Episode 51 Homes Under the Hammer

For some people, buying and doing up a property is a dream.

For others, it's a reality.

Are you a doer or a dreamer when it comes to homes under the hammer?

Buying a property at auction can be a bit stressful.

It happens so quickly. In a split second, you're the owner of a house.

If you plan on buying at auction, make sure you are well prepared.

Yes. So, what inspired the buyers on today's show?

'Fancy a three-bed mid terrace in a lovely area just outside Stoke?

'Could have been yours for just £75,000.'

'How about this four-bed mid terrace in East Ham, London?

'With its guide price of £205,000, do it up quick and rent it out fast.

'Or maybe a large period property in Devon takes your fancy?

'With a workshop out back and lots of space, was it worth a punt?

'All of these properties have been sold at auction.

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

Sold. 318.

Green fields, idyllic canalside setting,

horses trotting along the roads.

We're off to a good start, but can you guess where I am?

Stop the presses!

Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire

isn't all about Victorian terraces and the Potteries.

Just four miles outside the city, look what you've got -

lovely countryside, winding country lanes and even a canal.

Hopefully, the properties round here will be equally pleasing on the eye.

'It shouldn't come as a surprise that Staffordshire can be beautiful,

'but it's often forgotten and all this prettiness doesn't come

'with as high a price tag as you might expect.'

In Baddeley Green, you're a short stroll from that lovely countryside

and a ten-minute drive from Stoke-on-Trent itself.

Which makes this a very popular place to live.

Here's the property I'm here to see.

It's a three-bedroom mid terrace at a guide price of 75,000 quid.

'So this property is on quite a busy little road, but it's tree-lined

'and those luscious leaves take the edge off the traffic beyond.

'It's all rather tranquil round here.

'Let's hope the inside is just as pleasing.'

The porch may not be the most attractive.

However, it does a fantastic job of keeping out noise from the road

and providing extra insulation.

So, you come down this corridor

and immediately I'm shocked at the size of this place.

You've got stairs going up to your bedrooms.

Down the corridor, a little living room area there.

Down here, a step.

You've got this little rear sitting room area,

which is a useful space.

But I think this would end up not being used,

because it's almost like a through corridor to the kitchen.

You come into what I guess is an extension.

The ceilings have dropped in height.

It's not a bad space, but what I think you should be doing

is taking out this wall here.

It would be a big job because that is actually a chimney.

Lots of work involved, however, you could open up these two rooms

to create one huge family living area/kitchen.

That would be spectacular.

'The only thing is that the cost of doing it could be spectacular, too.

'It depends on whether the buyer's willing to spend money

'in the hope that would be reflected in the resale value.

'If it's going to be a family home, the profit margin is less important.

'It's good to have options, though, so what has upstairs got to offer?'

Upstairs, the feeling of surprising spaciousness continues.

Three bedrooms - one at the back not the biggest

and showing signs of a bit of damp, which needs to be investigated.

You've got the bathroom here.

It's not huge and it could do with a new suite, for sure,

but at least it is upstairs.

A much bigger bedroom here, a very good sized double.

Then down this little landing area -

I bet these doors would be nice when they're stripped back -

into your front bedroom, and a really nice size this is.

The bedrooms upstairs, two of them,

have got these traditional 1910, 1920-odd fireplaces,

which is a lovely feature.

Polystyrene tiles is not a good feature. They have to go.

From that view from the road to what you find inside,

they are poles apart.

'So far, it has plenty going for it.

'Out the back, there's a lovely little garden with a handy garage.

'Access to it is along this lane. It ticks all sorts of boxes.

'Does a local property expert agree? Let's find out.'

# In an ideal home

# Everything's safe and you can

# Sit by your fire... #

The first impressions of the house are that it's a family sized house.

Although some updating is needed,

I'd say nothing major.

'What about a valuation, then?

'First, the resale value.'

After modernisation, depending on the standard, of course,

I would anticipate a resale value in the region of £120,000.

'What if the owner decided to let it?'

In good condition, I'd see a rental return in the region of £500 per calendar month.

You might want to play around with the internal layout and there's a few bits of damp,

but what you've got here is a really amazing sized terrace property

for a good price in a lovely area.

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

Lot 52. 65, then?

65 bid. Thank you.

At £65,000. 70 can I say now?

At 65,000. Looking for 70 now. At £65,000.

I'll go in ones, if it helps. Bid's at 65. 66, can we say?

66. 67. 68. 69.

70.

At £70,000. 71 anywhere else?

At £70,000. Bid's left at 70,000.

New bidder, 71.

72.

73.

74.

75.

At 75,000. Bid is seated. Against you standing.

At 75,000.

Are you back in? Another one?

I'm assuming you're out. Bid is 75, seated. No mistakes.

Another one anywhere else? If not, 75 for the first time.

75 for the second time.

Third and final time. Bid's seated. No mistakes. 75...

It's sold. Well done.

'The hammer fell bang on the guide price of £75,000.

'The successful bid was placed by Ian, who attended the auction with his wife Barbara and daughter Liz.

'I met father and daughter at the property to hear about their plans.

'Ian's a retired plumber, which could come in handy,

'and Liz is a beauty therapist.

'Given that the place needs a good makeover,

'that could be useful, too.'

-Liz, Ian, good to meet you.

-Hiya.

-Hi, there.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

Well, I needed a new property.

I've been looking in the area and this one took my eye.

I just liked the size of the rooms

-and how close it is to friends, families, schools.

-Great.

-A new place for you to live?

-Yeah. New place to live.

-Wow!

And the children. I wanted a project so I could put my own stamp on it.

So I sweet-talked my dad into going to the auction.

-Ian, you're Dad!

-Yeah.

-At what point did you get brought in and what's your involvement?

Phew! To have a look at the property, to have a good look round.

Um...retired this year, needed a project. This might be a good idea.

-Oh, great!

-So, a lot of work, but it will be worth it in the end.

-Of course it will.

'It was Ian and Barbara who bought the property to help their daughter,

'so she can move in with her three children.'

-Liz's money is tied up in the property...

-That I'm trying to sell.

So we'd got a bit of cash that we'd had invested.

Investments have been going up and down like nobody's business.

So we decided to put it into bricks and mortar.

-Better risk value.

-For sure.

-Is the idea that when you sell the place, you'll buy this?

-Yes.

-Then it'll be yours?

-Yeah.

Worst scenario is we have to sell it and we find another one and start again.

So tell me what you're going to do to sort it out?

New plumbing from start to finish.

We've got plastic pipe. We've got copper pipe. We've got lead piping.

We'll have it all uniform.

New central heating system and get rid of the storage heaters.

Obviously, get rid of all the decor that's about.

The fireplace we're going to take out.

The chimney at the back is suspect.

It might be raining in through there, so take it out,

so we've got a decent roof over that part of the house.

And generally, it's just good modernisation.

New kitchen, new bathroom as well.

What kind of feel are you going to go for?

I want to keep it quite to the period. It's 1900 that it was built.

Not so it's like a museum.

A bit like a modern twist, maybe, on the 1920s era, something like that.

'I like the idea of a twist on the '20s,

'but there are some eras best left behind for good,

'as this '80s fireplace reminds me.

'Liz has chosen this house for herself and her three children -

'Matthew, Natasha and Leya.

'The girls will share a bedroom. Lucky Matthew gets one to himself.

'What do they make of their new home?'

# Ask the children, they'll tell you it's all right

# The world's out of sight... #

'Firstly, what's their favourite thing about it?'

The space in the lounge? I like the space in the lounge.

I think I like all the bigger spaces.

From the outside, it looks small, but when you get in here there's a massive space.

There's loads of space, so you're not all cramped in.

'Matthew's got the small room at the back

'and he already has plans to make it bigger

'by moving those wardrobes.'

I want to take them out and push them back so you've got more room.

What if there isn't any more? WHISPERS: There is.

'Clearly, big brother knows best, Leya.

'So, what score out of ten does she give the house so far?'

I'm not sure if it would be nine or ten.

Pretty good mark, isn't it?

'It's a great mark, and I'm sure they'll give it a full ten when the work is done.

'Liz hopes to be finished in six months,

'and reckons she'll need to spend between £10,000 and £15,000 on the renovation.

'Her dad, Ian, is coming out of retirement to help her

'with whatever's required, to keep her costs down.'

-I've been retired four months.

-You haven't given yourself much of a break!

-No!

-No.

-Your daughter hasn't given you much of a break!

-No!

-Well, he can't... He'd get bored.

-Yes.

-So keep him busy.

-Congratulations. Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

I think Liz and the family have got themselves a brilliant home

and at a very good price.

And tempting Ian out of retirement will help to keep costs down.

Join us later, when we, hopefully, come back to a fully restored property -

but more importantly, somewhere that's a lovely family home.

Today, I'm in London, in an area called East Ham. Ever heard of it?

You would have heard of Stratford, home to the Olympics and Paralympics

which was just three miles west.

The games themselves may be over,

but the legacy continues to filter through to surrounding areas.

And East Ham is one of those to benefit.

# Ham and eggs

# Pork and beans

# I would'a had more, boys But the cook was so mean... #

The property I'm here to see is a bit of a puzzler.

It's listed as a mid-terrace house in the catalogue,

but the accommodation described suggests it's laid out as a couple of flats.

So, which is it? Let's get inside and find out.

'From outside, it's a good-looking house on a good-looking street.'

# Say, hey, good-lookin'

# What you got cookin'?

# How about cookin' somethin' up with me? #

'The property went to auction with a guide price of 205,000,

'but from the description in the auction catalogue,

'it's not clear if this is a house, two flats,

'or maybe it's an HMO - a house in multiple occupation.'

Straight away, you can see this is a house.

There's a front door, one staircase. It's not been split up into flats.

You've got a really nice reception room with a gorgeous fireplace.

There is a certain amount of character, which is fantastic.

The second reception room's interesting. There's a bed in there.

Somebody's been using downstairs as a bedroom.

You've got a cellar - great storage, love that.

And this is fantastic! Really open-plan!

Bit of a surprise there's a bathroom here.

Again, it's suggesting somebody was living in this area.

Er, kitchen - all in a bit of a mess.

I think the previous owners had cats. That's all I'm going to say.

It's very sunny. Doors leading to the back garden. Heaps of potential.

You could knock through and create a nice open-plan breakfast room.

Just needs a lot of work.

'The first major job is to clear this place out.

'I'd be applying for a skip licence as soon as possible!

'It's upstairs where things get rather peculiar

'with a second kitchen in what should be a sunny back bedroom.

'There's another bedroom, which is a half-decent size.

'There's a family bathroom.

'At the front, there's another double bedroom and a single.

'So, what to do here?

'Well, I'd like to see it turned back into one house.

'I'd give the kitchen upstairs the heave-ho, reinstate that as a bedroom and spruce up the bathroom.

'Downstairs, I'd ditch the douche - as they say en France -

'leaving a downstairs loo,

'take down the partition and open up the back room as a kitchen/dining room.

'And voila! A family home with dining kitchen, two reception rooms

'and four bedrooms - job done!

'But you might opt for Plan B and try to keep it as two flats.'

Financially, it's got to be worth trying to make this house into flats - properly and legally.

There's a demand for units this size in the area.

While you'd need to go through the planners, you could argue

there's an established use for this building as flats,

which should help your case.

But they could demand that it's turned back into a house, properly.

I've seen this exact situation before and the owners had to comply.

Whoever takes this on must make sure it adds up for them, either way.

'We asked a local estate agent

'for her take on this mid terrace and its £205,000 guide price.

'What would she recommend being done here?'

If we think rentals,

it would be a good idea to have it split into flats,

because of the income.

But if we want to sell it,

it would be good to have it as one lot,

as initially it was a big house.

'She also thinks that, as one house, the renovated property could rent out for £1,300 a month.

'But what if it were renovated and rented out as two legitimate flats?'

We are looking at about 850 for the ground floor flat

and £900 per calendar month for the first floor flat.

'And as two flats, what might they sell for?'

We're looking at around £140,000 and £145,000 for the first floor flat

and around £150,000 for the ground floor flat.

'And if sold as a single house?'

We're looking at up to £290,000.

A decent house, flats, house, whatever it is!

It could work out well either way if it was purchased at the right price.

Let's see what it did go for at the auction.

So, move on to lot 46, attractive mid-terrace house.

I start 200.

Not going to go below two on this. 200. 200 right at the back.

205?

205 sitting. Sorry, take the gentleman behind you. 205.

210?

215?

220...?

'There was plenty of interest in this one, with bids coming in from all over the room.

'We rejoin the action at £243,000.'

..Gentleman standing up. 243?

244?

245?

Yes? No?

244. Lady sitting down.

245 elsewhere?

If not, 244 first time.

245. Sorry, I missed you.

245. 246?

247?

248?

249?

250? Yeah?

251?

250, back to you. 251 elsewhere?

251? If not, 250 first time.

Second time.

Third and last time, if you're all done.

Sold, 250, to the lady.

'That successful bid of 250,000 came from Selma.

'She's an area operations manager for a large supermarket chain

'and dabbles in property development as a hobby.

'I met her at the house to hear about her plans.'

-Selma, congratulations.

-Hi, Lucy.

-What happened on auction day? How much did you want to buy this house?

I really wanted to buy it and I had a target, a figure in mind before I went there.

-Which was?

-Which was 250.

-You got it bang on the nose.

-Yes.

-I was praying it wouldn't go over.

-Then you'd have to incur the heavier Stamp Duty.

-Yes, 3%.

-Did you view the property prior to the auction?

-No. I broke the rules.

I didn't.

I did a bit of research on the internet in terms of the legal pack and everything else,

but I didn't come and see it.

-So today is the first time you've seen it?

-Yeah.

-What did you think?

Actually, I was pleasantly surprised. It could have been worse.

It needs a lot of tidying,

a lot of DIY stuff, but it's nothing that cannot be done.

Lots of character. It's great to see a lot of character.

'Dear me! Another one who didn't view her potential purchase before the auction!

'Selma may have got away with it here.

'She's no novice property developer and has her builder lined up to do the work

'while she focuses on her day job.'

What are you going to do? Are you going to leave it as a house?

I'm going to convert it into a proper family home,

let it for the time being as a family home or multiple occupancy.

I have had a good look and it would work quite well as two flats.

You could easily, and that was my intention when I went to auction.

I thought perhaps I could change it to two flats.

However, after talking to the council and the planning department,

-they said they want a family home in this area.

-Ah!

So had you found out that piece of information before the auction?

-No.

-It's only after the auction you found out?

-Yes.

-You might not get permission to convert it, anyway.

-That's right.

Did you read your legal pack? Were there any hiccoughs?

I thought I did, but you always learn from it.

One hiccough was, literally two weeks prior to completion,

I get a call from my solicitor and he says,

"I strongly advise you do not go ahead with it and just lose the £25,000 deposit."

-You're joking? Your solicitor suggested that you pull out?

-Yeah.

-Why was that?

-Because the vendor, the company who sold,

they haven't registered yet.

And the company they bought it from, they haven't registered yet, either.

So we had to do a bit of homework

and found out that the company that I bought it from,

it's only four weeks ago they purchased it.

-Ah!

-And they got the paperwork in their office to hand over to my solicitor, so it was relief!

'Problems with title deeds can be a major sticking point when you buy a property,

'so it's no wonder that alarm bells were ringing with her solicitor.'

# Hey! Ring the alarm Hey! Whoa... #

'But with the right documents turning up in the nick of time,

'Selma had a very lucky escape and was able to complete the purchase.

'It goes to show how crucial it is that your solicitor is on the ball.'

What is your vision for a place like this? Now you've seen it, what do you love about it?

The biggest bit is the space, the structure, the building.

The character, that's what I like.

I think anybody to go in an auction,

especially people who've done it a few times, an amateur,

the three things is to have conviction, courage and confidence to do that.

-You think you've got the three Cs?

-LAUGHING: I think so!

-I call it the three Cs!

-I love that.

What about budget? How much do you hope to spend here?

I think... I've worked it out roughly.

It wouldn't exceed over £10,000.

How I see it is it's cosmetic. Just nice, clean, tidy.

New kitchen. New flooring. Painting. Just a fresh look.

-The thing is, with a property like this, it's time consuming.

-Yes.

You've got to take off the wallpaper. There's a lot of work that is very time consuming.

That's sometimes where the cost can bump up.

Yep. Well, it wouldn't be me because the builder's got three weeks to get it done.

-Really?

-Yep.

-You hope to get it done in three weeks? What if you don't?

It's not a problem.

I don't care how he does it, but he will because he's very committed.

He plans to stay overnight, so...!

Selma, I can't wait to see what you do. The three Cs and £10,000.

-Good luck!

-We've got a deal!

Conviction, courage and confidence - the three Cs. Selma has them all.

I have no doubt she will manage this renovation with typical efficiency and organisation.

But three weeks? Join us later in the show to see if she does it.

'Coming up, a large Georgian gem in Paignton in Devon.'

From the floorboards to the layout, the banister, it's fab!

'We catch up on Selma's renovation in east London.

'Did she manage to complete it in three weeks,

'three months or three years?'

'First, we return to Staffordshire,

'to see how Liz has feathered her nest.'

This is my home, so I wanted it to be nice.

'Back, now, to the leafy Baddeley Green area of Stoke,

'where we saw this three-bedroom terrace sell for £75,000.

'It was bought by Ian for his daughter Liz

'to help her out until she sells her current property.'

We've got a bit of cash that we'd had invested.

Investments, they're going up and down like nobody's business.

So we decided to put it into bricks and mortar.

-Better risk value.

-For sure.

Is the idea when you sell the place, will you buy this place?

-Yes, I will buy it.

-It'll be yours.

-Yeah.

Worst scenario is we have to sell it, find another one and start again.

'Liz intended to move in with her three children,

'and they were already planning their own renovations.

'Matthew had a keen property developer's eye

'and wanted to get rid of those wardrobes.'

I want to take them out and push them back so you've got more room.

What if there isn't any more? WHISPERS: There is.

'11 months after our first visit, we're back to see if Matthew's plans came good,

'and whether Liz and Dad Ians' have, too.

'First thing to note is that this has definitely become

'the lovely family home I was hoping to see.

'Fantastic!

'Mum Liz's bedroom has a cosy country feel.

'The girls, Leya and Natasha, share the floral second bedroom.

'And Matthew has gone large in a New York state of mind.'

MUSIC: "Empire State Of Mind" by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys

'If you're in search of another kind of big apple,

'you now have plenty of space to find one in the new kitchen.'

This is the new kitchen. It's a completely different layout.

Where I am standing would originally be the chimney,

which has been taken out to create a lot bigger room.

We've added the window seat and the shower room at the back

to create another bathroom for me and the children to use.

We chose to spend a bit more on the units than planned,

but this is my home so I wanted it to be nice.

'The bathroom upstairs has had a thoroughly modern makeover, too.

'And yes, two loos are always better than one,

'especially with three kids in the house.

'The living room looks fantastic, too. Can you spot the difference?

'That's right, there's a new door.'

This hallway was covered in wall boards.

We removed all the wall boards.

When we took the wall boards off the wall this side,

we uncovered a window.

That made us then think perhaps the doorway would be better where it is.

We bricked up the old doorway and made the doorway there.

Which, we feel, makes the room better.

'Liz wanted to make her mark on this place and she certainly has.

'The fireplace she's chosen in the sitting room

'is a big improvement on the 1980s carbuncle that was there before.

'Moving the chimney breast was a major job but well worth doing.'

The top of the chimney was slightly damaged and was letting in damp.

After we investigated that, we decided that we'd remove it.

As we removed it off the roof, we decided to remove it from the whole house.

'The renovation went smoothly

'and Ian, his wife Barbara, Liz and the kids

'have all pitched in to help.

'But they did call on the professionals for some jobs.'

We've had an electrician in, we've had plasterers in,

a joiner helping us and a tiler.

And obviously we had to have the gas done by a qualified person.

'The renovation's gone a little over budget and come in at £18,500.

'Added to their purchase price of 75,000,

'that brings their total outlay here to £93,500.

'What do two local estate agents make of the refurbishment?'

Originally, the property, when it was sold at auction,

was very dated, it needed refurbishment all the way through,

which has obviously been carried out to a good standard.

It's ready to move straight into.

You can tell there's a lot of love gone into the property.

It's geared up towards living in rather than an immediate resale.

'So, with all the work done so far,

'how much do they think the house is now worth?

'Remember, the total spend here was £93,500.'

I would place this property on the market in the region of £140,000.

In its current condition, I estimate the property would fetch £135,000 to £140,000.

-£140,000 is more than what I expected.

-Yeah.

It certainly makes the work that we've put into it

a little bit more... "Mm, yes!"

Yeah! It's a nice pleasant surprise at the end of all the hard work.

But it is still my family home. I don't want to move.

'Just out of interest, what could the property fetch if rented out?'

The rental income for this property would be in the region of £550 per calendar month.

The rental figure would be in the region of £500 to £550 per calendar month.

It's nice to know that's what we'd make, but it's a family home.

It's not going out to be rented. I love living here. It's staying!

MUSIC: "Shiny Happy People" by REM

Paignton in Devon, a perfect spot for families.

A massive sandy beach, an old-fashioned pier with all the amusements you could want.

More ice cream and candy floss than you can shake a bucket and spade at!

'Slap bang on the English Riviera, the sun shines for more hours

'than many seaside destinations around our somewhat chilly shores.

'I hope that a property opportunity will be shining here, too.'

# Shiny happy people holding hands... #

This part of Paignton dates back to mediaeval times.

Believe it or not, in the 1500s, it was a wine-growing region.

Well, the vines may have long gone,

but hopefully the property I'm here to see, you'll find intoxicating.

It's this five-bedroom house on the High Street.

Had a guide price of 110,000 quid. Let's take a look.

So, lots of character on the inside?

He says, hopefully.

Well, straight through the front door and...eugh, straight away...

Eugh...maybe not.

Horrible sliding door.

Very doctor's waiting room. We've got laminate on the floors.

Front living room there with a kitchenette off it.

Through to a rear living area.

Some 1930s character, not 1830s sadly, with the parquet flooring.

And this, again, not to your taste, perhaps.

No central heating. We've got storage radiators.

I'm rambling a bit because what I get from this house

is it just needs somebody to come in and take it back

to the magnificence it once was.

# Bring back that loving feeling

# Cos it's gone, gone, gone... #

'The property was built around the 1830s,

'but with glass partitions, storage heaters and laminate flooring,

'period features are thin on the ground

'on the ground floor, at least.'

# Bring back that loving feeling... #

Upstairs, it's like the magic begins the higher up the house you get.

There's this lovely staircase and banister.

Then a landing area here and off it, in a fairly simplistic -

but that's of the period that this house is made - style.

It's all the better for that.

Bathroom there. First bedroom there. Another bedroom here.

The third bedroom there. Fourth bedroom there.

Where's the fifth? Actually, one of the bedrooms is downstairs.

It's just... It works. This is what these houses were.

They were very simply designed, very elegant, very symmetrical.

Downstairs, it loses it, but up here,

from the floorboards to the layout and the banister, it's fab!

# I'm getting better all the time... #

'Well, better-ish!

'The bathroom needs updating and it might be worth considering

'knocking the bathroom and toilet into one.

'The four bedrooms are pretty good.

'There are some clues to the age of this house

'and signs that there may be more behind the plasterwork.

'So, at last, I'm getting quite excited.

'And if that wasn't encouraging enough,

'there seems to be more than meets the eye.'

-CHUCKLES

-This is an unexpected find!

You've got the house itself and this little cupboard alley there.

Then you come into this, which I imagine was storage in the past.

But this, to me, has almost as much potential as the house.

You've got this bit here, but then the really exciting thing

is up there.

Look at the head height!

Clearly, this won't have permission to be somewhere you could live,

but I reckon...a planner would look at it favourably.

In which case, this... is a whole new opportunity.

# Don't hurry away

# Suddenly you've got what it takes

# I believe

# You can be what you want to be... #

'So, potentially, a whole new property is hidden away.

'With ready access from the back, it could be a separate flat or annexe.

'One word of caution, though.

'It IS in a conservation area, so there may be restrictions on it.

'Even so, what a bonus!

'We asked a local estate agent for her thoughts on the place.'

I actually like the space as it is, downstairs. I like the idea...

of having the three reception rooms and the kitchen.

But with regards to the workshop, I think you could do something,

subject to planning permission,

and possibly create an annexe with it.

'The property went to auction with a guide price of £110,000-plus.

'Once done up, what could it fetch on the resale market?'

I believe once the works had been done,

providing there was something done on the workshop,

it could be somewhere in the region of 140.

'How about possible rental returns?'

The main house, I believe that the rental figure would be in the region of £700 per calendar month.

If you were able to get planning permission to convert the studio,

I believe you'd get rental for £300 to £350 per calendar month.

Parking's a bit of a nightmare and this road is quite busy,

but this could still be someone's dream project.

It's a lot of house for the money and you've got that bit out the back, with all its potential.

Who fancied it? Let's find out when it went under the hammer.

Lot 11. It's a four/five bedroom house over two floors.

Anybody like to start at 105?

105 at the back here? 105, OK. 105, thank you.

110? 110.

115? 115?

Yup. 120, then?

No? OK. What about something in between?

115 we've got. We'll say 117 and a half?

120, then?

117 and a half here. 120?

I did help him. I'll help you. What about 119?

119? Yeah? 119.

120? Or a half?

119 and a half. 120, now?

He's here at 119 and a half. 120?

No? You're done? Here now at £119,500.

'So, for £119,500, this Paignton house was bought by local man, Jim.

'He runs a photo processing and printing firm in the town.

'I met him at his new purchase to find out more.'

-Jim, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Nice to meet you.

-And you.

So, why did you want to buy it?

Well, it's another property going on the portfolio. It's a pension fund.

It's going to be let out. I was told to look for a three/four bedroom house.

You were told to look for a three/four bedroom. By who?

-By a friend of mine who's a letting agent.

-You were advised to look for three or four bedrooms.

This is four to five, depending on whether you use the room downstairs.

I think just keep it as bedrooms upstairs. It's a great living space, but five bedrooms?

No, I think let it as a four-bedroomed tops.

'Jim has a clear vision of what he wants from this place.

'For him, it's about how he feels about a house when he walks in.'

# Quivers down my back bone

# I've got the shivers down the thigh bone

# Yeah, tremors in my back bone

# Shakin' all over #

I get wobbly knees sometimes. I think, "I want to buy this one."

-Wobbly knees?

-Yes. Like when I'm buying old cars.

I see wobbly knees and I go and buy the car!

-Wobbly knees in a good way?

-In a good way, yeah.

-Like butterflies in tummy kind of wobbly knees?

-No, no.

I just like it and think it's got a lot of character, potential.

-I enjoy tinkering. I like things I can hit with hammers.

-OK.

-So is this house going to be hit with a hammer?

-Not too badly, no.

Yeah, the chimney stack needs doing.

I think it's going to be a matter of decorators in to decorate top to bottom.

-What about bringing some character back?

-Difficult, isn't it?

Unfortunately, the floors are nice wooden floors.

Lovely parquet flooring downstairs. I did like that room.

It's 1930s, '40s style. I thought that's got a lot of character to it.

Very difficult.

You saw the sliding doors. They're awful. They're coming out.

I'm going to put ordinary doors in, help improve the character.

-The kitchen, what are you going to do with that?

-It could do with replacing.

To be honest with you, I'd rather get the house in a livable state.

Because if you let it to somebody, then you put a kitchen in, in say, 12 months' time,

if you get a good tenant, they'd be more than happy to see you're investing in the property.

Very much viewing it as a letting property,

-not spending too much on it, personalising it.

-No.

It's got to be kept as commercially viable, I think is the word.

What's the budget for the work?

I'd say anything between 10,000 to 15,000.

'A £10,000 to £15,000 budget could just about get this property

'up and running for the rental market.

'Of course, it wasn't just the main house that Jim acquired.'

-What about the bit at the back?

-That's actually quite exciting.

-Yes, it is.

-It's potentially, I think, a studio flat.

-Oh!

It could be a nice little studio flat later. There is rear access.

So it will be locked off and be kept separate.

I think 12 months down the line we'll look at that and revisit.

It is a conservation area, so I'd have to get in touch with the council before I do anything.

Let's see what they've got to say.

Put some staircases in and stuff, but the roof lends itself perfectly.

It's perfect. There's a 60-degree pitch on that roof.

It's quite a steep pitch,

but the galvanised steel doesn't lend itself to much, does it?

It needs a new roof, there's no two ways about it.

My son's a carpenter so I might give him a challenge.

-What's the time scale for getting this house sorted?

-I reckon two to three months.

-Are you going to get your hands dirty?

-I might do.

I've got my son coming to do the doors. I have to supervise him.

-Good luck. Look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thanks very much.

I think Jim's wobbly knees have led him to a really good property.

It's even bigger than he needed.

Lots of work to be done, but once it is completed,

I think a good little earner.

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

Making the correct design decisions on a property can make a huge difference to your potential profit.

It's exciting transforming your ideas into a reality.

-But did our buyers get it right?

-Let's find out.

'And so we return to East Ham, London,

'and this mid terrace property which Selma bought at auction for 250,000.

'The property appeared to be laid out as two flats

'with two bathrooms and two kitchens.

'She planned to spend three weeks and 10,000 turning the mid-terrace back into a house

'to rent out either to a family or as an HMO,

'a house in multiple occupation.

'And although she didn't view it before the auction,

'Selma could see the potential in this place.'

It's the space, the structure, the building.

The character, that's what I like. These are the few things.

I think anybody to go in an auction, especially people who've done it a few times, an amateur,

three things, I think, is to have conviction, courage and confidence to do that.

-You think you've got the three Cs?

-I think so!

-That's what I call it, the three Cs. Yes.

-I love that!

'Six weeks after our first visit,

'we're back to see if those three Cs have been Selma's USP.

'Has she gone OTT with the TLC on the HMO?

'Or has her GSOH gone MIA? LOL!'

MUSIC: "D.I.S.C.O." by Ottawan

'PDG and PDQ, Selma!

'Although a couple of disco balls wouldn't have gone amiss.

'Selma had a plan and she's more or less kept to it.'

The plan is let it out, so I'm still looking into options,

if it's going to be an HMO or a whole family.

There is a lot of interest.

Even had neighbours knocking on the door. They want to buy the property.

Which is good news. I'm not going to sell it, but it's great to see I haven't made a huge mistake!

'This has been a bit of a learning curve for Selma.

'In order to keep her options open,

'she's had to comply with the regulations for HMOs.

'These include installing fire doors and fire alarms.

'If you want to create an HMO, there are all sorts of requirements,

'ranging from fire safety to facilities you have to provide.

'You must speak to your Local Authority first to make sure you get it right.

'Selma's very pleased with the new layout here.'

This was basically a blank space.

Nor was it a living, nor was it a kitchen, nor was it a dining room.

The kitchen was actually in this smaller room.

So we turned it into a room. It could be a bedroom, if it's an HMO.

If it's a family home, it could be a diner.

Then moved the kitchen and diner here.

I am really pleased how this turned out.

It makes it bright, spacious, fabulous.

'It's certainly a big improvement on what was here before.

'Selma's been busy with her day job as an area manager for a large supermarket chain.

'She and her builder have been working on another property at the same time as this one,

'so she's a little behind on her schedule.

'But has she managed to stick to her £10,000 budget?'

I think it was a bit of wishful thinking.

It exceeded by a couple of thousand pounds.

Roughly around 12,000.

That includes all the fees that I had to pay,

and the builders and materials cost.

When you take that into consideration and the work that's been done, the state it was in

and now where it is at the moment,

I think, you know, it's a pretty good job.

'A £12,000 renovation cost on top of her purchase price of 250,000

'brings Selma's total spend here to £262,000.

'We asked two local estate agents their take on this refurbishment.

'First up, the one who saw it the first time round.'

It's been refurbished to a reasonable standard.

Um...much better than before!

The kitchen space is great. The way they've utilised that area is good.

It's big enough to live and potentially dine in as well.

It's a good use of space.

'If Selma were to put the renovated property on the resale market,

'what do they think it could fetch?'

If we were to put it up for sale, we can achieve around £275,000 and £285,000.

If this property was up for sale in this current market,

we can easily achieve between £285,000 to £290,000.

'Those resale valuations would mean a profit before tax and expenses

'of between 13,000 and 28,000.

'What kind of return could Selma get here, either by renting it to sharers as an HMO

'or letting the whole house to a single family?'

If the house would be rented out per room,

then I would suggest a price between £350 and £400 per calendar month.

If it would be rented out as a house,

we can achieve around £1,400 per calendar month.

I think if you were to rent this house out as room lets,

the smaller room upstairs you can get around 350 per calendar month.

With the bigger rooms, you're looking at £550 per calendar month.

As a whole house, I think you can easily achieve around £1,400 per calendar month.

'Since filming, Selma's decided to let the whole house out

'through an estate agent for £1,700 per calendar month.

'That gives her a yield of almost 8%.

'Is that enough to tempt her back to an auction any time soon?'

If I had the funds, I would go tomorrow to auction, but I haven't got the funds.

So I have to wait, unfortunately.

Apart from that, I definitely will have a break because I need a break.

'It was in the Devon seaside town of Paignton, just off the High Street,

'that we saw this four to five bedroom Georgian terraced house.

'Although sadly lacking in character features,

'it made up for that by the amount of space.

'There were three reception rooms and a kitchen downstairs.

'Plus four bedrooms, a bathroom and separate toilet upstairs.

'And there was an added bonus, as attached to the back

'was an old workshop space which had the potential to be an annexe

'or self-contained flat.

'However, there was no central heating, no garden and no parking.

'But local businessman Jim had a good feeling about it.'

# Quivers down my back bone

# Yeah, shakes in the knee bone

# I've got the tremors in the thigh bone

# Shakin' all over... #

I get wobbly knees when I see things sometimes. I think, "OK. I want to buy this one."

Wobbly knees in a good way? Not butterfly in the tummy kind?

No, no. I just like it. I think it has a lot of character and potential.

'Having paid £119,500 for this knee-trembler of a property,

'Jim planned to prepare the main house for the rental market

'and was going to leave the workshop for a later date.

'He hoped to do the work in two to three months on a budget of 10,000 to 15,000.

'Now, just under two months later,

'we're back to check on the project.'

MUSIC: "Getting There" by Mari Wilson

I've been busy at work and I haven't been able to keep my finger on the pulse here

and spend the time I wanted to here, so we're behind schedule.

Rome wasn't built in a day, was it? You've got to take your time.

'So, not quite as much progress as Jim hoped.

'He has sorted out damp problems by having the chimney rebuilt.

'Other than that, it's been a case of preparing and painting the rooms.

'And then what?'

The bathroom, I'm going to get some wall cladding, rather than tiles.

It's so much faster to put up and it looks very smart.

I'm not going to replace the kitchen at all.

I will be just going in and cleaning the kitchen area.

I may look at new worktops. I'm not sure.

With all the ceilings being a bit of a mess, we've had to go through

and I'm having them Artexed.

It may not be everyone's idea, but it's a great way of doing it quickly and realistically priced.

I don't bother about ceilings. Do you look at the ceiling often?

# Oh, what a feeling

# When we're dancing on the ceiling... #

'He's right, it won't be to everyone's taste,

'but Jim is preparing this as a rental property

'and is determined to keep his costs down.

'Carpets and flooring need to be sorted.

'There's also the small matter of the workshop space.'

I've got a friend who's an architect who's doing some drawings for me.

I'd like to reverse it round.

Have a steel staircase on the outside taking you to the first level.

Then have a spiral staircase on the inside going down

to a bedroom and bathroom below.

That will be next year before we're ready to go on that.

I have found a nice bit of wood rot in there.

It was interesting going up top, there was a section saying

the roof was painted in November 1941.

LAUGHING: It's showing the history of the building.

'Jim will need planning permission

'to convert this historic bit of the property into living accommodation.

'For now, he wants to get this house earning its keep

'and stick to his £10,000 to £15,000 budget.'

I'm well in budget at the moment, in the region of about five and a half.

By the time I've finished, I think, under ten.

So it's reasonable.

I can't see us spending 10,000. I think 8,500's more like it.

'£8,500 on top of the purchase price of £119,500

'will take Jim's total outlay to £128,000.

'What do two local estate agents think?'

He's brightened up the property by redecorating.

It looks like he's about to do something outside

because he's taken the shutters off.

Let's see what happens from there.

I'd have liked to have seen the kitchen updated.

That would have given it a little bit more character.

The kitchen's very modern.

'I think it's a shame the kitchen isn't being done,

'but will that reflect on the current value of the house Jim spent £128,000 on?'

In the current market, I believe that this property would be worth around £130,000.

The value today, I would say we would market it around £125,000 to £130,000.

'So, Jim hasn't added much sale value,

'but it's the rental returns he's more interested in.'

The property would rent for around £650 per calendar month.

The rental value for this property I would put at around £750 to £800 per calendar month.

The 750, 800 matches what we've been told.

I think 650 is too low.

We certainly wouldn't be renting at that sort of level.

'If Jim does get £750 per calendar month,

'that would generate a rental yield of around 7%.

'Then, of course, there's still the workshop space to tackle.

'Will he still go ahead with that?'

Most definitely. Yes. It just takes time.

Let's get the main building going first,

then we can look at that without too much pressure on, shall we say?

Focus. Finish one. Then to the next.

We hope you've enjoyed our insight into the world of auctions.

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

-Goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]