Episode 20 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello, welcome to the programme.

Even in this competitive market,

Martin and I love dabbling in property.

Yes, and we love the idea of getting a good deal.

But it's not always easy.

One where you still stand a good chance, though,

is to buy your home under the hammer.

Now, buying under the hammer is becoming increasingly popular.

Millions of pounds' worth of property is sold every month.

So, here are three properties that were sold at auction.

In Port Glasgow, Scotland, I'm inspired by this one-bedroom flat.

Boy, oh, boy, could you make a big difference.

And it's also time to make a difference

to this Derbyshire end-of-terrace.

It all sort of goes a bit wrong.

Meanwhile, in Folkestone, I face my old nemesis.

I don't know...

Woodchip wallpaper everywhere, everywhere!

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.

Well done, sir.

Port Glasgow began as a town called Newark,

but Newark town changed to Port Glasgow when it became

the main port for off-loading and loading cargo for Glasgow.

Shifting sandbanks prevented ships from navigating further up

the Clyde to the city and so Port Glasgow was born.

Well, the property I'm here to see is about a mile from either

of the town's two railway stations but as Port Glasgow is

built on a hill, at least it's downhill in one direction.

The property is a flat in this block here and good news before you even

get inside, looks like there's been some fairly substantial

refurbishment on the outside, new double glazing,

whatever this coving is, that's good news.

Flat itself, one bedroom,

guide price of 30,000 to 34,000 quid.

Let's take a look.

The flats aren't particularly old,

but the new render looks very smart and will protect the structure.

And controlled entry, well, that's always a good thing.

So, let's hope the flat itself is as well looked after.

What have we got?

Through the front door, then, a little entrance area here.

Cupboard here. Wow...

that's massive.

But why?

I mean, it makes it feel very cramped here

and I guess that is just a stud partition wall

so get rid of that, open up this sort of entrance area to give it

a bit more of an open-plan feel.

I mean, flats like this often are quite space-challenged,

so to speak, so maybe that's why that was done,

to create a bit of storage space, but I don't particularly like it.

What have we got here, though? Bathroom?

Well, it's got a shower in it, nice big shower,

doesn't seem to be in too bad condition.

Your one bedroom is there.

I mean, all in all, it's not a huge flat.

It looks like it's got air-blowing central heating, you'd want

to have that checked out, make sure worked, or is working, rather.

Living room area here.

Again, benefitting from those new double glazed windows outside

and then, through into your kitchen.

Well, yeah, I mean, it's not huge.

It certainly could do with updating. But it's not bad.

I mean, it's one of those flats, it's a manageable size

and boy, oh, boy, could you make a big difference

if you just spent some time and money on it.

There's nothing I like better than a property with potential for change

and this one has got plenty.

Well, looking around, I think there are some fairly simple steps

to enhancing this flat.

First, you could open-plan it.

Take out this wall and then you'd have this sort of kitchen

living space, which I think would be really, really nice.

Moving through here, there are so many of these odd little cupboards.

This one, though, contains the mother of all boilers.

What is that?

Well, that's obviously part of the whole hot-air central heating system

but I noticed since I first saw those grilles

that there are thermostats and radiators

so the boiler in the kitchen is obviously providing

a more modern approach to central heating

so that means that's redundant.

At the very least, it gives you extra space

and that could be utilised here in the bathroom which isn't massive.

But look at that.

That is the rear of that cupboard with the boiler in it,

so get rid of that and you'd enhance this bathroom quite considerably.

So, suddenly with a really nice sized bathroom,

open-plan in there,

you've got a really lovely flat.

MUSIC: "Wide Open Spaces" by the Dixie Chicks

# Wide open spaces... #

It might, on first look, appear to be a bit cramped,

but there are definitely ways of giving it some space

and introducing the same clean lines inside

as there are on the outside.

What does a local estate agent think should be done?

I think renovation in this property should be to a reasonable standard

but not excessive as there certainly

is a ceiling in terms of long-term value.

But it would be for the rental or first-time buyer market.

So, let's start with those possible first-time buyers, then.

What would be the resale value after it was refurbished?

Done to a reasonable standard, I would anticipate this property

to resale for between £40,000 and £45,000.

And what if the owner wanted to rent it out?

For a one-bedroom flat of this ilk,

we would anticipate a rental value of £350 to £375 per calendar month.

So, not too much work to be done on this one and keep the budget tight

and you could end up with a good little investment property.

Let's find out who went for it under the hammer.

One-bedroom flat, lot 6, guide price £30,000 to £34,000.

Where are we going to start with this?

At 25, am I bid? 20, then?

Needs to be a bid. Can't sell it without one.

At £20,000? 20, you're in.

At 20 I'm bid now. In once. At £20,000.

21, anywhere? At £20,000 on my left.

After a slow start, the bidding rose steadily and we rejoin at 28,000.

28? 28 I'm bid.

At £28,000, I'm bid now.

At £28,000, are you done?

You're done? You're in, then, at £28,000.

First time at £28,000.

Second time at £28,000.

Third and final time, are you sure?

I'll take a half. Quarter? 100?

50 quid?

Third and final time, all done, all out, selling away...

-GRAVEL BANGS

-Well done, sir.

And that final bid was £28,000

and it was Rob who made it.

Rob came along with his partner Jan's son, Stephen,

to tell me what their plans were for this neat flat.

-Rob, Stephen, great to meet you both.

-Hello.

-Congratulations.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this flat.

Well, I've had a number of properties for my own use,

family use, over the years and I've just finished a fairly lengthy

-career in the military, in the Royal Marines, 32 years...

-Wow.

And my final appointment was fairly locally,

-just across the other side of the Clyde there...

-Right.

-The naval base at Faslane.

-Right.

And along with my retirement came a little bit of a pension

and I sort of identified an opportunity to hopefully make

-an investment into property for the purposes of refurbishing.

-Right.

And have you had a lot of interesting property, or...?

I've had different types of property,

ranging from small up to a fairly sizable farm

on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset,

which took a bit of looking after.

At the moment, I'm...

This is probably going to be about the biggest thing.

Although it's relatively small property, in terms of work that needs

doing, I think it's about the right level for us to sort of start at.

And who's going to do the work?

The cosmetics will be Stephen, the painting and decorating,

but I've got a chap locally that's done a bit of work for us before

and he's going to be meeting me here at the property

and we'll discuss it and talk about some ideas

-and I shall pretty much probably hand it to him.

-Right.

Rob met Jan, Stephen's mum,

whilst serving at the nearby naval base and he's thoroughly

embraced the local area and made it his home since leaving the navy.

So, is this going to be a sort of family venture, sorting it out?

-Very much so.

-Yeah.

-Very much so.

Jan, likewise,

has always had a little bit of an interest in property.

-We've had a fairly tricky year with a health issue for Jan.

-Oh, no.

But she's come through that very well and we're hoping to get...

What was that, do you mind me asking?

Well, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and that

sort of coincided with me terminating my service with the Royal Marines.

Right.

And so, really, I think this also gives us

another sort of branch to step onto as I transition onto my next

chapter in my life, my professional life,

and also gives Jan something to sort of join in, supported with Stephen.

-Right. How is your mum?

-Yeah, she's really well.

She came through it brilliantly.

She's made a full recovery and she's getting on with her life.

So, this will give her something to do in her spare time as well.

Brilliant, so are you all going to sort of join together as a family

-to work on the project?

-That's what the plan is, yeah.

Well, I really wish them well

and I think they've made a good choice with this flat.

There's enough to keep everyone busy,

but there shouldn't be anything too challenging to deal with.

We're going to be looking at putting a new kitchen in,

obviously internal refurbishment is going to be mainly decorating.

We're pleased to have discovered this morning

-that the central heating works and that there's hot water.

-Oh, great.

-And the shower also works.

-Seems all done.

-Always a bonus.

So it should be...

I think, you know, put in some carpets as well,

it's really a cosmetic tidy rather than anything sort of too demanding.

What kind of budget?

-I've set a budget of about 3,000 to 3,500.

-OK.

But actually, already this morning we've looked at one or two

of the other flats and seen things that they've done...

-Like what?

-Well, even simple things like the front door.

I, from my first visit,

the front door I thought was going to be satisfactory, but having

arrived here this morning, it's the worst one in the neighbourhood so...

Can't have that.

So, we'll start with the front door and I think, you know, a good

sort of quality one in terms of security and things like that.

But I think I'll be able to keep it fairly close

-to 3,000 to 3,500.

-Great.

-Well, listen, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

Good luck, we'll look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you, Martin.

-Nice to meet you.

Well, there you go.

What could have been just a simple refurbishment of a little flat

turns out to be a really important family bonding

and togetherness exercise.

Great stuff.

Well, we wish Jan a continued recovery and you can find out

how this little flat is transformed by the team later in the show.

MUSIC: "Boats To Build" by Jimmy Buffett

# I'm going to build me a boat with these two hands

# It'll be a fair curve from a noble plan

# Let the chips fall where they will

# Cos I've got boats to build... #

Sandiacre in Derbyshire flourished throughout the Industrial Revolution

thanks to the Erewash Canal, which flows through its centre.

With the transport of goods and raw materials

made possible by the canal,

Sandiacre became a hive of furniture-making,

engineering and lace-making.

Nowadays, the town also provides a easy commute by road

to the nearby cities of Derby and Nottingham.

Well, the property I'm here to see

is in this very pleasant residential street, close to the town centre.

It's a three-bedroomed town house, the guide price was £54,000,

plus, looks pretty decent from the outside.

In we go.

So what have we got?

OK, into the front room and straightaway,

reasonably high ceilings, which is good.

Your attention is drawn to a beautiful bit of woodwork here,

the fire surround, keep that.

Maybe replace the fire.

In fact, talking about wood, again, that is one of the first things

you notice when you come into the house,

lovely skirting boards, the doors have been stripped back,

I mean, it really does make a big difference.

If you decorated and kept that, what a lovely feature.

There's your front room,

scuttle through here to your rear room

and wood on the ceilings.

Not to everyone's tastes but again, it gives a bit of character.

The room itself, not a bad size,

certainly doesn't feel claustrophobic.

Lots of light coming in.

And bedrooms are upstairs, obviously,

but to the rear of the property, the kitchen.

Now, one room...

Well, possibly continuing the theme of rooms

that definitely need a bit of effort.

But all in all, I'm kind of liking what I'm seeing.

It might be a bit of a squeeze to sit in this kitchen,

but this house is a pretty standard layout

and a pretty standard renovation job, from what I see so far.

A modern touch here would make all the difference.

So upstairs, an interesting layout.

Bedroom to the front there and you've got this corridor.

My guess is this was added in at a later stage

because that's a stud partition.

And I'm not quite sure it works, but before I explore down there,

a huge great loft hatch there

and possibly a chance to do some kind of loft conversion.

You'd have to check the street and see whether other people

have done it to see if there might be a chance of getting

planning permission for that.

But down this littler corridor, your second bedroom there...

and then it all sort of goes a bit wrong.

Tiny bedroom there, lots of damp all over here, all over that wall there.

And right at the end here, after a fairly uncomfortable squeeze,

you find the bathroom and loo.

I mean, at least it is upstairs but clearly there are some walls

to be taken out here to improve this dramatically.

The box room is, well...

MUSIC: "Don't Box Me In" by Stewart Copeland

..too boxy and it all feels claustrophobic,

so a reconfiguration is a must here.

# Don't box me in... #

As is tackling some of the other obvious issues.

The layout and space doesn't match downstairs.

Time to take a look at the outside.

Now, the back garden isn't exactly huge but actually,

once it's been cleared,

it could actually be quite a pleasant little spot

for a barbecue, etc, and certainly if you got rid of conifers,

it would be a whole lot better.

And indeed, what looks like some serious ivy issues,

which are going up the rear of the property, there, which is

something that need to be addressed cos ivy has a horrible...

knack of getting into the pointing, causing damp issues

and all sorts of stuff. So definitely get rid of that.

But the back here, what we also have

is a couple of really interesting outbuildings.

An outside loo there and then this little sort of, I don't know,

just space.

I would want to integrate that in which the kitchen

and maybe even integrate this as well,

although it's quite nice to have an outside loo for the garden etc.

Either way, play around with this,

I don't really think you're going to have enough space to put

an extension on but certainly enough potential here to increase

the size of that kitchen, which is a very good thing.

MUSIC: "Ivy Will Cling" by Bernard Bresslaw

# Ivy will cling when other leaves start to fall

# Ivy will cling cos it's the strongest of all. #

I reckon this is a house where you could decide to do a lot,

making it bigger and better.

Or you could just sort out the layout upstairs.

It all comes down to money.

What did the auctioneer who sold it have to say about

this two-bed-and-box-room end-terraced house

that was guided at £54,000?

The main point is what do you do with that little room

and the bathroom? Neither of which are very satisfactory.

I don't think it's really a three-bedroomed house

as it stands now.

For me, I'd take that partition out and make it into a much better,

more appealing bathroom and you finish up with

two conventional bedrooms.

The auctioneer agrees that there's room for extending that kitchen into

the outhouse area, but what does he think about converting the loft?

There's certainly potential for it.

I think a lot depends on what you're going to do

ultimately with the house.

If you are going to sell it on, once renovated,

you're actually going to be investing a lot of money

in converting the roof space,

which isn't going to be wholly reflected in an enhanced sale price.

So you wouldn't do that to sell it.

That is always a balance you've got to strike.

If this house was bought for investment purposes,

it sounds like you wouldn't make your money or your time back,

so how do the figures stack up?

What if you just did a straight refurbishment?

Renovating what is here

but removing the partition in that little third bedroom study area,

so you make a larger bathroom, it would have a value of about £95,000.

If you took this house to its ultimate,

and we've mentioned about a roof conversion,

we've mentioned about a kitchen extension,

you'd probably push its value up to a maximum of £115,000.

So, difference, 20,000, is it worth doing?

Not if you're going to sell it on.

If you're going to stay here for some years and live here,

yes, it would be.

Once renovated as a good, two-bedroomed end-town house,

it would have a rental value of between £450 and £475

per calendar month.

Well, it obviously needs a bit of work but apart from changing

the layout upstairs, nothing too major

and intrinsically, a good little house.

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

Lot 43 is a bay-windowed two- or three-bedroomed end town house

in a popular and convenient location

that requires modernisation and improvement.

Start me on this where you like, ladies and gentlemen,

will I say 55,000 for it? 55,000?

55, it's here to be bought today.

£50,000 to start me on it.

Bid me what you like. 48?

Come on, you know it's worth it. 48, thank you. At £48,000.

After that slow start, the bidding picked up

and ping-ponged across the room.

We rejoin the bidding at £65,000.

At £65,000. 66.

67? 66,500?

67? At £66,500, going once.

Twice...

67? 67,500?

All done? Once, twice...

67,500, a fresh bidder. 68, sir?

67,500, we're selling it.

First time. Second time. Last time.

-GAVEL BANGS

-Sold at 65,000, thank you.

The successful bidder was Paula,

who has renovated several homes in the past to live in.

Paula managed to get the house for 67,500, with her one and only bid,

13,500 over the guide price.

And this is her first house auction purchase.

Interesting strategy, Paula.

-Paula, great to meet you.

-Hi, nice to meet you, too.

-Congratulations.

That was all pretty bing-bang-boom in the auction,

I mean, wham, one bid and then zap!

I used to work for the car auctions,

so I got a few tips from the guys when I worked there saying...

You know, I would ask them, "Why do you only put one bid in at the end?

"I know you wanted that car for ages." And they would just say,

"What's the point of bidding when there's plenty of bids?

"So I'll just surprise them all at the end."

-And that's what I intended on doing and it worked.

-Good plan.

What was it about the house that you particularly liked?

I liked the location, for one, because we're only up the road

so it's easy and handy to get to and I've seen lots of people doing

houses up that have had to travel a long way to do them up

and then they regret that and that's one of the learning curves.

-And also, I think the stripped doors, going to keep those...

-Good.

-..cos they've been stripped back by hand.

-Right.

There's lots of lovely woodwork, actually.

There's lots of lovely features

and I think that more will be revealed as the work goes on.

Tell me a bit more about you.

Is this what you do as a career or what?

I've renovated four houses now, but not as a career at all.

Always to live in. This is the first one that I've done as an investment.

-What do you do when you're not doing this sort of stuff?

-Make beds.

Make beds?

Well, I don't make them personally but I'm an account manager

for a bed company that puts beds in most of the hotel groups

in the UK and abroad.

-Ah.

-And a lot of the palaces.

-Palaces?

-Buckingham Palace.

You make the beds, or your company makes the beds

-for Buckingham Palace?

-For the Queen.

-How cool is that?

-So, it'll have nice beds in here if I do move in.

MUSIC: "I'll Make Your Bed" by Dolly Parton

# I'll make your bed a place you can't wait to go

# Softer than feathers and as sweet as a rose... #

So will these palatial influences rub off on Paula's renovation?

Well, this house is for rental

and Paula has a regular team of tradesmen who will hopefully

charge her mates' rates.

And while she's not going to extend the kitchen,

she'll use those outhouses.

I've seen that done before and it works really well.

What other plans does she have?

Firstly, there's lots of ivy growing up the back wall

and I've had someone look at it last night and we don't think it's

done any damage at all but that will come away first.

The next main job, really, will be

to empty the house into probably three large skips.

That will be just to strip it clear.

Take the doors off so I can look after them

and keep them dust-free and then the first fix of the rewiring

-for the electrics and the first fix for the gas plumbing.

-Right.

-And then the plastering and then the second fixes.

-OK.

And upstairs, you've obviously got that corridor and the bathroom

right at the end there, it's not really ideal, is it?

I'd like to take some space from the middle bedroom,

go up to the attic, make the bathroom the middle bedroom,

to then give three good size double bedrooms

but it will depend on the price.

So, what is the budget?

The budget is 10,000 to 15,000.

And the time scale presumably will vary

depending on what you decide to do as well?

I think, ideally, we'll have ripped everything out within a week

-to two weeks.

-Right.

-So, I think three months total, four to be safe.

-Good luck with it.

-Thank you.

-We'll see how you get on.

Cheers, thanks, Martin.

Well, when it comes to buying this place, Paula has made her bed

and she's got to lie in it. How will she get on?

Well, there can be no sleeping on the job with this one.

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

Coming up, a surprise discovery for me in Folkestone.

But look at this! Cheeky little space up in the attic.

And a brand-new look for this Sandiacre end-of-terrace and Paula.

Seeing the house finished and come together at the very,

very end is the best feeling.

Back to Port Glasgow on Scotland's west coast, where earlier,

I met former Royal Marine Rob and his partner's son, Stephen.

Rob has bought this one-bedroom flat for a bargain price of 28,000.

And this former military man was planning to get it into

shipshape and ready for sale.

We're going to be looking at putting a new kitchen in,

obviously internal refurbishment is going to be mainly decorating.

We're pleased to have discovered this morning

-that the central heating works and there's hot water...

-Oh, great.

-And the shower also works.

-Seems all done.

-Always a bonus.

So it should be...

I think, you know, put in some carpets as well. It's really

a sort of cosmetic tidy rather than anything sort of too demanding.

After a tough year involving changes of career for Rob

and his partner, Jan, successfully battling cancer,

Rob hoped that this project would provide something of tonic

for both and them and their family.

It was just a small property but it did provide plenty of challenges.

And we've returned to see how the family has dealt with them.

MUSIC: "It's Great When We're Together" by Finley Quaye

# Sometimes I feel lighter than the air

# When you shine, you brighten up my day

# Sometimes I feel lighter than the air

# When you shine, you brighten up my day

# Sometimes I feel lighter than the air

# When you shine, you brighten up my day... #

As Rob planned, most of the changes here have been cosmetic, but it's

amazing what new carpets, a lick of paint and a splash of colour can do.

The new kitchen is a great improvement with its modern units.

And thankfully in the hallway,

they've dispensed with that pointless cupboard by the entrance

and now have a much more open and welcoming space to come into.

Stephen was in Peru,

so Rob came back on his own to tell me how things had gone

and if the project had proved as cathartic as he'd hoped.

Place is finished. It's been a good experience.

I think it's going to be something that we're almost going to miss

and maybe even look to doing something else,

because it's been a good experience.

When we first came here,

we realised it needed pretty much a full refurbishment and we decided

the best option was to do some good planning.

So we took a step back, took a good look at all the rooms

and pretty much decided everything needed a good strip

from top to bottom which was the first part of the project.

And then we really set about, step by step, putting it back together

again and here we are with the finished product.

Very sensible. A calm head and good planning goes a long way.

You can certainly tell Rob is a former military man.

So how about that kitchen?

Overall, generally with the flat,

we're quite restricted with size so throughout we wanted to try

and capitalise and make the best of the space there is available.

It's quite a long kitchen,

it was clearly designed to look out over the gardens.

We decided also we wanted to make sure there were integrated

electrical items, built-in oven, hob, extractor.

And really, it's fully functioning

and suitable for either younger people or older people.

Rob's made the most of the space in the rest of the flat, too.

The hall cupboard's gone, but that hot-air system that was

taking up so much room in the other cupboard has gone, too.

We came across the idea of perhaps removing that storage space

to enlarge the entrance to make a entrance hallway.

Although we had an initial concern about losing the storage space,

we've since made up for it from the space that we created

when we took the boiler out.

With the help of Jan's son, Stephen, Rob was able to bring it in

at just under £4,000,

just £500 over his initial budget.

It also took just four weeks to complete the work here.

He and partner Jan oversaw the project together.

So has this little flat provided

the change of direction that the family needed?

I think this project has been good in that respect, it's given us

something different and also for myself leaving the Royal Marines,

it's taken me on to another chapter of life

and we've done it together and here we are.

Rob has invested a total of £32,000 buying and transforming this

property and hopes to sell it or possibly rent it.

So, let's find out what two local estate agents make of the flat.

The property has been very well done up. Neutral decor throughout.

Offers spacious accommodation.

The kitchen has been very well utilised, very modern.

And what about the agent who saw it before?

I think removing the cupboard from the hallway was an excellent move.

It does give that extra bit of room for perhaps a study area,

and of course the kitchen finishes it all off, been done to a good,

nice, modern standard.

He's left the layout virtually the same

and left plenty of cupboard space.

Everybody's looking for something

to put an ironing board and a Hoover in.

Excellent point. But what we're also looking for is valuations.

Let's start with rental.

Rental value for this type of property at the moment

is £350 per calendar month.

In today's rental market,

I would anticipate a rental, per calendar month, of £350.

Giving a yield of around 13%.

But what about sale valuations?

Whilst the current market has certainly improved in recent months,

demand for properties such as this, with just the one bedroom,

remains limited, and therefore my top price in today's market

for this property would be approximately £40,000.

I would expect to market the property at £43,000,

hoping to achieve £40,000.

We're negotiating with somebody at the moment

a little bit higher than that.

Well, the experts' valuation would mean a possibly pre-tax profit

of £8,000, so anything over that would be excellent.

And Rob reckons, if he put his money in the bank, it would have

taken him 15 years of interest to make what he's made in a few months.

I'll just get my calculator out and check that he's right.

But this project wasn't all about money.

It's definitely been a worthwhile project,

for lots of hidden reasons as well.

And we'll be probably trawling around the various auction houses

and estate agents to find something else to do.

And I'm trawling about for another property, too,

here in Cheriton, a popular suburb of Folkestone in Kent.

The area provides good schools, lots of local amenities,

shops and sporting clubs,

all of which make it popular for younger people renting

or first-time buyers.

It would be hard to beat the local transport links,

with regular busses, trains to King's Cross...

oh, and if you have a car,

the Channel Tunnel terminus is just down the road.

So you can even pop across to France for the day.

So, a few minutes' walk from Cheriton High Street

and you're on this quiet, lovely road of bay-fronted properties

and it's one of those I'm here to see today.

With a guide price of between £120,000 to £125,000

is this two-bed mid-terrace.

I'm going to pop up the garden path and have a look around.

The roof looks OK and that bay window gives the place

some real character outside.

Well, I hope there's enough character on the inside

to keep me happy.

I don't know...

Woodchip wallpaper everywhere. Everywhere!

Also in the lounge, but that aside, a very pretty lounge, lots of pine

furniture, double glazed windows, though, which is a big bonus.

Stairs leading up to the bedrooms and look at this for a sitting room.

I can really imagine being rather cosy in here in the wintertime.

It has got character, which is great. Door to the garden.

Through here, the kitchen.

Oh, it's a pine-fest!

So, whoever buys this property, I hope they like pine

and woodchip wallpaper, because it's everywhere.

I suppose it is a matter of taste,

but there's an awful lot you could do to upgrade this property.

It's exactly as I would have suspected,

it's laid out just as a terraced house would be.

So, looking good so far.

I wonder, will the layout be exactly

how I'd expect it to be upstairs, too?

And up the stairs we have a bedroom to the front of the building

which is a really nice sized double and...

Oh, now this is not typical of a terrace house.

I wasn't expecting the corridor along here.

At the back here, we've got the bathroom, which is a great space.

And this has been partitioned off to create this bedroom through here.

But look at this! Cheeky little space up in the attic.

Now, I'm pretty sure there won't be building regs with this, you'd need

to think about that because of fire safety et cetera,

so get that checked out. But I think this is a great property,

certainly not what I was expecting up here.

It would be a brilliant rental machine

or a really happy home for a couple, perhaps.

So with a few little tweaks, you know, I think this house could be

really rather good and I love this back yard.

I mean, I say "yard", it's all been paved so it's maintenance-free.

You've still got a little grass area to the back.

But earlier today, I was trying to park my car and one of the downsides

was it was really rather busy out there, I couldn't get a space.

But look at this, fantastic news.

You've got an area to the back, enough space to park two cars,

so you can walk up this path here, put your shopping in...

Just another big old tick in the box.

This property is certainly covering a lot of items on my wish list.

And with a guide price of 120,000 to 125,000,

what does a local property expert think of it?

One has to concentrate on the key areas which are the bathroom

and the kitchen, particularly the bathroom needs attention, but I think

a refit of both would probably be necessary to get it up to standard.

Obviously, all of the rooms need decoration.

I would think, to get this property up to a good spec,

one needs to spend in the region of £10,000 to £15,000.

I hope that includes removing the woodchip!

So, with the property fully refurnished, what will it be worth?

If brought up to a good standard,

this property would be worth in the region of £150,000 to maybe £155,000.

And for rental?

This probably could achieve somewhere in-between £650 and £700 a month

once renovated.

Well, this is a good, solid property

on a lovely little street in a great area.

What's not to like?

Let's see who had their eye on this little gem

when it went under the hammer.

We move now to lot 36, bay-fronted mid-terrace house, gas heating,

double-glazed windows but still requiring improvement

and refurbishment. And what may I say?

Got a guide of 120,000 to 125,000.

Start me at 120,000?

120 to start me anywhere?

115, then? Don't mind where we start.

115, I have, thank you. £115,000.

Gentleman's bid in front in the room. 117, do I see?

At 117, 117.

And 120, and 122.

122, and 125, and 127?

No, 125,000 in the front, in the middle aisle.

Being sold, if there's no further advance.

For the first time at 125,000.

For the second time at 125,000.

In the centre of the room, for the third and final time at 125,000

then, are you all done?

-GAVEL BANGS

-Sold at 125,000,

thank you very much.

The hammer went down on £125,000 and the two-bed terrace

was bought by a retired couple, Dave and Freda.

Dave was a former IT director

who now leads walking tours across Europe.

Freda is a retired head teacher.

Between them, they have a portfolio of four other properties

which they rent out and makes up part of their pension plans.

Dave and Freda, congratulations.

This is a great little property and I love Folkestone, I'm a huge fan.

-Are you guys from here?

-Well, we've lived here a long time.

Well, we lived at Hythe, which is just about four miles away,

so we know Folkestone very well and we've worked here and lived here

and our son lives just around the corner now so we know the area well.

So, Freda, why did you want to buy this at auction?

Well, it's the first one we've bought at auction

and we have got other properties

but we bought all those in the sort of traditional way.

On auction day, did you think you would get it for the price you paid?

No. No. It was about 120,000 to 125,000 guide price,

we thought we'd go up to about 135,000

and then, I think, just before it came up, we had a quick discussion

and then thought, "Don't want to lose it,"

"perhaps we'll just go up to 140,000."

Do you know how many people have that discussion?

"Oh, just before the auction, we'll add five or ten grand."

But we were really surprised.

And did you enjoy buying at auction,

was that an interesting way for you to buy a house?

I felt quite scared by the process, simply because things do move

quite quickly and you don't really have time to think about it.

And this one seemed, to us, to go very quickly and all of a sudden

you think, "We've bought it, we've got a house." You know?

It's much more exciting than buying the conventional way.

-And much quicker.

-Absolutely.

I don't think it occurred to us just how quickly everything went through.

And you can start planning from the get-go, which is

what I love about buying at auction.

What is it you would like to do to this property?

New kitchen, new bathroom, going to strip it all out completely.

-Yeah, get rid of all the woodchip.

-And it's everywhere.

-Yeah, it's everywhere.

-It is everywhere, ceilings, walls,

it's probably on the floor as well, if you pull the carpet back.

Absolutely everywhere.

Most of these are double glazed but there's a couple of windows needed.

We're got a little bit of rising damp, haven't we?

How much do you know about things like rising damp?

Is that something that would worry you or something that

-straightaway you know you can put right?

-It's such a small amount.

It's in only that one area so I think it could be treated.

Yeah, we've got at least one ceiling to do as well, haven't we?

Because I think there was a leak under the bath at some stage

and so there's a hole under the bath which comes through to the

kitchen ceiling. So that's got to be sorted out.

Just think of all the years that little drips dripped,

dripped, dripped away and now you have the hole.

You stand in the bathroom and you can see the light on in the kitchen.

It's a very strange layout and I'm sure you would probably say we

should knock some walls down and move everything around

-as you normally do, but...

-I know!

All right, Dave, but this time I'm not,

because I know the layout is a bit different, but I actually like it.

So no hammering from me this time.

And Freda is looking forward to one aspect of this refurbishment.

MUSIC: "I Need A Bathroom" by Focus

# Oh, I need the bathroom... #

The other houses we've done, we've never, ever put in a new bathroom.

Always wanted to put them in but they've always just about

been OK so we just smartened them up.

This is the first house we've done the bathroom,

so it'll be quite nice to see that done.

Freda and Dave have set a very healthy budget of 15,000.

On top of their list is getting rid of that woodchip.

A lot of it is actually peeling off, so that's the problem.

Whereas, if now when we're doing it and it's empty,

if we strip everything off and replaster the walls,

then between tenants, we've only got to give it

just a quick coat of paint and that seems more sensible,

really, in the long term.

So you think you can do this on £15,000.

And how many weeks or months do you think it's going to take?

We're going to use a good local builder

so it depends exactly on where he can start but hopefully

he can start soon and I would hope within three months we'd be finished.

-Fantastic.

-It's a wee bit difficult

cos we're going to New Zealand in a few weeks' time

so we don't know when the builder can start

and quite how much we'll fit in before we go away.

We might have to leave him to it a little bit.

It'd be nice to come back and hopefully it's all finished, yes.

-Oh, that would be the dream renovation.

-It would.

So, who manages all the other houses?

-I mean, how do you keep spinning the plates, guys?

-I do, basically.

The finger goes that way.

Yeah, we use a local agent to find a tenant and do the credit checks

and so on but after that, we manage them ourselves.

So, I think we're probably going to stop at this one.

Ah, I've heard that before. I have heard that before.

MUSIC: "Feel The Spin" by Debbie Harry

# Oh, I feel the spin... #

Dave might be spinning the plates,

but I think Freda is spinning stories about who does everything

because it sounds like her teacher's experience might come in handy.

-She can stop someone with a glare from 30 yards.

-Really?

Your builder better watch out!

Good luck with this project, it's been brilliant meeting you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Dave and Freda should be able to walk their way

through this renovation. A decent budget in a good rental area.

But will they work it out so the builder can get it finished

while they're on holiday?

You can find out how busy they've been

and how they get on later in the programme.

Well, it's been a while now since we saw our properties

and there should have been lots of work done but you never know.

All sorts of problems can arise. I wonder how they've been doing.

Let's find out.

It's time to return to the canal town of Sandiacre

in Derbyshire, where I viewed this two-bed end-terraced house,

which was in desperate need of refurbishment.

There were some features that needed updating.

The kitchen was pokey, but upstairs dimensions were even more

of an issue with a configuration that just didn't work in my opinion.

Outside, the building was clad in an out-of-control ivy.

There was a lot to do.

Paula, who works for a bed company,

was royally inspired by her first investment project.

You make the beds,

-or your company makes the beds for Buckingham Palace?

-For the Queen.

-How cool is that?

-So, it'll have nice beds in here if I do move in.

So, how did she manage on her 10 to 15 grand budget

and her four month time scale? Was it a dream?

We return eight months later to find out.

It's easy to see why Paula's timescale doubled.

The whole house has been given a make-over.

But the kitchen provides the biggest transformation.

By demolishing old outside loo, Paula has managed to extend

the kitchen into the old outside utility store.

And the kitchen isn't the only thing to get a make-over.

These days, people have the big American freezers and what have you,

and I just thought to bring the end of the building into this one,

albeit a small space, it has increased it by probably a third.

What a transformation downstairs.

The real problems, though, were upstairs.

So how has Paula conquered the damp?

There was damp in the original bathroom.

We had been told it was a ball stuck in the eaves.

It wasn't, it was just one slate that had moved,

but because it had moved for some time,

it had let in quite a bit of damp which has since been fixed,

and a new joist put in the bathroom ceiling.

Firstly the bathroom had a corridor with the original boiler,

the bath, the toilet, the sink was over here, too,

and that was a separate partitioned bedroom.

And we took away the partitioning, put a couple of steps in

because it's quite a high drop, and a new bathroom suite.

That cupboard there now houses the combi boiler and it meant

that we could have a large stand-alone shower

with a towel rail, too.

This is a new floor in here, also.

Having taken away the small box bedroom to enlarge the bathroom,

Paula made the decision to keep the house as a two-bed property.

So in this room,

it was half covered in an old style fitted wardrobe which

we removed, new windows, new window ledges, the TV point is high

on the wall for the flat-screen TVs

as they are in all the reception rooms.

And we swapped the door for a nicer style door

and then plastered and painted.

Although this was a business venture for Paula,

it had to run alongside her full-time career.

So what outside help did she have?

We had professionals in but we know a lot of professionals

cos my partner is in the trade,

so we had a bricklayer come in and he bricked up the doors

and put the patio door in for us, then we had a professional carpenter

fit the kitchen and my partner is an electrician so the underfloor

heating went in and the lighting and the new electrics in general.

And plumbers to put the bathroom suite in

and a gas plumber to do the central heating.

And I did the painting

and mucked in as people's sort of lackey the rest of the time.

But seeing the house finished and come together at the very, very end

is the best feeling. It's been quite stressful.

Paula is happy with her renovation budget of 14,500,

and if you add that to her purchase price,

that means she's invested £82,000 in total.

So how happy will she be

when two estate agents have a look at all her hard work?

It gave me that wow-factor, to be honest.

I felt it actually exceeded my expectations.

I like the kitchen, I think the bathroom is exceptional

and overall, it's of a high standard.

Light, bright, neutrally coloured throughout,

ready for immediate occupation, I would say, really.

So, very impressed first-impressions.

The kitchen I particularly liked,

especially with the French doors leading into the garden, I think

that works really well to enjoy the outside space, perhaps for barbequing

and having friends around for an evening or something like that.

We're seeing more and more first-time buyers now who are looking to buy and

the fact that they can move straight into this with nothing to do,

I think it's great for them.

So, very positive comments there from the estate agents.

Is this reflected in the rental value?

I feel this property will achieve £525 to £550 per calendar month.

I would expect to put it on the market for £525 per calendar month.

I'm surprised. I didn't think it would be quite that much.

Because it's two-bedroomed.

Those rental figures would give her a yield of approximately 8%.

She was originally intending to rent the property out,

but could she be tempted by the resale valuations?

Has her 82,000 become a king-sized sum?

I reckon I could achieve in the region of about £105,000,

but would suggest an asking price of £110,000.

The market is rising in this area so I feel pretty confident

we should be able to achieve close to that 110,000 figure.

I'm going to be reasonably conservative

and say within the region of around £110,000.

Wow, that would give her a £28,000 profit. So, rent or sell, Paula?

I'll be selling it.

For sure. We'd probably like to do this as a regular thing, full-time.

Having seen her first property business venture pay off,

does Paula have any advice for other perspective property developers?

It's been interesting.

It was the fourth property that I've renovated,

but the first one that I've done to either rent or sell.

And it's been great

and I think one of the added benefits was that we've got lots of good

friends that came and mucked in as well and yeah, we had a few laughs.

We return to Folkestone on the south-east coast

and the popular residential area of Cheriton where this

two-bedroom mid-terrace house was in need of more than

a little improvement and a lot of redecoration.

Woodchip wallpaper everywhere. Everywhere!

The kitchen, oh, it's a pine-fest!

So, whoever buys this property, I hope they like pine

and woodchip wallpaper because it's everywhere.

125,000 then, are you all done?

-GAVEL BANGS

-Sold at 125,000.

The property was bought by retired couple Dave and Freda to go

with four other properties which they rent out in the area.

With no apparent major works required,

they reckoned on a budget of £15,000.

But the timescale wasn't so definite.

We're going to use a good local builder

so it depends exactly on when he can start but hopefully he can start

soon and, you know, I would hope within three months we'd be finished.

It's a wee bit difficult because we're going to New Zealand

in a few weeks' time so we don't know when the builder can start

and quite how much we'll fit in before that, before we go away.

We might have to leave him to it a little bit.

It'd be nice to come back and hopefully it's all finished, yes.

That would be the dream renovation!

Now there's a wish.

But they said three months and three months later, we're back.

And from what was once a forest of pine

we now have a light, bright and fresh kitchen.

Every room has been redecorated in neutral colour scheme.

But the biggest change is probably the bathroom.

It certainly seems like Dave and Freda's builder has been busy

while they were in New Zealand.

But had he finished it by the time they had returned?

They discovered an awful lot more, really, while we were away,

so no, they still had quite a lot to do.

So, where did they start?

We got rid of the wretched woodchip, that was the biggest task.

Well, it was everywhere, wasn't it?

It was on the ceiling, it was on the walls,

it had been painted over lots of times.

So I think that's about the only thing holding some of it up.

After that, we decided everything needed plastering and if we're

going to plaster, we thought that's the time to have it rewired as well.

Nice, SMOOTH walls make the place look crisp and clean

and well worth all the expense and effort.

What room are they most pleased with?

Well, the kitchen particularly I think we're very pleased with,

we think that's gone very well and we changed one of the windows

in the kitchen and it just looks a lot more of a unit now.

We had to take the ceiling down completely in the kitchen

and that meant we exposed all the bathroom, right up to the roof

rafters, really, because the wood was rotten and also in the bathroom,

we had to take a chimney breast down as well, that wasn't being supported

at all underneath, so that was a lot of work in those two rooms.

The bathroom in this house was already upstairs,

but it did need redoing.

Well, in the bathroom we've moved things around a bit.

The basin is still where it was, the toilet's just moved along a bit,

but the problem we had was with the bath,

which was right in front of the window

and we didn't think that was the best place to be standing to have

a shower so our builder suggested this arrangement

and put this little stud wall on the end,

just as a place to put the shower head

and now we think it works very well, it's a very spacious bathroom.

Talking of space, they have changed the attic at all. Why not?

There was quite a lot to do in the rest of the house and we're

only ever going to use that as a hobby room or a storage room.

As the attic doesn't need building regulations in order to be called

a third bedroom, I think Freda might have made the right decision here.

And the improvements even continue outside.

MUSIC: "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" by The Move

# I can hear the grass grow... #

We're just basically cleared it a little

and laid it down to glass so that's about my only

contribution to the project was when we were laying the turf, so...

But now I find it very frustrating because it's such good quality

grass that I have to come over twice a week to cut it.

So the sooner we get somebody in,

the sooner somebody else can start doing that.

And access for the new tenants will now be so much easier as that

all-important parking area has been incorporated into the back garden.

But still, it hasn't been as straightforward as first thought.

It was much bigger than we expected.

I mean, we were very, very lucky because we had

a superb builder who was really brilliant,

because I think everything he had to do, a lot of it wasn't planned.

And what effect did this have on their £15,000 budget?

Budget-wise, we have gone over-budget.

We've ended up, including the carpets throughout, we spent 22,500.

So we're a bit over-budget.

The only way we saved any money from all our expense was by selling

a few things on online auctions and we got £100 for the fireplace

in the bathroom and £140 for the internal doors.

OK, so they made a few quid.

For the sake of easy maths, let's call it a spend of £22,000.

Added to their purchase price of 125,000,

that brings their total investment to £147,000.

Now, we asked two local estate agents for their thoughts,

including the one who saw it before.

They've done a lot of good work in this property,

made it very neat and tidy,

very fresh, very appealing

and that's what's going to appeal to a new buyer or to a tenant.

This selling features of this property have to be its location.

It's a great location, it's also in fantastic condition

so people can move straight in without having to lift a finger.

The only thing I don't like about this property is

the fact that they haven't done anything with the loft space.

It's exactly as it was when I first saw it

and that was a bit of a disappointment.

I'd suggest the attic room be left as it is.

It gives the new owner a chance to do what they will.

Conflicting views on that attic there, but in its present

condition, what could this house sell for on the open market?

On resale, this property would sell for in the region of £160,000.

The resale value of the property would be in the region

between £165,000 and £170,000.

Those valuations would give a profit of between 13,000 to 23,000,

minus tax and expenses.

But Dave and Freda intend to rent it out and add it to their portfolio.

The rental value of the property would be in the region

of £650 to £700 per calendar month.

I would offer this property to rental in the region

of £700 per calendar month.

Those rental valuations would give Dave and Freda

a healthy yield of about 6%.

We think that's a little low.

Our agent is marketing it at 750 and he's got three people

who have applied at that price.

They assured me this was their last property.

So...?

We're not planning to get any more, this is our fifth one now and

we manage them ourselves so we don't want it to be too all-time-consuming.

We are supposed to be retired now,

so it's a hobby rather than a full-time job.

Well, in the ever-changing world of property, there are always

new things to learn so we'll have more stories for you next time.

So, make sure you join us then for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.