Episode 41 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome. Now, looking for a plot of land or a doer-upperer...

..an investment opportunity or a place to live...

..you can find them all at a property auction.

Now, there are some key things to remember when buying property at auction.

Mm-hm. Do your research, view your property, and sort your finances out in advance.

So, did today's buyers do their homework? Or are they in line for a fail grade?

'In Kent, this property proves that sometimes you can judge a book by its cover.'

There's a lot to do in here. There really is.

'This farmhouse in Cornwall makes me feel rather green around the gills.'

Oh, boy, oh, boy, is this a project.

'And I'm in Derby, where this house has plenty of room for improvement inside,

'but outside is another matter.'

So, absolutely gorgeous views out of the front of the property.

'All these properties have been sold at auction.

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

-'when they went under the hammer.'

-HAMMER BANGS

'Ah, Margate. I know this area well. And in days gone by,

'it was a quintessential kiss-me-quick Great British seaside holiday destination.

'Times have changed, and Margate's growing reputation for its boutiques, bars and bistros

'is bringing the tourists back to the beach.

'Today I'm venturing a little further inland, to the Dane Park area,

'which is popular with young families.'

So, just a mile from that beautiful beach

is this nice residential road and the property that went under the hammer.

Now, if you think you pay a premium for being close to the sea,

ha, you're so wrong, because this house has got three bedrooms

and it had a guide price of £60,000 to £65,000.

'At present, it's more tip than tip-top condition.

'But I've seen more than my fair share of rundown and dilapidated houses on Homes Under The Hammer,

'so a little mess holds no fear for me.'

# That's another fine mess you've got me into

Well, that's what you call a carpet of newspaper.

Wow! It's really undulating.

Gosh! That's about an inch deep. That's quite incredible.

Erm, so there's a lot to do in here, there really is.

I mean, there's just a whole load of junk in that room.

Carpets, wood, it just looks like stuff's been just chucked in the corner.

But if you can see beyond that, the room proportions are fantastic

and the window's beautiful.

Second reception room, again, you've just got to see beyond all of this mess.

Look, you've got a whopping big hole down there.

There's even a bit of plant life growing somewhere. Rather odd.

Yeah, you really do have to just see through this

and think about, is it worth taking on?

I would say this house is unmortgageable.

'For the last few years, this place has been empty and allowed to go to rack and ruin.

'In order to get a mortgage, a property must be deemed fit for human habitation.

'And this house is far from that.

'At the back is what's described in the auction catalogue as the kitchen.

'Mm. Well, I can see a sink.

'Oh, dear, this place is definitely in a dreadful state.

'But as I explore this lot further,

'I can see the odd period feature

'and the potential it has to be more than simply fit for human habitation

'and become a place that people would love to call home.

'OK. Fingers crossed for up top now.'

So, upstairs, am I going to be delightfully surprised?

No. I think it's actually worse up here, it really is a dust pit.

So let's start with what I think might be the bathroom,

but there's also a bed in here.

So call me silly, I'm not quite sure what room that is.

There's a massive hole leading to the garden down there!

There's no window there so I can see the next door neighbour's roof.

I can see into one of the bedrooms through this hole in the wall.

Erm, yeah, so, so much work needs to be done.

This place needs to be taken back to bare brick.

Not a bad size bedroom, and surprisingly, look,

you've got some nice little fireplaces here, really quite beautiful.

Along with all the slates from the roof.

I would certainly get that looked at.

You have got two beautiful windows in here, though.

Once they've been refurbished, they will look lovely.

You cannot underestimate the amount of work that needs doing in this house.

'Whenever I view a property in this condition,

'I ask myself how on earth it got into such a state.

'But perhaps the more important question is

'what needs to be done to make it the warm and welcoming family home it was built to be?

'I only hope the new owner has the desire and, just as importantly,

'the resources to make this place a lovely home once more.'

# We can't close the door

# On this broken home

'We invited a local estate agent to give his opinion on this property

'which had a guide price of £60,000 to £65,000.'

First impressions of the house is it could do with a lick of paint.

It certainly needs a lot of renovation.

But not beyond the realms of possibility of putting it back into good shape.

'So after that lick of paint and major renovation work,

'how much could this house be worth?'

Once refurbished to a reasonable standard,

I would expect this to sell at around £125,000.

'Well, this place could be a money-maker rather than a money pit after all.

'What about renting it out?'

It's in a good area so the property would rent quite well.

If it is still as a three-bedroom, it could get anything up to £650 a month.

This house is not a job for amateurs.

Everything needs doing.

But if you're not scared off by the state of the place

and you pay near the guide price,

there could be some room for some profit here.

So let's see who wanted this muddled Margate house when we went to auction.

We've got a guide of £60,000 to £65,000.

What may I say? A lot of interest in this. £60,000 to start me.

There should be some hands springing up like mushrooms.

£60,000 anywhere?

£60,000?

60 I have, thank you. At £60,000 I'm bid.

And 62 do I see?

At £60,000 I'm bid. This is lot 30.

At 62. And 65.

At 62,000 on my left hand side.

At £62,000. 65 do I see?

65 in a fresh place. And 67. 67 is bid.

And 70.

67 on my far left.

At 67,000. 68 if it helps.

At 67. 68 in a fresh place.

At 69. 69 I have. And 70?

70 is bid. And 71. And 72.

And 74. And 76. And 78. And 80.

At £78,000 on my left.

At 78,000 out on my far left.

At 78,000. 80 do I see anywhere?

7...

79. 79,000, then, for the first time.

Anybody else can join in.

At 79. And 80,000 I have. 81.

81. And 82.

At 81,000, anybody else can join in,

but for the first time then at 81,000.

Gentleman on my left with a leather jacket on.

At 81,000 for the second time.

81,000, third and final time,

-at 81,000, are you all done?

-HAMMER BANGS

'The new owner is Michael with his successful bid of £81,000,

'more than 20 grand over the guide price.

'Michael's an estate agent and developer based in London

'who, attracted by the regeneration of Margate,

'is investing in the local property market.

'He was on this programme in 2009,

'when he renovated a maisonette in London.

'He had set up an organisation which helps find houses for homeless families.

'They may have no references or deposits

'but are given financial assistance by the government in the form of housing benefit.

'The property in London was let to a family found through that organisation,

'which is now a registered charity.

'So what are Michael's plans for his latest purchase?'

-Michael, we meet again. I think it was five years since I interviewed you last.

-Something like that, yes.

Tell me, what you are doing now? Last time we met, you were very involved with the charity

and running an estate agency.

Still much of the same. I've aged gracefully, you even more so.

-Thank you.

-We're very keen to help people who are homeless

and that's what we're primarily concentrating on.

We're arranging property investment for other landlords and for ourselves.

So why have you ventured out of London for a property like this one in Margate?

I'm very keen that families should have a nice house and live in a reasonable area,

be able to send kids to local schools, and in London,

because of the capping of rents, it's very, very difficult.

And we've lined up a family that would wish to move here,

that's seen the potential and wants to start afresh here

and hopefully, you know, will establish themselves.

'It's wonderful that there's a promise of a new beginning

'not only for the family moving to Margate but also for this house.'

Can you see the end product of this property?

I think it needs a great deal to be done.

But sometimes, you know, in a way, it's good to gut a place.

We've got some original fireplaces which we'll keep, we'll keep some familiar things.

We'll put in some nice new kitchen and bathroom. It'll be good when it's finished.

£81,000 you paid for this at auction. Do you think you might have paid the top end for this property?

As with any auction, when you're bidding, you want to go to a certain level,

but I was edging up because I had a homeless family in mind and I didn't want to let them down.

This house when it's finished will be very pleasant,

it won't be luxurious but it will be pleasant,

and it will still suit the needs and the requirements of that family. So in that sense, it'll be fine.

Michael, what sort of budget do you have in mind?

Because you have to take this house back to the bare brick, it really does need everything doing.

We're looking about £23,000 to £25,000.

That's a relatively small budget, in my book,

to do this whole house, kitchens, bathrooms, everything, it needs clearing...

It may have to go above budget

but I'd rather be demoralised by having a little bit of a surprise on the upward side,

rather than have too high expectations.

And how long you think it's going to take to get it up and ready?

I'd have thought six or seven weeks. The backyard will be cleared and turned.

-This'll be the Costa Del Margate when this is finished.

-I love your faith in Margate.

# You can keep the Costa Brava

# I'm telling you, mate, I'd rather have a day down Margate

# With all my family

'It takes vision and determination to be able to look beyond the crumbling walls and rotten floors.

'But Michael has both in abundance.'

Michael, I'm intrigued to find out how the layout of this property is going to work.

There'll be changes here. We'll be having a bedroom at the back

where the bathroom may originally have been.

And there'll be a bathroom here in the room behind, and this room will be divided into two.

So ultimately there'll be three bedrooms up here and a bathroom.

Fantastic. That is what a family house needs,

especially bringing a bathroom upstairs.

So do you have a team of builders in mind that are going to be setting...

Yeah, there's a nice story there. The builders we use here in Margate

were originally a family we housed in London

who came from very difficult circumstances,

and the young guy who was in his 20s has established himself,

bought his own little detached house and has a couple of nice cars

and a wife and children, and does our building work and charges for it.

Michael, I can't wait to see what happens, who ends up getting the house and how well it's done.

-Thank you so much for coming along today. Lovely seeing you again.

-My pleasure.

-Thank you.

Well, Michael has a team of builders all ready to go, but the pressure is on.

He's got a tenant already lined up waiting to move in.

So, will things run to plan? Will they stick to their budget?

And will they get everything done to their tight timescale?

You can find out how Michael gets on later on in the programme.

'Ah. Beautiful Truro in Cornwall.

'And when the sun is shining, there's no better place to be.'

# Oh, it's such a perfect day

# I'm glad I spent it with you

'And could a large farmhouse in Blackwater,

'just seven miles from Truro, be the perfect home?

'Or is the price tag telling us something?'

Well, the guide price was £225,000

for a six or seven-bedroom property in around about two acres of land.

Uh! That could explain it.

It doesn't look like that good condition really, does it? Nah.

That's just one of the things in the grounds.

This is the property itself, and actually, in some ways... it looks worse.

# That don't impress me much

'This property dates back to the 1840s

'and was updated in the 1960s.

'It now presents a somewhat characterless face to the world.

'It looks rather like a giant green shed.'

Hm. Yes. Not that pleasant at all.

But anyway, what's inside? OK, we've got a loo there, at the entrance.

Straight away I'm seeing higgledy-piggledy. Oh, blimey!

Lots of little corridors leading to a mishmash of rooms.

Stairs up to the bedrooms, or some of the bedrooms, anyway.

As you walk through into the property, at least you start to get some original features.

We like this. A huge great inglenook fireplace. I doubt it had this bit on it in the first place.

That's been put in to make the fire actually work.

But get that cleaned up and that's quite nice.

Straight away I'm seeing things as basic as electrics.

Not up to current standards, I don't think.

This part of the house, though, it's dark, it's dingy,

it's got the big thick walls, it's going to need some sorting out. Oh, boy, oh, boy, is this a project!

# Working nine to five

# What a way to make a living

'Well, you're going to have to put in even more hours than Dolly Parton to refurbish this house.

'Each room requires a serious overhaul.

'Luckily, when it all gets a bit too much, you can retire to the conservatory to put your feet up.

'Not something I've got time for, though, with six bedrooms upstairs still to see.'

BENNY HILL THEME

So, it's not just the house that you get for your money,

you also get over two acres of land and it extends all the way over here.

It's very difficult to see where the boundary is cos it's so overgrown.

But what could this potentially be? Well, a development plot. Now, let's talk about that.

If you were to build, say, a four, five-bedroom house on here,

and I think there's enough room for it, sell that on,

potentially that could fund the rebuilding of that property there.

On the other hand, it's really nice to have this bit as a paddock area,

so why not create yourself that idyllic life in the country?

Oh, the options are yours.

# I touched the green, green grass of home

'There are more than two acres here,

'so ample room to build another property.

'But perhaps you'd rather enjoy the solitude and quiet.'

Well, sadly, you think Cornwall and you think seaside or beautiful open views.

The property's location is not ideal,

right by the side, literally, of the A30, the main road through Cornwall.

What can you do about it? Well, absolutely nothing.

Maybe it's time to consider double glazing.

# I'm on the highway to hell

'Fortunately, the main house already has double glazing

'and so it seems does the garden,

'in which there's another interesting little item.'

12 years ago, this well used to provide the water for three properties around here.

There's no reason to think it couldn't be brought back into service.

You'd have to have it checked out, have somebody come and check the water was safe to drink,

you'd probably have to put in a purification plan, but it could save you a considerable amount of money.

And just the aesthetics of having your own well - how cool is that?

# Till the well runs dry

# Till the well runs dry

'I think it's swell having your own well,

'but close by there's something that's not so nice.'

Well, lovely and large though the garden is,

in it lurks a potential problem.

This area of Cornwall, of course,

famous for its mining in the past,

and here in the garden,

the remains of a mine shaft.

In order to discern whether or not this is a problem, you need to get the local coal authority out,

they'll look at it and say, "Yes, it could be a problem."

Thankfully it's a reasonable distance away from the house.

Er, but I wouldn't buy this place until I had that investigated.

'Bearing in mind that its guide price was £225,000,

'what does a local estate agent make of this place?

'We asked one for his thoughts.'

It's sizey. It's got three reception rooms, conservatory,

six/seven bedrooms upstairs, so it's a very good-sized accommodation.

'OK, let's talk numbers. How much might the house sell for once refurbished?'

If it was fully renovated,

it should sell in the region of £450,000 to £500,000.

'What about the rental market?'

This property should generate between £1,000 and £1,500 per calendar month in rental.

'And if the new owners manage to build a second dwelling,

'how much could that sell on for?'

If the owners were to develop the land

and build a three to four-bedroom detached property on the plot,

they could be looking at a resale value of around £300,000 to £350,000.

So, what would you do if you were to take this place on?

There's certainly a lot of work required to sort it out

and it might make more financial sense to knock it down and start again.

On the plus side, there is the development potential on the plot.

On the negative side, well, you have got the road and also that mineshaft.

Lots of things to think about. Let's find out who bought it at the auction.

Six-bedroom farmhouse. All sorts of outbuildings.

It ought to be talking 200,000 straight in.

200 straight in. 200, he says.

At 200. At 200. At 200. At 200.

And two. 202.

204. 206.

208.

208. At 208.

210. 212.

Isn't that embarrassingly far away? 214. 214. 216.

18. 20. At 220. At 220.

At 220 first time, then.

At 220 second time.

At 220. Looking hard around.

220. Take a single off anyone.

220, third and last time. At 220.

-HAMMER BANGS

-Sir, yours.

'That successful bid of £220,000 was made by Mark.

'He's a fireman and also has a building background,

'which I'm sure will come in handy for this place.

'I met up with him at the property to find out more.'

-Mark, lovely to meet you. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-You've got yourself a bit of a challenge here.

-I think so, yes.

I do like a challenge. Probably the biggest one I've took on so far.

So why did you want to come to Cornwall so much?

I like the lifestyle. It's so much more relaxed.

I'm fed up with looking out the window and seeing rows and rows of terraced houses.

# I want to get away, get away

'This piece of Cornish countryside is a world away from Mark's end-of-terrace house in Kent.'

It's probably about four to five times the size of the house.

And probably... 500 times the size of the garden.

'But Mark isn't doing this alone.

'His partner Julie and her children, Morgan and Nadine, will be helping him out.

'But why did Mark choose this house?'

I was looking for something that I considered to be a good value property, really.

So I wanted a decent amount of space around it. I wanted a decent amount of land.

Julie likes to grow veg and fruit and stuff. There's plenty of room for that.

There's plenty of room for the dogs to run round.

-So you've got dogs. What about other animals?

-Yeah, we've got four parrots, two giant rabbits,

a normal rabbit, two chipmunks.

What? All in your end-of-terrace house in Kent?

Yes. It's a little tight in places.

'It sounds like all the species of this household will fill up this property perfectly

'and still leave plenty of room for Mark's 83-year-old mum,

'who will be relocating with them.

'But what about that mineshaft?'

The mineshaft is about 75 metres away from the house.

So even if there was a collapse situation, it wouldn't affect the property.

That's been checked out through mining searches.

'That's good news about the mineshaft.

'And with the house double-glazed already, the main road won't bother Mark and his family.

'But what are his plans for this place?'

Could do with a couple of extra windows in the main living room,

because there's nothing on the front.

At some point, I will be looking at re-pitching the roof because it's got a very large flat roof on the front.

What about the layout? Cos it is quite bitty at the moment, isn't it?

It is, but it lends itself quite well to the idea of my mum having her own separate area,

because we've got the living room at the end there, and then there's a shower and a toilet off of that

and there's also a door that can shut that off.

She can then come out into the conservatory, as well, from there.

So it'll give her a bit of freedom there.

'With their £55,000 budget and a timescale of two years,

'Mark and Julie's new life in Cornwall is beginning

'with the prospect of waiting for their dream home.

'Although a fireman now, Mark began his working life as a carpenter,

'so his hands-on building skills are definitely going to be put to good use here.'

It is a major project, isn't it?

It is. I like a challenge.

Wow! Well, this is a challenge enough

without the added complications of having to rehouse dogs, parrots,

chickens, chipmunks, oh, and an 83-year-old lady.

How are they going to get on? Join us later in the show and find out.

'Coming up in Derby, the renovation of this house on a hill

'might be an uphill struggle.'

As a first impression, that's not good!

'Back on the farm, has Mark enjoyed creating his dream home?'

It's been a lot of work, but it's been fun.

'But first, a progress report in Kent.'

The only thing that we didn't have to do was, erm, sort of, erm... Actually, we had to do everything.

'Let's make our way back to Margate...

'..where I viewed this three-bedroom terrace

'which had a guide price of between £60,000 and £65,000.

'Now, if there's one thing I've learned on Homes Under The Hammer

'it's that you can't always judge a book by its cover.

'But then again, sometimes you can.

'This house was in a big mess. It had been empty for a few years

'and become derelict and very dilapidated.'

You cannot underestimate the amount of work that needs doing in this house.

'But seeing beyond the dingy conditions

'was London-based estate agent and property developer Michael.

'He paid £81,000 for it at auction.

'His many years of experience meant this horrifying house held no fear for him.'

Can you see the end product of this property?

I think it needs a great deal to be done,

but sometimes, you know, in a way, it's good to gut a place.

We've got some original fireplaces which we'll keep. We'll keep some familiar things.

We'll put in some nice new kitchen and bathroom. It'll be good when it's finished.

'Michael may have been cool, calm and collected,

'but I was worried about his £25,000 budget

'and super-speedy and perhaps optimistic seven-week schedule.

'Could he really bring this place back from the brink?'

# I'm flying into pieces

'A mere two months later, we're back.'

# I'm flying into pieces

'From top to bottom, inside and out, this terrace has been utterly transformed

'from derelict wreck to a very desirable residence.

'Usually at this point we'd ask, "So, what have you done?"

'But on this occasion, it might be more apt to ask,

'"What haven't you done?"'

The only thing that I think we didn't have to do was, erm,

sort of, erm... Actually, we had to do everything.

A new roof, new windows. We made some changes in the layout upstairs.

The only thing that remained were some of the features, a couple of nice fireplaces, that was all.

'Nowhere is the transformation of this terrace from tragedy to triumph

'more evident than in the kitchen.

'Michael has even added an interesting light feature.

'Could this be the start of a new trend, the kitchen-cum-discotheque?'

# That's why you'll always find him in the kitchen at parties

This was absolutely derelict. There was nothing here, nothing that even looked like a kitchen.

So we've had to totally transform it,

put in the units, put in the electrics, put in a new floor. Everything is changed.

I think it's nice. We've got some disco lights if anyone wants to dance round. Really pleasant. Really nice.

'Michael was determined to have an upstairs bathroom,

'which he feels, and I agree, is more family-friendly.

'So he converted the back bedroom into one.'

We've totally changed this. Lovely corner unit. Heated towel rail. Lovely sink and WC.

Very pleasant, fully tiled, nice flooring. Really looks grand. It's lovely.

'In order to retain three bedrooms,

'Michael divided the master one...

'..to create a pair of single bedrooms.

'While these are certainly not spacious, they would suit young children.

'However, in order to create a new entrance for the partitioned bedrooms,

'he had to take space from the third bedroom.

'For a master, it's ever so slightly on the small side.

'But I have to commend Michael for his good use of space.

'15 years ago, he set up an organisation

'which helps homeless families move into private accommodation.

'Landlords usually demand references and require deposits,

'which can exclude disadvantaged families in need of a home.

'So this charity works with private landlords

'who place these people in houses they can make their home.

'The landlords receive the market rate for their property from government subsidies.

'The builder who Michael employed to carry out the renovation, Adam,

'was previously a beneficiary of this charity.'

Quite a few years ago he rehoused my family,

under the House The Homeless scheme he's got,

and then we moved to Margate, he had a few properties down here,

he asked me to maintain a couple of them, we did well,

and it escalated from there. He's asked me to look after the rest of them

and now we do all his building work.

'How has Adam found doing this job?'

The biggest problem was probably doing the roof,

because it was snowing at the time. HE LAUGHS

Bad time to start, but, you know?

But, no, other than that, everything else was OK.

'Adam has spent eight weeks on the project.

'But how much has it cost?

'Michael hasn't skimped on the finish.

'The oak doors add a touch of quality.

'So has he kept to his £25,000 maximum budget?'

The final bill was £24,000 which, given the work that's been carried out, is very reasonable.

'Reasonable? Now there's an understatement.

'Adding Michael's £81,000 purchase price

'makes the total outlay £105,000.

'So what's he most pleased with?'

My favourite bit of the house, I think, is the bathroom.

It's really nice. If David Beckham didn't live in a prestigious property in West London now,

I'm sure he'd be very happy to have bath time here.

'So is his development financially offside?

'Or is he on a winning streak?

'We've lined up two local estate agents to give us their opinions.'

I think this is a fantastic three-bedroom terraced house,

obviously completely refurbished to a very reasonable standard,

and I think it will make an ideal family home.

The changes are amazing. They've done an extremely good job

in a very short time and transformed the look and feel of the property.

'Bearing in mind Michael's total spend of £105,000,

'how much do the estate agents believe the property could achieve if sold?'

I think this property would sell to a first-time buyer

and you'd be looking at around about £130,000.

I would suggest they put it on the market between £130,000 and £135,000.

That's fantastic. That gives a notional profit of quite a significant amount. That's great.

'Michael seems chuffed with those valuations,

'which would give him a profit between £25,000 and £30,000,

'minus tax and expenses. But he intends to let this house.'

I think you're going to be looking at around about £650 per calendar month.

In the current market, I would expect them to achieve about £650 per calendar month.

That's what we were looking at. Originally I thought a bit more

but we've looked at market rents and that seems reasonable, yeah.

'£650 per calendar month

'would give Michael a healthy yield of just under 7.5 percent.

'This house has been given a new lease of life by Michael and Adam.

'It will be a fantastic family home for the tenants

'who are also making a fresh start.

'Michael must be very proud of all that he's achieved.'

I'm really happy. Whenever you're bidding at an auction,

you never know quite what to bid to,

but now that the work's been done, the house looks really clean,

really good, really clean, really pleasant,

I'm really pleased with the work that Adam's done and I'm very glad I bought it.

I'm in Ambergate in Derbyshire,

about three and a half miles from the nearest town of Belper.

It's got a railway station but not many other facilities

so you are going to need a car if you live here.

That's the downside. The upside is you're surrounded by this incredible Derbyshire scenery.

'I'm right in the heart of the Derwent Valley here,

'and if it's a semi-rural retreat you're looking for,

'you couldn't do much better than Ambergate.

'If you do need a few more facilities than this picturesque hamlet has to offer,

'then the historic mill town of Belper,

'with its parks, shops, inns and restaurants, is only three and a half miles away.'

Well, the property I'm here to see is this three-bedroom semi-detached with integral garage.

At a guide price of £80,000, built in the 1960s,

you can see straight away it's not going to appeal to everybody

because it's built on this hillside and the only way in is up these steps.

# We'll be pleased to be called

# The folks who live on the hill

HE PANTS

So what does this house on a hill have to offer?

Well, hopefully it won't be an uphill struggle for whoever buys it.

Although, as a first impression, that's not good!

Just above the window there, you can see that there's a lot of cracking going on.

My guess is that's a lintel supporting the wall above it.

I reckon that the double glazing has been replaced at some time in the not too distant past,

and before that, the window was actually forming part of the structure.

That hasn't really been upgraded when the windows were put in,

and as a result, it's started to sag a bit and you get that cracking.

Definitely need to get that sorted out. So not a good start. However,

the moment you come into this lounge, it all changes.

Really nice size, you've got double aspect, nice windows with a view out the front,

great patio doors out the back to the garden.

Interesting fireplace but at least it's a bit of a feature.

And then through here to the kitchen.

Now, needs a bit of tender loving care.

Erm, it's not a bad sized space, a bit of a unusual size,

and you might think about getting rid of that cupboard there

and opening it out a bit to create a bit of a nicer space.

But again, nice views onto the rear garden there.

And I like this kind of house, the kind of house you can walk round and round in,

because go through this door and you're out again to where you came in. Marvellous.

# Let's go round again

# Maybe we'll turn back the hands of time

# Let's go around again

# One more time

'One of the great things about a house like this,

'where there doesn't seem to have been much done or altered since it was originally built,

'is that you can really go to town on it and make it your own.'

So, upstairs, any great surprises?

Er, no. Pretty much exactly what you might expect.

Two good-size double bedrooms, one at the back, one at the front,

a small box room, and the only thing to really think about, you've got a separate loo and a bathroom.

Knock them together? Maybe, maybe not.

A house which I think is just a really good property.

'I know the rooms are dated and the bathroom will need upgrading,

'but what I like about this house, that went to auction guided at £80,000,

'is that it offers the potential to add value.

'The new owner will need to get the wiring checked out,

'and I've spotted some cracks in the ceiling that'll need investigating.

'But outside there's good news.

'This garage, for starters. Just look at it. It's huge.

'And there's still off-road parking at the front for your car.

'But you might not want to be driving off anywhere

'when you could be sitting on your balcony admiring the vista.'

Some absolutely gorgeous views out of the front of the property.

But unfortunately, at the front and side of the house,

there is a massive amount of these breeze blocks and lots of concrete.

Thankfully the house redeems itself at the back,

cos this really is the most charming garden. Come and have a look.

Up these steps. Love all these various conifer-type trees.

You've got primroses out, isn't that glorious?

And you sort of think it's going to end about here,

but it doesn't! Come on, come on.

Through here. This is wonderful. Look at this!

You've even got a pond, you've got a greenhouse.

It goes all the way to the back here and then you've got open fields in the distance.

I mean, the house is great. I'd buy this place for the garden.

# Come into the garden, babe

# Come on, come on in

# Come into the secret garden

'There's no doubt that somebody's going to love this little hillside perch.

'And if bought for anywhere near that guide price of £80,000,

'I really do think you'd be getting a lot for your money.

'We asked the auctioneer who sold the property to tell us what potential he thinks there is here. '

Built in the 1960s, it's fairly bland, it's fairly ordinary.

But where it is is beautiful and I think you could make it into

a very desirable home.

'OK. But where to begin?'

You've got to start, I think, with refitting the property first of all.

The wiring is old, I guess the central heating system is pretty old, as well.

But the whole house really just wants a facelift.

'Once the property's been refurbished, how much could it be worth if sold?'

When this property is renovated and done to a good standard,

it would probably have a value on today's market

of somewhere around £140,000.

'And the potential rental income once done up?'

This would have a rental value when it's done up

of probably somewhere in the region of £575 to £600 per calendar month.

A really good-sized family house with bags of potential.

And I think for that £80,000 guide price, a great one to go for.

It won't appeal to everybody, cos you've got the steps to the front and that steep garden to the back.

But that view... Let's see who fancied it

and had the energy to take it on when it went under the hammer.

-Lot 58.

-'It was towards the end of the day,

'but I'm sure bidders were at the ready for this prize property.'

Start me where you will on this one. May I say 85,000 for it?

£80,000? Into the bidding here, thank you, at 80,000.

At £80,000. 81 somewhere? 81 is bid.

At 81. 82 I have.

82. 83. 83,000.

84 is bid. 84. 85.

85. 86.

86. 87.

87,000. 88.

89. 90 on the right.

90,000. 91.

91,000. 92.

93.

93. 94.

95. At 95,000. 96?

96, a fresh bidder.

96. 97.

97. First and last?

£97,000. It's against you at the back.

We're selling it at 97.

Going once. Twice. Third time.

-HAMMER BANGS

-Sold at 97,000, number 82.

'Well, the happy buyer was Rob, who attended the auction with his sister, Sandra.

'And no wonder they're smiling.

'Rob had been prepared to go up to £130,000,

'so he must be delighted that he ended up paying just £97,000.

'Rob's an architectural technician and building surveyor by trade

'so should be able to handle the challenge of this property.'

-Rob, great to meet you. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

-I've recently separated from my family

so I'm basically looking to pick up and start again.

So this is going to be my new start in life.

Lot of emotional trauma in the last little while, I'm sure, but on the up now with this place.

It is, yeah. I'm looking for somewhere that I can sink my teeth into

and my two daughters can come and help me do some work on it.

-Why this house, then?

-I need somewhere that I can live in,

so move into while I'm doing the work, so it needs to be habitable.

I want somewhere that's big enough to have an office, cos I'm home-based.

It needs a second bedroom so that my daughters can come and stay with me.

And I've got an old classic car, so I need a reasonable size garage.

So that was one of my top priorities.

-So it's going to have pride of place in the garage?

-It is. And this is a big enough garage to get it in.

# Well, if you let me be your mechanic

# I can do your motor some good

Tell me what you're going to do to sort the house out.

Ideally, I'd like to put French doors at the front,

so you can get the most of the views as you look out from the front.

I'm going to remove the block work and the railing at the front of the house

and put a more contemporary balustrade across.

Erm, the internals, my first thought was to split the house,

actually turn the lounge around through 90 degrees.

I was thinking of putting up a kitchen/diner at the rear of the house

and a full-length lounge at the front, basically taking out part of this wall,

but I think that that's going to add some lateral restraint.

-But I'm still considering that one.

-And what about upstairs? Any plans?

Well, upstairs, the two large bedrooms don't really need much doing to it.

The small bedroom would be my office, so at least I've got nice views.

The bathroom, it's got a separate WC and bathroom.

Clearly you'd remove the stud wall so that you've got one bathroom.

But what I do want to do is to provide an en suite up there, as well.

I hope my daughters will come and stay, so if they've got their own bathroom off their bedroom,

-it might encourage them a bit more.

-How you going to squeeze in a bathroom en suite?

I think the wall at the side of the bath needs to move about a foot more into the bedroom.

You can fit a shower with a WC and a wash basin in as an en suite.

Then you've still got your bath, wash basin and WC in the main bathroom.

'Whatever layout Rob decides on for the ground floor,

'he plans to do most of the work himself.

'He's reckoning on a budget of between £10,000 and £12,000,

'but as he'll only be able to tackle it around his full-time job,

'he thinks it'll take him six months to get the basics done

'and then another six months after that to finish the final fixes and the landscaping.'

-I wish you all the best here.

-Thank you.

-Look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

Well, it's a new start for Rob.

I'm sure his daughters will be absolutely delighted

with the bedroom he's building for them, and more importantly, the en suite.

My only concern is will he spend more time in the garage

restoring his Triumph Stag than he will the property? You can find out later in the show.

In the property world, time is money.

It's important to work hard and get the job done.

So, did today's buyers finish their projects

or was time their enemy? Let's find out.

'We've returned to Blackwater in Cornwall.

'It was two years and eight months ago

'that I met Kent fireman Mark.

'He paid £220,000 at an auction for this huge property.

'It had three reception rooms, six bedrooms and over two acres of land

'and fitted his bill perfectly.'

I was looking for something that I considered to be a good value property, really.

Also, I wanted a decent amount of space around it, I wanted a decent amount of land.

There's plenty of room for the dogs to run round.

-So you've got dogs. What about other animals?

-Yeah, we've got four parrots,

two giant rabbits, a normal rabbit, two chipmunks, two cats,

erm, probably a few others if I thought about it. 16 chickens.

'Well, with that large menagerie,

'it was no wonder Mark was keen to take on this place.

'As a former joiner keen for a challenge,

'he had his work cut out for him.

'This was going to be his family home for the long-term future

'so there was no urgency to get it finished.

'Two years and eight months later, we're back.

'So, no obvious dramatic changes inside,

'but the family have moved in, animals and all.'

# Chick-chick-chick-chick-chicken

# Lay a little egg for me

# Chick-chick-chick-chick-chicken

# I want one for my tea

'And the reason they've not got very far with the decor?

'Well, like many an older property,

'there were underlying problems to address first.'

This fireplace here used to be built right out wide, didn't it?

-It came right out there.

-Yeah.

-It was all built in at the ends.

When we removed all that, we then found there was no floor.

So that all had to be dug out right back to the sub-base

and then obviously damp-proofed and a new floor put in.

We replaced all the joists, all the flooring upstairs

and then manufactured a new set of stairs, put them in.

-They were quite fun to get up into place, weren't they?

-They were.

So it's coming along.

It'll take a good while yet, but there's only so much you can do in a day.

# Relax, take it easy

'Mark, his step-daughter Nadine and one of their several parrots

'seem very relaxed about the whole thing.

'Although, when they first arrived at the property, they had a big job on their hands.'

Yeah, we've cleared all the rubbish that was over here,

built the garage so we had somewhere to store materials and things like that.

We actually cleared all this and managed to find the well.

New roof's on,

walls have all got to be rerendered and painted,

same at the garage, so it all ties in nicely together.

It's been a lot of work but it's been fun.

We've got through it and we'll see how it goes from there on. Just keep going.

# Wish me love a wishing well, kiss and tell

# A wishing well...

'You have to admire Mark's relaxed approach to the very daunting task ahead.'

The biggest challenge on this is really time,

just to try and get the work done,

because I do like to do 90 percent of everything myself.

The burning issue at the moment is trying to get teenage daughters' rooms done,

because I keep getting it in my ear that they're not done yet

and they've been waiting for so long.

'The project may still be under construction

'but with the new garage, new joists, floors and plastering,

'the pounds are bound to have added up.

'Mark's original budget for the work was £50,000.'

We've spent, to date, approximately £55,000 on it,

which is mainly on the roof.

Because I do the work myself, materials-wise is all I really pay for,

so I reckon we've got another 10 to 15 to spend to get it to where I want it.

'With the purchase price of £220,000

'and Mark's projected final spend here of around £70,000,

'that brings his total investment to £290,000.

'We invited two local property experts

'to cast their eyes over this work in progress.'

First impressions when you come through the doors,

you can see the massive potential and scope that this property offers.

The overall layout of the property at the moment does fit well.

However, some remodelling downstairs between the kitchen and the dining room would add to its appeal.

'I don't see Mark or his family going anywhere any time soon.

'He bought this for the long-term and it's certainly become a labour of love for him.

'He's also thoroughly enjoying the new lifestyle which it affords him.

'If he were to have a change of heart, however,

'what do the experts think he could sell the property on for once renovations are completed?'

If the owners continue to refurbish it to the same standards they've done so far,

then I would expect this property to fetch somewhere in the region of £350,000 to £400,000.

Once the property has been fully renovated,

we would look to market the property at an asking price in the region of £385,000.

£350,000 to £400,000.

-I'm quite pleased with that.

-Yeah, that's all right.

It's definitely an improvement.

'With a potential pre-tax profit of between £60,000 and £110,000,

'it's no wonder Mark's pleased to hear those figures.

'So, do Mark and Nadine, who works at a local kennels at the weekends,

'plan to add to their ever-growing menagerie?'

Oh, I'm sure we can fit some more pets in.

I do have a thought of emus or rheas at some point.

Especially with my work. We get a lot of abandoned dogs in.

-I could bring them home.

-I think the five dogs will do. THEY LAUGH

'Just three and a half miles from the Derbyshire town of Belper,

'in Ambergate, right in the heart of the Derwent Valley,

'was this house in a elevated position with great views all round.

'It was bought for £97,000 by Rob, who was looking to make a fresh start.

'Doing the house up for when his two daughters come to stay,

'he planned to landscape the large garden and dispense with the piles of breeze blocks.'

Tell me what you're going to do to sort the house out.

Ideally I'd like to put French doors so that you can get the most of the views as you look out from the front.

It's got a separate WC and bathroom, which clearly you'd remove the stud wall so it's one bathroom.

But what I do want to do is provide an en suite up there, as well.

'Rob had set a budget of £10,000 to £12,000,

'and as he would be doing a lot of the work himself,

'he anticipated it would take about a year to complete.

'It's now 14 months later.

'The house has new windows and that unruly garden has been beautifully landscaped,

'making the very most of the wonderful views into the distance.

'And the view from the rear bedroom's not bad, either.

'The separate loo and bathroom have been knocked into one.

'At the front, Rob's got an equally impressive outlook from his new office.

'And the master bedroom.

'Downstairs, he decided to keep the layout the same.

'But the kitchen has been totally refitted.

'Access from the hall has been blocked up and a new loo has been installed.

'But what about the upstairs facilities?

'There's no sign of the en suite he'd planned for the back bedroom.'

I did drawings, configurations as to how I could change the bathroom and bedroom to fit it in

and it would've worked quite nicely, but at the end of the day,

it just made more efficient use to form a downstairs WC in there

and leave the bathroom and the back bedroom as large as possible.

'Well, the bathroom still needs to be completed

'and it sounds like Rob's two daughters aren't missing the en suite at all.

'But what do they think of the rest of the house?'

Er, they don't say a great deal. I know they don't like the rug.

HE LAUGHS But other than that, I think they're quite pleased with it.

'I'm not surprised. The garden's stunning.

'Unlike many developers we meet on the programme,

'Rob decided not to leave the outside till last. In fact, he did it first.'

I excavated this lower area to make a sunken patio that gets the sun all afternoon,

and then this, what was a sunken area, I used bricks and blocks from inside the house.

The biggest part of the project was excavating all of this area here.

I wanted to make a seating area and then space for a conservatory, which I've bought.

So the stonework that came from here went to fill the side excavations.

And then I'll show you what I've done at the top of the garden.

'We can see. Heaps! It really is impressive.'

The garden was pretty overgrown when I first moved in here.

The first week I moved, I bought a chainsaw and cut down 14 trees.

I moved the fish pond from a higher level down to here, put a new shed at the top.

Then all of the stonework that was remaining from the excavations at the bottom

I used to level this top end of the garden.

It catches the sun all day long. I'm very happy with it.

'Those cracks above the front window that I was concerned about were only superficial.

'There was a concrete lintel inside

'and Rob's added steel lintels outside.

'I reckon that once he gets the inside completely finished,

'this will be a really fabulous property.

'The varnished floorboards and the finish in the kitchen hint at what to expect.

'But with the project taking almost 14 months so far,

'what's happened to Rob's other love, his cherished sports car?'

Unfortunately, I haven't touched my car.

I start it up every day when I get in and sit in it

and make brum-brum noises, but no, that's my next project.

'Robert set a budget of £10,000 to £12,000.

'So how has he faired with that?'

I've spent £10,611.

But that includes a conservatory for the back which I've bought,

which I hadn't got included in the original budget.

So I would like to think I've ended up pretty much on the nose.

'Pretty specific with the numbers, then.

'And with that £97,000 he paid at auction,

'that takes his total investment to a shade over £107,600.

'Time to get some opinions from two local property experts.

'First, the auctioneer who saw it before any work was done.'

I do remember it. It was a bit tired, a bit dated.

He's refitted everything, done it with a lot of attention to detail

and he's doing very well with it.

I really love this property. I think it's beautifully presented,

it sits on a delightful position, the views are stunning,

it's a very desirable property.

'What about the rental income here? How much income could Rob generate?'

I would value this property for rental purposes

at around £550 a month.

If this house was for rent, it would have a rental value in excess of £600 per calendar month.

I wouldn't be looking to put it on to rent, anyway.

Maybe in 12 months time, I might be looking to sell and move onto another project.

But, no, that sounds very good money.

'Will the resale values go as swimmingly?

'Could the house be worth more than the £107,600 that Rob's invested?'

I think this house, on the open market currently,

would have a value of around £150,000.

I would advertise this property around the £165,000 mark

with a view to returning about £160,000.

'That valuation range would produce a profit

'of between £42,400 and £57,400

'before tax and expenses.'

The house owes me £108,200.

If you look at all of the fees it's cost to buy it

and everything I've spent on it,

less a year's worth of rent that I've saved living here,

potentially quite a tidy profit. I'm very pleased with that.

'With work still to finish inside and out

'and that car down in the garage beckoning,

'what's Rob got planned for this evening?'

Bottles of wine tonight and we've got friends coming around.

It's the first time that the house has been clean and tidy in 12 months

so I've got to make the most of it quick while it's clean and tidy.

Well, that's it from Martin and me.

-Join us next time for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

.