Episode 42 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to the programme.

With the property market changing all the time,

this could be a really interesting time to invest in property.

But how do you make sure that you don't get priced out of the market?

Well, one way you can buy at a really good price is to head

to your local auction.

Well, buying under the hammer can be a really great way

to get into the property market.

Yes, lots of us are heading to auction houses all around the UK.

So let's see what properties were bagged on today's show.

First up, in Guildford, Surrey, I can't believe my ears!

What? Six weeks and 15 grand?

I know, I know.

And in the town of Ripley in Derbyshire, I'm afraid

I'm all fingers and thumbs.

Oh!

Right.

Whilst in Walderslade, Chatham,

a property is really getting up my nose.

And the smell...

..worse, if anything.

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.

All done.

Guildford, the county town of Surrey, is a historic area that

I know well, but it's not often that I'm here with

Homes Under The Hammer, so for me, this is a real treat.

It has a lovely cobbled high street and is set along the River Wey.

It also has great train links,

which take you into central London in only 36 minutes.

Well, the good news is this street is only a five-minute walk

from the station, which makes it a popular place to be.

So come on, what can you buy at auction for a guide

price of £125,000, then? Well, a one-bedroom flat, that's what.

I want to tell you a one-bed flat around here sells for

up to £230,000 on this street.

It could be good value for money,

or might we find a lot of work to do inside?

Not so good. Let's go in.

The adjacent flat looks like it's already had some work done,

but I've got a feeling the one I'm here to see will be

a little different, judging by its rather overgrown appearance.

Interesting.

So this room is in complete contrast with the hallway,

which seems freshly painted and nice and modern and contemporary.

And as you can see in here, there's a lot of work that needs to be done.

You've got plaster hanging off the ceiling,

it's just all a bit grubby, you need new carpets.

But it's quite a grand room.

It's a great size, you've got little picture rails.

You can imagine what a room like this would be like once renovated -

you could put some nice doors on.

But through here is, I'm presuming, the lounge.

So that means that room there is the bedroom

and I don't like the idea of walking straight into your bedroom area,

so I think I would create a little corridor, or...

You can see this was the original doorway.

Do you want to reinstate that?

I'm not sure. Maybe it was covered up

because a sofa would have run along the back wall, here.

So I'm still thinking a little corridor probably is the way to go.

You've got the kitchen there. Bathroom out the back.

Hold on a minute!

That's a rather large window. Look!

I'm not quite sure how you're supposed to get out

to this outside space. I wonder what this monstrosity is?

I'm going to find out, hang fire.

So unless you're going to jump out of the window,

there is no direct access outside.

Very bizarre.

Bear with me, I am nearly there.

So I've gone back through the front door,

along the internal hallway to my little bit of outside space

and it really is a little bit of outside space.

It's a backyard and it consists of this and...erm, well, that.

So not much at all,

definitely get this old monstrosity down, it's in the way

and it just looks awful and you would certainly need to remember

to put a door here so you get direct access from the inside out.

And then, well, you've got somewhere to hang your washing,

park your bike and have a glass of wine.

But as well as sorting out that outside space,

there is plenty of work to be done on the inside.

OK, it needs a new boiler, central heating,

a new kitchen and I would say most definitely a rewire.

I've also noticed some worrying signs of damp,

which should set alarm bells ringing.

You'll need to get that checked out by a specialist.

And back to those layout issues.

Well, it's never ideal to walk through your kitchen

into the bathroom, but in this case, I don't think there's much you could

do to change that and it is expected in a Victorian property like this.

There's just one more thing and that's out the front.

One of the first things I would do to this flat would be

to head out here and give this hedge a haircut.

Look, it's far too overgrown

and it's blocking the sunlight from flooding into here.

While you're out here, as well, these windows need replacing

and I would recommend trimming back this ivy, as well.

So, a trip to a housing beautician for a bit of a facelift.

And on that note, it's time to cast some light

on the property market in this area.

And who better to enlighten us than a local property agent?

It definitely needs quite a bit of work.

The property suffers from damping issues

as well as the obvious replastering.

Decorating, it's going to need new kitchen things,

moving around quite a lot.

Probably new windows, as well,

so there's going to be quite a bit of money spent here.

This flat is in prime rental and first-time buyer territory.

So how much could it be worth?

I think that once this property has been renovated,

you could achieve in the region of £220,000-£230,000.

And what about rental?

I think once the flat's renovated, you could achieve in rental value

approximately £895 per calendar month.

You can improve the condition of a property,

but you can't change where it is.

Location is key and in this case, well,

it's a big fat tick in the box.

Yes, the flat does need a lot of work,

but that can all be done in good time.

So who was sold by this street?

Well, we went to the auction. Let's find out.

It's a ground-floor flat requiring upgrading.

Anyone want to start me off? 150, we're not going to go below 150.

It's got to be worth that, all day long.

150 on the phone, 150,000 I've got.

155 at the back and 160...

160.

161, 162...

165, OK, he knows value.

166 in the back?

Looking for 166. 166, new spot on my left.

167, 168, 169, 170, madam?

171...

171, new spot.

172, 173, 174,

175, 176, 177...

Nope. 176,000 on my left.

177 anywhere else?

If not, 176,000 for the first,

176,000 for the second,

176,000 for the third and final time...

We all done?

Sold 176, well bought, madam.

And the successful bidder was local web designer

and mum-of-two Catherine, who lives in nearby Farnham.

I joined her back at the flat to find out why she bought this place.

# Big new, big new beginning... #

-Congratulations, Catherine.

-Thank you.

Is this a project for yourself to, sort of, get your teeth into?

Yes, I'm hoping it will be the start of many more,

but I feel confident I can manage this

and, yeah, see where it takes me.

So have you done any developing at all, before?

Refurbed our family home and we have done a new build, as well,

so we, sort of, learnt on the job and know the pitfalls and, yeah,

feel confident taking this on.

Is this to flip and put straight back onto the open market,

or are you just doing it because you love it

and you've got the property bug, now?

I want to rent it,

I don't want to sell it on just yet

and really just see where it takes us. And also,

I do, sort of, enjoy the remodelling and refreshing

and starting with something that looks like this and at the end

having something that looks much nicer

and you feel as though you've created something.

I know from my own experience that property developing

is a good career to fit around raising your kids.

But Catherine is running a web design business as well,

so is property developing really going to fit in for her?

This fits in perfectly because you are, you know,

in charge of your own timetable and of your diary,

so I can still do the school runs and still be there for them after school.

So what are you going to do with this place?

Obviously, it's in quite a poor state so just get everything out.

At the moment, the front door comes in to the bedroom,

so we need to put a little hallway in.

The bathroom needs doing, kitchen needs doing,

perhaps a door to the outdoor area.

So, where the window is, which is sort of collapsing,

that needs to come out anyway,

so I think that's the perfect place to actually replace that window

with a door and if you remove the lean-to,

it will take you straight out.

You know, you can put your bike out there, it's safe...

And your washing...

There is room for a barbecue if you really wanted one,

or just to let some air in on a summer's day.

# I beg your pardon

# I never promised you a rose garden... #

So the plan for the garden is set,

but inside, not everything is smelling of roses.

Now, I have spotted some damp in that corner over there.

Is that rising damp coming from underneath

or is it just condensation, what do you think?

We suspect it's just from the lean-to and where it's leaked.

There's some leaks coming from outside,

so, fingers crossed, that's the extent of it.

How much money are you going to spend here?

Erm, I'm hoping to have it all done under 15.

-Under 15,000?

-Yeah.

So you need to put in central heating,

-you need to think about a boiler, a kitchen, a bathroom...

-Mm-hmm.

The list is quite a long list.

So, come on, what's your timescale?

I'm hoping...

Erm...

-Six weeks.

-What?

-Six weeks and 15 grand?

-I know, I know,

but I think it will be more like eight to ten.

eight to ten weeks and maybe more like £20,000-£25,000, do you think?

-No, I'm confident, I'm confident on the 15.

-Catherine, good luck.

I cannot wait to see what it's like when it's done,

I'm sure it's going to be fabulous, well done.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

I think it's great that Catherine now has the time

to make a start on her new property career.

However, her budget is small and her timescale is tight,

so it all needs to go to plan if she's going to stick to them.

Let's hope she doesn't unearth anything too costly

once she gets started.

You can join me later in the programme to see how she gets on.

To Derbyshire now and one of its many picturesque towns.

Ripley grew from a small village during the Industrial Revolution

to a booming town, which really made its mark on the UK.

Rich in minerals such as iron and coal,

local companies grew from this and led them to making landmark

monuments such as the famous roof of St Pancras.

Not bad for a little town that started off

as just a little farming village.

Well, the great thing about auctions is you never know quite

what you're going to find and all sorts of things go under the hammer.

So what was on offer for a guide price of £12,000-plus

on this particular occasion?

Well, it's certainly one of those lots with potential.

It's a detached brick-built building,

9.5 by 4.5 metres with a useful adjacent covered area

and courtyard, suitable for a wide variety of potential uses.

Fantastic.

# I'm fantastic... #

The site lies down this lane, nestled behind

a former public house, currently being converted into flats,

and in front of land that was previously an industrial site.

A strange location, really, with a residential in front of it

and commercial behind it.

But what's inside it?

# I'm fantastic... #

Well, it soon becomes apparent that what you've got here

is actually the outbuildings from what was a pub and obviously

in recent times, it was used to store all the paraphernalia

from the pub - we've got old pool tables,

there's a football table there, all sorts of bits and pieces.

That's the main brick-built unit there

and then this is the little courtyard and covered area.

You've got quite a lot of space, though.

I mean, I have seen houses built on much less space than this.

But at the moment...

These opportunities are fairly limited.

# I don't want to play those guessing games

-# Please don't make me play those...

-Guessing games

# Oh... #

The time for playing games here is now over,

but the name of the game is to work out what it could be used for

and what you would get planning permission for.

Oh!

Right. Well, clearly,

something that you're going to have to invest in is a good few skips

to get rid of this stuff, or maybe stick it on an auction website.

People buy all sorts of stuff, don't they?

But more seriously,

this building itself has only got one layer of bricks,

so if you're looking at actually using this

as a foundations or the, sort of, shell for a building,

you're going to have to invest in some more insulation

and also a damp-proofing of some sort,

because single-skin brick ain't going to work.

Good news, though, it looks like you've got electricity laid on

and that is always going to be something

which is going to be expensive.

Your services are big part of any...

renovation/construction project.

Oh, dear.

Maybe I was a bit premature in my excitement!

Looks like that is your electricity supply,

probably went to the old pub.

So you're going to have to have electricity laid on,

probably gas as well, although it looks like there is

some kind of drainage, sewage or whatever close by.

So good news and bad news. It's basically things

you're to going to have to factor into any budget.

Splitting the single supply that went from the old pub to here

isn't as simple as it may sound.

As a separate site, it will need an independent supply,

so new cables directly from the junction box, a new meter

and new account need to be created.

Separate accounts and supply provided for gas and water, too,

and drainage and sewage need to be able to accommodate

potentially higher use than they were designed for.

And you know all of that is going to cost time and money.

So what are your options for this little auction lot, then?

Well, for a start... Important to note,

it doesn't have planning permission and that is, therefore, a risk.

You might not ever get planning permission.

If you were to apply for it, what would you apply for?

Well, I mean, there's definitely enough space here

to build a house, or maybe a little bungalow or a little cottage...

you've got the access road there, so that's good news...

Or you could keep it as it is, rent it out as garages, perhaps?

Erm, somewhere to store stuff?

At the kind of guide price it is, it's one of those ones,

it just could be worth taking a punt on it.

There are so many options for this unassuming scrap of land.

I like its quirkiness,

but what would be the best thing to do with it?

We asked an estate agent along to give us

the benefit of his local expertise.

Is this place worth a punt at £12,000?

This is a mixed residential-commercial area,

so there will always be a business that just needs a little

bit of storage just for that extra little bit of space.

I think in terms of renting the property, if you were

to rent it out to somebody,

you'd probably get in the region of £100 a month.

OK, a straightforward option,

but what if you did want to build a residential property?

You'd look to build a one-bedroom property on here.

The cost of doing that would be roughly in the region of £50,000,

I would have thought, something of that nature.

Whether you converted it or demolished and built new,

I'd expect it to be worth in the region of £90,000-£100,000.

That's a potential profit of £38,000 based on the guide price of £12,000.

And with a possible rental income of £475 per calendar month,

it all adds up quite nicely.

That's if you can get planning permission, otherwise, even just

renting it out as storage still gives you a 10% yield

on the guide price.

Well, it's certainly an interesting auction lot with loads of potential.

Let's see who was bowled over by it at the auction.

It's a lock-up yard, ladies and gentlemen, lot 29.

10 to start me.

10? Who's got 8,000? Put it into the bidding.

He has, thank you.

£8,000 is the opening bid.

£8,500 seated.

8,500, 9,000...

At £9,000, 9,500, at £10,000...

10,500.

At 10,500,

at 11, at 11,500...

12,000.

At 12,500, either of you?

At 12,500... 13,000,

at 13,000... 500 again?

500, 13,500...

14, sir?

£13,500 once,

twice, third time.

Sold at £13,500, thank you.

Hidden in the crowd were Joe and his wife, Angie,

the successful bidders getting the property for £13,500.

However, we caught up with Joe to find out about his plans.

-Joe, good to meet you.

-Yeah, good to meet you, Martin.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

I'm looking to, basically, start a new business

-and I needed some premises.

-Oh, right, what's the business?

I'm going to go into...

I'm calling it garden services, but it's mowing, grass cutting...

So you need somewhere for your equipment and stuff like that?

Somewhere for my equipment to store, yes.

-So you've literally bought it to store your stuff?

-Yes.

All of it? I mean...

No, when I came... When I actually came to look at the viewing of it,

I believed it was one building.

It was only when I got here and looked at it that

I realised that there is a dividing wall between the two.

So the smaller area of the two is going to suit me fine.

Right, and what will you do with the other bit?

Well, the other part of it, I'm hoping to potentially rent it out,

so it could be for storage and distribution

or it could be for what they call a light-industry workshop.

-OK.

-If I could get it for light industrial

and somebody was interested in a little workshop,

I'm thinking that a one-man band, maybe a craftsman,

somebody like that...

An art studio or something like that?

An art studio...

I even actually thought maybe if something like

the railway enthusiasts who've got, you know,

model railway lines and things like that...

Oh, wow.

-That would be fun, wouldn't it?

-Yeah, it would be nice.

-I'd hope to get round about up to £90 per week.

-Right.

And that would then make the return on investment very good.

Smart thinking.

Use of land is categorised in planning regulations

and light industrial work applies to industry

suitable for a residential area,

something not too noisy, dirty, smelly, that sort of thing.

And given the pub is going to be flats, that all seems to make sense.

However, there are more issues about services to think about,

like that electricity supply.

I have looked into it

and I do have somebody coming in next week

to begin to give me a price on that.

The prices can be horrendous

depending on how far they've got to come.

We are hoping that we can use a defunct cable

that runs down the drive.

I hope.

If not, it's a matter of digging round about 23 metres...

Ooh, ouch.

So what's the budget?

Budget is... I've set a £3,000 budget.

OK, that's not including the electrics, or is it?

-That includes the electrics...

-OK.

..and I've also put a contingency of £1,000 to one side.

And of the £3,000, at least £1,500 will go to the external electrics.

I'm allowing £100 for the meter to be installed internally

and round about £500 for the internal electrics.

-Right.

-So they're the big spends.

# Oh, we're gonna rock down to Electric Avenue

# And then we'll take it higher... #

I hope he's right about that budget,

because although the electricity seems like the main expense,

I'm guessing there's going to be quite a bill for skips,

then there's the guttering, the roof tiles, the paint

and the inside. Even though he'll be doing a lot of it himself,

it's tight.

And then there is time, because Joe will be in the hands

of the electricity company and he reckons that could take six weeks.

-Are you excited about what it means, actually?

-Yes, I am.

For some time, over years I've been thinking it'd be nice

to have a bit of storage space or somewhere that's your own.

I wouldn't call it a man cave or anything like that,

but something down that route.

So, yeah, I am excited and I'm looking forward to, I guess,

clearing everything out and seeing the space in its entirety.

Good. Well, congratulations.

Good luck with it and we look forward with interest to seeing

-what you do with it.

-Thanks very much, thank you.

-Nice to meet you.

-And you.

Well, it seems this place is absolutely ideal for Joe

and his new business venture.

Of course, the big issue is getting those electrics in and I'm worried.

That budget...

It's not enough. How will it all turn out?

You can find out later in the show.

Still to come, a substantial property in Walderslade, Chatham

has a rather obvious problem.

There's not supposed to be water pouring in through there.

And in Ripley, Derbyshire, Joe's wife is spoiled.

Cleaning all the initial rubbish out was a full day's job

and I brought the wife down as well for a bit of a holiday.

Well, it looks like holiday weather in Guildford in Surrey.

We return now

to catch up with web designer Catherine, who paid £176,000

for this one-bedroom flat close to the town centre.

A great location, but the property was in a bit of a state.

Well, I think it needs stripping right back.

Obviously it's in quite a poor state, so just get everything out.

This was a first-time auction purchase for Catherine

and she was hoping it would be a launch pad to a new career.

I am hoping it will be the start of many more, but I feel confident

I can manage this and, yeah, see where it takes me.

With a long list of improvements to be made,

her ambitious timescale and budget came as a bit of a surprise to me.

-What? Six weeks and 15 grand?

-I know, I know.

I reckoned 25 grand was nearer the mark,

but has Catherine proved me wrong?

The flat is barely recognisable from what there was here before.

Creating that little corridor at the front has made

all the difference to the feel of the place.

Also, those extra doors will help keep out the winter drafts.

The new windows at the front look really, really smart

and I'm glad to see the hedge has been tamed,

letting daylight flood into this lovely front room.

In the lounge, the escape hatch has been

replaced by a door, allowing direct access to the back.

And the lean-to has been removed.

Actually, this is a really good space now!

At the back of the flat, that odd assortment of units

and cupboards have been stripped out

and replaced by a lovely new kitchen and next to that,

the new bathroom is modern, it's fresh and it's clean.

The flat has been rewired and re-plumbed,

there's a new central heating system, new flooring,

new double glazing and everything has been replastered and decorated.

Were there any challenges along the way?

I think the biggest challenge was the flooring. In certain parts,

particularly in this room, it was very uneven, the joists

we needed to actually strip back and then raise

some of the joists just to get it level

so that it would take the floor.

And we hadn't seen that, we just assumed it had nice floorboards

that would be OK, but it took a bit of work.

And then we had a slight damp patch underneath the window,

it was really to do with the lean-to that was there.

There was water running in, there was a pipe that was leaking,

so we've replaced all of the pipe work.

The lean-to has gone and the problem's gone away,

so it's all dried out.

And now the moment of truth.

Catherine had budgeted for £15,000,

which I thought was a big underestimation.

Come on now, Catherine, spill the beans.

We came in at £15,600..

So, yes. £600 over, I'm pleased with that.

Seriously, only £600 over?

I was expecting £6,000 over!

OK, next time I'm in Guildford, Catherine,

you can buy me a slice of humble pie.

And given we're back just after her six-week timescale,

it looks like she was right on that, too.

The builders that we used were great,

they were absolutely dedicated to the cause.

I think we're a couple of weeks ahead of ourselves

and just because they were here every day, wanting to get it finished.

I can't fault them, they were brilliant.

OK, OK. Make that two slices of humble pie.

Catherine has developed this flat to put on the rental market,

so we asked two local property experts to come

and assess the quality of work and to give us

some idea of its worth, given the current market conditions.

First impressions are very good, actually.

They've done it very well, nice, neat, tidy flat.

They've paid attention to a few of the small details,

particularly, I think, the sash windows.

That's unusual because they are very expensive to put in, but buyers

look for small things like that and that, effectively,

will increase the price.

Well, I think it's been refurbished to a very high standard,

It's beautifully presented,

a particularly great location...

The flooring and the general decor is very saleable and very rentable.

It's an upbeat verdict from the experts.

So if the property was to be put up for sale,

how much would it be worth?

If everything was to swing in your favour, 210. £210,000.

£220,000-£230,000.

Catherine has spent £191,600 on the purchase

and the refurbishment of this flat.

A sale at the upper evaluation would bring in

a pre-tax profit of £38,400, minus the usual fees.

But her eye is set firmly on the rental market.

The rentable value I would expect to achieve

on this property would be £875 per calendar month.

The rental value, I would put at around £1,000 per calendar month.

Somewhere in between would be good. Obviously £1,000 would be lovely.

Yeah, no, that's very pleasing.

A rental of £1,000 per calendar month would represent

a return on her investment of just over 6%.

I'd say this has been a successful venture

into the world of property development.

Will she be visiting the property auctions again any time soon?

I'd definitely do it again.

The biggest challenge is just finding the next project.

I'm in Walderslade, a suburb of Chatham in Kent.

The name actually means "wood in a valley",

so it's not surprising to learn that the whole area was once wooded,

until the housing development of the 1900s came along.

But it is a really popular place to live, with good commuter links,

rail links, shops, etc. And do you know what?

Still looks pretty leafy, to me.

Lying just ten minutes' drive away from Chatham

and with easy access on to the surrounding motorway network,

it's a popular, family-orientated place.

So it'll probably come as no surprise

that prices are a little more expensive here

than in neighbouring Chatham, due to its pretty, rural setting.

So, we like the area and when the property that was up for auction

was described as "substantial",

with a guide price of just £200,000-£210,000,

you've got to think, "Whoa! This could be brilliant."

Behind this, rather, mishmash of trees and shrubs

is the property itself and substantial it most certainly is.

Two doors to go into. Which one should we choose?

Eenie, meenie, miney, mo... That one.

The two doors actually access two separate properties.

So, what will we find behind the first one?

Well, the first thing is that the house has obviously been

divided into two flats. The door there leading upstairs to,

unsurprisingly, the upstairs flat,

this door leading into the downstairs flat.

Well done, Mr Logical. What have we got?

The first thing is, the moment you walk through this door,

this overwhelming smell of damp.

And it is dark and dingy and not very good.

However, the size is good.

Look at that living room, there, with the lovely parquet floor

and then through to the kitchen.

Well, it needs a bit of work, but it's not a bad-sized space...

But clearly, serious things going wrong.

Shall we tempt fate? Shall we?

I should have brought my umbrella!

Yeah, look at that. Not...

..good at all.

Right.

Bit of work to be done, then.

# I've got a dirty, dirty feeling

# Dirty dealing's going on... #

And this is going to take a lot.

But the pluses are, that good-sized lounge leads to a decent-sized

bedroom and bathroom.

Double-glazed windows look out over a garden. That's another plus.

Judging by the amount of mail lying here,

the flats have been empty for some time.

Will the upstairs one be as bad?

So, up to the first floor flat and the smell?

Worse, if anything.

Not good, at all.

What is good is the size. Like downstairs,

a really nice-sized living room, here and through to the kitchen.

Now, it's, kind of, a kitchen with...

..two sides.

This side here. Well, you know, old units, but nothing too dramatic.

This side, however...

Not good.

There's not supposed to be water pouring in through there.

Clearly a problem with the roof or whatever's above there.

Water pouring in, probably damaging the timbers up there,

going through the floor. It's really not good.

So, into your renovation budget you now have to factor redoing,

probably, the roof and also some carpentry, I would suggest.

But, you know, as a shell to work with, it's still pretty good.

Let's carry on exploring.

The bedroom is definitely in the pink.

This room has a window out on to a, sort of, roof terrace.

Could that be the source of damp for downstairs? I'll come back to that.

As for the bathroom, erm...

I don't think I've ever seen a bath wrapped in carpet, before.

Definitely don't want to see it again. The carpet has to go.

Outside, the exterior looks pretty shoddy and that's not good.

So, some worrying cracks at the front of the property,

there, that you definitely want to have checked out by a professional.

But I've come to the back of the property,

to try and see what is causing all that damp.

And from here, sure enough,

look at the state of both the exterior walls

and also, there, two flat roofs that are obviously letting water.

Now, when it comes to restoring a house like this, you want to start,

literally, top-down.

Sort out the roof first, give the property a chance to dry out

and then get on with the rest of the stuff.

Talking of which, let's take a look next door.

You'd nearly forgotten about the second half

of this substantial property, hadn't you?

The right-hand side of this lot is a three-bed semi.

And... Sniff, sniff...

I'm pleased to report that this half of the property smells much better.

In fact, the whole air of neglect that permeates next door

has evaporated here.

Apart from this good-sized lounge, there is a dated kitchen

and lean-to, which I reckon has got to join

next door's bathroom carpet in the skip.

One thing that could be a negative is what is outside

the lounge window - a school.

Unless you have a child attending or you're out all day,

the noise could be an issue.

The dated, but well-maintained, theme continues upstairs

with three bedrooms...

..a bathroom...

..and a separate loo.

There is double glazing throughout and a newish boiler.

What's not to like?

This is a lot of property for a guide price

of just £200,000-£210,000.

It's time to find out what local agent makes of it all.

There are lots of options for this property.

You could have it as one big detached house, you could have it

as two individual semi-detached houses or you could convert it

into four individual flats.

However, what I would suggest would be leaving it

as the original lay-out, as two flats and one semi-detached house.

I think I would agree.

Converting these properties would be expensive

and there is demand in the area for both flats and family homes,

which would make this property ideal and ripe for investment.

But let's talk values, first.

Once this property has been renovated,

I would say the three-bedroom semi-detached property

would fetch in the region of £220,000-£230,000

and each individual flat would be worth in the region

of around £110,000-£115,000.

And with rental popular in the area,

what could be expected on that front?

The three-bedroom semi would rent in the region

of £900-£950 per calendar month.

You would also get, for the individual flats,

between £500 and £550 per calendar month.

Well, lots of opportunities for this place.

I like the lay-out pretty much as it is

and it could be a really solid investment,

but don't underestimate the amount of money it is going to cost

to put it right. Who wasn't put off?

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

Semi-detached house and two flats, all needing improvement.

Developer's dream, I'd have thought.

Start me where you will, good-sized plot, 180? 180? 180, do I say?

180, 180, I'm on the way.

190, I am bid.

190, 200. 200, if you like.

195 I've got on my right, 200, if you like...

200, I am bid,

205, now, if you like.

With the lot proving popular, we leave it there

and rejoin at 305,000.

305, I am looking for, 305.

307, I've got, 310...

312? No, definitely not.

At 310,000 in the front row, then, for the first time...

310,000 for the second time...

Third and final time, at 310,000 in the front row.

Make no mistake, all done.

£310,000.

The successful bid, which was £100,000 over the guide price,

belonged to Sidcup-based Robin.

Buying the property with his two sisters,

who will be silent partners, Robin has a background

in new-build developments.

I met him back at the property to find out more.

-Robin, very good to meet you.

-Yes, you too.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

So you paid quite a bit more than the guide price.

Why did you want this property so much?

I think, once this place is done, it will achieve

a figure that we're hoping it will achieve.

Which is?

-Around 420-430.

-So tell me, why did you buy it?

This has been bought with my sisters

and we have a portfolio of properties,

but they're all apartments in London,

all off-plan new build.

The reason why we did it is because it is difficult

to get off-plan in London, now, at a good price, so...

It seemed a natural course of events for us to move into auction property.

And was it that, sort of, unusual configuration,

the fact that you've got the house and the two apartments,

a lot of property and options... Was that what really appealed?

Yes, absolutely. The apartments are quite a good size.

You know, it's very hard to find one-bed apartments of that size,

modern apartments, anyway, nowadays.

And they will have gardens, as well which is quite unusual.

And the house, it's a good size, itself, so we thought,

"OK, there's money to be made, here."

There might well be, but going from off-plan new builds

to property renovation is a bit of a leap.

Robin has converted a couple of commercial premises before,

but a project this size is all new territory,

although Robin does have a secret weapon.

I've got a contractor.

He's worked for me on a conversion that I've just recently done.

The contractor, Paul,

-he's done an excellent job in a short period of time.

-Right.

We work very well together and it just seemed a perfect marriage.

Great. So, has he seen it yet?

He has, he came with us

when we viewed it, initially, before going to the auction.

We got an idea from him as to what it'll cost to do it up.

-And what did he say?

-Approximately 40,000.

-OK, to do both?

-To do all three, everything.

-A bit of a deal, really.

It's a really good deal,

but with Paul, I've always got a good deal from him.

Well, 40 grand would be a great deal for the amount of work

needed, and even though Robin has a builder he trusts,

that seems like a tall order.

Robin plans to keep the flats and house and have them

done up for resale, but he is prepared to rent, if necessary.

But before that, there is a lot of work to be done,

especially with that roof issue.

What has Paul had to say about that?

That's the first port of call, to get the roof sorted

and stop the leaking of the water coming through.

-The roof is, generally, in a fairly good condition.

-Good.

So, what's the timescale?

Timescale, six months to have the properties ready for marketing

and then, say, add another three months for selling.

So, nine months in total, start to finish.

-Well, listen, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-Good luck with it.

-Thank you.

-We look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Absolutely.

Well, a big project for Robin to take on

as his first auction property.

But hopefully, with the help of builder Paul,

they will get it sorted out for that budget.

You can find out later in the show.

Martin, we've seen how one of the properties

has panned out on today's show.

What about the others?

Yes, let's find out how the other two purchasers

got on with their properties.

First up is Derbyshire and the town of Ripley,

where earlier I came across this detached brick building

with covered courtyard which sat behind a former public house.

It was a good size and consisted of two fair-sized units

ripe for rental, apart from one potentially expensive problem.

Looks like that is your electricity supply.

Probably went to the old pub,

so you have to have electricity laid on, probably gas, as well,

although it looks like there is some kind of drainage,

sewerage or whatever close by. So, good news and bad news.

It's basically things you're going to have to factor in to any budget.

Although at a guide price of just £12,000 plus,

it was a property full of potential.

Step up local man Joe,

who for 13,500 had decided he could see that potential.

He planned to use one unit

for storage for his fledgling gardening business

and the other would be rented out as a workshop,

although the electrical problem hadn't escaped his attention.

You're talking about putting electrics in there.

Have you looked into the cost of that?

It might not be cheap.

We are hoping that we can use a defunct cable

that runs down the drive

and maybe the engineers can tap into that.

I hope.

If not, it's a matter of digging round about 23 metres of drive.

Ooh! Ouch!

Work of that nature would not be cheap,

making Joe's already tight budget of £3,000 with a £1,000 contingency

look even more strained.

However, if he was going to rent out the second unit as a workshop,

having the electricity was an absolute necessity.

On top of that,

never underestimate the cost of clearing out rubbish and junk.

But Joe planned on doing the majority of the work himself

on the former pub storage unit complete with skittle alley

and his enthusiasm had bowled me over.

Two and a half months later,

we've returned to see if Joe's plans have come to fruition.

This former shabby and forgotten space

is now home to a modern and appealing workshop,

complete with electricity and drainage,

perfect for letting out.

Lots of changes in here, as we've been looking at things.

As we can see, we've got rid of all the junk

out of the bottom of the place,

we've replastered, re-boarded the ceiling,

we've plastered the walls,

new electrics in everywhere,

painted it through, we've had an electric meter put in here,

we've found the grate, the old horse grate,

so all in all, we're very pleased

with what we've done with this building.

With the neighbouring unit's sole purpose to accommodate

Joe's gardening equipment, work here was kept to a minimum,

with just the floor being concreted

and the doors being given a much-needed lick of paint.

The entire space is looking tidier and fresher, but it's the story

behind connecting that electricity supply that I'm most interested in.

The major problem with this has been the electric supply.

A whole raft of issues, that the supply itself was connected up

when we dug it out, unfortunately it was found that for several reasons

the supply wasn't live, which was due to it missing on the drawings.

The utility company had to come back three weeks later

and dig another hole on the pavement and reconnect again.

We have done a lot more work than anticipated,

and the reason for doing the additional work,

which was the plastering and boarding, was that I had a couple of

people I know come, and I said,

"I'm going to open the doors and I want you to tell me, if you were

"renting this, what would be the one thing you would say needs improving?"

Both of them said, "Plaster the walls and board the ceiling."

So, I thought that was good advice and,

because we could factor it into the budget, we'd do it.

Listening to what potential renters would expect is

a really good idea, and, thankfully, the electrical work

and all other work here came in at £3,000 - bang on Joe's budget.

He also saved money by doing the majority of the work himself,

although he did have a helper.

Obviously, cleaning all the initial rubbish out was a full day's job

and I brought the wife down, as well, for a bit of a holiday.

But most days, I'd be down here for maybe an hour, two hours,

sometimes, it would be all day.

I just wanted to work together and really get it done, get it finished.

Joe finished the work here in just four weeks

and spent a total of £16,500 on the entire project.

With a view to renting out the larger unit,

we asked two local property agents for their opinions.

The work that's been done is to a good standard

and they've made the best of what was here.

There's good demand for small starter units,

particularly cottage industries,

ideal for self-employed builders.

The demand is fair at the moment, it's a smaller unit than

the 1,000 square foot starter unit, so it's an ideally placed unit.

Looks like Joe has unearthed a little gem here,

but what about those all-important rental figures?

The larger unit, we'd rent in the region of £150pcm

and the smaller unit would be circa £50pcm.

I would suggest the larger unit,

if he was looking to offer it to the rental market, I would have

thought you'd ask for a rent

somewhere in the region of £150 to £200 a month.

Collectively, if you were to offer the two, I would imagine you'd

achieve somewhere in the region of maybe £280pcm for the two.

So if Joe does achieve £150pcm for the larger unit,

that would mean a yield of a very respectable 10%.

And on those sort of figures, the payback over

the project is going to be about five years.

I think that's very good, so, yeah, very pleased with all of that.

And so you should be, Joe!

With a store for your thriving business

and a rental income besides, this has been a sound investment,

proving property doesn't have to be big to be profitable.

We return now to Walderslade, near Chatham in Kent, where earlier

I found this sizeable property,

which was guided at £200,000 to £210,000.

It'd been split into two, with one side comprising

two one-bedroom flats and the other a three-bedroom family home.

It was snapped up by Robin for £100,000 over that guide price.

Robin, along with his two sisters, who are silent partners,

have a small portfolio of off-plan new-build properties in London.

And while he had done a little renovation before,

this project represented a far greater challenge.

Thankfully, though, Robin had come prepared.

Got a contractor, Paul,

-he's done an excellent job in a short period of time.

-Right.

We work very well together, it just seemed a perfect marriage.

Well, this dynamic duo had a big job on their hands.

With signs of damp running throughout the two flats

and a three-bedroom house in need of complete overhaul,

I was concerned that their budget of £40,000 wouldn't cover it.

Five-and-a-half months later, we've returned to Walderslade to see

how they've got on, and first up is the three-bedroomed house.

What was once little more than a dreary lean-to is now

a lovely extension, creating a modern and appealing kitchen/diner.

We originally had a chimney breast,

and there was also a den, kind of, thing on the corner.

We've got rid of the chimney breast and this den thing,

we've modernised it, throughout. This is now the dining area.

I think this will appeal to young families with children,

plenty of space for them to eat and do whatever.

A beautifully-painted and recarpeted hallway, complete with

a very handy downstairs WC leads into a transformed living room.

The transformation continues upstairs,

particularly into the bigger and brighter master bedroom.

Originally, there was a wall here, so this was quite a small room.

We've got rid of that wall.

There used to be a small, dead-end hallway, we've put an en-suite here.

This was originally part of the old bathroom.

So this is now quite a large master bedroom.

The two remaining bedrooms have been redecorated and recarpeted.

With a brand-new bathroom suite completing the modern

and clean feel that runs throughout this house.

This has been a brilliantly thought-out project by Robin

and his contractor Paul.

However, it was always a game of two halves here,

with the neighbouring flats particularly in need of restoration.

The pair decided to concentrate solely on the house,

and have barely started on the two flats,

one of which they decided to turn into a two-bed.

The house will be finished within the next seven to ten days roughly.

As soon as they're done, we're going to put this house on the market

and Paul will start on the flats.

Paul's already, kind of, started.

We envisage it'll be done within the next two to three months.

And then the whole project will have reached its conclusion.

First, a complete refurb and rewire,

no central heating in there at the moment.

New kitchens, bathrooms, turn the upstairs flat into

a two-bedroom from a one-bedroom, but, yeah, everything will be new.

The house has cost us approximately £20,000 to £22,000

and the remaining budget is there for the flats,

so at this moment, we don't know whether we're going to go over

that budget, but we're hoping we'll stick pretty close to the 40k.

Considering the level of finish to the house -

not to mention the structural changes that have taken place -

I think spending around £22,000 is pretty impressive.

Since we last saw Robin, he's decided to sell all the properties

once they are completed, but how has the transition from buying

off-plan new builds to big project renovation gone?

This is a lot more involved and, obviously, I'm looking to make

a profit from this, so I'm constantly watching how things are progressing.

We have asked other professionals in terms of the level of work

we should put in and what we'd get back in return,

so where we originally thought maybe we'd put a granite kitchen in,

we've been advised it's not going to make much of a difference.

It's taken Robin and contractor Paul five-and-a-half months

to finish the house, meaning his original timescale

of six months for all three properties is a distant memory.

However, I think Robin's decision to take his time, as well as take

advice, will pay dividends when he comes to sell.

Especially if he sticks to that original budget of £40,000,

which would mean a total spend here of £350,000.

We've asked two local property agents along, to cast their

expert eyes, starting with the agent who saw it originally.

Very, very different, it was very run down before.

I especially like the kitchen/diner, it's got a lovely, open feel to it.

And it's good that they managed

to squeeze in an en-suite to the master bedroom.

The property's been finished to a really high standard.

In the current market, it would appeal to

a lot of buyers, especially buyers coming into the area from London.

With Robin determined to sell, what could he expect,

once the properties are completed and put on the market?

This three-bedroom property, once finished,

should value in the region of £220,000-£230,000.

In the current market, I would offer this property for £240,000.

We have got other estate agents, local ones, come along,

and they've basically said you're looking between 260 to 280,

so...not sure where they've got that from.

Hopefully, the flat valuations will impress.

I would value the two-bedroom flat in the region of £120,000 to

£130,000, and the one-bedroom flat in the region of £115,000 to £125,000.

The two-bedroom flat, if it was finished to the same standard

as in this property, you could look to achieve £160,000.

The one-bedroom flat, again, if it was the same standard,

you could look to achieve £130,000- £140,000.

Again, we've had valuations

and our valuations come out, two-bed, approximately around 140-155,

and the one-bed, you're looking at between 120-125.

Lots of different options on this one, then.

For simplicity, total the highest figures Robin has mentioned

then the resale value would be around £560,000,

giving him a potential pre-tax profit of £210,000,

which makes Robin's switch from off-plan new build

to auction house property really rather successful.

Well, as you've just seen,

investing in property can be a bit of a learning curve,

but don't worry, we'll be back next time

with more hints and tips for you.

-Look forward to seeing you then.

-Goodbye for now.

-Goodbye.