Episode 13 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to the programme.

For many, buying a house and doing it up is just a dream

but others make it a reality.

So are you a doer, or a dreamer

when it comes to buying your home under the hammer?

Well, some people find buying at auction a little bit stressful.

It all happens so quick -

in a split second a property could be yours.

So make sure when you are buying at auction, you're prepared.

So what inspired the buyers on today's show?

In this Derby mid-terrace, the bathroom floor is rather wonky.

As you come towards this corner of the room,

it actually drops quite significantly.

This flat in Surrey has all mod cons, if you are from another era.

You can still see the old-fashioned ironing board!

And there is virtually nothing to do to this swanky pad in Burnley, Lancashire.

Well, there you go, you want a property that is already sorted out?

This is your baby.

All of these properties have been sold at auction.

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

when they went under the hammer.

Sold, 244. Well done, sir.

Well, today I am in Alveston,

a suburb of Derby in the great county of Derbyshire.

And a very nice spot it is too.

But great news if you're looking to invest in this area

because it's had a shed load of investment in recent times.

This is Alveston Park, and as you can see,

not only is it pretty with the lake, you have got all this new children's play equipment,

you've got sports facilities, there is a housing estate over there and a new school.

It bodes very well.

And it doesn't stop there because as well as the school

and new houses, this park is also home to playing fields

and a national standard BMX track.

For the new owner of the property I'm here to view, this is all right on the doorstep

as we are heading about 10 minutes around the corner.

It's a popular residential here with mainly

turn-of-the-century terraced houses.

Well, like many areas in the UK,

this is part of Derby is seeing a shift from predominantly

owner-occupiers to largely rental properties.

And the property I'm here to see could fit in really well.

It's a two-bed mid-terrace,

had a guide price of £48,000 and it's here.

It doesn't appear too bad on the outside

although I think a few windows may need to be replaced.

But the great news is that this house has recently

had its roof done.

That will save you a hefty bill and means one less major job to think about.

Let's hope inside is just as promising.

So, what have we got? Well, a fairly standard layout.

Straight off the pavement into the living room.

Pleasantly surprised it's in reasonable condition.

Through here - cellar downstairs there -

and through into the rear sitting-room.

It certainly has a sort of feeling of being a little bit more

tired and dated in here.

But again, a good sized space and structurally I can't see anything too untoward at the moment.

A small door through to the kitchen and onwards and upwards.

Upstairs and the vintage decor continues.

At the front of the house there is a good-sized bedroom

and another towards the back.

In here, you can see evidence of damp but I'd guess that this

was all the result of a leaky roof which is now completely fixed.

So it appears to be just cosmetic work that's needed throughout.

Well, apart from the two bedrooms up here, a really good-sized bathroom.

Quite a surprise. You might have expected to find this downstairs.

You might want to consider converting this

back into a bedroom, although I think the positives of having it here are,

well to my mind, are worthy of keeping it.

There is one small problem.

You probably can't see this,

but as you come towards this corner of the room,

it actually drops quite significantly.

Now that immediately would say to me serious structural issues.

However, I've done a bit of digging around

and during the war, there was a Rolls-Royce factory very close by.

That was heavily bombed

and a lot of the properties around here were either directly damaged

by the bombs, or were shaken so much that things like this happened,

so my guess is that this is largely historic.

But before I did anything, I'd want to have it checked out.

# I'm all shook up! #

Getting in an expert will set your mind at rest and ensure you're not ignoring

what could potentially be a serious problem.

Back downstairs, there's an issue I think should be looked into straightaway.

There are two living rooms in this house which gives a great feeling of space

but that disappears when you step into the kitchen.

It is a very small room and does not evoke images of modern living.

But there is a way round the issue.

The answer might be here at the rear of the property

where on from the kitchen there is this outdoor loo.

Now it is not going to be a huge job to take out that wall, to extend the kitchen into there

and maybe put a window in the end, or even French doors out onto the garden

and you've suddenly turned what was that pokey little space

into a really nice sized kitchen with access to the garden.

# Honey, I-I-I want to make it better... #

That would be a straightforward way of solving a problem

and potentially adding a bit of value to the property.

I think this house has a lot going for it.

It desperately needs a helping hand into the 21st century, but has great potential.

I asked the auctioneer who sold it

for his thoughts on this place that had a guide price of 48,000.

This is a standard terraced house.

It has one or two bonuses as we see it now. One is that

all the first-floor goes over the entryway beneath,

so you get an extra metre of width upstairs which is quite useful to have.

Another is that it has already been re-roofed

which is quite a significant cost item if it has to be done.

So although we have got damp stains on ceilings and things, that's history.

It has been re-roofed and it's watertight.

So no work on the roof and no need to worry about those signs of damp.

But what DOES need attention?

The house has been in elderly occupation

so not a lot has been done probably for 30 or 40 years.

In essence it needs a total schedule of renovation and modernisation.

What could a property in this area achieve on the rental market?

There is quite a demand for these sort of properties, they're affordable,

and I would say it would have a rental value of between £450

and £475 per calendar month.

Once renovated, what could this place hope to sell on for?

It probably will be more than about 75,000

because there is a ceiling value on properties in this location.

Well, obviously work required to bring this one up to modern standards, but nothing too daunting.

The only thing I would get checked out is that slope in the bathroom.

Do that, and you've got yourself a nice little rental property,

or a good house to live in.

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

Lot number four.

Another traditional, older type two-bedroom terraced house.

Needs some upgrading and improvement. 45 to start me.

45. Thank you.

At 45,000. 46 seated at the back.

47 standing by the pillar.

48 is bid. 49.

49, 50. At 50,000.

51. 51, 52. 52,000.

53? 53.

54,000? 55. 56.

And a half? No.

56 at the back. 500 somewhere else?

56.5.

57,000. 57.5.

58. 58,500.

59? Can't persuade you?

58.5. We're selling.

For the first time. Second time.

Third and last opportunity.

Sold at 58,000. Thank you.

That successful bid of 58,500 came from Nigel,

who along with his brother-in-law Andy,

hopes to make property developing his new career.

I met them back at the house to hear how they plan to do this.

-Andy, Nigel, lovely to meet you both.

-And you, Martin.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy this place?

-Well, it was more down to Nigel, really.

A bit of a fan of the show, and it set his ideas rolling.

-Oh, really? Because of Homes Under The Hammer?

-I've watched,

-I'd say pretty much every episode that there's ever been.

-Oh, fantastic!

Wow, that's a lot of episodes!

I've always been interested in property.

I worked in banking for many, many years, seen a lot of customers that I've dealt with

go into property developing and I am thinking to myself, "Why haven't I done it?"

The opportunity has arisen and I thought, yeah, time for a new career.

And that's hence why we have bought this property.

So who broached the subject, the possibility? Was it you?

Yeah, it was myself.

We were at a sort of our crossroads of careers

I would suggest with a lot of family issues we've had.

We need to spend more time at home. We're both doing 70/80 hours a week, which was ridiculous.

It was all work, work, work. And we just thought with this we can fit the work around the family

rather than trying to fit the family around the work.

# You're my number one priority... #

So, making family their priority, the guys have left careers in finance and sales behind

and taken the plunge into property developing.

It will be both Andy and Nigel's full-time job

and they're hoping this purchase will be the first of many.

And what's the idea for it?

To do it up and then sell it on or to rent it out?

Ideally what we would like to do is build up a bigger pot

so that we can actually purchase two the next time we go to auction.

Keep one then for renting and do up the other one and sell it

and then try and build the pot, till eventually we can build a portfolio,

so we've got a constant stable income, provide pensions...

-Yeah.

-..For the whole family then, keep the kids, etc involved as well.

So tell me exactly what you're going to do with the place to sort it out.

There's double glazing that needs replacing, well, needs putting in upstairs. Four windows.

The kitchen will need extending and replacing.

-Have you looked through the...?

-Into the outside toilet.

Yeah. I don't see the point in the outside toilet.

-You could double the size of the kitchen.

-Mm-hm.

So that's first and foremost. There is a slight slope in the bathroom upstairs which is a huge room

so we'll have to rip that back and have a look, get someone in to have a look at that for us.

But hopefully there will be nothing too sinister there.

But, yeah, so first day next week we'll rip it all back

and see what we've got.

And what's the kind of budget you've got set aside?

I've estimated around seven grand.

I think 7,000 - I've already got prices for a lot of the jobs

that need doing - will just about cover it.

Because a lot of it is going to be labour, and our labour is free.

But you are doing this as a business, so you need to cost that in in the future.

Yeah. For the next one, we're going to get,

probably get a bit more tighter with monies.

But for the first one, we've thought let's have a go at it,

make sure we can do it and work together, which I'm sure we can.

But from then on, yeah, we do.

Ideally we'd like to do five or six a year.

That is sort of what we want to be doing.

One every couple of months, that's achievable.

Now, your plan obviously is to do this up and sell it on.

These are still quite sticky times in the old property sales world.

What are your expectations for selling it?

There's a house that's just sold four or five doors down.

There's another on sale across the road.

The average price for this type of property around here is

sort of mid-80s.

That's sort of where we're both looking at.

Worst-case scenario we can sell it cheap enough to be able to move on and do other things.

Andy and Nigel may have to take a hit on the profit

if they end up lowering the price to sell it on.

In order to build up their portfolio

and renovate six properties a year, they'd better get cracking.

So what about timescales for getting it all sorted?

-Hopefully about six weeks.

-About six weeks, yes.

-Right. So all hands to the pumps, then?

-Yeah.

-Are you looking forward to that, the hard work?

-Yeah.

-Can't wait till Monday.

-Get on with it now.

-Really?

In fact, he's actually put his work things in the back of the car in case we could do a bit this afternoon.

But I think we'll probably leave it till Saturday morning to be quite honest.

-But, yeah, looking forward. I'd say 80 percent of the work we'll do.

-Brilliant.

I'm delighted for you both. I'm glad we inspired you in some way.

And wish you all the best and look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Cheers.

-Thank you, Martin.

Well, it's great that Andy and Nigel have made the move to becoming property investors

and can see the benefits that can bring.

Oh, and that we had a part to play in that decision, too.

They're obviously not shy of the hard work that'll be needed in here,

but I am a bit concerned about trying to sell it on in difficult market conditions.

Maybe they should consider renting which is doing well at the moment.

You can see how they get on later in the show.

This is Surbiton in Surrey, sitting between Kingston upon Thames

and pretty Thames Ditton village.

It has a wonderful river frontage and is an expensive

and desirable area.

Sometimes called "Suburbiton",

it was the setting for the 1970s TV show The Good Life,

with its rows of '30s semis and neat lawns fitting the stereotype.

The question is, will today's property be one for the self-sufficient developer,

and would you harvest plenty of profit?

# The good life

# Full of fun

# Seems to be the ideal... #

Trains from Surbiton will get you to London in just 20 minutes.

The town itself is an attractive mix of Victorian architecture

and art deco grandeur, with a pleasantly bustling vibe.

The property I'm here to see is in a block of flats

not far from the river, but more importantly,

a couple of minutes from the train station.

Commuter heaven, I love it!

Now there are several blocks on this road, they all look very nice,

but not quite as lovely as the Art Deco one just here.

And luckily for me, this is where our lot is today.

It's on the second floor, there's two bedrooms

and the guide price - £200,000.

I do have a soft spot for period blocks of flats

and this one has style in spades.

It's in an attractive red brick with staggered balconies

which makes a change from a standard 1970s tower.

And inside, there's a little passenger lift, very handy.

Shame there's no porter!

Going up.

First floor.

And second floor it is.

GATES CREAK

DOORBELL RINGS

Ha ha! I love that bell.

You've got to keep that! Fantastic!

I love all these wonderful art deco features.

This really was an era where they cared about style.

I mean, just looking around,

all the ceilings are beautifully curved, there's so much going on.

I mean, look at this door handle. I love it.

So, we have the kitchen.

It's not the biggest of kitchens, but it really, really would work,

once you take out some of this furniture.

But look at this.

This is the kitchen. This WAS the kitchen.

I mean, look, it's incredible.

That's where you'd have kept the brooms,

this is where you would chop your bread,

store your cutlery, perhaps.

What have we got? Oh, and in here,

you can still see the old-fashioned ironing board.

Look at that.

So amazing!

And that would be worth an absolute fortune,

but it has to go and you have to go

with a very modern fitted kitchen in here.

Something white, something bright, something clean.

You've got a new boiler, which is a real plus.

Just lovely. I really like this flat.

Make the most of this fairly tight space

with lots of integrated appliances

and big, tall cupboards

to maximise the head height available.

The master bedroom is also a decent size

with an original electric fire, which will have to go.

But, as with the rest of the flat,

you have newly installed double glazing and decent floor space.

The second bedroom is also a double, which is very good news,

particularly if you intend to rent the place out.

The bathroom has certainly seen better days.

What is worrying is the damp patch on the ceiling.

That would be one of the first things I'd investigate here.

And last, but not least, there's the living room.

I think when you look round a property, you have to think,

"Would I feel nice and cosy in the winter and cool in the summer?"

I think this living room ticks both those boxes -

big enough for your three-piece suite,

but definitely cosy with...

..this lovely little balcony!

OK, so you're not going to entertain out here,

but just being able to throw open these doors on a sunny day

and extend the room, is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

# It feels like heaven... #

It really is a little spot of heaven,

right here in Surbiton, and with the breeze floating in the park

that's just across the road, on a summer's day

it's just bliss!

Talking of that little park, I'm heading over there too,

not to sit and think, but to crunch some numbers.

I don't think you need me to tell you this flat would rent in a flash.

It's a perfect young professional pad, so close to the station,

but nice and safe and secure

and steps from shops and restaurants.

In fact, this flat would prove so popular,

you're looking at around £1,400 per month for the privilege -

a decent, if not staggering, return on your cash,

but a rock solid little investment.

You mustn't forget that, in a block, you always have

the service charge to pay, which in this case is £1,500

a year, all in.

Sounds expensive, but is average for a flat like this with a lift

and communal areas to maintain.

But there's a garage thrown into the bargain

and you'd probably make your service charge back by renting it out

and more, if you so choose.

We asked along a local estate agent

to see what he thought of this two-bed flat, guided at £200,000.

These flats, not many have come up over the years

for sale, so there's a few that are rented out,

but they're popular for the location more than anything,

because you're literally a couple of minutes walk from the town centre.

What kind of resale price

would he put on the property, once renovated?

Once it's been refurbished,

you'd be looking at putting it on for £299,000,

with a view of getting close to that asking price.

What rental income could it generate?

If you put it up for rental, we're looking to achieve

£1,400 per calendar month.

I think this flat is a little corker.

Do it up, rent it out, sell it on, live in it,

you know it works every which way.

Great location, great investment.

Let's see who agreed at the auction.

Who'd like to start at 200?

200 down here. 205?

205. 210?

215? 211.

212, 213...

214, with you. 215,

216, 217.

218, 219.

220. At the back, 221.

222, 223,

224, 225, 226.

227, new spot. 228.

229.

230, 231,

232, 233,

234, 235,

236, 237,

238, 239.

239, back in. 240?

241, 242,

243.

244.

245?

244, first time.

Second time...

Third and last time, have you all done?

Sold, 244. Well done, sir.

With his successful bid of 244,000 was Chandan,

a part-time property developer, who bought this flat for his daughter Shenelle to live in.

# Every baby needs a dad, dad, daddy

# Could my dad, daddy be you? #

I caught up with Chandan back at the flat to find out his plans.

-Chandan, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

How well do you know this area?

I have lived very near to Surbiton before.

I know the area very well.

When the flat came up for auction, were you, "I'm going to go for that one"?

Yes, I did my research before.

Being an auction, you come and do a preview and whatever.

So I did that and looked at the area and looked at the flat

and I thought it was just the right one for my daughter.

-What's the story, are you buying for your daughter?

-That's right.

I'm helping her to buy this flat, though it needs a lot of work.

Yes, with a little bit of experience that I have in doing properties,

I thought I can manage that very easily for her.

Chandan and his daughter, Shenelle, viewed the flat before the auction.

Shenelle was smitten at first sight and, with her dad's reassurance

about the work involved, she set her heart on getting the flat.

Is this the first time she's moving out of home?

-Oh, yes, yes.

-So you're losing your little girl?

-That's right.

-You've got to make sure it's nice enough for her, and secure.

It's going to be comfortable, we'll make it very comfortable for her, yeah.

Shenelle must be over the moon, on top of the world

and in seventh heaven about her first house

but what are she and Chandan going to do here,

starting with what's likely to be the most expensive room?

Chandan, what are you going to do with the kitchen?

We're going to, basically, renovate the whole kitchen.

Take down everything and redesign it

and try and make it into a very modern kitchen

and a functional one, too.

-It's not terribly large.

-No.

Are you going to create a space where you can eat in that kitchen?

Yeah, yeah, there's going to be a breakfast bar which will couple as a dining area as well.

Being a two-bedroomed flat, that should be ample.

He also plans to modernise the bathroom completely,

although Shenelle doesn't want to install a bath,

just a shower unit.

Personally, I'd still refit a bath as there is space

and it's a good resale or rental feature.

However, not such a nice water feature is that damp ceiling

which Chandan will definitely need to sort out.

Have you thought about your budget?

Have you had time to write the sums down on pieces of paper yet?

Yes, we've done our work

and I think we can easily put this whole thing together.

Maybe excluding some finishing products

but within 10,000 we'll get this flat done very quickly.

-For £10,000?

-That's right.

Wow! If you can nail it for ten grand, that's good going.

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I think a little bit more for the finishing

like the kitchen units, you know.

It depends on what she wants to put in.

But, er, otherwise within that budget is going to be quite easy.

Well, easy if you know the right people and are a whizz at shopping around!

Chandan has developed a number of properties and seems confident

but I wonder if he'll be tempted, since it's for his own daughter,

to splash out a bit more on this one.

When is Shenelle going to be able to move in?

What's the timescale?

The building works from start to finish

-will be about four weeks.

-Wow!

Do know what you're blowing me away, Chandan!

Four weeks, £10,000, you know, I hope you are on the money there

and I'd like to think you could do this in four weeks.

Yeah, yeah, we'll definitely have it in four weeks.

-So you don't see any hold-ups?

-No, no.

-You're very confident.

-Oh, yes.

-Thank you very much, indeed.

-Thank you.

Well, Shenelle has struck very lucky here. What a fabulous first home.

Chandan has got his work cut out with only four weeks and a ten grand budget

but, if he's clever, and I think he is,

he might just elevate this place into something special.

Find out how goes later on in the show.

Coming up, this Burnley mid-terrace looks too good to be true!

Oh, it carries on. This is wonderful.

Chandan's builders open a can of worms in his art deco flat in Surrey.

They found a lot more problems than we anticipated.

But first, in Derby, Nigel's altered his priorities.

I've seen more of my children in the last 12 months

than I've seen in the previous 13 years.

Back now to Alveston in Derby to check on progress

at this decidedly dated two bedroomed mid-terrace.

Brothers-in-law Andy and Nigel bought it at auction for 58,500.

With a seven grand budget and a six-week timescale,

the boys' plan was to do most of the work themselves

as they'd both given up their day jobs and become full-time property developers.

We're at a sort of crossroads of our careers, I would suggest,

with a lot of the family issues we've had.

We need to spend more time at home. We were both doing 70/80 hours a week, which was ridiculous.

It was all work, work, work and we thought with this we can fit the work around the family,

rather than trying to fit the family around the world.

Four months after our first visit, we're back to see if the brothers-in-law

have transformed the place, and also whether the house

has transformed the brothers-in-law.

Clearly the brothers have done a great job converting

this tired, old house to bright and cheerful.

How much work did it really take?

The house wasn't too bad when we'd emptied everything.

We found that we had to replaster the whole of the house

which, I suppose, has been the biggest job we had to do,

which we weren't counting on.

Yeah, the finish has been well worth it.

But what about that wonky floor in the bathroom upstairs?

Was it caused by historic bomb damage?

The first issue was we had a severe sloping floor.

The boards should have been nailed to the joists and they hadn't been.

That was corrected by the builder which took him two or three hours.

The slope has now gone. Andy managed to obtain

a very good bathroom suite from his use of the internet,

nice vanity unit.

The pride and joy, we've got the Jacuzzi bath,

which is a nice way of relaxing in an afternoon with a glass of wine,

a bottle of beer, or whatever you wish. Then, obviously, we put the shower cubicle in as well.

I spent four days doing the tiling which, I think,

although it's taken a long time, it's been well worth doing.

Everything, basically, has been replaced. We're very, very happy.

This is probably my favourite room, to be honest with you, the best room.

# Blowing bubbles

# Blowing bubbles

# Blowing bubbles

# Blowing bubbles. #

Nigel and Andy's hard work has really paid off

as they've already managed to find a buyer for their mid-terrace.

And, because they haven't quite finished it yet,

the new buyer will be able to put their own mark on the place.

Right, the kitchen's in now.

This was the outside toilet that we took the wall down

and blocked up the door.

Obviously, put a new kitchen in to try make it a bit lighter,

we want it as light as possible.

Nigel's part of the job was searching around for the bargain for the kitchen

which we got for just under £1,000. So, very happy with that, including the appliances.

Also, the lady who's bought the house wanted to choose her own tiles,

so that's why we've not finished yet, because she's on holiday.

But as soon as she's back

the last touch is getting the tiling done in the kitchen.

It's a pretty impressive job,

as these two brothers-in-law did most of the work themselves.

So what's that done to their outlay on the renovation?

Budget-wise, originally we said around 7,000.

Obviously the unforeseen things were a total rewire,

which we didn't expect,

and every wall, every ceiling has been boarded out and replastered,

so it's forced the budget up to, being very precise, £9,508.

So a little bit over

but we think it's been worth it to get the level of the finish.

Rather than patch things up we've done it back to the bare brick and done it right.

That extra work meant that their six-week schedule

has become more like four months.

But how have they enjoyed life since giving up their day jobs in finance and sales

to start a career in property development?

I've seen more of my children in the last 12 months

than I've seen in probably the previous 13 years,

which is fantastic.

Yeah, it's a lot better. A lot more freedom to come and go as we please.

Well, that was the intention but we tend to get a bit more

involved with the job and we're here for a bit longer than we thought,

but, yeah, it's nice to be our own bosses, as such, and...yeah.

I think it's the best decision I've ever made, to be quite honest.

Enjoy every day, have a laugh and a joke.

Hopefully we're going to do well as regards...obviously the finances are

an important side of things as well, and I've got no regrets whatsoever.

They may have enjoyed it,

but have they made a decent profit on their first renovation?

In fact, the boys have already managed to sell the property,

and their total spend on the project comes in at around 68,000.

We asked along two local property experts

to get their take on this mid-terrace.

First impressions when you walk in, the property is light and airy,

makes the rooms look bigger.

They've utilised the space well upstairs

and it's got a nice homely feel.

I think opening up the space downstairs was a very wise move.

Kitchens in these sort of houses are notoriously small and,

with everything that comes with 21st century living, they're cluttered,

so extra space is an advantage, so, yes, it's a good move.

The experts agree that it could rent out for between £450

and £475 per calendar month,

which would mean a healthy yield of around 8% to 8.5%.

The boys have already sold the property, but what do the experts think it would sell for?

If this went on the market for sale,

I would expect it to achieve a figure between £85,000 and £90,000.

If I was to market the property for sale,

I would expect to achieve between... £80,000 and £90,000.

-The fact that we've sold it for 86.5, that seems absolutely perfect. I'm well happy with that.

-Spot on.

In fact, the boys are looking at a gross profit before fees and expenses

of £18,500,

which is pretty darn good for their first renovation.

So, any advice for prospective full-time property developers?

Definitely the right thing to do, so long as you do your research, which Nigel's done for us.

And take the plunge and give it a go. If you don't give it a go you never know. Life's too short.

Today I'm in the village of Worsthorne in Lancashire,

just a couple of miles from Burnley.

# Burn, baby, burn

# Burn, baby, burn... #

-HE CHUCKLES

-Worsthorne has a lovely villagey feel

and, with such beautiful countryside on the doorstep,

I think we could be in for a bit of a treat here.

It really is a bit of a gem, this place.

So, will the property I'm here to see match the beauty of the surroundings?

It certainly sounds all right. £85,000-plus was the guide price.

Two-bed mid-terrace cottage built around 1800.

Let's take a look inside.

It certainly looks the part from the outside.

Nice and tidy, with a new door and windows. So far, so good.

So, what's on offer? Ooh. That's a bit of double-glazed door there.

Holy schmoley, look at this! How fantastic. What a surprise.

Not quite the little cutesy-wutesy cottage I was expecting,

but somewhere that looks like it's been totally done up.

Got an open-plan staircase there.

Looks like a reasonably newish fire surround.

I would have liked to have seen an open fire in there.

That's what you expect in a cottage.

But obviously somebody's spent a lot of money on the floor.

A really nice-size entrance.

It doesn't feel cramped, it doesn't feel, I don't know, claustrophobic.

What about the kitchen?

-HE LAUGHS

-Oh, it carries on!

This is wonderful. Bit of a flagstoney type floor.

Obviously a beautifully restored, fairly new-looking kitchen.

Well, there you go.

Want a property that's already been sorted out? This is your baby.

# Yes, sir That's my baby, now... #

You could easily leave things as they are here,

but if you wanted a project you could perhaps look into

extending the kitchen into the rather small back yard.

But personally I'd find it hard to justify ripping out

a pretty much brand-new kitchen.

So, fairly high expectations as you walk upstairs,

because is it going to be like downstairs?

Well, small bedroom at the back onto this reasonable-size landing

and, great news, upstairs bathroom.

It hasn't actually got a bath in it, it's got a beautiful shower though,

and actually, again, like downstairs, totally renovated.

And then through into your main bedroom. Again, nice condition.

You know, it's a great little property.

# There ain't nothing left to do now that we've done it... #

You might think about going up into the loft and creating more space,

but would you really want to go through all the hassle?

I'm not so sure.

The mid-terrace went to auction with a guide price of 85,000.

We asked a local property expert to have a look around

and give us his thoughts.

First impressions of the property were really good.

It needs hardly any work at all that we can see.

You know, other than perhaps some cosmetic changes that would be

individual decisions anyway, so, yeah, very good.

What about doing a loft conversion?

If we were to look at the conversion of the loft,

that will add some value.

It will probably only add value to the cost of doing the work.

But you can spend £5,000-£10,000 on a loft conversion,

so that's probably in the region of the amount of value it would add.

What about the resale value of the property?

If the property was extended into the loft

and possibly an extension at the back to add some storage space,

the market's still very tough, it's tough times,

but you could see the property valued at around £130,000.

What could this place rent out for as it stands?

I think you would comfortably get £475-£500 per calendar month.

And if the mid-terrace were extended?

If the loft conversion was done

and the extension to the back of the property,

I think it would make it more desirable

but it wouldn't necessarily add any more value to the rental market.

We'd probably still be at around that £500 per calendar month.

Well, there really is no point in searching for problems where there aren't any

and in the case of this little place there really aren't any.

It's a great location, it's a lovely little house.

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

OK, Lot 26.

Beautiful cottage inside, this one.

What price shall we say for this? 80,000? 80,000 anywhere?

80,000. At 80,000 bid. 80,000 I have, then. Do we see 82?

80 I have. 82 I'll take. At 80,000. 81. No, 82.

At 82,000. You bid, two of you. 84?

82 seated. 84 anywhere?

At 84. 86?

At 87. No?

85. At 85,000. 86?

At 86. No?

At 85,000, then, are we all done? At 85,000 for the first time...

86. At 86,000. 87?

At 87. 88? No? At 87,000, then, for the first time.

At 87,000 for the second and final time. Are we all done at £87,000?

Ooh, good grief. 88. At 89, then. At 90?

At 89. At 89,000, are we all done? At 89 for the first time.

Second time at 89,000. Are we all done and dusted?

Are you sure? Pull you in? No?

OK, well, I'm going to withdraw it. We're close.

Might be able to have a fight in the foyer. See who's going to win it.

Well, no need for fisticuffs as it turned out,

because, although the mid-terrace failed to meet its reserve, it did get a result.

Keeping a close ear on how the bidding was going via telephone

was Kieran, who runs a sports coaching company.

He put an offer to the auction house afterwards

and a deal was struck at the reserve price of £90,000.

Kieran and his fiancee Rachel have bought this as their first home.

-Kieran, lovely to meet you.

-Thank you.

-Congratulations.

Explain to me what happened there, then.

Well, basically the property went to auction.

We heard it didn't sell, which was a bonus for us,

and basically we put an offer in the next day, accepted,

and we proceeded from there, really.

Fantastic. You keep talking about "we". Who's "we"?

Me and my fiancee, Rachel.

So she was like the sensible one, saying, don't do it, don't do it.

And really I just went for it,

asked a few local friends who's familiar with property and I just went for it.

So why was she so sort of...cautious?

Just because she's saved up and worked hard for a deposit,

her side as well, and just basically she's...really like that,

she's sensible, whereas I'm business, I'm a businessman, so I take risks.

-How does she feel now?

-She feels excited, she's really pleased.

-I think she feels like I made the right decision.

-Phew!

-Yeah.

A good decision indeed.

Kieran put a bit of local knowledge to good use

when it came to settling on the mid-terrace.

We are very familiar with the area, being a local lad.

I'm very into running, cycling, fitness, so we can go over the moors.

Very familiar routes locally, and our family is close by as well.

So it is nice, and everybody can come round and visit and settle in here.

-I feel it is a nice, gathering, open space for people to gather.

-Fantastic.

You're a businessman, what do you do when not doing this?

-I run a sports coaching and creative play company.

-Great!

We do education programmes round schools,

community sports coaching around the area, and it's just,

I just love working with children, and Rachel is a physiotherapist as well.

-Sounds fabulous.

-It's great, yeah.

-What about experience with property?

Not a lot.

I've a really good close friend who is brilliant with property, knows a lot.

-Apart from that, I haven't got a clue.

-So has your friend had a look?

He has popped round, he's had a look. Once we got it, he was shocked.

He really liked the property. He said it's got great potential.

He liked all the features and aspects, how it is all original.

That must've been reassuring for you and your partner.

Yeah, it was, especially Rachel. She felt a bit more at ease.

Tell me what you're going to do with the place.

-I'm thinking of a twilight loft conversion up in the loft.

-What?

-Twilight?

-You know like when you have the glass scenery from the roof?

The open space where you can look out on the roof attic conversion.

Wow, OK.

Basically, at the back, we've got a bit of storage which I'm hoping to do something with.

Just tidy the whole property up. Make it our own.

Obviously, have a cottage feel, such as a log burner,

new surround fireplace.

There is a possibility of extending out the back.

-Have you thought about that?

-We have, but who knows?

It's up to my fiancee, to be fair, because I keep out of that.

-I say my ideas, but it's her last word.

-Is it?

-Yeah, sometimes.

I've just got to say that to keep in the good books!

Sounds like Kieran is doing his best not to rock the boat

with his fiancee Rachel.

And there is method in his madness,

because Kieran has designs on that possible loft conversion.

I want a computer room upstairs, get my friends round

and have an Xbox night, as you do.

HE LAUGHS

But no, I don't think I'll be allowed to do that.

How much money have you got to spend?

Not a lot, really, but we're hoping to save up and I'm hoping to channel

all the money and effort working for the house really.

-It's an investment.

-Budget for the work?

I'm looking for around about £15,000 to do the work

and improve everything, clean up a few areas.

Would that include an extension?

Touching on it, just to tidy up the back,

because it is not clear yet what we want to do.

But maybe the loft bit,

the conversion there would be a good idea to start.

What kind of timescale for getting it sorted?

I'm looking between eight to 12 months.

Listen, I'm delighted for you, congratulations,

good luck with it, and we look forward to seeing how you get on.

Thank you. Cheers.

Well, sometimes you do have to take a bit of a leap of faith,

but it certainly seems to have turned out pretty well

for Kieran and his fiancee.

Will he end up with that room that he wants?

Or will his fiancee get her away? You can find out later in the show.

Making the right decisions can seriously affect the profit

you make on a property.

It is exciting turning dreams into reality,

but did our buyers get it right?

Time to find out.

We're back in Surbiton in Surrey,

where this two-bedroom second-floor flat sold at auction for £244,000.

I met up with part-time property developer Chandan,

who was helping his daughter out with her first home.

I'm helping her to buy this flat, although it needs a lot of work.

But yes, with the little bit of experience I have

doing properties, I thought I can manage that very easily for her.

-Is this going to be the first time she's moving out of home?

-Yes.

-So you're losing your little girl!

-That's right.

You've got to make sure it's nice and secure.

It's going to be comfortable, we'll make it very comfortable for her.

We returned seven weeks later to see if this flat was ready for the apple of Chandan's eye to move into.

The flat has been completely transformed, and now has a new kitchen...

new flooring...

and complete redecoration throughout.

It looks modern and fresh.

A new bathroom suite has been installed,

and they have put a bath in after all,

which in my opinion, was absolutely the right thing to do.

The flat looks really great, so how much work has actually gone on here?

We've basically retiled the bathroom and the kitchen completely.

And the kitchen, we put underfloor heating,

and the flooring in the rest of the house has been insulated,

and then we got engineered wood flooring, which is real wood,

and new radiators in the bedroom that didn't have one

and also in the living room.

And a gas fire in the living room as well.

This flat has certainly scrubbed up beautifully,

but were there any unforeseen problems during the renovation?

The builders obviously started working and they found a lot

more problems than we anticipated, especially with the wallpaper.

As we were taking it off, the plaster just crumbled.

That means we had to take it down to brick,

and then replaster all the walls.

As we started to take the wallpaper and the plaster off,

then we realised there was a serious leak from upstairs.

Obviously, then we had to go to the managing agent

and the people upstairs and tell them about the leak.

The water, as you can see, still not dried out.

But we're just waiting for that to happen.

That means they aren't quite able to finish the bathroom yet.

But that aside, everything else is complete.

When we were here last, Chandan estimated it would take

just four weeks to finish the work on a budget of £10,000.

So, how did he get on?

Took us about six weeks, and the budget, I think,

we spent around 15,000.

A little bit over on both counts, but not surprising given the damp issues.

I really want to know what Shenelle thinks of her new pad.

She hasn't seen the final state yet, because she's been travelling,

but she saw it between and she loved it, she said it was coming on nicely.

I think now we have to surprise her when everything is just finished.

So doting dad Chandan will have to wait for his daughter's thank-yous a bit longer.

But with his property developer's hat on, how has it gone for him?

I think it's quite a pleasant experience,

apart from a little overspending, over the time.

But I think it was quite pleasant. Enjoyed it. Yes.

OK, time to tot up some figures.

The flat cost £244,000 at auction,

and the renovation cost a further £15,000.

That makes a total of £259,000, plus tax and fees.

We asked to local estate agents what they think of this swish Surbiton apartment.

I think it's superb, it feels very bright and airy, a lovely feel

about it, love the balcony, think that's a fantastic selling point,

and it's fantastic the colours are very neutral, which suits everybody.

The accommodation is really good, the lounge

and master bedroom very nice sizes, kitchen

and bathroom particularly nice, very good finish and good sizes.

Questionable second bedroom,

but probably just about OK for this marketplace.

The estate agents reckon it could make between 1,200

and 1,250 a month in rental, a yield of between 5.5 and 6%,

but have Chandan's improvements added any value?

What could it make if sold, bearing in mind the total outlay of £259,000?

I could put this on the market for in the region of £315,000-£320,000.

If we was to put this on the open market for sale,

we would put it on for £325,000.

I would have been happy with 310, but 325 is good.

Shenelle will be very happy.

I think Chandan is very happy too, and no wonder.

That's a potential profit of between 56 and £66,000,

minus tax and expenses.

So, does that mean he'll be tempted back to auction again?

Oh, I would definitely be going to the auctions again,

because I enjoy doing this.

Back now Worsthorne in Lancashire to check on progress at this

two bedroomed mid-terrace.

Sports coach Kieron and his physiotherapist fiancee Rachel

bought it for £90,000 as their first home.

A lot of work had already been done on the property, but Kieran

had designs on a loft conversion if he could get Rachel onside.

I want a computer room upstairs, so I can invite my friends round

and have an Xbox night, as you do.

But who knows? It's up to my fiancee, to be fair.

Because I really keep out of that, I say my ideas,

but it's her last word, I suppose.

-Is it?

-Yeah, sometimes.

I've just got to say that to keep in the good books.

The couple gave themselves a budget of up to £15,000,

and between eight months and a year to do the work.

12 months after our first visit,

we are back to see how things have gone.

Well, no signs of the loft conversion yet,

but Kieran and Rachel have made their mark on

the property by redecorating and making the place their own.

It feels really homely for a first home and just to get settled

and try and develop things from my work end.

It's easy to commute from work to and from.

Same for my fiancee. And basically it's just great.

# Goodness gracious great balls of fire. #

The log burning stove is a very welcome addition,

but Kieron was definitely playing with fire

when he had it put in without his fiancee, Rachel, knowing.

She liked the old fire that was in, the old gas fire.

I wasn't into that whatsoever, so basically one day she was at work,

me and my dad and my local friend, who is a plumber

we just decided to pull it all out.

The fireplace was on the street and she come home from work after

working a hard shift and she was just absolutely distraught.

I said, it's all in good stead, it's all going to be OK,

it's going to be nice.

There was dust everywhere and the place was a mess.

So that was my first upset with her, so yeah.

That's where we are up to.

But thankfully,

Rachel has warmed to the cosy glow of the wood burner and who wouldn't.

# But I'm going to be warm this winter. #

Upstairs, the bathroom remains as was.

But the two bedrooms have both been redecorated.

But what is going on at the top of the stairs, exactly?

We've got plans to have a loft extension on the top.

We've got a local builder to come in, make the plans

and actually crack on with that.

And I think they are going through the stage of passing that through.

But, even without the loft conversion, all is not lost.

Because Kieran has been allowed to use the spare bedroom

as his computer room.

In this room, we've redecorated everywhere and then obviously using

it as an office space

because I like to run my business some days from home

as we get really busy.

And also, I'm going to be getting a game station

so I can relax in here with my friends,

and we are very pleased with it.

So, the clock has been ticking and a year on,

Kieran and Rachel have created a lovely first home.

But they are not getting to settle, oh no!

Their plan is to do the loft conversion in the next year,

then rent the property out and move on to a new renovation project.

Their initial budget was £15,000 for all the work,

including the loft conversion.

How much of that have they spent so far?

Four grand, something like that. Not even that.

So, it's about the 4k mark.

So, £4,000 on top of their purchase price of 90,000,

makes a total outlay of £94,000 to this point.

We asked two property experts for their thoughts on the work so far.

It's a really nicely presented property.

It's a cottage, and it still got the feel of that,

but it's got some modern influences as well.

The cottage is generally tidy, clean and well presented.

A little work round the edges could still do with finishing off. But generally speaking,

ready to live in or rent out.

As it stands, without the loft conversion,

how much do they think the property could fetch on the resale market?

I would think the value is somewhere in the region

of £100-£105,000.

If it was going on the market for sale,

I would expect to be asking £115-£120,000.

And that would be a reasonable price in this market.

That's fine, exactly what we're looking for, yeah. Super.

That's a potential gross profit of between six and £26,000.

But Kieran and Rachel hope to rent this out,

so what kind of income could they get?

I would think you would be looking somewhere in the region

of £475-£500 per calendar month.

In the current market I would expect to be asking £475,

£500 per calendar month.

That's excellent, great. Yeah, fantastic.

That's a respectable potential yield of around 6%.

The experts agree that a loft conversion would not

necessarily add a lot of value to the property.

So if Kieran and Rachel

are going to rent the place out, that might be money up the chimney.

But how does Kieran feel that it's all come together?

Dead pleased, brilliant.

It's fantastic and just hope to move on now into the future.

Yeah, that's great.

We hope you have enjoyed our insight into the world of property auctions.

And if you have, join us next time for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-See you then.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.