Episode 45 Homes Under the Hammer

Sometimes, the property market is quiet. Other times, it's booming.

You need to know what you're buying is going to be a good investment.

One way to do that is to buy your next home under the hammer.

Whatever property you're looking for, you should find it at auction.

Here's what today's buyers spent their money on.

'In Derbyshire, this commercial property appears to have it all.'

A marble fire! What more do you want? It's great.

'On the Kent coast, my illusions are shattered

'at this one-bedroom maisonette in Sheerness.'

I cannot hide my disappointment.

'This two-up, two-down mid-terrace in Blackburn has me bemused.'

What on Earth is this?

'These properties have been sold at auction.

'We'll find out who bought them and what they paid when they went under the hammer.'

'I'm in South Normanton, Derbyshire.

'Once a busy coal mining hub,

'many of the houses were originally built for the mining workers.

'It's handy for the M1, and trains at Alfreton make it popular for commuters.'

The street is a mix of residential and commercial properties,

which is the same as the lot I'm here to see.

It's a commercial unit with a flat above.

That gives lots of flexibility.

You could rent out this unit and live above.

Rent out the unit, rent out above. Live in the unit... Whatever!

£56,00 was the guide price. Let's look inside.

'The shop and flat are next door to two takeaways.

'Great for passing trade and if you're feeling peckish,

'but not so great for the residential value.'

When you are looking at commercial property, you have to look through different eyes.

First, frontage. That's quite good.

Then adaptability of space. What you've got here is one large room.

Useful to have this kind of ceiling, which gives you flexibility with your lighting options.

All in all, from a commercial point of view, yeah. It's not a bad start.

Actually, it just gets better.

Apart from that main front area, there's a storage area there,

little kitchenette here.

Then the extent of the property continues outside.

Lots of really useful storage space.

An outside loo, which isn't really ideal, cos it is the only toilet facilities.

You'd want to try and move that inside.

A huge great storeroom here.

That goes on really quite a long way towards the back.

And then we come on to part two of this particular auction lot.

Because there is, upstairs, a flat!

Up there.

'So far, so good.

'This former office is looking promising.

'With this amount of space, it could be a profitable little unit.

'Let's see what the residential part has to offer.'

This is a real surprise because it's a lovely little self-contained flat.

The kitchen, you can't argue with that! Lots of space, new units.

Bathroom in there, too. Upstairs to your bedrooms.

Down the corridor to...living room?

What do you expect?

Not this, that's for sure!

A really nice size space. Double glazing so you don't get much noise.

Even got a marble fire! What more do you want? It's great!

'Upstairs, the bedroom could be described as compact and bijou,

'but a great double-glazed skylight lets in plenty of natural light.

'I'm quite impressed, considering its guide price was £56,000.

'Time to call in a local property expert

'to tell us a bit more about the potential of this promising lot.'

The current use is Class A1, retail, which would be ideally suited

to hairdressing, holistic therapists.

Subject to planning, a wide range of other uses.

Hot food takeaway licences

are quite popular down this parade.

It's between two hot food takeaway premises. That could be another use.

A property like this, one could have an owner-occupier.

Ideally suited for rental income as well.

There is a flat which has separate access, which is excellent.

The purchaser could have a separate income

from the shop, or various opportunities to be flexible.

The possibilities for this place seem endless.

What kind of income could it generate on the rental market?

The rent for the flat, in the region of £300 per calendar month.

The shop, with the workshop, a bit of a split.

You could separate the workshop, but circa £50, £60 per week would be my opinion.

'This place could prove to be a good little earner.

'If you rented both the flat and the shop

'it could bring in over £500 a month.

'What would the value be if it was spruced up and sold on?'

Once renovated, it would fetch £70,000 to £75,000.

One of the things I like to look for in property is flexibility.

You've certainly got that with this place.

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

Vacant retail sales unit. Vacant one-bedroom,

recently refurbished flat above it. Start me where you like.

May I say 62? 62? 60,000?

60,000? A lot of property for the money.

Guide is 56 plus. Start me at that, if you will.

55? Doesn't matter where we begin.

55,000? 54? Where you like

54, thank you. At £54,000.

54 is the opening bid. 55 somewhere else? At £54,000.

55,000, over on the right.

At 55. 56 is bid.

56. 57?

£57,000. 58? 58 on the left.

At 58,000. 59?

59,000. At 59. One more? £60,000?

At £59,000 here. 60 somewhere else?

60,000.

Thank you. At £60,000. 61 now?

61?

£60,000. A disappointing price but we're going to sell it at £60,000.

61.

61. 62?

62? At 61,000. The bid's at the back of the room.

£61,000 once.

Twice. Third time. All done?

Sold at 61,000...

'The successful bid was made by Glyn, bidding on behalf of Lisa, who lives locally.

'She paid £61,000 for the flat and shop,

'and I needed to find out what she wanted to do with it.'

Lisa, lovely to meet you. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Tell me why you wanted this place.

-Basically, to turn it into a beauty salon.

-Oh, wow.

-Probably a hairdresser's as well.

-Tell me about you.

-Is that what you do?

-I've something I've been doing for 12 years in South Normanton.

I converted my garage into a beauty salon and wanted to take it further.

-So this will be a heck of a jump up.

-Absolutely. Looking forward to it.

-What kind of stuff do you do?

-Everything from nails to facials, eyelashes, waxing...

All that kind of thing.

-What are the plans for this place?

-The same thing. I'll have three rooms, hopefully.

The front room being the nail part of the studio.

Then a room for facials and waxing,

and then a room for a hairdresser's.

# Keep young and beautiful It's your duty to be beautiful... #

'Sounds like Lisa has big plans, and she's got plenty of room.

'She lives and works down the road, so will bring the client base she's built over 12 years with her.

'With some elbow grease and forward planning,

'she could turn this place into a profitable little business.'

I've got where I can work, if I want to live here I can, or rent it out.

A workshop I can use for storage and a gym, which I've always had.

-Not a lot of money, for what it is.

-No.

Fantastic. I'm really, really happy with that result, to be honest.

-What are you going to do to sort it out?

-I've got a lot of friends, thankfully!

They're going to start this weekend, firstly with the flat,

and then with the workshop so I can start to store all my things.

Then we're going to change the front of the shop, to start with.

I want to make it into three rooms. Studded walls, basically.

Then all the fixtures and fittings.

'Sounds like a transformation for the commercial side of Lisa's property.

'She's not sure what she'll do with the flat just yet, though she could get away with doing very little.'

There's not a lot to do, fortunately.

A little bit of painting and cleaning up,

then getting new furniture, whatever takes your fancy.

-The flat is a bit of a surprise, isn't it?

-Absolutely!

-It's lovely.

I was quite surprised myself.

-What kind of budget have you got?

-I'm looking about £10,000.

-Really?

Quite a lot of work to do. Shop-fitting's expensive.

-Yeah.

-But you've got friends to help.

-Absolutely. Yes, I have.

-So what's the timescale?

-Probably a couple of months.

-Until you're actually in, operating?

-Yes. I'd say.

-What about passing trade? That's something you haven't had before?

-No. Never have.

It's always people have made appointments.

This will be a different thing, once again.

There's only me here, so whether it'll get that busy

that I'll have to bring somebody in with me, I'm not quite sure yet.

-Listen, good luck. I wish you all the best.

-Thank you very much.

So, exciting times and a new start for Lisa.

But kitting out commercial premises is notoriously expensive.

Will she manage to do it for that £10,000 budget?

Find out later in the show.

'Today, I'm in a wintry Sheerness on the Kent coast,

'where I'm hoping to find a bargain amongst this Georgian grandeur.'

This is one of the oldest roads in Sheerness.

Some of these amazing properties date to the early 1800s.

They really are such beautiful buildings.

Today's auction lot is just here.

It's a one-bedroom maisonette with a guide price of £35,000 to £40,000.

'That guide price of 35,000 to 40,000 got me pretty excited.

'Its commutable distance from London could make this an attractive rental

'or long-term investment, if you're able to wait for the market to pick up.

'So there could be sheer delight in store in Sheerness.'

SHIVERS

It is good to get away from the biting winds of Sheerness.

And what a nice surprise!

It's in relatively good condition. Some nice detailing.

There's a separate flat entrance there.

A couple of flats upstairs. Where's the one we're looking for?

Must be at the back.

'I really love the period details.

'Things are looking pretty hopeful for this one-bed maisonette.'

Oh.

I cannot hide my disappointment.

It's such a shame that this flat is tucked right at the back of this beautiful building.

I wasn't really expecting this.

It's almost like the room that somebody forgot.

There might have been a problem with a leaky bathroom.

The wallpaper's peeling. Signs of damp. I would get that checked out.

This staircase dominates the room.

I'm wondering if you could turn that around.

As you walk in, go straight upstairs. I'd look into doing that.

I don't think there's central heating, there's storage heaters.

It needs a lot of decoration.

The carpets, well! There are dog hairs all over them!

It's quite grim, I have to say. The kitchen...

You've got a little door leading out to the garden.

Not bad. You've really got to think about this place, once renovated,

smelling of fresh paint!

And I can't get out of my head that guide price.

£35,000 to £40,000?

That is quite cheap.

'Head upstairs and you'll find a small and outdated bathroom

'with a separate loo.

'The stair configuration means that you have lots of wasted space on this landing.

'That leads you into the only bedroom, which is not a bad size.

'It's all a bit shabby, and not in a shabby chic kind of way.

'But with a little imagination,

'I'm sure this upstairs space could be made to work much better.

'A further bonus is the garden.

'It is shared with the neighbours and you may not get a sea view,

'but it's a useful outdoor space.

'We asked a local estate agent for his thoughts on this

'and the property market in Sheerness.'

Sheerness is quite a popular area

for London buyers - you can be in London in an hour, hour and a half.

It's a little seaside town,

but it is popular with commuters, first-time buyers - properties are relatively cheap.

'What does he make of this one-bed maisonette?'

It's not a bad size property. It's close to the town centre.

To the train station, so it's idea for commuters.

Needs a bit of money spent on it, refurbished from top to bottom.

The good thing is that there is a garden to the apartment.

It is shared, but there is useable space to the rear of the property.

'Once renovated, what's the potential to this place on the rental market?'

We are getting very good rents. Sale prices aren't so high.

Rental wise, you could achieve between £500 and £550 per calendar month.

'Wow! If you snap this up for close to the 35 to 40 grand guide price,

'and kept an eye on the renovation budget,

'renting this property out could mean an astronomical yield.

'What about the resale market, where prices aren't quite as sky high?'

When the property has been completely refurbished,

you should be able to sell the property in the region of £50,000.

This is interesting - a sea-front property but without the sea views.

And it is a bit of a disaster zone. There's no central heating.

It needs a new kitchen, a new bathroom.

It needs money spending on it. But the guide price?

£35,000 to £40,000? Ha! That says it all.

Let's see who wanted it at auction.

Lot 46, we go to now, in Sheerness.

A vacant one-bedroom maisonette.

It's got nice storage heating. It's mostly double glazed.

Start me where you will. £35,000?

Not much money for a one-bedroom maisonette in Sheerness. Can I say £35,000?

£35,000 bid do I see?

Cheap money when you get a tenant in. A phenomenal return. All I'm looking for is £35,000.

Give me 30, then. Be silly. £30,000.

£30,000. I'm on the way. At 32 now, do I see?

31 if you like. £31,000 bid. I've got. At 32, it's against you.

32 I have. 33 now do I see? 33.

Maisonette here, £33,000? Are you all done at £32,000?

One more, I can do the deal. At £32,000 I can't. 33 I can.

Can't tell you what the reserve is, of course. £33,000 can I see?

We're stuck at £32,000. I'm looking for 33.

If you're not going to bid another one, I can't do the deal. No?

Well, you know what you've got to bid... 33.

I'm obliged, sir. I think you might buy a cheap lot.

33 I've got. 34 I want, if I can.

If not, £33,000 I've got by the door. £34,000 and it's against you.

You were bidding 32. 33 I've now got.

34 I want. I'm going to sell at 33. For the first time.

33 for the second time. With you at £33,000.

'Securing the property at the rock bottom price of £33,000 was Yanis.

'He attended the auction with his son, Gustavs.

'Yanis is a builder, stone mason and property developer.

'His partner Yvetta is an interior designer, and together they also run a granite worktop business.

# Hey, you the rock steady crew... #

'Originally from Latvia, Yanis and Yvetta now live in London with their two sons Gustavs and Karlis.

'I met Yanis at the property to hear his plans.'

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-You looked like a busy man on auction day. Who were you there with?

With my family. With a son, trying to bid for this property.

You had a baby under one arm, trying to buy something that cost £33,000!

Yeah. Thanks to him, probably, I bought it.

-Do you normally take your family to auction?

-This is the first time I went to auction.

-Why did you want to buy this property?

-Actually, I didn't.

I went for different property, but that price went up

and you've got to control your budget!

This is for my girlfriend for Christmas present.

I had to get something for her,

otherwise how can I live without Christmas present?

-What did your girlfriend say? Was she happy?

-She should be.

-Has she seen it yet?

-Not really. Only from floor plans.

I will show her when is everything ready.

-You'll show it to her properly when you've made it look fantastic?

-Yeah.

'I like your style, Yanis.

'Probably the right decision to spare your wife the currently grubby state of this maisonette.'

Is your girlfriend going to get involved in this?

Yes. She's interior designer.

-She's used to designing apartments.

-Is she going to have any input, put her special touches?

She does hardest job in the world at the moment, looking after the kids.

She will...

-Let's see.

-When you saw it for the first time, what did you think?

-Were you happy with your first look around this property?

-It could be OK for rental.

-OK. So what are you going to do to change this flat...?

-Create space.

-Without moving down or sideways.

-How are you going to do that?

At the moment, chimney breast is here, which takes a lot of space.

Then move that wall between kitchen and living room.

And has to be stairs made in right way, yeah?

Not from middle of the house,

but entering from the main door going upwards.

The same thing upstairs. Everything has to be made open-plan.

-Will you keep the toilet and bathroom where they are?

-No. It's a waste of space.

That hallway is so big in a small property.

When we turn the stairs around, we lose the hallway.

Then you will have proper size bathroom in one room.

How much do you think it's going to cost to do all the work?

-What's your budget?

-Budget is £5,500.

-£5,500?

-With a fully furnished, fully appliance, everything in.

-Who's going to do the work?

-My builders.

How long is it going to take to renovate this? How many weeks?

-Three, if the guys work hard enough!

-Three weeks?

-Yeah.

But if the guys are quite lazy, then up to four.

-Three to four weeks?

-Yeah.

-Yanis, good luck with this project.

-You're going to have a lot of fun. Can't wait to see what it looks like.

-Thank you very much.

Yanis is a real character.

What a fab Christmas present to buy your girlfriend! A sea-front flat!

Will it really take him just three weeks to renovate? Or will the builders be lazy and take four?

Join me later in the programme to find out what happens.

'Coming up, in Blackburn, this two-bed mid-terrace shows great promise.'

A good space. You can do things with this.

'Yanis has high hopes for his renovation of this one-bed maisonette in Kent.'

I hope other people will like it same as I like it.

'But first, in South Normanton, Derbyshire, Lisa's true colours shine through.'

I like to go a bit over the top.

We're back in South Normanton, Derbyshire,

'to check on progress at this commercial property with workshop and flat.

'Lisa bought it at auction for £61,000.

'She intended to move her beauty salon into the shop,

'and was full of ideas for the rest.'

I've got where I can work. If I want to live here, I can, or rent it out.

There's a workshop at the back that I can use for storage and my gym.

'Lisa set herself a budget of £10,000,

'and expected to take a couple of months to knock the shop and flat into shape.'

-The flat is a surprise.

-Absolutely. I was quite surprised myself.

'Five months after our visit, we're back to see what mark Lisa made on the property.

-CHUCKLES

-'This makes a welcome change

'from the magnolia we usually see.

'Lisa has brought her own style and has improved the layout

'to make it work really well as a beauty salon.'

I was fortunate enough to start with a blank canvas.

I've made a reception area.

The nail treatment area is where I'm going to be working from.

We put a studded wall in to turn this into a treatment room

so I can do the waxing, facials and body massage.

I really think that my clients will be happy.

'There's room for a hairdressing station, which she will rent out.

'At the back, she's streamlined the hotchpotch of little rooms

'to create a kitchenette and extremely useful shower room.

'The workshop has become part store

'and part home gym that Lisa promised herself.

'As for the flat, well, Lisa couldn't resist

'putting her personal style stamp on that, too.

'Rather than renting the flat out,

'Lisa has decided to make it her own and move in!'

Well, basically, I've just painted it.

And just put it all together, the chandeliers

and the lamps, and generally, it's where I like to relax.

I like to go a bit over the top. It does reflect my personality.

All this bling!

'And there was a pleasant surprise in store in the airing cupboard.'

It wasn't until I'd actually bought the place,

I thought, "I'll have a look round."

I found extra space in the loft, so converted it into a dressing room.

'It hasn't taken Lisa long to fill it up.

'Work meant that Lisa's timescale slipped from two months to five.

'But what about her budget?'

I did budget for about £10,000.

I've not spent every penny so I might treat myself this weekend.

'I think you deserve a treat, Lisa.

'Given the purchase price of 61,000 and her spend of 10,000,

'Lisa's total outlay fitting out the shop, workshop and flat

'comes in at just under £71,000.

'We asked two local experts to cast an eye over the property

'and give us their opinions on the shop.'

Since the property's been renovated, very much improved.

New shop frontage. Perfect for the use.

The location's ideal for a salon and for an owner-occupier

that we have now.

Very impressed by the finishing touches, really.

First impressions now are very good indeed.

It looks extremely inviting.

The makeover has been well achieved.

And new shop front, so looks the business.

'What do they make of the flat?'

It was in good condition previously.

With it being occupied it just feels more homely and very inviting.

I do have to say,

although the lady has put her own stamp on it,

it really is quite appealing and very, very presentable.

'Lisa's total spend was 71,000, so what do the experts reckon Lisa could make

'if she sold up the shop, gym and flat?'

The resale value in the current market condition is around £75,000.

The value of the property is probably in the order of £80,000.

'Those resale valuations mean Lisa could be looking at a pre-tax profit

'of between £4,000 and £9,000.

'But the rental market is stronger.

'They reckon the shop could command a rent of £290 to £330 a month.

'What about the flat?'

Rental for the flat would be in the region of £325 per calendar month.

This is very lettable. I have no doubt you'd get £350 a calendar month.

# Looking so good!

# You looking good

# Like I knew that you would, all right... #

'Looking good, indeed.

'Renting out the flat and shop could bring Lisa a very healthy yield

'of up to 11.5% before fees and expenses. How does that sound?'

I really hadn't thought much about it. This is mine.

It's where I'm going to be working from.

So it means quite a lot to me, really, whatever.

Yeah. That's good.

'Lisa's pretty comfy here for now.

'But what does the future hold for her, the flat and the shop?'

I'm not sure what the longer term plan is.

At the moment, this is my baby and I want to make it successful,

and that's what I'm going to do.

'I'm in Blackburn, Lancashire, once the weaving capital of the world.

'These days, it's a town on the up.'

Blackburn town centre is undergoing a multi-million-pound regeneration programme.

It's spilling out into the roads that lead into the town centre.

The council are restoring,

as you can see, all the properties on the way in. Fantastic news!

Especially if it's one you might buy, such as this. £45,000 was the guide price.

Two-bedroom mid-terrace. Let's take a look.

'The front looks in pretty good nick,

'with new door, windows and a nice new railing.

'But there's no escaping the fact that is a really busy road

'with a bus stop and double yellow lines.

'Let's hope things look better inside.'

What on Earth is this?

It's kind of a stud partition wall which has been

chopped out to create this interesting design feature.

Here's your front room. Good news it's got double glazing.

It would be infinitely better once that's gone!

-'I know what this partition needs.'

-# ..your sledgehammer... #

'A couple of blows with a sledgehammer, and this odd partition wall would be history.

'I wonder if the rest of downstairs needs the same treatment.'

To the kitchen, and a really nice surprise.

A good space. Clearly, the units would benefit from being replaced.

And what about this Swedish sauna look?

Decorating styles go in cycles.

Will this be back in fashion soon?

# It used to be so nice It used to be so good... #

'I wouldn't take a chance on pine cladding staging a comeback.

'If making money is the name of the game, I'm afraid this has to go.

'Now, what does this mid-terrace have in store upstairs?'

So, upstairs, two bedrooms.

A large one at the front

and a smaller one at the back.

Somebody's done a conversion to bring upstairs the bathroom.

I think, in this instance, worth the sacrifice.

To have the upstairs loo, big plus.

'Once upon a time, there may well have been an outside loo.

'Nowadays, there's not a lot going on out here,

'but you do get a garden of sorts.

'But I've spotted something that needs closer inspection.'

Well, here in the main bedroom,

problems with damp round the window.

The plasterwork is all blown out.

My guess is that's coming through the window.

It's clearly not rising damp.

It's unusual, so it needs investigating

to find out where the damp is coming from.

It could be a problem from before the external refurbishment.

Either way, it needs to be checked.

'I don't think the damp is a deal-breaker, but safest to get it checked out.

'If you did get this for its guide price of 45,000, it could be a good buy.

'We asked a local estate agent to give us his thoughts.'

It does need quite a significant amount of work.

The kitchen is cladded with pine boards and that really is

out of date by quite a few years.

'What does the estate agent suggest is the way forward for this two-bed mid-terrace?'

We need an upgrade to the kitchen,

an upgrade to the bathroom,

and I would pay attention to the outside of the property.

At the back, it is in a poor state.

'If the work was done, what could the property fetch as a rental?'

To let this two-bed property in this market at this moment in time,

you'd be getting between £400 and £425 per calendar month.

'If the purchaser were to sell it on, what kind of resale value would he estimate for this place?'

I don't think you could push the value above £70,000. That would be the absolute maximum.

Sadly, better on the outside than it is on the inside.

I still think this is a great property to go for, with all that's going on to refurbish Blackburn.

Shame about the road. Still, who fancied it when it went under the hammer?

Lot 56,

a vacant two-bedroom terrace.

Guide 45,000. Who's going to give me 45?

May I say 30, then? £30,000 and we're away.

£30,000. 30 I have. Do I see 35?

30 I have. 35,000 bid. It's against you at 40.

40,000. 45? Two of you?

At 40,000 I have. 41? 41,000?

41. 42?

42. 43?

At 43 I'm at, then. 43?

43,000? At 43,000.

It's your bid at 42. 43 anywhere?

42 on the right. 43? 43,000. 44?

44,000? 45?

At 44,000 for the first time, seated.

At 45. At 45,000, then.

45,000. Put you in for another one. No? 45,000 for the first time.

At 45,000 for the second time. Are we all done at £45,000...?

-BANGS GAVEL

-Easy as that!

# Easy like Sunday morning... #

'As easy as falling off a log, you might say.

'For bang on the guide price of 45 grand, the successful bid was made by civil servant Ifty.

'I caught up with him back at the mid-terrace to see what's in store for his first purchase at auction.'

-Ifty, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Tell me why you wanted this place.

An investment, really, to make a bit of money.

I'm buying it to sell. I'm going to do it up top to bottom and sell it.

-Do you know the Blackburn area well?

-I live about five, ten minutes away.

I've lived in Blackburn all my life, so I thought get somewhere local.

-What was it about this property?

-It was just a two-up, two-down, I guess!

It was a decent price. It's on a main road.

So I thought, "Go for it!"

-You saw the main road as a positive?

-Yeah.

Normally, you do have parking.

Because of work, they've put double yellows on this side.

You've got street parking on the side as well, so it's not too bad.

'A little local knowledge goes a long way.

'If the double yellow lines are removed when the work is finished,

'then parking will be easier and the property more attractive to buyers.'

Tell me about you.

-Um... Well, I work full time.

-What do you do?

I'm a civil servant.

I process benefit claims for people over 60.

Yeah, so I work full time, So I won't be doing a lot of work here.

I will be giving it to a builder to do everything.

I'll be project managing, I guess, make sure he's doing the work!

Have you done this before?

I moved into my house a few years ago, and did that top to bottom.

-Put a dormer on and that.

-Oh, right.

I've been helping my brother do his house as well.

I've not got much skilled experience

but I do a bit of labouring and stuff.

-Tell me what you're going to do.

-I was thinking of just a normal refurbishment.

New plaster, new kitchen, full electrics.

But then I thought it'll sell better as a three-bedroom than two-bedroom.

-So I am going to convert the attic.

-Oh!

-Into a third bedroom.

-Hopefully, put an en suite in or something.

-Oh, gosh!

Talk me through the costings, how much you think it'll add value.

Um, I think the whole work,

as a three-bedroom property, everything,

should be about 22,000.

I hope to sell it at probably about 80, 85.

Right. And how much will it sell as a two-bedroom, do you think?

I would get at least, probably about, I would say...75 at least.

-OK.

-But depends on the market, cos we're not selling as many houses.

£10,000 worth of difference. How much is it going to cost you to put that extra bedroom on?

Probably about 5,000 or 6,000.

But I feel that it will sell better as a three-bedroom than two-bedroom.

That's the main thing, really. Getting it sold!

'Alarm bells are ringing in my head.'

# Hey, ring the alarm

# Hey, oh! #

'I'm a little concerned that Ifty's expectations are on the high side.

'Six grand for a loft conversion is ambitious.

'But before Ifty attacks the loft, there's the interior to sort out.'

What about the front room, that really silly bit of wall?

Yeah, am thinking of knocking that down, opening the room up

nice and fully.

What about the ceiling in the kitchen here?

This is all going to go. I'll probably lower it.

-Skim it off so everything looks nice and cosy.

-Great.

-What timescale?

-Hopefully, within two weeks, I'll get work started,

-and get it completed within, hopefully, three months.

-Great.

-Then what for you? Move on to another one?

-Yeah.

Hopefully, I can sell it.

Cos, er... I mean...

Properties aren't selling as...they should be!

But yeah, sell it, then move on to something else, hopefully.

What if you can't sell it?

I will consider renting it but then, it's more of a hassle,

you know, maintaining the house.

If I do it top to bottom, I'd rather get it off my hands.

-I wish you all the best. Look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

Ifty going to his first auction and buying his first investment property.

I'm a little bit concerned that the numbers don't quite stack up,

the amount he'll spend sorting out that third bedroom, compared to the amount he'll get back.

Everything hangs on him being able to sell it which, in the current climate, is no given.

Find out how he gets on later in the show.

Time has passed and money has been spent. Are the results worth it?

Have our buyers been busy or let the grass grow under their feet?

Time to go back and find out.

# Smoke on water

# Fire in the sky

# Smoke on water... #

'We're back to Sheerness on the Kent coast

'to find out how granite and worktop impresario Yanis

'got on renovating this one-bed maisonette he bought for only 33,000

'as a Christmas present for his girlfriend Yvetta.'

-Was she happy?

-She should be.

-Has she seen it yet?

-Not really.

'Let's hope that he's transformed the place.

'He certainly had impressive plans.'

Everything has to be taken out and make open-plan.

'Yanis set a budget of £5,500,

'and gave himself and his builders a timescale that was just as tight.'

-How long's it going to take? How many weeks?

-Three, if the guys work hard enough.

-Three weeks?

-But if the guys are quite lazy, then up to four.

'Just five and a half weeks after our first visit,

'we're back to see how Yanis has got on.'

MUSIC: "Let Your Love Flow" by the Bellamy Brothers

'Yanis! We love it! I think it's safe to say you've aced this one.

'You've let the love and the light flow into the property.

'That grubby peach bath suite with separate loo is a distant memory.

'The wet room that replaces them is incredible.'

This bit we're calling my dream shower panel,

which has body jets and radio and different options,

like rain jets and a standard shower.

Then we have green lights coming through the back of the dream panel.

At the same time, you can enjoy music and have fun in the shower.

# Let your love fly Like a bird on the wing... #

'This property is more than just granite and great gadgets.

'By rejigging the stairs,

'Yanis has been able to fit in a second bedroom/study - genius!

'The new staircase gives more space and looks fantastic!

'To comply with building regs, it should have a banister.

'The open-plan kitchen/living room looks as though it belongs

'on the pages of a glossy magazine.'

The kitchen, it looks nice to me, because this is open-plan kitchen.

My idea was to make it less noticeable this is a kitchen.

In that case, I have designed a marble-made extractor fan

with a motor inside

and at the same time make it flush.

The hob and the sink I tried to hide in a corner with the tap.

It's not in the centre of the room. I'm very pleased with the kitchen.

It looks amazing to me and I hope other people will like it same as I like it.

'As long as they don't mind marble and granite, that's a safe bet.

'The stuff is everywhere. It's on the bedroom window sills.

'He's even used it to create a dining area in the shared garden.

'Do you think you've gone a little too far with the granite, Yanis?'

I didn't make a granite staircase or do skirtings out of granite.

This was everything left over from the jobs

and I managed to squeeze in this job and same time cleared my space.

'A-ha! So, how has using up leftover material from his day job,

'providing stone worktops, impacted on his £5,500 budget?'

I didn't count the bills.

I was buying and using my own goods.

But I spent, I could say, seven?

If I spent more, I will pay from my pocket.

'Seven grand? That's amazing!

'The build timescale may have slipped

'from four weeks to five and a half weeks, but that's still speedy.

'Yanis bought the property as a Christmas present for his partner, Yvetta.

'Does she think it's a cracker or a turkey?'

I think it's the best present I ever had!

He done great work, very good work. He was working very hard.

Days and nights.

'It looks like the hard work's not over yet,

'with Karlis and Gustavs so full of energy.

'We asked two local estate agents to give us their thoughts.'

It's amazing!

He's gone beyond what most developers would do in a property.

The quality of the finish in this property is much higher

than I expected in the local area.

It's more of a London standard, I would say.

Adding the second bedroom's certainly a benefit.

It attracts more buyers and opens it up to a bigger target.

Bathroom is fantastic! It's very high-spec.

The shower, you wouldn't want to get out of it. It's wonderful.

'Yanis has done this project on a shoestring.

'His total spend is a very impressive £40,000.

'What could it sell for now?'

The sell price would be around 60,000, 65,000.

This particular property I'd put up for sale in the region of 65,000 to 70,000, in its current condition.

'Those valuations could mean a pre-tax profit of 20,000 to 30,000.

'Not bad for five and a half weeks' work!

'But both estate agents agree the local resale market is not strong.

'So what about the rental market?'

The rental value of this property,

I'd say it would achieve up to £625 per calendar month.

I think, per calendar month, I'd be looking at achieving around 625.

Possibly up to £650.

'Looks like Yanis might be quids-in on this one.

'Those rental valuations could mean

'that he's looking at a mind-blowing yield of between 18.5% and 19.5%.

'What does the man himself make of that?'

Crazy money! Very high price.

Only to get the right tenants

who will look after the property.

I don't see any point to selling. In six years, I can get my money back!

'So the big question is,

'what will he buy Yvetta for Christmas next year?'

Good question. She has everything!

The only thing is missing marriage at the moment.

But I don't know. I am still too young to get married!

'We're back in Blackburn, to see how civil servant Ifty has got on

'renovating this two-bed mid-terrace which he bought for 45 grand.

'This was Ifty's first investment project.

'He'd set a three-month timescale and £22,000 budget to turn it around.'

I was thinking of doing just a normal refurbishment.

New plaster, new kitchen, full electrics.

Then I thought it'll sell better as a three-bedroom than a two-bedroom.

-I am going to convert the attic into a bedroom.

-Oh!

Hopefully, if there's space, put an en suite in or something.

'Three and a half months later, we're back. Has Ifty been nifty?

'And has this, his first renovation, gone as planned?

'So the first thing to say is that it's not finished.

'That's not to say that Ifty's builders were slacking.

'More than just that pine cladding has come out.

'Chimney breasts have been removed, walls rebuilt and partitions put up.

'On the first floor, the full extent of the work becomes clear.

'The damp checked out OK so it was full-steam ahead

'for Ifty, as he explains in the spacious master en suite bedroom.'

This was a large room to begin with.

We had the chimneys coming out to here.

I've taken all the chimney breasts out from the house.

I did have to make a full concrete wall,

which was a big job, but it's made these walls straight

and given us all this extra space.

I've had a lot of space to make an en suite.

I'm going to have a toilet, sink and shower, fully tiled.

There's space to get your drawers there and a nice double bed.

'The new en suite will take this two-bed mid-terrace property

'into a different league.

'But wait a minute! There's more! Bring on the loft conversion!'

It's a completely new bedroom up here.

It was a two-bed before, but I put a completely new floor up here.

Nice double bedroom. Got two nice sky windows.

I'm really happy with the finish.

It's definitely going to maximise the value.

A three-bed will sell better than a two-bed.

You've got nice storage space.

It looks nice. I'm happy with it.

'I'm really impressed with how Ifty's maximised the space.

'Those roof windows are letting lots of natural light stream in.'

# Let it shine

# Let it shine. #

'The property's two-up, two-down status is firmly in the past,

'but has it been at the cost of future projects for Ifty?

'Has the loft conversion broken the ceiling of his £22,000 budget?'

At the moment, it's about 18,000.

I think, to finish it...

I would like it to come to about 22,000, but it might be between 22 and 26.

Depending on how much the bathrooms cost and the kitchen,

and on what kind of finish I go for.

I want to go for a high-end finish to sell it, so it might go up to 26 to 28.

'Hang on a minute. 22? 26? 28,000?

'Watch out, Ifty. It's climbing higher the more you think about it.

'A 28-grand budget would take his total spend to 73,000, and he's already behind schedule.'

It's been about three months. My original timescale was about three months.

I think it'll be another month before we finish.

'It's not the worst I've heard in terms of shifting timescales,

'but he really needs to keep an eye on that budget.

'He's making a massive improvement, but will he reap any rewards?

'What do two local estate agents think?'

I didn't expect the amount of work to be done to this standard.

The property is completely different to the original layout.

If the amenities installed come up to the same standard of work,

it should be great.

Having had a look around, it's good how they've used the space very well.

A third bedroom is a good selling point, and also the en suite master

will be a good selling point.

In a competitive market, you've got to make your property stand out,

and if it's got an en suite, that's making it stand out from the crowd.

'No reason to be miffed there, Ifty.

'What about the rental potential of this now three-bed mid-terrace?'

There is a big demand for rental property in the area.

If it's done to a good standard, which it must be to attract tenants,

you'd be looking around £450 per calendar month.

I'd be able to rent this property out between a figure of £425 and £450 per calendar month.

'That's OK, a yield of around 7%,

'even if it costs at the higher end of his budget.

'Ifty's plan is to sell the property so, if his outlay does reach 73,000,

'could he still end up in profit?'

When renovated, the property could be sold for a figure of £75,000 to £80,000.

I think, if this was placed on the open market today,

we would be looking at a figure no greater than £80,000.

'Ah, so if Ifty does over spend on his budget and decides to sell,

'he could be looking at a pre-tax profit between £2,000 and £7,000, minus usual selling expenses.'

For the finish I'm going for,

I was expecting between around about 85 to 87.

Cos it is going to be a really nice finish.

I know that I will have to price it at a realistic price,

because of the market, but I was expecting about...80 to 85 really.

Close to the 85 mark.

But...it's OK.

I will still make something out of it so...it's not too bad.

'I hope he does make the figure he's hoping for because he's worked hard

'to create something special out of a property that didn't stand out before.

'Ifty's got vision, and that'll count for something in future, if he hasn't been put off.'

I would do this again because it's been a good learning experience

and just the way the house was at the beginning, really dark, dingy.

Now it's a really nice house. Once it's finished, it'll look superb.

That's the stories from today's show, but anything can happen and does happen on Planet Property.

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

-Goodbye.

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