Episode 3 Homes Under the Hammer

The UK property auction market is a multi-million pound business.

Those are big numbers, but don't let that put you off.

No, auctions are open to everyone. It's a level playing field.

All you need is confidence and a little bit of know-how.

Well, with tens of thousands of properties going up for auction

every year, there are such a variety on offer, from houses to barns,

to bungalows - you name it!

Well, here are what today's bidders bought when they put their hands up.

In Ramsgate, a holiday home open to all.

-So there's no rules, it's free for all.

-Yep.

You'll be very welcome, just let us know when you want to come along.

In Derbyshire, a property has left me lost for words!

..Temporarity to it.

Temporarr...you know what I mean! Temporariness?

Well, you know the word.

And up in Glasgow, a little tenement flat puts me in the party mood.

Lorraine, I love that. Give me a high-five!

All these properties have been sold at auction, and we'll find out who

bought them and what they paid for them

when they went under the hammer.

Ah, the seaside!

When the sun shines, there's no better place to be

and this sunny bit of coastline is in Kent and the town of Ramsgate.

A very short stroll from the harbour and we're on this simply stunning

road, and it's lined with gorgeous grade 2 listed Regency terraces.

Somewhat surprisingly, it was on this very street

a young Vincent van Gogh spent time teaching French at a boys' school

when he was strapped for cash.

So, was it a masterpiece that went under the hammer?

Well, what I can tell you is that it's a one-bedroom flat

and it had a guide price of 25,000-£28,000.

That seems very, very cheap!

And this property is on the ground floor of this Georgian terrace,

which looks really good from the outside,

as does the communal hallway.

This flat hasn't got an amazing sense of flow the minute you walk

through the door. Lots of little corridors and doorways.

The kitchen at the back.

We've got a spacious bathroom there, and the living room.

I'm actually going to show you the best bit first

because look at this stunning Georgian bay window. Brilliant!

But imagine waking up here - what shall I do today?

I think I'll have a game of tennis, or I could just

look at the sea view, and it really feels like a little holiday home.

But what I want to do is put the kitchen in here because I think

whoever wants to live here will want to make the most of that

amazing view, so I'm just wondering whether we could push back and

steal the bathroom space, but that would mean relocating the bathroom.

# Ah, push it! #

Yes, push that lounge wall back and stick in a kitchen

and you may have yourself a great kitchen diner with sea views,

and I may have found a solution to repositioning the bathroom.

Do come in. Now, could this be the location for the bathroom?

In the auction catalogue it's the dressing room, so let's think...

The bathroom comes out of there, goes into here.

You can make the lounge so much bigger.

You can then use the kitchen as the bedroom because it's a much

bigger, better shape, and then you'd have two nice size bedrooms.

The only thing that's worrying me, is it could end up

costing as much as the guide price of this flat to do all the work.

Mind you, looking more closely at the flat,

there's quite a lot of work generally

so I think you'd be ripping out bathrooms and kitchens anyway.

And certainly the plumbing and the electrics do need replacing,

so rejigging the layout might add a little to your costs

but not significantly, and certainly overall it would be worth doing,

especially with such a potentially great flat.

Not only does it have sea views,

there's even the added bonus of a small courtyard

off the main bedroom.

So, a low-ish guide price of 25,000-£28,000 here.

No, it's not in great nick but it turns out there's another reason.

That's because the lease has just 59 years left to run,

which equals problems getting any kind of finance on this place,

and a substantial sum to fork out when you want to extend it.

And extend it you must,

because the longer you leave it, the pricier it gets.

The cost of extending the lease varies from property to property,

but it is something you need to factor into your budget.

And then there's the mortgage issue.

Many lenders don't lend property with a lease shorter than 70 years.

There are specialists on short lease mortgages

so that might be one route you could go, but usually properties

with these sort of issues are ones for cash buyers only.

You could try to buy the freehold with the other owners.

That could take time though.

Anyway, the bottom line here is, if you are looking to turn

a property around quickly, a short lease is probably not for you.

What does a local estate agent make of this Georgian one-bed flat?

I think it needs completely re-jigging around.

If you can move kitchens, bathrooms, and create a proper two-bedroom

apartment with good-sized bedrooms, I think that will be a winner.

Because it's got a garden and a ground floor,

this is where it appeals to everybody.

It seems we're both on the same page about changing the layout,

but if the work was carried out and the lease extended, what could

this flat that was guided at £25,000-28,000 potentially be worth?

Whilst fully renovated,

I personally think it would be about £85,000-90,000.

And what about rental values?

For rental purposes, I think

you'd get anywhere between £550-650 per calendar month.

A gorgeous road, a fabulous location, a prestigious heritage.

This lot has it all,

and a whacking great lump sum to extend the lease as well! But hey,

you weren't expecting something stunning AND simple, were you?

Let's see who went for it anyway at the auction.

We're going to start... We could start at £25,000.

25,000.

I did see the hand sitting down first so I've got 25, I'm going

to take 28 from you, sir. 28, and 30. At 30 and two.

At 30... 32 on the trellis, standing.

And 35 sitting, 38 now, it's against both of you.

At 38, 38 sitting in front of me. And now 40 if you like.

40 I have with you, madam. And two, 42. At 42, standing again.

45, 45, and eight.

48. 48, sitting in front of me further down.

48 and 50, it's against you. At 50, at 50 and two.

52. At 52, I've got in the room again.

And 55 now, it's against you. 55, is with you. And 58.

It's back with you if you like. 58, and nine. 59. 59.

59 I've got at the back. 60, and one.

61. At 61 at the back. 61, he says yes.

At 62. 62? For the first time then at 61,000,

61,000 for the second time.

61,000 for the third and final time.

And so, for over double the guide price at £61,000,

the successful bidder for the one-bed Ramsgate flat was Andy,

who bought it jointly with his friend Mark at the back here

as a holiday home for their two families to use.

# I need a holiday. (I need a holiday!)

# I need a holiday with my friends

# I'm working every day (I need a holiday)

# I'm working every day through the weekend #

While the rest of the family went to enjoy the delights

of Ramsgate, I caught up with Mark and Andy to find out how

they were going to make it a holiday home suitable for all seven of them!

Andy and Mark, congratulations. What a fantastic little flat this is!

-Yes.

-No, we're very pleased, very pleased indeed.

Were you always as two families looking for a little holiday home?

No, the brochure has been coming in for years to my office

and I've always put it to one side and never bothered with it.

Then all of a sudden, I picked it up, had a look,

-and that's how it started really.

-And then you got the call?

Yeah, we'd been down to Ramsgate last year

for Andy's 50th birthday and stayed here for the weekend.

We'd been a few times and it's always been nice down here.

Was it, the minute you saw it, you had to have it kind of thing?

No, the position of it is really what sold it to us.

With plans currently for this to be a long term holiday home,

the short lease wasn't a major problem for Mark and Andy,

but they are hoping, together with the other flat owners,

to buy the freehold of the building or extend the lease.

But first, they need to sort out the flat and its current layout.

The first thing I thought when I walked into this flat was,

"I would like this room to be bigger

"and I would like the kitchen in here because I would like to be

"making my tea and toast and looking at that view."

-Are you along the same thought process?

-We are, because this room is particularly light,

which is what we liked, but what we thought was, if the kitchen comes

forward and sits behind the wall, we could open that up

so that the kitchen comes straight through into this room.

Not totally by taking the wall out, but putting an opening in there.

Then we can have a bit of a kitchen bar that comes into this room.

I'm so pleased we're thinking along the same lines, using that bathroom

space to create a better living area

will be so much more family-friendly.

But the big question is, where are you going to put that bathroom?

Well, we've sort of come up with an idea in the back half, where you've

got the sort of small room that's been divided and then taken apart.

We're going to divide that again and just put a small shower room

in there, toilet bath, and then have another small sort of room

probably for the kids to have their games and things in.

So that leaves the second bedroom and that will go in the kitchen?

-What is now the kitchen, yes.

-That's the idea.

The kitchen will come forward

and then we'll have two reasonable size bedrooms in.

And what would the budget be for both of you?

We've got up to maybe nine.

-That's a bit tight!

-We can do a fair bit on our own.

So how handy are you two?

-I work in the construction industry.

-Oh, OK.

-Which is useful.

-I'm a ground work contractor, so...

-That's going to be very useful.

Yes, there's a few people we know we can call in for some favours

and bits and pieces.

-And I work in newspapers, I'm a newspaper editor, so...

-OK.

With both of them working, this will be a weekend project

and they hope it'll be ready as a holiday home in three to six months.

How are you going to work out the timetable?

Are you going to come all at the same time?

Are you going to split it all up?

We might come at the same time sometimes.

We've had no thoughts on it really.

The idea is to try and use it just as a weekend thing, with

-the children as well, altogether.

-So there's no rules, it's free for all.

If you want to come down, come down.

-When people are staying, they're staying.

-There's room to stay.

You'll be very welcome, just let us know when you want to come along!

Did you take the hint? I really want to come and stay, it's so much fun.

-So, are the kids all excited?

-Oh, they are, yes.

They're playing tennis already so we'll have to go and stop them

from that to get them started on the work when we need them!

Oh, guys, I'm really excited.

I really love this property, I think it's absolutely superb.

Can't wait to see the outcome of this happy little Ramsgate flat.

-Well done.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Thanks very much.

Andy and Mark have got a fabulous flat here. I love it!

Did you get that impression?!

It's all fun, fun, fun at the moment

and I hope they still feel that way when the renovation is in full swing

and that nine grand, well, it's disappearing fast.

Find out how it all goes later in the programme.

So, am I going to be just as excited about our next property

here in Codnor in Ripley in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire?

Derbyshire is an area steeped in mining heritage and the village

of Codnor with its handy links to Derby and Nottingham is a good place

for a would-be commuter looking for affordably-priced housing.

So, what was on offer at the auction?

Well, something which I imagine was a very popular lot.

Guide price apart, which I'll come to,

the fact was it was a detached house,

and a really nice-looking one, too.

That guide price was £87,000. You know what? It looks like a doozy.

And so...we explore.

Really nice-sized living room - it's dual aspect.

Goes a bit strange when you come into this rear area, though,

because you've got a door here leading out

to a sort of entrance area and a downstairs loo.

That was the original kitchen,

which seriously is not adequate for this size of house.

Which is why...

somebody came up with a solution.

Presumably, these sliding doors used to lead out into the rear garden,

but they now need out into, ta-da, a very light, airy kitchen.

And anything like this always has a slight sense of temporarity to it.

Tempo... You know what I mean - temporariness...

Well, you know the word. It seems a little bit temporary.

Apart from that, it's got a nice feel to it,

and certainly it's infinitely better than that,

although I would like to think...

Knock down a few walls and maybe take this back inside.

# Hey, baby! I don't know what came over me... #

Temporary or up for keeps,

this extension's structure needs to be checked out.

Then I reckon if you were to combine the three spaces currently housing

this tiny kitchen, this side vestibule and the downstairs loo,

you could create yourself a good-sized kitchen.

Then you could turn this into what probably most people

would be looking for at this part of the house -

a sun lounge or a conservatory -

something with that less temporari-rull-riness.

Well, upstairs, pretty much what you'd expect -

there's three bedrooms, a bathroom,

which looks to be in fairly decent nick.

Like the rest of the house, if you were renting it out,

pretty much leave it as it is.

What is quite interesting, though,

cos I reckon at some point this has been a two-bedroom property,

because there's an extra doorframe here.

This has obviously been divided by these partition walls

to create two bedrooms, so you've got three in total.

But that room there is very, very, very small.

Erm...is it better like this?

Don't know. Don't know.

Actually, you'd probably leave it as it is,

but it's interesting how it was originally designed.

The decor and fittings are obviously tired, but overall I'm impressed.

It wouldn't take too much elbow grease to get this place

looking up-to-date and family-friendly.

Time to explore outside.

Well, you certainly can't complain

about the of number entrances to the property.

One at the front, one at the back and one at the side.

Come out of that one and you come into this little driveway.

Bit narrow, a bigger car might have issues getting through here,

but the good news is there is at least a garage.

There is also, joy of joys, a really nice-sized garden.

It's kind of terraced, goes back quite a long way,

but with a good few hours with a strimmer,

I reckon you could turn this into a very pleasant spot.

I love a nice bit of garden,

it looks as though someone once loved this one.

I hope it gets brought back to its former glory.

At a guide price of £87,000,

this is a lot of house and garden for your money.

Time to seek out the expert opinion of a local estate agent.

This is a nice, traditionally-styled house.

It's got three bedrooms, it's got off-street parking, it's got gardens.

It's ready for a little bit more updating and TLC.

What does the agent make of that third bedroom?

Would this be better as a two or a three-bedroom house?

I think the demand for three-bedroom houses is such

that it wouldn't pay to knock the first and the third bedroom

back into one large double room. I would keep it as three bedrooms.

OK, so what kind of resale price would you get

for this as a three-bed, refurbished house?

Once the property has been renovated,

we would suggest an asking price of £135,000.

And if it was rented out?

The property would let quite easily at £550 per calendar month.

Quite unusual to find a property like this around these parts -

three bedrooms, detached -

and still these days there are a lot of people

who love the appeal of a detached house.

So did it get a premium at the auction?

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

86. Bid me where you like, 85 for the three-bed-detached house.

It's got to be value, surely. 85,000 for it.

85, I've got here, thank you.

At £85,000, 86 at the back.

86,000, 87 is bid.

At 87, 88? Thank you, 88.

88,000, 89?

89 is bid.

90,000. At 90. 91?

Shakes his head. 91 at the back there.

91, 92?

91, 92.

At 92, 93?

£92,000 here against you there.

At 92,000, for the first time.

For the second time, third chance, any higher bid?

Sold at 92,000, thank you.

The successful bidder was Bob and 23-year-old daughter Harriet

who for £92,000 paid just £5,000 over the guide price.

We met them last year on their first property development

when they renovated a two-bedroom terrace

in the nearby village of Heanor.

Harriet was so pleased with how it turned out,

that she quite fancied moving into it herself.

I met them back at this property to catch up.

Bob, Harriet, great to see you again!

Nice to see you again, Martin.

-Yeah, obviously we didn't put you off last time.

-Not quite. Almost.

-Or the experience. How did it all go?

-It went really well, actually.

Really pleased with the outcome, aren't we?

Yeah, and I'm living in that one now, as well.

You are. Onto project number two, is it?

-We've been looking since we finished the first one.

-Right.

Took a while to find something suitable.

Eventually, we took the courage to go to the auction again, didn't we?

-Yeah.

-What was it that appealed to you, Bob?

There aren't many three-bed detached available in this area

for a reasonable price.

And there were several properties we were looking at

at the auction, but this one really was the one

that I thought would be the best for us.

Harriet will definitely not be moving into this one.

This is strictly business.

So what did she learn from the last one?

Well, obviously, I was doing a lot of painting, which...

I've never painted a wall before, to be honest.

So I think I'll be a lot better at it

-and quicker this time, probably....

-Right.

-..than I was last time.

Now that I know what I'm doing.

So, what are the plans for this one?

What do you think, Harry? Go first.

We're thinking of perhaps making that area into a study-utility room.

-OK.

-Yeah, there are three doors to the house,

which is a bit over the top.

The side door opens up into a sort of a strange entry lobby.

To the side of that is the old kitchen, which is now the utility.

We might be able to make that into one room.

Right, knock a wall down then.

Knock a wall down. Put another wall up outside.

Use it as inside space. Not sure yet, it depends on what's holding what up.

And the sliding doors out into the kitchen area, you know...

It's not ideal to have your kitchen out there

in what looks like half a conservatory. It isn't.

I don't think we'll be able to get the kitchen inside anywhere,

-so I think it'll stay.

-It'll stay as it is.

And then upstairs?

Upstairs, you've got two big double bedrooms, one tiny single room

and a bathroom.

-Nothing you could do apart from...make them good.

-Just, yeah...

-All in all, the house isn't in bad nick, is it?

-No, it's quite good.

Bob and Harriet plan to leave this as a three-bedroomed house.

And since it's in such reasonable condition,

they reckon a budget of £6,000 will be enough

to renew the kitchen and bathroom.

Last time, Harriet was a business partner, but this time she's staff.

-No, I'm going to have to pay her this time.

-Oh, are you?

-Yeah.

-Have you negotiated a rate yet?

-Not yet, no.

Is now the time to talk about it, maybe?

When I can be an independent arbitrator?

I think it'll be a zero-hours contract.

Oh, really? They are very, very...

Yes, they're a bit contentious at the moment.

# Walked all day till my feet were tired

# I was low I just couldn't get hired

# I got a job

# Sha-na-na-na, sha-na-na-na-na

# I got a job. #

Good work, Bob, make the kids earn their keep.

Bob and Harriet have two timescales for this project.

Just four weeks, if they decide to rent the property out.

Or, if they decide to sell it,

four to five months, which I think is a little more realistic.

So, one project down, one to go. Will they be carrying on?

If it works out, possibly another one again.

Depending what we do with this one, obviously.

-Does that fit in with your...?

-Yes, I think we'll keep doing them.

As long as there's money around, we'll do another one.

Money runs out, then we'll retire.

So, father and daughter, Bob and Harriet,

embarking on their second property development project together.

This time, with Harriet's honed painting skills coming into play.

How will they get on? You can find out later in the show.

In Glasgow, a first-time developer does her homework.

-You read the legal pack.

-Read it? I was like Miss Marple.

-Good girl!

In Derbyshire, when it comes to this detached house,

Bob gets an A for effort.

It has been seven days a week for the past six months.

It was in the seaside town of Ramsgate in Kent,

just along from the seafront,

that we came across a Georgian one-bedroom flat.

And, though tired and dated, its high ceilings and large front lounge

with bay windows gave this flat a really lovely feel.

It even had the bonus of a small courtyard garden.

But the flat only had a short lease, and the layout wasn't quite right.

It wasn't really making the most of those wonderful sea views,

and the pleasant aspect out front.

But it was bought for 61,000 at auction by friends Mark and Andy

as a holiday home for their two families

and they had grand plans for it.

Cos this room's particularly light, which is what we liked.

But what we thought was, if the kitchen comes forward

and sits behind the wall, we could open that up,

so the kitchen comes straight through into this room.

But the big question is where are you going to put that bathroom?

Well, we've sort of come up with an idea in the back half,

where you've got the small room that's been divided

-and then taken apart.

-Yes.

-We're going to divide that again

and just put a small shower room in there, toilet, bath,

and then have another small room

for the kids to have their games and things in.

So, that leaves the second bedroom and that will go in the kitchen?

-What is now the kitchen.

-Yes.

Andy is a newspaper editor,

while Mark works in civil engineering,

and the plan was that along with their wives, Julie and Sarah,

and their three teenage sons,

this team of seven was to do the majority

of the renovation work themselves -

tackling the tasks mainly at weekends

and to use Mark's trade contacts for specialist areas,

such as plumbing and electrics.

They were hoping that a budget of £9,000

and a rough timescale of three to six months

would see their seaside retreat ready to be used

for rest and relaxation.

And now, just under six months later, we're back.

And the paintbrushes have been out -

the exterior of the flat is now a crisp white,

and the front doors and railings

have been given a fresh lick of paint that van Gogh himself,

oh, he would have been so proud of!

And inside, what a transformation!

This was a living room, it stayed the same,

what was the original bathroom is now a small, sort of, kitchen.

The original kitchen is now the decent-sized second bedroom.

And they've maximised the space by furnishing with bunk beds. Ideal!

The middle room, we've divided into two, to make a small sort of study,

come occasional bedroom, plus a bathroom or shower room.

That's a much better use of that room

that was described as the dressing room at the auction.

All the bedrooms have bunks to allow for flexibility

for both families and the back bedroom has access

to the pretty back courtyard.

We've changed pretty much everything.

But we certainly had to do all of the electrics,

some plumbing we've had to do.

And then an awful lot of doing up and decorating

that we've mainly done ourselves.

Clearly, with areas such as the electrics and the plumbing,

the old had to go.

But that wasn't the case with everything.

A couple of features we found - the wooden panelling in the front room,

which was hidden by hardboard, revealed.

We took the gas fire off the wall,

and revealed the opening, put a sort of period fireplace

surrounding it and a basket.

We tried to match in as best we can with what we've done of other stuff.

I think the character features really add so much to this flat.

As does the way it's been beautifully furnished.

Decorating, obviously, we've taken on and done ourselves,

but in fairness our wives have got very much involved in decisions

about what type of furnishings and curtains and that sort of thing.

-We stayed out of that, didn't we?

-Yeah, we're not guilty of that.

-No.

Well, I think they've done a great job

and given the flat a lovely seaside feel.

But if their wives, Sarah and Julie, were key to the interior design,

how involved were their three teenage sons?

They've all helped out, as well, where they can.

So it has been a real family sort of endeavour, hasn't it?

-Everybody's had a go.

-Yeah, all been down here.

-Boys have been painting.

-Yeah, so it's been good.

So, between the seven of them, I think they've done a magnificent job

transforming this flat into a perfect seaside pad.

But from an investment point of view,

there was one element which held this flat back

and that was the short 59-year lease it came with.

So have they sorted that out now?

We haven't extended it at the moment.

-I don't think it would pay us to do that at the moment.

-No.

It is something that we might consider.

Because we're using it, and we don't...

You know, not interested in selling it on or renting it or anything,

the lease doesn't really matter to us too much.

Extending the lease will cost them money,

but I think overall it would be money well spent.

Particularly because they've now got such a fabulous flat.

But how much have they spent so far to get it bang up-to-date?

-We think about 6,6 at the moment is what we've done.

-Yeah.

Which has come in quite well.

Wow, 6,600 is a slight underspend on their budget.

That's good news. And with the £61,000 purchase price,

without taxes and fees,

their total spend would be just under 68,000.

So has this been a good investment?

What do two local estate agents think?

I think it's a really nice flat. Being on the ground floor

is going to make it suitable for lot of particular buyers.

It's close to the sea and it's got a nice sea theme.

I think the standard of finish is excellent.

There's lots of little lovely touches in here

which make it very, very attractive.

That's encouraging.

But having invested nearly £68,000 in the flat,

what is it currently worth, bearing in mind that short lease?

With the shorter lease,

I'd value this property in the region of £115,000.

I think this property would achieve £95,000.

Because it would be available only to cash buyers.

But, even so, that's a potential pre-tax profit

of between 27 and 47,000.

What do Andy and Mark make of that?

I mean, it doesn't really matter to us,

because, as I say, it's not what it's for. But that said I think that...

-Pleasing to know, isn't it? Yeah.

-Yeah, it's good.

The agents thought that if the lease was extended,

then the flat could increase in value by up to 25,000,

certainly something worth pursuing.

They also thought rental figures

in the region of £300-£350 per calendar month could be possible.

Which would generate a rental yield above 5%.

So, as an investment, that would have been a very good outcome.

But, as they've said, that's not what it's for.

Pleased with the way it's turned out.

I think that we've done a reasonable job

between the two of us and all our helpers and everything,

and, as we said before we started it, it's been fun.

You know, really enjoyed it.

The area around the River Clyde in Glasgow has,

like many UK waterfronts, seen a bit of regeneration.

I'm going south of the river to an area called Govanhill

where relatively low prices have been attracting

lots of property investors.

Glasgow's urban train system will have you there from the city centre

in under 10 minutes.

And it's just round the corner from Queen's Park.

I'm liking it already.

We are really close to a range of good local shops,

bars and restaurants here, and, with all that on your doorstep,

consider this - a solid, period property in an area which is

becoming increasingly popular amongst developers.

Sound like a good investment?

Well, I'm here to see a one-bedroom flat

in this traditional Glaswegian tenement

with a guide price of £30,000 plus.

Now that has got to be worth a look.

The building work over the road is a good sign,

but sadly they don't build these handsome sandstone blocks

like this any more.

The controlled entrance, or close, to these flats

sometimes have lovely tiles, although this is quite a plain one.

There's a communal outside court, too, which is a real bonus.

But for now it's up to the second floor.

How fantastic.

Now, I know this is typical of a tenemented building,

because all the rooms go off the central hallway, but I love it.

I would never tire of a property like this. Wow.

Wow, so, you've got the bathroom there,

you can see it needs a bit of TLC, it needs work doing.

We've got the kitchen through there.

A bedroom, I suppose.

And through here an incredible space. Really big.

What is it? A lounge, a living room?

I suppose you could do what you want with the rooms, swap them around.

Panelling at the back, big old windows.

Now, this is quite interesting.

It's just a cupboard. But what I've seen before, in these buildings,

people actually sort of put the kitchen in here.

You knock through and just create one large, open kitchen.

I'm just wondering whether or not you could do this.

Let's investigate the kitchen,

and see whether that would be worth turning that into a bedroom?

If you get my drift.

This room is certainly big enough

to make an open-plan kitchen/living area.

But I've got a feeling space is not an issue here.

As I suspected, the kitchen is massive.

Wow, I would certainly love to have a kitchen this size in my house.

It really is a luxury.

But if you're buying this property as a buy-to-let,

the way to go would be to have two bedrooms.

You could easily convert this into a bedroom by putting a wall up here

and using this space and the cupboard beyond as a kitchen.

What I love about this property is there's so many different options.

It's fantastic.

Traditionally, two-bed flats are more appealing in a rental market,

but an open-plan kitchen/living area can be equally as attractive.

Or, of course, leave it as it is.

I can't see any major problems here,

it obviously needs to be stripped right back

and started all over again.

But with the room dimensions, original features

and bags of potential,

you'll certainly be starting off on the right foot.

And at a guide price of an

unbelievably brilliant £30,000, we asked a local estate agent along

to cast his critical eye over this Glasgow tenement flat.

This flat is very typical of what you would expect

from a one bedroom with what we call a dining-sized kitchen.

It gives a lot of options, because of the room sizes

and conversion into an internal kitchen, providing two bedrooms.

The area is more susceptible to people needing a two-bedroom flat,

because of the demographics

and the people that now live in the Govanhill area.

So having more bedrooms would probably be more attractive,

especially in the rental market.

As I thought.

But if it was left as a one-bedder, what rent could it command?

If the property was done to a good standard,

again, with new kitchen and bathroom, the rental value for it

as it currently stands would be £400 per calendar month.

And if it was converted into a two-bed?

If the property was converted into a two-bedroom,

the rental valuation would be £500 per calendar month.

What about its sale value as a one-bed?

If the property was done up to a good standard with new kitchen,

new bathroom and internal decoration,

I would expect it to achieve between £65,000 and £70,000.

And a two-bed?

If the property was converted into a two-bedroom property,

taking away the internal walls, making an internal kitchen,

the property would achieve between £70,000 and £75,000.

This flat just screams potential.

Yes, it needs lots of work and with lots of vision,

I think this property could be turned back into something special.

Let's see who thought the same when it went to auction.

£30,000 plus seems a fair place to start.

At £30,000, can't sell it without a bid.

£25,000, then, let's get it started.

25 here. At £25,000 on my left.

In one, nice and easy.

At 25, bid now.

26, 27, madam.

27, I've got, 28.

29.

30, shake of the head. With you at £29,000.

At £29,000, first time.

At £29,000 second time.

I'll take it, 29 and a half, 30.

30, I've got. And a half.

Shake of the head. With you at 30, madam.

Here to sell, it's in the room.

At £30,000, first time.

Second time.

Third and final time at £30,000, all done, all out.

Selling away. Well done, madam.

Hidden from view was the successful bidder, Lorraine,

who for bang on the guide price of £30,000,

bought this with her husband, David.

This is their first renovation job.

MUSIC: "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk

The couple currently live in London,

where Lorraine used to work in advertising,

but now works alongside David in his manufacturing company.

Lorraine has plenty of family living here in Glasgow

and felt this was the ideal place to get started.

While David had to rush off to another appointment,

Lorraine filled me in with their plans.

-Lorraine, congratulations.

-Thank you.

Here you are, you've got the flat you wanted.

-What was it like for you on auction day?

-Terrifying.

It was my first time actually bidding properly like a grown-up

at an auction.

I was by myself and I was absolutely petrified.

Did you think you'd win the property on the day?

No, I didn't, and I was...

I watch the programme and that's the only reason we started doing this.

Here we are running our own business and suddenly I just got so obsessed

watching the programme and thinking, "I could do that, I could do that!"

So I came into some money, sold a property in London

and I'll give it a bash.

Are you surprised with what you've paid?

Not so much for the area,

but, generally, with my understanding of property prices,

it's incredible. Yes, it needs a lot of work doing to it,

-but it's still a good buy.

-Are you a property developer now?

-Is this what you've always wanted to do?

-I think so. That's the dream.

I just love the concept of making something look fantastic,

so you buy it like this and then in six months' time

it looks amazing and, hopefully, you make some money on the way.

Yes, the show is my absolute inspiration. It really was.

I just hope I live up to the expectations.

It's always great to meet a fan of the show,

especially when we've managed to inspire them.

So what has Lorraine learned from us? What are her plans?

OK, well, initial thought was,

"This is huge - let's make it a two-bedroom."

Then we decided not to for the simple reason

that it would involve planning permission.

That could take time.

My plan for his property is to renovate it and sell it straight on.

So what sort of budget have you got to spend here?

-I budgeted 15,000, which I thought was quite healthy.

-Yes!

I just didn't want any shocks or surprises

and I had several builders recommended to me,

so I got them all in at different times

and they all put in the cost to me

and it's come in a lot less than I'd planned,

-so I'm even happier at the moment.

-So what's it come in at? Do tell!

-At the moment, we're at about 11.

-Fantastic!

That's a new kitchen, new bathroom...

New kitchen, new bathroom, new flooring in the bathroom,

cos there's a lovely hole in floor there.

Carpets throughout, linoleum in the kitchen and in the bathroom.

What about things like your beautiful cornicing there?

-Are you going to try and restore that?

-It's all being restored.

-Fab!

-Yeah, the guy who's doing it,

he's basically stripping all the walls, relining them,

making good where they need to be,

and then redoing all the cornicing and the ceiling rose,

just to get them back to how they would have looked

when they were originally put in.

Lorraine has obviously done her homework.

She has a really healthy budget and a nice, simple renovation plan,

plus she has given herself a four-month timescale.

Although this is her first project, Lorraine seems to be cruising.

So, Lorraine, what are you worried about with this purchase?

I guess, like with anything, it's the budget.

Having watched the show and listening to people saying,

"Yeah, the budget was this and we ended up spending that",

you learn a lot.

You learn a lot from the good stuff and also from their mistakes.

Obviously, knowing the area helps,

but the research helped as well, just talking to family and friends up here

before I made that decision, because although it's not a lot of money,

it's a huge amount of money just to play around with, to think,

"Oh, I'll just spend that and buy a flat."

You need to do your homework and I absolutely did.

The thing that kept going through my head was this legal pack thing,

and, again, it's what you and Martin talk about all the time.

-I was a wreck.

-You read the legal pack?

Read it? I was like Miss Marple!

OK, give me five, I love that. That's what we like.

# Hallelujah

# Hallelujah... #

Yes, it's finally happened after ten years on this programme -

somebody's finally read the legal pack.

Seriously, though,

Lorraine's attention to detail could mean

there won't be any nasty hidden bills lurking around the corner

for her and her husband.

Look, I'm so excited to see the flat when it's finished.

It's been lovely to meet you and I absolutely love this property.

-Thank you so much.

-It's got a great feel about it. Congratulations.

Thanks very much, Lucy.

Lorraine and her husband, David, are venturing into property developing

for the first time using the funds from the sale of her London flat.

Lorraine hopes this will realise her lifelong dream

of becoming a developer,

but will it be all it's cracked up to be?

You can find out how they both get on later in the programme.

Well, we wait patiently for our purchasers

to do work on their properties

and sometimes they make an absolutely wonderful job of it.

And sometimes, for various reasons, they don't do anything at all.

Let's find out what happened in this instance.

We return now to Codnor near Ripley in the county of Derbyshire.

Earlier, I met father and daughter team Bob and Harriet,

who, for £92,000,

bought this three-bed detached house which had too many entrances

and a strange conservatory-cum-kitchen

complete with sliding doors.

It's their second renovation property together,

the only difference being that this time Bob is the sole investor

and Harriet is on the payroll.

They were undecided as to whether

they would rent or sell the property,

but had given themselves a relatively tight budget

of just £6,000.

-And you've got slave labour here.

-Slave labour.

No, I'll have to pay her this time.

-Oh, are you?

-Yeah.

She doesn't have shares in the property this time,

so she's going to be hired help.

Have you negotiated a rate yet?

Not yet, no.

Is now the time to talk about it, maybe,

and I can be the independent arbitrator?

I think it'll be a zero-hours contract.

Really?! They are very, very...

Yes, they're a bit contentious at the moment.

We're not going to have too many of them, no.

We returned six months later

to see how their second project together has gone.

By replacing the dated archway with French doors,

two living spaces have been created.

The second opens into a modernised kitchen

and it feels less conservatory-like

as they've bricked up some of the windows,

making it feel a bit more permanent.

They've raised the floor by three inches and, look,

no sliding door either.

They've also reconfigured the side porch

and old kitchen by pushing the door back in order to create

a useful downstairs cloakroom under the stairs

and knocking through into the old kitchen,

creating a modern office space.

The transformation continues upstairs, with new carpets

and fresh paint turning these three bedrooms

from dated and dowdy to chic and modern.

Plus, a slick new bathroom suite has been added.

But in my opinion,

it's the change to the kitchen conservatory that really impresses.

We didn't think most people would appreciate having to go through

the patio door to make a cup of tea and then back again,

to get the sugar and then back again to get the biscuits,

and stepping down three inches

and it was a bit like a conservatory-cum-kitchen.

It didn't really work for us.

We've embraced the kitchen into the house now.

The bad garden is tidier and more appealing,

complementing the extensive work done inside.

Something tells me they've gone beyond that £6,000 budget,

so what made them decide to make such big changes?

The main issue with this house

was whether to convert it for rental or resale.

The valuations we had from the agents

when they came round were quite conclusive, really.

It seemed obvious that we should renovate it for resale

and so that meant doing a lot more alterations

than we thought we should do in the first place.

We said we were going to keep the fireplace and the arch

and they've all gone and we've spent about £9,000 altogether.

Considering the work done here,

I don't think an overspend of £3,000 is too bad,

but then Bob did have handy Harriet.

I stripped all the wallpaper from downstairs and upstairs

and then painted it in magnolia

and the ceilings as well.

And did gloss painting on the doors as well.

-You've acquired some techniques, haven't you?

-Yes.

With both Harriet and Bob having full-time jobs,

how did they manage their time?

On my chiropody, I've cut down to about three days a week,

which has left four days to work here and it has been seven days a week

for the past six months, so I'm feeling it a little bit now.

I've had a couple of days off a week as well,

so I've come down on most of my days off to come and help where I can.

We've taken almost six months because we've done more than we thought

and, to be honest, it's seemed a lot longer than that.

There were various jobs that needed doing that we hadn't perhaps foreseen

and changes to the plan that we'd made,

so altogether, six months isn't too bad, I think.

In total, Bob has spent £101,000 on this property,

which is pretty good, considering the last-minute change of plan.

So have six months and £101,000 been spent well?

We asked two local estate agents along to take a look.

It's clean, tidy, all neutral decor, new carpets.

-It looks ready to move in to.

-The layout is great for a modern family.

It's got an open-plan dining kitchen,

double doors through into the living area, downstairs cloakroom

and two double-sized bedrooms to the first floor.

Rental value,

I would expect to achieve up to £525 per calendar month.

If the property was to be let out,

I would suggest £495 per calendar month and it would let very quickly.

They're way out.

Way out.

If you look on the internet sites, at least 600 in this area.

You can't get a three-bed detached for less than 600, renting out.

So Bob is unimpressed by that evaluation,

but it would still give a healthy yield of 6%.

Hopefully, the resale evaluation will be more to his liking.

I would suggest a realistic price

to ask for this property now would be £130,000.

I would suggest a sale value of approximately £130,000.

-They're round about in the ball park, aren't they?

-What we expected.

Round about 130-odd. Yep, that's fine.

Although those evaluations would give Bob a profit of £29,000,

minus the usual fees and taxes,

he has taken further advice since we visited

and has put the house on the market at 155,000.

All in all, this renovation is a real success,

so are they up for property number three?

Yes, we'll do it again, I think.

It's just a question of finding the right property

and selling this one on first.

-Yep?

-Yep.

Back up now to Govanhill in Glasgow,

where earlier we met Lorraine and David

who for bang on the bargain guide price of £30,000

had bought this classic one-bed Glasgow tenement flat.

This was their first venture into property renovation

and they had a simple "renovate and sell on" plan

with Lorraine being the project manager.

Lorraine, what are you worried about with this purchase?

I guess, like with anything, it's the budget.

Having watched the show and listening to people saying,

"Yeah, the budget was this and then we ended up spending that",

you learn a lot.

You learn a lot from the good stuff and also from their mistakes,

so you need to do your homework and I absolutely did.

Lorraine was clearly full of enthusiasm for her first project.

We've returned four months later to see the results.

The new kitchen is modern and practical.

By moving the sink and creating a window seat in its place,

Lorraine has created a clean and spacious feel here.

The living room has been stripped right back

and repainted with original features restored, just as Lorraine promised.

A fresh carpet leads out into the bright, clean hallway,

where the superior finish continues.

The bedroom that once felt cramped and dingy

has now been opened up and cleaned up.

Across the hallway, the tired old bathroom with a hole in the floor

and a smell of damp is now, well, see for yourself.

By replacing the damaged floorboards

and laying attractive floor tiles found at a reclamation yard,

as well as painting and re-plastering,

Lorraine and David have achieved a good finish here.

They decided against turning it into a two-bed and to be honest,

the cost of doing that may have eaten into

any profit they were likely to make.

I am really impressed by what's been done to this property,

and particularly so by the re-jigging in the kitchen.

Traditionally in tenements, the sink would be here

and it would block part of the window off

and it just seemed a shame to lose that feature,

so my very clever husband, David,

suggested that we put in a window seat

and my builder, Steven, actually built it, designed this

and put it in, and I decorated it with scatter cushions.

Not only have Lorraine and David transformed their flat,

but by talking to the factor,

the Scottish term for communal maintenance company,

they got the stairs and the close painted and improved.

And they've enhanced the kerb appeal by tidying up

the area in front of the flats.

The communal areas at the back are the council's responsibility

and are due for renovation in the near future.

I cannot fault their attention to detail,

so break it down for me, Lorraine.

Let's start from the beginning.

We had to rip out the kitchen, lift up some of the floorboards,

re-skin the walls and in the bathroom, pretty much the same.

There was a damp patch on the ceiling which needed to be sealed

and made good, which we had done,

and then put down some lovely slate tiles

which I bought from a reclamation yard,

which I got a really good deal on, which I was very happy about!

I think those are my two favourite rooms,

because they've got the biggest transformation.

They look really nice. I wouldn't mind living there.

All the doors in the flat were all the original Victorian doors,

but they'd been hidden with plasterboard

and all kinds of stuff, so we had those ripped off

and then the doors were taken away and dipped and stripped

back to their original, as they would have been in the early 1900s.

I love the character.

It's a one-bedroom flat but it's just got oodles of character

with the ceiling roses and the cornicing and the original doors.

MUSIC: "Happy" by Pharrell Williams

Lorraine has project managed from her home in London,

visiting frequently over the four-month renovation period.

So how has she found her first project?

I think project managing generally,

I come from the background of advertising,

I worked in ad agencies most of my career, so that was my job,

so I'm used to juggling lots of balls in the air.

You just make it work. It's like any job. You just have to make it work.

Lorraine's attention to detail and her research

meant that she'd brought this project in at £14,000,

1,000 under her original budget.

Now, I loved this flat before,

but I think Lorraine has added value in all the right places.

How does she feel, now that it's all over?

It feels like a home, which it didn't when I bought it at auction.

It was a bomb site and walking into the kitchen and the bathroom,

it just feels really cosy and I think,

although you can't take it too personally,

I'm not buying this and doing this for me to live in,

I think you can still have a sense of pride about what you're doing

and still have that, "Gosh, I wouldn't mind living here

"if I was not married, ten years younger and based in Scotland",

but I'm really pleased.

For me, that's been the highlights of this whole project,

just walking in and seeing, "Wow."

After a total spend of £44,000,

I am so eager to see if Lorraine's homework's paid off.

We've invited two local property experts to take a look.

A huge difference. They've done a great job.

Obviously, new kitchen and bathroom,

all done to a very, very high standard

with new carpets throughout the property.

There's a feeling of space and light,

so that's good and it will attract first-time buyers

and landlords as well.

This property should achieve around £450 per calendar month.

I think it would achieve a rental value of £400 per calendar month.

Well, that's pretty good.

I hadn't looked at renting,

but it's good to know, in case it doesn't sell.

Taking the higher valuation of £450,

that would bring a massive yield of around 12%.

Will the sought-after sale price be as impressive?

I would value this property at £65,000.

A property like this should achieve around £70,000 in the current market.

Little on the low side.

A couple of agents came round last week and they were at the 70-mark,

probably the home report would be 73, 75, but we'd look to get around 70.

Fingers crossed, it'll be more my side than theirs.

Lorraine may not be all that impressed

with the low evaluation of 65,000,

but that would still give her a possible profit of £21,000 -

not to be sniffed at on your first property project.

I'm really pleased with how it's turned out.

The flat looks great and there was no major headaches,

so if they were all like this, this would be my full-time career,

but for now, back to London.

Join us next time when we'll have more riveting stories

from Britain's auction rooms.

Yes, you wouldn't want to miss it -

it could be your passport to a small fortune.

-See you then!

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.