Episode 31 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello. It's not just properties in poor condition

that end up at the auction.

That's not the case in today's market. You might be surprised by what you find.

We've been trawling auction catalogues from up and down the country to whet your appetite.

If you're looking for a quick buy an auction is a great place to start.

Once the gavel falls, the property is yours, if you come up with the money.

Here are the properties on today's show.

'This three-bed semi in Devon is a developer's dream.'

It's a nice house as it is, but it could be even better.

'I visit this character cottage in Nottinghamshire...'

This is the only way to turn those taps on.

'..but it's awash with problems.

'And we will head back to Cheshire to revisit this beautiful old church

'we last saw eight years ago, to find out what's become of it.

'All these properties were sold at auction.

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

'Today, I'm in Sidmouth, Devon, in an area known as Woolbrook,

'which is now a suburb of its seaside neighbour.'

Just one and a half miles from the centre of Sidmouth,

in this lovely residential area, is the property I'm here to see.

I have to say, from the outside, it's looking pretty good.

230,000 to 250,000 quid.

It's this three-bedroomed semi-detached.

Interesting kind of stuff going on with the chimney there.

Apart from that, I can't wait to see inside!

'This really is a rather attractive 1920s house

'with a large garden at the front.

'It's great that it has its own driveway and separate garage.'

Nice size entrance hall here.

Bit of damp that needs sorting out. Stairs up to your bedrooms.

Then through into your living room.

It's a little bit tired and dated, but I like the size of the rooms

and also the layout of the house.

You've got a big open fire here.

This is very much from the 1960s, probably, or '50s.

Not really in keeping.

Put something a bit more impressive in there to create a real feature.

You've got the conservatory. You've got woodchip on the walls.

-CHUCKLES:

-Nothing too untoward. I like it already.

# We can say, "I like it like that"

# I like it like that

# I like it like that... #

'The property has central heating already installed,

'the windows are double glazed and it's been rewired throughout.'

Second reception room on this side.

Not as big as the other, but a nice space and lots of light coming in.

It's all good until you step here,

where it all goes completely bonkers!

Look at the size of this kitchen! It is teeny weeny.

For the size of the house, it just doesn't work.

It's not going to be easy to extend this.

This wall here, unfortunately, has a chimney breast in it!

That's going to be the devil's own job to get out.

Going that way might be an option.

I need to get my thinking hat on and figure out how to sort this out.

It needs sorting, that's for sure.

'I wonder what other challenges there are on the first floor

'of this three-bedroom that went to auction

'guided at £230,000 to £250,000.'

Upstairs, exactly what you'd hope for, three decent size bedrooms.

Bathroom and loo needs refurbishing, but you might have expected that.

What there is, though, is a classic example

of where a stitch in time saves nine when it comes to property.

Remember that foliage in the chimney stack you can see poking out?

This is right underneath there.

You can see that plant has caused the flashing or whatever it might be

to come away, water's got in and damp has seeped down here.

You don't know what kind of damage it's done above there.

Could be the joists. The floorboards could have gone or whatever.

Something that would have cost you 100 quid to fix a year ago

has now cost thousands of pounds worth of damage.

# How I wish I, wish I Wish I'd done a little bit more

# "How I shoulda, woulda, coulda" Are the last words of a fool #

'So that's scaffolding, repointing, replastering and redecorating,

'at the very least, to put on the list, but I like this property.

'Chimney foliage aside, it's generally in good condition

'and offers plenty of scope for improvement.'

At the rear of the property, a nice sized and secluded garden

and a garage, so that's good news.

What also I see out here is potential for an extension.

Next door have done a fairly elaborate thing including this conservatory thing.

If you didn't want to go through the planning process you could use "permitted development".

That means you could come out around three metres.

I think it would be worth going through the planning process to create something bigger.

Maybe four or five metres, then add on some kind of conservatory.

It's a nice house as it is, but it could be even better.

# You could do so much better than this... #

'A ground floor extension would solve the issue of the tiny kitchen,

'but you could go even further.

'Perhaps a second storey extension to add a bedroom or a side extension.

'But would it be worthwhile financially?

'What does a local estate agent advise?'

I would say best not to extend to the side.

The garage is important and to lose that would be a shame,

detrimental to the value of the property.

Extend at the back, maybe a single or double extension at the rear.

The kitchen isn't anything like the size you need for the size property.

'If renovated and left as a three-bed,

'what rental income could this place earn?'

We feel this property would rent for £950 per calendar month.

If it was four bedrooms, maybe £1,150 per calendar month.

'Once finished to a high standard,

'what could this three-bedroom house achieve if it were put up for sale?'

As a three-bed done up to a high standard,

this property would be worth somewhere in the region of £350,000.

A lot of people still think you only get dodgy properties in auctions.

Well, if you need proof that isn't the case, here it is.

This is a great house.

It needs a bit of work here and there, but it's a lovely location.

Can't go wrong. Let's see who bought it when it went under the hammer.

'It was the very last lot of the day so few bidders remained.'

Lot 167, Sidmouth. Really popular town, popular location.

It's a 1920s style three-bed semi-detached property.

We're guiding 230 to 250. Who would like to start this off at £230,000?

£230,000.

We'll move in twos. I have 230, seated. 230. 232.

234. 236.

236. 238, then.

238. New bidder. 240.

240,000 at the back.

241.

241. 242?

No? At 241, then.

£241,000 for the first time.

Second, last time of calling. It's with you, seated.

I'm about to knock it down, I think, to you.

At £241,000. And it's yours.

'Making his first and final bid was Alan, who bought the property with his wife, Jenny.

'Before he retired, Alan worked in an administrative role

'for a PLC in central London.

'The couple moved to Sidmouth from Berkshire a few months ago

'in order to be close to their children.

'Why did they decide to buy this property?

'I met up with them to find out more.'

-Hello, lovely to meet you both! Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Alan, you are a one-hit bidding wonder!

-One bid, one property!

Were you surprised you got it without any more of a fight?

Yes. We had a price in mind that we would go to. I was surprised it stopped when it did.

We thought it would go for a lot more.

We'd looked round it and thought we won't put an offer in because we thought it would go for a lot more.

-You almost didn't, then?

-We didn't think it would go for so little.

-So this is going to be your home?

-BOTH: Yes.

Oh, great. What were you looking for for that? Any type of property?

Um... We wanted something that I could do some work on.

The whole idea when we moved down here

was to buy something that would keep us occupied

and keep me busy for a while.

This seemed to tick a lot of the boxes and it was a very good price.

# And there ain't no price on happiness

# Baby, you drive me crazy... #

'Alan may have retired,

'but Jenny works in a local doctor's surgery as a medical secretary.

'Sitting back and relaxing does not seem to be on the cards for Alan in the near future.'

Tell me what you're going to do with the place.

The main thing is we will extend to the back.

We'll knock down the existing extension

and lean-to on the kitchen.

The plan is to go four metres out, which we'll need planning for,

and build a new kitchen-diner

full width across the back of the property,

and incorporate the little kitchen that we have in with that.

What's the timescale? Are you going to do it all at the same time?

No. It'll be staged.

I don't think we'll start on the extension until the new year.

I'm thinking nine months to 12 months to get it all done.

'Alan intends to enjoy his retirement by doing a lot of the work himself,

'only bringing in contractors for the specialist jobs.

'The couple currently rent and their agreement comes to an end in three months.

'After that, they'll be moving in here.'

What's the budget for the work?

I'd like it to not go over £40,000.

We don't know what we're going to find when we start taking wallpaper and stuff off,

so the maximum budget would be £50,000.

-What are you most looking forward to?

-I'm looking forward, really,

that I hope it'll be near enough finished by next summer that we can enjoy summer here.

Is that going to be achievable?

The bulk of it'll be done by the summer, but I wouldn't guarantee that it's all going to be done.

-As long as I can sit in a deckchair and watch him.

-Amongst the rubble!

Yeah.

-Congratulations. Good luck with it.

-Thank you very much.

-We look forward to seeing how you get on.

Well, Jenny and Alan have made a big move coming to the southwest

and now taking on this project.

Alan, OK, he doesn't have a job, but he's going to do all the work himself.

The big question is, will Jenny be in the garden in her deckchair next summer?

You can find out by tuning in later in the show.

# In the marketplace I have seen you many times, my love... #

'I'm in Retford, a market town in Nottinghamshire.

'It's really well located, if you fancy commuting.

'Lincoln, Doncaster, Sheffield and, of course, Nottingham

'are all within a 30-mile radius.

'I'm heading for the south side.'

We're just a short distance from Retford town centre

and we're in a conservation area.

It's full of large detached buildings.

It's a desirable part of town and as you can see we're on a busy main road.

But the property I'm here to see is tucked down this private lane.

'Very cute, but buyer beware -

'if this is a private road, it could mean high maintenance bills.

'But it does have a pleasant position off the main drag.'

So, that was the good news.

Bad news? This property looks a little bit worse for wear.

It's semi-detached. It's a character cottage.

It had a guide price of £50,000 to £60,000.

It's a lovely peaceful area here,

but I think it's going to need a lot of work.

I'm going in.

Apparently, this used to be the stable block for the house across the road.

As I suspected, it needs a whole load of work.

The kitchen's a great size and you've got a fantastic view

of the beautiful new development out there.

But it leaves a lot to be desired for the inside of THIS property.

What is THIS?

-LAUGHING:

-Of course! It's the stairs! Silly me.

So, first reception room, a good size.

You've got a table in here, so you can eat in this room.

I'm wondering where the second reception room is.

So here it is. It's a brilliant size room -

but there are major problems.

The floors are sloping, along with this ceiling.

It's all sort of running this way.

There's loads of damp in the corner.

Look at that flaky plaster! Eugh!

But most worryingly of all, this is the supporting beam.

It looks to me as if this whole side of the house has subsided this way

and these blocks have been put in to support it.

Not good. Not good at all.

# Cos it's no good... #

'This is definitely a case

'where you should get professional advice on the structural issues.

'In terms of the decor, I think it's a "rip it out and start afresh" job.

'Unfortunately, I'm not even finished with the down sides.'

One more quirky thing about this house -

this is the only bathroom.

It's downstairs and this is the only way...

to turn those taps on.

WATER RUNS

I think a bit of rejigging's required.

# Ain't that strange... #

'I'm all for a bit of character,

'but needing to be a yoga pro to turn the bath on is a quirk too far.

'For the £50,000 to £60,000 guide price, you're only getting one bedroom.

'Time for me to check it out.'

Originally, it would have been two bedrooms.

Yes, this very small room,

wall would have been here

and this very, very small room would have been bedroom two.

It's currently being used as a dressing area, which I think it should be used as.

You could reinstate the wall, but you'd have two very pokey rooms.

I don't mean to sound negative,

but I'm struggling to find any good points about this property so far.

'Outside, there's a small courtyard,

'which is pleasant enough, but again needs some work.

'The cottage has been extended at some point

'and houses that second reception room.

'It's only single skinned, which is far from ideal.

'It's here you can see some obvious clues

'to the causes of that subsiding wall and dampness.'

No wonder the inside has problems. Look at that roof!

It looks like a hammock. It's totally sagging in the middle.

I think, unfortunately, this whole extension needs to be knocked down and rebuilt.

If you can get the permission, I'd try for a two-storey extension.

Really make the most of this building.

But don't forget this is a conservation area,

so that permission is not guaranteed.

# Baby, please make a change

# I think it would do you good #

'So far, there's not much I'd want to conserve about this property,

'but it did have an attractive guide price of 50,000 to 60,000.

'The question is,

'would it be worth trying to make this into something bigger?

'What does the auctioneer who sold it

'think the options might be for this semi-detached cottage?'

That lean-to is not structurally sound.

Really, the thing to do would be to raze it to the ground and rebuild

on its footprint.

If you're going to do the work, why not make it two-storey?

If you make it a three-bedroom house with the bathroom upstairs,

that is the best way forward.

'I definitely agree that this would be the best choice,

'but it sounds like an expensive one.

'Demolition doesn't come cheap, then there are the refurbishment costs.

'Plus, there could be a long wrangle with the local planning department.

'A lot of hassle and a lot of money would be involved.

'Would it be worth it?'

As a three-bedroom semi-detached cottage,

dependent on its specification -

it warrants being done to a high standard -

probably £550 per calendar month.

It might be slightly more than that.

If it was to be sold, maybe 150,000? Maybe a bit more.

Again, dependent on the quality of the finish.

'I agree that an extension would transform this cottage

'and make it much more saleable.

'This is not a project for a beginner.

'Let's see who at the auction wasn't put off by the huge amount of work needed here.'

We've guided 50,000, 60,000, but in fairness, fairly modest.

Straight in at 50,000, anyone?

40,000? Thank you. 42. 44.

46. 47. 48. 49. 50,000. 50,000 against the bar.

At 51. 52. 52 at the back of the room.

53. 54. 55.

56. 57.

58. 59.

500.

60,000, sir? 60,000.

500 for you? 500?

All done, then, at £60,000 for the first time.

Second, third and last time. Any more bids?

Gentleman right down the middle in the doorway.

'That successful final bid of 60,000 came from builder Adrian

'and his business partner, Mr Singh.

'They bought this house to renovate and sell on.

'I met them back at their newly purchased semi-detached cottage

'to find out the plans.'

Adrian, Mr Singh, it's lovely meeting you both. Congratulations.

Did you think you would get this property on the day?

When you go into auction, you never think you'll get it.

So when he started from 55 and went up to 60. He put his hand up and they said, "Sold."

How much would you have gone up to?

-Probably 80.

-80,000? So you did really well on this.

-We did. Yes.

-When you saw this for the first time, what did you think?

-A lot of potential.

The guide price was very appealing.

'Well, there IS potential here, no doubt about it.

'This is certainly going to be a challenge and, as it turns out,

'a bit of an unexpected one.

'Although they had viewed the property, they didn't realise

'how bad the structural issues were until after they'd bought it.'

-What did the surveyor say?

-Basically, a single-skin brick,

damp, bit of subsidence.

He says, "There's no way you can keep it as it is, so you have to demolish it."

Were you shocked that you'd have to pull half the building down?

Well, I was, cos we didn't expect it.

We were hoping for just basic internal work

and put it back on the market, but...

-As a builder, surely you could see it was beyond that?

-Yes, but not to the point of demolishing.

I thought everything can be repaired. The roof can be repaired.

Bit of damp here and there,

but we never expected to have to physically demolish half of it!

So at that point, did you panic and think, "Oh, no! What have we bought?"

Not really, cos we had another £20,000 to play with,

from our original budget to buy the property.

So we thought that's going to cover it.

'At least the business partners didn't pay that 80,000.

'That would have been a nightmare.

'It just shows how even experienced builders can get caught out.

'So getting professional advice from surveyors and engineers in cases like these is a must.

'The pair have dusted themselves down and have already got plans drawn up for a two-storey extension.

'What kind of budget have they set?'

15 on top of whatever we're going to spend to do it all up.

So £15,000 to rebuild this side and how much to do the rest of the property up?

-Probably another ten, 12.

-So, £25,000...

-27.

27,000 you need to get this property right?

How are you going to improve it?

Are you going to add extra square footage? How many bedrooms?

It's going to be a three-bedroom house, another two bedrooms.

It's already classed as two bedrooms, but it's not.

You just pull a curtain for the second bedroom. It's not even a door!

-You can't call it that! So it's going to be a three-bedroom with a bathroom upstairs?

-Yes.

-Are you going to increase the square footage, go further out than the footprint?

-No.

-You're going to stay within the footprint?

-Because it's a conservation area.

What about planning issues? Do you think you might get turned down?

I got reassured by our architect that we're not going to get turned down, so fingers crossed.

Good luck with this project. It's been great meeting you both.

-I hope it works out.

-Thank you.

-Adrian, Mr Singh, lovely to meet you.

This is Adrian and Mr Singh's first investment project together.

So far, well, it's not been good news for them.

They didn't anticipate having to rebuild the whole side of this house.

Will they get the planning permission they need, or will it be more bad news for the boys?

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

'Coming up, we return to a beautiful church in Cheshire

'to see if and how I and it have changed in the eight years since we last saw it!'

'In Nottinghamshire, were there more surprises in store for Mr Singh?'

On this floor there was some concrete.

We had to fill about 21 or 22 skips.

'But first, has this semi in Devon been a dream come true?'

It really has turned out much better than I thought it ever would.

'This is Sidmouth, a popular seaside resort in Devon.

'Earlier, we saw that Alan and his wife Jenny paid £241,000

'for this imposing three-bed semi in the suburb of Woolbrook.

'It was to be their new home, rather than the rented accommodation they'd been living in for the past months.

'They had retired to Devon from Berkshire to be closer to their children.

'This property offered Alan just what he wanted.'

We wanted something that I could do some work on.

The whole idea when we moved down here was to buy something

that could keep us occupied and keep me busy for a while.

'And busy was what Alan was going to be.

'For a start, the chimney was creating damp issues inside

'and the couple had an ambitious plan to extend at the back.

'They'd set a budget of £40,000 up to a maximum of 50,000,

'and hoped to get the work done in nine to 12 months.'

I hope that it'll be near enough finished by next summer.

Is that going to be achievable?

I think the bulk of it will be done by the summer.

-As long as I can sit in a deckchair and watch him.

-Amongst the rubble.

-Yeah!

'It's now one year and four months later.

'The troublesome chimney has gone.

'There's a ground floor extension across the width of the house.

'And this wonderful open-plan kitchen-diner.

'Jenny and Alan moved to the site a year ago,

'initially living in their caravan as the building work began.

'But the long wait has definitely been well worth it.'

Originally, the outside wall was here.

The back door was here.

There was a flat-roof extension over there, which we've demolished.

Nice roof windows, which let in plenty of light.

It's a nice spacious light area, so very pleased with the end result.

'The extension's helped to create an open feeling in the living room.

'And the new passageway through to the former kitchen, now the utility,

'continues the flow around the ground floor.

'Jenny's pleased.'

I think it's fantastic.

I imagined it,

but it really has turned out much better than I thought it would.

The builders had to move where the windows were going to go

because I thought, "I've always wanted a range cooker!"

-LAUGHING:

-So everything had to be built round that!

'The former dining room has lost space for the new corridor.

'It's now a study or fourth bedroom.

'Upstairs, the three bedrooms have been tastefully decorated.

'All the door frames, skirting and architraves have been replaced,

'and the couple opted for a shower in the refurbished bathroom.

'Alan's first job was to remove the chimney breast,

'which gave more space in some rooms.

'My concern that the chimney hadn't been fixed when it was a simple repair proved right.'

The true extent of the dampness in the chimney breast

was that it actually permeated right down through the property.

One of the major problems was the plasterwork,

which just fell off some of the walls.

'It wasn't just the walls that the damp had got into.

'Some of the joists were rotten as well and needed replacing.

'What effect has that had on the budget?'

We're just over 45,000, so not bad.

By doing a lot of the work myself, we've saved on labour costs.

'They did increase the spec of the fittings and that shows,

'but the damp and the problem with the chimney took a financial toll.

'Added to the £241,000 they paid at auction,

'that takes their investment to just over £286,000.

'It looks as if Alan has been busy, but did he do everything?'

I got tradesmen in to do the jobs that you need qualifications to do,

but the rest of the plumbing, all of the carpentry,

kitchen, I fitted myself.

'Jenny has been busy going backwards and forwards to the dump and shopping for DIY materials,

'so she hasn't been sitting around on a deckchair as she'd envisaged.

'Still, she seems happy enough with her seaside lot.'

I love it here. It's so friendly.

It's a brilliant town.

It's nice to go down and just look at the sea.

It changes from day to day. It's almost as if the sea has moods.

It's nice to have that access to the sea.

I've come home some mornings and said, "The sea looks angry today!"

# ..fly across your ocean

# Break away

# Time has come for you. #

'We invited two local estate agents to look at the property.

'Will they be as impressed as I am

'at the new extension?'

They've extended the property beautifully

and decorated to a very high standard.

First impressions are excellent.

The extension and downstairs living accommodation is first class.

The extension has made a huge difference to the property.

It was crying out to be done and it's perfect, what the property needed.

'Jenny and Alan have chosen to make this their retirement home,

'so they're not going anywhere, but just for the record,

'what would they earn in rent for this lovely semi?'

Rental per calendar month, around £900.

I would expect the property to achieve around £900 a month.

'That's a yield of 3.7%, but they won't be renting it out.

'Nor are they interested in selling,

'but we can carry on being nosey and find out how Alan and Jenny

'would fare if they sold, bearing in mind their investment of £286,000.'

I would expect the property to achieve around 325,000.

I feel an achievable price on this property is 350,000.

'Those valuations would represent a gross profit

'of £39,000 to £64,000 before tax and expenses.

'So all that hard graft has been well worth it.'

They're both higher than we would have imagined.

Great valuations. Very happy with that.

VERY happy with that.

We wouldn't have got it to such a great spec if Alan hadn't have done it.

I'm really proud of him for what he's done. It's brilliant.

I love it here.

'We now go a very long way back in Homes Under The Hammer time

'to 2004.

'We visited the beautiful Cheshire countryside

'and the hamlet of Preston On The Hill, which had pretty views,

'an unusual property - and me looking slightly younger!'

So, a lovely location, which is always a good start!

Bit of a busy road, which is a down side.

It all pales into insignificance when you see what is up for auction.

For a guide price of £120,000,

this old church could be yours.

'This lovely mission building dates back to 1887.

'If you like the outside, just look at the inside!'

This is what you get for your money.

It's primarily this one big room, but what a space!

Fantastic old windows, the roof supports,

original oak flooring.

Imagine what somebody with a bit of imagination and building skills can do with a place like this!

'Building skills would definitely be important.

'This doesn't look like one for the amateur.

'With all those hymn books and pews, it looks like the place was being used until quite recently.'

PLAYS OPENING NOTES OF "JERUSALEM"

It's always quite sad when a place like this comes up for auction.

It was originally the church hall.

You can imagine the members of the WI singing Jerusalem.

I suppose it's better that it does go to auction and somebody buys it.

It doesn't just fall into disrepair, and hopefully it will become part of the community once again.

CHOIR SINGS "JERUSALEM"

'This Grade II listed building was originally used as the village hall

'and then became a place of worship.

'Sadly, back in 2001, services were suspended

'when a crack was discovered in the side wall and the property was deemed to be dangerous.

'It then suffered a bit of vandalism.

'With no money for repairs, after a lot of heart searching

'it was decided to apply for planning permission to convert it into a four-bedroom house,

'to make it more saleable, and put it up for auction.'

What an opportunity for somebody with a bit of imagination!

It's perfect auction material.

'Let's find out who bought this amazing property guided at £120,000.'

Lot number 16, ladies and gentlemen.

Can I have 130,000 and away?

130 I am bid at the back. At 130. Two and a half there.

135, sir? 135.

137 and a half. 140, sir...?

'This unique lot attracted many interested parties.

'We rejoin the auction as the bidding reached double the guide price, at 250,000.'

..I'm selling it. 250. At 250.

252 and a half.

Are you going in the corner? 255, new bidder.

At 255. Yes, 260.

You're out by the door. 262 and a half.

At 262 and a half. 265. Seven and a half, sir?

267 and a half. You're out on my left. You coming in?

270. At 270, the mission. Quickly? Another two and a half?

Yes. 272 and a half. At 272 and a half.

At 272 and a half. Another two and a half, sir?

Are you sure?

At 272 and a half I'm selling then, once, twice,

the third and final time at 272,500.

Yours, sir. Well done.

'After that fierce competition, the mission finally sold for £272,500.

'I met the new owner, Ed, at the property.'

-Ed, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-The owner of this wonderful old church!

-It's brilliant!

-What was it that struck you about it?

-All sorts of things.

The location, of course, and the character.

The wonderful opportunity I've got to develop it.

Tell me a bit about you, then.

I'm in the construction business.

I have a national roofing company. I also have a development company.

There's a complete shortage of prestige houses in the area.

So this came up and there was far too much interest.

-What do you mean?

-Every time I came to view it, there were 25 people!

That put me off a little bit and I thought, "I've got to go for it."

I've bought properties where it's "subject to planning permission"

or "it may be" and I've had them for years.

It's been very tiresome getting through it.

That's why we decided to buy this property.

Let's come on to the building. What are you going to do?

First of all, I'm going to leave my options open.

We have permission for a four-bedroom detached house.

I've been speaking to the planners and there's options available

of converting it into apartments, three dwellings, possibly even four.

We've got to explore that avenue.

'Ed thinks those apartments might be an alternative,

'but for the moment, in case those plans don't get approved,

'he's running with the current four-bed house idea.'

Obviously, there is an issue here because it is an old church.

How are you going to be sensitive to that?

It was the village hall. That was originally purpose-built.

So there's no crucifixes or real signs of any gothic,

just retaining stone features, nice tasteful glass

and lovely oak features everywhere.

So it hasn't got that feel of a church.

If anything, it's a small chapel house.

-So you'll retain as much of it?

-I'll retain much of that, of course, bring the true beauty out.

But mix that with a top-spec, you know, a real modern, very, very flash, if I can, inside.

Do you have any idea of budget for this project?

At first, we reckoned £140,000 to spend on it.

But the roof is in superb condition.

There's one structural crack I have to worry about, which I knew about.

Superb floors, which we're going to possibly keep.

So the budget's coming down now, as we're getting into it.

-What about timescales?

-Six to 12 months is a realistic timescale.

-If we come back in a few, will we see some changes?

-I hope so.

In a few months, you may see some clearing up.

You'll certainly see some wonderful designs.

'Ed seems very bullish and businesslike about his new property.

'He's keen to get as much planning advice as possible

'before he starts changing the building's structure.

'So, who are his A-team?'

Dave, you're the architect. Want to talk us through what you've got?

We've come into this fantastic volume

and I wanted to keep the spirit of the volume in the design.

I've been able to spread the living accommodation over three floors.

I wanted to provide dynamic space, particularly in the living room.

We've got this fluid route through the building,

which leads from the front entrance to the rear.

-This kind of curve.

-It creates a dynamic shape to the living space.

Beyond the gable wall behind me, a dining/family room.

The gable wall will be taken down and insert a glass folding wall,

to offer views out to the field beyond

and try and bring that landscape into the dwelling.

-Ed, what do you think of the plans?

-I hope it's not going to run over budget too much!

-I have to calm him down!

-Scott, you're the structural engineer.

What issues are you going to have to deal with?

Basically, we've got...

we've got a property that's surrounded by trees.

-There is evidence of some movement within the property.

-The crack!

-Particularly the corner, yeah.

-Can you chop the trees down?

No. They've all got tree preservation orders on them,

so we can't touch the trees without specific permission from the Local Authority.

Apart from that crack, then, any other major issues in terms of what Dave's planning?

There is some minor work needed,

but it's in a reasonable condition.

I think we've got a fantastic building.

It's a great location. It's going to make a great home for somebody.

'Grand plans indeed, but even if this option wasn't a dead cert

'and apartments were created instead,

'either option ensured the future of this Grade II listed building.

'But when we first returned nine months later, not all that much had happened.

'Not that you could see, anyway.

'Most of the action had been on the planning front.

'Ed had decided that he could make a better return on his £272,500 investment

'with the four-apartment option.

'He figured that was better than one single high-spec house,

'given the dip in the housing market,

'so he'd been busy pursuing that.'

Since you were last here,

we've been exploring all the avenues we possibly can.

One of the ideas by my architect

was to see if we can change the planning permission

for possibly three or four apartments.

Just recently, we've had the results back

and they're not very happy with us going forward on that suggestion.

So we're back to the original plan,

converting the whole thing into one large detached dwelling.

'The delay didn't stop Ed from making a couple of alterations to the inside of the mission.

'He covered the floorboards to protect the oak flooring while the work was done,

'and the windows were restored, flooding the place with light.

'Then the only problems facing Ed were the trees outside.'

One of the issues we've had is that the premises is surrounded by trees

that have got TPOs on them, tree preservation orders.

That has shielded it, probably protected it over the years.

But to get the true beauty out of the building,

I want to take some of these trees down.

One in particular, this one here close to the road,

is stopping a lot of light going into the building.

I'm going to put an application in to see if it can be removed.

'You can find out later if Ed was successful

'in felling that tree and turning this into a fabulous four-bed home.

'When we return nine years later, will it be a mission accomplished?'

So, have the tides changed for our buyers?

Have their experiences been plain sailing?

Have they sunk without trace or swum to shore with a plum profit?

Let's find out.

'We're now back to Nottinghamshire, the pretty market town of Retford.

'Just a few minutes from its centre, hidden down this private lane,

'was this somewhat shabby semi-detached cottage.

'It was purchased by pals Adrian and Mr Singh for 60,000

'at an auction as their first property project together.

'The extension didn't just need TLC, as they discovered after they bought it.'

-What did the surveyor say?

-Basically, single-skin brick,

damp, bit of subsidence,

and he says, "There's no way you can keep it as it is so you have to demolish it."

Were you shocked that you'd have to pull half the building down?

Well, I was, cos we didn't expect it.

We were hoping just basic internal work then put it on the market.

We never expected to have to physically demolish half of it.

'So an unfortunate shock for them,

'but they did pay a lot less than they'd anticipated,

'so were at least in a better financial position to do the work.

'We went back 20 months after my first visit to meet Mr Singh

'and to see if they managed to take this from mediocre to modern.

'Well, the outside certainly looks a lot fresher

'and now boasts a brand new two-storey extension.

'The courtyard's been cleared of concrete

'and now has space for parking.

'Inside, the kitchen has been replaced, and in the bathroom,

'there's no longer need to be a contortionist to turn on the taps!

'And where there were two reception rooms,

'there's now one large open space, incorporating the downstairs

'of that new extension which was built from scratch.'

It was totally demolished on one side

and to join with the other side wasn't that hard.

We'd already demolished one side so it was just new kitchen, new bathroom.

Everything's new now. It's all been replastered - downstairs, upstairs.

There's new doors, new radiators. Everything's new, whatever you see.

'All that's needed is new carpets and the property will be good to go.

'Upstairs had one large bedroom, which used to be two.

'Now, thanks to the extension, there are three bedrooms.

'One's even got an en suite.

'It all looks a lot better, but wasn't an easy job.'

On this floor there was some concrete. We had to break it all up.

That was the most hard work. We have filled about 21 or 22 skips.

We are happy now it's all finished.

'I've no doubt they both are and although Adrian couldn't be here,

'he's been here every step of the way.'

He has helped me a lot on this project.

Any problem I get again, I know he will be there. I respect him a lot.

'He's not the only one who gave a helping hand!'

There was good help from the neighbours. They've kept an eye on the property all the time.

I want to thank all the neighbours. They're really good people.

I'm really grateful for them.

'It all sounds good, but the project took longer than expected,

'so how did the £20,000 budget hold up?'

I think we have spent £40,000 to £42,000.

We have gone for a high range of kitchen

and a better spec bathroom and upstairs shower.

I don't mind because I think the property's worth more than what we have spent.

'Well, let's find out.

'That 42,000 on the work added to the purchase price of 60,000,

'means the total outlay here has been £102,000.

'We invited a local estate agent and the auctioneer who sold the property

'to take a look.'

I quite like the property. It's open and light.

It's got a nice feel about it.

The location as well, it's a prestigious location

in its own little enclave well back from the main road.

It's a good spot.

To improve it and extend it in this way was essential because the property was...

out of kilter, if you like - large ground floor, very limited bedrooms.

One and a half bedrooms, in fact.

You have something that suits the modern family.

Three bedrooms, en suite bathroom, good space on the ground floor.

They've hit it right.

'What could it fetch if put up for sale now?'

My recommendation would be to market the house around £130,000

with a view, in this challenging market, to negotiate down to around £125,000.

I would have thought around £125,000

would be about its value - you might ask a little more, initially.

I'm quite happy with that. Yeah, no problem.

'If it sold for that 125,000,

'Mr Singh would see a potential pre-tax profit of £23,000.

'The plan was to sell it on, but could the rental returns prove tempting?'

The rental prospects are good. It should appeal.

I'd look to market it around £500 to £550 per calendar month.

This is a good address. There'd be a good demand for this property.

I would have thought in the region of £550 per calendar month would be appropriate.

'£550 per calendar month would yield around 6.5%.'

Right, that's OK. I think I'll maybe rent it out, then. Yeah.

Hold it for a bit, probably wait till the price goes up then sell it.

'Now he's nearly finished this first project and knows the finances,

'has Mr Singh got a taste for renovation in the future?'

I've enjoyed doing this project.

If I get a chance to buy another property, I will buy another one.

Do it the same and sell it or maybe rent it.

It's an enjoyable thing to do.

'We now return to the sleepy Cheshire hamlet of Preston On The Hill

'and a property we first saw way back in 2004.

'This former mission was built as a village hall in 1887.

'It was used as a church throughout the 20th century until 2001,

'when cracks were discovered in the wall

'and services were sadly discontinued.

'The Grade II listed mission was rescued

'when planning permission to convert it into a four-bed home was passed

'and it was put up for auction.

'The buyer was Ed, a property developer who runs his own roofing company.

'He paid £272,500 for the property and hoped to keep his options open,

'either going with converting it into a house

'or perhaps four apartments, all in a time scale of 12 months!

'But when we returned nine months later,

'the old mission had been tidied up

'but there were no sign of any of Ed's plans coming to fruition.'

Since you were here, we've been exploring all the avenues.

One of the suggestions by my architect

was to see if we can change the planning permission for three or four apartments.

Recently, we've had the results back

and they're not very happy with us going forward on that suggestion.

So we're back to the original plan, converting the whole thing into one large detached dwelling.

'That was in 2004. We're back eight years on from the last visit,

'to see if Ed finally got the development he was after.

'With the shrubs removed and the trees now bare,

'it's easier to see the building in all its glory

'and the changes that have been made here,

'but there are signs that the work still isn't completed.

'Before we went inside, we asked Ed to bring us up to date with developments.'

With a lot of patience and perseverance, we've managed to get four dwellings out of it now,

which we wanted to originally.

But it took a long time and the way the economy has gone,

it's probably been the right thing to do.

Building a half-a-million-pound, £600,000 house at the time,

was just a little bit over-ambitious.

So we've managed to get permission and we've started the construction.

'Instead of that one house,

'Ed now has four three-storey, three-bed houses with attic space.

'The church entrance is the front door to the first to be completed.

'It leads to a large kitchen-living room

'with the bottom of the large side windows providing natural light.

'The stairs and landing are bathed in light from the huge front windows.

'The main bedroom on the first floor also benefits from that grand window

'and as it's directly above the kitchen,

'there's also light from the top of the side window.

'On this floor, there's a stylish family bathroom

'and another smaller bedroom.

'Up on the second floor, the third bedroom has added character

'with those beautiful original wooden beams.

'Light comes through new windows in the roof.

'This final design may have a modern feel, but I'm glad Ed has persevered

'and kept the unique feel of this property.'

It was really important to maintain the character of the building.

I fell in love with this, like a lot of people did.

I really wanted to put my mark on it.

'Ed has certainly done that.

'Eventually, the converted mission will have four dwellings,

'each with street-level access and a garden area.

'The layout will vary, with the end property boasting cellar rooms

'and a verandah overlooking the fields.

'Deciding on the right plan was important to getting the best out of the building.'

The houses were always going to be contemporary type living.

But despite the size of the church, it wasn't that much footage in it.

So we've designed it in a way to maximise the height of the church

by lowering the floors and going right into the roof space.

'At the very top of each of the new dwellings will be a loft space,

'taking advantage of every square inch.

'To enable the property to stretch over the floors,

'the ground-floor level had to be lowered.

'Unfortunately, that meant sacrificing the original flooring.

'It was the drop in the housing market and the economy

'that forced Ed to hold this development back almost eight years.'

Over recent years, it's been a roller coaster,

very difficult for us construction workers and developers.

The economy has been horrendous, but being experienced developers,

we carefully and patiently decided to hold off this development until the time was right.

'But after eight years, Ed is now pretty relieved

'to see his development finally being, well, developed!'

# Almost there

# We're almost there... #

'There were also planning delays and problems getting services connected

'that combined to hold up the renovation.

'Ed is now convinced that this is the right time to start making this property earn its keep.

'Back in 2004, he had a budget of £140,000 for the project.

'With the new plans, how does he see the costs adding up?'

We've more or less set it at £70,000 per dwelling.

We've spent a bit more in number one and less in number two.

Probably a little bit more in number four,

because it's going to have special verandahs and certain features.

We're on target, in fact, but we've not finished yet.

'With Ed's four properties, that should take his renovation costs

'to £280,000.

'Add that to his purchase price of £272,500

'and his total outlay is just over £552,000.

'To see if this new development is right for Preston On The Hill,

'we asked the opinion of two local property experts,

'one of whom first viewed the building nine years ago!'

It's a long time and quite a transformation from what I last saw.

What's pleased me most coming back

is seeing the originality and the features that have been restored.

Most importantly, the fact that the property's been divided into more than one dwelling.

I think it's great.

It's really nice accommodation. It's got lots of original features,

which the developer's worked hard to retain, but it's contemporary as well.

'Bearing in mind the final cost of investment could be £552,000,

'what sort of profit could Ed make if he decides to sell them on?'

I would suggest putting the property on the market in the region of £200,000.

I would suggest a marketing price in the region of £200,000.

I think we'd achieve close to that asking price.

We probably could get 200 for it, but to get the first one off and second one off is pretty good.

We're not greedy developers for that matter.

We just want house sales to go forwards.

We're going to advertise it for about 190.

'Of course, it's tricky to value anything unfinished,

'but if the standard is the same

'he could be on course to make a profit of at least £200,000.

'However, Ed's seen ups and downs since this project started,

'so it may well be worth knowing the rental potential.

'The estate agents think, when completed,

'they could give a rental income of up to £1,000 per property per calendar month.

'Spread over four properties, that could mean an annual income of 48,000,

'an impressive yield of 8.5%.'

I'd certainly consider it, if I didn't sell.

That's the model that we have to work to now. You build to rent.

If you do not sell for any reason, you fall back on the renting side.

'This has been a really long-term investment

'and took tenacity and great patience.

'It sounds like Ed's still prepared to roll with those property-market punches.'

I still enjoy doing what I'm doing, so I'm not going to stop.

I should slow down now. I'm over 50.

But I don't seem to be doing so, so I don't know why.

CHUCKLES: If I keep on enjoying it, I'll keep on doing it.

For more auction action, join us next time for Homes Under The Hammer.

-We'll see you then.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

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