Episode 13 Homes Under the Hammer

-Hello and welcome.

-Auctions are a fascinating place

to buy and sell property. Perhaps that's why they've become so popular.

Thousands of lots are offered for sale every year under the hammer.

People who buy at auction know all the tricks of the trade.

One way to make sure you're not inheriting a whole load of problems

is to read the legal pack for the property you want to buy.

Yes, it's better to be safe than sorry.

So here are the properties that inspired the buyers on today's show.

'Whoever buys this terrace in Kent will need to spend a pretty penny doing it up.

'I, on the other hand, only need to spend one.' Where's the loo?

'This broken-down bungalow in Dorset may look a little shabby, but...'

The key to this lot, it's not the building itself,

it's what lies out there.

'And this property in Leeds may not seem so special,

'but first impressions are not always accurate.'

This is no ordinary terraced house.

'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.'

I'm in Dover, one of the busiest gateways into Britain.

'But it's also a popular tourist destination in its own right.

'There's a fantastic castle. But, of course, the most famous thing, the white cliffs.

# There'll be bluebirds over

# The white cliffs of Dover

'It's hard to think of a more iconic British landmark than these cliffs.

'For the millions of people who arrive at and leave from Dover's busy port every year,

'they're the first and last of the UK that they see.

'Not far from those famous white cliffs themselves is the property I'm here to see.'

Two-bedroom mid-terrace. Doesn't look too brilliant from the outside,

but it had a fairly low guide price, £50,000 to £55,000. Let's take a look.

'The property might not look up to much, but the view from it is pretty good.

'You can even see Dover Castle from the end of the road.'

What a very strange layout indeed.

Down the corridor from the front into the living room area,

but there's this thin bit of wood on the wall to create this corridor.

It doesn't work. Why have you got that there? Get rid of that straight away.

But that, really, is just the tip of a fairly nasty iceberg.

The place, as you can see, is in a right old state. The big question is,

is it cosmetic or something more serious?

'There's another reception room on the ground floor which is in equally poor condition.'

# Rescue me

# Take me in your arms, rescue me

'This house definitely needs rescuing.

'On the up side, though, it does have a lovely bay window with a view of a slightly overgrown garden.'

# And your love, too, come on and rescue me

Hm. Well, up here, sadly, it doesn't get any better.

In some ways, it actually gets even worse.

Let's be honest, we're talking about a total refurbishment here.

Gut the place out, sort out the floorboards,

sort out the ceilings, strip everything back and start again, get a nice, clean shell to work with.

The good news, as far as I can see, is that it is just primarily cosmetic.

Big cosmetic, but cosmetic.

Hang on a minute. Where's the loo?

'Come to think of it, I haven't found the kitchen yet, either.

'This house is spread over three floors,

'so the only place the kitchen and bathroom could be is in the basement.'

A-ha! Here it is.

Down on the lower-ground floor,

you find what is pretty much an excuse for a bathroom.

This is the only place where there is a bathroom and a loo.

This, presumably, at some point, was the kitchen,

although you do wonder, don't you?

It just backs up what I said earlier. It just needs a complete rehash.

Biggest concern is, what do you do with the bathroom? It doesn't work down here.

Maybe you have to sacrifice one of the rooms on the ground floor and put it there.

I can't think of any other way of doing it.

Ooh.

# There's no other way

# There's no other way

'Having the loo and bathroom next door to the kitchen is not the most appealing of set-ups,

'but what I do like about it is that it opens out onto the back garden,

'which would be ideal if this is turned into a family home.

'Time to get a local estate agent to give us the lowdown.'

I think the property needs a lot of work,

but it's got the basis to be a good-size family property.

The purchaser of this property is going to need to look at the damp issues

and then probably look at wiring, things like that.

'Although the work required does seem mainly cosmetic,

'how much would it cost to bring it up to modern standards?'

I would say that the owner would need to spend £30,000 to £40,000 to get it up to a good state of repair.

'Bearing in mind the guide price was £50,000 to £55,000,

'how much could it be worth once done up?'

I would say that the value for this property would be in the order of £100,000 to £110,000.

'Of course, a family house like this close to the city centre could be an ideal rental unit.'

The rental value, when renovated, would be in the order of £500 per calendar month.

Well, obviously work to be done on this one,

but I think you could really add value to this property by some sympathetic renovations

and end up with a pretty good rental unit.

Let's find out who went for it when it went to the auction.

Terraced house with bay front on the ground floor.

Good little one to buy now, do up, let or sell.

Start me at 50,000. Can't be worth any less than £50,000, surely?

Start me at 45, then.

45 to get me on the way for a mid-terraced house. 45 I've got.

Now 48. At 48.

49 I've got. £50,000 I've got. The gentleman standing on my right.

51 I'm looking for. 51 I've got at the front.

And 2. 52. And 3.

And 4. 54. And 5.

And 6. 56 I've got.

And 8. 58. £58,000 I've got sitting down at the front in the blue jumper.

Anybody want to bid 60? Lots of blank faces.

At £58,000 I've got, then.

At the front on my right. For the first time.

-For the second time at £58,000. All done?

-HAMMER BANGS

You've got one for 58,000. Well done.

'The new owner is security officer Andreas,

'who's originally from South Africa.

'He's no stranger to property developing, or to Homes Under The Hammer, for that matter.

'We've seen his handiwork before, when he bought another place in Dover,

'so he's obviously come back for more.'

-Andreas, very good to meet you.

-Good to meet you, too, Martin.

-You've met the whole team now! You met Lucy last time!

-Yes.

So, we saw you a little while ago with a property in Dover. How did that go?

That went quite well. We almost made a double turnover.

-Oh!

-Yeah, so that has helped us to move forward and eventually purchase this

-and we have, at the moment, purchased four properties now.

-Wow.

This is the fourth property that's on our list and we're moving forward quite quickly.

So why did you want to buy this one?

To be honest, this was not our main focus.

We had our eyes on other properties, but the prices went a bit high,

so, after all, I think we are quite happy with the property in terms of price and the location.

-It's got a bit of Victorian features in the property.

-Right.

But we have it now, so we just have to deal with it.

'Good to see he's remaining positive,

'because he's got his work cut out here.

'Andreas is now a man with responsibilities.

'He and his wife Sophie now have a baby boy.'

I have a five-month-old son. His name is Damario.

So I'm trying to teach him already how to hold a brush

and do a bit of painting. HE LAUGHS

-And that's motivated me to go for properties even more.

-Really?

-Yeah.

To create a better future for my family as a whole.

'Andreas is really going to have to focus to bring this place up to scratch.

'He's allocated a budget of £10,000 to do the renovation

'and just three and a half months to get everything done.'

One of the biggest things is the layout and the fact you've got the loo and the bathroom downstairs.

-What are you going to do about that?

-The location of the bathroom, it's not supposed to be there,

so we're going to bring it up to the ground level,

-towards the front of the house.

-Oh, OK.

Because that's where the sewer pipe is,

so it makes it easier for us to install a toilet there, as well.

And in terms of the location of the kitchen?

The kitchen will remain in the basement,

a kind of kitchen/dining area.

'I think moving the bathroom away from the kitchen is essential.

'Andreas has done his homework about the location of the water supply,

'but it's a lot to undertake with a budget of just £10,000.'

The first thing that we need to focus on is the roof, cos there's a bit of leakage

and, as you can see, around the house, there's a bit of damp.

Then, from there, new ceilings, plastering.

It's like building a house from scratch, basically. So new kitchen, new bathroom, the whole lot.

So what's the idea? Are you going to sell it or rent it out?

Our main focus is to do it up quickly and put it back on the market and see if it sells.

If it doesn't sell, I'll just have to remortgage and keep it as a future investment for my small son,

towards his future investment.

'And Andreas isn't going to stop here. He's got big plans for his property-developing future.'

My intention is to retire when I'm 40.

-Wow!

-So I've got another ten years

to get a minimum of ten houses to fully manage. Or even more.

So my intention is to just keep building on my portfolio.

Congratulations. I think we'll be seeing you again on the show.

Yes, when I'm a multi-millionaire.

-Good luck with that.

-Thank you.

-Nice to see you.

-Nice to meet you.

So, Andreas expanding his property portfolio with the added impetus of doing it for his young family.

Still, a lot of work to do for that £10,000 budget.

How's he going to get on? You can find out later in the show?

'This is Corfe Mullen, a village just 20 minutes from the Dorset coast.

'With excellent road links and spectacular countryside,

'it has a much sought-after combination of practicality and beauty.'

The rural nature of this part of the village just makes it a highly desirable place to live

and that's why I'm really excited about today's lot.

It's a two-bedroom bungalow, it's set in 1.5 acres of land,

with a guide price of £295,000.

Here it is! Not exactly a bungalow of outstanding natural beauty.

I'm going to have a look around.

'That lovely stroll up the long driveway had me anticipating a rustic country retreat.

'Sadly, though, even on a crisp, sunny winter's morning,

'this bungalow fails to make a promising first impression.'

So not a stunner inside, either.

It's just a straightforward layout here. All the rooms just lead off the hallway,

you've got the kitchen to my right, bedrooms one and two on my left,

grubby old bathroom at the back there.

And through here, we're into the living room.

I was really hoping for some nice, big French doors out onto the garden.

At least you've got double-glazing. The rest of the windows are old and will all need replacing.

Got a storage heater here. That tells me there's no central heating, another big expense.

It seems to me, the key to this lot is not the building itself,

it's what lies out there.

# Into the great wide open

# Under them skies of blue

'With its drab, grey, pebbledash exterior,

'this bungalow sits apart from the lush green countryside on its doorstep,

'rather than reflecting its glorious surroundings.'

This site deserves something more than this bland old bungalow.

Something contemporary and in keeping with such a desirable location.

Just look at those views! I love it out here!

You know, it's become very fashionable to demolish old single-storey houses like this

and build bigger and better properties on what is often a large footprint.

And these days, they're just becoming harder and harder to find.

Do you know what? I've made up my mind. Knock it down.

# You just gonna knock me down You just gonna knock me down

# You just gonna knock me down You just gonna knock me down

'But beware. Before you set the wrecking ball rolling to clear the 1.5 acres of land,

'remember, this is a green-belt area, so there will be planning restrictions.

'You certainly won't be able to construct anything with a larger footprint

'than the current bungalow and its outbuildings.

'If you were to renovate the existing property, you'd certainly need replacement windows

'and a new central-heating system. The bathroom suite may be salvageable

'with new fixtures and fittings,

'but the bedrooms will need to be fully refurbished and the kitchen should be ripped out and replaced.

'The guide price for this property was £295,000.

'I asked a local property expert for her opinion

'on whether it should be knocked down or done up.'

We feel that the best option would be to redevelop the site.

There is potential to refurbish the property and perhaps extend a little bit.

One thinks that it might be quite costly

and it would be more cost-effective to flatten the site and start again.

'If the bungalow was renovated, with a third bedroom added where the garage is now,

'what could its value be?'

If the existing bungalow was renovated, it would probably be worth

in the region of £400,000 to £450,000.

'And if a new three-bedroom bungalow was built?'

Depending on the style of the bungalow and its attractiveness,

we feel that a replacement bungalow could probably attract a price in the region of £500,000 to £550,000.

The attraction and value of this lot lies in the land itself.

The bungalow's serviceable, but it's a little bit sad

and I really feel there is better use for the site.

But overdevelopment is not an option here, and nor should it be.

This location deserves a home to do it justice

and make the most of this beautiful countryside.

Find out who fancied this lot at the auction.

Our guide here is £295,000.

Would someone like to put me straight in at the guide of 295?

295, thank you. Straight in at the guide.

At 295. At 295. 300, thank you.

At 300. 300. And 5.

305. 310.

310. 315. 315.

Is that time already? At 315.

315. At 315.

-320. Are you looking at the attractive girl in green?

-Yes.

325. So am I now. 330, fresh bidding. 330.

335. 335.

340, thank you, sir. 340.

345. 345.

350. I'm in your hands. 355.

355. All done at £355,000?

HAMMER BANGS

'Part-time teacher Sarah secured it with her bid of £355,000.'

# Strolling along country roads with my baby

'She and husband Gary recently built a holiday home in Spain,

'but they've now turned their attention to this bungalow,

'which they hope to turn into their dream family home.'

# Walking hand in hand with the one I love

-Gary and Sarah, congratulations!

-Thank you.

How did you find this auction property?

Er, I think it was almost by accident,

that we just happened to be... I think I was probably on the web

and saw these particulars

and so we thought that was of interest.

Unfortunately, I couldn't do it on the day,

-so Sarah was in charge.

-Sent me along! Off you go! Go and bid.

Very scary. Actually sitting and bidding was really scary.

My heart was doing this. It was good, though.

-So how did you feel when the hammer went down?

-Oh, my goodness!

Have we done the right thing? It was quite scary. It was very exciting.

The big question is, guys,

are you going to knock this little bungalow down?

-Are we going to knock it down?

-We are.

Yeah! Aw, that's awful. Yay!

It's going to have to go.

'So goodbye, tired old bungalow, hello, dream home.

'Gary and Sarah are aware of the planning restrictions for the green belt land.

'Their current home is bigger than anything they could build here, but it doesn't have these views.'

Guys, it's really exciting and I'm dying to know what it's going to look like.

-Have you drawn up any plans yet?

-We've certainly put together three or four sets of drawings.

-Yes.

-And, yeah, I'm doing the drawing work and then...

-I'm doing the changes.

-You're saying yes or no.

-No, that can go there.

I have seen some fabulous, contemporary, single-storey barn-type properties out there.

-There's so much to choose from. You can use so much wood and glass.

-Yes.

-You could really maximise those views.

-Yeah. We certainly want it to be a light property,

and if we make plenty of use of both the conventional windows

and perhaps using roof lights, I think we should be able to make a light and airy space.

What about downstairs, along the back? Are you thinking about having lots of glass,

-back-folding doors so you can come straight outside?

-Definitely.

Cos we want to make it as open as possible so that we can get out to the views and the garden.

'Gary and Sarah plan on building a place that flows from the inside out into the glorious surroundings.

'Before they can break ground on their new home, they have to sell their current one.'

Gary, you paid £355,000 for this.

How much do you think it's going to cost you to build your home here?

Er, we think the building cost will be about £200,000.

My concern is here, at the end of all the expenditure,

will your house be worth the amount of money you have spent on it?

I think that's obviously a realistic concern to have,

and I think the notion that we get something that is really want we want

and is to our specification,

I think that's worth a lot of money.

And we don't see it purely in terms of the future market value of the property.

How long do you think it's going to take you? Or how long will it be before you start work here?

-It's a difficult question.

-Might depend if we sell our house or not

-and there's lots of things we need to...

-Do you have to sell your house to move on?

Yeah, I can't see us trying to do this without selling the house.

That sense of getting halfway through a project and then feeling frustrated that you can't complete

wouldn't be a very nice feeling, really. We'd get very frustrated.

-So it might be a two-year process.

-It's been on the market 18 months now and nothing's moving.

Perhaps you should take it to auction!

-Perhaps!

-Just a thought!

-It is a thought.

-Good thought.

-I'm really excited. This is such an exciting project. Great meeting you.

-Thank you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-Hopefully you'll be able to come back and see it in all its glory.

-Hopefully.

I am just so pleased that after all that searching,

Gary and Sarah have finally found the perfect spot for their new family home.

Time is sadly up for this old bungalow.

But the work all hinges on the sale of their current property.

That's stressful in this market.

Find out how it goes later in the programme.

'Coming up, I'm in Leeds where there's a treat in store for me at this terraced property.'

Look at that bathroom. Absolutely lovely. What a lovely surprise that is.

'In Dorset, Gary and Sarah have found applying for planning permission a difficult process.'

You know, you get a reply back which isn't very positive,

I think that does knock you.

'But first, how has Andreas got on?'

The whole project has been a challenge from the start.

'We're going back to Dover now to catch up with Andreas.

'He bought this three-bed Victorian terrace for £58,000.

'This was, in fact, his fourth property purchase,

'and he's busily working towards building a substantial portfolio for his growing family.'

My intention is to retire when I'm 40.

-Wow.

-So I've got another ten years to get a minimum of ten houses

to fully manage, or even more.

'The house was spread over three levels and had a ramshackle kitchen and bathroom down in the basement.

'It needed to be renovated completely and the jungle-like garden to be tamed.

'All that was four months ago. So let's see how Andreas has got on.

'It's at the back of the house where the changes are most visible.

'Those lovely French doors make it far more accessible.

'Perfect for a glorious summer's day.

'There are certainly big improvements in the kitchen,

'although Andreas still has some work to do.'

As you can remember, before the kitchen was a kitchen/bathroom,

so we've decided to move the bathroom to the ground-floor level

and open up this whole place as a kitchen/diner.

It has turned out pretty well.

I'm very, very impressed with the way it's come out

and it's more open, more light and more spacious for a family.

'On the ground floor, Andreas has replastered and carpeted the back reception room.

'He's resized the front room and converted it into a bathroom.

'But he'll have to do something about the lack of privacy,

'as that bay window offers a less than desirable view in both directions.'

# Let's keep the curtains closed today

# And hope that everyone will stay away

I know that the layout is a bit awkward

and I think this is the first house with a bathroom at the front of the property.

But the only reason why we had to have the bathroom in the front

was cos of the sewer pipe, which runs from the front of the building,

so that made it easier for us to have the bathroom at the front. The windows will be closed up

and properly sealed off for more privacy.

'The top floor's a big improvement

'and Andreas has replastered and refurbished both bedrooms.

'Although there's a considerable amount of snagging to be done, he's pleased the house

'is nearly complete.'

The whole project has been a challenge from the start,

cos there were more problems that came up as we were going along the renovations.

Once we started lifting up the floorboards,

we soon realised that the flooring was rotten,

so we had to have the floorboards treated. We discovered the roof had a bit of a problem,

'so we had to remove the roof,

put it back on again with a bit of flashing on the sides

to make it up to the standard regulations.

'Originally, Andreas had a budget of £10,000 to do everything in the property.

'So, with all the unforeseen problems, did he manage to keep to it?'

Doing the calculations yesterday, I was a bit surprised,

cos it has added up to about £18,000.

But we knew from the word go that we were going to spend a bit more money.

But looking at the whole turnout of the completed work, I think it's worth it.

'But, of course, Andreas is a man with responsibilities.

'The whole reason for renovating property is to build a better life for himself, his wife Sophie

'and their baby son, Damario.'

My wife has seen the house for the first time since three or four months ago

and she's quite pleased with the whole turnout.

She was actually amazed.

And it's good to get that moral support from your partner

and I was happy that she's happy, so everyone's happy.

'Will they be happy once they know what the value of the place is

'now the work's almost complete?

'Time to ask two local estate agents for their expert opinions.'

My first impressions are very much a work in progress,

but I feel it's got potential for the lettings market.

With these properties, the bathrooms are not normally in a good position,

so moving the bathroom is an option.

Whether to put it to the front of the house in a bay window

on the pavement is a good idea, I'm not so sure.

'Hm. Some mixed reviews there, then. Andreas bought the house for £58,000

'and spent £18,000 on the renovation. That makes a total outlay of £76,000.

'How much value has he added?'

If I was to put this property on the market at this present time,

it would achieve somewhere in the region of £100,000.

This house, when it's all completed, if it went onto the open market for sale,

I would expect it to achieve £100,000 to £110,000.

'Those valuations could mean a gross profit of between £24,000 and £34,000.'

Wow! That's exciting!

So we can actually sell the house tomorrow, then, if we can get a bit of a profit.

So that's really good news.

'But it may not be as easy as Andreas thinks to realise that profit,

'as the housing market in Dover is going through a sticky patch.'

I think, if it was my property, I would look to rent it out rather than sell.

In the current market, it would probably sit around for a very long time

and wouldn't get the value it deserves.

In today's market, I would say this would rent very easily.

Sales are very slow at the moment round this area,

so it would be ideal rental.

If I was to put this property up for rental, I would be looking to achiever £550 per calendar month.

If this came on the rental market when it's finished,

I would be advising the client to put it on for about £550 per calendar month.

'That would give Andreas an impressive rental yield of around 8.5 percent. So what's his plan?'

Test the waters. We'll put the property on the market for two to three months

and if it doesn't sell, we're more than happy to keep the property for maybe another two, three, four years

and then decide to sell later.

'Although Andreas has found this quite challenging,

'he's as determined as ever to continue building his portfolio

'and realise his dream of retiring early.'

We're planning to hopefully sell this house as quickly as we can

or remortgage to release some equity

and move onto another property as soon as we can,

cos time is running out. I'm getting old and I need to retire as soon as possible

and travel the world.

'I'm in Armley near Leeds, which was the heartland of Britain's industrial revolution.

'The woollen mills have long since closed and today the area's proximity to Leeds City Centre

'and the university is what draws people here.

'And, in 2006, a national radio poll voted one street in Armley the friendliest in Britain.

# Any time you like to take a walk

# Just walk down friendly street

I can't imagine you'd find a much more traditional street of Victorian terraces than this.

I can't imagine it's changed much in 150 years.

You can almost imagine the washing being strung out between the properties.

Let's hope the property I'm here to see has had some updating in that time.

It's this. £45,000 to £65,000 was the guide price. Two bedrooms. Let's take a look inside.

# You won't see millionaire mansions

# But you will meet wonderful people

# That you can tell your troubles to

So, what have we got? Well, straight through the front door into your living room.

Not a bad size space and it doesn't seem to be in too bad condition.

Quite a small kitchen there, though.

And maybe... That feels like a very solid wall.

Think about taking that out to create yourself a nice kitchen/living area.

That's certainly something I'd consider. But, as a starting point,

it looks like it's been reasonably well looked after.

Let's hope it continues that way.

'The vibrant wallpaper certainly makes a striking impression,

'but I'd neutralise the decor to ensure it appeals to the widest market.'

Well, upstairs, what have we got? Straight away, I'm seeing a nice new radiator,

so that's good to see. Nice up-to-date central heating.

You've got a doorway which leads to the second floor, where your second bedroom is,

and what a lovely surprise, look at that bathroom. Absolutely lovely! So that doesn't need any work.

Through to the first bedroom, on the first floor.

It's not a bad size. It actually is bigger than it feels.

These cupboards with the mirrors don't do this room justice.

Get rid of those and you've got a nice size space.

But there is something that's missing.

This is a solid wall.

Window at the front, no window at the back.

That's because this is no ordinary terraced house.

'This property is what's known as a back-to-back.

'That is, two terraced streets built, yes, you guessed it, back to back.

'A similar property with a back garden would sell for £20,000 to £30,000 more

'or rent out for a similar amount,

'so it would seem a back-to-back is worth having.

# Get back, yeah, get back

# Get back to where you once belonged

# Get back, JoJo

'The second bedroom is in the attic conversion

'and there is the possibility of adding further rooms.

'So, from the top of the terrace, it's down to the bottom to this cellar.

'Perhaps this could be a home gym or cinema or games room.

'But maybe I'm getting a little carried away, and it's just a useful storage area.

# Get back, yeah, get back

'The rental market in Armley is strong and the area attracts many first-time buyers,

'but it does have a tragic past.'

Well, nowadays, the local park here is a lovely place to come to,

but up until the 1950s, it and much of the surrounding area

harboured a silent but deadly killer. There was a local asbestos factory, and in those days,

they didn't understand the dangers of asbestos dust,

so that dust used to just spew out into the local environment.

Children, apparently, used to play in the dust, even having snowball fights.

Well, as you can imagine, the health effects of that have been literally tragic.

Over 300 people have died already

and the fear is there are many more deaths to come.

Now, the houses round here were also covered in dust.

all those houses now have been cleaned, including ours,

which does have a certificate.

Sadly, the legacy for the people who live here isn't quite so easy to get rid of.

'The asbestos factory closed over 50 years ago

'and Armley now has a clean bill of health.

'I asked a local estate agent for his opinion on this property

'and the local area.'

Armley's a great area. Very popular with local students

and the first-time buyer market, as well. Great local facilities,

transport links, local amenities. Popular for that end of the market.

First impression of the house, it's in fairly good condition.

It doesn't look like it'll need too much work to get to a rentable or saleable standard.

So quite an easy turnaround.

'The guide price for this place was £45,000 to £65,000.

'Once renovated, what could it sell for?'

Once the work's completed and finished, anywhere in the region of £70,000 to £75,000,

'How much could it achieve on the rental market

'and who might it appeal to?'

As a rental property, it's going to lean towards people studying at the local university

as it's only five or ten minutes away, paying in the region of £450 to £475 per calendar month.

Well, our back-to-back terrace clearly needs to be brought back to life,

but it's a decent house in what is now a decent area

and I think it could return some good investment potential.

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

£40,000 at the bottom of the guide to get me away.

35, then? Don't mind where we start. £35,000.

30, then. Thank you very much. I knew it was.

32. 34. 36. 38.

And £40,000. 42 I have. 46. 48,000.

48 I have. And 50. £50,000 on my left.

50,000. 52. 54,000.

And a half, sir? 54 and a half?

54 and a half I have. 55? No? At £54,500 for the first time.

At £54,500 for the second. Are you all out?

Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, we're not quite there on that one.

'The house didn't sell under the hammer,

'as bidding stopped at £54,500,

'so it failed to reach its £55,000 reserve price.

'However, after the auction, personal trainer Patrick

'struck a deal to pay exactly that reserve price.'

# Oh, let's get physical, physical

# I wanna get physical, let's get physical

'I met up with Patrick at the back-to-back.'

Patrick, lovely to meet you. Congratulations.

-Nice to meet you.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

Primarily to buy to renovate to rent out.

Oh, OK. Is this something you do?

I did one last year in a similar area, just about a mile away.

And I have one other rental property, so this will be the third.

-What happened at the auction. You didn't actually get it.

-I didn't. Nobody got it.

Just after the auction, one of the staff approached me and showed me what the reserve figure was

and ask if I was interested. Phoned my wife, we talked about it and agreed to pay £55,000.

-What's your background?

-25 years in financial administration

and then a career change about five years ago and I'm now a personal trainer.

-Personal trainer?

-Yes.

-As in build those biceps, running, jogging?

Yeah. I've got clients who want to put weight on, people who want to lose weight,

people who want to train for marathons or bike rides.

So quite a variety of people that I work with.

-So you do that and this at the same time?

-Yeah. A lot of clients like to work on an evening

when they're back from work, or before work,

so it means, quite a lot during the day time, I've got free time,

so there's time to come here and work hands-on.

'Well, it seems Patrick will be getting physical with this renovation.

'So, what appealed to him about this place?'

Well, what attracted me to it was, I've looked at quite a lot of houses over the past year

and there's been some pretty horrible-looking ones coming to auction,

-and this was one of the tidiest.

-Right. So tell me exactly what you're going to do to it.

Take off wallpaper, redecorate in neutral colours,

fix up the kitchen, cellar's in pretty good condition, just make sure everything works down here properly,

get the boiler serviced and certificated.

Upstairs, bathroom needs very little doing to it, although we will lighten it a bit, it's a bit dark.

Bedroom, again, redecorate in there. We'll probably keep the wardrobes,

fix them up, those glass wardrobes should be decent.

And then the top room, bit more work in there, new carpet,

some holes in the wall need filling

and then generally tidy that up and fix up the banister rail, cos that looks pretty dangerous.

'That all seems straightforward. Out front, the external cladding needs to be checked

'and I'd love to see this terrace restored to its original Victorian brick.'

We'll take off the cladding and see what the brickwork's like underneath, see if it needs re-pointing,

-see how big a job it is.

-Would you like to take it back to brick?

-Yeah, back to original brick. That would be ideal.

-That'd be lovely. It'd fit in beautifully.

-It should do, because they are brick houses and it should be celebrated, not hidden.

-Yes.

-But is it hiding any problems? We'll have to see when it comes off.

-Any idea of cost?

Budget, including legals, financing and stuff, is £6,500 in total.

-Wow.

-Which seems like a lot, but I've budgeted decent money for the exterior

-in case we have to get a professional firm in to do the clearing on the cladding.

-Right.

-What kind of timescale for sorting it out?

-Hopefully within a month.

-A month?

-A month, yeah. We're going to prioritise the inside first and then do the exterior after,

bearing in mind that, if we're showing round potential tenants,

the inside is what will sell it, and we'll say the exterior is going to be renovated.

-Congratulations. Good luck.

-Thank you.

-And we look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you, Martin.

# Let me hear your body talk

Well, personal trainer Patrick has certainly got himself a good property here,

but I'm a bit concerned that this cladding might prove to be more of a problem than he's anticipating.

How will he get on? You can find out later in the show.

Well, this is the part of the show where we go back to see what's happened to our properties.

-Did our buyers do everything they'd hoped to?

-Time to find out.

'We return to Dorset now where, initially, I'd hoped this country lane

'would lead to a charming country cottage.

'Instead, it was this bungalow,

'which was more rundown than rustic.

'But much more impressive was the 1.5 acres of land it sat on.

'Sarah and her husband Gary bought it for £355,000.

'I was keen to find out whether their plan for the property was to do it up or knock it down.'

-We are going to knock it down.

-Yeah! Aw, that's awful. Yay!

-It's going to have to go.

'Sarah and Gary were relying on the sale of their current home

'to finance the building of their new one.

'As the land was green belt, they knew there would be building restrictions.

'We've returned two years later to see how they got on.

'Well, the couple's hopes and dreams of a new home are frozen in time.

'Sadly, their plan to knock down the bungalow and build a new property

'is mired in a web of red tape and planning restrictions.

'Sarah and Gary have been refused permission to demolish the bungalow and build a five-bedroom house.'

It has been quite slow, cos it's two years on since we bought the property at auction.

I think the thing that's taken the time was the initial approach to the planners,

just to find out what we might be able to do, and quite a negative response.

I think it is demoralising when you put in to the planners and think you're taking a step forward

and then you get a reply back which isn't very positive, that does knock you.

'Despite their frustrations, Sarah and Gary are keen to work closely with the planners

'as they appreciate the natural beauty the planners are trying to protect

'is the very reason they want to live here.'

'The couple have also had to contend with issues over the sale of their current home.'

We took the property off the market

because the climate was just not really conducive to getting a good price for the existing property.

So, currently, we are off the market

and so, were it not for the extended planning process that we've gone through

to get where we are today, I suppose it would've been an extremely frustrating process.

But, as it happens, the planning process has been a long one,

so we haven't been that frustrated that we're not moving forward with building work.

'How has this lack of progress impacted on the couple's financial situation?'

It's not without financial implication,

because you do end up paying two lots of some of the fees.

You're paying two lots of council tax, two lots of some of the utility bills.

So you don't do these things and get away with a property without any incidental costs at all,

but just presently, it's not hurting too much.

He said cautiously.

'I have no doubt Sarah and Gary's strength of purpose and united front

'will see them succeed in their aspirations.'

# Stronger together, stronger

# We could be stronger together

'The couple are continuing to work with the planning department.

'They're close to getting plans approved to convert the property into a five-bedroom chalet bungalow

'which adheres to permitted development rules.

'It's been a long, hard slog, but Sarah and Gary are determined to build their dream home.

'This project is certainly testament to the old saying,

"patience is a virtue."

# It would try

# The patience of angels

We have seen it as a long-term process, so in that sense,

we haven't really set our hearts on achieving specific things in specific timescales.

I think we would be hoping that certainly within two years,

everything would be complete, we'll have built

and hopefully be in the property of our dreams.

'We invited two local estate agents

'to give us their opinion and valuations

'based on Gary and Sarah's permitted development plans.'

I think, taking this property, in its current two-bed state, to a five-bed modern property

is a very good idea and it would fit in very well with the locality.

The property does need considerable modernisation

but it's set in one of the best locations locally.

I think the aesthetic appearance is vital.

The kitchen needs to be a big feature

and they need to decide whether they plan a contemporary design

or something more traditional.

'Sarah and Gary paid £355,000 for the bungalow

'and estimate their permitted development build would cost around 200 grand,

'totalling £555,000.

'What value do the estate agents believe the property could achieve?'

I think that the value is going to be something in the region of £650,000, maybe a fraction more.

Given the location and what the plans entail,

there would be a high demand for this property. I would suggest a figure in the region of £750,000.

'Well, that's £100,000 difference in valuations,

'but it does prove that whether Sarah and Gary do it up

'or knock it down, this property's a very sound financial investment.

'So, despite the trials and tribulations of the past two years,

'do the couple have the drive and determination to see this project through?'

-Yeah, absolutely.

-Oh, yeah.

-Definitely.

It's fantastic to have an opportunity

to literally be working with a blank sheet of paper

and deciding exactly what we'd like,

so we're coming up with the layout that we want and the bedrooms that we want

and we'll configure the spaces in the way that we want them to be,

-so I'm sure it's going to be well worthwhile, what we've done.

-Yeah.

Really exciting. Very exciting project.

'I really admire their resolution and determination

'and I look forward to walking up this lovely country lane

'and finally seeing the home this couple and this land deserve.'

'Let's get back to the back-to-backs of Armley, Leeds.

'These red-brick houses are as fine an example of a traditional Victorian terrace

'as you're likely to see. Apart from this one, with its 80s pebbledash cladding.

'The property was bought by personal trainer Patrick.

'He paid £55,000 for the terraced house

'and planned to restore the front of it.'

-Would you like to take it back to original brick?

-Yeah, that would be ideal.

-Wow.

-Cos they are brick houses and it should be celebrated, not hidden.

'Patrick also planned to neutralise the interior.

'So, two months later, has he restored this back-to-back brick by brick?'

# Back to life

# Back to reality

# Back to the here and now, yeah

As you can see, we've had the cladding removed manually,

but it's left a cement residue on the brickwork

and the past two weeks has been bitterly cold and too cold to use an acid wash.

However, we've test-washed it in a couple of places

and you can see the difference between the clean brick and what it looks like at the moment.

We've also got, just above the kitchen window,

we need to renew the lintel and we're also going to renew the kitchen window at the same time,

so that will be done probably this week or next week.

'Let's take a look inside.

'Patrick has removed the striking feature wallpaper

'and redecorated in light and neutral tones

'to ensure that the place appeals to the widest market.

'In the kitchen, he kept the existing units,

'replacing only the damaged doors, the lower cupboards and the kitchen worktop.'

In the kitchen, we already had these existing wall units

and we wanted to get new doors to match the upper units,

so we had a local kitchen manufacturer who made them to measure for us.

We took off the old tiles and this is a work in progress.

We haven't quite finished the new tiles yet.

We put in a new work surface, cos the previous surface was pretty horrible,

and just redecorated and freshened up throughout.

'Upstairs in the master bedroom, the cosmetic changes continue.

'Patrick recarpeted this room and hallway

'and fixed the broken sliding doors on the fitted wardrobes.

'In the bathroom, he has kept the suite and accessories

'and simple spruced up the walls with a lick of paint.

'Like the rest of the house, the bathroom needs finishing touches to cross the finish line.

'But has personal trainer Patrick struggled to keep himself motivated,

'working with his clients and on the renovation at the same time?'

I was on site quite a lot, racing from one job to another.

I'd finish with a client, come here, do a little bit, run off to another client,

so it was a little bit stressful. Some nights I was just so tired out.

But that comes with the territory, so it wasn't a big problem.

'The second bedroom in the attic has had a new carpet put down

'and the walls have been freshened up.

'In 2006, a road in Armley came first in a national radio poll to find Britain's friendliest street.

'So, did Patrick get a warm welcome here?'

The neighbours next door are always checking up, am I OK?

The chap next door is quiet. Chap two doors down in a builder who's going to help me with the external stuff.

So the neighbours are great here, and that's really important if you're buying a house of this type.

'So, it would seem Armley really is full of friendly face.'

# You'll love those gentle folks with homely places

# Happy hearts and friendly faces

# Way back in my home town

'Less likely to make Patrick smile is being one month behind schedule.

'That's double his original timescale. But what about his budget?'

We budgeted £6,500, including contingencies.

A big chunk of that budget was for the external works.

They're not finished yet, but by the time they are finished,

I'll be into about £3,600, £3,700.

A lot of things came in cheaper, like the electrician was cheaper than we budgeted,

chipping the cladding off was cheaper than hiring a skip and putting scaffolding up

and getting it shot-blasted, which is what I originally budgeted for. So the main savings were on that.

'Well done, Patrick. That will take his total outlay to just under £59,000.

'So, is he still planning to let it out or will he sell it on?'

I'm going to cover my options. Ideally, the faster option is to rent it out.

But if there's value in it, it might be worth considering selling it, as well,

but it's quite a quiet market for first-time buyers. So I'm open to both options.

'Let's hear from two local estate agents

'who may help Patrick make up his mind.'

'As you approach the house, you can see from the outside, it still requires some work.

However, it does make up for it when you come in.

It's obviously been finished off quite well

and it's quite spacious.

It's a great property. It was a quick and easy turnaround, I think.

Kept it neutral, nice and modern,

exactly what tenants and buyers want in this market, a blank canvas.

'What could this property achieve on the rental market?'

Given current rental demand, somewhere in the region of £500 to £550 per calendar month.

In rental, I would hope to achieve £500 per calendar month.

500 is pretty strong. That's probably going to be the top end of what might be achieved.

450 might be more realistic. But 500, if I could get that, that'd be great.

'Bearing in mind Patrick's total expenditure of just over £59,000,

'even a rental figure of £450 per calendar month

'would still give him a yield of between nine and ten percent. Not too bad at all.

'What would be the estate agents' sale valuations?'

I would hope to achieve £69,950.

Given the current sales market and demand in this area,

you're probably looking in the region of £80,000 to £85,000.

That's a big difference.

For £85,000, that is probably maybe a little bit over the top.

Anywhere in between is good. At least it shows I'm not losing money and some value has been added.

'Even if he sold for the lowest valuation of just under £70,000,

'that would still give him a pre-tax profit of around ten grand.

'So what's next for Patrick?'

Put my feet up, get on with some other projects that I've got in hand, not property related,

and maybe look at doing another house next year.

We'll be back next time with more auction-buying stories,

some successful, some less so.

-So join us next time for more auction action on Homes Under The Hammer.

-See you then.

-Goodbye.

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