Episode 49 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello. When it comes to buying property,

there's nothing quite like the buzz of an auction room.

The fast paced bids, pounding hearts, the atmosphere can be electric.

Join us now as we look at the properties on that

rollercoaster ride that is buying at auction.

Whether it is flats in Folkestone,

a semi in Suffolk or a bolthole in Bristol,

it is possible that the auction rooms have just what you're looking for.

Today we will meet some more people who are searching

for their perfect property.

Let's see what tickled their fancy.

This semi-detached in Cumbria inspires me to look on the bright side.

It is a bit old, but perfectly serviceable.

In Sheerness, Kent, it is difficult to find any negatives

about this large four-bedroom bungalow.

All very, very positive.

And the loft space in this mid-terraced house

in Stoke-on-Trent isn't that magical.

Straight out of Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, isn't it?

All of these properties have been sold at auction.

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

when they went under the hammer.

This is Workington, 13 minutes from Carlisle,

nestled in between the Irish Sea and the Lake District National Park.

It is a market town, with a market held twice a week, including today.

Just a 15 minute walk from the hustle and bustle of the market is the property I am here to see.

Here is a three bed semi in a very sought after area.

I know that similar properties here have sold for £150,000,

but this lot was guided at a very low £100,000. Why would that be?

Aha! That is the reason. I knew it.

Only kidding, it looks pretty good.

Really nice entrance foyer, even the carpets look OK. No smell of damp.

Still a bit suspicious, but maybe I am just jaded.

Front living room, lots of light from the bay window. We like that.

Back room. It is old, old fires but a really nice sized space.

Into the kitchen, still trying to find something wrong, well,

you might not like the colour scheme or this wood and the flowers are interesting,

but actually, yes, it is a bit old, but perfectly serviceable. Fantastic.

And it just keeps going.

# Fantastic, fantastic That's you, yes...#

Beyond the kitchen there is a utility room at the back, overlooking the garden.

There's also a WC.

The property is an elevated position, so you get some great views,

even from the ground floor reception room.

How does the rest of the house compare?

Upstairs, three good-sized bedrooms, you have the bathroom and separate loo.

One thing you may want to consider is knocking those two together, I like a separate loo.

That is it. I mean, nothing untoward.

Another slightly more expensive and complicated addition to the property you might want to do is,

do what the neighbours have done and build over the garage.

It will give you more space. This is a really great family home.

It has a great garden with a shed. Bearing in mind

the condition of the house inside, I am pretty excited about this place.

But one thing you should always try to do when you are thinking

about buying a property is to have a good look around the outside.

I think I have found something that might need investigating there.

At last, I think I might have found a slight problem with this property.

It is actually not inside the house but outside it.

It is here, this garden wall. You make look at this and think, that is not so bad,

it has a bit of a bow this way. Trust me, this could end up costing you a small fortune.

Let me explain. For a start, you must talk to the people next door. Who owns this wall?

Them or you? There might be solicitors involved in figuring that out.

If we come to the realisation that it is our wall,

we have to foot the cost. What does that entail?

You will have to demolish this one that will take a builder at least a day.

You will have a skip, which you must use to get rid of the stuff,

that will cost you a few hundred quid by the time you've dumped it.

Then you have to start rebuilding, which means digging out this bit of soil here, laying the foundations.

Getting concrete and or having a cement mixer. Laying foundations and then bring in proper blockwork.

Blocks are cheap. Build the blocks and you will have to think of the face. Natural stone?

That will cost you a fortune.

Put the bricks back? You can use these ones, you have to buy those.

Suddenly this slight problem with the garden wall

turns into something that is going to cost you a pretty penny.

It is 15 metres long.

It is certainly something to get professional advice on.

As always, I would recommend getting a few quotes before embarking on any work.

We invited an estate agent from the auction house who sold

the property to come and have a look around.

What does she think about the location and condition of this place that was guided at 100,000?

Excellent location, close to good local schools.

This property just needs to be brought up to a modern standard.

Gas central heating, double glazing, electrics,

bathroom and kitchen, and your personal touch.

So, location is good.

But how much could it sell for after it has had a full refurbishment?

Once renovated and taken to a high spec, £160,000.

Buy to let investors always need to know the rental potential,

so how much could the house generate?

Potential rent on this property is £550 per calendar month.

Even with the uncertainty of that garden wall, I think this is an absolutely superb property to go for.

Great location, lovely family home, lots you could do with it. What's not to like?

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

As it was the very last lot of the auction,

most of the bidders have left by this time.

Lot 37, anybody put me in at 100?

95 then? At 95, have I got? 95 here.

At £95,000, we are away. 96? 96 I have. 97? 98? 99?

100. 101?

102? 103? 104? Thinking about it.

At 103 at my right. 104 anywhere? 104 I've got.

You're back in. 105. 106?

107? 108. 108 I have. 109? 110? Shake of the head.

With you at 109? Half.

Half I've got. 110. Half? At £110,000.

Selling it first time, second time, third and final time.

Selling away. Well done.

That final successful bid of £110,000 was made by Janine,

who was at the auction with her mum.

Janine is an accounting assistant and has been married to her husband, David, who is a joiner, for one year.

They celebrated their anniversary three days after the auction

and say the house is a wedding anniversary present to themselves.

I met up with David back there to find out a bit more

about their plans are for this house which, it turns out, was quite a last-minute purchase.

# My darling, happy anniversary...#

-David, good to meet you.

-You too.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-Tell me why you want to buy this place.

-It was just spur of the moment.

-No!

-We saw the house on Thursday night and bought it on the Saturday.

-What?

-My mother-in-law seen in the paper and told us about it,

so it was too good an opportunity to let slip.

You must have been vaguely in the market for property, though?

Not really, we have only been in our own three years.

We just couldn't resist. Good area, good house.

-You must have been in a state of shock, really?

-I was.

Especially when Janine went to the auction and I was at work, so I couldn't go.

-It was a real shock.

-What made you so keen?

The location and how it has a bigger house than what we own now.

It has a garage and a drive and gardens which we do not have at the moment.

We live in a terrace. Everything is an improvement.

It just goes to show that when an opportunity comes up you have to grab it.

And David and Janine have done exactly that

to secure their new home.

They plan to do it up over the next four to six months.

Then move in and let out their current house.

-Tell me what you will do to sort it out.

-Everything.

New kitchen, new bathroom, new boiler going in and possibly new central heating.

Taking the windows out in the dining room and put bifold doors in.

Deck the back area so you can walk right out.

Replace a lot of the windows because the windows are wooden or aluminium.

Any plans for changes to the internal layout?

Upstairs it is a separate toilet and bathroom

so we will knock that through to get one bigger room.

Substantially bigger.

That is quite a bit of work, but with David's experience as a joiner

and with the help of friends and family,

they are hoping a budget of £15-£20,000 will stretch far enough.

However, there is still a potentially costly aspect to address.

-What about outside?

-There is a wall dividing our house and the next door neighbour's house.

It is leaning at the moment.

We are in the process of trying to find out who owns the wall.

It will be a case of rebuilding that.

Some of the neighbours have actually done an extension.

Is that something that you may consider?

In two or three years time we will look at extending over the garage

and getting an extra bedroom, possibly two at a push.

-Definitely.

-That is phase two.

-Phase two, yes.

-Once the funds are available again.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you. Thank you very much.

-I look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

David and Janine have clearly got themselves an absolutely

cracking property, a little bit tight on the budget for what

they intend to do, but the only fly in the ointment really that

I can see is that garden wall.

That could be a drain financially and emotionally sorting it out.

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

Today I am on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, in the pretty village of Eastchurch.

The village has a shop, post office and a pub.

Some residents of Eastchurch commute to London from here.

How much do you think a five bed detached chalet bungalow would cost?

Bearing in mind that we are a stone's throw from the village and everything it has to offer.

300,000, perhaps? £350,000?

No, because today's substantial auction property has a guide of £185,000-£205,000.

Let's go and see what you get for your money.

Wow, that is a lot of bang for your buck.

But is this buck for passing or should we bang on in there?

Interestingly, this used to be a guest house

up until a few months ago, but it does not have that

sort of traditional guesthouse look or feel about it

Signs like that give it away.

A big space, this is a lounge and it has a big fireplace,

so this would definitely tempt someone on auction day

because this is a wonderful room and it leads straight into this open plan dining room.

You have lovely space and light coming through these double doors

and an amazing decked area, look at that.

You could really imagine yourself having these doors swung open

in the summer, having supper out on that lovely deck.

Fantastic. And again through into the kitchen.

A tad old-fashioned, you may need to update this area

but a fantastic space.

All very positive.

# You've got to accentuate the positive

# Eliminate that negative

# Don't mess with Mr In-Between... #

Just in case you wanted more space,

also on the ground floor there are three good-sized double bedrooms

and a family bathroom with separate shower, which I like.

There is a bit of a 1980s vibe going on here,

but up the stairs there are two further bedrooms, one of which is

ginormous and a bathroom with Jack and Jill access from the bedrooms.

As if that is not enough, there is a garage

plus all of that decking and a cracking big garden to boot.

It was all going so well and then, there has to be something, didn't there?

This, now, it might not look like much but this drive could

cost you some serious issues further down the line.

Because, it is shared with your neighbours.

In my experience, people don't tend to like to share things

when it comes to property,

and this kind of thing could be a deal-breaker for future buyers.

Interestingly, it wasn't mentioned in the auction particulars,

it was information in the legal pack.

And it goes to show you, how important that document is.

I know, Martin and I are always saying it,

but reading the legal pack before bidding at auction

is vitally important.

It doesn't matter how well you get on with your neighbours.

Do make sure that your solicitor looks over

any agreement about shared access.

It's best to have things crystal clear

and in writing for everyone concerned.

We asked along a local estate agent

to see what she makes of this massive property,

which went to auction with a guide price of £185,000 - £205,000.

Very nice first impressions,

really like the property,

very large entrance hall as you come in.

Nice location as well. Nice and quiet, on the edge of the village.

And what can this property let for once renovated?

I could rent this property for £900 per calendar month,

give or take 10% either way.

What about doing it up and putting it back up for sale?

I could put this one on the market for offers in excess of £200,000.

The shared drive will undoubtedly put some people off

but I think the two main selling points here are the space

and the location, and I am sure that will get the buyers interested.

I think it's a good one to go for.

Let's see who else thought so, as we go to auction.

Over the page, then, to lot 79, good-looking bungalow here,

185-205 is the guide.

Will you start me at 185, the lower end? 185? Start me at 170, then.

It would be cheap for this. 170,000. Start me.

I'm on the way at 170. 170, I've got. 175 I've got sitting.

180, I'm looking for, 180.

178, I've got, and 180 again, 180 I've got, and two, 182.

182 on the other side of the room.

And four. 184. And six.

185 if it helps you, doesn't look like it does.

At 184, then, sitting at my right hand side, for the first time,

out at the back, if you're done,

for the second time at £184,000,

third and final time, it's going to be sold at £184,000,

if you're sure you're all done, it's a good deal, this one.

It's yours, sir, for 184,000.

That successful bid of 184,000 was made by local lad Gareth

who is a civil servant and part-time fireman.

MUSIC: "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer

# I want some hot stuff... #

Gareth bought the property with his girlfriend, Sonia,

who's also a civil servant.

The couple plan to make this their home, and I caught up with them

to find out exactly what they're going to do with it.

-Gareth and Sonia, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-What a property.

You've got a big old bungalow here.

It's huge, really big.

-Yeah, quite excited.

-So, how did you find out about this, Gareth?

I saw it on the internet for sale with an estate agent.

It was probably out of our price range at that time,

and then I saw the auction sign go up. So I started enquiring.

How excited were you when you saw the auction sign go up?

A little bit excited. I had just done a parachute jump,

so I wasn't too sure what excitement meant any more!

But, yeah, I thought we might get ourselves a bargain.

MUSIC: "Song 2" by Blur

# Woo hoo! #

Parachute jump, eh? Not for the fainthearted,

but Gareth and Sonia appear to have gone into this venture

with clear heads and their eyes open.

They read the legal pack before buying and weren't put off

by the shared driveway, which is owned by the neighbour.

Since they already live in the village

and know the neighbourhood, they're sure everything will be hunky-dory.

So, why was this property right for you two, would you say?

I think the location. We wanted to stay in the village.

And just the space, really. What we could do with the place.

Lovely open spaces. We live in a fairly new house now and they're built quite small,

so when we come in, we walked in the hallway,

and it's a massive hallway, lounge, dining room.

This open fire. I can't wait to get the fire going, really.

-Was it this that did it for you, Gareth?

-With the wood, it's nice.

Being a part-time fireman, I just want to see the glow.

So you're a part-time fireman?

Yeah, I've been working in the village for 19 years now.

-So, you're local?

-Yes, I'm a Swampy.

You're Medway towns, though.

Medway originally - only been on the island a little while.

So, what's it like living on the island, if you're a newbie?

Got used to it now. It's a bit out of the way for everywhere, but...

She's had all her jabs done now, so she should be OK!

Why do they call you the Swampys?

It's just all the marshland, you know, if you're born on the island,

you've got webbed feet, and you have to get across the marsh.

Do you love living on the island? Is it a way of life for you guys?

I don't think you would move anywhere else, would you?

I sort of get a bit seasick when I move off the island.

Just want to come back home.

Will it just be you two rambling around this huge house?

We have visitors weekends and school holidays, don't we?

Gareth's children will be here - they've all got a bedroom each

so it will be a nice family home for them here.

Got a dog and a cat and we just got a new addition.

-Yes, another a little kittens.

-Oh, wow!

So, at certain times of the year,

it's absolutely going to be full of kids and animals?

Christmas will be great here.

Just get the family down, open up them doorways.

I can't wait for Christmas now.

# Chestnuts roasting on an open fire... #

Well, they'd better get their skates on,

because Christmas comes round quicker every year.

Santa will be climbing down that chimney to fill those stockings

before you can say boo to a goose.

So, guys, your timescale?

-Six months?

-Hopefully, six months.

-Have you had this discussion? You don't really know, do you?

-No.

We've got to get the kitchen done.

We know we need to change the bathroom, the showers.

And we'll be happy to live here while we're doing it.

So you're going to be moving in whilst the renovations are going on?

Hopefully not the kitchen. Hopefully we'll get the kitchen done first.

That's a hopefully, that's not a definitely.

How do you think you're going to cope, realistically?

With all that going on, it's going to be a pretty crazy place.

I'll be happy as long as the kitchen's in.

I don't mind about the rest of it. I can live with that.

Put a dust sheet up, stop the dust. There'll be soot from the fire...

Do you think that stops the dust? It doesn't stop the dust!

I can imagine!

So, what is your budget?

THEY LAUGH

You don't know your budget!

Look, you're going to have a debate NOW about it.

You should've talked about this before I got here!

I think we're looking at about 20,000, aren't we?

Are you happy with that, or not?

I was thinking that would be more than what

-we were planning on spending.

-That's good!

-OK.

-I won't complain about that then.

-All right then.

Guys, good luck with this property, and I hope it all goes to plan.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

How will Gareth and Sonia cope,

living in this bungalow during the renovations?

It's never easy doing it that way, and more importantly,

how long is it going to take before its complete?

These jobs have a habit of dragging on and,

if you don't have a rigid timeframe, well, it can be a nightmare.

Find out how the couple get on later in the programme.

Still to come, in Stoke-on-Trent there's an example of styles

going round in cycles.

I'm reliably informed that is back in fashion.

In Sheerness, have Gareth and Sonia got that fire going and settled in?

I spent most of the winter stopping and picking up logs

off the side of the road and putting them in the boot of the car.

But first, in Cumbria,

are David and Janine glad to being in their new home?

Been well looked after but it'll be nice to have our own space again.

We're going back to Cumbria now where, earlier, we met David,

who bought this three-bedroom semi for £110,000.

It was to be a new home for him and his wife of one year, Janine.

David is a joiner, and Janine is an accounting assistant,

so budget and work wise, they would surely make a good team,

but they were certainly going to have their work cut out.

-So tell me what you're going to strip out.

-Everything!

There's a new kitchen, new bathroom,

taking the windows out in the dining room and putting bifold doors in.

Any plans for any sort of change to the internal layout?

Upstairs it's a separate toilet and bathroom,

so we're going to knock that through and get one bigger room,

be substantially bigger.

Well, it's now five and a half months later and David and Janine

are keen to show us how good their new home looks.

The timber in the kitchen has been stripped away and new units

and appliances have been installed.

The utility room behind the kitchen now houses a combi boiler,

plus washing machine and freezer.

And the loo has been replaced, so, quite big changes at the back,

as Janine, who is now five months pregnant, explains.

Do you remember the last time,

we had floor to ceiling wooden cladding and really dark units?

We ripped all the cladding off, and luckily,

the walls were good enough just to re-plaster.

Put new units in and new worktops and fully integrated appliances.

We're looking forward to moving in, so David can do all the cooking!

Well, he's a keen cook, and great at DIY. Just look at the living room.

New fire, and a stylish makeover.

The new flooring and doors in the hall look great.

And in the rear reception room,

the light now floods in from the bifold doors that have been fitted.

Outside, the ownership of that bowing wall is still to be established.

For now, they consider it safe because it's not moving.

And with the nesting instinct kicking in good and proper,

they've been concentrating more on the inside of the house.

Upstairs, the second bathroom and loo have been opened up

into one very impressive room.

And David is delighted.

When we first bought the house there was a separate toilet

and bathroom which we decided to knock through, to create more space.

We've got a big shower in where the toilet used to be.

Moved the toilet to the centre of the room,

block up the windows, put a new window on.

The tiles we've chosen have come out really well,

and it's just given a good quality feel to the bathroom, and we're very happy with it.

The master bedroom at the front has had a stylish makeover.

Losing the built-in wardrobe has gained them space and flexibility,

whilst the useful dressing table in the bay window has been retained.

Moving to the rear bedroom, the built in wardrobes have been kept

and the decor is cool, calm and collected.

And the third bedroom has also been decorated

and looks destined to be a nursery.

We're really pleased that

we've got the house finished in plenty of time

so that we can settle in and make sure everything's perfect

for when the baby arrives.

We've got family round the corner who have helped with the house.

And they're looking forward to helping with the children.

Their family and friends have played a big part in the refurbishment,

but David's been non-stop for weeks.

Early mornings, late nights, every night.

Going to work, coming home from work,

to work here until nine o'clock, 10 o'clock at night.

Every night. For about six months. It's been a big effort.

But all that hard work's paid off

and they're about to move into their new home.

We absolutely love it. We can't wait to move in.

It'll be a shock after living with my parents for six months.

Been well looked after,

but it'll be nice to have our own space again.

No wonder they are looking forward to moving into their gorgeous new home.

They've shown real attention to detail,

and it has a lovely, relaxed modern feel.

Janine's mum and dad will get their home back to themselves,

so I bet they're happy, too.

I think they're looking forward to having their house back, as well.

They paid £110,000 for the property. But how much has the work cost?

Did they stick to their budget of 15,000-20,000?

We think it came in around £18,000.

We sourced everything carefully, to get the best price possible.

The plan is to live in this house as a family for a long time,

so we wanted to do everything right the first time,

so that we didn't need to redo work in a few years' time.

That £18,000 spend takes their total investment to £128,000.

It's time to see what two local estate agents think of the property

that's about to become home for three and possibly more in the future.

It's absolutely stunning. It's been finished off to a very high spec.

It's contemporary. A family home.

I think they've shown real care in what they've done.

The actual standard of finish is very high.

Particularly of note, I think, the family bathroom.

The bathroom's absolutely stunning. Beautiful shower.

The estate agents reckon the house could fetch £600 a month in rent

but, of course, this is David and Janine's home,

so how much value have their improvements added?

Is it worth more than the 128,000 they have invested?

If I was to place this property on the residential sales market today,

I would ask £169,950

and I would expect to achieve approximately £165,000.

If I was to put this property on the market,

I'd probably market it at between 165,000 and £170,000.

Those valuations of 165,000-170,000 would generate a gross profit

of between 37,000 - £42,000 before the usual tax and expenses.

It's nice that other people can see all the hard work

that's gone into the house, and we've been able to bring it up to

a value that is fitting with the other houses in the area.

So a happy ending, and their investment has increased in value.

They're about to move in and make it home. Exciting times.

Can't wait for the baby to come along

and just to use the house that we've spent so much time working on.

Finally get to cook something in the kitchen!

I'm in Stoke-on-Trent now in the suburb of Cobridge

very close to the city centre.

Property values here are lower than in other parts of Stoke,

so it could be an opportunity to find a good rental investment.

Always a good sign when it's a neighbourhood watch area,

but the property I'm here to see, well, there's certainly lots of them.

A traditional two bedroomed mid-terrace.

Has guide price of £35,000,

so it's going to appeal to all sorts of people.

First time buyers, perhaps, or a good rental opportunity, too.

Let's take a look.

So, any surprises in store?

Wow!

Love the wallpaper! A few years ago, I would've said, get rid of that,

but I'm reliably informed THAT is back in fashion.

It might get slightly damaged when you do the re-plastering

and stick in a nice, new fire, which you certainly should.

But, a traditional kind of layout.

Straight off the pavement into the front sitting room,

then it goes a bit strange when you walk through here.

What would you expect from a terrace in Stoke?

Well, not necessarily the half-timbered look.

But nice high ceilings and actually

I do quite like the layout in here. Particularly the open plan staircase.

That really opens up this room, and the fire there,

so it's not looking too bad.

The words "tired and dated" come to mind but, really,

it's nothing that a good spring clean and redecoration couldn't sort out.

There's also gas central heating and double glazing units

making two fewer things to worry about

when it comes to the renovation budget.

So, lots to be positive about, so far.

So, through to the kitchen, and long and narrow.

In need of some tender loving care.

You sometimes look at these things, and think, could you make it work as it is,

but for the amount it'll cost to put a new kitchen in,

it's going to transform this property.

In terms of what you can do with the layout, you are slightly limited,

but nice new units in you would make a big difference.

You have certainly got a lot of space. It goes back a long way.

Traditional layout again. This is where the bathroom and loo are.

Again, it is salvageable but a bit penny-pinching to my mind.

Get a new suite in there, new kitchen units and, we'll start to talk.

MUSIC: "Really Saying Something" by Bananarama

# Really saying something... #

Yes, if you splashed the cash and transformed the kitchen

and bathroom, this could be a cracking little ground floor space.

Upstairs, there are two decent-sized double bedrooms, both needing

some attention lavished on them, but again, all is in good shape.

At the back, there's an original fireplace

which gives the place some character.

But if you think that's your lot, you'd be mistaken, because

there are some louver doors that conceal a little secret.

It is straight out of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, isn't it?

But there is no Narnia up here, just a bit of bananas attic space.

Clearly, doesn't meet any kind of building regulations,

stairs, too narrow, too steep, no escape route,

not enough natural light, floorboards and joists not strong enough,

but somebody's gone to a bit of trouble to at least start

a kind of conversion, there's a radiator up here

and it opens your mind to the potential for maybe roof lights,

for escape and light and an extra bedroom, perhaps.

Would it be worth doing? I don't know.

Certainly, a lot of work to get it into a reasonable state.

But, at the moment, at least it's a dry, clear loft area,

which is more than you can say about a lot of people's lofts.

Mine included.

To get this converted into a decent loft room would mean

jumping through lots of building regulations hoops.

Also, installing a proper staircase would eat into this bedroom.

For me, it is a bit of a non starter,

as losing here is something this house can't afford to do

because, outside, the rear yard is just a few yards of space,

so there is little that can be done down here. But, all in all,

it's not a bad little property at its guide of 35,000.

Time now for a local estate agent to give us his thoughts on the potential

of this two-bedroom mid-terrace in Cobridge, Stoke-on-Trent.

This property is very typical of what you find in the area.

It's a two-bedroom terraced house.

There are many similar properties local,

and it would offer up a good investment opportunity.

But how would the return stack up?

What could the house achieve as a rental investment?

Refurbished to a reasonable standard, I would anticipate

rental income in the region of £350-£400 per calendar month.

Not bad at all, and on the resale market?

If this property was refurbished to a reasonable standard,

resale value would be in the region of £55,000 - £60,000.

Is there any potential with that attic room?

If somebody was to go to the trouble of converting

the current attic room into a usable bedroom,

which would require a proper staircase

to meet current building regulations,

the property could then be worth closer to the £65,000 mark.

Well, you pretty much know what to expect with these kind of properties.

And that is part of their appeal.

Good potential rental income, or a nice place to live?

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

Lot 41 is a mid-terraced house.

£30,000, can I say?

25, then, can we start it at 25?

25 bid, thank you.

£25,000, opening bid. Can we say 30 now? 30 bid, thank you.

At 30,000, 35?

I can go in ones if it helps. 31? New bidder. £31,000. 32? 32?

33, 34, 35, 36? No?

At £36,000. At 37, can I say? New bidder at £37,000. 38? 37,500?

37,500 seated left. At 37,500. 38?

At £37,500, first time.

At £37,500 for the second time,

third and final time, at 37,500, all done.

Good luck, Madam, well done.

The successful bidder, who secured the lot for £37,500,

was Anna, seen here in front, with her sister, Julia.

# Sisters, sisters

# There were never such devoted sisters... #

Anna lives 40 minutes away in Macclesfield, Cheshire,

where she's from, and works as a coordinator

of special needs provision for primary school kids.

With Julia's help, she's planning to renovate the property and sell it on.

-Anna, Julia, lovely to meet you both. Congratulations.

-Thanks.

Why did you want to buy this place?

We decided we wanted to look into doing some property developing,

just starting on a small scale to start with,

and, to be honest, I was being a bit slow, so Julia looked through

the auction catalogues for me and sent me details

of all the properties in this area we might be interested in.

We shortlisted four, and bid on two. and we won this one.

Oh, well done. So you were the driving force then, were you?

She was procrastinating a little to actually getting round to it,

so I arranged a viewing day which then didn't go so well, because

we couldn't get into two properties, because it was the wrong day.

-Not good.

-Not the most successful,

but actually at the end of the day,

the two that we saw we ended up buying one.

Do you step into Anna's life very often and push her along a bit?

-Supportive!

-Supportive, yeah.

-Not pushy.

It is a joint venture then, is it?

In the sense that we're doing it together, yes.

I'm funding it and Julia's helping with ideas

and I'm sure we'll be decorating together at some point.

Brilliant. Have you worked on projects like this before?

Not together. I've done several of my own houses

and we've renovated a weavers' cottage from derelict,

and a 17th-century cottage in Kent as well.

I've had some experience, but only for myself, not commercially.

-Right, but this is a real commercial venture, then is it?

-Yes.

So, a new venture for Anna,

who, up until recently, lived and worked in Kent.

But her move home to Cheshire and first steps into property development

came about due to unhappy circumstances,

as her husband, Johnny, sadly passed away 20 months ago.

When it happened, I stayed for a year, and decided,

I've got three children, and my family are here,

so I decided to move back here and start again.

-How old are the children?

-17, 13 and 11, and they're all girls.

Oh, wow. Have they seen it yet?

Not yet. They've seen photographs and just went,

"Oh, mother! What have you done?!"

So a traumatic time then but back to the supportive family up here?

Absolutely, yeah. And also, Johnny's dying has given me the opportunity to do this,

which was something he knew I always wanted to do,

and the fact that I'm able to fund this house

with some of the life insurance money, is why we are doing it.

I know that he will be looking down and saying, "You go."

If you told me 20 months ago I'd be doing this,

I think I would've been shocked.

But, in life, things happen to you,

and it is how you move on from them.

And I am trying to take this and move it forward in a positive way.

And I feel, now, that I can do that. So, I'm at a good place to move on.

So, with the help of the family,

Anna is ready to take on this new challenge.

Although she only saw the property from outside,

due to a mix-up over viewing dates,

her builders gave the exterior the once over and seemed happy with it.

-Have they seen the inside since you bought it?

-Yes.

-And much sucking teeth?

-None whatsoever, no.

I think we were pleasantly surprised.

There's an awful lot of work to do, but the majority of it is cosmetic.

New kitchen, new bathroom, re-plastering and a good finish

but not going overboard.

There's not a huge amount of profit in it,

but enough to make it worthwhile doing.

It sounds like a straightforward renovation is planned here.

The stairs to the attic might go, and new cupboards or even a shower room might be installed.

But although I think this would make a great little earner on the rental market,

Anna doesn't plan to hold on to it.

She wants to sell it and move on to the next property.

So, with an £8,000 budget plus a two grand contingency

and an eight-week turnaround planned, who'll be doing what?

She's the money, so I'm just there to support, help her,

-keep her under wraps and not go too extravagant.

-Yes, don't let me spend!

No. But getting stuck in and helping strip out,

it's my partner and his brother that are actually doing a lot of the building work.

-Oh, great!

-So everyone's getting involved.

-We're keeping it in the family, aren't we?

-Well, listen, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

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

-Thank you.

Well, it's obviously been very tough times for Anna,

but it's great that with the help and support of her family

and Julia in particular, that she's starting a new life for herself.

And this is the property she's chosen to embark on that property developing career.

How will she get on? Pretty well, I would imagine, but I'm still of the opinion she should keep it.

You know, the returns on investment are good. You can find out if she changes her mind later in the show.

Well, when we left our auction aficionados,

they had high hopes and dreams of success.

But have those properties been giving them sleepless nights?

Let's go back and find out.

Back now to Eastchurch on the Isle Of Sheppey in Kent,

and this very spacious five-bed chalet bungalow,

which Gareth and Sonia bought at auction for 184,000.

The former guesthouse wasn't in too bad a shape,

and the couple plus Gareth's four kids, were keen to get the use of it as soon as possible.

They planned to replace the kitchen before they moved in, and do the rest over six months.

So, what is your budget?

20? LAUGHTER

-20.

-You don't know your budget? Oh, look!

You're going to have a debate now about it!

You should have talked about this before I got here.

-I think we're looking at about 20,000, aren't we?

-Oh, right. OK. 20?

-Are you happy with that or not?

-I was thinking that was more than what we were planning on spending.

Oh, that's good!

-I won't complain about that.

-All right, then.

Well, just over seven months later, we're back

to see if Gareth and Sonia have turned this house into a home.

# Sweet home Alabama

# Where the skies are blue

# Sweet home Alabama

# Lord, I'm coming home to you. #

Sweet as, I'd say. Gareth and Sonia have done a great job

of turning the house into a really lovely home.

While there are still bits and bobs to do,

they've pretty much done all they need to for now.

The first thing we done was rip the kitchen out. Total new kitchen.

Yeah, so it was kitchen, then windows and doors next.

-Fascias and soffits, they were all done.

-All outside.

Then the dining room and sitting room, decorating those.

Oh, and carpet throughout upstairs. Did that before it moved in, as well.

-Yeah.

-Just to make it liveable so that we could get in and put everything in here.

The old kitchen came out, and a new kitchen went in

within just a week of the couple getting the keys, and it looks great.

They're chuffed to bits with it.

When we first came here, it was a U-shape kitchen,

similar to the design here, but it was an old wooden one,

and bits were falling off, so we knew we needed a new kitchen.

So we started ripping it all out.

Go to the sink area, and then when took the lino up,

I noticed there was a load of water on top of the floor

and it was quite soggy, so I investigated further,

and there had been a leak underneath the sink,

and the whole floor was just flooded and mouldy,

so it needed to be replaced.

One of the retailers we went to suggested this here -

having the sinks come round, having the big breakfast bar there,

but putting the washing machine underneath there instead of

underneath the sink or there, and it worked really well.

I just love the floor that they've got

from the kitchen through the dining room and onto the sitting room.

# Just let your love flow

# Like a mountain stream and let your love grow

# With the smallest of dreams... #

The focal point of which is part-time fireman Gareth's

pride and joy, their log burner.

We had the log burner fitted, which was what we needed

cos as soon as we moved into the house it was very cold,

and I think with the draughty windows as well, it was really cold.

-Yeah.

-And the log burner was a lifesaver, really.

Makes it more homely, as well.

I've spent most of the winter stopping and picking up

logs off the side of the road and putting them in the boot of the car.

Bought myself a chainsaw. I've really enjoyed it.

Yeah, makes a massive difference, doesn't it?

It does, yeah. We all sort of gather round the fire.

Yeah. Especially having the kids here, you want them to be warm,

so, definitely made a difference.

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

It seems Gareth's son, Jadan, thinks it's lovely and cosy, too.

Not to mention Selsy the dog.

Not only is Gareth saving himself money by picking up logs

from the roadside, but they've managed to pick up a bargain

with the new UPVC windows, too.

We had some prices for £23,000.

Yeah, it was getting a bit silly.

But we shopped around quite a bit, so managed to get it down.

Because we got quite a few doors, we've got three doors,

so it was a lot of money to pay out.

Yeah, so they were all A-rated windows. All the fascias and soffits

and guttering have been replaced as well, for about £6,000.

In time, they would like to replace the two bathroom suites

in the house but are not in any particular hurry to do that.

So, how have they done

on that difficult to agree to budget of 20,000?

15, approximately.

-Yeah.

-So far, and then possibly another 5,000 on the bathrooms.

So, we should, I think...

What did we see, at first? Oh, 20! That's right.

20, yeah. So, maybe coming to about that,

but you always hope it won't be as much.

But as you go along, as we said, you see more things that need doing.

So we have perhaps spent more than we thought, well, you thought.

I think probably the work in the house might have been 10,000,

but the other 10,000 is on cushions and vases and flowers.

-LAUGHTER

-You have to accessorise!

£15,000 so far, on top of their purchase price of 184 grand

makes a total outlay to date of 199,000.

We asked along two local estate agents

to get their take on the refurbished bungalow.

By first impressions of the property,

I think it's a very, very nice property.

Very spacious, big rooms, plenty of space to move around in.

It's the sort of property that would suit most buyers,

especially in this particular area.

It's a very spacious house in a very good location.

Very rural, and an ideal family home.

The estate agents reckon that the house could rent out

for between £900 and £1,000 per calendar month.

That would mean a decent yield of between 5 and 6%.

But Gareth and Sonia are here for the long term,

so, bearing in mind their total spend of 199,000,

how much value have they added here?

I'd expect this property to achieve

in the current market around £230,000.

I think if the property came onto the market,

I wouldn't hesitate putting it on the market

for anywhere between 220 and £240,000.

You could potentially ask a little bit more,

depending on what buyers are in the marketplace at that time.

Those evaluations mean that if they were to sell,

Gareth and Sonia could be looking at a pre-tax profit, before fees and expenses,

of between 21 and 41,000, which is pretty darn good.

But I get the impression they're very well settled in here.

Yeah, love it. It's a nice family home.

Really spacious, got everything we need.

I think that is it. Love it.

-Yeah.

-It just... It feels like home, and we just love living here.

We head back now to Cobridge in Stoke-on-Trent where earlier

we met Anna, here on the left.

She had bought this two-bed mid-terrace house for £37,500.

Along with her sister, Julia, she planned to do up the house

and sell it on as quickly as possible.

Anna had been working in a primary school in Kent,

where she lived, but this renovation was hopefully the start

of a new career in property developing.

This came about after her husband, Johnny, sadly passed away.

She and her three daughters then returned to her home town

of Macclesfield to be close to her family.

So, a bit of a traumatic time then,

but back to the support of family up here.

Absolutely, yeah.

And also, Johnny's dying has given me the opportunity to do this,

which is something that he knew I always wanted to do.

The fact that I'm able to fund this out of some of

the life insurance money is why we're doing it.

I know he'd be looking down and saying, "You go."

With an £8,000 budget and an eight-week turnaround,

let's hope everything went smoothly for Anna.

We returned seven weeks later to see just how she'd got on.

The lintels have been repainted and there's a new front door.

And inside... the living room has been replastered

and redecorated in white.

And the old fireplace has been bricked up.

The dark rear reception room has also gone down the same path

and a new staircase has been built.

But the big changes are at the back with lovely new kitchen units,

worktop and appliances now increasing its appeal.

And a contemporary bathroom suite has also been installed.

It's all looking good so far.

We met up with Anna and Julia

to find out more about the changes on this ground floor.

In this room, it was very, very dark.

There was a very dark staircase with spindles.

So we've taken the staircase out and we've recreated a new one

and we've made it look more modern.

We've actually built it out of bits of skirting boards.

We've had to take the fireplace out in here.

Also, there were very dark beams, so we've taken the beams out.

We had some problems with the boxing in here because there's an RSJ.

So that had to be done carefully. We've replastered everything.

We've put new skirting boards, new architraves, new doors and decorated. New lighting.

Up those newly-renovated stairs,

the front bedroom has had the same treatment as downstairs -

replastered, redecorated and re-carpeted.

And the rear bedroom - the original fireplace has been retained

and restored and adds a lovely focal point to the bright, airy room.

It's all exactly as Anna intended.

I just think it looks so light compared to how it was before

and it feels much more spacious and I really like the kitchen.

-That's my favourite, the kitchen.

-It's much lighter than it was before.

Basically, it just feels more spacious.

It's all in the decor.

But making it feel spacious meant losing a potential bedroom

from that secret room in the loft space.

So in this room, again, it was a total strip-out.

We had the stairs going up to the attic from here.

We decided the best thing to do,

rather than spending the money getting it up to building regulation standard,

putting in a skylight, it would be better just to box it off.

So what we've done is we've created a cupboard here

and we've put an access up to the roof void there

so people can get up there for roof maintenance etc.

Other than that, it was total re-plastering.

All of the skirting boards have changed, new doors,

painted throughout.

New lights and that's it. We're delighted with it.

We think it's a lovely little room now.

This mid-terrace house has been revitalised by this renovation

and it's not just with the inside.

The roof has had some repair work and new guttering

and downpipes have been fitted.

There's also a new back door and kitchen window.

It all looks good, but there were drawbacks.

They didn't expect to have to re-plaster 90% of the internal walls

and there was a bit of a shock when it came to the electrics.

We uncovered that the whole house needed to be rewired.

We didn't actually view the property beforehand.

-We peered through the windows.

-We did.

A scant look does not reveal all those sorts of difficulties.

That was one thing we weren't expecting.

Contractors were brought in to fix both the wiring and plastering.

But, of course,

the rest of the renovation wasn't down to just Anna and Julia.

We all jumped in and helped strip out the wallpaper, sanding.

Five or six layers of wallpaper in the bedrooms upstairs.

It was a mammoth task.

It was a big task.

Then, John, my partner, and Lee, his brother,

they refitted the kitchen, the bathroom.

-So they did a lot of the work and then we came back in at the end to paint.

-The decorating.

Sounds like a good team effort which came up with an impressive finished product.

It was all done in six weeks, two weeks ahead of schedule.

And only just over their £8,000 budget.

So add that to their £37,500 purchase price

and their outlay is just over £45,500.

Anna aims to put it on the resale market as soon as possible,

but it doesn't end there.

I've bought another house, we've started on that one already.

That's going to be a student rental and then there's another

auction coming up in a week's time and another one two weeks after that.

So we're going to that as well and looking for the next one to do.

There seems to be no stopping these sisters at the moment.

But first things first,

let's find out what two local estate agents thought of Anna's

hard work and that investment of just over £45,500.

I think the owners have done a good job.

They've stripped it back to bare brick and redone all

the fixtures and fittings.

There's been big changes since I've last seen the property.

It's very fresh, it's ready to move into

and it's exactly what a tenant or owner/occupier would expect.

So, what sort of profit could Anna make on her first renovation?

Bearing in mind that outlay of just over £45,500,

what could a resale achieve?

I would value this property in the region of £55,000 to £60,000.

I'd value this property at £59,950.

Those valuations could make a pre-tax profit of between

just under £9,500 to around £14,500.

-Not bad for a six-week turnaround.

-Quite pleased with that, really.

Yeah, it's fantastic for such a short amount of time

and for when you consider the outlay, the original spend

and return on the investment, I think that's phenomenal.

The rental returns have something going for them as well.

The estate agents reckon the property could

let for between £375 and £400 per calendar month.

That would mean a very healthy annual rental yield of

just under 10-10.5%.

But for now, Anna still aims to put the house up for sale.

It looks like she's made a flying start on

a new career in property developing and one that her husband, Johnny,

would have been delighted to see.

He'd be very proud of us all.

We've always renovated our own houses and it was something we'd

always wanted to do but never had the finance to do it before.

So I think he'd be very proud of us all.

Make sure you join us next time for some more thrilling auction action.

-Here on Homes Under The Hammer.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

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