Hannah and David Ohandjanian Britain's Empty Homes

Across the country, empty properties are waiting to be brought back into use.

I'll be finding out why,

and what you need to do to rescue a house for yourself.

Along the way, we'll be following the Property Detectives,

who track down the owners of these forgotten houses

and help breathe new life into the communities blighted by them.

And I'll be doing some digging of my own,

to find out more about more about our housing stock,

our heritage and why we should be both preserving and reinventing

Britain's Empty Homes.

Now, we've all seen them -

those sad, stricken structures lying abandoned and unloved.

There are thousands of empty properties across Britain,

waiting to be noticed and restored,

and turning these properties into fantastic homes once more is

a challenge that people up and down the country are taking on right now.

'On today's show, I'll be meeting a couple who bought what they hope

'will be a fantastic family home, and I'll help them

'to get advice and inspiration to make their dream a reality.'

We've got six weeks.

Six weeks?

Yeah. So we've got of work to do.

Wow.

And we'll be following one of Britain's Empty Property Officers,

working to get disused buildings back from the brink.

It's good news for the council, it's good news for the developer,

and good news for the locals.

They won't have the eyesore to look out on.

When Hannah and David Ohandjanian stumbled across this

three-storey Victorian building in the centre of Rugby in Warwickshire,

it had been empty for three years, after being used as offices.

When we first saw it, we saw that it was in a bit of a state,

but then we also immediately saw the opportunity to turn

it into something beautiful and exactly what we wanted, because it

had the space and it had the light, and also the location was perfect.

Having outgrown their current house,

Hannah and David felt that with some considered renovation,

this period place would fit their family perfectly.

We've got three small children.

They're just going to be getting bigger,

and Dave hires an office at the moment, so we kind of thought

that we could get a house that he can have an office at the home.

We could combine the two.

We could have the extra space, the extra living space for a family,

and also combine and save costs.

After a successful application to get change of use

from commercial to residential status,

they then bought the house for £174,000,

and now plan to transform it.

It was a lot cheaper than anything else

we could have got for that size, and we've got the funds then

that we could decorated exactly how we wanted.

It's got the potential to be a really comfortable family home, right in

the centre of town, and it's really perfect for what we're looking for.

'I'm meeting up with David and Hannah at their new home,

'to see just what their options are

'and hear their ideas for the renovation.'

-Hello, nice to meet you.

-Joe. Hi, Hannah.

-Hi, Joe. You all right?

-Hi, David.

Now, guys. This is your place. So, tell me about it.

For a start, you got it for an absolute steal. How so?

Well, it's been offices, but that's been three years ago.

It's been empty for three years.

Right, so because you saw the potential of it,

maybe you went where others wouldn't have dared go?

Definitely, because it's turned into offices,

but it could still become a beautiful home again.

Yeah. Now, I can see a skip outside, so how long have you been in?

Work's obviously started.

We got the keys about two weeks ago, and that's actually the third skip.

-Third skip?

-Yes.

Brilliant. Let's go and see what you been up to.

OK.

'With a budget of £50,000,

'the couple plan to turn this three-storey building

'into a four-bedroomed family home with an office for David.'

Look at this. So where were things when you first came in here?

Well, where Dave is, that would have been a little reception area,

so there was a wall here.

Right.

And there, so we've taken all that out.

-That's the little reception window.

-Yeah.

That's where the receptionist was.

And this wall's going to come out as well? How does that work?

It is, yes. We can't just rip that wall down,

because it's a supporting wall,

so we're going to put an RSJ in there, and have it opened out,

so it's nice and airy and spacious.

Goodness. And once you've got a big space here,

what do you want to do with it?

OK, so, down here, where we're standing,

is going to be part of my office.

We're going to have a meeting room where we're standing around here,

and then through here's going to be a big, open-plan office.

Well, clearly a lot of confidence here.

I love how you've come in, ripped things out

and you're smart enough to know what a supporting wall looks like,

as well, so have you done this before?

Not really. We've done a bit of work on our current house,

but nothing to this scale.

And have you got anyone to help you?

-Hannah's dad is actually...

-My dad's actually a builder.

-Oh, right.

-So we've been able to ask his advice,

which has been really helpful.

Excellent. Is he consulting, or is he actually going to be hands-on with you?

-He's going to mainly be doing the kitchen area.

-OK.

And also working on the office, but our idea was to have specialists

doing the specialist areas, so it's going to be crucial that we put

hard work in as well, but we really want it to be right first time.

-Brilliant, OK. Let's continue, shall we? Shall we look through there?

-Yes, why not?

Well, this is a really good space.

So this is, what, going to be a kitchen-diner?

-Yeah, we're going to have the dining room table there.

-Yeah.

Galley kitchen here.

-At the back, we're going to have a couple of sofas.

-Right.

And then the back wall is going to come out,

and we're going to have bifold doors.

It's our place we're really excited about, living space for the family.

Great, and you're working on this now.

How soon, in terms of timescale, do you need all this to be done?

This is the big thing we need to have done before we move in.

The kitchen down here and the bathroom upstairs,

so it's a comfortable place to live, even while we're finishing off

some of the smaller things around the house.

And when would you move in? What is the timescale?

We've got six weeks.

Six weeks?

Yeah, so we've got a lot of work to do.

-Wow. What's dictating that? You've got to get out of your current place?

-Yeah.

And so, you're prepared, are you, to be living in a building site?

You want if you areas to be nice, but you're going to just try

and cope and get by with other work going on when you're here?

Yeah.

In this area and the office that we seem, as well, it does look

a bit of a building site, but the rest of the house is not too bad.

-It is liveable.

-OK.

'This is a big job to tackle, and it'll need a lot of hard work,

'especially on the ground floor,

'to make this once commercial premises into a comfortable home.'

When you look ahead to the six weeks and beyond, what are your worries?

What are your concerns about this project?

I think mainly the timescale, isn't it? We haven't got long.

We need to get a kitchen in, we need to get a bathroom in.

Relating to that is scheduling correctly so that we have things

in place, workmen in place that will turn up, and also keeping within

budget, and then with that in mind, also making it work how we wanted

it to be, with our vision being fulfilled and not getting it wrong.

Well, it seems to me you're very much on the right lines.

You've had some really good advice from your father, in terms

of him being a builder, but what would be really good now is to see

another place that's been renovated, and speak to the people involved.

I'm going to show you somewhere that, in many ways,

is different to this.

It's on a much bigger scale, but don't let that put you off,

because there's still loads of great inspiration,

ideas, advice that you could take away.

They were also first-time renovators as well,

so there's a lot of similarities. Does it sound good?

-Yeah, definitely. Looking forward to that.

-Excellent.

Well, I really like this place,

and I think David and Hannah have lucked out.

It's huge, and they've got it for a very good price indeed.

Now, David and Hannah have got some help through Hannah's father,

but even so, they don't have much experience, so it's going to

be really good for them to meet a couple who've been through this and

can give them that extra little bit of advice to help them on their way.

Up and down the country, stricken structures are left empty

and abandoned, waiting to be rescued.

And the people whose job it is to seek out these buildings

and get them back into use are local council Empty Property Officers.

In the Thanet area on the Kent coast,

Mike Thomson works to get houses on his patch lived in again.

Today he's heading to an iconic building in Broadstairs

which has been converted into flats,

but sadly became vacant and subsequently vandalised.

I'm here today to assess its loan eligibility, to see whether

we could actually advance one of our interest-free loans on the property.

I hope we can,

because I'd dearly love to see this building brought back into use

and provide much-needed accommodation for the area.

Mike's meeting the agent for the developer, Jeff Oliver,

to see just what needs doing to the building.

-Well, it's quite a project, isn't it?

-I should say so.

It's a big old Georgian building

that's been rather left to fend for itself in recent years.

-Shall we see what we've got?

-Absolutely. After you.

-Thanks very much.

The house had been divided up into 21 flats

before the current owner took it on.

While it stood empty, lead had been stripped from the roof,

leaving considerable damage to the interior.

Ah, yes.

So, if you look just in front of you there, Mike, you can see that

-clearly been leaking for some time, where the lead has been taken away.

-Yeah.

So even today, we've got the rainwater coming in,

and we can see here how the ceiling has collapsed at some stage.

Because obviously, this is vital, isn't it,

to get this roof buttoned up and get it secure.

Absolutely.

Once we stop water coming in, that's half the problem, isn't it?

That must be the first aim, to keep the building watertight, preserve the fabric.

I agree.

As with any abandoned building, Mike needs to check its condition

before he can sign off the council's interest-free loan.

So this, obviously, was a kitchen.

Yes.

-This is consistent all through the building, isn't it?

-Correct.

So we're talking about 21 kitchens, and 21..

21 kitchens, 21 bathrooms, 21 central heating systems,

21 of everything.

Yeah.

So that's going to be a considerable expense, isn't it?

Quite correct, yes.

The whole house needs a major renovation,

but it will eventually provide much-needed housing

for 21 families on the council's waiting-list.

I'm very pleased to say, Jeff,

that everything I seen here today qualifies for the loan.

If we start with the roof, all the damage that's been done all

the way through to the fabric of the building, to the ceilings,

windows, kitchens, the bathroom.

We would welcome a loan application.

Good, well, that's marvellous news, Mike.

I shall be very pleased to tell the developer that,

and I'm sure he'll be ecstatic about the whole situation.

I'm so pleased somebody's taken this lovely old building on.

It's good news for the Council, it's good news for the developer,

and good news for the local people.

They won't have the eyesore to look on,

and it's going to provide some much-needed accommodation,

and we'll get a long-term empty building back into use, so it's great news.

Since Mike's visit, the loan application is being processed,

and the developer hopes to complete the work within six months.

Coming to the rescue of a derelict house and getting it

back on its feet can be a great personal triumph, but it could

also benefit the local area and, by bringing a property back into use,

help reduce the huge demand we have for housing in our country.

When Susan and Alan Chater spotted this 17th century stone barn

just outside Sheffield, they decided to take a chance on it.

It was just a mess.

Overgrown, stone walls, weeds. Just awful.

Dark, damp, and uninviting by any means.

The potential, I suppose, was there,

and Sue certainly had the vision to see how it could evolve.

They bought the barn for just under £200,000,

and set out on a renovation that would take them two years.

There had been a preliminary design already done on this to get

through the planning authorities, but the layout

we weren't happy with, and it became obvious that we needed to reverse

arrangement in this property, because the views are certainly at

a higher level, so the living space and kitchen is at the higher level,

and the bedrooms are on the ground floor, which is a bit strange

sometimes, going down to bed, rather than up to bed.

With the help of a local builder, the Chaters have created

a contemporary home sympathetic to the original building.

We tried to keep it so the original features would still be there,

so we've kept the beams, and beams go all the way through the property,

so that gives it this old-fashioned feel,

but downstairs, I've been able to really modernise it, so we've got

the modern bathrooms and bedrooms, so I've got the best of both worlds.

As some of the windows were an unusual shape,

Susan and Alan came up with unique solutions.

My sister-in-law, at the time,

was doing some stained glass work, and she did a stained-glass

window in each of the three slots, and then the builder fitted

that in, and they worked out as a nice, special feature.

I always wanted to live in a place like this

and I could never find one that I really liked, but we found it.

The beauty of this, and the beauty for anybody doing it is it's ours.

We know we designed it.

Yes, it did take a lot of hard work,

but the end result was well worth it.

Definitely.

The UK is facing a housing crisis.

For every two families that need a place to live,

there's one empty property.

There are nearly a million empty homes across the UK, and

almost 300,000 of these have been abandoned for six months or longer.

Some empty properties stand alone. They're complete one-offs.

In other cases, whole areas have fallen into decline,

leaving large numbers of derelict dwellings.

Now, in these situations,

it's really difficult for individuals or developers

to really make a difference, and that's why the government have

created a scheme to help turn around these abandoned streets.

Funding has been released to bring clusters of empty homes

back into use.

These clusters are in areas where at least 10% or 25 houses are disused.

I've come to meet Communities Minister, Andrew Stunell to find out more.

So, how much money is the government making available,

and what do you want done with it?

We've got £50 million, and we're asking the partners to match us,

so that's £100 million altogether.

Probably it'll be local authorities, most of the time, councils,

but it might be housing associations or the voluntary

and community sector, to come to us with a proposition

and say this is what we want to do, to put the area back on its feet.

So how does it actually work, then?

If you've got a local authority or another partner coming to you,

what criteria do they have to fulfil?

Well, the most important one is making sure there's value for money,

because I'm afraid the history of this is littered with money spent

on all sorts of projects which just never really delivered, so from our

point of view, the key thing is to get these neighbourhoods up and in a

smarter condition and put the plight which has developed behind them.

Will this government money fund any demolition?

Absolutely not.

This is about bringing empty homes back into use

and we will not be paying anybody to demolish any homes.

'Well, that sounds promising, but I want to talk to

'David Ireland from the Empty Homes Agency, to see if he thinks

'this project will really make a difference to our housing problems.'

David, how does this fund differ from funds that have been

previously made available by the government?

This is about groups of empty properties, and so whereas

previous funds were about getting individual properties back into

use and getting them into affordable housing, this is about dealing with

a whole block of empty properties, like the ones we've got behind us.

There would be little point in doing just one of those houses,

because who would want to live in amongst all that dereliction?

What you need to do is deal with all of them at once, which costs a lot of money,

and that's why there is a need for a fund.

So it really could make a huge difference to whole neighbourhoods?

There are areas of the country where there are huge amounts

of empty properties, and before it's been very difficult

to bring all of those back into use at once,

so I think this will help in bringing probably a fairly small

number of neighbourhoods, but doing a lot of good in that small number.

In Manchester, the council has registered an interest

with the government regarding the Clusters of Empty Homes funding.

If they're successful, then vacant buildings like this will

hopefully be brought back into use by renovation

without any demolition, but is it welcomed by the community?

I think it would make a big difference

if the houses were filled, especially for people living around here.

I'd like them to be regenerated.

Families move in, make it a better community.

Because then if the houses are full, there's no destruction.

It would be a good thing.

It wouldn't be a waste of money, no way.

Doing them up and re-let them, and then we'll be a community again.

This initiative certainly has the potential to make a huge

difference to lots of people.

Essentially, it's taking forgotten, abandoned neighbourhoods

and giving them a complete overhaul, a new lease of life,

so in just a few years, they can be thriving communities once again.

'Back in Warwickshire, I'm with David and Hannah Ohandjanian,

'who bought an abandoned building which they plan to renovate.'

'I'm taking them to meet a couple who took on a similar project,

'who I'm hoping can offer some invaluable advice.'

Right, guys. This is the place want you to see. First impressions?

-It's beautiful.

-Amazing.

Yeah, really attractive place, isn't it?

It is a lot bigger than the house you're renovating,

but don't be put off by that. There's lots of similarities here.

Plenty to compare and contrast, I suppose, so let's go and say hello.

OK.

Lorraine Chamberlain and her husband Matt bought this impressive

run-down Regency townhouse for £494,000 in 2008.

We bought the building at auction.

It hadn't been lived in for quite a while. It was all boarded up.

Even when it was derelict, you could see it could be quite nice.

And also, the size of the garden. Because we're in the middle

of the town, the size of the garden is pretty rare.

The house had been divided into four flats, so it required

a lot of reconfiguring to turn it into a family home.

Planning was the easiest process, and we didn't think that we

would get everything through the planning, and we did.

They were very happy that we were turning it into a family house,

so it's going from four flats, which were a real eyesore,

and derelict, back to what it used to be.

The full renovation job of this four-bedroom, three-bathroom

Grade II listed building took two years,

and wasn't without its problems.

We moved in at Christmas.

The builders were still in for a good six months, probably, everyday,

and then periodically after that.

It's amazing to see the transformation.

It was hard work, but we love living here. Just love it.

It was definitely worth it. Definitely.

'We're visiting Lorraine and Matt today so they can share

'the benefit of their experience with David and Hannah.'

Right, so here we are. Really large, open kitchen-diner.

What do you guys make of this?

It's wonderful, yeah.

It's gorgeous. Yeah, it's just the kind of thing that we were looking

to do in our place as well.

So, start at the beginning, tell us how this came about,

because I'm pretty sure you didn't come into lovely granite work

surfaces in your kitchen, nice range and good space,

so what was this place like when you took it on?

It was derelict, boarded up, wet inside.

It was very closed in and dark.

The old windows at the back of the house were really small, compared

to the big ones at the front, but we knew that we'd be living

in the family area at the back, so we wanted to change the kitchen and

make it more open, and overlooking the garden for the kids, really.

Any advice? Because you must have worked for quite a long time. This was a long project, wasn't it?

It was, yes.

We finally got the builders on site in March

with the plan of being a six month to seven month project.

Right, and how long was it?

We were in by Christmas, which is good, that was nine months,

but then it was another year until we got the outside

and the basement handed over.

So it was very optimistic, I think.

And when it comes to builders and going through that process,

any advice you'd pass over?

Anything you wouldn't do it again,

or you'd want to make sure the builders did next time?

How did you find working with them?

Erm, the biggest problem we had was communication between everybody,

at times, especially when things don't always go right.

You need to make sure the builders have a foreman on site or

something like that, that you can actually talk one-to-one with,

rather than talking to six people.

Miscommunication, I guess, would be the thing.

Good advice there, keeping on top of the communication,

and actually, in your case, it's going to be on a slightly smaller

scale, and you are going to be on site all the time,

so just keeping a regular eye on exactly what's going on.

Yeah, I think it's hit home a little bit that we need to be there

and talking face-to-face with the workmen

and overlooking a bit more than maybe we thought at the start,

and calling in people like your dad, who knows what he's talking about.

Good advice, guys.

-Very good.

-Right, well, we've seen the kitchen, and lovely it is, too.

Can we go through and look at some of the rest of the house?

-Yeah.

-Lead the way.

So, tell us about the money, the budget involved.

It's such a big project, isn't it? It's a big property.

What did you budget for a total renovation on this size?

We budgeted about 20, but then during the project,

we added a few things on, or found a few things which grew it again,

but not much more than that. Probably another 10%.

OK, and these guys are going to do it on a slightly smaller scale.

What would be your advice on where you can cut back,

or where you can pinch the budget slightly to make it go further?

It's really just prioritising everything.

If you can put stuff off for a later phase, we tended to do that, as well.

And just keep asking questions, because when they say,

"Oh, we can't do this because..."

Or, "No, no, no, you don't want to be doing it like that,

you want to do it this way", just to keep asking them why,

because there will be some things they will just say

you categorically can't do that, and there will be other things

where you got to fight, because you know that's what you want.

We wanted a slate floor in the kitchen.

Maybe we could have compromised on the slate floor,

but in the long run, we didn't want to.

I think it's good that you pushed through with what you wanted,

because it's a big project,

and it's one of the things we really wanted to make sure that when

we do it, it's right, but then also be smart about what we ask for.

Thank you, guys.

I'm pleased it's turned out so well, and I know you've got a few

finishing touches, but you're so close to making this your perfect

home, and great advice as well, so thank you for showing us round.

No problem.

-Thank you very much.

-Thanks, guys.

Back on the Kent coast,

Empty Property Officer Mike Thomson is returning to Cliftonville,

to see 12 buildings he's helped get back into use.

I'm really excited today at the prospect of seeing these properties

brought back into single family dwellings.

It's a great project and one that I'm really proud to be associated

with, so I'm looking forward to today's visit very much indeed.

Mike's meeting up with the developer, Phil Goodlace,

to check on the progress made.

Well, what a transformation in this road, I have to say.

We've got them finished behind us, but we mustn't forget how we started off.

-They all looked like that, didn't they?

-Exactly, yeah.

Tell me a bit about it.

Obviously, back in the old days, they were houses,

and then they turned most of them into hotels,

and of course, after that, they tried to turn them into flats,

and we're trying to bring them back into houses again.

Yeah.

These are the last three to be done, and people like what we're doing.

Yeah, it's great.

For me as an Empty Property Officer, to have you singing

from the same hymn sheet is absolutely brilliant, because when we're trying

to regenerate an area like this, I keep putting the accent on families,

but it's what we want to see come back,

and this project just epitomises that, for me.

Come and have a look inside.

Yeah, lovely.

Previously used as hotels and flats, nine of the 12 houses have

now been renovated, and Mike wants to see how they've been finished off.

What a lovely-sized room, Phil, isn't it?

French doors out onto the garden.

Quite nice-sized garden.

Manageable for them.

Yeah, but it's a lovely-sized room, isn't it? Do so much with it, couldn't you?

The houses are now large family homes, with six or seven bedrooms

and a bathroom on each floor,

and they're in demand by Thanet residents.

That's a nice-sized kitchen, Phil, isn't it?

Yeah, it's functional for what we want.

Room for table and chairs, as well, if you want.

We've actually just brought them back to the original houses,

from the old days, so most people that have moved in here have said it's exactly what they want.

Just shows it can be done,

and I think you've made a fabulous step towards regenerating this area.

Today's visit went really well, I thought.

Fantastic project, I'm really pleased to see this building

is brought back as family houses.

It's what we need, it's what we're crying out for,

and to think they've taken 12 in one road

I think is absolutely brilliant. Fantastic.

Following Mike's visit, work is underway to complete

the renovation of the final three houses.

'I've been with Hannah and David, who've taken a chance on a disused

'building which they plan to make into a fabulous family home.'

'They've met a couple who've done the same thing

'and have given them some great advice.'

How useful has this been, guys, seeing a completed place

and hopefully being able to visualise how yours

will progress and turned into a home very soon?

-It's been amazing, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

And it's encouraging that what it looks like before

was horrendous, and now look at it, it's amazing.

It's nice to see a normal couple take this on.

They're not property developers,

but they've had a vision of a home that they wanted to live in.

And how was the advice, particularly how to deal with builders,

for example.

Yeah, I mean, personally,

I've thought about being there a lot more and talking and conversing

and making sure the builders really understand exactly what we want,

and not being scared to hammer on about that over and over again.

Absolutely, communication's key, and also a sense of knowing,

if you had to, what you would cut back on in your project.

Yeah, but then the things that we're really passionate about,

that we really, really want in our new house, to really make sure that

we really push those ideas forward and make sure we go ahead with them.

Well, I'm impressed with the progress you've made in two weeks.

I'm sure with your passion, your energy, your determination,

you'll make it into a family home very, very soon, so I really do

wish you the best of luck with it, and hope you can enjoy it very soon.

Thank you very much.

I really like Hannah and Dave.

I think they found themselves a wonderful place

they can turn into a family home once more.

Perhaps more importantly, they've got bundles of energy,

enthusiasm and termination.

I think today's been very useful for them.

Hopefully alerting them to a few of the pitfalls along the way,

and helping them to avoid a few of the mistakes

they can't really afford to make,

and I'm sure, before very long, they too will have their dream home.

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