Episode 62 Homes Under the Hammer

-Hello and welcome to the show.

-Now, sometimes the property market

is going well, other times, it's not doing too well.

But whatever the situation,

you've got to make sure you've bought yourself a wise investment.

One way you could do that is to visit your local auction house.

Buy a home under the hammer.

It doesn't matter what kind of property you are looking for,

you should be able to find it at the auctions.

Here's how our buyers spent their money on today's programme.

I visit a four-bed semi on the Cumbrian coast.

The best thing by far is that out of every bedroom window you've got a view of the sea.

This Kent cottage is setting my heart on fire.

I absolutely love it.

This chimney breast is what makes this room so special.

And in Derby, this house has me hitting high notes

country and western fans will recognise.

HE SINGS

All these properties were sold at auction.

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

when they went under the hammer.

This is Whitehaven, once the third largest port in the world.

The grand Georgian buildings give us a glimpse of the port's opulent past

as a major route for the coal and rum industries.

So, what will today's property here be like?

Today, I'm in the little village of Parton just outside Whitehaven in Cumbria.

As you can see, there are some spectacular views out across the railway line to the sea.

And bracing coastal walks and on a clear day,

some beautiful sunsets across the Solway Firth.

These Parton properties enjoy great views.

The estate is well laid out on this spectacular spot.

Who wouldn't enjoy commuting to work on this train route?

Just a few minutes from Parton railway station with its links

to Carlisle and other parts of Cumbria,

here is the property I am here to see.

It is a four-bedroom semi-detached.

Guide price was £50,000-£60,000, which, for a house that's got a decent front and back garden,

and looks in half-decent condition, isn't half bad.

The rendering repairs need a bit of attention but the windows look OK.

What's it like inside?

OK, through the front door, stairs and two bedrooms

and then into an absolutely enormous lounge.

It's got two windows, a fireplace. Fantastic, what else is there?

Downstairs loo, it would be great if it was an additional loo but unfortunately it's the only one.

It is separate. You've got the bathroom there and the loo there.

In an ideal world, you would want it upstairs.

Through here to the kitchen and continuing the theme of an extremely large house,

a good-sized kitchen.

You might think of putting double doors out into the garden.

You're going to have to replace the units.

Loads of space. A really good feel to this one.

# Cos it feels good

# Having it real good for a while. #

That guide price of £50,000-£60,000 makes me feel good too.

The house doesn't appear to need much work, which is great news if you want to rent it out.

That could mean a quick turnaround and a quicker return.

Fingers crossed the story is the same upstairs.

Up here, it's a shame you haven't got the bathroom and loo

but what you have got are four good-sized bedrooms.

One, two, three, four. Very simple layout,

short corridor here and then all the bedrooms go off it.

The best thing by far is that out of every bedroom window

you have got a view of the sea.

Time to look outside the property to see if that's looking as promising.

One thing to look out for with any kind of property that is covered in rendering

is what condition that is in.

A good way to tell is if you hit it, listen to this.

That sounds hollow and it has blown out underneath there.

There are signs of cracking in various places.

That needs to be investigated. Bit of a down side.

The good news is that as well as the front garden, you have got this little area at the back.

The property sits on a pretty decent size plot.

Pebbledash or roughcast was designed to be better

at facing the elements than a flat surface.

But here, it has taken a bit of a battering over the years.

So, you need to factor in some funds for its repair.

We invited a local estate agent to give us

her opinion on this four-bedroomed house.

If this was my property, I would try and put the bathroom upstairs.

You'd still have three good-sized bedrooms.

Make your bathroom as it is now into an utility

and keep the downstairs toilet and possibly build a conservatory out on the back.

That would make a lot of sense but means a lot of added cost.

If the house was just given a refurbishment,

what could it sell on for?

Once renovated, I think the property is probably going to achieve £115,000- £120,000.

What could be the potential valuation if the bathroom was moved and a conservatory added?

You are probably talking of a total value of about £130,000.

You would have to subtract your build costs from that £10,000 increase in valuation.

How much could you let for in its current layout?

In the rental market,

you would probably be getting about £450 to £475 per calendar month.

And as a three-bedroom with an upstairs bathroom?

For rental, you're probably talking about £500 per calendar month.

A bit of work to be done to sort this one out, particularly on the rendering.

What you have got here is a lot of property for the money.

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

A semi-detached house located close to Whitehaven,

large lounge and a dining kitchen,

ground floor bathroom and separate WC.

£50,000-£60,000 guide.

Start me at 50 someone. We are in at 50.

At £50,000 I'm bid. Taking once, 51 I've got.

52. At 52, I am bid. £52,000.

£52,500, 53. 53, I've got, and a half.

At £53,500. 54. Shaking the head.

It is with you at £53,500. 54 anyone?

At 54, 54.5. 55, shaking the head. 55.

55 I have got. And a half. You are out.

It's with you again at 55. At 55 I am bid.

At 55, we are in the market at £55,000.

First time then, let's force it. Second time, £55,000 all done, all out.

Selling away. You sir, thank you.

That successful bid of £55,000 was made by nuclear power plant worker Tony

and his wife Lisa, who's a catering assistant.

They bought it for themselves so they can move out of their current rented accommodation nearby.

They plan to live here while they build their dream home.

-Tony, great to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Big house.

-Yes, it is.

We were surprised when we first walked in and saw it.

-Why did you want to buy it?

-About 21 months ago, we bought a plot of land

about four miles down the coast.

We are having a bit of trouble with planning so we are in rented accommodation.

We thought, we'll buy something that's going to be our own until we get sorted

because it's dead money we're spending.

We thought we'd buy somewhere, do it up and at the end, we'll sell it.

What's the sticking point?

They said size, over dominating, doesn't match the surrounding dwellings.

Hopefully, the plans are in now, we've been waiting six weeks.

Hopefully, we should hear and we can get on with that.

Tony, Lisa and their two children plan to make this their temporary home.

What makes this place an ideal stopgap until their new house is built?

It doesn't need a lot doing to it and just a bit more room.

We've got things in storage as well so we can take one of the bedrooms for a storage room.

Just save money because we are shelling out money.

-What are the plans for it?

-New windows, new kitchen.

Knock the toilet and the bathroom together, just cosmetic really.

-Any plans to move that upstairs?

-No, we are going to leave it as a four-bed.

We think it's a better selling point. We thought about it

and then we thought, no, we'll leave it as it is.

This house presents an interesting dilemma for Tony.

He'll obviously want to make it comfortable for his family to

live in, but as the plan is to move into their new home once it's

built, he doesn't want to invest too much time or money on this one.

But there are some things outside he can't leave alone.

One issue I noticed was that some of the rendering looks like it's blown a bit.

Yes, it has. On the back and the side.

The gable end.

The bank sent the surveyor out and they drilled holes in the wall.

They said the wall ties are showing signs of deterioration.

-The wall ties?

-Yes. So we're getting them fixed. Chip all the dash off.

We'll take these two windows off,

put one big bay window in the front to give it a lift and a freshen up.

-What's the budget?

-About £15,000.

-And the timescale for doing it?

-Eight weeks. Hopefully.

-Who's going to do the work?

I'll just get contractors in to do it.

-Get on with it and get the family in here.

-Yeah.

We'll do the stripping. The kids will want to have a go with the scrapers.

We'll try to get it done as fast as poss.

-Congratulations.

-Thanks very much.

-Good luck with it.

-Thank you.

-I look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Spot on.

It may only be a temporary home until he gets the planning

permission sorted on his other property.

I think Tony's got himself a really good house here

and he's set himself a realistic budget to sort out those issues including the wall ties.

How will he and his family get on? You can find out later in the show.

This is Faversham in Kent and if you're after a sense of history,

you've certainly come to the right place.

It's a town that's ram-packed with medieval buildings.

Even the most historical towns have to embrace change

and the new high-speed rail link has certainly put Faversham on the map.

From here, London is just an hour away so it's perfect

if you need to commute.

Yes, the rail link has made the daily commute less of a chore.

That's assuming you have a commute, of course.

If you're lucky enough to work in the town,

you can just stay put and enjoy all that Faversham has to offer.

A short walk from the town and the train station and I'm here to see

a property that was on the market with a local agent for £160,000.

It went to auction for a much lower price - just £110-120,000

and that sets alarm bells ringing in my head.

What's the reason for the significant price drop?

There's only one way to find out and it's down this little lane here.

Look at this. It's all so pretty.

Something that might put the potential buyer off is that

there's a property there which means that this area is shared access.

Look at the house. You can just imagine roses around the door.

It's so pretty.

The last house that sold on the road right beside the cottage

achieved a whopping £325,000.

That gives you some idea of the calibre of the properties

in the immediate area.

OK, so it's not the largest cottage in the world,

but it's got a wonderful feeling as soon as you step inside.

A little snug kitchen over there which needs a rethink.

New units, some stairs going up and you've got this reception room here.

Some might think you walk straight into the fireplace

but I absolutely love it.

This chimney breast is what makes this room so special.

You can imagine it in the winter time all snug

and a lovely fire blazing.

You would need to think about redecorating. It's a bit grim.

It could do with a pick-me-up in here, some fresh carpet,

but I really like it in here.

I'm going to go upstairs and explore.

I can't say I'm completely head-over-heels with

the current layout but I can't see any way round it.

Personally I couldn't bear to take out this lovely old fireplace.

It would make this room open plan but as things stand,

I think this is the heart of the home.

So for me, it has to stay. I like the cute staircase.

I even like the rope though it's not especially safe.

At least the layout upstairs is pretty standard

though it may be a tad bijou.

The two bedrooms are sweet and at least the bathroom is upstairs.

I'm already wondering if there's room for expansion.

This cottage, it's not listed, which is great news.

Someone can come in here and get started.

Well, no. I'm afraid not.

The property sits in a conservation area.

That will have implications for the new owner.

With a few exceptions, no building or part of a building can be

demolished or removed without conservation area consent from the council.

There are a host of other things you can't do.

I would say it's better to be safe than sorry -

make sure you check with your local authority before staring any work.

# A cottage, small is all I'm after

# Not one that's spacious and wide

# Give me the simple life... #

Even if you wanted to do something that seems relatively simple,

like double-glazing these sash windows, you'll need permission.

So not such a simple life.

And just when you thought things couldn't be more complicated...

Parking is at a premium in this town.

Unfortunately this cottage doesn't come with any.

The double yellow lines on the road make it impossible to park

outside the house.

I think this will put some buyers off.

If you do own a car, the nearest spot is right the way round there.

Or you can park round there for just half an hour.

Getting shopping or buggies in there might be a real

challenge which might put families off.

This small cottage is very appealing

but not without its problems.

We asked a local property expert for his thoughts on this place

guided at between 110 and £120,000.

This town is popular with commuters cos you've got a good

access into London and this is a sweet traditional Kentish

cottage in a great location and it works really well

but it needs some renovation and refreshment.

It needs replacement and updating of the kitchen

and bathroom and redecoration.

Time to find out what those rental and resale values might be.

This property when renovated will sell for probably £185,000.

This property will let very well

and will achieve certainly £600 per calendar month.

Parking is the only issue that may take the shine off this little cottage.

It won't suit everybody, but let me tell you, I love it and there's

the potential to add value and that's what it's all about.

Let's find out who fancied this at the auction.

Let's go to lot 29. Pretty little cottage, this one.

Can I see £110,000 to start? Give me 100 to get on the way.

£100,000 only sitting down, right-hand side.

I should think so too. I've got 100.

I'm looking for 102 and four and six.

At six and eight. 110 in a fresh place.

112, 114, 116. At 18. At 20.

At £118,000 I've got. Is that 19?

120, and one. Going in ones now.

121 may I see? We're down to the ones. Let's keep going on it.

For the first time at £120,000. Either of you coming back in again?

Second time at £120,000.

Third and final time. You sure you're all done at £120,000?

Well done. You've bought yourself a lovely cottage.

The successful bid was made by father and daughter Robin and Caroline.

Robin's a retired economist and his daughter Caroline's a manager

and a fashion retailer.

I went to the property to meet them

and find out what they had planned for the place.

Caroline and Robin. Lovely to meet you. I love this cottage.

-What made you want to buy this at auction?

-We like Faversham.

I just moved to Faversham about a year ago.

My other daughter lives only 100 yards down the road

in a listed house so we're attached and we like it a lot.

Is this something that you've been meaning to do? Is it for yourself?

Why did you want to buy this, Caroline?

Just cos it's so cute and sweet and it's in the heart of town

but it has got a little bit of outside space.

It's close to family so on lots of levels, it works.

Who have you bought this for?

Ultimately, it's going to be for Caroline, but in the meantime,

because she's not working in this area

and she lives quite a long way away in Eastbourne,

it'll be rented out.

If they achieve a top rent of £600 per calendar month, it'll be a nice

earner for them until Caroline decides to relocate to Faversham.

-Who spotted this cottage?

-I did.

-How did you come about that?

Initially, Caroline tracked it

but when it was for sale for £160,000 with an agent in town.

You only told me about it when it came up for auction.

How marvellous is that? That this property was

for sale for 160 grand and the guide price was so much lower

and you ended up paying £120,000 for it!

Do you feel quite lucky about that?

Really lucky. We didn't know on the day what it would go for.

We set a maximum of about 125.

So, 125 is your top limit?

Well...

-Or do you think you might have squeezed a bit more?

-You never know.

-So, you probably would have paid a little bit more?

-Possibly, yes.

Luckily for them, they weren't put in that predicament,

and picked this place up for a song.

And the reason for that price drop?

Well, as the house is non-standard construction,

half brick, with a timber-frame upper storey,

it's that bit more difficult to get a mortgage on it,

so the market for the house, and therefore the price, diminishes,

which worked in Caroline and Robin's favour.

What are their plans?

Well, we've got a lot of ideas, but we have to follow them through.

So, we could do very little, or we could do quite a lot,

even as far as taking out the chimney and making this...

Almost gutting the whole place and starting again.

We'll need to talk to structural engineers,

because, obviously, it is major work.

But if we did, then we could probably have this

as an open-plan downstairs.

We could even possibly move the staircase to a different position,

so we can maximise the space upstairs,

and even move the bathroom upstairs,

so we could make the bedrooms a bit bigger,

because everything is quite small.

Now, they're quite major alterations,

and I know this house isn't listed, but it is in a conservation area,

so there are certain permissions needed.

-Have you looked into that?

-Yes, yes, we know and...

as my sister does live round the corner

and she has a listed property...

We certainly don't want to spoil any of the charm of it at all.

We're very interested in conservation and preservation

and making the most of any original features there are.

It's not terribly exciting inside at the moment.

I think it could be a lot more exciting.

Robin has a £20,000 budget for a simple refurbishment.

He expects this to take three to four months,

unless, of course, he decides to start shifting rooms around.

-What do you think the budget would be for that?

-Nearer 40,000.

-So, you know, that's quite a lot of money to spend here.

-It is.

But you did get it for 120,000.

It would still be the same price that it had been advertised at,

and it would be a perfect place to live.

Is this something quite exciting for you,

that you can get your teeth into, this project, at the moment?

It's that, isn't it? It's a challenge, isn't it?

And is it nice that your dad's been on hand to help you?

Definitely. It'll be really nice for us to do it...

Actually, she helps me.

She's got a much better idea of visual space than I have.

You know, she can visualise what can be done and put it on paper as well.

Well, guys, it's been so exciting meeting you both today.

I think you've got a lovely little home here.

I can't wait to find out what you do.

-Good luck with this. Thank you, Caroline.

-Thank you.

-Robin.

-Thanks very much.

This cottage is just so magical!

I think that chimney stack makes this home so special.

Imagine that crackling fire in the winter!

Will it stay or will it go?

You can join me later on in the programme

to find out what Caroline and Robin decide.

Coming up, this Derby two-bed needs dosh to save it from disaster.

It's got to be done before it causes even more damage.

At this cottage in Kent,

did Caroline and Robin complete the work,

or set their hopes too high?

Haven't quite decided how we get up there yet...

But first in Cumbria,

did Tony's temporary home turn out to be trouble?

It wasn't straightforward. The front of the building had to come out.

Earlier in the programme,

we were on the picturesque Cumbrian coast at Parton.

Tony and his wife Lisa went to auction to buy a temporary family home.

This was to be a stopgap,

whilst the plans for their new-build home were being processed

and the house constructed.

Progress had been slow,

so they decided to stop wasting money on rent.

They paid £55,000 for this four-bedroom house,

hoping just a few cosmetic changes would be enough.

However, like many plans, it wasn't straightforward.

The bank sent a surveyor out.

They drilled holes in the wall, put cameras down,

said the wall ties are showing signs of deterioration.

-The wall ties?

-Yes, so we're getting them fixed.

We're going to maybe take a window out, these two windows out,

put one big bay window in the front,

just to give it a little bit of a lift and a freshen up.

So, what's the budget?

About 15,000.

Well, it's now 17 weeks later and back in Parton,

those two windows have become one.

The door and upstairs windows have also been replaced.

There's been a great change in the living room.

Lisa's interior design skills have transformed the place...

..with new internal doors and a log burner.

And two have become one behind the living room.

Tony's knocked the separate loo and bathroom into one,

and installed a good quality, mid-range suite.

And Lisa's styling is on show in a refitted kitchen as well.

So, converting two into one in this house seems to have worked.

When we first got the property, there were two windows in this wall.

We decided to take them out and put a nice bow window here

to maximise the view of the sea.

It wasn't straightforward. The front of the building had to come out.

We had to put supports through it to hold the front of the building,

to stop it falling in.

And there was a bit of a delay with the windows,

but eventually, they got put in,

and we're really pleased with the end product,

and you can see what view we've got of the sea.

Upstairs, the styling continues with three of the four bedrooms...

..and the family plan to move in within a week.

Bedroom four is currently being used as useful storage space.

Remember, this is only a temporary home for the family,

until they move to a new house they hope to build up the coast.

We finally got planning permission for the new-build about a month ago,

so, hopefully, we'll get things moving when we get moved in here.

Tony decided to check out some of the things he'll be putting into his new-build in this house first.

Yeah, we installed a wood-burning stove in here.

It's like a trial run. We had a few issues with the flue.

Building Control came out and we did what they wanted us to do,

and, yeah, we're really pleased with it.

Although he's only going to live here for about a year,

Tony plans to add a patio and off-street parking to the front.

# I just don't want to stop... #

I hope he'll see a return on that money.

He's already had the added expense of fixing the broken wall ties

that the survey had highlighted.

They drilled 180 holes, replaced them,

which put time and expense onto the project.

But it was something we couldn't avoid,

as we needed a certificate at the end of it,

because when we come to sell it on at the end,

it's all guaranteed and everything.

Tony has done a lot of the work himself,

but who else has been involved?

We've had local tradesmen in to do the bulk of the work,

the dashing and the building work on the window and what have you.

My friend Robert, he's a joiner,

he put the doors on and the skirting boards...

Family and friends have helped.

My little boy, Owen, and my little girl, Linny May,

they've helped take wallpaper off, tiles off,

bag things up and wash things down and, yeah,

we've all got stuck in and I really appreciate it.

Everything here has been done to a very high standard,

but there has been what could be regarded

as a lot of unnecessary expense.

This is only supposed to be temporary,

so did they go overboard on what's meant to be a stopgap?

We have gone over budget, just because of the spec,

we've done it a little bit higher spec,

but with the drive and the patio on the back,

probably 25,000, we'll have spent on it all together.

As Tony paid £55,000 at auction for the property,

that would take his total investment here to £80,000.

Time to see if it's been money well spent.

We invited two local estate agents to come and give us their opinion on the place.

I'm really impressed with the standard of refurbishment.

It's obvious the owners have gone to every length

to get this property right, and I think that really shows through.

I really love the property, I love what the owners have done,

the finish is superb...

I particularly like the kitchen and the wood-burning stove.

I think they just add that something extra-special to the property.

Of particular note for me is the fact that

the owners have removed a window on the front elevation,

moved this into line with a view of the sea, which is a great idea.

Costly, but I think the effect is good.

But will that extra cost that Tony's incurred

be rewarded when he and Lisa come to sell?

And do the estate agents think it's worth more

than the £80,000 they've invested?

If I was going to put this property on the market to sell,

I would aim for a figure between £90-£95,000.

Bearing in mind the quality, I would value this house at £95,000.

Based on that valuation range, there could be a gross profit here

of between £10-£15,000 before taxes and expenses.

I thought it would have been a bit more than that, to be honest.

But, in the present climate,

it's still OK.

Yeah, we're still happy with that.

Well, Tony didn't get his wish there,

but maybe rental valuations will cheer him up.

The rental market for a property of this size within this area

is extremely good.

I expect there to be very high demand,

leaving us with a rental figure of about £500 per calendar month.

With a property of this standard,

I would aim for a rental figure of around £525 per calendar month.

Based on Tony's current investment,

those rental incomes would generate a yield of 7.5%.

Oh, that's...that's good to know, yeah.

But, at the end of the day,

I think we are going to go more to the selling,

rather than the rent out, but we'll see.

We'll be here for 12 months yet, and next year,

we'll start on the new-build, I hope, and...start again.

I'm in Derby, in the heart of the East Midlands, a growing city

with an estimated 1,200 people taking up residence each year.

That means investment opportunities for the intrepid auction-goer.

Alvaston is a popular suburb,

three miles south-east of the city centre,

where buy-to-let developers, or even first-time buyers,

might want to take a look.

I know it's cheesy, but, whenever I come to this part of Derby,

I can't get a particular Glen Campbell song out of my head.

MUSIC: "Galveston" by Glen Campbell

# Alvaston, oh, Alvaston... #

HE CHUCKLES

I told you it was cheesy!

Anyway, this is the property I'm here to see.

It's a two-bedroom terrace, at a guide price of £54,000.

# It's Galveston... #

Anyway, the house. Well, this is kind of interesting.

A stud partition wall the moment you come through the front door.

Somebody has created this corridor.

Now, that is unusual for this kind of property and...I don't like it.

What is the point of that corridor? It does absolutely nothing.

Take it down, open that.

Maybe keep this bit of it, to create a bit of a porch area,

but apart from that, no. Silly.

It's just made the already poky room...well, pokier.

My nose tells me there's some damp and, yep, there it is.

Through into the rear of the property...

I mean, it is a fairly standard layout.

So, I'm looking for things which vary in these properties.

The position of the bathroom, where the kitchen is,

whether it's got open fires...

Now, it's obviously had a fire at some point,

that's at least been bricked up properly with a breather brick,

so you don't get damp in that chimney breast, which is good.

The room doesn't seem too bad,

although I did notice a bit of damp in that corner there.

Through on into the kitchen.

Nice surprise, it looks like this has been renewed at some point.

You could almost use this as it is, although, I think, again,

it would benefit from a bit of tarting up.

Out into a rear courtyard, you've got double glazing...

For this kind of property, so far, so good.

# Have you heard the news?

# Have you heard what's hit the headlines?

# The whole world knows that I'm in love with you... #

Since the rear garden is such a good size,

there's obviously space here to build out, and add a bigger kitchen.

Hold the front page, this place looks great value.

Time for an inspection upstairs.

Here there's a very tired old bathroom...

..and a pair of decent sized double bedrooms.

That's the good news.

The bad news is they've all got serious signs of damp.

Nowhere more so than this front bedroom here.

This is the chimney breast,

and as you can see up on the ceiling there,

serious signs of problems.

Now, feeling it...

Yes, it does feel, still, quite damp.

It doesn't...look to me like a problem that's gone away,

and it's a classic thing.

Probably the flashing around the chimney stack has become loose,

or whatever, at some point,

and water has just obviously leaked in there, straight down.

Who knows what damage it's caused to the joists in this floor as well.

So...umm...

Not expensive to sort out,

but it's got to be done before it causes even more damage.

# Drip, drop, drip, drop

# Drip, drop, drip...

# It's raining so hard

# Looks like it's gonna rain all night... #

Like I said, what I'm checking for in these properties

is whether there's anything interesting about the layout.

And there is.

Well, a bit of a bonus for the property is it does have a cellar.

Now, at the moment, the head height isn't that brilliant.

One thing you might consider is actually digging down

to create a usable space.

But if a house has got a cellar,

it's a really good opportunity to explore a bit more

in terms of if there are any significant problems.

And given the fact there's lots of damp upstairs,

I'm a bit concerned about down here.

It smells a bit damp, which has got me a bit concerned.

Somebody's taken off some of the plasterboard

from underneath these joists here, which is good.

It enables me to see the fact that some new joists have been put in.

Why was that, I wonder?

A classic thing is dampness at the end of the joists,

where they go into the wall.

If there is damp there, the joists basically rot off at the end

and, theoretically, the whole floor could...could collapse.

So, I'm going to check the end of the joists.

Yeah, and sure enough, you can see the end of that joist's

completed rotted off where it went into the wall.

On the left-hand side,

you can see that a new joist has been put in.

That's good news. But what's NOT good news

is the intrinsic problem that caused it in the first place,

a little bit of that nasty little thing called dry rot.

So, the problem is...

the actual root cause of the problems wasn't sorted out

when they did the remedial work.

# I've got some good news and some bad news... #

You can't ignore it because dry rot's a fungus

that travels through all building materials, not just timber.

This, like the damp upstairs and the plasterwork falling off the walls,

needs to be addressed pronto.

Still, there is a lot of house for the money here.

Two bedrooms for £54,000, even with a lot of damp and fungus,

is not to be sniffed at.

We asked a local property expert for his thoughts.

Good points - somebody has taken the time and the expense

to install PVC double glazing.

It does have gas central heating,

therefore saving some cost for the purchaser.

I would say the possible downsides of this property

are that there is potentially issues with the roof.

It does appear that there has been water ingress

into ceilings on the first floor

and I would certainly say that the timbers within the cellar

and the ground floor certainly need further investigation,

as it does appear that there could be evidence of dry rot.

If you were going to do this place up,

what could you expect to sell it for?

If this property, as it currently stands,

were offered back to the resale market in a good condition,

it would have a value in the region of £90,000.

What about letting it?

It would rent for somewhere in the region of £450 per calendar month.

Well, a decent enough little property,

but not without its problems, mainly the dry rot and the damp.

But get those sorted and done professionally,

and this could be a good home or a nice little rental earner.

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

Lot number six is in Alvaston.

Good investment property, ladies and gentlemen.

May I say 55,000 to start it? 54.

Who's got £50,000 to move it on? 50.

50,000, thank you, at £50,000, the opening bid.

51, I'm looking for.

Thank you, 51.

52, 53, 54.

54, 55, 56.

56, 57.

57, 58 on the phone.

At 58, 59. 59,000.

60? 59 and a half.

60,000. Bids in the room.

60 and a half. 60 and a half.

61. At 61? £61,000.

500. 61,5.

62, thank you. 62,000.

And a half again?

At £62,000.

500 somewhere else. 62,5.

63.

At £63,000.

500 somewhere?

We are going to sell it at £63,000 for the first time,

second time, third and last opportunity.

It's down at 63,000, thank you.

The successful bidder was, in fact, none of those bidders.

It was Daneesh, who works as a postman in Derby.

He was too busy to go to the auction himself

so he sent along a proxy to bid on his behalf.

He already has two investment properties that he rents out

and was looking for a third one to do up and sell on.

-Daneesh, great to meet you. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

-Actually, I didn't want to buy this place.

-You didn't?

-No.

I was at work so I sent my father to the auction for me

and I think he liked the look of this more than the other three.

-Whose money was it?

-Mine.

-Right. So, you specifically said three other properties.

-Yeah.

And he came back with a completely different one.

-So, you hadn't seen it?

-No.

-You hadn't read the legal pack about it?

-No.

-Hadn't been inside?

-No.

-Didn't know what it looked like?

-No.

-Didn't even know where it was?

-No.

So, what did you say when your dad came in?

He said, "I've got you a house that you wanted."

Well, he didn't say wanted but I assumed it was one of the three

so I came home with a bottle of champagne, thinking,

"Yeah, let's celebrate."

And he actually said, "No, it's not one of them three, it's this one."

And he showed me the picture.

Right. What was his thinking?

I don't know. I don't know.

I think he just thought this looked like a better property to have.

-Are you still talking to him?

-Yeah.

Just.

Well, that's just as well because this house is nothing like

the three options Daneesh had spotted in the auction catalogue.

Were they similar? Are we talking about...?

No, all three houses were slightly different on views.

One was semi-detached, one was detached and this one just...

So, one was a semi-detached, one was a detached. What was the other one?

I can't remember off the top of my head.

A bungalow or a castle?

-Semi-detached or detached and he came back with a terraced.

-Yeah.

-So it wasn't even in the ballpark.

-No, it wasn't. No.

When was the first time you saw it?

Last week. A week ago.

-Right...

-After we had bought it and I got the keys after 21 days.

-What did you think when you walked through the door?

-Wowsers.

Wowsers in a good way or wowsers in a bad way?

Yeah, in a sort of good and bad way.

I don't know, it was just a bit of a shock because I thought,

"It does need a little bit of work."

Well, a bit of work is certainly one way of putting it.

There are plenty of problems to tackle in this terrace

but Daneesh is starting in the right place.

I need the roof checking first before anything

so I'm going to have the roof checked then I'm going to have someone

-look downstairs and check the beams and stuff.

-Right.

Then see where we go from there

and then start inside with the decorating.

So, how much are you going to be able to do yourself, do you think?

I'm just going to bring in a team.

A team of lads who know what they're doing

-and just get it in and get it back out.

-That's the plan, to resell it?

It's either resell or put it on rent, just to see what I can make,

if it's going to be better for long-term or short-term investment.

OK. What is the sort of budget you have got for doing the work?

About five.

Until I take wallpaper off and stuff,

I don't really know but I've got a budget of eight.

Obviously, I would like to spend less.

I guess it depends what the roof's like

-and it depends on the mess in the cellar.

-Yes.

-All the dry rot.

What about timescale?

-Approximately anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks.

-Right.

Is your dad going to come and do the labouring here for free?

He'll make the tea.

Well, listen, it's good to see you're still smiling.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-Good luck with it.

I look forward to seeing how you get on.

A bit of a non-standard introduction to this property for Daneesh.

Didn't have a clue he was going to buy it.

In fact, his dad just surprised him. Well, there you go.

It's a great story. He seems to be ready to take it on.

Hopefully, the challenges of the dry rot

and the damp won't prove to be too huge.

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

Time has passed, budgets have been spent, sometimes blown,

but the big million-dollar question is has all been worth it?

Yes, have our buyers been busy

or have they let the grass grow under their feet?

Let's go back and find out.

We are back in the Faversham in Kent

to find out how father and daughter team Robin and Caroline

got on with this timber-clad cottage they bought at auction.

Inside it had a living room and a kitchen area

squeezed around a characterful but substantial fireplace.

The big question in this small cottage was

should it stay or should it go?

So, we could do very little or we could do quite a lot,

even as far as taking out the chimney

and almost cutting the whole place and starting again.

Upstairs, there was one decent double bedroom

and a smallish single.

Both needed new carpets and redecoration.

The bathroom was shoehorned in between the bedrooms

and was a windowless, characterless kind of place.

Clearly, retired economist Robin

and shop manager Caroline had more decisions to make.

We could even possibly move the staircase to a different position

so we can maximise the space upstairs

and even move the bathroom

so we can make the bedrooms a bit bigger

cos everything is quite small.

Robin and Caroline paid £120,000 for the house at auction and

the renovation budget was anything between £20,000 and £40,000.

The timescale was four to five months.

We have come back 11 months later to see

if they have turned this titchy cottage into a beautiful home.

Outside, they still have some work to do.

The new wood panelling needs to be painted

and the garden is still to be finished but they have added

a porch and, much more importantly, an extra window.

And that's not all.

Yep, it's cheerio to the chimney.

Oh, I loved that fireplace

but I suppose I can see why they opted to remove it.

So, we originally took out the chimney breast

and we gutted all the walls.

We have put in a much bigger and a much better kitchen

with built-in dishwasher, washing machine, fridge.

So, it's a lovely, simple shaker kitchen with a solid oak worktop.

We are really pleased with it. I think it works really well.

The ground floor is now open, spacious and light.

But taking the decision to remove the central fireplace was tough.

The chimney wasn't in very good condition

and the builders told us it might be cheaper,

rather than trying to restore it, would be taking it down

and rebuilding it and then, you know, what was the point?

At that stage, we decided it was better to remove it.

Upstairs, the internal bathroom now has a brand-new window

and that's not all.

When we acquired the cottage, there were two bedrooms but there

was a bathroom in this corner so this bedroom was very small.

We are very pleased that we removed the chimney breast to allow us

to move the bathroom. Caroline made a good job with the bathroom design.

We have also put in this vaulted ceiling and an attic,

if you call it an attic, that goes to the other end of the house.

So there's a lot of storage space.

Haven't quite decided how we get up there yet.

That's an ingenious use of potentially dead space.

In the other double bedroom,

removing the built-in wardrobes has also freed up more space.

Robin has taken great care to make sure this old cottage is

going to be snug and cosy without its great, big fireplace.

The cottage didn't have any insulation before.

Now it is very thoroughly insulated

so that did tend to reduce the size of the cottage

but it was more than made good by the removal of the chimney.

But this was a family and development so, come on,

tell us all, how did they get on working together?

I've chosen quite a few of the colours and the tiles

and the bathroom fittings and things like that.

Caroline's very good at design and visualising the use of space

and so, no, I think it worked very well.

Doing such a thorough makeover has had an impact on both

the timescale and their budget.

It's taken 10 months to get to this stage,

not the four to five they had originally estimated.

Robin's gone over even his top estimate of 40,000,

having now spent £45,000.

So, added to the auction price of 120,000, this little cottage

has cost £165,000 so far.

It's time to find out if two local property experts

will think it was worth it.

Absolutely lovely. We've got a very, very nice, charming property here.

Double fronted.

Come inside the property

and the owners have done a fantastic conversion inside

and really opened up some living space on the ground floor.

With a property of this age, buyers would

initially be looking for a period features such as a fireplace, etc.

But it doesn't have one and the general surround

and finish is adequate that buyers will accept that.

What do the estate agents reckon the property is worth now?

With regards to a valuation,

once they have finished the works outside,

I'd expect the property to achieve in the region of £175,000.

The residential market value of this property, in my opinion,

would be somewhere between £175,000 and £185,000.

Those valuations would give Robin a profit of between 10 and 20,000

before costs and expenses.

That wasn't the reason for us doing the work

but I'm very pleased it is increasing its value.

Robin bought the cottage for Caroline to live in

when she returns to Faversham in a few years.

So, what about rental value in the meantime?

The market for rental is very, very busy at the moment.

You'll be looking at £750 per calendar month

for a property like this.

There is a strong demand for rental properties,

particularly two-bedroom places right in the heart of Faversham

and I'd expect them to achieve £700 per calendar month.

I think that's really good. That sort of what we suspected.

Yes. That's good.

A rental yield, then, of around 5.5%.

So, what's next for the family developers?

Doing a lot of work to my own house

so there's going to be an equal amount of work on that, I think.

So that will, I'm sure, keep us fully employed.

We'll certainly need a little bit of time to get over doing this one.

And I'm sure I'll be helping Dad out with his.

We are back in Alvaston to see

if Daneesh was sabotaged or saved by his dad's auction purchase.

Postman Daneesh was too busy to go along

so sent his father as a proxy, who bought none of the properties

Daneesh has researched and plumped for one sight unseen.

-So, you hadn't seen it?

-No.

-You hadn't read the legal pack about it?

-No.

-Hadn't been inside?

-No.

-Didn't know what it looked like?

-No.

-Didn't even know where it was?

-No.

Fortunately, he kept his sense of humour as the two-bedroomed

end of terrace did turn out to be full of opportunities.

That's opportunities to spend, spend, spend.

The bad news was that there was dry rot,

wet rot and plaster falling off the walls.

Some of the good news included new double glazing and central heating,

a huge back garden and a kitchen in decent condition.

More good news was that Dad was forgiven.

-Are you still talking to him?

-Yeah.

Just.

Daneesh hoped to complete the renovation of the terrace

in six to eight weeks.

The house cost £63,000 at auction

and he had a budget of between £5,000 and £8,000 to do it all.

We have come back six weeks later to see

if it is a case of family feud or father knows best.

MUSIC: "No Regrets" by ROBBIE WILLIAMS

# No regrets

# They don't work

# No regrets, now

# They only hurt. #

Outside still needs a little work but inside it's a different matter.

I've just painted it with some neutral colours and,

if you can remember,

there was a massive hole there from a water leak that we

had from the roof and it was just because the chimneys had little

leaks coming through so that's what caused the damage.

A roofer came in and just did that.

Plasterwork needed to come off all walls and just redo both

bedrooms and redone the ceiling and put new, fresh carpets in.

I'm actually quite happy with the work that's been done

and it does look fresh.

It might be fresh and clean up here now but, at the opposite level

of the house, something horrible had been living in the cellar - dry rot.

I just called in a specialist and, basically,

they just treated the dry rot and then painted the cellar out.

Daneesh very sensibly assembled a team of professionals to deal

with all those tricky dry rot problems throughout.

I had some builders come in, a decorator, obviously a roofer

and a specialist for the dry rot.

Every other day I was here, pushing them.

Come on, work faster.

Well, Daneesh's management technique seems to have worked.

The bathroom was not in the same state as the bedrooms

but it did require a complete refit.

Downstairs, the front sitting room has been spruced up.

The damp patches have been dismissed.

And the rear sitting room is also now ready and welcoming.

There was no need to replace the kitchen but it's been painted

and given a thorough scrub and polish.

For a first-time developer,

Daneesh has certainly kept a tight rein on his spending.

He's replaced fixtures and fittings only where he needs to

and has kept as much as he can.

Good for him.

So, did Dad know best after all?

The only other person that's really been on my back has been my dad

so it's been fantastic otherwise.

Cos if I didn't have him for moral support,

I think I would have crumbled a little bit.

I think it was quite a good purchase actually.

It's worked out better than I thought it would.

From roof to cellar, this relative newcomer to property

developing has reclaimed this terrace from its mouldy, old past.

Daneesh bought it for £63,000 and has spent only £4,000

on the refurbishment, bringing his total outlay to £67,000.

We asked the auctioneer who sold the property

and a local estate agent for their opinions.

When you come back to a place and it's been treated,

it always looks clean and fresh and tidy.

A lot of it is cosmetic work so it's fresh paintwork

and I don't think there's probably been a lot of money spent.

First impressions are it's a basic property

with a basic renovation

that will let or sell fairly easily.

This look, the simple, clean,

easy-to-move-into look is perfect for the market.

No extra fuss needed for today's purchaser or renter.

It's just straightforward, ready to move straight into.

Now to that all-important valuation.

What do they think Daneesh could expect to sell the house for?

It's an average property

so we are looking at an average price of around £80-£85,000.

If time was not of the essence then your asking price might be

just short of £90,000,

in the expectation that you'd achieve £85,000 or more.

Those valuations would give Daneesh a profit

of between £13,000 and £23,000 before costs and expenses.

It's a good profit line so I'm happy with that.

I can wait. I don't mind waiting on this and then selling,

so we'll see what happens.

But what about that all-important rental market?

What do the experts think the property could attract for that?

Rent should achieve around £425 per calendar month

and it should rent very easily.

This area, actually, is quite good for the rented market and,

with the quality of house like this, I think it would rent well.

I'd expect the rental value to be about £450 per calendar month.

At those rents, Daneesh would achieve around an 8% yield.

What does he think of that?

Fantastic.

I think it's generous.

So it's better than what I thought.

Finally, will he trust his father to represent him at auctions in

the future after such a successful, if surprising, first development?

At another auction,

I'd probably send my father with someone or I'd probably go with him.

I'm not going to send him on his own.

Whether you're a seasoned professional or a property novice,

there are always lessons to be learned.

So, join us next time for more auction action

here on Homes Under The Hammer.

-We'll see you then.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

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