Episode 76 Homes Under the Hammer

-Hello!

-It's not just homes that can be bought at auction,

there's office space, holiday hideaways

and even investment properties.

We've seen allsorts of outcomes and creations over the years

buying property under the hammer.

The auction is fast-paced,

but do your homework and you could be onto a good thing.

Know your facts. Buy the right property in the right location and at the right price.

Get the three Rs right and you could be onto a good thing.

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

Coming up... In Devon, wild horses couldn't drag me from this former coach house.

An amazing opportunity for a mind-blowingly brilliant project.

This Victorian mid-terrace in London has me hooked in more ways than one.

..10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16... 17 coat hooks!

And in Yorkshire, this detached property may look quirky and interesting,

but inside it doesn't quite match up to those expectations.

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.

It's yours, sir. Well done.

For the first lot that went under the hammer,

I'm in Devon, visiting a property close to the village of Exbourne.

Exbourne is very much a rural Devon village,

surrounded by beautiful countryside.

Yet, it's only five miles from Okehampton and all the facilities.

There's a shop, a post office and, of course, a pub.

And the property I'm here to see is just down this little lane.

The property is a former coach house,

built around 1840.

It's been a home for the horses, carriages and grooms for the local country house.

The coach house had a guide price of £150,000

and is in a great spot, overlooking the fields.

Let's start on the top floor, formerly the grooms' accommodation.

Well, those external stairs are the only access

to the main living accommodation, so that's not ideal.

But what have we got? Well, straight into this room here,

which is a living room, I suppose. Little wood-burning stove...

Very little in the way of heating. It is actually quite cold today!

You've got storage radiators. Definitely need to sort that. Bedroom there, I imagine.

You get the feeling straight away it's just one long...

..kind of linking set of rooms.

Not at all ideal. In a very shabby state,

nowhere more so than in the kitchen here,

which smells damp, it feels damp.

It's clearly in need of total renovation.

We're talking about ripping out the whole of the central part of the property,

leaving the walls, and reconfiguring it properly.

At the moment, it doesn't work, really, does it?

I'm wondering how much could be salvaged here.

There are some lovely fireplaces and original features,

but so much appears to be patched up.

The electrics are going to need a full safety check

and the plumbing will need replacing, as well.

As for the tiny bathroom and loo,

well, you can't ignore the damp, the cracks and the smell of mould.

And the cracks continue downstairs.

Well, downstairs, depending on your point of view,

it either gets much worse or actually much better.

These are the original stables.

As you can see, a lot of the original fittings are still here.

But what you've got is a fantastic space.

Now we're thinking about how we're going to do something with this property,

whether or not you could try and keep some of the feeling of this stable.

But either way, suddenly I'm thinking,

"What an amazing opportunity for a mind-blowingly brilliant project."

Off the stable area, there are two further rooms.

There's plenty of square footage here,

enough to make an excellent kitchen and living space.

But it's obvious just from having a quick look

that the structure needs serious attention first.

Like a lot of rural properties of this kind of age,

the coach house is made of cob.

That's a mixture of sand, straw and clay.

It doesn't sound very stable or long-lasting, does it?

Actually, it is, as long as the hat and the feet are in good condition.

Basically, as long as the roof and the foundations are OK.

But once the render starts to go,

or you have problems with the roof or the foundations,

things, as you saw there, just start to crumble

and then you really have got problems.

But this coach house, that went to auction at a guide price of £150,000,

has one last surprise in store, tucked away out of sight.

Come through this little archway

and what do you think you're going to find?

I'll tell you what, I bet you don't expect to find this!

It's a walled garden

with all these beautiful conifers.

I mean, on a frosty morning like this,

I imagine at any time of the year,

it's absolutely charming.

# In my secret garden

# A rose without a thorn #

In addition to the garden, there's an area to the front,

so in total, about half an acre of grounds.

We invited a local property expert, who works for the auctioneer,

to tell us more about this unusual period property.

What are the options for anyone tempted to purchase this former coach house?

I don't think the planners would be very keen on it being knocked down.

I think you could retain some of the character,

the beams and original fabric could be used again on a very nice conversion.

I think you can extend it under permitted development, I'm sure there'd be no objection,

and make a really nice three or four-bedroom house.

So a charming character property in a beautiful setting.

Once renovated, would there be a rental demand?

As a newly refurbished house, it would rent very easily.

Depending on whether it was a three or four-bed,

I think it would rent for between £900 and £1,000 per calendar month.

The property went to auction guided at £150,000.

So, once renovated, what could the place sell for?

If it was converted to a really good specification,

I think it would easily fetch £325,000, maybe even £350,000.

If you made it into a four-bedroom house by extending it,

you'd probably fetch something in the region of £375,000,

maybe a bit more.

Depending on what kind of a person you are, you'll be either thinking,

"Just no way!" or "What a fantastic opportunity."

I fall into the second category. I would love to take this place on.

Gorgeous location, fantastic little garden,

about as much character as you could possibly hope for...

Let's see who agreed with me when it went under the hammer.

On lot 54, we have a telephone bid. Tremendous opportunity here.

A two-storey former coach house. Guide price is £150,000-plus.

I've got a property bid, too,

so I'm going to start the bidding at £150,000.

I've got a bid of £150,000. Any competition from the phone or the room?

155. 160. 165. 170.

Any advance on 170? What about the phone?

175, new place. 175. 180. £180,000.

At 182. I've taken 182. You can go 185 or 184.

184? 185!

'This auction lot was, not surprisingly, keenly contested.

'We pick it up later,

'when the bidding has reached £205,000.'

205.

206.

207. 208. 209.

£210,000, seated.

211. 212? 213. 214.

215. 216.

Willing to go 217? Big shake of head there.

£216,000 it is, then. Sold to you, sir.

That final successful bid of £216,000

was made by local man John,

who currently lives nearby in Okehampton.

John and his wife have been looking for a new property

to make their home for the last six months,

and then spotted this old coach house.

Now they plan to do it up,

with the help of their son Paul, and move in.

I met John and Paul back at the coach house to find out more.

-John, Paul, lovely to meet you. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

What a great character place you've got here! Tell me why you bought it.

I think you need a bit of imagination, but...

I think the garden was the main draw. The garden's absolutely fantastic.

Cob-wall enclosed. Really super. And the house...

Let's talk about location. It's pretty good, isn't it?

Well, that's what we bought it for. It's all about the location.

I used to live in the village. Paul was brought up in the village,

my other children were brought up in the village, so we've got a strong local connection.

How lovely. And in buying this coach house, John is really coming back home.

And although his son Paul won't be living here,

he will be heavily involved in the project.

I'll manage the building works. We'll use various local subcontractors.

Dad's done the design and it's for me to implement it.

Paul, do you have experience in building works?

I have, over the last 15 years, done various construction jobs.

-My trade is I'm an electrician...

-Oh!

..but deviated away from that in more major building works

through various projects with my father.

-This is going to be your full-time job for a while?

-Yes, for the next, er, well, six months, hopefully.

What involvement will you have, practically?

I'll be managing it, getting prices for materials,

doing more of the stuff away from the site,

whereas Paul will be managing the contractors on site.

It's not just on building projects that John and Paul work together.

They also run an adventure activity site for kids,

providing hostel accommodation and outdoor activities

like kayaking and rock climbing.

Something tells me this renovation,

of what John hopes will become a four-bedroom family home,

will be a rather adventurous activity, too.

Tell me what you're going to do. What are your ideas?

OK, well, downstairs, this is going to be a lounge.

Very open-plan. We're trying to keep it simple.

And the other end of the building is going to be a kitchen-breakfast room.

We're going to make upstairs just into bedrooms.

There's going to be four bedrooms and a bathroom.

It's nice to go onto any project where you start with a blank canvas.

All of the walls upstairs are false walls, they're not load-bearing,

so they can all come down and have a new layout.

There's lots to do to keep us busy, but it'll be fun.

As for those cob walls, John's worked with cob buildings before.

Paul also knows the main things to watch out for.

The hardest thing is keeping the damp out on cob walls

and that's going to be one of the issues here.

We found out that the ground level at the back is higher than it is inside,

so the first step is to take the floor level down out the back

so that we know no wall is going to be travelling in.

And the second stage of it is to tank all the walls

and hold the damp back that way.

What kind of budget have you got?

Er, we're hoping about £40,000!

But 40 to 50,000 is the guide.

-I wish you both all the best. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-I can't wait to see how you finish it off!

-Me, too!

So John's keeping the renovation fairly simple,

which I think is a good thing,

and with the help of son Paul,

turning this place into the most incredible family home.

Still, it is a race against time to keep the water out of the walls.

Hope will they get on? Find out later in the show.

When it comes to location, the next property is off to a great start.

It's right beside Victoria Park,

one of London's finest and most historic green spaces.

Way back in the 1800s,

30,000 East-Enders signed a petition and sent it off to Queen Victoria.

It was a powerful petition

because it opened this park to the public in 1845.

Before that time, it was a private royal park.

Enjoyed by thousands of people ever since,

Victoria Park is a true East-End asset.

MUSIC: EastEnders Theme Tune

Often described as "the lungs of London",

its parks are considered a vital commodity in the city known as the Big Smoke.

You can feel a world away from the hustle and bustle,

but you're always much closer than you think.

The park is there, the property is here.

Yes! 10 out of 10 for location, then.

From where I'm standing, this house looks magnificent.

There's three storeys, four bedrooms.

The guide price - £350,000.

It all sounds a bit too good to be true!

# Wise men

# Say

# Only fools rush in

# But I can't help

# Falling in love

# With you #

I can't help falling in love with this place already

and I'm barely through the door!

Immediately, I've got a great feeling about this place.

It feels well-maintained.

And if you're looking to hang up your jacket, look no further!

There's not one, not two, not even three,

but four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,

10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16... 17 coat hooks!

You'd need an extensive coat collection or a very big family.

In here, you've got a wonderful reception area.

Lovely views of the park through that big bay window.

On a sunny day like today, it looks amazing.

The only thing I'd change would be this laminate floor.

It's not really in keeping with this property

and I would love to see if the original floors are lurking underneath.

If they are, I would definitely have them refurbished.

Reinstated period features are such a joy

and would make this house even more appealing.

Downstairs is in good order, save a few areas of dry rot,

which could easily be fixed.

At the back, there's a lovely walled garden.

And upstairs, there are more good-sized rooms, ripe for renovation.

The relatively low guide price was £350,000,

and I think all it needs is a healthy dose of TLC.

So far, so good. A great house for its low guide price.

So come on, there must be a downside here!

Do you know what? I think I've found it.

Unfortunately, at the end of that pretty little garden, complete with its apple trees,

is the A12, with lorries thundering past day and night!

Nice!

Not ideal, but adding some shrubs and installing double glazing should hide the worst of it.

Whilst I love this house, what would a local estate agent think?

We invited one along to find out.

This is a lovely-sized Victorian property.

It's got some really nice features, the sash windows, the bay windows,

and it overlooks the fabulous Victoria Park.

If I was going to renovate this house myself,

I would take the laminated flooring out,

strip it back to the original floorboards,

skim all the walls, leave all the sash windows in

and just give it a good thorough refurbishment.

One of the great benefits for property like this is,

you could renovate it as it is to have a beautiful family home

or you could split it to make two flats.

If the buyer were to refurbish and opt for the former,

what could the house sell for?

Once renovated to a high standard, this property could go back on the market for round about £575,000,

possibly more if done really well.

And if they were to divide it into two separate flats?

Round about £310,000 for a decent-looking two-bed flat.

Creating two flats certainly seems to raise the profit margin.

Rent-wise, the estate agents think they could get up to £1,500 a month each.

But how much rental income could you get

if it was renovated as a single house?

As a whole house,

I'd certainly be looking at around about...

..£2,400 per calendar month.

There are options here.

You could refurbish this house and turn it into a beautiful family home

or you could divide it into flats.

The investor in me has to opt for the second option. I think it's the more profitable.

Everything is subject to planning, of course,

but if you receive the green light from the planners for this lot,

it could make someone a pretty penny.

Let's see who was up for this East-End property at auction.

Where would you like to start? I'll take 350.

355. 360.

There was a lot of interest in this lot and the price quickly rocketed.

We rejoin as the price reaches 411,000.

411.

412. 413.

414.

415. 416?

One more go. It might be her sort of "That's my limit".

415. First time.

Second time. Third and last time. Are we all done?

Sold. 415. Well done. Well bought. It's a nice property.

The lucky and clearly delighted buyer is Marta,

with her bid of 415,000.

# Well, she always knows her place

# She's got style, she's got grace She's a winner #

Marta's a 25-year-old property investor

with a strong family background in the property market.

Her parents are successful developers in Portugal.

This mid-terrace house will be her biggest project to date.

What was really exciting about watching you at auction,

at the end, you clenched your fists and you were so happy!

I can't even remember!

Were you happy with the price you paid?

I went out to buy the property, I really wanted to get it and I was determined.

I'd been looking for something special, so when I did get it I was very happy.

I was happy with the price because of the size of the property. It's incredible.

-What would you have paid for this house?

-Erm...

What would you have gone up to?

I went in thinking it would go to 400,

and when it got to 415, I shook my head at the other bidder saying, "No!"

The auctioneer said, "Maybe she'll give up"

and I shook my head and said, "No, I'm going for it."

I probably would've been prepared to pay a little bit higher, going up to 450, I think.

So it turns out that securing this for £415,000

was a great deal for Marta,

and leaves her with a much healthier budget

to spend on getting it up to scratch.

I don't need to ask you why you wanted to buy this property.

It's amazing. I mean, everything about it...

The location is where I like to look for properties. This is where I've been looking for a while.

It's where it's happening at the moment

and I believe it's where people want a house,

so the resale capability is amazing.

With the Olympics and the redevelopment of the area, new businesses opening up,

I think it really was a place that I wanted to be.

-I think this area will benefit from the ripple effect. It hasn't quite yet, has it?

-No.

-But I think it will in time.

-It will in time.

I mean, if you go closer to Old Street and Brick Lane,

in the space of a year, that has been completely transformed.

So I'm hoping that in the space of another six months -

Whoever buys this house is going to be happy to walk out the front door

and skip along in that wonderful park.

-It's fantastic, isn't it?

-Amazing.

On a sunny day, it's incredible. The trees are amazing.

And it's so quiet and peaceful and I think that's what you want in London.

Does the front part outweigh the back?

What I'm intending to do with it is convert it into two maisonettes.

It has the potential to be two luxurious, high-end flats.

Each of those flats have their assets.

One of the flats has these amazing views of the park,

the other flat will have the beautiful garden.

Marta carried out a lot of research before buying this property.

Converting it into two flats could actually halve her risk here,

as flats in this area are much riper for resale than whole houses.

Do you have a Plan B? What if you don't get the permission and it has to stay as a house?

I have to say that I have an advantage in that area,

given that the house a couple of doors down

has also achieved planning permission that I'm looking for to turn it into two flats.

-OK, so the precedent has already been set?

-Yes.

There shouldn't be any reason why it shouldn't go ahead.

-Fingers crossed.

-I've got my fingers crossed!

If all goes well with the planners,

Marta hopes it will take between four and five months to complete the renovation.

She has a good budget of around £100,000.

What are her plans for the overall look?

I like to go for a contemporary feel, but with original features.

I want it to feel very warm, but still with a touch of modern.

I'll put plasterboard ceilings in, spotlights.

I'm going to try and restore these floorboards

because underneath this laminate,

I was shocked and very excited to find out

-that the real floorboards are here.

-They are!

-They're all there.

-Good news that there's been laminate over the top...

-Protecting them.

..to protect them! Fantastic!

-So, you are going to restore them?

-Absolutely.

All the original fittings I shall keep and restore because it adds character.

-Marta, good luck with this project.

-Thank you.

-It's been so nice meeting you. Take care.

-Thank you.

Marta is focused,

but she'll need to be to successfully manage this project.

With £100,000 budget and a four-to-five-month timescale,

she's certainly ambitious.

But it is a large development and I hope she hasn't underestimated the amount of work here.

How does she get on? Find out later on in the show.

Still to come... In Barnsley, this former hair salon has me all choked up.

Did Marta's renovation in east London go smoothly?

By the time we had permission, the bank would no longer give funds to my company.

But first, in Devon, John had bigger problems than expected.

I took some slates off and realised the timbers were in poor condition.

We're back in rural Devon,

Exbourne, to be precise,

where this former coach house, built around 1840,

sold at auction for £216,000.

It was bought by John

for him and his wife Mary to live in.

Their son Paul, a qualified electrician with renovation experience,

was going to help manage the project.

Tell me what you're going to do. What are your ideas?

OK, well, down here, this is going to be a lounge.

Very open-plan. We're trying to keep it simple.

And the other end of the building is going to be a kitchen-breakfast room.

We're going to make four bedrooms upstairs and a bathroom.

The cob-built property, with grooms' accommodation on the top floor and stables on the ground,

was in a very poor state of repair.

But with a beautiful walled garden

and character features desperate to be lovingly restored,

it was surely going to benefit from John's conversion.

He hoped it would take around six to eight months.

So seven months later, we're back.

How is the coach house looking now?

It seems like John and Paul haven't spared the horses getting this place into shape.

The exterior has been completely re-rendered,

with new windows and French doors letting in plenty of light

to reveal...

..a rundown workroom now turned into a stunning rural-style kitchen,

in keeping with the character of the cottage.

The former stable is now a comfortable lounge area.

It's an amazing transformation.

Everywhere there are the warm, inviting textures of wood,

complemented by the excellent quality of the carpentry.

So a fantastic final product. But how was the renovation for John?

It's changed completely.

We kicked off virtually the day we completed.

The scaffold went up, we got straight on,

took some slates off and realised that the timbers were in poor condition.

We decided to re-roof. That was the biggest job.

It was worthwhile. Now we've got a nice new roof.

After the roof was done, we moved straight down and started on the ground floor.

We took out the stable pens. We took up the cobbles, which we've kept.

We put underfloor heating in, new floor right the way through.

New staircase. The staircase was outside before.

And then we decided that we needed a new chimney.

Paul managed the project really. I did all the design work.

Paul was a bit frustrated sometimes

because the design developed during the build!

John and Mary took a very conscious decision

to design this house as a long-term home

and not with an eye to selling quickly for profit.

But this did impact on their original design for a four-bed,

as Mary explains...

The size could've lent itself to a four bedroom,

but for us, we were trying to keep the big dimensions of the rooms.

We decided we'd go for two big rooms and a smaller study.

But the study is still a decent-size room.

We didn't feel that there was a need to put ensuites in, as we're just "us two".

We've designed it very much around us.

We've got a small bathroom that guests can use.

We went for the master bedroom at the end,

where we can look over that walled garden.

They've got two double bedrooms and a study, rather than four bedrooms.

But is there potential to extend in future

without affecting the garden they love so much?

One of the options that we can do

is to build a conservatory on this end gable.

Now, the dilemma is, what do we do about the wall that we love?

One of the options is that we put an opening into the wall

so that we build the conservatory on the other side of the wall

and we can look through the hole and include the garden into the conservatory.

That's what we're certainly considering.

Their original budget for this renovation was estimated at between 40 and 50,000 pounds.

So, did John and Mary stick to their original figures?

Er, 60,000 we're at at the moment.

I'm sure there'll be a few more things. We've still got lots of work to go on the garden.

I'm sure Mary will want lots of things in there!

So, has all their hard work paid off?

We invited two local experts to view the property

and give us their opinion.

This house has always had a soft spot in my heart.

It was in a special location and one of those houses that you rarely find.

As an estate agent, you think, "Wow!"

I think they've done a fantastic job. It's a lovely home.

I think they've done a superb job.

They've paid special attention to retaining some of the character,

the exposed beams, shaped walls, whilst having all the mod cons.

I really do think it's a superb property.

The lounge and kitchen are fantastic living areas.

The fact that they've made the whole space more or less open-plan

is in keeping with today's trends.

John and Mary paid £216,000 originally at auction

and have spent a further £60,000 on renovations

during the past seven months.

That brings their total outlay to £276,000.

What sale value could the property realise now?

I would recommend an asking price of £365,000,

looking to achieve £350,000.

I would put a guide price of £350,000

and I would expect to achieve it.

A resale at £350,000

would mean a profit of around £74,000, before tax and expenses.

Considering how little time has passed since they bought it, are they pleased?

That's pretty spot on on what I thought it was going to be valued.

-Round about 350, I would've thought.

-Yes.

But it's not about price, is it? It's about our home.

So John and Mary have successfully tackled a broken-down coach house

and transformed it into the place they always dreamt of.

What do they think is the best thing about their new home?

One of the best things

is that we can sit in front of the old coach doors in the new window

and watch the sun go down.

It really is stunning.

It now looks like it should've done when it was built, as a nice, rural cottage.

It's ideal and we're very pleased with how it's come out.

Today I've come to Hoyland Common, just outside Barnsley,

with rows of Victorian houses.

With many amenities, there's plenty to keep property buyers happy.

Built around 1890,

the property I'm here to see is actually a commercial unit.

At a guide price of £20-25,000,

and it's this great big detached building,

from the outside, it looks like it's going to be pretty good value for money!

It seems to have quite a bit of character -

exposed brickwork and an arched window on the first floor.

So judging by the outside, the inside could be quirky and interesting.

That's a bit of a disappointment!

This is the bit I could see, which looks like it's in reasonable nick.

Sadly, inside doesn't quite match up to those expectations.

The rear of the property, this one room. Very high ceilings.

It looks like there might be something interesting going on up there in the loft area.

I'll maybe investigate that later.

But as you can see, it is in a bit of a state and looks like it's damp.

Hm. Let's take a look at the front.

Oh, OK. Thankfully, this front bit looks like it's in slightly better condition.

A sink unit... That's interesting. Actually, that makes sense

because up until quite recently, this was a hairdressers.

No toilet facilities, which is kind of odd.

Somewhere people sat... Presumably there was a chair where the cutting was done.

Good window space.

So if you were planning to use this as a commercial unit, that's good to have.

Good access from the front.

It has got that planning permission to be a business,

so it could be an estate agents or something similar.

Or you might want to consider converting it into residential,

which would require permission and may or may not be possible.

But as it is, it's quite a nice little space, really.

So my hair's all set, but this property does seem to be having one long bad-hair day.

# Almost...

# Cut my hair #

So, what has this place got going for it?

Next door, the ladder looks a bit dicey,

so forget clambering up there to see the first floor.

But by going outside, I'd say, judging by the pitch of the roof,

you could comfortably turn this detached commercial unit into a two-bed house,

subject to planning permission.

For a second opinion, we asked a local estate agent

to tell us what he thought of this place, guided from 20-25,000.

It is unusual in that it's a commercial property

in an area which is predominantly pre-war terraced housing.

There are commercial properties close by,

but this is very isolated in commercial terms.

The best use of this property would be to convert it to a totally residential property.

It has limited potential on the basis of a commercial property

because of the absence of parking and any other commercial property in the immediate proximity.

If the new owner did decide to let it out as a commercial property,

they could do that for around £250 per calendar month.

How much rental could you stand to make

if this was changed to residential use?

As a residential property, if it were improved,

I would anticipate you could get approximately £375 per month.

That could be £1,500 a year more as a residential property.

Bearing in mind the guide price of between 20-25,000,

how much could a resale fetch?

If the property was comprehensively improved and was two-bedroomed,

you'd be talking 55 to 60,000.

Well, it's a bit of a gamble, this one,

because it doesn't have that planning permission for conversion to residential.

But I think it's worth the gamble.

If you got it, this place would double in value overnight.

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

Lot 11. A guide of 20-25,000.

Somebody start me at 15. £15,000.

Thank you. 15,000. Do I have 16 anywhere? 17, sir?

18. 19, sir? Thank you. 20? No. 19,000, sat down.

£19,000, sat down. Anywhere else? I'm looking for £20,000.

Sir at the bar. Thank you. Is that a half or a full...?

£20,000. 21, shall we say?

Half. Yes. £20,500.

21. 21 and a half? 22. 22 and a half?

23. 23 and a half. 24. Four and a half?

25? 25 and a half? 26?

26,000 at the bar. 26 and a half?

27? 27 and a half? 27 and a half. 28.

28 and a half? No? All done?

£28,000, stood up at the bar, for the first time at 28,000.

The second time at 28,000. The third and last time at £28,000. Sold. Well done, sir.

That successful bid of £28,000

was made by cousins Sean and Andy.

Andy, on the left here, is an electrician by trade,

so he'll have the job of putting the spark back into this place.

Sean's a taxi driver,

so perhaps he spotted a fare that could give him a good tip.

-Sean, Andy, good to meet you both.

-All right?

-Congratulations.

Erm, why did you want to buy this place?

Well, purely to try and earn some money out of it

or perhaps rent on and make a bit of income for a pension for the future for us both.

OK, and why this place

above any other places you might've bought?

-It was our third choice.

-Was it?

-Yes.

-OK. What happened to the other two?

-We got out-bidded by the same person on both our houses!

Oh, no!

-So we came for this one.

-Right.

I drove past it, I was taxiing,

drove past, saw it, I phoned him up about it

and says, "I'm interested in something here,

"but we'll leave it as second or third choice.

"If we don't get the other, we'll look at this

"and if it's the right price, we'll go for it."

# If you want it, here it is Come and get it

-# Mm...

-# Make your mind up fast #

And went for it, they did! Luckily, the boys are well connected,

so they have a team of people all ready to tackle this place once they have a plan of action.

What do you know about this place?

From the 1890s, it was a bakery

and then, er, after that,

apparently, the back room was breeding for budgies.

But I think for the last 30 years,

one lady's owned it as a hairdressers, as you can see.

So it's been a hairdressers for 30 years.

Wow. And I understand it didn't close down that long ago.

I think it was about three months ago, so very recently.

You might even have former customers knocking on the door!

I'm prepared to do some haircuts, at the right price!

Well, since its days as a breeding home for budgies,

it's not such a pretty boy now.

And although making it a hairdressers again

could be a lucrative sideline for the cousins,

-I reckon the future for this place is, well,

-hair

-today, gone tomorrow.

-What is the plan for it, then?

-A two-bedroomed house, hopefully,

if we can turn it from business to residential.

If not, we'll go for a one-bedroom flat with the business still here.

But hopefully, a two-bedroom house.

Everything round here's residential,

so we thought we've got more chance of swapping it to residential.

-That was us plan. We'll see what Barnsley Council has to say.

-Right!

Tell me what you're going to do.

Presumably, you'll have to see what happens with the planning.

Well, firstly, we can start by taking it down to the bare shelf, taking all the panelling off.

Getting it down to bares, you'll see if there's any dampness coming in

and sorting that before we do anything structurally.

We can at least make a start on doing some work.

The big thing is the planning. If we can get that sorted out...

Basically, we want to drop the ceiling by about,

I mean, it's higher in there, about a foot and a half, give us more room upstairs.

If we get planning permission for a dormer on the front, it'll make a big difference.

Well, planning permission can take time to come through

and there's no guarantee that the cousins will be successful.

But these guys have already bought one other investment property together

and their working partnership is firmly rooted in family history.

-We've been brought up together...

-We know each other.

I mean, we've been brought up together

because my dad and Sean's dad lived within 100 yards of each other.

-On the same street.

-We've known each other all us life.

We go out together, we drink together, so...

And he knows I'm boss, so... THEY LAUGH

It's always good to know the chain of command,

even when it's family ties that link you together!

Andy and Sean have a four-month schedule,

so I reckon, despite its problems, this property won't test their relationship.

But the budget... Well, that's a different matter.

He's got a figure and I've got a figure, and he knows better than me.

He's saying £15,000 and I'm saying £25,000.

-Right.

-So we'll work in between that!

Why do you think it's going to be £10,000 more?

-I'd rather go by the higher amount, just in case.

-Right.

Just purely because, er, I don't want to take any risks.

I think it'll be 25.

It's one of very few detached properties on the street.

Nearly every house on the street is a terraced.

If we can do it right, it'll look nice for all the neighbours,

we'll sell it on at a reasonable price and we're all happy.

-Congratulations. Good luck. We'll look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

I think Andy and Sean have known each other long enough that working together shouldn't be a problem.

But who will be right on that budget?

Will it be 15 or £25,000?

And before that, will they manage to get that all-important planning permission?

Find out later in the show.

We all know that home is where the heart is.

Will our buyers be heartbroken or will they have a spring in their step?

Let's go back and find out.

Time to head back east - Homerton, east London, to be precise -

where property investor Marta purchased this four-bedroom Victorian house for £415,000,

but not before she faced a battle of wills at auction.

I went in thinking it would go to 400,

and when it got to 415, I shook my head at the other bidder saying, "No!"

The auctioneer said, "Maybe she'll give up"

and I shook my head and said, "No, I'm going for it."

And she certainly went for it.

Marta's grand plan was to halve her risk on the resale market

by splitting her property into two flats.

She hoped to have the conversion turned around within four to five months.

21 months later, has Marta managed to realise her vision?

Even outside, the property has been transformed

by stripping the paint to reveal the original brickwork underneath.

Inside, Marta has successfully transformed this large family home

into two separate three-bedroom flats.

The lower ground-floor garden flat features a large open kitchen and living space.

Although a few touches need to be added and the flooring is yet to be revealed,

it already feels light and spacious.

There are three bedrooms

and a new bathroom has been installed.

At the back there's a good-size garden, ideal for relaxed summer barbeques.

But what about the flat on those two top floors?

It, too, has been beautifully renovated.

Just look at those lovely floorboards!

To the front, it enjoys great views across Victoria Park.

As with the ground-floor flat, there are some finishing touches needed here, too.

And Marta's created a bathroom out of thin air. Well, kind of...

The bathroom wasn't here initially. It's not finished. It needs a few final details.

We've actually fit it in between two rooms.

As you can see, it took a little bit of space from this room here,

but it's such a huge room, I don't think it really makes a difference,

and you still have this amazing view of Victoria Park.

Well, these three certainly seem to be enjoying the view!

But top of the pecking order must be the heavenly area that Marta didn't even know existed.

The roof terrace was an absolutely fantastic find.

We came up here, it was in absolutely terrible condition,

so we put some decking down and kept the original chimney.

I didn't think it was a good idea to cover that up. It's so beautiful, it really adds to the view out there

and these original features in here.

There are still some safety features to be added here, but what a fantastic space!

I'm so pleased that Marta has kept so many of the charming original features.

Quite rightly, she seems pleased with the results.

And I'm not surprised, because in the process, Marta experienced hold-ups with the planning process

and difficulties getting the finance needed.

They contributed to a delay in the renovation,

though Marta was able to devote her time to another project.

But this is clearly a good example of "buyer beware".

Not getting planning permission as soon as you hope can have a real domino effect,

not only in terms of timescale but funding, too.

Once these issues were sorted, the work took six months and is nearly complete,

just slightly over Marta's original four-to-five-month estimate.

But what about that crucial old chestnut - budget?

The original budget was 100,000

and we actually managed to keep within,

including all the legal fees and stamp duty,

so, in fact, we spent 100,000 in total.

No wonder this girl's grinning!

But not without facing some challenges first.

Project managing is tough.

I'm a young girl, which is unusual in this world, but it's quite exciting.

I buy everything, I'm on site in the morning, all day, and then I go and buy materials.

So it's a full-time job, obviously.

It's quite exciting to see the final product.

I can't wait to see everything absolutely complete, on the market and selling very quickly!

Sounds like a good time for us to invite two local estate agents

to cast their eye over the newly split-in-two property.

The owner squeezed quite a bit of space out of this house

and we've got two apartments.

Perhaps the bottom floor's got too many bedrooms,

they're a bit smallish,

but apart from that, lovely flats.

The key selling point is with the top-floor flat.

A lot of properties have no outside space, so that adds value.

The same with the ground-floor flat having a garden.

So estate-agent approval for the appearance...

But Marta's an investor, so let's talk money.

She paid £415,000 for the place

and spent £100,000 on the work,

bringing her total to £515,000.

If I was to put the top-floor flat on the market,

I'd be looking to place it at around about £450,000.

I'd be looking to market the top-floor flat for around £450,000.

If we were to put the ground-floor flat on the market,

we'd be looking to achieve around the £400,000 mark.

I'd be looking to market the ground-floor flat at around £400,000.

Wow! Really impressive! That's fantastic news!

It was such a great investment and it took so much time, love and effort,

that just puts the cherry on top of the cake!

No wonder she's happy.

That's a healthy £335,000 profit,

minus the usual tax and expenses.

What about the rental potential?

The agents reckon the garden flat could make £2,200 per month

and the roof-terrace flat between £2,300 and £2,600 per month!

That's an impressive yield of between 10 and 11 percent.

But Marta always intended to sell.

Is that still the plan after all her hard work?

It's been an arduous process. I've put my heart and soul into this project

and it's so nice to see it all come together at the end.

I'm actually glad to feel that it's actually over now!

A little bit sorry to see it go,

but I'll be very happy to put it on the market and see what I get for it.

Earlier in the show, we were in Hoyland Common, near Barnsley,

where we saw this detached property snapped up at auction for £28,000...

-Sold.

-..by Sean on the left and Andy on the right.

The pair planned to change it to a two-bed residential property

from its current status as a commercial unit.

Until recently, it had been a hairdressers,

but originally started out as a bakery.

Funnily enough, they couldn't agree on how much dough they needed to renovate it!

He's got a figure and I've got a figure, and he knows better.

He's saying £15,000 and I'm saying £25,000.

-Right.

-So we'll work in between that!

For the work necessary, my money was on Sean's higher estimate of £25,000.

But if they couldn't get planning permission, who knows where they'd end up?

Ten months later, we return to Hoyland Common

to see just what Sean and Andy have achieved.

Outside, the front has new double-glazed units

and around the corner, new double-glazed windows and doors have been installed -

altogether far more appealing.

Let's hope it's the same inside.

# How d'you like me now?

# How d'you like me now?

# How d'you like me now?

# How d'you like me now? #

Considering what was here before, this is a stunning transformation.

And that's just the beginning.

When we first got the property,

there was found to be a lot of damp and mould problems in the kitchen.

When we took the plaster down to the bare brick, it was quite dry.

That took a lot of problems of what we weren't going to do.

In the rest of this room,

we raised to floor up about a foot

and put Kingspan down to comply with building regs.

We raised the window up about 18 inches

and raised the door up about eight to ten inches so we didn't have as many steps.

All the new windows...

Then the staircase to get access to the two new bedrooms.

Two new bedrooms? Well, let's face it, the staircase was a bit of a giveaway.

But it's great to see that Sean and Andy

got their planning permission for the changes.

Originally here, it was an empty shell,

what was used originally as a bakery for a granary.

What we've done, we've put VELUX windows in,

we've insulated the walls.

We've had four steels put in to support the roof.

All this has been insulated through.

Originally, I was told,

I was advised to go for a one-bedroom house and I personally wanted two bedrooms,

and we've got two bedrooms.

We've two bedrooms and a bathroom and I think it looks nice.

It certainly makes the house far more attractive to first-time buyers,

a small family or just as a rental.

Was it straightforward getting that change of use?

To go through planning permission, because of my inexperience in that area,

I took care of it, but it was harder than I expected.

But Barnsley Council were quite flexible

and answered all my questions and helped me out a lot.

It's always good to get the planning people on your side.

But complying with the strict building regulations wasn't easy at all.

The insulation required on the walls

meant that the final interior floor space was smaller than before.

For much of the renovation, Andy was mainly involved with his electrical business,

leaving Sean to do most of the project management.

I think Sean's learnt more than me

on the planning side, the management side.

He's got a lot of information, a lot of contacts,

so he can ring people and stuff like that.

I've got a rough idea what's been done,

but I think Sean has learnt a hell of a lot on the building-reg side.

Structural regs, building regs - I've learnt a lot, definitely.

Unfortunately, that education came at a cost.

As first-timers, they'd anticipated a turnaround of four months,

but getting that permission, complying with building regs

and dealing with the pitfalls of project management

meant they overran by six months, a total of ten months.

How did the budget cope?

Originally, I said about 15,000,

Sean said about 25,000,

and I think we're pushing about 30,000

when it's completely finished.

Add that £30,000 to their original purchase price of £28,000

and Sean and Andy's total outlay is £58,000.

Time for two local estate agents to give us their opinion

on the cousins' first development.

My first impressions of the property

are that it's been done to a very good standard,

good fitments throughout.

They don't seem to have cut corners, so all good first impressions.

I think the property's very nice. It's been done to a good standard.

Nice new kitchen,

the bathroom fittings are very nice. It's a very good property.

Sean and Andy are undecided about whether to rent or sell the house.

So, what sort of returns could they make?

Remember, they've invested £58,000 here,

so, what could a resale achieve?

My opinion of a resale value, I would suggest £70,000 is achievable.

I would put this on the market for between 70 and 75,000.

70, 75 is a little under.

I think towards the 80,000 mark, personally.

But it's what I expected them to say. 75,000 - I expected that region.

A sale of 75,000 could give them a possible pre-tax profit

of £17,000 on their first ever development.

And with potential rentals of up to £450 per calendar month,

they could get an annual yield of just over nine percent.

With that level of return in prospect,

are they already planning their next development?

If we rent it, we may be interested in buying another property.

But it's down to whether we can sell this. If it sells, we may buy on.

But like the climate at the moment, if it doesn't sell, we may hold off for a while.

Well, we hope we've shown you how rewarding renovations can be,

so long as you're prepared for the unexpected!

-From the both of us, we'll see you soon.

-BOTH: Goodbye.

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