Tatiana McCabe Britain's Empty Homes

Across the country, empty properties that could be homes are just

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.

And along the way we'll be following 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 housing stock, our heritage and why

we should both be preserving and reinventing Britain's empty homes.

At first sight, an empty property might not seem too appealing.

It might look like its best days are behind it.

Remember, in many cases, it was once a loved home and could be again.

That's why there's a growing number of people spotting

the potential in these vacant building

and transforming them to create their ideal home.

On today's show, I'll be meeting a woman who's bought a large abandoned

house and is in need of inspiration when it comes to renovating it.

On this scale, I've never done anything this size before.

We haven't got a second chance at this.

I'll be finding out how you can finance

the purchase of a disused house.

It's possible to get a mortgage from a number of lenders

for properties in whatever state of disrepair they might be.

And we'll be following one of Britain's empty property

officers as they work to bring derelict places back into use.

We're going to rehouse six homeless people and that's a fantastic result.

Last year, Tatiana McCabe bought this imposing but run-down six-bedroom

Edwardian house in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire

for a bargain £220,000 at auction.

On the open day, I thought,

"There's a lot of work for anyone who buys this property."

There are quite a few cracks, sloping floors.

I thought, "Whoever takes this on is going to have a job

"and a half on their hands."

Having previously lived in modern properties, Tatiana was won over by

this period place which she plans to turn

into a stunning home for herself and her sons.

The great appeal of this property were the original features.

Like the cornices, the marble fireplaces,

the stained glass windows, the ceiling rose.

You just thought, "What a fabulous property it could be!"

Tatiana has a budget of £100,000,

but she's never attempted a restoration project of this size.

We've never restored a house before,

so we've got some financial concerns that I get it right.

It's going to be a family home,

but I don't want to risk all our savings.

'Tatiana's project sounds ambitious and she'll need all

'the assistance she can get so I'm meeting her to hear her plans.'

-Nice to meet you. How are you?

-Fine, thank you.

-Good.

-Look at this pile of bricks. This is yours, I believe.

-It is.

I bought it at auction last year and I was walking past

when I saw the auction sign.

I decided to call in and have a look.

-I ended up buying the place.

-My goodness.

You just fell in love with it straight away.

-I'm dying to have a look around. Are you willing to show me around?

-I am.

Brilliant. Lead the way and we'll do it.

When Tatiana bought the house, it was laid out as two flats.

One of which had been empty for a year.

She's planning to turn it back into one big family home.

Right, this is huge.

The cornicing and everything is in really good condition.

Are these the features that attracted you to it

when you looked round?

Without a doubt. When I came in and saw those cornices, the ceiling rose,

the height of the ceilings and the Art Deco windows.

-Yeah.

-You don't get features like this is a modern house.

-Not at all, do you?

-No.

We've knocked through here and started stripping the room

and this is the end result so far.

-Yes, you're stripping it back yourself?

-Yes.

We're gutting the whole house ourselves.

As much labour as we can to keep the costs down.

We need to get skilled people in for everything else.

Let's talk about the front elevation. I noticed a scaffolding at the moment.

What's the problem with it? What's gone wrong?

Quite a few years ago.

It must be 40 or 50 years ago,

there was some settlement with the property

and that caused some cracks and the front elevation to move to one side.

The whole thing has shifted. It's sunk slightly.

Luckily, I did have a structural report done before we went to

auction because we needed to know what we were getting into.

We need to strap in the walls.

That holds the whole of the house together.

Once it's like that, what do you do to the front elevation?

We take down the front elevation, brick by brick, number it

and put it back like a big jigsaw puzzle, but put it back straight.

Isn't that amazing? You have done everything you possibly can do at this point

to investigate it and find out what needs doing.

-Oh, yes. Definitely.

-Shall we pop next door?

-Yeah.

Tatiana's a brave woman and seems confident about her project,

but I want to know what aspects of it she needs help with.

-Look at this. This is the front room.

-It is.

-Lovely big windows.

What is it you feel you need more help and advice with?

To make sure I'm getting value for every penny we spend on the budget.

To help find craftsmen to finish the interior to the standard

and look that we require, to make sure we get it absolutely right.

And I suppose it's also blending. You've got so many features

and you want it to be a contemporary home.

How you achieve that,

there's going to be different ideas as to how you bring that about.

It seems easy when you say it, but I think the reality is different.

We don't want to go for that look and find it doesn't quite go.

OK, so how to blend those styles,

how to get craftsmen who can do what you've got, the stained glass,

the proper Edwardian staircase, all those kind of things.

And obviously making your money go as far as possible.

That's correct cos we haven't got a second chance on this.

And project management, any tips of that, I suppose?

Yes, that would be a great help because, on this scale,

I've never done anything this size before.

As we all know in teaching that you can always learn something.

Absolutely. Look, later, we'll go

and see another period property that has had a complete renovation.

I think it will be useful because the guys involved did a lot of the

work themselves so they can give you lots of tips on project management.

Also keep your eyes open when we're there.

See how they've blended contemporary features

and you may come away with good ideas. Does that sound like a good plan?

It does. Looking forward to it.

Brilliant.

What an incredible building this is.

I'm so pleased that Tatiana's taking it on and bringing it back to life.

It is huge, though and Tatiana has project managed on this scale before.

With any project like this, you can't get enough help and advice.

It's going to be good for her to meet a couple who have been through

this and they'll be great for further inspiration and guidance.

Homes can become unoccupied for many different reasons

and blight a neighbourhood.

Fortunately, local councils employ property officers who work to

breathe life back into these disused dwellings.

In Corby, Paul Palmer's the man charged with getting

abandoned buildings lived in.

After 20 years in the job,

he's successfully brought more than 800 properties back from the brink.

Today, he's heading to a house that's fallen into a terrible

state of disrepair.

The owner is now working hard to get it back into shape and rented out.

The property I'm seeing now is one of our classic empties,

bought as an investment by a gentleman.

We put him in touch with a local developer.

He's going to turn the property into a house of multiple occupation.

I'm going in from day one to make sure all the standards are met correctly.

Paul's on his way to meet the contractor who's been

appointed by the owner to carry out the renovation work.

-Hi, Jonathan. Good to see you. Are you well?

-I'm really good, thanks.

-Lovely.

Paul wants to discuss the strict guidelines governing houses

of multiple occupation, particularly when they're over many floors like this one.

Jonathan, I have to reassure myself it will meet standards.

I know we're planning to do a house with multiple occupation here.

However, with three storeys here, it'll need to be licensed.

How you're going to meet that standard, please?

The first thing that we do is look at the fire precautions.

In this one, as it's over three storeys, we have to put in a sophisticated alarm system.

Each of the bedrooms will have a smoke detector sounder in it.

The hallways will have sounders and smoke detectors, with emergency lighting as well.

Fantastic, Jonathan.

-I'll look forward to that. Can I see the rest now?

-Absolutely.

The size of this property means it will eventually provide

accommodation for six homeless people.

As a house of multiple occupation, Paul needs to ensure

the developer is taking this into account when planning the layout.

Bathroom - to my mind, it looks a little impractical

for a house of multiple occupation so what plans have you got for this?

We need to be aware of the sanitary requirements for the tenants

so we're putting in two full bathrooms.

We'll rip out this corner bath and put in shower which is a lot

better for water consumption and electricity use etc.

We'll split off the toilet and create an extra room.

Outside, we'll put another door in. Can you picture it?

We'll have a wall down the middle, separate toilet on the right a shower room on the left.

Brilliant. People can use the toilet when the bathroom's being used. I look forward to seeing that.

Jonathan, what are we going to do with this kitchen?

We're not going to rip it all out and cause unnecessary expense for the owner.

We'll tidy it all up and add some more units

so there's plenty of space for our tenants.

Over here, we'll put in some under-counter washing machine,

fridge freezer, and we'll get rid of this hideous green paint.

-Bring it back to a nice neutral colour.

-Lovely.

Once all the building work has been completed,

the council will carry out a health and safety housing rating assessment.

Very happy with that meeting today on the site.

Obviously, very worried at first. It needs a lot of work.

We are going to turn it into a house of multiple occupation.

There's fire standards to think about, there's occupancy

standards and there's the finish and management of the property.

However, having met Jonathan, I'm very reassured everything's

going to be done to standard and on time.

It's only going to be a short turnaround

and the works will be finished.

We'll rehouse six homeless people and that's a fantastic result.

Taking on an empty building can be the best

way of making as property truly yours.

Yes, it'll be a challenging journey, but, all the time, you've got that

motivation that you're well on your way to creating your perfect home.

Motivation was something that Adrian

and Glenda Grazia needed in spades when they took on this tired

detached house in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales in 2009.

We were looking for a property, whether it be empty,

but definitely run down so that we would be able to buy

it at a price that was affordable and we would be left with

a hefty budget to do what we wanted to do to it.

We wanted a blank canvas and to start from there.

It was in a dreadful condition but it suited us

because it was going to be ripped apart anyway.

And redesigned to suit our needs.

As an architect, Adrian was able to let his imagination run wild

and create a home to his exact specification and vision.

I designed the property as open plan as I can.

When you open the door, you immediately are able to look through to the rear garden.

Nothing is cut off in this house. Everything is open.

The views are open.

We wanted to capture that feeling and have that wow factor.

Our bedroom is a delight to wake up in the morning.

We've got one wall which is all glass

opening onto a beautiful veranda.

To wake up, open the blinds and it is fantastic.

Having bought the house for £355,000,

the Grazias spent a further £350,000 on the contemporary renovation.

We brought it in on budget and we had a recent valuation

and even in this economic climate, it's worth 950,000.

Taking on an abandoned building has certainly paid off for Adrian and Glenda.

And allowed the free rein to achieve this stunning home.

I can't see us ever wanting to move from here

because it's perfection and we love every minute of living here.

It's our house, our for ever home and we're going to stay here.

With the amazing potential in abandoned buildings,

they're a tempting proposition when it comes to your dream home,

but they're not without their problems.

Finance is one of the biggest challenges an empty home buyer will have to face.

Unless you've got considerable savings,

the chances are you'll need a mortgage to see yourself through.

In tough economic times, a normal mortgage can be tricky enough.

One on a vacant property can be particularly daunting.

Today, I've come to a visitor centre which offers advice to people

who are renovating refurbishing or building a house from scratch.

Meeting me is David Murphy a finance expert and general manager of the centre.

A lot of people think mortgages are tricky anyway but,

when it comes to an empty property, and here

we are in front of this derelict model house, how difficult is it?

It is fair to say that lenders have tightened criteria,

but it's possible to get a mortgage from a number of lenders

for properties in whatever state of disrepair they might be.

I'm intrigued by this. Shall we have a look around.

Great stuff.

-Inside, what do we have? It's quite a dated kitchen.

-It is.

It's in complete disrepair.

We can see things in terms of plumbing and electrics.

What would lenders look for when they're valuing the property?

The lender will rely on the opinion of their valuer as to

the relative habitability and saleability of the property.

A situation like this has got to have a working kitchen,

a toilet, washing facilities.

If the valuer deems the property unsaleable or uninhabitable,

or needing substantial works,

the lender probably won't either lend on the property or, if they will.

Will hold a substantial amount of the mortgage money back until you've

done the work to bring it up to the level recommended by the valuer.

Getting a mortgage in place with a kitchen and bathroom like this

is one thing, but when the house is derelict, it's quite another.

When it comes to taking on a major renovation project.

You're not going to go to a high street lender. What do you do?

You're looking for a specialist renovation mortgage lender who

understand the market for you and your project.

That will release the funds on day one to buy the property

and in stages through the course of the build.

You have to pay with each stage with your renovation pot,

the lender reimburses you.

A cash flow issue there.

Yeah, there is a product on the market called

and accelerator mortgage which does advance the funds up front so you

have access to the mortgage money to pay for the work that you require.

With this other mortgage, the lender pay up front which means more

risk for them so surely it would cost you more.

The way it works is that an indemnity policy gets set up to protect the lender's position.

In common terms, that's an insurance against their risk.

There's an extra fee for indemnity.

Some very encouraging finance option there

and great to see you round the model of a renovation so thank you.

When buying an empty property, it's important to do your own research.

Rarely is anything simple when it comes to buying and renovating an empty home.

It's always going to be a challenge. That said, it's good to know that when it comes to getting

a mortgage, it may not be as impossible as you'd think.

Before you write off an empty property,

speak to a mortgage broker.

You may be surprised by your options.

I'm in West Yorkshire with Tatiana McCabe who's bought a disused

house and is planning a major renovation,

but she wants to keep the period details intact.

I want her to meet a couple who've done a similar project

and who'll have some pearls of wisdom to offer.

Right, Tatiana, this is the place I want you to see.

We're here in Batley. This place is huge like yours.

It's been empty for three years, in that time,

it had fallen into a bad state of disrepair.

Vandals had broken in and done quite a bit of damage.

Jo and James took it on and gave it a complete renovation.

Loads of interesting stuff inside

so I think this'll be really good for you.

-Shall we go and say hello?

-Yeah, that'd be great.

Over three years ago,

James and Joanna Clark made the brave decision to buy a run-down

former mill owner's residence in West Yorkshire for £325,000.

The property was in a really poor state when we bought it.

It's been ransacked by thieves.

They'd ripped out piping and fireplaces,

fires and it was pretty badly vandalised.

We saw the opportunity.

Nothing was too great and things could be put back

to their original state with a bit of help, with a bit of TLC.

And some expect advice.

Between Jo, James and his dad Michael,

they managed to do more that 75% of the work themselves with James

and Jo doing all the demolition and redecorating.

We were very lucky that we had a lot of project management

help from James's dad who was newly retired

and he liked the idea of a project and we needed a project manager.

He was here on site most days and was helping to

manage our suppliers who were coming in to work on the house.

The transformation is nearly complete

and three years down the line, after hard work and dedication,

they now live in a house that's exactly how they want it.

You've got to have an eye for detail and you've got to be confident about what you're doing.

If you're not confident in decision making,

then a project like this would never be done.

It would always be rumbling on.

With a property very similar to Tatiana's, James and Jo

should have some excellent tips to help her with her renovation.

Wow, look at this. Wood panelling all along.

-This is your dining room, obviously.

-Yup.

-What state was this in when you bought it?

-It was pretty empty.

It had been empty for three years.

The dining room had been ripped to pieces so pretty dreadful.

What was your vision?

What did you fall in love with or why did you want it?

I think it was the original features that we really loved

and we felt compelled to breathe life back into it.

Is this stuff you've made and put back in or was it here when you came here?

-It was here but it took TLC to brink it back to life.

-That's interesting.

-So you've got a huge wealth of original features here?

-Absolutely.

-That's what your place has got, hasn't it?

-It's stunning.

Absolutely stunning.

The wood panelling and the shutters on the windows. Really lovely.

-I'm very keen to see some more. Shall we continue?

-Yeah.

James and Jo have kept many original features along with more

modern design touches, something I hope which will inspire Tatiana.

Tell me about this room. What state was it in when you first discovered it?

This was in a pretty poor state.

The fireplace had been completely ripped out and the fire had gone.

We had broken windows so it was pretty poor.

What I find interesting in here,

a bit like what we were talking about earlier, is a mix of styles.

-The fireplace is 1930s.

-Yes.

And you've got the original features round the edges. Are you OK with that?

-You weren't tempted to put back in a Victorian fireplace.

-That's the beauty of the house.

This a house that's been lived in since 1840

so we liked the style that was here already.

It was Art Deco with a bit of Victoriana.

Would this give you confidence, when you look around this room?

Certainly. Especially, when I see the beautiful chair there.

My son's got one of those that used to belong to me.

I can see it back now in our new house. It's really interesting mix.

It seems to work.

Good. A big part of your project is going on be project managing.

-You're quite keen to do that, aren't you?

-Yes.

Tatiana, you're going to be onsite and you're happy to make decisions.

Is that what you found was needed from a project manager or was

there more to it?

I think being onsite is important. The other thing is knowing how to manage tradespeople.

There's a skill to it and if you understand how they operate,

that makes managing them easier.

It's interesting that part of that is being able to get on with

-the people.

-You need to know that,

if you've got a plasterer coming in two weeks, that all

the electrics are done and the wires are channelled into the walls so

that you're not having to push back or cause other unnecessary delays.

It's been lovely to see your house. It really is quite something so thank you for showing us

round and thanks for your advice.

You're welcome.

In Corby, in Northamptonshire, empty property officer Paul Palmer

is heading to a place that he's helped bring back into use -

a house that's recently undergone renovation.

Today I'm visiting a property. It used to be rented out.

It was empty for about a year. Fairly run-down condition.

We've got a new owner. She's completely refurbished it.

The tenants are in there.

Today, I'm going to check it's occupied, the quality of the

finish and just have a look around and see the success of the project.

When it comes to bringing abandoned buildings back into use,

the council can't always offer grants to get places renovated.

Today Paul's meeting Ellie Andrews the owner of the house who

did all the work on it without council funding.

Hello, Ellie.

Although council money wasn't involved, it's part of Paul's job to make sure it's been done up

to habitable standards and is going to be lived in again.

You've got a brand new kitchen here. Very different from the old one. What have you out in?

Absolutely everything.

All the integrated systems, the oven, hob and extractor.

All came with the kitchen. The new boiler went in as well.

The integrated washing machine and all the white goods.

A fridge freezer to accommodate everybody who lives in the property.

New cupboards, all the tiles brand new.

It was a case of strip everything out and start from scratch again.

The results are well worth it.

-I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of it.

-Come on through to the lounge.

Places like these are really valuable,

helping to get people off the council's hosing waiting list.

This is an impressive room.

The reason I'm here is to check the finish of the works.

I saw it at the beginning of the project.

You've done it using your own contractors.

We need to come back and make sure everything's up to standard. What we're looking for in a property.

Looking around, this room looks lovely again. You've got some nice lighting.

Particularly pleased you've put the safety locks on the window.

We have to be aware these open out. The finish is nice.

-Did you put the curtains up yourself?

-Yeah, we did. We redecorated, refloored.

I did the curtains, lampshades and the fire surround.

-Let's see the rest.

-OK.

There are strict guidelines for tenanted

properties on the safety of gas and electricity.

Paul wants to see that these have been inspected and signed off.

Lovely. All nice and new. Working well.

Fantastic. Thanks very much.

Thanks.

Ellie, again, thanks for showing me around.

It was really nice to come and see the finished product.

You've done a fantastic job here.

I was very pleased with the standard of workmanship.

-Thanks very much indeed.

-Thank, Paul. Thanks for coming out again.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye.

Very happy to meet Ellie the owner of the property again

and to see the standard of finish very professional.

Everything up to standard which is what we like to see.

Overall, a wonderful project.

I've been helping Tatiana who's been getting advice from a couple

who've done a renovation,

much like the one she's planning on her own empty house.

A huge amount of similarities between your house

and this renovation, seeing quite a mix of styles and features,

like you've got at home.

Hopefully, it shows you it can work.

That was the hardest to visualise having a contemporary kitchen with my Art Deco windows,

but with the cornices and ceiling roses. As we've seen, it works well,

the Art Deco '30s style with the Victorian features so it fills me with hope.

When it comes to project managing, it might be useful to delegate.

It's something to bear in mind.

-I think that was really good advice because I do work long hours.

-Great.

Lots of inspiration, food for thought.

It's an incredible place you've got.

I'm so pleased you're working on it cos it's going to be marvellous.

-Good luck and I hope it all goes to plan.

-Thanks very much.

Today has been incredibly useful for Tatiana.

You can't underestimate how helpful it is to see

a project on a similar scale from a similar period to help you

visualise what can be done with your home.

I hope this has given her the confidence to go forward

particularly with the interior design, be brave, bold.

Follow her instincts

and turn that magnificent house into a wonderful family home once again.

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