Episode 5 Homes Under the Hammer


Episode 5

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Transcript


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Hello and welcome to the show.

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Now, whether you're buying a property as a home or an investment,

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you want to make sure you've chosen wisely.

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It can be difficult to find

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but what you're looking for is value for money.

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One place you can possibly find that is at a property auction.

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From rundown flats to gorgeous, sprawling mansions,

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there are all sorts of properties on offer at auction.

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So what's got our buyers reaching for their cheque books

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on today's show?

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'I'm at this four-bedroom farmhouse in Kent

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'which is giving me plenty to chew over.'

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I think it's pretty special, don't you?

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'And I need to reach a verdict on this three-bed semi in Derby,

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'but...'

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In terms of it being a dry space, jury's out.

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'Here in Blyth, there's a three-bedroom mid-terrace property

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'with some solid original features.

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'And some not-so-solid.'

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Hmm.

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'All these properties have been sold at auction.

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'We'll find out who bought them, and for how much,

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'when they went under the hammer.'

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Gentleman standing.

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'This is Folkestone on the South Kent coast.

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'The town's central cultural quarter is looking lovely

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'and full of boutiques and cafes.

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'The seafront is as pretty as ever, and Folkestone is starting to

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'attract the DFLs, the "down from Londons,"

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'either for a day trip or a full-on relocation.'

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Just outside Folkestone and down this driveway

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is the lot I'm here to see.

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And, no, it's not a piece of land.

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Well, it is land.

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It's over 10 acres, in fact.

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But with that you get a four-bedroomed house,

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stables, barns, a clubhouse - a whole equestrian centre, in fact!

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And all for the guide price of £460,000.

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'Better get a canter on. Plenty to see.

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'Let's start with the house first.

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'An attractive, red brick property with plenty of parking

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'and a nice bit of garden to the side.

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'Ah, who am I kidding?

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'I don't think having room for the car or somewhere for the table

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'and chairs is going to be an issue, do you?'

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Well, entering this property is like walking through a window.

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First things first, if I were to own this,

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I would get rid of all the windows and doors

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and replace it with something much more in keeping with

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the building because look what's on the inside. It's stunning.

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You've got these lovely period beams,

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an inglenook fireplace with a beautiful grate at the back.

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I mean, this must be a couple of hundred years old.

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It's absolutely gorgeous and could be so homely.

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The back of the property has got a completely different feel to it.

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Much more modern, it's obviously an extension.

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There are no gorgeous features but something that I have to show you.

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Look at the size of this window! That is an opening! Wow!

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I mean, look at that!

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So, straightaway, you want to think about restructuring this room.

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Now, come through here and look at this kitchen.

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I'm getting a little bit excited cos I'm thinking,

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"What about knocking through this wall?"

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Again you've got another great big window area with fantastic views.

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You could perhaps have lovely bi-folding doors going

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all the way across, having a much bigger kitchen.

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Now that has got me excited.

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'Just off the kitchen is the old lobby and another lovely feature.

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'Upstairs there's a very dingy and dated bathroom

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'but there's four double bedrooms.

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'It's a lot of work, but, my, this is spacious accommodation.'

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# Came across a place in the middle of nowhere

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# With a big black horse and a cherry tree

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# Woo-hoo! #

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'Next to the house are some very dilapidated stables which

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'look to be in need of some serious structural attention.

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'Next to those is the outdoor arena, filled with a sort of textured

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'rubbered flooring to cushion the horses' hooves.

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'That wouldn't have been cheap to build although it pales into

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'insignificance when you check out the monster indoor arena opposite.'

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Just look at this space!

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This is in fact an international sized arena, and it's more than just

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somewhere for horse-mad kids to trot around at the weekend.

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This is a competition-sized structure

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and as big as it gets in horsey terms.

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And it's a considerable investment.

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You can't just throw up a barn and hope for the best.

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To build something like this

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you're probably looking in excess of 100 grand.

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'This is one expensive, super-large shed, probably with its own

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'special flooring, extra fine sand and carefully levelled floor.

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'Not to mention the bar and clubhouse on the side.

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'The more I see of this place, the more I'm staggered by its scale.'

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'Around the back of the indoor arena you have a large tarmaced area

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'and further land which belongs to the lot

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'but which the neighbours have access to.

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'And opposite the main house, you have student accommodation,

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'with five dorms and living quarters.

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'And then there's more.

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'Yes! More stables!'

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Are there enough horse owners around here

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to offer a viable livery service?

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Oh, I don't know.

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But would this property have to be a commercial enterprise?

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I think the value and the appeal here lies in the combination

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of the house and the fact you can keep your horses by your back door.

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That's many people's dream - to just pop out before work

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and again in the evening.

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No travelling, loads of time to ride,

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and just look after your animals.

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Perfect!

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For that reason, I think it's pretty special, don't you?

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OK, it all needs some work, but if you wanted to get this place up

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and running as a business again, all the component parts are there.

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Oh, and a potentially lovely home to live in as well.

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We asked a local estate agent along

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to see if he could make sense of it all.

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My first impressions of the centre is that it needs a lot of work.

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When estate agents say TLC, this is TLC with a capital T.

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But it's a got a lot of potential.

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What might excite people about this particular place is that

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it has potential to be re-established as an equestrian centre,

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it's got potential, perhaps, as a smallholding,

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convert it as an adventure centre for young people, youth.

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There are so many ideas for somebody who's got vision.

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The house is large but it needs a lot of renovation internally

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and probably some structural assessment

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from the external point of view,

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but, again, it's got potential, and with money spent on it,

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it'll be a lovely home.

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In terms of the size of this property, it's a big project.

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It's a very big project and not many people would take it on.

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The value in this property will depend

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on what the owner's going to do with it,

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but certainly the house itself has got potential

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to double in value from where it stands now.

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The rest of the land and the buildings around -

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some need to be pulled down, some need to be renovated,

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others have got potential as accommodation

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in some various forms and guises.

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I think the value of the house as it stands now,

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with a small amount of garden with it,

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is in the region of about £200,000,

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but if money was spent on it to modernise it,

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and quite a bit needs to be done, you'll easily double that.

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If one were to separate the land from the house,

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I think the land could be worth £300,000-400,000 on its own

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with the buildings that are existing on it

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and in a better state of order than some of them are.

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This is an extremely interesting proposition.

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You could reopen this place as a business, stable your own horses,

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run a small livery or just keep some livestock.

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It's some people's dream.

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Let's see who that person was at the auction.

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A massive potential - there's 20 stables, a soft-track arena.

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We've got a guide of 460-plus. Is anyone going to come in at 460?

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450? Trying to get a deal - £450,000.

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I'm not going below 450.

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If you're not here to pay 450, you don't want to buy it.

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450, I'm looking to buy. 450 I have.

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And 60, now, I'm looking for. 460, do I say?

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At £450,000. I'll take 5 if it'll help.

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At 455. 455, and 60 now, if you like.

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460, may I say?

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At £455,000, I've got.

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460, I'm looking for.

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We all done at £455,000. Do I see another 5?

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460, I'm bid.

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465 now do I say from either of you two?

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465, do I say?

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At £460,000, I have and 5 I'm looking for.

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Lots of property here. It's going to be sold at £460,000.

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£460,000, I will sell for the first time.

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£460,000 for the second time.

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Third and final time. If we're all done at £460,000...

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Sold on my right for 460. F812. Thank you.

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The successful bidders buying the equestrian centre

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for bang on the guide price of 460,000

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are cardiac nurse Shirley and her partner, Colin, who's a courier.

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I hope they're keen on the outdoors, because there's plenty of it here!

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I met them back at the house to find out their plans.

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-Lovely to meet you today.

-Hello.

-Wow!

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I was going to ask you, "Why have you bought this at auction?"

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But what I want to know is what you want to do with it.

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Just make it our home. It's not going to be a business as it was years ago.

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We're just going to make it a residential home for our own use.

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So you've bought it for yourselves to live in?

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Tell me you love horses.

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-We've got three...

-Yes! Thank goodness!

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Could you tell she had fallen for this property

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way before you even went to the auction?

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It ticked all the boxes.

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When we both had a look at the time,

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we thought we might be taking on too much.

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Then we sat down and just thought, "Yeah, we could make this work."

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I looked at it structurally

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and Shirley looked more at the equestrian side.

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So, Shirley, tell me about the animals.

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I've got a smallholding.

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We've got three horses that I ride with my daughter

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and she competes and we show them,

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and I've also got 22 sheep, cos I've got lambs at the moment,

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so I've got plenty of little lawnmowers to bring and tidy up.

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Well, there's plenty of sheep food here

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and Shirley does intend to create even more pasture

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from the land behind the indoor arena,

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which at the moment is rather wasted.

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So what about all the other buildings?

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The green metal barn out there, that's going.

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That's going to be taken down and that area will go back to pasture.

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We're not going to do liveries or anything like that.

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We don't want to run a business from here,

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which is what it did previously.

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The student accommodation's staying.

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Just tidy up the outside and just empty it out inside.

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-The indoor school, I've got visions of what I'd like that to look.

-Go on!

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No, I just wanted it painted and kick boards put round so it's tidy.

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It is rather large - one end will probably have the tractor

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and the bailing stuff in the end of it, just so they're in the dry.

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Let's talk about this property now, because I know this is your domain

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and this is what you're in charge of,

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so tell me - what are you going to do to improve it?

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Well, out here, we're going to be taking the chimney breast out.

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We're going to completely open the kitchen area.

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I'm going to have an island kitchen

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and an old farmhouse-type table extending into the dining room here.

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-Wow.

-And at the end, up that end,

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we're going to have an office for both of us.

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Colin and Shirley have set aside a healthy renovation budget

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of £100,000.

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This couple are certainly taking the plunge in more ways than one.

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Shirley proposed to me on Valentine's Day this year.

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-Oh, I'm filling up!

-We're getting married in Vegas in October.

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-Yeah.

-After how many years?

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-29 years.

-29 years of being engaged?

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Yeah, we don't like rushing into anything!

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So you've bought this, you've got this project,

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a wedding on the cards.

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-This is going to be quite an incredible year for you two.

-Yeah.

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It already has been.

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Things are happening that sometimes we just say to ourselves,

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"We can't believe our luck",

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-the way things have panned out so far.

-I am so excited for you.

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Good luck!

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-We will just be really excited to see how it all turns out.

-Thank you.

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Lovely to meet you.

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-Thank you.

-Thank you.

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So Colin and nurse Shirley are going to resuscitate this place

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and make it a wonderful home for them and the horses.

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It's a huge job to take on, but what an opportunity!

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A bit of a project of a lifetime.

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Find out how it goes later in the show.

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And from Colin and Shirley's glitzy Vegas wedding

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to the site of more traditional nuptials -

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the medieval church, Our Lady of the Virgin,

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a focal point in Chaddesden near Derby.

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Once a village, its old ties to local landowners the Wilmots

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can still be seen.

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Today, it's a popular suburb of Derby city,

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with good local amenities

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and transport links into the city itself.

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So a good place to live or invest in.

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The property I'm here to see,

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situated in a nice residential part of Chaddesden,

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it's a three-bedroom semi-detached. The guide price was £59,000-plus.

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It's on this corner plot, which is good news. Doesn't look too bad.

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Let's take a look inside.

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So what's on offer?

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A fairly standard layout - through the front door,

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stairs up to your bedrooms then through into your lounge.

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A really big surprise, cos it's absolutely huge.

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That's fantastic. What isn't so good is here

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in this bay. Lots and lots of damp.

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Look at the way the wallpaper's coming off, there.

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Maybe the roof of that has basically failed,

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or possibly problems round the window.

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That doesn't look too good either.

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Moving on from that, we do like the size of this room.

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Absolutely fantastic,

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although it does get a bit darker as you come towards this end.

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But what do you think's in here?

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Hmm? Hmm? Hmm?

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You're wrong, it was a bathroom.

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You wouldn't have expected that, would you?

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Not ideal at all, although I think, judging by a few other clues,

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there's been a few modifications to this house over the years,

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because you come out here into what is obviously an extension

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and this is where your kitchen is.

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How do I know it's an extension?

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Cos that's obviously the original exterior window.

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But in terms of a space, fantastic.

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In terms of it being a dry space -

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jury's out.

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MUSIC: "Trouble" by Shampoo

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In fact, the extent of the damp

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and mould in here makes this kitchen totally unusable.

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Maybe a look outside will shed a little light

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on why things are so bad.

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At the back of the property, the garden's not a bad size,

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but I'm here really to look at the roof on this kitchen extension,

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because, obviously, there's a lot of problems inside.

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It's a flat roof, notoriously bad for leaking

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if they're not well maintained.

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You are going to have to set aside

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some of your budget to sort that out, really.

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But in terms of space, yeah, it's all right.

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I'd definitely get someone to check the extension,

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with its flat roof and uPVC cladding.

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I reckon it would be much better replaced with a lovely,

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modern space that would be more family-friendly

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and would open out onto this long garden.

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You could have ample indoor and outdoor space,

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but a dry space would be a really good start.

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Another troubling aspect is that misplaced bathroom.

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It's not ideal, is it?

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Who wants a loo in the middle of the living room?

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MUSIC: "I Smell Trouble" by Ike And Tina Turner

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So upstairs here, a very standard layout - small boxroom there,

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which could actually be the bathroom,

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as opposed to where it is right now,

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although you'd lose a bedroom, so you'd have to weight that up.

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Second bedroom there and then a good-sized bedroom at the front,

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but once again, look at that front wall.

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So much damp in this property.

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Now, some of that could have been caused by the fact that

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it looks to me that it hasn't been lived in for quite a while,

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and you will naturally get that kind of condensating damp,

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but it could be more serious,

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so it's another reason why you really need to get this property

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looked over by somebody who knows what they're talking about.

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So it's time to call in a local expert,

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in this case the auctioneer who sold the property.

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The guide price was 59 grand-plus.

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The options here, really, I think are two-fold.

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It depends who buys it and want they want to do with it, ultimately.

0:17:570:18:00

The big thing about this house is its non-traditional construction.

0:18:000:18:04

In the expert's opinion,

0:18:040:18:05

this could be non-standard or non-traditional construction,

0:18:050:18:09

terms which are generally used for houses made from concrete blocks,

0:18:090:18:12

for instance, which could be tricky or impossible to get a mortgage on.

0:18:120:18:16

My assumption is that it will get renovated to a modest standard

0:18:160:18:21

and it will then get rented out.

0:18:210:18:23

I think that's likely to happen.

0:18:230:18:26

If you were to target the owner-occupier market,

0:18:260:18:29

so, for example, you're pointing it at first-time buyers,

0:18:290:18:35

clearly, mortgageability is an important aspect of that.

0:18:350:18:39

It's not always easy to tell

0:18:390:18:40

if a house is non-standard or traditional construction,

0:18:400:18:44

particularly if there's a covering to the fabric of the building,

0:18:440:18:48

so I would always recommend getting a survey done,

0:18:480:18:51

especially if you're relying on a mortgage.

0:18:510:18:54

He mentioned a modest renovation.

0:18:540:18:56

If that was carried out,

0:18:560:18:57

what does he think the property could fetch on the resale market?

0:18:570:19:01

I would say once improved, this property's probably not going

0:19:020:19:07

to have a value of much over £80,000-£85,000.

0:19:070:19:11

That's simply a reflection of the fact

0:19:110:19:13

that it's not traditional construction

0:19:130:19:15

and it would be difficult to mortgage.

0:19:150:19:17

What kind of returns could this house give an investor?

0:19:170:19:21

From a rental point of view, this would rent out very well,

0:19:210:19:23

once improved.

0:19:230:19:24

Rental value I think would be £550-£575 a calendar month.

0:19:240:19:29

Well, a few potential problems on this one, but nothing that

0:19:310:19:33

a good professional couldn't advise you on before you buy.

0:19:330:19:39

Still, it could be a good one to go for,

0:19:390:19:41

especially given that guide price.

0:19:410:19:43

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

0:19:430:19:45

Lot number 10, a centrally-heated, double-glazed, three-bedroom,

0:19:500:19:53

semi-detached house. It's freehold.

0:19:530:19:55

It's got scope for a bit of internal refurbishment.

0:19:550:19:59

Start me on this one. Lots of potential to it.

0:19:590:20:01

59-plus is the guide. Start me at 60, it's good value at that.

0:20:020:20:06

60,000?

0:20:060:20:07

58, then, to put it into the bidding.

0:20:070:20:09

58, thank you very much. 59's bid here.

0:20:090:20:12

At 59. 60 for you, sir? 60 is bid.

0:20:120:20:15

61.

0:20:150:20:17

At 61,000. 62?

0:20:170:20:20

61 I have seated. 62, quickly.

0:20:200:20:23

At £61,000, all done.

0:20:230:20:26

62.

0:20:260:20:28

At 62,000. 63.

0:20:280:20:30

64.

0:20:300:20:32

64,000. 65?

0:20:320:20:34

Either of you?

0:20:340:20:35

64,000 right ahead of me. It's in the market, we're going to sell.

0:20:350:20:38

65.

0:20:380:20:40

66.

0:20:400:20:41

500?

0:20:410:20:43

£65,000, a new bidder.

0:20:430:20:45

Once.

0:20:450:20:47

Twice. Third opportunity.

0:20:470:20:48

Sold at 65,000. Thank you.

0:20:500:20:52

Well, the successful bidders taking their chances on that semi

0:20:520:20:56

in Chaddesden were Nicola and her partner, Ian.

0:20:560:20:59

Ian was away working abroad when we came along,

0:20:590:21:02

so it was Nicola who met me back at the house to tell me more.

0:21:020:21:06

-Nicola, great to me.

-And you.

0:21:060:21:08

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

0:21:080:21:10

So, what's the story behind you buying this place, then?

0:21:100:21:12

-Well, we've been building property abroad.

-Right.

0:21:130:21:17

We've built a couple of blocks, me and my partner,

0:21:170:21:19

-and I came over here to the UK to have my daughter.

-Right.

0:21:190:21:23

So with the help of Mummy and Daddy, we thought we'd give it a go.

0:21:230:21:27

Fantastic. So where were you building?

0:21:270:21:29

-In Malta.

-Malta!

-Yes.

0:21:290:21:31

Wow, pretty place.

0:21:310:21:34

Very nice, yeah. Nice weather.

0:21:340:21:36

-Different building, completely different to what it is here.

-Right.

0:21:360:21:39

So this is going to be a first time.

0:21:390:21:41

So you were actually starting from scratch on the properties in Malta?

0:21:410:21:44

-Building from the ground up?

-Yes.

0:21:440:21:47

My first project was, I bought a little shop.

0:21:470:21:51

It was completely trashed.

0:21:510:21:53

This place is a palace compared to the shop I bought

0:21:530:21:55

and I did that up and opened it up as a business.

0:21:550:21:57

-In Malta?

-Yes.

-What led you to Malta?

0:21:570:21:59

-I just went over there for a little holiday, as you do.

-Right.

0:21:590:22:03

-Yeah, and stayed over.

-For how long?

0:22:030:22:05

20 years, nearly. MARTIN LAUGHS

0:22:050:22:08

So how long was the holiday?

0:22:080:22:10

-Originally, a few months.

-Oh, OK.

0:22:100:22:12

A few months turned into a few more and then you get settled, don't you?

0:22:120:22:15

-What brought you back here? To have your daughter?

-Yeah.

0:22:150:22:19

I was missing it a lot. I'd been away for a long time.

0:22:190:22:21

I was quite settled over there,

0:22:210:22:23

but the whole prospect of not having

0:22:230:22:25

-your close family around you...

-Right.

0:22:250:22:28

-Mummy and Daddy round the corner.

-Right.

0:22:280:22:31

So I came back to have my daughter and we thought we'd give it a go.

0:22:310:22:35

They read the legal pack and had the cash ready to buy.

0:22:380:22:42

Builder Ian had viewed the property, but Nicola hadn't.

0:22:420:22:45

I wasn't completely shocked, to be honest.

0:22:470:22:50

I didn't expect it to be all lovely and shiny with the price we paid.

0:22:500:22:54

-The layout's a bit strange.

-The layout is definitely weird.

0:22:540:22:59

But you can't, as you say, criticise the space.

0:22:590:23:02

There is actually a lot of room, isn't there?

0:23:020:23:04

I think it's got really nice prospects - nice and bright,

0:23:040:23:07

it's got a nice, big room here.

0:23:070:23:09

I think we can do something with it.

0:23:090:23:10

And what about the timescales for doing it?

0:23:100:23:12

Right, we've got...

0:23:120:23:14

I believe we've got about seven weeks.

0:23:140:23:18

-Oh.

-Then we need to go back over to Malta to do some work.

-Right.

0:23:180:23:22

So it's either going to come together or it's not

0:23:220:23:26

and it's going to have to be put back again

0:23:260:23:27

for another month and a half.

0:23:270:23:30

Which, again, is going to have to affect our decision

0:23:300:23:32

on rental or selling.

0:23:320:23:34

It's not only their return to Malta,

0:23:340:23:36

but also the possible non-standard construction of the house

0:23:360:23:39

that could affect their decision to rent or sell,

0:23:390:23:42

so for the time being, everything's hanging in the balance.

0:23:420:23:46

-Listen, congratulations. Good luck with it.

-Thanks very much.

0:23:460:23:49

-Looking forward to seeing how you get on.

-Yeah.

0:23:490:23:51

Well, Nicola certainly seems to be aware of some of the more

0:23:540:23:57

obvious problems with the property. Lots of things to decide.

0:23:570:24:00

You can find out what she does in the end later in the show.

0:24:000:24:03

Coming up, I'm all at sea in the costal town of Blyth...

0:24:050:24:09

It's a bit of a conundrum.

0:24:090:24:11

..and we'll go back to the semi in Derby

0:24:140:24:16

to check on the finishing touches.

0:24:160:24:18

Yes, the pink toilet seat. I love the pink toilet seat.

0:24:180:24:21

Earlier, we also visited the south coast, near Folkestone,

0:24:250:24:29

where a four-bedroom farmhouse with a ten-acre equestrian centre

0:24:290:24:33

thrown in went under the hammer.

0:24:330:24:35

This large lot sold at the guide price of £460,000

0:24:350:24:39

to courier Colin and cardiac nurse Shirley.

0:24:390:24:43

But they didn't only have this grand project on their minds...

0:24:430:24:47

Shirley proposed to me on Valentine's Day this year.

0:24:470:24:50

-Oh, I'm filling up!

-We're getting married in Vegas.

0:24:510:24:54

After how many years?

0:24:540:24:56

-29 years.

-29 years of being engaged?

0:24:560:24:59

Yeah, we don't like rushing into anything.

0:24:590:25:01

# Viva Las Vegas... #

0:25:010:25:04

So after finally tying the knot in Vegas,

0:25:040:25:08

we are back seven months later to see if the newly weds

0:25:080:25:11

have taken it just a slowly renovating their new home.

0:25:110:25:14

I'm pleased to say they've got even more to celebrate.

0:25:140:25:17

MUSIC: "Wow" by Kylie Minogue

0:25:170:25:19

A beautiful new home...

0:25:190:25:21

# Wow, wow, wow, wow... #

0:25:210:25:23

..with a fabulous new kitchen dining space...

0:25:230:25:25

# Wow, wow, wow, wow... #

0:25:250:25:27

..and if you liked that,

0:25:290:25:30

wait till you see what they've done with the front room.

0:25:300:25:33

It looks fantastic.

0:25:340:25:36

All the windows and doors have been replaced throughout,

0:25:360:25:39

as the wiring has, the plumbing and, of course,

0:25:390:25:42

everything has just been redecorated.

0:25:420:25:44

Just take a look, though, at the new bathroom upstairs.

0:25:440:25:47

# Wow, wow, wow, wow

0:25:470:25:50

# You got it, wow, wow, wow, wow... #

0:25:500:25:53

Upstairs is transformed.

0:25:560:25:59

Made the bathroom bigger, took the little toilet out

0:25:590:26:01

and made that our en-suite off of our room.

0:26:010:26:03

We've now got the dressing room, which isn't quite finished yet.

0:26:030:26:07

Then just decorated the other bedrooms

0:26:070:26:10

once the new windows were in.

0:26:100:26:12

It really is a top job throughout. Stylish finish with a homely feel.

0:26:130:26:18

And downstairs,

0:26:190:26:20

they've also managed to give the office space a new lease of life.

0:26:200:26:23

But it's the kitchen diner that really catches your eye.

0:26:250:26:28

Let's find out more.

0:26:280:26:29

OK, so the first thing we wanted to do

0:26:300:26:33

was to bring these two rooms together.

0:26:330:26:35

We took down this wall, which had the fireplaces

0:26:360:26:40

and doing so, we now ended up with a big, large kitchen with my island

0:26:400:26:45

and also, that gave us a large dining room.

0:26:450:26:48

Because we've got a big family,

0:26:480:26:51

they now all come down and we all enjoy ourselves.

0:26:510:26:54

# Wow, wow, wow, wow... #

0:26:540:26:56

They've certainly been enjoying themselves.

0:26:590:27:01

With the fixtures and fittings here, they all look great quality.

0:27:010:27:05

That also means they must probably be quite expensive,

0:27:050:27:08

so how's the budget looking?

0:27:080:27:10

Shirley's kept a book on all the expenditures from day one,

0:27:100:27:15

and she surprised me the other day, telling me that I was...

0:27:150:27:18

It's about 52,000 we've spent,

0:27:180:27:22

which is good, cos we've still got budget to sort the outside out.

0:27:220:27:26

But, yeah, without the furniture and stuff that we've bought,

0:27:260:27:30

it's about 52 on the decorating and work that's been done inside.

0:27:300:27:34

I'm pleased. Well below budget.

0:27:350:27:38

I'm happy.

0:27:380:27:40

Yes, so far, so good, but it certainly seems

0:27:400:27:43

that the rest of the budget and lots of energy will be needed outside.

0:27:430:27:47

We have a very old render on this property and over the years

0:27:470:27:53

it's become detached from the main brickwork in places

0:27:530:27:57

and, of course, when you get bad weather

0:27:570:27:59

and the rain gets behind it,

0:27:590:28:01

you can then get a little bit of dampness retention

0:28:010:28:04

into the brickwork.

0:28:040:28:05

We now know that that's all got to come down yet,

0:28:070:28:09

and that's all going to be replaced.

0:28:090:28:13

Bit more expense.

0:28:130:28:14

We've got permission to demolish the green pole barn.

0:28:140:28:17

We've done a lot inside taking that to bits.

0:28:170:28:20

But it's just a long, tedious job,

0:28:210:28:23

because you're tidying up as you go along.

0:28:230:28:26

This area's still a bit of a mess, as you can see,

0:28:260:28:29

but there was a Portakabin just over there

0:28:290:28:31

and then there was a mobile home there and a lorry back,

0:28:310:28:34

and we sort of broke everything down,

0:28:340:28:37

what we couldn't burn went in a skip and we burned what we could burn

0:28:370:28:41

and the rest of the scrap metal, I've taken up the local metal yard

0:28:410:28:44

and cashed it in.

0:28:440:28:46

That equates to about £2,000, which we were really happy with,

0:28:460:28:49

cos we've put that back in the budget and it's helped to pay

0:28:490:28:52

for some of the work that's been done on the house.

0:28:520:28:54

The drive to save money hasn't stopped there.

0:28:550:28:58

The huge indoor arena included a bar and a cafe.

0:28:580:29:03

We've taken the pub that was in the indoor school -

0:29:050:29:08

we've smashed that out and we've also taken the cafeteria out,

0:29:080:29:13

because it was really mucky and I was worried about vermin.

0:29:130:29:16

Also, the main thing was the business rates class it as a pub

0:29:160:29:21

and a cafeteria, so it had to go.

0:29:210:29:23

The indoor school is no more.

0:29:230:29:25

It's now a barn, used for storage

0:29:250:29:27

and that's where the sheep will lamb come the spring.

0:29:270:29:30

Shirley always intended to use the stables to house her horses,

0:29:330:29:37

and here they are, all settled in.

0:29:370:29:40

Meet Neo and Bobby.

0:29:400:29:42

As for the flock of sheep, well, here's Rambo the ram,

0:29:420:29:46

the advance party,

0:29:460:29:48

the rest to follow when a fence is built.

0:29:480:29:51

I love having the inglenook fire in the front room. It's so cosy.

0:29:510:29:55

I go in their to study and within ten minutes I'm fast asleep,

0:29:550:29:58

cos it's so snug.

0:29:580:29:59

-I think for you it's the kitchen, isn't it?

-Kitchen and shower.

0:30:000:30:04

THEY CHUCKLE

0:30:040:30:05

To be up here so long...

0:30:050:30:08

..doing all the work,

0:30:090:30:11

some of it very mucky, dirty,

0:30:110:30:14

when the showers were finished and I turned it on,

0:30:140:30:17

it was a wonderful feeling.

0:30:170:30:19

Ah, the joys of a renovation almost done.

0:30:220:30:25

There might still be a lot of jobs to do on this huge property,

0:30:270:30:30

but this pair seem pretty happy.

0:30:300:30:33

Well, this is home.

0:30:340:30:36

He reckons he'll be buried in the garden, somewhere,

0:30:360:30:38

so he's got to pick his plot.

0:30:380:30:39

It's just home and we'll get outside straight as we go along,

0:30:410:30:46

there's no rush.

0:30:460:30:48

I love the fact this is not a project for profit.

0:30:480:30:51

All the work here is about making a home, but we can still have a nosy

0:30:510:30:55

to see if Shirley and Colin have spent their £512,000 wisely.

0:30:550:30:59

A lot of work's been done on this property.

0:30:590:31:02

It's really nicely presented,

0:31:020:31:03

it's been made into a lovely home.

0:31:030:31:05

I think it's a lovely house, it's got a nice character to it,

0:31:050:31:09

nice, warm feeling.

0:31:090:31:10

I particularly like the oak door frames and the architraves,

0:31:100:31:15

the doors themselves that they put in.

0:31:150:31:17

They put in a lot of attention into making sure everything goes together.

0:31:170:31:21

So what about that £512,000 investment?

0:31:210:31:26

When the property's finished and there's not a lot to do,

0:31:260:31:29

this property's going to be worth in the region of £400,000.

0:31:290:31:33

But there's a lot more here than just the house.

0:31:330:31:36

How would all the land add to that value.

0:31:360:31:39

I think that you could probably add another £250,000 to £300,000 on top.

0:31:390:31:45

If this the house and all that, I think

0:31:450:31:47

it's just under 11 acres, came onto the open market,

0:31:470:31:51

I would suggest marketing it

0:31:510:31:53

at somewhere around the region of £750,000.

0:31:530:31:56

I think in its present state outside, I suppose that's quite fair.

0:31:560:32:01

Obviously, I would expect that to improve substantially

0:32:010:32:03

once we've got the outside how we want it.

0:32:030:32:06

That's a possible profit of between £138,000 and £238,000.

0:32:060:32:11

Those figures are not including all the taxes, like the £13,000

0:32:110:32:15

on stamp duty they had to pay or the £2,000 they got back from scrap.

0:32:150:32:20

Are they interested in the figures?

0:32:200:32:22

It's home, so I don't care how much it's worth, to be honest.

0:32:220:32:26

So will someone be making their new home here

0:32:300:32:33

in the port town of Blyth on the coast of Northumberland?

0:32:330:32:36

After a long spell of hard economic times,

0:32:380:32:41

Blyth is now enjoying major regeneration

0:32:410:32:44

with an abundance of new homes on offer

0:32:440:32:46

and no wonder -

0:32:460:32:47

just take a look at this stunning, long stretch of golden beach...

0:32:470:32:51

MUSIC: "Seaside" by The Ordinary Boys

0:32:530:32:57

..just one aspect of the town that's been cleaned up

0:33:040:33:07

and transformed in recent years,

0:33:070:33:09

thanks to a multimillion pound investment by local businesses

0:33:090:33:13

and the local authority.

0:33:130:33:14

Well, one of the top tips for property investing

0:33:150:33:19

is to buy in areas where somebody else is ploughing in lots of money

0:33:190:33:24

rejuvenating the infrastructure.

0:33:240:33:27

Regenerating, rejuvenating, rebuilding,

0:33:270:33:29

all that kind of stuff is good news,

0:33:290:33:32

which you can ride off the back of.

0:33:320:33:34

That could certainly be the case here in Blyth,

0:33:340:33:37

and I'm looking at a three-bedroom house

0:33:370:33:40

which had a guide price of £35,000-plus.

0:33:400:33:42

Got to be worth a look.

0:33:420:33:44

For that amount of money, you're probably not expecting much,

0:33:470:33:49

but you're in for a surprise.

0:33:490:33:52

Nice little entrance area there and then into the hallway

0:33:520:33:57

and really good feel.

0:33:570:33:58

Lots of little details which say that this was a house in its day

0:33:580:34:04

that was actually pretty smart.

0:34:040:34:07

So hallway here, upstairs three bedrooms,

0:34:070:34:10

into the front living room.

0:34:100:34:12

Pretty nice-sized space.

0:34:120:34:13

Immediately drawn to the fire.

0:34:130:34:15

Probably want to strip that back, open it up,

0:34:170:34:19

give some real focus to the room.

0:34:190:34:22

But lots of light, bit of noise from the road out there,

0:34:220:34:26

so double... No, it's only got single glazing at the moment.

0:34:260:34:29

That's good news,

0:34:290:34:31

cos double glazing would definitely cut down on the noise.

0:34:310:34:33

Through this...

0:34:330:34:35

Hmm.

0:34:360:34:38

..cardboard construction archway into the rear living room...

0:34:380:34:43

I love that.

0:34:430:34:45

It's straight out of Blue Peter -

0:34:470:34:48

"I know, let's make an archway, children.

0:34:480:34:50

"Sticky back plastic and bits of cardboard..."

0:34:500:34:53

Anyway, carrying on through to the kitchen,

0:34:530:34:57

which leaves a little bit to be desired, as you can see.

0:34:570:35:02

It's not a big space.

0:35:020:35:03

The way it's laid out at the moment with these units doesn't work

0:35:030:35:07

particularly well, so a bit of thought in here.

0:35:070:35:09

Even think about maybe moving the kitchen that way,

0:35:090:35:12

putting it in that rear room there to make a lovely kitchen

0:35:120:35:15

open-plan living area and having this as a utility room.

0:35:150:35:20

But think about that guide price.

0:35:200:35:22

It's good for the money, isn't it?

0:35:240:35:27

And get it near the guide price of 35 grand

0:35:280:35:31

and your initial outlay would be low

0:35:310:35:34

and down here, there's not too much to spend.

0:35:340:35:36

MUSIC: "For The Love Of Money" by The O'Jays

0:35:370:35:42

The room size is generous,

0:35:420:35:44

the high ceiling, cornicing and original spindles a delight to see.

0:35:440:35:50

Add some double glazing and a real fire

0:35:500:35:52

and down here could be simply lovely.

0:35:520:35:54

Out back, there is need for a bit of a tidy up, but this compact space

0:35:550:36:00

could make a pleasant patio, and remember that lovely beach nearby.

0:36:000:36:05

But that broken window is drawing me back indoors.

0:36:050:36:09

So, upstairs, and...

0:36:090:36:13

Hmm, that's not good, is it? Uh-oh.

0:36:130:36:16

Looks like a bit of unfortunate vandalism.

0:36:170:36:20

That's going to have to be replaced.

0:36:200:36:22

Having said that, the windows in general are a bit shot,

0:36:220:36:24

so double glazing required.

0:36:240:36:26

But lots of space again upstairs.

0:36:260:36:28

I love the extra space on the landing here,

0:36:280:36:30

big enough for a wardrobe,

0:36:300:36:32

but one thing I have noticed going on round the house -

0:36:320:36:35

lots and lots of air fresheners all over the place.

0:36:350:36:37

Now, you might think that's quite nice,

0:36:370:36:40

but I think that's a little bit suspicious.

0:36:400:36:42

Why are there so many air fresheners?

0:36:420:36:44

Possibly a bit of damp they're trying to cover up the smell of.

0:36:440:36:48

Well, who knows, but up here on the landing, access to the loft

0:36:480:36:51

and another thing you should check, if you possibly can,

0:36:510:36:54

is up into the loft space

0:36:540:36:56

and you do not want to see that -

0:36:560:36:58

daylight, and also notice that the underside of the slates

0:36:580:37:03

doesn't have any felt on it.

0:37:030:37:05

That's not good, so a bit of roofing work might be required,

0:37:050:37:08

but two bedrooms - a smaller one there

0:37:080:37:10

and a good-sized double at the front,

0:37:100:37:12

and then through to your rear double and it's a really nice size again

0:37:120:37:16

and it gets better through here into the bathroom,

0:37:160:37:20

which is in half-decent nick.

0:37:200:37:22

Now the good news is you've got a lovely en suite.

0:37:220:37:25

The bad news is it's the only bathroom in the property

0:37:250:37:29

and accessing it through one of the bedrooms is not going to be ideal

0:37:290:37:34

and having had a quick glance around at the layout up here,

0:37:340:37:37

I don't know really where else the bathroom could go,

0:37:370:37:41

so a bit of a conundrum.

0:37:410:37:43

I suppose you could make a corridor through this room

0:37:430:37:47

to access the bathroom,

0:37:470:37:48

but it would turn this into a property with one double

0:37:480:37:51

and two single bedrooms, which isn't the most market-friendly option.

0:37:510:37:55

And although it's possible the loft space could be made into a bedroom -

0:37:570:38:01

we can't get up there today -

0:38:010:38:03

you'd need to keep the ceiling price for the area front of mind,

0:38:030:38:07

as all these changes cost big bucks.

0:38:070:38:09

The guide price for this house was £35,000.

0:38:130:38:16

It's time to talk figures and floor plans with a local property expert.

0:38:160:38:20

The property at the moment stands in a good position

0:38:220:38:25

with the layout of the kitchen-dining room area

0:38:250:38:27

and the living room.

0:38:270:38:28

The first-floor layout I don't think is suitable at the moment.

0:38:280:38:31

Moving the bathroom into one of the bedrooms would certainly create

0:38:310:38:34

a much better layout,

0:38:340:38:35

but it would also change the value of the property.

0:38:350:38:38

So if the layout was left as is

0:38:380:38:40

but the property renovated throughout,

0:38:400:38:43

how much could it then sell for?

0:38:430:38:45

In the current market conditions, I would look to say the resale value

0:38:450:38:49

of this property would be between £60,000-£65,000,

0:38:490:38:52

if it was done to an exceptional standard.

0:38:520:38:54

He suggested this would dip to between 50,000 and 55,000

0:38:560:39:00

if the bathroom were moved into the smaller of the current bedrooms.

0:39:000:39:05

This may be a better property to invest in long term,

0:39:050:39:08

which begs the question,

0:39:080:39:10

how would the two scenarios play out on the rental market?

0:39:100:39:14

For the property as a three-bedroomed,

0:39:140:39:16

you would look to achieve about £400-450 per calendar month.

0:39:160:39:21

As a possible two-bed with reformatting the upstairs layout,

0:39:220:39:25

I would say 350-375 per calendar month.

0:39:250:39:28

Well, it's a lot of house for the money,

0:39:300:39:31

and keep your costs relatively low on the renovation,

0:39:310:39:35

and you would end up with a cracking little house

0:39:350:39:38

that could deliver you a fantastic rental yield

0:39:380:39:41

or be a lovely place to live.

0:39:410:39:43

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

0:39:430:39:46

Good size, mid-terrace.

0:39:500:39:52

Do I have 35 anywhere?

0:39:520:39:53

35,000.

0:39:530:39:56

How about 33?

0:39:560:39:57

No bids at 33,000?

0:39:590:40:01

I'll go as low as 31.

0:40:010:40:03

I have to feed my kids tonight. 31,000, anyone?

0:40:030:40:07

31,000 bid. Gentleman standing at 31,000.

0:40:070:40:10

32. Sorry, hold your hand up. 32,000 bid.

0:40:100:40:12

33. 33 bid.

0:40:120:40:14

34?

0:40:140:40:16

34 bid. 35?

0:40:160:40:17

35 bid. 36.

0:40:170:40:19

36 sitting down.

0:40:200:40:22

37.

0:40:220:40:23

38. 39.

0:40:230:40:25

40. 41.

0:40:250:40:27

42.

0:40:270:40:28

Gentleman's bid at 41,000 standing. I'll take 500. 41 and a half.

0:40:280:40:32

No? Gentleman standing at £41,000.

0:40:320:40:35

Do I have 41 and a half anywhere else?

0:40:350:40:38

I'm here and I'm selling at 41,000. 500?

0:40:380:40:41

No? I'm selling once at 41,000.

0:40:410:40:45

I'm selling for the second time at £41,000.

0:40:450:40:49

Gentleman standing at 41,000.

0:40:490:40:51

The hammer fell at £41,000 for Andrew, who hails from Durham,

0:40:510:40:56

some 50 minutes away from his new purchase.

0:40:560:40:58

Andrew's an assistant engineer

0:40:580:41:00

for the county council's highways department.

0:41:000:41:03

MUSIC: "Stand And Deliver" by Adam And The Ants

0:41:030:41:06

This is his second investment property and he went to the auction

0:41:100:41:14

with chum Jamie, who will also be helping with the renovation work.

0:41:140:41:18

But how did Andrew find his first auction experience?

0:41:180:41:22

-Andrew, good to meet you.

-Good to meet you too, Martin.

0:41:220:41:25

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

0:41:250:41:26

Tell me why you wanted to buy the house.

0:41:260:41:28

Well, if I'm honest, when I was at the auction,

0:41:280:41:30

I was actually looking for another property.

0:41:300:41:32

-Oh.

-Which was actually withdrawn when I got that far.

-Ah.

0:41:320:41:35

So I had a bit of a panic on, thinking, "I've come all this way,

0:41:350:41:39

"I'm looking to invest in something. What can I do?"

0:41:390:41:42

Fortunately, we had a look through the catalogue.

0:41:420:41:44

This property stood out because it's in Blyth,

0:41:440:41:47

an area that my friend, Jamie, is familiar with,

0:41:470:41:49

and he was with me at the time and I said, "What do you think?"

0:41:490:41:52

We managed to phone his dad and he looked it up on the internet

0:41:520:41:55

and was able to give us some good feedback and said,

0:41:550:41:57

"If you can get it for the right price, go for it," so we did.

0:41:570:42:01

Let me just get the timescale of this right -

0:42:010:42:03

Jamie, your friend, phoned his dad when?

0:42:030:42:06

While we were sitting waiting for the auction to begin.

0:42:060:42:09

-So had you seen the property beforehand?

-No.

0:42:090:42:11

Had you read the legal pack?

0:42:110:42:13

Yes, we did. We were advised to do that.

0:42:130:42:15

We spoke to the solicitors that were there who I then went on

0:42:150:42:19

-and employed to do the legal work for me for the purchase.

-Ah, OK.

0:42:190:42:23

-So it worked out all right.

-Yeah, it worked out in the end.

0:42:230:42:26

Bit "fly by the seat of your pants-y", isn't it?

0:42:260:42:28

Just a little bit, but, you know...

0:42:280:42:30

What's life if you don't take a risk now and again?

0:42:320:42:35

But to keep any further risks low,

0:42:350:42:36

Andrew wants to bring this project in for £50,000,

0:42:360:42:41

making his budget for the work 9,000.

0:42:410:42:44

So it's unlikely he'll be able to factor in moving the bathroom.

0:42:440:42:48

As well as property renovating

0:42:480:42:50

and working full-time as an engineer,

0:42:500:42:52

Andrew's a motorbike enthusiast.

0:42:520:42:54

He has seven of them and renovates classic cars.

0:42:540:42:58

With Andrew's hands full,

0:43:010:43:02

Jamie's going to be on hand to oversee the work here and take on

0:43:020:43:06

a lot of the minor jobs while bringing experts in for the rest.

0:43:060:43:10

With a three to four-month timescale,

0:43:100:43:13

where are they going to start?

0:43:130:43:15

The first job we need to do is address the windows and doors,

0:43:150:43:18

cos they're a bit of a nightmare.

0:43:180:43:19

On top of that, we're probably going to decorate throughout.

0:43:190:43:22

New carpet, the kitchen needs updating, so put a new kitchen in

0:43:220:43:25

and just give it a good lick of paint

0:43:250:43:27

and hopefully see a good result at the end.

0:43:270:43:30

And some of the more structural things,

0:43:300:43:32

like the roof and things like that?

0:43:320:43:34

The roof, we're going to get somebody in to have a look at

0:43:340:43:36

and get a quote for how much it's going to cost to possibly repair

0:43:360:43:39

-or, if needs be, replace.

-Ooh.

0:43:390:43:40

Ooh, yes. So hopefully it's not going to be too much, as we have a...

0:43:400:43:44

Not a tight budget but we have a budget

0:43:440:43:46

that I want to try and stick to if I possibly can.

0:43:460:43:48

-Listen, congratulations. Good luck with it.

-Excellent.

0:43:480:43:51

-We look forward to seeing how it turns out.

-Thanks a lot.

0:43:510:43:53

Well, buying a property that you've seen for the first time

0:43:540:43:58

at the auction and only via the auction catalogue

0:43:580:44:01

is not to be recommended,

0:44:010:44:03

but at least Andrew did read the legal pack

0:44:030:44:06

and, it seems, with his friend Jamie's help,

0:44:060:44:10

he's all revved up and ready to go to sort this place out.

0:44:100:44:14

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

0:44:140:44:16

Well, the clock has been ticking

0:44:200:44:21

and work should be well under way on those properties.

0:44:210:44:24

Have the piles of bricks, the bags of cement gone?

0:44:240:44:27

Has the paint even dried on the walls?

0:44:270:44:30

Time to go back and find out.

0:44:300:44:31

We've returned to Chaddesden in Derby.

0:44:340:44:37

This popular residential area

0:44:370:44:39

houses a three-bedroom semi-detached in need of some TLC.

0:44:390:44:43

The first thing I noticed was the odd living room layout.

0:44:450:44:48

But what do you think's in here?

0:44:500:44:52

Hmm? Hmm? Hmm? Hmm?

0:44:520:44:55

You're wrong, it was a bathroom.

0:44:550:44:57

Sold at 65,000. Thank you.

0:44:580:45:00

..to Ian and Nicola who had returned from Malta,

0:45:000:45:03

where they already had been developing new builds.

0:45:030:45:06

Nicola and Ian certainly had their work cut out with this house -

0:45:060:45:10

the kitchen was riddled with damp, thanks to a flat roof,

0:45:100:45:13

and it wasn't much better upstairs,

0:45:130:45:16

and they had, thanks to a planned trip to Malta,

0:45:160:45:19

only seven weeks to turn it around.

0:45:190:45:22

Well, seven MONTHS later,

0:45:220:45:24

Nicola has returned from her home in Malta to review progress.

0:45:240:45:28

Well, since we bought the property, we started gutting it.

0:45:280:45:32

Then we went away - we went away for about two-and-a-half months,

0:45:380:45:41

so basically, the whole of summer.

0:45:410:45:43

We sort of left it be after gutting it,

0:45:430:45:45

then when we returned, em...yeah, we started back on it again.

0:45:450:45:50

Main jobs we've had to do, starting with the roof, the water,

0:45:540:45:57

cos there was - as you saw - plenty of damp everywhere.

0:45:570:46:01

We had some builders in and we had some people to have a look at it

0:46:010:46:04

and it seemed that there were was some - is it pointing? - on the roof.

0:46:040:46:09

The kitchen was absolutely horrendous, wasn't it?

0:46:090:46:12

It was all damp and we've had a whole new roof

0:46:120:46:14

and we've insulated all the kitchen.

0:46:140:46:17

We ripped the bathroom out completely and had a new bathroom.

0:46:180:46:22

I love the pink toilet seat. I originally bought it for myself.

0:46:270:46:30

My daughter loved it as well.

0:46:300:46:31

Didn't go too well with the other half,

0:46:310:46:34

so...it's ended up here for someone else to appreciate.

0:46:340:46:37

It would appear that Ian and Nicola's plans

0:46:370:46:40

for a developing future in the UK has been a flash in the pan.

0:46:400:46:44

With the job only half done, have they had a change of heart?

0:46:460:46:50

Yeah, then we came to a stage where we had an opportunity abroad,

0:46:500:46:55

so we then had to make a decision whether we were going to finish it,

0:46:550:46:58

as we originally planned, and sell it,

0:46:580:47:00

or perhaps put it back in auction for a quick sale.

0:47:000:47:04

So we've gone for the quick sale.

0:47:040:47:07

# Well, I guess you must have had a change of heart. #

0:47:070:47:14

I've had to make some decisions on where to stop

0:47:140:47:16

and we took some advice, obviously, from the auctioneer

0:47:160:47:19

at what would improve the cost and what wouldn't

0:47:190:47:21

and where we could stop on that.

0:47:210:47:23

So...yeah, the whole outside was painted and the cladding.

0:47:230:47:26

We decided to leave it there.

0:47:260:47:28

Nicola hopes flipping it back to the auction

0:47:280:47:31

could realise a sale price of £80,000.

0:47:310:47:34

We've spent around three, maybe three-and-a-half so far.

0:47:340:47:38

Em...I know I had a bigger budget in my mind,

0:47:380:47:42

but I think I would have to spend quite a bit more to finish it,

0:47:420:47:46

so, bearing in mind we've not finished it,

0:47:460:47:48

we've spent about 3,500, quite happy with that.

0:47:480:47:50

Em...it might be just a little bit more,

0:47:500:47:53

cos I've still got to finish off with the painting and things, so maybe a little bit more.

0:47:530:47:57

But, yeah - we'll probably finish around 3,500.

0:47:570:48:00

Well, this is very unusual.

0:48:020:48:04

What will two local property experts think

0:48:040:48:06

of this part-finished project?

0:48:060:48:08

There's still an awful lot to do

0:48:100:48:12

to make it presentable for resale, or even for rent.

0:48:120:48:17

I sort of sense that we're in-between -

0:48:170:48:21

something's being done,

0:48:210:48:22

but there's a lot of things that haven't been done, somehow.

0:48:220:48:25

I mean, there's good reason for that, I'm sure,

0:48:250:48:28

but it would appear to me that there's very little been achieved,

0:48:280:48:31

other than probably some plastering, decorating

0:48:310:48:34

and a new bathroom, of course, but that's about as far as it goes.

0:48:340:48:37

There is a question mark

0:48:370:48:38

over whether or not the house is of standard construction.

0:48:380:48:42

There is a whole host of definitions of "non-standard" -

0:48:420:48:46

in this case, Nicola has discovered her house is made of brick,

0:48:460:48:50

but still hasn't had a survey.

0:48:500:48:52

If the house is non-standard,

0:48:520:48:54

it could be more difficult to get a mortgage.

0:48:540:48:57

If it is standard, all is well.

0:48:570:48:59

Obviously, all of this has an effect on the valuation,

0:48:590:49:01

so what if it is standard construction?

0:49:010:49:04

Taking into consideration the work to be done,

0:49:040:49:07

if this was completely finished, I would expect a sale price

0:49:070:49:10

of around £110,000-£115,000.

0:49:100:49:13

And if it's non-standard?

0:49:130:49:15

I think it wouldn't have a value in excess of £95,000.

0:49:150:49:19

And that's simply because the market has been narrowed down

0:49:190:49:23

by the fact that it's difficult to mortgage.

0:49:230:49:26

It all goes to show, it's very, very important

0:49:260:49:29

to get a surveyor to tell you what's what.

0:49:290:49:33

OK, there is still tonnes to do to this property

0:49:330:49:36

and Nicola and Ian hope to sell it on for £80,000,

0:49:360:49:40

which would give them a profit of over £11,000,

0:49:400:49:44

minus taxes and expenses.

0:49:440:49:46

Question is, if they do manage to flip it at auction,

0:49:460:49:49

will the next investor see a profit here?

0:49:490:49:52

If they bought it for the £80,000

0:49:520:49:54

and did a modest refurbishment for, say, £10,000,

0:49:540:49:58

then on those valuations, there could be a possible loss.

0:49:580:50:01

Sounds quite risky.

0:50:010:50:03

Would an investment to produce rental income work, though?

0:50:030:50:07

Every property is rentable -

0:50:070:50:08

you've just got to get the price right.

0:50:080:50:11

I would suggest a rental price of between £475 and £495pcm.

0:50:110:50:17

For the rental market, clearly, you've got to finish it off,

0:50:170:50:20

you've got to put in a working kitchen and make it presentable.

0:50:200:50:24

Assuming that to be the case, it would have a rental value

0:50:240:50:27

of between £475 and £500pcm.

0:50:270:50:31

Well, that's better. On the same assumptions of spend,

0:50:310:50:35

this could generate a yield of just over 6% -

0:50:350:50:37

respectable enough,

0:50:370:50:39

as is Nicola and Ian's possible profit of £11,500,

0:50:390:50:43

minus taxes and expenses, of course.

0:50:430:50:46

We'll finish this place off, we'll pop it auction.

0:50:480:50:51

If it sells, very good - we'll say goodbye to this,

0:50:510:50:54

hopefully start a new project abroad, if not, maybe something here.

0:50:540:50:59

Earlier, I was in the lovely port town of Blythe in Northumberland.

0:51:040:51:07

Just a stone's throw from its gorgeous, long stretch of beach,

0:51:070:51:12

in one of its residential streets,

0:51:120:51:14

is this three-bedroomed terrace,

0:51:140:51:16

which mostly just needed some care and attention.

0:51:160:51:20

Enter Andrew, a full-time engineer from Durham,

0:51:200:51:23

who was at the auction with his friend Jamie,

0:51:230:51:25

who was going to help him with the work.

0:51:250:51:28

And while he got a pat on the back for reading the legal pack,

0:51:280:51:31

he did commit another auction no-no

0:51:310:51:33

by purchasing a property he'd never viewed.

0:51:330:51:36

When I was at the auction,

0:51:390:51:40

-I was actually looking for another property...

-Ooh.

0:51:400:51:42

-..which was actually withdrawn when I got that far.

-Ah.

0:51:420:51:45

So had a bit of a panic on, thinking "I've come all this way.

0:51:450:51:48

"I'm looking to invest in something - what can I do?"

0:51:480:51:51

-So, had you seen the property beforehand?

-No.

0:51:510:51:54

A bit fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, innit?

0:51:540:51:57

Just a little bit, but you know...

0:51:570:51:59

MARTIN LAUGHS

0:51:590:52:00

What's life if you don't take a risk now and again?

0:52:000:52:03

Andrew might not mind taking a risk,

0:52:030:52:06

but he also had his friend Jamie to help with the work.

0:52:060:52:09

Four months after I first met Andrew,

0:52:090:52:11

let's see what they've done.

0:52:110:52:13

There's still some bits and pieces to clean up and finish off,

0:52:380:52:41

but down here is looking a lot better,

0:52:410:52:43

and much less "Blue Peter."

0:52:430:52:45

The original features have been maintained,

0:52:460:52:48

which I always love to see.

0:52:480:52:50

The main problem with this property, though,

0:52:500:52:53

was that there was only one bathroom and it was accessed via a bedroom.

0:52:530:52:57

Has that seen any changes?

0:52:570:52:59

Well, if you remember, this was the en-suite bathroom

0:53:010:53:03

that also doubled as a family bathroom.

0:53:030:53:06

The only way to access it, of course, was through the master bedroom.

0:53:060:53:09

Obviously needs to be finished off, but in our developments,

0:53:090:53:11

it's all changed now.

0:53:110:53:12

# Ch-ch-ch-changes

0:53:120:53:14

# Turn and face the strains

0:53:140:53:17

# Ch-ch-changes... #

0:53:170:53:19

And here we have the newly created bedroom,

0:53:190:53:21

within the master bedroom, being created with two stud walls,

0:53:210:53:24

giving shared access to the bathroom,

0:53:240:53:26

so any family that comes here has a definite three-bedroom property

0:53:260:53:29

and everyone has access to the bathroom

0:53:290:53:31

and I am very pleased with the end result.

0:53:310:53:34

And I can see why -

0:53:340:53:36

I wasn't sure about sacrificing the space to make a corridor,

0:53:360:53:40

but on balance, this is a good solution

0:53:400:53:42

to the bathroom conundrum.

0:53:420:53:44

So, how did that £9,000 budget cope with all these changes?

0:53:440:53:49

The £9,000 budget, I believe,

0:53:500:53:51

was probably a little bit conservative, if I'm honest.

0:53:510:53:55

A few expenses I was hoping would be cheaper weren't, such as the kitchen,

0:53:550:54:00

and the end of the day, I have actually spent £11,800.

0:54:000:54:04

So I've gone nearly 30% over budget.

0:54:040:54:06

I'm still impressed - for that money,

0:54:060:54:08

he's installed new doors, double-glazing, the roof...

0:54:080:54:12

Remember we could see daylight peeping through the last time?

0:54:120:54:17

# To my surprise

0:54:170:54:22

# And my daylight... #

0:54:240:54:28

And the property has been plastered, painted and carpeted,

0:54:280:54:33

although it wasn't Andrew who was hands-on,

0:54:330:54:36

getting this place turned around.

0:54:360:54:38

Since you were last here, the decision had been

0:54:380:54:40

that I was going to do some of the work to help Jamie,

0:54:400:54:43

but as it's turned out, due to my commitments,

0:54:430:54:45

I've done, if I'm honest, nothing.

0:54:450:54:49

All the work has been done and managed by Jamie

0:54:490:54:51

cos he's been able to do all the work and I've been able to just sit back, relax and let him get on with it.

0:54:510:54:56

Nice work if you can get it!

0:54:560:54:58

But Andrew did call in the experts to fix the roof,

0:54:580:55:01

install the windows and doors

0:55:010:55:03

and do the plastering and carpets.

0:55:030:55:06

It really was a lot of work to get done

0:55:060:55:08

in what's only gone slightly over

0:55:080:55:10

Andrew's original three to four-month timescale.

0:55:100:55:13

Has he learned any valuable lessons, doing up his first auction property?

0:55:130:55:18

One of the things I have learned, when I go into doing my next project,

0:55:200:55:23

is to maybe have a stock of parts and screws and bits and pieces,

0:55:230:55:28

cos the one thing Jamie's complained about

0:55:280:55:30

is the number of times he's had to go backwards and forwards

0:55:300:55:32

to various shops to get the bits and pieces we need.

0:55:320:55:34

It'd be much better if we had a stock of our own parts

0:55:340:55:37

in the back of the truck so we can just work straight from there.

0:55:370:55:40

Sounds like he's already thinking ahead to his next renovation.

0:55:410:55:45

First, though, we've invited two local property experts

0:55:450:55:48

to have a look at the house,

0:55:480:55:50

starting with the one who viewed it

0:55:500:55:52

when we were here previously.

0:55:520:55:54

Since I was last at the property, it has improved significantly,

0:55:550:55:58

with restoration work to the kitchen.

0:55:580:56:01

The bedroom has been moved to accommodate a bathroom, now,

0:56:010:56:04

so we're keeping it to a three-bed,

0:56:040:56:06

which I feel will be appealing to a first-time buyer market.

0:56:060:56:09

It's a lovely, bright property.

0:56:090:56:11

It's a blank canvas for a first-time buyer.

0:56:110:56:14

Lovely, light carpets, light walls, modern kitchen and bathroom.

0:56:140:56:19

Well-designed and it'll be a very popular house.

0:56:190:56:22

So, they both seem impressed

0:56:230:56:24

with what's been done here to improve the property,

0:56:240:56:27

but how would the finances fare?

0:56:270:56:30

Remember, Andrew's total spend on the purchase and the work

0:56:300:56:33

is £52,800.

0:56:330:56:36

What could he charge if he puts it on the rental market?

0:56:360:56:39

In the rental market, I would look to rent this property

0:56:420:56:45

for around £475pcm, or close to that mark.

0:56:450:56:49

I would love to achieve, on this property,

0:56:490:56:51

a rental value of £475pcm.

0:56:510:56:55

I was expecting £350-£400,

0:56:550:56:57

but to hear it's 475, that's a big improvement.

0:56:570:57:01

Andrew did exactly the right thing in keeping those three bedrooms

0:57:010:57:05

and it would give him a great yield of nearly 11%.

0:57:050:57:09

But Andrew is only going to look into renting

0:57:090:57:12

if he can't sell the property.

0:57:120:57:14

Let's find out what the agents would market it for, sale-wise.

0:57:140:57:18

If this property was to be put onto the open market,

0:57:180:57:21

I would look to put it on to achieve between £60,000 and £65,000.

0:57:210:57:25

I would be confident to achieve

0:57:250:57:26

between £65,000-£70,000 for this property.

0:57:260:57:30

The bottom valuation of 60 would mean a respectable profit

0:57:300:57:33

of just over £7,000,

0:57:330:57:35

while that top valuation of 70,000 could give him 17 grand,

0:57:350:57:40

all minus the usual fees and taxes, of course.

0:57:400:57:43

Wow! That's really good.

0:57:430:57:45

That's round about the ballpark I was hoping for,

0:57:450:57:47

cos it gives me a nice, comfortable profit margin

0:57:470:57:50

which means I can move on to my next project.

0:57:500:57:53

Well, that's it for today.

0:57:550:57:56

Join us next time, when we meet more brave auction buyers

0:57:560:57:59

trying to make a bit of money on property

0:57:590:58:01

or possibly just trying to find a place to live.

0:58:010:58:04

-We'll see you next time.

-Goodbye.

-Bye.

0:58:040:58:05

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