Episode 17 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello! There are many property auctions around the UK -

it's a thriving business,

and millions of pounds worth of property is sold there every year.

Yes, and if you're looking at learning the tricks

of how to buy your home under the hammer,

you've come to the right place.

We're always telling you that you should do your research

before you buy at auction, but what does that mean?

Yes, you should always go and see the property, if you can.

That way, at least you know what you're taking on.

So, what's tempted the buyers on today's show?

In Gateshead, I think this house has got that something special.

Quite exciting, actually.

I can't wait to explore the rest of the house.

Whereas in Stoke-on-Trent, well,

quite frankly, this place is going down the drain.

Right! Well, clearly the guttering needs a bit of looking at.

But in Derbyshire, I am not looking

to throw it all away quite so quickly.

That...is beautiful!

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.

-You bought it, sir.

And now for a trip to Tyne and Wear

and the Aighton area of Gateshead.

Aighton Banks is a residential area, popular with families,

within easy commuting distance of Newcastle and Durham.

But with commuting comes cars...

and the property I'm here to see

is on this fairly busy-ish road,

so that's one downside.

But, luckily, this house, well, look, it's quite set-back.

It's a three-bedroom semidetached

and it does have its own driveway and garage.

All for a guide price of £120,000 to £140,000.

At first glance, this stone-built semi seems to be in good condition.

It's got modern windows and a front porch.

Let's hope the inside is as neat and tidy.

Now, I do like that original stonework on the outside,

but I didn't expect this.

An amazing, generous hall - wow!

It's really got a luxurious, spacious feel to it.

I mean, it's incredibly dated.

You can see the wallpaper needs stripping,

the carpets needs replacing,

but look, you've got a wonderful big bay window

letting in loads of light.

Gorgeous cornicing.

Some really nice, interesting '30s features in this property.

You could probably replace all this with something a little more modern.

But it's a brilliant room.

Really big and it's quite exciting, actually.

I can't wait to explore the rest of the house.

The great proportions carry on with the sweeping staircase,

which leads up to three bedrooms

which are all really good, family-friendly size -

two doubles and a smaller third bedroom.

The large rear bedroom has already had the wallpaper stripped

and I just love that fireplace!

The second bedroom...

Well, this would be a great room for a couple of kids to share.

There's plenty of...erm, space!

# All the stars are coming out tonight

# They're lighting up the sky tonight

# For you

# For you... #

But before I get too starry-eyed, we leave space behind

and travel back in time

to a time when peach was peachy!

Oh, dear!

On the plus side, there's loads of room for a modern, luxurious set-up.

Space is definitely the story of this house, though -

upstairs and downstairs.

I don't want to appear over-excited,

but for a semidetached house, this really is spacious!

I mean, look at this room -

it's magnificent!

It's got lovely high ceilings,

and that garden goes on for ever and a day!

I mean, it's just brilliant.

There is a lot of work to do here,

but what an incredible family house this is!

Kitchen? Mm-mm! This is where it goes downhill.

So, what we do about that?

Knock through here

and you can create a really nice open-plan kitchen/dining area,

family room with wonderful views out to that garden.

Or, possibly at a later stage,

you could think about knocking through

and creating a really nice extension.

I reckon you could easily extend to the side

where the current garage is, then put a replacement garage

in front of any new extension.

And there's plenty of room to accommodate all this.

The garden is really spacious in this property,

guided at 120,000 to 140,000,

but not all this greenery is welcome.

I've spotted one potential problem - ivy.

And I'm not talking about the mother-in-law.

Now, ivy roots can penetrate any cracks or joints in a building

and then cause structural damage.

But the current thinking is that ivy is often

unfairly blamed for damage to buildings,

and if your masonry is sound,

then ivy - well, it should leave it unaffected.

But whatever your opinion is of this clinging climber,

it can damage gutters,

make it hard to do building maintenance like painting,

and it can block light from windows.

But, personally, I would remove this pesky plant

or, at least, give it a severe haircut.

# Nothing clings like ivy...#

Ivy aside, this seems to be a pretty good buy to me.

Time to get some advice from a local property expert.

So how much could the semi achieve after a basic refurbishment?

I think this property, as it stands,

as a three-bedroom house,

could easily fetch in its modern condition

£200,000 to £225,000.

And how much would it be worth if you added an extension?

I think if they extended this and put an extra bedroom on,

then it would perhaps fetch £250,000.

So that extension could make quite a difference to the sale price.

Would the same be true for rental values?

I think if this was done to a good standard,

rental income could fetch £850 per calendar month.

I think if they extend this property,

and added another bedroom, then it could possibly fetch

over £1,000 per calendar month.

I love this house.

But this property does need a bit of work.

But it gives you the opportunity to renovate and extend

and turn it into a lovely family home.

And there could also be a bit of profit in there somewhere too.

So, who bid for this semi?

Let's find out at the auction.

Lot 11. A good-sized property.

A very nice sized garden.

Make a lovely family home. £120,000?

Start me off, 120.

I'll take it in fives.

At £120,000.

Looking for 125. At 125. 130.

135.

140.

145. Shake of the head.

Take two, if you like? 142?

142. 144.

146.

145.

145.

146.

147.

147, fresh bidder.

148. 149.

149. 150.

And one?

Take half from you. 150 and a half.

150 and a half.

151.

And a half.

152.

And a half.

Take a quarter?

£250.

One more?

152,250.

152 and a half.

152,750.

153.

153,250.

153 and a half.

No. Definite shake of the head this time.

So, £153,500. First time?

Second time?

Are you all done and out at £153,500?

Congratulations!

Well done. Thank you very much indeed.

# This is a big opportunity... #

And so, for £153,500,

the Gateshead house was bought by Stephen and Amy

and they see this as a great opportunity

to make it a fab first family home.

They came along to meet us with their daughter Mia

who took a seat on the stairs to listen to Mum and Dad's plans.

Stephen and Amy, congratulations.

What was it about this property that you loved so much?

Well, it was the garden.

-That was the seller.

-Yeah.

And where it is, as well. It's, like, in a lovely quiet place.

-And, for your money, you can't get a house like this.

-No.

We've looked at loads of houses, and you can't.

Do you feel that you really have got yourself a bargain?

-Oh, definitely!

-Definitely.

-Yeah.

I do agree with them on that.

£153,500 for this fantastic family home, has to be a winner!

And it's less than the couple thought it would go for.

They must be delighted

because very soon they are going to need plenty of extra space.

So where are you currently living?

We're living with my parents.

And how long have you been living there?

We've been living there over two years now.

And it's just time to leave.

I'm pregnant. And we've got Mia, who's nearly three.

So, yes, it's all systems go.

It's going to be a family home.

Trying to get it done before the next one is due. Hopefully.

-So, hold on... When's your baby due?

-Be about six months.

-Yeah.

Six months until you have a baby - you've already got a three-year-old

and you're planning on making this your family home.

Quite a lot to contend with!

-Yeah.

-A lot. Yeah, a lot.

Wow. This is going to be a challenge,

but it's SO going to be worth it!

At the moment, the family share one bedroom at Amy's mum's house,

so the sooner they can move in the better.

You're going to be very hands on with the project... Especially you?

-Oh, definitely.

-You'll have to be.

I'm re-doing the bathrooms.

Any plumbing that needs to be done, I'll be doing that.

But, everything else - plastering, electrics, or stuff -

I'll leave it to the professionals to do that.

Stephen is a tiler,

and has recently completed a plumbing course,

so those skills are going to be very handy.

But, of course he's got his job as well,

so he's going to be busy.

Amy works in accounts,

and with Mia and a baby on the way,

I'm wondering if she is going to have any time to do anything.

Amy, what are you going to add to this property?

I think I'll probably help with the decorating.

I've already got Mia's room planned.

I can't wait to do her room. A pink boudoir!

Mia's going to have a pink boudoir!

-I love the sound of that.

-Yeah.

-What about the new baby?

-Obviously, have you any idea, boy or girl?

No, we don't know.

Because it could possibly be twins.

-What?!

-As well.

Because we're both twins.

So, we find out next week.

# Double trouble

# Twice as much as anybody else

# Oh, yeah. #

Blimey!

Just as well this is a spacious home, and has room for expansion.

Roughly how much have you got to spend on the property?

Our budget for the work really...

It's capped off at 15,000.

Beg, borrow AND stealing(!)

I mean, it's not much to do it

and it's a massive house,

but one thing we've got going for it

is we already have a kitchen we bought, which is in storage.

So, hold on a minute. Why have you got a kitchen already?

Well, we've seen it, liked it,

even before we saw any house...

-Yeah.

-..and just got it.

I got it for a really cheap price, so...

-So, how much did you pay for it?

-£1,000.

-£1,000? What's it like?

Oh, it's fab - it's got coffee machines and everything, hasn't it?

-We've done well.

-No...!

-Yeah.

Well, that's a novel one - buy a kitchen

and fit your house around it.

That's exactly what they're going to do.

Open out the space and create a kitchen-diner,

just as I was hoping.

That will certainly make the most of their bargain kitchen.

But even with that saving,

£15,000 is tight,

and might not allow for those unexpected extras.

Have you any structural concerns?

I've noticed some ivy creeping up back wall.

Is there any damp?

I've never had a good look, to be honest with you.

We just got the keys yesterday.

-We both wanted the house so much...

-You don't care - "Whatever!"

It still wouldn't have stopped us getting it, no.

I am so excited for the both of you.

Good luck with everything, and the baby,

I know you'll do a great job. Lovely to meet you both.

-Thank you.

-And you, well done.

Well, with the second baby - or babies - on the way,

Stephen and Amy have a very definite deadline to work to.

So, will they get this house renovated and ready

before the six months was up?

You can find out how they all get on

and if they move in on time, later in the programme.

From what will hopefully be a family home

to a place which was home to a now famous singer.

Today I'm in Robbie Williams territory -

Burslem in Stoke-on-Trent.

# And all the Burslem lads

# Now that they're all dads

# They meant so much to me... #

Well, ten minutes from the town centre of Burslem,

and about two miles from Hanley

is the property I'm here to see.

It's a four-bed, end-of-terrace.

Sounds pretty spacious from the specs.

Guide price was £42,000 plus.

In we go.

So, what have we got? Whoa...!

That's green!

HE LAUGHS

Nice entrance hall, but what a colour.

I feel like Kermit the Frog!

Stairs up to your bedrooms there.

Whoa...!

The subtle colour schemes continue.

The colour of this pink?!

Um, bizarrely, this rather...

garish, dare I say it, wallpaper is back in fashion,

although...I'm not sure about the pink.

But let's forget about that - big-sized room,

through this sort of little archway into a sort of recess

that they've used to create this absolutely massive space.

A deceptive property, for sure,

because it carries on into here, which is the kitchen.

As you can see, not at all being utilised as it could.

And it continues through there with a sort of little utility area.

So, loads and loads of space.

And you can possibly create even more if you utilise the cellar.

Which we can't access today,

but has the same dimensions as this ground floor.

To be honest, I think your energies would be much better focused

on sorting this lot out.

Everything needs doing -

fitting a proper kitchen,

toning down the colours,

new flooring - you name it.

Although it is nice to see some features worth keeping.

I'm talking about the cornicing, not the lampshade!

And, if you got a downstairs loo in here, as well,

it would widen your target market and appeal to families.

But, what's on offer upstairs for them?

Upstairs and back to the Kermit theme.

# It's not easy being green... #

Do you remember that song? He was so sweet, the way he did it!

Anyway, what've we got here?

Three bedrooms this way.

VERY odd layout.

All these strange walls.

A boxy bit in there.

Almost like this was a much bigger space up here,

in terms of bedrooms.

It's been changed around to get more bedrooms.

I'm not sure it quite worked.

Small room there, and then, if you think that's bad,

come here and this is the fourth bedroom.

For a start, I never like to see this.

It's a boiler - a gas boiler - in the bedroom.

And if something is going to go wrong with a gas boiler,

the worst place in the world it can be is in a bedroom.

Carbon monoxide poisoning - all that kind of stuff.

But, worse than that... No.

Not worse than that, that is about as bad as it gets.

The bedroom itself is walk-through.

To get to the only bathroom on the property.

So...that doesn't work.

What I would do, probably, is sacrifice maybe the smaller

of those bedrooms there, make this a bedroom with an en-suite.

You've reduced the number of bedrooms,

but you've created a much more liveable house.

With four bedrooms,

just one bathroom that you need to access via a room

doesn't cut it.

Someone has obviously had a WHALE of a time carving up the rooms here,

so it's up to whoever buys it

to recarve them to suit modern living.

Let's take a look outside.

Well, at the side and the rear of the property -

no garden, to speak of.

But it's low-maintenance. Looking on the positive side.

What I'm concerned about, is all those basic things -

I mean, here's a downpipe from the toilets.

It's all wet at the bottom.

That means there is some problem there.

The water's going into the foundations.

The guttering looks to be in a bit of a mess. It's the simple...

Hello!

GRUNTS

Right, well, clearly the guttering needs a little looking at.

These pipes cost pounds...

Literally just a few pounds,

and yet the damage they can do

if they're not adequately maintained is...

Can run into the thousands.

OK.

Lesson for today.

I know maintenance seems boring,

when you can have fun choosing kitchens and bathrooms,

but take my advice and do it.

You'll thank me later.

We asked a local property expert along to cast his eye

over the large end-of-terrace guided at £42,000.

Positives are the fact that there's four bedrooms,

and a bathroom upstairs.

It will appeal to large families.

The negatives, to some people, would be

because of the size of the property, it would require extra money

to refurbish the property,

and it might not be to everybody's budget.

So with those thoughts in mind,

what route did he recommend for this property?

In the current climate, I think I'd look to refurbish the property

and possibly keep it as a long-term investment.

The market does seem to be improving

and, hopefully, in the near future we will also see capital growth.

Hanging onto the property for a while might be a good move,

so what kind of numbers are we talking about?

Once renovated,

I would anticipate a rental income

in the region of £500 per calendar month.

After renovation,

I would anticipate a resale value in the region of £85,000.

Well, you may have some issues with the layout of property,

and certainly the state inside,

but one thing you can't argue about is that guide price -

£42,000 plus...

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

Number 1, which is the substantial terrace house.

35 to start me on this?

Make it 30, then.

30 bid. Thank you. At £30,000.

32 anywhere? 32 bid.

At 32,000.

34? 36?

At £38,000?

Bid on front row. 39.

At 39. 40 is it? 40, it is.

£41,000.

42? New bid at 42.

Shaking his head. 42 standing left now.

New bidder, 43.

44?

44.

45.

45.

46.

46.

47? 47.

48? 48.

49?

49.

50?

50.

51?

51.

52.

53.

54.

No? 54 anywhere else?

If not... £53,000 for the first time?

£53,000 for second time?

Third and last time, at £53,000.

You bought it, sir. Well done.

The gavel came down on a bid of £53,000,

made by financial services worker Riz,

who I met back at the property to get the lowdown.

-Riz, good to meet you.

-You, too.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Do you like the colour green?

-Erm... Yeah, I think, erm...

It's not quite grown on me, to be honest.

Thank goodness for that.

Tell me why you wanted to buy the house.

It was really for investment purposes,

and to be completely honest,

when I turned up at the auction, which was actually my first time -

I'd not been to an auction before -

it was the first lot and I just kind of put my hand up

-and it went from there.

-Really?!

-Yeah!

You didn't anticipate buying it, then?

No, I'd had a look at it, briefly,

for probably five minutes, a week before.

I didn't turn up thinking I was going to leave with... erm...

after paying a deposit.

Is it something you do?

Otherwise you wouldn't be so nonchalant about it.

I've had a mini project before with a property quite close to here.

And that that needed quite a bit more work,

and we've managed to find tenants for it and that's going quite...

You know... It's quite easy once it's up and running.

And that's really what attracted me to this, as well.

For someone relatively fresh to developing,

Riz has a great, laid-back attitude.

He's got a budget of £8,000 to £10,000

and a rough timescale of two and a half months.

Riz intends on making this house more energy efficient.

He's planning on researching government schemes

that could help pay for loft and cavity wall installation,

so he's hoping make this house suitable for a family house let.

So what else is on the to-do list

to give this place a star turn?

Upstairs there's a few issues with the floorboards.

I think, previously, the bathroom,

being upstairs, has actually caved through.

So all the floorboards are bowed.

So they'll need replacing.

All new carpets, and completely new replastering throughout.

Certainly the walls are a little bit wonky, I think.

That includes the ceilings, as well. Some of the Artex ceilings.

What about the layout?

Because you've got this bedroom which leads to the bathroom,

which is never ideal, is it?

That's something I need to give a bit more thought to,

because I think there's potential to have a bathroom downstairs,

which probably may make a bit more sense.

-What - have that as an en-suite, then?

-Yes.

-That's a good idea.

Potentially, but then again, I think

originally the plans for this property were to have it

as two separate flats - something I may well consider in the future.

-Well, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-And good luck with it.

-Look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Brilliant, thanks.

So, a bit of a spur-of-the-moment purchase for Riz,

but I actually think he's got a good property here.

And, looks like the multicoloured walls will be gone when we return.

Probably.

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

Coming up: In Derbyshire, we see what £40,000 might get you.

Intrinsically, this is a lot of house for the money, I think.

And back in Stoke, we catch up on Riz's... hmm...

steady refurbishment progress.

I've come so far in... Well, not such a short time!

Now we return to Gateshead, Tyne and Wear,

where we first saw the three-bedroom semidetached property

that had bags of space, loads of character,

lots of refurbishment work to do

and one of the longest gardens I've seen!

And for plumber and tiler Stephen and wife Amy,

it offered the much-needed room for their young family.

# Let it grow, let it grow

# Let it blossom, let it flow... #

So, where are you currently living?

We're living with my parents.

-How long have you been living with your parents?

-Over two year now.

-And it's just time we're... Time to leave.

-And I'm pregnant.

And we've got little Mia, haven't we? Who's nearly three.

So it's all systems go. Trying to get it done before the next one's due.

-Hopefully.

-So, hold on, when's your baby due?

-Be about six months.

-Yep.

So you've got six months before you have a baby,

you've already got a three-year-old,

and you're planning on making this your family home.

-So, quite a lot to contend with.

-A lot.

Yeah. A lot.

And having paid £153,500 for the house at auction,

they were hoping that with a £15,000 budget

they could get the place refurbished in six months.

Ready for their growing family to move into.

And now, 11 months later, we're back with Stephen to check on progress.

Well, the outside was always in decent nick,

it was inside where the work was needed.

Wow! Just look at that!

With solid wood floors and wood-burning stove,

the front reception is very stylish.

I like it.

That modern twist has also been applied to the back dining room.

But, just remember that poky, dated kitchen?

Well, it certainly isn't that any more.

It's also not the kitchen they bought before buying the house.

So what has been going on?

As you can see, we had a massive change of the kitchen.

There used to be a large brick wall... online with this wall here.

We've knocked this wall down and we've created a massive space.

So we've put marble all the way through, as well.

Put this brand-new kitchen in,

which wasn't the kitchen which was originally mentioned, but...

We had a white gloss kitchen, which wouldn't tie in

with the period of what we're trying to do with this property, so...

basically, everything's pretty much brand-new.

Oh, fabulous.

What a great space.

And upstairs?

Stephen and Amy's master bedroom

is plush, vibrant, modern and very grown-up.

His daughter Mia got the pink room she hoped for.

I think you'll agree, she sure has!

And it has the bonus of being en suite, too.

But perhaps more excitingly, she has got a new baby brother!

Three and a half month old Louis.

I think I can guess which room his might be!

But what about that rather sorry bathroom and toilet set-up?

We knocked the wall down

and we've made one large family bathroom.

Pretty much kept the theme running from downstairs with the marble,

up into the bathroom.

I think it dates well, doesn't really go out of fashion.

You can polish it every year

and pretty much have a new bathroom.

Well, Stephen's plumbing and tiling skills have really come to the fore

in the bathrooms and kitchen.

And the house is at last ready for them to move into,

with a plan to properly tackle that large garden

and that ivy once they've settled in.

Mind you, it's already got that all-important slide and swing.

# It don't mean a thing

# If it ain't got that swing... #

But why has it taken nearly twice as long as planned?

Well, I wanted to do it a lot earlier, but with work

it made it very difficult to try and spend time in the house

to get anything done.

Sometimes the house was left standing there

for a month at a time, but at the same time

you've got to work to pay for the things you want.

Yes, with Stephen having a full-time job and Amy having

both baby Louis and daughter Mia to look after,

doing such a comprehensive renovation -

well, it can't have been easy!

And to finish it to such high standards can't have been cheap.

Originally, it was 15,000.

It went to 40, only because it is a house that we're living in.

We plan to live here for a long time.

So I suppose you've to pay a bit extra money to get what you want,

especially if you're living in it,

so it's worth every penny, I think,

what I've put into it.

Stephen and Amy waited a while to have the perfect home,

so I would imagine it's been well worth the money and the graft.

With that 40 grand budget,

they've now spent just under 194,000 on the house.

What will two agents make of this transformation?

The property is a lovely home.

They've modernised it to a high standard,

and it is ideal for a growing family.

The property is excellent.

Obviously, a good-sized property to start with, but the work

is to a very high standard.

The open-plan kitchen,

I think's very nice.

Stephen and Amy really have done a terrific job,

but they've invested £193,500

into making this house their home.

Has it paid off?

I would look to achieve a sale price between £220,000, and £230,000.

To put this property on the market for sale

I'd value it in the region of £225,000.

-But what do Stephen make of those valuations?

-Very pleased.

Not looking to sell, though.

This is a family home, so it's still a little profit there.

Yes, clearly having putting so much time and money into the house,

Stephen and Amy aren't planning to sell any time soon,

but it's good to know there's a potential pre-tax

profit of between 27 and 37,000 and, if for whatever reason they did

rent it, they should get a 5% yield on their investment.

But this house was never about financial returns.

Most importantly, it was getting a home for Stephen, Amy, Mia

and now little baby Louis.

So, how does Stephen feel about their slightly protracted project?

It feels excellent that we can finally move into our brand-new

house, enjoy the house that we've built

and basically watch the family grow up in it.

And let's hope this will be a happy family home for many years to come.

I'm in the market town of Swadlincote in South Derbyshire

which flourished during the Industrial Revolution

due to the deposits of clay and coal in the area.

Here, the potteries and brickworks manufactured

an amazing variety of wares and sewerage pipes made in the town

were exported all over the world.

So much of our industrial heritage has been lost,

but it's really lovely when you come across something

like this here in Swadlincote.

This is one of the last remaining bottle shaped kilns in the UK.

It's been preserved, it's been restored and it now forms

a centrepiece of museums, some reinvigorated local businesses.

It's just great to see.

And along with the restoration of the town's historic hub,

there are signs of improvement too in Swadlincote's housing stock.

Old buildings are being restored and new houses being built.

An encouraging environment for any would-be property investor.

Well, walking distance from the town centre is the property

I'm here to see.

Two-bedroomed mid-terrace, a guide price of £40,000 plus.

This is it, but you'll notice straightaway, no door on the front.

To get in, you have to go down this little corridor.

It takes a bit of getting used to, that whole coming down that

little alleyway to the front... Well, is it the front door?

It's the side door, I suppose.

When you come into the house, what have we got?

Big understairs cupboard facing you.

Stairs up to the bedrooms there.

Large sort of front living room area there

and through to the rear of the property and look at this floor.

The original tiles, quarry tiles.

My guess, judging where it's all higgledy-piggledy,

is there is something going on with the substrate there which is

causing that to come up in places.

I'd also guess that there's no damp proof course.

It does feel and smell quite damp, but in terms of room size,

it's good.

Through here into the kitchen and again,

damp seems to be the biggest issue. Space is not.

It's a really good size and certainly deceptive from the front.

Canary yellow, wow! That is bright.

Lots of space to play with and pots of paint required.

Well, outside, you may not have a coal mine

but you've certainly got a coal shed and an outside loo.

A couple of really useful little outbuildings that, perhaps,

with a bit of imagination, could be

incorporated into the interior of the house.

All depends, of course, on how much you want to spend here.

A nice little bit of garden too, complete with a shed.

This seems to be a house of many parts.

Upstairs, the labyrinth continues.

Down that way, a bedroom, a really nice sized bathroom.

It needs a bit of sorting out.

You've then got this sort of landing area here. It doesn't do much.

I suppose it's a bit of a waste of space.

A few floorboards need to be sorted out.

But it does give a nice open feel to this part of the house.

Odd little room there. Got no idea whatsoever what that is.

It could be, I guess,

an en-suite to one of the bedrooms if you wanted to make it that.

Second bedroom here. Again, it's a good size.

A few more signs of damp here

and obviously those windows need replacing.

It's nothing I haven't seen before or you haven't seen before

and intrinsically, this is a lot of house for the money, I think.

What I've also seen before is a spiralling spend,

so you'd need to take on board the potential costs of tackling whatever

that rather sinister floor issue is and getting rid of that damp.

But there's one thing I definitely don't want anyone to get rid of.

Right, I'm going to do something on behalf of the

Fireplace Preservation Society now.

That is beautiful. Look at that. Absolutely gorgeous. Art Deco.

You might have seen something similar in terms of these tiles,

but what makes it unusual is these wings on the edges.

I know what you're thinking, yuck!

But, no, it's a piece of architectural history.

Do what you like with the rest of the house

but touch that at your peril!

# You can't touch this

# You can't touch this

# You can't touch this... #

Well, what you spend in here, of course,

all depends on what you want to do once the renovation is complete.

At a guide price of £45,000, I don't think you can quibble too much here.

What does the auctioneer who sold the property think about this

terrace with an Art Deco touch?

In layout, traditional terraced house

and really does need everything doing to it, with one exception,

and that is the fact that the council did a grant scheme

many years ago to re-roof all these properties, so we're

OK on the top, but everything beneath that needs looking at.

The whole thing wants damp proofing.

That has got repercussions for plastering as well

and timber treatment, then you've got to look at wiring,

heating and plumbing, you've got to look at windows.

I think if you do the job properly, but without going overboard,

you could actually spend at least 18, £19,000 here.

Yikes! What did I say earlier about spiralling costs?

Is there a way of clawing back some of the money?

Could that little, odd room upstairs be a small family bathroom?

And that big bathroom become a third bedroom

and therefore increase the value of the house?

I think if you were a bit ambitious

and tried to get three bedrooms out of this, I have to say,

it's not going to make a big difference to what you

achieve for it in terms of a sale.

If it's renovated, this would have a value of around £80,000

when it's done.

In terms of rental value, it would rent out at about £450,

£475 a calendar month.

Well, there's a few bits and pieces you'd want to do to sort this

place out, but don't forget that guide price of just £40,000 plus.

It's a lot of house for the money.

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

40,000 to start on the guide price. 40,000.

40, thank you, £40,000, I have. At £40,000. 41 somewhere else?

41 is bid. At 41, 42, 42 on the phone.

43, 43. 44. 45, 46?

Thank you, 46. 47, 47,000.

That tempting guide price attracted plenty of bidding

and we rejoin at 57,000.

At £57,000, it's going, for the first time.

57,500. 58, 58,000.

Five again? £58,000, once, twice,

third time 58,500, 59. At 59. Five again.

£59,000. Once, twice, third chance, sold at 59. Thank you.

And that very relieved looking buyer was Paula, who got

the house for 59,000.

She was working in her job at a local supermarket on the day

we came to visit, so it was husband Tom who met me at the property.

He works at a car manufacturers in Crewe.

The couple have two young children

and this is the family's first venture into property investment.

-Tom, great to meet you.

-And you, thank you.

-Congratulations.

-Yes.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

Erm, it's mainly a long-term investment thing

and the whole family is involved.

My mum and my brother, we've bought it on savings

and we're looking, as a long-term investment, to rent, really,

and in the future, it's a little bit of something for the grandkids.

-Great. Obviously got a few issues, mostly damp.

-Yeah.

What have you found in your investigations since you bought it?

The front wall, particularly, is extremely damp

and we think that was... a main contributor to that was

the front garden was actually three bricks above actual floor level on

the inside, so obviously all the damp was coming straight into the walls.

The internal walls have got no damp course and

probably by the age of the building, they are potentially straight

down into soil, so the internal walls are sucking up a lot of moisture.

Definitely damp course probably on every wall.

Once that's done, it'll need rewiring.

We're looking at completely redoing the plumbing,

obviously new boiler, change the storage units to central heating.

Definitely replacing the windows.

We're completely undecided yet on whether we're going to move

-the bathroom from upstairs to downstairs...

-Oh, wow!

..to give us a three-bedroom property,

but with us looking at renting

and more that side of things and turning it round quick

and selling it again, we're still in discussion on whether we

actually do that or whether we rent it in the current state that it's in.

Most people look to moving the bathroom from downstairs, upstairs.

You're doing the opposite. Where would you put it?

We've got options.

There's a little room under the stairs which is a size...

For under the stairs, it's very sizeable.

We've also got the back of the kitchen leading onto the existing

outside toilet.

-You haven't mentioned the fireplace in the front living room.

-No.

-Not yet.

-What are you going to do with that?

-Potentially, keep it.

-Good.

-Potentially keep it. It's a nice feature.

-You're just saying that to placate me, aren't you?

-No.

I bet I come back and it's gone.

At your peril, Tom.

Anyway, whether he keeps it or not,

he sounds as if he knows what he's doing and doesn't seem fazed

by the amount of work it's going to take to get this place shipshape.

But his timescale of three months does sound rather tight to me,

especially as he has a full-time job,

and will his budget of just £10,000 be enough?

Well, somehow, I think he'll be able to overpower any challenges

that come his way, because Tom has a rather unusual pastime.

One of my main hobbies is professional wrestling.

-Wow, watching it or doing it?

-Doing it.

-Doing it?

-Yes.

-What weight are you, then?

-I'm little but I'm nicely formed.

If you say so yourself.

It's more the American-style wrestling where, you know,

a play about. A few of the lads from the gym I go to regularly,

we're all fans and we thought, why don't we have a go one day?

-Are you a goodie or a baddie?

-A baddie.

-You're a baddie?

What's your name?

-T Virus.

-T Virus?

-Yeah.

-What do you do that is really nasty?

-I cheat relentlessly and unashamedly.

-What fun. A bit of escapism.

Yeah, definitely, yes.

It's just fun, is just a fun hobby and it keeps you fit

while you're doing it.

Well, listen, congratulations, good to meet you, Tom. Good luck with it.

Thank you.

Well, wrestler Tom clearly thinks this place is a bit of a knockout.

How is he going to get on wrestling with it to sort it out?

Will he end up on the ropes?

You can find out how he gets on with this particular bout

later in the show.

Well, the big question is,

have our buyers made money on their investments?

Well, time has passed, so let's go back and take a look.

It was in Burslem in Stoke-on-Trent where we first saw a pretty

large and colourful four-bed end-of-terrace house.

If pink and green were your colours, then this was the house for you,

but underneath all that bright paintwork lurked a house

in need of a full upgrade with signs of damp and general neglect.

And it was bought for £53,000 by financial services expert Riz,

as his second property project.

So, was he tickled pink to get it?

Tell me why you wanted to buy the house.

To be completely honest, when I turned up at the auction which

was actually my first time, I'd not been to an auction before,

it was the first lot and I kind of put my hand up and went from there.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-You didn't anticipate buying it then?

No, I had a look at it briefly for about five minutes, you know,

-a week before...

-You bought it, sir, well done.

Yes, that's the thing with auctions.

Stick your hand up, no-one else bids and the property could be yours.

But it's one thing buying a house,

it's another getting it up to scratch,

so with plans to rent it out and an £8,000 budget

and a two and a half month timescale,

Riz needed to make his slightly surprising purchase work for him.

And now four and a half months later, we're back with Riz to

check on progress. Is it still good to be green or pretty in pink?

Well, no more.

It's more cool and contemporary with neutral tones in the living area,

though the changes in the kitchen are more black and white

and where once was a utility area, there is now

a downstairs shower room, or it will be when it's finished.

So, what is the state of play?

There is still a lot of things that need to be doing,

especially around tidying up in the back yard, repainting,

decorating, but, yes, it feels good overall to come so far in,

well, not such a short time but, you know, we're nearly there.

Well, kind of nearly there.

Riz hopes it can all be finished off in about a month.

And then this four bedroomed house can finally be

ready for the rental market.

But what was the biggest hold-up with the project?

One of the main reasons for the delay in that was the weather,

especially the rain that we had.

The upstairs bathroom roof was actually leaking

so that had to be re-felted and re-tiled. That's now repaired.

The time it took for the plaster to dry,

it took three to four weeks for it to dry.

Some of it collapsed from the ceilings and that had to be

redone and that was another three weeks of time on top of that.

Getting your house damp free can be really time consuming.

Sometimes it's necessary to bring in dehumidifiers to really

get the walls bone dry and ready for painting

and often, all you can do is wait.

# I will wait

# I will wait for you... #

And while Riz was tackling the damp,

he also decided to do some layout changes.

The logic behind having a bathroom downstairs,

I mean, this was previously just used as a utility room.

The logic was twofold.

Firstly, upstairs room, we've used that as a bedroom with an en-suite,

so we have a bathroom downstairs, as well,

that can be used as a family bathroom.

Secondly, there was originally planning permission for this

property to have it as two separate flats, so that still leaves

open the potential of doing that in the future.

This was definitely a sensible move,

not only making that fourth bedroom better

but giving himself the option to turn it into a flat at a later date.

But delays and an extra bathroom surely added to his costs.

The original budget was going to be around £8,000.

So far, we're at around 7,500, so, well within budget despite

the problems that we've been having.

There is still some work to do

but if Riz sticks to his £8,000 budget along with his £53,000

purchase price, his total spend will be £61,000 without taxes and fees.

So, will this end up as a good purchase?

What do two local estate agents think?

First impressions is that it's been re-skimmed throughout

which obviously makes the property a lot fresher and brighter,

however, of course, there is still further works to be completed.

Certainly, there's aspects of the property that I think could

have been improved, architraves, I feel an updated kitchen with

built-in cooker, hob and extractor would have been an advantage.

Certain aspects of updating, doors, etc,

to the property would have been beneficial.

Well, yes, it's definitely a work in progress,

but can there still be profit to be made on Riz's £61,000 investment?

I feel when the property's renovation works have been

carried out, in today's market,

I would expect the property to achieve in the region of £65,000.

If the property is done to a basic standard,

I can see the resale value being in the region of £70,000.

Well, there could be a small profit on resale,

so what does Riz think of those valuations?

I bought it for 53 and invested less than 8K.

In the current market, that's not bad.

So, potentially, a pre-tax profit of around £4-£9000

but more importantly, how about its rental potential.

In today's market,

I would expect the rental to be set around £425 per calendar month.

The rental figure would be in the region of £450 per calendar month.

OK, that's pretty much in line with what I expected, in fact,

it's slightly higher than what I expected.

Even the lower £425 per calendar month would generate

an annual rental yield above 8%, so, as a rental vehicle,

this has worked out pretty well.

So, would Riz buy a property at auction again?

Yes, I would, I would definitely do it again

but hopefully in less time next time.

Yes, and we've got no time to waste either,

as we're heading back to the market town of

Swadlincote in Derbyshire...

where earlier, mum-of-two Paula looked delighted to get this

two-bed mid terrace for £59,000.

It was her husband Tom I spoke to on the day,

and he explained why he and Paula had bought the house.

It's mainly a long-term investment - the whole family's involved,

my mum and my brother, we've bought it on savings

and we're looking at it as a long-term investment to rent,

and then, in the future it's a little something for the grandkids.

Great.

Tom, who enjoys wrestling in his spare time,

had a lot to grapple with within this property.

It was going to be a challenge for the family,

with a £10,000 budget and timescale of 12 weeks.

There was also a possibility of trying to make this

a three-bed house by moving the bathroom,

so what would we find when returned four months later?

This might be a first for Homes Under The Hammer -

the kitchen is actually smaller than when we last saw it,

but there is a good reason for that.

When we bought the property,

the kitchen had been extended into the outhouse.

What that was doing was bringing a lot of damp from the outhouse

into the house itself.

So, on balance, and weighing up our options,

we decided to put the kitchen back to how it was when the house was built.

So we've shortened the kitchen slightly, put a new studded wall in,

insulated, plastered and made it good.

A small but dry kitchen seems like a good compromise.

What about upstairs?

Clean, bright and modern - they've done a great job here.

Even more impressive because, as I suspected,

the property had no damp course in place, meaning the job in hand

would prove to be a big one, especially downstairs.

Starting in here in the front room, we took all the floors up -

this was a wooden floor that had gone rotten due to damp.

We dug also the floor up in the dining room,

which was just quarry tiles on top of soil.

We then had to remove all the plaster, up to a metre high,

in some cases higher, where it was basically falling off the walls.

Then every internal wall was drilled and chemically damp proofed.

We then had to level the floors out, insulation, damp course -

that was from front to back all the way through.

And then insulated, poured the new concrete down and levelled out.

Phew! Well, on top of all that,

there's been a total rewire,

double glazing throughout, plus gas central heating and a new boiler.

Plans to move the bathroom downstairs

and turn the space into a third bedroom were shelved.

The second-hand kitchen units look a bit dated to me,

and could be a bit of a false economy.

But... uh-oh, I'm gutted to see

that the Art Deco fireplace has gone.

The Fireplace Preservation Society will not be pleased!

That aside, the family have worked hard and created a nice,

dry home for someone.

How does it feel for it to be finished?

It feels really good to be finished.

Everybody involved's had enough, to say the least,

and we'll be glad to get the tenants moved in.

Myself and my brother have done a great deal of the manual

labour on the house.

My mum, my wife, sister-in-law,

have also done a great deal of decorating, doing a lot

of the tidying up, has been a lot of extended family members as well,

so we've all mucked in.

The only tradesmen we've had in have been the plumber, electrician

and the plasterers.

There's been big changes here,

but what happened to those bathroom plans?

Originally we did consider moving the bathroom into the big cupboard

upstairs or under the stairs, but when we looked at these options,

it wasn't financially viable to move it, so we've left it where it is.

It's adequate, it's a nice-sized bathroom, so we've left it upstairs.

It's so important to be mindful of your budget,

and by adapting their plans, Tom and family have done just that.

So, how is their budget looking?

The budget was originally 10,000,

with a very small contingency,

and we've spent approximately 11,000,

so in terms of budget, I think we've done quite well.

I have to agree.

Give all the damp course work,

along with the refurbishment,

the family have kept control of their spend,

and their 12-week timescale.

Not only that, they've managed to get themselves a tenant as well.

What will two estate agents make

of this first renovation by this family?

My first impression is that they've made a really nice job of it.

It's clean, tidy, gas central heated, double glazed -

a very good job.

It would be a sought-after property.

Clean lines, fresh - an old character home,

but new inside. Really nice.

With £11,000 on top of the purchase price of 59,000,

that makes a total investment of £70,000.

So, what could it sell on for in the open market?

If I was putting this property on the market,

I'd put it on at about £85,000.

This home would sell for, certainly, £85,000 to £90,000.

I have to say, that could change in six or 12 months' time,

and my personal view is, that could be higher.

An £85,000 sale would mean a pre-tax profit of 15,000.

What does Tom make of that?

It's a little bit higher than we expected, so, yeah, very good.

Very happy with that.

But for the family, this is all about rental income.

I would put this property

on the rental market for £450 per calendar month.

This home would certainly have

a rental value of £500 per calendar month.

That lower valuation of £450 per calendar month

would give the family a yield of over 7%.

How does that compare with what they've agreed with their tenant?

We're going to get 450, so quite happy with those figures.

Obviously, we could get a little bit more,

but we are where we are right now - tenant's moving in.

But would they do it all again?

We'd potentially look at doing another property.

Myself and my brother have done a lot of work,

we've managed to get a lot done in a short space of time,

but I think this was the last one for my mum.

That's it for today. We'll be back with more property-buying stories

for you next time - some successful, others maybe not so.

-We look forward to seeing you then on Homes Under The Hammer.

-Goodbye.

Goodbye.