Episode 35 Homes Under the Hammer

With the ups and downs of the property market, you need to be able to trust your instincts.

Nowhere is this more true than in the auction room.

So join us now as we take the lottery out of property under the hammer.

Buying at auction doesn't have to be scary.

If you do your research and you stick to your limit, you can bid with confidence.

Well, let's meet some buyers who hopefully did that,

but did they bag a bargain or get more than they bargained for?

Let's take a look at what they bought.

I'm in Cheshire, where I've found something rather special.

The most incredible view... you can wish for.

I'll be stirring up some passion for this property in Kent.

This house needs pulling up by the scruff of its neck,

a good old shake and some love.

And we'll see if this house in Derby really is a secure investment.

It was built to last and it's a very practical home to live in.

You know what, it's great.

All these properties have been sold at auction.

We find out who bought them and how much they paid when they went under the hammer.

It's yours.

I'm in the village of Swythamley

on the Cheshire/Staffordshire border.

Right on the edge of the Peak District. It's a beautiful place.

Originally a farming community, if you want to live here now you've got to have deep pockets

because you're competing with the Cheshire set,

who are looking for space, scenery and sizeable homes.

Yes, you couldn't really get a much more idyllic setting than this.

There's beautiful countryside as far as the eye can see.

The only noisy neighbours around here are that lot.

But don't let these tranquil surroundings fool you.

The area has actually had quite a turbulent past.

The property I'm here to see is rather intriguingly called Gun End Cottage.

It's named after Gun Hill, where Cromwell was said to have placed one of his cannons

in preparation for firing it at a neighbouring town.

And, judging by the property itself, I think we have hit the target.

Absolutely stunning.

Built in 1904, it had a guide price of 280,000 quid.

It was actually built by Sir Philip of Swythamley Hall.

Well, if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me.

The word cottage usually suggests a small whitewashed building,

not a solid Edwardian house like this.

There's a little patch of garden out the back

and if the grass gets too long

you could just let these sheep do the mowing for you.

The property is just off the main road that links most of the local villages,

but let's face it, it's hardly the M25, is it?

Well, let's just hope that the inside is as nice as the outside.

Not a bad start, I have to say.

Original flooring here in the entrance. This is good to see.

Nice sitting room there with a real fire.

Low ceilings but I think you can cope with that

because there's so much else that is wonderful.

Look at this. This is like the second sitting room.

Lots of original features like these cupboards built in.

Get those stripped back. I bet that's beautiful pine under there.

And then you've got this bay here. Leaded glass in the windows.

That's actually wood.

I hoped that might be stone.

Nevertheless, absolutely gorgeous.

It's got a fantastic feel straight away.

Despite the low ceilings, both these rooms feel spacious and bright.

I love those Edwardian fireplaces.

Simple in design but effective and elegant.

The decoration is a little tired

but I can't see or smell any damp, which is great news.

So far, so good.

What's the rest of the house got in store?

Sadly, the kitchen is a bit of a disappointment.

A few nice features like this old range cooker,

which is lovely to have, a real central point to the kitchen.

It's quite small, though. There's a pantry there. I'd think about

knocking down this wall to try to create a bit more space.

And then creating what this should be, a real country-feel kitchen,

as opposed to this 1970s throwback.

In terms of anything else you could do, there may be one option.

Out here is this conservatory

but it's not just a conservatory, it's a missed opportunity.

I think you're going to be expanding the kitchen this way.

There's a downstairs loo there, a utility area there.

This house is not listed, so you can get rid of this wall,

extend the kitchen out, put a conservatory on here,

because what you want to make the most of is that.

The most incredible view... you could wish for.

Although that field doesn't come with the property,

the view certainly does.

I can't imagine a better spot on a summer's morning...

well, noon or evening either for that matter.

Time to look upstairs.

Nice wide stairs actually, which is good to see.

Then, up here, three bedrooms, bathroom and loo

which is good that that's actually upstairs.

The bedrooms aren't huge, they got these very interesting ceilings.

Glorious windows, lead-lined,

and views out onto the surrounding countryside.

I mean, what can you say, this place has charm oozing out of every brick.

The other main bedroom is a bright and spacious room,

it just needs some redecorating.

There's a bit more to do in the smaller third bedroom

but it's not a bad size for a children's room perhaps.

I think this place is delightful and it has all the makings of

a fabulous country home for a family or maybe even a holiday let.

I asked along a local estate agent to hear what he thought.

It's absolutely gorgeous, isn't it?

It's just got...character.

it's a bit of an over-used word in this business but it's got lots of it.

It'll appeal to all sorts of people, different sectors of the market,

people who'd be quite content to live in it as it is.

Others would want to spend a lot of money and make a big project of it.

Really, it's got lots of scope for different types of people.

The guide price on this property was £280,000.

Would that represent a good buy?

I suspect that the value on this could probably reach as high as 400,000,

because of the fairly limited works you would want to do on it, I suspect.

So it probably would have a limit of around 400.

Well, to the Lord of the Manor it may just have been a cottage but I think it is a splendid house.

Whoever buys it is not only buying a slice of history

but also getting themselves that much sought after rural lifestyle.

Let's see who fell for its charms when it went under the hammer.

Lot number two, Gun End Cottage.

How much can we say for this one?

260, at 260,000.

265, 270, sir? 270. At 270.

And five, sir? 275. 280. And five, sir?

285. 290. 295?

Yes, 295. 300. At 300,000.

Don't stop on a round figure, it's bad policy.

One over the top will make all the difference. And five? 305.

310.

12.5? We'll help you.

Come on, you must buy it. 312,500.

315.

At 315. We're here to sell it. Make her happy, buy it.

At 315,000. 17.5?

It's only money. At 315. I'll take £1,000.

It's hard times, let's have a thousand.

At £315,000, it's going to the gentlemen over there once, twice... Another thousand?

At £315,000 for the third and final time, I'm selling it, quick discussion...

Yes, 316,000. 317. At 317,000. At 317,000.

At 317,000 once, twice, the third and final time, it's with you, sir, on my left.

At 317,000, are we all done? I'm selling it.

At £317,000.

It's yours, sir.

That successful bid of 317,000 was made by a surveyor

who was bidding on behalf of two sisters, Margaret and Janet.

They're both housewives with two children each, who live six miles from the property.

It turns out they have a long-running connection with their new purchase.

I caught up with them back at the cottage to find out more.

Margaret, Janet, lovely to meet you both. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-So why did you want to buy this house, if it's not obvious?

Well, we've always known this property.

The land and the farm next door has been in our family since the '60s,

so we've grown up knowing it and loved it and when it came up for auction...

we had to try and get it.

Tell me more about your family in the area. Which buildings, which houses do you own around here?

Well, my grandparents bought the farm up there in the '60s.

They farmed it

right up until 1999, when my parents retired there.

But sadly my dad is on his own there because we lost Mum in December.

So you as children, then, cos you're sisters, you knew this house?

-Did you play near here and that kind of stuff?

-Yeah, my gran always brought us down here.

We've known all the owners of this property.

Gran used to bring us down when we were children

and we can remember all the features in there, big fire, big range,

and we've known all the subsequent owners who've been here.

We feel as if we know it, it's part of our history.

So, Janet, how does it feel to have actually bought it?

It's just fantastic. We never really thought we had a chance.

We saw it was going on the market and just thought it would be out of our reach.

We came down at one of the viewings with our children because we thought

it was perhaps the only chance that they'd get to go in and visit it

and we noticed the guide price and suddenly we thought we had a chance.

That £280,000 guide price was just too good to miss.

They put their funds together and were willing to pay up to 350,000

but in the end they managed to get it for £317,000.

-What do you plan to do with it in general?

-Short term, we want it to be a holiday let

because we're not in a position, either of us, to come and live here right now.

But, long term, we do envisage one of us coming with the family to live here,

so we're closer to my dad and can look after him.

And how are you going to decide on that one? Presumably you'd both like to live here!

We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. We'll have great fun doing the project.

They may not have to make that choice yet

but they will have to decide whether to turn this into a holiday let.

We're going to take out the pantry wall, because I think

particularly for a holiday let it's not necessary to have a pantry.

It'll give more space in the kitchen so you can use it to eat in as well.

And we're going to put a shower room in downstairs.

-So where are you going to put the shower room?

-In what is now the...outhouse.

So what kind of a budget have you got set aside

for doing the work that you're going to do?

Well, because we got it at 317, we have, you know, the remainder, to 350.

-So we do have about...

-30,000?

-30,000.

-You're not planning to do anything major, so that's way more than you need, isn't it?

-Well, hopefully!

Margaret and Janet have used the inheritance from their late mother

to help buy the house and pay for the renovation,

so this project really does mean a lot to them.

-So...would you ever sell it?

-No.

-No.

-No! Now we've got it, we're not parting with it.

-No!

You looked truly horrified when I asked that question, didn't you?

Yeah, I did. The thought of it. No. Now we've got it it's not going anywhere.

-It's in the family and that's that.

-Yes.

-Yes, sorry, everybody.

Well, I'm truly delighted for you. Congratulations. Brilliant story.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

Well, how absolutely perfect that Margaret and Janet have

got this place, a house that means so much to them and their family.

I think short-term holiday lets is a great way to go.

The only big problem is going to be deciding who gets to finally live here.

How on earth are they going to do that? You can find out later in the show.

I'm in Hartley in Kent,

a very desirable area with lots of local shops and amenities.

I'm here to visit a house just up the road on an old council estate.

The property I'm here to see today is in this quiet little cul-de-sac.

It's just minutes away from the local shops.

Its access is down this little walkway.

Could be a bit of a disadvantage, it means you can't park right outside your door,

so it will put some buyers off,

but it does give you the feel of a private little enclave.

I'm here to see this 1970s two-bedroom mid-terrace property.

It looks really well cared for from the outside.

It's even got double-glazed windows. I'm going to go in and have a look around.

A lack of parking directly outside is a downside,

though there is some nearby.

The guide price of between 100,000 and 110,000

more than makes up for that.

You can say what you like about the style of this house,

not everybody will love it, but the proportions are great.

You really get the feeling of space inside. Lovely wide hallway.

You've got lots of space underneath the stairs here and around here.

The lounge is a good square size,

with these lovely big sliding doors leading out to that garden.

What a pretty little garden that is. But you know what?

This house needs pulling up by the scruff of its neck,

a good old shake and some love.

Then you'll have a really nice good solid home here.

And whilst you're shaking up the dated decor and repainting those tired-looking walls,

you could also knock through that wall into the cupboard to add some extra space in the living room.

There's loads of space in the kitchen,

which runs the length of the house, with big windows to let the sun in,

as if that tiling wasn't bright enough.

But it's not the light in the house that concerns me, it's the heat.

I've noticed that this house has no radiators, just air vents.

That's because there's a hot-air heating system.

Basically, what that means is air is heated and then

it's distributed around the house through ducts and vents like these.

The disadvantages are that old furnaces can often be noisy

and old systems can dry the air out and they just spread dust and pollen around the house,

which can be problematic if you've got skin problems or asthma or even allergies.

So it really will be worth doing some homework and finding out just how old this system is.

But a replacement central-heating system with radiators, well,

it could cost about £3,000 to install but I think it would be more attractive to potential buyers.

I think that would be money well spent.

A hot-air system is not ideal and may put off future buyers.

What else has this place got in store?

Upstairs there's two bedrooms and a couple of cupboards

and a bathroom at the end.

But I can spot a lot of wasted space here.

One option would be to create a doorway and incorporate this bit of corridor.

Knock out this cupboard

and just have a lovely luxurious modern bathroom.

It would feel more spacious and I think it would work well for a family.

You may have noticed something missing in here.

That's right, a toilet.

That's further down the hall.

So opening out the cupboard

would mean you could get the whole suite together at last.

This house has plenty of potential and had a great guide price

of between £100,000 and £110,000,

but let's see what a local estate agent makes of the place.

It's a nice little house. Needs a bit of work doing to it but it has got good potential.

If it were my property, I would change

the central heating system round to traditional radiators.

Slight downfall not being able to park outside the front door.

Awkward with children - not knowing whether to take the child or the shopping in first.

The guide price was £100,000 to £110,000.

Once renovated, how much could it resell for?

Once it's all done up,

the property would be worth somewhere in the region of £175,000.

That could be a decent profit depending on how much you spend on it.

Is renting a good option here too?

From a rental point of view, it's a good area to be renting in.

Two bedrooms, you're going to be looking in the region of £725 per calendar month.

1970s architecture may not be to everybody's taste,

but this auction property is in a nice, quiet location.

There's good schools and amenities and it seems to be structurally sound.

Replace that hot air heating system, a new kitchen, rejig that bathroom,

and you've got a nice little property here, I think.

Let's see who fancied this one as we head to auction?

Where do you want to start me on this one, £100,000?

100,000 in the front row, £100,000.

I'm on the way. 100. 105.

105. And 10. 110. And 15.

And 20. And 25. 125, I've got.

130 I'm looking for. In the room. Someone's going to buy it.

130 on my right-hand side. 135 is against you in the red jacket.

132, if you like, if it helps you. Doesn't look like it does a lot.

At £130,000 on my right-hand side, 132 I'm looking for.

132 sitting in front. And five. 136.

136, no? One bid. At 135, I've got.

136 from anybody else? £136,000. It's in the room to sell it.

At £135,000, if you're all done at 135 for the first time,

at £135,000 for the second...

136, just in time. 137, it's back with you.

138. And nine. And 40.

And one. 141, and two. 142. 141.

It's back with you, madam, for the first time at 141,000.

142, if anybody else wants to bid.

For the second time at 141,000.

Third and final time, if you're sure you're all done, 141, all done.

Well done, it's yours at 141.

'The successful bid of £141,000 came from Theresa, who lives locally.

'She was bidding on behalf of her father.

'I caught up with Theresa and her son Luke to hear about their plans.'

Congratulations. This is really good news. Why did you want to buy this house, Theresa?

Actually, my dad bought the house. He's actually gone away on holiday, so can't be here today.

He sold the family home last year and he has some spare cash.

He's moved into a little retirement bungalow with my mum.

He wanted a property, something he could use as an investment, make his money work,

so we've been looking for a while.

But this is local to where we live, so we thought, "Well, we'll come and see it."

We had a nice feel about it, so we went to the auction and, hey, we got the property.

You looked like you meant business at the auction.

-You were like, yes! Yes! You wanted this place, didn't you?

-Yes, absolutely.

But I've got to say, another £2,000 more, I think we'd have stopped.

And it's my first time bidding at auction, so the whole thing was quite scary, but, yes.

-So your dad has bought it?

-Yeah.

-And grandson.

-Yeah.

-What's your involvement going to be?

I'm going to be doing most of the work on the house

and then sort of overseeing the other traders that come in,

the gas, electrical, plumbing, whatever there is to be done,

-and I'll be doing all the work for my grandad.

-What is your speciality, Luke?

I'm a trained carpenter,

so all of the woodwork is my speciality, but I'll also be doing the painting and decorating as well.

-What's the quality of his work like?

-He's very good, actually, he comes from a long line.

Not this grandfather, but his other grandfather is a carpenter, his father is a carpenter,

so he's got a good sort of back-up of trade behind him. So I think he should be doing...

Of course I'll be coming down and doing a little check.

'In fact, Theresa has already overseen other renovations as she and her husband, Andrew,

'have done up several of the places they've lived in.

'They've once even turned an old cottage into a six-bedroomed property.'

-What sort of involvement is your dad going to have?

-My dad will be down here, hands on.

He's 77 and you'd think he's only 57, because anything anyone can do,

he can do as well, not to say better, but he can do it.

But no, he wants to be actively involved, so he'll be coming down, being Luke's assistant.

'The budget Luke will have to play with is £11,000, but that could rise

'depending on what they choose to do with the property.

'They still haven't decided if they're going to rent it out or sell.'

We need to decide rather quickly, because with the heating system that we have in here,

if we sell it, we feel we need to take it out and put traditional central heating in,

so we are...undecided.

-So, you've really got to make some decisions straightaway.

-Absolutely.

'Once they've worked out their plans, they can begin to tackle the work needed here.

'Hopefully, the decoration will be a little more modern.'

It is a little bit dated, but we felt that when we walked in, it was quite a sort of homely place,

so we're going to try and update it, not spend fortunes on it,

but really try and make it look nice and make it a place that maybe a family would want to move into.

Is that your a speciality? Are you quite good with the finishing touches, Theresa?

I have an eye for colour and things like that, or so I'm told.

And my mum... I'm going to get my mum involved towards the end as well.

She came down to the auction with us, with maybe choosing tile colours

and we'll keep the colour scheme neutral throughout, but get her involved in it as well.

-It really is a big, old family business.

-It is, yeah.

How is it going to work?

Do you all get on?

Yes, I think we do. Obviously we've our ups and downs, but yeah, we don't get on too badly, do we?

-You always work with your dad anyway.

-Yeah, we work well together.

-No bossy members?

You do have a tendency, but you know, normally she's all right.

It'll be interesting to see if there are any family feuds, perhaps?

No, there won't be any of those! You're allowed an opinion.

I'm sure it'll be all right, yeah.

Well, this is certainly going to be a family affair.

Theresa's son, Luke, and dad, Peter, are putting in some hard graft

and they are ready to put their mark on this place.

Will this be the start of a property developing career for them all

or will there be a few family fall-outs along the way?

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

'Coming up: I'll be at this house in Derby where it's rather hard to find fault.'

It looks like it's been lived in quite recently, it doesn't smell damp, I mean, it's nice.

'Back in Kent, the renovation hasn't been as speedy as first hoped.'

For a long time, it was only my grandad doing painting and decorating.

'But first, there has been no sense of urgency back at this cottage.'

Whenever there was a decision to be made, we just stopped work and had more tea.

We've returned to the glorious countryside of Swythamley, Cheshire.

Sisters Margaret and Janet bought this cottage at auction for £317,000

and there couldn't have been more perfect owners of this gorgeous property.

We've always known this property, the land and the farm next door has been in our family since the '60s,

so we've grown up knowing it and loved it.

When it came up for auction,

we had to try and get it.

Once safely in their hands, they planned to renovate and transform it into a holiday let.

So, nine months later, how has it all gone?

We caught up with the sisters back at the cottage to find out.

And the good news is that the inside now looks as picturesque as the outside.

The front room has been beautifully decorated, it's modern,

but there are lovely period details, like the fireplace they've now installed.

And upstairs, whoever rents out this as a holiday let, will be fighting over the new master bedroom,

which is now bright, elegant and more importantly, peaceful.

But then again, so is the second bedroom.

Janet and Margaret have squeezed two beds in the third room as well, making it perfect for a kids' room.

Downstairs, the second reception room has been transformed into a fantastic fourth large bedroom.

They've knocked down that pantry wall and created a beautiful open-plan cottage kitchen

with brand new worktops, appliances and units.

This is the kitchen. And you can see, we've created quite a lot more space

by removing the pantry wall that was about here

and a friend of ours has built us this settle and table, which comfortably seats eight

and leaves a lot of space in the kitchen for the work that has to be done.

This open-plan kitchen is very functional as well as attractive

for a family or a group of friends to wine and dine on a lovely summer evening.

And of course, they can also go through and settle down in the conservatory to enjoy the view.

Just off the conservatory was an old coal store,

which has now been put to much better use as a second toilet and shower

to go with the redecorated one upstairs.

What a fantastic job Janet and Margaret have done here,

well, I say "Janet and Margaret", but it sounds like they've had quite a few helping hands.

We got the builder that had just done an extension of our house

and then we got a plumber to do... The whole central heating needed redoing.

And then we got a friend who is a carpenter to make the table,

but he ended up doing the kitchen fittings and the tiling.

We kept him busy, and our neighbour is an electrician, so he did all the electrical work.

Yes. And our other builder friend did loads, didn't he?

He was the one up the ladder with the lead flashing and lots of other...

Drains, cleaned the drains.

Yes. And he did the pantry wall removal as well.

Even the new patio outside

was laid by a neighbour

who's a landscaping expert.

The girls did attempt some of the jobs themselves, but came a little unstuck.

The wallpaper stripping took forever. We thought we'd finished.

Then we were told off because we'd left too much glue on the walls.

We sanded and soaped and washed and finally got that done.

'Their original budget for all of the renovation and furnishings was around £35,000.

'So far, they spent well under that, around £22,500. That's all fine, then.

'But the three-month timescale tripled to nine months, so what happened?'

We were a bit optimistic, well, I think everyone is when they think how long things are likely to take,

but we had specific people we really wanted to work on the house.

They're all local trades people and they're family friends or personal friends,

so we had to wait to be fitted into their schedules quite often.

And whenever there was a decision to be made, it didn't matter how major or minor,

we just stopped work and had more tea.

So, really, the extra months are all down to the amount of tea we've had.

Well, at least they're honest. You can't blame them for having a relaxed attitude

in a place like this.

The sisters have no intention of selling.

They want to keep it in the family. How much value have they added

now that finally all the work is finished?

We asked two local estate agents for their opinions.

For a cottage of this style,

it's been done with taste and sympathy

to the original architecture and the surrounding area.

'You've got all mod day cons, all of the up-to-date central heating, you've got the character'

of the original property, fabulous bathroom and kitchen.

I like the layout of the property. It works extremely well.

It's a well-balanced house with three bedrooms upstairs,

additional bedroom downstairs if required.

I think generally, the layout works well for a family.

It'll work very well as a holiday let, most cottages do tend to be

like the terraces or the apartments and things like that,

whereas a detached cottage is quite unique.

So, how much could this cottage rent out for on a year-long lease?

If the property was to come on the market for rental,

I'd be suggesting an asking rent

of between £800-£900 per calendar month.

If it was for rental on the open market you'd be looking at around

£700 per calendar month.

I think if holiday lets turned out to be more work

than we were expecting, then we'd certainly consider

-a long-term let, wouldn't we?

-Yes.

The sisters plan to rent out the cottage at a variable seasonal rate

of between £300-£700 per week.

But if they did ever decide to sell, what would it be worth?

Remember they paid £317,000 for it at auction

and spent a further 22,500 on the work,

so it would need to be worth at least 340,000 to show any profit.

I think for resale in today's market conditions you're looking at between 400,000 to 450,000.

If it was to come on the market now, I'd be recommending

an asking price of between £400,000 and £425,000.

-That's OK then.

-Gosh.

-That's great.

-That's unbelievable.

-It is, isn't it?

-Yes, it is.

-It's incredible.

-We thought to add that amount of value, you'd probably have to extend the boundaries.

-Yes.

-That's great.

-That is great.

-Good.

With the family connection to the property and the surrounding area,

I think this cottage will remain in the sisters' family for a long time.

And I can't think of a better place for it.

# Yes, always better when we're together... #

I'm in Derby, in one of the city's largest suburbs,

Chaddesden, known locally as Chad.

The whole area was once part of Chaddesden Hall and owned by the wealthy Wilmot family

but in the 1920s, it was sold to Derbyshire Council

and they started a building programme so most of the houses around here

were built between the 1920s and the 1960s and the property I'm here to see is no exception.

This is it, three-bedroom semi-detached built around the 1940s.

At a guide price of around £60,000. Let's take a look inside.

'The house already has double-glazing and looks pretty neat and tidy from outside.'

# Baby, so far, so good... #

Nice that you've got that little porch area there, keep the cold and the noise out.

And somewhere to hang your coats and stuff.

Into the reception area and then through into the lounge.

Straightaway I'm seeing this is a house in pretty good condition.

It looks like it's been lived in quite recently, it doesn't smell damp.

I mean, it's nice, really nice.

It's obviously a bit dated, needs new carpets, new wallpaper, that kind of thing.

Obviously you might want to consider changing that and putting

a real fire in its place or whatever but it's a good size.

The living room's good. I love the fact there's patio windows there looking out onto the garden.

That's a really nice feature.

You know what, I've got a feeling I'm not going to find anything untoward with this particular house.

'On the ground floor, there's also a handy loo, then a kitchen which is also in pretty good nick.

'Again, it's a little dated but pretty serviceable, especially for rental purposes.

'One thing I notice though, there's no central heating. That's something that needs to be sorted out.'

# You're as cold as ice... #

So out through the kitchen and there's this quite useful

single-storey extension currently being used as a utility room

and a little storage area. I think you could potentially knock the dividing wall down

to increase the size of the kitchen.

But what I'm out here to show you as well, a garage there,

that's fantastic but by the side of it, that's a parking space owned by next door and you share the driveway

with your next-door neighbour so your solicitor definitely needs to check

that you've got right of access across this bit of land

and it pays to keep on the good side of your neighbour.

'Possible parking issues aside, the garden really is lovely and, like the house,

'it's well maintained and perfect for a family.'

Well, upstairs, no surprises. You've got a bathroom

and loo. Single bedroom and two doubles. Everything's just really solid.

Look at that, that's not a stud partition wall, that is brick.

It's an ex-local authority house, built to last and it's a very practical home to live in.

You know what, it's great.

No-one knows better than Marilyn what a great property this is.

She lived here with her mother whose home it was for over 60 years.

Marilyn, good to meet you. It's not often we get to meet the vendor actually!

-No.

-Tell me a bit about the history of the house.

Well, it was built in 1946 and my mum and I moved in

in January 1947 in the cold winter when my dad was in the Army.

And they've basically lived here ever since. I just moved out when I got married.

One thing you get when you walk into the house straight away, it's a very loved house.

Thank you. Well, my mum was a real home bird

and she wouldn't, she didn't like being away too long. She just, you know...

If she babysat for us, she always had to come home at night to sleep in her own bed!

'Sadly, her mum passed away recently so the house was left to Marilyn and her brother.'

So why did you sell it?

-Well we live on a boat.

-A boat?

-In Yorkshire.

-Yeah!

-Right!

-And we're doing it up.

It's my husband's pet project.

We were thinking about buying the house off my brother

who's the other owner and we decided,

no, we'd use the boat while we still could. Because we're not getting any younger!

-And hopefully it'll be a happy house for somebody in the future?

-Hopefully.

I hope we've left some happy memories in it.

This has obviously been a much-loved family home for over 60 years.

But is it also a good financial investment?

Let's ask a local estate agent.

'There's quite a good demand for rental property in the area generally'

'and being on the Derby side of Chaddesden, it's just about walkable'

to the city centre.

I guess that it would be a popular house to rent

at around £500 per month once it had been brought up to standard.

What about its market value once it's been renovated and had central heating put in?

Once this property is all modernised, I would market it for offers around £100,000.

Well, what you've got here is a fairly standard semi in need of updating and modernisation.

Central heating will make a big difference.

But you know what, the feeling you get with this house is that it has been loved and that means a lot.

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

Lot number seven, 65,000.

60 I have bid here. At £60,000.

65, 70,000. 75. 80,000. 500 help you?

At 80,500. 81. 500? 82.

82,500? No?

One-bid wonder.

Are you bidding again? 82,500, I'll retract what I just said. 82,500, 83?

83. That's it, is it?

£83,000. Better to try and fail than not try at all.

Once, twice, third time. GAVEL BANGS

83,000, sold to you, madam.

The final bid of 83,000 came from Derby-based Emma.

She bought the Chaddesden house with her husband Steve as their first investment property.

I met Emma back at their purchase to find out more.

# We've only just begun to live... #

-Emma, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-Why did you want to buy the house?

Right, well my husband and myself are just starting a family

and we really wanted to get somewhere as an investment.

Is the plan then to sell it on or to rent it out?

Yes, that would be plan A, if we could sell it for a bit of a profit.

That would be perfect. And learn some lessons along the way.

But failing that, hopefully we'd be able to get some rental.

So now though, is this your first...

-are you pregnant? Yes. Right, so when's your baby due?

-I've got 20 more weeks.

20 down, 20 more to go.

Right, so taking on a project like this at a time when you've got quite a lot going on anyway, how's that?

Yeah, fingers crossed, the perfect thing would be if we could

do the house up and have it ready before the baby comes.

-So that gives us quite a tight deadline...

-Right.

-..but something to work towards.

# ..And yes, we've just begun... #

The pressure's really on for Emma and her husband, Steve.

This is their first property project and both profit margins and timescales will be very tight.

Let's hope they're keeping this renovation very simple.

# ..Sharing horizons that are new to us... #

So what are you planning to do to the house?

Just a lick of paint, change of carpet, maybe change around in the kitchen a bit.

Just cosmetic.

Nothing too major. Any idea how much you've got set aside for doing it?

We're thinking, we've never done it before so we're not sure on budget but we've got maybe around £12,000.

-We need to get some central heating put in as well so that'll take a bit.

-Who's doing the work?

Um, well, obviously in my condition, I'm not able to do any heavy lifting or painting!

So my husband's going to try and get most of it done

and then, if we do need anything major doing like the kitchen, then we'll just hire people to do it.

Great, is he looking forward to that?

-SHE CHUCKLES Erm, yeah!

-Why do you laugh so much?

Well, he's not exactly...

-um, big on DIY but I think he'll have to learn to be.

-Oh, wow!

So what do you and your husband do when you're not doing this?

-My husband is an optician...

-Right.

-..and I'm a supply teacher now.

Right, so does your husband have to fit this around his optician's work?

Yes, he works six days a week at the minute to try and pay

for the two mortgages we've got and just to save up money at the minute.

So he's going to be coming here in all his spare time. Aah!

# ..And yes, we've just begun... #

Well, that's dedication for you. I wonder if he'll have time to sleep! Oh well.

All good training for when the baby arrives!

Well, Emma's done well here and got a great project for their first investment property.

However, the pressure's on with the baby on the way and a husband who seems like

he's got enough on his plate already without taking on the DIY of this place.

Does he have the VISION to see it through? Well, he's an optician, let's hope so.

Find out how they get on later in the show.

Time has passed since we last saw our plucky buyers.

-Have they been firing on all cylinders?

-Let's go back and find out.

We're back at this cul-de-sac in Hartley where this two bedroom house sold at auction for 141,000.

The new owner is Peter who left his daughter Theresa to oversee the property's renovation

with a little help from her son, Luke.

-What's your involvement going to be?

-I'm going to be doing most of the work on the house

and then overseeing the other trades as they come in so the gas, electrical, plumbing,

whatever there is to be done. Basically I'll be doing all the work for my grandad.

Three months later, we return to see how their work has turned out.

And it looks like Luke has been busy.

Every room in the house has been replastered, recarpeted and redecorated.

But the job wasn't as simple as that.

Upstairs, Luke has split up one of the two bedrooms to create a third

which is a perfect size for a child's room so will appeal to a family.

He's not only renovated the loo upstairs,

he's also fitted a second one into that old, cramped bathroom.

As you can see, it's got a fair bit bigger.

We used to have a wall just here which housed the old cupboard which had the water tank in it.

What we've done is taken that wall out, we've moved it all the way back

and made a fake wall here with an opening cupboard which hides

the new combi boiler so that there's room for that and it doesn't really intrude anywhere else in the house.

As you can see, we've got a full suite unit and then you've got a shower in the bath as well.

So it's changed quite a fair bit since you'd last seen it I think.

Something else which looks a little different from last time

is the kitchen.

Gleaming new work surfaces,

high-end appliances and units,

and thank goodness that tiling has gone!

Luke has done a fantastic job down here and throughout the rest of the house,

although it turns out he needed a helping hand from his grandad!

I'm the dirt before the broom, so I've been preparing walls,

filling cracks and holes up and whatever,

ripping off the old woodwork because all new woodwork was put on.

It gradually comes together and you see the results of your work,

and of course, the family come in as a team.

Once you get some colour on the walls and colour on the woodwork...

We've got a lot to do still, but it's coming good.

And with all that work by Peter, and a few family friends helping out,

they're only a few weeks over their original six-week schedule.

That's even more impressive considering they did eventually decide

to do away with that hot-air system.

# The answer, my friend is blowing in the wind

# The answer is blowing in the wind... #

We've got a new combi boiler system so that gives us a lot more space,

as before we had the big air unit downstairs,

but also we had the tank unit upstairs,

so it took up a lot of space and we've put the combi boiler in there for...

Just it's more modern, more practical,

it doesn't take as much maintenance and it supplies the whole house.

It's a better system, really.

They managed to land pretty much in the middle of their £11-14,000 budget.

Their current total is £12,500.

But how much value have they added?

We asked two local estate agents

for their thoughts.

Really good property,

very good condition.

I like particularly, downstairs, the kitchen dining room.

Upstairs, to have a bathroom and a separate cloakroom

is going to be a really good advantage in selling.

I particularly like the kitchen -

it's very modern, very well finished.

I think that's going to be a good selling point to the property.

The look and finish of the property has been done very well,

it's exactly the type of property buyers would be looking for,

something they could literally move straight into.

What do they make of the two bedrooms being turned into three?

In this original house there were two good-sized bedrooms anyway,

so splitting gives you still three very good, usable bedrooms,

either a third bedroom or it could also be a study.

What could this property earn as a rental once the renovation work is finished?

Rental amount that this type of property would achieve

would be approximately £750 to £775 per calendar month.

Per calendar month here at the moment, you'd achieve £750.

I think that's roughly what we thought.

Maybe just a fraction more than we thought, but that's good.

But no, it's not encouraged us to change our minds

because, ultimately, we are still going to test out the market and try and sell the house first.

Renting it is always an option we can fall back on.

But if they sold it, what could they expect to make?

Remember they bought it for 141,000 and with the work on top,

the total spend here so far has been about £153,500.

What could it be worth now?

I would value it between £180-185,000.

I would market this property for £180-185,000.

-That's good, what we like to hear.

-That's good. That's more than we were hoping for so that's great.

-Happy with that.

-We'd be pleased with that.

And who wouldn't be? With a pre-tax profit of just over £30,000, minus the usual other costs of course.

Peter's already planning his next renovation, although this time round,

it sounds like he'll probably put his feet up and let the family do a bit more of the work!

I'm getting beyond all this rubbing down and up and down ladders.

I can still do it, but it's beginning to tell on me and I keep telling people,

"Don't grow old," and none of them will listen to me, including myself!

# You make me feel so young

# You make me feel as though spring has sprung

# And every time I see you grin I'm such a happy individual. #

Back to Derby now,

where this three-bedroom semi in Chaddesden sold at auction for £83,000.

Emma and her husband Steve bought it.

This was their first investment property and they were also expecting their first child.

Fingers crossed, the perfect thing would be

if we could do the house up and have it ready before the baby comes, so that gives us quite a tight deadline.

Four months later, we've caught up with Emma back at the house.

She's just two days from her due date,

but it looks like the work in the house has been safely delivered.

Well, we've redecorated the house.

My husband has done pretty much all of the painting, decorating

and preparing for decorating himself because, unfortunately,

I didn't realise how much of a hindrance it would be, being heavily pregnant,

so I've managed to get off the hook with the decorating.

So Steve's done most of that, and then we've had somebody to do a bit of building work in the kitchen.

Knocking down that wall to open up the kitchen

has been the only major structural work needed here, and what a difference it makes.

The kitchen is a really nice size now.

We've just knocked the walls through so we've got a bit of extra space.

New units, obviously new worktops and fittings, and there's plumbing for a dishwasher.

There's also a utility room in the house,

so someone can use that for their washing machine and tumble dryer.

It's quite nice to have it separate, so it's a nice feature of the house, I think.

The rest of the work has been cosmetic -

fresh paint, new carpets and new tiles in the bathroom.

They've also installed central heating throughout the house.

For some of the trickier jobs, they needed to hire in professionals,

but it sounds like Steve has been a dab hand too.

Steve's learnt some DIY skills doing this house,

which have come in useful in our own house, so that's good news really.

He's done some wallpapering here and in our own home now.

# Cos I live and I learn

# Yes, I live and I learn... #

Steve has been working non-stop in the evenings and on his only day off in the week from his optician job,

so I'll let him off with not having done anything to the garden as yet.

But has Steve managed to do all the work in the house for their original budget of 12,000,

or was that estimate short-sighted?

Including all of the fees, including the mortgage arrangement fees,

solicitor fees and selling fees, it's been about 13,000.

So it's more or less what we thought.

Some of the building work and the work we've done in the house has cost a bit less than we thought,

but the fees have been quite a bit more.

They wanted to get all the work done here before their baby was born,

and with Steve's valiant efforts, they've done just that.

My husband has been having to come after work

which has been quite a hard thing for him to do, but it has been enjoyable.

We've learnt some lessons along the way and things. So, yes, it's been a good experience.

So all's well that ends well, but have they managed

to add value to the property?

We asked along two local estate agents to tell us what they think.

There's a big difference between my last visit to the house and now,

and they've done a very good job.

The most striking thing is the kitchen,

which is a really nice quality job.

I like the way they've extended the kitchen

to create a small breakfasting area.

Nice Shaker-style units in it.

There are a couple of things I like about the house - one is the size of the garden,

the other are the fittings in the main bedroom which are nice.

The artex on the walls could be a little bit of a drawback to any potential buyer.

It does take a little bit of work to eradicate,

but that's probably the only thing I would say is a negative.

So the house should be attractive to a buyer,

but do the experts feel the house would sell easily in the current climate?

It's a good prospective as an investment, this property,

because there aren't many negatives to it.

The market is OK, there's plenty of "sold" boards about in the area,

so at the right price this would sell without a doubt.

So what would be the right price this house could now achieve on the market?

Remember they bought it for 83,000 and have spent 13,000 on the work,

so they would need to get more than 96,000 to make any profit at all.

If the property was put on the market now, it would fetch around £110,000.

In the current market, I'd look to place this property on the market at £110,000.

If I achieved £110,000, I would be pleased because that means

that we've made a £14,000 profit, so I'd be quite pleased with that.

I've had one or two other valuations and I think we'll market it a couple of thousand more,

but hopefully achieve that much, so that's good news.

So a potentially great profit there then, but what about if they wanted to rent it out?

If the property was available for rental now,

I would say £500 per calendar month would be the right figure.

Rental value for this property is roughly about £550 per calendar month.

As far as rental goes, I haven't really looked into it.

We don't intend to rent the property, we'd like to sell it on really, that's the plan.

However, you know, it's interesting to know.

That's a great result for Emma and Steve.

It means they can rest easy knowing the work has been worth it,

especially as they're about to have their hands full with their new baby.

# So hold on, I'm coming

# Hold on, I'm coming... #

He's due in two days' time,

so I'm starting to get a bit nervous knowing that he could arrive any minute, but excited as well.

And, nine days after we left, Emma had a son, Archie,

and the couple have now accepted an offer on the house of 111,000.

So, a great result all round.

We'll see you again soon when more brave bidders hit the auction rooms.

-See you then.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

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