion in the '60s,

but hadn't been lived in.

I didn't really want to be living in the main house

while we were doing that up and trying to run a business and we have two young children as well,

so I felt it was better to do the coach house up first,

and actually live in it while we tackle the bigger project, really, which is the manor house.

The challenge was just how to turn the coach house into a home.

We then took the decision to make the coaching bay side

into the cottage, which is one open-plan area downstairs

with a sitting-room, dining area, kitchen

and bathroom, all off the main area,

and then a double bedroom upstairs with a smaller bedroom for the children.

We then decided that the other side, which is the bigger side

and has basically two large areas,

now makes up two studios,

which is for our interior design and renovation business.

We took out the ceiling and we've exposed all the original beams,

which are lovely and have been untouched.

They're also the original dovecotes in there,

so you can see exactly where they are.

It's a lovely light, airy room now that we've put a new window in.

It's a very, very nice place to work.

I think it probably cost about £270,000.

We then spent about £130,000 on it,

and if we were to sell I suspect it would be valued at about 600-650.

It's a great way of seeing a building come to life

and making it your home.

By doing it yourself, I think it makes the end result even more worthwhile.

Homes are built to be lived in.

It's the job of the nation's empty property officers

to track down the owners of abandoned ones

and persuade them that their houses are actually of far more value if they allow people to do just that -

to live in them.

In Westminster, the man with this job is Paul Palmer,

but when owners refuse to cooperate,

Paul and the council must take control of a building's future themselves.

This building in Soho was acquired by the council with the help of the police

and other agencies, as a result of a crackdown on residential places used illegally for commercial purposes.

-How are you?

-Very well, thank you. Thanks for meeting me.

-Come in and take a look.

-Lovely, looking forward to this.

Newly renovated, the building is now ready to house council tenants.

A bit different from when I was here last time.

It certainly is. It's changed beyond all recognition.

So this is flat C, Paul.

-This floor wasn't here at all in its original state.

-Right.

If I show you round the rest of the unit

you'll see how spacious they are compared to how they used to be before.

-Yeah.

-This is the top floor kitchen, Paul, which I think has come out really well.

It's lovely.

So as well as the space restrictions, what other problems did you have when developing it?

The main problem we had on this site

was planning policy to retain the facade of number 2...

-Right.

-..which had heritage tuckpointing.

We could only bring material in via the facade of number 3,

which we were allowed to take down and rebuild.

Everything went apart from the front wall, so we had a retention scaffold build inside of the front facade.

-So it's almost a demolition and rebuild, really.

-Absolutely.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

It's been a challenge but it's been rewarding.

Yeah, of course.

Knowing that they're coming back into use is fantastic.

-They got their own little roof terrace.

-They have, yeah. It's a really nice space.

Location wise, it's absolutely fantastic. We're in the heart of Soho,

in the heart of London, you've got a roof terrace... It doesn't get much better, really, does it?

And a week later, potential tenants arrive to view the place as their possible new home.

This is the master bedroom.

You got nice cupboard space here.

'It was amazing.'

Yeah, it's got space, and things, to move around.

It was really light and pretty and modern. Big windows...

I think anybody would love to live in a flat like that.

It's a very satisfying part of my job,

cos really I can look back and say that if we hadn't taken the action that we did as a city council,

those properties would still be sitting there empty,

they'd still be in very poor condition,

they'd be doing nothing for the neighbourhood, they'd be a blight and a nuisance

and there'd be all sorts of anti-social behaviour taking place in and around that area.

That's not the case. They're soon to be occupied and they're in beautiful condition.

I'm really pleased it's the action that we took as a city council that made this result possible.

If you'd like to see an empty property near you brought back into use,

contact your local council and get them on the case.

Lynda Grey and her daughter Becky are looking for a home to buy and do up in Yorkshire.

They want three to four bedrooms, open plan living

and a garden for Rocky the dog,

and have £450,000 to spend.

The first place I showed Lynda was in the spa town of Harrogate.

It ticks all her boxes and, with the proposed changes, came in on-budget.

I like the property, I must say. I like the feel of it.

The second property is an all-together different prospect.

In Lynda's other desired location of Knaresborough,

with its beautiful gorge and rich history,

this market town has a lot on offer.

OK, Lynda, property number two.

-This really is a project.

-Yeah.

-What do you think?

-It looks quite small.

-Well, it does come with planning to extend it.

-Right.

Which is no bad thing, which would make it big enough for what you're after.

-Right, good.

-Um... But of course, price is everything.

Currently on the market for £350,000.

Oh, my God, that sounds a lot.

I think it's a bit keen, myself,

-I'd look to see that a little bit lower.

-Negotiate a bit.

I suppose it depends how much of a project you're really up for.

I'm up for a project. I don't mind something like this

because we're renting at the moment, so I can stay away while the builders do the work.

Well, let's see if you want to stay in this one.

Currently a two-bed, but surrounded by enough land to fit Lynda's requirements,

this house has lain empty for over a year after a sale fell through.

I think it's exactly the kind of place that Lynda could really get stuck into.

Come through here. I suppose this is what would have been the key reception area, really.

As you can see, it does need an awful lot doing to it.

-What do you think?

-You could make this quite cottage-y, this room.

-Yeah.

Are you daunted by it?

-No. No, it takes a lot to daunt me.

-Good. Good. Well, keep that spirit up, we'll need it.

As you can see, Lynda, the kitchen as was.

I mean, needs a bit of work, is the obvious thing to say.

Various cupboards and what have you have been knocked away.

I think you get the idea that what we're up against is a complete redesign.

Yeah, refurbishment.

So you get all of this space and you can knock that down.

-Big kitchen.

-Massive. This would come right out,

so you'd have a big L-shape. So, this goes, and then this becomes your diner.

So that wall's gone,

that wall stays, you could go for French doors in there, potentially, out to the garden.

The other clever thing, though, is that this can go,

giving you a full-length extension, two storey...

-Has that got planning permission?

-That's got planning too.

Importantly, it gives you a lot more room upstairs as well.

A double-height extension will mean the existing two bedrooms

will be joined by a third, to suit Lynda's requirements.

Let's go out to the garden. I think then the space we're talking about using up will be more obvious.

And we can see where Rocky might want to play.

-The garden is not bad, actually.

-It's not a bad-size garden.

-What you see is what you get.

I think it'd be quite nice with the extension.

It would certainly make it work. That's what this property needs.

No matter how big or small your renovation plans,

if they involve structural work, it's advisable to get a building expert in.

So we arranged for a local architect to estimate for expanding the kitchen,

building a two-storey extension and for internal refurbishment.

For all the structural work, and there is quite a bit to do here, about £100,000.

-Right.

-That's not decorated, that's just it up.

So you'd have to put the finishing touches on.

OK. Does that include the bathrooms?

Yep, that's all in. Yeah.

It's certainly something to think about!

'I'm pleased she can see the advantages of taking on a vacant building.

'But will either of the ones I've shown her become Lynda and Becky's new home?

'We'll find out later.

'Back in London, Empty Property Officer Paul Palmer

'is on his beat in the city of Westminster.'

I'm off now to one of my largest cases in Mayfair

There are two buildings worth about £50 million.

Ex-embassies, absolutely beautiful but I've recently discovered there's been squatters.

I've made contact with them, this is my chance to get inside

and see what state they're in.

One of the buildings used to house the Mexican Embassy

while its neighbour was home to Tanzanian High Commission.

But both have been lying empty for five years.

They've been taken over by a group of artistic squatters

who are using the place live in and exhibit their work.

-Hello there, Paul Palmer, City of Westminster.

-Hello, nice to meet you.

-Come inside.

-Thank you very much indeed.

As classic Georgian townhouses go, the buildings have a wealth of original features in every room,

such as fireplaces, parquet flooring and detailed cornicing.

The owners are taking steps to evict the squatters

but Paul wants to inspect the buildings

so he can see how much work the owners will need to carry out

to get them back into use once the squatters have gone.

So, what sort of stuff have you done maintenance-wise?

We've cleaned off all the grime covering the surfaces,

we've cleaned all the windows, we water-blasted the facade.

Yeah, we've taken good care of the place.

There's a bit of a myth that squatters take over people's houses

and, you know, dispossess families on to the street.

You can't get away with that legally.

And the only places that we've ever occupied have been long-term empty places.

The building next door is also in the same ownership

and after five years of vacancy, it too needs Paul's appraisal.

The front foyer of the former Tanzanian High Commission.

-Let me show you around.

-Please, yeah.

And this building appears to be in a bad state.

-Pity really, such prime real estate.

-Yeah, I love the way they've just screwed straight in to the woodwork.

Oh, yes, this is plush red carpet. We like a bit of plush red carpet.

It hints at its former illustrious past, this sort of building.

But it looks as if the previous occupants left in a bit of a hurry, really.

They've left quite a bit of junk behind.

It seems here as if it's just been abandoned, really.

It's a bit of a shame.

It's inevitable that the squatters won't be in there for much longer

as the owners have already started action to get possession of the property.

I'm going to start writing to the owners saying,

"Look, you've had this problem with squatters. This is what happens when you leave a property empty.

"The best way to secure it is to bring it back in to use and have it occupied.

"So, all I want to is - what are your plans for comprehensively refurbishing the building

"and bringing it back in to occupation?"

Then, of course, we'll enter in to a dialogue.

And that's the beginning of the process that will lead to a compulsory purchase order

if we don't see evidence that the owners are taking the issue seriously.

Eventually the squatters were evicted and now Paul can start work with the owners

to get the building back in to use.

Even though you may end up with a unique property,

finding an empty place often starts in the standard way -

at the estate agent's.

Which is just how Michael and Maria Roscoe found their first home.

We'd asked them to keep us informed about any new properties that came on to the market.

So, being a first-time buyer, we could move very quickly

and as soon as we saw the property, we snapped it up.

It was really exciting, getting the keys

when we first moved in.

It had been empty for about 6 months.

It was a ropey, student house so the condition wasn't good.

It was a real state, basically.

We could see the potential.

It looks like, you know, it'd be a quick job but then when you start to rip the floorboards out,

there will be a beam that needs replacing or, you know,

you take the tiles down and the plaster will come with it.

So there's always a lot more to do than you first think.

For me, the living room is my favourite room

because it's quite light.

I like the simplicity of it.

I like things being uncluttered as well so it's a very uncluttered house.

I also really like the kitchen.

I like to cook so it's a room that really work well for me.

One of the bedrooms upstairs we use as a quiet reading room.

So that's a good place to escape to and I like that area as well.

We bought it 10 years ago before the housing market went a bit silly.

So it was £90,000 when we bought it.

Since, over the next 10 years, we've probably spent around £35,000 on it.

And what I think it would be worth - just under £250,000 now.

Buying an empty property, you do get the chance to really do exactly what you want to do with it.

It's not just about the fact that it's a lot cheaper

but you can put your own mark on it.

It's been a much better long-term option for us.

Buying a house straight away that needed doing up. There's no way we could have afforded it straight off.

I have loved every minute of doing this house up.

It's been fantastic.

If you'd like to turn an abandoned house in to your next home,

here is how to go about it.

Cast your net wide, search the catalogues of online auction sites

as vacant homes often go under the hammer.

Tell estate agents you want to buy an empty place

and to alert you as soon as one hits the books.

And scour your neighbourhood.

If you spot a house and the owner is known to the council,

they may well approach them on your behalf to see if they want to sell.

Today's home hunter, Lynda Grey, is looking for a home to rescue

that she and her daughter, Becky, can make their own.

I've shown her two places, one that need very little work

and one that needs quite a lot more.

And both for under her maximum budget of £450,000.

The question is, have either of them grabbed Lynda?

Well, Lynda, how have you found it?

Has it been revealing in some way?

Uh, yeah, it's made me consider another area.

And maybe a different style house to what I was originally envisaging.

Let's have a think about where we did start

which was that bungalow just outside Harrogate.

-What did you think of that one?

-I really like the feel of that one.

It was roomy, you know, the spacious rooms there.

It probably isn't where I would have chosen to look at a house

but now I've been and looked,

I quite like that area.

I am going to take Becky back to look at that one.

-Ah! Interesting!

-I'll take her back to look at both of them but...

-Yeah.

But then we took you to something which wasn't an easy project at all.

Required an awful lot of vision, to be fair.

But you didn't seem daunted.

No, not all.

For the right price, you know, you get your builders in and they'll do the job for you so...

And location-wise that one was perfect.

Interesting. Cos I thought you'd struggle more with the last property

But it seems to be as viable as the first one.

Yeah, well, it's an either/or, isn't it? They are possibilities.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when Becky goes round, to see what she says to you.

-But I think two very interesting options, two very different options.

-Yeah.

Hopefully it's inspired you in terms of taking on an empty property.

Inspired me to open up my ideas a little bit more, I think.

You know, I've been looking at very suburban, standard properties, I would say.

Whereas I think these are just a bit different to my norm.

-Brilliant. Well, very best of luck.

-Thank you.

Unearthing these hidden gems can take time.

But do enough digging and when eventually you do strike lucky,

you could well find that it's exactly what you're looking for.

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