Episode 80 Homes Under the Hammer

-Welcome to Homes Under The Hammer.

-Where we bring you

the best auction action and the renovation highs and lows.

There's no doubt all sorts can happen when you buy your home under the hammer.

Now, you should always work out your maximum ceiling price before you head to the auctions.

And don't forget to factor in those extra expenses like legal fees and stamp duty.

Yes, wise investors always allow for a contingency fund.

So let's see what tempted the buyers on today's show.

'This three-bedroom semi-detached in rural Kent

'might need some work but still ticks all the boxes.'

What can I say? It's a great house.

'In Cardiff, if you want a blank canvas, this could be just the place.'

Spindles, yep, they've already gone, as well. This house has really been stripped back.

'And this Cornish cottage has plenty of accommodation on three floors, some big and some tiny.'

How odd!

'All of these properties went to auction. We'll find out who bought them and what they paid

-'when they went under the hammer.'

-HAMMER BANGS

'I'm in Kent in Hartlip near Sittingbourne,

'an idyllic spot in England's beautiful countryside.'

# There will be peace in the valley

# For me someday

The property I'm here to see is right out in the countryside and it sounds like a big one.

The property itself actually doesn't look that huge. Three-bedroom semi-detached.

But it comes with four acres of land.

The guide price was £240,000 to £250,000. Let's take a look inside.

'The property was built in the 1950s by the local water board

'who own some of the land surrounding it.

'Apart from the next-door neighbours, this location is really remote,

'so if you enjoy the peace of the countryside then this is ideal.'

OK, what have we got? That's a good start. A nice big entrance foyer here.

Somewhere to put your coats and your boots.

You're in the country here, that's what practically you need.

Living room on there. It's already got a sort of 50s/60s feel to it

and I'm not sure how much work's been done since that time.

It all goes a little bit problematic when you step through to the rear of the property

where you've got the kitchen. Now, in a house like this,

I want to see a big, open-plan, farmhouse-type kitchen.

What you've got is this fairly 60s, 70s bit of stuff. Get rid of that, basically.

Good news is, though, dining room there, and I reckon not too much work to take out that wall

to create that really big, family kitchen/dining room that you need.

So, I'm enjoying this place.

# Enjoy yourself

# It's later than you think

'At first glance, you may not see why I'm so excited.

'But look past that dated decor, all this place needs is some money spent on it

'and it could be a cosy family country home. And there's even more potential through the back.'

# Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself

# It's later than you think

So, through the kitchen and, good news, a downstairs loo,

perfect for that country lifestyle.

And then on the side of the property, this conservatory.

Now, it's not to everyone's taste, but it is a useful space.

It seems to have been a little bit patched together, the electrics stuck on the walls

and pipes everywhere. I'd want to see this ideally replaced by something a bit more in keeping.

But opening out the whole property to this glorious countryside that's all around,

it's a good size space, it just needs to be sorted out a bit.

'So what has this property got in store for me upstairs?'

Upstairs you've got a bathroom. Well, it is a bit dated but it's a reasonable size

so you could sort that out without too much trouble. I really like this big open landing area.

It gives a feeling of space. Really good sized double bedroom at the back,

double bedroom at the front and then a smaller box room there.

What can I say? It's a great house.

'But of course, at the guide price of £240,000 to £250,000,

'you don't just get a house, you get four acres of land.

'But all I can see out at the back is a great size garden and nothing else.'

# Something, something

# Something is missing

Well, sadly, the land that comes with the property isn't directly adjoining it.

It's just up this lane.

'The water board own the land between the property and the fields that come with it,

'but it's only a short brisk walk away, giving you time to fill your lungs with some fresh country air.

'And when you get there, you won't be disappointed. The space is vast

'and there are even some old stables. Handy if the buyer has any ponies.'

First of all you've got this stable block. It's not in bad condition.

You could use it as it is. But much more important from my point of view

is that a precedent has been established. There is a building here so the planner can't argue

about you either restoring it or putting something else of a similar style in its place.

That's because we are actually on green belt land,

so the idea of doing something with the land itself, your four acres behind me,

well, if you're thinking about building on it, forget it. And it would be a shame anyway.

So what can you do? At the moment, it's separated out into four paddocks,

so you could keep it like that, you could rent it out to local people,

you could use it for your own livestock,

or why not just have it as a great big fantastic back garden?

'There's plenty of potential both inside and outside this place.

'We asked a local property expert for his opinion.'

The potential of this property is phenomenal.

It offers a lot for people with or without horses.

It's just a nice location, nice sized house.

Personally, I think the property would benefit from an extension,

as you're looking at the front of the property, to the left a double storey to make the aspect wider.

Properties like this very rarely come up with as many as four acres.

The fact it's not attached to the property, it's just slightly away from it,

is probably a bit of a deterrent for some people.

However, I understand that the water board are likely to lease a strip across

so you can connect it to the property. That'll make it very popular.

'The land and property went to auction at a guide price of £240,000 to £250,000.

'What could it be worth once renovated?'

I should hope that if the property was modernised and kept to the same layout as it is,

just decorating and new kitchen, bathrooms, just brought up to a modern-day standard,

we should be getting about £320,000.

'What if the buyer decided to let it out?'

Rental potential is kind of limited because of where it is.

However, I think you should be getting around £950 per calendar month.

Well, there are some houses that just have so much going for them and this is certainly one.

Yes, it needs a bit of tender loving care

and a few modifications to the house,

but you know what, can't knock the location, you've got the land,

somebody is absolutely going to fall in love with it. Let's see who that was when it went under the hammer.

Where do you want to start me? 230 to start me. £230,000.

At 230. 230.

230, I've got you. £230,000. I'm obliged. 230, I'm on the way.

At £230,000. Now 235 if you like.

235 I've got. 235. And 40.

240. 240 I've got. And 5 now if you like.

At 245. Are you all done at £240,000?

245 in a fresh place on my right-hand side.

At £245,000. He's just made one bid.

248 I'll take from either of you if it helps you.

248. 248, otherwise at 245, make no mistake, it's in the room, then,

to sell it for £245,000 for the first time.

It's worth one more go. 246 to either of you.

At 245,000 for the second.

-Third and final time if you're sure you're all done at £245,000.

-HAMMER BANGS

It's yours at £245,000. Well done.

'That successful bid of £245,000

'came from husband and wife Bill and Debbie.

'They live near Chatham, just ten minutes drive away,

'but want to move somewhere more rural.

'Debbie works with children as a community liaison officer for the council

'while Bill is a builder. That's going to be handy in this place.

'I caught up with Debbie back at the house to find out their plans.'

# Yes, I'm going to be a country girl again

-Debbie, lovely to meet you.

-And you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

You looked quite excited at the auction there.

-Yes. Over the moon. Couldn't believe it.

-Really?

-Couldn't believe our luck.

Right. So why did you want to buy it?

It's our dream. We just were...

We weren't actually looking for a place at the time,

our house is up for sale but we didn't think we would come across anything like this.

Someone made an offer on our house and we just thought, "Right, we need to have a look".

-Right.

-And the catalogue came through the door,

and we just thought every day, all day long, we'd like something like this, the land, the house.

This just showed so much potential, although we hadn't seen inside.

-You bought it without seeing inside?

-Yeah.

-How come?

My husband's a builder so we just...

We'd driven past, had a look,

bumped into the daughter of the seller

and she said it was a sound property. We had it surveyed.

-Oh, right, so you'd had it surveyed.

-Yes.

-But you hadn't looked round it.

-No.

'Luckily for Debbie and Bill, the survey didn't find anything of concern, just some surface cracks.

'But builder Bill should easily be able to deal with those.'

So tell me what you're going to do to sort it out.

We'd like to open-plan the kitchen and the dining room.

We will possibly rebuild the conservatory and go up a level,

just to put on an extra bedroom. We're quite social people, as well,

so when people come over, having found the location,

it's nice to have a glass of wine and be able to stay the night, I think.

'Debbie and Bill have three children but only one who still lives at home,

'so the size of this house is perfect for them and any visitors that stay over.

'The property itself wasn't the only attraction.

'Those four acres of land were ideal for Debbie's plans.'

Why was the land so important to you? Have you got horses?

I haven't got horses. I would like to rescue some animals, potentially.

I'm a huge animal lover,

so that's part of the dream,

just to be able to house a few animals,

have a few chucks running around the back garden.

I'm quite keen on alpacas, although I've never owned one.

-Alpacas?

-Alpacas, yeah.

-Like fluffy llama type things?

-Yeah.

Bill would like a couple of pigs, but that's way down the line.

-Wow!

-We've got to get this sorted first.

# On animal farm

# My animal home

'There's certainly plenty of space for a whole menagerie of animals.

'But wisely, before they start filling those stables and fields,

'they're going to tackle the work in the house.

'Of course, Bill will do most of it. They have around £10,000 to play with,

'or maybe more when they sell their other property. What's their timescale?'

I think within the next six months, we'd like to be in.

So that will be the major house work done.

-Great. Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-I'm delighted for you. Good luck.

-Thank you.

Well, how fantastic that Debbie and her family have got this place.

How are they going to get on turning it into a home

and an animal sanctuary?

You can find out later in the show.

'Today I'm in Ely in South Wales, about three miles from Cardiff city centre.

'The area has a lot to offer, with close-knit communities, affordable housing

'and great transport links into the Welsh capital.'

The properties on this cul-de-sac are quite typical of this area

in that they were built by the local authority.

The house I'm here to see, well, it should be really easy to spot

because I'm told it's been shuttered up with security shutters,

which means, ah, it'll be that one.

Yeah, it's not particularly inviting so far, but let's not judge a book by its temporary cover.

You can see there's a decent space at the front

and inside, well, I think I might need this to investigate further.

'The house had a guide price of £49,000.

'Apart from the shuttering on the windows,

'the guttering needs to be fixed, but the brickwork looks OK.

'And once you've cleared the rubbish, there's off-street parking, so that's a bonus.'

Yes, I'd like to get rid of those shutters straight away.

This is the living room and with those windows uncovered,

I know this will be quite a big, light space.

Actually, I don't even need this. It's not as bad as what I thought, so a good start.

But I don't like these horrible old cold floor tiles.

I'd like to rip these up and put something a little more homely down.

So far it's just cosmetic work.

Maybe we could even reinstate this fireplace here,

open it up, it will give it some character, because I think this room needs that.

Through here is the kitchen but, oops...

# Where did it go?

# Where did it go?

'It looks like this one's been raided for parts

'because there's nothing here at all. So, you know what that means.'

You're going to have to think about shelling out for a brand new kitchen, rewiring, replumbing.

And you're definitely going to have to clear out that garden.

'So you have to look past the piles of rubbish to what could be a great garden.

'You just need a bit of imagination, some green fingers,

'a big skip and you could make a massive difference out here.

'And although the windows are all shuttered, like the front,

'the brickwork doesn't look too bad. At the back door there's even a little porch

'and a cupboard which could either be used as a handy storage area or converted into a downstairs loo.

'Time to head upstairs and see what else you get

'or don't get in this house that was guided at £49,000.'

Oops. Spindles, yep, they've already gone, as well.

This house has really been stripped back.

You've got the bathroom here. Looks like the loo seat is all that's needed in there, and a good scrub.

And you've got two decent size bedrooms on this floor.

There's also a little loft room.

That is a bonus space up there, but before you get all excited,

I would check it's got building regulations, because my guess,

by the look of this narrow, wobbly staircase,

you'd need to investigate further before you can call that bedroom number three.

'Still, this loft is a usable space

'and the new owners could look at bringing it into line with building regulations

'to make the house officially three bedrooms.

'But what potential does the rest of the place have?

'We asked a local property expert to take a look

'and give us his opinion.'

First impressions of the property is quite frightening.

But if you look through all that, it is an area which is established,

it's a family area, and in real terms,

a very good community area.

'So how much could the house be worth once renovated?'

In my opinion, the value of this property when fully renovated

would be in the region of £75,000.

'How much rent could the house earn as a two-bedroom?

'Or if building regulations were obtained for the attic, as a three-bed?'

In my opinion, this property would rent to a private family

in the region of £525 per calendar month.

If, however, it was let to a local authority and a housing benefit scheme,

it could achieve £550 per calendar month if two bedrooms.

If it's classified as three bedrooms,

then that rental figure could be £650 per calendar month.

'So a property with potential but needing a lot of work.'

For starters, you've got to put everything back in this house and you've got to tidy it up.

So there is quite a bit to be done.

But if you look past those security shutters, there could be a great opportunity here.

The guide price of £49,000 could make this an affordable step onto the property ladder

or a fairly sound investment for somebody.

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

We're now onto the mid-terrace house for improvement.

It's a freehold interest, ladies and gentlemen. Lot ten.

45 if you like. Let's get on.

40, thank you. I should think so. Couple of you. 42.

You're out. 4. 44.

At 44. And 6 can I now?

5 then, all right. 45 I'm bid. At 45.

Make it 6. Thank you. 46.

Quick if you want it. The hammer's up at 46,000.

7. Thank you. 47.

All right, a half. 47 and a half.

48 for the lady there. 48 and a half.

At 48 and a half. 49. And a half.

49 and a half. 50 will you, madam?

50 for the lady seated in the back. You're both out down here.

At £50,000, I'm going to sell it.

Make no mistake. Are you all done? It's your bid, madam, at £50,000.

-HAMMER BANGS

-Lady's bid. Thank you.

'Those successful and happy bidders who paid £50,000

'were Val and her husband Terry.

'Terry's recovering from a knee operation,

'so it's Val who's going to tell me all about their latest project.

'Although retired, the couple have kept busy renovating houses for the rental market.

'They appeared on the programme once before

'when they gave another Cardiff property a basic refurbishment.

'They installed a new bath there and Val had to confess the reason why.'

We put a new bath in because the old bath had marks on it

and they weren't going to come out without a lot of scrubbing. I don't do scrubbing.

'I can't wait to find out what she has planned for this place.'

-Val, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-So you're still buying.

Yes. We didn't mean to buy.

We viewed it on the Monday, went to the auction on the Tuesday

and was amazed when people stopped bidding.

And it was ours.

Val, what made you want to buy in Ely? Because I know this is a local authority estate,

-it's quite lively.

-Yeah. It's good social housing

and this is a nice cul-de-sac with families,

it's a good place to rent, a good place to live.

Let's start downstairs. Tell me what you're going to do.

We're going to put the boiler in the utility room

instead of in the bedroom.

We're going to refit the kitchen, obviously, relay a floor in the kitchen, relay a floor here.

We might open the fireplace and just put a fake surround,

just to have a focal point.

Let's talk about the upstairs, you've got the loft room on the top floor.

Yeah. It's not a bedroom.

It hasn't had all the building regs or the planning permission for the attic room.

So would you like to get building regs on that and apply for planning permission to do it properly?

Because I think if you did it properly, it would be a fantastic room, but at the moment,

-you just can't really call it a bedroom.

-No.

We might do. It depends how much it would cost.

# I feel a change coming on

'There's no doubt there's a lot of work to do here.

'Val also plans to knock down the boiler cupboard, which mysteriously is missing the boiler.

'They will also redecorate and recarpet the bedrooms and the hallway. What about the bathroom?'

I don't know. We might put a new bathroom suite in.

It depends how it cleans up. But as my daughter keeps telling me, in the last interview, I said,

"I don't do scrubbing" and it still holds true now.

I don't do scrubbing. So if the bath doesn't clean with one easy wipe, it's renewed.

-You do not do scrubbing.

-I do not do scrubbing.

If you're property developing, you have to do scrubbing! Get the rubber gloves on, scour in hand!

Baths are cheap enough. I don't scrub them.

'With Val taking such a firm stance on scrubbing,

'maybe her husband Terry will have to be a bit more hands-on.'

Are you going to be missing Terry throughout this project or is he there to support you?

Oh, he'll be here to support me. He won't be able to do as much

and he's got to rest his leg, but he will be here...nagging.

Ah. I can just picture him in his armchair in the corner,

pointing his finger, saying, "You've missed a bit, ooh, and a bit more."

That's it. Oh, he's good at that. We both are, that's the problem.

# Don't stop me now, yes, I'm having a good time, I don't want to stop at all

'It looks like these two will rely on their trusty team of builders to do all the hard graft.

'But Val has a secret weapon.

'She'll be drafting in her granddaughter Issy to help out.'

-Issy! You are a brave lady attacking this garden! How are you doing?

-OK.

Listen, how are you going to be helping out your nan?

I'm going to help planting the plants and painting the walls and stuff.

What about inside? How are you going to be involved there?

I'm going to help paint the walls and make it all nice and tidy.

-Have you done anything like this before?

-No.

-So are you quite looking forward to it?

-Yeah.

-Good luck.

-OK.

-Can't wait to see how it turns out when you get rid of all the junk!

# Gotta be working, working day and night

'There's a lot to oversee inside and out,

'but Val's confident that in six weeks' time,

'this will make a lovely family home.

'Will it make her and Terry a profit, as well?'

So have you had a chance to sit down and do your maths,

-work out your sums, know how much money you can spend?

-Yeah.

-To then work out the profit.

-Yeah. We're going to spend about £10,000

and we can get a minimum of £550 a month for it.

So it's a good return.

-So you've done it again, Val!

-I know!

-Well, I hope.

-When are you going to take it easy and kick back?

-Or is this your retirement?

-This is my retirement.

I enjoy doing it. It's, erm, yeah, it's interesting.

I like getting tenants,

I like helping the tenants.

It's just something I enjoy.

# Working, working day and night

Val and husband Terry's experience should stand them in good stead when tackling this mess.

And they do seem to have all those figures neatly worked out. I like that.

So once they've tidied this place up, they should be on course to make a tidy profit, as well.

But will they be able to stay on budget and on time with this much work to oversee?

I don't know. All will be revealed later on in the show.

'Coming up, in Cornwall, this three-storey terrace

'has plenty going for it if the ground floor is anything to go by.'

I haven't even been upstairs yet. Looking good!

'We return to Cardiff where Val struggled to find support for this property.'

The back bedroom floor was only held up by the ceiling.

'But first, has this renovation in Kent been a labour of love for Debbie?'

Whenever we've been here to work, you don't want to go home.

'Back now to Kent, to the village of Hartlip near Sittingbourne

'where this three-bedroom semi-detached property sold at auction for £245,000.

'The inside wasn't quite as full of country charm as I'd hoped,

'but the setting more than made up for it, as did the four acres of land that came with it.

'And the buyers of this property certainly thought it was a stable investment.

'It was Debbie and her husband Bill who snapped it up at the auction.

'They planned to renovate it as a home, but not just for family and friends to stay in.'

I would like to rescue some animals, potentially.

Huge animal lover.

So that's part of the dream,

just to be able to house a few animals,

have a few chucks running around the back garden.

'Eight months later, we've caught up with Debbie back at the house

'and it looks like that dream has become a reality.

'Those hens aren't the only ones to have found a cosy new home.

'Inside the transformation is simply stunning.'

# Everything has changed

# Everything has changed

'The rooms have been modernised in a really stylish but homely way.

'Every little detail oozes quality.

'And how about that new bathroom?'

# Everything has changed

# Everything has changed

'And if you like that, you will adore this new country-style kitchen.'

# Everything has changed

'They've opened it right up to create a bright and spacious room.

'When I first saw this house, I knew it had bags of potential

'and Debbie and Bill really have done it justice.'

It needed attention, so hopefully it shows

and we've put a lot of heart and soul into this

and Bill has worked so, so hard.

'Debbie's husband Bill did a lot of the work himself

'as he's a builder by trade.

'He needed to get help in for plumbing, electrics and tiling and to install the stove,

'but he's certainly been putting in the hours.'

He will leave first thing in the morning to do his normal day job

as a builder and then would come straight here

and there were evenings where I wouldn't see him until ten o'clock at night.

At one stage, I was a bit worried about him, but he just reassured me

and said, "I love being over there, I love doing the work."

'It's so rewarding to see such a lovingly done property renovation

'and it really couldn't have been more of a passion project for them.'

Whenever we've been here to work, you don't want to go home.

And even driving over here, your whole mood changes.

And every single time, we're reluctant to leave,

so I know we're going to be happy here

and it's all... A lot of it is down to Bill's hard work.

He's done a fabulous job. I love him to bits.

# Take a look at this world

# It makes me smile

# You make me smile

# In a very special way

'It was Debbie's love of animals that was a major factor in buying this place, as well.

'And it's not only chickens she has roaming the four acres of land.

'She's looking after some horses for a friend

'and I'm sure it won't be long before they get the company of those alpacas.'

Ideally, I will rescue some animals.

For my birthday, Bill bought me a hen house, which I was so excited about.

My daughter would like

a couple of ducks.

So we'll probably go for that, as well.

# Make me smile

'Until Debbie gets those other animals,

'it looks as though she's looking after all the local bird life in the back garden in the meantime.'

# Make me smile

'They completed all the work in seven months.

'They had a budget of £10,000 to start with,

'but after selling their other home, they managed to raise more funds

'to afford the finish they really wanted.'

I would estimate that we've spent approximately £50,000.

But we have got everything that we wanted as we wanted it.

'That £50,000, plus the £245,000 they paid at auction,

'means the total outlay here has been £295,000.

'So what kind of value have they added?

'We asked two local property experts to give us their thoughts.'

The condition of the property is very good.

The owner's spent a lot of money on it.

The fixtures and fittings are superb. You can tell they've done it to live in rather than refurb it.

So all credit to the owner.

With regards to the proportions of the rooms, they flow very well,

very generous, even the third room

which is historically a box, is well proportioned.

The garden's fantastic. It's a nice big size for a three-bedroom semi,

but obviously with this property, you've got the acres of land and the paddock. Fantastic property.

'If Debbie and Bill were to sell it, how much has the renovation they've done on the property added?

'Remember, they bought it for £245,000 and have spent another £50,000 on it,

'making a total outlay of £295,000.

'What do the experts think it's worth now?'

I would be looking at valuing this in the region of £325,000 to £350,000.

We could market the property at £350,000.

Wow. That's good. That's really good.

'So, on those valuations, that's a potential pre-tax profit of between £30,000 and £55,000,

'minus the usual selling expenses.

'But something tells me Debbie and Bill have no plans to move on just yet.'

None whatsoever. Absolutely none.

I don't think, to quote my husband, anyone could offer us enough money

to move out of this now. We've put heart and soul into it.

So it's irrelevant to what the property is now worth.

'I'm sure they're going to have many, many years of happiness in their new home.'

Today I'm in Cornwall, home of pasties, Cornish cream teas,

a beautiful coastline and home of one particular property that I'm here to see.

Three storey, two-bedroom house, had a guide price of just 70,000 quid,

in this cute little village. Let's take a look inside.

'Not many windows, but at least they look fairly new

'as does the guttering, so that's promising.'

OK. Polystyrene tiles greet you as you come through the front door,

but a reasonably wide corridor. What's going on here?

This is a glass panelled, what looks to me like a stud partition wall.

I'll look at the other side in a second. That could be good news cos you may be able to get rid of it.

Stairs up to the bedrooms there. Then through, it gets a bit cramped at this point, to the kitchen.

'This is a pleasant surprise. It looks like this kitchen's only recently been installed.

'But it's only on one side of the kitchen and I'm in two minds about the space here.'

I was going to say it's a bit small, but for the size of the property, it's not a bad size

and I think if you're a bit creative about what you did here, you could make a nice little space,

although relatively, the ceiling does feel quite low.

And then through to the front lounge.

Oh, what? Now, look. That ceiling is, erm, surprising to say the least.

Would look fantastic in a country house, but in a little cottage in Cornwall, erm, no, it needs to go.

The other thing that really needs to go, as I said, is this wall here.

Get rid of the glass, get rid of this stud partition,

open up the whole thing to create a really nice size space.

This place is a surprise cos from the outside it's not that huge.

Come in here, you've got the open fire, this big living room,

and I haven't even discovered upstairs yet. Looking good.

'There's certainly potential here. There's so much wasted space.

'The layout needs a good rethink.

'I wonder if it gets any better upstairs.'

So, up onto the first floor

and massive bathroom. That's a really nice thing to have.

Stairs up to the second floor. Through to the first of the bedrooms

and apart from the fact that the ceiling looks like it's a bit bowed, it's a nice size space

and I love that big fireplace. But what's this?

How odd! It's like this little anteroom which doesn't actually do anything.

You've got this horrible breeze block. This is only a stud partition

so maybe you could consider taking this out and this room then could become

either a very big bedroom with an en suite or maybe two bedrooms.

Either way, you've going to need light and ventilation in here.

'Up another flight of stairs to the top of the house

'and this attic room is a really lovely space.

'But the boxing-in squad have been at it again,

'although there's a lot more light up here thanks to the roof windows.

'The property sits right on the road and you've got no front garden.

'So is there any space at the back?'

So, at the rear of the property, a bit of a strange arrangement.

You've got this courtyard which gives access up to a garden which is way up there,

but there's also a right of access for the neighbouring property through here to get to their garden.

But this bit is certainly yours and within it, look at this.

This is a massive, homemade by the look of things, retaining structure

to stop this garden wall here presumably falling down.

Really that needs to be rebuilt, which will cost you £5,000 to £10,000.

You might want to consider at the same time extending the property into the courtyard

and combining the work you do on that bit there with that much-needed extension to the property.

'Up these steps there's a great bonus.'

# The view from the top

# Can be oh so very lonely

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

'that was guided at £70,000.'

I would reconfigure the property to maximise on value

by the creation of a third bedroom with additional en suite.

This property would rent out as a two-bed for in the region of £550 per calendar month.

Should the vendor reconfigure the layout to a three-bedroom, we could be looking to achieve £600 to £625.

'Once done up, how much could the place be worth?'

I'd be happy to re-market this property in good order as a two-bedroom

for in the region of £140,000.

Should the vendor decide to convert into a three-bedroom,

I'd be happy to market this property in the region of £155,000 to £160,000.

Well, there are certainly issues with this property

and it's going to take a lot of time, imagination and money to sort it out.

But at the end of the day, it is a big house for the money,

so I think there's cash to be made on this one. Let's see who bought it at the auction.

24 is next.

A lot of property. Who's going to say to us £60,000?

Who will start me at £60,000? At 60, thank you.

62. 62 is against you stood. 64.

65. At 65.

66. 67.

68. At 68.

70? 70 he's gone to.

At 70. 71.

72. At 72. 73 straight back.

73. 74. 75.

76. 77.

78.

And a half.

79. And a half.

And 80. 80 and a half.

82. 82.

83. Half.

83 and a half. 84.

At 84. 85.

85 he says. 85.

85 once. 85 twice.

-At 85 and done.

-HAMMER BANGS

-Sir, yours.

'That final successful bid at £85,000 was made by Chris and his stepson Gareth.

'Chris and his wife run a ski chalet business in Slovenia,

'but he used to live in Cornwall so knows the area well.

'Gareth is a professional equestrian rider based in Cornwall.

'I met up with them to find out why they jumped for this property at the auction.'

-Good to meet you both.

-Nice to meet you.

Congratulations. Tell me why you wanted to buy the house.

It was quite a spur of the moment thing

because Gareth has got a property he has just sold in Plymouth

and we thought we would go to an auction to see what was available, how the process would work,

how to stretch his money. I was meant to be demonstrating and the third lot came and we bought it.

-Right. And whose money is it? Let me be absolutely clear.

-Mine. THEY LAUGH

So Chris took you to the auction to show you the ropes,

-and ended up spending your money for you.

-Yes.

-So had you read the legal pack?

-No.

-You hadn't been to see it.

-No.

And you hadn't done much planning about buying it at all.

No, other than I looked at the auction particulars.

-You may reconsider who you ask for advice in the future.

-I might do.

I was pre-warned by my mum, actually, before I left.

So tell me more about what you do when you're not doing this. What are your jobs and things?

-Well, I ride horses for a living and compete.

-Tell me more, what kind of competing?

A variety of things, really. Show jumping, eventing, showing.

-Basically whatever I'll get paid for.

-Right. And are you good at it?

Yeah, I do win quite a bit locally,

and aiming, obviously, to go on further and continue that as my career.

'Chris is just as active, running his skiing holiday business, so he's well used to organising.

'No sloping off for him.'

# Jump around

# Jump around

'But will he and his show jumping stepson Gareth have a clear round with this property?

'Or fall at the first fence?'

So what's the plan for the property? Tell me what you're going to do to it.

On the top floor we're hoping to change it into two bedrooms.

And then make an en suite for the master bedroom, and open-plan this slightly.

And basically modernise the whole thing.

-It needs a few more windows at the front, doesn't it?

-Yes, it does.

So what we're hoping, if you look at the house next door, a carbon copy of this, the mirror image,

has got two small windows above the front door

and we're hoping to get permission to put two windows exactly to mirror those next door.

'So Chris helped Gareth select this property to invest his money in.

'It certainly looks like a cottage with potential,

'but there could be major structural issues on the outside.'

Let's talk about the retaining wall there. Obviously a bit of a problem. What are your plans for that?

We've had a survey done while in the process of buying the property.

The temporary structure is supporting the wall quite well.

So the urgency has been taken out of the equation.

The lady who owned the property before us had a quote to rebuild the wall four years ago for £10,000.

But before we make a decision, we need to decide if we'll extend the whole back of the house

and utilise the new supporting wall as part of the house extension,

-or just invest in keeping the courtyard there.

-What kind of budget have you set aside?

-Up to about £30,000 at the moment is what we think we will be able to do it for.

-And timescale?

We're hoping to have it done in six months or as soon as we can.

The plan is to have it ready for next spring.

Well, listen, I know it's a bit of a spur of the moment thing, and probably a bit of a shock,

-but good luck with it, and I hope it turns out really well for you.

-Thank you very much.

-We're going to have an adventure and you can see it when it's finished.

-Yes, you bet.

And the moral of the story is

be very careful who you choose to go to the auction with you as your mentor.

But by hook or by crook, I think Chris and Gareth have ended up with a great property here.

Lots of work to do. How will they get on? You can find out later in the show.

So what will our buyers reveal to us today?

-Yes, will they have worked hard? Will they have earned themselves a profit?

-Let's find out.

'Earlier in the programme we were in Cardiff,

'where retired couple Val and Terry bought this boarded-up mid-terrace for £50,000.

'They have nine rental properties and have now added this to their portfolio.

'But the place had been stripped bare. There was no boiler, no copper piping, and not even a kitchen.

'So it needed a lot of work.

'Val's granddaughter Issy was going to help out as husband Terry was recovering from a knee operation.

'But Val suspected he would still have an input.'

He will be here nagging.

I can just picture him in his armchair in the corner, pointing his finger, telling you,

"You've missed a bit. And a bit more."

'It's now two months later and Val and Terry have invited us back. The shutters have come off.

'And the damaged window panes have been replaced. And there's a new front door.

'The lounge has been decorated and there is now laminate flooring.

'A new fire adds a focal point.

'And that shell of a kitchen has been kitted out.'

# You'd better come on

# In my kitchen

'The wasted space behind the kitchen is now a utility area, and a new back door has been installed.'

# Doo, doo, doo, looking out my back door

'And what a different view you get now!

'This empty shell of a house is well on its way to recovery, and Terry is back from his recuperation.

'So has he been doing any of the DIY?'

I didn't do any work on the property, I basically project managed it. DIY is not my thing.

In fact I'm pretty useless at it.

I'd rather just pay somebody in the first place and ensure that the job gets done properly.

'The couple have a team of builders they've used on other properties, so it was down to them.

'What turned out to be the greatest challenge?'

The biggest surprise was the fact that the back bedroom floor

was only held up by the ceiling downstairs.

Somebody had knocked down a supporting wall

and if somebody had jumped in the corner, they would have ended up in the lounge.

'So they discovered a potentially dangerous situation there, just in the nick of time.

'They had to put supports in the bedroom floor, which made the ceiling in the lounge drop,

'which in turn meant the ceiling had to be replaced.

'The makeover continued in the front bedroom.

'But the attic room still can't be classified as a third bedroom.

'So the room can only be used as a study or storage space.

'And the big news is that Val was happy with the bath.

'The bathroom just has a new loo seat and some flooring, so no scrubbing for Val.

'Terry has been supervising, but what about their granddaughter?'

Issy's been a big help. She came along and helped Val clearing the garden.

Because that was in a right mess when we first saw it.

I did start clearing it out but there was too much rubbish so I had to let the builders clear it out

but then I helped weed it and things like that.

'It took the builders almost a week to clear the garden,

'and even on a day like today, it looks great!'

# 'Twas just a garden in the rain

'Issy has been helping with the finishing touches on the inside.

'So how has she got on with her property developing grandparents?'

Erm, they're really nice and nice to get along with.

My granddad, he loves saving lots of money,

and trying to find ways not to spend too much.

'Well, replacing the lounge ceiling was an unforeseen expense,

'and the cost of replacing all the copper piping was much more than expected.

'So what effect has this had on their budget?'

Well, the original was about ten. And we ended up spending, we haven't had the exact figures in yet,

but it's going to be about 13.

'And with the 50 grand they paid at auction, this takes their total outlay to £63,000.

'Their plan is still to rent the property out.

'Time to see if two local estate agents will think that

'all their hard work has been worthwhile.'

Very light, spacious, ideal for a first-time buyer or young family.

The addition of the loft room is ideal for a playroom or a study.

It's a great finish to the property.

It's got double glazing in the property, really spacious rooms,

you've got the kitchen-diner there, and it's got a really tidy, well-presented garden, as well.

'Val and Terry spent £63,000,

'so how much is the house now likely to achieve on the open market?'

I value this property at £75,000.

I'd look at putting this property on the market at between £75,000 and £80,000.

'And that valuation range of £75,000 to £80,000

'could produce a gross profit of between 12 and 17 grand,

'before the usual selling expenses.'

It's about what we'd expect. I don't think we'd get 80 but we could hope for it.

'What's the likely rental income here?'

This property would rent for about £550 per calendar month.

We could be looking at putting this property on the market at £550 per calendar month.

£550 is good. We've got it on with an agent for £575.

But if we got £550, it would be OK.

'Whether it's £550 or £575 a month,

'Val and Terry are still looking at an impressive yield of between 10 and 11 percent.

'And they've returned a good family-sized property that was in a very poor state of repair

'to the region's housing stock. Great news for the area and its next tenants.'

When we first saw it, Val's reaction was, "We're never going to buy that!"

But as it turned out, it's been a success.

'Earlier on the programme, when we were last in Torpoint, Cornwall,

'Chris and his stepson Gareth bought this mid-terrace cottage right on the road for £85,000.

'Chris runs a ski chalet business in Slovenia and moved there three years ago,

'but used to live in Cornwall, so knows the area well.

'Gareth is an equestrian rider based in Cornwall.'

So what's the plan for the property? Tell me what you are going to do to it.

On the top floor, we're hoping to change it into two bedrooms,

and then make an en suite to the master bedroom.

-It needs a few more windows at the front, doesn't it?

-Yes.

Next door, which is a mirror image of this, has got two small windows directly above the front door.

We're hoping to get permission to put two windows to mirror the ones next door.

'Well, it's now 11 and a half months later

'and one of the new windows has been installed at the top of the house.

'Inside, the living room has been completely stripped back to the brickwork,

'and major construction is underway.

'The partition wall in the hall has been removed

'and the original entrance to the kitchen is bricked up.

'There are new timbers and the original Cornish stone wall has been exposed,

'but there's still a lot of work to do.'

We've actually gone into quite an interesting adventure.

We thought we were going to buy something and quite quickly get into it.

We found that our original makeover was more difficult than we thought,

we had rotten floors, a lot more woodworm than we thought.

We ended up gutting the whole building, rebuilding a few walls, but we've fallen in love with it.

# Love is the sweetest thing

'But it's been more a labour of love for Chris and Gareth.

'Their builder was taken ill so they had to find a replacement,

'and the major work didn't stop on the ground floor.

'On the first floor, the bedroom has been stripped back to brick,

'and the flooring and ceiling timbers have been replaced.

'The wall to the original cupboard has been moved to enlarge it into a single bedroom.

'And the planned second window at the front is about to go in.

'Along the landing, the bathroom is going through a similar major refit.

'Up on the top floor, the attic bedroom does at least have a bed.

'But the en suite is a long way from completion.

'Like the floor below, the former cupboard has been extended, and it's got the new window.

'The plan is for it to be another single bedroom.

-'So, what's been Gareth's involvement?'

-Er, Gareth and I started the project together.

His life changed slightly just after our first meeting

and he's now got a job and has moved up country just outside London,

so we are both still managing the project together, we discuss it all.

As we had to put more money into it, the feeling was it would be quite good to put more in

and do it up to a higher standard. To do that, I suggested I'd take it on for a couple of years,

get it sorted, to make sure we know what's done.

We were worried about the housing market anyway,

and we felt if we get it tip-top, then consider moving it.

'Apart from the problems inside,

'outside, Chris took advice from two structural engineers about the retaining wall.

'What was the verdict?'

Actually less changes than we thought. When we first came here it was all shored up,

if you remember, there was beams everywhere. The wall looks bowed but is actually fairly straight.

And once we took everything off it, it stands reasonably.

We've taken a lot of the stuff away. We found an old fireplace here,

which we intend to turn into a barbecue.

'It should be lovely when this patio area is all finished.

'But the main garden is on a steep incline.

'It was overgrown with old sheds and no pathways, but it's been transformed.'

We were presented with something which was five levels of wilderness,

and we turned it into something which we can live with and are beginning to love.

We're waiting for a summer house and we're nearly there.

'What a bonus. I reckon these fabulous views could be what sells this house.

'How much have Chris and Gareth had to spend so far?'

Our original budget was £30,000, we allowed some tolerance in that.

I reckon we have gone around £10,000 beyond our original budget.

But we're cheating because we'll live in it for a couple of years

and do quite a lot of the painting and finishing touches ourselves.

'Time to find out what two local estate agents think of the place.'

I think they've done a great job.

He's extracted the potential from what it was originally, two-bedroom,

now a four-bedroom with an en suite which enhances the saleability.

And he's followed that through externally to the rear garden.

I like the property. It's got a nice layout with the living area

and the kitchen on the ground floor.

And I think the bedrooms are of a good size for an older property.

'Chris and Gareth are in no hurry.

'They intend to hold onto the cottage for a couple of years to get it finished.

'They paid £85,000 at the auction, and their budget stands at around £40,000.

'So they've spent £125,000 so far.

'How much do the estate agents think it could be worth if it's finished to the high standards they plan?'

I would put an asking price on this property of £174,950.

I would like to bring this property to the market for £185,000.

'Well, that valuation range from around £175,000 to £185,000

'would generate a gross profit before the usual selling expenses of £50,000 to £60,000.'

I'm delighted. I was expecting a figure somewhere just over 160 in my mind.

With those figures, it justifies the extra work we've been through and what has been a fun journey to do.

I would definitely go back and do it again, but I would recommend people do a bit more research than I did.

Well, we hope you've learnt something and been entertained on today's show.

And Martin and I look forward to seeing you next time

-for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

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