Episode 42 Homes Under the Hammer

-Welcome to the show.

-Buying property can be a drawn-out process.

But not if you buy at the auction. You could have the keys to your property in 28 days or less.

So if you like to know where you are, it might be worth buying your home under the hammer.

Well, buying at auction can be a bit of a gamble, but the key is to do your research first.

So are our buyers today on a winning streak? Here's what they bought.

We revisit a property in Hammersmith in London, which we last saw seven years ago

when it was waiting for work to start on a loft conversion.

In Kent, this site with planning permission looks perfect for an easy life.

As building plots go, this is quite an uncomplicated one.

And this ground-floor flat in Derby could solve all your storage needs and then some!

You have got an absolute plethora of cupboards.

All these properties have been sold at auction. We'll find out who bought them and what they paid

when they went under the hammer.

Time now for some time travel. We're heading back to 2005,

the first time we looked at a property in Hammersmith, West London.

On a day like today, by the Thames, you can understand why people love the idea of living in London.

But my thoughts were that if you wanted somewhere by the river, you'd have to buy a new flat

that's been built along the Thames, but apparently not. The thing that's up for auction is just down there.

# Cos London is calling

# I live by the river... #

But before you get really excited about the river

and the proximity to transport links, remember this is London.

This isn't a snip. £330,000. Sounds like a lot of money to me.

Let's take a look inside.

'330 grand IS a lot of money for an auction property, however well positioned.

'I think this needs to be in pretty decent condition to get any investor excited.

'It doesn't look that big, but it does have three bedrooms, so perhaps it's bigger inside.'

Well, your third of a million quid doesn't even get you somewhere in particularly good order.

It's a hodge podge of rooms with various ones off corridors and staircases all over the place.

In terms of the internal decor, well, I've got a couple of really interesting things to show you.

First of all, how about this? Somebody obviously with a penchant for model boats.

You could always put the boat out, but for DIY disasters, look.

Fantastic. Ever seen packing tape used as a filler before?

We love that. And how about this for a fitted cupboard? Excellent for snooker cues!

Joking apart, it's a good-size space. You've got a rear sitting room and front one knocked through.

It's looking good, but one negative is out the back.

The good news is you've got a reasonable-sized garden, which is always a bonus.

The bad news is... it's on the flight path.

But the more or less constant rumble of flights in and out of Heathrow is something

you probably get used to. And it's almost impossible to avoid around here.

As for the property itself, there was a decent garden out back,

but inside the small kitchen needed a total overhaul, as did the layout upstairs.

There were three bedrooms on the first floor, but the bathroom and loo were accessed through a bedroom,

which is never ideal. One option was to go up into the loft and create a fourth bedroom.

The fact that other properties had already done this meant the precedent was set.

There was plenty to do, but did this promising property fetch a sky-high price at auction?

Right. Lot 32 now

is a mid-terraced house near the Thames. It's a good lot.

Where do you want to start?

Three? OK, you're here and you've bid. 300,000 on my right, sitting.

305 anywhere? 305. 310. 310. 315.

320. 325.

330.

335. 340.

345.

350. 355?

351? Try and help.

No?

351 over here. 351. 352?

Right. You'll get it on your first bid. It's going at 351,000. Anyone else?

352.

353. 354.

355. 356?

It's with you. 355. It's going. Anyone else?

First time... 356.

357. 358.

359. 360.

361. 362?

363?

364?

364. 365?

366?

365. Anyone else?

365, first time. Second time.

Third and last time at... 366. Nearly. 367.

368?

It's worth it. 368.

367, first time. Second time. Third and last time. Have you all done?

Sold. 367. Well done. Got there in the end.

That successful bid of £367,000 was made by Richard,

who works for a company organising property exhibitions.

He bought the mid-terrace as a family home to live in with his wife and 15-month-old daughter.

-So into your lounge.

-Indeed, yes.

-Does that sound a bit strange?

-It does now. What have we done?

But congratulations. Are you a bit concerned about what you've bought?

We know we've got a big project ahead of us. We did know that,

but now we're into the realisation of picking up the keys, it's all come to a head, really.

You obviously had a look at it before. What made you think this was a good one to go for?

Basically, there's a lot of space. It's three bedrooms, it's got great potential for the loft.

With the garden outside, it's comparatively big. It's got all the fundamentals we wanted.

As well as that, there's the park just outside there

-and the river is about 100 yards away.

-In a lot of ways, you bought the scrappiest house on the street.

That was the intention. So we'll hopefully turn it into the nicest house on the street.

'London prices are amazing. Richard's paid £367,000 for the worst house in the street,

'not the best. So what are his plans to transform it from the runt of the litter

'into the top dog?'

With the ground floor, in the room we're in now, we'll put a kitchen in this part.

-A kitchen in here?

-In here, which is not what's normally done in traditional front rooms.

However, what we've found is that with the kitchen in here, it frees up

-the back part of the room to have a dining area.

-That's thinking outside the box.

Yeah, I think it's... I think it's something we're pretty sure will work,

especially with my wife having a toddler around. She can be in the kitchen, the baby in this area.

The traditional kitchens are very small, so you just don't have the room to do that.

But using this area will give us that room.

The other thing we intend to do is convert the loft.

A lot of the other houses have had them converted.

-Planning permission, touch wood, shouldn't be a problem.

-Creating a four-bedroom house.

-Indeed, yeah.

-How much will the conversion be?

-They're coming in at around £30,000-£35,000.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Not cheap, then.

-They're not cheap.

-Is that London prices?

-London prices.

That's probably because they know how much square footage they can add and, hence, its value.

'London builders aren't daft, are they? £35,000 on a loft conversion.

'In some areas you could do this entire renovation plus a loft conversion to a high standard

'and still have 10,000 quid left. But then again, you wouldn't have the same level of value.'

What about timescales and budgets?

Total time, I'd say, three months. Three to four, perhaps.

-By the time we move in.

-And money?

Money... We're probably going to be looking at the 60-70 mark,

which will include doing the roof. It's important for us to get more space in the house.

To do the loft conversion now is quite important. As we're ripping the place to bits,

we might as well have all the mess and all the problems with the loft done and dusted.

-So in three months' time, you'll be in.

-Fingers crossed!

Well, that was in July, 2005.

When we went back, seven months later,

Richard and his family had moved in

and big changes had been made.

He'd moved the kitchen into the old front room and it was looking great.

I'd been dubious about the move, but it does look fabulous.

It was time for me to eat my hat.

We're very pleased with how the kitchen/dining area works.

The whole purpose of that was so that we could watch TV

whilst cooking food.

Also my daughter can play in one area whilst we're in the other area.

The former kitchen and the old back sitting room were knocked together and were being used as storage,

but Richard had a great plan for that space.

Where the kitchen used to be, that's created quite a nice large room,

which opens out into the garden. That will be a sort of child-free zone,

so dining room if needs be or perhaps even a second lounge.

Up the stairs and Richard had rejigged the dodgy layout of this mid-terrace.

The bathroom, as you've got it here, used to be at the back of the house.

You had to walk through a bedroom to get into the bathroom.

By bringing this forwards, all of the bedrooms can have access to this bathroom.

The new layout meant three good-sized bedrooms on the first floor, but with scaffolding up

the plan was to get cracking on the loft conversion.

They'd achieved a lot in seven months. They'd been lucky to keep their daughter away from the noise

of the work so far.

We've renovated properties before and been able to live there,

but we didn't have a little girl to oversee the project, if you like.

Fortunately, my wife's parents live abroad,

so my wife and child have been able to go out there whilst the major dirty, dusty work took place,

There was no escaping the fact that Richard's original 3-4 month timescale had slipped,

but he was confident that the loft conversion would come together swiftly and he'd stick to

his planned £60,000-£70,000 budget.

It will be great once it's finished, but we know we've got to go through that 2-3 month period of unrest

before it is what we wanted.

I think we have taken probably one of the worst houses in the street

and by the time it's finished, it will be the best in the street.

Keep watching and you can find out just how good the mid-terrace gets later in the show.

# So I'd like to know where you got the notion

# Rock the boat Don't rock the boat, baby Rock the boat... #

Ahoy, me hearties, and welcome aboard as the good ship Hammer sets sail for Gravesend.

In the 19th century, Gravesend became one of the first English resort towns.

Tourists would literally come by boat from London to visit the local gardens and pier

and enjoy the views of the river.

These days you can catch a high-speed train to London on less than 30 minutes.

Or you can pop over to nearby Ebbsfleet International and head to the continent.

But why bother when there's plenty to see here in Gravesend on a beautiful day like today?

Well, a 15-minute walk from Gravesend town centre and I'm here to see not a house,

more of a development opportunity.

It had a guide price at auction of £50,000-£60,000.

Basically, it's a building plot, formerly part of somebody's garden.

The good news is there's already full planning permission in place.

The garages will be flattened and a detached two-bed house built. I'm going to have a nose around.

Now shed aficionados might vote for keeping the garages, but this plot has so much more to offer.

Once these garages have gone, it'll be a reasonably-sized, reasonably flat plot.

It's actually 7.3 metres wide and 31 metres deep. There's road access to the front

and being in this lovely residential area, all the main services are quite close at hand.

As building plots go, this is quite an uncomplicated one.

With that planning permission, a lot of the legwork has been done for you.

The new owner would already be several steps closer to kicking back and taking it easy

in a very pleasant little garden.

So I've got the plans that have already been passed.

Let's have a little look and see what we've got here. It's for a chalet-style bungalow.

Now here we've got the ground floor and there's a living/dining area towards the back, which I love.

And you can see here some really nice bi-fold doors that lead straight out onto this garden.

That's really pretty. In the kitchen, I'd be inclined to take down that brick wall

to make the most of that space. A nice, large bedroom to the front.

Up the stairs into one big bedroom at the back and you've got a little study.

So overall I'm sure you could make a few little internal tweaks without having to re-apply for permission.

I really feel they've made the most of the space with these plans.

As the plans stand, I think you could build a two-bed chalet bungalow here for around £100,000.

This would mean that if you bought the land for £60,000, at the top end of the guide price,

you'd be looking at investing around £160,000 here.

We asked a local estate agent what she makes of the plot and the proposed plans for it.

I don't think you could have built anything differently here because of the style of properties around

and to maximise what you want, what they've drawn is perfect.

What does she reckon a chalet bungalow would fetch on the resale market?

We would expect to achieve around £200,000-£210,000.

And on the rental market?

A two-bedroom chalet bungalow would achieve

around £850 per calendar month.

It's hard to imagine this pretty garden and the garages will become a lovely home,

but with planning permission in place, it shouldn't take too long.

So who was tempted to do it themselves and build their own property?

Let's find out who bid for this one.

Lot 49 now.

Land with planning permission for a detached house with two bedrooms. Start me with a £50,000 opener?

£50,000 bid, can I say? At 50.

And five, do I say? At 50 on the telephone. 55 on the other telephone.

Up to 60. And five. 65.

65. At 65 on Will's phone. No? Ben's out of it.

65 on Will's phone.

And 67. 67 I've got. Fill it up to 70.

£70,000 now if you like. At... Yeah, 68 I'll take.

68. And nine. At 69, bid in the room. Fill it up to 70?

It's where I want it to be. 70,000. £70,000.

And one? 71. And two?

72. And three? 73. And four?

74?

74,000. And five, sir. 75. You know what you're paying for it.

And six? 76?

76? At 75,000... 76,000 I've got. 77 may I say?

77, it's against you. And 8 now?

At 78,000 can I say from you, Will?

If not, 77,000 in the room for the first time... 78 in a fresh place.

79, sir? 79 can I say...? And 80?

At 80, it's against you. At 80, it's against you.

£80,000 standing at the back in a fresh place.

81 now if you like? 81 may I say?

81 bid I've got. 82 may I say?

At 81 then for the first time, 81 for the second time, third and final time...

82 I've got. 83 now, sir? 83 I've got.

84? 84 now do I say?

At £83,000 then... 83 and a half I've got. 84.

At 84. 84 and a half?

84 and a half?

At £84,000 bid then for the first time, £84,000 for the second time...

Third and final time at £84,000, I'm selling, all done...

Yours, sir. Well done. Very patient.

'That successful bid of £84,000, £24,000 over the top guide price,

'was placed by Cliff, a Gravesend local.

'He bought the plot to build a house for himself and his partner Theresa.

'But the big question is whether he's going to shake up those plans.'

# Come on, pretty baby, let's move it and groove it

# Well, shake, oh baby, shake, oh honey, please don't lose it

# It's rhythm that gets into your heart and soul...#

Cliff, lovely to meet you.

-Good afternoon, Lucy.

-On this fine, sunny day.

-It feels like we're standing in somebody's garden, but what a pretty little spot this is!

-It is.

-Are you happy with this plot?

-It's just right.

-Why did you want to bid for this on auction day?

I only saw it a week before the auction and I saw it advertised in a local agent.

I picked up the catalogue, drove past and thought, "This is for me."

-It tickled your fancy?

-Yeah, I know Gravesend very well and I thought, "I've got to have a go at this."

When you thought, "This is for me," have you ever built anything before?

-Yeah, we run a building company.

-So you are a builder?

Yes, we work for a couple of developers, so we're used to it

and I've also built a couple of properties for myself in the past, so we're used to doing it.

And I saw the actual drawing. I didn't really like the house, but I knew that could be altered as such.

Externally, I won't touch it, just the internal layout. I thought, "Go to the auction," which is what I did.

'He maybe paid well over the guide price for the plot, but with his building experience and contacts,

'Cliff is confident he can make the plot work for him

'and that he and his team can fit the build in between other larger projects.'

So, Cliff, this is for you. Is this a bit of a dream?

Are you going to be building your dream property?

I wouldn't say the dream property, but it will have four walls, you don't have to answer to anybody.

If you want to turn the radio up, you can. You haven't got to put up with other people as such.

At the moment, I live in a flat in town near the river.

The flat and the views are fantastic, but unfortunately, there's another 40 residents in the block where I live,

so I'm getting a bit cheesed off with that.

You'll get yourself a nice detached house...

-Detached, yes.

-That you will build yourself.

-Yes.

-How much will you tweak those plans?

-It's totally different to the planning application internally.

-So why is that?

-Because it has to suit.

Unfortunately, it was really laid out for more of an elderly person.

The bathroom was on the ground floor, there was a small bedroom there.

Now we've pushed the bathroom upstairs and created a shower room on the ground floor.

There's still a facility that you could shower on the ground floor and use the loo,

but it's more of a house style now than a bungalow.

You've got a lovely lounge that leads out to the garden and a kitchen the other side of the wall.

We've moved that. The kitchen will be at the front in the bay window.

You'll walk in the front door by this garage, left into your kitchen, staircase in front of you,

turn right to a smaller bedroom in the middle, then into your lounge which opens out on to the garden.

-Lovely. It will be beautiful.

-It will be. The shed goes, but the trees will still be there.

And a piece of green grass which will be nice to come home to.

-Take my boots and socks off and sit on the grass.

-When you've been building houses all day!

And the rest of the boys. It's not just about me.

-You'll bring them all back here for a cup of tea?

-Yeah.

I'll need the boys here to get this built because the developer we work for, I can't let him down,

so it's all a part of the team, we all work together.

How is it going to work if your actual job starts getting busy? Is this build going to suffer?

No, it won't because, fortunately for us, we're just finishing three for our main client over in Epsom

and, hopefully, starting in about eight weeks' time on another pair,

so this will time right for us to come here, then we go over there.

You're a builder. You know about "it should time right".

-It should time right.

-That's what worries me. It might not time right.

You have to have some confidence. You have to get in and make a start

and, hopefully, it comes out the right side of the line.

-So you're feeling confident?

-Very confident.

-What's the budget?

Hopefully, spend about £90,000.

-You think you can build this perfect chalet-bungalow for 90 grand?

-Yes.

The only thing we've got at the moment is the services. Some prices came back on them.

The electricity connection is at the other side of the road, so it's £3,000 just to bring it to here.

-Really?

-It's £3,000, yes.

A few years ago, it wouldn't have been that,

but politics and electric, gas and water companies, we won't talk about that, but yeah, yeah...

-Will you be on site every day making things go smoothly?

-Yeah.

I only live just down the road. I'm working that way, but in the morning, we'll be here first thing,

off somewhere else, then back here in the afternoon. The boys will get caught in the morning and afternoon!

-Are you excited?

-Yeah, it's good news.

-Are you already imagining yourself living here?

-I can see me sitting here with a cup of tea.

-I can see that as well.

-Cliff, it's been lovely meeting you and I can't wait to see the end result. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

A lot of people dream of building their own home and Cliff is about to make that dream a reality,

but his business is building.

If work picks up, will this personal project keep getting put on hold?

Will he really be ready to move out of his flat and into his new home in just six months?

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

'Coming up, this one-bedroom, ground floor flat in Derby has a very handy added bonus.'

The flat comes with its own garage.

'In Gravesend, Kent, Cliff's two-bed house on this development site gets a big thumbs-up.'

Wow! He's done a fantastic job throughout the property.

'But first, has Richard finally finished his renovation

'of this three-bedroom mid-terrace in West London?'

And so we head back to the London borough of Hammersmith

and this three-bedroom mid-terrace.

Richard had bought it as a family home in 2005

for £367,000.

When we returned for our second visit seven months later,

Richard, his wife and their toddler daughter had moved in.

They had created a great family kitchen and were about to start on the loft conversion.

Richard had big aspirations for the mid-terrace.

I think we have taken probably one of the worst houses in the street

and by the time it's finished, it will be the best house in the street.

Seven years after our first visit, we were itching to get back

to see if Richard had finally created the ultimate Hammersmith palace.

# I've been trying to do it right

# I've been living a lonely life

# I've been sleeping here instead

# I've been sleeping in my bed

# Sleeping in my bed...

# I belong with you

# You belong with me

# In my sweet home

# I belong with you, you belong with me

# In my sweet home... #

Wow, what a job they've done here!

This is a perfect family home.

That kitchen at the front is a triumph.

The sitting room at the back is an oasis of calm.

Up on the first floor there are three good-sized bedrooms

and an attractive family bathroom.

There's also now a lovely new staircase up to the long-awaited loft conversion.

We've created a single loo in the room itself

and also had a sort of open-plan bath in it as well.

It's quite important for us to get a bath, rather than a shower, as we both prefer baths.

The layout up here may not be to everyone's liking,

but Richard and his wife used the room as their master bedroom

before moving that back down to the first floor.

In current economic climates, we've taken in a lodger.

He stays with us for five days a week

and he's living in the loft space which is self-contained,

so we don't see much of him.

As for the occupants of the bedrooms on the first floor,

well, the house is not the only thing that's been growing since our last visit.

The oldest daughter is now nine

and two and a half years after the oldest was born, our second one turned up, so another girl.

And she's now seven,

so they've sort of grown with the house.

The way we've laid it out means we've got a family room at the front of the house which includes the kitchen,

which enables them to play, watch TV whilst we're in there eating or preparing food or whatever.

It's a wonderful family space, but it's not the only one that the property enjoys.

The garden has been transformed into a wonderful safe haven for Richard's girls.

Particularly with the outside space, we wanted to put our own stamp on that.

There's quite a nice Wendy house, cottage in the garden

which the kids love to play in.

We also were able to put in a watering system into the garden

just when it's not a hosepipe ban,

so we're able to do that whilst having a drink out there.

The kids' rooms themselves are delightful,

but the best bit of all is they've still got the same teddies they had seven years ago.

# Me and my teddy bear

# Have no worries, have no cares

# Me and my teddy bear

# Just play and play all day... #

Oh, bless! But the big question is why has it all taken so long?

Seven years to do a loft conversion? Surely not!

Last time you were here, we'd got scaffolding up.

We were waiting for the builder to start on that,

so it probably took eight to ten weeks to get the structure done

and then perhaps another couple of weeks to get the interior done.

Because we did quite a bit of the touching up ourselves, that probably took another good couple of months,

but as with any of these projects you're living in, there's not necessarily the time constraints

because you're already in the house, so touching up was being done even a couple of weeks ago.

In the seven years it's taken to add those finishing touches,

work has started on a development of up-market flats nearby.

That might give a boost to property prices locally,

but how much has Richard's renovation ended up costing?

The initial budget, yeah, 60 or 70.

With the loft, yeah, probably another ten on top of that.

I'd say we probably came in at 80, 85.

A renovation cost of £85,000 on top of his purchase price of £367,000

brings Richard's total outlay here

to a cool £452,000.

We asked two local property experts

to look around the finished mid-terrace and give us their thoughts.

It's a lovely family home and very nicely decorated.

A bit different to your standard Victorian terraces in the layout,

but the finish on it is fabulous and it would make a great family home for somebody.

Quite a bit has happened in the seven years since we were last here -

property market crash, double-dip recession, mortgage mayhem.

What do the experts think the mid-terrace would sell for today?

I believe this property would achieve a figure in the region of £985,000.

I would put this property on the market at £1.15 million.

Did he just say £1.15 million?

He did, didn't he? Yes.

£1.15 million!

Well, obviously very pleased.

I know that there's been a lot of movement in the area recently

because of the development that's been taking place at the end of the road,

so, yeah, pleasantly surprised.

If Richard were to sell, the estate agents' valuations would give him a profit before tax and expenses

of between £533,000 and £698,000.

Not bad, even over seven years.

What about rentals?

I'd put a rental value on this of £3,250 per calendar month.

I think this property would rent at around £3,460 per month.

Those rental valuations would give Richard a very healthy yield of around 9%.

So does he feel he's reached his goal? Is this now the best house on the street?

It's continually moving on this street. There's a lot of people moving in, renovating properties.

We've got a house we're very happy with. I don't think we'd want to live anywhere else.

Chellaston, now a suburb to the south of Derby, has a long history

and is sometimes cited as the birthplace of Robin Hood.

Maybe it's not.

But we do know that it's mentioned in the Domesday Book

and in the 11th century was sold for three shillings.

Property here costs just a little bit more these days, though it is still a thriving community

with a variety of housing to suit all pockets.

So what was on offer at the auction?

On this fairly modern housing estate close to the centre of Chellaston with all its amenities and things

was the property itself.

£55,000-plus was the guide price for a one-bedroom ground floor flat.

It looks pretty good from the outside. In we go.

So what have we got?

A little entrance area here and then a bedroom there.

Bathroom there. Not a bad size, At least it's got a white suite. No bath, just a shower.

Not to everyone's taste, but you know, hey-ho!

Then into this really nice-sized living space.

In fact, almost too big for the flat if you like,

which begs the question - could you consider converting this into maybe a two-bedroom?

I don't know. I like this feeling of open-plan. It's certainly not claustrophobic at all.

Then through into the kitchen and, joy of joys, look at this, absolutely lovely.

It's a bit dated, but you could live with these units.

It may not be to everyone's taste, but if you're looking at renting this place out,

possibly just tidy it up a little bit and off you go.

So, all in all, I'm getting a really good feel about this place.

# That tonight's gonna be a good, good night I got a feeling... #

The building is unlikely to outlive its 999-year lease, but it appears to have been well maintained.

With minimum expense and effort, it could equally make someone a fine home

or a profit on rental or re-sale.

Ideally, you could put a bath into the bathroom,

but having that shower does make it feel more spacious.

But oddly enough, even though it's just a one-bedroom flat,

a shortage of space isn't exactly an issue here.

One thing that is often lacking in flats is storage space, but not in this one.

You have got an absolute plethora of cupboards -

one here, another one there...

..one in the lounge

and finally, one in the bedroom.

Of course, you've also got the ones in the kitchen. Talk about cupboard love!

# I love you cos you're just a cupboard lo-o-ove... #

It's just as well there's plenty of space inside

as the flat doesn't have a garden.

But the flat is set in this neatly landscaped and tidy area,

though you might want to look into who's responsible for that

and what your share of those costs would be.

Another issue is parking which is often tricky with flats.

But in this case, what we've got is the fact the flat comes with its own garage.

The only trouble is, I don't know which one it is.

It could be one of these or one of those.

Once you find your garage, I reckon you'd be getting an attractive deal with this little lot.

For a guide price of £55,000-plus, it's a good, compact and attractive flat

which doesn't really need much done to it.

Time to chat to a local property expert

to hear his thoughts on the place and what it has to offer.

I would say the pros of this flat, it's a quiet, cul-de-sac location,

it has neutral decor, ideal for a first-time buyer, investment,

easy to manage living accommodation. A good property.

I agree. It would make a great investment, especially if you wanted to rent it out

because it's pretty much ready to go,

but what changes would be advisable if you hoped to sell the place on?

I would perhaps look at maybe upgrading the kitchen,

just a touch of paint and maybe some new carpets, but overall, it's fine.

What could you expect if you made those little improvements?

If the property was refurbished, a general upgrade, I would say in the region of £68,000 to £70,000.

What if you wanted to let it?

I would expect to achieve in the region of £325 to £350 per calendar month.

Not many negatives to say about this one. It would make a great home or a good investment purchase.

You might want to play around with the internals, certainly modernise,

but apart from that, yeah, a great one to go for. Let's see who agreed when it went under the hammer.

Lot number seven.

It's a very well located, one-bedroomed, ground floor flat.

I'll start the bidding at 58,000 on a proxy bid.

At 58,000, the bid is with me. 59 is bid. 60,000.

61. 62.

63? 63.

64. 65? 65.

250. 65,250. I've got to go there because that's my limit. Now I've told you.

65 and a half. At 65 and a half. 66 elsewhere?

66 at the back. 66-5? 66-5.

67? 67.

67,000. It's worth one more.

67,000 at the back of the room. 500 somewhere else?

At 67... 500. 67-5.

68? £67,500, we're selling...

For the first time at 67 and a half... 68.

At 68. 68-5?

£68,000, it goes once. Twice.

Third time... Sold right at the back at 68,000. Thank you.

'That successful bidder was Marcus, a full-time professional footballer.

'As Marcus was busy training, his dad Graham, a builder, met me at the flat.

'Graham's been on the show before when he renovated this semi-detached house in Derby.

'Graham and Marcus run a property development business together.

'Marcus buys the properties and Graham does the renovations.'

-Graham, good to see you again.

-And you.

So how has the last project gone?

Very well. It was all finished off and it sold about three weeks ago. Just waiting to complete now.

-So that went well?

-It did go well. With the profit we made on the last two houses,

90% of this one was bought with the profit margin of two houses before.

Wow!

We thought do that and do this as a let only for the time being.

We did our figures and probably within five years we'll have half our money back

and then probably move it on from there.

-Why this particular house?

-We just thought... We bought it blind. We never saw it before.

So we took a risk on that, but as it turns out, it was a good risk.

The area is very good. They seem to let very quickly.

You get a good standard of tenant in this area,

-so we thought, "Why not? Just see how it goes and go from there."

-Right.

'The aim is to keep the flat and rent it out

'with Graham and his son going for a basic refurbishment and tidy up.

'But it also appears that they've seen the potential of using the space here

'and are planning to make it into a two-bedroom apartment.'

Basically, take this stud wall out here, probably moving it half a metre into the kitchen,

which is still a fairly good kitchen.

It allows us to get a good-sized bedroom the other side of the wall,

-so to make it into a two-bed instead of a one-bed.

-Right.

-That comes down to whether or not that's worthwhile financially?

-Yeah.

If it's not going to be financially worth it, we'll just leave it as it stands.

-Right.

-And maybe a new kitchen, but we don't know yet.

-Then rent it out. Presumably, time is of the essence if you're looking to rent it out?

-Yeah.

Straight in, straight out kind of thing.

-What sort of timescale?

-If we're going to do it very basic, within a week and a half to two weeks.

Wow! That quick?

But if we were going to do the bedroom, probably three weeks, hopefully.

What sort of budget, depending on what you decide to do?

On this, very minimal. If we're going to let it, you don't really want to go overboard on the spend

because you think you could have a good tenant and you don't.

Something that's nice they can ruin very quick, so probably minimal cost.

-Probably 2,000 if we don't do the kitchen. If we do the kitchen, it will probably be about four.

-Right.

'Those figures are perfectly doable,

'especially as, with Graham's building experience, he'll do most of the renovation himself.

'That's apart from when qualified electricians are needed.

'The team have already got several properties under their belt and seem to have a good thing going.

'Marcus provides the finances while Dad does the hard graft.'

-Does he get involved at all in the renovations?

-Yes and no.

I think he'd like to do more than he does, but his job is to more finance it and stuff like that

and find the properties and my job is to do the dirty bit.

-But it works for you?

-It works, yeah.

-And then what next?

-Back to the auctions?

-Back to the auctions to buy another property

to renovate and sell on again, get some more money back in.

-And keep the cycle going?

-Yeah.

-Congratulations. Good luck. Maybe we'll see you in a few more months.

Hopefully.

Well, the professional builder and professional footballer, father and son combination seems to work well

and their strategy is certainly one that in the long term will pay off.

How will they get on with this flat? Bit of work to do, a few decisions, one bedroom, two bedroom.

Find out what happens later in the show.

Martin, the weeks have now turned into months and we're dying to see the properties.

-Will things have turned out as we hoped or not?

-Let's find out.

Back now to Gravesend, Kent, and this site with planning permission and a splendid selection of sheds.

It was bought in an auction for £84,000 by Cliff

who was going to build on it and then move in.

The plot came with planning permission and detailed drawings for a two-bed house,

but Cliff's intention was to make changes to the internal layout.

The kitchen will be at the front of the property in the bay window.

You'll walk in the front door by this garage, turn left into your kitchen,

staircase in front of you, then turn right into a smaller bedroom in the middle,

then into your lounge which opens out on to the garden.

Cliff was planning to spend 90,000 and six months on the build, fitting it around other projects.

12 months after our first visit, we're back to see how he's got on.

# And you're making...

# Something out of nothing

# Maybe

# I'm in love

# Yeah, you're making

# Something out of nothing

# Maybe I've...

# I've fallen in love... #

It may have taken Cliff and his team twice as long as planned, but it's definitely been worth the wait.

What a transformation from 12 months ago!

We've been working here since then. Not constantly because we're working on other sites.

But we're nearly finished, some carpets to go down, the drive to be tarmacked, and that's about it,

so looking forward to moving in soon.

This will make a lovely home for Cliff and his partner Theresa.

The changes to the layout downstairs work really well.

The picture window in the sitting room is fantastic.

The study-cum-bedroom and downstairs shower room work really well.

And as for the kitchen, well, what's not to like?

Yes, as you can see, we've gone for a gloss white finish

and melamine worktops.

Appliances obviously on the bank that we've got here on the left -

two cookers, a fridge-freezer tucked in there.

We introduced a bulkhead all around the kitchen on three sides,

so we don't have that ugly gap above the tops of the wall units which is a dust trap as well.

We've got a washing machine and a dishwasher here and the five-ring gas hob and the extract fan there

which is externally ducted as well.

It's not a recirculating one, so we won't get nasty smells hanging around the kitchen.

We'll have a table and chairs beneath the bay window. It's lovely when the sun's out. It beams in the window.

The high-end finish extends upstairs

where there's a really lovely bathroom and two good-sized bedrooms with pretty groovy wallpaper.

# Daydream

# I fell asleep amid the flowers

# For a couple of hours

# On a beautiful day... #

Cliff has finished the place off beautifully,

so I, for one, can forgive him for taking a bit longer than originally planned.

Well, the timescale was going to be about six months to carry out the works.

We're now in a 12-month period from start to finish.

In some ways, that's good because it gives you a chance to think about things more, get the materials right

and the paint and the wallpaper,

whereas you would have been pushed to make the decision more in a six-month period.

It's taken us 12 months, but it's worked out quite well.

It's worked out very well, Cliff, but how have things gone on the budget front?

Initially, I was thinking about £90,000.

The service companies, once we bought the property, we went out for quotes and they were quite expensive,

more than I actually budgeted for,

so with regards to the high spec of the materials that we've used here and the fitments,

we've ended up spending about £120,000.

A £120,000 build cost on top of his purchase price of £84,000

brings Cliff's total outlay here to £204,000.

We asked two local property experts for their thoughts.

First up, the estate agent who saw the plot first time around.

My first thought about this property is "wow"!

He's done a fantastic job throughout the property.

From the outside, it looks very impressive,

but when you come inside, it gets better.

I don't think there's anything to fault on the design of the interior.

The layout, the size, everything has been thought through thoroughly.

This kitchen is just superb.

Every woman's dream. The storage space, two ovens...

Marvellous.

A ringing endorsement there from the experts.

Cliff has built this to live in with his partner,

but if he wanted to, what might it let for?

If we were to put this property on the market for rental,

I would expect to achieve £950 to £1,000 per calendar month.

I think it would achieve at least £1,200 per calendar month.

Those rental valuations would give Cliff a yield of between around 5.5 and 7%,

but bearing in mind his total investment of 204,000,

what do they think the property might fetch if sold on?

I would expect it to achieve anywhere between £250,000 and £275,000.

I'd expect the property to achieve at least £285,000 to £290,000.

It sounds very good, doesn't it? Yeah, it's good, very good.

At worst, I thought 240, 245.

Those re-sale valuations would give Cliff a profit, before tax and expenses,

of between £46,000 and £86,000,

but he's here for the long haul and very happy he should be too.

# Congratulations

# And jubilations

# I want the world to know I'm happy as can be-e-e... #

Earlier, we were in Chellaston in Derby where we saw a one-bedroom flat.

It was not only in ship-shape condition, but came with its own garage.

Professional footballer Marcus and his father Graham bought it at auction for £68,000.

They run a small property developing business. We'd met Graham before

when the duo renovated this semi-detached house in Derby.

With the profit from the sale of that, they'd bought this flat.

This time, it was not to renovate and sell on, but to let.

They had taken a gamble as they hadn't viewed it before the auction, but luck was on their side.

As the flat was in good condition, it just needed a basic refurbishment,

although Graham had plans to create another bedroom.

Basically, take this stud wall out here, probably moving it half a metre into the kitchen,

still making a fairly good kitchen.

It allows us to get a good-sized bedroom the other side of the wall,

so to make it into a two-bed, instead of a one-bed.

That comes down to whether or not it's financially worthwhile?

If it's not going to be financially worth it, there's no point. We'll just leave it as it stands.

I personally preferred keeping the space as it was,

but they felt the extra room could be a rental generator.

As it was, Graham anticipated a basic refurbishment taking two weeks on a budget of £2,000,

or with a new bedroom added, taking three weeks and costing £4,000.

We returned a month later to see if it was a one-bed or two.

It looks like Graham has opted for that basic refurbishment.

There's a fresh lick of paint in the hall,

the same in the bathroom...

..and again in the bedroom.

The tiny kitchen now has new appliances.

That just leaves the spacious living room

and, well, it's still a living room.

Graham explains why leaving it like this was really a no-brainer.

As you can see, this room is near enough the same as it was the day we took over the property.

We did think about removing this wall to turn it into a two-bed property,

but because the tenants wanted it as it stood, we decided to leave it to make minimal work

and just a quick coat of paint - job done.

I'm glad the living room has retained its space,

but also that Graham and Marcus have already got a tenant lined up.

On the day of the filming the first time, a tenant wanted the property there and then,

so it was not worth putting the money into it

because we were going to get the rental we wanted for no work.

Apart from the appliances, a new light fitting has been installed in the kitchen

at the request of the new tenant and that's it.

A no-nonsense, no-frills, pain-free, cosmetic refurbishment.

For a first rental project for Graham, it couldn't have been easier.

We don't normally touch rentals.

We normally buy properties in bad condition to renovate and sell on at a healthy profit.

We bought this one solely with the profit we made on the last two.

This is a classic case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" which suited Graham just fine.

So how much did he spend here? Unless I'm very much mistaken,

I can't imagine this minimal makeover put too much strain on that £2,000 budget.

With all the appliances and the new kitchen light, about £850.

With their purchase price of 68,000, that would bring the outlay on this flat to just under 69,000,

so no pressure on the budget then or on Graham's timescale.

The schedule went very quick on this as I thought it would do anyway, regardless if we did the wall or not.

I did all the work as I do on all the properties

and this one to decorate through took four days from start to finish.

I wish everything could be that easy.

But have they done enough to get the best

out of their £69,000 investment?

Time to hear the thoughts of two local property experts.

First, the estate agent who viewed the flat before.

I think he's made a good improvement

on the cosmetic side

because from my previous visit, there wasn't much that needed doing.

As a rental proposition, this is an ideal property. It's the right size and area.

It's finished in the right way.

For a rental return, the owner has done exactly what he needs to do.

Any more wouldn't be worthwhile financially.

The estate agents reckon the changes are just right for the property,

so with the tenant moving in soon, have the team got the right rental returns here?

If I was to place this property on the open rental market,

I would suggest a figure of £350 per calendar month.

This ought to let nicely at £395 per month.

We are letting it for 420 a month,

so it's...good news.

With that rental income, they will be getting an annual yield of just over 7%.

That's pretty good going, but should they decide to sell,

how much profit could they make from their £69,000 investment?

If I was to place this property on the open market,

I would suggest an asking price of £69,950, offers around.

With a view to sale, we ought to be asking £70,000.

That's nearly bang on what we paid for it. I think it was 69.

The climate's not that good at the moment, so when it picks up, it will go beyond that, hopefully.

But we're not looking to sell it for ten years.

I reckon they made the right decision about using this place as a long-term rental,

but they did buy the property without seeing it before the auction

and are very aware it could have all gone wrong.

It's a gamble at the end of the day.

You either take the gamble and it pays off

or you could be stuck with a property for months and not have a tenant,

but we was lucky and so I hope the luck stays with us.

It's worked out this time, but I absolutely do not recommend buying blind.

So what's in store now for this father and son team?

We'll be looking for another house this month at the auctions to sell on,

so happy days, hopefully, again.

That's it for today's show. Join us next time.

-We hope we've inspired you on Homes Under The Hammer.

-Bye for now.

-Goodbye.

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