Episode 1 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to Homes Under The Hammer.

Now, for many people going to auction gives a chance

to buy properties that are in need of a bit of work.

That's right. People really like to put their own stamp and style

on their property, and hopefully make a bit of profit along the way.

And buying at auction could give you the opportunity to do just that.

We love the buzz and the excitement of the auction room,

because you can really sense the frustration and hope in the air.

Yes, and you never know how it's going to go until the final second.

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

We revisit Bristol to see if anyone

got permission to change these former public loos.

Of course, if they don't get planning permission, all their money could disappear down the pan.

In Burnley, this mid-terrace has been turned upside down

by thieves who stopped at nothing.

There's no floor! Gone! Bye-bye! History.

And the prospect of renovating this former Baptist Church in Mid Glamorgan

leaves me weak at the knees.

I always get a tingle of excitement coming into a place like this.

All these properties have been sold at auction.

We find out who bought them and what they paid for them

when they went Under The Hammer.

It's yours, sir. Thank you.

We're in Bristol to visit a property that caused a bit of a stink

when I first saw it, way back in March 2005.

The auction guide price was an earth-shatteringly low £3,000.

So I was desperate to find out more.

This city does have some stunning architecture.

The Clifton Suspension Bridge, the Wills Memorial,

some beautiful Georgian terraces, fantastic houses.

So coming up for auction is this...

# Flash!

# A-ah! #

It's a public toilet.

But is it a flash in the pan?

Well, this waterworks

and the tiny piece of land it sits on under the bridge

isn't quite the sumptuous property I was hoping for.

But it's up for auction.

I don't know. I guess we should have some fun with this.

Let's see how many puns about toilets I can get into one report.

Well, I suppose I'm going to have to be SYSTEMATIC

about how I go about it.

I guess it's a CONVENIENT location.

Whoever buys it, will they be "clean around the bend"?

And will they have to spend a "pretty penny" on it?

Four, not bad for a start.

Let's take a look inside.

I reckon we could really "loos" ourselves with this one.

First off, it's an old block, probably built in the early '30s.

Like all good toilets, there are two sides, a ladies and a gents.

A quick walk round to the side and you're in.

Well, it's certainly an ENGAGING project.

I'm not sure it's one that URINAL take on.

What do you reckon?

I DUNNY know.

With a guide price of just £3,000,

this lot could really wipe the floor with others I've seen in the past.

But it doesn't have planning permission to be anything other

than a public toilet, and that's why the person who buys this at auction

is taking one heck of a gamble and will just have to go with the flow.

So do you think I'm plumbing the depths? Heck, no. I'm on a roll.

So, are you bowled over by the possibilities?

Are you flushed with excitement?

Or just scared s...stupid.

One thing you've got to remember, at least you are buying at auction,

so you won't find yourself in a chain.

Joking aside, this block is an interesting lot

and it could become anything.

Someone might want to use it for storage, or perhaps as a boathouse,

or maybe turn it into a shop.

Or, if they're really ambitious,

they might want to try their luck and turn it into a residential unit.

Any change of use will inevitably require many,

and possibly lengthy, dealings with the planning department,

but keep your fingers and toes crossed

and you could be sitting on a bit of a winner here.

So maybe this isn't such a daft thing to buy after all.

If the purchaser could get planning permission

then they could well expose the sweet smell of success.

Of course, if they don't get that planning permission,

all their money could disappear down the pan.

TOILET FLUSH

Not bad. Let's go to the auction.

Lot Two, former public toilets at Sea Mills Lane in Sea Mills.

A single-storey building. Suitable for other uses, other than toilets.

Workshop, storage, we've had a variety of ideas for this.

The guide is £3,000. Somebody start me at £3,000. Do I see £3,000?

Two, then? £2,000 I will take. £2,000, thank you. Two, I have.

Three, I am looking for.

£3,000, thank you. Three, I have. Four now? Four.

£4,000, thank you. Four, I have. Five?

Four I have, five I'm looking for. Five, thank you. Six? Six.

Seven? Eight? Eight. Nine? Ten?

Want to make it 12 so we can go a bit faster?

11, all right. Just a thought.

No. 11, I have.

Are we done at £11,000? 12. 13.

The bid is against you now, sir. 14?

15?

16?

I'd like to go a bit higher, but there you go.

16? 17?

18?

It's still cheap. Very cheap.

At £17,000.

For the first time,

for the second time,

at £17,000, for the third and last time.

Sold to you, sir.

The successful bidder, who paid £17,000, is Coley.

He paid well over the guide price for this loo under the bridge.

He's a barber by trade, so is used to grooming.

But will this toilet water be heaven sent?

-So, Coley, very nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

I have been so intrigued to know who would buy this place.

-You've bought a toilet.

-You can say that at the moment.

At the moment it is a toilet, but, hopefully, with the help of planners

and a good architect, we could come up with something attractive here.

-So have you seen the internal features?

-No, not at all.

First time I've got the keys today.

You haven't used the toilet?

I haven't had a chance to use them, I'm hoping to bless them.

Well, that is sounding dreadful!

-Should we go and look inside?

-Let's go and have a look.

-OK, come on then.

Well, it's got unusual kerb appeal.

I just hope Coley won't be disappointed,

first impressions are so important.

Oh dear.

Not going to get much use of this as it is, am I?

I was hoping to find something attractive that I could keep and...

Like what?

Some old ornaments that some guy left when he built the thing.

-Can we go outside and talk some more?

-I think so. Good idea.

So, listen, tell me a bit about you.

What kind of a person buys a loo?

Well, I've always been involved in property, as in buying it,

doing it up, mainly letting.

I was looking for a smaller investment,

which didn't involve such capital.

This came along with the right price, right location.

A Brownfield site, so potential for planning.

And it's something that I'd like to get into a bit more now,

the development side, rather than the buying, doing up and rent.

So when you saw this

in the auction catalogue, what was your first reaction?

I knew the area quite well

and I felt as though a residential dwelling here

would go well with the planners.

Then the guide price was very good, and so then it was just a case

of going to the auction and seeing if it would go for the right price.

The loo was guided at £3,000,

but Coley paid over five times that at 17,000.

It could prove to be a major gamble because there's one minor problem that hasn't been solved.

To get things clear, it doesn't have planning permission yet, does it?

That's right, yes. I've spoken to the local council

and they are in favour of some kind of development,

as long as it's in keeping with the area.

My biggest challenge is it's going to be that it's in a conservation area,

so I'm going to have to be careful how I plan it and develop this build

-so that it's in keeping with them.

-So it's actually quite a large plot.

Yes, I'm thinking two one-bed flats,

but possibly even a three-bed house, almost.

That is very ambitious.

Although the plot of land is quite a good size,

any building wouldn't be able to go right to the boundary

and I suspect it would need to fit in

with the appearance of the bridge.

So in terms of specific plans, do you have any so far?

I am going to go with the eco-friendly type build,

and try and help the environment

by making it look attractive as well as being environmentally friendly.

The ground floor would be the same material as the bridge here,

which is a stone type face.

The second floor would be timber cladding,

which would then blend in with the greenery around here,

and the roof would be a ski slope type roof, to match the wall.

-In a sense, it would blend into the corner.

-What did your friends say?

-Have you told them yet?

-Yes, I've told them!

The funny thing is my brother bought one last year,

-and done the same thing.

-Your brother bought one?

Yes, so they're saying it's in the family now!

Coley really has got the bug, but is he "round the bend"?

Well, there's two more in auction this month

and if they're for the right price, I might go for another one.

-So you'll end up with a whole chain of them.

-A whole chain of loos, yeah!

Well, that was in March 2005.

But when we returned to Bristol three months later

there had been very little movement.

We discovered that Coley's ambitious plans for the former public toilet

had got a bit bogged down.

Well, originally the idea was to demolish the building and rebuild a new building.

The planning department would rather see me extend what's currently there.

I am planning to go up a floor, so double the size.

Keep the current footprint, but increase the internal side of it.

Despite the former loos being in a conservation area

and the proximity to the water requiring him

to produce a flood risk assessment, Coley was undeterred.

With a helping hand from his architect,

he put in motion a revised plan.

He's come out with some really good ideas.

We're going to put a balcony on the top floor,

and make the top floor our living area.

The balcony also helps as a means of escape

because this is a flood risk area.

But it also became clear that Coley wasn't averse to making a quick profit on the loos as they stood.

I've had four offers since I bought it.

The best one is around the £30,000 mark, which I am tempted to do.

I could walk away with a profit of around £13,000-£14,000

without actually doing any work to it

and it's not cost me more than £500 so far.

And that was the route that Coley finally decided upon.

He accepted an offer of £28,000,

which gave him a pre-tax profit of around £10,500.

Not bad for a few months sitting on the loo.

But over six years on,

what has become of these former public toilets?

You can find out later in the show.

Today, I am 40 minutes north of Manchester,

in the old mill town of Burnley, Lancashire.

In its heyday, it was one of the largest producers of cotton cloth

in the world.

# If I came back to the land of cotton

# Would you love just me? #

Victorian terraced houses built for the foundry and mill workers

still make up a large proportion of the town's housing stock.

And just walking distance from the hospital,

and a short bus ride from the uni,

is the property I'm here to see today.

It's a two-bedroom mid-terrace,

at the incredibly low guide price of £10,000-£15,000.

Surely this is going to be a bargain.

But look at the security shutters.

Not exactly welcoming.

Time for a thorough examination, excuse me.

Get a load of that!

There's the front door, there's the window.

I mean, nothing prepares you for the state of this room.

I don't know what it is, there's loads of old stone.

I don't know what all this stuff is.

Look, there's just so much rubbish. You need to get a skip,

you need to clear this lot out before you can even see this room.

Once you've done that, my guess is it's a good size.

You've got central heating, it's a good space.

I'm just wondering what all that rubbish over there is.

I need to have a look.

This is why there is piles of stone in this corner. Look at this!

There's no floor! Gone. Bye-bye! History!

Some naughty little person has been in here

and scarpered with the original York stone flooring

that these houses are so famous for having in their living areas.

What a travesty!

Now I know that York stone is a very expensive material to use,

and it's a top end desirable stone.

Look at this!

Whoever takes this on will need to take the rest of this up,

lay down a damp proof membrane and then concrete over

before choosing their carpet or their laminate flooring.

But this is a big old job and not a cheap one.

Let's hope the new owners view this property first,

otherwise, it's going to be a huge shock to walk into this.

# You have stolen my heart. #

But if you look beyond the piles of rubble that used to be the floors,

the property does have two decent sized reception rooms.

And although the kitchen's on the small side,

some new units will make it a perfectly serviceable space.

'The state of this place makes me wonder what surprises

'lie in wait for me on the first floor.'

Upstairs, it's not in bad shape. It feels really solid.

You've got a good-sized room there.

Second bedroom there. Then...

The bathroom! Look at it! It's in a right, old state.

Very similar to what's going on downstairs.

That toilet belongs on that wall. That bath should be over there.

My guess is, somebody's been in, ripped up the floorboards

because of the copper piping underneath.

Again, that's quite valuable.

Whoever takes this on needs to think about this bathroom.

A bit of money needs to be spent in here,

but I will say one thing, it's good to see the bathroom upstairs.

# Upside working

# Downside hurting

# Hear my echo

# Dancing bear. #

'The upside of the upstairs is that it all looks easily sortable.

'At the back of the property, it's much the same,

'the mess needs clearing and the roof looks OK.

'But those windows and doors are sure to need a bit of attention.'

'We asked a local estate agent for his views on this two-bed terrace,

'which went to auction with a guide price of ten to 15,000.'

In all honesty, in my job,

you see properties like this on a day-to-day basis.

I don't think for somebody who's got their head screwed on

it's that big a task to actually get it sorted out.

Obviously, on the face of it, it requires some updating,

some works to it in order to make it habitable,

owing to what looks like a property which has been empty for some time, I would say.

'If you sort out those flaws and get the place up to scratch,

'what could the property be worth on today's market?'

I think in the current market,

with the levels of demand that there are out there, for this kind of property,

you'd look at it being as a maximum in the region of 35 to £40,000.

'What kind of figure could it rent out for?'

There's certainly a demand there now for rental properties in the area.

I would think you could look somewhere around £300 to £325 per calendar month.

A huge amount of work to be done to this neglected,

old terraced house to bring it back to life!

But what about that price, ten to £15,000. What a bargain!

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

Lot 162 is a mid-terraced house in need of renovation.

£5,000, somebody start me at 5,000?

5,000, I've got here. Six, here.

Seven, I've got. Eight, nine,

ten, £11,000, I've got. 12,000 here.

13, got it. 14? Yes. 15?

14,500? 15? 15,500 on my left.

16. And a half?

Yes. 17. And a half?

18. 18,500?

19. 19 I've got. And a half?

Got it.

20,000. 20,500? No?

20,500, 21? No.

20,500, first time.

Second time, are we all done now?

Third and final time? Yes, we are.

Well done, sir, your paddle number, please.

'Raising his paddle to confirm that successful bid of £20,500

'was property developer, Patrick.

'He bought the house with his friend, self-employed joiner, Paul.'

MUSIC: The A-Team theme tune

'They're both from Leeds and already own three properties together.

'Will they be the A-Team to take this one on?

'And, will their plan come together?'

Patrick and Paul, it's fabulous meeting you today.

Boys, are they smiles on your faces, or not?

Well...

Because I know you haven't viewed this property

and today is the first time you've ever seen it?

Yes. That's right. We came in today, yes.

We got the shutters off and we came through the door today and we were in shock.

-Why were you in shock?

-Well...

I think we've had the thieves in and the Yorkshire stone had been taken

and, you know, it was a mess, really.

I mean, quite a lot of surface debris but you can get past that.

Oh, yeah, no problem.

-But this is not what you expect to see.

-No, no.

-Not at all.

You guys have got a lot of work putting this back together again.

-That's right, yeah.

-That's added to your budget, hasn't it?

-It has, yes.

It may have paid for you to have looked up the property prior to the auction.

Without a doubt, yeah.

-I think if we had looked, definitely we would have left it.

-Yeah.

I've said it before, but what these guys have just said really

hammers home that buying blind is a very risky business.

You just never know whether that risk is going to pay off,

or leave you ruing the day.

# Think for a minute

# Stop for a minute. #

Paul and Patrick went to the auction to bid on a commercial property

but when they didn't bag that one, they made a slightly dangerous decision.

Why were you getting desperate?

I always say, nobody should ever feel desperate in an auction situation

-because that's when you spend too much money.

-We just wanted to spend some money.

Yeah, that's right.

-Was it burning a hole in your pocket?

-It was.

The problem is, usually if you go to some of the auctions they last for an hour, maybe two.

This, because we'd been there four-and-a-half hours,

we felt like we wanted to get something out of the day, which was not a good way to buy.

Why did you decide this one would be a good one to bid for?

We didn't actually decide anything, we just took a chance on it.

Patrick, he's right in what he's saying.

For that amount of money, we thought it was a back-to-back

and it happened to be a through terrace.

I know it's in a bit of disrepair

but it's nothing we can't knock into shape between us.

It is, actually, not bad condition.

I mean, the walls look painted,

everything is looking shiny, apart from the mess and the floor.

What are you guys going to do to turn it around?

We'll get this floor done, but a damp proof membrane,

screed the floor,

then paint it throughout.

Just put new carpet all the way through, where necessary.

A few kitchen units.

It needs a new front and back door and, whatever else is required.

The bathroom suite wants sorting out.

We'll take it from there and see what happens.

So, boys, budget, have you made the list?

How much will you need to spend to rectify this?

5,000.

What?! £5,000 -

kitchen, bathroom, stone, copper piping, £5,000?

Definitely under five, no problem.

Patrick, you're very confident.

-So you think you can do this for under five grand?

-Definitely, under five.

What is your secret?

The secret is, we're going to use the existing products in the bathroom.

We're going to put a new kitchen in it and then paint it throughout.

I mean, a lot of it is superficial, really. Is not as bad as it looks.

When we get it cleared out it will definitely be under five.

'Ambitious as it may sound,

'Paul and Patrick are determined to stick to that budget.

'Having paid £20,500 for the property,

'they need to if they want a healthy return.

'But they're no strangers to a challenge.

'Not only did they buy this property blind,

'but, as they hail from Leeds, this area is also something of a question mark.'

Why have you guys decided to invest in an area that you don't know,

is it because of the price?

-Yes.

-Just the price.

-Basically, yes.

And desperation that we weren't buying anything.

You definitely wanted to spend your money on that day, didn't you?

-We wanted to spend it on that day.

-I'm really excited to see this place turned around

because it can only go up.

At the moment is not looking too hot.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

Let's hope you stick to that £5,000 budget.

-Yeah, we'll see.

-We hope.

Patrick and Paul went to the auction and bought this

so as not to make a wasted journey -

money burning hole in pockets springs to mind -

But I think they're secretly quite disappointed

with the state of this place,

but Patrick is adamant he can turn this around for £5,000.

Join us later in the programme and you can see how they do.

'Coming up, planning permission for this Mid Glamorgan Baptist church is looking tricky.'

Mmm, the options are starting to narrow themselves a bit.

'In Burnley, Patrick and Paul remind us of that golden rule

'for buying property...'

Never, ever buy anything unseen.

But, first, what has become of these former public loos in Bristol,

now they are under new ownership?

Earlier in the programme, we went back to March 2005,

when Coley bought this former public toilet in Bristol for £17,000.

There was no planning permission in place for the site

but Coley had rather grand designs to knock the loos down and put up a two-storey building.

When we first returned three months later, no progress

had been made, as Coley's initial planning application had been knocked back.

His architect was wading through the red tape, associated

with the plot being in a conservation area and a flood risk area.

Before any revised plans were submitted, Coley decided

to sell the property on and pocketed a tidy profit of around £10,500.

Well, that was back in 2005.

Since that time, the property market is very different

and the former public toilet has had three different owners.

It's been a long, drawn out process with the planning issues,

the moving of a gas main

and the requirement of a archaeological report into possible Roman remains.

So, six-and-a-half years since we first visited,

we're back to see if the current owner, Neil,

a full-time property developer who lives just outside Bristol,

has managed to unblock the problems of these old public toilets.

# Let your love flow like a mountain stream

# Let your love flow with the smallest of dreams

# And let your love show and you'll know what I mean

# It's the season... #

That's a resounding yes.

Sitting on the site of the former loos

is an upside-down, two-bed eco-friendly house.

On the ground floor there's a study,

a bathroom,

the second bedroom

and a utility room.

Upstairs, is the master en suite bedroom and the main living area.

Neil purchased the site in June 2011.

It may have taken a long time, and several owners,

but from the most unlikely of origins, something special has emerged.

I'm very pleased we've been able to establish

a very large kitchen/lounge/diner, which is very airy.

A superb kitchen, huge windows, to pick up on that fantastic view.

# I can see for miles and miles

# And miles and miles. #

When Neil purchased the site, a lot of the hard work had been done,

including getting that all-important planning permission.

The chap I bought it from had started digging.

He'd demolished the toilets.

He dug the foundations, he concreted them.

But, in doing so, there was a Roman archaeological survey.

There was a gas main going right across the site

and he had extra deep foundations.

I think, all those three things put together,

were a bit too much for him and he and his wife decided

that he wasn't helping himself, so he put it on the market.

So, for £69,000, Neil stepped in.

He bought the site and the plans

and spent an impressive four months finishing the project.

I inherited the full working drawings, which was great

because that was part of the preparatory work.

I stuck to them within a gnat's whisker, shall we say.

I did change the odd bit of internal element

because it was an improvement which could be made.

The property has timber cladding

and a special living roof which is covered in the plant, Sedum.

As well as giving it a unique look, this is also designed

to provide ecologically friendly, natural insulation.

The eco credentials of this place really are top-notch.

# It's good to touch

# The green, green grass of home. #

I've tried to keep the house as eco-friendly as possible.

The house has been insulated massively.

The whole house has been soundproofed

to ensure there is no noise from any traffic.

For example, all the timber has been sourced from sustainable sources.

Neil's done all of this work with a view to selling the house on.

In fact, I imagine he's spent a pretty penny on the former loos.

The cost of this building has been unusually high

because of the nature of the quality of the materials

that have gone into it, the insulation, the eco-side

and the general finish.

Overall, we've paid, including the cost of the land, just over £200,000.

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound.

There's no doubt this is now a unique property.

How do you start putting a value on it?

I wish I knew how much this would sell for

because I would then know what to put it on the market at.

Because there is no comparison,

it will only be worth what somebody is willing to pay for it.

'We asked two local property experts

'to share their thoughts on this one-off eco-house.'

I think what the developer has produced is absolutely fantastic.

The difference in the look of the street.

Obviously, the toilet before was very unattractive

and this contemporary property that's here now, is superb.

The developer has done a great job, it's a very unique site.

I think it needed something just as unique to go here.

Something contemporary like this fits well.

I really like the views.

I love the feel that you're almost in the countryside here,

yet only a ten-minute drive away from the centre of Bristol.

'Do they have a sense of what kind of rental the property might attract?'

I think the house would rent well, especially given its location

close to the train station and commuting links.

I would hope to achieve circa £750 per calendar month.

I would estimate this property is likely to rent for something

in the region of £750 per calendar month.

I'm not tempted at all because this isn't really...

My intention was to sell it

because I need to turn my money over to do the next project.

'What about putting a resale value on the house.

'This may be one where they have to go with their gut.'

It's an unusual property. There isn't anything like this in this area.

I would expect, on the open market, to achieve between 180 to 190,000.

My gut feeling on the value is likely to sell

somewhere in the region of 180 to £185,000.

'Well, those resell valuations would see Neil making a loss

'of around £20,000 on the property.

'Does that come as a surprise to him?'

I don't see how they can compare the prices of this

with anything in the area.

Nothing surprises me

because it will only be worth what somebody will pay for it.

'Neil has had a third valuation from a different estate agent

'of between 250 and £280,000,

'which just goes to show you how even property experts find it hard

'to put a value on something so unusual.

'How has Neil enjoyed the project?'

I think it's been a fantastic project.

I'm looking forward to selling it to somebody, somebody who will enjoy

a fantastic house, with a beautiful view, superb communications

and be living in something that has been built

with an eco-friendly stance.

I'm in the village of Abercynon in South Wales.

Since the mines closed down in the 1980s,

this has been a commuter place,

easy access to Cardiff and the M4.

It may not have too much work at the moment

but if you're after scenery, it's just the place.

There's a good range of local shops in the village and transport

is pretty good as there are two railway stations close by.

Well, terraced houses like this are very typical of the area

and the property I'm here to see isn't one of them.

With a guide price of £18,000...

up for grabs was this former chapel.

# When you call my name

# It's like a little prayer

# I'm down on my knees

# I want to take you there... #

'It was built in 1905 while the area

'at the back was formerly a 17th century chapel.

'It seems to have stood the test of time

'but access into the building isn't great.

'These two rather steep sets of steps are the only way in

'and that could be a stumbling block for any potential buyer.'

I always get a tingle of excitement coming into a place like this.

You never know quite what you're going to find.

More often than not, old chapels like this are in a pretty bad state.

But not in this instance!

Absolutely wonderful, look at this.

It doesn't look, on the face of it, like it's had too much,

I don't know, water ingress or other stuff going on.

It doesn't smell too damp. It's a good start.

There's some floorboards up here, that'll need investigating but one huge, great space.

Look at that organ, absolutely fantastic. Oh!

Let's go and explore some more.

# ..Let the choir sing... #

'The organ is still in full working order

'but isn't the only eye-catching feature in here.

'Just look at the ornate moulded ceiling, beautiful.

'The situation with the floor isn't attractive.

'Some of the floorboards have been pulled up and it looks like there are some signs of damp.

'I would get those dealt with as soon as possible,

'as in such a large building, you don't want damp spreading.'

At the rear of the chapel, behind where that glorious organ is,

you've got this extra area, probably used as a Sunday school,

a function room, or whatever you want. There's loos here as well.

What this really says is this building is massive.

It goes on and on and on, doesn't it?

I mean, the ceiling height in here isn't quite as high

and yet I reckon you could probably take out that ceiling

and go up even more into the rafters.

All in all, it's a lot of property for the money.

# All I do each night is pray

# Oh, girl

# Hoping that I'll be a part of you again some day

# Oh, yeah... #

'With this much space, I'm sure there were several potential buyers

'praying they'd get their hands on this property.

'At the back there's a small kitchen area.

'Access to the balcony seating is from the entrance hall

'where you get a chance to take in the glory of the chapel.'

Now you're probably thinking, as I was when I first came in here,

wouldn't this make the most fantastic house,

or possibly convert it into flats?

There's an interesting moneymaking idea.

The problem is, I don't think you'd get planning permission,

partly because planning wouldn't like the fact there is

virtually no parking around here. What are your options?

Currently, it's got classification as non-residential institution,

which means you can possibly run it as a creche,

maybe a library or an art gallery.

Then you've got to check whether those facilities are needed

in this area and again I'm not so sure.

Suddenly, what seemed like a great idea...

Mmm, the options are starting to narrow themselves a bit.

'I still have faith in this place, though, it just needs right buyer

'with a clear idea of what they want to do with it.

'Bearing in mind the relatively modest guide price of £18,000 for the chapel,

'we invited a local estate agent to give us his thoughts.'

First impressions is it's a very nice Baptist Chapel.

It obviously has suffered some problems with damp penetration

and wood rot.

It's a very nice substantial building, recently been reroofed.

The potential uses for this building is going to be very difficult

to assume, particularly because of the busy road

and the yellow lines and the restricted parking in the area.

It's really going to affect its value, depending on what use the planners will agree.

'How much could this place achieve on the resale market?'

Assuming this building was renovated

and was continued to be used for its existing planning use,

I would expect it to achieve a value in the region of £60,000.

'What if you decided to start a business from here?'

If you were able to establish a good, profitable business here,

I think that would add more to the value of this building than anything.

At the end of the day, you will be able to sell that business

and achieve a price of two or three times the net profit from the business.

On the face of it, a lot of property for the money

and an interesting opportunity but the more you look into it,

the more you realise the limitations of this place are considerable.

Still, maybe somebody got divine intervention

when it went under the hammer.

Here's a property that has attracted a lot of interest,

ladies and gentlemen.

What am I going to be bid for this lot number ten in your catalogue?

Who's got 25,000 to start me? It would be cheap at that.

23, then, let's get on.

Who's got 20? It's worth a lot more than that

and we've had a lot of interest in it.

20, thank you. At 20,000, I'm bid.

At 20, I'll take a half, if it helps. Half, thank you, madam. At 21,000.

I'll take another half. 21,500. Fill it up two, now?

At 21,500, I thought there would have been hands everywhere at that.

At £21,500...

Two in the back. At 22, fresh bidder.

At £22,000, standing in the back.

I'm going to sell it, make it a half.

22,500, thank you.

Three, can I ask three? 23. You're out, sir. Half, can I again?

Half, this is a hard way to do it in halves, isn't it?

Fill it up 30, for me, sir. 30, thank you, that's more like it.

Let's go in ones now.

31, thank you, sir. That's better at 31,000.

Two, will you, sir? 32.

At 32, three if you like.

33, and again.

For four, can I, sir?

At four, 34, I'm bid.

At 34, please be quicker, sir. Five, 35.

Six, will you, sir?

You bid quickly all the way. Oh, you're not going to stop?

Don't be driven out, it's only money!

At £35,000, here is my bid and you're out in the back, sir.

At £35,000...

It's yours, sir, thank you.

'That successful bid of £35,000 was made by husband and wife team, Kerry and Russell.

'Kerry's a retired mortgage adviser

'and Russell runs his own electrical wholesale company.

'What in heaven's name have they got planned for this old chapel?

'I met up with them to find out.'

-Kerry, Russ, lovely to meet you both.

-And you.

Congratulations! You looked like you weren't too sure about that.

-I'm still thinking about it.

-You're still thinking about it. Why did you buy it?

We bought it to set up a recording studio for our son.

-There's another room behind this chapel.

-A recording studio?

Why buy the whole of this place just to get that bit at the back?

18 inch thick walls were one of the reasons.

Ah...

This just happened to be a bonus that came with the rear part of the building.

Now we've got to find something to do with it.

'It turns out that Russell and Kerry have come up

'with an interesting idea for the chapel, very much in keeping with its heritage.'

We decided to do civil weddings,

civil wedding ceremonies.

Right.

It wasn't necessarily what I was expecting you to say, I have to say.

What's your experience, Kerry, of building recording studios

and running places that you're going to hold civil ceremonies in?

A vast experience(!)

Absolutely none whatsoever.

# Going to the chapel and we're... #

Kerry and Russell have faith that their son will have success

with the recording studio,

but they also believe their own idea of holding

several wedding ceremonies will be a winner

as they will have a slight twist.

# ..Going to the chapel of love... #

We did plan to do themed weddings.

Themed weddings?

Well, if someone wants a Halloween wedding

or a Disney wedding, whatever.

-Any sort of wedding.

-We can accommodate them.

# ..Bells will ring

# The sun will shine... #

Themed weddings?

That's a first here on Homes Under The Hammer. It's a novel idea,

but getting the necessary planning permissions could be a challenge.

The lack of parking is not ideal and could hinder things,

as could another trickling problem.

# ..The end of time

# And we'll never be lonely any more. #

We found out after we bought it that there's a small stream

running underneath the floorboards.

We came over with the builder to get an estimate...

..for the dry rot.

The builder said that it's not dry rot.

He suggested replacing all the floor with concrete.

He said, "Oh, the stream can be diverted."

I said, "That sounds expensive."

"No." he said. "A few pipes and a bit of gravel."

I'm bowing to his superior knowledge.

# Islands in the stream

# That is what we are

# No-one in-between... #

With a timescale of six months, it should be full STREAM ahead

for Russell and Kerry,

but what sort of budget have they set aside to do the work.

Because of the area we're in, it's a deprived area,

it's called a European Objective One area,

there, hopefully, should be grants available

to help us with retaining the building.

A lot of it depends how long the grants will take.

We are hoping, against hope,

that we'll have a contribution of around 30,000

towards the total spend, which is around 80,000.

You're doing all this, primarily, for your son, it started out.

-Yeah.

-Aren't you a wonderful mum and dad?

Tell me all about him, he has a band, does he?

Yes, he's got a band.

-It's very noisy.

-It's heavy.

What kind of music is it?

What would you call it? Death Metal?

DEATH METAL MUSIC

He's 27 years old, hasn't got the greatest employment history.

It's a chance for him to follow his dream.

As long as it doesn't cost us too much.

It seems to me, you're having an adventure at the same time?

Absolutely. I'm really excited about it.

What's next on the cards for you two?

A chain of wedding arenas, maybe.

-Or maybe not.

-Maybe not.

-Listen, congratulations.

-Thank you.

Lovely to meet you both.

Isn't this story just one of the reasons

why Homes Under the Hammer is so brilliant?

A chapel in Wales is now going to become a recording studio

for a death metal band and a funky wedding chapel.

There are so many hurdles to cross before we get to that point, where do I start?

You just have to join us later in the show

to find out how they get on.

Well, finding good tradesmen is often the key to getting a project

completed on time and on budget.

Some people do decide to do the work themselves to maximise profit.

Have our buyers been getting stuck in or just getting stuck?

Let's find out.

Back now to Burnley in Lancashire where this two-bed mid-terrace

was bought at auction unseen

by Leeds-based property developer Patrick, in the red jumper here on the right,

and his joiner friend, Paul.

The place has been turned upside down by thieves

looking for valuable York stone flooring and copper pipes.

-But this is not what you expect to see.

-Not at all.

You guys have got a lot of work putting this back together again.

-That's right.

-Without a doubt. I think if we'd looked,

definitely would have probably left it.

But with a relatively modest budget and a timescale of just one month,

these Yorkshire lads were determined to do their best.

So a mere four weeks after our visit, we're back to see

if they managed to rekindle the embers of this Burnley property.

# Come on, baby, light my fire

# Come on, baby, light my fire

# Try to set the night on fire. #

Well, the job's a good 'un.

There may be some work left to do but Patrick and Paul

have definitely got this property back on its feet.

The biggest task was undoubtedly sorting out the floor that was no more.

We just had to excavate down a little deeper

and put in a damp-proof membrane and obviously batter tons and tons of concrete in,

which was quite an arduous job through the narrow passageway in the kitchen.

They've tidied up the back yard and introduced some pretty hefty

security measures to deter any more would-be vandals.

Upstairs, the biggest job was sorting out the bathroom

after thieves had made a mess stealing the copper pipes.

Well, the bathroom, there was a lot of work in the bathroom.

Obviously, the copper pipes had been stolen

but they'd ripped the copper pipes from the boiler,

ripped all the piping from the bathroom and the sink

so the problem was finding out where the copper had been broken.

We even thought about just replacing all the pipework

but we managed to pick the microbore pipe up from the radiators

where it teed into the 15ml pipe.

Then we had to replace all the floor

because the floor had been ripped out as well.

The toilet had been damaged so we put a new toilet in.

Obviously, it worked out quite well.

In fact, it's all worked out so well

that Patrick and Paul have already found a tenant,

even before they got round to decorating the place.

We had a decorator lined up but the tenant was so desperate to move in

she said, "Do you mind if I do the decoration?"

Obviously, we didn't have any problem with that

and we said, "You can move," and she wanted to move in today.

After the filming, she's waiting to get the keys.

She's got some cash waiting, she said,

so hopefully we can get some lunch today.

THEY LAUGH

But before they tuck into their Lancashire hotpots,

what's the story with their budget?

The Budget was 5,000 total.

We came in under budget - 3,600 we spent.

Looking round, it's very hard to see it, but a lot of the work

was flooring, plumbing, security, windows and carpets.

-We didn't do bad there, did we?

-No, no.

3,600 on top of their purchase price of 20,500

makes a total outlay of £24,100.

Have the boys learned anything from the process of doing this property up?

I've learned a valuable lesson on this job.

That is, never ever buy anything unseen.

That's the biggest mistake I've ever made.

In my opinion.

But just how big a mistake was it?

We asked two local estate agents to look around the mid-terrace

and give us their thoughts.

It's one of those properties that's quite obviously been done up

to rent out, in all honesty.

There are still things that the tenant coming in is going

to want to do to the property in terms of the cosmetics,

in terms of decorating, which I believe they are going to be taking on.

I think if it had been me,

I probably would have gone all the way and finished all the work.

I may have looked at changing the bathroom suite

and making that look a little bit better.

Making the kitchen as nice as possible because it is quite small,

and certainly I would have finished all the decoration works.

If they wanted to sell the property on,

what do the experts think it could fetch on the resale market?

For what work has been done,

I would say this property's around £25,000.

In the current sort of sales climate, you'd be looking

somewhere in the region of 35 to £40,000, I would think.

I think that's more realistic.

We don't want to think that we've wasted our time.

I think 35, if that's a conservative estimate, then that would be good.

25 just seems a little bit too low

with the sort of returns that we're getting on that.

-But yeah, 35. We're happy with 35.

-We're sound, yeah.

A sale at the top end of those valuations, around 40,000,

could mean a profit of almost 16 grand before fees and expenses.

But with a tenant already lined up, Patrick and Paul will surely

be more interested in the possible rental valuations.

In the current rental market, I think you'd be looking

somewhere in the region of £300 per calendar month.

I would say the rental figure's going to stay around the £300 per calendar month mark.

-That's on the nail that, yeah.

-325 actually. 75 a week.

Which is what we've got but that's, yeah, that's what it is.

We've got 325 which is as I say, 16% return. We're happy with that.

This one meant a lot of to-ing and fro-ing from Leeds to Burnley

for Patrick and Paul, will they be back at an auction any time soon?

I would definitely do the auction again, without a doubt.

I think what we'd do is rather than go out of the area,

then obviously, we'd make sure that we bought within our boundaries

and don't go any further, because there's plenty of properties there.

Back now to South Wales

and the village of Abercynon where husband and wife, Kerry and Russell,

bought this former chapel at auction for £35,000.

It was in a decent state of repair although I was struggling to think

of what it could be used for.

However, the couple's plan was to turn the back room

into a recording studio for their son and his death metal band,

and as for the chapel, they hope

to perform civil wedding ceremonies there, with a slight twist.

-We do plan to do themed weddings.

-Themed weddings?

Well, if someone wants a Halloween wedding or a Disney wedding, whatever.

We can accommodate that.

Soon after Kerry and Russell bought this place,

they discovered a small stream running underneath the floorboards, causing damp.

But their builder had a quick solution to sort that out.

He said, "The stream can be diverted."

I said, "That sounds expensive."

"No," he said. "A few pipes and a bit of gravel."

So I'm bowing to his superior knowledge.

A year and a half later, we've returned to meet Kerry

to see if her and Russell's plan to conduct civil weddings

has lived happily ever or if it's all ended in a messy divorce.

Well, sadly, no wedding ceremonies have taken place.

There is no recording studio either

due to concerns from the planning department about the potential noise.

The hole in the floorboards has been covered up

but the small stream underneath is still flowing freely.

That's the only real evidence of any change, so why the lack of progress?

Well, the plans that we had for the church have virtually come to nothing.

We had the plans for the recording studio at the back

and initially, we were going to conduct civil weddings at the front.

Having spoken to the local authority informally,

they didn't like the idea of the wedding reception.

They were afraid of the noise, late nights maybe for the local community.

We rethought the idea

and we thought maybe we would use the downstairs as a training facility.

It went before the planning committee with a recommendation for approval.

The planning committee turned it down.

Unfortunately, all our plans have come to nothing.

There was planning permission in place to run the chapel

as a children's creche, but that didn't appeal to Kerry and Russell.

What about the possibility of demolishing it and redeveloping the site?

It would make a beautiful house

but it would be a real shame to get rid of the pews and...

The things we loved about it were the original charm.

We really didn't want to change anything.

We wanted to maintain the building as it is.

So things really haven't gone to plan.

How much money have they spent on the chapel to date?

We've spent about £5,000 on acoustic reports

that the local authority insisted on us having.

Really, it's been a complete waste of money for us.

It's a real shame that it's taken 12 months

for the planning permission to be refused,

but that is often the way. What's next for the couple?

Well, the next plan, I think, is to sell it. We thought long and hard.

Really, if we can't do what we want here then maybe the best thing

is to sell it and for someone who can do what they'd be allowed to do here,

for someone else to take it on.

That really is a sad story and potentially an expensive lesson.

With a purchase price of 35,000

and costs of five grand on planning reports,

that's a total outlay of 40,000.

We invited along two local estate agents

to hear their thoughts on this chapel.

I'm not surprised in any way about planning issues.

I've had a look at the outside of the building

and around at the rear of the building.

There's absolutely nowhere for people to park

and that would be one of the major issues in this local area.

In my opinion, on this building,

I don't think there is any business venture to be had here.

The only thing that I would suggest would be

to possibly demolish the building and use the plot for further redevelopment.

What about the option of using this place as a children's creche?

It could be used as a creche.

I think that there's obviously a need for one around here.

I think it would be lovely done as a nursery.

So, for a new buyer, a nursery might be the best way to go.

Let's talk about money. What could Kerry and Russell make

if they put this place back to auction as it is?

If they were to put it back into auction or to resell,

I would look at £35,000 to £40,000.

I think that they would be lucky to get their money back

but as a guide price, between 40 and £50,000.

Yeah. I think they're fair.

I think that's what we would have expected

and I think we'd be happy with that.

So if they managed to achieve around £40,000

then Kerry and Russell might just break even.

It really has been a long and frustrating process

and it's a shame that their plans haven't worked out.

Has this experience put them off the prospect of heading to the auctions again?

It certainly wouldn't put me off buying at auction again.

We were just unlucky that our plans didn't work out in this case.

Make sure you join us next time for more auction properties going under the hammer.

-See you then.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

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