Episode 80 Homes Under the Hammer

-Hello and welcome.

-Buying a property can be a long, drawn-out process,

but not when you buy through the auction.

You should have the keys to the property you want in just 28 days.

It really can be that quick buying your home under the hammer.

Sometimes buying at auction can be a bit of a gamble,

but not if you do your research first.

So, are today's buyers on a winning streak?

Let's find out. This is what they bought.

'Coming up, there's a former schoolhouse in Devon with loads of potential.'

Big extension, big view, then you've got your dream place in the country.

'In Kilburn, Northwest London, there's a small one-bed flat with plenty of space.'

It's not terribly wide, but you have got masses of ceiling height.

'And in Swindon, Wiltshire, this three-bed semi is pretty middle-of-the-road.'

Not bad. I mean, I've definitely seen worse.

'All these properties have been sold at auction.

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

-'when they went under the hammer.'

-Well done.

'Dartmoor National Park is one of Britain's gems.

'But finding a suitable property to match the surroundings isn't easy.

'However, today, I might be in luck

'in the village of Lamerton, just two miles from the park boundary.'

Well, I am very excited about this one.

Not only is it in a beautiful location,

but the auction catalogue description

contains those tantalising words, "character property."

And, boy, oh, boy, is it that! Stone-built, detached,

right in the centre of the village here.

175 to 195 grand. Ooh-hoo.

'Well, that's an exciting price.

'But, on closer inspection, I'm a little less excited about the condition of the front.

'Not surprising, given its age.

'The property was built in the 19th century and used to be the village schoolhouse,

'so the exterior is bound to show signs of wear and tear.

'And the windows look as though they're about to fall out.

'But houses like this were built to last, and the stone structure seems rock solid.'

-HE LAUGHS

-Wow.

That is what you call a front room!

Absolutely incredible space!

When you walk in, you don't expect to find something like this.

You've got a big fireplace, the beams, this ceiling height, which just...

I don't know about you, but this is my ideal lounge.

Another fireplace there. Just brilliant!

'As fantastic as the large front room is,

'it actually takes up the entire ground floor footprint of the original building.

'Meanwhile, the kitchen and bathroom have been squeezed into two single-storey extensions at the rear

'and are really rather pokey.

'This arrangement could do with a complete rethink.

'Time to head upstairs to the three bedrooms.'

Not only have you got those beautiful stone steps

leading out of the living room, but they continue all the way upstairs, and that is extremely unusual.

So there's high hopes when you do come to this floor,

but, unfortunately, they are rather ceremoniously dashed.

Somebody's had a go at doing something up here, some kind of restoration,

and put in stud partition walls. They've made an absolute bodge of it.

Done totally unsympathetically.

What this needs is a bit of care and attention, somebody with imagination.

I mean, look what you could do with this. I'd be thinking about taking this ceiling out,

extensions for sure, but just something which just adds to

that fantastic grandeur of downstairs.

'With some reconfiguration and the addition of an extension,

'the bathroom could be moved up here whilst keeping the three bedrooms.

'One certainty is that these partitions do need to be ripped out

'in favour of a brand new plan.

'Outside in the garden, I can't help but notice there's room for improvement here, too.'

So, exciting stuff going on inside the house, but potential out the back here is enormous,

because at the moment, it really isn't very good at all.

A sort of hodge-podge of additions which have been added over the years.

What I'm thinking is some really well-thought-through extension,

adding to the property in general, but also making the most of that view,

because that is magical and, at the moment,

the house just doesn't really have an opportunity to benefit from it.

So big extension, big view, then you've got your dream place in the country.

# Dream

# Dream, dream, dream

# Dream

'But how big could that dream be and what could it look like?

'The auctioneer who sold the property came along

'to tell us more about its history and its potential.'

It's a shell, essentially,

but what a characterful shell.

One of the most fantastic features of the house is the stone steps.

They used to be on the outside and it was for when it was a school

and there was boys and girls, but never should they mix,

and the boys were on the ground floor

and the girls didn't even go through the building to get upstairs,

they went around the back and up the stone steps.

What lets the property down is its back side,

and you just want to clear that and start again,

probably with a two-storey extension.

'So, once the work was finished, how much could it fetch on the rental market?'

The holiday rental market I think would be a bit sporadic out here.

The longer-term rental, three bedrooms,

you're probably looking at £700 per calendar month.

'And if sold as a refurbished family home,

'keeping in mind that guide price of £175,000 to £195,000?'

I think, if they got a double-storey extension and did it in keeping with what's already here,

you could be looking at £220,000, £240,000, depending how they did it.

Well, this is one of those properties that somebody is going to come along and fall in love with.

I mean, a lot of work to do,

but boy, oh, boy, could you turn this into something absolutely spectacular.

Let's find out what happened at the auction.

A detached, two-storey, three-bedroom character property

in the village of Lamerton. For those of you in the know, a very pretty and well-thought-of village.

How about 170?

160, I'll stand my ground for the house. 160. Are you serious? I'm serious.

160, thank you. At 160. I knew why you were waiting.

162 for 96 is what I'm asking. 160.

At 160. 162.

162. 164.

166. 168 do I? 166.

168.

169? 169.

169. 169.

At 169 for lot 96.

At 169. 169.

170. At 170.

At 170.

At 170 sat. At 170.

Once, then. Bring things to a head.

At 170 twice.

It's here at 170.

You're all missing it. Here we go. Last chance.

At 170 and selling at 170.

Sir, yours. That simple.

'With his successful bid of £170,000,

'the new headmaster of this former schoolhouse is Bill.

'He recently took early retirement from his city job in London.

'Now, with time on his hands and muscle in the guise of his son, Joe,

'it was exactly the project he was after.'

# I'm going right back to school

-Bill, Joe, nice to meet you both. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-What a great house.

-It's interesting, isn't it?

-Yeah, it is certainly that! Why did you want to buy it?

I saw it in the catalogue and I've been looking in the West Country for a while

with the idea that, in two or three years, I might move down here,

and it just looked like a fantastic stone-built house,

which I quite like, and an opportunity, because it was a wreck internally.

Fairly big decision to up roots and move from the big city into the little village.

Yes, but I just left my job about three months ago

-and I'm just looking for something to do with my life, so...

-OK.

-What do you think about your dad taking this on?

-At the start, I was a bit concerned,

but now I've seen it, it's got a lot of potential.

Right. And if your dad moved down here, would you end up visiting

-or coming down here yourself?

-Rarely, I think.

-It's a bit too cold.

-Too cold?

-Yeah.

'Well, he won't be too cold once he's worked up a sweat renovating the house.

'But there's one aspect that's giving me the chills.'

Do you have any experience of property renovation?

Er, no. None at all. Nil.

-Nil.

-Nil. But I have a friend who lives in Devon

who did a lot of property development around here,

mostly new build, but he has all the contacts, which is another good reason to do it here.

-It's a heck of a project for somebody with no experience.

-I guess it is, yes,

but, you know, dive it, why not?

'I'd say that's pretty brave.

'But he'll add more value if he keeps his costs down,

'so having local contractor knowledge is a big plus. Does he think it's a safe investment?'

Although the market is going down at the moment, I just think it's much better to have money in property

-than it is to leave it in the bank, especially as my money was in an Icelandic bank.

-No, it wasn't!

-It was.

-What happened?

-I got it out two weeks before they decided that they were going to close the doors.

-No!

-Yeah.

-How come you knew that?

-I didn't know.

-I was just lucky.

-You just randomly took your money out?

-No, to buy this place.

-Whoa! Really?

-Yeah.

'It seems this place has really been his lucky charm.

'What has he got planned for the refurbishment?'

The extension on the back at the moment, I think it dates from the 1970s.

It looks pretty rough to me, inside and outside. I want to take the single-storey extension off,

put a two-storey extension on the back with a new bathroom above where the current bathroom is,

a further bedroom.

Internally, take the divisions out that are there at the moment and put two bedrooms on the front.

Make it really three bedrooms. On the downstairs, kitchen coming out into the garden

with a sort of sun room on this south side here, looking towards the view,

-with a dining area in it.

-Wow.

On the other side of that, where the current bathroom is, I want a utility room and workshop.

-If I do move down here, I have a couple of motorcycles and I want to put them in there.

-Great!

That sounds like a fairly big extension and plans for this place.

-How much is that going to cost, do you think?

-My budget for the total renovation is about £50,000.

'Bill's hoping to get the work done in eight to ten months.

'But once he's renovated this gorgeous house and hopefully added to its charm and value,

-'what will he do with it?'

-I think I may sell it. I may sell it.

That wasn't the answer I was expecting. The way you were talking, I thought you were moving down here.

That really depends on how the money goes

and whether or not I can turn it into the place I want to live within that price,

because there are all sorts of things, like using the stone materials on the extension

and whether or not that's affordable, because I wouldn't like another breeze block and rendered extension.

Good luck with it all and I can't wait to see how you transform it.

-Thank you very much.

-Nice to meet you both.

Well, after a lucky escape getting his money out of the Icelandic banks,

Bill's banking on this property in Devon.

How is he going to get on? Well, he doesn't have very much experience in restoration

and this is a big project. The only way to find out is to join us later in the programme.

'I'm in Kilburn, Northwest London. Half an hour's brisk walk will get you into the city centre

'and you're just a stone's throw from fashionable Maida Vale and West Hampstead

'without their hefty price tags.

'Sometimes called County Kilburn due to its large Irish population.

'The big question is, will someone have the luck of the Irish with it?'

I love these typical North London streets, and I'm not the only one,

because properties with period character regularly achieve a higher resale price

than those with less charm. They hold their value better and they will always sell well.

Now, with that in mind, I'm pleased to say this is the flat we're here to see.

I know it's on the first floor, it's got one bedroom and it had a guide price of £185,000.

'Despite the bins, this street is pretty attractive and is just a few steps from the high street.

'The property itself appears well-kept judging by the exterior and the communal areas.

'They may be lacking in the looks department, but I've seen worse.'

Ooh, bit of a squeaky door! Little bit shabby on the inside, I have to say, and lots of doors.

We've got a big load of wasted space in there, an airing cupboard with a hot-water tank.

A huge bathroom through here.

And this would be the lounge. Now, the thing that strikes me about this flat

is it's not huge, it's not terribly wide,

but you have got masses of ceiling height

and, therefore, it makes you think that this is a big flat

when, actually, it's not that big in here.

You've got no features at all, so you could think about working with that,

putting in a fireplace and some nice coving and stuff.

A kitchen through here. Again, not terribly big. Not bad.

I reckon there's an awful lot you could do with this flat.

'And you'd start with a good clean.

'It's pretty grubby, with signs of neglects, but there's certainly scope for improvement.

'The bedroom is at the back with a little balcony area.

'I suppose an optimist would call that a roof terrace.

'So, what could you do to make this place more appealing?'

Not a great bedroom. How else could you think about improving this flat?

Option number one, you've got a wasted space in here.

How about opening all of this up and creating one large bedroom?

Because you've got that big cupboard in there doing nothing.

Option two, you've got a big bathroom, you could think about shifting this bathroom

and putting it into this area here,

and then you could use all the space in here for the kitchen,

have one huge kitchen, a lovely big dining table at the end by the window

and then you've got a fabulous place to entertain, to eat.

Or you may like open-plan living.

You could think about taking this wall out and shoving this kitchen over to this area over here.

I mean, you really have got quite a lot of options with this flat.

But, for me, moving that bathroom is key.

'Many of these conversions were done badly in the eighties and stud partitions put up willy-nilly.

'Now it's time to rearrange.

'Does a local estate agent think this flat is smashing

'or just a bit broken?'

The properties here are very popular,

largely due to the fact that they're quite big.

They're very good for converting, so bought at the right price,

it can be split into two separate units, which are very good for resale or rental.

'Once the refurbishment's been done, how much does he think it could be worth?'

Once it's been fully refurbed, I would put it on the market at just below 250

-and expect to achieve very close to that.

-'£250,000 is a pretty healthy valuation.

'If it was bought for close to that guide price of 185 grand,

'there could be money to be made here, even with the renovation costs.

'What about renting it out?'

I'd be looking to achieve in the region of £900 to £1,000 per calendar month quite easily.

So is this flat worth buying? I think, without a doubt, yes.

Property values in London vary hugely depending on where you are.

But you'd be hard-pushed to find a one-bed flat with these proportions in such a good location

for anything like this guide price.

It needs work, for sure, but in my opinion, it is a fantastic one to go for at the auction.

Lot 110. A well-located one-bedroom first-floor flat.

170, then.

170 I've got.

171. 175, yeah, OK.

180. 185.

186. 187, new place. 190.

195. 200.

201. 202. 203.

203.

204. 204? OK, 204.

205. 206.

207. 208.

209. No? Back to you.

Bid's at £208,000 against the gentleman sitting down.

It's with you two at the back. The bid's at £208,000.

208 for the first. 208 for the second.

208 for the third and final time. Are you all done? Sold!

208. Well bought.

'And that successful bid of £208,000 came from couple Andy and Anya.

'They've already been checking out all that Kilburn has to offer.'

# Apples, peaches, bananas and pears

'Have this pair got themselves a peach of a property?

'Andy has a background in IT

'and Anya, originally from Poland, does translation and voiceover work.

'The couple live in Surrey, but I met them back at their new flat to hear about the plans for it.'

Guys, congratulations.

So, what was the thought behind you wanting to buy this and why Kilburn?

We looked at five flats in total before the auction.

We had a budget in mind and we drew on a map the postcodes we could get to

within half an hour to an hour from our place.

And we wanted London because of the resale value and possible rental returns.

-How well do you know Kilburn?

-We've researched the area as much as we possibly could

and tried to find the good and the bad areas, areas that rent and don't rent,

and just basically driving, you get a general feeling for areas. We've come out late in the evenings

and just checked the local areas, just to see what we're comfortable with,

-and we've been to some where we haven't even got out of the car.

-So you're doing well so far!

-Well, we've got out and in.

-What is it that you two both do? Are you both property developers?

-We're trying to be.

-So do you have another job as well, Anya?

I do voice recording a little bit at the moment

and trying to find new properties.

-Andy, what about you?

-I just do the property development side now.

I've moved across to this. I also do engine building for go-karts once a week

and vehicle cleaning, as well.

What were you doing before all the property stuff?

I was a courier and I was in IT.

Basically, due to redundancies and everything, it pushed us in this way.

It was the plan to do it, but it just happened slightly quicker than we wanted.

So we thought we'd take the redundancy money and do something with it.

# Go on, take the money and run

'Here, here! I always like stories of turning challenges into positives

'and Andy and Anya are doing just that.'

# Go on, take the money and run

Anya, what was it about this flat that inspired you, that made you think, "I could do a lot with this"?

It's probably mostly the high ceilings

and it's a really big flat for a one-bedroom flat.

Although, I will say, I think the layout isn't as it should be.

I agree. The layout probably needs some work.

-This wall into the kitchen will probably go.

-This one here?

Yeah, make it all open-plan.

And also, I think it needs a good finish on it.

-It's going to be in competition against a lot of others.

-I think you can do a lot more with this place

than just take down this wall. My opinion is that you've got quite a lot of wasted space

between the bedroom and this room here. You've got a hot-water tank that could go and a big cupboard.

Have you thought about perhaps shifting that bathroom into that area?

It was an idea, possibly making that more of an en suite

and utilising the room that the bathroom leaves, cos it is a huge bathroom for a flat of this size.

'It certainly is. And with that extra space, you could turn the kitchen

'into a large kitchen-diner for entertaining. However, it will all depend on the budget.'

We've got about £25,000 to spend,

but I hope we're going to spend less than that

-and we're going to do most of the work ourselves.

-Are you now?

We're capable of doing all the work apart from the stuff we're not legally allowed to do,

such as electrics and gas. Everything else, we can do ourselves.

-So you're quite a hands-on couple?

-Yes, Anya usually does the designing and picks out the flaws

and I do the donkey work. And it seems to work well.

That's great, Anya! I like your style!

'I also approve of their preparation.

'They've been working towards marketing the property for around £250,000 once fully renovated,

'which is probably about spot-on. But to make it sell in this tricky market,

'they're going to have to pull out all the stops.'

How are you going to develop this? What's it going to look and feel like?

We want to go for a high-end feel,

make it nice, classy,

use real wood, not laminate, if we can,

make the kitchen really nice, spend money on really nice worktops.

Anya, do you agree with all of those things?

Erm, most of them, yes. He's got some silly ideas, like putting in a coffee machine,

building it into the kitchen, which I don't agree with.

I think that's a great idea!

That just gives your buyer that little something extra.

If you can get a good coffee machine at a good price, I think that's not a bad idea.

I wanted something where if you came to view this flat and three others,

you'd remember the one with the coffee machine.

How long do you think it's going to take?

We've been thinking... We could do all the work in four weeks,

but with suppliers and everything, the kitchen supplier is on a four-week leave,

-so I think it's probably going to be eight weeks.

-Guys, good luck with this.

I'm excited to see how it all turns out for you and you have done really well.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, Andy. Anya, thank you.

-Thank you.

So, a new career for Andy and Anya.

I'll be interested to see if they shift that bathroom.

It could make all the difference.

But you know what I reckon will help sell this place or get a tenant? That coffee machine!

Will they grind out a profit or will it have been a nightmare?

You can find out what happens later on in the show.

'Coming up, in Swindon, there's a kitchen that needs a few changes and then, before you know it...'

I'm talking myself into completely replacing the whole thing.

'In Kilburn, how did Andy and Anya get on during the renovation?'

When we've been together, we work well as a team. She'll probably totally disagree.

'But first, in Devon, after a lengthy delay, has Bill solved his problems?'

It's a big worry. "What's next?" is the question.

'Back to Devon now, and the village of Lamerton on the edge of Dartmoor.

'Earlier, we met Bill and his son Joe,

'who bought this dilapidated former schoolhouse for £170,000.

'The building was run-down and pretty much a shell,

'but it would be the perfect canvas for an experienced developer to build a beautiful house.

'Had Bill got the background to tackle this sort of renovation?'

-Er, no, none at all. Nil.

-Nil.

-Nil.

-It's a heck of a project for somebody with no experience.

-I guess it is, yes,

but dive in, why not?

'Well, let's hope he puts on a pair of rose-tinted spectacles,

'because a project this size could have many unseen problems.

'With plans for a two-storey extension, Bill has a 50 grand budget

'and an eight to ten month schedule to turn the house around.

'Well, those were the plans, but it was another 19 months

'till Bill called us back in. But it seems the wait has been worth it.

'Outside, the work still seems to be going on. But inside...

'The shell of the front room has been transformed into a wonderfully spacious living room.

'At the back, the planned extension has now added a new dimension to the ground floor.

'There's a large dining room and a beautiful kitchen.

'It's almost unrecognisable. And there's a good reason for that.'

From the original building, all that's probably left is the four walls and most of the roof.

There isn't anything else that remains, really.

From the ground floor slab that was taken up through to the exterior tiling, it's all been changed.

'Well, not all. Bill's kept that wonderful staircase that led to the schoolhouse's first floor.

'He's also retained the large main bedroom.

'But by rejigging the walls, he's created a second larger double bedroom

'and devoted the remaining space to a new loo.'

The piece I'm in now was the original girls' school, the first floor.

It just ends here where the stairway is

and then the new extension has been built on here.

'The extension above the kitchen now houses a small bedroom...

'..office space and a new bathroom, complete with shower.

'It's an impressive transformation, but with Bill originally planning an eight to ten month turnaround,

'it took a year just to get planning permission for the extension.'

The biggest obstacle seemed to be getting started,

making sure that you had everything lined up, and that includes planning permission,

and finding out that there was a problem with the foundations of the wall.

That was, I guess, a big worry, because "What's next?" is the question about that.

'13 months after buying the house, just as work was about to start,

'they knocked down the old lean-tos,

'which revealed the party wall had no foundations.

'So digging for the new extension couldn't start until the wall had been rebuilt with new foundations.

'Six months later, it's almost complete.'

As far as the work's concerned, it's all been done by professionals.

My son helped me clearing it out and making sure that it was ready for the work to start,

but professional work throughout. They've done everything from the foundations to the paintwork.

'There's a garage at the back, which is handy to have, and in general, this extension manages to continue

'the charm of the old schoolhouse.

'But what gives this house that extra-special appeal

'is that the extension has now made the views across the garden and beyond part of the character.

'And Bill has added his own personal touch at the front.'

So, I had the dragon put above the front door here.

I saw a dragon on the internet and I thought I'd quite like it.

It's a nice Victorian touch to the building.

I thought, on a rainy night, it would look spectacular with lightning above it.

There was a suggestion we put LEDs in the eyes, but I don't think I'll do that.

It's a finishing point for the building.

'It's certainly eye-catching. While Bill is proud of his efforts here,

'there is still something he's looking forward to.'

I think the favourite part is, strange thing to say,

is getting the final bill and knowing it's the final bill.

I don't want to pay any more. That's it. Stop spending the money.

# Maybe the last time

'With only some finishing work left to be done, hopefully Bill will get his wish soon.

'But, as an investment, will the house pay its way?

'Remember, he bought it for £170,000 and with that unexpected 19-month turnaround,

'his budget must have taken a hit.'

I thought, at the time, it would be between £50,000 and £80,000 to get all the work done.

It's actually an awful lot more than that. It's about £180,000, £190,000.

Er, the big difference, I think, has been the fact that I've done it to my specification

rather than doing it as a project to sell on.

I've had everything done that I wanted to have done myself,

as I do intend to live here.

'That's good news. But Bill's overspend

'could take his total outlay to £360,000.

'So, has he got the best out of the house?

'We asked two local property experts what they thought of Bill's renovation.'

Jaw-dropping conversion job.

Fantastic. Really one of the special ones.

I think it's a lovely property. It's unique, it's characterful

and it's set right in the heart of the village.

The juxtaposition of the old and the new is world class.

It's kind of seamless. You drift really nicely from one part to the other and back again.

It really is a very special job he's done here.

The layout of the property is very good. There are two bedrooms that are a bit on the small side,

but the refurbishment is done very well.

Lovely, well-fitted bathroom and it's just very nice all round, really.

'Good, positive vibes there. But does it work as an investment?

'Bill will be spending up to about £360,000 on the property.

'So, how much could it achieve if he sold it?'

The value of the house to somebody who wants to be in the sticks

but able to get to a lot of places,

the ceiling is probably about £300,000.

I would put this property on the market at £285,000.

That's pretty much as I expected, actually. Bang on.

Next door, I know, sold for slightly less than that, but it is a smaller house.

'At the moment, it may not be spectacular as an investment,

'but by breathing new life into this former schoolhouse,

'Bill isn't just investing in and building a new property,

'but making a new start for himself.

'And if it's half as good as this renovation, I'm sure it will be a great success.'

I hope my life to be, I guess, different and fresh,

and I want to explore the local area and take advantage of the beautiful countryside, especially Dartmoor.

'I've come to Swindon in Wiltshire, which is on the M4 between Bristol and London.

'Swindon has been named one of the 20 best places in Britain to buy property.

'So let's see what's on offer.'

I'm on the western edge of Swindon in an area called Greenmeadow.

I'm here to see a three-bedroom semi. It had a guide price of £135,000.

And you know what? It doesn't look too bad.

'Already, things are looking up, with off-street parking and a garage.

'Although the windows and roof look in pretty good shape, the house does seem a touch tired.'

It does look a little bit like it needs a bit of love and attention from the outside.

But, for a house this age, you're not going to expect too many major problems, I would say.

Nice little porch area there, through into the living room.

Not bad. I mean, I've definitely seen worse.

Through to a little rear area here, like a dining room, and I love these big patio doors out onto the garden.

It doesn't need that much at first glance.

'The downstairs area seems to work fine as it is,

'but whoever buys this will certainly need to clean the place up,

'sort out the carpet situation and give it a good lick of paint.

'Nothing too serious, though.'

I mean, you could even get away with the kitchen.

It would benefit from some money spending in here,

but if you were going to rent the place out, then tidy it up,

get a professional cleaner in here, do a bit of steam cleaning, maybe change the taps, the hobs,

maybe... Oh, you know what? I'm talking myself into completely replacing the whole thing.

It really depends what you plan to do with the place.

# Don't you want me, baby?

# Don't you want me, oh

'For rental, it pays just to get the house up to a serviceable standard,

'rather than waste money on unnecessary bells and whistles.

'If I were buying the place to live in or sell on,

'this kitchen would be ripped out and replaced with a shiny new one.

'What about upstairs?'

So, nice, wide staircase leading upstairs, then you come up here.

Separate bathroom and loo. Age-old question, do you make it into one or not?

I like keeping it separate, especially in a family house, which I think this would be perfect for.

Three bedrooms, really good size one at the back,

smaller box room there and then through to the third bedroom. It's got fairly old-fashioned

but pretty good storage space.

Again, it comes to, if you were going to rent this place out,

I don't think I'd do a lot. I'd probably replace the carpets,

do a bit of touching up here and there and then I think it's pretty much ready to go.

'So, the layout is all pretty standard and so is the garden.

'It's a good size and I reckon, with a bit of landscaping, a new patio

'and a few trees, it could be a lovely spot.

'All in all, this semi could make a pleasant little family home.

'It would be perfect for someone who was a bit shy of DIY.

'Let's hear what a local estate agent thinks of the place.'

This particular property, generally, is not in bad condition.

My views are that, downstairs, the layout is generally fine.

Upstairs, the only thing that I would suggest would be to bring the loo and the bathroom into one

to make one large bathroom to make the property far more saleable.

'How much rent could this semi generate?'

My opinions are, on a rental valuation, once the property has been renovated,

it would be worth in the region of £600 per calendar month.

'And if put up for sale?'

Once the property has been renovated to a good standard,

My estimate for resale value would be in the region of £165,000.

Well, a nice little family home or a rental property here in Greenmeadow.

So let's see who fancied pastures new when it went under the hammer.

Lot number 17, three bedrooms.

Needs a bit of updating, we know.

Where are you going to start me for lot 17?

135? No?

130, then. We'll start at £130,000.

We'll go in twos. At 130,000, selling lot 17.

At 130. 132 may I say?

At £132,000. 4 if you like. 134.

136. 138 to you, sir.

At £136,000. 138. 138. Now 40 if you will.

The bid is over there on the right-hand side at £138,000.

OK, I'll take 40 if you like. Or 39 if you'd rather.

Otherwise, it's £138,000 for the first time.

£138,000 for the second time.

140, OK. 140. 2, sir, if you like.

I'll take the hand at the back at £140,000.

2 anyone? Yes or no? I'll take 1 if you like.

Otherwise, £140,000 at the back for the first time.

140 for the second time. At 140,000, third and last time if you're done.

And the number at the back, sir, is, which I can't see...

76, OK. Thank you very much.

'For £140,000, the new owner is local property developer David.

'We've met David before on the programme, back in 2006.

'Then he'd taken on a massive building project in the nearby town of Hook.

'But when we last saw him, that project hadn't come to much.'

David, congratulations. Well done. And good to meet you again.

-And yourself.

-Now, last time we met you was February 2006

-and I think we were standing in some decrepit portakabiny wooden thing.

-That's correct.

-How did that all go?

-It took its time, but we actually managed to get planning permission

and sold the houses in February '08.

-Right. Cos when we first came back to see you...

-Not a lot else had happened.

We didn't get the planning permission at that time, but eventually we got it

-and managed to build the houses and sell them just before the big crash.

-So a successful end.

-Yeah.

'In fact, after spending £500,000 on them,

'David managed to sell the two four-bed houses

'for over £700,000 in total. That left him with a healthy profit.

'Not bad for someone who wasn't originally a property developer.'

Remind me about your history, your past.

I started out as an electronics engineer

and then progressed to being an area manager in replacement windows and conservatories.

I know that's a bit of a leap, but it worked,

and that's where I got my background for being able to do properties, from conservatories, bay windows,

and all the other building stuff.

And when you're not doing property stuff, what do you do?

I do a lot of internet betting. I say things are going to lose rather than win.

-Oh?

-Cos with horses, the favourites only win 30 percent of the time.

-Right.

-So I will say a horse is going to lose or a team is going to lose a football match

-and then make money that way.

-Right. Does that make much money?

-Approximately about £500 a week.

-Oh, OK! That's worth doing.

-Not bad.

-And is that a sideline?

-Mostly, I do more of that than anything else.

-Right.

'So, that's very interesting. David's bread and butter comes from internet betting.

'And it's the property developing he now does as a sideline.'

It's very local to where I am. I'm five minutes away.

The price was right, at the end of the day.

The ceiling limit, realistically, was about £140,000 to buy it,

cos you can only sell it for about 165.

There's about £10,000 of work to be done on the property, so that leaves approximately £15,000 to be made.

-Right. So is the idea, then, to buy it, do it up and sell it on?

-Yes.

-Not rent it out?

-Possibly. It depends. If I can't sell it straight away, I will rent it, yeah.

-What are you planning to do to it?

-The ceilings upstairs need to be skimmed,

because there's water damage from a leaking tank in the loft.

New bathroom. Internal doors need to be replaced.

Magnolia gloss and a new carpet.

-What about the kitchen?

-Erm, that's going to cost approximately £1,000 for the kitchen.

It looked better when I first came in.

Now, having a second look at it, it does need updating.

I was hoping to get away with that, but I think it needs to be replaced.

-And outside?

-Erm, fencing. There isn't any boundary fences there at the moment.

They need to be replaced.

There is a problem outside with the toilet upstairs, where you've got the overflow,

there was a plastic pipe that had been bodge-repaired, but now it's been taken away,

so there's just a hole now, so that needs to be repaired.

And both the garage doors need to be replaced.

'So, a fair bit a work still to be done,

'but thankfully, nothing structural or particularly expensive.

'I reckon the house will look fabulous once completed.'

-Who's going to do the work?

-I will be doing most of the work,

but the skimming of the ceilings and the carpets will be done by other people I know.

-Any idea how long it's going to take?

-Approximately eight weeks.

So what after this one for you? What's next?

Depending on what the auction brings, I can't tell whether it's going to be a brand new build or a refurbishment.

But you don't seem to be too phased taking on anything. You can go the whole range of opportunities.

-Yeah.

-Good. We look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Congratulations and good luck with it.

-Thank you.

Well, David certainly seems to know what he's doing with this place.

But I'm a little bit concerned that he did pay the top end of his budget to buy it

and I don't think there's that much money to be made.

He's got to keep a real tight rein on what he spends sorting it out.

Find out how he gets on later in the show.

Well, time has past. Let's return to those properties and find out what's happened.

-Will we recognise them? Will they look as good as new?

-Let's hope so.

'We return now to Kilburn in Northwest London where, earlier, we met Andy and his wife, Anya,

'who bought this one-bedroom flat for £208,000.

'They'd just moved into property developing after Andy was made redundant,

'so felt this was a good project to start on.

'They agreed on the big changes for this flat, but for Anya from Poland,

'it looked like it was the little things that might prove a problem.'

Some silly ideas, like putting in a coffee machine, building it into the kitchen.

-I don't agree with that.

-I think that's a great idea.

'It's now three months later. Time to head back to see if Andy did get his coffee machine.

'Step through the front door and immediately you'll find

'that the living room has been refurbished and looks much fresher. There's a fantastic fireplace.

'And that shabby kitchen is now cool and contemporary

'with a much grander entrance to match the interior.'

Originally, the door was here, and we were going to make it open-plan,

but decided that not everyone liked open-plan, so we've got a nice big archway rather than a doorway

and that adds light from the kitchen window into the lounge.

Also, it makes the kitchen look slightly bigger. And I managed to get my coffee machine.

'Elsewhere in the flat, a new bathroom suite has been installed.

'And that back bedroom has been refurbished. So it looks like a straightforward renovation.'

Everything was a challenge here.

I mean, the building's quite tall so we were suspecting...

I think the most problems we had in the bathroom.

We were going to move the bathroom into the bedroom, but I couldn't get the plumbing underneath the floor.

It was mainly the toilet waste, which would've been more of a problem than the sink waste.

Also, the bathroom just wasn't big enough in the bedroom, so we left it where it was.

'I reckon they've done a pretty good job. The couple did most of the work

'but although Andy did the plumbing, they had tradesmen in to re-plaster and rewire.

'Anya's main role was to oversee the design. And, with space in the flat at a premium,

'the washing machine will eventually find its way into the cupboard in the hall.

'But it seems there was an unexpected bonus when it came to storage space.'

When we went for the fuse box, we came across that this cupboard was ours.

The lady downstairs, who's lived here for a number of years, said the fuse box was in here.

And when we opened the door, we realised that it's absolutely huge.

It's got the high ceiling, as well, so the new owners can put loads of storage in there,

put some racks, coats, whatever, and it's fabulous.

'There's a good level of finish throughout and Anya's eye for design has certainly been useful here,

'with this fireplace especially taking pride of place.

'Originally, the couple had a timescale of eight weeks,

'but ended up spending 11 weeks getting the flat in shape, working together.'

Erm, it's been interesting. She can dodge things when I've been throwing them

because I've thrown my toys out of the pram. No, it's been really good working with her.

We haven't always been together working, so we've had the break.

But when we've been together, we work well as a team. She'll probably totally disagree.

We're actually doing really well together. In the flat, he's doing one thing, I'm doing another,

so we're not really in the way much. Sometimes, yeah, I do help him with other stuff.

So we're doing really well.

'Even if Andy did get his coffee-making machine.

'For their first venture into property developing, they've got a good product in a sought-after area.

'But, with plans to sell, is it going to work as an investment?

'They bought it for £208,000, so how much has the budget added to their spend?'

The original budget was £25,000 on top of the purchase price, which was 208,

which would've brought us to 233, and I think we've come in at £229,500.

'I love it when people do the job for less than they budgeted.

'But will the outlay of just under £230,000 prove a good investment?

'We asked along two local estate agents to find out what they thought of the flat.'

First impressions, it's been restored to a pretty good standard.

An exceptional kitchen and bathroom which appeals to this price range.

The first impressions of the flat, it's a nice, clean conversion.

He kept it plain and simple and used reasonably good quality fitments.

I most like about the flat how bright it is and the high ceilings.

Positives - fabulous sash windows,

beautifully restored kitchen and bathroom.

The position is also a fantastic asset for the flat.

It's very close to the Tube and lots of vibrant shopping parades nearby.

'So how well has Andy and Anya's investment done?

'Remember, they spent just under 230 grand.

'So how much could the flat fetch if sold on?'

I would ideally like to see this come on the market at the stamp duty threshold of £250,000,

because there I know there is an existing market.

But, if the owner was in no particular hurry, you could test the market at £270,000.

I think, if this flat was to come on the market, it would be in and around £270,000.

Oh, right. OK. That's more than we were thinking. A lot more than we were thinking.

'That would mean a possible pre-tax profit of between £20,000 and just over £40,000.

'What could a rental return achieve?'

I would say that we would rent this flat out in the region of £1,000 per calendar month.

I think you'd get £1,250 per calendar month for the flat.

-That was about the figures we were thinking of.

-Yeah.

We were thinking between £250 and £300 a week, which would be around those figures.

'A potential rental return of £1,250 per calendar month

'could give the couple a yield of 6.5 percent.

'So this flat should prove a winner, whatever they decide to do.

'I wouldn't be surprised to see Andy and Anya follow up their success with another visit to an auction.'

Yes, definitely. It's a lot easier to buy from an auction.

And it's quicker, as well. You don't have the hassle of the estate agents pushing you for more money,

and also, when the hammer goes down, it's yours.

'Back in Swindon, experienced property developer David

'snapped up this three-bed semi for £140,000.

'It really needed just a good makeover so, for David,

'who'd appeared on the show before when he bought an old bungalow on some scrub land

'and put two new builds on it, this house was never going to be a difficult project.

'So, three months later, had this been as straightforward as it appeared?

'Well, the outside's been tidied up. There's a new garage door

'and it's now got a proper side gate into the garden.

'While inside...

'..it's clean and refurbished, exactly as you might expect of someone with David's experience.'

As you can see, we've completely refurbished the kitchen.

We've skimmed the walls, the ceilings, done the new cooker, and I think it looks 100 percent better.

'So, with the kitchen revamped, what about upstairs?

'Once again, David has maximised what was here already,

'keeping the perfectly serviceable bathroom suite and redecorating all the rooms.

'And with newly fitted neutral carpets throughout,

'he's made the house look as good as new.

'And he's followed the same practical approach in the garden.'

As you can see, we've refurbished the whole of the patio area,

put a new patio down, put mulch all down the garden

and put a step along here, which I think is very attractive.

It makes the garden look a lot tidier, a lot neater, and it's south-facing for the sunshine.

'This is the perfect property developer's garden.

'It's neat and tidy and shows off the space well.

'It offers a completely blank canvas for any new owner

'and it finishes off the three-bed house perfectly.'

I was on site nearly every day

and the work that I personally couldn't do, I couldn't skim the ceilings,

cutting of worktops and units, fitting of patio areas,

I didn't do those parts, but everything else I did myself.

'But the key to any successful property development isn't just the work you do,

'it's also knowing what not to do.'

We didn't actually replace the boiler for a new combi-boiler due to the cost.

This is a project where you're supposed to earn some money. The bath and the sink are fine.

There's nothing wrong with those. Just needed a spruce up.

There is a limit of how much money you can spend on a property to earn profit at the end of the day.

# See us fade away, it's all about the money

'Exactly. You can do the best job in the world, but overspend and you wave goodbye to any profit.'

Our budget was originally £10,000, but because of the overrun,

we've spent approximately £11,500.

'Add that to David's purchase price of £140,000

'and that could take the total spend just to over £151,000.

'So he may have slightly overspent on his budget,

'but he hopes the returns will make it all worthwhile.

'After staking over £151,000 in total,

'has this professional gambler chosen a safe bet with this three-bed house?

'What do two local estate agents think?'

It's beautifully presented, as you would expect for a refurbishment.

Nice fitted kitchen. Bathroom's very tidy, as well.

Usual magnolia from a refurbishment, which is a great blank canvas for somebody, so very nicely done.

The owner has improved the property and generally modernised it.

He's kept the property neutral and that will suit all types of buyer.

'Ideally, David would sell the house if he could get the right price.

'Otherwise, he'd be happy to rent it out.'

Generally, three-bed properties are very easy to rent.

I would expect he would get somewhere around £650 a month.

This would certainly make a fantastic buy-to-let investment

and, per calendar month, we would expect to achieve something in the region of £650.

On the rental side of things, I've already been offered £700 a month for this property.

I know the estate agents say about £650,

but at the moment, mortgages are harder to come by,

so property rentals are just that little bit extra and people are paying a bit more.

'That's not a bad rental return.

'But will David's £151,000 investment pay off?'

I would market this property at about £170,000

and I would expect to achieve something around £160,000 to £165,000.

In my opinion, for sale, I would estimate a price in the region of £165,000.

As far as resale values are concerned, I'm going to try and sell it for the first couple of months

and I'm going to try for 175, 180. If someone buys it, all well and good. If they don't, I'll rent it.

'So, whichever way you look at it, whether he rents or sells, there will be a decent return.

'So he must be glad he took this one on.'

Yeah, I'm pleased we bought this. I think it'll be a worthwhile investment

either for selling or for renting.

And I look forward to doing the next one.

'Since filming, although David did have interest from potential tenants,

'he's decided to put the house straight onto the market for £179,950.

'That's because he would now like to move onto a new project.

'I, for one, wouldn't be at all surprised if he makes another success of whatever he buys next.'

We'll be back next time to whet your appetite with more auction properties.

-We hope we've inspired you on Homes Under The Hammer.

-See you then.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

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