Episode 25 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello. Property markets go up and down, but we all need a roof over our heads.

Not only that. If you buy wisely you can watch your money grow.

So if it's a home or an investment, one place you could look is at the auctions.

Before you buy at auction, it's really important you've got the time to dedicate to the project.

You might be surprised at how much renovating a property takes over your life.

So here are the properties that inspired the buyers today.

It's time to raise a glass to this Wiltshire pub I first saw four years ago.

It's going to be a lot of work.

An apartment in Kent takes my breath away...as it's up four flights of stairs!

Time now for a bit of a breather! I got her.

And in Newcastle, occasionally I know I babble on a bit,

but sometimes one word will suffice.

Wow!

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.

Welcome to the medieval city of Salisbury in Wiltshire.

Visible from miles around is Salisbury Cathedral with the country's tallest spire.

Today we're catching up with the renovation of a listed property I first saw in 2009.

The property I'm here to see is just two minutes from the city centre.

Admittedly, over the bypass,

but it sounds really interesting.

Built over 500 years ago, it was a former pub.

Looks pretty impressive. OK, it needs tarting up for sure,

but look at that roof. Fantastic.

It had a guide price of 150,000 quid. Is it last orders or will it get an extended licence?

# We're going down the pub... #

The bad news is that this pub's days of pulling pints are long gone.

The good news is that this lot comes complete with detailed planning permission to convert it

into four separate dwellings.

The property is divided into three sections. Behind the pub is a larger building

that was presumably accommodation in the past. Plus, there's a separate coach house.

So what has the inside got to offer?

So what have we got? A sort of kitchen area there.

Stairs up to one of the higgledy piggledy bits going there, then through to what was the main bar.

It's always a bit strange coming into places like this with no punters, no beer,

but it's certainly got character. The low beams, that fireplace.

I bet that has an inglenook. That's absolutely glorious.

A lot of work to do straight away, but you have got planning permission.

But I can see straight away it's going to be a lot of work.

'This place is huge. The pub has two bar areas, plus the kitchen we saw to start with.

'Upstairs, there are several bedrooms and numerous passageways linking the two buildings.

'It's not going to be easy dividing this place up into separate units,

'but it's looking well worth that guide price of £150,000.'

So how would you go about maximising the investment potential?

A lot of the work has already been done. Plans have been passed for converting the whole place

into separate units. Basically, three flats in this bit

and then the coach house as a separate unit.

'So you could have three flats in the two main buildings and another in the outbuilding.

'The upside is that there's lots of history as this was built in 1500.

'The downside? It's listed and there's no grassy garden, just the parking area.

'So would this make financial sense?

'Say this was snapped up for around the guide price of £150,000

'and had around £300,000 spent on it to convert it into four separate dwellings.

'You'd spend around £450,000, a lot of money,

'but even with that outlay, there could still be a healthy profit.'

Worth doing. Certainly, the drinks would be on you.

Well, not a five-minute job to sort this one out,

but the hard work's been done in getting the planning permission

and get the figures right and there's a lot of money to be made.

So let's see who bought the old pub.

Lot 18. Grade 2-listed public house. Our guide is £150,000.

Straight in at 150?

150, right at the back. 155, on the aisle. 160.

165, by the door.

-There was a lot of interest and we rejoin the bidding at £216,000.

-At 216.

218. 218. 220.

At 220. 222.

224. 224.

226. 228.

228. 230.

232, sir? 232. I'll take one if it helps, sir. 233. On the aisle.

234. 235.

On the aisle. At 235,000.

236, sir? 236. For the first time, then.

At 237.

237. 237.

238. 238.

At 238,000. Standing tall.

239. 239.

240.

240. First time at 240. For the second time at 240.

Third and last time, then. At 240.

Congratulations in red.

The new owners of the former inn are Jim and his wife Pam.

They have six children between them, three of whom have come to see what they've bought.

Pam's background is in business banking and Jim's a carpenter by trade.

They live on a farm and have two other properties they rent out. I was keen to find out their plans.

-Jim, Pam, lovely to meet you both. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Got yourself an old pub.

-We have.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy it.

-I'm a Salisbury boy.

I'm a carpenter. I've worked on a number of old projects in Salisbury.

Normally, clients buy old buildings that I'll do up for them.

And Pam has said to me, "Wake up, Jimbo. We could do this ourselves."

Why were you so keen to push Jim into doing this for yourselves?

Probably because we've spent a long time doing this for other people.

I said, "We've got a little bit of spare money. Let's try it for ourselves."

We didn't like the scheme that had been presented, the new units, so we met the conservation officer,

had a meeting with the planners prior to the auction.

We've presented a new scheme which doesn't split it into flats.

It keeps it in block buildings.

'The couple are putting their knowledge and experience to good use.

'They've decided to change the plans.'

-Talk me through what we've got. Start with the blue one.

-It's the standalone unit.

We'll do the orange, pink and green units - the front three - simultaneously,

with the standalone unit being done last.

Let's talk about the three you're going to start with.

This is the tallest unit. We've got a kitchen, a study and then a dressing room.

-The orange one, a bit more simple. Just two storeys.

-A one-bed unit.

Finally, the pink unit, which is where we are now.

-Bar and everything's going.

-Unfortunately.

-Keeping the fireplace?

-It's staying. It's been here forever.

-It's utilising the space.

-It will just make life much easier to block them.

Instead of having flying freeholds and flats, we have four houses, which makes far more sense.

'Before they could start on it, the revised planning application would have to be approved.

'They anticipated the four conversions would cost around £250,000

'and Jim planned to do a lot of the work himself.

'In 2011, we returned to catch up on the progress of this huge undertaking.

'Outside, there have been some big changes to the former pub and the building directly behind it.

'But the work on the separate coach house at the back has yet to start.

'Inside, the work is completely finished in the former pub,

'where two new houses were built. The first, a two-bedroom home, has a large, open-plan living area

'where the former bar was.

'All the timber's been restored, as well as the fireplace.

'On the other side of the chimney breast, a lovely kitchen's been built.

'And they made a great discovery when they started to remove the old fireplace.'

When we bought the pub, there was a planted-on fireplace at the front.

We thought we'd remove that. We didn't expect anything behind it.

We took out three fireplaces before we got to this inglenook,

which unfortunately was not in a good state this side, so we've had to reconstruct that,

but I think it looks really lovely now. We're really pleased with it.

'Upstairs there are two bedrooms, both lovingly restored

'and full of original character and charm.

'The bathroom remains in the same location, but is completely refitted.

'The real bonus is up in the attic where two more rooms have been created.

'Getting access to the attic required a new staircase, as Jim explains.'

We've had headroom issues, as you can see.

You've just got to mind your head. However, it's much safer than what we did have.

I tried to light the staircase with an old-fashioned skylight,

so there's plenty of natural light.

This was one of the hardest bits, getting the staircase to work.

'The second property they've completed is a smaller one-bedroom cottage,

'built on the right-hand side of the former pub. The living area and kitchen are really delightful.

'Up on the first floor, there may be only one bedroom, but it's also beautifully finished

'and they've managed to fit in a separate bathroom.

'The property's over 500 years old and has listed status,

'so any work had to meet stringent conservation regulations.'

Almost enjoyed every day here. I enjoy a challenge and this building has been a real challenge!

'The roof needed serious attention to stop the leaks and the bricks in the chimney were removed,

'repaired and rebuilt.

'But how much have they had to spend getting these two houses completed?'

We've spent about £140,000 so far, but for that we've done two-and-a-half of the buildings.

You know, the roofs have been done on both buildings.

The building behind has already been plastered and first fixed, mainly.

'They anticipate it'll take another year to finish the two-bed house behind the former pub

'and the two-bedroom coach house. For now the plan is to rent the two furnished properties out

'with Jim's two daughters, Rosie and Catherine, moving in to the two-bedroom house.

'Join us later in the show to find out how Jim and Pam got on with the rest of the renovation.'

# There'll be blue birds over

# The white cliffs of Dover... #

I am in Dover, but there's no sightseeing trip to the White Cliffs for me.

Today it's all about business.

Property prices in Dover aren't exactly skyrocketing at the moment,

but rental is still very strong. So what does that equal?

The chance to pick up a property for your portfolio, which is what I have in mind with this lot.

Two bedrooms, top floor, £50,000-£55,000.

So far, so good.

And talking of far, I'm heading four floors up.

# Going up the winding stair

# I hope that I'll see you there... #

So before we've even got in, there's something to bear in mind.

There's no lift! The flat is on the top floor.

If you are a mum with a buggy, this one is not going to be first on your list.

Excuse me. Another floor to climb.

# Climbing to the top I'll tell you anything you want... #

'The good news is that the communal areas are clean and well-maintained,

'although you may be short of volunteers come moving day!'

Time now for a bit of a breather. Phew! I got here.

OK.

It's not quite to my taste. I'd say this flat is very dated,

but you do have fantastic space. A lovely square kitchen with a little area for a utility room.

Lots of different styles of wood going on in there. Very clashy.

Lovely lounge space again. Two windows with great views.

Everything in this property has amazing attention to detail.

Look at this - you've got wood effect stickers around the doors on the frames. Look at that.

(It doesn't look like real wood, though.)

You've got a loo, a bathroom, again loads going on in there.

I'd like to rip the tiles off. Really good-sized double bedroom.

And here is the second double bedroom. Really nice to think you've got two rooms for big beds.

This room is fantastic. You have views over Dover.

So I don't need to tell you. It's dated, it needs doing again,

but you've got a wonderful space, a great guide price and it could be a fantastic yield.

# It all starts adding up, baby After a while... #

This really is adding up to be a potentially great buy.

You may not be a fan of purpose-built flats, but these look clean and tidy

with fabulous views, even including, on clearer days, Dover Castle.

We asked a local estate agent for his opinion on the flat with a guide price of £50,000-£55,000.

The main selling point is its proximity to the town.

That will help sell or let it.

It needs a complete overhaul and refresh, changing kitchen, bathroom and redecorating.

It has got replacement windows and central heating.

It's really redecoration and replacing the fittings.

How well set is it for a sale?

The current value here is probably in the order of £60,000-£65,000.

Once improved, that will be enhanced to £75,000, maybe towards £80,000.

-And rental valuation?

-I think the rent of this property at the moment is £450 per calendar month.

A good little home with lovely views and a yield that's better than the bank.

Let's see who went for it at the auction.

Lot 5. Got a guide of £50,000-£55,000.

£50,000 I have. 52? 52 I am bid.

54 is bid. And 56?

£55,500 I am bid. 58 do I see?

58 I have. 59 I'm bid. And 60? And 60.

And 61. And 2. And 3?

63.

64. And 65?

64 and a half.

And 65? And 65. And a half?

At £65,000, the bid is still sitting.

At 65,000 for the first time.

£65,000, second time.

Gentleman's bid, sitting. 65,000, third and final time. At 65,000. Are you all done?

-Sold at 65,000.

-That successful £65,000 bid,

£10,000 over the top end of the guide price, was made by Axel.

He's from Germany, but moved here with work five years ago.

That's where he met his partner Janet, who's also investing in this.

I went to meet them to hear their story.

Janet and Axel, congratulations. What was it like at the auction for you?

-Very nerve-racking.

-Yeah.

-What budget had you set?

Maximum 65,000.

-So you paid your top whack, then!

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Have you bought this to add to your rental portfolio?

Not really. Plan A is to do it up and then sell it on.

-So you want to flip it.

-Yes.

-I'm quite surprised. You paid £65,000.

Is there that much in it to flip it? These are good rental machines.

-Would that be Plan B for you?

-Yeah, definitely.

What is it about property developing? Why go down this road?

-I don't know.

-It's more like a hobby.

-Something to do.

Something to do in your free time and to test it for our house, which needs refurbishing as well.

-So it's a bit of an experiment.

-Yeah.

-Do you get a lot of free time?

No!

-Do you both work together?

-Yep.

-What do you do?

I work as a project manager in Dover for a logistics company.

And I work as a credit controller.

-Do you work five days a week?

-Yes.

-Every day for a full day. When will you do this?!

-Weekends.

-Every weekend, you'll put your heart and soul into this flat?

-Yeah.

'And that heart and soul had better be on full throttle

'as Axel and Janet want the work completed in three months and for a budget of £6,000.'

So what do you think you're going to do to turn it around and make it saleable?

-First of all, getting rid of all the Artex in all the rooms.

-Yippee!

-Every room is nearly artexed.

-Let's move on to the kitchen.

-You are going to replace the kitchen?

-Yes.

-It'll be replaced.

-Brand new kitchen?

-Yeah.

-It's all coming down between the little room with the boiler

-and the kitchen, to open it up.

-You're not keeping it?

I quite like that space. It's good to hide away some utility bits.

The flat downstairs did it and it looks beautiful. You can use it as a small dining area as well.

-It opens the space right up.

-Bathroom, Axel?

The bathroom will be all tiled, new bathroom.

The new bath comes tomorrow.

New toilet, tiled from floor to ceiling.

And the floors will be tiled as well.

-Wow. So you're going for it. You are doing everything.

-Yeah.

Please tell me it's you two who will do a lot of the work.

-We're doing all the donkey work.

-You are?

-Yeah.

-As in...?

Stripping the wallpaper, ripping the kitchen out, bathroom out.

Who's going to put the kitchen in?

We'll get a kitchen fitter, once we build the kitchen units.

We have a plumber ready to put the bathroom in, an electrician to do all the electrics.

It'll all be flat, not surface.

Have you thought about having four flights of stairs?!

I even got out of breath coming through the front door!

-We've had practice with emptying it.

-Yeah.

How do you think it will be with other buyers? Will it put some off?

-Probably.

-It probably will, because of being so high.

-If we make it really nice it should be OK, I think.

-On the other hand, you have the views,

-to the castle and the sea.

-That's what to tell the buyers!

Because of that you get the amazing views.

Good luck. I can't wait to see it. I hope you stick to the budget. It'll be brilliant.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

Axel and Janet have a good little flat here,

but really I think it's a good little renter, not one to flip in the near future.

Still, I can't wait to see it finished. Find out how it goes later on.

Coming up: in Newcastle, I hope the period features in this place remain after it is renovated.

I guess it'll come down to personal preference.

Are Axel and Janet jumping for joy about their renovation in Dover?

We are quite pleased the project is finished. Hooray, hooray!

But first we catch up with Jim and Pam in Wiltshire.

It's been a challenge. Hard work, but it's been good.

We return now to Salisbury in Wiltshire where, back in 2009,

Jim and his wife Pam bought this 500-year-old inn

and two further buildings for £240,000.

Between them, they have six children. Jim's a carpenter who restores old buildings,

but this time it was going to be a little different.

Normally, clients buy old buildings that I do up for them.

And Pam has said to me, "Come on, wake up, Jimbo. We could do this."

The building had planning permission for conversion into flats,

but the couple obtained revised plans to convert to four houses.

When we first returned in 2011, the pub had been divided

into two lovely homes that were let to Jim's daughters,

but work on Tollgate House was only just beginning and the coach house was still a wreck.

It's now one year and 10 months later

and the restoration of both properties is finally complete.

And what a wonderful finish Jim has achieved in both houses

even though they have very different characters.

The coach house with the blue exterior paintwork is absolutely beautiful.

Jim has taken old materials and merged them seamlessly with the new.

The timbers have been lovingly restored from a building riddled with woodworm and collapsing floors.

Remember, this coach house has never been a home before.

OK, well, we're in the coach house. and what we've done here is...

The room that I'm in is obviously the kitchen. The wall was here.

We've taken the wall out to make the kitchen a little bigger.

We've introduced a new wall that we've put in here, trying to follow the theme

to avoid spoiling its character. This new floor warms up the building.

It's a suspended timber floor with all the insulation.

'The open-plan kitchen incorporates the bright and airy living area,

'not something you usually associate with an old beamed property.

'Then beyond that is a second, smaller space with a utility room and a staircase leading to

'this study area and en suite.

'And more restored timbers. The conservation officer insisted on another staircase

'to access the other end of the first floor where there are two bedrooms and a bathroom.'

We've had to put two staircases in.

The beamed wall you see behind me. We weren't allowed to cut a hole through that

to get access to that bedroom.

And we've had to put in new walls to create bedrooms.

This was a completely open area. I spent a lot of time sourcing the timber for here.

'Jim's love for this property is clear to see.'

Yeah. He has a real passion for listed and historic buildings and he loves the job he does.

He's say he's enjoyed every minute. Well, almost, I would say!

'Next to the blue coach house is the red-painted Tollgate House,

'which you enter through the kitchen. But you go up a flight of stairs into the sitting room.'

Something that's a bit complicated is it's split-level.

It's up and down. You go up a small flight of stairs and go into a study

where there's a little shower room.

Going down from the sitting room, down through a little landing area, we go down into a new area.

We call that the games room and it has another little downstairs loo.

'Heading up the stairs you reach the first floor where there are two bedrooms.

'There's also a dressing room and, right at the end of the corridor, the main family bathroom.

'Currently, Jim's daughters Rosie and Catherine are renting the old tollgate and stable cottage

'and have added their own personal touches.

'Back in 2009, Pam and Jim paid £240,000 for the three buildings.

'Now all the properties have been finished, how much have they spent?'

When we'd done the first two, I think we'd spent 140,

which was two and half of this one. We'd first fixed this.

We've spent another 100 on top of that, so 240, and I think our budget was 250,

so we have managed to keep the lid on it, which is no mean feat!

'Added to their initial purchase price, that takes their total investment here to £480,000

'and there's a lasting record of all their hard graft.'

The conservation officer wanted some reference to the pub.

We already had the existing sign, so we had a long chat about it

and decided that it would be nice to re-create the sign

and put that up as an acknowledgement that it was a pub.

So, they commissioned a local artist, Robin Budden, who has included everyone.

All our dogs are in the scene.

My pigeons are here, my chickens are here.

This is me. I'm taking the money.

And the guys that you can see on the coach are all guys who helped me re-create these buildings.

What will two local estate agents think of the two finished properties

that are now as pretty as a picture?

I think they've done a fabulous job, particularly with the coach house.

The house is very interesting.

It's split-level which is always popular with buyers

with the games room downstairs, but also with some period features still, including the sash windows.

I particularly like how they've exposed the period features

and also how cleverly they've put the bathrooms in.

Jim and Pam plan to let both properties, so how much do the experts think they could achieve?

For the coach house, I would expect a rental of about £1,000 per month

and for the townhouse, £1,100.

I would put the coach house on the market for £1,100 per calendar month

and I would put the townhouse on the market for £900 per month.

That's strange that they should be...

But if you take the middle ground on both, then we're happy with that.

-Yeah, that's probably somewhere where we'd want it to be.

-Yeah.

What about re-sale valuations for the two houses?

For the coach house, I'd expect that to achieve around £275,000.

For the townhouse, approximately £240,000.

I would put the coach house on the market for £300,000

and I would put the townhouse on the market for £250,000.

-Roughly where we thought they'd be. Coach house, probably a bit more than we thought.

-Yeah.

The whole project cost a total of £480,000.

The combined sale value of the four dwellings comes to around £950,000,

giving Pam and Jim a potential profit

of around £470,000,

minus the usual taxes and costs.

Yeah, we are pleased. It's been a challenge,

but it's been interesting and I think we've learnt a lot of lessons together.

Jim's eldest son Andrew is keen to learn restoration skills,

so he's going to be his next apprentice.

Would they consider another restoration as challenging as this?

Inevitably, I'm going to start following auctions and look for another opportunity.

Whether it would be on this scale or not, it depends what comes along and what we think is viable, really.

So wait and see, I think.

Up to the north-east of England now

to Newcastle upon Tyne.

From its architecture to its nightlife, it's easy to fall in love with this city.

I'm heading ten minutes out from the centre in search of a profitable property prospect.

I'm in the suburb of Kenton, a really lovely residential area,

so I'm already very excited to see the property that was up for auction -

a three-bed semi-detached, had a guide price of 95,000 quid and that's it, look at it.

It looks absolutely lovely.

Double glazing, looks to be in reasonable condition, got a garage,

and what's more exciting, similar properties around here go for almost double that guide price.

What's not to love?

Well, I don't love the big tree blocking out all the light

and it's a shame the original stained glass has been in part replaced,

but there is a lovely front door and I definitely feel good vibes from this property.

Oh, wow!

Look at that,

a beautiful, wood-panelled entrance!

That probably means the rest of the house hasn't been messed about with in a bad way since it was built.

I love it. Fantastic, fantastic!

Through the front door into this gorgeous area here,

stairs up to the bedrooms there.

A nice storage cupboard. I'm sorry, this is just brilliant.

The lounge is over there. Slightly disappointed there's no fireplace.

Clearly, you need to put something back,

but onwards and through to the kitchen...

Well, clearly, this is in need of a bit of sorting out.

I love the tiles. I don't know if you can keep these, but this black and white with this pattern in it,

it's so 19... What do you reckon? 1930s or so?

I absolutely love it. Is it going to stay? Probably not.

A slightly more dramatic change that I would contemplate making is taking out this wall

because the kitchen should be the focal point of a house,

so maybe take this wall out, open out between here and the room next door,

but nice views out to the garden

and I'm still sort of biased about this place.

I don't think I can find anything that will put me off.

# And all the love I have is especially for you... #

Not many properties make me weak at the knees,

but this one has such charm

and beautifully preserved original features that I can't help falling in love with it.

And the icing on the cake is that there's room for improvement.

Creating that large kitchen-diner would be perfect for the back of the house

and you would still have a separate lounge area at the front.

You'd need to check if the wall was load-bearing before you could knock it down,

but it's worth looking into because I think this place deserves someone's love and attention.

And a little stroll up the stairs makes me feel very nostalgic.

You half-expect to hear the music from the 1930s playing on an old gramophone downstairs

and drifting up this amazing staircase.

Not that I'm getting too romantic about this place!

But lovely stained-glass windows in there and the wood panelling continues up here.

One thing you might want to play around with is the bathroom, separate loo.

Again these white tiles. It'd be lovely to save those. Whether or not you could, I don't know.

Usually, I am a big fan of keeping the loo separate from the bathroom.

Here, though, there are a lot of bits and pieces

to do with the heating system and the hot water in the bathroom.

If you played around with the central heating, put in a combi boiler,

took all that woodwork and cupboards out, creating a lot of extra space,

it may well in this instance be worth thinking about integrating the loo into the bathroom.

It will come down to the personal preference of whoever bought it.

There are three good-sized bedrooms up here as well

and I adore the quirky windows.

Of course, everything needs to be re-decorated,

but I just hope it's done with a loving eye and in keeping with the character here.

On top of that, out the back is a large garden.

After some weeding and landscaping, just imagine how this could look on a summer's evening. Bliss!

As much as I adore the period features,

I suspect the roof may be original too, which is not such good news.

It could be costly to remedy.

We invited a local estate agent to share his opinion on this place

which had a guide price of £95,000.

I think the good thing about these properties,

in this inconsistent market that we're in,

is the combination of those nice, traditional features,

panelled walls, lovely south-facing garden and the good potential here to create a very nice family home.

My guess is it'll probably need a re-wire, a new central heating system and then re-decoration.

That'll bring it up to a decent standard.

Once renovated, what could it sell on for?

Once renovated, with its current footprint,

I would put a price on this property of between £200,000 and £210,000.

And if they chose to let it?

I would suggest a rental value

of £650 to £700 per calendar month.

Well, it's good to have a healthy suspicion of any property that you're thinking of buying

by normal routes or by the auction.

But in some instances, a real belter just comes out of the woodwork

and that's exactly what this is.

A cracking property, but not in the bad sense of the word.

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

We've got this in with a price guide of £95,000-plus.

Do I have 95 anywhere?

Right at the back at 95.

97?

97 bid.

99... 101?

It's at 99,000. Is there anybody else?

101 right on the back wall. 103?

No?

101 right on the back wall.

I'll take one from either of you. A new bidder in, 103. 105.

107. Gentleman in the cap at 107.

109? 109 bid. 111.

113. 115.

117. 119.

121...

Gentleman in the baseball cap at 123?

123 bid.

125. 127.

129. 131.

133. 135.

137. 139.

Gentleman in the blue cap at 139...?

Are you bidding in the blue baseball cap at 139?

139 bid. 141.

Back wall at 141. 143? 143 bid.

145. 147.

149.

151.

153. 155.

157...? No?

Gentleman in the blue baseball cap... You're both close together. Gentleman in the blue baseball cap at 155.

I'll take one if it helps at 156?

I'm selling to the gentleman in the blue baseball cap at £155,000.

It's your last chance. It's going once at 155...

For the second time at £155,000...

Sold. Congratulations to the gentleman in the blue baseball cap.

'Hiding under the brim of that hat was Graham.

'He bid £60,000 over the guide price to acquire the property for £155,000.

'He bought it with his girlfriend Lauren. She's a teacher while Graham is an electrician.

'He has renovated three properties before this one.

'I met up with the couple to hear what they had planned here.'

-Lauren, Graham, lovely to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy it.

We were looking for an investment property, somewhere we'd rent out,

and if it failed to rent out or sell, we'd be happy moving into.

-Right, OK.

-Then we came here and decided that we wanted this house to live in.

-So the whole plan has changed, has it?

-Yeah, from the night before the auction.

So, tell me what it was that you loved when you walked in.

Just the size and the space. It's got a wow factor when you walk in.

We love the original features and the area's really nice as well, so all round, really.

# And all I wanna do

# Is make you mine, mine, mine... #

'It's great that they loved it so much that they decided to change their plans, but I'm not surprised.

'There really is something about this place.

'What do they intend to do to make it their ideal home?'

The first thing we'll do is knock the wall down between the kitchen and the dining room

and make a large, open-plan kitchen/diner.

I think it'll be quite a social room.

Just get everything stripped off, see what the walls are like. Apart from that, just generally update it,

but try and keep anything that's original.

So, tell me what it was that you loved when you walked in.

I loved the apple tree in the garden. Not a lot really that's spectacular, but I loved that.

And I liked all the original tiles and things, but looking at them now, they'll probably have to go.

-So who's going to do the work?

-Initially, I'll be doing a lot of the donkey work, stripping out.

I'll be re-wiring it. Lauren, I'm sure, can come and help.

Wallpaper-stripping and things like that I can definitely help with.

'They'll also be getting help from friends and family.

'They have a budget of 25 grand to play with and have given themselves eight months to do the work.

'Being an electrician and doing a lot of the labour himself

'will help Graham keep costs down, but will take more time.

'But property developing wasn't his first choice of career.'

-I left school, played football for a couple of years.

-What level?

I was a youth team player for Leicester City, then I signed professional with Swindon Town.

-Oh, great.

-But it didn't work out.

-Right. It wasn't the life for you?

Well, I didn't exactly live an athlete's lifestyle, so...

'However, Graham does have a healthy attitude when it comes to gaining qualifications.

'He is a qualified electrician and currently studying for a degree in Building Services Engineering.

'At present, he is also renovating another property,

'hence the eight months he has set himself to develop this one.'

I've got another house that I have to finish. We're relying on finance from that to do work on this as well.

We're going to have to move to my mother's house and we're renting our current place out,

so she'll not want us there for too long.

Congratulations to both of you.

-I'm really happy for you. Great place.

-Thanks.

-Thanks very much.

Well, no surprises, I guess, that Lauren and Graham had a complete change of heart

when it comes to what they'll use this property for.

They have, just as I did, fallen in love with it, and it's now going to be their home,

complete with their own apple tree.

How will they get on sorting it out? You can find out later in the show.

It's time to return to the properties and find out how they have got on.

-Has it been a developer's dream or a living nightmare?

-Let's find out.

'We're back in Dover now where, earlier, I met Axel and Janet.

'They paid £65,000 at auction to purchase this top floor, two-bedroom flat.

'It had fabulous views, but it took several flights of stairs to reach them.

'This was to be their first renovation project

'and they hoped it would keep them out of mischief for a while.'

Why did you decide to go down the property developing road?

-It's more or less like a hobby and...

-Yeah, something to do.

Something to do in your free time and to test it out for our own house which needs refurbishing as well.

-So, it's a bit of an experiment for you both?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Do you get a lot of free time?

-No.

Just to make it a tad more challenging,

the couple set themselves a terribly tight £6,000 budget and a timescale of three months.

It's now been four months since I met them,

so have they managed to take this dated pad and make it modern?

As per their original plan, the wall in the kitchen has been knocked through to increase the space

and new units put in.

The bathroom and separate loo have been re-tiled with new suites added

and it was adios to the Artex throughout.

Not exactly a fun job, according to Janet.

Horrendous. There was Artex in every room and it was awful to remove

and to re-plaster.

It was so expensive, it took so long and it was so messy, it was awful.

It's over now.

And when she says "expensive", she means £5,000

which also included the tiling in the kitchen, bathroom and loo.

What impact did that have on the budget overall?

Well, we ended up spending 14,500,

which is more than double the original budget.

We said round about 6,000, but it went completely out of the window.

This was new plastering and you can't stop in the middle. You have to finish it.

They finished it in four months, just one month over their original timescale,

but I think that was very impressive, given that they didn't just have this project on the go.

To combine a full-time job and renovate a property is quite tough.

We've been here every weekend, all weekend and there has been no breaks.

# I can't wait for the weekend to begin... #

If you want to get a refurbishment or renovation done and done quickly,

you may need to be willing to wave goodbye to your weekends for a while.

Axel and Janet also had to contend with getting rubble out and building materials in

without the aid of a lift.

To renovate a flat on the top floor of this block, well, the stairs are troublesome,

only because you're just going up and down all the time. We don't need any exercise.

It's money saved on gym membership, I suppose,

but it sounds like they might be putting their feet up now for a while.

We are actually quite pleased that we took it on

and we are also quite pleased that the project is finished. Hooray, hooray!

The property cost them 65,000 at auction and they paid 14,500 for the works,

bringing their total outlay to £79,500.

We invited two local property experts to take a look

around this top floor flat.

They've done it to a really nice, high standard. The finish is lovely.

They've done a really nice job

with the kitchen and bathroom and they have lovely views.

I think it's been renovated to a very good standard.

It's got everything you'd want -

double glazing, central heating, newly decorated and it's been done to a good standard.

Which brings me neatly on to my next subject - financial returns.

What could this property sell for?

I would recommend putting it on the open market at £95,000

and accepting somewhere between £85,000 and £90,000.

If we were to offer this flat for sale, we would market it at £95,000.

-We are quite pleased that it is round about the 90 mark, yeah.

-Yeah.

If sold for 90,000, Janet and Axel could stand to make a pre-tax profit of 10,500

and 15,500 if they manage to get that top valuation of £95,000.

Even though it's definitely their plan B, I thought this would be an ideal flat for rental

and I'm not the only one.

The current market for sales is still pretty quiet,

but the rental market is very buoyant in this area

and this flat being in this location would rent very easily,

so I would recommend to go down the rental route.

With that in mind, how much would these estate agents put this on the rental market for?

If we were to offer this flat for rent,

we could achieve £575 per calendar month.

As the flat's in very good condition and in a very nice location,

I think you should market this at £600 per calendar month.

-That's really good. I wouldn't have thought it would have gone for that much.

-No.

We thought round about the 500, 525 mark, but we're quite pleased with the rental values as well.

If they did opt for letting it and got £600 per calendar month,

they'd be looking at an impressive yield of over 9%,

but Janet and Axel's plan was always to sell to free up funds and time to work on their own property,

although with such a great result here, might they see themselves moving in?

It's a lovely flat. I'm very tempted.

That would be plan C - move in and do our property up.

Back to Newcastle upon Tyne and the suburb of Kenton

where this three-bedroomed semi sold for 155,000.

I loved it and I wasn't the only one.

Graham and girlfriend Lauren were looking for an investment property,

but as soon as they saw this house with its lovely original features, they were smitten.

We came here and decided that we wanted this house to live in.

-So the whole plan has changed, has it?

-Yeah, from the night before the auction.

13 months later, I'm glad to see that tree has been removed,

but how much love have they put into the inside?

# Well, I can't give you anything but love

# Baby

# That's the only thing

# I've plenty of... #

It's a high-end finish from top to bottom and what I love most

is the fact that they've managed to keep all the original features

and blend them into a new and stylish modern decor.

I'm so glad to see they've knocked down that kitchen wall as it's given them so much more room to play with.

We wanted a bit of an open-plan feel,

so that we could have dining tables, as well as kitchen and cooking space. We're really pleased with it.

They've been knocking walls down upstairs too,

joining the bathroom and toilet together, and what a beautiful finish!

If it looks like the standard you'd find in a five-star hotel,

well, there's a reason for that.

On our travels we've been in a lot of nice hotels

and every bathroom we admire and we think, "We'd love to have something like this in our house,"

so we went for the natural stone and nice fittings to make it feel more luxurious.

We're really pleased with it. It looks beautiful.

Because they wanted to make this their perfect home, they've gone for a high-end spec all over the house.

I just love this wood-burning stove.

Right, well, what we found here,

there was a '70s fireplace originally,

so we had to do a little bit of investigative work, take that out.

We noticed that a lot of the plasterwork was crumbling away,

so we just kept hacking at it until we found this arch which holds up the structure of the chimney breast,

so we just exposed the whole thing and got someone in to finish it off.

I think it looks great. Really pleased with it.

I couldn't agree more and while the fireplace was a hidden gem,

one of the obvious original features was what remained of the stained-glass windows.

Even though they now have new double glazing, the couple have worked hard to retain the period look.

We had a glazier come and do rubbings on the original windows

and get them exactly matched to the colours and style

and we had the lead in the stained glass replaced in the double-glazed version, so it's warmer,

but it looks as effective as the original windows did.

The combination of period and contemporary works beautifully,

but the restoration of the original features, as well as a high-end, modern finish doesn't come cheap.

How did their £25,000 budget hold up?

We spent just under 35,000 all in, including all the fees, but that does include the appliances as well,

so I think we've got value for money in what we've spent, so we're quite pleased with it.

It's clear where the money's been spent,

not only on fundamentals such as fixing the roof,

but also on the details that make this house Graham and Lauren's ideal home.

Yes, they have gone over budget and the eight-month timescale now stands at 13 months and counting,

but they want the place to be perfect and they are happy to stay with Graham's mum a little longer.

Graham's mum has been an absolute star to have us for quite so long

and I think she'll be glad to see all of our stuff out of her house, so she can have it back.

That's something that we'll all look forward to, especially Graham's mum.

Graham and Lauren clearly love their new home. I can't imagine they'll be selling it any time soon,

but let's find out if this three-bed semi captures the heart

of two property experts.

I think it's a very nice property. It will appeal to a lot of buyers.

The owners managed to retain the character of the property

and yet give it a really nice feel,

keeping it neutral, good quality fixtures and fittings.

The property here has been refurbished to a very high spec,

the flooring, the light fittings,

bathroom fittings, kitchen appliances. Everything has been done to that high standard.

Very impressive, very appealing and it will suit a range of different buyers.

The kitchen, nice family room, keeping it open to the dining area.

It's a place to socialise and it's a really good quality.

And the bathroom also, a very good standard of fixtures and fittings in there as well. Really nice.

The couple bought the house for £155,000 and have spent £35,000 doing it up,

making a total outlay of £190,000,

so let's find out how much it could achieve if they decided to put it up for sale.

If I was putting the property on the market today, I'd recommend an asking price of £220,000.

I think an average three-bedroom semi in this area, you're normally looking round about the 200,000 mark.

I definitely think this one needs to be priced higher than that.

It's nicer than the normal. It's got a lot of potential and you're looking about the 225 mark.

-That's pretty good.

-Yeah.

-Probably a little bit more than we expected.

-That's good to know.

-It makes it worthwhile, I think.

Obviously, we've got no plans to move, but it's nice to know that the money's been well spent.

That top price would reap them a gratifying profit of 35,000,

minus tax and expenses, of course.

It's always welcome news to hear that any work done has proved fruitful,

even if they're staying put for now,

and they certainly seem very happy that it's almost complete.

We're delighted with how the house has turned out

and we're looking forward to moving in. Hopefully, that'll be very soon.

Well, that's it for today's show.

Have we inspired you to do the groundwork and lay the foundations for your own property portfolio?

Or even if you prefer to watch other people do it, join us next time for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-Goodbye for now.

-Goodbye.

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