Episode 16 Homes Under the Hammer

Since we've started filming Homes Under the Hammer,

we've seen literally thousands of people

buying their properties at auction.

And we just love bringing you the stories behind them,

but it can be a bumpy ride, so fasten your seatbelts,

as we head to those auctions.

This programme isn't just about bricks and mortar,

it's about real people who have got a personal tale to tell.

Yes, did their stories turn out to be nightmares or dreams?

Well, there's only one way to find out.

Let's take a look at those properties that sold under the hammer.

In Middlesex, it may look good, but has this three bed house got potential?

You've got to spend an awful lot of that on this house

to really bring it up to scratch.

When it comes to this two bedroom terrace property in Cumbria,

you'll need to be broad minded.

It's very narrow, literally, I can touch both sides.

And this pretty, three storey cottage in Maidstone

looks a bit long in the tooth.

Look at that! It certainly looks grim in there.

All these properties have been sold at auction,

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

-when they went under the hammer.

-Sold to you, sir.

This is Uxbridge, to the west of London,

where you can hop on the underground

and be in central London in 40 minutes,

Heathrow airport is only a ten minute drive away,

and just ten minutes walk from the shops is the property I'm here to see,

it's a three bed cottage in a picturesque spot.

There's no vehicular access up to the property, although you

can barge in, providing you've used the lock correctly, aha, confused?

Well, you needn't be, because today's auction property is a canal side cottage,

perfect on a lovely day like today.

# As I walk down by the old canal,

# I dreamed a dream as I recall. #

What an idyllic place, and the house seems pretty spectacular too,

considering property prices in London,

the guide price of 225,000 seems a bit of a steal.

You can only get to the house by foot along the tow path,

which makes that dilapidated garage seem rather redundant,

I'll probably get rid of it and increase the size of the plot.

Well, it's lovely and sunny out there,

but what a contrast when you're inside, oh, dear.

Look at this place.

It feels really cold on the inside, it smells incredibly damp,

it's really dated and needs an horrendous amount of work,

and I haven't even moved yet.

There's the bathroom, there's the lounge,

this is the kitchen.

I have to say, I'm getting quite excited cos you've got a massive space here,

there's an awful lot you could do with this place.

But it all needs ripping out and starting again,

but the reason why I'm so excited is because

I would like to put a very contemporary, modern glass box on the end of this kitchen,

and just look out there every morning

and watch all the canal boats pass by.

# Do you know how wonderful you are? #

Mind you, that tow path is a public right of way,

so anyone walking by will have just as good a view of you.

So, if you're a private person,

glass walls might not be the best idea.

Inside, there are worrying signs of damp in the kitchen,

and although the living room at the other end of the house

is a lovely triple aspect room, there is more damp.

And that's not the only concern that I've got here.

There is something that just doesn't feel quite right about this house,

look, it's like there's a wall there and a window,

it's just not deep enough, you really expect it to be further this way.

You've got a huge garden out there, you could easily extend,

I would love to think you could double the depth of this house, it would really work.

You've got two very small-ish bedrooms just here.

One of the big down sides is you don't have a lovely, big family bathroom upstairs.

What you do have is this nice master suite,

it's lovely and sunny, you've got two big windows.

I would never get fed up of waking up in here

and just looking out there to the lock.

With this property you've got a fantastic location,

but you've got to spend an awful lot of that on this house

to really bring it up to scratch.

Although the bedrooms are fairly small,

there are some lovely character features to restore,

even if the only bathroom is downstairs on the ground floor,

and that's going to need a complete refit.

For a second opinion,

we invited a local estate agent to come and take a look

at this canal side gem, guided at 225,000.

What a fantastic location, obviously great potential,

I'd like to see the property extended.

Upstairs, I'd like to see three bedrooms with a master en suite,

downstairs, a big kitchen, country style, the heart of the property.

I think the ideal buyer is going to be somebody that's working from home,

and wants the peace and tranquillity,

but we're only ten or eleven miles from central London

and where, you know, the business links are going to be.

If that layout was left the same,

but the cottage was refurbished, how much could it then be worth?

Once it's developed and refurbished,

I would think that you're looking at a price of around about £300,000.

And the renovated cottage could raise a potential rental income

of £1,500 per calendar month.

But of it was extended and fully refurbished,

what could the valuation reach?

The ceiling price of the property, three bedrooms, two bathrooms,

making some use of the outbuildings, £450,000.

This location couldn't be prettier,

and with good transport links in close proximity,

well, I think this is a good one to go for.

My only concern is that renovation could be problematic,

given there's no vehicular access.

You could always bring building materials by barge, I suppose.

Lets see who wanted this canal side cottage at the auction.

Right, lot 89...

..start low on this, I think, we'll start 200.

200 anywhere?

200, 205? 205.

210, 215?

220?

225? 230?

The lot attracted much interest,

and was keenly contested by several interested parties.

We rejoin the auction as the bidding reaches 283,000.

283?

284?

285?

284 with you, 285?

285.

286? 287?

288?

289?

290?

291?

292? 293?

292, first time,

second time, third and last time if you're all done.

Sold, 292.

That final successful bid of 292,000 was made by Saul,

he's a financial planner for a bank,

and bought the house with his wife, Sonia, who's an IT trainee manager.

They never intended to buy in London,

they had their hearts set on a property in France

where Sonia is from originally.

But a chance viewing brought them to this canal side cottage,

and they fell head over heels for the place.

I went to meet them and hear about their plans.

Guys, congratulations, you've got yourselves a corker of a property here,

what's the story behind you buying this, then, Saul?

Um, it's really by luck, Lucy.

For the last seven years I've received the brochures

from different auction houses, and just looked at a picture

about a week before the auction.

Asked Sonia whether she'd like to go and see it.

We popped over for ten minutes,

we'd never been to Uxbridge in our life,

and then I had an appointment next door to where the auction was taking.

Went to the auction, didn't believe I was going to buy the property,

and it was Valentine's Day,

and I just ended up bidding and won the property.

So, did he get you a bunch of flowers on Valentine's Day?

I think the house was enough.

You bought her a house!

Do you know what, I love stories like this.

# Love is the sweetest thing... #

A three bed canal side cottage is a pretty special present for your Valentine.

But I wanted to know if this property purchase was love at first sight, or a slow burner.

It was a rollercoaster,

I think when we arrived it was such an unusual, beautiful setting,

even though it was a very dreary, dark February day.

We could still see the beauty of the place,

and that really took us by surprise.

Then, after that, we were really unsure,

it was a rollercoaster of yes, no, yes, no, it changed pretty much every day.

I think we bought the setting, not the house, so.

That's a good thing, you can change the house, you can't change a setting.

As we all know, location is absolutely crucial when it comes to buying a house,

especially if it's going to be your home.

What do you intend to do with this place?

First of all, we're going to renovate as a first stage, the existing building itself.

There's about 101 square metres.

For us, we'd probably turn it into a one bedroom house.

Then, on the second stage, what we'd like is planning approval

to go and extend it by another 100 square metres.

-OK, so doubling.

-Basically, yes, if that's possible.

If we can't, we still love the building.

Sonia, what would your dream kitchen be?

So, you walk into here, what do you want from this room here?

The kitchen is always such an emotional room,

I just want something nice, bright, with lots of light,

I would love to have my lovely kitchen island,

hopefully a bit bigger than this.

Well, that all sounds fabulous, they secured the house for 292,000,

but Saul had set himself a limit of 350,000,

so, he saved a whopping 58 grand.

That will come in handy, especially when there's so much damp here.

How's he going to tackle that?

Well, my brother's actually flying over, he's a developer,

but he lives over in the States, in Washington DC.

According to him, we need to damp course all the outside of the building,

we need to look at what's going on with the drainage round here,

and then we're going to be dry walling, OK, so we're going to have some sort of separation,

it is a big issue, but it's solvable.

Where are you going to get your materials from and how are you going to get them here?

My brother, as I said, is a developer,

and he does some high end projects,

and he's offered to source all of the material we need,

flooring, things like kitchens, and just ship it over from the US.

That's a great idea.

Because of the decline in the US housing market,

some materials are being sold off there

at heavily discounted prices compared to what we'd pay in the UK,

so, it's much cheaper for Saul to ship them over here.

So, guys, what sort of budget are you looking at to do the work here?

I've estimated it very, very roughly at £100,000,

that's assuming we get planning permission, if we don't we probably won't even need that budget.

So, how involved are you going to be?

Is it going to be a family effort?

Saul and his brother are very, very close, and I completely trust him.

I know I'm going to talk to him about what I want and my ideas,

and I've got my little book of ideas for decoration,

but I'm really happy to let him go on the roam and find me stuff,

because so far we've always been on the same wavelength.

Guys, it's been really exciting meeting you,

seeing where your beautiful family home is going to be,

good luck with this.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Lucy.

Sonia and Saul have big plans for this cottage,

will they be successful with the planning and double the size of this place?

With Saul's brother on hand to project manage this

and building materials being shipped in from America to keep costs down,

well, I can't see them having too much of a problem, but you never know.

As we well know, properties do have a habit of throwing up problems.

Join me later in the programme and you can find out what happens.

I'm in the harbour town of Maryport, on the Solway estuary.

There was a Roman port here,

and its maritime history goes back over 2,000 years.

Maryport is full of history,

but the modern town itself was built only a few hundred years ago.

Terraces were created in a grid system

to house the workers in the local coal industry.

Unfortunately, those jobs have long since gone,

but the houses remain, and it's one of those I'm off to see.

# Fly, fly, seagull won't you fly,

# Find your way and make a new beginning... #

Well, I'm on the outskirts of the town

in a little suburb called Ellenborough,

which takes its name from the River Ellen.

I'm here to see one of these, a mid terrace.

Had a guide price of just £30,000,

which, for a two bed, sounds like a bit of a snip.

I'm not expecting anything too dramatic in terms of the layout,

I mean, basically, this is what it is.

What have we got, through the front door, straight in to your living room.

Somebody's obviously had a go at modernising it a little bit

with the fireplace, but it's not bad.

Although, straight away, I'm smelling damp.

Do use all your senses when you look round properties, your eyes,

your ears and your nose.

And there's just a, you get that, and in fact, look at that.

That's not just a different coloured paint,

that is actually wet down there.

That's very unusual because that is an internal wall.

And the floors, they're not solid, they're wooden,

so, very unusual, oh, dear.

It goes on over here as well. Look at that, completely wet.

Oh, again, unusual to have it on that kind of wall,

you'd expect that kind of damp to be on an exterior wall,

not an interior wall, because there's another property over there.

That's got me puzzled.

# Ain't that strange yeah yeah yeah,

# Ain't that strange... #

There are patches of damp everywhere,

even on a wall in the middle of the property,

so it's not penetrating damp.

But whilst that's all very puzzling,

when it comes to the layout of this terrace, there are no surprises.

Well, I was expecting to find that, basically,

the loo and the bathroom right at the rear of the property here,

that you access through the kitchen.

Very traditional layout for this kind of property.

Well, you know, it is what it is.

You might want to expand it, possibly, into this area here,

um, but I think people would accept that.

What I don't think is good at all is this kitchen.

It's very narrow, literally, I can touch both sides with my hands

and, you know, you're working at the sink here,

then you open the cupboard, and it's not ideal at all.

And I don't know what else you could do about it.

Maybe, again, you just live with it as it is.

The bedrooms upstairs are more generous in size,

but there are still signs of that mystery damp appearing up here as well.

However, at the back, you're stuck for space in the small yard.

But, all in all, I think this property has a lot of potential,

once you've got to the bottom of those damp patches, of course.

What does the auctioneer who sold the property

think of this terraced house, guided at 30,000?

I'm pleasantly surprised with this property actually,

although there's some attention required to some damp throughout the property,

that certainly needs to be checked out,

but once done up it'll be popular to both the residential sales market

and the rental market.

So, once that work's been done,

how much could this property re-sell for?

I think, once renovated,

this property would fetch a figure probably around £65,000.

What if the new owner was to put it on the rental market?

I think if this property was exposed to the rental market,

it would achieve a figure around £375 per calendar month.

Well, it's not a bad little house,

and it could deliver some good yield,

but I am concerned about that damp.

I don't like it when I don't know what's going on.

Lets see who it didn't put off when it went under the hammer.

Well, moving on now to lot number 16,

there's a reduced guide on this, ladies and gentlemen,

we're down now, £30-40,000.

30 anywhere to start off in the room?

30 I've got at the back, at £30,000,

31 on the phone.

Back to you, madam, 32?

33, I've got, 34, madam?

35? 35, I've got.

36? 37?

37.

38, madam? 39?

39. 40? 41?

40, I've got, we're selling this, by the way.

Half with you, 41? And a half?

At £41,000 with you, madam, for the first time,

43, may I say?

42.

43, madam?

44?

Shake of the head at 44, it's with you at the back,

with you all the way at 43.

I'm selling it at £43,000 to the rear, first time,

at £43,000 for the second time,

at £43,000 then, third and final time.

Sold, well done, madam.

She was there right from the start,

and the lady who finally managed to get the house for £43,000 was Linda.

She lives locally and is a former chef.

# Saltines, sardines, hot sauce and onion rings,

# Georgia peaches, cottage cheese,

# Lettuce and whipped cream, Yum yum... #

So, will this property be perfectly seasoned,

or will it leave a bad taste in her mouth?

I caught up with Linda to find out.

-Linda, lovely, to meet you, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Why did you want to buy this place?

-Um, just to do it up and sell on, hopefully, in January.

OK, is that something you've done before?

-Yes, it is.

-How many times?

-About eight.

-Eight?

-Yes.

And you've sold those on, or what?

Um, kept six of them, they're rented out, and two we sold on.

-Why this particular property then?

-Well, it was at auction,

and it looked cheap in the catalogue,

and I live just round the corner,

so it seemed like a good idea at the time.

OK, has your opinion changed?

Well, there's a bit more damp than we thought there was

when we originally saw it, but it's all sort-able, it's all do-able.

Any idea where the damp is coming from? Because it confused me a bit, cos it's really strange.

Apparently, they've renovated next door,

and this has appeared since that was done,

so we're not exactly sure where it's come from.

So, what are you going to do to remedy that, for a start?

Well, we're going to take expert advice on damp proofing,

because that's not something we would mess about with.

So, you keep on talking about "we", who are you doing this with?

I've bought it with a friend, Kath,

so, she has a property in Maryport as well that she rents out,

-she did one last year.

-Right.

So, this is our first joint venture.

OK, how did that joint venture come about?

Um, over a few glasses of wine one night, really.

There was about six of us, and we were just chatting

and thought it would be a good idea if we did one together.

# Come share the wine,

# No one is a stranger here They're your friends and mine... #

Luckily, once the effects of the wine had worn off,

it still seemed like a good idea for Linda and her friend Kath.

They thought this property had the potential they were looking for.

So, talk me through exactly what you are going to do to the place.

Well, originally, we were just going to sort the damp out

and decorate the whole place throughout.

But looking at the kitchen now, I don't think it's a workable kitchen,

we're thinking that we'll move the kitchen here and have a kitchen-diner.

Oh, wow.

And utility room, bathroom has to stay where it is, unfortunately.

OK, so you'll still have a front room, and this will be a nice sized kitchen.

-Yes, yes.

-Oh, that's a good idea.

-That's plan A.

Linda has a budget of £5,000,

which includes money to get that damp sorted out properly.

She and Kath will get some professional help

with jobs like plastering and plumbing,

but other than that, it'll be down to them.

-Do you enjoy this kind of thing?

-Yes, I do, love it, getting mucky.

When you start knocking plaster off, and ripping carpets up,

it's just nice, you've just got the radio on and you're plodding along on your own,

and it's just fun, I enjoy it.

-Are you good at putting things back together again?

-Not bad, I don't think.

And then the idea with this one is what,

to sell it on, or to keep it and rent it out?

Sell it on, hopefully,

we'll have to see what the market's doing, obviously.

But the rental market round here is quite good,

so, we'll see what the market's doing

and if we think it's not going to sell, we'll rent it.

-Great, well, good luck with it all.

-Thank you very much.

-And I wish you all the best.

-Thank you, thanks.

Well, Linda and her new business partner, Kath,

certainly seem to have the experience to sort out any problems

that this mid-terrace might throw up,

but I am a little bit concerned about that damp,

and with just a £5,000 budget to sort out, it's going to be tight.

You can find out how they get on later in the show.

Still to come in Maidstone.

This lovely period property may look good outside, but inside...

Maybe that is why it was cheap?

In Cumbria, did the all-girl DIY team of Linda and Kath

get the job done themselves?

Sometimes had to have some male help with the heavy stuff.

But first, have Saul and Sonia

fallen in love with the art of renovation?

I can't say I enjoyed it. DIY is not for me.

When buying a house, sometimes the location is all that matters.

And it was the setting of this two-bed cottage

by a canal in Uxbridge, Middlesex that's attracted Saul,

a financial adviser and his wife, Sonia, and IT training manager.

They bought it for 292,000,

but getting it came as a surprise to them.

Went to the auction, didn't believe I was going to buy the property.

And it was Valentine's Day and I ended up bidding

and won the property.

So, did he get you a bunch of flowers for Valentine's Day?

I think the house was enough!

Flowers would have been cheaper!

The couple had plans to build an extension and live here.

Armed with £100,000 budget and a 12-month timescale,

Saul and Sonia plan to create something with charm

and character to match its setting.

Well, 11 months later and from the canal side,

the cottage doesn't appear to have had too many changes.

And the rear?

There is no sign of an extension but there are some new French windows.

But, with this place it's the inside that counts.

If you remember, initially it was a very much closed in room.

We tried to open it up as much as possible.

We got rid of the entrance door

and we got rid of the wall that used to separate what used to be

the bathroom, and is now the hallway, dining room.

There also used to be a boiler room in that corner.

We knocked the walls down, obviously

and that allowed the light from the window to pour into the kitchen.

And I think the biggest transformation was to

put in the French windows in that wall.

It looks nice and bright and open plan.

And I think the main feature of the room is about the cooker

and the fireplace we've added, just to make it the focus point

in the kitchen.

It was just an internet find Saul came across

and thought it would look nice, so we went for it.

I think the kitchen looks absolutely brilliant.

It's absolutely lovely to be able to see the garden, the wildlife and the birds.

And the amount of light pouring into this room makes it very pleasant.

Wooden floors and exposed brickwork certainly lends character

and warmth to the ground floor.

And that sense of style continues upstairs.

Here I think has been some of the biggest changes.

If you remember we had a corridor just where I am standing.

This was a really small door so we've widened this.

And then we had a wall because this was a really small bedroom.

And then there was the supposedly larger bedroom over there.

So, we removed all those walls making it one room

and we've doubled the amount of windows for it.

There used to be two fireplaces, so we've got this fireplace here.

And then we've gone and put in cabinet space.

We've achieved I think what we set out to do,

which was to get a sense of space.

We managed to focus the room on the views over the canal

and onto the garden, so we are really happy.

And it doesn't end there.

The charm is carried over into a relaxing new bathroom suite,

and again, the style is driven by a wonderful character feature.

Saul's brother did come over from the United States to help

project manage this impressive renovation.

It was the contractors who gutted this entire property

and refurbished it from scratch.

So, did the couple ever get their own hands dirty?

We did a bit of painting, we're not painters and we are not builders.

We actually did a lot more than he lets on.

I did a little bit. I can't say I enjoyed it.

DIY is not for me, I am really, really lucky that he loves it

because then I could just pass it on and get on with the rest of my life.

I'm glad we did it, looking back it's great.

But I wouldn't want to do it again, personally.

Well, Sonia may have to put up with a bit more work,

as they still plan to add a two-storey extension.

That will add another two bedrooms.

They also plan to build a carriage house in the garden for guests.

After that, the garden might look a bit cramped, but they've managed

to acquire some land from British waterways, who own the canal.

And when complete, this will be a grand site on the edge of the canal.

They did originally plan for a £100,000 budget,

which would have included the extension.

But, even without one, just getting this wonderful renovation done

must have cost a pretty penny.

I bought it for £292,000.

We have spent about £45,000 so far in the build outs.

And then on top of that I bought this land and that cost me

another £12,500.

So, we're looking at about £350,000.

Saul and Sonia have created a wonderful,

spacious new home for themselves,

but at the sacrifice of having two bedrooms.

So is 350,000 a lot of money for what is essentially a one bedroom house?

We didn't buy it as an investment.

We bought it as a home.

And for that, it has given us a lot of value.

Talking of value,

it's time to find out what two local estate agents think,

of their £350,000 investment.

From the work carried out over the last ten months,

the property is in lovely condition.

There's a lot of thought gone into what they've done with each room.

The kitchen is fabulous, really opened that up into a family area.

And yeah, all very nice. An excellent job.

My first impressions of this property is it is a very outstanding,

highly individual property.

Renovated to a very nice standard. Very tastefully decorated.

Positive feedback from the experts, but if Saul and Sonia

ever decide to move on, what could a resale achieve?

As I see the property today as a one-bedroom property,

I would value in the region of £375,000.

As a one-bedroom property, it's quite hard to put an exact value,

but somewhere in the region of £350-£375,000.

Those valuations range from a breakeven point,

to a pre-tax profit of £25,000.

Actually, it's a lot more than I thought.

I thought I might have devalued the property by making

it a one bedroom building.

So, I'm quite encouraged about that.

But that was never the aim, the aim was a lifestyle

and I'm very happy with that.

The estate agents reckon the proposed extension would

possibly raise the property value up to £450,000.

Alternatively, possible rental income on the existing

one-bed house could be from £1200-£1500 per calendar month.

But for now, this is the place Saul and Sonia have set their hearts on.

And from what they say, I think they are pretty much here to stay.

Yes, we are really happy. We love it as a place to live.

It feels like home. Most definitely.

For a first home, I think we did ourselves proud.

It was painful at times, but well worth it and it's home for us now.

Maidstone in Kent is just 32 miles from London,

and the direct train can get you there in under an hour.

So, this is perfect commuter territory.

# This is the sound of the suburbs... #

When these streets were built in the 1840s, rail travel was taking off,

the penny post was established,

Queen Victoria was a young girl with a 22 inch waist,

and women wore bonnets and men wore frock coats.

The ordinary working-class families who lived in these houses however,

would have had more pressing issues at hand,

and, I'm sure, been bewildered that their humble, draughty homes

would get 21st-century pulses racing.

But they do!

Now, will there be period features, stripped floorboards and character?

I do hope so. Now, the property itself is this one here.

It had a guide price of 95 to 100,000.

The street it's in is rather attractive and the imposing

three-storey property I've come to see is in a prominent spot at the end of a terrace.

It looks fairly promising.

Oh! It's obvious I've just walked into a reception

area of a dentist surgery.

Look at that! It looks grim in there,

but I know this place has been empty for many, many years.

It's really not what I was expecting. Very disappointing.

It's more clinical than characterful,

and far too coral, if you ask me.

You really do need to get everything out of here and chuck it in a skip.

Look at this. It's like a little pub seating area. It's very dark.

You can see the walls have been taken out.

You've got partitions everywhere.

You've got a rather sort of large light and bright room at the back,

but, again, it's terribly dated.

It's certainly not what you expect from a property of this period.

I'm really disappointed

but, hey ho, maybe that is why it was cheap.

# Such a crying, crying, crying shame

# Shame, shame... #

It's a shame the period features have been extracted from this old dentist practice

and, brace yourself, because since it had a what's called a D1 Usage

For Provision Of Health And Services,

you'd have to apply for consents to convert it back into a home.

Now, for the purpose of this viewing,

I've got to think of this as a house.

Somewhere where somebody can live happily and comfortably

because, at the moment, it's just not doing it.

You've got a very small toilet area through there.

What was, I think, a kitchen.

So, straight away, you need to knock these two into one

and have a nice luxury bathroom.

You've got to get rid of all this.

It's all incredibly pinched. You've got a staircase coming down.

A radiator hanging out.

Woodchip wallpaper which is draining all the light.

Now, this gets a little better.

You've got to look beyond the nightmare situation in here.

The plumbing, the electrics.

You've got a sink in the middle of the room.

And think about this as a bedroom.

You've got heaps of storage through there

so once you have cleared all of that out,

you could put all of your wardrobe stuff in there.

You've got a really nice big window which lets in lots of light

and I think it's still in good working order, which is a big tick.

So, so far, this is definitely my favourite room.

Let's hope upstairs continues in the same vein.

So it's getting better and the top floor is actually OK.

There are two rooms, featureless, of course, but pleasant.

Square and a reasonable size.

There's also a cellar.

In terms of outside space, there's a car park not a garden

but still a plus point.

So let's consider if you're not a health practitioner,

who would want a place like this?

This would be a perfect home for a couple of young professionals.

Now, you don't have a proper garden but you do have parking.

You've got a very short walk to the shops and the train station.

That is just a ten-minute stroll away. It's ideal.

In my opinion, get rid of the commercial angle,

make it a home, broaden the market, and bingo,

you'll be sitting pretty with a profit on your hands.

Try to rent or sell with a D1 Usage,

and I think it will be like pulling teeth.

So it's down to that all-important change of use.

And while this looks like a house from the outside

and it's on a mostly residential street,

there are no guarantees the council will pass the application

but I'd be surprised if they didn't.

What does a local estate agent

think of this place guided at £90,000-£100,000?

It's an excellent residential location

but it's going to suit somebody that wants to be in the town.

It needs work. The property needs a great deal of work

but it would be ideal for a family home.

If converted back to a fully functioning three-bed house,

what could it earn in a rental market?

It would rent very well

and I think you'd probably get about £900 per calendar month.

And if sold on as a house?

If it's done up to a reasonable standard, I would suggest

£180,000, but I reckon if they do a really good job

maybe £190,000.

This could be a wonderful little home

and a really rather fabulous investment.

Forget the dentists.

Turn it back into one house

and you can have a great rental or resale opportunity.

Let's see who spotted it at the auction.

As this lot came at the end of the auction, there's a few empty seats.

Where do you want to start me on this one?

Start me at 90. Start me cheap, £90,000. Where do you want to start?

Start me at 85, then. 85, I'm obliged. 85 on the way. At 85.

And 90 now I'm looking for. 90, I have. And five again. At 95.

Take 92 if it helps someone. 92. 92 obviously does. At 92.

At £92,000, I've got. 95, I'm looking for. 95 right at the back.

95, just in time, at 95. £97,000 I'm looking for.

It's in the room to sell at £95,000.

Otherwise, at £95,000, the first time.

£95,000 for the second.

At £95,000, third and final time

if you're sure you're all done.

It's yours, sir, at the back for £95,000.

Those successful bidders who bought the former dental surgery for 95,000

were Gary, here on the left,

and his business partner Poodle on the right.

That's right, Poodle!

The pair have worked together for years

refurbishing houses for insurance companies

but this is the first property development of their own

and something of a new beginning.

# Let's make a new beginning... #

Gary and Poodle.

Now, Poodle, I've never met anybody with that name before.

-Is that your real name or your nickname?

-It's my nickname.

-And why are you called Poodle?

-It's basically what you see on top.

-Is it the hair?

-Yes.

-Is it the hairdo? So what is your real name?

-Gary.

-So you're Gary and you're Gary? I think we'll stick to Poodle.

-It's a little bit easier, isn't it?

-We'll stick to Poodle.

-Yeah.

Why did you want this house? What is it that appealed to you and Gary?

It was the price, really, basically.

That is all it really was because we went there to see other properties

but they was going over priced and this one come up at the price.

-Were you happy with the price you paid?

-Yeah, very happy.

And how much more would you have paid?

-We did have it written in our book at 130, didn't we?

-That's right.

So, yeah, we're very happy.

So why have you bought this, for yourselves or to rent out?

-Turnaround.

-So what do you do, Poodle?

-I'm a decorator.

-And Gary?

-Electrician.

-Perfect! Match made in heaven.

# Made in heaven, made in heaven... #

Add to that Gary's son who's a plumber,

and, bingo, you've almost all the trades lined up.

With Gary's sister and equal partner financially,

there's a tight knit and skilled little team here.

They have a budget of 20,000 and reckon it will take them

a couple of months to do the work.

So what are their plans?

We're going to knock a few walls down downstairs.

Upstairs, we're not going to alter a lot.

We'll make the bathroom and toilet into one room. It's got three nice sized bedrooms.

Down here, we're going to open plan this quite a bit

and make it a nice through lounge.

And we're going to put a nice sized kitchen, possibly French doors here

just too divide it possibly, but we're going to keep the WC

and knock down that wall there.

-Absolutely, great idea.

-That's all we could come up with, really.

You're thinking of giving it a contemporary twist

and not going down the traditional route?

There is no tradition in here, really,

apart from the sash windows, is there?

Even the sash windows are completely different sash windows.

I'd like uniform windows there.

That's what we'll do. It will be UPVC sash windows.

-Oh, no!

-Yeah, but sash.

I think it would look beautiful if they weren't UPVC

but I hear what you're saying and if it's for rental purposes,

that's probably what you should do as much as I hate to say that.

Well, it's not, we do plan on selling it,

-so we haven't looked into the wood line yet, have we?

-No.

We could go for wood.

# I'm undecided about what to do

# I'm undecided about me and you... #

I think that would make a difference to the kerb appeal and give it a classier edge,

but I do feel as though we are slightly racing ahead of ourselves.

Isn't there one rather large issue that needs to be sorted first?

What if you don't get permission to change around and convert this into a residential property?

We can't see it being a problem

but if there is a problem, we've got a problem.

You've got a huge problem. Do you have a plan B, Gary?

Well, we don't, really.

We're just really confident we can get it

because it used to be residential.

It's been shut down now for at least nine years

so everyone around here wants it back as a house.

We're not converting it to two flats. It's just going to be a house again.

And next door there's a public house which has been shut down this year

that they've just granted permission for, we think, two houses on there

and it's been granted,

so why would they refuse us?

That's the way we're looking at it.

Did you do lots of research before you thought about bidding for this?

-None at all.

-So you did take a bit of a chance, lads, didn't you?

Big-time.

When you found out you needed a change of use,

how did that make you feel?

We knew we needed change of use cos it was in the catalogue.

It was quite clearly stated but we didn't realise how involved it is

and the forms we had to fill out and the drawings we have to do.

-It's more involved than we really thought.

-It's extremely involved to get change of use.

-Yes.

-And it doesn't happen quickly.

-No, no, they warned us that,

but they did say you can start to do internal works

cos we need something to get on with

and they said it can take eight weeks.

So it's going to take as long to get change of use as what you think

it's going to take you to do this property up?

It is, but we're hoping to push it through.

-The UPVC windows are going in.

-OK, good luck.

I really, really hope it goes your way

-and I can't wait to see what you do to this place at the end.

-Cheers.

Well, Gary and Poodle are a match made in heaven as far as this refurb goes.

But there are going to have to use their imagination to make this place heavenly.

Find out if they manage it and what they do with those windows and,

most importantly, if they get that change of use later in the show.

All our buyers hope their journeys have been worth it

and they take the right turns to avoid the pitfalls.

So, did they? Decisions, decisions. Did they make the right ones?

Let's go back and find out.

In the coastal Cumbrian town of Maryport,

a two-bedroom terraced house went to auction.

It was bought for £43,000 by Linda, a former chef.

Linda, who lives locally,

has refurbished a number of properties in the past

but this was to be the first one she planned to refurbish

with a new business partner.

I bought it with a friend, Kath.

She has a property in Maryport as well that she rents out.

She did one last year so this is our first joint-venture.

How did that joint-venture come about?

Over a few glasses of wine one night, really.

There was about six of us just chatting

and thought it would be a good idea if we did one together.

# Red red wine... #

This house should be food and drink for an experienced property developer such as Linda.

Yes, there were a few damp issues

and the layout wasn't great with a narrow kitchen

and a downstairs bathroom off it,

but it was double glazed, central heated with a decent roof

and, overall, seemed to be structurally sound.

Armed with a budget of £5,000,

Linda and her business partner Kath set about turning this

from vin ordinaire into something more special.

And now, 12 weeks later, we're back.

From the outside, it looks the same vintage as before.

Let's hope the contents have improved.

Well, they certainly have,

with stripped, stained and waxed floor boards and fresh paint work.

There's a striking difference in the front room.

But it's in the second reception room where they've really been busy.

Well, this was the original kitchen which was far too small.

It was really just a galley.

So the main thing that we've done is move the kitchen into here,

which has given us a kitchen diner.

We kept the original cupboards because they're great storage

and we like them as a feature.

The biggest job was knocking the fireplace out,

the chimney breast, in order to get the cooker in.

But we think the finish is quite good.

It's a decent sized dining kitchen now.

This is such an improvement and makes the space work

so much better with that old kitchen now a useful utility area.

And, although the bathroom is still downstairs,

at least it's now further away from the cooking area.

Upstairs, the two bedrooms have been redecorated and given a good clean.

And it looks like those signs of damp throughout the house

have now gone.

In the front bedroom we had damp on the outside window

which was just the guttering had come away, so that dried out naturally.

That was just a case of redecoration.

The same with the back bedroom.

It was just a case of decorating upstairs.

Damp in the back room here in the kitchen,

which we sought expert advice on.

We had to chip that back to the brickwork and dry it out

so that's all been done.

So that's good news.

With the backyard certainly looking rosier,

it's just the front of the house to be painted, then it's job done.

Has it all been straightforward?

The main difficulty is that I've done it with my business partner, Kath,

so, being two females,

we sometimes had to have some male help with the heavy stuff.

SHE LAUGHS

But, other than that, we just thoroughly enjoyed doing it.

We haven't really had huge problems

that we're tearing our hair out over.

We've just enjoyed it.

# I want muscles... #

It was knocking out the chimney breast and making good the area

that required the muscle.

Has their relatively small budget been adequate to do everything here?

I think, originally, we said 5,000 and I think we've come in just under,

a few hundred pounds under the 5,000 so, yeah, we're on budget.

With their original purchase price of 43,000,

and that spend of around 5,000,

Linda and her business partner would have spent about £48,000 plus fees.

They're hoping to put it back on the resale market,

so have they done the right changes in this house to encourage a buyer?

What do two local property experts think?

I particularly like the kitchen.

I like the way they've combined the contemporary units

and followed the handles through with the existing internal storage,

so it's given that extra feeling of space.

I'm very impressed the way this property has turned out.

I think what they've done they've done really well.

It's nice and light and airy. Obviously redecorated.

And the most important thing is,

they've shifted the kitchen out of what was a small galley kitchen

into the second reception room and I think it works really well.

Well, it seems they've been spot on the money

in the way they've changed the property,

but will it actually pay dividends on the resale and rental markets?

I think in the rental market £375 per calendar month.

I think if this property was exposed to the rental market, I think

it will achieve a figure in the region of £375 per calendar month.

That's good. That's feasible if it doesn't sell, yes.

£375 per calendar month would give an impressive yield of nearly 9.5%.

Not bad as a fallback position,

but how would their £14,000 investment fare if put up for sale?

In the current sales market, I believe you'd probably achieve

in the region of £70,000 for a property like this.

I think if this property was exposed to the sales market,

I think you'd probably achieve a figure in the region of £70,000.

Right, yes, we're quite pleased with that.

Yes, we were thinking of a roundabout that mark.

A £70,000 resale would mean a potential pre-tax profit of £22,000.

Not too shabby. So, what's next on the menu?

Hopefully buy another one.

If we sell this one, we'll buy another one and start again.

# Cos I don't know, don't know

# If I can stop now. #

it looks like there's no stopping Linda.

She just loves doing up properties

and turning them from water into wine!

# This is the sound of the suburbs. #

Back now to Maidstone in Kent

where Gary, on the left, and business partner Poodle

had bought this three storey end of terrace property at auction.

It was formerly a dentist surgery.

Poodle is a decorator and Gary is an electrician

They have plenty of experience renovating property for other people

but this was the first project of their own.

They plan to apply for consent

to change it from business to residential use

but this was going to be more troublesome than first anticipated.

We knew we needed change of use. It was in the catalogue clearly stated.

But we didn't realise how involved it is and the forms we have to fill out

and the drawings we have to do.

-It's more involved than we thought.

-It's extremely involved to get change of use.

-Yeah.

-And it doesn't happen quickly.

-No.

They warned us that, but they did say you can start to do internal works

cos we need something to get on with.

Starting a renovation before consents are granted

is definitely a risky strategy

but the lads were given the nod for the work to start inside

and they were desperate to get stuck in,

so just 11 weeks later, we're back.

Outside, the building has been smartened up.

On the ground floor,

all evidence that it was once a dental surgery has vanished.

It's now open plan from front to back,

housing a light and airy living room

that leads through to a contemporary kitchen.

The kitchen, we started off by taking down a few walls.

There was a stud wall here that made a little entrance into the WC.

When we took out the old units that were being used by the dentist,

we found that that was actually a back door

so we changed that to a window.

Retiled floor.

Obviously glass splashback. Yeah, I do like it.

Overall, I think it come out as a beautiful space.

You're right there, Gary.

Upstairs on the first floor is a similar high spec

transformation in the new family bathroom.

You can certainly see where the money's been spent here.

Also on this floor is the first of three double bedrooms.

The other two are on the top floor and are bright and spacious.

Our tour ends here in the basement, which has been dug out

and, with heating installed, it's now a fully functional space.

The windows have been completely replaced.

But the boys were undecided whether to go for UPVC

or replace like-for-like with brand-new sash windows.

We had the front ones remade rather than refurb the ones that were there.

Also, because it's in a conservation area

and we had to apply for change of use, it was sensible to go back with

the original windows and the planning officer was very happy about that.

Great!

Brand-new wooden sash windows at the front of this property at least

although, at the back, the boys did install UPVC.

Now, there was that minor matter of permission for change of use.

We haven't got change of use as yet.

They've told us they would have to give us a reason

why they wouldn't allow change of use.

Being as it was originally a house, and we've put it back to a house,

I can't really see any reason they can find.

Gary and Poodle really are taking a chance here,

as, despite having a strong case in favour of their application,

nothing can be taken for granted.

The original timescale for the property was eight weeks.

Have they managed to complete on time?

I think it did go roughly eight weeks.

It might have gone into nine, but we did have Christmas in between.

Yeah, we've done well. Worked hard but turned it around.

How did the budgeting go

bearing in mind the original estimate was £20,000?

We've probably spent fractionally under 40

but that's including all of the costs.

The auctioneers' costs, the selling costs. Everything.

Apart from mine and my partner's wages, that includes paying everyone,

so we spent more than we thought but we think it's justified.

That takes their total spend, including the purchase price,

to 135,000.

The guys are going to have to wait for that official change of use

before they can either sell or rent this out.

Meanwhile, let's see what two local property experts think.

My first impressions of this property is superb.

The renovation refurbishment is really excellent.

Much better than the normal standard. I really am impressed.

It's a really handsome character house with classic proportions

that's been really well restored throughout.

How much could the potential rental income be,

assuming the change of use is granted?

If we were to rent this property

I would imagine securing a tenant at about £900 per calendar month.

I would expect to achieve on the rental market

£850 per calendar month.

That's potentially a healthy yield between 7.5% to 8%.

And its resale value?

Remember, they spent £135,000 here, including costs and fees.

If we were to market this property now,

they would comfortably achieve £180,000

and I think, on a good day, and the right buyer,

they may even squeeze up to £190,000.

I would expect it to achieve somewhere between 185 and £190,000.

Yeah, quite surprised by them.

We've done a bit of research and we think it's worth more than that.

The one across the road went for 235 very recently, so, yeah,

but we'll see.

Those valuations could mean a growth profit of between 45,000-55,000

before the usual selling expenses.

So they're quids in whether they rent or sell, as long as they get planning permission.

-Might be renting, might be selling. We'll see how it goes.

-Yeah.

We've got one person interested.

We've got someone who wants to rent it that will really look after it,

so we might go down that lane yet, we're not sure.

Did they enjoy their first joint venture?

-Yeah, I'm happy.

-Yeah, definitely did.

Every lad that's worked here enjoyed it. Definitely do again.

Everyone's a winner.

Well, that's it for today's buyers,

but there are plenty more where they came from.

And for a chance to follow what happens to them,

make sure you join us next time for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-We'll see you then.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd