Episode 78 Homes Under the Hammer

Despite changing market conditions,

people still want a slice of the property action.

If you're prepared to take the plunge, auctions can be a great place to start.

It can be fast and frantic, but it can also be brilliant buying your home under the hammer.

Some properties are popular at auction, others go unsold.

So the auction room can be a difficult place to conquer.

So let's take a look at today's lots that won the hearts of our buyers.

'In rural Cornwall, I spy huge potential in a shed!'

Could you possibly get planning permission for a separate dwelling?

'While in Edmonton, north London, I take a walk on the wild side.'

I'm already laughing. Look at pretty Polly on the door.

'And in the village of Ludworth, County Durham,

'there's a house which leaves me lost for words.'

I'm speechless, really.

'All these properties have been sold at auction.

'We'll find out who bought them and what they paid when they went under the hammer.'

Today, I'm in the little hamlet of St Newlyn East,

just outside Newquay in Cornwall.

Absolutely glorious place to live.

That's convenient cos there's a property up for auction.

'Yes, if you fancy a rural retreat and a little piece of heaven,

'you could do a lot worse than here.

'There are country pubs, open fields, amazing scenery

'and a convenient bus route, all on your doorstep.

'It might be a little too remote for some people,

'but others, myself included, would relish the quiet village lifestyle.'

So, what does a guide price of £160,000 to £180,000 get you round here?

Well, I'll come to the house in a minute.

First of all, it got you a very large amount of...

well, sort of parking area, this outbuilding.

-CHUCKLING:

-But hey...!

By far the most impressive thing so far is THAT view!

Absolutely spectacular! Do we really care what the house is like?

As it happens, it looks pretty good, too!

# It's a perfect view... #

'With far distant views from the back,

'this feels a wonderfully peaceful location.

'This semi-detached country cottage has a large front garden

'and an even bigger one at the rear.

'Time to check out the INside.'

Oh, OK!

Well, unless that's the second toilet,

I don't like the location, as you come in through back door.

Hopefully, there will be another one upstairs,

but first impressions, mmm, jury's out.

Not a bad size kitchen, and you have got lots of windows

looking out onto the view - that's what I want to see in this place!

Massive windows making the most of the location.

Through into the lounge and not bad.

Dual aspect, a nice big open fireplace with this stone,

which I think works quite well.

And in terms of general condition, not too bad!

Oh. An alternative door for you. Let's take a look upstairs.

'So, the main front door opens on to the lounge and stairs.'

One thing that strikes you about this house, lots of natural light. I really love that.

Up here, three bedrooms and...

Well, there isn't a bathroom but at least there is a loo.

I wonder if there's some reconfiguration you could do here.

The three bedrooms are a bit small. One there, one there and one there!

I think, take some of these partition walls down,

create a bigger bathroom, maybe even lose one of the bedrooms.

Then you end up with a really nicely proportioned upstairs.

'Whatever the new owner decides,

'I'd be keen decorate these rooms sympathetically

'and preserve that cosy cottage style.

'As for those views,

'they certainly make up for the cramped feeling in the bedrooms.

'Downstairs in this property that was guided at £160,000 to £180,000,

'I think I'd keep the fireplace, as it adds to the character.

'Maybe install a wood-burning stove.

'We always advise getting a safety check on the chimney by an expert.

'And if the bathroom was relocated upstairs,

'there could be great potential to redesign the kitchen

'to incorporate just a loo down here.

'So, apart from the lovely views, what else is on offer outside?'

So at the side of the property, you've got these outbuildings.

They're currently used as storage.

You've also got quite a lot of space.

So I'm wondering what the options are.

You could keep it as it is

or could you possibly try and get planning permission for a separate dwelling here?

I'm sure that the Local Authority would be very sensitive about that.

A way round it might be to do something which has been inspired by what I've seen here.

This is called The Studio.

In the past, this might have been used for a pottery or craft studio.

Council planners are very, very supportive

of live-work units in rural communities.

If you apply to convert this as somewhere where somebody could live

and maybe have some kind of a craft business,

I think you might be on to a bit of a winner.

With that could come a healthy profit.

'To discover more about potential for this place,

'we invited the auctioneer who sold it to come and explain

'what he thinks are the merits of this auction lot.'

This property is fantastic.

It's got the raw ingredients to be a wonderful family home.

It's very basic. It does require modernisation from top to bottom,

which would include the classic kitchen-bathroom decoration

and possible extension to the side.

'But this auction lot has much more than the property going for it.'

A really exciting factor is, of course, the quarter acre of gardens and ground,

but more so is the detached annexe workshop/store,

which offers a vast scope of possibilities for the owner.

Is it developable into something that could be either lived in

or used for holiday uses?

'Assuming it was left as it is,

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

Once refurbished, the property should be worth somewhere in the region of £225,000.

'What if it was rented out?'

You could expect to achieve in the region of £650 to £700 per calendar month.

Well, it's clearly in need of a bit of modernisation,

but what a fantastic property!

It just has that feel about it.

Then you come outside or look through the windows

and you've got that in front of you and Newquay...

-SIGHS

-..within a stone's throw.

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

We move on to lot 188.

A stunning spot, beautiful cottage.

You've got the compound to the right-hand side, a single-storey building.

What could that be? It's a great games room or something for the children.

Who's going to kick us off for 180? Straight in. 180 do I see anywhere?

OK, 170, I'll ask.

160? 160, we're away. At 160.

Is that a wave from the blue jumper? 162.

At 162,000. 164 just in front.

164 is in the room. 165 I'll take. 165.

At 165. At 165,000.

At 165,000 for the first time.

At 165,000...for the second time.

To the lady in the blue, for the third and final time.

At 165,00.

It's selling at £165,000...

BANGS GAVEL Congratulations. Well done!

'That final successful bid of £165,000 was made by Mary in the blue jumper.

'She was at the auction with her friend, Blanca,

'who was holding Mary's new baby, Solomon, during the bidding.

'Mary and her husband, Steve, both teach locally.'

# Teacher, teacher

# There's so much I'm longing to know... #

'I met up with them back at the property to find out their plans.'

-Steve, Mary, great to meet you both.

-You too.

-Congratulations!

Lovely house. Why did you want to buy it?

We were firstly attracted to the space, the outbuildings,

this area - it's obviously great being so close to the coast.

Having the countryside around us is just amazing!

-Right. Where do you live at the moment?

-We live in Newquay.

-We've got a flat there.

-Right.

-We've been there for four years.

We're looking to get somewhere bigger.

It's a nice maisonette, beautiful view, right by the river.

But we've got a little one now.

We want him to have space outside to be able to run around when he's a bit bigger.

-What an amazing place to grow up!

-It's fantastic!

Just a bit out of Newquay, where our community is,

but not too far - about ten minutes' drive, so it's ideal for us.

-And the views are just outstanding.

-Yeah. They are amazing.

'The family plan to continue living in their flat for about four months,

'until they've done the initial work on their new house

'to make it OK to move in.'

So, what are the plans for it?

Well, downstairs, we're just going to put a wood-burner and redecorate.

-Ooh, nice!

-We've designed a new kitchen.

And then the current bathroom, we're turning into a utility room

with just a single toilet.

We're hoping, at some point, to extend out. That'll give us four bedrooms.

But for the minute, it's got three very small bedrooms.

We're going to get rid of the toilet and make one of the small bedrooms

into a really nice family bathroom, then have two decent sized rooms.

-The extension can come later.

-Budgets, stuff like that?

We were really pleased to get it at the price we did. That's given us a bit more.

We were looking to go up to 180,

so that's given us 18,000, 20,000 to play with, as long as we're careful.

# ..Make me, make me, make me the teacher's pet. #

'Steve teaches maths, so I'm sure he'll keep a tight rein on the budget.

'They're going to have a combi boiler and radiators installed,

'plus a possible rewire.

'What about the outbuildings?'

We've got lots of ideas, but nothing concrete at the minute.

It's just a great storage space.

Maybe play a bit of table tennis in the meantime!

What about outside? The garden's a bit overgrown at the moment.

Yeah, we'll try and neaten the garden up.

We'll probably dig most of it up and lay new grass eventually,

but not sure that'll be within four months.

-Anything you're worried about?

-Just that we'll go over budget.

-Yeah, it's new to us.

-Yeah.

-We've never had a project like this.

So it's all an unknown, I suppose.

At the minute, plans are coming together but, yeah...

That's the concern. You never really know how it's going to turn out.

-But hopefully it'll turn out well!

-Hopefully!

Listen, congratulations. Good luck with it.

-And really look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Yeah. Thank you.

Well, a great result for Mary and Steve.

What a fantastic family home this will make for them and little baby Solomon.

Work to be done, but I think they'll enjoy doing it.

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

I've travelled to north London, to a place called Edmonton.

It's roughly 12 miles from the centre of the city

and the property I'm here to see is minutes away from this -

the North Middlesex University Hospital.

Two years ago, it was given a major revamp

costing over £120 million.

It's one of the major employers in the area.

And what do employees need?

That's right! Accommodation!

This auction lot could be a perfect buy-to-let opportunity - and it's just there!

# Doctor, my eyes! Tell me what is wrong

# Was I unwise

# To leave them open for so long...? #

'Here's, hopefully, just what the doctor ordered -

'a three-bedroom semi-detached house with a guide price of 175,000.

'You might think this is a fairly standard semi, but you'd be wrong.

'Inside, it's a small gothic mansion-ette.'

-CHUCKLING

-I'm already laughing. Look at pretty Polly on the door!

I love that! This house has character.

The first thing that strikes you when you walk in the door

is the fact that this wall has been taken out.

I love it because lots of light's coming through

and you really feel the benefit of this wonderful open space.

Again, through here, second reception room.

Bits of fitted furniture like this, that don't really work.

But if you can see beyond all this, it's a fabulous space!

Again, look, this is the kitchen - enormous! Perfect for a family!

With a bit of thought and effort and love put into this place,

I think it could be a great house.

'Taking a closer look at the decor in the lounge,

'it's clear to see the previous owner had some wild tastes.'

# In the jungle, the mighty jungle the lion sleeps tonight... #

'I love the way this house flows. The open-plan layout really works.

'But you'll need rose-tinted glasses when you look around upstairs!

'It's, well, not quite a ROARING success.

'It looks as if somebody has started the work but left halfway through.

'Oh, dear! But once again, the space is good.

'So you need to try and look past the brick dust and dodgy wiring,

'and see how great these three bedrooms could be.

'The master bedroom has been replastered and just needs a final push to finish it off.

'There's a small, box-like single bedroom to the rear

'and a much better sized single next door to it,

'to which the previous owner has decided to add a wash basin.

'As for the bathroom,

'well, you can see where the budget's gone here!

'Outside, there may be a really decent garden,

'but it's hard to tell with this huge shed - it's got to go.

'The garage at the bottom could be a keeper,

'especially if you're the sort of person who fills a garage

'with everything except a car.

'The garage is accessed from a rear lane.

'If that garage is stuffed full, there are possibilities out front.'

There's plenty of scope to create off-street parking,

and let's be honest, this is the place you want to park your car, if at all possible.

You only need to look at the neighbours to see it's a popular choice.

Don't be fooled into thinking your application will get the green light

because your neighbours have set a precedent.

It will almost definitely strengthen your case with the council,

but don't bank on it.

# Ain't it kind of funny Boils down to money... #

'Dropping the kerb may not add pound signs to the end value,

'but will ultimately make it much more saleable.

'What does a local estate agent make of this property

'that was guided at 175,000?'

My first impression is the house needs a bit of work inside.

The space is good and the location's very good.

The reason this is such a good area is it's an up-and-coming area,

a lot of first-time buyers

and high rental figures achieved for these properties.

'So, let's talk figures.'

Once the house is renovated, it would go on the market for £280,000.

'What does he think it could achieve on the rental market?'

This would go on the rental market for £1,350 per calendar month.

You can't argue with those figures!

This property's proximity to the hospital makes it an ideal buy-to-let.

Let's find out who wanted this one when it went under the hammer.

Lot 30 is a three-bed semi-detached house. 200?

If not, you tell me.

150 in the front. 150. 155?

160. 161?

162. 163? 164...

'There was a lot of interest in this property.

'We rejoin the auction at 218,000.'

..218. Had a feeling that you were there.

218. 219?

220, madam? Yeah?

221? 222?

221 with you first time.

Sec... 222. 223?

Yeah? 224?

225? 226?

227? 228?

229?

230?

231? 232?

233?

234?

235? 236?

235 with you.

236? If not, 235 first time.

Second time...

2... Again? 236.

237?

236 with you. First time. Second time.

Third and last time...

Sold, 236.

'That successful bid of 236,000,

'a whopping 61,000 over the guide price, came from Sharuz.

'Originally from Iran, he runs a carpet-fitting business,

'so he's ideal to work some magic on this property.'

# On a magic carpet ride

# We can touch the sky And like a bird we'll fly

# There's no end to what we'll do Me and you... #

'I went back to the house to meet him and find out his plans.'

-Sharuz, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-What was it like for you on auction day? Did you expect to get this?

-Yes, I went to auction to buy it.

-But it was a bit high price I paid.

-You paid 236,000.

Plus the legal cost of the other solicitors, which is almost £6,000, which I was not expecting.

-So did you still want the property?

-I did want it, but I was in doubt.

-Did you think about getting out of it?

-I did.

-It's a legally binding contract. The hammer goes down and the property's yours.

-Yeah.

When you found out that you couldn't back-pedal,

you had to keep it, how did you feel then?

You know, I just tried to forget what was happening.

Just look forward for future.

'With extra costs and getting carried away at the auction,

'Sharuz hasn't got off to the best of starts,

'but he's taking a long-term view of this development, which he plans to let in the short term.

'But as he says, he's looking to the future.'

When I know I am going to get the money I spent plus auction fees, I'm going to sell it.

So you're going to sit on it for a while until you feel you can sell it at a good profit?

Probably not profit. Just I get my money back.

-You really don't feel you're going to make a profit?

-I don't think so.

'Now Sharuz wants out of this property as soon as he can do so

'without losing any money.

'However, depending on how much he spends on renovation,

'he could still make a rental yield of around 7%, so all is not lost.

'But he bid a huge 61,000 over the guide price,

'so must have really wanted it at some point.'

Why did this house appeal to you in the first place?

Because of garage, you know. I love the garage.

I was looking for the house with a garage.

This one was a big one. I could park my van, my car.

That's why I went to auction because of this house and I bought it.

You bought it because you like the garage to park YOUR van in.

-But you're not going to live here!

-But we are not living far away.

And I can walk from the other house to here.

-So you bought the house so you can keep the garage?

-Yeah. I'm gonna keep the garage.

'Sharuz has already contacted the council regarding dropping the kerb.

'He hopes his new tenants will be happy with front off-street parking

'and that he will retain the use of the garage.'

Is property something you've just decided to get into?

Yes, because I was thinking we could make some money out of the properties

and also keep them for retirement.

That's what we decided to do.

So tell me what you're going to do to really make this place look fabulous?

A new kitchen, new boiler and new wiring.

I think these two major things, when it's done,

just leave us for painting and decorating.

We're going to paint it inside and outside.

I think, when it's finished, I hope it will be nice.

-What sort of budget are you looking at, Sharuz?

-I think we will have to spend about £30,000.

-Yeah.

Absolutely. £30,000, and how long is it going to take you?

It's going to take two or three months.

Is there anything you're worried about, apart from the fact that you paid too much

and you've got to fork out six grand for seller's fees?

Is there anything else that you are worried about, having bought this?

Find the right people to do the job. Most of the jobs, I'm going to do.

The rest of them, I'm going to get a contractor.

-Good luck.

-Thanks very much.

-I can't wait to see what it turns out like.

-And whether or not you're lucky enough to keep that garage.

-Let's see!

This garage sealed the deal for Sharuz, although it's going to take him a while

to get over the shock of over-paying for this house on auction day.

But it's not all bad news. He'll have a steady stream of tenants racking up a 7% yield.

How's he going to turn this place around? Will he find builders?

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

'Coming up, I try and look on the bright side in County Durham.'

Even in this state, there could be money in it.

'While in north London, Sharuz has found it hard to make a decision.'

In the kitchen, we done so much plans.

More than 20 people came to do the design.

'First, it's back to rural Cornwall to see if the teachers have learned any valuable lessons.'

We've done a few things but we haven't had a single solution.

'We return, now, to the Cornish hamlet of St Newlyn East,

'about ten minutes' drive from Newquay.

'This three-bedroom semi with stunning views

'was bought for £165,000 by Steve and his wife Mary.

'They are teachers currently living in Newquay.

'They were going to refurbish and make it a family home for themselves

'and their baby Solomon.

'It had the potential to become fabulous!'

So, what are the plans for it, then?

-First of all, downstairs, we're going to put a wood-burner and redecorate.

-Ooh, nice.

-Design a new kitchen.

-We're hoping to extend out.

That will give us, hopefully, four bedrooms. For the minute, it's got three small bedrooms.

We're going to get rid of the toilet,

make one of the small bedrooms into a really nice family bathroom.

'They'd set a budget of £18,000 to £20,000

'and were hoping to get the work completed in three to four months.

'It's now six months later and we've come back

'to see what Mary and Steve have achieved.

'Inside, the house has been transformed.

'The family moved in about four weeks ago.

'The living room has a lovely cottagey feel.

'The wood-burning stove looks an absolute treat.

'Those red units in the kitchen made you stop in your tracks.

'Now they're green for go.

'The downstairs bathroom has been converted into a utility and loo.

'Upstairs, the front bedroom is now this wonderful family bathroom.

'It gained extra space from the former loo,

'as did Mary and Steve's bedroom,

'which has this attractive exposed fireplace.'

This wasn't a doorway, originally.

The original doorway was here and there was no door on here.

There was a toilet in this corner. We've knocked this wall right out.

We made it into a nice big bedroom. I think it works really well.

We've got two decent bedrooms now that we can use.

We're really pleased with the space.

'On the other side of the chimney breast,

'the second bedroom is baby Solomon's.

'Apart from the plumbing, electrics and plastering,

'Mary and Steve have tackled a lot of work themselves.'

We both worked really hard on the house.

We've done everything we can. We've learnt to tile.

We've done the skirting, cut that to the right size.

Steve did a lot of work on the fireplace downstairs.

That took quite a few days

and also a lot of trailer trips of rubble to the tip!

A builder friend said if we kept opening it up,

we'd get to this brick archway, which we're really pleased with.

The floor, we completely sanded that down.

Found a bit of woodworm, so that needed some treatment.

I'm really pleased. It's a great place for Solomon to play.

Yeah, we're really pleased with it.

'It's lovely, but not the only source of heat.

'Central heating and new radiators have been installed,

'heated by this eco boiler installed outside.

'No work has been done to the outbuilding.

'They've just pushed the boat out INSIDE the house.

'But it hasn't all been plain sailing.'

Our main concern has been

when we removed the plaster from the chimney.

On both sides, there's the area of damp.

We've had various people look at it.

We've done a few things, but haven't had a single solution.

However, we do know from the smoke test that the chimney

on this side of the house comes from an old range in the kitchen.

So we're just going to have to give it time

to try and get the bricks to dry out.

'Work inside is almost complete.

'There are a couple of doors to hang and an airing cupboard to build.

'So, how much have they spent so far?

'Are they keeping within their £18,000 to £20,000 budget?'

I think we're probably coming in 19 and a half, 20,000.

Having done a lot of the work ourselves,

some good friends have helped us out with various skills and trades.

I'm fairly happy with what we've got for the money we've spent.

'That'll take their total investment to 185,000.

'What will two local property experts think of the refurbishment?

'First, the auctioneer who sold it.'

They've done a wonderful job to the finish of the property.

From top to bottom. The kitchen is to a reasonable standard.

The living room is to an extremely high standard.

Upstairs, I was pleased they've done away with the WC

and created two good sized bedrooms.

What stands out is the living room, opening up the fireplace

and exposing the brickwork.

It's made it a real feature of the property.

The extension plans sound fantastic.

If I was going to be living here it's really worth doing.

'What effect could an extension have on the rental income,

'if the house increased its bedrooms to four?'

On the rental market, you should achieve in the region of £675 per calendar month.

If the property was the four-bedroom variety,

you could expect in the region of £850 per calendar month.

Current rental, I would predict a rental income of £750 per calendar month.

As a four-bed, it's going to be around £900 per calendar month.

'Remaining as a two-bedroom property,

'those valuations would produce a yield of about 4.5%.

'But with four bedrooms, the yield rises to over 5.5%.'

It's not something we were looking to do.

We're not interested in renting it, but it's nice to know that that's an option and a very good price.

'How much is the house now worth in its current configuration?

'More than the £185,000 they've invested in here?'

In current market conditions, we'd value the property between £225,000 to £235,000.

Once completed, I would expect the property to fetch in the region of £220,000 to £230,000.

'So, a potential gross profit of £35,000 to £50,000

'before taxes and expenses.'

-That's fantastic.

-Yeah. Not unhappy with that at all.

That's really good news.

'And if they were to spend around £35,000 on an extension,

'taking them to four bedrooms, the experts reckon they could generate

'a gross profit of around £30,000 to £50,000.'

I suppose, again, if we were going to extend it,

it would be for us to enjoy it, wouldn't it?

-Yeah.

-But it's good to know that it would be adding value.

'But I suspect Steve and Mary are just delighted

'that their property homework has paid off

'and they've learnt one of the main lessons of buying a property that you want to make your home.'

Overall, we've really enjoyed the project.

It's been hard work at times, but it's an amazing experience to have.

It is hard work, but as long as you're prepared to make a few sacrifices, it's really worthwhile.

'I'm in the rural community of Ludworth, in County Durham,

'a village tucked amongst rolling hills and lush countryside

'in the north of England.

'The town has history, as the remains of Ludworth Tower,

'a mediaeval manor house show.

'Lovely though it is, I'd rather see a property that's not from the dark ages.'

Well, they say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

If the auction catalogue is anything to go by,

today's property is a real shocker!

Doesn't look too bad from the outside, but there are tell-tale signs.

See the black coming up from the window there? This property has been extensively fire-damaged.

Still, it had a guide price of just 25,000 quid.

So how...bad can it be?

'Aside from the devastating human and emotional toll of fires,

'the fire-damage can mean structural, electrical and plumbing issues.

'So this large rear garden and off-street parking out front

'might not be enough to make this a must-have for a portfolio.'

I've been in fire-damaged properties before...

..but I've never seen anything like this.

You know those instructional videos that fire crews give out,

that they show to children in schools as to what can happen?

It's just like one of those.

It's really, really eerie.

The singed, melted television.

The only thing that's moving is the pendulum of a clock on the wall.

Books, ornaments...

I'm speechless, really.

'Thankfully, no-one was seriously injured in this fire.

'While house fires are statistically fewer than they used to be,

'each one has a terrible personal cost.

'Causes can range from chip pans, electrical faults, candles,

'Christmas lights - you name it.

'Whatever the cause, the effects are plain to see.

'Total devastation.

'The destruction continues throughout.

'Upstairs, the three bedrooms are lurking somewhere

'behind each of these doors.

'The bathroom is just as bad as the rest of the house.'

Let's think about what this place COULD be for a second.

We know it's got three bedrooms and an upstairs bathroom, so that's a good start.

If you could get this for around the guide price of £25,000

and allowed yourself a fairly generous budget.

What do you reckon? 20,000? 25,000? Let's say 25,000 to sort it out.

New windows, new boiler, new electrics, sort out the flooring, repaint, replaster.

25 grand. Bit of roof work. That'll probably do it.

£50,000 is your total investment.

Similar properties round here are selling for 60,000 to 70,000.

So, even in this state, there could be money in it.

'It's time to meet a local estate agent

'to find out what she thinks of this place that was guided at £25,000.'

This property is in the worst condition I've ever seen a property

in the whole time I've been an estate agent.

The property itself would have a good size lounge,

a decent size kitchen-dining room, three good size bedrooms

and a family bathroom.

One thing that would make this property stand out is its garden.

It has a very large garden and lovely views over open countryside.

Seeing what work needs doing to the property,

you can see why the property would be going for £25,000.

'Looking beyond the blackened building,

'once refurbished and reclaimed, what might this house be worth?'

The resale price for this property would be approximately £75,000.

'What could it achieve if it was rented out?'

Once renovated, this property would achieve approximately £375 per calendar month.

Huh! Well, a cautionary tale indeed, this one.

But switching to the thing of is it worth buying as a property investment?

You'd need to have it checked out by a specialist,

to make sure there wasn't any major structural damage as a result of the fire.

But it's in a good area. Once it's done up, it would be a great place to live.

So if you can see through the mess, it's worth going for.

Not one for the faint-hearted. Let's see what happened at the auction.

We move straight on to our next available lot.

Guide price is £25,000.

I'll either start here on the phone

or in the room, ladies and gentlemen.

18,000? I'll start at 15 if it helps.

15.

At £15,000. You're going to let him have it? £16,000...

'Although this was the last lot of the day,

'bidding was fierce between a telephone bid

'and the mystery man at the back of the room behind a pillar.

'We pick up the auction again at £20,000.'

20, sir? £20,000.

I'll go 500, Adam. 20,500.

21, sir?

Yours at the moment. Right at the back of the room. 21. 500.

22.

£23,000. 500.

24. And a half.

25, sir? Taken 25.

£25,000.

In the room. Yours at £25,000. Anybody else coming in?

£25,000. Standing at the back of the room.

Out on the phone? At £25,000, it's your bid, sir.

Congratulations!

'The successful bid of £25,000, bang on the guide price,

'was paid by banker turned property developer, Campbell.'

# Open your account with me

# Cos I'll give you security, my love

# Take that to the bank... #

'Bored with doing up flats, Campbell had travelled from home in Glasgow

'in search of a different kind of property.

'This is his first auction purchase.'

-Campbell, good to meet you.

-Pleased to meet you.

I'm not sure whether to say congratulations or not.

-You're obviously a man who likes a challenge!

-Yes, I think this'll be an interesting project.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy the house.

-The first attractive thing about it was the price.

And I think, having researched it a bit,

there's a profit to be made and obviously, that's why I'm taking it on.

The auction catalogue said that, because of the state,

you couldn't do internal viewings, so you didn't get to see it inside.

No. I could see in slightly through the front window,

but even that, there was smoke on the window.

So that was a bit of a mystery.

-When was the first time you saw it inside?

-Earlier today.

Oh, wow! So, what do you think?

Um... There's good points and there's bad points.

There's possibly less fire-damage than I thought

and less water-damage than I thought.

My concern is because there's a hole in the roof,

because of that, the water would be channelled down inside.

But I think there's actually so many clothes and things in that room,

it'll have soaked up a lot of the water.

Hopefully, the structure is better.

How ironic! The actual fact that there's so much stuff in there

could have helped preserve the fabric of the building?

I'm hoping that's the case, but I won't know until I start removing the contents.

That was the good bit, then. What was the bad bit?

Just the huge amount of stuff that's there.

I was hoping one skip would do it. That's obviously optimistic.

So I'll need to put that back in my budget.

# ..Take that to the bank! #

'This is a two-skip house if ever I saw one.

'The worry for Campbell is that, although the contents absorbed a lot of the water,

'they could also be covering up a multitude of structural sins.'

Talk me through what you're going to do, where you're going to start.

The first thing is going to be clearing the house.

I've got a friend coming down with me in a couple of weeks for a couple of days. We'll get skips organised.

After that, my main priority

is to get the bathroom working and to get a shower working.

Once I've got those in, then I've got my caravan for the evening

and to keep my stuff clean and tidy.

And I've got the shower for the end of the day to get washed up.

That's before the roof!

You can leave the roof as it is and you've got a natural shower!

When we're down for those couple of days, I'll carry out some basic roof repairs.

This is your first project like this?

It's my first stand-alone development

but I've done a lot of development

on the flats I've owned in Glasgow over the years.

Invariably, I've gutted them.

This might be frightening, but it's a different type of project.

I'm quite excited at the prospect.

What damage could have been done to the structure and how have you checked that out?

Effectively, I can't check it out until I start ripping up floorboards and taking down ceilings.

The joists could have been fire-damaged

or subsequently water-damaged cos the roof's been damaged for a year.

I won't know that until I get in,

but I think there's enough leeway in my figures

that if there is some structural work, then it can be covered.

Let's talk through your budget then. What's the budget for the work?

17,000 is the figure I've got in mind.

-Right.

-It's mainly materials. I will be doing most of the work myself.

What's the plan? What are you going to do with it once it's done?

Once it's finished, which I'm hoping will be spring next year...

So about, what? Six, nine months?

Yeah. I'm not putting myself under any time pressure.

In fact, I'm not doing anything for the next couple of months

cos I've got work to do in my own flat.

But spring next year, have it finished.

Either to sell or I would consider renting it out.

What do you think your biggest challenge is?

I think the whole project, generally, is a challenge.

It's just a case of breaking it down into stages, taking on the stages,

getting them finished and being convinced that I'm making progress.

-For the majority, is it just going to be you?

-Yes.

'This is a huge project to take on by yourself.

'Plus, Campbell has a 150-mile commute

'between Glasgow and Ludworth.

'He'll be leaving behind his wife and their 15-month-old daughter.

'But living in a caravan should make sure he knuckles down to the hard graft here.'

What do the family think about what you've bought or haven't they, presumably, seen it yet?

My wife hasn't seen it yet. She's seen a couple of photos.

I'm not sure when she's coming down to visit!

-Get it cleaned up a bit first!

-BOTH LAUGH

But she's very supportive.

She knows it's a project that I'm interested in taking on,

-so she's very supportive.

-Fantastic.

Well, congratulations and the very best of luck.

-Really look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thanks very much.

Be honest. Would YOU want to take on a project like this?

There may well be money in it, but there are so many unknowns.

It's not until you start clearing this place out, you'll know if there's been structural damage,

quite how much work and, therefore, money, there is to spend.

Campbell's got some challenges ahead.

Find out how he gets on later in the show.

Have our fearless developers emerged victorious?

Or have they floundered in the shallow end?

Let's go back and find out.

'We're back in Edmonton, in the north London borough of Enfield,

'to see how first-time property developer Sharuz got on with this three-bedroom semi.

'The place was tired and dated,

'but was ideally located for the rental market,

'since it was almost within sight of a huge local hospital.'

# Doctor, my eyes!

# Tell me what is wrong... #

'The house itself looked like a suburban semi,

'but inside it felt more like a mini gothic mansion

'with panelled staircase and carved wood.

'Previous owners had knocked through the sitting room to the kitchen.

'The open-plan layout floods the downstairs with light, which is good.

'I didn't love upstairs quite so much.

'It would be fair to describe it as "patchy".

'At least the work had been started.

'Outside, there was a ramshackle shed and a spacious garage,

'which Sharuz had his eye on for himself.'

Why did this house appeal to you in the first place?

Because of garage, you know. I love the garage.

I was looking for the house with the garage.

This one was a big one and I could park my van, my car.

'Sharuz bought the property to rent out,

'so he was hoping to add off-street parking at the front

'to satisfy the needs of his future tenants.

'He'd got carried away at auction and paid more than he intended.

'He bought it for 236,000

'and planned to spend 30,000 on the renovations.

'He also wanted to have tenants in within about three months.

'We've come back just over four months later,

'to see if Sharuz's wildest dreams have come true

'and he's managed to keep his garage AND find tenants.

'In those mere four months, Sharuz has transformed this house

'from dilapidated to delightful.'

We've done a lot of work. I was not expecting that much work.

Also, the one thing is changing your mind as well.

Sometimes, when you do something, "This is not right."

You do it again because you want to finish it nice.

# A change of heart can take you unaware... #

'Changing your plans can be costly and time-consuming,

'but it looks like these were all changes for the better.'

# ..A change of heart. #

Oh, yes. In the kitchen we done so much plan.

More than 20 people they came to design it.

Eventually, we just tried to go for the cheapest possible.

It's come nice.

'Upstairs, the two single bedrooms have been finished

'and painted in neutral light colours.

'The master double bedroom is unrecognisable

'from the dusty shell we first saw.

'The old bathroom had an over-sized and overly fancy bath.

'But this, too, has been ripped out and replaced.

'Out back, the collapsing old shed

'has been replaced by a brand new extension,

'which has become a cosy extra living space.

'When Sharuz bought this place,

'he was much more interested in the garage than the house itself.'

The garage fooled me to buy the property, otherwise I wouldn't buy it.

But I haven't done nothing for the garage

because I got the front driveway which is more handy.

Just going to use it as a storage.

'Sharuz has also had a change of heart about another aspect,

'although maybe it's more accurate to say his wife Maria changed it for him.'

My wife says she wants to move in here and after we changed our mind.

We done the job to live here, not for the rent.

'Since Sharuz and Maria were refurbishing a home,

'not an investment property,

'they didn't scrimp on the quality of the fixtures and fittings.'

The budget was about 30,000, but after that we decided we're going to live in here

and actually completely changed our plan.

We tried to spend as much on good quality stuff in the house.

'Sharuz already thought he paid too much for the house,

'£236,000.

'Along with the fee of £6,000 he had to pay the vendor,

'plus the £46,000 he spent on renovations.

'That brings his investment to £288,000.

'So, do two local estate agents reckon it was money well spent?'

I like the finish of the property.

No bold colours. I like the dark flooring, the contrast.

Bathrooms and kitchens always sell well.

I think it's finished to a nice standard.

This property would appeal to a large family.

You've got parking at the front of the house, large garage at the back,

two receptions and a spacious kitchen.

'The decoration and refurbishment certainly meet with their approval,

'but will that translate into value added onto the house?

'It's time to find out what the experts think it's now worth.'

If I put the property on the market for sale,

I'd expect it to achieve in the region of £290,000 to £300,000.

Looking to achieve in the region of between £290,000 and £300,000.

'Based on those figures, that would mean a profit of between £2,000 and £12,000,

'minus expenses and legal fees - so not a loss, after all.'

Not bad. I'm pleased, you know.

We are pleased we have the house, anyway.

'Initially, Sharuz had planned to let this house out.

'According to the estate agents,

'this high-standard finish would get him a rent

'of between £1,400 and £1,500 per calendar month.'

We're happy. Gonna keep it.

'We're back in the countryside near Durham, in Ludworth,

'to see how ex-bank worker Campbell got on with his burnt-out house.

'This was the first auction property he'd ever bought

'and, boy, was it a corker?!

'It didn't look too bad from the outside,

'but behind the front door, it was eerie and surreal.

'Everything - and I do mean everything - had melted and burnt

'or been smoke-damaged.'

Because of the state, you couldn't do internal viewings,

-so you didn't get to see it inside.

-No.

I could see in slightly through the front window,

but even that, there was smoke on the window.

The inside was a bit of a mystery.

'But Campbell didn't seem fazed when he saw the amount of clearing-up

'he had to do before he'd even be able to find out what structural shape the property was in.

'But it didn't look good.

'Upstairs, it was hard even to pick out the three bedrooms.

'While downstairs, the kitchen and sitting room did bear a faint resemblance to their past use.

'There was clearly a massive amount of renovation to do here.'

What do you think your biggest challenge is going to be?

I think the whole project, generally, is a challenge.

It's just a case of breaking it down into stages

and being convinced that I'm making progress.

'Campbell bought the three-bedroom semi for £25,000.

'He planned to do most of the work himself, armed with a £17,000 budget for materials.

'He was pretty laid-back about the time scale,

'but thought it would take six to nine months to get the place ready.

'We've come back just over three YEARS later,

'to see if Campbell has helped this property come back to life.'

# Back to life Back to the present time

# Back from a fantasy, yes

# Tell me now Take the initiative

# I'll leave it in your hands until you're ready

# However do you want me However do you need me... #

'Well, as you can see, it's not yet finished, but it's well on the way.'

It's been over three years I've had it now.

So obviously, it should be finished.

When I first bought it, I was doing another project.

It took me almost a year to get that finished.

So when I first bought the property, I wasn't here for a year,

after getting it wind and water-tight.

Then, unfortunately, my mother took ill after that.

I'm her main carer, so I'm spending a lot of time at my mother's,

looking after her, which has left me very little time to get down here

and get the project progressed.

'Being a full-time carer as well as doing up such a demanding house,

'meant that it quite understandably took second place to his mother's needs.

'But this old property had some not-so-pleasant surprises in store.'

A major problem that was nothing to do with the fire was damp.

I had re-laid the timbers in this living room,

re-laid all the joists, replaced a lot of them.

As I was laying the floorboards during very heavy rain,

I noticed water coming up through the sub-floor area.

It's obviously been like that for a number of years.

I then had to seal the sub-floor area to prevent that.

That was a major task that was absolutely nothing to do with the fire-damage to the property.

'Upstairs, we can actually see the bedrooms for the first time.

'There's a double bedroom.

'Oh, look! Another double bedroom!

'But I'm afraid that third bedroom will have to remain a mystery

'as it's still being used as a store room.

'Upstairs is virtually unrecognisable,

'particularly the bathroom.'

I've been doing most of the work myself.

I don't think my wife fully appreciates

the amount of work I'm having to do.

And the fact I'm living on site,

it's not a particularly pleasant experience.

She sees me disappear for a few days and she thinks I'm away on my holidays or something!

'I'm pretty sure Campbell's wife will realise he's not been skiving

'when she sees the transformation in this house.

'But all the travelling from Glasgow plus demands from family and home

'have made it very tough.'

It is, actually, quite difficult.

I now realise, it's almost a three-hour journey to get down here,

so any visit, that's six hours out my working day just travelling.

I've got a four-year-old daughter, so I'm not seeing as much of her as I would like to.

It's proving harder than I thought it would, initially.

'Still, at least Campbell was able to avoid the caravan life

'by getting the house water-tight, and camping inside while the work progressed.

'So, as the end of the project looms into view, how's the budget holding up?'

So far, I think I've spent about £12,000.

It'll be another £2,500, maybe £3,000 for me to finish it.

Because I've owned the property so long,

we're now into council tax payments and such like.

'Campbell bought it for £25,000

'and expects to spend a total of £15,000 to complete the refurbishment,

'bringing his total investment to £40,000.

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

'of this reclaimed house.'

Given the condition of the property when the owner bought it,

he's certainly making good strides towards making the property good.

Unfortunately, it is some way off.

The work he has done so far looks to be of a good standard.

The property should be really nice.

Once finished internally, I'd advise the owner

to spend time doing some work outside the property -

the garden and the off-street parking.

These will both help the property when it comes to selling.

'What do they think it might sell for when Campbell finishes the work?'

When the refurbishment work is completed,

I would anticipate an asking price in the region of £65,000.

Once the property's completed, I'd advise a sale price of £65,000.

'That would mean a profit of 25,000 before costs and expenses.'

I'm very happy with that.

The fact that I bought it at such a low figure,

there was always going to be a profit there.

'And what could this place attract on the rental market?'

I anticipate a monthly rental income of around £350 per calendar month.

I'd advise a rental price for the property of £400 a calendar month.

Yes, they're quite healthy figures.

Once I've finished the house, which hopefully won't take too much longer,

I can make a decision as to whether I want to rent out or try and sell.

'I'm guessing Campbell's not rushing back to an auction to buy his next property. Or is he?'

I'm looking forward to some quality time with my family.

Perhaps we'll get away on a holiday and spend some good time together.

Not enough for you? Well, there's plenty more.

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

-See you then.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

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