Rekha Patel Britain's Empty Homes

Across the United Kingdom there are nearly a million homes lying unloved

and unlived in, ready for someone to come along

and give them a bright new future.

So, whether its a tired semi or a rambling mansion

we're on a mission to rescue Britain's empty homes.

Even in the midst of a national housing shortage,

empty homes continue to languish in our towns

and cities slipping further and further into decline.

But, every now and then, somebody spots one, steps in,

and changes its fate forever.

Today, I'll be passing on my experience of renovating

an empty house, advising an intrepid first-time buyer who has

already taken the plunge and bought a wreck.

That's very damp.

And I'll be introducing her to experienced renovators

who've done it all before.

You made this yourself?

-I did, yeah.

-You're so clever.

-Thanks!

Look at how big it is.

We'll also be hitting the streets with an empty property officer,

on their mission to bring run-down buildings back into use.

This would be the point of entry, I imagine.

Units like this, these double glazed units can be taken out

in their entirety and just put to one side.

Buying your first home is a huge step

so you want to get it right from the start.

Spotting the possibilities in an empty house

and then maximising their potential,

can not only deliver a dream home for a fraction

of its final worth, but can also propel you up the property ladder.

That's exactly what maths teacher, Rekah Patel, wanted to take

advantage of when she decided it was time to move out of the family home

and buy her first house.

At the beginning, I wasn't really sure what I wanted.

I've looked at terraces, detached,

modern, old, and I just kept going back to the ones with character.

To be honest, I didn't think I'd find a character home

that I could afford, but I finally found the one.

With high hopes, but a low budget of £160,000,

Rekah figured buying an empty house in need of work would be

an affordable way to get her perfect place.

I'm a little bit scared about the renovation process.

I mean, I am quite a practical person.

I've done a lot of DIY with my dad and my brother.

I am willing to learn very quickly as well,

so I am looking forward to this.

What Rekah eventually found was this Grade II listed Georgian cottage

in the pretty village of Simmondley on the edge of the Peak District.

The stone built, double fronted property has two bedrooms,

two reception rooms and a private walled garden.

-Hi, Rekah.

-Hi, Jules. Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you too.

-So this is what you've jumped into with both feet.

-It is, yes.

It's beautiful.

Now, let's just be clear,

you're at the stage where your offer has been accepted.

Yes, my offer's been accepted. I've done my survey.

-So how much did it set you back?

-It set me back £162,500.

-OK.

Well, that's on the face of it not too bad,

but I can see, just looking at the line of the guttering there

and so forth, there's a bit of woodwork that's gone amiss.

But otherwise you think it's kind of sound.

It is quite sound.

It does need a lot of work, it does need a lot of work, but I'm willing

-to put that work into it.

-Now how much have you got to spend then in cash?

-About £15,000.

-To do it up a bit?

-To do it up, to start with.

-Yeah.

And then I'll save up as I go.

Because I'm on my own, it's not a bother.

So, this is going to be quite a long-term labour of love, isn't it?

Oh, it is, yes.

But we've got £15,000 to really get it to a state where you feel

-you can move in comfortably and get on with it.

-Yeah.

-OK.

So, Rekah has found a great house in a great location,

but with no renovation experience to transform it into her dream home,

I want to help her decide on the scale of work

she's prepared to take on and where she's going to need skilled labour.

-Wow. Look at this old thing.

-I know.

-That's going to go, presumably, is it?

-Yes. Definitely.

What are you going to do in here, then? What's this going to be?

Well, I'm hoping to have a kitchen/diner

because my kitchen's through here, so this wall here is hoping to go.

OK. And then it's going to open up through here into...

This tiny kitchen.

THEY LAUGH

-Yes.

-Even for me.

-Even for you this is very small.

But taking this out is going to be quite a number.

Have you spoken to your friendly conservation officer about this wall?

Yes, I have. She's seen the kitchen and she's seen how small it is

and she does understand that this wall needs to be taken down,

but she said you still need to apply for it.

Again, this is one of the tricks of taking on a listed building,

isn't it? You've got to absolutely dot all the Is and cross all the Ts

because if you upset them and you do something that they don't

-think is appropriate, you could find yourself in quite a bit of trouble.

-Yeah.

Rekah's done well finding this place

and I want to give her some ideas of what she can do to it.

-Now, this is the living room.

-Very generous actually in space.

I can see why this place has really captured your imagination.

-Yes, I can imagine a log burning stove there.

-What's in here then?

-Any ideas?

-No. I don't know.

REKAH LAUGHS

Do you know what? I think that's a salt cellar.

Why would you have it in here though?

-Traditionally that's where they were. Kept it nice and dry the fire would have been going...

-Right.

-This is interesting, though. Ah.

-Ah.

-That goes through to your kitchen.

-Right.

-So you could have another door here into your kitchen.

-Right, OK.

Again, you need to clear that with the conservation guys.

But if you could, that could make the whole thing flow in a nice circular way.

-Right. It's exciting, isn't it?

-It's really exciting!

I really like it, actually.

-This is my master bedroom.

-Wow.

-Isn't it amazing?

-It's huge. You've clearly got a bit of an issue here.

-Yes.

-That's very damp.

-Yes.

It may be that the gutters simply aren't functioning properly.

But you're obviously well aware of some of the obvious

pitfalls that this place has. It probably needs rewiring completely.

-It does need rewiring.

-The central heating.

The damp, I suspect, is going to be the biggest headache for you.

Because, until you get that right, there's no point pouring time

and money into even basics like repainting, re-wallpapering,

because it simply won't last.

You've got to get the damp done. Both damp issues up here

and stuff that's coming up from down below.

I think the best thing we can do now is get

you into a couple of properties where the owners have also gone

through the process that you are about to embark upon.

Figure out how they did it, learn from them and hopefully come back

with a more detailed and focused plan for you to take on this place.

OK. Let's go.

Rekah's property is clearly an enticing proposition for anyone,

let alone a first time buyer like her. But therein lies the problem,

she hasn't got tens of thousands of pounds to throw at this straight away.

It's going to require careful and meticulous planning

to finally turn it round. But the good news is

that whatever she lacks in cash, she more than makes up for in enthusiasm.

Later, I'll be introducing Rekah to accomplished renovators who've

taken on daunting projects,

to show her how great things can be achieved once you have the know how.

Taking on a renovation of any size

is a big challenge, especially if you've never done it before.

That's just what Catherine Cantin found when she bought this

three-storey end terrace in North London in 2008.

When I got the keys, that was probably the most exciting moment,

walking in, in whatever shape the house was in. But just

knowing that it was mine and knowing what I could possibly do to it.

The house had been

empty for six months

when Catherine paid £825,000 for it.

She then found an architect she trusted

and set out on a renovation lasting ten months.

I couldn't have done this without an architect.

I don't have the foresight or the vision.

And he walked in and his enthusiasm was very contagious

because he could see exactly what he wanted to do

and what he could do.

I knew that wherever I lived it had to be liked

and the architect has done some fantastic things.

The first idea he had, which completely made sense to me

and it was very simple, is to have a skylight at the top of the first

set of stairs. So when you open the door, you're looking up into light.

The top floor, where we have a butterfly roof and it's fabulous.

So, normally in a Victorian house, it gets darker the higher up you go,

it just seems to get lighter and lighter.

Very greedily, we managed to get one in the kitchen and the extension

of the kitchen and that's fantastic because the sun comes in there.

Life resolves around food.

I love eating. I love company, socialising and now I love having a garden.

And the kitchen that is a living area and an eating area

and just a hanging out in area and that I can open these doors

and the kitchen becomes the outside, the garden comes into the kitchen.

Having the nerve to take on a vacant property means Catherine has

been able to tailor the house completely to her needs.

At a cost of just under £600,000 for the transformation.

I think I'll probably stop just right here. It's fabulous.

It's everything I could have dreamed for, really.

Even as we speak, there's probably an empty property

in your town that's being investigated by a dedicated band

of empty property officers. Trying to figure out why it's

been abandoned and what can be done to get it back into use again.

Andrew Vickers is the Empty Property Officer at Nottingham City Council.

A former policeman with 30 years experience pounding

the beat in the city, over the last two years alone

he's found new owners for over 350 abandoned buildings.

I particularly enjoy tracking empty home-owners down.

I pride myself on having a fairly high success rate in finding them.

I would say it is around about the 99% mark.

Andrew gets around 20 new cases a month.

But today he's dealing with one of his longest running ones.

This morning, I'm going to visit a property that I've been invited

back to look at which has been empty for about 20 years.

A taxi office with three domestic properties above

in a city centre location.

Originally owned by a co-operative, the taxi firm was wound up

in 1986 and the Victorian property has been empty ever since.

-Hello, Sean, nice to see you again.

-How are you doing, Andrew?

You all right? Come in.

You've really done well with this.

This was the taxi office and it was all falling apart.

Complete mess, really.

The building has been bought by two brothers whose father had been part

of the co-operative who originally owned it.

Now it's back in the family, their plan is to renovate

the commercial part on the ground floor and the three flats above.

There was an out house there with the steps coming down,

-so that's all gone.

-It was a kitchen and a bit of a bedroom.

My dad roughly worked here from 1965 as a taxi driver.

So we've got a bond with this building.

My brother and I have always come here as children

and been took to and fro and we feel

like we want to put it back into its former glory if you like.

We're feeling proud that we have done it.

It's just a family moment, you know,

that we can put this back into our family and say,

"Yes, we had it and we lost it and we've got it back again."

Got some original features here. The original cast-iron fireplace.

Yeah, that's right, that would have been with the coal fires.

Many buildings in Nottingham

are built on sandstone in which caves were often dug

and used for a variety of purposes.

And the builders have uncovered some at the rear of the old taxi office.

So this would be a coal cellar with the black soot, the chute there.

That's cut into the rock.

Yeah, it would've been some kind of old cave.

It's fascinating because you've exposed the bedrock again here.

This is all Nottingham sandstone again and all the footings are laid

upon this in probably the early 1800s.

This has stood like this for 150 years. So presumably it's a good, solid base.

Yeah, I would've thought so.

Andrew's the main instigation here.

The council have been great as well,

but he's been a real help on getting this project back on track.

I mean, it was one of his top priorities to get this

property off the council's listings as bad properties in Nottingham.

I'm really happy that this property is coming back into use.

Since getting ownership,

Sean and Damien have wasted no time at all in gutting this property.

Starting work, they mean business.

It was a mess and they're going to bring it back to life.

I'm really happy with the progress they've made so far.

For Andrew, it's been a long process, but ultimately worthwhile.

After being left unused for more than 20 years,

within the next six months this place will provide three

much-needed homes and business premises.

Now if you've ever wandered past an empty property

and wondered what it's like on the inside,

there are one or two tell-tale things that you can look for.

Broken or damaged guttering could indicate that rainwater is getting

into the walls and causing damp.

Cracked walls could indicate subsidence

and also have a look for cracked or broken roof tiles,

that also could add to a whole host of problems with rotten timberwork.

But for the experienced renovator, this sort of thing

wouldn't really put them off because they'll know very well that

such a thing could be bought for a bargain of a price.

Rekah Patel has just bought her first house

and is ready to leave her family home.

She isn't shy of a challenge, which is lucky,

as the empty Georgian cottage she's bought requires a lot of work.

The damp, I suspect, is going to be the biggest headache for you.

Being a renovation novice, Rekah

needs the know how to tackle her Grade II listed house.

So I'm going to introduce her to a couple who are part way through a major renovation,

who can offer advice on the best way to approach a project.

-What do you think of that?

-That is amazing. Absolutely fantastic.

-Now, this was completely derelict.

-No way.

-Yes.

It had been so for at least five years before these guys took it on

and they have had to do absolutely everything.

So it's a much bigger project than yours,

but a lot of the principles involved here are the same.

Simon and Sharon Stanton bought the old mill ten years ago.

It dates back to the 1600s and additions built on in the 1820s

make up the bulk of the current home, which had stood empty for five years.

I used to live on a very busy main road with trucks going past

and cars and people banging on the doors.

I dreamed of somewhere quiet and this was the ideal spot, really.

When Simon showed me the house,

I was like, "Oh, it's just awful". I couldn't see the bigger picture.

-I said, "Would you like to live here?"

-And I said, "absolutely not"!

Still very much a work in progress,

this renovation has been a gradual process over the past ten years

with the work being done by builder, Simon.

-OK, so as you can see this is the kitchen.

-Oh, lovely.

Look at the range!

THEY LAUGH

-You are dying for a range in your new kitchen, aren't you?

-Oh, wow.

Just give us a real sense, a picture of what this place was like

when you found it, what, ten years ago?

Oh, it was... All the windows were blocked up.

It had holes in the roof. No floors. Vandalised.

It's been hard work, but worth it.

The other thing, I suppose, to look at is the walls and the lime plaster

that you've got on there because this is a great remedy for damp, isn't it?

That's correct, yeah. It breathes, you see.

Whereas traditional plaster doesn't breathe.

It keeps the moisture in, whereas lime plaster lets it breathe.

-Right. Because I've had my survey.

-Oh right. And they said to damp-proof?

-Yeah.

-It's definitely the way to do it in an old house.

-You shouldn't put damp-proofing in old houses.

-Right, OK.

-So, there you go.

-First bit of advice.

First bit of advice.

-Ah, Rekah, look at this. Wow! Come on in.

-Look at that. Look at that fireplace.

I'm hoping to find one underneath that awful chimney breast.

I mean, keeping the cost down is going to be a key thing here

because you have effectively got 15,000 or so to make a start

and it is really about priorities.

Where you would start? Where did you start with this one?

The roof. I got the roof sorted first. That's the major thing.

Get a lid on it and just work your way down then.

Sharon and Simon have also added an extension

to the side of the old mill.

Wow. This is amazing!

-This is going to be quite a statement, this room, isn't it?

-Yes.

It was a mill here originally which I knocked down

and put planning in to rebuild it as an extension as part of the house.

-Look at that fireplace.

-But this is not original to the building, is it?

-No. No.

-Is it not?

-No. No. I made it.

-You made this yourself?

-I did, yes.

-You're so clever.

-Thanks.

-Look at how big it is!

But with this, I mean, you are creating an enormous space,

Sharon, what's going to happen up there?

We could make probably eight more rooms upstairs,

but I think there's going to be possibly four.

But you are you are doing it to live in, not develop and sell.

No, definitely to live in. It's the family home.

So from all your experience, what would be your top tips?

Definitely to prioritise what is a necessity in your home.

You know, make sure you've got your working kitchen.

I would say that would be my first thing to do

and just not to cut corners.

-Save up and do it properly.

-Thanks for that.

-Make sense?

-Yes. It does.

-Excited still?

-I'm excited, but a little bit scared.

A little bit scared. Hopefully we haven't put you off.

The key thing is we're trying, really, to kind of open your eyes

to what the reality of taking on any renovation is all about.

Yeah, definitely.

You know, we often use the term a labour of love

when talking about renovations, but this really is the real thing.

Ten years on, Simon and Sharon are still plugging away,

creating a home that, by their own admission,

they would never ordinarily have been able to afford.

And as for Rekah, her insatiable enthusiasm remains undaunted

and lots of good ideas for her to take away for her own project.

Later, I'll be taking her to see a finished project which

I hope will show her that you don't have to have

experience in renovations to turn a wreck into a wonderful home.

But first, back in Nottingham, empty-property officer

Andrew Vickers is dealing with a typical problem case.

Today, he's en route to a property which is

a cause for concern for its neighbour.

I'm going to check up on a house that was reported to me last week,

which had been broken into.

The lady next door has reported it.

She actually caught some youths coming out of the property.

She's concerned for her own safety and that of her house.

This end terrace has been empty for more than a year.

It was the subject of a repossession order

and a new owner bought it in April 2010.

For the neighbour next door, it's been a real worry.

Living next to the empty property, at times, has been very frightening.

Broken windows, doors open, very threatening at times.

Properties like this, that are left empty, often attract

anti-social behaviour and, in fact, this one has been broken into recently.

Andrew's already contacted the new owner about carrying out work to

secure the house and today he wants to check that this has been done.

This window's obviously been hastily repaired.

This would be the point of entry, I imagine.

Units like this, these double-glazed units can be taken out

in their entirety and just put to one side.

It looks like this one's been repaired by the owner

and put back in.

Not every empty home-owner acts as promptly as that.

It's quite pleasing to see that somebody is taking a bit of trouble

over their property and responding to my requests.

Andrew now wants to reassure the neighbour about what he's found.

It looks like the new owner will renovate it and let it out.

-Let's hope that happens sooner rather than later.

-Hopefully. Hopefully.

-Thank you.

-Bye.

-Bye-bye.

When it looks empty it goes into a spiral of decline quite rapidly

and to nip it in the bud like this is a good thing.

It's good that the owner has acted promptly and got it repaired.

It looks as if it'll be back into use imminently.

In the coming months, once the house is renovated, it will become

a home again and be one more case closed for Andrew.

But he will be monitoring its progress closely.

Rekah Patel has just bought her first home.

She fell in love with this beautiful stone-built Georgian property

and was undeterred by the worn-out decor.

She's been introduced to Simon and Sharon

who are in the process of an exciting renovation

on an old sandstone property built in the 1820s.

And now I want to show Rekah a finished project to prove to her

just how much can be achieved

when you breathe life back into a period place.

-Wow!

-What do you think?

-It's amazing. Look at that wheel.

-Yeah.

-It's an old mill. 1716 this was built.

-Right.

If you take nothing away from this particular building, hopefully

its exquisite design and presentation will be things that will stick

in your mind and you can take some of those ideas into your own build.

Let's have a look. Let's get out of the rain.

When Margaret Nathaniel set eyes on this graceful old water mill

back in the 1990s, she instantly fell in love with it and was determined to

make it her home even though she had never renovated a property before.

-Let me introduce you to Rekah.

-Nice to meet you.

-Hi, Rekah.

-Nice to see you.

Built in 1716, it was known as the Shovel Mill

because workmen's tools were made here.

A village landmark for centuries, after an 11-month renovation,

it was turned into a unique family home,

successfully combining contemporary taste with past traditions.

-Wow. This is beautiful.

-What do you think of the open-plan style?

I really like it. I really love it. Especially the A-frames.

We've seen two properties with A-frames now.

It sort of makes me want to knock my ceiling through.

-Now what do you reckon to the floor?

-I think it's beautiful.

It is the original floor, but from the floor below.

I asked could the floor be used and the builder said it could.

But they took the roof off and it was in inches of water

and I was really worried.

I thought, well, it's not going to be able to be used, but it was

and there are a few holes here and there, but I think that adds to it really.

Yeah, it is all part of the flavour, isn't it?

Going to the heart of reclaiming materials that may be in,

the building. So that's something you should really keep an eye out for,

but it's an absolute triumph. I think this is a lovely conversion.

In a way it is a bit upside-down, isn't it?

Yes, the bedrooms are underneath. They're on the floor below.

But I just think this room is so lovely to have the open aspect

and be able to look at the river and the wildlife.

The changing seasons, it's just fantastic.

-Ah, this is gorgeous, isn't it?

-Very nice.

Now this, we should add at this point,

is a whole new extension, isn't it?

Yes, the mill was taken down and rebuilt

and then this was added on as extra.

So were you able to use a lot of the stone that came

out of the original mill structure to face all of this extension?

-Yes.

-This is great.

I think this is the sort of style that would really suit your place, Rekah.

Yeah.

Things that I'm picking up on - the tongue-and-groove on the wall,

it's a really lovely device to give something a bit more texture

and character and the colours you've picked, I love them.

It's easy to paint yourself as well.

So if you're intending saving money that way...

I really like this multi-colour thing going on well, it's very nice.

It's kind of texture, isn't it? I think.

And then you can use the colours that are in something like that

in other places, then.

So what would be your final tips then?

I think, because of the age of the property,

to buy good quality things to go in it, don't cut corners

because in the end you end up paying more in things like the granite worktops,

the beech wood worktops, they don't cost an awful lot of money,

but I think if you get good quality things, they last longer.

-Well, that's a theme that's emerging from today, is quality.

-Yes.

I definitely will be taking that advice on board.

Margaret's renovation is a much bigger project

than Rekah will be doing at her house. But I hope it has given her

the inspiration to tackle hers with confidence.

Now then, Rekah, we've packed in a huge amount today.

It all started with you giving me a tour of your new home.

Now, have you had any more thoughts as to what you are going to do with it,

since we've had had our little tour of renovations?

Yes.

I think the main thing is the thing about quality

all the way through, from the builders to the materials that you buy.

So I think it is save and then do, save and do.

You see that's really important, I think,

because as you can see from Simon and Sharon's job,

I mean, they've been at it ten years and that's exactly what they've done,

saved a bit, built a bit, saved a bit, built a bit.

That's really going to be the pattern of your life

for the next two or three years, I suspect.

I think so, definitely, but I'm looking forward to it.

Very best of luck with it, Rekah. And enjoy it, have fun.

It shouldn't be a toil.

It should be something you find enormously rewarding,

-which I'm sure you will.

-Yeah, I think I will.

-Brilliant, well look, here's to you. Best of luck.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

You know, in meeting Rekah, I have rarely come across anybody

who's so excited about the idea of taking on a renovation.

Not least, of course, because it's her first home, but in taking on

an empty property, she's going to get exactly what she wants.

Now, of course, she can't do it all at once.

It's going to be a very measured approach,

but, step by step, I think she'll get there and what a place it'll be.

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