Sam and Helen Scharf 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 I'll be doing some digging of my own to find out

more about our housing stock, our heritage

and why we should be both reinventing and preserving

Britain's empty homes.

Empty properties left in a state of disrepair can blight

an otherwise picturesque street. But for people with vision

and ambition, these abandoned buildings have enormous potential.

Plus, buying an empty shell can be

a way into an area you might otherwise not be able to afford.

On today's show...

an adventurous couple who've started their married life by buying

a rundown house they hope to turn into their dream family home.

You're kind of feature-rich in here.

Yeah. It's all intact. At the moment it's just about all intact.

A regeneration project dedicated to reviving one of London's most

historic buildings.

After that long period of time, 50 years,

where they weren't occupied by tenants,

it's great to have them lived in again.

And one of Britain's Empty Property Officers

is on the case of bringing abandoned buildings back into use.

It's improved the building 100%, hasn't it, really?

It's perfect. It's exactly what we wanted.

Newlyweds Samuel and Helen Scharf had long hoped of moving up

the property ladder and thought their best chance of buying

a detached house in an area they loved was to rescue

an abandoned building they could turn into their dream home.

We had our heart set on Histon because it's a lovely village.

It's close to Cambridge for our work

and we had tried to move here,

tried to bid for a few houses, but unfortunately weren't successful.

So we kept looking and finally managed to find somewhere

that we could afford and we could do what we wanted to it.

The house was in such a decrepit state that during the nine months

it took the owners to sell it, it was classified as uninhabitable.

It needed a lot of work, but that, we felt, gave us an opportunity

to at least actually move here.

When we first saw the house it was in a really sorry state.

Unfortunately there was quite a lot of mess and dirt everywhere.

It wasn't really liveable.

As well as the mess, the house had no water or heating when Samuel

and Helen took a leap of faith

and bought it for just over ?317,000.

The plan is to keep the current house in its old state, 1930s style,

and at the same time we're looking to build a two-storey modern

extension out the back to give that sort of contrast.

The couple are brimming with ideas, and even though they don't

have children yet they are both keen to get the house family ready.

We have space for a family room, and in my eyes I see kids' toys

and lots of storage and maybe the piano.

And Sam sees this really hi-tech centre.

He calls it the Hub, the Learning Zone.

My ideas are to have interactive whiteboards,

to have everything you would dream of

maybe within a small school in one room.

Well, hopefully they can agree on a family room

because builders start work on the house in just two weeks.

I'm keen to see for myself just what they've taken on

and hopefully help them with their next step in the process.

So this is your place. How long have you had it?

We've had it eight months now.

It's got this lovely light brick, quite typical of the Cambridge area.

That is what attracted us to the house, really.

The design and the features of the two bricks and the contrast.

Very nice. Shall we go in and have a look? Yep. Great.

Samuel and Helen have a healthy renovation budget of ?155,000

and they've already stripped back the interiors to reveal some

original 1930s features.

Right, this is lovely, isn't it?

So, front room, and immediately my eyes are drawn to features.

You're kind of feature-rich in here. Yes. Feature-rich. It's all intact.

At the moment it's just about all intact.

What happens next?

What do you want this to be and how are you going to lay it out?

This is going to stay virtually exactly as it is once we've

done it up, and keep it as a front room, a traditional front room.

So we are not knocking through this wall at all,

but there is another room that's a similar size that we are going

to make into a family room.

I'm quite keen to make it an open study, learning area. OK.

For myself, Helen and the future family.

Helen, is that very much Sam's dream, the e-learning zone?

I was originally thinking of a more traditional family room,

so, more somewhere...

A playroom, I suppose, with a piano, where the kids

could play with their toys. That kind of thing.

Let's come back to why you chose the house.

That's what you're looking for, something of this size. That's it.

This was kind of a really good way of getting the size of the house,

a good-sized garden, that we wanted for the budget that we could afford.

So you really appreciate the benefit of an empty property

as a way into this neighbourhood.

It was the only way we could get into this neighbourhood. Fantastic.

Let's see some more, shall we?

Samuel and Helen are novice renovators and they both need to

be clear what they want from a house and what their vision is.

Here we are at the back of the house. Nice light coming in.

What's the plan? What are you going to do back here?

We are going to knock all of this out

and build our new kitchen-diner out into the garden.

Oh, right.

Now, what happens with the kitchen?

Is it going to snake around in an L-shape to that room?

We are keeping the kitchen and diner to this area, the new build.

And it's actually a slightly tricky space.

We're not really sure what we're doing with it.

It's the access to the kitchen from the front of the house,

but we're not sure whether to use it as storage

or whether to have a downstairs toilet there,

and exactly where to have that, so it's a bit up in the air.

So what style is the new extension going to be in?

We've decided to keep it quite modern at the back.

You can really see it's an extension. We're not trying to hide anything.

We're honest with it.

And we really like the modern style contrasting with the 1930s.

I think you're right. Houses are books written in many chapters.

It doesn't all have to be when it was first published.

You can add chapters later and show that it's a later edition.

I'm sure you'll get something to your taste.

Upstairs the house already boasts three bedrooms with another one

to be added as part of the extension.

And in the back garden the potential is evident.

Guys, when you come out here you can really see what a garden you've got.

It's huge!

We're really lucky, and that was part of the draw for buying this house.

But it was funny because we didn't actually know how big it was

when we first got here

because it was overgrown with bramble all the way up here.

So we had no idea how far it went.

You looked on Google Earth to try and work out exactly what size it was.

Looking ahead, it's a big project.

It's going to be a very hectic six months ahead.

You're both working full-time as well as doing this.

What are your concerns about the project?

It's really hard when you haven't lived somewhere first, to know

how you're going to use the space.

We're trying to think ahead, planning a family and those kinds

of things and how you're going to use the house with children there and...

Yeah. It's really hard to know

exactly what we want to do with each room, really.

There's a few unknowns.

You're planning for a family you don't have yet.

You're building a new space and how do you fill it.

It's going to be really useful for you to meet a couple

who've been through this and done a complete renovation, including extending the house.

So plenty to look out for, lots of inspiration.

It's also a really good chance to get some last-minute advice

before your builders roll in. Fantastic. Does that sound good?

Sounds good, yeah. Yeah. Great.

This is a fantastic place, but a very daunting project.

The builders are arriving in just under two weeks

and yet there are still quite a few unknowns.

Plans aren't completely finished and, on top of that, how do you

make the best use of space in an extension you can't yet visualise,

and how do you plan a family home when you haven't yet got a family?

Many, many questions. It's going to be really good for them

to meet a couple who've done this.

They have extended their home, they have got a family and, hopefully,

they can answer some questions and give some really top-notch advice.

Bringing Britain's abandoned housing stock back into use isn't

just about gaining a foot on the property ladder.

It's also about keeping history alive.

Britain has some tremendous stately homes and historic residences,

and yet often overlooked are some smaller buildings tucked

away in their grounds.

But if those places are carefully managed

they can bring some unexpected benefits to the site as a whole.

I'm in south-west London to meet Sian from the Fulham Palace Trust.

She's involved in restoring the palace

so we can all enjoy its beauty,

and to do that the Trust has to come up with a clever way

of generating money, by renovating

and renting out two smaller,

dilapidated buildings in one of the capital's most historic sites.

Sian, tell me about the history of Fulham Palace.

The site first came into record in 704,

when the Bishop of London bought it from the Bishop of Hereford.

And we don't think the Bishop lived here for another 500 years.

But after that it was continuously occupied until 1973,

when the last bishop left.

It's hard to believe now,

with the planes queueing up for Heathrow,

and the built-up roundabout, that this was once in the countryside.

At that time, Fulham was countryside.

A lovely rural retreat outside London.

And what happens when the Bishop of London moved out?

What happened from the '70s onwards?

The local authority, Hammersmith and Fulham Council, took it over then

and ran it for the next few years until 2011, when the Trust took over.

What state were these buildings in from the '70s onwards?

Were some of them sitting empty?

From the period 1973 onwards, and probably

before that as well, it's quite a big property for the Bishop to live in.

It started to get derelict in places

and remained like that for the first few years that the council ran it.

It's now fully occupied, right?

The upper floors of the building that were derelict

are now occupied by office tenants.

And there are a couple of properties that

have only just been renovated?

We've got two cottages at the entrance to the site

which were restored last year.

Fantastic. Can we have a look? Yeah.

The palace has been open to the public

since 2006 and is expensive to run and restore.

So to help raise funds the Trust has recently renovated two other

historic, but smaller, buildings on the site

which are now home to some lucky tenants.

Sian, tell me about the history of these two buildings.

The pink lodge was built in 1815.

It's called Gothic Lodge because of the style of architecture.

And that was built when the Bishop started coming here by road

rather than by river.

So there needed to be somebody at the gate to let people in and out.

And what about the other building here?

The other building is Coachman's Lodge

that would have been occupied by the coachman.

So initially driving a horse and carriage

and then later on driving the Bishop's car.

How long have they been empty for?

They haven't been used as residential accommodation for about 50 years,

so they've been used as offices and for storage.

So they were not in great condition internally or externally.

So people are actually going to be living here?

We've got tenants living in both of them now, yes.

Wow! They moved in in August 2012.

Quite an unusual place to live, isn't it?

It is. It has its advantages.

It's quiet and peaceful and of course very beautiful.

How important is the money raised, then, from rent?

The palace costs about ?1 million a year to run, and the rental income

from these lodges and also the office tenants is about a third of that.

So it's essential income for us.

And how satisfying is it - these buildings are meant to be lived in -

to see people here again?

Well, after that long period of time, 50 years,

where they weren't occupied by tenants,

it's great to have them lived in again.

Fantastic. Well, look, thank you very much was showing me around.

What I really love about this project is not just that these

buildings have been brought back to life,

but that they now have purpose.

They are lived in again as they were always intended to be,

and the income generated in turn will help support this site

and the Trust for many years to come.

It's not just big organisations who are inspired to revive

abandoned buildings.

People right across the UK are taking on the challenge

of bringing derelict dwellings back into use.

Over in Derbyshire, trained architect Nigel Turner

and his wife Amanda have done just that.

They were in the market to buy a new home in or around Derby,

but it turned out the ideal spot was closer than they'd realised.

Well, I was pastor of a church round the corner from here,

and we were living in tied accommodation with that job.

And we started to think about whether we should buy a property.

So, being crazy Christians, we thought, "Where would Jesus live?"

And we thought he'd live in the worst part of town

because that's the sort of person he is, or was, rather.

So we thought, "That's where we should live."

So we found this place.

In fact, Nigel and Amanda took this sentiment literally

and opted to buy a former stable.

Dating back to 1870,

the building was more recently used as a pair of lock-up garages, but it

was located in a rundown area long viewed as a no-go zone by locals.

Being an architect, I look at buildings a lot

and I've got something inside me when I see a building,

I always see opportunity when I look at a building.

I never see something which is impossible. Anything can change.

I was quite happy, quite excited. I like derelict buildings.

I think it's really exciting to bring new life to dead things. So...

The garages came with a price tag of ?20,000,

but in reality there was a lot less there than they'd realised.

It didn't have a roof and it didn't have any services.

There was no water, no electricity, no gas.

The windows were not really there. There wasn't a staircase.

There was no proper external door. Yeah, it was four walls, really.

Getting planning approval was a big step,

because we had to get a change of use on the building.

It didn't have any residential use.

So that was a bit of a challenge,

but when that came through that was very encouraging.

Once they had planning permission in place,

they set out on a renovation that would cost ?56,000

and dominate their lives for the coming years.

The builder was here for about six months,

but then the actual project took two and a half years

because the builder just did the main structural work, the shell,

as it were, and then we took over

and project managed all the interior trades.

So we just took it nice and easy and did it at a leisurely pace.

One of the things we worked really hard at

when we were planning the house was to make every inch of space count,

because it is such a small place.

So, often, in a space like the landing under the stairs,

they serve more than one function.

There is storage, you can sit there and we try

and make the most of the space that we've got.

Having seen the renovation through, they've no regrets

and enjoy the benefits of living in such a unique home.

One of my favourite things about living here is

the reaction of younger people, our sons'

and daughters' friends as they come through the door.

If they've not been before it's always, "Oh, wow!"

For Nigel and Amanda, reviving this abandoned building

and turning it into a modern family home has given them

as much pleasure as they now get from living in it.

To actually come and do this one was really exciting, to see it

transformed and come alive again.

As you look around, things can look really awful,

but there are some really beautiful houses hiding under all

the decay and dereliction, so it was nice to do something like that.

But not all Britain's abandoned buildings are rescued and renovated.

In the south-east alone there are over 30,000 vacant dwellings,

and it's down to the Empty Property Officers to restore

the fortunes of our forgotten homes.

In Thanet, Kent, Andy Emmerson is visiting a building that's

been a blight on the local neighbourhood for over three years.

This property used to be a hotel,

but unfortunately the building started

to be used as a house in multiple occupation.

The council were getting quite a lot of complaints about the level

of accommodation and also issues in terms of the quality of living

standards within the building.

It's obviously attracted anti-social behaviour

and the property became empty.

The council bought the old hotel at auction in 2011

and embarked on turning it back into its original state -

two separate family homes, which the council will use for social housing.

Andy's come to make sure the project is progressing

and is up to the council's exacting standards.

Pat. Andy. It's good to see you. And you.

I kind of expected the scaffold to be down

and the windows to be in, to be honest.

That's the windows, unfortunately.

It's taken longer to get the style of the timber window to the street.

It's been quite difficult to get the UPVC windows to work.

It's signed off and agreed now,

but we are three weeks late on manufacture, unfortunately.

But it's going to be worth it in the long run.

Obviously, you had an awful lot of external works done to the front

and the back. Shall we have a look how that's gone? It's incredible.

Turning this place from one large residence with loads of small rooms

into two good-sized family homes has been no mean feat,

but this is a fantastic transformation.

Bedroom. A nice big room. Yeah, it is.

You've got skirting boards going on now, plasterboard.

Again, we've still got the windows. No windows, yeah.

Once we get the windows in place in a couple of weeks,

we can drop the scaffold. That will enable us to put new services in.

And we hope to be out in about nine weeks.

We need to look at the extension, I think,

because that's a long way behind schedule.

Let's go and look in the garden. Excellent, thank you.

Outside, the old three-storey extension

has been completely demolished and the team

is working on a less imposing and family friendly living space.

Mind your head. It's a nice big garden. Yeah, nice aspect, isn't it?

Yeah. Imagine it's going to have a nice slate roof

to match the main roof. It's a massive difference.

In spite of all the delays and everything, the windows

and things, what is still left to do on the building?

It's all about putting it all back together now.

Finish doing the rendering, put the roof on the new extension,

and it will be nice and watertight.

It's improved the building 100%, hasn't it, really,

to be honest? Considering what it was. Going back to two houses.

It's perfect. It's exactly what we wanted.

Andy is satisfied with the progress, but he's eager to find out

how the project has affected the rest of the street.

Now we are going to speak to one of the neighbours, who had an awful

lot of problems when it was empty and derelict,

to see what his opinion is of it now.

Hi, Mr Turner. Hello, there. I'm Andy Emmerson, from Thanet Council.

Yeah, obviously,

I've come to see what you think about the property next door.

It's nearing completion. I think it'll be quite nice.

We've had unwelcome visitors there as well,

people trying to break in, smashing windows and all that.

And also they stole a gas meter and left the gas on. Really?

And, for yourself, they had a big extension at the back.

We took that down. Has that improved your outlook?

It's much better for the light into the windows.

The back of the house is much brighter than it was before.

It makes it more pleasant. We don't use as much electricity. HE LAUGHS

Thank you very much for your time. All right, thank you.

Nice to meet you. And you. Bye.

Well, I was very happy with that site visit.

Obviously, we need to get the details right on the windows in order

for it to fit in with the street scene much better.

But hopefully by nine weeks we'll be having an opening ceremony.

We'll be able to get families back in there and local residents

will be invited so they can see what the project's been all about.

If you wish to find an empty property,

there are many ways to pick one up.

Keep in regular contact with local estate agents and auctioneers.

Try friends and families. They are often a great source of information.

Or get in contact with your local Empty Property Officer.

Back in the village of Histon, near Cambridge, I'm with Samuel

and Helen Scharf, who've taken on an abandoned house

and have lots of questions about how they can turn it into a family home.

I'm going to introduce them

to a couple who revived a similar building with surprising results.

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

It's quite impressive. First impressions?

Lovely. Really, really nice. Yeah.

Can you tell from looking at it that it's been extended?

From the side, yeah.

You can get a sneaky peek of a very modern extension, which is

really nice. What about the front?

Other than just looking smart and tidy, it's not...

A window and a door

and two windows, that's how it originally was.

They also extended out the sides. Oh, wow!

All right, let's go and find out how they did it, shall we? Brilliant.

OK, come on.

Richard and Emma Fuller hadn't planned on taking on a house

in need of so much work, but when they spotted this Victorian

detached home online something about it captured their imagination.

When we first saw the property,

I couldn't believe the state it was in. It was really rundown.

But we loved the feel of the space of the whole plot.

But once they became the proud owners of the house,

the enormity of the project became clear.

It didn't have any central heating.

All the electrics had to be redone

because it was all old-fashioned wiring.

Looking back, I don't think we really realised what a project

we were taking on.

It's only now when I tell people the story of taking the whole

back of the house down brick by brick

and people sort of look at me like I'm a bit crazy,

that you look back and think, "Wow, that was quite a big deal."

This labour of love for Richard and Emma has paid

dividends as they now live in the house of their dreams.

But a renovation of this size is rarely straightforward.

I think the hardest part was trying to do so much of it ourselves

and both of us working full-time.

Knowing what we were doing, the project,

the garden and the long-term vision, was what kept us going.

I have to say, now that the house is built and we're living here,

I absolutely love it.

It's all been worthwhile. We high-five each other.

"Look what we did. Look at this. We did this."

Yeah, we do sometimes have a sad moment, don't we? Yeah.

Richard and Emma's experience and enthusiasm will hopefully give

the Scharfs a real insight into what they can hope to achieve.

First up, a room Samuel in particular should find interesting.

Tell me about this room.

There's a few things in here I think will raise your eyebrows slightly.

Tell me, Richard, what's the idea of the room?

This is my man cave.

I say my man cave, but this is probably the kids' favourite room.

They like to come in here and put a film on on a Sunday afternoon.

Very good. What do you make of it, guys?

It's pretty much what I had laying in my head at the moment.

It's got the technology, it's got the beanbags...

LAUGHTER

Can't go wrong. Absolutely not. It looks great.

Let's see some more, shall we? After you.

Emma and Richard turned this downtrodden Victorian house

into a stunning home, complete with modern extension,

five bedrooms and a spacious kitchen and family room.

Is this the sort of thing you guys are thinking of

when you say clean and modern and...? Absolutely.

It's exactly what we were after.

A really nice, modern, airy extension on the back of an old house.

It's everything we have been trying to plan

for the last few months, really.

How do you get the vision right?

It's all very well working with plans, but how do you

kind of know when it's built it's all going to feel right?

We just took our plans and tried to get inside them as much as possible.

So we literally cut out sofas and tables and chairs and tried

things in different spaces, to work out what felt right.

Did you have any particularly tricky areas that you just couldn't

quite work out or a space you weren't sure how to use?

This area for me, I wanted it bigger,

because it just feels a little bit narrow.

And that's a compromise with... What's behind this wall, then?

There's an enormous utility room, but that would have... Yeah...

With three children and a dog, I wanted a big boot room,

rather than a small utility room.

Just thinking - boot room, children and dogs and things.

You're planning on this family,

you're not quite sure what you will need,

but you have this slightly mystery space near your downstairs loo.

I wonder if that's a way out to the garden there or a cloakroom

or something like that. Possibly.

If we do have a utility room, that could be used as a boot room.

It has a door leading out to the garden, so that would work.

Is there anything you'd advise against or anything that you'd

do differently? There are little things.

Nothing that anybody would notice. Just maybe the odd light switch.

Or the odd light itself. My advice would be just plan, plan, plan.

The more you can work out if it's the right place for a light switch

or if it makes sense if a door opens that way,

the more it will flow when you actually build it.

Yeah, very good. Thank you, guys.

It's been amazing to see around the place

and thank you for some great advice as well.

Thank you very much. Thanks.

Emma and Richard took an abandoned building and created a family home

that otherwise they may not have been able to afford.

Hopefully, this visit has given

Samuel and Helen a sense of what's ahead.

I've got a feeling this place was kind of to your taste.

How have you found it? It's been perfect.

It's been really, really good to see a project that is similar,

in the sense that it's an old house, new extension

and similar taste to what we like, which is fantastic.

Obviously, the unknown is the family and how you plan a family home.

Some ideas here and also some reassurance that you're not

alone in wanting a gadget room.

It was remarkable when we

walked into something that was literally in my head.

And that it's a valid thing to do, I think. It's not overly ambitious.

There are still bits on your plan

you're not quite sure what you're going to do with.

I suppose the advice there was just plan, plan, plan.

I know it sounds quite simple, but Richard saying about cutting

out furniture on paper and literally moving it around the room.

Actually, that's a really good idea.

We could just do that with the unknown space

and see if there's a way we can make it work.

Well, I'm pleased this place is so well suited. Thank you.

I'm pleased it's worked out and that you've got a great, great home,

and it's going to be an incredible place once you've finished it.

The very best of luck. I hope it finishes on time.

Thank you. Thank you.

I'm really pleased that Sam and Helen could see this place.

It's never easy to have an extension,

especially to an old property,

but here it's been done brilliantly, so they are going away with loads of

inspiration, loads of advice on how to create that perfect family space.

And I'm sure before very long

that's what they'll transform their empty property into.

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