Episode 22 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello. Now, have you ever thought about changing career

and maybe having a go at something new?

Hmm, property developing appeals to many people

looking for a lifestyle change.

Yeah, but it's not that easy to get started, but one way to possibly

get yourself a flying start is to go to your local property auction.

Well, the law of the auction room is very strong,

but what should you buy?

You could set your heart on one thing and somebody outbids you.

So you really do need to do your research on a few properties

to keep your options open.

So let's take a look at what our buyers bid for on today's show.

First up, we head to Raynes Park in London,

'when I think I may need to buy a new hat.'

-You've got engaged!

-Yes.

-Yeah.

And I'm teeing off in Twechar!

-I play golf.

-Are you good?

-Modest.

-Handicap?

-Eight.

Oh! What do you mean modest? That's pretty good, isn't it?

And in Chesterfield, the numbers are still shocking!

-So what's the budget for the work?

-5,000.

-Five!

-Yeah.

-Wow!

Tight, tight, tight, tight!

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.

-GAVEL BANGS

-Sold to you.

Raynes Park is an increasingly popular South London suburb

and a one-minute walk to central Wimbledon with its tube station

and plethora of shops and cafes.

Tip from me, though - if you are walking...

..make allowances for the ever-changeable British weather!

And take your brolly!

This is an attractive but rather busy road.

And it doesn't look like parking will be easy along here,

which does concern me.

However, the one-bedroom flat I'm here to see

is in this period conversion,

which will always command more money than a purpose-built flat.

And I think, for £200,000 in this booming market,

I think it could be an exciting find.

Well, it might need a bit of a make-over on the outside,

but one bit of good news is that it's on the ground floor.

Ooh! Cold, windy, rainy days filming Homes Under The Hammer!

Now, you must never let that put you off when you're looking at property,

because this flat in the summer will have a completely different feel.

-SHE SNIFFS

-Although it does smell a bit damp

when you first walk in this property.

Good-sized room here, though, to the front of the building.

And through here - a-ha! - now, I don't think this is damp.

This looks more like condensation, where it's been trapped,

there's probably been a big cupboard in front of that.

That's due to poor ventilation.

So I'd certainly get something like that checked out.

Yes, check it out, you should.

If it's damage caused by condensation,

then it could be a superficial problem and quite easy to sort out.

But damp caused by more intrinsic problems, well,

that could be much more expensive and time-consuming to deal with.

Now, there's something I haven't told you.

This is a one-bedroom GARDEN flat, so, with this property,

you do get a little slice of the garden.

Yes, it is very long and thin, but you do have outside space

and a one-bedroom garden flat sounds

so much better than a one-bedroom flat!

# I like it.

# I like what she's putting down! #

While it might sound better, the flat looks and smells less good

on the inside and the condensation continues in the lounge.

It could be draughty too, as those windows have just, well, had it.

Heading out the back now, things are not improving.

There's a dated kitchen and, off it, a bathroom and toilet.

It all feels like a hodgepodge.

Not really working for me at all

and I'd want to be bashing down some walls.

But something to bear in mind is that this is a leasehold flat,

so, before you start making any structural changes,

you'll need to get permission.

On the plus side, this is a fair-sized property and maybe,

with a clever rejig, you could make it a two-bedder. But that might be

too big an investment for what you could get back,

even if you manage to get it for the £200,000 guide price.

Another plus is the presence of a central heating system,

but I'd want to get that checked out.

Use all five of your senses when viewing a property

and also the sixth one - common sense!

When you view a property, it's not only important to look up

and around you for any issues, you should also look down.

Now, beneath my feet are old wooden floorboards

which are vulnerable to woodworm.

Can you see the small tell-tale holes that indicate

the presence of household pests?

Now, these are a sign that woodworm does need to be treated here. Hmm!

Now, this can usually be done with chemical insecticides,

but on occasion, and if it is too severe,

the offending area might have to be removed completely.

Always keep your eyes to the ground,

as this will impact your timescale and your budget.

# You better knock, knock knock...on wood... #

Never a nice find and something that needs to be addressed straightaway.

Time to call on the opinion of the local estate agent.

What does she think of this flat with its potential and its pitfalls?

I think that there is probably some maintenance issues

that have to be addressed. And then, you can go along

to actually the dressing of the property,

but I think, initially, the property needs to be gone through

from top to bottom to make sure that it is in very good basic condition.

The agent is right.

This property does need a thorough going over

and she reckons, to do the basics, it could cost around £25,000.

With a guide price of 200,000, that's not an inconsiderable amount.

So, if you did do it up and decided to rent it out,

what return could you expect?

I don't see that there would be any problem at all in achieving

£1,250 per calendar month for this property.

And what could this property sell on for?

Once renovated, I think this property could easily sell

for anything in between £350,000 to £375,000.

So, still a profit to be made,

even with those possible hefty renovation costs.

But if you were planning to sell in London's rapidly growing market,

would you even have to spend that?

The property prices in SW20 are soaring.

It literally seems to be that the price tag is going up

on a daily basis, certainly weekly basis.

I would, knowing that there could possibly be quite some work here,

just sell the property on.

So you could be looking at a profit, even if you did decide

to sell the property on without doing any work at all!

There are a few issues to address with this flat,

but it's in a really convenient position

and it's always sensible to buy in an area where prices are on the up.

Let's see who agreed when we went to auction.

I think I've got a realistic reserve on this. 200 anywhere?

200 with you? 205.

205 with you.

210. 215.

220.

-224.

-224.

£224,000.

225 elsewhere.

'The auction was packed

'and there was plenty of bidding on this property.

'We rejoin it at £248,000.'

248, with you. 249. Someone else trying to bid?

249, with you.

250. 251.

251. 252.

251, to you. 252 elsewhere.

If not, 251, first time...

second time...

third and last time, if you are all done.

-GAVEL BANGS

-Sold. 251.

Although the hammer went down on 251,000, Anita and Behar,

the new owners, negotiated a £1,000 discount from the vendor,

meaning they pay 1% instead of 3% stamp duty.

If they seem familiar, it's because we've met them before,

when they bought their first investment property

just a few minutes down the road,

and when the weather was a bit better.

They made a real success of that, selling it on for a hefty profit

and it looks like they've come back for more bites of the cherry.

I can't wait to find out more.

-So you're back at it.

-We are.

-Yeah, we're at it.

And, um, this one's going to be a real challenge.

-This one isn't as beautiful as the other one.

-No.

The other one hardly needed anything doing to it.

-This needs a tad more.

-It does, yeah.

-Well, it was the first time, wasn't it, last time?

-The first time.

-A perfect first timer.

-So now it's the second time!

-Bit more of a challenge.

-Bit more challenging, yeah.

So what is that in the bedroom? Damp or condensation?

Condensation, actually, you're right, it's condensation.

-Because damp and condensation are two very different things.

-Yeah.

-Strike damp.

-OK.

-It's not damp.

-Yes.

-No damp.

To what extent have you had that researched? All the black moulds?

-Not yet, but we are going to get an expert in to have a look.

-We are,

but I've gone round and felt the walls and they seem OK to me.

So you have got some woodworm. How are you planning on treating that

-and are you worried about that?

-Not worried.

-Not really.

But I think the floorboards will come up and it'll just be replaced.

The builder's coming on Monday, he's the expert,

so we'll run through it with him, but we'll make sure everything is

absolutely tiptop before we start putting it back together again.

So, come on, what's the big plan?

What are you going to do to this flat? Completely change the layout?

Are you going to make it more spacious?

Are you going to leave the bathroom at the back? What is the plan?

Plan A was to demolish this side wall,

-put steels in and go out sideways.

-OK, and go across?

-And turn it from a one into a two-bedroom flat.

-Yeah.

-And this would be the living space.

-OK.

-Great idea!

-Costly.

-We've let that go. It's not profitable.

-OK, plan B?

-Plan B is to replace everything as is.

-Yeah.

-And, as we said before, posh it up.

-Posh it up.

I remember using those exact words last time I saw you.

So you could just work within the confines of everything you have?

-Yes.

-Exactly.

-And tart it up a bit?

-Exactly, absolutely.

-Yeah.

I was thinking that you might be able to think about

moving the bathroom further along here,

so you have your bathroom in this area and then,

right at the back, you have the kitchen with access to the garden,

because all the plumbing is here.

-You've got quite a lot of space.

-There's a thought.

Our biggest challenge is keeping costs down.

Come on, what's the budget, Anita?

Well, we... We think probably about 20.

-We may well...

-I...

-I mean, Behar would like to spend less, probably.

-15?

-I don't want to see a two in it.

-ANITA LAUGHS: He doesn't want to see a two!

-So demanding, Behar!

No, no, I don't mind a nine. A one-nine.

-But not a two-zero.

-Right.

So, that's my plan, that's my challenge,

and that's what I hope to do.

So what's your timescale?

I reckon we'll have this completely poshed up within two months.

'Hmm, well, that sounds ambitious to me.

'A pretty low budget for all the work needed and two months?

'Well, it doesn't sound long.

'Anita's going to take control of the project management,

'with a little help from their builder, whilst Behar will

'help out when he has time around his job as a wellbeing consultant.

'The plan is to make the flat all-singing, all-dancing

'before selling it on.

'Behar hopes it will be worth three-five-zero,

'or 350 grand, once it's finished.'

It's all very exciting for you two!

So what else have you been up to?

-Um...

-Well...

-Well, we got engaged last year.

-You got engaged?!

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-Do you have a little cheeky sparkler?

-We have the proof.

A very cheeky little sparkle.

Congratulations, guys!

-Are you planning on actually getting married soon?

-Soon.

-In a few months, probably about five months' time, I think.

-Really?

# Diamonds are a girl's best friend... #

Mm-hm, that is lovely news, but Anita and Behar

had better get cracking as they now have two very important deadlines -

renovation and nuptial.

Guys, it's been such a treat seeing you again. Congratulations.

-Great news about the wedding too.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

Thank you. Lovely to see you.

Ho-ho! Such exciting news that Anita and Behar are engaged!

Is this rough diamond going to be sparkling

within their ambitious two month timescale?

They've certainly got plenty to do here before they get married.

And that condensation? Well, let's just hope

it doesn't turn out to be anything more sinister.

Join me later in the programme and you can see how they get on.

From diamonds to coal now

and the former mining village of Twechar,

around a 25-minute drive from Glasgow.

The village sits in open countryside

beside the recently reopened Forth and Clyde Canal.

The place was quite down in the dumps after all the mine closures.

But there's a sense of regeneration here,

in this eminently commutable village.

# Warmth of the sun

# When the pain stops... #

Well, just on the north side of the village,

on the other side of the estate from the canal,

is the property I'm here to see.

Surrounded by some fairly, well, pretty looking hills. Well,

-they would be if you could see them.

-HE LAUGHS

The property itself, though, looks fairly decent.

It's a two-bedroom mid-terrace.

And a guide price of £48,000-plus,

if I can find a way in through the gate. Let's have a look.

Ooh! Always good to get inside on a day like today.

And what do we find when we get there?

Well, through the front door, um, facing you, a downstairs loo

and a little cloakroom. That's really useful.

Stairs up to the bedrooms there.

And through into a dual-aspect lounge,

meaning windows on both ends. Lots of light in here, which is good.

A few little features. I like that.

It'd be nice if it was an open fire, but at least it's something

you could sort of create something around.

It doesn't seem to be in too bad condition. I mean, overall.

A lick of paint here and there. And likewise in the kitchen.

It could do with a bit of a refurbishment.

But I like the layout. It just sort of works.

It's almost big enough for a table in here. So a nice family space.

But either way, spend a bit of money in here, um...

Your door's out to the back garden.

I mean, it just has a really nice feel to it straightaway.

Just before I nip upstairs,

there's something out the back window that's caught my attention.

Well, just behind the house - a bit of open ground

and nice views out to the hills.

However, you also notice a bit of construction going on.

Some new houses being built down there.

On first glance, you might thing, oh, that's not so good.

But actually, I think it is good.

It means that someone, a developer, is confident enough in the area

and the potential for house prices and general regeneration here

to be putting money into building new homes.

So, when I see that, I think that's a big tick for the area.

And it looks like the clouds are lifting over the area

in more ways than one.

Anyway, after that diversion, time to head back to the house.

Up here and the fairly simple but effective layout continues.

Bathroom and loo where it should be, at the top of the stairs.

Two decent-sized bedrooms.

Um, and, yeah, it is - as I said - exactly what you'd hope it to be.

Built-in wardrobes in here, double glazing, nice views out the windows.

Again, you can see that big development going on there.

But it feels really open. It's just a nice house.

I reckon this has to be a great buy for a first-time buyer,

or for a novice developer.

Although less work needed could mean less room for a profit.

On the whole, I don't see how you could go wrong,

if you got it for anything like that guide price of 48,000.

Let's see what a local property agent

thought of the house and its location.

The village of Twechar is very centrally positioned in Scotland.

It's very handy for commuting. You're only a couple of minutes

from getting up onto the M80 here. So that's certainly quite handy.

The express train gets into Glasgow Queen Street in 12 minutes.

And you can get to Edinburgh Waverley within 35 minutes.

So it's certainly very centrally positioned.

It sounds like you can't fault the location,

so what about the property?

I think what really stands out is the size of the living room.

That's probably going to be the main selling point.

The fact there's a window to the front, a window to the rear,

it's very light, you've got good views to both sides.

In terms of work needing done, it's mainly decorative work.

I feel the downstairs toilet will probably need to be replaced.

The bathroom suite upstairs would again need to be replaced as well.

Most of the work other than that is decorative.

It's got gas central heating, double glazing, the main things

and the expensive things have already been done.

The kitchen for rental purposes would actually be quite liveable.

It wouldn't necessarily need to be replaced at this stage.

It is difficult to fault this house.

But does that niggle I have about not being able to add value

make this less of an attractive proposition?

If you got it for near that guide price of 48,000,

it wouldn't need much to do it up.

So what could it get on the open market?

I feel it has the potential to achieve around about £70,000.

The rental potential on a property like this, once done up to a

slightly more modern standard, would be around £500 per calendar month.

It's all sounding like good news to me,

but even when you make a good return,

regardless of whether you rent or sell the property,

it's always worth looking at the bigger picture.

If you're in a position to hold on to the house,

look at what's happening to the property market in the area.

I think, in the present market, which is still quite depressed

across central Scotland, you would be best to rent the property out.

It's certainly got good resale potential in the future.

Now probably isn't the best time to be selling.

Well, it may not be one of the most glamorous of properties,

but it's a house where the design just works.

And I really like it.

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

£40,000.

Got to be worth 40.

35, then?

Need a bid, can't sell it without one.

35 here. At £35,000, I'm bid now in once.

At £35,000.

First time, then, at £35,000. One bid might get it.

36, new bidder. 37?

38. 39.

40. Thinking about it. With you at £39,000.

Back in at 40. 41?

41 I've got. 42? 43?

43 I've got, 44...shake of the head. With you at 43.

At £43,000 then. 43 for the second time...

At £43,000 then, all done, all out....

I'll take it - 43 and a half, 44. Half? You're out, with you at 44.

At £44,000 then, second time, third time...

all out, all done...

selling away. Well done, sir. Your paddle number, please.

Holding his nerve in that last-minute flurry was Ian,

who got this at what I reckon was a snip of £44,000.

That's £4,000 under the guide price.

Having retired from banking four years ago, he's looking for

a decent investment, and has splashed out

on his first auction purchase.

Though he's no stranger to the rental market, he has

one rental property already and previously

has rented out a flat in Aberdeen.

-Ian, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this house.

Came on the market, I stay locally, I thought it's a bargain.

I thought I'd come along and have a look at it and see how it goes.

Is this something that you do a lot of?

I have done in the past, we brought a property that was run-down

and renovated it and eventually sold it on,

-and I thought, "We can do this again."

-Right.

With a view to doing that, doing it up and selling it?

Ultimately, yes, but I think this one we'll probably rent out.

What's driven you to that thought?

Well, money lying in the bank getting no interest.

Perchance you get a much better return on a modest investment here.

Yeah, sure. And how was the auction?

Quite exciting, I'd been to an auction before just as a trial run,

but this property was second lot up, so we'd to be there early.

-I'd have liked it to be on a bit later.

-Why?

Give the competition time to buy something else.

But this was second up, so you were straight into it right away.

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

Every room, basically, needs upgraded slightly. Mostly decoration work.

I'm a bit concerned about the roof and the guttering, which is

not in very good order, so I'll have someone have a look at it,

but the rest of it is mostly cosmetic.

So with that in mind, what's the budget?

It depends on the roof primarily.

If that turns out to be quite expensive then

I would say maybe up to about £5,000.

If it's purely just a bit of renovation work done to it,

then...£3,000 I would think.

You picked a place that doesn't really need much doing to it,

was that in the game plan?

It was, yes, I don't want to be employing a lot of people,

outside contractors and things like that, this suits me

cos I've got time on my hands.

-So what do you do when you're not doing this?

-I'm a postman.

-OK.

So does that mean early shifts?

-Not too early, I don't start till eight o'clock.

-Eight!

-For a postman, that sounds late.

-Yeah, I'm just part-time.

-Oh, OK.

-Well, it gives you a bit of time to work on this.

-Yes.

# Every morning as true as the clock, somebody hears the postman's knock

# Every morning as true as the clock

# Somebody hears the postman's knock... #

Ian's hoping to get the work done in two months.

His property developing, plus working as a postman -

albeit part-time - doesn't sound like much of a retirement.

But it turns out Ian does relax.

-I play golf. A lot.

-Ah, good place to be then, Scotland.

Yes, there's half a dozen courses within five miles of here.

Are you good?

-Modest.

-Handicap?

-Eight.

What do you mean, "modest"? That's pretty good, isn't it?!

Yes, it's OK. MARTIN LAUGHS

-Well, congratulations.

-Thanks very much.

Good luck with it, look forward to seeing how you get on.

Well, property is all about finding the one that suits your needs,

and I think Ian's certainly done that with this place.

Not too much work to be done, not too long to do it,

something he can handle on his own. How will he get on?

You can find out later in the show.

Still to come - in Chesterfield,

and my advice is really quite straightforward.

HE MUTTERS INCOHERENTLY

I need to get rid of some of these walls.

Need to get rid of some of these walls!

Whilst in Twechar, keen golfer Ian was hoping that his

simple renovation plans would bag him a hole in one.

Back to Raynes Park now,

a popular little London suburb full of really nice properties.

Although the one-bed garden flat that we found earlier was

looking a little down-at-heel.

It was bought for 250,000 by Anita and Behar.

It was the recently-engaged couple's second development project,

and despite the obvious problems, they had an ambitious budget.

Our biggest challenge is to keep the costs down.

Come on, what's the budget, Anita?

Well, we think probably about 20, we may well...

-Behar would like less. 15?

-I don't want to see a two in it.

-"A two in it"!

-You're so demanding, Behar!

-No, no, I don't mind a nine, a one-nine, but not a two-zero.

-Right.

So that's my plan, that's my challenge,

and that's what I hope to do.

This flat was a cold, damp shell,

with the only residents being the woodworm in the kitchen floor.

Anita and Behar were only interested in selling the property, and had

given themselves a tight timescale of two months to complete the work.

Nearly four months later, we've returned to see the results.

Removing a wall has created a bigger and more open living room which is

bright and inviting, with no signs of the previous mould problems.

The kitchen has been gutted

and the woodworm has been sorted with new floorboards

underneath the tiling.

Into the bathroom,

which has now been transferred into a contemporary wet room.

The bedroom that was most affected by the mould has no

signs of it any more and is bright and fresh, with new carpets,

a clean paint job and a new radiator.

The back garden has some lovely new decking, and the front of the house

gives an inviting first impression for any prospective buyers.

Anita and Behar have indeed poshed this weary little flat up,

and surely it's now ideal for the sales market in this area.

When I first walked into the property it was

an absolute dark, smelly, fungus-infected cave.

And I thought, "Great." And the reason I thought, "Great"

was I thought it was going to put lots of people off.

So it might be a little bit easier at the auction, which is what we want.

HE LAUGHS

Considering what the property looked like originally,

I think the builder - and many thanks to him

because he's done an excellent job - it does look phenomenal.

And the nice thing is, walking through the door we had a vision...

-Mm-hmm.

-..and I think...

-This is it.

-Excelled, is that the right word?

-Exceeded.

-Exceeded our expectations. So, yes, it does look amazing.

Yes, excelled AND exceeded if you ask me,

but like Behar and Anita, I knew this place had real potential.

However, that doubling of the timescale from two to four months?

Hmm, I smell trouble, and I bet it's not just that mould.

It was quite a bit worse than we thought,

because we initially thought we just had an issue with condensation,

however, once we started taking everything out,

lifting out floorboards...

it was very obvious we had an issue with dry rot,

with damp coming through the walls,

so there was a lot of remedial work to do.

We hired an industrial heater which we left on night and day,

probably for up to a week, and moved it around,

because there were various areas that needed to be dried out.

And we also left all the windows open to create ventilation

going through, even at night.

I had to come here early in the morning before

going to work to close the windows.

-It was a lot, lot worse than we thought.

-Yeah.

The extent of the damp and dry rot meant that new joists

and floorboards were needed,

as well as repointing the exterior up to the chimney,

which was the cause of the damp.

All this extra work must have eaten into their 20

- no, sorry - £19,000 budget.

Remember? He didn't want a two in the budget.

The budget?

I think we're probably about 40% above what we hoped for, but I think

what we hoped for was probably a little bit unrealistic, wasn't it?

It was.

But we've done very well, we're very happy with what we've spent

and learned a lot about how to create a stunning designer look,

if you like, for even less than we did with the first project.

-We're really happy with the way we've evolved as a partnership.

-Mmm.

Well, it doesn't have a two in it after all,

because that extra 40% equated to a total of 30,000.

Added to the original purchase price of 250,000,

that means a total outlay of £280,000.

The couple are only interested in selling,

so we've asked two property experts if it's been a sound investment,

starting with the agent who saw it originally.

Last time I came here it was riddled with damp

and certainly not in a very nice condition.

They've done a lovely, lovely job, it looks, on first impressions,

absolutely beautiful now.

I would recommend that it was on the market for resale,

rather than rental, simply because the yields round here are

very difficult, because people pay a premium to live in this area.

With that in mind, what sale price could be achieved?

I would suggest a price of around about £385,000.

I would stick the property on the market for £385,000,

to achieve £365,000 as a minimum, and I wouldn't be surprised,

with this level of finish and desirability,

to get the asking price.

Getting that asking price would mean a pre-tax profit of a huge £105,000!

We believe that this will go for around 375,

but I wouldn't be surprised if it achieved a higher figure.

-So we're more than happy with that. Aren't we?

-Very, yes.

"Very", oh, she is. She's very happy, good, I'm happy then!

And with the wedding just a month after our visit,

congratulations to the very happy couple.

This is the market town of Chesterfield in Derbyshire.

It's a place with its fair share of historical buildings,

but my favourite is the crooked and twisted spire

atop the Church of St Mary and All Saints.

There are of course lots of stories about its

weird and wonderful construction, one being that while shoeing

the devil's hooves, a nervous local blacksmith made a mess of it.

The agonised Old Nick leapt over the tower and bent it out of shape.

Well, let's hope today's property is standing a bit straighter.

About a mile from the centre of Chesterfield

is the property I'm here to see.

Two-bedroom semidetached, a guide price of £55,000, plus -

that's it, let's go in.

So what's the layout? Well, side entrance obviously.

Stairs up to your bedrooms there.

And then through into your lounge, and that is quite nice,

cos it means you can have this door which you can shut to

keep out the cold, which is good.

Although looks like you've got double-glazing,

central heating, which is nice.

Not a bad-sized room...hmm, a bit of damp there maybe,

but it looks OK. Through to the kitchen, and straightaway

I'm wondering if you could take out

this wall to create one really nice-sized kitchen/living area.

Lots of cupboards in here though.

But of a space over there where you could put something.

A cupboard under the stairs which is, I guess, a pantry.

-LAUGHING:

-And as you head out here...

Eurgh! Yet, more sort of space, I suppose.

But downstairs loo here, little utility area there.

It's useful, but...

I need to get rid of some of these walls.

Need to get rid of some of these walls!

MUSIC: "Tear Down the Walls" by Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam

And I think once you've eliminated some of these little walls,

you could then give yourself several options of how to lay out

a brand-new open-plan kitchen/diner space. Lovely.

Well, so much for downstairs, how about upstairs?

So up here, bathroom exactly where you'd want it to be,

it's a half-decent size, it needs a bit of renovation, like the kitchen,

but it's not bad.

Then two bedrooms, one at the back - eh, decent-sized double.

One at the front though - absolutely huge, and I wonder if you could

think about converting that into two, to turn this into a three-bed.

I guess it depends on your personal circumstances.

If you're renting it out, talk to the agents,

find out how much difference that would make. If you're living here,

do you need one? If you do, do it. If you don't, don't.

Logical this property developing lark, isn't it?

You know what I'm saying makes sense.

But the thing that really needs to be made sense of is

the downstairs layout beyond the kitchen.

Other than that, this is a pretty straightforward refurbishment of

the kitchen and bathroom, and a bit of redecoration from what I can see.

This used to be a local authority house,

and it's a well-built, well-proportioned semi.

In fact, all in all it's a pretty tidy one,

but not so much on the outside.

Well, the back garden's not exactly massive

and it certainly needs a bit of a tidy-up, but it is good to

have it, and it just adds to the appeal of this property

as a family home.

I reckon it's all looking like a very good buy

if you get it for anything like that guide price of 55,000.

But what will the local estate agent make of this two-bed semi?

Good size inside, great size lounge, the kitchen is ideal,

I would open up the kitchen and keep the toilet downstairs so that,

if it is a small family, the toilet's handy for them.

Upstairs just needs a general redecoration

and the bathroom replaced.

We're agreed on all those points,

but what does the agent think would be the best approach for

this house if you were looking to maximise the return?

I think if you decided to sell the property you would need to go for

a little bit more of a higher standard when redecorating

and thinking about your kitchen and your bathroom,

to generate interest and get the best price possible.

If you were going to let the property, I would basically

redecorate and put a basic kitchen and bathroom in for the time being.

So far, so straightforward.

Let's say this was being done up to the highest standard -

how much could it sell for?

I believe the property would be worth £95,000

once the work has been completed.

And what about the lettings market?

If the property was to be letted out,

I believe the rental value would be between £450-495 per calendar month.

So what do you think, a good one to go for?

Well, for that £55,000 plus guide price, I think so.

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

Lot number 20 is a large, two double-bedroomed,

semidetached property in a popular location

not far from the town centre.

It's double-glazed but it needs some updating and improvement.

Start me where you like with that one. May I say 60,000 for it?

60,000? Who's got 55 on the guide price to put it into the bidding?

55...he has, thank you.

At £55,000...55 is the opening bid, 56 I've got on the left.

At 56,000...57 is bid. 58 now, at 58...59, 60,000?

£59,000 I've got - 60 down the centre.

61...61, 62, 63.

63, 64, 65, 66,

67, 68...

69. 500? 69,500, 70,000...500?

£70,000 then, all done?

At £70,000, going once...

going twice, third chance...

Sold at 70 at the back, thank you.

The successful bidder was Mark,

who has a background in the food industry

and is now full-time property developer with his friend Ben,

who has his own building business.

Mark and Ben are old friends

and they recently decided to set up their own property venture.

MUSIC: "Let's Work Together" by Canned Heat

-Mark, Ben, great to meet you both.

-Thank you.

-Good to meet you, Martin.

-Congratulations!

-Thank you very much.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

Well, three or four months ago we did a similar property

up at Newbold, which is about a mile away from here.

First one we've done, so got the hang of it,

knew what we thought we could sell for, this is very similar,

so we knew going into the auction our ceiling, thought,

"Right, if we can get it for that, we'll have a go."

And when you say the property was similar, was it the location,

-or the layout...?

-Both, isn't it?

Location and layout, just a good, solid-built house basically,

so there's not a lot to do structurally, it's just

internal fitments and things like that, bathroom, kitchen, all that.

-No, it's a nice house, it does feel solid, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

Mark and Ben know what they're doing with this house.

Not only do they know this area well,

but they've checked out what the ceiling price is likely to be

and how much work they need to do to get it.

The plan is to have the house finished in seven to nine weeks,

and they've tailored the plan to give themselves a £30,000 profit

when they sell it.

-Tell me exactly what you're going to do to it then.

-Right.

Go on, Ben, it's down to you.

New kitchen, new bathroom, fully redecorated throughout,

we're going to put a driveway in so you've got off-road parking

and then tidy up the gardens, bit of landscaping, nothing too expensive.

-As I say, just make it saleable as a nice family house.

-Right.

The kitchen, one thing that struck me,

-you've got the exterior area with the loo.

-Yeah.

You've got the cupboard under the stairs,

and it's all sort of...cupboards here, there and everywhere,

what are you going to do about all that lot?

We've looked at that a little, there is a room to the left,

a utilities room I'm hoping to knock majorly through,

a single lintel door width through.

So from one you can access the other,

with a washing machine/tumble dryer above, and that should lose

all those doorways that are a bit higgledy-piggledy.

-It is a bit.

-So that should tidy that up without going to the

great length of taking out big structural walls,

cos we don't really want to be doing that on the budget.

So, what's the budget for the work?

-5,000.

-Five?!

-Yeah.

-Wow! Tight, tight, tight.

No, I think it's about right, I've done some working out

and I think we'll come in OK at that.

And that's with you doing a lot of the work?

Yeah, pretty much everything,

we're not bringing anybody else in apart from a plumber for the

legal side and an electrician to check out the wiring stuff.

But everything else we can do ourselves.

And are you going to be doing a bit of a grunt, or not?

Absolutely, yeah, we'll be here tomorrow.

The bathroom's coming out, so yeah.

Carpets out, strip the kitchen out...

get it all in my motor, down to the tip... So I do all the graft.

He puts it all back together again.

-But it should work all right.

-And after this one, another one?

Yeah, we've got the one in Nottingham, at Mapperley,

so that's a bigger project.

That'll probably take us about four months to do that one.

Then when we've done that, we've got

the plot of land we're going to separate,

and we're looking at putting maybe

-two new builds on that one.

-Oh, wow.

Which he knows all about, built his own property before, so...

THEY LAUGH

Make it sound easy.

Some people find the transition from being mates that go for a pint

down the pub to working together quite difficult, and it can be...

-Yeah, of course.

-..not necessarily what you'd hoped for.

-You obviously haven't found that at all.

-No, not at all.

No, we just get on with it and have a laugh.

It's good to work with each other, it's good fun

and we get on with the job.

We've got the boundaries there, it's 50-50. So everything's shared.

Listen, nice to meet you both, congratulations, good luck with it.

-Thank you very much.

-Look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

Mark and Ben certainly seem to have a great friendship

and business relationship, and that's not always easy,

so congratulations to them.

How are they going to get on sorting this place out?

Well, I think they've got the right ideas, but 5,000 quid?

A bit of a tight budget.

You can find out how it all goes later in the show.

We hope our buyers have been working away on their investments

and making themselves some nice little profits.

Yes, have they managed to achieve all they hoped,

or have they encountered problems?

It's time to go back and find out.

Over now to Twechar,

a former mining village just 13 miles away from Glasgow.

Earlier I looked over this two-bed mid-terrace,

which was bought for just under the

guide price for £44,000 by ex-banker and part-time postman Ian.

Ian has done some simple renovations in the past

and wanted a property that followed suit.

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

-Mostly...

decoration work.

I'm a bit concerned about the roof and the guttering,

which is not in very good order.

So I'll have someone come along and have a look at it,

tell me what they think.

But the rest of it is mostly cosmetic.

Ian was planning to renovate with an eye to renting the property out,

so, five months later, we're back to see how he's done.

The kitchen has had a simple makeover.

By keeping the existing units, Ian has been able to keep

costs down, but he has had to put down

new flooring and replace the ceiling.

In the hallway, the downstairs cloakroom has been replaced

with a fresh new unit plus a new radiator.

Moving upstairs, the clean and neutral decor continues,

making it ideal for prospective renters.

Outside, the roof that had Ian worried turned out

to be in good shape,

with only a few tiles needing to be replaced

and the guttering bringing up to date.

I'm looking forward to finding out

whether this seemingly simple renovation was simple to execute.

Very happy with the way that the development's turned out.

A wee bit over time, but very pleased with the end result.

Ian didn't have as much spare time as he'd hoped

in which to do the renovation,

with his part-time postman role becoming more demanding

with the Christmas rush, added to some all-important time off.

I thought it would take me about two-and-a-half months,

and it's taken about three-and-a-half.

Mainly due to, when we started it at first,

I was working full-time and didn't have time to do much.

And also I was on holiday for two weeks,

my wife and I went to Tunisia for a week and Prague for a week.

And when you've returned from holiday,

you're not really that keen to get straight into painting

and decorating, so it was a slower process than it might have been.

They certainly didn't waste time once they'd shook off

the post-holiday blues though.

What exactly has been done here?

The whole house has been...completely redecorated.

Every surface has got at least two coats of paint on it.

The kitchen's been upgraded, the downstairs toilet has been

stripped back to bare bones and rebuilt.

It was my intention just to remove the toilet completely

and return the house to the way it was built, but in listening to

some advice, we decided to reinstate the toilet and upgrade it.

I did all of the work in the house, apart from the specialist stuff

like the central heating, some of the electrical work and the plastering.

Everything else I've taken care of myself.

With the roof work costing only £380,

that £3,000 budget must be looking in good shape.

So far we've spent £2,700.

There's a couple of small things to do that won't cost very much,

and it'll still be below the £3,000.

Work still needs to be done to the back garden,

but considering Ian added an electric fire and a fridge freezer,

keeping the budget under £3,000 is certainly impressive.

Ian reckoned this house was for rental in the short term and

for sale much later on due to the slow state

of the local resale market.

But with a total investment of £47,000, is this the best choice?

We asked two estate agents their opinions.

Property's in really good order.

Good accommodation, good-sized rooms, will appeal to

a lot of clients as you don't need to spend anything on it at all.

I think he's refurbished the bedrooms

and lounge to a very good standard, neutral, which is very appealing

to any sort of buyer, they can come in and make

their own stamp on it, whether they want to do a feature wall or not.

I think the bathroom and the kitchen is very clean

and that will stand out.

But will it stand out enough to make a profit?

I had a niggle that there might not be room to add

much in the way of profit here,

so would Ian's £47,000 investment stack up on the resale market?

We would advise to market the property between £70,000 and £75,000.

The current sales evaluation in today's market would be

approximately between £65,000 and £70,000.

Those valuations mean a possible profit before tax

of between £18,000 and a whopping £28,000.

Will the rentals prove as impressive?

The current rental market valuation would be

approximately £450 to £475 per calendar month.

We would be looking to achieve about

£475 per calendar month.

Terrific. My plan all along was to make

about £425, so £450, £475 is great.

-Really happy with that.

-Ian should be happy.

That top valuation of £475 could create a possible yield

of around 12%, making this project a big success.

Next for me is back to playing a lot more golf.

I've played three games this year,

I've played in a medal just at the weekend there, and I'm afraid

it showed that I haven't played very much cos my score was dreadful.

So I intend to get a lot more practice in and go another holiday.

No time for holidays in Chesterfield, Derbyshire,

where earlier I met friends and business partners Mark and Ben,

who intended transforming this local authority house

purchased for £70,000.

They hope to make £30,000 profit from the house,

but this meant they weren't going to be splashing the cash.

-So what's the budget for the work?

-5,000.

-Five?!

-Yeah.

-Wow, tight.

-Tight, tight, tight.

-No, about right, I think it's about right.

I've done some working out and I think we'll come in OK.

And that's with you doing a lot of the work.

Pretty much, we're not bringing in anybody else

apart from a plumber for the legal side

and an electrician to check out the wiring stuff,

but everything else we can do ourselves.

-And are you going to be doing a bit of grunt?

-Absolutely, yes.

They were no property novices, and it did seem like a

pretty straightforward refurbishment of a solid house.

They planned to do the work in seven to nine weeks.

Well, four months later, it's all looking prim and proper.

OK. In the kitchen, we've basically taken out

all the old existing units,

we've kept the stainless steel sink and taps from the existing kitchen.

The thing I like best is probably this range cooker.

I think it works really well set inside the existing chimney breast,

with the extractor, which also extracts into filters

but does actually extract into the chimney itself, which is a bonus.

Yeah, I'm absolutely really pleased with the whole thing.

Utility rooms at the back of the kitchen have been cleaned up,

and a sink has been added to the downstairs cloakroom - a nice touch.

From top to bottom, each room has been stripped and re-plastered,

as well as all-new carpets and flooring throughout the property.

The brand-new bathroom has been rejigged and is much more practical.

As is the front of the property. Mark explains all.

OK, so what we've done out here, quite a bit of work actually,

there was a lawn here with borders round the edge there,

and here, where I'm stood, there was quite a high border,

so we've dug all that up, few skip loads, got rid of it,

put in all these edging stones as you can see.

Nice border there, and as you can see now,

we've got room for off-road parking for two cars.

That is very smart and practical,

and they've used a surface which allows the water to drain away,

which in these days of increased flooding, is really vital!

And what about that less than tidy garden at the back?

Well, it's neater and has been prepared for re-seeding,

so a nice lawn will appear eventually.

The boys have worked hard to create a bright and appealing property,

but it certainly wasn't as "straightforward" as they'd hoped.

-Taken ten weeks in total, time on the job.

-Yeah, to do the job.

We initially thought about seven, but we had a few issues.

The whole place needed rewiring, which we didn't budget for,

so obviously that took extra time

and we had to wait for the electrician to come.

When we stripped the wallpaper off,

it actually looked OK the first time you came and filmed, cos it

was all blank wallpaper, then when we took it off, opened a can of worms!

Loads of plaster came off.

Yeah, quite a bit more time than we thought to do the

initial preparation of the walls.

-Should have been straightforward really, shouldn't it?

-Mm.

And it wasn't.

It just goes to show you never know what's

lurking behind seemingly perfect wallpapered walls.

And talking of walls,

how did they deal with the many walls at the back of the house?

The utility rooms, it's sort of basically through here,

as you came in the back door there was a bit higgledy-piggledy,

a toilet to the right and another door straight ahead.

Which you couldn't really do anything with,

so I wanted something to come straight off the kitchen,

so we just took another door through into the room you would have

come in from the back of the kitchen, to create where you can put in

plumbing now for a washing machine, tumble dryer above it, shelf...

-So it's made useful space.

-It wasn't very useful before.

-No, it was all higgledy-piggledy, but I think it's worked well.

-It has.

It's the second one we've done and I generally do the stripping

'and painting and putting kitchen units together,'

and Ben will do the more constructive stuff,

the more skilled work, which is what he's really good at.

That partnership works well doing that.

I thought their original budget of £5,000 was tight,

but given that they've had to rewire and re-plaster, I think

they've done really well to come in at 7,000.

Add that spend to the purchase price of 70,000

and that's an investment of £77,000.

The question is, have Mark and Ben

done enough to make their target profit of 30,000?

Time for two local property agents to tell us if they can achieve it.

The sale price of this property would be somewhere between

£110,000 and £115,000.

I think if the property was put on the open market it would

probably be looking to achieve somewhere about the £110,000 mark,

with the specification being so good

you may even try that a little higher, possibly up to 115.

But I'd probably value it somewhere around the £110,000.

That's what it's on the market for.

When we first set it up we thought 110, but cos it looks a bit better

and better spec, we went for 115 cos we can always come down a little bit.

Yeah, sounds good.

If they sell for that top valuation of 115,000,

that would be a profit of £38,000 minus taxes and fees,

comfortably over the £30,000 they'd hoped for.

Not bad for ten weeks' work.

So, will this successful building partnership go to auction again?

-Definitely.

-Yeah, absolutely. It's been a good experience.

We'll have more properties

and more enthusiastic buyers for you next time.

Yes, and make sure you join us here on Homes Under the Hammer.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.