Episode 77 Homes Under the Hammer

Not everyone who's buying at auction is an investor.

It can be a good, quick way to buy your home.

Yes. People all over the country are doing it,

so stand by for more Homes Under The Hammer.

Tackling a run-down property can tap into skills you never knew you had.

You could turn out to be a born decorator

or perhaps decide you should leave it to the professionals.

So let's see which way the chips fell on today's show.

This three-storey semidetached in Nottingham

needs a lot of attention, especially in the kitchen.

It is yuck - vile.

In historic Faversham, Kent, this retail unit has a lot to offer.

Well, it's certainly big in here!

And this two-bedroom bungalow in Exmouth has got my blood boiling.

I hate this kind of stuff.

If you've got this, please think about taking it out.

All these properties have been sold at auction

and we'll find out who bought them and what they paid for them

when they went under the hammer.

I'm in Robin Hood country,

looking for property riches in an area called Carrington,

just two miles from Nottingham city centre.

It's not far from the university

and many of the grand old houses have been subdivided into flats

and student rentals.

This is Waldeck Road,

lined with these grand, Victorian bay-fronted terraces.

But the property I'm here to see is actually this.

It's semidetached, three storeys, four bedrooms.

Now, a year ago, this was on the market at £190,000

but it's just gone to the auction guided at £112,000.

Whoa! That has got to be a steal.

Daylight robbery if you ask me.

Just look at it - it's enormous. It just towers over you.

A little tired around the edges perhaps but just £112,000 for all this?

Crikey!

OK, so what have we got inside?

Well, a fairly horrible front door.

Old-fashioned double glazing. Remember aluminium like that?

But good news - the front sitting room, nice high ceilings,

which is good to see.

But the whole place, having said that, it looks fairly run down

and unloved.

Victorian, beautiful era.

The big question is how many of the original features are left.

That certainly isn't one.

And here's a clue that backs up my thoughts about student lets or HMOs.

Individual locks on the rooms - that is what it's been used for.

But good news. We have a ceiling rose.

Excellent. A bit of Victoriana remains.

Let's see what the rest of the house has in store.

As I suspected, gloriously grand proportions but very dated.

There are vast swathes of woodchip on the walls

and the wiring looks pretty old.

However, there does seem to be central heating,

which you certainly need to heat a house of this scale.

It always annoys when you come into a big house like this

and the main corridor to the main room in the house, the kitchen,

is so narrow and horrible.

That needs sorting out, for sure.

You come into the kitchen, the focal point of a house like this,

and it is yuck - vile.

I mean, it needs completely gutting.

There's a boiler there, probably out of Victorian times for sure.

You're going to have to do some work in here.

If you are going to rent to students, don't think you can get away with this.

Students these days expect, quite rightly, higher standards.

So whether it's for yourself or to rent it out,

you're going to have to sort this area big time.

It's not just the inside that requires attention.

The garden is rapidly turning into Sherwood Forest.

It's also clear from the back that the house is a bit of a tapestry

of quick patch-up jobs on the brickwork.

There are also some cracks that should be dealt with urgently.

As you're walking around, you have to wonder what this would've been like in its heyday.

I think, pretty grand.

It would be lovely to think about it being taken back to that.

You are going to have to address the toilet situation.

There's only one bathroom. There's a separate loo as well.

But for a house this size, either way, that isn't enough.

Things like this staircase, they did it well in those days.

If this was stripped back, that would be lovely.

A nice little touch, because it's a semi-detached,

you've got this window, light flooding into the stairway here,

which is good to have.

The bedrooms themselves, they're nice and light and airy, high ceilings.

This, I suppose, is the master.

And just imagine this as the master bedroom in the house.

There maybe enough room to put an en suite in here,

maybe reinstate the fireplace.

You've got these high ceilings...

Work to do but worth it.

Having said that, don't underestimate the amount of work

that needs to be done here.

Even with the low guide price, it's going to be an expensive project.

Once the woodchip comes off the walls,

the house could reveal a nasty side.

So up onto the top floor...

Oh, blimey. That's not good.

A floorboard's completely given way. That needs to be sorted out straight away.

And look at this banister. It is so low. Very, very dangerous.

That needs to be much higher for safety reasons.

But up here, we've got two more bedrooms

and that is setting some alarm bells ringing

because this is, if you wanted it to be a house of multiple occupation,

because it's got three floors and five or more letable rooms,

it puts it into a different category of HMO - licensable HMO.

Well, in April 2006, the regulations got really tightened up

and if you've got a licensable HMO, you have to put in fireproofing,

you have to have fire alarms,

you need certain facilities in the kitchen,

a certain number of bathrooms.

It's going to cost quite a lot of money

and that has to be factored in to any budget.

Whichever way you look at it, this is a very big job.

The HMO regulations just add another layer of expense.

But I've rather fallen for this place.

It's got real charm and I like it.

I invited a local estate agent along to find out what he thought.

With so much to do here, is making it a house of multiple occupancy

the best plan?

We have very close links to the city centre and the university.

But there's no off-street parking, which is a negative

and of course, there's the expense of renovating it.

'I've noticed it does need a lot of internal work doing to it,

'regarding bathroom, kitchen, the windows could do with upgrading.

'You could be looking at between £12,000 and £15,000.'

Add that to the £112,000 guide price

and you'd be looking at a cost of £124,000 to £127,000.

To bring it up to the standard required for an HMO certification

could be much more

but from a rental investment point of view, it's probably worthwhile.

I don't think it's suitable for private let.

It will only bring in £600-£650,

whereas if you use it as a student let,

it could bring in between £1,150 and £1,200.

That could work out at something like an 11% return

but if you picked it up at the £112,000 guide price,

how much could you sell it for, once the improvements are done?

I think the value on the property once done up

would be in the region of £155,000 to £160,000.

In some ways it's a shame that so many properties like this have been converted into HMOs

but I guess, financially, it does make sense,

although you do need to check the local market conditions

to make sure there is letting potential.

So whoever buys this, will they be doing restoration or revenue?

You can find out when we go to the auction.

Lot number 26, Waldeck Road in Carrington.

Extremely large Victorian semi.

How much am I going to say for this one?

105, I have, thank you. £105,000, opening bid.

106. 107 is bid.

108, 109.

109,000 on the left. 110?

110 is bid.

111?

At £110,000. Don't lose it.

At £110,000. Going once.

At 110,000, twice.

Third and last.

111 is bid.

12, may I say? 112.

I'll take the half. 111 and a half.

112 for you, sir? I'll treat you the same.

112 is bid.

And a half. 113?

113. Try another.

113, five.

£114,000 at the back.

At 114, it's in the market, no mistake about that.

At £114,000 once. 114 twice...

Third and last time. We're selling at £114,000.

Sold at 114. 280, thank you.

So, for £114,000, the new owners of that Victorian semi

are Bruce and Alexia, who live on this very road.

Bruce is in the information and security business,

while Alexia is a business and life coach.

The couple recently got engaged

and this is the first property they've bought together.

-Bruce, Alexia, lovely to meet you

-Hi.

-Hi.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Big house.

-Yeah.

-Why did you want to buy it?

Well, it's a fantastic project.

It's got loads of really nice features still in the property

and it's a great opportunity for us to put our stamp on it, really.

-With a view to what?

-Living in it.

-Living in it?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

Wow! Now that really surprises me.

How unusual to find somebody who's going to convert a property like this back into one house.

-Yeah?

-These days, generally, this was, I mean,

to my mind, an obvious buy-to-let, HMO kind of thing.

There's a very strong buy-to-let market in the centre of Nottingham.

The university have developed a lot of student properties,

so students don't want old properties.

So this could've caught people out,

because on the face of it, it is a perfect HMO.

Yeah, it looks like it would be but having been there and done that,

and found it's not really giving the rental returns,

this is much better as a family home.

This is all very exciting and a far cry from what I expected.

As she has gone down the rental route before with a nearby property,

Alexia has some experience of the local market.

So if she says it'll work better as a family home,

then I'm happy to agree.

It could make a wonderful one.

So, tell me - what are you gonna do?

Well, everything has just got to get done, absolutely everything.

Windows, central heating, wiring, kitchen, bathroom,

redecorating.

The wall between the kitchen and dining room is coming down

to make a nice, large kitchen-dining area.

We're sorting of exploring ideas,

for example, how to have music available in all the different rooms, including the bathroom,

-so we're looking at using...

-Well...

-What about a radio on the side?

-Erm, a radio's a bit old school.

# ..gather round

# Then I'm wired for sound... #

Well, that told me!

Bruce and Alexia are obviously excited about their new home

and so they should be.

But they won't be doing the work themselves

and having hi-tech sound systems installed sounds expensive.

How much is it going to cost to do what you want to do?

The budgets that we've been quoted already

-have varied from £30,000 to £60,000, so...

-Oh!

Yeah. There's quite a big difference.

So we're hoping to hit maybe the middle, 40 to 45.

Some nasty cracks and bouncy floorboards.

-Have you investigated those at all?

-No.

-Right.

When we did the original purchase, there was some surveying included in that.

But I'm going to get somebody to come in for a real, thorough look.

What if they say it's bad and you've got serious problems?

Well, I tend to be positive about things, you know,

and we'll find a solution to whatever problem there is.

OK. And what about timescales?

-We're hoping to do it in about three months, four months.

-Wow.

Well, I'm delighted for you both and I can't wait to see what you do,

especially seeing your audiovisual system.

Yeah. I've now set ourselves up for a fall, haven't I?

-Good luck to you both.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

# I like small speakers

# I like tall speakers

# If they've music They're wired for sound. #

Well, what a lovely surprise to discover that Bruce and Alexia are going to do this place up

and return it to its Victorian splendour as a single family home.

Is it the right financial thing to do?

Well, maybe, maybe not

but it's going to be a lovely project to take on.

The big question of course, is will the money they've got be pumped into Victorian features

or pumping music round the bathroom?

You can find out later in the show.

This is the historic heart of Faversham.

It's one of England's most charming and historic market towns,

packed with period properties,

some of them dating back to the 13th century.

You wouldn't think it but the town has an explosive history.

It's been making gunpowder since 1573

and it's said that without Faversham gunpowder,

Britain's industrial revolution could never have taken place.

With such a claim to fame,

it's no wonder Faversham is considered the market town of kings.

With all this fabulous period property around,

Faversham is a great place to while away a few hours,

wandering around the specialist shops and galleries.

But there's no time for that right now

because I have an auction lot to visit.

I'm here to see a retail unit.

It's situated in the centre of town, so it's really buzzing

and fantastic for passing trade

and with a guide price of only £65,000 to £70,000,

it's also easy on the pocket.

Let's have a look inside and see what's on offer.

What we have here is a double-fronted unit

in an attractive period property.

It was last used as a book shop

but has been unoccupied for a few years now.

Well, it's certainly big in here!

This is a good-sized commercial unit.

You've got these three huge windows to display your wares

and what I like about it is, it's located opposite well-known high-street shops.

It's got high ceilings, giving you the sense of even more space

and you've got lots of shelf and hanging room over there.

But let's see if there's much storage out the back.

For any business needing to carry replacement stock,

storage is going to be essential.

Sadly, all that's available back here is a small office space,

with a toilet just beyond that.

Never mind. I saw something back in the shop that might be worth investigating.

Is there any more storage up this sweeping grand staircase?

No! Just a wall.

That's where it... Oh!

That's where it all ends, unfortunately.

Obviously, there's not an upstairs with this shop.

Ouch! And my head just proved that.

Yes, unfortunately, the rest of this building has been divided off

and is not included in the auction lot.

But why is there still a staircase in the room?

Well, the answer is, that like many properties in Faversham,

this building has listed status

and the staircase is something that will have to stay.

Now, I know a few things about this little, unassuming shop.

I'm not sure of the exact date but I know it's Elizabethan

and at one time, it was joined to next door's property.

Now, prior to 1741, it was an inn

and was later the residence of various surgeons

until its conversion to business premises in the 19th century.

So a colourful past.

Let's hope its listed status doesn't stop somebody taking this on

because in the right hands, it could have a colourful future.

The busy shopping street is a very sweet scene for any budding business.

Faversham seems to be alive and well,

with shoppers of all ages.

Does that £65-70,000 guide price look like a bargain buy?

I asked a local estate agent along to tell me more.

'In terms of the retail unit itself, it's double-fronted,

'it's on a good pitch, it's a period property.

'Preston Street is one of the main retail thoroughfares in this part of Faversham.'

There's a number of well-known retailers in the locality

and good footfall past the property,

so I'd expect any retailer here to do well.

That's sure to increase the demand for this place.

So how much rental would an investor expect to get for it?

You're looking at something in the order of £15 per square foot

and I would expect this to rent at about £10,000 per annum.

At the guide price of £65-70,000,

a buyer could be looking at a 14% rental return on their investment.

Steeped in history and situated in a great part of town,

its layout and listed status may put some people off.

But it's a character property that's realistically priced.

Who fancied this commercial unit? Let's go to auction and find out.

Lot number 60, Preston Street in Faversham.

65, 70 is the guide.

£65,000 to start me. What are you going to bid me?

Start me at 60, then.

At 60. £60,000. I'm not going any less than that.

60. I'm on the way. I'm bid £60,000.

Now 62. 62 I have.

And four. And six.

£68,000 I'm bid. Now 70 if you like.

70 in a fresh place on the left-hand side.

72? It's against all of you, at the back. At £70,000.

I'm going to sell it, who's going to buy it?

72. Just in time. And 74. And six.

76, 78. If you like. 78 I've got.

And 80. 80 I've got.

And two. 82.

80... one.

OK. 81.

And two. It's against you.

82. And three.

83. 83.

And four. 84.

Keep with it. Five?

85. And six?

86.

8? 88?

87? Whatever?

At £86,000 I've got, standing on my left-hand side.

Your chance if you're out to come back in.

At £86,000, standing on the left-hand side.

For the first time. At £86,000, then, for the second.

One more time. 87? No.

At 86, third and final time, if you're all done...

It's yours, sir, for £86,000.

With the winning bid of 86,000,

the new owners of the commercial unit are friends and business partners James and Jason.

They own a sports shop locally

and see this an addition to their expanding retail empire.

-Jason and James, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-You've bought your shop.

-Yup.

-What did you want it for?

-Jason and I are businessmen in this town,

retailers,

and we looked at various other shops in the town to expand our business

and then when this opportunity came along, we thought we'd have a look.

When we did come along, we thought this was just what we wanted.

So we put our heads together with a greater team

and off we went to auction and here we are now.

-So who's the greater team?

-The banks, solicitors,

accountants, planners.

I think any business in this current climate needs to call upon

as many resources as it can

and the greater team that we have has provided us with this opportunity.

James, a former police detective,

claims that he's responsible for the words.

Jason, who used to be a landscape gardener, does the numbers.

The pair of them never cross over

but with the help of those around them,

they've established a thriving sports shop

just around the corner from their new premises.

That came about when James's son joined Jason's youth football team

and the guys have been friends ever since.

Their new shop is also inspired by the kids.

This time it's going to be a toy shop.

Being a single father ages ago and then James being a single father,

having our kids around us all the time, it just fell into place.

Basically, they're our market research.

We give them the catalogues, they say what the people want at school,

we get it in the shop.

A savvy move,

as with limited storage space here,

the last thing Jason and James need is to tie up shelf space

with items that aren't selling.

But what are they going to do to the premises to transform them into a toy shop?

In particular, how are they going to incorporate those stairs?

It's part of the listed part of the building,

so it's going to have to be a feature.

Now, there's a couple of ideas floating.

Initially, I can see the quarterdeck of a pirate ship of some sort.

-Yes!

-Kids up there looking at some sort of product or making it an activity.

-A-har, me hearties!

-That's it. Rather than it just being a visual effect.

We want them to utilise it and, you know, play with it.

But we don't know yet, we'll have to see.

Do you know what? I think that's a cracking idea. Kids will love that.

And they'll remember this shop for something like that.

So, Jason, what is your budget for this project?

Well, we're in the region at the moment of round about 10,000.

But that all depends on once we get the floor up

and the condition of the floor.

First thing's getting a sparky in and stripping the electrics

and we'll see what we find as we go along.

The guys have set themselves a two-month deadline

to get this place up and running.

However, numbers man Jason claims he'd move in sooner if he could.

So with the pressure on, there's just one more thing I need to find out.

What are you going to call the shop?

It's gonna be The Toy Box.

That is a great name. Who thought of that?

Words.

Words. You thought of that. Well done.

Good luck with this and I can't wait to see what you do

-to make it into a magical toy shop.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

What a great story

and how lovely to hear James and Jason championing their team.

But how will the boys in the greater team get on renovating this

and will that staircase cause them layout problems?

Will we come back to The Toy Box in full swing

or will the boys be throwing their toys out of the pram?

You can find out later on in the show.

Still to come, this Exmouth bungalow

has a few things you might take a shine to but...

Not so sure about the fireplace. Varnished stone. Lovely.

The boys in Faversham have a liquidity problem.

Basically, we discovered there was a drip coming from upstairs.

But first, are Bruce and Alexia on track with that Victorian semi in Nottingham?

We're hoping to do it in about three months, four months.

It's not often that I meet people

who want to turn a property like this grand, old four-bedroom Victorian semi

into a family home,

especially when it's been previously rented out as a house of multiple occupancy.

But that's exactly what newly engaged couple Alexia and Bruce have planned.

They bought the house for £114,000 at auction

and estimated spending a further £40-45,000

to restore it to its former glory.

But Bruce had some pretty un-Victorian ideas

about what to do with it.

We were exploring ideas,

for example, how to have music available in all the rooms,

-including the bathroom, so we're looking at using...

-Well...

What about a radio on the side?

Erm, a radio's a bit old school.

Well, it's six months since I met up with Bruce and Alexia.

Will their renovation turn out to be music to my ears

or just a bit of a racket?

Wow! What a difference those six months have made.

The couple have installed new windows throughout the property,

new central heating,

new plasterwork

and a new flue and feature fireplace in the front room.

Across the hallway, the narrow corridor to the kitchen has gone.

The wall between the second reception room and the kitchen has also been removed,

to create a large kitchen-dining area

and what a fabulous improvement the new kitchen is.

Most of the work here was done by professionals

but closely managed by Alexia,

though Bruce did get his hands dirty, too.

The jobs that I remember, probably for painful reasons,

would be the steaming to start off with

and then the actual stripping, all the glue,

the paper that came off.

Looking at some of the choices of paper that people had put up -

that was interesting, a trip in history.

And then sealing it, painting it a couple of times,

but actually over three floors.

It's a lot more work than I thought it would be.

Everything has turned out pretty much how we want it to be.

We're really excited about moving in to the house, very.

The couple are now just a few weeks away from moving in.

But after all that hard work,

has Bruce managed to fulfil his dream

of getting music piped throughout the house?

The network's been put in, so we've got Cat-5 cabling throughout.

But my responsibility is to buy a media centre next,

so, yeah, it's going to happen, that's the important thing.

-And there will be music in the bathroom.

-There will be.

Well, Bruce and Alexia have got a lot further with that bathroom than piping music into it.

Well, we've ripped the old bathroom out completely.

So we've got a wet room, shower, a heated floor, Jacuzzi bath.

We're really delighted.

We've got a spare bathroom next door with a toilet. It's quite small.

We're probably going to use it as an en suite for the spare room,

so we'll have an en suite upstairs, but we're still pondering that one.

Making that decision and finishing off the spare room

are details that the couple are happy to delay for now.

As both Bruce and Alexia work from home,

they've decided they'll each have a room at the top of the house

as an office.

With those spaces and the master bedroom almost finished,

there's not much left to do.

The overrun has been, I'd say, maybe five weeks overrun

and that is something I'm comfortable with

because we didn't start until four weeks later at the beginning,

because we couldn't get hold of some workmen.

Again, there's been no real rush for us to move in any sooner

because we've just sold our house, so it's worked out beautifully.

As well as all the work the various tradesmen have done,

and the time the couple have put in themselves,

they also enlisted an interior designer friend to help.

Alexia reckons that by putting a lot of time into researching and sourcing materials,

she's managed to save a fortune.

But this renovation has still cost around £50,000.

That means their total outlay, including the purchase price,

is about £164,000.

We asked two local estate agents along

to find out what they think of Bruce and Alexia's renovation.

They've replastered the walls, they've knocked the kitchen through.

It has kept the period features of the high ceilings and the coving.

I do like the bathroom with the big double shower.

I love the floor in the kitchen. I think it's wonderful.

I like the bathroom, it's first class.

I do think it would be a good idea

to make the second option on the bathroom an en suite.

When it's finished, it'll be fabulous.

Clearly the estate agents are as impressed as I am

with the result of Bruce and Alexia's work here.

But was turning it into a family home the right decision financially?

They've done the right thing, leaving it as a family home.

There's nothing like it when it is restored

and it's quite saturated, the rental market in this area.

Personally, a student let would've been my option

but there's more call for student letting in the town centre now.

As a student rental, this place might have brought in around £1,200 per calendar month,

though the ongoing costs of that type of short-term rental can be high.

But as they'd tried that before in a property nearby,

it wasn't something the couple wanted to repeat.

It's never been even vaguely in the back of my mind

to actually... to actually rent it

and our neighbours love us because of that.

It's always useful to make a good first impression on the neighbours

but when it's finished, what sort of impression will this property make on potential buyers?

Remember, Bruce and Alexia have spent about £164,000

to get to this stage.

I do feel this house may set the ceiling for the road

but until you're brave enough to try it,

I would market this house in the region of £190,000

and hope to achieve it.

When completed,

I will market this property at between £190-£195,000.

So that could be around £30,000 pre-tax profit

if Bruce and Alexia decide to sell.

I wanted to be sure that if we had to sell, we'd make a good return,

so that's a good return on what we've done

but we're going to enjoy it

and if we sell it in a few years, the return will be even better.

For now, it's time for a well-earned break

and maybe a relaxing bath,

once Bruce has got his media centre sorted out.

But long term, the couple have much bigger plans.

We're looking at international property projects at the moment,

possibly a new-build in South America.

Yeah.

You see - ambitious.

Today, Nottingham, tomorrow, South America.

That's not something I say very often!

Exmouth in Devon,

with its sandy beaches and picturesque coastline,

is a place to treasure.

And by the looks of it, the residents here really do.

What I always say, it's not just about the house you're buying,

you're buying into an area,

so when I stroll into a place like this, I think, fantastic.

People look after their gardens, they're tending their properties.

That's a great start.

So what was up for auction?

Well, a two-bedroom detached bungalow.

It had a guide price of £150,000.

Bit tired on the outside but definitely worth a look.

It certainly is but as we all know too well,

it might be a bit tired on the outside

but that doesn't always mean it's worn out on the inside.

Oh! What is that?

I hate this kind of stuff.

If you've got this in your house,

really, seriously, please think about taking it out.

It is such a dangerous thing. It's glass, it's not safety glass.

If you fall into that, you just... I don't even want to think about it.

Got a bit sidetracked there. Into the house.

Here's the entrance. Loo here. Obviously, a walk-in bath there.

Through to the bedrooms

and then past more of this horrible glass into the lounge.

This is a reasonable-sized space.

Not so sure about the fireplace. Varnished stone - lovely.

But the room itself, not a bad size.

It's got the big windows onto the garden, which is good.

More of these stupid wooden panels and more glass,

leading you through into the kitchen.

It's not in particularly bad condition, it's fairly serviceable.

It's nice and light and airy, not least because of the glass panels.

But they really, really have to go. Here endeth the lesson.

But don't leave the classroom just yet,

because there are a few lessons to be learnt from this bungalow,

that went to auction guided at 150,000.

Apart from those dangerous glass panels, that should go,

you'd have to think carefully about that bathroom.

The walk-in bath was obviously a great asset to the previous occupant.

It might be sensible to leave it or update it

if you aim to sell the bungalow to someone with similar mobility issues.

But, of course, do research your market before you make any decision.

So, first of two bedrooms there, then through to the second bedroom.

Not a bad size, I have to say, and a few nice additional features.

Fitted cupboards, they were probably quite expensive in their day.

Not to everyone's taste but quite practical

and they're nice to have.

This could simply be refurbished.

You could replace the doors to update this room.

Once you've changed the decor, you'd have a nice little property.

But does that potential extend to the outside?

Well, at the rear of the property, a slight disappointment

because there isn't actually that much space.

However, if it was an older person,

maybe they would want less garden

and something like this, which is fairly low maintenance.

It looks worse, actually, at the moment,

because you've got all these weeds everywhere.

A bit of tidying up, a few nice pots, this would be quite pleasant.

For some people, it would be a negative, for others, it's a bonus.

Again, the best way of making a success of this property

is to do your research.

If there is a demand for this courtyard style,

then leave the concrete.

If not, then think about laying some turf.

Time to find out how a local estate agent will rate this bungalow.

Is it a good example?

It's in reasonable condition.

What I mean by that is it doesn't need a new roof or new walls.

It's a refurbishment project,

so it's an interesting one and makes a great auction lot.

So what does need to be done to bring this bungalow up to top selling speed?

The property needs, really, a typical refurbishment project,

from kitchen to bathroom, redecoration.

Some of the walls need re-skimming.

You might want to open the kitchen into a kitchen-breakfast room,

so rearranging the lounge

and possibly changing the door of the bathroom,

so the lounge is a bit bigger.

So plenty to do.

Let's talk figures.

How much could someone make from this bungalow,

with its £150,000 guide price?

Bungalows of this style and type and size, once renovated,

could fetch in the region of £200,000.

Well, bungalows are perennially popular and this is a nice one.

Obviously, you want to get rid of those glass panels

but I think there's money to be made, so a good one to go for.

Let's find out who bought it when it went under the hammer.

57 is 40a Cliston Avenue in Exmouth.

That's a nice bungalow, nice address.

How about 130?

130. Choices. 130 there on my right.

132, 135.

138 for lot 57.

140, 142.

144. 144.

146, 147. You saw it.

148, sir, or not? 148.

149. 149, I got. 150.

151.

151, I got. Half?

151 and a half.

152.

152 and a half.

153. 153.

153 and a half. 154.

A half. 155.

A half. And six.

And a half if you like it.

156 and a half.

157.

157. Is there eight?

158. 158. 158.

At 158. Once.

Twice.

At 158. Would 500 do it? You're sure and done? Last chance?

This gentleman's going to get this bungalow at 158. All done?

And selling. Well done. 158. Gentleman here.

And the successful bidders were John and Linda,

who paid £158,000.

I went to Cliston Avenue to meet them

and find out their plans for the place.

-John, Linda, lovely to meet you both.

-Thank you.

-Congratulations.

Tell me why you wanted to buy the bungalow?

Er, well, we're looking for a renovation project.

We've done a bit of property developing before in a small way.

-I've built my own house.

-Wow.

I just thought we'd like to have a go at something,

-now the market seems to have bottomed out a little bit.

-Right.

So it's an investment, it's not for you to live in?

No, no.

I think we may rent it out, yeah,

but I think, mainly, it's going to be sell-on.

Right. Tell me a bit about you two, Linda.

-I'm a retired farmer.

-Right.

I used to farm a big dairy farm in the middle of Devon

and I was widowed about six years ago.

And then I met this very nice gentleman four years ago

when we were on a singles holiday in Zakynthos.

Well, love was definitely in the Greek air for these two

but as we know, the course of true love never runs that smoothly.

Life-changing decisions had to be made.

-Ron at the time was living up north.

-In Derbyshire.

So I decided to come down here in Devon.

I came down here, lived in a motor home for about...

Ooh, about a year and a half.

-Did you have a normal house in the north?

-I did, yes.

-So you swapped that for a motor home in a field?

-Yeah.

You're a special lady, aren't you? Wow!

-That was a great holiday, then.

-It was a great holiday, yes!

And that holiday romance has been going strong for four years.

John has moved to Devon, where he's living in an apartment.

Now they've bought this bungalow together.

So what about the idea of getting involved in investment property?

Well, I think it's er...

It seems to be difficult to put investment into banks nowadays,

you don't know what to do with it and if it's going to be safe and the return you're gonna get.

So, as people say, you've got your bricks and mortar

and I don't think that'll ever go away in this country.

It's going to take time to recover but I think it's a good investment.

What about your experience in property, Linda?

I've owned property. I've got three other properties... No, four.

Erm, so, I've got a bit of experience. I rent out properties.

So, yes, I have got experience with renting out, the rental side.

OK, so why this particular little place, then?

Well, it's got potential. It's not been touched for about 30 years.

I don't know Exmouth that well but it's one of the better areas.

It's need a bit doing to it. It's not major building work

but it's semi cosmetic.

We're going to knock walls out, things like that.

We just thought it looked really well.

It was the investment level we wanted

and so that was it, basically.

It's clear that John and Linda are a couple

who have really taken time to choose their investment property

and knowing your market is crucial to make any project work.

I think they're united in their decision - or are they?

What did you like about it, Linda?

Erm...

-That much, eh?

-Yeah!

Was it a bit of influence from you to buy it, John?

-I think I was more pushing it than Linda was.

-You do surprise me.

I'm sure that with four properties under her belt,

Linda knows a thing or two about dressing them up

and bringing the best out of them.

This bungalow could certainly do with some of that

because at the moment, it looks a tad on the bland side.

So tell me exactly what you're going to do to the place?

Right, well, we're going to absolutely gut it to start with.

We're going to take the carpets out.

I'm going to take that wall out and this one as well.

Do the kitchen out completely, same with the bathroom.

And then we're going to put a door into the bathroom from this side,

block that one off and make this the whole lounge and living area.

Just generally bring it up to date.

So how much have you got set aside to do the work?

We've got a rough budget

and probably about 20, 25,000, something like that.

And what kind of timescale?

We're looking at three or four months.

It's getting the contractors.

-So you're not going to do the work?

-I'm going to do the labouring.

I'm a qualified electrician but that was years back.

I'm just going to do the labouring, knocking walls down.

Well, it's lovely to hear how you two met and how the story unfolded.

Good luck with it all and I hope it turns out really well.

-Thank you, Martin.

-Cheers.

So, love blossoming for Linda and John on an island in Greece

and it all ends up with a wee development project in Exmouth.

Somehow, I think John is slightly more enthusiastic about it than Linda.

I'm a bit concerned that he's going to get contractors in to do the work

and that can really push the budget up.

You can find out how they get on later in the show.

So they've bought the property, ordered the paint

and decided on the bathroom suite, so they're ready to rock and roll!

So has that performance got them five-star reviews

or the thumbs down?

Keep watching to find out.

Earlier in the show, I met James and Jason,

who'd bought this ground-floor shop unit

in the historic town of Faversham, Kent.

It was in a great location but had been empty for several years.

James and Jason felt their plan to turn it into a traditional toy shop

would be just what the property and the town needed.

However, its status as a listed building

meant that some things would have to stay put.

In an old building like this,

there was always the chance they'd uncover something unexpected.

So has their £10,000 budget been enough?

Three months on, did The Toy Box open on schedule?

Numbers man Jason is over the moon!

Well, we've been open roughly a month now.

Customers, we've got coming back left, right and centre,

which is really nice.

We've got a completely different clientele to what we expected.

The guys took a gamble on the range of products they chose

but with their kids' guidance,

it sounds as though they've come up trumps.

Mainline sellers that we was umming and ahhing about whether we should get them in,

a lot of the more traditional stuff, and they have gone boom.

We're very happy with the way things are going.

But getting to this point hasn't been child's play.

They've had to have the whole unit rewired,

which was a much bigger job than they'd expected.

They also found a concrete floor where they'd expected a wooden one.

That lead them on to uncover a damp issue in the basement.

Basically, we discovered there was a drip coming from upstairs.

The shop's been vacant for the last two and a half years

and over that period of time, the drip has developed.

When we went into the basement, it was in need of some repair,

so we had to get that addressed and damp-proofed

and now we're nice and warm and dry.

As this is a leasehold property,

sorting out the problems in the basement,

which was not part of the guys' commercial unit,

has been the responsibility of the freeholder.

It wasn't difficult to rectify but did mean a slight delay.

Also, working within the limits of that listed building status

has been more challenging than they'd expected.

What we had here was our listed staircase,

which was very pretty but going nowhere,

so it didn't really serve any need in the shop.

Our initial idea was to build some sort of pirates' quarterdeck

where children could play and enjoy their experience.

Sadly, though, when we looked into the health and safety implications

and the financial viability of such a project, it wasn't worthwhile.

Instead, we've encased the staircase.

We've now got this lovely worktop where they can push their trucks

and play with their soldiers and enjoy themselves.

# Jump on board

# Take a ride... #

Well, it's not the pirate ship I was hoping to see

but it does get around the problem with the staircase.

Allowing the kids to handle the toys

is all part of James' and Jason's philosophy for the shop.

Our main aim was to make sure everything's accessible to children,

so we've got it all on stands,

everything at the bottom is usable for the children.

When you go further up the shelves, we go into the boxed stuff,

which is more like jigsaws and chemistry sets,

where children are hands-on but with parents' supervision.

So the floor level up to the first set of shelves is all usable stuff.

They clearly have a strong idea of what they wanted to achieve here.

Of course, none of this would've been possible

without the help of their advisers and backers behind the scenes.

It's still James's responsibility to handle the words, of course,

which leaves Jason to deal with the numbers.

So, come on, Jason - how much did it all cost?

Once we started cracking on with it,

we managed to get it down to £7,623.46 in total.

Wow! Jason really is on top of the numbers!

That means they're well within their 10,000 budget

and that all in all, they've spent just over £93,500 here.

So with the shop now starting to find its feet,

what will two local estate agents make of the work the guys have done?

'My first impressions now that I'm back here

'is that you walk up to the property, it's been repainted.

'It's got good signage, really big shop windows.

'It's well laid out.'

It's not as smart inside as I'd have liked

but it's good use of the space.

'I think they've used the space pretty effectively.'

It's got slightly more frontage to depth

than you would normally want with a shop

but that's not unexpected with an old building.

Remember, there hasn't been a shop here for several years,

so it will take a bit of time to become established.

They'll refine the layout as they go.

A thriving business here is bound to increase the value of the property

but how much could they make from it right now?

A rent for this property I would expect to be around £15 per square foot,

which would give us an annual rent of round about £10,000.

I would say between £10,000 and £12,000 per annum.

Yeah, I'm happy with that. It's within our figures.

So the rental return could be in the region of 10.5 to 12.5%

from this retail unit.

But as they've spent £93,500 buying and renovating the property,

how much could they sell it for?

If I was to offer this property on a vacant possession basis,

I'd be looking at somewhere between £90,000 and £100,000.

If I was to put it up for sale,

I would expect somewhere in the order of £100,000.

That's pleasing, knowing what work we've done here

-and we're happy with that, yeah.

-Yeah.

Back to Exmouth now, where John and Linda paid £158,000

for this rather tired bungalow.

They met on holiday four years ago

and John then moved down to Devon to be with Linda.

He'd worked in construction for many years

and Linda has four other properties,

so it seemed an ideal first joint venture.

Now, four months later, the work is finished.

Outside, the weeds in the front garden have gone,

replaced by a solitary palm in a pot.

And round the back, it's been decked out very nicely.

Inside, thankfully, those glass partitions have gone.

The result - a large open-plan living room with an integrated kitchen.

Much better!

John gives us the low-down on the bungalow's refurbishment.

Well, Linda and myself got stuck in as soon as we got the property,

got the keys.

We both worked on knocking the partitions down,

we both spent a week and a half on that,

just clearing the walls, ready for the plastering.

The wallpaper was a real nightmare.

Nearly every room in the house had woodchip on it

and it had been on there a good few years, so it was solid

and it had got grime on it and everything.

It comes out in little pieces - it's a nightmare.

But we got there and the builder came along and he expected to do that but we'd done it,

so he could get stuck in straight away.

Of course, less for the builders to do means more money in the bank.

Well, it started with a holiday romance

and now this romantic couple have successfully dipped their toes

in the hot water of property development.

So who did what?

Linda's good on the finishing side and it's not my forte at all.

I'm more hammers and sledgehammers and tools

and getting people to work for me.

You'll remember the bathroom had a large walk-in bath

but John has now put in a conventional one

and Linda has decorated with some very stylish tiles.

But of course, the main thing that strikes you now when you walk in

is this large living room.

This is the kitchen area. We had quite a big partition here.

It was dark, glazed.

We knocked all this partitioning down and opened it up.

There was a horrible boiler with a load of pipes through the ceiling.

A dirty old fan in the window, there.

So we've gutted it completely and we've got an integrated kitchen.

Looks modern, looks clean

and we're really pleased with the tiling, as well,

and it's just brought it together, first class.

John and Linda have really been hands-on here,

doing the decoration themselves.

Outside, John has been up on the roof.

Yeah, well, the roof was a real mess.

A lot of moss and fungus and grime on it,

30 years' worth, probably more.

I decided to jet-wash it myself.

I think the neighbours were there with their phones,

ready for me to do a Superman act and dive off the roof

but I disappointed them and I didn't do it.

And it's come out really well, it looks really good.

Well, he's done a lot of work

but John did get in some experts to lay the decking.

We decided to open all the back up.

There was a big concrete path down there, a load of concrete here that was doing nothing,

a paved area down there.

And basically, we've stripped the whole lot again

and we put the decking in - south-facing garden.

We've opened all the bottom up and we're going to landscape the bottom.

How much has all the work cost?

We had a budget of £20,000 to £25,000

and because I've held the contractors down to prices,

because I've shopped around for the materials,

for the bathroom, for the kitchen and things like that,

we've got it down to less than £16,000

and I think that's about it.

Time to see if John and Linda's hard work

will be rewarded financially.

Two local property experts should have all the facts and figures.

First impressions are wow

because since I was here for the first time,

he's opened up the living room and the kitchen

to create a wonderful open-plan area for the reception space,

whilst the bedrooms and the bathroom have been refurbished to a high standard.

They've done a really nice job.

It's all clean and tidy and plain.

There's nothing that anyone could object to. It's very good.

'I love what the owner has done to the garden.

'He's opened it up because it was quite a small space before,

'a small courtyard garden.'

The decking really opens it up to quite a spacious area.

'The kerb appeal is quite good.

'It's quite a plain building but they've made it look attractive.'

That sounds like two big ticks to me.

But how much rental income could John and Linda achieve

if they decided to rent it out?

A two-bed detached bungalow like this in this area

should fetch somewhere between £700 and £750 per calendar month.

There's really good demand. I would easily get £750 per calendar month.

Fantastic figures, yeah.

We were planning on selling but I think we need to go back

and do our recalculations

and look if it's worthwhile doing the rental.

Hang on, John. Let's see if your initial plan to sell

could still be the route to take.

If I was to put the property up for sale, it would be in the region of £200,000.

In the current market, I would expect to achieve about £200,000.

How's that for a potential profit, John?

Yeah, we bought it for 158.

We got a few fees, that takes it up to 160.

We spent 16 on it, so that's 176.

So we're looking at perhaps 20, 25, there.

A healthy set of numbers to report back to Linda.

That should go down very well.

She'll be very pleased with those figures -

more than we expected for the rental, for sure,

and the selling price is just about spot-on,

so, yeah, well pleased.

Has this bungalow now got them interested

in further property projects?

Definitely. We are gonna do more, yeah,

and it's very interesting.

It's nice to get on that learning curve

and get back into house refurbishment

and we're looking forward to another one.

We're gonna have a holiday first.

Remember, it all started for these two with a holiday romance,

so that may well be the best place to plan their next project.

Good luck, guys, and happy holidays.

That's all the auction action for today.

Join us soon for more budding bidders on Homes Under The Hammer.

-See you then.

-Goodbye.

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