Mairi Thompson and Steven Bell Britain's Empty Homes

Up and down the country there are empty properties just waiting

to be brought back to life.

I'll be discovering why and how you can turn

a diamond in the rough into a gem of a home.

We'll be following the Empty Property Officers whose

job it is to track down the owners of these forgotten houses

and get them back into use.

And I'll be finding out more about more about our housing stock,

our history and why we should both be preserving

and reinventing Britain's Empty Homes.

Beautifully furnished and decorated properties will always be high in

demand but you may need very deep pockets to secure one.

However, if you consider taking on an empty property,

you could not just rescue a place in need, but the money you save

could be spent on restoring the building to its full potential

and transforming it into your dream home.

On today's show I'll be meeting an eager couple about to

take on their first empty home.

It's quite exciting. It certainly allows you to be a lot more creative,

-doesn't it.

-Yeah, it does.

-It's a bit of a blanker canvas.

I'll be finding out about a failed housing scheme in the North East.

Instead of a nice block of Victorian housing over quite a few acres,

you've now got gashes in it.

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

on their quest to bring abandoned homes back into use.

The house has been subject to break-ins and squatting.

Steven Bell and Mairi Thompson have lived together

for a year in Steven's bachelor pad in central Durham,

but now they've set their sights on a dream home of their own.

We're hoping to buy somewhere with a bit more character,

a bit of age to it and somewhere that we can do some work on.

-Just looking for somewhere...

-Together as a bit of a project

that we can take on together and make our home.

They've been looking for a period property in the centre of Durham

but houses don't come cheap here

so they're prepared to go further afield for their ideal home.

When we're out on walks we're constantly looking at houses

that we think might be empty, but we're not quite sure.

I find the whole process really, really exciting.

They have a budget of £200,000

but they've never tackled a big renovation before.

I think our biggest concerns about renovation would be hidden costs.

Things that we just didn't spot.

I wouldn't want us to kind of go in and start knocking down

the wrong wall and things just go totally wrong.

Yeah, I think advice and guidance is probably what we need, isn't it?

Yeah.

This enthusiastic couple can't wait to get started

and I really want them to broaden their search, so I'm taking them

to see an exciting property on the outskirts of town.

-Morning, guys.

-Morning.

-I'm Joe. Mairi, nice to meet you.

-Morning.

-Hi, Steve, how are you doing?

-Good, thanks.

This is the property I brought you to see.

You've been looking in Durham so far. How've you got on?

We've been concentrating mainly on the Durham City area

and we keep finding barriers, don't we?

We've been looking for over a year now and keep getting beat

by investors and just people just getting in front of us.

-So, it's competitive.

-Very competitive. OK.

Here we are in Crooke, we're about ten miles from Durham,

about half an hour in a car probably.

Today's going to be a little bit different, cos not only are we

outside the area you normally look in, this property is very different.

This is a former commercial property, OK.

-So, I want you to keep an open mind.

-OK.

-And this is a particularly

-exciting place, so if you follow me we'll go inside.

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

When you are facing a competitive housing market, it's wise to

widen your search to include unusual properties.

This commercial unit dates back to the early 1900s

and has previously been used as a workshop and a car garage,

with some office space upstairs.

Right, come on in, guys.

Wow!

SHE LAUGHS

-It's huge.

-Not what you expected really, I think.

-No.

-No.

-No.

Just to give you some bearings...

So, we have this main warehousey type thing in the middle

and then there is a building with rooms going along the side.

When I said you had to keep an open mind, this is why.

So, what are your first impressions?

-It's very interesting.

-Yeah, it's quite exciting.

We wanted something that was interesting but unique,

-and had unique features to it.

-Yeah.

-And I like the brick work.

I wouldn't want to change too much about it.

I quite like the fact that it's exposed.

There is sort of limitless potential. You can imagine

spiral staircases going up to those doors.

You can imagine even a big kitchen/diner up there.

It certainly allows you to be a lot more creative, doesn't it?

-Yeah, it does.

-It's a bit of a blanker canvas.

-The other thing to say is planning.

-Yeah.

-No-one's ever lived

in this part of the building, OK. It sort of has commercial use

rather than residential use, so you'd have to get that

change of use. You'd have to go through the planning process.

In this instance there has actually been planning permission in the past

to build two detached houses here.

That planning permission expired in 2007, but it does show

there's a willingness I think on behalf of the local planners to

bring this into residential use. You'd also have to show that the

area isn't in desperate need of garages. That if someone's

converting a church or an old pub, they have to show that it's not

really needed as a church or an old pub anymore, and I suppose the same

goes here, that this isn't really viable as a commercial office or workshop.

All those things you'd have to demonstrate to the planners,

but the fact is...you've seen a bit of the area from just coming here.

It's all terraced houses, it's not a sort of a business area.

So I think that would also help a change of use application to get

this turned into someone's home.

Of course there's no guarantee that planning will be granted,

which can mean taking a leap of faith when investing in a commercial premises.

But for those willing to take the risk,

places like this can be a really smart buy,

offering you tonnes of space for a more reasonable price.

Right, guys. So, this is pretty much already a flat.

You've got a kitchen there plumbed in...um...what do you make of this?

It just feels like a totally different building, doesn't it,

-from what we've just seen.

-Yeah, it does.

-Much more modern, I think.

-Yeah.

-Is it quite attractive that there is

a kind of functioning flat on the side of this big building already?

Yeah, absolutely. It's a definite plus to it, I think.

Yeah, I think so. Absolutely. Less daunting, I think, that way.

The good news this is within budget. It's on the market for £135,000.

-The price sounds good.

-Your eyes lit up.

-You were expecting it to be a bit more.

-I was actually,

because of the size of it. I did think it would be a lot more.

I thought £150,000 but I think we're going out of Durham City centre now

-and I think you notice that a little bit.

-Yeah, definitely.

There's always compromises, aren't there? So, if you go out

a little bit further you'll get more for your money,

and in this case because it's an empty property

the budget goes even further.

Right, let's continue our little tour around.

Great. Brilliant.

Mairi and Steven are starting to see the benefits of taking on an

exciting project like this, but it would certainly be a big challenge.

Right, big spaces often go one of two ways.

They scare people something silly or they really get excited about it,

and for you it seems excitement's just winning through.

-It's edging at the moment.

-Definitely.

Could you see yourselves taking on something like this?

-Yes.

-Yeah, definitely.

You hesitated slightly, but Mairi's very quick on that one.

Yeah, I think more so after seeing this today.

I think more so, you know. Maybe beforehand we were just looking at

regular properties, but having seen this today I think...we'll probably

-cast our net a bit further and...

-Definitely. Yeah.

Well, what an exciting building.

Now, many people would be scared of taking something like this on.

I've got to say that actually Steven and Mairi don't seem daunted.

In fact they seem very excited. Even so, as first-time renovators,

if they were to take on a project like this it really would be

quite a big challenge. So it's going to be great for them to meet someone

who's been through it all and can give them some guidance

on just where to get started.

There are nearly a million empty properties in the UK at a time

when the demand for housing has never been greater.

But luckily, up and down the country there are a team of dedicated

Empty Property Officers who make it their mission to turn these

derelict dwellings into homes.

In Richmond, South West London, Jason Hall's the man charged with

this task.

Today's he's on his way to a long-term problem place.

A house that's been vacant for at least 10 years.

What I need to do is get access to the property, have a look around

the gardens, speak to the neighbours and get as much information together

as I can.

Jason's had reports from neighbours that foxes have set up home

in the rear garden and that the house has been attracting

fly tippers.

First impressions of this is that it doesn't look obviously empty.

We've got some overgrown areas to the front of the property.

We've got quite a lot of ivy growing up the front of the property.

That's going into the windows as well, so it's obviously been growing

for some time. The guttering has been leaking up the top, which has caused

some damage to the soffits and the fascias.

On the inside it's not been lived in. It is empty.

There's wood all stacked up in the hallway, so it's obviously

been used as a store for some reason, or some works have commenced

and then they've just stopped and left it.

It's at the back of the house though where the real problems lie.

OK, from the side of the property we've got some wood that's been

dumped down the side here, some old carpet and some food debris.

OK, you can see in the back garden that there's a huge heap of rubbish

that's obviously just been tossed over the fence in exactly the same

place every time. There's bags of rubbish, there's wood,

there's Hoovers, TVs, pretty much everything that's been dumped

in there.

One of the main complaints is about foxes. There's some food debris

around here at the front, so I need to see if there's anywhere

I can get in round the back or via neighbouring properties

to see into the garden.

Jason heads next door where the neighbours agree to let him use

their decking as a vantage point to examine the abandoned house further.

In the garden there's loads of rubbish. It's very overgrown,

there's a fox hole which has been dug out which will be used as a run

between the two properties, so the fox can get access to the bottom of

the garden where the rubbish pile is, which is probably where our food source is.

It's obviously been a dumping ground for a good few years now.

In a bid to get hold of the owner's details, Jason

calls his colleagues in the Richmond council tax department.

That's brilliant. Thanks ever so much. Bye.

So, I've got the owner's address. They say I need to contact them and

see if I can either arrange to meet at the property or see if I can

talk to them on the telephone to discuss what action needs to be

dealt with at the property we've seen today.

Jason is still trying to contact the owner to get them

to bring the house back into use.

Putting your faith and money into a derelict dwelling

can be a nail-biting exercise, but it's

a challenge that more and more people up and down the country are

taking on.

It can be incredibly rewarding and with hard graft

and imagination you can create your perfect home.

And that's exactly what Ian and Whitney Edwards did when

they took on this period property in the heart of West London.

This property happened to be open and available just that day that

we were looking, and we came in and we looked and Ian instantly

fell in love.

It was a three-floor Victorian terraced house.

We walked in and then you knew work hadn't been done for probably about

50 years. You know, the electrics were gone, the plumbing was gone.

It was a perfect canvas to start from, and we've turned it from a

very run down, tired, old, traditional layout of a house

into something that's very contemporary.

They bought the house for £1.1 million

but after two years of extensive work it's now worth almost

£4 million and is the dream home they've always wanted.

There's a stunning open-plan kitchen and living area, four bathrooms,

five bedrooms, plus a cinema room and even a gym!

Despite the modern design they wanted to stay true to

the character of the property and restore the period features.

We wanted to keep little bits of the Victorian elements, you know.

Rebuild the moulding in the fireplace and the doors and the door handles

and keep it, you know, a little bit, have that essence, but really what

was most important was to take this shell of a house that had been here

since the 1800s and had been run down and had had so many families living

here over the years that we wanted to give it new life

and bring a new family to it.

As with all renovations there were big challenges.

Ian and Whitney were living in America during the build

and had to project manage using video calls and the occasional

site visit, which made the whole process very difficult.

It's stressful, I'm not going to lie, but you got to get on with it,

if it's what you really want, you have to just know that in the end

it's going to be done and you're going to be happy and yeah,

it's stressful but it's worth it.

Even though they have created their perfect home,

the whole experience has left them with mixed emotions.

Pain, misery, disaster, joy.

Ditto.

In recent years a drive for improved

and modern housing has led to many older empty properties being

demolished to be replaced by new builds.

But in the wake of the economic downturn many of these

regeneration schemes faulted, so once where there were thriving communities

there is nothing more than wasteland.

In the Newcastle and Gateshead area of the North East,

almost 3,000 empty properties have been demolished.

But only 336 homes have been rebuilt compared to over 1,000 that

were originally planned.

It was part of a scheme called Pathfinder.

However the scheme has now been scrapped

and in its wake stands row upon row of boarded-up houses.

I've come to Saltwell and Bensham, where the

local community are concerned about the future of their neighbourhood.

I'm meeting Nancy and Linda,

who are members of the residents' association to find out more.

Could you explain to me what exactly Pathfinder was. What was the aim?

What was the objective?

Well, it was for housing market renewal in areas where

the housing market had gone through the floor. Originally it was

a couple of areas in the north and that was then extended to cover

this area and other areas throughout across the north.

What was the problem with Pathfinder in this area?

Well, it wasn't a failing housing market. That was the main thing.

There wasn't a lot of empty properties here, so that showed

that people wanted to live here.

The residents feel that this scheme simply wasn't needed

in this neighbourhood, and six years later these houses are still

boarded up when they could be used as homes for families in the community.

And, Linda, tell me what was the impact of Pathfinder here?

How did it show itself in this area?

Well, it showed itself because the council slowly bought up houses

as they became empty and boarded them up

in preparation for demolition.

And why demolition? Why did they demolish streets and areas?

You'd have thought regeneration would be improving

what was there already.

Well, when I first read about the Pathfinder Scheme, I realised that

what they needed was Brownfield sites, because the whole idea

was to bring in private money, and that means developers.

And developers, generally speaking, want to start from scratch.

They want to build afresh and obviously their job is to make

a profit on the housing. So that's why demolition was always involved.

But the concern that we had was that not only were they demolishing

whole streets, but that they were demolishing one side of a street,

and leaving the other standing. In fact renovating the other side

of the streets that are left standing.

Instead of a nice block of Victorian housing over quite a few acres,

you've now got gashes in it.

What would you like to see happen?

What's the alternative to putting down more houses in his area?

I think the alternative is to bring them back into occupation

so that people can live here and just renovate the rest

and bring them back into occupation for families and single people

and a mixture of people.

Gateshead Council predict that a further

two and half thousand properties across the borough will be

demolished over the next 20 years.

However, they estimate that 15,000 new homes will be

constructed during this period too.

The council are expecting to continue

the regeneration of the area in the near future.

Back in Durham, I'm with Steven and Mairi in their quest to

create their perfect place. I'm taking them to see a former

commercial building that has been transformed into a fabulous home.

Right, guys, this is the property I've brought you to.

Can you tell what it was?

-A barn, possibly?

-A barn. Yes. Actually, quite an unusual barn.

It's never had any animals in. It was a brick-drying barn.

There was a wagon way coming along here and a steam pulley

to get up the hill and all the bricks would be loaded on

and they'd be taken all the way from here to Sunderland on a wagon way.

-Oh, right.

-As you can see, they've done a full renovation.

When Stuart Sanderson took on this 150-year-old barn it was just a

derelict shell.

It was in a complete shambolic state with birds nesting

and various wildlife living inside, but we could see the potential

in the amount of interior space that we had

and it was really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

He bought the property for £300,000 and spent a further £120,000

renovating it into a perfect family home.

It's now worth £700,000 and boasts this stunning open-plan

kitchen/diner, a sitting room, four bedrooms and four bathrooms.

It took a lot of imagination and I think the fact that it was a

blank canvas we could see instantly that it could be turned into

a unique home.

-This is the kitchen family area. Wow!

-Wow!

-Great space.

-It's stunning.

Right, guys, first impressions. What do you think?

-Oh, it's amazing.

-Yeah, it's really nice, light...

-Airy, high ceilings. It's lovely.

-Yeah, but it's still feels cosy.

It's very nice, yeah. I like the exposed brickwork and the beams

-and everything.

-We love the idea of having original features in a room.

Yeah, the exposed brickwork and the...

So, Stuart, start at the beginning for me.

What state was it in when you originally bought it?

Inside was quite dilapidated. We had an image in our heads.

We knew what we wanted but it was hard to put that down on paper.

We had no real experience of doing this, and the builder, really,

as it started coming together, they could start to see it.

So, right at the beginning, on a basic level, how did you decide

-where you wanted which room?

-We wanted to have a central area where

we could all sort of function as a family, but then a separate end

where the children have some space with their friends and we have a separate

end as well. So that was quite important to us, to have a little bit

of a chance for it to have some sort of space.

So this is the big open space in the middle, then either side you do have

a floor in, so you've got a ground and first floor.

For the girls, they got a bedroom each there and the spare bedroom,

and that side you've got a sitting room and the

-master bedroom above it.

-That's right.

-That's perfect.

It's knowing what you want from your place. That's the beauty of

it being an empty property - that you can start again

and create it as you desire. I love it in here. I think I could spend

all day in here, but I suppose we should see some of

the rest of the property. Should we have a look

at the bedrooms you built on the end?

Lead the way, yeah.

-OK, this is the master bedroom.

-Very good, and it's ensuite,

I can see you've got a sort of bath and shower just across

-the hallway here.

-Very nice.

-So, Stuart, you've been through it all,

you've got an amazing house for the family now, at the end of it.

These guys are first-time renovators at the other end of that journey.

Anything they should keep in mind? You know, your kind of final advice

-to them.

-Um...I think you've just got to be clear in what you want,

you know, that's the hard bit, just make sure that you think it through

properly at the beginning. Work to your budget. If you got right builder

on board and he's in tune with what you're after, you shouldn't be

too far away from your budget, as long as you don't sort of run away

with ideas through the process. And be prepared to compromise.

It's nice to see what you've done with the place. You know,

your idea's come to life. You've just inspired us greatly really.

Well, look, really good advice. Stuart, thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

Empty Property Officer Dave Carter is back in Enfield,

checking up on the recent renovation of a property that had

previously been empty for 25 years.

Dave tracked down the owner and after four years of careful

negotiation, the council agreed to provide a grant to restore

the house, which will now be used for housing association tenants.

Last time I was here the house was in a complete mess.

There were trees growing in the kitchen, branches and vines growing

all over the bathroom and I'm really looking forward

to seeing the transformation.

Dave's here to meet the Project Manager to check that the

renovation work will meet housing association standards.

Wow! Now that is a big change. Really pleased by the outside appearance.

If the inside is anything like that I will be very pleased indeed.

-Oi.

-Hi, Matt. Nice to see you again.

-And you.

It looks like you've done a beautiful job from the outside.

-Thank you.

-OK, let's go and see the rest of it.

As you know I'm going to have to do a few final checks before we hand it

-over to the housing association.

-Yeah, it's all ready.

-Lead on.

Yeah, I think the last time I came here the house ended here.

Of course we had the problem with that big vine growing

that we couldn't get out the door, but all this is new.

-Yeah. New extension all the way through.

-We got all the gas and

electrical safety certificates. Landlord certificates.

-Yeah, all the relevant certificates we've got, yeah.

-Brilliant.

-Fire door.

-Fire door from the kitchen, that's right.

The housing association will insist on that.

We need to ensure that there is a fully-functioning

-central heating system. That's a brand new boiler?

-Yes.

-And we got the certificate?

-Yes.

-Lovely. Thank you.

All right, this is the bit I've been looking forward to.

-The bath was the other way around, wasn't it?

-That's right.

And we had the vine growing all the way through there and down into

-the bath.

-That's right.

-And the toilet was there, wasn't it?

-That's right.

-And now you've moved it here. That's a lot more sensible.

Yeah, it's a good, practical bathroom now.

Dave's satisfied that the house is up to scratch

but he's eager to see how the overgrown garden has changed.

Wow! You've really transformed this garden. I mean, really,

I don't suppose you could've even got out the door. Remember those vines

-growing up the back door?

-Well, it was extremely dangerous with the

broken-down conservatory and the glass sticking out the ground.

I mean, it's been a top to bottom transformation really.

From a complete refurbishment of the house to a provisional new extension

and the outbuilding and garage out the back here.

-Yup.

-So, hopefully we'll get good use out of it.

-OK, well, thanks for the show around, Matt.

-No problem.

You've done a really good job, I'm very pleased.

-Glad you like it.

-Bye-bye.

I'm really pleased with the standard of work that's been done

at the house. I almost didn't recognise it. It was one of the

worst properties and now it's one of the best.

I can finally get a family moved into that house and everyone's happy.

Steven and Mairi have been getting some valuable advice about

transforming an empty commercial property into their perfect home.

Guys, having seen this today, how are you feeling?

-I think a little bit inspired.

-Yeah.

-It's opened our eyes a little bit to

some of the other potential properties that are out there

-other than your typical residential properties.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

I know you're finding it hard to find somewhere in Durham, so I hope

today has shown you that you can look beyond just quite typical

-empty houses.

-Absolutely.

-You can look to other buildings.

-Yeah, it really has.

-I think we'll start searching commercial areas

as well as properties that people are living in at the moment.

I just feel really excited about it and just can't wait to start

-searching again.

-Yeah, it's certainly broadened our search, I think.

-Yeah.

Brilliant, I'm so pleased. Well, look, the best of luck with it.

-Thank you.

-I'm sure you'll find something. Persevere and you'll be

there before you know it, so good luck.

-Thank you.

-Thanks for your help.

Up to now, Steven and Mairi haven't had much luck in their search for an

empty property, but I really think today has shown them they don't have

to restrict their search to a two-up two-down. They can look

outside of that. Old barns, former industrial units, places people have

never lived before, all have huge, huge potential, so I know they're

going away inspired and I've got no doubts before long they too

will find an empty they can turn into their ideal home.

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