Episode 41 Homes Under the Hammer

If you fancy going to auction, now is the time to take the plunge.

There is just so much variety in those glossy catalogues.

Every month, thousands of lots are offered for sale all around the country.

So why not get down to your local auction and check out the action?

The lure of the auction is very strong, but what should you spend your hard-earned money on?

You might have your heart set on one place, then somebody bids on it.

It's best to research several properties and keep your options open.

Let's see what our buyers set their hearts on on today's programme.

'We revisit a property in Derbyshire we saw in 2008, when it had a serious problem.'

The whole of this rear wall is actually bowing.

'In Kent, this house may not be exciting to look at,

'but the view certainly is.'

I would never tire of looking out of that window.

'And in Greater Manchester, this four-bedroom property has an eye-catching feature.'

That is a fireplace and a half!

'All these properties have been sold at auction.

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

-'when they went under the hammer.'

-Your property.

'I'm in Belper, an attractive market town eight miles north of Derby,

'to return to a property I first visited in 2008.

'From the outside, this two-bedroom stone semi-detached cottage

'that was guided at £85,000 looked an attractive proposition.

'But as we all know, looks can be deceptive.'

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

-CHUCKLES

-Well, "a mess", initial thought.

But anyway, that's a bit weird.

Bit of wood in the wall.

Once you start stripping off old wallpaper, you find all sorts of things.

You find doorways and bits of wood, very unusual.

But not a bad size front room, and I like this.

Big old fireplace. It's huge, compared to the size of the room.

What a lovely feature that is. Not a bad start.

Through to... Ooh, blimey! The kitchen!

-LAUGHS

-It's sort of a kitchen. It's got a sink! A good start!

Little utility room area there. Again, not a bad size space.

Love the fact that there's another fireplace there.

But somebody's obviously stripped off a lot of the plaster

and that has revealed something very nasty.

I don't know if you can see this.

The whole of this rear wall is actually bowing.

Oh, my goodness! That is very serious indeed.

'The best way to check HOW serious is to take a look from the outside.'

If it wasn't obvious from inside,

come out the back and you can really see the state of this wall.

Look how bowed that is. And here's the reason.

See the lintel above the door?

That's sagging and caused the whole of that wall there to come out.

Not good news. I reckon that's going to have to come down. So, bad news.

Good news, though, the garden, 20 or 30 feet all the way back.

A nice additional feature.

I reckon before long, it's going to be filled with scaffolding.

'Before we go upstairs, it's worth checking out the garage.

'It needs some tender loving care, but it's a useful space

'with its own WC.'

Well, it's certainly in a bit of decorative disorder up here.

But good sized rooms. Rear bedroom, good sized double.

Bathroom, well, in need of a bit of refurbishment!

But what is interesting, look at the size of that opening into the loft.

I reckon that could be VERY good news. Worth investigating.

But kind of narrow corridors,

leading to another good sized double bedroom here at the front.

But look at this!

That is an opening into the next door neighbour's property.

I reckon, at some stage, these two properties were joined.

Interesting bit of history.

'The separation into two has left some rather small spaces,

'particularly with the bathroom.

'Excitingly, though, that loft space is a good size.

'There's no doubting the potential to make this cottage bigger and better.'

Well, it's a cute cottage in a very desirable area,

but don't underestimate the work involved in putting this right.

That back wall is going to have to come down.

Not a project for the faint-hearted. Let's see who bought it at auction.

Lot 40. What must I say for this?

Guide is 85. 85,000? 85 is bid at the back, thank you.

At £85,000. 86? 86 is bid.

At 86. 87.

87,000. 88?

88. 89? 89,000.

90 now? £90,000?

At 89,000... 90, thank you very much. At 90.

At 90,000. 91.

91. 92 is bid. 92. 93.

94. 94 on that side. 95? 94 and a half, I don't mind.

95? 95 is bid. And a half.

95 and a half. 96. And a half. 97.

97,500?

£97,000 on my left.

500? £97,000. It's going to be sold, ladies and gentlemen.

At £97,000, going once.

Twice. Third and last opportunity.

And a half. 98?

98. Try me again, wherever you are.

98 and a half.

99? 99. Wave at me again.

Oh, and a half. 99 and a half. 100,000.

Stick with it. You'll be OK at the end of the day. £100,000.

500 again? No? Shakes the head. £100,000, then, once.

Twice. Third and last time. We're selling at £100,000.

Sold at 100,000. Thank you.

'So, for £100,000, the successful bidder for the Belper cottage

'was Wendy, who runs a family property business.

'Along with her son, Duncan, a software salesman who's moved back home,

'they plan to renovate the cottage as a new home for him.

'I met with them at the cottage to find out more.'

Why did you buy it? I think it's got something to do with Duncan here.

Yes. Duncan was talking about moving out and renting a place.

So we thought we might as well get the rent off him, so we bought a place for him to live in.

-Explain a bit more, Duncan.

-I had to move back to my parents' last year.

I think I've been getting under their feet a bit,

so it's nice for me to get somewhere of my own.

I'm very fortunate to have them to help me out.

I'm going to get some friends move in and help to pay the rent with me.

-You're going to sub-let it out?

-Yes. Originally, I was just going to make it two bedrooms.

After seeing the loft, if I put a third bedroom up there,

there's a possibility of having two tenants move in with me.

One of them being a blacksmith who wants to use part of the garage

-to do some of his welding and blacksmithing.

-Oh, wow!

-Not sure what the neighbours will think!

-We'll see!

-What did you think when you walked in?

-Probably what you thought.

How the hell is anyone going to live here?

It was, er...interesting. My biggest worry was the back of the house.

-The bowing, you mean?

-Yeah, but it should be fixed fairly easily.

-So that's one of the first jobs, presumably.

-Yeah.

'Since Duncan's going to be doing most of the project managing,

'I wanted to know what his plans were.'

-So, Duncan, somebody's obviously started doing a bit of the renovation works.

-Yeah.

Whoever bought it previously decided they wanted to start.

I think maybe they found the fact of the back wall bowing

to be too much of a job for them, so decided to sell it on.

-Talk me through what you'll do up here.

-We'll keep this as a bedroom.

But I think I'm going to move the stairs over into the corner.

-What about the stairs for the attic?

-The stairs I'd like to fit in where the airing cupboard is.

Have a master bedroom with en suite.

It's quite a big project. Have you had any experience before?

Well, previously, I was an estate agent.

I've had quite a lot of dealings with property, and with Mum and Dad's properties as well.

-I like to help them out when I can.

-Quite a major job for your first...

Huge! Yeah. Huge for my first one.

# Looking back it's so bizarre, it runs in the family

# All the things we are... #

-Any idea of time scales?

-We're hoping about three months.

Reckoning about 20,000 for the building work.

And then, hopefully, no more than about 15 for finishing off.

'Well, that was back in 2008.

'When we first returned, five months later,

'the bowing wall was having a major impact,

'not just on the renovation, but the structure of the cottage.'

The main things that have happened,

we've had to put a lot of internal and external scaffolding

around the property to keep the house up while we take the back wall down.

I was a bit shocked this morning when I saw all this scaffolding.

It's rather major.

MUSIC: "Steel Bars" by Michael Bolton

The neighbour's house has the possibility to come down as well

if the house was to fall down, so we had to put structural scaffolding up

to keep their property up when ours is being taken down.

'So, to keep the house standing, scaffolding and acrow props have gone up,

'as has the budget, from £35,000 to £50,000.

'With little more than the shell remaining,

'this was now a back-to-basics rebuild.

'Join us later to see how Wendy and Duncan have succeeded,

'not only in putting the cottage together again,

'but in creating a beautiful new home.'

'This is the Kent village of Wrotham, between Sevenoaks and Maidstone.

'It's close to three motorways, has rail links, and is in countryside

'officially designated as an area of outstanding beauty.

'This is a prize spot to live, so house prices in this postcode

'push well above the national average.'

This isn't the type of location you need to worry too much about stamp duty thresholds,

about marketing over that £250,000 and putting people off.

You always need to be careful about your spend, the sky is never really the limit,

but here you can afford to up that budget a little bit higher.

With that in mind, the guide price of this three-bedroomed house,

well it doesn't seem all that bad at £340,000 to £360,000.

A bit boxy and bland from the outside. Let's hope inside inspires.

'Its boxy appearance may be due to its former existence as a police house.

'It comes complete with a police office attached at the side.

'I think some further investigation is required.'

Ooh! Interesting! That's where the police office would have been.

Very welcoming, once you walk through the door.

Nice and light and bright and spacious. First reception room.

Again, a really good size.

A kitchen here, which is a very nice size.

Although I'm just wondering, walking into the second reception room,

whether it's worth thinking about taking this wall down.

At the moment, it's lots of little spaces, but nothing's been done properly.

It doesn't really seem to flow.

I can imagine taking down this, having a big table here,

eating your breakfast and looking out at this amazing view!

I would never tire of looking out of that window!

'I don't have any problem with the view outside,

'but I'm not so keen on the view inside.

'I think the layout needs a complete rethink.

'The idea of a large kitchen-diner with, perhaps, a separate lounge

'really appeals.

'So, thought needs to be given to the downstairs layout.

'Upstairs, it's a case of updating and overhauling what's already here.

'The bedrooms are OK.

'There are two good-sized doubles and a smaller single.

'The bathroom isn't going to win a beauty contest,

'but overall, I don't think this house is too bad.'

So, the place needs work, but the question is, as always,

if bought for around the guide price, is there money in it?

Well, yes. A three-bedder round here could easily reach over 400,000.

So, while it wouldn't be enough to retire on, there's some profit margin for sure.

What would certainly pad out your pension pot is this plot of land.

You note I said "plot", because this triangle of garden

has planning permission for a three-bedroomed house.

This is mega amazing exciting news.

You would lose a bit of value from the existing property,

but that pales into insignificance when you think about the money you'd make from a new house here.

Great news!

'Well, that suddenly takes this auction lot into a new ballpark.

'That £340,000 to £360,000 guide price now looks great value

'because the plot of land gives you two good options.

'You could refurbish the house and tender the new-build,

'or you could just sell the plot on with planning permission.

'So, to sell or to build? Ha! Well, that's the question.

'A bit of digging around has turned up some evidence

'which might sway the verdict.'

-GUSHING WATER

-Can you hear that gushing water?

It's coming from under there.

What if there's sewage pipes running underneath this plot?

That could be a lot of ground work, and that could cost a lot of cash.

'The drain isn't an insurmountable problem,

'just potentially an added cost.

'Overall, I think this is a blockbuster of an auction lot.

'At that £340,000 to £360,000 guide price,

'it looks like a potential steal.

'What does a local estate agent make of what's on offer here?'

The major selling point

is a great detached house in a fantastic location,

with the benefit of a plot to build a three-bedroom detached house,

which rarely in a village like this come available.

'Let's talk numbers.

'What would the plot be worth if you sold it with planning permission?'

In current market conditions, I'd set the plot between £150,000 to £175,000.

'That's not bad.

'What if you followed the plans and built a three-bed detached house on this site?'

There's a lack of properties around, so it would be a very good proposition.

I would think you'd look to market it between £390,000 to £400,000.

'What about the existing house done up and refurbished?'

Once renovated, the existing property would be worth in the region of £360,000 to £370,000.

'With rental values around £1,000 per calendar month predicted for both properties,

'this lot looks like it scores, whichever route is chosen.'

This is an amazing opportunity. It gets me so excited.

A chance to buy a family home in a fantastic area

and then make most of your money back in profit from the new-build.

It sounds like a corking deal to me.

Let's find out who agreed at the auction.

Lot number 68. I'd really like to start at £350,000.

Bid me 350 to start?

350, it's with you standing at the back.

355, it's with you, if you like.

355, he says yes. Now 360.

360. And 365, sitting down, it's against you?

365? I'll take two if it helps you. 362.

362. 364.

And six. And eight. 368.

And 70. 370. And two. 372.

And four. And six. 376.

378. It's back with you. And 380, now?

380 I have.

And two? 382.

And four? 384?

384. And six? 386.

And eight, back to you two at the back. 388?

390 now. And two. You all want it, don't you? 392.

And four? 394?

At 392, then. I think it's the first time with you, sir.

At 392, for the second. If you're sure you're all done.

392, third and final time.

-BANGS GAVEL

-It's yours, sir, at £392,000.

'So, for £392,000,

'the new owner of the former police house, office and plot in Wrotham

'is local man Bill, who's retired, but used to run a plumbing and heating business.

'I met him at the property

'to find out how he felt about getting his hands on this hot lot.'

Bill, congratulations. That was an incredible deal, wasn't it?

Well, it was for me. I think I can make it work.

I'll play about with this one, and it'll give me time to get working on that one there.

It's not often opportunities like this come up.

No. I've probably been looking for a year, at least.

What is your background? Are you a builder?

I've done lots of extensions over the years. I've been in the building trade 35 years.

I know a little bit about building.

There's not many people that would buy a property

who would then be able to build a house on a plot, like you're doing.

No, but I think it's a challenge.

It's going to keep me busy for a year, which is what I want.

'Bill has renovated a number of properties and has a portfolio of rentals,

'but has never built a house from scratch.

'He's excited by the prospect and also happy with the existing plans,

'so both parts of the project are ready to go.'

What are you going to start with? This house or that house?

This house. Work on it for two or three months, maximum.

Then it'll be ready, and move over to that one.

What are you going to do to this to make it amazing and turn it around?

This will be extended.

There'll be RSJs going in to make a big lounge-diner.

You've not thought about keeping these walls

but knocking the wall down between the kitchen and this reception room?

No, I hadn't. I think most people want a separate lounge-diner,

as opposed to a kitchen-diner.

The kitchen, there's a lot to be knocked out in there.

Plastered walls. Yeah, there's going to be a lot to do.

Tell me what you're going to do with that police office!

I'm going to turn it into a garage.

-Right.

-There's planning permission for that. It's been passed.

But my grandson wants the sign.

Wants to put it in his bedroom!

'Bill's got a budget of £32,000 for this house,

'and hopes to get it done in 12 to 14 weeks.

'With all his experience and contacts in the trade,

'that shouldn't pose many problems, but what about the new-build?'

-Are you in a hurry to get that one started?

-No. Well, I am.

And what is the budget for property number two, for the new house?

My budget for that is 120.

How much would you hope to market that property for?

Probably...380.

So, hang on, Bill. That is £260,000 profit.

Basically, you got that for free, really, didn't you?

-It was buy one, get one!

-It was buy one, get one free.

If 260 profit is made on it, it'll be fantastic.

What happens at the end of the road? Are you going to keep them? Sell them?

I shall probably use this one as an office for a while,

but sell both of them in the end,

and move on and try another one, if it works.

-There is no stopping you now, Bill!

-Touch wood! Hopefully not.

It's been wonderful meeting you. I cannot wait to see what you do.

-I think you're going to do a grand job. Well done.

-Thank you. Thanks.

Bill has bought a blinder of a property here -

with a plot thrown in!

And if he can do the build for 120,000 and see that lovely profit,

well, this will be one of the best auction buys I've seen in ages.

You can find out how it goes later in the show.

'Still to come, in Greater Manchester,

'are the boarded-up windows a clue to the interior?'

As you can see, it needs a bit of work!

'In Kent, did the renovation go smoothly for Bill?'

The true state of the property was worse than what we thought.

'But first, in Derbyshire, how did Duncan's parents get on with the renovation?'

They've been fantastic. They've helped out no end.

'Earlier in the programme, we returned to Belper in Derbyshire,

'to see a two-bedroom semi-detached cottage we first saw in 2008.

'Although lovely from the outside,

'this old stone-built cottage was daunting inside,

'with crumbling ceilings, it was damp and dilapidated.

'Most worrying of all was the bowed back wall.

'Despite all these issues, it was bought for £100,000

'by property business owner Wendy for her son, Duncan.

'They hoped to turn this into his new home

'on a budget of 35,000.

'When we first went back, there had been some dramatic changes.

'With the cottage supported by a framework of scaffolding and props,

'and the walls stripped back to the original stone,

'the process of putting it all back together again was just about to start.

'That was over three years ago,

'and with a budget that had risen from £35,000 to £50,000,

'they certainly had their work cut out.

'Now, four years after buying the property,

'has Duncan finally got the house he wanted?

'Without a scaffolding pole in sight,

'a fantastic cottage has emerged. What about inside?

'There wasn't much more than a shell when we last saw it.

'Whoa! Out of the dust and rubble there's a fantastic new lounge,

'complete with wood-burning stove.

'That grotty back door has been replaced by new patio doors,

'which throw plenty of light on the adjacent kitchen.

'And all this area has been totally opened up.'

Well, the staircase we've had manufactured to go into the corner.

The stairs used to start here and went up at an angle.

So we've changed the layout completely.

We've managed to make it a nice big dining kitchen.

'The downstairs space is a stunning success.

'So what about upstairs?

'Wow! What a difference!

'There are now two good-size bedrooms,

'one of which Duncan is using as a study and work-out room.

'And remember that small bathroom?

'That's not so small any more.

'As if that wasn't impressive enough, there's the loft space...

'..which is now a master bedroom, complete with en suite shower room.

'What an amazing transformation! And there's more outside.'

The garage we managed to build from the stone left over from the house.

A lot of stone we found in the garden, just buried.

We had so much left over,

we managed to also build the flower garden and my nice barbecue here.

'So it's a complete change since we last saw it nearly four years ago.

'In fact, Duncan has been living here for nearly three years.

'Most of the work was carried out in a six-month period, with his mum, Wendy, very much involved.

'So, which tasks did she take on?'

Paperwork, to start with,

and then we left it to the builder and the plumber and electrician.

After that, I came in and fitted the kitchen,

tiled all the floors, painting, decorating,

soft furnishings, all that kind of thing - all the fun stuff!

'So, Wendy and her husband Ashley have worked tirelessly

'to get a roof over their son's head - literally.

'Although they own the cottage, it's very much Duncan's home.

'How does he feel about their input?'

They've been fantastic. They've helped out no end.

Getting everything sorted, obviously, the money side of it was a big plus point for me.

They've been fantastic and helped all the way along.

'Duncan was considering taking in lodgers to help with the rent,

'but for the moment, he's happy to have the fridge space to himself.

'How much has it cost to create this three-bedroom cottage with family bathroom,

'en suite shower room, fitted kitchen, rejuvenated lounge and a garage?

'The last we heard was that the budget had risen from £35,000 to £50,000.

'Was that blown out of the water?'

We did go over, probably around 80,000, not counting the little bits and bobs.

But the 50,000 didn't include building the garage.

So I don't think we did too badly.

'Yes, £80,000 for what they've done here is pretty good,

'but it's a big overspend on even their revised £50,000 budget.

'As it cost £100,000 to purchase in the first place,

'their total investment will be £180,000, plus costs and fees.

'What do two local estate agents think of this comprehensive renovation?'

It's got a lovely old feel to it, all the old details,

but a very modern finish, too.

The conversion of the attic, the big bedroom with the en suite, has made the property what it is.

The accommodation's great. It's quite bright,

which is unusual for a cottage.

It's got windows on the side and nice patio doors onto the garden.

I think the parking facilities are quite unusual.

They've got a big drive. You can get two or three cars on there

and a big garage you could two cars in again.

That's something that will make it stand out from the rest and make it sell, I'm sure.

'The drive and the garage are a definite plus

'but will the values be equally positive as a resale or rental?'

I would expect this property to achieve in the region of £600 per calendar month.

If you put this property on the market for rent,

you'd be looking at achieving £600 per calendar month.

I think that's what I would expect if it was put to rent to somebody else.

'£600 per calendar month would see a yield of four per cent. Not stunning, but OK.

'How would their £180,000 investment fare on the resale market?'

I would put this on the market in the region of £180,000.

If you put this property on the market for sale,

I'd expect to achieve £180,000.

That would mean more or less breaking even, wouldn't it?

But we'll hang on to it for a few years and see what happens then.

'So maybe it wouldn't make a pretty penny quite yet.

'but it certainly is a beautiful cottage,

'and, more importantly, a lovely home for Duncan.

'It's been quite a long journey bringing the property back to life.

'So, on reflection, how do they feel about the whole project?'

Quite enjoyable. Hard work, but I've learned a lot from it.

And now I get to enjoy it.

It's just been very enjoyable.

Rather than making money, to do something for your son is very rewarding.

'The next property is in Greater Manchester, Radcliffe, to be exact.

'Those with an eye to investing in the area will find there's plenty to look at here,

'with some new developments and some traditional back-to-backs.

'But what I'm here to see is this four-bed end-of-terrace.'

The red brick terraced properties that dominate the area are very popular with renters.

But there is increased competition,

not only from a new housing development, but also a shared equity scheme.

So it's the numbers that are going to be important.

It started well, because the guide price was just 25 to 30,000 quid.

These boards don't exactly scream kerb appeal.

But they're easily removed, and from the outside at least,

this property looks pretty solid.

So what have we got? Well, it's an end terrace,

which always means you've got a bit more room, which is good news.

Will this place be any exception? Let's find out.

First sitting room area here. And wow, in through the door!

That is a fireplace and a half!

Might not be to your tastes,

so it might end up being removed! A lot of light coming in, so that's good news.

This is sitting room number one.

Sitting room two is over this way.

Again a good size, lots of light coming in.

Everything's in a bit of a state at the moment, but I'm looking at the fabric of the building.

You've got an open fire, lots of storage space.

Reasonably high ceilings, so good news.

But the thing that isn't working for me is this,

the kitchen.

Maybe you could consider knocking one of these walls through,

because at the moment it just feels a little bit wrong.

As you can see, it needs a bit of work!

All the units need ripping out. The whole thing is going to be refurbished.

But, yes, true to form, lots of space.

And for that price? Woo!

Yes, for that 25 to £30,000 guide price,

there's a lot of house here.

I'm pleased to see the windows behind the boards are double-glazed and look fairly new.

Upstairs, the bathroom is going to need a complete refit.

There's hardly any of it left.

There's a single bedroom at the end of the corridor,

while in the middle there's a decent-sized double bedroom.

But lots of pipework and the tank had been removed

and the place has been trashed.

I'd definitely advise getting the damp investigated.

So, into the last bedroom, and it's a kind of medium size.

But it would be a lot bigger if somebody hadn't put a stud partition wall here

to create... Well, what's that?

It's not a bedroom. It could have been a walk-in closet, if you like.

But either way, take this out.

Have a few large bedrooms rather than lots of small ones.

Nowadays, that's what people want.

But it's not too much work to take that out, and overall, you have the space to play with.

So the property's not in the best physical condition,

but it is a good size with loads of potential.

However, everywhere needs attention, inside and out,

so you'd need plenty of resolve, time and know-how to get stuck in to this one.

To get another opinion, we asked a local property expert

to take a look at the property.

Does this end-of-terrace get his thumbs up?

The house is an unusual one with it being on the end of the row.

It sort of fits on to the end.

The layout's long and narrow, rather than any other way.

But it's a good size, three bedrooms and obviously needs some work.

But it's got quite a nice feel to it.

'Let's talk figures. How much is the house worth in this condition

'and how much could it be worth after a refurbishment?'

I think in the current condition,

it's probably worth somewhere around £30,000.

Once the work's done, I'd say the ceiling price in the area is around £70,000

for a three-bedroom terraced house. So that will be the maximum.

'How much income could the house generate for a buy to let investor?'

Rental demand for the area is going to be strong

and looking at what others seem to be renting at for a three bedroom,

you'd expect somewhere in the region of 425 to £450 per calendar month.

So, a good-sized property, either for an owner occupier

or a buy to let investor.

It's all about the price that's paid.

Let's find out what that was when it went under the hammer.

Vacant end-terraced house. Needs renovation.

I'm asking for £10,000.

10,000? Ten there.

15 I need. I've got ten.

15 here. 20, sir?

20 I have. 25?

25 here. Give me 30?

No? 26?

26 OK?

Yep? 27?

27. 27, new bidder,

further at the back.

28. 29?

30? 30 on the phone. I'll take it.

31, now. 32 on the phone.

Behind you, do you want to come back in at 33?

He does. 34 on the phone.

35. 36 on the phone?

37?

37.

Can I say 38 on the phone? I can. 39 behind you.

I've got it. 40 I need.

40. He's back. 41, sir?

40 and a half.

41 on the phone? It is.

Another 500 behind you? 41 and a half. 42?

Shaking the head. It's with you, sir, at 41 and a half.

First time. Second time at 41 and a half. All done?

It is now. It's your property, sir. Can I see your paddle number, please?

'That successful bid of £41,500 was made by Paul and his wife Susan,

'who live in Manchester.

'Paul is a road haulage maintenance manager

'and works part time since suffering a stroke last year.

'Susan was a computer programmer for 30 years,

'but now works part time in a jeweller's.

'Paul has three rental properties in the area

'as well as 21 garages he built and rents out.

'I met the couple back at the house to find out more.'

-Paul, lovely to meet you both. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this.

I'm fond of the area. I grew up round here and left when I was eight years old.

-Did you?

-It's coming back to where I spent my youth, really.

-That was the main reason to buy here?

-It's not a million miles from where we live.

-I've also got another property in the local area.

-Right.

-Is this something you've done a lot of, Susan?

-We have a couple of other properties that we've renovated

and we rent out.

This will be the first terraced.

We seem to be doing a different type each time!

That's all right, isn't it? Diversity in the portfolio.

And it's in a regeneration area as well, which again will help.

It improves the area, so it would make letting possibly easier as well.

So why this particular house?

Right price. Saw the potential.

Decent-sized property. End terrace.

It's not overlooked. It's got fields at the side.

What about the internal state. It's obviously in a bit of a mess.

-Did that put you off at all?

-It's the first time I've seen it, today!

-No!

-It is!

Whoa!

-We've seen the outside.

-Right!

-How come you didn't see inside?

-A bit last-minute, really.

You could see the bones of the structure. It all looked OK.

Took a flier and thought, "It can't be that bad inside."

And I don't think it is, really.

You know, it doesn't faze me. I'm sure it's fixable.

It's fortunate Paul does feel that way,

because not viewing a property before buying it is far from advisable.

But now they've had a look around, what's the game plan?

Talk me through it, room by room.

I think the biggest change will probably be the back living room and kitchen.

I want to open it up into a big dining/kitchen area.

-Nice.

-If I can. That will make it a bit more marketable, in my eyes.

And obviously the front bedroom, which is divided into two,

I'll open that back up to one single bedroom. Central heating,

-rewired.

-What about the fireplace?

-Oh, yes!

-It's staying there!

Well, some people might like it!

I'm sure there's a market for that!

'I won't be sad to see the back of that fireplace!

'I think Paul and Susan have the experience to make the right changes to the house.

'On previous renovations, Paul did most of the work himself.

'But since his stroke, his left arm has been badly affected,

'which means changing the way they do this project.'

It turns your life upside-down, but you pick yourself up and get on.

-What will you be doing? Directing Susan and other people?

-Basically, yes.

I'm going to hopefully get my son involved

and my father's been in the property business all his life.

Then we need to draw up on some trades. Not an issue. Just get it done.

-But you're still going to be very actively involved.

-Every day. Yes.

Are you looking forward to the challenge, learning some new skills under Paul's expert tuition?

-It should be fun!

-As long as we don't fall out!

'With Paul's experience and Susan's willingness to get stuck in,

'they plan to finish the work in three months on a budget of ten to £15,000

'before putting it on the rental market.'

Is there anything in particular worrying you about this project?

My physical ability.

My restriction upon what I can do.

But I'll just have to call up all the people to replace my left arm.

Is this the first project you've done since you had your stroke?

-Yeah. But we will overcome.

-Congratulations. Well done.

-We look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

Well, Paul picking himself up admirably

after what has obviously been a very traumatic time for him and Susan.

But it hasn't diminished his passion for property.

Susan has a few things to learn, though. How will they get on sorting this place out?

Find out later in the show.

Work can sometimes take longer when you're doing up property.

So you need to factor in those delays when you do your calculations.

So, did today's buyers hit their timescales and budget?

Let's go back for an update.

In the village of Wrotham in Kent,

I came across what seemed like bargain of the year!

Not only did you get a three-bed detached house with arresting views,

you also got a former police office.

And if that wasn't enough, it also came with a plot of land

with planning permission granted to build a three-bed detached property.

Wow! This lot was snapped up at auction by local man Bill, for 392,000.

He's retired now, but owned his own plumbing and heating business

and had worked in the building trade for over 25 years.

With plans to tackle first the renovation of the house

then do the new build,

Bill was going to be very busy.

What happens at the end? Are you going to keep them? Sell them?

I shall probably use this one as a bit of an office for a while,

but sell both of them in the end.

Then move on and try another one. If it works!

There's no stopping you now, Bill, is there?

Touch wood, hopefully not!

So Bill was definitely on a roll,

and with a proposed £32,000 budget for Phase One, renovation of the house,

he hoped that along with friends he knew in the trade

he could get it ready for market in three to four months.

And just under four months later,

we're back to see what Bill has done to the house and former police office.

Well, outside hasn't significantly changed.

A window has replaced the door in the former police office,

but otherwise it's fairly similar.

But it was inside where Bill really hoped to make his mark.

And wow! What a mark!

It looks like he took my advice and opened up the kitchen and old dining room

to make one fantastic kitchen/diner.

Originally, there was a wall here

and this was the dining room.

The kitchen was very tatty.

So what we did, we took the wall down, put a new RSJ in,

rebuilt that wall there,

and put new tiles, work surfaces, new flooring, new ceiling,

new lighting, the complete schmozzle, right the way through.

I am so pleased he's done that. It looks great!

And by blocking up the wall between what was the lounge and dining room,

he's now created a warm and welcoming lounge.

Upstairs, the transformation continues.

The three bedrooms re-plastered, rewired, fully decorated and carpeted.

The bathroom has also undergone a comprehensive refurbishment.

This place really is now looking as good as new.

The true state of the property, once we started uncovering things, it was worse than we thought.

They put a lot of work in. I've had a couple of guys here all the time,

Richard and Gary, who have been really good.

They worked like Trojans and brought it back. We're all really pleased with the results.

So Bill and some friends in the trade

have done the old place proud.

But what about the former police office that was attached to the side?

Is that now as captivating as the house?

The old police office is still in the process of being done.

We put windows in the front, windows in the back.

We're still working on that. There was a police sign which my grandson wanted.

So he's looking after that at the moment.

There's clearly still a bit to do here,

but he's hoping to turn this into a family room eventually.

And this isn't the only area that still needs some work.

The flat roof extension at the side has been removed

and certainly needs tidying up.

But look around and there's no sign of that new second home.

Spill the beans, Bill!

Someone's made me an offer for the plot of land, so I'm um-ing and ah-ing over that.

The offer I've had is 140K,

which I think I'll probably take.

It'll release me to get on with other stuff.

With a potential £140,000 on the table,

I think I'd probably take the money and run.

But if things look promising from a financial point of view with the land,

how are things shaping up with the house?

My original budget was 32K.

Luckily I'm under budget. I'm about 29K

because I called a few favours in from different people in the industry

and it's worked out well.

A £29,000 spend on top of the purchase price of 392,000

would see a total investment without costs and fees

of 421,000.

But with Bill having an offer of £140,000 for the plot of land,

anything above 281,000 for the house will see him in profit.

What do two local estate agents make of it all?

First impressions, he's done a really good job.

Lovely feeling in the kitchen/breakfast room.

Nice quality finish to it, as well.

Other rooms are really good along with the bathroom.

The first impressions were quite good.

A bit disappointed coming up to see the kerb appeal of the house.

He could have done a bit with the garden, maybe climbing plants

or some herbaceous borders or something.

But when first coming in to the house, the finish is pretty good.

And I like all the light, bright space that they've left.

Ideally, Bill wants to sell and move on,

but in the current market, he might have to consider a rental.

In the present market, you'd look at £1,200 per calendar month.

It would rent in the current market between 1,000 and 1,100 per calendar month.

I think that's very good. I wasn't expecting that.

Probably eight to nine.

But yeah, I'm very pleased with that one.

Taking into account the potential value of the plot,

those rental estimates could see a yield of around four to five per cent.

But could he do better on the resale market?

Bill's total investment is 421,000

and he's been offered 140,000 for the plot.

So if he can get over £281,000, he'll definitely be in profit.

If I was to put the property on the market, I would look in the region of 375 to 395.

In respect of the building plot next door,

I'd look at a guide price in the region of £150,000.

I would value the property as it currently stands between 360 and £380,000.

I would value the plot somewhere between 120 and £150,000.

Those figures I'm more than happy with.

It will leave me a nice profit.

So I'll probably sell them both and move on to the next project.

No wonder he's pleased!

With a £140,000 offer for the land already on the table,

the valuation on the house could see a potentially whopping pre-tax profit

of between 79 and £114,000.

That's not bad for three to four months' work.

So presumably there isn't any stopping Bill now.

It's been good. Stressful here and there.

Even now, learning curves after all these years.

But I'll move on and do another one later on.

We're heading back to Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, now,

where earlier in the programme, Paul and his wife Susan

had bought this badly-damaged end of terrace

for £41,500.

Paul's a part-time road haulage maintenance manager,

while Susan works part time in a jeweller's.

They have three other investment properties locally

and 21 garages.

Last year, Paul suffered a stroke

and this was his first investment purchase since then.

He'd taken on a bit of a challenge!

So what about the internal state? It's in a bit of a mess.

Did that put you off at all?

-It's the first time we've seen it, today.

-No!

-It is!

-We've seen the outside.

-Right.

How come you didn't see inside?

A bit last-minute, really.

You could see the bare bones of the structure.

Took a flier and thought, "It can't be that bad inside."

And I don't think it is, really.

Paul was used to doing the majority of the renovation work himself.

But this time was going to have to delegate some of that to get it ready to let.

So, how have the couple got on?

It's now six and a half months later and we're back to find out.

The exterior has had quite a facelift

and that rain should prove no problem because the leaky roof has been well and truly fixed.

In the reception room to the right of the front door,

the chimney breast has been opened up to create a feature fireplace.

And the wall to the kitchen is now gone, creating a much better flow between the two rooms.

Now the former derelict kitchen is kitted out and ready for tenants and Paul is very pleased.

First of all in here, we had to pull it all apart,

which entailed taking the ceilings down in both this room and the kitchen.

We had some new windows to put in, a new back door.

We opened the fireplace up.

We took this wall down to turn it into one kitchen/diner.

It's all been replastered, central heating, rewired.

But the main thing that's really changed it is to take this wall down

which has turned it into a large kitchen/modern diner.

In the living room, remember that fireplace with the crazy paving effect?

Well, thankfully it's been banished,

only to live on in our memories!

But it's much easier on the eye now!

Upstairs, the cupboard in the first bedroom has gone

and it's all been painted pink.

Again, the fireplace has been opened up to create a lovely feature in the corner.

Along the corridor and the smashed-up bathroom

is now, well, smashing!

The front bedroom has been divided to create a fourth bedroom.

But Paul has sensibly removed the stud wall and reverted it

to being the master bedroom.

So this room has been transformed.

There used to be a wall across here

which was dividing it into two rooms.

The wall was taken out and it was converted back to its original large bedroom.

We've opened the fireplace up as a feature.

It's turned into a nice room, I think. It's a credit, really, compared to what it was.

So the house is back to three bedrooms.

It's been replastered from top to bottom and rewired

so it's no surprise that Paul's three-month schedule slipped.

But there were also unexpected damp issues

as Susan explains.

The biggest problem was the roof. It had been leaking.

We got a roofer in who fixed the missing slates, but the damp kept coming through.

It took a while for them to find out it was one of the chimneys,

which then had to be taken down.

So the chimney has gone, and so have the leaks.

A bigger problem to fix than anticipated,

but that's the world of property renovation for you.

The rear yard has been smartened up as well.

Because it was his first development since his stroke,

the whole family and Susan have pulled together here.

But Paul also had the bright idea of advertising for some extra help!

I found a young chap, lives round the corner,

who's come along and gained a lot of experience

and has been very willing to assist just for the experience of doing something like this.

And that young chap was Devon, who was worth his weight in gold,

helping Paul and learning a variety of renovation skills into the bargain.

So, how much did this renovation cost?

The original budget was 15 to £20,000

and it ended up at 20,000.

That would take their total investment to 61,500.

They've certainly transformed the look of the house,

but have they transformed its rental and re-sale value?

Time to hear from two local estate agents.

First impressions, the house is lovely. It's been newly modernised,

recently refurbished, with brand-new kitchen, bathroom and heating system.

It's double-glazed. It's got everything going for it.

Some very excellent work has been done, especially in the kitchen/ reception room.

Doing a very good job.

The fashion very much these days is open plan living space,

knocking it through, opening it up is the right thing to do.

Paul and Susan have done this property up to a good standard for the rental market

and already have a tenant lined up.

So what kind of rent should they be asking for?

Property normally like this would command a rent of about £450 per calendar month.

This one's in very nice condition, it's brand-newly done.

It may command a little bit more, probably £475 per calendar month.

I think you can easily achieve 500 to £600 per calendar month.

The second one sounds more reasonable.

I have let it out. I've got a tenant moving in today who's going to pay £550 a month.

That's great news. They certainly don't mess about.

With that rental income of £550 per month,

they'll get a more than tidy yield of 10 to 11%.

But is the property worth more than the £61,500 invested here?

If I'm going to sell, it's not less than £60,000.

And the maximum I hope to go up to £75,000.

Prices are still quite tough in the area.

I'd expect to price in the region of £70,000.

That valuation range from 60 to 75,000

could produce anything from a £1,500 loss

to a £13,500 gross profit, before the usual deductions.

A little bit disappointed in the end valuation.

But I think I knew from the onset it was going to be a rental property

and I think it should return good money over the years to come.

Paul's already bought his next property at auction

and plans another refurbishment in the near future.

It's great to see him doing so well, despite such a tough time since his stroke.

It's been enjoyable. I think in the long run it'll be worthwhile.

And it's been good for Paul to get him out and doing things.

Well, that's what happened with the buyers on today's programme.

As you know, anything can and does happen on Planet Property!

So make sure you join us next time for more Homes under the Hammer.

-See you then.

-Goodbye!

-Goodbye!

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