Episode 11 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello! Lucy and I are real property enthusiasts.

One reason is that, over the years, it's been a rock-solid investment,

-despite the recent downturn.

-So where can you find potentially great properties to buy?

-At auction!

Whether you're buying property as an investment or as somewhere to live,

you still need to make sure you're going to get a good deal.

The question is, did today's buyers manage that? Here's what they bought.

'Let's hope this semi in Telford, Shropshire, ends as well as it begins.'

All in all, a real good start.

'I detect a problem with this property in Kent.'

When I see cheeky pieces of cladding nailed to the wall like this,

I often wonder, what is that hiding?

'And in Morden, Surrey, the best buys aren't always the most attractive houses.'

Sometimes it's the unseeded properties that turn out to be winners.

'All these properties have been sold at auction and we find out who bought them and what they paid

-'when they went under the hammer.'

-Well done.

'A visit to Ironbridge in Shropshire gives a glimpse of a bygone age.'

Well, for tourists in Victorian times, Ironbridge in Shropshire

would've been a pretty smoggy place to visit,

with factories belting fumes all over the place.

But they came to marvel at the iron bridge itself

which changed the face of construction techniques the world over.

Nowadays, the gorge has reclaimed its green and there are industrial museums

rather than the industry itself. It's like stepping back in time, only a much greener place to visit.

'The iron bridge was truly revolutionary,

'the first one made of cast iron.

'The whole area was busy buzzing due to the industrial revolution

'and one of the leading lights at the time was Thomas Telford.

'Just a few miles down the road is the town that bears his name,

'but there is certainly nothing 18th century about this place.'

This whole area was basically constructed in the 1960s and 1970s

to revive a former coal-mining area,

and the property I'm here to see was probably built around that time.

A three-bed semi-detached at a guide price of 65,000 quid. Let's take a look.

'The estate it sits on seems reasonable and it's got welcome patches of greenery.

'And there's a park and play area nearby, too.

'So, £65,000 as a guide price for a three-bed semi? That seems pretty good value to me.'

So, what have we got? A reasonable size entrance hall with some useful storage. Stairs up to the bedrooms.

Nice size front living room. We like that.

It may look like it's got double glazing, but it's just single, so you'd maybe want to replace that.

But here's a room I really like. It's a kitchen-cum-dining area.

A really useful family living space.

If this wasn't here, I'd suggest that you create something like this,

so I'm delighted that it already exists. I would consider some really nice doors out onto the back garden,

cos you've got open aspect, which is really pleasant. Shame that somebody's broken the window.

Maybe a bit of vandalism. And an odd place for the boiler. But, all in all, a real good start.

'It's a bit rough and ready and that broken window is hardly a welcoming feature,

'but I think there's plenty of potential here.

'The kitchen does need a lot of attention, though.

'But there's not much wrong with the front room that a thorough makeover couldn't sort out.

'Upstairs, the three bedrooms range from a decent-sized double to a rather small single.

'But the bathroom's OK.

'Add to that a good-sized if overgrown garden,

'and I can't help feeling that, at that auction guide price of £65,000,

'this could actually make a very solid rental property.'

Put a bit of money into this place, you could rent it out for around £550 a month.

That's a ten percent yield.

Oh, yes, ugly ducklings sometimes do turn into beautiful swans.

# You're beautiful

# You're beautiful

# You're beautiful, it's true

'So, with my property developing hat on, I see this in a new light.

'Bought for the right price as a long-term investment, this could bring in a pretty penny.

'What does a local estate agent make of this place?'

First impressions, it does need quite a lot of work doing to it.

I would suggest a brand new kitchen. You probably need to put new windows in.

They are PVC, but they're all single glazed.

It needs a brand new fence at the back as well as some landscaping,

putting a driveway at the front, many properties have done that,

and that would make it attractive,

particularly if it was on the open market.

'Once done up, how would this house, that was guided at £65,000, fair on the resale market?'

For the property in its current condition, I would suggest an estimate price of £70,000.

Once the works have all been completed, potentially you could see some uplift to £90,000 to £95,000.

'That does mean that, potentially, a resale would provide some return.

'But with a possible £550 a month rental income,

'the real money is definitely in the lettings market.'

Well, this house may not have any Victorian charm,

but it does have the potential to deliver a return that any business person would be proud of.

Let's see who spotted the opportunity at the auction.

Lot number 30 is a three-bedroom semi-detached house,

requires modernising and has gardens to front and rear. What shall we say for lot 30?

Can we can 50 to get it going? 50 can I say?

50 seated. Thank you. At 50,000. At 50,000.

55 can I say now? At £50,000. 55 can I say?

£55,000.

60? £60,000.

65 is it? At £60,000. 65.

At 65, then, for the first time.

65 and a half. 66.

66 and a half. 67.

67 and a half. 68.

Do you want to go 69? 69.

70? 70. 71?

71. 72.

Shaking his head. With you, still, at £72,000.

Lot number 30. Bid's at 72. I'm selling at 72.

72 for the first time.

At 72 for the second time.

Third and final time. All done?

Your lot, sir. Well done.

'And the new owner, hiding away from us but not the auctioneer, is Daryl.

'He paid £72,000 for the three-bed semi in Telford.'

-Daryl, lovely to meet you.

-Thank you.

-Why did you want to buy this place?

I just thought it was a reasonable buy and I'm trying to make a little bit of money, hopefully.

-Tell me a bit more about you?

-I'm a builder.

I've done lots of renovation and new builds for other people, clients,

and things for myself in the past and lived in them.

Right. So what made you make the leap into doing more of an investment property?

I just had a little bit of money that was sitting in the bank and it was doing no good,

so I decided to do something that I knew somebody else had done and they said it's pretty easy to do,

so I'll try and have a go at it.

Bit of a leap of faith? Are you a bit nervous or not?

I wouldn't say I was nervous, but it's a leap of faith a little bit, but I don't think I'm going to lose.

# We gotta keep the faith

'Daryl's been in the building trade for 20 years, so he's not short on experience.

'But it's still quite a big step to go it alone. It's one thing when it's somebody else's money,

'quite another if it's your own.'

So why did you pick this particular house?

Because, basically, it was one of five that I kind of liked

and all the others were too high.

And by the time this one came along, I think everybody had kind of spent up

and it was left at a level that I could afford, so I snapped it up.

-Had you seen inside before you bought it?

-Only through the windows.

-Why?

Because we couldn't get a key. And to peer through the windows was kind of enough.

I couldn't really see anything drastic.

-But you are a builder.

-I am.

-So you know what you're looking for.

-Yeah.

-Not a good thing for most people to do.

-Probably not.

-So tell me exactly what you are going to do to sort this place out.

I think I'm going to over-board the ceilings and skim them,

cos they're pretty diabolical.

Maybe skim the walls. Take the skirtings off, take the doors off, renew them.

New kitchen, new bathroom suite, insulate the loft, do the garden, tidy it up, hopefully sell it.

-That's the idea, to sell it on quickly?

-Yeah.

Roughly what budget have you put aside for the work?

-Between £8,000 and £10,000.

-Right.

'Daryl will do the plastering and decorating himself,

'but will call on his contacts in the trade to do the other jobs.

'He hopes to turn it round in just one month.

'I can't help wondering whether he's doing the right thing by putting it straight back on the market.'

The big thing that struck me about the property is its rental potential.

You could generate a reasonable return. Is that something you'd consider?

You know, at the end of the day, if it's sitting round for 12 months, it's dead money,

and if I don't think I can sell it within six to eight months, maybe I would look down that line,

but it's something that I would look at as a last resort, perhaps.

Why are you so against renting?

I wouldn't say I'm against renting, but for myself, because I want to turn the house over and do it again.

So if I'm renting it out, I'm kind of stuck in one position.

-Good luck and we look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thanks.

# Ain't nothin' goin' on but the rent

Hm. I think Daryl might be missing a trick here.

His profit margins are really tight,

so why not rent it out for a year and see what happens?

Still, he seems pretty set on selling. How is he going to get on transforming this place

and will he change his mind? You can find out later in the show.

'I'm in the riverside town of Chatham in Kent.

'Although over 30 miles from the capital,

'you can now get to London by rail in about 40 minutes on the new high-speed rail link.

'That has really revitalised this part of the country.'

It's too early yet to see what effect that rail link will have on house prices,

as domestic services have been up and running only a short while, but the signs are good.

So what was up for auction? Well, it's this three-bedroom mid-terrace house

and it's just minutes from the station and town centre.

And the guide price? Well, £120,000 to £125,000.

Ooh, now, that collapsed wall there doesn't look too good.

Signs of subsidence possibly? Not a great start.

# Things

# Can only get better

# Can only get better

Well, I was hoping, once inside, things would perk up a little,

but sadly, no. Lots of brown and beige everywhere.

You've got this ugly 70s door. But look. You've got some pretty little stained-glass windows here,

so that's nice. But it's terribly dated.

Old-fashioned carpets and wallpaper, swirly carpets in here. But you have got to look beyond that.

A really nice size reception room here and a second reception room here

with some flaking wallpaper at the back. I'll have to investigate that a bit further.

But you've got some nice doors leading out to the garden. And the kitchen!

That's quite disappointing. It's a bit small for this size of house.

And I can smell something that smells like damp.

# One, two, three, four, five senses working overtime

# Trying to take this all in

# I've got one, two, three, four, five

When I see cheeky pieces of cladding nailed to the wall like this,

I often wonder, what is that hiding?

If you pull it back, you can see there are some serious damp issues.

All the wall here is flaking away, the plaster's coming away,

it smells and, of course, it's on the party wall, the wall you share with your next-door neighbour.

Now, the party wall act of 1996 states that any work on a party wall that exceeds rewiring,

hanging shelves and replastering needs a party wall notice.

That's basically a statement of the work you need doing,

in this case, some damp-proofing.

That needs to be given to your neighbour, who should agree to it in writing.

If they don't, you have to get a surveyor to draw up a party wall award

which will set out exactly what you can do in accordance with the act.

It's damp all right. It may even be coming from the next-door neighbour.

Let's hope they agree to this being treated.

'Since it's in the neighbour's interest as well as yours to get it sorted,

'it shouldn't be too much of an issue, but it needs to be addressed and soon.'

So, upstairs, you've got three bedrooms and a bathroom here on the end.

At least there's a white bathroom suite, so with a bit of decoration, you could jazz that up a little bit.

This is the biggest of the three bedrooms. Really good size.

This house would be great for a family.

But something that always puts me off, boilers in bedrooms.

It's quite a big boiler. I would say it's about ten years old.

You can buy a new boiler these days which is about half the size, a combi boiler,

stick it in the kitchen. But, in this instance, you've got to think about rerouting all this pipe work

and that can be quite expensive. So you have got a couple of options.

You could box this in or even think about putting it upstairs in the loft. Something to think about.

# It ain't right, don't you know it ain't right?

# Don't you know, it ain't right?

Well, that's one thing up here that's not quite right.

But what about the rest of the bedrooms?

The smallest bedroom is pretty small, but there's another good size double.

'The bathroom's adequate but in need of updating.

'The outside space is great, a long garden with the bonus of a greenhouse and a shed.

'There's also plenty of room to extend the property if you so wished.

'Financially, there may be more that's right than wrong.

'But what does a local estate agent think?'

The house itself is a nice house. It's got a nice feel to it,

it's got a nice design, but it does need upgrading.

There is a number of issues here. There's an issue of damp, which is quite prominent,

and I think they do seriously need to get somebody out urgently to have a look at it.

And I think, downstairs, it needs opening up.

It has the typical little kitchen.

'OK, so definitely some thoughts needed on how to increase the kitchen size.

'But, if everything were updated, how would this house, that was guided at £120,000 to £125,000,

'do if it was put up for sale?'

I'd be looking at around about £145,000 to £155,000 for the property.

'So there's not a massive uplift here. Maybe rental would be the better choice.'

If the property was put up to rent,

then we'd be renting the property at around £675 per calendar month

to £695 per calendar month.

Rental figures are pretty good, but if you're looking for a quick turnaround,

I don't think this house is the one for you.

# It ain't right, it ain't right

I think you'll agree, there's a handful of positives here, but also some negatives.

The damp problems, the collapsed wall, the boiler in the bedroom.

But also, a word of caution.

Do your research and see what's going to make your house worth more in the long run.

That's what I'd advise. So let's see who wanted this when it went under the hammer.

67 we go to now, which is a vacant bay-fronted house for improvement.

Three bedrooms, freehold, it's got vacant possession. Give me 100.

Deal of the day. £100,000. I'm on the way.

At 100 I've got. And 5 now do I see?

105 I'm bid. 110 it's against you.

110. It's in the room. 120. 130, see if you can knock him out?

130 if you like. 130 do you want to say? 130 I've got.

And 40. 140. And 2. And 4.

144. 143. 144.

143 on the left. 144 I'm looking for.

144? Yep. And 5.

One more. He didn't want to pay 144, you know that. You can see it.

You're watching him like a hawk, aren't you?

145 can I say? Just see if I'm wrong. Bid it and see if I'm wrong.

145? I might be wrong and then he'll be 146.

You're not going to say it? No? Definitely not?

You're a man of resolve, aren't you? At 144, then.

I have for the first time. 144 bid for the second time.

At 144, it's going to be your house, sir. Third and final time.

Yours at 144 and it's 9405. Thank you.

'For £144,000, 19 grand above the guide price,

'the new owners of the three-bed terraced house in Chatham are Mark and Adrian, who live locally.'

Guys, congratulations.

Thank you so much for coming along today.

What was your thinking behind wanting to buy this?

We liked this house because we thought it would appeal to families. It's a big residential area,

served by good schools that we both know,

so we thought it was going to be a good buy.

You are a familiar face. We've met before on Homes Under The Hammer.

-You bought a house in Gillingham a few years ago.

-A terraced house, yep.

-So you're obviously still property developing.

-Yes.

-And you've got a new partner now.

-Yep, I've started with Mark on this one.

We've known each other a few years and he's done a bit before,

so we decided to join up as a team and go for it.

'Mark has a financial background and has been a property investor for the last ten years,

'while Adrian owns his own double-glazing company.

'So, between them, they have a wide range of skills.

'Mark and Adrian have known each other for nearly eight years.'

Adrian, why did you go into business with Mark?

Actually, Mark put the idea to me, really, cos we were talking about potentially doing another property

and that's why we decided to join forces and perhaps make the costs a bit more equal over the project.

What sort of different things can you both bring to the table?

Ade has an awful lot of experience with the doors, windows,

anything to do with the soffits, fascias, conservatories, he's the number one man.

So my side is all the internal bits and pieces,

so the decorating, the carpets, all those sort of contacts.

And also we both have contacts with plumbers, electricians.

So, with years dealing with those tradesmen, we can each bring in our own contacts,

play them off against each other and get an even better price than we could get individually.

I love it! That is music to my ears!

'Well, they say there's strength in numbers and it certainly seems that Mark knows how to wheel and deal.'

What was it that you really liked to want to buy it?

Both of us had the same feelings about it. It's quite a nice family home.

It's got the right look and it's a nice feel when you come in, even in this state.

What did you think about the damp problem you have? There's a bit of subsidence outside on the wall.

There's a few things here and there that need looking at. Didn't any of that put you off?

A little damp on this wall here, a little bit of damp on that wall there.

Neither of them are major problems.

And the garden wall outside I wouldn't call a major issue at all.

-Something that's just dropped over the years?

-Yeah, we can easily fix it.

'I guess that with all the knowledge these two bring to this property, most of the issues won't be new.

'If they don't know how to sort it, they probably know somebody who does.

'This experience has also taught them how much it's worth spending on renovation.'

-What sort of budget have you got in mind to do the work?

-We've looked at about £15,000

and we've allowed a contingency of about £5,000, so hopefully we're going to come in under £20,000.

-And what sort of kitchen and bathroom are you looking at?

-The kitchen is very small,

so it's a question of trying to utilise some of the space in this room

and come through this wall to open up a larger area

and make it into a kitchen-diner, a more modern, open space.

-So you're not thinking of increasing the footprint?

-Not within the budget.

You've got a fair size garden out there. It's a shame, because this would be fantastic

-with that bit of extra space out the back.

-Yes, and it would be lovely to put a conservatory on the back,

which we could do at a decent price, but it's a question of what is the house going to achieve

at its maximum in the current climate?

So we're working to improve the property, but at the same time, conscious of market prices.

-It seems like you've got quite a bit of energy and you two are raring to go.

-Yes, we'll start this afternoon.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Guys, congratulations.

Adrian, it's great to meet you again and I'm glad you're still sticking with the properties.

-Mark, lovely to meet you.

-And you.

-Thank you.

# Yeah, it's always better when we're together

'Well, it'll be interesting to see if two heads really are better than one.'

The boys, between them, have a good set of skills and the tools to do the job.

But remember, they paid £19,000 over the guide price,

they're spending £15,000 to £20,000 on this property.

How much of a profit are they going to be left with?

And are they underestimating that damp problem?

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

'Coming up, in Morden, Surrey, this two-bed house starts OK.'

But then it gets a bit weird as you walk towards the kitchen.

'Back in Chatham in Kent, we discover how this new property developing partnership works.'

It's a little bit of me, a bit of him, a bit of me, to and fro.

'But first, in Shropshire, Daryl's had his ups and downs

'with his first refurbishment.'

It's a big rollercoaster ride.

'Ironbridge in Shropshire was at the centre of the industrial revolution

'and symbolised the new age of civil engineering.

'Just a few miles away is the town of Telford.

'Built in the 60s and 70s,

'it was named after the famous engineer, Thomas Telford.

'It was here that local builder Daryl decided to start his own personal revolution,

'moving from building work for other people to doing it for himself.

'So, for £72,000, he bought this three-bed semi that seemed perfect for the rental market.

'But for him, this purchase was all about getting in and getting out.'

-Why are you so against renting?

-I wouldn't say I'm against renting

but, for myself, because I want to turn the house over and do it again.

So if I'm renting it out, then I'm kind of stuck in one position.

'Although structurally sound,

'the house itself needed complete modernisation.

'But, with Daryl's experience, contacts and an £8,000 to £10,000 budget,

'he could at least potentially get the house ready quickly,

'even if he couldn't guarantee a quick sale.

'Just under four months later, we're back to see how it's going.

'And it's looking good from the outside, with new off-street parking and double-glazed windows.

'There's a new front door which has even got its own little porch.'

I decided to do it because I just had a little bit of money in the bank

and rather than having it sitting there and not doing anything,

I thought maybe I could earn a bob or two doing a house up.

'So, how is it looking inside?

'Well, the kitchen has now been overhauled, with new units and fittings.

'The dining space now has laminate floors and new windows,

'although, sadly, the old boiler is still here.

'Meanwhile, the front living room's been spruced up

'and the fireplace reinstated with a gas fire installed.

'So, has this worked out as well as Daryl hoped?'

It's a big rollercoaster ride,

trying to fit things in around the house

and around work.

Generally, a pain in the bum.

'It's never easy when you have a full-time job and you're trying to renovate a property, as well.

'And although four months have passed since our first visit,

'Daryl and his team did do most of the work over a five-week period.

'That's pretty impressive when you consider he's done the whole house from top to bottom.

'It's been decorated and upgraded throughout,

'with new electrics, plumbing and bathroom suite.

'It's now just the back garden that needs some finishing touches.'

The garden was a total mess. All across here was all broken concrete, so we took it up.

And there was all rubble and there was a massive eight-foot fence that somebody had knocked together.

We had to drop all that and we've levelled it,

sorted it out. Another day and we'll be sorted.

'So, there's more to do before that back garden's transformed

'from a building site into a low-maintenance family garden.

'But the front area's completely finished.'

It was grass with some bricks and rubble in it and a fence to here,

so we've took it down, the fence, dug it out and created a space for two cars, really.

Just tidied it up a little bit, I think.

'All in all, the house is nearly ready to go

'and the bulk of the money has been spent.

'So, how much has it cost to get it ready for the resale market.

# Get ready cos here I come

I spent nearly 12, but due to the fact that I wasn't planning on putting new windows in or doors in

and they've kind of upped the budget, but if I hadn't put them in, I'd be on target.

'A £12,000 spend on top of Daryl's £72,000 purchase price

'along with costs takes his total outlay to around £90,000.

'So, is the current market right for a quick resale?

'What's the opinion of two local property experts?'

The property has been done to a good standard for this type of property.

I'm glad to see he's put the driveway at the front.

The only thing I would say does need finishing off is the rear garden.

You don't need to spend a fortune on it, but just basic landscaping and finish the fencing off.

I think it's been renovated to quite a good standard.

There are bits and pieces that could've been finished off better.

The standard of the bathroom is very good and the kitchen's been renovated to a good standard.

I would've replaced the boiler in the kitchen. It may have created more space, as well.

'Daryl really wants to sell the house so he can move onto another one,

'but what do the estate agents recommend would be best in this case?'

In the current climate, my advice would be to probably rent this property out

until there's a slight increase in the market to retain the maximum value.

A lot of investors do rent them out then put them on the market afterwards

when they're finished and things start to look a little bit more tired,

so I'd suggest put it straight on the market.

'So, that's a split decision. Maybe the numbers will make it a little clearer.'

If this was to go on the rental market,

I would recommend £550 to £575 per calendar month.

The rental value on this property would be £500 per calendar month.

Yeah, that's fine. I'm happy with that.

It's kind of what I expected, I guess. Or hoped for, anyway.

'Those rental values would give Daryl a yield of between 6.5 and 7.5 percent.

'That's definitely a better return than leaving money in the bank.

'How might his £90,000 investment fair on the resale market?'

I would suggest putting this on the open market at £99,950.

In my opinion, I would market this property for £99,000.

Well, you can ask what you want for it, but it's whether you get it.

So if I got offered that, then I would sell it for that,

but not for any less, really.

'So, Daryl will reconsider his options here if he can't achieve the higher resale value as he hopes.

'Has it been a tough first investment for him?'

It's been quite hectic, trying to fit work in and this in

and all the travelling and everything else, it's been quite hectic,

so I don't think I would jump at it too soon just yet.

'Perhaps he will need a little more time not only to help this house achieve a better price,

'but also for his love of property developing to grow.'

# Give me just a little more time

# And our love will surely grow

# Baby, please, baby

'Today's property is in the residential area of Morden in Surrey,

'now home to the biggest mosque in Western Europe.

'Morden's increasingly becoming a popular area to live, with good schools, road and rail links,

'and it's just a few miles away from the more affluent Wimbledon.'

Well, if you quite like the idea of living in the area

but don't want to pay centre court on finals day prices,

this could be a good alternative.

We've got an end of terrace, had a guide price of just £150,000,

which for two bedrooms, isn't at all bad.

Sometimes it's the unseeded properties that turn out to be winners.

'Like centre court, it's got a decent roof

'and there's double glazing to keep down any racket from the road.

'But I think the state of the grass in the front garden may not be quite up to Wimbledon standards.

'It looks like it may have gone to seed.'

So what kind of condition is this particular player in at the moment?

Well, straight through the front door, it doesn't look too bad.

Stairs up to the bedrooms there. Little corridor here leading down to the kitchen area.

Large front lounge. That's a nice size space. We could do something with the fireplace.

Then it gets a bit weird as you walk towards the kitchen. This wall, stud partition, get rid of that

because you then open up this huge great space. The kitchen is not in bad condition,

but I think with that wall gone, you'd create a lovely kitchen-dining area

and suddenly, for the size of the property, it's 40-love.

'Downstairs seems to have served up some promising accommodation, so can upstairs match it?'

Upstairs, there is a nice surprise. Two really good-sized bedrooms and a bathroom. Look at this.

Not what you'd expect. Big bath, a bit tired and dated, you'd probably want to replace that.

But apart from that, wonderful. There is a few signs of some kind of mould on the ceiling,

although my guess is that's more condensation caused by dampness in the room,

but it's probably worth checking out the tiles on the roof just to be sure.

'I guess the only disappointment upstairs is that there are just two bedrooms.

'They are doubles, but only two means this wouldn't appeal so much to the family market.

'That's especially a shame when you see the space outside.'

I'm already quite impressed with what you're getting for that £150,000 guide price,

but come out the back and there's another real good bonus.

The garden is actually a really good size space. It needs a bit of tender loving care, a new fence

and a good weekend with a strimmer.

Also out the back here, maybe there's the potential for an extension, possibly a conservatory.

Certainly, increasing that downstairs space would be a really good thing to do.

'And apart from getting out the strimmer,

'I think this summer house has seen the last of its summers.

'So, what do we make of this house? Well, the kitchen will need to be completely replaced,

'but the reception room has some lovely character features.

'The bathroom's a good size,

'but there are signs of damp.

'Bedrooms are pleasant and spacious

'but the plaster work needs looking at.

'The main bedroom is very roomy... but it's purple.

'So, what does a local estate agent make of the property?

'What needs to be done to make it a real winner?'

If it was me buying the property, I'd put a conservatory on the back

or a single storey extension.

'Well, a conservatory is one of the things the house hasn't got.

'But can it claim any edge over the competition?'

This particular house has an upstairs bathroom.

Some of them have downstairs bathrooms, which can put prospective tenants or purchasers off,

so that is a definite advantage here.

'Advantage this house. But what sort of returns could you expect here?'

To put on the market for rental, in good order,

it would be £950 to £1,000 per calendar month.

'And what resale value could this house, guided at £150,000,

'achieve once renovated?'

If the property was in good order, I'd put it on for £215,000 to £220,000.

'So it could net a handsome profit if sold.

'And the rental values aren't too shabby, either.

I really like this little place. Loads of character.

Yes, it needs a bit of money spent on it to sort it out,

but you'd end up with a really lovely little property in a great location.

For that guide price, I think it's a great one to go for. Let's see who spotted it at the auction.

Move on to Morden. Lot 29.

Two-bed end-of-terrace house. Seen this one.

Nice house, needs a bit of refreshing, but I think it's quite good value.

180?

Start at 150, then.

It won't go much below 150.

Bidding, yeah? 150.

155. 155.

160. 165.

I can't see. 165, sorry, in the stripy shirt.

165. 166.

167. 168. 169.

169 at the back.

170. 171.

171 on the phone? Yes?

171. 172. 173.

173, sir, yes? 174.

175.

175. 176.

177.

177?

If not, 176, first time,

second time. 177.

178. 179.

178, first time, second time,

third and last time if you're all done.

178. Well done.

'For £178,000, £28,000 over the guide price,

'the new owner of the two-bed semi-detached house in Morden is Ali.

'He's an accountant by trade, so I wondered why he thought this added up to a promising purchase.'

Ali, congratulations. Well done. Why did you want to buy this place?

Well, I bought it really for my daughter.

She's looking for a house to buy and looked at it and said, "Let's try this one."

Right. So why did you home in on this particular area?

Er, it's near the station and it's... We were looking for something within her budget

-and this seems to fall in that category.

-Right.

-What was it, apart from the price, that appealed?

-Er, the brickwork,

the roof, I love houses that have yellow bricks.

# Oh, I've finally decided my future lies

# Beyond the yellow brick road

'Well, in Ali's case, it was "Hello, Yellow Brick Road"

'and he hoped that by following it, he could give his 24-year-old daughter, Sheena, a bright future.'

So you're dad, you're getting heavily involved, are you?

Yes, I'll be spending a bit of time and money.

-The sawing and the hammering, is that something you're up to?

-I've got a builder who will help out.

I've got an electrician, as well.

And I'll be doing a lot of the decorating.

-Talk me through what you're going to do to the place.

-New bathroom, new kitchen.

Probably extend the kitchen a little bit more

in terms of take out the wall and make that into a big kitchen-diner.

-Do the garden, front and back.

-So what's the budget for the work?

About £15,000 to £17,000.

'And that £15,000 to £17,000 budget is once again care of Dad.

'He will also do a lot of the work himself, and hasn't got that long to do it, either.'

What kind of timescales?

Eight to ten weeks, hopefully.

Working during the day or are you doing your main job?

I work three days a week, so Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, I'm at work,

so the rest of the time I'll be spending here.

What about your daughter? What work is she going to do on it?

She'll probably just come and say, "Why is it taking so long?"

Do you slightly mollycoddle your daughter?

You're paying for it, now you're restoring it for her!

She'll probably choose the kitchen and the bathroom and things like that.

But, in terms of helping out with a paintbrush, I'm not too sure.

-She's a lucky lady! Does she appreciate it?

-Yes, she does.

# The lucky one, I'm the lucky one

'Hopefully, Ali is in tune with is daughter's requirements

'and they can maintain a harmonious relationship throughout.

'I must say, I think she's very lucky to have a dad like him.'

Well, I think Ali's definitely got the right idea for this place

and he could end up with a very good little property.

However, he has to keep tight rein on the budget and the timescale, as usual.

Find out how he gets on later in the show.

Time waits for no man, that's for sure.

Now, have our buyers lived up to their promises?

Let's go back and find out.

'Chatham in Kent is steeped in naval history

'and famous for the shipyard that built Nelson's flagship, the Victory.

'The success of that was based on working as a team,

'and it was this teamwork approach that appealed to Adrian and Mark.

'Both of them had previously worked separately on property renovations,

'but decided it was time to pool their resources.

'To that end, they bought this three-bed terraced house in Chatham for £144,000.

# Cos I think it's time that you understood

# We're better off as two

So what sort of different things can you both bring to the table?

Ade has an awful lot of experience with the doors, the windows,

anything to do with the soffits, fascias, conservatories, he's the number one man.

My side is all the internal bits and pieces,

so the decorating side, the carpets, all those sort of contacts.

'Adrian has his own double-glazing company.

'Mark has a financial background, but is now a full-time property investor.

'So, with their combined skills, and armed with £15,000 to £20,000 budget,

'they set about the task of modernising this rather dated three-bed house.

'Just over nine months later, we're back.

'Have two heads been better than one?

'Well, the outside's looking pretty promising.

What we basically did was try to pick the poorest house in the street

and hopefully we've turned it into the best house in the street.

# Better than all the rest

'And by the looks of things inside, it certainly does look like it's up with the best of them.

# Ooh, you're the best

As you can see, there's a new downstairs toilet been completely done.

Also, the damp problem in the kitchen, which was down to the mains water pipe corroded,

we sorted that all out, had the wall replastered.

And a complete new kitchen,

very similar layout, but everything's been replaced.

'So, the kitchen hasn't been opened out, but it's certainly been updated.

'Upstairs, there are no structural changes, but the rooms are now completed renovated,

'and although the middle bedroom still contains the boiler, it's a new boiler

'and is now sited neatly in its own cupboard.

'And the bathroom, well, that's completely modernised.

'It looks like together they've cracked this job.'

One of my roles has really been on the administration and finance side.

Ade then leads with more of the technical building side

and then I follow behind him and then do the decorative side.

So it's a little bit of me, a bit of him, a bit of me, and to and fro.

'Adrian concentrated on the doors, plumbing and kitchen.

'Mark focused on project managing, decorating and finishing off.

'It was also up to him to sort out the outside space,

'including both back and front gardens.'

And we had a wall here, which unfortunately didn't have any footings at all,

so the weight of the bricks that were on the wall really caused it to almost fall over.

So we thought the safest thing to do was to take the wall down completely

and then, aesthetically, it's much more pleasing to see a nice, clean fence.

'All in all, they've done a great job,

'but although they've worked well together,

'did they get on famously?

'After all, this project was really an experiment

'to see if the partnership would work long-term.'

We haven't had any arguments. No fights.

-It's gone quite well, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

And everything's quite easy, on agreements on different things, and no problems.

'The pressure points in any partnership are usually where and how much money to spend.

'So did they get the numbers right here, too?'

It's difficult, because we said £15,000 to £20,000 as a budget,

and we haven't reached the 20, which is great. We've still got our contingency fund left behind.

But, obviously, we think we've done it to a good standard

and we're hoping that that does pay off in the long term,

either with good tenants who rent from us, and then, ultimately, a decent sale price in the future.

'A £15,000 spend on top of their £144,000 purchase price,

'along with costs and fees, will take their total outlay to just under £165,000.

'Has their first joint investment paid dividends? What do two local estate agents think?

My first impression of this house as I walked in is very good.

It's a nice three-bedroom property, done to a very good standard.

In my opinion, the best selling feature about this property is its location.

The catchment area for one of the most popular schools round here,

access to the town, the station, and generally it's just a nice road,

so its location is its most saleable feature.

My first impression of the property is that they've done an amazing job.

They have done it to such a high specification, it really is very, very nice.

I think, for a lot of people, they don't like small gardens,

so it's nice that you've got a reasonable garden

and it's nicely laid with lawn, so they can do what they like with it

and put flowers, vegetables, whatever.

'In the currently tougher market, Adrian and Mark have decided that rental is the best route.

'So have they invested their £165,000 wisely?'

If I was to put this property onto the market, I would market the property in the region of

£155,000 to £160,000,

with a sale value of around about £150,000.

I think the property will sell, in this current market,

somewhere in the region of £150,000 to £160,000.

I think that's a little bit light on value.

And me. We were thinking nearer 165, perhaps 170.

Yeah. So I think they've undervalued the property a bit.

'Perhaps it wouldn't make quite the sale price they'd hoped for,

'but this property is all about long-term rental.'

The rental market at the moment is going very well in Chatham.

We would put this on the market between £725 and £750 per calendar month.

I think on the rental market at the moment, they will achieve in the region of £700 per calendar month

to £725 per calendar month.

-Yeah, 750 we think is about right.

-Yeah, I was thinking around that, so that's pretty good.

'£750 per month would give them a very decent five percent annual yield,

'which is not bad for starters.

'So perhaps there's more to come from this partnership?'

-I think it remains positive. I don't think we've had any issues, have we?

-No. Still good friends

-and we're still here, aren't we?

-Yeah.

'Working together, they've certainly done wonders with this house

'and can look back on the project as a job very well done.'

'Just on the outskirts of London in Morden, Surrey,

'a two-bed end-of-terrace property went up for auction.

'Although slightly worse for wear, it appeared to be the perfect purchase for accountant Ali.

'He figured it was worth shelling out to the tune of £178,000

'to get this house on the yellow brick road.'

-Why did you want to buy this place?

-Well, I bought it really for my daughter.

She's looking for a house to buy and looked at it and said, "Let's try this one."

'So, armed with a £15,000 budget, Ali set about making the house ready

'for his daughter, Sheena, to live in.

'Just three months later, we're back.

'There's certainly been a massive improvement.

'Gone is the long grass and uncared-for look at the front.

'Whilst at the back, it may look like a bit of a wasteland,

'but it's been levelled and is ready for a lawn to be laid.

'Inside in the front room, the chimney breast has been removed

'and the room has been recarpeted and decorated.

'And as for the tired old kitchen...

'Well, that's been totally freshened up.'

Well, what we've done here, there was a wall here dividing the two spaces,

so we've taken the wall out and had the whole kitchen replastered

and new windows and doors, double-glazed, of course.

And new flooring.

And, generally, I'm really pleased with the space.

'Not only has he managed the space well,

'Ali's also managed to save some money

'by using the old units and doors.

'Yet, with new worktops, flooring and tiling,

'he's completely transformed the look of the kitchen.

'So downstairs is looking great. What about upstairs?

'Well, the back bedroom is now less Swedish sauna and more contemporary and modern.

'And the master bedroom, well, it isn't purple any more.

'And although the bedrooms are fairly standard in their appearance,

'the same can't be said for the bathroom, which is ultra-modern,

'with wooden flooring and chic units.

'So, it's a pretty comprehensive renovation, and Ali's clearly been very busy.'

The only people we had here was a plasterer,

but in terms of everything else, I did it myself,

friends and family helped out.

I did all the planning, a lot of the technical stuff I did,

and the family members helped with cleaning things up after I'd finished the work.

I think I can say, over the last three months, I've probably had about three days of rest.

Apart from that, it was a long haul,

but it needed to be done.

'Ali still works three days a week as an accountant,

'so fitting in a house renovation as well wasn't easy.

'But then he was happy to go the extra mile because it was for his daughter, Sheena,

so I hope she appreciates it.

# My girl

# My girl

Sheena's been quite useful. She helped with the painting

and she also helped with choosing certain colours

and generally helped with buying some of the products.

She has had more input than I expected, but then it is her property,

so she does need to put something in.

'Yes, I think so, too, and I would've thought that with the way the house is looking,

'she can't wait to move in.'

Originally, Sheena was going to live here,

but she's recently changed her job, which means that she has to travel a bit further out,

and also she's got to get up early in the morning to get to her workplace,

so it's turned out that this would be too far for her to travel,

so we'll probably rent it out and see what happens after that

and maybe try and buy her a property closer to work.

# Oh, I've finally decided my future lies

# Beyond the yellow brick road

'So, Sheena's rainbow end wasn't at the end of this yellow brick road,

'but it could still be a golden opportunity as an investment

'if her accountant dad has kept to his budget.'

The budget, although originally we thought it was going to be £15,000 to £17,000,

it turned out that we managed to come under budget.

Around £13,500, but with the garden, I think another £500,

so we'll probably complete the whole job at about £14,000, so I'm really pleased with that.

'Yes, any accountant who comes in under budget is a happy man.

'But with a £14,000 spend, plus the £178,000 purchase price,

'Ali's total outlay is edging towards £196,000.

'So, has it been a good investment?

'What do two local estate agents think?'

It is very nicely presented. I don't think they've overdone the property

in terms of doing too much, because you can always do that,

especially with the kind of market it is.

I think it's all very appropriately done.

I think it's a vast improvement on what it originally was. It was a bit of a mess.

I'm particularly impressed by the oak floors, plus the bathroom has a particularly nice finish.

I think the upstairs bathroom is definitely a wow factor.

Obviously, they've got a nice size garden, as well,

the rear garden, and just the whole property is very nicely done.

The chimney breast has been removed in the lounge

and the wall in the kitchen. Since that has happened,

the rooms are better proportioned and it gives the house a nice feel and size

and has let more light into the kitchen.

'Ali is now considering this as a potential rental property.

'But having invested around £196,000 here,

'could he sell it on and make a decent profit?'

I think the resale value of this property, with the way the market is,

you're probably looking anywhere between £200,000 and £210,000.

I think this property should go on the market for £235,000.

235 seems quite optimistic.

I reckon in the middle somewhere, between the two.

'Well, there may be a potential profit of between £4,000 and £39,000 if he could sell it.

'But for now, rental figures are of more interest to Ali.'

This property could rent for anywhere between £900 and £1,000 per calendar month.

I think this property would rent out for £1,100 per calendar month.

Yeah, having heard those rental figures, I think we'll definitely go down that route.

'If Ali manages to rent it out all year,

'£900 to £1,100 per month could mean an annual rental income

'of between nearly £11,000 and £13,000.

'That's a yield of between 5.5 and 6.5 percent.

'So, having done all that graft to give his daughter a house

'she's now not going to live in, was it worth all the effort?'

It's been hard work, but I think it's also been very therapeutic.

Just doing something other than paperwork is just fantastic and I really loved it.

'I think it's lucky that Ali did enjoy it, because as his daughter does need another house

'and he has two other children, he could be very busy doing renovations for some time to come.'

So, many different experiences of buying property at auction there,

and we'll have lots more for you next time.

-So make sure you join us then! See you soon.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

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