Episode 49 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello. Every area of the country has a different property story to tell.

Yes, knowing exactly what the story is

and the area you're looking to buy could really give you the edge.

Yes. The key is, do your homework and don't leave anything to chance.

Oh, and maybe nip down to your local property auction.

Get a good deal at auction, do all the renovations beautifully,

end up making a huge profit.

-Simple, right?

-Yeah, kind of.

Er, but, did the buyers on today's show manage to do that?

Here's what they've bought.

'A family day out on today's Homes Under The Hammer,

'as father and daughter can't make up their minds.'

-What are you going to do with this place?

-Er, I don't know.

Oh, no!

'In London, if you have a noisy family,

'this flat gives you some peace and quiet.'

This looks like extra soundproofing which has been

attached onto the wall.

'And in Worksop, the kids are all right,

'the property development isn't.'

It's horrible.

OK.

'All of 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.'

-GAVEL BANGS

-Sold.

'For today's first auction property, we've headed to Kent.

'Rainham was originally a town in its own right,

'but it became part of Gillingham in the early 1900s.

'It's perfect commuter territory,

'the M2 motorway is only minutes away, as well as a train line

'which will get you into central London in 40 minutes.'

Close to the town centre and all its amenities

is this residential street.

This area's growth has long been connected to

its fantastic transport links.

Well, I'm here today to look at a house along this rather

sort of busy road, and I'm hoping to find a quiet haven.

It's a three-bedroom semi and it had a guide price of £125-£135,000.

Well, here it is. I'm already seeing things that I like,

off-road parking, huzzah,

which is a bit of a bonus.

Let's hope my enthusiasm doesn't wane once I get inside.

'I'm feeling enthusiastic, but that pebbledash is getting me down.

'If it were me, I'd paint it.'

It's all right, I'm not going to be too down on this house,

although I would change the wallpaper in the hallway

and put some new carpet down.

But, you know, all this can be done with time and money,

and it could look quite special in here.

So we've got a nice sized lounge, ooh, but I've spotted a gas fire

which tells me there's no central heating.

Gas fire number two in here, so that's something you've got to

take into account, but a great room, polystyrene tiles,

obviously they've all got to come down because of the fire hazard,

and, erm, this is quite unusual because the kitchen's here,

this space has been opened up.

Usually this would be a wall, and you would come in along the hallway.

This is quite a good use of space

although it's a little bit on the small side.

So, it works.

Could just do with being a little bit bigger.

# Size matters

# Size matters but not how you think... #

So, upstairs we've got three bedrooms,

and, oh, a little bathroom through here.

And as with many auctioned properties,

sometimes you've just got to be able to look beyond the grot

and peeling wallpaper and see what you've really got.

Now, this is described as a three-bedroom property

in the auction details,

but this third bedroom, come in, is so tight.

Look how small it is.

You could barely get a little cot in here.

For a property like this, and the buyers in this area,

they will want a good three-bedroom family home,

and I think this room here will definitely put buyers off.

'Size is definitely an issue with this property.

'OK, the two other bedrooms are a decent size,

'but is there enough room to pinch

'in order to extend that third bedroom,

'if indeed it counts as a bedroom at all?

'The bathroom isn't really family sized,

'and neither is that kitchen.

'Yes, it all needs to expand.

'But where?'

There might be a busy road out the front,

but there is a peaceful haven to be found.

Look at this fantastic garden!

It must be over 100 foot, and it's very peaceful.

Now, that small bedroom upstairs is still bothering me,

and you only need to stand here to see loft extensions,

double and single storey extensions next door.

This is a family sized garden but it needs to be able to house a family

on the inside too, which I think is currently a little bit small.

But extensions cost money, and at the end of the day,

it's all about the maths and making the sums work.

'And given the guide price of 125 to 135,000,

'I'm wondering just how those sums would shape up?

'What does the local estate agent think about

'this non-family sized family house?'

The property is possibly more than just cosmetic redecoration.

It does require a lot more modernisation than that.

Doesn't appear to be any structural problems with the property

but it would benefit from extensions, maybe, to the rear and into the loft.

Typical costs, if it was a rear extension, possibly around £20,000.

Loft extension, around the same sort of figure,

so you could be expending 40-50,000.

'I'm glad we're both agreed that an extension is needed,

'but this comes down to the sums, like I said.

'Suppose you choose to leave the house as it is and renovate.

'How much could it sell for?'

If you were to renovate the property as it is

with the small third bedroom, small kitchen and small bathroom,

I feel that the, er,

the value would be in the region of £185,000.

'Well, there's a profit there, all right,

'if you didn't go over the top.

'But what do you think?

'Is this worth extending?

'Take the agent's top estimate of 50,000

'for a loft and back extension.

'On top of the guide price of 135,000,

'that could mean an investment of 185 grand upwards

'depending on what standard of kitchen and bathroom you went for.

'Would it be worth it?'

I feel that the value of the property would then increase to

in the region of £240, £250,000.

'Carrying out major works on an investment is always a gamble,

'but it certainly feels like in this case it would be one worth taking.'

There is a lot of work to be done

to turn this back into a lovely family home.

But it could be a great property in a promising location

with so much scope.

Let's see who wanted to snap it up when it went under the hammer.

Start at 120, somewhere? 120?

120, I'm under way, and 5 now do I see?

125, 130,

130 and 5,

and 40, and 5,

and 5, and 50,

and 5, and 5, and 60.

£155,000, I've got.

160, I'm looking for.

157, I'll take.

157, I've got. 160, 162.

162, I've got. 164,

166.

£164,000, on my left-hand side, lot of bidding.

166. 168.

170. 170.

At £168,000, I am bid for the first time.

£168,000, back left-hand side for the second time.

Doing at 168,000.

Yours at 168, and it's E220, thank you.

# A family man... #

'Getting the property for 168,000

'was father and daughter team Martin and Natalie.'

-Natalie, Martin, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Right, let's start from the very beginning.

-Who saw the house first?

-I think it was...

We both saw it in the auction catalogue, didn't we, Dad? Yeah.

We saw it in the catalogue, and, er, we had several others,

and then we went to auction and this was the last one, erm,

of four that we bid on, so I really wanted to get this one,

and, er, it was the favourite as well,

so it all worked out really well, yeah.

Oh! The favourite being last is always really difficult

to know how to judge it.

So what sort of budget had you set aside on the day, Martin?

-We'd set 172 as our top on this one.

-Right.

And it sold at 168, so that's a nice little 4,000 bonus.

-Absolutely, quids in there.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-So you got it for a good price.

-Mm-hm.

What is it about this property that you liked so much,

enough to want to buy it?

The potential on it, you know, it's a nice three-bed semi,

it's got its downfalls at the moment,

but, you know, we get our builders in,

looking to...what's the best plan of action

and we'll make it hopefully

an awful lot better than what it is at present.

Absolutely, I mean, it can only get better,

and of course, let's not forget that amazing garden.

Yeah, it's huge, isn't it? Real nice family garden.

Yeah, I think someone'll be pleased with that,

if we get the house up to standard.

The thing is, you're right there, it's a nice family garden,

Natalie, but the only thing that does give it its drawback's the fact

that it's not quite a big family house because upstairs is small.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-So what are you going to do

to combat that very small space you've got up there?

There's a few suggestions we've got,

so we're going to speak to the builder.

We're thinking we need to either make the third bedroom a little bigger,

so it can actually incorporate a bed in there

so it can be classed as a bedroom.

Go up into the loft, maybe three to four-bedroom house, then maybe do

an extension here at the back as well to make it bigger downstairs,

so there's lots of different options.

We've just got to weigh it all up,

speak to the builder and see what's doable.

'Natalie has renovated two properties previously.

'She works as an office manager for the Highways Company,

'while Martin is a taxi driver, locksmith and landlord.

'There's an interesting combination.

'When it comes to this property,

'Martin will be helping out with the practical issues,

'while Natalie will be looking after and sourcing materials.

'Seems like they've got it all sorted.

'Or have they?'

So why have you bought this?

To rent out, to keep long term,

or to flip and sell on?

That has changed so many times already

and we only took the keys today!

Is that down to your daughter?

Come on, Natalie, make up your mind!

What are you going to do with this place?

-Er, I don't know.

-Oh, no!

Why don't you know? Are you waiting to see what happens?

Yeah, I think we'll wait and see what happens at the end.

I've got one that I rent out currently,

so I might add that to the portfolio, might end up flipping it, we'll see.

Once it's done then, er, get the agent round, and...

But you see, that is all dependent

on how much you're going to spend here.

-Well, yeah.

-Because if you knew that, I think if you're going to keep it

long term, it's definitely worth spending the money and extending

because then you'll get a better rental and just over a long term

-the property'll go up much more in value.

-Well, yeah, I know.

We need to... I think it's going to rest on the builder a little bit

on Saturday, and see what he comes up with, some sums, and, er...

-No pressure for him, then(!)

-Yeah!

'I said this one was definitely all about the sums, didn't I?

'Getting the builder in to give her an idea of costs will make things

'a bit clearer on what Natalie will do with this house.'

Dad, where do you come into this?

-Come on.

-The labour.

-The money?

Well, I help out where I can.

-So what can you bring to the table here?

-Well, I tend to...

I mean, we obviously have builders to do building work,

plumbers to do plumbing, etc, but I'm pretty good with my hands

and I can do most other things, if you like, in the house,

and it obviously helps save Natalie money.

Martin, I know you're a locksmith and a taxi driver.

How are you going to manage to give your time to this project

-as well as all that?

-I get three days a week,

so I'll be here three days a week,

obviously no taxi, no locksmithing for them days.

Then the other four days

I earn my money from the taxi and locksmithing.

Natalie, you have had a result!

-I've got a good dad, haven't I?

-Your dad is amazing!

# Daddy, daddy cool... #

'A simple renovation needs a new central heating system

'and windows throughout.

'They've set a budget of £20,000.'

I think if it's just a simple renovation,

we're thinking about four months, aren't we, Dad,

because we both work as well full-time,

so we're not going to be on it seven days a week.

Erm, if we extend outwards especially, maybe, you know,

chuck an extra month on to that, so four to five months.

So who's the one that sits there, that's strict with the spreadsheets,

making sure everything's done and ticked off?

-Natalie.

-Yeah, that'd be me.

I've got a spreadsheet already, I've got down costs and, er,

got all the budget worked out, so we'll see how we get on.

-But, Natalie, that's exactly how you should be, so well done.

-Thank you.

Guys, I'm really excited to see the outcome.

Do you go up into the loft? Do you extend?

We will find out, but thank you very much for joining me today.

-It's been really lovely meeting you both.

-Lovely, thank you.

-Congratulations, thank you.

-Thank you.

# Daddy, daddy cool. #

I love Natalie's enthusiasm for this project,

and Martin, her dad, is definitely doing the fatherly thing

in keeping her feet firmly on the ground.

I just hope she manages to make a decision about

what she wants to do with this property.

Is she going to extend? Is she going into the loft?

She needs to think about this BEFORE she starts the work,

because that will be key to

making sure she makes all the right choices -

an essential lesson to learn

if she wants to turn this into a full-time career.

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

East London's Poplar - it's getting popular!

But as far as the facts go, well,

it's all about the regeneration here.

There has been plenty of new developments popping up,

and Canary Wharf is right on your doorstep

with bars, restaurants and cafes,

so all in all, it's a pretty sociable place to be right now.

# I'm in with the in-crowd

# I go where the in-crowd go. #

The in-crowd are definitely headed to Poplar,

so it would be a good place

for you to dip your toe into the property waters.

Now, there is a certain stigma

attached to purpose-built ex-local authority blocks of flats,

as they don't tend to look very attractive from the outside.

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

is in this block here

and has recently been upgraded.

Just look at the gardens -

there's even a water feature over there.

Now, it had a guide price of £110,000.

Let's hope the interior also exceeds my expectations.

With other buildings in the area also going through a face-lift -

although don't count on too many more water features -

the guide price for this property, at £110,000,

is very appealing,

especially in a London market that's booming right now.

It's on the ground floor and even has its own front door,

which makes it so much more desirable.

So far, so good.

All right. So, a little bit disappointing on the inside,

certainly doesn't match up to the snazzy outdoors there,

because it's just unfinished.

Look - paintbrush marks everywhere,

white paint not quite evenly spread.

You can see light fittings hanging down,

some spotlights already look like they've been started there.

So a little bit disappointing.

What's through here?

Ah, the kitchen. And what a kitchen!

Actually, I can't quite believe it.

Wow, in really good nick.

So you've got an integrated fridge,

which is a real bonus.

Good-quality units,

look at these - fantastic.

You've got a new boiler, space for a dishwasher,

you're obviously going to need to buy a cooker

and some new flooring,

but that's a huge cost already saved.

Now, I see this time and time again in flats like this -

separate loo and bathroom.

There's not a lot you can do to improve a property like this,

but something you could think about - knocking this wall through

and having a really nice, spacious bathroom.

I mean, that would be really substantial.

But you've got to weigh up the cost implications,

because - come closer - that's a big old chunky wall.

It will probably need supporting,

so you've got to weigh up the pros and cons of the costing there.

Overall, the proportions of this one-bed work well

and it feels light and airy.

There's a double bedroom at the back

with a large reception room next to that

with a rather dated-looking fireplace.

Central heating is already in place, which is a real money-saver,

and the service charge here is £1,200-£1,300 a year.

That could be over £100 a month,

but at least there is a new 125-year lease.

Yes, it needs finishing off,

but there are lots of positives about this property -

or have I spoken too soon?

Now, there are a few signs that this flat is a little more dated

than its snazzy exterior might indicate.

First of all, over here,

this was once a serving hatch leading through to the kitchen,

which has now been blocked up. You see?

Secondly, you can see the rather dated window

above the door over there.

But most obviously - come over here -

this looks like extra soundproofing

which has been attached on to the wall.

So the building was perhaps not as well built originally.

Unfortunately, where this juts out by a couple of inches,

once you've plaster-boarded over it,

well, it will make the room that little bit smaller.

Well, it was put here for a reason...

And who knows - a tap-dancing drummer might move in next door!

I think covering up and keeping it is the way to go with this one.

With a guide price of just £110,000,

I think this property represents a great investment opportunity.

But what does the local property expert think?

Really, to bring the flat up to standard,

we would need to get the bathroom sorted out, the bedrooms.

Most of it, though, is cosmetic,

and there's not much constructional work needed.

It might be a suggestion

to take down the wall between the separated toilet and bathroom,

to make that into a really big, nice, luxurious-feeling bathroom.

But for the most part it's cosmetic - painting,

new flooring needs to be put in, light fixtures,

and getting really good furnishing

so that you match the standard of the outside look of the building.

Great advice. So, what about values?

Once renovated, I think this flat could likely achieve

around £220,000.

Buy it for the guide price of £110,000

and that could be a great return on your investment,

as hopefully you won't need to spend more than £10,000-£15,000

doing the work.

And with a rental potential of £1,200-£1,250 per calendar month

bringing in a possible yield of around 12%,

if you get it anywhere near that guide price

this flat is looking like a very sound investment.

It's not often I say this

when I visit an ex-local authority block of flats,

but actually on this occasion

the flat is definitely better on the outside than on the inside.

But it won't take too much work to bring the interior up to scratch

and you'd be hard pushed to find better value for money in London

during the property boom.

Let's head to the auction and find out who agreed.

One-bedroom, ground-floor flat in need of modernisation.

125 anywhere?

Thank you. 125 I've got.

What about 126? Thank you.

I'll come to you, gentlemen, I've got the lady.

126, 127, 128,

129, 130,

131, 132,

133, 134.

135, 136.

137, 138.

139, 140.

'With the guide price long gone,

'we rejoin the action at 193,000.'

193. 194.

195.

No? Anybody else?

If not, 194 for the first,

194... 195, new. 196.

197.

198.

199.

200,000? No?

It's with you, sir.

Bid's 199,000. Anybody else?

If not, 199 for the first,

199 for the second,

199 for the third and final time...

-All done? Sold, 199.

-GAVEL FALLS

And the successful bidder,

paying a whopping 89 grand over the guide price for this flat,

was Nirav.

He owns a wholesale distribution company

but has been developing as a sideline venture

for the last 15-20 years

and owns a portfolio of properties.

I joined him back at the flat

to find out about his plans

and what potential he clearly saw here.

Congratulations. Well done.

So, why did you want to buy this flat,

and in this area in particular?

I know this area quite well,

I've already got properties in Tower Hamlets

and I just thought it was a good opportunity as an investment.

It's ex-local authority,

but it doesn't really have that feel about it.

Yeah, I've got to confess

I didn't actually view the property before the auction,

so it was a complete surprise to me

how nice the actual building is,

so, yeah, it was a bit of a shock.

So how did it pan out on auction day?

Were you just sitting there with the brochure thinking,

"OK, what am I going to buy today?"

I actually missed out on two or three properties

and I said to myself before I went to the auction

that I would come back with at least one property.

I got a little bit desperate

and then I just sort of plunged into this property

because I knew the area.

Do you feel you might have overpaid slightly

-just because you were desperate to get something?

-I think I did.

But the way that the London market is at the moment,

it's totally different to the rest of the UK.

There's a shortage of properties which is driving prices up,

there's probably about 15-20 buyers

for every property that's available,

so people are paying slightly above market rate.

But now you've got it, and you've seen it,

so obviously you came away thinking,

"I've just bought somewhere I've not even seen."

-Indeed.

-How do you now feel?

I'm satisfied with the purchase.

I mean, I'm taking a medium- to long-term view on this property.

In five years' time it's definitely going to be a good investment.

Perhaps I paid a little bit more now,

but once the property is sorted out

it'll be a nice investment.

'Now, as you know, we never advocate buying blind,

'but Nirav used his local knowledge

'and took a calculated risk here

'and, thankfully, it's paid off.

'He plans to rent the property for the foreseeable future

'and has a £5,000-£6,000 budget for improvements.

'But what improvements?'

What about the kitchen?

The kitchen's actually OK.

It's actually in a better state than I thought it was going to be.

I think you'd be mad to change that kitchen.

It obviously needs a cooker.

I think it's a cooker and an oven.

But the flooring needs sorting out in there

and other than that, painting, decorating...

And I think we need to talk about the old soundproofing.

Interestingly, in both rooms here

-you've got soundproofing on the walls.

-OK.

-Which does eat into the space.

-Right.

-Not hugely.

So I think you've got to weigh up the benefits of the soundproofing

over the amount of depth it comes out.

So, what's going to happen with this?

Well, I'm not sure.

I'd have to take the advice of a builder.

I'm not experienced in soundproofing

or what lays behind that,

but to take his advice, we'd decide whether we're going to remove it

or we're going to leave it there.

I think there's only one thing I would potentially do here,

and that is think about taking out the wall

between the bathroom and the loo.

-Have you thought about doing that?

-Probably not.

There's a potential here where this property could be used by two sharers

rather than a family or a couple,

so I think it makes sense

to keep the bathroom separate to the toilet for obvious reasons.

So I think probably not.

I don't think I'd start putting structurings...

Because the costs can obviously escalate.

How long is it going to take you?

I think the builder's coming in

in a couple of weeks' time to start work,

so I anticipate this to be a couple of weeks' work.

Really?! Two weeks? That's pretty quick!

A couple of weeks, yeah. I can't see any longer than that.

I'm looking forward to seeing the outcome here. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-And it would be quite good if you managed to do this in two weeks. Well done.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Well, Nirav certainly seemed to get carried away in the auction room

and he hadn't even seen inside this flat.

However, he had done some homework

and, actually, buying in an area of regeneration,

well, that does give you a bit of a safety net.

Will all the work be completed in two weeks, though?

Join me later in the programme and you can find out.

Coming up, goodbye to school holidays, kids -

Mum has a plan for you.

-You didn't have the lads up on the roof, did you?

-We did, yeah. Yeah.

-Oh, yeah.

-And in the loft.

And in London, Nirav had a tight timescale

and we return to see if he smashed his target.

It's already been rented.

Earlier, we saw this three-bed detached house

bought for £168,000 by practical Natalie,

and with the moral support from her dad, Martin.

This was property number three for the duo.

This was a story about proportions -

the tiny kitchen, tiny third bedroom

and 100-foot garden.

There was plenty of room to expand upwards and outwards,

but Natalie wasn't sure

what she was going to do with the property at all.

So why have you bought this?

To rent out, to keep long-term, or to flip and sell on?

That has changed so many times already,

-and we only took the keys today!

-Is that down to your daughter's fault?

So, come on, Natalie, make up your mind -

what are you going to do with this place?

-I don't know!

-Oh, no!

Three months later, and it's time to find out

how father and daughter got on and what Natalie decided.

# Cos we are gonna be

# For ever you and me

# You and

# Always keep me

# Flying high in the sky

# Of love... #

There's no sign of an extension here,

so what's happened upstairs?

In the bathroom it's nice to see

that the pea-green has been flushed away

and replaced with a modern white suite.

And look, that tiny third bedroom has been made bigger

by taking some space from the master bedroom,

while the master bedroom itself feels bigger

thanks to the removal of the built-in cupboards.

But no extension up here either.

So, why not?

Well, we spoke to an agent

and they said to us with the extension

that it wouldn't really be worth it

and that we would only recoup back the money we put in.

So we decided in the end that we wouldn't go ahead with the extension

and if somebody wants to do it in the future

there's loads of opportunity to extend out there at the back.

Well, even without the extension,

Natalie has done a great job at creating a feeling of space

in this once-cramped house.

It was really dark before and quite dingy,

not very attractive,

so we wanted to really make it light and bright.

The new windows have let loads of light in

and then doing it in neutral colours has let a lot of light in.

My dad did all the decorating, he doesn't let me do it

because I'm not good at it, and I agree with him!

So, Dad's been hard at work on the decorating,

just as he promised!

What else has been done?

The bay window was a big challenge.

The guys that fitted them spent one whole day on each bay.

Replastered throughout,

it's totally rewired, it's got a new heating system put in it,

new ceilings throughout the property.

Just basically tidied up everything that we could.

Took the walls down downstairs to make it a kitchen-diner.

We put patio doors out onto the patio and into the garden.

I'm very pleased how it's turned out.

It's all looking fantastic,

but how have father and daughter got on working together?

We do get on well. There's times I have to bite me tongue

because I feel like I need to say something,

but what I have to always bear in mind is

it's her project - it's not my project, it's hers.

Natalie's definitely the boss.

Natalie had better buy Martin a Best Dad Of The Year mug,

because it's not just inside he's been working on.

The garden shed and patio have had a full renovation too.

Natalie had set no timescale,

but a budget of 20,000.

So, how much did she spend?

We've spent a little more on the budget.

We didn't factor some things in originally,

so we've spent around £30,000.

It took three and a half months,

we've had a really good team in,

I'm pretty good with scheduling everything,

I make sure everything's moving along OK,

getting the materials in on time.

And we just work really, really hard every evening, weekend,

so we're really pleased it's come in on time - well, before time.

So, yeah, really pleased.

Time to see if all that hard work and the extra budget has paid off

as we invite two local property experts

to share their thoughts on this newly renovated home.

I think the changes they've made to the property are fantastic.

It's a really good job.

Moving the wall in the bedroom

to create the slightly larger third bedroom

was a very, very good idea.

I'm very impressed with what I've seen.

I like the work that's been done here.

Very neutral colours, very modern,

so, yeah, I think it'll sell quite easily.

It is a bonus, having outside space,

because obviously the more space the better in a property.

It could be used for an office, it could be used for a family room,

so, yeah, really impressed with that, it really looks good.

Good the agents are impressed,

but having purchased the property for £168,000

and then spending £30,000 on it,

what can they get for their 198-grand spend?

I feel that this property would resell

at in the region of £210,000.

I think the property could resell between £210,000-£215,000.

That maximum 215,000

would give them a 17-grand profit,

minus the usual taxes and expenses.

That seems a little low to me,

because we've already had an estate agent in and valued it,

and he valued it at quite a bit more than that,

he valued it at £250,000, so, erm...

So a bit of a disagreement about valuation.

What about rentals?

If the property was rented,

I feel that a figure of £800-£825 per calendar month

would be achievable.

I think the property could rent

between £800-£850 per calendar month.

The top £850 per calendar month's rental

gives them a healthy 5.1 yield.

Seems a reasonable rental to me.

Yeah, it seems pretty reasonable.

The agent said that we'd probably do about 850,

so it's pretty much on the level.

Well, it's decision time.

Originally, Natalie didn't know if she wanted to sell, rent,

or even move in to this property herself.

So, Natalie, it's time...

# For making your mind up! #

Still undecided. I need to go home tonight

and we'll have a talk about it and really make a decision.

Because, obviously, it's all done now, so it's ready to go. I need to make a decision - quick.

Welcome to Worksop in Nottinghamshire.

This ex-mining town has great transport links

to Lincoln, Sheffield and, of course, Nottingham.

So what was at the auction?

Well, for a guide price of 40,000 quid -

two-bed mid-terrace.

Let's have a look.

So, what have we got?

Straight off the street into your front living room.

Good news - looks like you've got central heating.

That's good. Gas fire... Hmm!

Looks like that needs a bit of a service, or probably throwing away.

But then through into the rear of the property,

where you've got your kitchen.

It's actually a really nice size

and I think you could definitely make something of this

with some nice new units.

Place for a table here.

You might want to make it even more open-plan.

I have seen this and it looks really nice -

take this wall out completely,

just open the ground floor up to one big room.

That makes it really pleasant.

You've also got this featurette under the stairs. Kind of weird,

but, again, very open-plan.

Through to the rear of the property,

where you've got your bathroom and loo.

It is downstairs,

but then, you kind of expect that for this kind of property.

Overall, the condition of this property isn't bad,

particularly with that £40,000 guide price. It is quite surprising.

It feels like it needs a bit of modernising - new kitchen units,

replacement fire in the living room, a bit of paint and paper.

The outside looks...

well, not exactly overflowing with kerb appeal, but a solid house.

And, so far, no surprises of the bad kind.

So, upstairs, and two bedrooms,

an intriguing doorway leading to an even more intriguing corridor,

and basically, lots of space.

Good-size front bedroom there and a good-sized rear one.

And sometimes, having less bedrooms that are decent size can

definitely work in your favour.

This one has got a cupboard. Water storage cupboard, actually.

It's got a hot water cylinder and a tank there.

If you were putting a combi boiler in, you would get rid of that

and create a bit more space in this room.

But, all in all, it is what it is.

And...what it is, it does well.

That little corridor we saw earlier, well,

it turns out there is a surprise after all.

Because, up we go, and it is potentially another bedroom.

You'd need to do your homework and see

if this conforms with building regulations.

You might not be able to call it a bedroom,

but as extra space, it's a very nice surprise.

So, out the back, a little extension housing the kitchen,

basically extending what was that classic two-up, two-down.

Not a lot of space,

but at least you've got this little rear garden area.

It would be massively improved by a bit of landscaping, a bit of grass.

But, think of the guide price - it's just a bonus.

So, nothing to complain about, really.

# I ain't complaining... #

Well, actually, I do have a couple of gripes that might

be in the bad surprise category.

There's some issues with the roof, and the garden

and surrounding walls could certainly do with renovation.

It's guided at £40,000.

It's a two-down, three-up.

I hope the agent's pleasantly surprised.

Good-sized property. Offers decent-sized bedrooms.

It's located in a situation where you have everything on your doorstep.

You know, town's less than half a mile, there's other local amenities,

and we've got some schools nearby as well, within walking distance.

Erm, in terms of the property itself, obviously, it does have some issues.

I would look at the roof, get it, you know, watertight.

Look at some of the rendering and getting that tidied up.

And then, moving internally, I think

the vendor needs to look at the general decor.

Other issues may be the age of the boiler, the kitchen, etc.

May get away with a face-lift on the bathroom.

The agent's view was that the attic bedroom wouldn't add to the

rental value of this property and that investing any

money on it might take the overall spend over the ceiling price.

As always, it's about the numbers, so let's hear some.

The rental market is buoyant at the moment,

and once the property has been redecorated and presented back to the

market, I would expect this property to achieve £400 per calendar month.

And what about that ceiling price?

What could this house get on the open market?

In good order, the property, redecorated

and the issues addressed, then I would expect the property to

realise in the region of £55,000 to £60,000.

Well, a bit of work to be done on this one, especially on the roof,

but intrinsically a solid little house with a good guide price.

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

Mid-terrace house, it's vacant. Start me at 30,000.

30,000, may I say?

Got 30 already. 31...

32, 33, 34.

OK, 35.

36, 37, 38, 39, and 40.

41.

No, the lady has bid on my left at 40. 41 anywhere else?

OK. Could be yours. 40, I have. The lady's bid.

First time at 40, second time at 40...

The third and final time at £40,000... The lady's bid.

On my left, sold at 40.

The successful bid comes from Katie, bang on the guide price of 40,000.

Property developer Katie has brought a band,

or should I say boy band, of helpers.

From left to right, meet sons Ollie, Jack and Harry.

There's one direction for them, and it leads to hard work.

-Ollie, Jack, Harry and Katie...

-Hello there.

-..good to see you all!

Hi!

-This is the family?

-This is the family.

-The whole family?

No, there's Dad, Charlie, and sister, Georgina, that's not here today.

Right, OK. So, guys, what's your involvement in this whole thing?

-Er, we do the work...

-Yeah!

Erm, yeah, general bits and bobs, really.

We don't do quite a lot of the hardcore stuff,

-but we do get on with quite a lot of it, don't we?

-Right.

Ollie, how long have you been involved in helping Mum and Dad with what they're doing?

-Erm, ever since we bought our first house in...a year ago.

-Right.

So we've been doing it for about a year

and we've sort of got the hang of what we're doing, replacing carpets

and just general painting, stripping wallpaper and things like that.

-So you're like the A-Team, then, are you?

-Yeah. And the B-Team.

-More like the B-Team!

-Doing it for Mum and Dad!

Harry, you're the youngest.

How have you taken to this whole property renovation thing?

Very slowly. It's... It's horrible.

-LAUGHTER

-OK!

Like, getting up at the crack of dawn

and then doing a hard day's work for zero pay!

'Actually, for the boys, this isn't THAT bad.

'It's a long-term investment.

'Katie and husband Charlie already have two buy-to-lets,

'and the purpose is not only to provide a pension for themselves

'but to help secure the boys' future.

'So, Harry's only kidding...

'I think!'

So, let's move on to the house, then. Why this particular house?

Well, we live in Worksop

and we were looking for the next property to buy.

This came up at auction and it ticked all the boxes.

-You liked what?

-It doesn't need huge amounts of work doing on it.

We're not qualified builders, as you've heard,

so we wanted to find a house that we could do up

and that we could make into a really nice family home for somebody.

Guys, what did you think of it when you first saw it?

Erm, yeah, I mean, it's not as bad as some of the other houses.

-Do you sort of hold your breath when you walk through the door, thinking...?

-Yeah.

"What have we got to do this time?" Yeah.

There's no holes in the roof, so...

A few slipped slates, aren't there?

But, yes, one of the properties,

we had a major problem with this roof that leaked.

-You didn't have the lads up on the roof, did you?

-We did, yeah.

-Oh, yeah. And in the loft.

-And in the loft!

-But all very safely done.

-Of course!

What do you think of it, Ollie?

It's very good, actually. There's not a lot of work to be done.

The carpets may need replacing at some point,

but apart from that, it's pretty much already done.

-Jack?

-Yeah, there's a few bits and bobs to do here and there.

But, mainly, it's just getting the chip off the wall

and repainting the place, and giving it a new look, really.

There's obviously things that you could do, like take out the wall behind us here.

Is that on the plans, or is it...? What?

No, I have thought about doing that, but no, going to keep this wall in.

We'll be refurbishing the kitchen.

Had thought about moving the bathroom upstairs

and splitting the small front room.

Not sure if I'm going to do that or not. Going to think that one through.

Major pieces of work that need doing are the roof, where we will

get in contractors to do that, as well as the plumbing and electricity,

where I do get contractors in to do that work for us.

So, um, no, we're going to keep the structure of the house

pretty much as it is at the moment.

-Who gets the really bad jobs?

-Harry!

-I get 'em.

-Do you?

-We sort of gang up on him.

-Because I'm the youngest!

-He can fit in small spaces, so...

-Yeah!

'Ollie and Harry will be going back to university and school,

'so that means there will be a strict timescale to get the work done.

'So the pressure is on all the boys.

'Katie has a £9,000 budget, and it looks like she isn't

'content for this to be a standard two-up, two-down.'

So there obviously is the loft room, which isn't officially a bedroom, as it stands.

Any plans to get that into sort of...standards?

We're going to be looking at the building regs and requirements

and doing the work to make that into the third bedroom,

-to make it a space that can be occupied.

-Right.

And we're going to be fitting a larger door on the window

up there so you get a bit more space and light into there as well.

So that will be done as part of the work,

and that's included in the budget as well.

But there's quite a bit of work that needs to be done on the roof.

There's a bit of a leak up there at the moment and a few slates have come off.

Well, listen, congratulations anyway. Good luck with it all.

Very nice to meet you all. And look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Cheers.

OK.

Well, you get the impression that Ollie, Jack

and Harry are slightly reluctant helpers.

However, they are learning some really useful skills

and helping out the family business in the process.

How will they get on sorting this little place out?

You can find out later in the show.

Well, we've seen what one of our buyers achieved. What about the others?

Mm, did it all go to plan? Let's find out!

Back to east London now, and to Poplar.

Close to Tower Hamlets, this area is seeing a lot of regeneration.

This block of flats had a snazzy exterior, but sadly,

this one-bedroom flat inside, guided at £100,000, didn't match.

Look, paintbrush marks everywhere, white paint not quite evenly spread.

Erm, you can see light fittings hanging down.

Some spotlights already look like they've been started there.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, though,

and it was snapped up for £89,000 over the guide price

by Nirav, a local businessman with a small portfolio of properties.

But had he paid over the odds?

Do you feel you might have overpaid slightly,

-just because you were desperate to get something?

-I think I did.

But the way that the London market is at the moment,

it's totally different to the rest of the UK.

There's a shortage of properties, which is driving prices up.

There's probably about 15, 20 buyers for every property that's available,

so people are paying slightly above market rates.

Nirav is an experienced property developer,

and he bought this flat at auction without seeing it.

With a budget of five to six grand and a tiny timescale of two weeks,

he hoped to have this property ready to rent.

One month later, we've returned to see

if the inside can finally match the outside.

The neutral decoration and clean finish run throughout this

bright and fresh property, making it ideal for rental.

Nirav chose to keep the toilet and bathroom separate

but has done a great job of adding character and appeal to both.

And in the hallway,

there's been more work done than first meets the eye.

So, what we did in here is we changed the glass panels that

were above the doors. We changed the skirting boards.

And we got rid of a kind of concealed ceiling area

here as well, just to create a straight line across.

Obviously, the flooring has been changed as well.

So, you know, to me, I love this hallway now. It's brilliant.

It's nice and just what I had anticipated it would look like.

Nirav should be delighted.

The new flooring throughout

and his attention to detail has made this one-bed flat a highly

desirable prospect for any renter and a great investment for Nirav.

But what I want to know is,

did he get it all done within that tight two-week timeframe?

It's pretty much matched the timescale that I was expecting.

Whilst it was being renovated, towards the last week of it,

there were prospective tenants being shown the property,

and it has already been rented.

Well done, Nirav.

I thought two weeks was a bit tight,

but here he is a month on with the work done and a tenant sorted.

It shows that experience and a reliable builder

can be a big money-saver in property.

Another money-saver is keeping a close eye on suppliers and materials,

and this is where Nirav isn't slow in getting his sleeves rolled up.

I was quite hands-on, because I wanted to pick the materials

myself and I wanted to ensure that they were correct.

Erm, so, I'd basically be involved with the material aspect of it

and ordering the materials,

getting them sent as and when the builders needed it.

So, yeah, I was quite hands-on.

Even though Nirav didn't change the bathroom here,

he's also done a lot of work and gone the extra mile.

So how is that original budget of five to six grand looking?

It went slightly above that.

So, overall, it fell just short of £9,000.

Nirav spent a total of £208,000 here

and achieved his goal of renting out the property.

But, will two property experts be impressed with what he's done?

Let's start with the agent who saw it originally.

It's a completely different feel from the first time.

You know, really, really nice.

Good quality wood flooring that he's put in.

The kitchen looks fantastic with all the appliances fitted,

and the reception room, it feels so spacious and bright.

You know, he's kept it neutral, which is always best for rental,

especially, and even for marketing it for sale.

He's even gone as far as to change the electric fittings,

so the sockets and the light switches.

All of it, you know, to make it a modern feel, so it kind

of matches the same standard as the new developments in the area as well.

I believe the property has been presented quite neutrally,

which will appeal, I think,

to a wide array of either people looking to purchase

or people looking to rent the property.

So, a thumbs up from the experts, then.

But what kind of rental should Nirav be asking of his new tenants?

We would look to rent the property for £1,100 per calendar month.

I would market this property to rent at around £1,200 per calendar month.

£1,200 per calendar month.

I actually achieved towards the 1,200, so that's quite pleasing.

It certainly is pleasing.

A figure of £1,200 per calendar month could bring a yield

of just under 7%,

and with a current top valuation of £230,000

bringing in a potential pre-tax profit of 22,000.

I am sure Nirav will be pleased if he sells,

so does the interior of the flat now match its high-spec exterior?

The outside was perfect to what I wanted to create inside.

So, yeah, I think that has been achieved.

Back now to Worksop in Nottinghamshire, where we met

Katie, who, along with her three sons, Ollie, Jack and Harry,

intended on renovating this mid-terraced house with what

was two or maybe three bedrooms.

Katie and her husband Charlie bought it for £40,000 at auction.

That was the family plan, but not everyone was so keen.

How have you taken to this whole property renovation thing?

Very slowly. It's... It's horrible.

-LAUGHTER

-OK!

Like, getting up at the crack of dawn

and then doing a hard day's work for zero pay.

Nine weeks later, we're back with the family -

parents, Charlie and Katie, and while son, Jack, isn't here,

we have sister, Georgina, and brothers, Ollie and Harry.

We've worked on the house from top to bottom.

We've had a new roof, all the rooms have been re-skimmed with plaster.

We've had a new bathroom,

a new kitchen fitted, new central heating, smoke alarms.

We've got rid of every bit of woodchip wallpaper,

some electrical work that was done,

a whole range of work done to the house.

They decided not to make any layout changes to the ground floor.

As I predicted, the gas fire was condemned and has been replaced.

And I love what they have done to the kitchen.

So, we've refitted the kitchen. It was in desperate need of doing.

We've gone for a contemporary design

with an integrated cooker and hob and an extractor.

And just tried to really lighten the room up and make it look fresh

and a bit more modern.

We did consider moving the bathroom to one of the upstairs bedrooms

and making it a two-bedroom property.

But it would deliver a better return on our investment

if we kept it as a three-bedroom property.

So we went for a really nice bathroom with a shower

and made it look really contemporary and a nice space.

Keeping it as a three-bed?

What Katie means is that as well as the two second floor bedrooms,

they have applied for planning permission for the attic room

to become bedroom number three.

So what did each member of the family contribute?

The majority of my work was painting

and trying to get woodchip wallpaper off the walls.

I scrubbed quite a lot of the skirting boards, hoovering,

just the...the nicer stuff!

I did a lot of things, from stripping the wallpaper to painting,

assembled cabinets.

Just an all-round handyman.

And outside the house, the garden has been tidied.

So, has the budget gone through the roof?

Let's find out from Dad, Charlie,

if kids' rates are better than mates' rates.

Well, the initial budget was £10,000 to renovate the property.

We've actually ended up spending £13,000,

4,100 of which was the new roof.

So I think that's a good guarding of the investment.

Good idea.

Avoiding issues caused by bad roofing, like water and damp,

saves you in the long run.

Katie didn't have much time before she lost her workforce,

so did they stick to the timescale?

So, the project's taken us about eight weeks in total.

We wanted to try and get it done before the kids went back to school,

just to make sure that they could help us that bit extra.

We missed that by a couple of weeks,

but I think that shows the level of redecorating, cleaning

and tidying and working with the contractors that we needed to do.

Family time over,

let's have two local property experts give their thoughts.

This is my first time inside the property.

The property is well presented.

It's got a refitted kitchen and bathroom, modern.

Obviously, you've got two first-floor bedrooms and an attic bedroom, so layout fits well.

The standard of the finish is very good.

Good kitchen, nice, modern bathroom,

and it will appeal to a first-time buyer.

It's my second time in the property.

The vendor has done a good job in terms of the renovation throughout.

The family enterprise has invested £40,000 in the purchase price

and 13 grand on the renovations,

bringing the total investment to £53,000.

What could they expect to get on the open market?

I'd expect this property to achieve £60,000 in the current market.

I would expect the property to achieve £60,000.

If I was putting the property on the market today,

I would probably place the property on the market for £62,500.

Taking a £60,000 valuation would mean a potential profit of £7,000,

before the usual taxes and expenses.

£60,000, I think that's about what we had anticipated.

Yeah, that's fair. More than fair.

Katie and Charlie had always planned to rent this property,

and in fact, they already have a tenant.

If the property was placed for rental,

I would expect to achieve £425 per calendar month.

If the owner was looking at placing the property on the rental market,

we would look to achieve a rental of £425 per calendar month.

£425 per calendar month gives them a 9.6% yield.

Will that leave the parents fired up?

Oh, well, that's pleasing, because we're getting 450.

For ever exceeding expectations, this lot.

The family really pulled together,

and now they have a good addition to their rental portfolio.

So, how do Mum and Dad feel it's gone?

There has been a little bit of press-ganging of labour, but...

But it needed to be done. And we've worked well as a team.

I'm really pleased to see the house come back to life, really.

It's got a lovely, airy, light feel to it

and it's going to be a really nice home for someone.

It will be a great home in the short-term,

but it would appear this lot have their eye on the long-term.

When they die, we get the house!

The word dictation... "dictatorship" comes to mind!

I'm leaving it to the dogs' home, actually!

All kinds of people buying all kinds of property,

-and there are more every day.

-Yes, all sorts of excitement.

Join us next time for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-Look forward to seeing you then, goodbye.

-Goodbye.