Episode 49 Homes Under the Hammer

It's not just properties in poor condition that end up at auctions.

Because in today's market you never know what you're going to find.

We'll be bringing you examples from auction catalogues around the country to whet your appetite.

Now, if you're looking for a quick buy, an auction can be a great place to start.

Once the gavel falls, you know the property is yours if you come up with the funds.

So who went for the auction-buying option on today's show?

You'd be wise not to turn your nose up at this flat in London.

Forget the smell, the proportions are great!

There's a mystery to solve at this house

near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire.

It's got me very, very confused.

And in the seaside town of Ramsgate

perhaps water really can be too close to hand.

Now look at that, wet to the touch.

All these properties have been sold at auction. We'll find out who bought them

and what they paid for them when they went under the hammer.

Today I'm in south-east London to see a property that the auction

catalogue description says is in Penge.

Now it's always worth checking these descriptions thoroughly

because in fact the area is Crystal Palace and that's great news.

Now, in 2010 the East London Line extension is due for completion

with a station right here at the Crystal Palace overland.

There will be a fast and direct route into the city and this part

of London will feel much more linked to the rest of the capital.

So it's always worth doing your research.

I love this largely undiscovered part of town.

It's got a fabulous 200-acre park

and prices are still quite reasonable considering you can be

in central London in just under 20 minutes.

Location and transport links get my vote. What about the property itself?

Here on Hamlet Road I'm only a stone's throw

from the train station, which is a great start,

and another is this beautiful tree-lined street.

The Victorians were captivated by the open space and the greenery of this part of London

and they built a large number of these grand, imposing villas,

many of which have now been split into separate units.

Here's the property that's up for auction, a two-bedroom,

lower ground-floor flat with a rather attractive guide price of 135,000.

What isn't attractive is the scruffy communal garden,

'which doesn't exactly add to the kerb appeal. And let's face it, here you're almost below the kerb.'

Now, for me, the worry with lower ground floor flats

is that they will be dark and damp.

It's only four steps down to the door here, but do you know what?

I can really smell damp in here.

That's not unexpected but I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for the cause of the problem.

So into the reception room.

Do you know what, forget the smell,

the proportions are great!

If all the rooms are like this, we're onto a winner here.

And they definitely are.

Each room is an excellent size.

The master bedroom is almost as big as the lounge and the second bedroom

is a lovely square shape, but the decor is shabby.

It reminds me of a rather dated school classroom.

However with those large windows letting in plenty of light,

careful redecoration would transform this place.

This kitchen needs a complete overhaul,

but again this room along with the others has a nice symmetry

to it, and with some careful design and good quality units,

some granite, some solid wood, you'd easily attract those city boys,

who'll be flocking to Crystal Palace when the new train line opens.

There's another extra room here but it's a bit of an odd one.

It's too tiny to be called a bedroom

but would certainly make a great study.

But it's not the only thing I've noticed here.

That's right - the first evidence of damp.

This needs to be checked out to see if it's the root cause or sign of bigger problems.

Another drawback is security.

With easily accessed windows on all sides, this could be a bit of an issue.

But at a guide price of 135,000 there's scope for an attractive investment here.

I asked a local estate agent what he thought of the flat.

A solid flat, it's a nice big solid flat.

It's got two very good sized double bedrooms and a third boxroom.

It's a great flat. It's solid. Doesn't need bundles of work but it does need some updating.

'Looking at the third room, which is a small boxroom, that is an issue.

'However it can fit a single bed in it so it would make a great kid's room or a baby's room,'

or somebody could use it as an office which is fine, but you can market it as a three-bed, I believe.

I'm not so sure about that myself.

At best I think this ranks as a two-and-a-half bedroomed flat,

but if it was marketed as a three-bed, what could it sell for?

Once renovated as a three-bed I believe the property could sell for around the £275,000 mark.

The biggest problem we have at the moment with the current market is the stamp duty level at 250,000, and that

may push the price down to that level but I do believe if it was at 250,000 it would sell for around that price.

At that attractive £135,000 guide price, this could prove to be a good deal. What's the rental potential?

As a three-bedroomed flat I'd say around 1,200 per calendar month mark.

Well, is it to be or not to be,

for this lovely flat on Hamlet Road?

It's hardly a tragedy but that damp problem isn't a laughing matter.

Let's see who saw the potential at the auction.

Lot 23 is 25A Hamlet Road,

Penge, SE19.

Where do you want to start? I think it's worth 150, but you tell me.

Start the other way, 120.

Not going to go below 120.

120, 125 anywhere?

121? 121, 122, 123,

124, 125,

126, 127, 128,

129, 130, 131,

132, 133,

134, 135... 136?

135 with you.

136, new spot, 136, 137, 138,

139, 140,

141... 142? Back,

141... Anyone else at £141,000?

First time, second time, third and last time, have you all done?

Withdraw that lot, you're close.

No one seemed willing to bid any higher there

but the first bidder, Steve, had a post-auction offer of £140,000 accepted.

Steve's had 27 years in the building trade and used to live locally

but several years ago he relocated to Ireland with his family.

He's now in the process of moving back, but has always invested in his old stamping ground.

I met up with him to find out more.

Steve, congratulations.

I love this flat. It's got a really nice feeling to it, hasn't it?

Oh, yeah, it's beautiful.

So why did you end up with this flat at auction?

Well, I actually looked at it for a couple of friends of mine,

who asked me to look at it. And when I met them at the auction they didn't have the money to bid for it,

-so I did.

-Are they still your friends?

I spoke to them this morning.

Yeah, they are!

One man's failure is another man's fortune

and Steve was in the right spot at the right time to bag this one.

# You can go your own way

# Go your own way... #

But fate works in mysterious ways and when it came

to that run-down garden, lady luck seemed to be on Steve's side.

The garden didn't come with the long lease that the freeholders created when they sold the unit,

so I've subsequently spoken to them and they're going to include it in the leasehold at no charge, in fact.

-You are joking!

-No.

So you've just got yourself a piece of garden. How did you do that?

Just was very nice on the phone to the freeholders,

who happened to be a housing association,

-and yeah, very lucky.

-You are very lucky.

That doesn't happen that often, that you can just get yourself a piece of garden without having to pay for it.

Who's currently upkeeping all the gardens, anyway?

Well, the freeholder said that it was a kind of a joint maintenance thing

with everybody else in the block,

but I think you've seen yourself that nobody is maintaining the gardens,

so I think they'll be quite pleased for me to get involved and do that.

With Steve's charm he might be able to get the other residents to maintain his garden.

# He's a sweet talking guy Sweet-talking guy... #

But joking apart, this addition to the flat has meant a rethink on his plans.

So now are you looking at this flat in a different light completely?

Yeah, I think I'll change what I originally thought I'd do.

So we'll go into the garden from this room in fact, probably put a terrace

outside and we'll have a sort of inside/outside living space here.

Now this is in a conservation area.

Do you think you'll have a few problems with planning because of that?

I'll have to get consent to do it, but I don't suppose that will be a big problem.

I've done similar things locally.

Let's talk about the very small boxroom because that's the only downside in this flat.

There's not a lot you can do with that unless you have it as an office.

Perhaps we'll move the kitchen into it and open up this wall behind here

and integrate this room and the kitchen together.

A great idea. Creating an open-plan kitchen diner

would free up the old kitchen to become a usable third bedroom.

But as it's on the lower ground floor, Steve would have to be careful about checking

which are the supporting walls.

He's only got £10,000 to £15,000 set aside, which could easily escalate if he goes ahead with these plans.

But there's also potentially a big problem that could affect that budget.

Also you've got a few damp problems, you can really smell it, it's very musty.

But you're a builder. Tell me what you know.

Well, I'm not sure whether we've got a real damp problem in here or whether it's just condensation

from the building being empty. I'll have to have a proper look at that.

We'll expose that and see what's got to be done.

The market is a bit wobbly at the moment, a lot of developers are buying and keeping

hold of it for the long term. How do you feel about this property?

If I need to keep it, I'll keep it, but my preference would be to sell.

We'll have a look at how the market is in the new year.

I think this is a great flat and the addition of that garden, well, it makes it even better.

And that damp, well, it obviously needs to be addressed. But, still, I think it's a great buy.

Find out how he gets on later in the programme.

This is Blackbrook, a little hamlet

just outside Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire.

What I'm here to see is this!

It's a three-bedroomed detached house at a guide price of £180,000,

which given the size of it and the amount of land it's in...

definitely worth a look!

Well, that's interesting. For such a big house you expect a slightly grander entrance, I have to say.

It's very cramped, stairs up to the bedrooms there,

a little corridor leading off to a sitting room there

and then through to what is, I guess, the main living room here.

It's not a bad size space.

Nice to see it's got a real fire but I tell you what, I wish it was lit today.

It's absolutely freezing in here, which probably isn't helping

with the general feeling of damp.

And, yes, look at that wall... that's not good news.

The other thing that you notice straightaway in here is, wow,

that is crying out for some French windows or maybe patio doors,

leading out onto the garden.

That really would transform this room.

But another room that's going to need some work is the kitchen.

I say kitchen, it's just a box at the moment.

It's not a bad-sized space.

On further investigation, you see this place is really dark and dingy.

It looks and feels as though it hasn't been occupied

for quite a while and the elements have started to take their toll.

But it's not just the state of the house that's a cause for concern.

There's something very odd about the layout.

The extension, which should be useful,

can only be reached by going outside and then back in.

This is a bit weird. What's going on here?

There's a room there and that's actually the rear of the staircase of the other part of the house.

You've got this one room, it's got a fireplace there, it's got a toilet

over that way, it's got its own entrance, it doesn't have any stairs

or anything up to the next floor up.

And this is the only way to the rest of the property, through this door.

It's got me very, very confused.

What on earth is this for?

Mm, really strange. This extension is joined on the outside

but not connected on the inside.

It's almost a separate granny annexe or work area. I can't figure it out.

Maybe the rest of the house will offer some more clues.

Boy, oh, boy!

OK, well, upstairs here, obviously some serious problems.

Looks like fire damage, which could explain why it's an auction property.

But in terms of layout I really like it.

You've got the loo and bathroom there, a bedroom there with beautiful views

out onto the countryside and a really funky kind of shape.

Nice feeling down here and then another bedroom there,

but - boy, oh, boy - are there problems in this room!

Look at that. The rafters have gone

and I guess the underfelt has also been destroyed.

Clearly this is the epicentre of the fire. You're going to have to have that checked out

because you don't know what kind of damage, it could even be that the roof is now unstable,

so, yes, that is not good news.

All in all, this place is in a sorry state.

# Burning down the house... #

If I were buying this, I'd look on the whole property as a development opportunity.

Knock it all down and start again.

With the size of the plot, you might be able to get two

or even three homes on here. What does a local estate agent think?

I feel the property should stay

much as it is. You could possibly extend it and turn it

into a four-bedroomed property.

You could potentially split the garden off to put another property on

and still give you a good-sized property with a good-sized garden to this property as well.

That's an interesting alternative option but wouldn't it have a negative effect here?

The property as it stands, done completely, in the current market

would fetch somewhere between 325 to 350.

If you were to split it up and sell the land separately I think it would bring this property down to somewhere

in the region of around £300,000 and then obviously your profit from your land and the building.

The land on its own would probably fetch somewhere in the region of around £70,000, thereabouts.

What sort of value would a new-build house have?

I'd suggest again you'd be looking somewhere in the same price

to what this property would drop down to, of around the £300,000 mark.

That approach could net over £600,000.

This property was guided at 180,000, so even with build costs there could be a big return for a developer.

So, an interesting property in a beautiful location, with this rather intriguing separate bit on the edge.

But you know what, the value of this place is not in the house, it's in the plot of land. It's huge.

If you knock this down and built something else here, another property by the side of it,

you're on for making potentially a lot of money.

I'm sure that's what got them excited when it went to the auction.

Lot number 23, we now move to Blackbrook near Newcastle-under-Lyme.

160, can I say?

Against the wall, back, £160,000 opening bid.

170, can I say? 170, yeah?

£170,000, £180,000...

At 190, at 190...

200? At 200,000...

210, right, 211, 211...

212, sir?

212... 213?

New bidder, right, now. 213.

On the back wall, 214. 215?

215... 216...

217, sir?

You sure?

OK, 216, with you on the back row again.

At 216,000, then, for the first time, at 216 for the second time,

third and final time at £216,000...

On the back row, well done.

After quite a battle, the victorious bidder for the house and land for 216,000 was David.

I met him back at the fire-damaged property to find out why he was so determined to get it.

-Dave, nice to meet you.

-Hi, Martin.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-So, big house, big plot, why did you want to buy it?

Well, I actually own the property next door and I'd been looking at the property

for several years while we've been here with an eye to restoring it

back to where it should be.

I was also a bit concerned that a lot of developers

were actually interested in the plot, to demolish what's here

and put possibly two to three properties on it,

and I was very much aware that that could have had some residual deficit effects on my property.

So you bought this to protect your own house?

Exactly. Very much so, yeah.

In terms of developing it, you could make a lot of money, couldn't you?

The reason developers would have bought it is that it's a huge plot

and I'm sure you could have got planning permission. Is that not even vaguely tempting?

No. Basically I'm going to restore what's here, possibly, in the future, extend it.

I've got to have a word with my lawyer to actually make sure that nothing is developed on here

in the future if I did decide to part with it.

You're going to put a covenant into the property?

So nobody can ever... Oh, wow.

It may seem like madness to purchase somewhere just to stop others from buying it,

but if a developer had got hold of it, it's possible that two to three houses could have gone up here.

This would not only have destroyed the peace and quiet here,

but might have had a negative effect on David's house

so he has a sound financial motive for protecting his own assets.

He's lived next door for over seven years but does he know the history of this house?

From what I understand, it used to be a rural police station.

These places were dotted all over Staffordshire.

They were all built to a certain standard and a certain design.

This one was working up until the very early '80s.

They were all shut down and sold off.

A police station, how did that work?

Basically, the policeman and his family lived in the house, and they ran the station during the day

and after hours there would be a phone connected and he could be woken up.

Ah! Mystery solved. That is why the buildings were separate and not directly connected.

I guess I have got a long way to go to get my Sherlock Holmes badge yet but David is clearly on the case.

So tell me a bit more about you, then.

Well, basically, I've worked in psychiatry since 1981.

I've worked for the NHS for 20 years, I'm currently working for a charity

part-time and I have a private practice doing counselling and psychotherapy.

Blimey. So nothing to do with property developing at all, then?

Not really. But I've always bought properties either from auction, so it was nothing new to me,

and I've always restored houses, my whole family, their background is building.

But your direct training and experience, does that come into this at all?

No. To be honest with you, it's the exact opposite.

That's why I love restoring properties.

I also restore classic cars.

-Oh, really?

-Anything with my hands that's practical, it does help.

When it comes to cars, David has some MGs, Bentleys and Jensens

that he's restored over the years.

It sounds like that he's got the skills and the connections to do a house renovation.

But is that what he plans to do here?

I've got three stepchildren.

Basically, my family need additional accommodation.

I'm hoping that my stepdaughter will take the house over.

And the office that was a police office,

I'm hoping to develop into secondary accommodation like a granny flat.

So what are you actually going to do with the house?

It in a bit of a state.

It is. It's got to have a complete rewire,

there's some fire damage upstairs which looks worse than it actually is.

Have central heating put in it.

The windows needs sorting out and it's got to be completely gutted

and refurbished, really, replastered, everything.

What about the garden? The garden is extensive, but a bit of a mess, isn't it?

Got a friend who's got a JCB and he's going to change all the grading.

The land is all the wrong levels.

It's got to be all changed round and then, obviously, lawned.

It will be an extensive lawn, easy to maintain with a tractor mower.

Any idea how much it's going to cost to do the work?

I actually do most of the work myself and my very close friend, who lives just over the road,

is a master plasterer and he's promised to help me out with that,

so, I'm looking for no more than about £10,000 - £12,000.

-To do what?

-To completely do the work.

-Including what?

-Including the rewire, central heating, the lot.

Windows, kitchen?

I've already got, believe it or not, I've got a kitchen organised.

-Bathroom? Replastering?!

-I've already got the bathroom organised.

-10,000 quid?!

-£10-12,000.

We'll definitely be watching David closer to see if he really can

unlock the potential here on his very tight budget.

So it just goes to show, buying property isn't always about making a profit.

Dave's buying this place so he can guarantee

that nobody's going to build right next door to his house.

In terms of what he's going to do to this place, I believe this could be a beautiful house.

But for £10-12,000, I don't think so.

You can find out how he gets on later in the show.

Coming up, the first thing that draws me to this house in Ramsgate

isn't the sea but these lovely, huge, curved, bay windows. They're absolutely gorgeous!

Back in Staffordshire, is it a case of "'ello 'ello what's going on here, then?"

The wife said "do nothing for a week and then I'm going to crash on and finish it off."

But first, we find out if Steve's gift of the gab bagged him a bargain.

I just was very nice on the phone to the female.

Earlier, we met Steve the builder.

He originally went to the auction to bid for some friends but ended up

buying this lower ground floor flat himself for £140,000.

It's in Crystal Palace, south London, but it's not exactly regal.

More like a palace dungeon.

But Steve had great plans and with 27 years in the business, lots of experience.

So five months on, we return to see if the flat with low initial appeal

now had a high wow rating.

Well, wow factor there is, and plenty of it.

The shabby lounge is now a beautifully laid-out, open-plan kitchen diner.

And connecting the unusable boxroom has added a new dimension to this room.

I think the layout originally was just a bad one.

It needed improving. I asked my architect what he thought

and we did a few sketches and we had a chat and came up with this.

That small boxroom was definitely little use as it was.

Integrating it with the lounge has totally transformed this area.

Down that shabby corridor...

That tired back bedroom has seen its own total transformation.

This is the second bedroom and this is where we've had the most dramatic change, I think.

Originally, we had a kitchen here. We knocked the wall through

and got these bi-fold doors and built-in wardrobe in here.

Also a lovely en suite which I think is a dramatic change.

Sealing off the kitchen door has allowed him to create a beautiful

en suite wet-room that has taste and top quality in every corner.

The same design style has been bought to the old bathroom.

In contrast, the other bedroom has had a pleasant if unspectacular makeover.

Steve has used an interior designer to create the right combination of style and selling points throughout.

I need to get somebody in to deal with the colours and the quality of the finish.

I'm more of a hands-on, in-the-ground builder.

Steve may not be comfortable with paint palettes and soft furnishings

but he certainly knows his stuff when it comes to the exterior design.

So here we are in the garden in the middle of the tao symbol.

It's a very important feature in this project, the garden, to integrate the inside and outside space.

I did a lot of work here myself and I'm very pleased with it.

When it came to that messy garden,

Steve looked to the Far East for inspiration

for its elegantly updated new look.

Remember, Steve got the garden for nothing which he now reckons has added

£30,000 to the property's value.

There's no doubt that the transformation into a swanky urban pad has been a great success,

was it necessary to do it to such a high standard?

I think you've really got to up the ante in this market.

Things are not too good and anything that is going to sell has got to be top quality.

That quality is evident throughout. As renovations go, they were very few problems for this job.

The damp was just a bit of condensation which was easily solved.

No rewiring was necessary and only a new boiler was needed for the heating.

Even so, for such an impressive conversion, I can't believe Steve stayed within his £10-15,000 budget.

We went up to about £22,500.

I reused some materials from other jobs that I've got.

I don't know exactly what figure that would come to but there is a little bit more than that to add.

For £22,000 plus, this renovation looks amazing.

Added to Steve's purchase price of £140,000, that would take his costs here to about 163,000.

So what are his plans?

I think I'll put it on the market for a month and see what happens.

If I don't get a good buyer, and when I say a good buyer, I mean somebody who can get a mortgage,

I'll rent it.

Bearing in mind that outlay of 163,000,

we asked two local estate agents what they thought of the work.

Walking into a flat that was very dark, very dank,

it felt like a basement flat,

you felt like nobody would want to live here,

now you walk in and I'm ready to move in!

First impression of the property, fantastic. Really good job.

High quality. Great finish.

Light, bright. Very, very good job.

First arrival at the property, you walk into the garden and it's just fantastic.

Beautifully landscaped.

Into the double doors, into the kitchen, very good quality again.

It's just, from start to finish, a superb job.

What he's done here, he has a complete lifestyle package

with the garden, he's got the ying and yang landscape there,

the whole thing's got tranquillity built into it.

Everything feels right. I love the feeling you get when you walk in the door.

Creating that positive vibe is always important when selling,

but did Steve go over the top with the finish?

In a tough market, the quality of the flat will shine through.

There is still demand for high-end properties.

It's the lower-end, cheaper properties that are struggling.

There's always going to be demand for something like this.

What could the flat achieve if sold?

If I were to put his property on the market today, I would put an asking price of £275,000.

Having looked at the property, I would value it between the 250,000 and 240,000 mark.

I don't think people are prepared to go over stamp duty by 5,000 - 10,000.

250 would be top end in the current market.

I think 260 and then sell it under stamp, under 250.

That's what it's going to sell for.

He was spot on, because two days later, Steve accepted an offer for the flat for £250,000.

That should see him make a pre-tax profit of at least 70 grand,

so an excellent and quick result there for him.

After all his time in the business, the pleasure of the deal is still there.

I'm 27 years looking at houses, I wouldn't say I get emotional, but I still enjoy every one of them.

Oh, Ramsgate in Kent.

Famous for its coastline and its Blue Flag beach.

New transport links will also put this Kentish town firmly on the map.

In less than a year, the high-speed train service to London will be operating.

Commuting to the capital is currently 1 hour and 50 minutes.

In 2009, the same journey will take just over one hour.

This town, with its award-winning beach

and cafe culture is sure to take off when the high-speed rail link opens.

Why holiday in Rhodes when you can get to Ramsgate so easily?

But what would the accommodation be like?

A period property with three bedrooms, original features and a great position in the town.

How much for all of this Georgian splendour?

The guide was set at £95-105,000.

Let's see what it's like on the inside.

You don't just get one floor of this corner block, but three, which works out at around 35,000 a floor.

That sounds all right to me.

It's situated next to Pig Alley and certainly looks like somewhere that could bring home the bacon.

Inside I've got to say the first thing I'm drawn to here

are these lovely, huge, curved, bay windows, they're absolutely gorgeous.

This is what I love about Georgian properties.

Sadly, the Artex ceiling and the gas fire aren't really in keeping with this period property.

I think it will be lovely to see the originals put back into a room like this.

Imagine a reclaimed fireplace here instead of that old gas fire.

And some cornicing. This room would be instantly improved.

Just down the hall is the tired kitchen which needs a complete overhaul.

The carcasses and units may be reusable.

So with just new doors, you could save a significant amount of money.

There's also the bonus of a basement,

great for storage or even to convert into a games room or maybe a study.

Upstairs on the middle floor, there's a bathroom, though sadly without a bath,

and also a reasonable bedroom.

Although what I've seen so far is not in great shape,

it seems as though it could all be sorted out relatively easily.

But I haven't seen the top floor yet.

This room certainly has got a bit of an awkward shape

but it does have character and it is kind of quirky.

I know I keep going on about it, but look at this window.

Look, I can't even touch the sides.

That is magnificent.

Something that is worrying me slightly, though, is this.

Look at this water.

Wet to the touch.

If you don't do anything about that, it could add thousands to your budget.

This may be something as simple as a bit of damage on the felting or it might need a new roof.

Without checking, you don't know whether you're in for 60 quid or £6,000.

It's these differences that can make or break an investment.

Buying blind could mean you're in for a nasty shock.

But this property has a lot going for it.

The third bedroom isn't much more than a boxroom and the courtyard

walled area at the back is not pretty.

But with a bit of imagination I reckon you could make this a pleasant secluded sanctuary.

Is this a diamond in the rough or just three floors of trouble?

What does a local estate agent think?

It could do with a nice refurb throughout,

more cosmetic than anything else.

I don't think it needs anything major doing, from what I've seen.

A good paint through and it will be ready for someone to move in to.

With this property, the main negative is the lack of parking.

Most people don't want to park their car away from their property.

You have double yellow lines outside so that isn't a choice.

Will the lack of parking limit the value of this property?

In the current market, once this property is refurbed throughout, it should sell for 135,000.

The sort of rental per calendar month is around £550.

That means it's not just the house that stacks up. The numbers do, too.

In a market over-saturated with flats, it makes financial sense to keep this one as a house.

The lack of parking may limit your market but its position in the town

and its fantastic windows make it stand out from the rest, in my mind.

Let's see who was attracted to this one as we go to auction.

Ramsgate. 12 Broad Street.

We start with £80,000. Lot 277.

£80,000 anywhere?

80? On the aisle.

Checked shirt, £80,000. 81 anywhere?

81 at the back. 82?

Sir, 82. Thank you. 83. 84?

84. 85?

85. 86? 87?

88? 89? 90?

91?

No, 90 then. 90, I'm bid, against you at the back. 91 anywhere?

First time at 90.

Second time at 90. Third and last time.

£90,000. All done. Yours.

On the aisle, checked shirt. £90,000.

So, for below the guide price and at that reasonable sum of 90,000,

the new owners are retired couple, David and Andrea.

David was initially a lawyer then moved into car restoration.

Andrea, his wife of 40 years, was a teacher.

They now live in Bedfordshire nearly 140 miles away.

What brings you to Ramsgate?

We had a water mill in France

which David did up.

When it was finished, we didn't know what we were going to do with ourselves

so we sold it and drove along the south coast and we looked at various properties,

and we saw the one we bought in Paragon.

So he's finished that and wanted another job.

So, you've a holiday home down here.

-Yes, at the moment.

-Overlooking the Royal Harbour.

So, your reason for wanting to buy this was because you're bored?

Come on!

No, not entirely.

I thought it might make a reasonable investment property

and we have no pension fund or anything like that.

Over the years, David has done up and restored more than six properties,

ranging from old thatched cottages to that water mill.

He seems unable to stop tinkering with houses and sees it more as a hobby than another career.

What is the grand plan? How is it going to work, having taken this on board?

That's one of the worrying things.

How long it's going to take.

It's only decorating, really.

David comes down with a friend, friendly painter/builder chappie

but they only come for two days once a month.

What about the problems, I know you have a flat roof,

there is a bit of damp coming through and blocked guttering.

I think the gutters are OK.

Terry, who is much more agile than me,

shinned up onto the roof and has done some repairs to the flashing around the chimney.

Hopefully, he's fixed the problem.

There has been a leak down the chimney breast in the top bedroom.

What is your budget to do the work here?

I would think...

I always thought on restoration projects, think of a figure and double it and double the time.

On this, it's more straightforward.

I would think £1,500, something like that.

Really?

So you have paint, woodwork to be done, carpet cleaning.

Yes, you've already spent nearly 1,000 between John and the cooker.

You see! You see!

400 and 700.

-Anyhow, we might have to double it.

-It might creep up.

Yes. Bit optimistic I think, there.

-That was my original feeling, double it.

-Double it, then double it.

That would probably be about right.

There may have to be a slight review of the budget but this doesn't seem to be a project driven by money.

Andrea, is he a bit of a workaholic?

I wouldn't say that!

I would say a pleasure-holic.

He gets a great deal of pleasure out of restoring old houses and old cars.

And enjoys racing them as well.

He's very much... or we are, very much into the pleasure business rather than the workaholic.

Sheer hard work business.

Tell me more about the cars.

Cars are mainly Jaguars from the '50s and early '60s.

They're my real interest.

We race those all over the UK and Europe

and even South Africa and Australia.

We've had a lot of fun over the years.

And we have a son who's very interested as well, so father and son thoroughly enjoy it.

-I'm called...

-Team manager.

Team manager now.

-Sounds like you have a lot of fun together.

-Yes, we do.

It's quite an adventure, your life, isn't it?

Yes, one big adventure.

So, this Broad Street House is another chapter in their continuing adventure.

If you ever want proof that retirement is fun and fulfilling,

you couldn't get a better advert than David and Andrea.

# Life's waiting to begin Life's waiting to begin...#

There's no sense of urgency for David and Andrea.

They are self-confessed pleasure-holics and this is their hobby.

However, David's budget is extremely modest for the amount of work that needs doing here.

If the roof does need attention, it could cost thousands.

Find out how the couple get or later in the show.

So, have the tides turned for our property investors?

Have their experiences been plain sailing?

-Have they sunk without trace or swum to the shore with a profit?

-Let's find out.

Back in Blackbrook in Staffordshire, a former rural police station

known appropriately as The Copse, went up for auction.

This was a property in terrible condition,

there was fire damage upstairs, and it was damp and dingy throughout.

As if that wasn't enough, the layout was odd.

There was an extension which had been the old police station office but it wasn't attached internally.

Also, it sat on a big plot so it seemed this was a ripe development opportunity.

The days of the building itself were surely numbered.

But when David bought it for 216,000 it seemed as though rescue could be close at hand.

# Rescue me And take me in your arms...#

I actually own the property next door and I've been looking at the property for several years.

I was concerned that a lot of developers were interested in the plot.

So you bought this to protect your own house.

Exactly. Very much so.

Six months on, has David been able to arrest the ravages of time in this former police station?

Is the Copse now back to being a home?

Well, there's a marked improvement with new windows, new central heating and redecoration.

The back reception room now has patio doors out to the garden.

And the kitchen?

Well, it's really coming on.

Psychotherapist David has really worked hard here and proved his practical skills.

But he had an extremely tight £12,000 budget.

I've actually spent £6,000 so far.

My friend, Mick, actually plastered the house and he did it as a favour.

£6,000 is amazing, especially when you see what has been achieved on the fire-damaged first floor.

You can appreciate how generous his plasterer friend, Mick, was

when you consider how much plasterwork was needed up here.

And although David has got some fantastic internet bargains,

to reach this stage for a spend of just £6,000 is very impressive.

This is where the greatest changes have occurred.

All this area around here was devastated in the fire.

Basically, it actually looked a lot worse than it actually was.

We found when we actually investigated further, once we had cut away all the debris,

that the timbers were in very good condition and they were very, very substantial anyway.

So with the ceiling joists replaced and some of the timbers replaced also,

we've managed to, as you can see, create a dramatic change in this room.

I certainly think this part of the house is a triumph,

particularly when you bear in mind that most of the work was done by David

with help from his friend, Mick.

Not only did David have to contend with the problems he knew about,

but he found a serious rat infestation in the loft.

He then had to put in additional support to strengthen some walls.

Meanwhile, he also took on a full-time job, which has meant that,

along with the renovation, he has been working seven days a week for the last six months.

And if that wasn't enough, he had to work in an unheated house

in one of the most bitterly cold winters in recent memory.

# In the wintertime...#

It was that cold that one day in particular I was wearing my hardhat and I just couldn't wear it,

the plastic was actually so cold that it was making me miserable.

So, foolishly, I took it off and I put my bobble hat back on

because I couldn't put my bobble hat on underneath the hardhat.

And I was chiselling away and a full-sized brick hit me on the head with the bobble hat on.

My son saw it happen and I kept on chiselling.

And he said, "Dad, there's blood coming down the side of your face!"

And it was that cold, I couldn't feel it.

At the end of the day, it's better to have a cold head than a cracked one,

but David hasn't finished with the hardhat yet.

He reckons he's still got three months ahead of him.

He has to finish off the not insignificant task

of landscaping the garden and then there's the old police office annex.

As you can see, this is still a bit of a mess.

Very much at an embryonic stage.

Really, we are trying to work out how we can get the layout right in this part of the house

to make this single accommodation.

So we are struggling a little bit with this, but we're hoping,

with a bit of thought and planning, to get it right.

It is an area that can be used for so many purposes.

It could either be integrated into the house or used as a separate granny annex.

Or, David has considered using it as his office.

Potentially, it's the bit that could add some value here if done well.

What do two local estate agents think?

Is David heading in the right direction?

It's a huge change.

The property before was very down-at-heel,

needed developing with the fire-damaged part of the property.

It was completely unmodernised.

Now, new plaster, a new kitchen, bathroom,

it has certainly come on a lot.

There has obviously been a lot of work done on the property so far.

But I would like to have seen a bit more done

with regard to looking for a master bedroom with an en-suite.

Downstairs toilet facilities and somehow incorporating the granny flat into the main property.

Some of the standard of the things that have been done,

maybe not as good as it should be in a property of this size.

The way I would look at it is to use that granny flat as actually an executive office

and then to extend out above the granny flat to make that fourth bedroom.

Bring in the en-suite bedroom.

That will then give you far more potential from this property.

David may not be fully maximising the potential here.

But he didn't see this as a primarily money-making venture.

Even so, he'd hoped to recoup its costs of around £230,000.

If everything was finished and the property was just sold,

you'd be looking to put this property on the market around about £325,000.

At the moment we would look at somewhere around the 275, 280 mark.

That's pretty encouraging. It does seem that David bought well. But what does he think?

No disrespect to the gentleman who came in lower.

Perhaps that's a realistic value on what people would want to buy it quickly.

I am not in a hurry to sell so there's no issue there at all, really.

In fact, David is hoping one of his stepchildren will move in.

Or another family member. He will consider his options when finally it's all finished. And then what?

For me, a rest.

I'm going to have a little bit of a rest for a week or so.

My wife said, "Do your thing for a week and then I'm going finish it off."

So, David will have a brief break from all the tasks here.

# I want, I want, I want to break free...#

And he hopes to do a bit of restoration work on his old car collection.

But it's going to be a while before he completely escapes from the old police station.

In the seaside town of Ramsgate in Kent, things are set to change.

A new high-speed rail link will mean that London will be just over an hour away.

This will make it not just a holiday destination

but a viable commuting base and also an attractive proposition for investors.

But when retired couple, David and Andrea,

snapped up a three-storey house for £90,000 at auction,

it wasn't just pension funds they were thinking about.

So, your reason for wanting to buy this was because you're bored?

-Come on!

-No, that's not really...

-Not entirely. Not entirely.

David has done up six properties over the years, including restoring a watermill and thatched cottage.

So, five months on, has he been busy on this three-storey house?

To some degree, yes. But it's not the most radical change.

It's really just had a lick of paint and a bit of a makeover.

The bathroom still doesn't have a bath and they've even retained some of the old kitchen.

David managed to match up some of the tiles because all these were missing.

The other thing we had to do was buy a new cooker here, the hob and the oven.

And fittings for the dishwasher and washing machine.

And we didn't like the colour. It was a vivid bright yellow.

So we painted it cream, which seems to have lightened everything up.

And I made the flowery curtains, which seems to have brought the garden from the outside, inside.

David worked on the house a couple of days a month along with a friend, Terry, who's an odd-job man.

Terry has hopefully sorted out the damp coming from the roof.

But how did David and Andrea operate together?

Well, she's very good at organising my calendar and time and everything else.

I'm not very good at that sort of thing.

Well, he organises and I just help out, really.

As far as I'm concerned, it's a source of income.

For me, it's also a pleasure and it always has been.

And I've never really considered it as work. If I did, I don't suppose I would bother to do it.

But pleasure or not, it still needs to give them some financial return.

So, will it?

David proposed that the budget would be £1,500,

and I must admit, I thought it would cost a lot more than that.

We've actually come in at £1,100. So we are pleased with that.

Their meagre spend means that after buying the house for £90,000,

the total outlay is just over £91,000.

But is this a case where perhaps they have been too careful with their pennies?

What do two local estate agents think?

Well, I've had a bit of a shock.

I've come in and not an awful lot done.

Which is quite surprising in the sort of time that we have had.

It looks like they've spent the bare minimum on the property,

obviously to rent it out, I would think.

It's my first time here today and I think it's a nice period property.

There is a demand, especially with London buyers.

It has been done in quite neutral colours. The finish isn't brilliant.

I think they haven't done enough to make it saleable or really lettable,

with things like the carpets that need replacing.

They've given it a quick lick of paint, but it is a bit shabby.

So I would say they need to take a little bit more care and attention on this property

to bring it up to the right standard.

I personally would have put a brand new, ultra-modern kitchen in.

I probably would have put a bath in because that's really what people require in a bathroom.

And spend a few more thousand to give it the sort of "wow" factor that would sell quickly.

In fairness to David and Andrea, they have prepared this place for the rental market.

But even so, the estate agents aren't exactly bowled over.

Will that be reflected in the valuations of this property the couple have invested £91,000 in?

In this property's current condition,

I think really you're going to be looking at no more than £125,000.

I would have put it on the market in its current state for about £135,000.

Well, I'd be quite happy with that. Bearing in mind what we paid for it.

Yeah.

Yes, I would think so. That's...

Don't say over the moon!

No, that was the original asking price and we were lucky to get it for a lot less.

Despite the fact they'd hardly gone overboard here,

they could still possibly see a £40,000 pre-tax profit.

It just goes to prove the old adage, the value is in the price you buy it for.

Does this one also work in terms of rent?

In current condition, I think this property would be able to rent for round about £500 per calendar month.

I would estimate between £550 and £600 per calendar month.

I think it's nearer £500 than £600.

Yeah, likewise.

But we're not looking for high rents.

As long as we have good tenants, that's what we're looking for.

So, as a pension nest egg, this seems to have worked out well

and should produce a reasonable revenue for many years to come.

So, see you next time for more auction-room action.

-See you then.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

For more information about Homes Under The Hammer,

including how the programme was made, visit the website at bbc.co.uk

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