Episode 20 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello. There's lots of things to consider when you're buying property -

price, location, condition - but how do you buy?

You could go through an estate agent,

you could make an offer direct, or you could even go to a property auction.

They're held all over the country, so there's bound to be one near you.

So maybe you could buy your next home under the hammer.

We've scoured the UK

finding interesting properties to feature today.

But what will our buyers do with them,

undertake an ambitious refurbishment or just give them a lick of paint?

In the London suburb of Barnet, I have my initial hopes dashed.

Actually, upstairs is a bit of a disappointment.

We see huge changes to a Derbyshire property

that was in a pretty sorry state until 2005...

"In need of total renovation."

And in Wiltshire,

the cows might call it home, but would you invest here?

It is basically a very big field.

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.

-..For the last time today.

Barnet in Hertfordshire, but also a London borough in its own right,

and here's an interesting historical fact,

because this was also the location for one of the

most important battles in the War of the Roses -

the 30-year fight for control of the throne of England.

The big question is will today's property be worth the fight,

or should you be waving a white flag and beating a hasty retreat?

Aside from being of historical significance,

Barnet is now a very desirable London suburb -

great transport links, good schools and local amenities.

So what was up for auction? First thing about whatever it was

is its location very close to the town centre,

and also those fantastic transport links, which on a day like today when you don't want to

be walking too far in the snow is absolutely fantastic. And this is the property.

At a guide price of £325,000, it's a three-bedroomed semi-detached.

Let's take a look.

This property is a typical

suburban house, but that doesn't mean to say it's not a looker.

It's got bay windows, a good-sized front garden, and is set

back from the road, allowing that all-important off-street parking.

So what does that kind of money get you in these parts?

Well, fairly standard layout, through the front door, stairs up to

the bedrooms, and through on to the kitchen that way, into the lounge.

It's nice that it's got a bay window here, gives it a lot of extra space.

No fireplace at the moment, but there's obviously an opportunity to put in a real fire

which would give character to the room.

Through into this rear dining area. Now, I don't know what this wall's here for.

It strikes me that I would actually get rid of that

and open it out even more,

but these big patio doors out onto the garden.

So that's nice, and all in all,

it doesn't seem to be in bad condition and not a bad start.

To be honest, I've seen places rented out in this condition.

It's a little tired, but for a few thousand pounds, you could

spruce it up quickly and get it back on the rental market.

So upstairs, a disappointingly small bathroom, three bedrooms,

that one there just a box room, but a reasonable sized double at the back, and then through to

the biggest of the bedrooms here,

which does benefit, like downstairs, from that bay window.

But all in all, actually upstairs is a bit of a disappointment.

I'm not sure quite what I was expecting,

it's just not as spacious as I'd hoped.

Yes, there are three bedrooms and a bathroom up here,

but they're one large master bedroom offset with

two relatively small bedrooms, so I think there's scope for improvement.

So I reckon the solution to some of these space issues is actually out at the rear of the property here,

because an extension, I think would be an absolute

possibility not only to the side but also a conservatory on the back.

It would be, I reckon, quite an easy job to stick something on there.

You could increase the size of the bedrooms,

increase the size of the bathroom,

that is the solution to your problem.

But the big question is, is it going to add extra value to the property?

You need to get lots of quotes from builders, you need to talk to the estate agents

about how much difference it's going to make to the value

and then make your decision.

Extensions require a lot of thought -

they are an equation between the cost and time they take to build

versus the increase in value you've put on the property.

Developers will scrutinise the potential profit carefully,

whereas homeowners may be a little more flexible with budgets.

What does a local estate agent think of this house?

A lot of potential.

The property has great scope to extend, whether upwards and outwards,

and obviously with its own drive facility

to side, there could be the extension potential to go to the side.

But would it be worth putting on an extension

that could cost £40,000 to £60,000?

Once this property has been renovated,

I would value this property in the region of £425,000 to £430,000.

With, say, a loft conversion and maybe a ground floor extension,

it could be up into the region of £500,000.

So on the face of it, an extension could be worth it, but could you

just save yourself the hassle and make money by renting it out?

This area's prime for rental.

Basically, we do see a lot of people, whether commuters coming into the area, and there will

undoubtedly be a strong demand from families looking to move to the Jewish Community School.

I would estimate a rental income in the region of £1,400 to £1,450 per calendar month.

Wow, that's a pretty impressive rental figure.

It just goes to show the extra value you get

from having good transport links and sought-after schools nearby.

So a nice enough property, and you certainly can't complain about the location,

with options, of course, for that extension on the side.

Let's see who fancied this one when it went under the hammer.

So I move on to lot 31.

Where would you like to start?

Start low, I've got to start 275. I'm not going to go below 275.

So who'd like to kick-off at 275, in the front...?

280 anywhere? 280 with you, sir...

285, 290...

295, 300...

305, 310...

315, 320...

325, 330...

335, 340...

345, 350...

355, 360...

360, well done, 361...

362?

361... 362 anywhere else?

361, first time, second time,

third and last time, if you're all done...

sold 361 in the front, well done, a nice buy that.

And for £361,000, nearly £40,000 over the guide price, the new owner

of the three-bed semi in Barnet is local man Tony.

Judging by the bidding battle at the auction,

he was keen to get this house.

-Tony, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

Good to meet you. Tell me why you wanted to buy the house.

Well, mainly it was the location, it is a nice residential area,

and obviously,

I think it's a good investment and either I could sell or rent it out.

Is this something you've done before?

I did this a couple of times before,

it has been beneficial.

OK, it's worked in the past, it's made you money, has it?

Yes, yes.

In fact, Tony's previous ventures into the property market have been

successful enough for him to consider this as a full-time career.

In the past, he has always preferred to rent his properties out.

So tell me a bit more about you, where are you from?

Originally, I come from Cyprus.

-Whereabouts?

-Paphos.

And I came with the idea of study here, I studied electronics.

I had a business in electronics, which closed down about 18 years ago,

and then I diverted into properties.

Well, he might be an electrical engineer by training, but I think he's a property developer by nature.

As he has owned a few houses, he's built up contacts in the building

trade that he can turn to when he needs work done.

So what's he got planned for this place?

Firstly, I think this wall is going to come down.

-OK.

-Make this room quite bigger,

put a nice surround fire here,

and the whole lot has to be refurbished.

-And then any bigger plans afoot?

-No, at the moment,

I'm not thinking about extending, because I want to see the market, how it picks up,

whether it's going to sell quick or whether I'm going to rent it out.

But for a long-term business, if I'm going to keep it, I will extend it at a later stage.

So to extend or not extend, that's a question for a later date.

For now, he just wants to get a revenue stream going as soon as possible.

What kind of budget do you have?

I think it will be in the region of £20,000.

And who will be doing the work?

I've got workmen lined up, actually they are starting tomorrow.

Oh, great.

Do you yourself get involved at all?

I get involved, because I want my ideas to be carried forward properly

and I want to be watching, really.

And I'm sure that with Tony keeping a careful eye on this refurbishment,

the end result will be well worth seeing.

No great surprise in terms of what Tony's plans are for this place.

It really all comes down to whether or not he can sell it

once it's refurbished, because if not, then I think the returns on his

investment aren't as high as he'd like them to be.

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

It was in the spring of 2005 when I first went to the pretty village

of Kirk Langley in Derbyshire.

It's just a short distance

from the Peak District, yet only five miles

from Derby city centre, so it's a very desirable location...

..and the catalogue description also showed signs of promise.

Lot 78, Royal Oak Cottage.

Now, in the catalogue, it says,

"A unique opportunity to acquire a pretty detached cottage,

"enormous potential," and there's a gorgeous

little photograph there, have a look at that.

Now, how idyllic does that look? And then it says,

"In need of total renovation."

They're not kidding - it needs major surgery.

This poor old building has stood abandoned for 40 years,

and nature has hammered away at the structure.

The brickwork is worn, the tiles are falling off, and there's not even a window left in the house.

Without extensive repairs, it's only a matter of time before this whole building collapses.

It's a brave person who ignores all these danger signs,

particularly this one.

This ghostly structure is a house trapped in a time long gone...

..and it's amazing to see what's been left behind.

It's really hard to tell what these rooms were used for, but in fact,

this used to be the old kitchen with its sink and corner copper.

Now, who fancies doing a wash cycle with this?

In the next room, the ceiling has partly collapsed,

which means you tread the floor upstairs at your own risk.

There are signs of the past everywhere,

but there is very little of anything left

that you could actually work with.

Well, this is the fourth bedroom - again, it's in a right old state.

There's holes in the roof up here,

look at this, there's rubble all over the floor.

This would have been a beautiful old fireplace set here,

and this - an original cottage-style window.

You know, I would love to see this place

restored back to its original splendour,

but deep down, I don't think this place can be saved.

You would think that the derelict state of this cottage and the fact

that it's on a busy main road would put a lot of people off,

but despite this, Royal Oak Cottage

is attracting lots of interest from potential buyers, so perhaps I've missed something.

Along with the sale of this cottage comes its large garden.

Now, unfortunately, it's not to the back

of the property like this area here - this actually belongs to the neighbour - it's this plot of land.

Now, I see this as a building plot. You could easily build a two-storey

detached dwelling on here, subject to planning permission.

This, to me, is a developer's dream.

Suddenly, not only is there a house, which could

be rebuilt or replaced, the size of the plot means that, potentially,

there could be at least one other dwelling built, if not two, making this a very exciting lot.

Royal Oak Cottage, Ashbourne Road, Kirk Langley,

lot number 78.

I gather it's been empty for at least 40 years.

Would somebody like to start me at £140,000? 140?

£140,000, thank you very much.

140,000... 145,

150... 155, 160...

165, 170,000...

175, £180,000...

185, £190,000... 195, 196...

197, 198...

£198,000 for Royal Oak Cottage, 199...

at £200,000, 205...

210, 215...

216, 217... 218,

219... 220?

£219,000 for Royal Oak Cottage, once, twice... 220, 221...

222, 223?

£223,000... you're going to lose it. You're not going to lose it...

224, 225...

We've done that five times before.

Are you sure?

£225,000 once, twice, third and last time, Royal Oak Cottage...

226, fresh bidder, 227...

£227,000 then, gentleman in the black jacket, first time

at 227, second time at 227,000,

third and last time... another one bidding?

Are we all done Royal Oak Cottage...

227 and a half, 228... Definite?

228 once, twice, all done £228,000?

Sold at £228,000. Thank you very much indeed.

Well, yes, our local hero got it.

But who is the new Lord of the Manor?

His name is Peter, he's lived in Kirk Langley for

23 years, and his main business is transport but with a twist.

I've never seen so many limousines, Rolls-Royces, what is it that you do here?

Well, we do weddings, special occasions,

charity bits and pieces with the carriages.

So what's all this got to do with buying a dilapidated cottage?

The answer's not very far away at all.

I've lived in this house for 23 years, and the cottage is next door.

To stop somebody from building on it eventually or taking it over

and building at the back of the property and taking away my privacy.

-So you've paid £227,000 for a bit of privacy?

-That's right.

Of course, Peter has a little more of a plan for the cottage, but it's not what I was expecting.

We're hoping to build two cottages on there, four-bedroom cottages.

-Whoa, so you're not looking to lovingly restore that beautiful cottage?

-No, unfortunately.

Now, I spoke to the estate agent, and he told me that that's what you originally wanted to do.

Originally, I was going to do a restoration on it, but after taking some expert advice on it,

I was told that really to try and restore it wasn't the right way to go

and to take it down and to build two others

would probably be a better way of doing it.

So how much is a four-bedroom house worth along this road?

-£400,000.

-Whoo!

-So you're going to be a rich man at the end of this!

-I don't know.

It depends what the cost of building is going to be,

but hopefully it'll give me a return, yes.

£800,000 on a £228,000 site

should leave comfortable room for a hefty profit,

but I wanted to know where this expert advice had come from.

Pete and I nipped back to the cottage to meet the man

who would destroy it -

old friend and architect of 50 years, Ray.

You're going to hear lots of screams on the day of demolition.

If it had have been viable to refurbish it, we would have gone into the refurbishment side,

but unfortunately the bricks are that porous.

-You see now you're shaking your head, Ray.

-Well, look at it, I mean,

the bricks have deteriorated, they're all frost-eaten,

the chimney's just about to fall off, the tiles have shot it. No, just knock it down.

-This needs to go.

-Oh, yes.

-So, two detached houses in a good position.

Well, they're cottages, really. This is a cottage, so you're putting two cottages back where there was one.

They're going to be extremely spacious cottages.

How many bedrooms have we got here?

Well, you've got four principal bedrooms,

two en-suite and a separate for the other two bedrooms.

Then you've got a double garage, you've got a large lounge,

large dining room, kitchen with breakfast area, and rear porch.

I've got to say very smart, you must be extremely pleased with this.

I am, yes, I think they'll look nice, they'll stand well,

and hopefully people will look at them in a few years' time

and say they've made a good job of them.

Now, Peter, how much to do with the look of these properties have you had?

Ray and I talked about how we'd like to do it and to try and keep a bit of

the style of this building in it as well, that's why we're putting the porches back in, and there's

other properties in the village that have got dormer windows

that look nice and settle into the background.

How soon do you want to get cracking on this?

How quickly are you going?

So really you're going to just kick us off the site, aren't you?

We would hope that we can start to do some work as soon as we get the planning permission.

Obviously, we've got to get that,

but there's no reason why we can't talk to them about taking the building down in the interim.

Well, that was back in 2005.

Six months later, not only was the building still there,

but things were not going as planned.

They'll only allow me to demolish the single house and replace it

with another house of the same or similar size.

The two had been reduced to one, the clock was ticking, and the property market was in turmoil,

but later in the show, you can see what finally stands on the site now,

and how Peter turned a potential disaster into a success.

Coming up...don't be fooled by this rural grazing land in Wiltshire...

It could well be a field of gold.

We first saw this Derbyshire cottage in the spring of 2005.

Even then, I thought its days were numbered,

but five years on, there's a striking new kid on the block.

But first, has the refurbishment in Barnet gone to plan?

I think I'm quite satisfied.

In the heart of London suburbia -

well, Barnet, actually - I went to a three-bed semi

that wasn't in bad nick at all, just a bit of refreshing with

perhaps new kitchen units, maybe a new bathroom, and job done.

That was part of the deal for property developer Tony,

but the overriding reason to buy this at auction for £361,000 was its location.

It is a nice residential area,

and obviously,

I think it's a good investment and either I could sell or rent it out.

Tony wasn't taking any chances with his investment -

he planned to oversee all the work.

So several weeks later, we're back to see the result.

Well, apart from less snow,

there aren't any significant changes to the outside, but inside...

Tony's opted for a very modern look with laminate flooring

and new fixtures and fittings in the front reception room.

The first thing we did was to make that room bigger.

This has made a tremendous difference,

making the room seem lighter and more spacious.

Then we replaced the complete kitchen.

Though not a dramatic layout change,

the black and white look really alters the whole feel of this area.

The kitchen, whatever it had before, units, sink,

gas cooker, everything was thrown out.

It's been replaced by modern units, new sink,

new kitchen units, complete units,

flooring, wall tiles...practically, it's been refurbished completely.

Tony knows his market and that one of the key things to spend money and time on is the kitchen.

That's what he's done here and he's made the most of the space he had.

Upstairs, there's a similar approach with the bedrooms all spruced up...

..and a new bathroom suite.

So, does the end result meet Tony's approval?

I think I am quite satisfied with what we have achieved here.

As you might have guessed, after just seven weeks,

there's no evidence of an extension at the back.

In fact, there's no signs of any great change at all.

I haven't done much in the garden.

We had the gardener in that's trimmed the bushes and cleaned it up,

cut the grass, nothing major.

Tony had said he was going to keep a careful eye on proceedings -

was that what he did in the end?

My role, it was...

seeing something I didn't like and improve it

or ask them to do it better and things like that.

I was here practically every day.

Well, they do say the devil's in the detail.

Perhaps more appropriately when it comes to house refurbishing,

the cost is in the detail.

So did Tony's £20,000 budget stand up?

I think we went over the budget by 5,000 or 6,000.

The house was 361,000 at auction, and with Tony's spend

of about 25,000 plus costs,

the total would be about £390,000 to £400,000.

So could he realise a return by selling it or will this be another for his rental portfolio?

What do two local estate agents think?

I think the house itself has a nice sense of space.

The actual quality

of the refurbishment is very, very good.

It's of a good size, it would appeal very much to

an average-sized family.

The quality kitchen with nice colour scheme.

It's actually big enough to incorporate a table

and chairs in there and have your breakfast, lunch, dinner without

coming into the lounge and encroaching on the space in the lounge.

The main selling point of this property is that it has scope to extend at a later date.

Normally, Tony buys his properties to rent out, but in this case, he was hoping for a quick resale.

But how would he fare on the rental market?

This house would achieve somewhere in the region of £1,300 to £1,400 per calendar month.

We could achieve on this property per calendar month, £1,600.

I think the latter was spot on.

The first one, he's out of touch.

Not surprisingly, Tony would prefer the higher rental value,

although ideally he won't rent at all, he'll sell it.

But for that to happen, he needs valuations of over £400,000.

Based on what we've sold in the area,

particularly the house next door recently,

this house should be on the market at £425,000.

I would market this property today at £465,000.

So quite a big difference between the estate agents' figures -

what does Tony make of those estimates?

It will be 450 plus.

If I don't achieve 450 plus, it's not for sale.

Tony's determined to stick to his guns.

For him, things have to be just right, including the price.

And for the most part, this project has met his requirements.

Well, any project you start and you have a few ups and downs,

but at the end, when you finish the project, it's nice, simple satisfaction.

So Tony might still be undecided about whether to rent or sell, but whichever way it goes,

for seven weeks' work, this has been a pretty decent little project for relatively big returns.

This is Wootton Bassett, a small market town that's become known for

its support of British soldiers returning from service overseas.

It's six miles south of Swindon with easy access to the M4, so it

appeals both to commuters and those looking for a more rural location.

And rural is certainly what you get around here,

acres and acres of this beautiful Wiltshire countryside,

and yet we're relatively close to the town.

And it's a piece of land that I'm here to see today.

So, off this quiet country lane and through this farm gate

and what have we got?

Well, this is basically what's on offer, it's eight acres of

pasture land, it stretches all the way down to hedge in the distance and across to where those cows are.

On this side, you've got an existing barn

and more land, but that's not actually included in this sale.

Now, the guide price was £50,000, which for a bit of paddock,

basically a field of grass, sounds like quite a lot of money to me.

As it's on greenbelt land, there's no development potential here, at least not in the foreseeable

future, so it won't attract builders, not even cowboy builders.

It's an ideal size for grazing land - not too big and not too small.

It even comes with its own pond, plus there's that good road access.

Hmm, I'm beginning to see why it might be worth the money.

What you've got here is very desirable land,

because pasture that you could put horses or cows on

is very sought-after around here,

so maybe that £50,000 is not too bad at all.

It could well be a field of gold.

For the right person looking for grazing land, this really

could be a golden opportunity, because it fits the bill perfectly.

It's flat, not too boggy, reasonably fenced and there's good access to it.

So if somebody did want to keep cows or sheep or horses on this land,

what are they going to do, how much do they have to spend, before they've got their animals grazing?

Well, the first thing you're going to need is water.

Well, there is water on the neighbouring field, so that's not too much of an issue.

Then you're going to need some kind of shelter.

Well, to put up a stable for one or two horses

could be anything from £5,000 to £25,000,

however that of course would add value to the plot

and increase its rentability, so there is money to be made here.

Even a temporary build such as a stable would require

planning permission, and getting that around here is no walk in the park.

So let's get some local knowledge and insight.

Is this an investment worth pursuing, has it got legs?

What does a local estate agent think?

Ideally suitable to keep some horses on.

To be honest, there's no building potential, so it's more than likely

going to be amenity land, maybe someone might want to keep a few animals on here,

but generally it's going to be a rural pursuit rather than any development potential.

The fact that it's amenity land doesn't rule out any structure -

for instance, a stable is still possible, but no residential dwelling would get approval,

and it doesn't rule out growing something here or grazing animals.

Therefore it would be possible to rent it out for that.

Rental potential on this piece of land,

it doesn't work like a residential proposition,

but typically for grass keep, the season would be from May through until October, you would expect

to achieve something in the region of £50 to £60 per acre for that season.

So it's not a great money-spinner if you're looking to rent it out.

Grass keep is the licence needed to use the land for grazing, for tax reasons.

As there are just eight acres here,

£60 per acre per season will only bring in about £480.

That's a drop in the ocean compared with the guide price.

Now, £50,000 may sound like quite a lot of money for what is basically

a very big field, but you know what,

this is Wiltshire where land doesn't come cheap, and for the right person,

this is priceless, because it gives you a chance

to own a huge great paddock for your own use.

Let's see who fancied it when it went to the auction.

So we'll move on then, please, to lot number 12,

which is the eight acres, that's the blue land there, OK?

There are no buildings on that one, but it's eight acres of land.

Start me at the guide £50,000, somebody...

save my breath, £50,000 I've got from the hand sat down...

52, 54... 56,

58 in the middle...

60 to you, the bid is there at 60,000...

I'll take two from anybody else,

at £60,000...

anybody offer two or one for that matter?

Yes, or no, otherwise it's £60,000 for the first time...

take one from anybody, £60,000 for the second time...

All done £60,000,

third and last time at 60.

Finished. And your number is... if you hold the number round, madam,

it makes it much easier for me. 85.

So, for £60,000, the new owners of eight acres of Wiltshire countryside are retired couple Keith and Mary.

Mary used to work with young offenders,

while Keith was a university lecturer teaching project management.

So I wondered how he was going to manage this project.

Keith and Mary, lovely to meet you both.

Well done, you've got a big field.

We have a big field, yes.

So why did you want to buy it?

-We have two horses.

-Perfect.

And we are moving to Wootton Bassett,

and this is only a couple of miles away from the house we're buying.

But moving, and when you've got two horses, it's a bit complicated.

Right. Yes, all that stuff to pack,

and they don't help.

Buying the house was relatively straightforward,

-trying to find somewhere for the horses was more difficult.

-Really?

-Oh, yes.

Keith and Mary currently live on the coast in Dorset, but wanted to move to be nearer their family.

Even so, it's going to be quite an upheaval, not just for them

but also for their horses.

So tell me about your horses, then.

Well, I've got a Dales pony.

-A Dales pony.

-A Dales, it's a rare breed.

-How big?

No, no, not that big, he's bigger.

He's 14 hands. He's called Akehurst Crossbow, but you can't shout that across a field, can you?

-No.

-He's commonly known as Eric.

-Eric! Is he an Eric?

-Yes, he is, definitely.

A real character, and mine is a Welsh Section D cob, 15.2.

15.3.

-15.3.

-Right, a bit bigger, then.

And he's 17 years old and a real character.

-What's he called?

-He's called Dusty.

Dennis Dusty Lad is his full title, but he's known as Dusty.

So you've got Dusty and Eric, so did you bring Dusty and Eric

to see the field to check if it was going to be suitable for them?

We went on their behalf, but one of the important things

about the field is there's riding straight out of the gate.

-Right.

-We can go along a no-through road, and further along in

-that direction there are bridleways.

-Oh, wow, so it's perfect.

And in the far distance, there is the Ridgeway Park.

-OK, that's perfect, then.

-So it's perfect for riding.

So how big a field do Eric and Dusty have at the moment?

Five acres, isn't it?

-That's what it's been estimated.

-It's about five.

-So they're going to think, wow, happy days.

-Yes.

Before the horses can enjoy their extra space, Keith and Mary need to sort the fencing, extend the

water supply from the nearby field,

and check there's no ragwort on site, as it's poisonous to horses.

There's their own house move to arrange as well, so they're going to be busy.

So how long is it going to be before we see Dusty and Eric chomping on the grass in this field?

-About four months from now.

-OK.

And we've got to get the stable block put up.

Tell me about that.

Eventually,

we have thoughts on a three-stable block with storage attached to it

for hay and other bits and pieces of equipment,

but however that's got to go through planning permission.

And if they turned around and said, no, you can't have it, would it really scupper things for you?

No, because we can get a mobile stable on skids

for which you don't need planning permission.

It is all a bit daft, really, isn't it?

It's exactly the same, but you can pull it with a Land Rover and put it somewhere else.

I can just move it around the field, so that's fine, yes.

It seems, whichever way this goes, the horses will definitely have

a new field to roam in and somewhere to shelter.

In the long term, they also hope to plant some trees

to provide some shade in those balmy Wiltshire summers.

So how much money do you need to spend then to sort this field out to your requirements?

We do know that the stable block will cost us about £7,000.

-Right.

-And about £2,000 for the concrete base underneath it.

-OK.

So that we know is around £9,000.

We are required to put a gate up into this land,

and that's £500-ish, I guess.

Well, I'm delighted for you and I can't wait to see you on the field with Dusty and Eric parading around

the lanes and everything, so well done. Congratulations.

Thanks very much. Thanks a lot.

Mary and Keith certainly seem to have the measure of this plot.

Let's hope the move from the Dorset location

for both the humans and the horses goes smoothly.

So Keith and Mary, but more importantly of course, Dusty

and Eric, have got themselves a wonderful new pasture.

Big question, though, when it comes to getting that all-important planning permission for the stables,

will it be yea or neigh?

You can find out later in the show.

Rome wasn't built in a day,

and transformations can take a while too.

So how did our buyers get on?

Let's find out.

In the spring of 2005, we first saw Royal Oak Cottage.

Despite its grand name,

this was anything but a palace.

Having been neglected for many years, it was in a rundown state and would need either extensive

renovation or, perhaps more likely, to be demolished.

It sat on a generously sized plot, yet it was guided at £100,000,

so it seemed likely to interest a developer.

But, perhaps surprisingly, it was bought by Peter, a local businessman.

He paid a whopping £228,000 to buy the house -

why was he so keen to own it?

Well, I've lived in this house for 23 years, and the cottage is next door.

To stop somebody from building on it eventually or taking it over

and building at the back of the property and taking away my privacy.

-So you've paid £227,000 for a bit of privacy?

-That's right.

As he's a businessman, it wasn't just privacy he was after -

he had plans to demolish the cottage and put up two new-builds.

But when we first went back in the summer of 2005,

it seemed that two was one too many in the small town of Kirk Langley.

# This town ain't big enough for the both of us... #

I was hoping to build two four-bedroom cottages.

Unfortunately, the local authority weren't in agreement with that

and they've turned it down,

because this section of the village

is outside what they call "the built envelope of the village".

I could appeal, but I've decided not to do that.

We've decided now, we're taking the driveway through,

to just put application in now for one cottage on this piece of land.

At a single stroke, Peter had seen his potential profit halved

and he'd lost a lot of time.

And if that wasn't bad enough, the property market was slowing down

and the credit crunch was starting to bite.

So five years on, has he managed to snatch a victory

from the jaws of defeat?

Wow, pretty impressive -

a large detached house with off-street parking

and garage now adorns the site of the old cottage.

With the addition of a large conservatory and secluded walled garden,

this is now a spacious five-bedroom family house.

After buying the cottage, we decided we'd have to take it down,

because it was unsafe and got an architect in

to design a nice cottage with five bedrooms.

The three bedrooms down the bottom are smaller bedrooms, there's a master bathroom with a power shower,

and on this side you've got the family bedrooms and the master bedroom with a Jacuzzi.

I'm pleased with it, and everybody says it looks nice.

We put a brick-built wall around it, just to give it that country effect.

So with its two en-suite bedrooms and separate bathroom along with

the three other bedrooms, upstairs is completely finished and ready to go.

Downstairs isn't in bad shape either.

This is the office/study, which leads into the hall with solid oak floors,

dining room which leads to the conservatory and French windows onto the patio, downstairs toilet.

To the side here, we have the dining room, which is linked to the kitchen.

Then we walk into the kitchen, which has been designed again in the country style,

with a six-burner gas cooker and the utilities built in.

We're very pleased with it. It's been done so you've got peace and quiet, and everything's easily accessible.

Off that pretty high-spec kitchen, there's a utility area, along with access to the dining room.

Then that large, inviting lounge leads straight into a big conservatory.

In addition to plenty of hard standing for off-road parking, there's a separate garage.

When we got the planning permission, we weren't allowed to put an integral

garage on the house, so we built a separate garage away from the house.

After we built it, with the size it is, we decided a mezzanine floor

would be the ideal thing to put in it for a games room, store room, or whatever you want to use it for.

Everything's complete and looking like new,

but, in fact, the house and garage were completed in December 2007,

so what's been happening in the interim?

When we completed the house, it stood empty for about two years,

and then we decided that the right route to go down

was to finance it off a bit,

was to go for rented accommodation, which we did,

and we had two people in for a six-month period on a short-let term,

and then we had another family in of about five on a short-let term,

and now we've just secured another rental period of 12 months.

That's of a family again.

Until the market picks up and starts to get that bit of growth back,

that's what we'll continue to do.

Initially, Peter put the house on the market for £500,000,

but as there were no takers, he needed to rent it out

to recoup some of his substantial costs.

The costs of building it, materials, et cetera,

on the budget that we put in,

was 166, and it came out at 165-170, so it wasn't far out.

This means that with his £228,000 purchase of the house and plot,

he's got nearly £400,000 tied up here.

With everything conspiring against him, this purchase was starting to be

a bit of a burden, but all wasn't quite lost.

There was still a chance he could escape with some profit.

When we bought this property, I retained a section of the land down

the side of the property between the conservatory and the workshop area.

Since then, I've applied for planning permission on the rear garden

of the house that I live in that's adjacent to this property,

for holiday lets, and been successful in them being granted,

and also planning permission on my workshop.

So that's the next project.

After that project, I'm going to retire.

So maybe every cloud DOES have a silver lining,

but will he be able to release any capital from this house

to move on to those development plans?

Or will this property remain on the long-term rental market?

Let's hear from two local estate agents.

As a house, the design's fine,

it gives you all the space you'd want.

I would say, looking at it fairly critically,

probably some of the rooms are a touch small,

but you can't have a lot of space and a lot of rooms,

you have to sacrifice space if you want more rooms. It's all here.

The positives are the solid wood flooring

as you walk through the main door,

a decent-sized breakfast kitchen,

lots of land with it, and that lovely conservatory at the back.

I think one issue here that will be a problem for a lot of people is when

you've got a five-bedroom house, you really need quite a bit of garden.

This doesn't have a lot of garden to it.

A small disadvantage to the property is the size of the bedrooms.

I probably would have preferred to see four large double bedrooms

rather than three small doubles and two large doubles with en suites.

Nearly five years ago, when Peter first considered the single-build option, a five-bedroom house

on this site was estimated to be worth £500,000,

but since then, of course, the property market's changed a lot.

I have to say that, to the right people, it probably now is worth around £375,000.

I believe the property is now worth £400,000.

Crikey, that shows a 20% drop in house prices.

With Peter investing around £400,000 here,

it's the difference between a profit and a loss.

So what are his views on those valuations?

I like the 400, I don't like the 375.

Those values are still way off what Peter would be prepared to sell for,

so he'll continue to rent the house out until the market turns.

This would have a rental value of probably, £1,000 to £1,100 a calendar month.

On a rental market, I would expect to achieve approximately £1,200 per calendar month.

Well, the 1,200 one is spot on.

A few month ago, maybe 12 month ago, you'd have got more, but I'm quite satisfied with the 1,200 a month.

£1,200 a month is what Peter's now getting as a rental for the next long-term rent.

That will bring in nearly £14,500 a year, but it's not a great return on a £400,000 investment.

How does he feel about the last five years?

I've thoroughly enjoyed the peaks.

I've not enjoyed some of the slumps, like the credit crunch,

but I can't do much about that, but it seems nobody else can either.

This has been predominantly out of Peter's hands,

but at least he realised one of his objectives, and that was to control

who his neighbours are.

It was just outside the town of Wootton Bassett

that eight acres of pasture land came up for auction.

They were snapped up for £60,000 by retired couple Mary and Keith,

who knew it was perfect for what they had in mind.

So why did you want to buy it?

-We have two horses.

-Perfect.

And we are moving to Wootton Bassett,

and this is only a couple of miles away from the house we're buying.

And their two horses, Eric and Dusty, were hoping they might get some shelter, not just a big field.

So five months on, is it home from home?

Well, yes, there's now a smart new stable block...

..and there are Eric and Dusty.

Eric, on the left, is Mary's horse, and Dusty is Keith's horse.

In this area, we had the stable built

and we've put it in this particular position

because of the prevailing wind, to make sure that this area that we're standing in is now sheltered.

We have, at this end of the stable block, a tack room where we keep

all our various bits and pieces,

and we have two stables.

Dusty and Eric are in the stables at the moment.

We have a third stable, which currently we're not using.

With storage for their maintenance equipment and all the horse feed,

plus an area for Mary and Keith to shelter in and make a cup of tea, everyone is well catered for.

We've divided it up into paddocks.

We've got two paddocks that have got post and rail fencing around them,

and the third paddock, right at the top of the field,

we'll fence that off with electric fencing as and when we need it.

And what we've started to do is build shelter belts.

We've also put in some hedging, we're quite pleased with that,

and they've got buds on, so they're surviving.

-We were tickled pink when we found that.

-We planted about 150 big trees and small hedging plants in all.

With tree planting, fencing, and building the stables,

they certainly haven't let the grass grow under their feet.

They're also well on the way to getting mains water on site.

The previous owner connected to a supply on the other land,

put in a pipe for us, so we now have running water on this site.

And tomorrow, we have a contractor coming in to lay water pipes

right along the field, so we have troughs in each of the paddocks.

I don't think Eric and Dusty could ask for much more -

running water on tap, new stables to sleep in, plenty of food and room to roam -

but Mary and Keith also have a new home, having moved from the coast in Dorset to inland Wiltshire.

So how's that going?

-We are settling.

-Yes.

We're not entirely settled just yet, it's really quite different to living by the sea, but it's...yes, it's...

-It's fine.

-It's fine, yes.

And we've seen a fair bit more family since we've lived here as well,

which is one of the reasons we moved up here.

We've probably seen more of the family in the past three months than we normally see in a whole year.

So that's fine, one of our reasons for being here.

It seems Mary and Keith are beginning to settle in the area, but it has only been five months.

It's always going to take a while to adjust, and moving usually is an expensive business.

The stable cost around £7,000 - erected and all the work done.

The base we're currently on cost £4,000,

to have this concrete base put down, and then in addition to that, the fencing was about £3,500.

The field shelter was about £1,600.

We still have some work still to do - the water to be put down, which I think is £1,200 for the water

to be laid and the troughs put in, and then the hard standing to be put in all around the concrete base.

That wasn't something that we'd expected.

It wasn't in our original budget, because we didn't realise just how

muddy it was going to be, so that's an additional cost.

So that's a about our expenditure, so it is quite a bit.

Well, that little lot comes to around £20,000.

So with the plot of land costing £60,000 at auction,

rehousing their horses in Wiltshire has come with an £80,000 price tag.

Should Keith and Mary have reined in their outlay or is it money well spent?

What do two local property experts think?

This is a suitable site for a pony paddock,

and generally I think this is the best possible use

that you could make of this land.

Using this land for grazing for horses is ideal.

The land itself is ridge and furrow,

and the quality of soil is relatively poor, so the number of alternative uses are limited.

The conditions and the amenities of the site - it is quite remote in some respects,

being down the lane here, but on the other hand, it's close to the motorway junction,

it's quite close to Wootton Bassett. So overall it's a very good spot.

The stables are absolutely wonderful -

they're built to very high specification,

good area of yard, good area of concrete,

close to the road for easy access,

very, very good. Definitely improved the value of the site.

So it's improved the value but by how much?

Remember the couple have invested nearly £80,000 on this grazing land.

As a whole, with the new building, I would estimate this site

to make something in the region of £90,000 to £100,000.

I would value the paddock land in its current condition with the stables at £100,000.

Crikey, it just goes to show how much getting a permanent structure in place

can add to the value of a piece of land.

How do Keith and Mary feel about those valuations?

Well!

SHE CHUCKLES

-That's pretty good.

-Yes.

-Yeah.

This appears to have been a great purchase - not only has it been

a good investment financially, but it seems to be just right for them.

We can have fun with this bit of land.

It's a project for us, it's something.

We look forward to coming down here and getting on with it.

When the weather is reasonable, it's great.

Yes, it's good to be able to see it developing.

There's some nice riding around here, and we've got to get out and explore it, haven't we?

We certainly have.

So, for Keith and Mary, there are exciting times ahead

as they explore pastures new.

We wish them well.

So that's our trio of tantalising tales from the auction room today.

Join us next time for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-See you then.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

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