Episode 60 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello. Auctions give you such a huge choice at some very good prices

and that's why they've become increasingly popular.

Yes, with thousands of auctions happening up and down the country,

maybe it's time for you to consider buying your next home

under the hammer.

Well, when it comes to buying property,

there are lots of tricks of the trade

that seasoned developers like Lucy and I know.

There's no getting away from it,

for the first timer, ha! There's just an awful lot to learn.

So, was it first-timers, or experts and seasoned property buyers

who bought the properties on today's show?

In Staffordshire, with a bit of work,

this house could really blossom.

What an absolute delight.

Whereas in Middlesex,

I see a building with plenty of room to grow.

Wow!

It's vast, it's huge.

And in Derbyshire, have I unearthed a real gem?

I think there's more to this property than meets the eye.

All of these properties have been sold at auction.

We'll find out who bought them and what they paid for them

when they went under the hammer.

You got it, sir, well done.

The town of Newcastle-under-Lyme

sits close to Stoke-on-Trent and The Potteries.

And here's a bit of history for you.

In the early 19th century,

the town had a flourishing hat-making industry

and, at the peak of production,

it's estimated that a third of the population were making hats.

The hat factories are long gone

and the town's prosperity now derives from a variety of sources.

With its proximity to the M6,

Newcastle-Under-Lyme is now regarded as a commuter town,

with residents having easy access to Birmingham and Manchester.

Well, three miles from the centre of Stoke,

in the Porthill area of Newcastle-Under-Lyme

is the property I'm here to see.

£95,000 plus was the guide price for this,

a three-bedroomed semidetached.

It looks pretty tidy from the outside.

Let's take a look.

So, what do you get for your money? Let's have a look.

Stairs and two bedrooms there

and then through into your front living room, nice bay window,

we like that, lots of light pouring in, which is good.

Um, fireplace at a kind of angle,

which actually creates a nice-ish feature

but it doesn't half chomp into this room rather

and certainly that fireplace looks pretty old, so you'd want to have that checked out.

But it's mirrored on this side, in the second living room area,

by another fireplace there, again at this angle.

Um, it's a feature, for sure. Um, that bit is fine.

It all starts to go a little bit pear-shaped

when you come through here.

Um, explore that in a second.

This is the kitchen.

It's built into an extension on the back and it's not a bad size.

Obviously, you're going to have to fit in new units,

but you've got these corridor things going on.

There's a little corridor down there leading to a downstairs loo,

which is nice to have.

But again, the access is a bit strange and then through here,

um, to this little, sort of porch, stroke conservatory, stroke...

I don't know whatever you'd call this, obviously added on.

It's almost like this bit of the house has had a bit added on and another bit to make that on...

o, the result is a bit of a hotchpotch,

so certainly some work required here but,

a reasonable amount of space for your money.

Despite the messy layout, I'm pretty happy with the downstairs.

But in order to maximise this property's potential, I think

a spot of rationalisation is in order.

# Something better change

# I said something better change... #

A change definitely needs to be made at the back.

There's enough space here to create a really nice,

dining/kitchen area,

the first step towards making a really good family home.

Let's have a look at the upstairs.

Hah! Tell you one thing that is interesting.

I don't know about you, but my mum and dad always had these

kinds of carpets and they were sold as ones that were going to

last for years and years and years and years

and you come into houses like this and other bits and pieces

may have gone wrong but the carpets have always survived,

so that particular carpet salesman was telling the truth!

Lecture about fantastic carpets over! What have we got here?

Basically, three bedrooms, two decent-sized ones,

one there, and one incredibly small box room.

Yeah, that's more of a study, to my mind. And then the bathroom.

I mean, at least it is upstairs. However...ahem! Yeah.

Needs a bit of work in here. The bath. Not particularly large.

Still, a bit of creativity and you could create yourself a nice room.

At least it's where it should be. Upstairs.

The two main bedrooms are a reasonable size

and, as downstairs, have the angled fireplaces.

So far, this guide price of £95,000 is looking quite a bargain.

But it's outside that might hold the key to the future of this place.

At the back of the property, access to the garage there

and then, what an absolute delight.

Look at this.

This clearly was somebody's pride and joy and you can tell.

I mean, it's interesting, isn't it?

Property stuff you could do quite quickly, but to establish

a garden like this with these lovely bushes takes ages. Years, actually.

And it's here for you, so a real bonus and I just hope that whoever

bought it's a gardener, because this is something to treasure.

In addition to the lovely garden,

there's also a large amount of space to play with.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Let's ask a local property expert to see what he's thinking.

Utilising the large garden, I think there is

a possibility for an extension, perhaps single storey or even

two-storey and I think that would really add

to the value of the property.

Yes, great minds think alike.

It makes perfect sense to

add either a one- or two-storey extension onto the house.

So, let's talk money.

What kind of resale value would you be looking at?

In the property's current status, I think if it were fully modernised,

I'd expect it to be on the market in the region of £130,000.

And if you were to put it up for rental?

If this property were to be rented out,

I'd be expecting to achieve in the region of £600 per calendar month.

What if the property was extended?

Should the property be extended,

perhaps with a nice modern dining/kitchen to the rear, I think,

realistically, you could be expecting £150,000.

Well, it's a fine house in a really nice area.

It just needs a bit of modernisation to bring it up to standard.

Yes, good feel about this one.

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

Right, lot number 38. It's a double-bay-fronted,

three-bedroom semidetached house which does need updating. 78, then.

Are we going to go with 78? 78 bid, thank you. Thank you.

£78,000. 80, going to say now?

At £78,000. Looking for 80 now.

At £78,000. 80.

82, 82. 84. 86.

86. 88. 90.

No? At £88,000, standing right at £88,000. I'll take 89 if it helps.

89 on the front row. At 89.

90. New bid at 90.

91. 92.

93. 94.

95. 96.

Shaking his head.

96, far left at £96,000. 97 anywhere else?

If not, I'm selling it at £96,000 for the first time.

£96,000 for the second time.

Third and final time at £96,000.

You bought it, sir. Well done.

And that successful bid of £96,000 was made by Darryl,

who has just started a property-development business.

This is his first project.

-Darryl, good to meet you.

-Good to meet you.

-Congratulations.

-Thanks.

Nice house. Tell me why you wanted to buy it.

I was looking for a place, a place to live, really.

I'm living in an apartment at the moment.

I used to live locally in this area.

-I actually really like the feel of the house, so I thought...

-Yeah, definitely.

-..I'd live in it.

It ticked all the boxes, really. A couple of bedrooms.

It's got a garage.

I've got a little car that I want to keep in there. The garden is lovely.

It's a little bit small upstairs but, to be fair,

I wanted something that I could actually get my teeth into.

Something I could put my stamp on. So this is great.

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

Well, I'd like to sort make it quite open plan, sort of thing.

-I'm going to knock it straight the way through.

-Right.

-And that includes the sort of fire breast?

-Yeah.

I want to take all the fire breast down.

I know it seems quite a lot...bit of character in the house,

but it just takes up a huge amount of room.

There's going to be an extension.

This extension is actually coming down

and there's going to be a full-width extension on the back.

-So single-storey extension, or double-storey extension?

-Single.

-Right.

-Single. So it's quite a big difference downstairs.

Upstairs, exactly as it is, pretty much. Just with a bathroom.

Do you have any idea of price for the work you're planning?

It's going to be roughly between £20-25,000, I would have thought.

And what are you planning to do personally?

A lot of the labour work, a lot of the groundwork.

I can do quite a bit of plumbing.

I'll leave pretty much most of the gas stuff to the guys,

the professional guys, but laying pipes, cutting floorboards, that

type of thing, painting, knocking down walls, it's not an issue.

It sounds like Darryl is pretty handy when it comes to DIY

and so he should save a packet on the renovation.

Given the amount of work he's contemplating, I think

he's treating this place as a home, rather than as an investment.

You must really love this house. You're doing a heck of a lot to it, aren't you?

Yeah, yeah. I think so. I think I got it for really good value at the auction,

so I think, well, it's worth a little bit more spending on it.

Especially that I'm living in it.

Even if I come to sell it, probably in a couple of years' time,

I think I might just get my money back.

As long as I break even, that's not a problem to me.

I want a comfortable space to actually live in.

-What's the timescale?

-It would be about eight weeks.

-And then more projects like this in the future?

-Yeah, hopefully.

It's looking good at the minute. Got a few irons in the fire.

Well, listen, congratulations. Good luck with it.

-I'm looking forward to seeing how you get on.

-Wonderful. Thank you.

So, a new home for Darryl and some fairly major changes

afoot for the property. Definitely at the back here.

You won't recognise it when we return. Probably.

You can find out what happens later in the show.

Ah, well - we might not recognise THAT property when we come back

but do you recognise where I am now? So where am I?

Go on, have a look around. Where do you reckon? A rural Kentish village?

Wiltshire market town? Nope!

This is Denham, two minutes from the M40, 20 minutes by train

into Marylebone station and two miles from the nearest Tube station.

Yes, the London Underground. Hard to believe, I know!

But of course, these kind of surroundings come at a price.

For instance, a four-bed cottage in Denham will set you

back around one and a half million quid.

But the property I'm here to see is one mile down the road in New Denham,

where prices are bit more reasonable. So what was on offer?

Well, it's this - a former pub which has planning permission

for four two-bedroom flats and had a guide price of just £375,000.

It's a lot of property in a desirable area

with planning permission already in place.

The building itself is actually really rather attractive.

With all that you'd want from what was once a country pub

but I'm not going in just yet.

When you're viewing a house, the first thing you want to do is

get through that door and check it out.

Here, well, it's important to take in everything around the property.

First, well, the road.

It's nice and residential, perfect for new homes, which is great.

Secondly, the space around the property. Well, it's very good.

You've got a really nice area at the front

so the flats will be set back off the road.

And at the back, hah!

Tonnes of parking, which is essential for any development

and it won't clutter up the road. Third, well, access will be easy.

You've got a corner plot, so no traipsing materials through

the building and of course, you've got plenty of space for skips.

So all good out here. Now, let's get inside!

Wow! It's vast. It's huge.

Straight in the door and, er, straight into the bar area.

You've got a seating area down to your right.

That seems to stretch a long way. I can't even see the end of it.

Down at the other end, more seating area.

You've got loads of tables and chairs here and a little servery area here.

Do you know what's important, though?

It's what's planned for this place, not what we can really see now.

Unfortunately, I can't show you the actual drawings

but I can tell you that there's going to be two flats on the ground floor,

one on the left and one on the right of the building.

The bedrooms are going to be to the front,

the kitchen living room and open plan living space is all going to be at the back.

Now, the same layout will be upstairs, but a little bit smaller.

Each flat has got its own little garden at the back -

which is really nice -

and the facade of the pub will remain unchanged,

which I think is so important to the overall street scene.

So, it all seems pretty straightforward.

I'm going to explore a little bit more.

Yes, I am going to try and drink it all in!

And, boy, there's a lot of space and a lot of rooms!

Times are a-changing, and with so much pressure to create housing,

former commercial sites like local shops,

petrol stations and the good old British pub are disappearing.

# The barman's calling out "Last orders"

# I doubt if I'm going to be one of the first to leave...#

But all these rooms will go, possibly only leaving the facade,

and are four two-bedroom flats really the best use of this

mouth-watering auction lot that was guided at £375,000?

Time, ladies and gentlemen...

to see what a local estate agent thinks.

Having looked at the plans,

this is a good use of this particular development.

Flats are in high demand in this particular area.

But how does he think you would best maximise the site?

The best way to go about developing this property

would be to maximise the number of units -

small and numerous.

The more properties you have here,

the maximum amount of return you are going to get at the end of the day.

Ah, speaking of returns...

What could a two-bed flat be worth on the local market -

both for resale and rental?

A two-bed property would go for £210,000 to £225,000.

The rental on a two-bed property would be approximately

£1,050 per calendar month.

So, four flats could net £900,000, on the resale market.

And even with build costs,

that could make for a tasty profit.

It really is a shame -

the pub appears to have pulled its last pint.

But at least the plans don't disrupt the street scene,

and give first-time buyers chance to put down roots

in this somewhat secret suburb.

Let's find out who wanted to take the project on at the auction.

Right, Lot 31 is Nine Stiles, Denham,

a well-located former public house.

You've got planning to convert to four two-bedroom flats.

I will start 350, go upwards from there.

Not going to go below 350.

355.

355.

360.

365.

370.

375.

380.

385.

390.

395.

400.

405.

405.

410.

415.

415, right at the back,

420. 425...

Right at the back, 425.

425.

430. 435 at the back.

435, got you, just.

440.

445.

445.

450.

455

460.

465.

Yes?

465.

Yes, no?

460 with you.

Anyone else?

First time, second time...

Third and last time... Have you all done?

-STRIKES HAMMER

-Sold, 460, to you, sir.

And so, for £460,000 -

£85,000 over the guide price -

the former pub in Denham

was snapped up by North London-based property developer, Simrit.

Now, I met him back at his new purchase

to check out his plans for this redevelopment site.

Simrit, congratulations. This really is good news for you, isn't it?

Yes, I am very pleased.

-So, how much research did you do?

-Quite a lot.

I had a look at the legal pack, spoke to my solicitor,

called the planners, as well, just to get some preliminary advice

about the plans I had for it.

And that's it, really.

So, were you waiting for something like this to come along?

What I've been used to in the past

is either getting commercial space above shops and making them into flats,

or just renovating derelict flats and houses.

So, something... Some construction work like this...

This is kind of what I wanted to progress to, anyway.

So, tell me a little bit about yourself. Your history.

So, I left university - I read law at university -

and then I worked in politics for several MPs,

doing casework and research for them.

And then I left to buy my first property -

did it up, sold it, made some money and then just carried on doing that.

I was going to say - bit of an unusual swerve there?

Yeah... The political world wasn't for me, really.

-And the property world is?

-Definitely, yeah.

# You can go your own way

# Go your own way... #

Simrit has made the move from politics to property five years ago,

and has slowly built up his experience, moving from small renovations

to bigger commercial projects,

and then on to this - his biggest project so far.

But is he planning to stick to those past plans,

or is he going to go his own way?

So what are your plans for this site?

My architect is in the process of drawing up some new plans,

for four new three-bedroom houses -

so three roughly in the terrace where this is,

and one at the back.

At the back of a car park.

Gardens and parking, as well.

So why have you decided to change the plans that came with this?

Because it was for four two-bedroom flats.

Just to maximise the potential of the plot, really.

And, also, the way it was set up,

it was to redevelop this current building, as it was.

And that would prove very expensive,

because we'd need to get a lot of structural steel in,

and it would effectively mean demolishing the whole thing

just leaving the front wall. But repositioning all the windows -

which is effectively demolishing, anyway, but keeping everything...

So, it kind of doesn't make any sense.

So my idea was to raze it to the ground and start again.

Is it really madness to conserve something

-that's been here for many, many years and people love?

-Erm...

I do agree with the point... I do love the building itself, as well.

But, just as a business opportunity,

it is not that viable to do it that way.

The building we're going to create will be in keeping

with the character of the place, as well. So it will look quite similar.

So, you're coming in here with your developers head-on, aren't you?

-Yes, exactly.

-You just need to get your money's worth from the site?

-And you'll totally utilise all of the space around.

-That's the plan.

Four new three-bedroom houses,

and, as we know, there's a huge shortage of housing everywhere.

People need housing.

So, have you had a chance to speak to the local council?

-What have they said to you?

-They are quite open about the...

I mean, obviously, the precedent has now been set for the change of use,

for it to become housing.

So that hurdle has already been overcome.

If worse comes to worst,

what I'm going to do is submit a new application for this place

to demolish it, kind of keep the same building,

but go for four three-bedroom flats

instead of two-bedroom flats.

That is the worst case scenario.

-So you do have a plan B?

-That is the plan B, yeah.

So, what sort of budget have you got to put into this?

It's going to cost me - I've estimated,

had a few quotes from my builders I work with -

about £350,000 to build.

Well, £350,000 build costs on top of his £460,000 purchase price,

will take his costs up to £810,000.

But Simrit hopes to sell the four houses for a total of around

1.1 million,

which would, if all goes to plan,

give him a very tidy profit, indeed.

And he's hoping to complete

the project in nine to 12 months.

But does he relish the challenge ahead?

Obviously, I am a bit green to something this big.

But I've kind of cut my teeth quite well on other projects,

so, I think it should be OK.

You are ready for the challenge?

I am ready for the challenge, yeah. I'll take it on. Head-on.

Head-on - I love it! Who've you got around you to help you out?

I've got a good team. I've got a good architect,

excellent builders I've used in the past,

a very good solicitor, erm...

Yeah, you know, it's all you need, really.

-Simrit, good luck.

-Thank you very much.

-Lovely to meet you.

From politics to property, Simrit clearly loves his new career.

And what a challenge he's taken on!

Will he get the planning he wants?

I can't wait to find out - and you can - later in the show.

Coming up - in Derbyshire there could be four for the price of one.

So, it's gone from...

hm, interesting...

..to VERY interesting!

Back in the town of New Denham,

we find out if Simrit's diplomatic skills have been tested.

It's far more straightforward dealing with builders

rather than politicians.

But first, it's back to Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire

to see a three-bedroom semi which was bought for £96,000 by Darryl.

His plan - to renovate ready to move in

as his home.

I used to live locally,

in this area, so...

I just liked the feel of the house, so I thought...

-Yeah, definitely.

-..I'll live in it.

I wanted something that I could actually get my teeth into.

Something I could put my stamp on.

So, this is great.

There was plenty to do.

A small single-storey extension to the kitchen had to go,

as did oddly angled chimney breasts.

So, no surprise that Darryl overran

his original eight-week timescale.

And now we're back, 17 weeks after our first visit

to see how Darryl held on to the dream that would become his home.

# Hold on

# If you can

# Be strong

# Yeah, it's a risk worth taking

# To have a life worth living

# You need to hold on

# You need to hold on... #

Darryl has chosen some strikingly stylish furniture

to complement the contemporary feel.

It really makes a statement.

As does the new bathroom.

The P-shaped bath with shower above

making the best use of the space.

And the ubiquitous, classic white suite

with black-and-white tiles with crisp lines.

Which leads us on to the changes in the bedrooms.

# Hold on

# If you can

# Be strong

# Yeah, it's a risk worth taking

# To have a life worth living...#

To get results like this, Darryl

must've faced lots of challenges.

So, what was the most memorable?

I would say the biggest challenge would be

converting the downstairs into something that was, erm...

more...more modern,

without taking out the character of the house.

I think that's why I've left upstairs quite traditional.

It's only a semidetached house,

but I wanted to make it feel as if it was a detached house

that was maybe somewhere in the country or something like that.

And, actually, I think I've got... I've achieved that.

That's all about the design,

which, with its walnut flooring,

has certainly unified the rooms.

And installing patio doors,

has helped to make the most of that super garden.

But what about the physical side of things?

Darryl thinks he's done 97% of the work.

What was the hardest part?

Removing the chimney breast was one of the biggest jobs.

It was entangled with the middle supporting wall,

so we've had to have building regulations,

had to have calculations done for the steels.

Those have all been done,

and I think it was probably one of the dirtiest jobs I've ever done.

But, yeah, it was fun to do,

but it was very, very time-consuming.

So, the fireplace removal contributed to the overrun,

but how has the £25,000 budget fared?

We've actually spent close to £40,000, I think.

I think making it your home,

you don't mind spending that little bit extra.

It's going to last you another...

you know, 10, 15 - 20 years, maybe.

So why not spend it a little bit more, now?

And it's all done.

This was never a project about making money,

but would Darryl get back what he's paid out if he sold?

He paid £96,000 at auction,

and £40,000 on the renovation.

What's the opinion of two local estate agents?

Having looked around the property

I feel it's been done to a good standard.

I like the aspect from outside, where it is still very traditional,

but you walk through the front door

and it is very modern living with open-plan design,

and extended fitted kitchen-dining area.

Looks like your design plan succeeded, Darryl.

I think the property has been renovated to a good standard.

The owners have fitted a modern kitchen.

They've used a gloss finish which is really popular at the moment,

and there is extra space now which is suitable for families.

Let's get to the bottom line.

Having spent a total of £136,000,

has Darryl exceeded the ceiling value for this type of property?

This property could resell for £140,000.

In today's market,

I would expect the property to achieve in the region of £145,000.

I was probably thinking maybe a little on the 150 side, but...

145, that's fine.

So, a possible £10,000 profit, before taxes and expenses.

Not much for so much work,

but this was about turning a house into a home,

and there is only one person whose opinion counts on that.

The house does feel like a home.

I've sat on the sofa this morning for the first time,

with the fire on, with a cup of tea,

and it feels like home to me.

It's great.

Well, Darryl may have got the modern house he wanted,

but, for many, it's places with old-fashioned character that appeal.

It's easy to see why the pretty town of Belper in the Derwent Valley

is a World Heritage Site, as Jedediah Strutt and Sons

began their pioneering cotton mill business here in the 1770s.

Building homes for their workers,

it became one of the first industrial communities.

Well, pretty much in the centre of the town,

on the main road that passes through the town,

is the property I'm here to see.

£75,000 was the guide price.

Well, it's here. It's a shop front.

Let's take a look inside.

Sadly, this shop seems to have gone

the way of many of our high street businesses,

probably not helped by the main road and no parking.

It's a nice-sized space,

one main area at the front here -

doesn't look to be in too-bad condition...

The fact that the floor's a bit wibbly-wobbly,

adds a bit of character!

Already it's saying, "Here... This is a building with character."

The front bit there, then through to rear part of the shop,

which you'd probably use more for storage.

There was a little stink over there.

And then through here... Hm.

Looks like the back of a staircase, or something.

That's very odd.

You've just got this door leading to this little storage area.

I think there's more to this property than meets the eye.

Well, according to the auction catalogue -

yes, you've got the vacant shop, but you've also got

large accommodation above that,

and then, towards the rear...

down this little passageway,

a large stone cottage.

So, it's gone from... hm, interesting...

to VERY interesting.

So, what have we got?

Well, straight into the kitchen here and...

Lots of beams - they look original to me - THAT is exciting.

Lots of character.

Obviously, in a bit of a state,

but, I think, the biggest problem with this

is going to be trying to get a feeling

of the geography of the building.

But from the kitchen you come down into this...living room area, here.

Again, more open beams, lots of light from that window.

I think the only way to show you what's actually on offer,

is for you to come with me. OK.

MUSIC: Pink Panther theme.

So, up this first set of stairs onto this landing area.

Nice-sized landing - lots of light coming from that roof-light there.

You've got bedrooms...

A big one to the front, another big one there,

a third bedroom here,

and they're really nice sizes.

And then down this little corridor it gets a bit dark and dingy.

Loads of really great character features,

look at this! An old fireplace.

And there's lots of stuff that's just...

Oh, you get the impression, just hidden away.

Indeed, this place just goes on and on.

With not just one more room up here, but yet another.

Both in pretty poor shape, I have to say,

and with no corridors or passageways

these would need a lot of work

to meet modern fire and building regulations.

And then, to complete the tour,

well, it's back down to the kitchen, where I started.

I don't know about you, but looking at all that lot

has made me feel quite dizzy.

I think I could do with some fresh air.

And you get even more of a feeling of the place when you come outside.

An added bonus - which I wasn't expecting - is this!

A lovely little cottage garden.

Nice-sized space.

Erm... It's just cute. Everything about it is cute.

From here you can see the lovely construction -

these big old, probably sandstone, blocks, very typical of this area.

Is it sandstone? Whatever the local stone is!

Nice character, anyway.

That's the bit I was walking around,

then there's little outbuilding bit, as well.

This... Uh!

Probably an outside loo, at some point.

From the outside, here you can get a feeling, even more,

of the kind of state it's in,

but you've got, again...

a lot, a lot, a lot of property to play with!

And that's all at a guide price of £75,000.

And just when you thought it couldn't get any more intriguing,

there's also planning permission along with this lot

that allows for the shop, flat, and three-bed cottage

to be turned into four separate units.

The shop would remain a shop,

the flat above would remain a flat,

and the three-bed cottage would become two cottages.

Lots of property, and lots of options.

When faced with complexities like this, it's best to ask an expert.

And who better than the auctioneer who sold the lot?

If ever a property was unique, this is it.

I mean, first of all, it keeps going on and on and on.

Secondly, you've got a mix of retail and residential,

and there's obviously huge potential to a place like this.

OK, let's start where I did -

with the commerce side of things,

and the value of the shop.

If there's a negative aspect to the shop, it's where it is.

It's on the main road,

but it's a little bit away from the town centre,

and there isn't a lot of footfall past the front door.

Not good if you wanted to do up and sell on.

What about the flat above?

The residential accommodation over the shop could be

split off into a separate unit,

so a small, one-bedroom flat.

The flat over the shop is always going to be an investment property.

The likelihood of selling it on the open market is a bit remote.

But there was also, of course,

that residential cottage space at the back of the building,

with planning permission to convert into two cottages.

One two-bed, and one one-bedroom property.

So, what values might they achieve?

If you made a two-bedroom cottage out of it,

it would probably sell, arguably, for about £125,000.

The one-bedroom cottage,

you may be looking at somewhere between 90,000 and £100,000 for that.

I would, however, emphasise the fact that these would be

accessed by footpaths,

and there is no immediate parking facilities.

So you've always got that limitation.

Well, not much good news there,

but it does explain the £75,000 guide price.

Even so, it's still a lot of property.

Well, this is one of those projects that has two kinds of potentials -

a great potential to be a success, given the price and what it could be,

AND the potential to be a huge money pit.

What are you going to unearth once you start taking it apart? Ew!

Who is going to take it on?

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

Lot number 55.

It's a double-fronted retail sales shop on the road frontage,

but a lot of stone cottagey stuff behind it.

Proxy bid in on this one, ladies and gentlemen.

75 on the guide price. Bid me.

75.

At £75,000, opening bid.

The auctioneer was bidding on behalf of a proxy bidder,

but, eventually, the action shifted back into the room.

We rejoin it at £99,000.

100? 99,500.

100,000.

At £100,000?

500 again?

500.

100,500.

101?

101. Buy the next one!

£101,000 for the first time?

£101,000 for the...

500. 101,500 against you at the back.

102,000?

102,500?

Sure? £102,500...

Once.

Twice.

Third opportunity?

Sold at 102,500, thank you.

With his bid of £102,500

the successful bidder - seen here on the left - was Gavin.

And along with his builder and business partner, Andy,

we met up at the property to discuss their plans.

-Andy, Gavin, great to meet you both.

-Pleased to meet you.

-Congratulations!

-Thank you.

-What an interesting project, eh?

Tell me what it was that appealed about this place to you guys?

-The profit, basically.

-OK.

The opportunity to have four projects in one

and structure each of them individually so we can work

through the whole building and, hopefully, make some money.

-Did you come to see it before you bought it?

-Yes.

-You did.

I came three times, and once with a surveyor, as well,

-because of the age of the building.

-Right.

So it's definitely a project.

-Do you come into the experienced category?

-He does!

Yeah, I've been in the trade all my working life.

No doubt, this is going to uncover some horrors at some point

but, you know, we've got a contingency and hopefully

we won't need to dig into it but, hey-ho, if we do, there it is.

Where do you embark on a project like this?

The plan of attack, really, is to hit the shop, get the shop,

completed and then get that on the market.

In the meantime, we'll be doing the flat

and then working backwards to the two cottages.

How are you budgeting it, then? Are you budgeting it individually or for the whole project?

What we're going to try and do is do the front two,

get them on the market and see if it'll sell.

If it won't, I'll be then looking to mortgage the property,

-split and deeds and then use the funding to finance the back-end of the house.

-OK.

What is the budget? Can you break it down?

We paid 102,500 for the whole building.

In terms of renovations, I've budgeted 130.

Personally, I think we will get it done for sub 100

but I think 130 is my over-egging.

How is it going to work, profit wise?

The sales of the properties you're looking, best guess at the minute,

50,000 for the shop,

probably about 90,000 for the flat at the top.

The two-bedroomed cottage I brought in at 110

and the one-bedroom about 90.

I think we're looking at 330 to 380,

depending on how much I have over- or under-egged.

Hopefully, there's 100 grand in it for you?

I would suggest so.

Gavin seems to have it all worked out.

His background in logistics shines through.

He's even planning getting lorries in at night-time to ease

the access problems and prevent Belper from being gridlocked.

What is the timescale?

Shop, two to four weeks.

Flat, two to three months.

Cottages...

Funding probably another six to nine months on top of that,

-so 12 months in total.

-Seem fair?

-Absolutely, yeah, yeah.

Congratulations to you both

and I'm really excited to see how it all turns out.

-So are we, yeah.

-Cheers.

-Good stuff, all the best.

-Thank you very much. Thank you.

Well, this was never going to be a project for the inexperienced

and I think Andy and Gavin have got what it takes

to make this project a success.

Still, with old buildings like this, you never know quite what

you're going to find once you start digging about.

How will they get on?

You can find out later in the programme.

So we've caught up with one of our buyers.

Let's see what the others have been up to.

Yes, did everything go to plan?

Or, maybe not, let's find out.

If you're passing New Denham, on the outskirts of London,

and fancied stopping off for a drink, maybe a bite to eat,

then sadly you'd be out of luck

when it came to The Nine Stiles pub in New Denham.

This was a pub that had pulled its last pint

and served its last packet of pork scratchings.

However, if you're more interested in properties than pints,

then, actually, there was plenty here to whet a developer's appetite.

Not only was the building site ripe for redevelopment,

it had planning permission granted to be converted

into four two-bed flats, with the only condition

being the facade of the old inn remained.

It was bought at auction for 460,000 by former political researcher

turned property developer, Simrit.

He had bigger, and he hoped, better things planned for the former inn.

My architect is in the process of drawing up some new plans

for four new three-bedroomed houses.

So three roughly in a terrace, where this is,

and one at the back of the car park, gardens and parking as well.

Well, Simrit wanted to get the most out of the site

but in doing so he would have to go back to planning,

which could significantly delay the process.

And, with a budget of around 350,000, he was hoping

he could have his four new three-bed houses built in nine to 12 months.

But now, over 18 months later, we're back.

# I get knocked down

# But I get up again

# You're never gonna keep me down

# I get knocked down

# But I get up again

# You're never gonna keep me down... #

And it's kind of getting back up again -

at least it's out of the ground.

This is where the pub used to be.

That's the road that the pub used to front.

Now, as you can see, the pub has been demolished.

Here, what we have is...

We've dug the foundations, we've poured the concrete

and now we've built up the brickwork up to damp proof course level.

The black blocks here give you a good indication of where the houses end.

This will be the rough floor area of one of the houses.

After such a long delay, finally,

having something here tangible to look at, it's a relief

as well as quite exciting, as well.

Yes, and the reason for the delay? You guessed it -

it was caused by planning with Simrit's initial application

for the development being rejected, but they got passed on appeal.

This whole process took over a year and it's only in the last

few months that he can get on with the build.

# I get knocked down

# But I get up again

# You're never gonna keep me down... #

And Simrit is hoping to complete the three three-bed houses

in five to six months' time.

What will the finished buildings look like?

So, these are the plans for the current terrace of houses.

As you can see, they are just a very simple design,

in keeping with the rest of the road, as the planners requested.

This is the plan for the ground floor.

You walk in the front door, you have stairs right in front of you,

kitchen on the left with an open-plan dining and reception area.

One parking space at the front for each house,

and also one spot at the back.

Moving on to the first floor, we have two bedrooms,

one with an en suite and one family bathroom.

Also, a utility room there and landing.

Finally, moving on to the second floor, we've got a third bedroom

with a dormer window facing towards the rear of the property.

# One, two, three, four... #

One, two, three, I see.

But what happened about planned detached house number four?

The fourth house, we've just put in planning. Today, I believe,

my architect's put in planning for that.

It's actually going to be a two-bedroomed house, that one,

set towards the back of the land here.

That is, of course, if he gets planning approval.

How much is it going to cost him to build the three houses

he has got consent for?

The contract is for £369,000 for the building of the terrace

of three houses that we're doing at the moment.

At the moment, everything is going to budget.

Well, if he does complete the houses for £369,000,

along with his £460,000 purchase price,

not including various taxes and fees,

Simrit would have spent £829,000 on the three houses.

Will it be worth the wait?

What do two local estate agents think?

I have had chance to look at the new plans.

They are more in keeping with the other properties that are around,

having moved from looking at flats and a mixed development.

Whether it's quite such a good yield that you'll get on it, I'm not 100%

sure but, still, the properties will be of interest to the local market.

I think that the proposals for the terrace of three family homes,

in this location, fits perfectly with the surrounding properties

and will be very well received by the market.

Right, so there's a definite market for the houses.

With Simrit's costs likely to be around £829,000 in total,

what kind of values might each of them to be worth?

I'd expect a three-storey, three-bed terraced house to

be in the region of £360,000 to £370,000 once completed.

I think you've probably got values ranging for the mid-terrace

for around about 375,

moving upwards nearer to 400 for the end terraced properties.

I'd say they're quite low, those estimates.

My estimate is in the range of about 410 to 415, ideally.

Only time will tell.

There is a bit of crystal ball gazing here.

Obviously, the property market may be very different

in five to six months' time

and the finish of the house will influence the true end values.

But at those current values, Simrit could see a pre-tax profit

between 251 and 346,000 -

minus the usual taxes and expenses, of course.

If the fourth property was to get consent,

then those returns could be even higher.

But with his contractor looking after this project,

how is Simrit occupying himself?

I'm doing smaller projects at the moment, which is similar to what

I used to do, which is smaller refurb, just to keep me

ticking over while this is being built.

All in all, he's pretty busy working on properties

but does he hanker after his life in politics?

I'm very glad that I changed careers.

It's far more straightforward dealing with builders

rather than politicians, and I'm very glad that I did it.

Yes, property development always gets my vote.

Just look at the lovely places I get to visit, such as Belper,

a beautiful town, just a hop from Derby, with many traditional

properties, and one I saw that had potential worth crowing about.

£75,000 was the guide price.

Oh! It's here.

It's a shop front, let's take a look inside.

Inside, I found a shop that wasn't exactly open for business

but there was a flat above and then there was more.

Towards the rear, down this little passageway,

a large, stone cottage.

It's gone from hm, interesting...

to VERY interesting.

And not only that, the cottage came with planning permission to

convert it into two cottages - one one-bed and one two-bed.

So this was potentially a large and complex development.

But two people undaunted by the size and scale

were former logistics man Gavin, and his relatively new

business partner, builder and joiner Andy,

who paid 102,500 for this fascinating lot.

Where did you embark on a project like this, then?

The plan of attack, really, is to hit the shop,

get the shop completed and then get it on the market.

In the meantime, I'll be doing the flat

and then working backwards to the two cottages.

Five months later and the wheels of the renovation are still in motion.

# Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle

# I want to ride my

# Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle

# I want to ride my bicycle

# I want to ride my bike... #

They certainly have rung the changes here.

Although the outside of the shop can't be done until

the conservation officer signs off the design, there's

a fitted shop with a kitchen and a new toilet, and it's already

being leased for five years.

But there's far more work going on upstairs.

The flat and cottages have been separated

and two bedrooms have become one room.

And they're uncovering original features along the way.

This room we have here,

this is going to be the open-plan living and kitchen area.

Originally, it was two bedrooms and we've taken out the dividing wall.

We've managed to find this beautiful fireplace we've uncovered

and that is going to have a nice log burner in it.

Over here, we uncovered the local stone feature wall.

We're going to have a nice island unit, lighting raft here,

nice bit of hardwood floor in the kitchen area, carpeted.

Personally, I think this will make a fantastic living area.

So, it seems Andy and his builders have made good progress here.

They've been busy in the rest of the flat, too,

and while it's now a one-bed-er,

they are finding light and space in different places.

The hallway, really, we added additional light.

We've cleaned up the skylight

and added a new window up there to open the airing up.

Behind me, we've had to create a bathroom,

so we've done that by bringing the wall forward,

whereas this was a return and a straight through into the cottage.

We've created a bathroom behind me and then in the bedroom,

we've done another feature.

A fireplace wall, the same as in the lounge, and also added

a walk-in wardrobe to add a bit more storage space for the property.

While the flat is being renovated, the cottage, with the planning

permission to turn it into two, is completely untouched.

So, what's been going on?

Once this is finished, we've got two options, really.

One is complete the cottages and carry on.

The other one is sell it, put it back into auction with just the two and

complete these two and sell the other one and move onto the next project.

The cottage part of the building came with planning permission

to convert it, and Gavin and Andy had always planned

that work at stage three of the development.

But it's likely to be complex,

and they reckon they'll have to budget some £88,000 for the work.

So, they have to weigh up whether it's worth their time and energy.

What about their costs so far?

Originally, they had a budget of £130,000 for the whole project.

The flat is projected to finally cost 28,500,

but what about the shop?

The budget for the shop was just over 13,000.

We're going to come in just under budget on that one.

The flat, obviously, we've not finished it yet, so there's

the kitchen, etc, which we're budgeting for.

Literally, I think we'll be a little bit under on that,

on the flat side of things.

In fact, currently, Gavin has a projected spend on the shop

and flat that totals £41,500.

So, along with the £102,500 purchase price,

this will take their total spend to £144,000.

But what do two local property experts

think about the progress to date?

The changes I've seen so far have been quite dramatic.

They've put some ideas into this, and it's really quite lovely.

I think Belper is such a superb, commercial

opportunity as well as residential, that, yes, it's a very,

very impressive development.

Commercial properties such as the shop have their values

determined by the annual rentable income they generate,

so, how would Andy and Gavin's shop space fare?

My guess is it would rent out at somewhere between £7,000

-and £8,000 a year.

-I would rent the shop for around £7,200 per annum.

And, in fact, those rates are in line with what Gavin

and Andy are currently getting for the shop

and they would give the shop a resale value of around £75-£80,000.

But what about the upstairs one-bed flat? How much would that be worth?

As a vacant flat finished off, I think it would

probably have a value of around £70-£75,000.

I would estimate around £75-£80,000.

Ah, so the investment is starting to add up,

with the flat and the shop potentially bringing in

between 145,000 and £160,000.

But what would the cottage, without any conversion work done,

be worth if it was put back into auction?

I suppose you'd guide them at something like 50,000 plus

and hope to get between 60 and £70,000 for them.

If the cottages went into auction today,

they would return around the £60,000 mark.

So, another 60 to 70,000 could mean their total

return would be between 205 and £230,000,

which could see a potential pre-tax profit of between

61 and £86,000 - minus taxes and expenses, of course.

But, do the values change their thinking on the cottage development?

In terms of the valuations,

it's pretty much exactly what we thought in our figures.

We'd be interested in potentially putting

the cottages into auction with a reserve, and see how they go.

If not, we'd possibly look at doing it ourselves.

In fact, since we last visited, not only have

they decided to go ahead with the cottage conversion, they've

also sold the freehold of the other building for 85,000, which could

then see the whole development produce a profit

in the region of £200,000.

And this was Andy and Gavin's first project together.

-So, how do they feel about it overall?

-Yeah, I'm happy with it.

Happy with the way it's gone and the way things are turning out.

Pleased with the quality that my team has turned out.

I'm over the moon for the first partnership experience as such.

It's worked really well. Looking forward to further projects.

Well, we hope you've enjoyed seeing the properties that were

bought at auction and featured on today's show.

Looking forward to seeing you next time on Homes Under The Hammer.

-Bye, for now.

-Bye.