Episode 32 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello, and welcome to the programme.

Now, auctions are really interesting places to buy property,

which is probably why they've become so popular over the years.

Yes, thousands of very different lots are offered for sale

each year, so why not think about buying your home under the hammer?

People who buy regularly at auction know all the tricks of the trade.

One way to make sure you're not inheriting a whole load of problems

is to read the legal pack before you buy.

Yes, it's definitely better to be safe than sorry.

So, here are the properties that inspired our buyers on today's show.

In County Durham, I don't know where I am with this topsy-turvy house.

Is this the back or the front?

I don't know!

I'm off to a holiday park in Kent, with all I need for the viewing.

Red coat? Check. Key? Check.

And this three-bed semi in Cheshire may be

a non-standard construction, but it's not all bad.

As a liveable space, you can't complain.

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.

Your lot, sir. Well done.

Today, I'm in the little village of Annfield Plain near Stanley,

which is halfway between Durham and Newcastle.

The village came about to house the miners who worked in the local pit.

Sadly, they closed in the '80s and '90s,

but much of the mining folklore and character of the place remain.

In recent years, its closeness to Durham, Sunderland, Gateshead

and Newcastle have meant it's attracted a fair number

of commuters wanting to escape the city.

That's pushed up house prices in the area. Good news, for some.

The property I'm here to see was a four-bedroom mid-terrace,

had a guide price of £25,000 plus.

That's it behind me.

Sounds like quite a lot of property for the money,

but maybe one reason for that is... Is this the back or the front?

I don't know!

MUSIC: "Back To Front" by Eliza Doolittle

Strictly speaking, this is the back of the property.

But with access and parking out here,

you can see why this door would get used more.

That means that the front of the property,

along with its enormous garden, is inevitably used as the back.

Confused? Hopefully not for long.

I guess, given that you don't generally come through

the front door into your kitchen, that this is in fact

the rear of the property.

But into the kitchen you do come, if you come in that way.

It's a good size. The units are very old, but I like the space.

It's been knocked through here into this, which makes it

a kitchen/family play, dining, living area.

I like that, a very modern way to live.

It works well for a lot of people.

Not quite sure what this is. Maybe we'll investigate that in a minute.

Some kind of lift.

But through into a corridor, which leads to the front, back,

whatever you want to call it, door there.

A downstairs loo and bathroom,

round the corner to your main living area.

You can see straightaway that this is a sizeable property.

Lots of wood on the walls, if you like that kind of thing.

The gas fire looks like it's seen better days.

Definitely make a feature in there,

possibly think about putting patio doors out into the garden.

But a lot of space!

Yes, there's no shortage of room here.

It's more a question of looking at the layout

and updating the tired decor.

MUSIC: "A Change Will Do You Good" by Sheryl Crow

Time to see what we've got upstairs in this house.

And at a guide price of £25,000 plus on auction day.

So, upstairs, and four good-size double bedrooms.

And the answer to the question of what was

that metalwork downstairs in the lounge.

It's actually this.

A disabled lift, which takes a wheelchair, or a disabled person,

from downstairs in the lounge, up here to the bedroom.

A fantastic piece of kit, which would be a godsend

if you were disabled.

If you bought this place and weren't disabled,

you'd look to give it to someone who would find it useful, because that's

a fantastic thing to have.

Of the three other bedrooms, one's a fair size,

but the other two are singles.

However, with four bedrooms,

there's the possibility of moving the bathroom upstairs.

This back-to-front house is just as puzzling

when you come out of the other door.

At this side, there's a narrow pathway to give access,

and it's really the other side, I think, that you would use

most of the time.

But what you've got here at the back, front,

or whatever you want to call it, is a really good-sized garden.

No, trust me, underneath all these weeds, there's a lot of space.

So, lay this to turf, maybe a little vegetable plot,

and it's a really lovely family area.

Just pop on your rose-tinted glasses

and you'll see this really could be heavenly.

MUSIC: "Garden of Eden" by Joe Valino

So, what suggestions will the local estate agent have to unlock

the potential here?

First impressions of the property are that it's a good size.

It's a slightly unusual layout.

There's quite a bit of work required here, either to get it

to a lettable standard or for potential resale.

Any new owner may wish to look at possibly putting a bathroom

upstairs, but in doing so, they may have to lose one of the bedrooms.

So, a fair bit of work and expense.

But given the guide price of just £25,000, how much does

he think the house could be worth after a full renovation?

Once this house has been renovated to a reasonable standard, I would expect

we'd be looking at a resale value of approximately 85 to £90,000.

What about the rental potential?

If the property were to be let, once renovated,

in the current market, I would expect it to achieve

in the region of 475 to £500 per calendar month.

So, is this back-to-front house a good one to go for?

I certainly think you're getting a lot of property for the money,

so I'd say yes.

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

We're going to move to Annfield Plain.

A four bed, mid-terrace property.

It needs complete modernisation refurbishment.

I need to start at £25,000. Do I have 25,000 anywhere?

25,000 on the left, bid. 27 anywhere else?

I've got one bid at 25,000. 27 bid.

29? 29 bid.

31? 31 bid.

33? 35? 37?

39? 41?

40? No?

39,000, I'm selling at £39,000.

40,000 in. 41?

42. 43. 44.

45? At 45,000. Are you coming again?

It's at £45,000. Do I have 46 anywhere else?

I'll take a half?

At £45,000. 45,500 on the back wall.

46? 46,500.

47? 47,500.

48. 48?

You're both out.

I'm selling it once at 47,500.

Second time, at £47,500.

Sold, to the gentleman on the back wall.

With that final bid of £47,500, the new owner of the mid-terrace is Lee.

He's married with two young kids.

Lee's a quantity surveyor of 22 years' experience

who's recently decided to turn his hand to property developing as well.

I met him back at his first investment purchase

to find out more.

-Lee! Good to meet you. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this house.

It's something we've been looking to do for a while.

We've done a few properties previously while we've lived in them,

but we've now got a family home and we're quite settled in that.

-I'm finding I need something to do, a little bit of hobby.

-Hobby?

Just to fill in a bit of time alongside my main job.

-Right, which is what?

-I'm a freelance quantity surveyor.

-Oh, OK.

So I work for different clients, helping them out with

quantity-surveying estimates, and that sort of thing.

-Very useful skill to have.

-Yes, I have a bit of knowledge.

Talk me through what a quantity surveyor does.

Basically, we manage the financial side of a building company.

So we make sure you get paid on time, we pay the subcontractors,

we make sure all of the inventory's up to date.

Basically the cash-flow of a business.

It's not just going around, estimating how much it's going to cost to do slating or roofs?

No, that's an element of it, the initial part,

but a quantity surveyor spends more of his time

on site, as the project's ongoing.

So what kind of skills from your day job will you be able to

bring into a project like this?

I'm hoping cost management.

I'm hoping to be able to bring it in at the right price.

Manage my prices right.

And the normal budget you'd have to spend on a project would be what?

It could be anything. We do anything from 50,000 to £1 million.

I've worked abroad and done £140 million jobs.

So, from £140 million budget to budget for this place of...?

Round about 20,000!

-The same principles apply!

-It's just less zeros.

Lee lives locally and has been looking for a property

here for some time.

Knowing what they can sell for,

he knew this was a potential bargain within his budget.

So, what plans does he have for it?

The first one is to get that lift out.

Find someone that can remove that for me.

It would be nice to think it might go to a home...

Hopefully, someone could reuse it.

So I've got some investigation to do on that. And then it's strip it back.

And in terms of the layout,

what are you going to do with it, downstairs and up?

Downstairs will probably remain the same, albeit the shower room,

I'm going to change to a downstairs toilet, and possibly a utility area.

And then move the bathroom up to the first floor

and make a smaller bedroom upstairs.

But basically, leave the layout more or less the same.

In order to keep costs down,

Lee will do most of the labour himself, calling on trades people

to do the more specialist work, such as plumbing or electrics.

He hopes to get it finished within four to five months and sell it on.

But what about his family? Will they get involved?

My wife tends to give me the interior-design element of it.

She helps me out quite a lot with that.

And I get to do all the dirty work, so...

Talking of dirty work,

Lee has plans for the outside of the property, too.

That's an interesting layout in terms of

-the front's at the back and the back's at the front.

-Yeah.

What are you going to do? Are you keeping it as it is?

Yes, it'll stay like that.

At the moment, the back is a yard area,

which I plan to knock the back wall down,

to turn it into some off-street parking.

The front garden, I'll cut down the weeds and turf it, so it gives

a pleasant outlook out the front, and a bit of space for a family.

-Well, congratulations, good luck with it.

-Thank you.

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

-Great, thanks.

Well, Lee has clearly got one vital bit of experience in terms of making

this project a success, because keeping a tight rein on the cash is

one of the most important parts of any project.

But how will he get on managing a £20,000 budget as supposed to

a £140 million one?

You can find out later in the show.

Now, this is one of the more unusual auction lots we've featured

on Homes Under The Hammer.

The property I'm here to see is just over there.

But this used to be a 1950s holiday camp.

It was really buzzing in its heyday.

So, was the guide price Hi-de-Hi or Hi-de-Low?

I'm pleased to announce the property was

guided at an incredibly low 30 to £35,000.

Red coat? Check! Key? Check!

All that's left to do now is check in.

We're in a holiday mood on the Kent coast, not far from Deal.

But deal or no deal,

this one is going to be something out of the ordinary.

Now, this holiday park doesn't really have a '50s feel to it,

and that's because it was redeveloped in the '80s.

And they didn't opt for a typically British look, either.

No, Scandinavian lodges!

Personally, I love it.

No need to look out for birch twigs just yet.

But they sure have, wait for it,

SAUNA lot of trees down to make these timber-framed chalets!

And the good news is,

they look to be standing the test of time pretty well.

What a great lodge this is!

It's got a sort of beach-house effect going on,

with all this tunnel-grooved, white-painted wood.

Really cosy in here, a great entertaining space.

I suppose you could upgrade it.

You could think about painting this white to match the interior.

But it's going to be a holiday home,

so I wouldn't be spending too much money in here.

The kitchen, you know, look, it really is in good working order.

I don't think you'd have to change this.

I could imagine having great summers here with my family.

For the guide price, I think this would be an absolute steal

if it went for anywhere near that.

And for that 30 to £35,000 guide price,

you get a sitting room and kitchen, for starters,

and two little rooms downstairs, which, at a push, could be bedrooms.

MUSIC: "I Have A Dream" by ABBA

The bathroom's down here, too.

Then, up the stairs,

and you're straight into a decent-sized bedroom,

and another bedroom.

Out back, there's a pleasant little paved area,

ideal for a secluded barbeque on a summer's evening.

It's worth bearing in mind that this is a leasehold property,

with just 70 years remaining.

So you might want to look into renewing the lease if possible,

which would certainly make it easier to sell on in the future.

One more thing - this is a holiday home, so it has restricted use.

This property can't be occupied by the same person for more than

a set number of days per year.

This is to stop it being used as a permanent home.

The local council are keen to maintain tourism,

and so you can see why these restrictions are in place.

But I happen to know that with this particular site,

it's closed over the cold winter months, but it's open for

Christmas and New Year, and I think that's great news for families.

Besides, I really wouldn't be put off by those restrictions.

I mean, this is a holiday park after all,

and a very neat and tidy one at that.

Now, here's some good news.

The exterior of the property is maintained by the holiday park.

They like these properties to have this look,

and they're keen to keep up the standards here,

ensuring they're in tiptop condition.

So, that is all great. But it does come at a price, I'm afraid.

The service charge is a fairly hefty three grand a year.

Let's hope you get something else for that. I'm going on a search.

Seek and ye shall find.

Tennis court, crazy golf, children's play park.

Plus, a private beach, no less. And the icing on the cake?

An indoor swimming pool. What's not to like?

We asked along a local estate agent to hear what

he makes of this holiday home.

These are good properties.

They're very well designed for their purpose,

and it's a wonderful setting.

What could this holiday home rent out for?

The rents vary depending on the season and time of year.

Between 200 and £250 per week.

And that's just in the low season.

You can double or even treble that figure at the height of the summer.

What if the purchaser did it up and sold it on?

In good condition,

the resale value of this is probably in the order of 50 to £55,000.

A Scandinavian lodge beside the seaside?

It just sounds too good to be true.

It won't be for everybody, of course.

The high service charge

and restricted use may put some people off.

But if someone's looking for an investment or holiday home,

this could be the perfect lot to go for.

Let's find out who fancied it as we go to auction.

Lot 75. It's a Scandinavian-style holiday lodge.

30 to 35,000, the guide. Start me at 30.

25? £25,000, I can lip read.

And 26. And 28.

And 30.

32? 32.

33, 34, and 35, and 36.

35 is the gentleman's bid.

35,000. Out behind at 35,000.

36, do I see? 36, I have.

At 37. No?

36,000 in the distance. At 36,000.

37, do I see? And a half?

I don't mind, I've got all evening. And 37.

And a half again? No?

At £37,000 at the back of the room, at 37,000.

And a half, do I see? Selling for the first time, then, at 37,000.

For the second time at 37,000. You're out sitting at the front.

At 37,000. And a half.

You're in danger of missing. 38?

And 38, I'm bid. And a half. Bit quicker next time, please.

38 is at the back of the room. And a half again?

You said that last time.

38,000 at the back of the room, for the first time.

38,000 for the second time.

38,000, third and final time.

Are you all done?

It was Andy and his wife Anna

who snapped up the holiday home for £38,000.

They live about an hour's drive away in Kent,

and run their own engineering company.

I met the couple back at the holiday park

to see if they'd brought their A-game to this A-frame,

or whether this Scandinavian chalet would be their Waterloo.

Andy and Anna, congratulations,

you've got yourselves a great little place here.

-Yes.

-So, what's the story behind you wanting to buy this?

Well, we've been thinking about getting a caravan,

but we saw this come up in the auction, and we came and visited

the site, and once we'd visited the site, we fell in love with it.

It's just lovely, it's a beautiful site.

So quiet and peaceful, basically.

It's amazing.

I walked around it myself and was like, "This is brilliant!"

It's really beautiful, you can see the sea.

So were you emotionally tied, Anna?

Had you bought the cushions and sofa-bed, painted the ceiling?

Oh, yes. Definitely.

Andy and Anna fell for this one hook, line and sinker.

And who can blame them?

They intend to make good use at the chalet with friends

and family, including their two grandchildren.

I think they'll all love it here.

Now, while you might think the chalet is good to go,

this couple have plans for it.

Obviously this needs some work doing on it, so, you know...

Yeah, but not that much!

Ah, yes, but you don't know my aspirations!

Oh, Anna! I am so excited.

Because as far as I can see, it looks pretty good to me.

It's probably not going to change that much in here, but the bathroom

is the original bathroom, so we're going to put a new bathroom in.

We're going to revamp the kitchen area, perhaps new worktops

and a new cooker, put all new beds, et cetera upstairs.

-There's a lot of Artex...

-That we want to get rid of.

So we're going to have that plastered over, so it's plastered flat.

Are you? You really are going to go to that extent

-of having it plastered.

-Yeah.

-It bothers you that much?

-Yeah.

The thing is, I think we're thinking that if we're going to use it,

we might as well do all the work that we want to get done now,

and then it's just done.

-Then we can relax when we come down here.

-That's it, yeah.

Are you going to do the work?

-Most of it, probably.

-Are you?

-You're going to be plastering?

-I won't do the plastering, no.

I won't do the plastering, but I'll do the rest.

I think a cup of tea's in order before Andy gets stuck in.

Anna wants the chalet to be more luxurious than their own home.

So, how much is that likely to cost?

Around about eight to 10,000.

What? That's a lot of money.

Eight to 10,000? You only paid 38 for it.

How long do you think it's going to take you

to get cracking and do the work?

How quickly can we come back?

-Approximately about six months.

-Six months?

-Hopefully do it over the winter.

-That is funny.

It's much more a budget than I thought, and a longer timescale!

Six months? People do a whole flat in that time.

Why are you going to take so long doing it up?

There's no rush - we can do it during the winter

so we've got it for next summer.

Then they'll have the perfect little retreat to enjoy with their family.

That's what we've bought it for. It's for the family.

We're lucky enough to have lovely close friends, and their families.

-That's it, yeah.

-We're lucky to have been able to get it,

and we want everybody to enjoy it.

So in six months time, it'll be looking fantastic?

-Hopefully, yes.

-It better be!

It will be.

Well, guys, it's been fantastic meeting you.

-I can't wait to see what you do.

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

-And I hope you'll be very happy here.

-I'm sure we will, thanks.

-And congratulations. Well done, Andy.

-Thank you.

I love it.

Anna wants to make this lodge more luxurious than her own home!

I'm sure that eight to £10,000 budget will cover it,

but will Andy be able to reign her in and keep those finances on track?

And is he going to do this up in six months? I hope so!

You can find out how the couple get on later in the programme.

Coming up, this semi in Cheshire has a nasty surprise up its sleeve.

That is asbestos. It needs to be taken out by a professional.

In Kent, Andy and Anna have really gone to town

on their dream holiday home.

Everything. All the little bits and pieces...

-They just add up.

-They do.

But first, in County Durham, Lee has pulled out all the stops.

I've done weekends and nights just to try and push it on.

Back now to Annfield Plain, a village midway between

Durham and Newcastle.

Here, Lee, a freelance quantity surveyor,

had bought this four-bedroom mid-terrace for £47,500.

Like the neighbouring properties,

the back of the house was used as the main entrance...

..as the front had a big garden and no road access.

This was his first auction purchase, which he planned

to refurbish and sell on.

He had a few changes planned.

Downstairs will probably remain the same, albeit the shower room,

I'm going to change to a downstairs toilet and possibly a utility area.

And then move the bathroom onto the first floor

and make a smaller bedroom upstairs.

But basically leave the layout more or less the same.

It's a good-sized layout.

It's now nearly seven months later,

and we're back again to catch up with Lee.

The wall at the back of the yard has been removed,

and there's now off-road parking for a couple of cars.

Once inside, the refitted kitchen looks most impressive...

..with new units and appliances...

..and a slate-effect floor.

Every wall and ceiling in the house has been re-plastered.

There are new doors,

and the decoration throughout is to a high standard.

The house has been elevated to a new level.

But removing the lift that went from the dining room downstairs

to the bedroom wasn't easy, as Lee explains.

We made enquiries with the company that installed it initially,

and they quoted us a figure of over £1,000 just to remove the lift.

Then we'd obviously have to make everything good.

So myself and my dad decided that we'd have a go of it ourselves.

Took us nearly two days to remove this structure.

Lee did look into finding a new home for the lift, but unfortunately

the costs were so prohibitive that scrapping it was the only option.

The former shower room on the ground floor is now a utility room,

housing the boiler for the newly-installed central heating.

And Lee sensibly retained a downstairs loo.

Upstairs, the bedrooms have been finished to an equally

impressive standard, and the layout has been changed to incorporate

an upstairs bathroom, with the space coming from two rear bedrooms.

So, how did they do it?

We formed a new wall at this end and moved a wall at this side

a little bit further back, just to create the space.

Also added the new window, which gives a lot of light for this room.

We then installed the new floor, new ceiling,

new bathroom suite and new radiator.

So, the house still has four bedrooms,

and with the bathroom upstairs, it'll be an ideal family home.

And there could be an ideal area for kids to play at the front,

now that Lee has cleared and levelled the garden.

Get that turfed and it'll be great.

So, how did Lee fit all this work in along with his job?

I tried to allocate at least a day or two days a week to this project.

I've done weekends and nights just to try and push it on.

But I have had to get a lot of work on the house done by others

which I would have liked to do myself.

Lee's family and friends lent a hand and he contracted

some of the work out to contacts he has in the building industry.

So, how much has it cost him to replace the windows and doors

and completely rewire the house?

My original budget, with a contingency,

was around about the £20,000 mark.

I've come in under that, without using the contingency.

Obviously, that excludes all the time I've spent on it.

And family and friends.

If Lee has held his budget to around 19,000, then, added to

the £47,500 he spent at auction,

it means he has £66,500 invested here.

So, have his plans for the property remained the same?

Hopefully, if the market is starting to pick up,

I'd really like to sell it on.

I've had six people knock on the door to rent it already,

so there's definitely a market out there for rentals.

We'll see what comes up.

We invited two local estate agents to give their opinions of this house

that Lee has finished to such a high standard.

Overall, I think the finish of the property is brilliant.

They've spent a lot of time and care making sure it's perfect.

Same colour scheme throughout.

The sort of property you could put your own stamp on.

A big improvement outside.

It's been tidied up to the front and rear.

The rear yard's been gravelled, making it low-maintenance.

The front garden is now a blank canvas for someone to come in

and do what they would like to do with it.

Lee hopes that the high standard of finish

he achieved here will be reflected in the evaluations and

ensure him a quick sale.

So, is the house worth over 66,500?

I would suggest, in the current sales market,

a value of somewhere around 65 to £70,000.

I think if the owner were to look to put this property

on the market for sale,

you'd be hoping to achieve somewhere in the region of 80 to £85,000.

Well, that high evaluation range of 80 to 85,000 would generate

a gross profit of between 13,500 and £18,500, before the usual expenses.

That's more what we were sort of looking for,

what we worked our figures on.

So, that would be more respectable.

What rental income could the place generate?

I think you would put the property on the market

to rent in the region of £425 per calendar month.

Rental-wise, with it being a four-bedroom,

anywhere from 450 to £475 per calendar month.

Those rental valuations would represent a yield of around

7.5 to 8.5%, which is great for his first investment property.

So, now he's finished, is developing a path he is keen to follow?

I'd like to do another one, gradually bigger houses,

if I can work my way up.

We'll just have to see how it all works out.

This is Madeley in Staffordshire,

close to the border with Cheshire and Shropshire.

It's a pretty village, with a pond

called the Madeley Pool at its heart.

So, will today's auction lot have me ducking and diving for cover?

I hope not.

The house I'm here to see is on this nice residential estate.

However, the first thing you might notice,

because I certainly did, is the houses are slightly unusual.

The ones over that side have kind of got this...

They look almost like beehives in some way.

On this side, they're more bricky. So what's going on?

Well, in case you hadn't guessed,

the houses on this estate are all non-standard construction.

Basically, they're made of concrete blocks set on concrete pillars.

It's called Cornish Unit. This is the house I'm here to see.

It's made in exactly that style.

As you can see, other houses have had bricks put in front of them.

That makes them mortgageable. But in their current state, they're not.

Hence the guide price. Three bedrooms, semi-detached. 40 grand.

Let's take a look.

30,000 of these Cornish Units were made

over a 20-year period, post-war.

So, in fact, they're not that unusual,

and have proved to be very practical homes.

MUSIC: "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones

The thing is,

when you step inside, you really wouldn't know there was a problem.

And actually, there's quite a lot of space.

Living-room area here is a bit dark, but it's obviously been

refurbished at some point, and it's quite a nice space.

Then, through into the kitchen.

A new boiler, that's about the only positive thing that I can see

in here, because it's in a bit of a shambles, to be honest.

I don't know what this wall is doing here.

It's a partition, it's been put in to create a kitchen/dining area.

This wants to come out to open up the space.

New units at the same time.

It would be a really nice kitchen,

but talking about being inside and not actually having a clue to

some of the problems, here in the kitchen, even more serious problems.

That is asbestos.

It was used as insulation, and you do not want to be smashing it apart

with hammers or cutting into it with whatever.

The dust that it would create is obviously highly dangerous.

So, it needs to be taken out by a professional.

While you're doing that, maybe doors out onto the garden, or whatever.

As a liveable space, you can't complain.

Certainly not for the £40,000 guide price, which is roughly a quarter

of the price of a three-bed

standard-construction house in the area.

And overall, it's not a bad size.

Upstairs, there's a separate bathroom

and toilet, which could easily be knocked into one if you so wished.

But certainly a good clean of the bath would not go amiss. Yuck!

There are three reasonably-sized bedrooms,

all in need of refurbishment and redecoration,

plus a very-decent sized, if overgrown, back garden.

So, there's not much wrong with the interior layout -

it's just the design and construction of the shell

that's the issue.

So, how much of a problem is this non-standard construction

really likely to pose?

Well, on the face of it, this house has actually done pretty well.

They were built around the 1950s

and had an estimated life span of 30-odd years.

So, here we are 60 years later, and they're still standing.

The problem is, it's what you can't see going on in the concrete.

There's lots of chemicals interreacting,

which sometimes results in the concrete splitting apart.

The beams do the same thing.

Then, of course, you've got to consider the asbestos insulation

that's all over the place.

It's no surprise that mortgage companies are

not that keen on lending on these.

Not that keen - that's an understatement.

But you've got to assess how much work is to be done,

how bad is the concrete and, one thing for sure,

you've got to make sure you've got the funds to buy them in cash.

MUSIC: "Brass In Pocket" by The Pretenders

Well, no brass in pocket, and this house is a non-starter,

as borrowing is unlikely to be an option,

and subsequently, it may be tricky to sell on.

But as a home or rental property,

the type of construction is less of a worry.

So, can this place stack up as an investment?

What does the local estate agent make of it?

The construction isn't the only issue here.

This property does require a full refit.

It needs a new kitchen, new bathroom, completely re-plastering...

..new decoration and new fittings.

But if an extensive refurbishment was carried out on this house

that was guided at 40,000, would it be a worthwhile investment?

In its present condition, this property is worth on today's market

somewhere between 50 and £60,000.

If the construction was solved and brick skin was installed,

the property would then increase to somewhere between 85 and £90,000.

So, a brick skin would increase its value by 20 to 30 grand.

It could cost that same amount to do, but would make it

mortgageable, and therefore easier to sell on in the long run.

Does it make any difference to its rental potential?

As regards the rental market,

the non-standard construction isn't too much of an issue.

You would see figures of

approximately £550 per calendar month.

Well, it's quite difficult to know how to categorise this one.

Long-term investment? Well, you'll have to spend quite a bit of money

sorting out the problems with the non-standard construction,

which certainly won't last forever.

Short-term investment?

Well, as it is, I don't think you're going to get much money back

in terms of a resell.

I guess it sits in the medium-term investment bracket, because

do it up, rent it out,

it could generate a nice bit of money on a regular basis.

Let's see who fancied the opportunity

when it went under the hammer.

Lot 37. It's a three-bedroom semi-detached house.

It's of non-standard construction.

30, then. Anybody going at 30?

Thank you. At £30,000.

35, going to say now.

35? 35.

At 35,000. 40?

At £40,000. 45?

45.

50.

55? 56? 56.

57.

58? 58.

59?

60?

Yes? 60.

61? At 61, then. Bid's there. I'm not hanging about.

£61,000. Another one?

If not, £61,000 then, first time.

£61,000, second time.

Third and final time, are we all done at £61,000?

Your lot, sir. Well done.

Sold for £61,000 - that's £21,000 over the guide price.

The successful bidder was local beef farmer Francis.

But it was Francis' daughter Sarah and her partner Rob

who met me back at the three-bed Madeley house.

-Sarah, Rob, lovely to meet you both.

-And you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

Well, I think the main reason was my father's actually bought it.

Your father's bought it?

Yes, so at the auction there was myself, Rob and my dad.

And he's bought it primarily because he owns the one next door,

so it made sense to buy this one as well.

So this is your dad's investment, then? What's your involvement?

My dad just buys it and then we'll just do it up.

So we'll be managing the trades and getting people in to do things.

-That'll be me.

-And you'll be doing some as well!

I'll be managing the trades and I'll be doing the majority of the work.

The plan is to rent it out when it's finished,

so they're not concerned about the non-standard construction.

And although Sarah's dad Francis purchased the house,

his sole involvement from now on will be

to provide the funds for the renovation.

That leaves it up to Sarah, Rob

and other family members to organise and carry out the work.

Even though this isn't the first renovation project Sarah and Rob

have been involved in, it still represents

quite a lifestyle change for them both.

We're kind of like downshifters.

I moved up from down south because I was fed up with the rat race,

didn't want to work down there anymore.

I work part time,

and the rest of the time, I look after my daughter.

-So I look after our daughter the other half of the time.

-Oh, right.

And yeah, so just looking after properties.

Did anything specific cause that,

or did you just think, "I've had enough of this"?

I just think I was commuting too much for me.

There's a great logo on the M40, where I used to drive,

it's on the side of the wall, and it says,

"What am I doing here, sitting in my car?"

I think I took that to heart and thought,

"Yeah, what am I doing here, sitting in my car?!"

# And I wonder, what am I doing here?

# And I wonder, what am I doing here? #

Rob worked for 20 years in the family motor racing company

he ran with his sister before he decided to step back and become

a househusband, whilst also helping with the family properties.

They will be aided on this one by Sarah's brother James,

who has also downshifted.

He moved back north from Brighton

and reduced his working hours as a doctor

for the less-stressful lifestyle he desired.

So, what are the team planning to do here?

We're going to change the kitchen, and all the bathrooms need doing.

That's not something I do - we'll get people in to do that.

-And once all the construction work's done, I can take over.

-Right.

-So I do all the nice bits.

-The painting and the interior design.

-Exactly, yes.

-Oh, great.

-So that's the plan.

-Right.

So, what's the budget for the work?

-15,000.

-And the timescale for doing it?

I think we've got to give ourselves six months, cos we've only got...

We'll be working weekends, my brother will be working,

so it's a team, there'll be lots of us working here.

We just love it, we absolutely love doing stuff like this.

Oh, that's great! What will your involvement be on a daily basis?

-Making sure everyone's where they should be.

-Cracking the whip.

Is that right? What about getting hands dirty?

-Yeah.

-Oh, yeah.

Absolutely no problem getting hands dirty.

We both grew up on farms, albeit Rob's was a stud farm.

Mine was very definitely a working farm.

We're used to a bit of muck and tat.

Right. Listen, congratulations. Good luck with it.

-We look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

-Good stuff.

Well, as we predicted, Rob and Sarah have got themselves

a great little investment property to add to their dad's portfolio.

They're not bothered about the non-standard construction

or about putting bricks on it -

all they want is an easy project

to fit in with their new, relaxed lifestyle.

Good luck to them. You can find out how they get on later in the show.

I wonder if our buyers' plans have all worked out,

or have there been problems?

Time has passed - it's the day of reckoning.

Let's go back and find out!

Back now to this holiday park,

sandwiched between Dover and Deal on the Kent coast,

and this Scandinavian-style chalet,

which Andy and Anna bought at auction for £38,000.

But initially, they hadn't set out to buy a holiday home.

We've been thinking about getting a caravan, but we saw this come up

in the auction, and we came and visited the site.

Once we'd visited the site, we fell in love with it, and we said...

-Oh, yeah, it's just lovely, it's just a beautiful site.

-Yeah.

-So quiet and peaceful, basically, yeah.

-It's amazing.

I walked around here myself and I was like, "This is brilliant!"

It's just beautiful, you can see the sea...

In fact, there was NOR-WAY they were going to do anything

but spend six months and between eight and £10,000 taking on

and furnishing the Scandinavian lodge.

Eight months after our first visit, we're back to see

if the SWEDE smell of success is in the air, or whether

making their mark on the chalet was enough to FINNISH the couple off.

# Take on me

# Take on me

# Take me on

# Take on me

# I'll be gone

# In a day or two... #

Well, if there was a Nobel prize for renovation,

these guys would be up for it.

They really can holiday in the lap of luxury now.

We have completely had the place plastered,

which took away all the Artex.

And then we painted the whole place.

New bathroom,

new kitchen,

new flooring.

-New windows.

-New windows.

So, really, a complete revamp on the inside, yeah.

And an extremely lovely job they've done of it, too.

Over the winter, Andy and Anna came down here regularly

to work on the chalet.

But the winter was unusually harsh,

and caused them one small problem in particular.

When we actually had the beds delivered,

it was the snowiest day of the year.

So the lorry that actually had the beds on them

couldn't actually get up to anywhere near the chalet.

Luckily, we've got a pick-up.

Andy was having to drive down to the bottom of the park,

put a bed on the pick-up, with the delivery driver,

drive up here and then sort of literally carry the beds across.

Carry it across, in the snow. Worst day of the year.

Yeah, it was the worst day!

But we'd already chosen the delivery day once,

so it was probably our fault, really!

But worth it in the end.

What do their grandchildren make of the holiday house?

When they saw their room...

Our granddaughter thinks she's the Little Mermaid anyway,

so it was just lovely, and they think it's wonderful.

# O que que e, esse amor d'agua?

# Eu sei que eu nao quero mais nada... #

Andy and Anna didn't hurry, but they didn't shilly-shally either,

so managed to stick to their six-month timescale.

But how have they done with their budget of eight to £10,000,

including furnishing the chalet?

On the fabric of the building itself, we spent about 9,000,

but that included double glazing, which we're really pleased with.

That really makes a difference.

And then we spent about 5,500 on furniture,

but it was like doing a two-bedroomed house from scratch,

because it's not just your furniture,

it's things like cutlery, crockery...

you know, bedding...

-Everything.

-All the little bits and pieces just add up.

Yeah, they do.

So, the £14,500 that Anna and Andy have spent here

brings their total outlay on the chalet to £52,500.

We asked two local estate agents

what they made of the transformation.

The refurb here has been very nicely done.

They've done good things to it, replaced all the right things

and decorated it very stylishly throughout.

I think it's a very pleasant little chalet bungalow,

and if you were coming down for a week's holiday or longer,

I think it would be a very nice stay.

Now clearly, Andy and Anna intend to make use of the chalet

as a holiday house for many years to come, but if they did want

to sell on, what do the experts think the chalet could fetch?

I think it would go on the market for £55,000,

and hopefully achieve £50,000.

The market value here now is about £55,000.

-That's good, yeah, very good.

-Yeah, I think so.

-I think that's a realistic price.

-Realistic, yeah.

At best, Andy and Anna might make a profit of £2,500,

but they might actually lose money if they sold the chalet on.

They seem very comfortable here for now.

If they rented out the holiday house,

what kind of weekly rent could it achieve in low season?

The rental values here are between 200 and £350 per week.

And then as the season progresses to high season,

right up as far as £750 per week.

When the golf is on at Sandwich, they were getting 2,700,

I think, for a week's rent!

So when the golf's on at Sandwich again,

we possibly will be renting it out for a week!

If Andy and Anna do let the chalet,

there's a decent return to be made there.

How have they enjoyed the process of doing up their dream holiday home?

We thought it was just going to be a quick makeover and that was it.

Yeah, but it did prove to be sort of quite a mammoth task.

But now it's done, we can just reap the benefits,

so we're really pleased.

It's just lovely.

It was in Madeley, Staffordshire, where we came across

a fairly unusual three-bed semi-detached house.

Built post-war using concrete slabs, its non-standard construction

meant it was hard to get a mortgage on.

There was also a potential problem with decay of the concrete,

all of which considerably reduced its resell value.

But it was bought at auction for £61,000 by local farmer Francis.

The idea was to do the place up for the rental market,

and Francis' daughter Sarah and her husband Rob were going to be

in charge of the renovation.

They had downshifted and moved back to the Midlands,

away from the hustle and bustle of London.

# Working for the rat race

# You know you're wasting your time... #

We're kind of like downshifters.

I moved up from down south

because I was fed up of the rat race,

didn't want to work down there anymore. I work part-time,

and the rest of the time, I look after my daughter.

-So, I look after our daughter the other half of the time.

-Right.

-And yeah, so just looking after properties.

-Great.

So you've had the hectic nine-to-five desk jobs

-in the city...

-Yeah, well, yeah.

..and discovered a different way of living?

Previously, Sarah worked in finance in London,

while husband Rob ran a motor racing school.

But having moved back to the Midlands, the focus was

much more on their family and part-time property renovation.

They were to be joined on this project by Sarah's brother, James,

who works as a part-time doctor,

having also stepped back from the rat race.

So, armed with a £15,000 budget and a timescale of around six months,

they plan to make the house ready for the rental market.

And so, six months later, we're back.

With Rob away on business, we caught up with sister and brother

Sarah and James to see how they'd got on with the project.

Well, outside, the tree's gone,

the front area's been cleared

and it's now ready to be laid to lawn.

But what about inside?

Is that sorry old kitchen now a thing of the past?

It certainly is!

It's been replaced by a much more modern, contemporary kitchen.

Well, we knocked the partition wall out, we've knocked it all through.

There's been a new floor, which was very difficult to level,

because it was really not straight.

Obviously, new kitchen units. There's still a few things in here to do.

We've got to have a new back door,

and there's still some painting and decorating to be done in here.

So we're not quite finished.

And with the kitchen now brought into the 21st century,

they could turn their attention to that rather dark, gloomy lounge.

OK, well, obviously in this room, we have decorated it throughout.

We've had to firmly insulate the walls,

because of the structure of the building.

It's just a single concrete skin outside.

We've also filled in this area here, which was an old doorway.

We've managed to retain the old fireplace,

which is a gas fire, and it's still working.

I think it's a lovely front room now.

And the changes continue upstairs...

..with the three bedrooms fully decorated, carpeted

and ready for the rental market.

And as for that separate toilet and bathroom?

Well, they've been combined, to make a much-improved family bathroom.

Sarah coordinated the tradesmen they brought in.

Her brother James did much of the decorating,

and Sarah's husband Rob helped with the decoration

and straightened out the garden.

With so many family members involved, how did they all get on?

I've been doing most of the decorating inside.

I haven't really had to make any decisions,

cos Sarah's been basically project managing. It's been quite relaxing.

When I've been here, I've been able to shut myself away

and just spend some nice quality time alone.

It's been very good.

And it's been great for me,

because I just basically tell people what to do, and they do it.

So it's been good!

# Listen to me

# Hear what I say

# Listen closely to me... #

Sarah might be in charge, but the house was bought

and paid for by her father, Francis, as an investment for the family.

Apparently, he's really pleased with what they've achieved here.

But has Sarah been able to keep to the £15,000 budget?

Currently, we've spent 11,000.

I think, with the bits that we have left to do and the legal fees,

it'll be about 13,000.

So a £13,000 spend on top of the £61,000 purchase price

takes the total investment here to £74,000.

So, how will the family's fortunes fare with this property?

What do two local estate agents reckon?

Well, the changes are, internally, quite dramatic.

Everything appears new, clean, fresh, neutral.

They've done a very, very good job indeed.

I've had a look around. I think they've done a good job.

It's a good three-bed, semi-detached house.

The non-standard construction limits its market, and hence its value.

So, has their £74,000 investment overshot the ceiling price

for this type of property?

You are looking at a figure somewhere in the region

of 55 or 60,000, as the property stands.

As it stands, I would imagine around 65 to £69,000.

I'm not surprised by that at all.

It's a cheap house in a fantastic location,

it'll rent all day long, and we really have no plans to sell it.

So, resell wise, they could struggle to make a return,

but as Sarah said, for them it's all about rental.

I would suggest a figure of £550 per calendar month.

For rental, I think they should look at about £550 a month.

That's more than we anticipated,

so we're really pleased with that.

A rental income of £550 per calendar month would see a healthy yield

of just below 9%.

So, this place looks like it will deliver exactly

what they'd hoped from it.

So, will there be any more family ventures?

I'd be quite willing to take another one on.

I've quite got the appetite for it now.

I don't think we'll be doing that for a bit, though!

Well, we hope you've enjoyed watching

the properties on today's show.

-We'll have lots more for you where they came from.

-Exactly.

-More white-knuckle rides for you next time. See you soon.

-Goodbye.

Bye-bye.

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