Episode 61 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to the show.

Now, we're both fascinated by property - its location,

-its value for money, oh, and its potential to make money.

-Absolutely.

Get it right and you could reap financial rewards. Get it wrong...

Ho! That could be a costly mistake.

Well, a good place to try and find a good bargain

is to head to the auctions.

Well, it can be nerve-racking buying at auction,

even for seasoned developers.

As the price goes up, so does the heart rate.

But it's a great feeling knowing that you've got something at a good price.

So, did today's bidders part with their cash?

Well, let's have a look and see what they bought.

Buying blind in Burnley, Lancashire creates mixed feelings.

-So what did you think?

-All right.

Now, you're saying "All right" and you're sighing very heavily.

But in Kent, there's no doubt about the destiny of this bungalow.

-We're probably going to knock it down and start again.

-Dun-dun-dun!

And in Derby, it's all about looking to the future.

So, why did you want to buy this place?

We thought it was a good potential for the children,

to set them on the property ladder.

All these properties have been sold at auction.

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

when they went under the hammer.

Sold at 106,000.

Burnley in Lancashire.

Home of the Clarets and Sir Ian McKellen.

And recently given the title of Britain's most enterprising town.

With a 10% rise in house prices in the previous 12 months,

this industrial town, which has seen some hard times,

could well be on the up.

Well, the property I'm here to see is just under a mile from

Burnley town centre. Now, with that kind of close proximity,

you would have thought the price... Well, it's going to be pretty high.

Oh, boy, would you be wrong! Two-bedroomed mid terrace.

Guide price, what?

£15,000 plus.

Yeah, you heard me right. £15,000 plus.

So for that amount of money, not expecting a lot.

What have we actually got, though? Ooh.

-HE LAUGHS

-That's very low!

Hopefully not a supporting wall,

or if it is, then a proper RSJ beam has gone in across there.

Er, but this is the front sitting room. It's not a bad size.

A few signs of damp on that front wall.

Erm, that could be just the house not being lived in, perhaps,

or something a bit more serious. But through to the rear of the property.

Stairs up to your bedrooms there.

And a nice surprise, the rear sitting room a good, good size

with a sort of breakfast bar area and the kitchen integrated.

-HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

-However...

as you can see...

..not good. Obviously some major problems going on here.

Lots and lots and lots of damp, and so much that the ceiling here

has collapsed. That is not good and I want to know what's causing it.

# Everybody's got a hole that they need filled

# Come on, Phil!

# Fill it up, Geoffrey! #

Despite the unwanted hole in the ceiling this house does still

have some nice original features, even after the alterations.

Moving the hallway to open up the front living space works well

but that lower hanging bit of wall is obtrusive.

There's also this large basement which is a bonus for storage.

And there's another bonus upstairs.

This shower room may require updating

but it's not a bad size and there should be room

to squeeze a bath in if, well, the mood takes you.

And one bedroom is bright and a good size

but there's some more damp here.

At the back, bedroom two has some pretty serious damp issues

and it's directly above the kitchen.

So maybe the cause of those problems in the kitchen will be revealed

when we come to the rear of our property

which is accessed via this little alleyway here.

And that's our property there and, yeah, sure,

the roof of the kitchen doesn't look in too brilliant a condition.

Next door is this.

# Who lives in a house like this?

# Who lives in a house like this? #

Now, clearly no-one is living here, so it's not easy to check it out.

I can't say for certain that this house has anything

to do with the damp in the lot I'm viewing but further investigation

is a must and it might involve tracking down the owner.

That issue aside, it would be worth getting the opinion

of a local agent on this rather damp terrace guided at £15,000.

The attraction to a buyer in this area would be that you're

going to get over a 10% return on your investment per annum.

Er, you would need to spend some money on the damp.

Once it's done right, you'll get a tenant in

and you'll make a good return on it.

A no-lose investment. That sounds like a no-brainer.

So, what kind of figures are we talking about?

Er, once the work's been completed to the damp, to the windows

and to the kitchen ceiling,

I would estimate that you could be looking to

achieve somewhere between £30,000 and £35,000.

Well, with a guide price of £15,000, that leaves some room

to make a profit. But what about the rental values?

I would estimate that a tenant would probably pay

somewhere around £350 per calendar month for it.

Well, you can't get away from the fact it's a very appealing

guide price. However, closer investigation reveals...

Hmm, maybe not a bargain. Who knows?

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

On to lot 258, it's Burnley.

Freehold mid terrace house, start me at ten. £10,000 back right. 11.

10 I have, make it 11.

11 on my left. 12.

It took a little time for the bidding to get going

but then things picked up.

We rejoin the bidding at £23,000.

23, sir, 24?

No, OK. 23, with you, second row. 24 anywhere else?

First time at 23, second time at 23.

24, 25. OK, your bid, £24,000.

25 anywhere else?

First time at 24, second time at 24.

For the third and final time, £24,000, your bid.

Are we all done?

At 24,000.

The successful bid of 24,000 was made by Dean.

It was his second property purchase at auction and I met him

and his business partner, Paul, back at the house.

-Dean, Paul, glad to meet you both.

-And you.

-Pleased to meet you.

Congratulations. The auction was actually in London, wasn't it?

-Is that where you're from?

-Yeah, yeah, I'm from East London.

Yeah, both from East London.

So what attracted you towards Burnley?

Mainly the profit margin.

In London, you're not getting nowhere near what you're getting

-up in the north.

-So is this what both of you do sort of full-time?

-No, we both work for a major advertising company.

-Right.

Er, in London.

Er, I'm a training asset manager and Dean's a multimedia technician.

-Great. What does that mean you actually do?

-Stick posters up.

LAUGHTER

-Fantastic. Whereabouts do you stick the posters?

-Er, on the underground.

All the ones you see when you're on the underground,

when you're standing on the platform, the ones you see across the track.

-Right, wow. So, why this particular house, then?

-Cheap.

MARTIN LAUGHS

Yeah, we didn't even look at it, to tell the truth.

-You didn't look at it?

-No-no-no, we made the cardinal sin.

Too true it is a cardinal sin on Hammer.

Dean and Paul saw this for the first time today. Not good.

So what did you think when you walked in?

All right.

You're saying "All right" and you're sighing very heavily.

No, it's not as bad as what we thought.

Yeah, at the end of the day, we haven't got to do a lot of clearing.

It's just, a lot of it's cosmetic.

As you will see, the walls are not too bad.

Some of the walls are not too bad, should I say?

But, erm, it shouldn't take too much to do.

-There's nothing that we can't do, there's nothing shocking.

-Right.

It's just out the back next door that worries me. That being derelict.

We're making some enquiries

and see if we can maybe purchase that one as well...

-Right.

-..before we doing anything here.

-So if you could buy it, that would be ideal?

-Yeah.

Yeah, that would be ideal.

If we can't get next door, then, obviously, we're going to

have to work on this one, but ideally we'll try and get that one

as well before we do any major work on that side of the house.

Yeah.

Buying the other house may well be the solution

but it could also mean double trouble.

# I said double trouble

# T-R-O-U-B-L-E. #

Dean is a trained painter and decorator and they will both

pitch in with the work.

But at the same time, there's a lot going on here.

So, do they have a plan for this place

given they didn't know what they were going to face

when they got up this morning?

Erm, just a full renovation, really. Strip back all the walls...

all the flooring, and just a general upgrade.

-Rip that kitchen out as well.

-Yeah.

-That's all coming straight out.

Everything will come down.

The fireplaces, I'm not too sure if we have to keep them

and just change the fires because we're just renting.

We're not doing it to sell,

so at this stage, it will just be a general makeover.

Dean and Paul will get professionals in to do the jobs that they can't,

like gas and electrics,

and they have a budget set of between £5,000 and £15,000

depending on what happens with the property next door.

But my worry is that the budget could soon become

a distant memory, especially when you remember they don't live nearby.

London is a bit of a commute to Burnley.

# Well I'm so tired of crying

# But I'm out on the road again

# I'm on the road again. #

So, how are they going to tackle the work and how long will it take?

Three, four, four months tops.

Probably only a month or so, just actually doing the work.

Yeah, because we can't get down here all the time,

but doing the actual work, this ain't going to take us,

what, no more than three, four weeks to do.

-So if this is successful, on to the next one?

-Yeah, hopefully.

-Yeah, there's another auction in a couple of months.

-Yeah.

Just have a look, because the first one we bought,

we just went down to have a look, but it was so cheap, we put a bid in.

Yeah, we were just literally going to do some research but, yeah,

it went so cheap, we had to buy it.

So the previous property, in this area as well, or...?

No, it's the other side. County Durham, it's a bit further up.

-Stanley.

-Right, OK.

-Yeah.

Are you planning to stay with north-east and north-west properties?

-At the moment, I would have thought so.

-Yeah, because of the price.

-Yeah.

-But hopefully if we make a go of it, creep further south.

Still keeping an interest in the north because they go cheap

and we think we can turn them around if we get them at the right price.

-Well, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Good luck with it.

-Cheers.

-Cheers, thank you.

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

-Yes.

Well, yes, it's not a lot of money to pay for a house but Dean

and Paul recognising they might have got themselves more of a problem

than they'd bargained for and it all comes down to that house next door.

Can they find out who owns it? Can they buy it?

If not, will they be able to restore this property?

You can find out later in the show.

The Kent town of Paddock Wood was once at the centre of hop farming.

Up to 8,000 seasonal workers

would arrive in the town to help harvest the crop.

Today's lot is within walking distance of the town,

less than half a mile from the station.

So this is it. A two-bedroom detached bungalow,

and it sits on a substantial corner plot like this.

But, first issue I can see straightaway, well,

it appears to be non-standard construction.

And the exterior is made from weatherboard cladding and getting

a mortgage on a non-standard house, well, it can sometimes be difficult.

Any unconventional style of house or flat can

raise issues about mortgageability

but if you look hard enough, you'll very probably find a lender.

If you were unlucky enough not to get a mortgage,

then it would mean cold, hard cash.

The guide price on this property is 195,000 to 205,000

and it is on a decent plot. There's off-street parking and a garage.

So far, so good.

I love the symmetry with this property.

It feels like a little house on the prairie.

All wood, nothing very solid or substantial.

Now, the layout, internally.

You've got a single bedroom to the left here.

A nice toothpaste mint green bathroom. Lovely.

At the back of the house, a small kitchen and a big lounge

and another bedroom. But there's some damage up there.

I think there must have been a leek from above. Uh-oh!

# Uh-oh, we're in trouble

# Something's come along and it's burst our bubble

# Yeah-yeah. #

And it was all going, er, reasonably well.

That ceiling investigation is first on the to-do list.

I'm thinking the next thing would be sorting out

insulation in the walls and the floors to meet modern regulations.

Then you could deal with that dated decor.

Is there a case for being more ambitious

with this two-bed bungalow?

So the bungalow, as it stands, is quite small

but it sits on a really nice, large plot,

so there's definitely potential to extend here.

Now, you could certainly add a single story extension

to the back here, because under permitted development,

you can extend four metres without going through planning permission.

And judging by the pitch of the roof up there, well,

there's a large roof space so you could extend up into that too.

Alternatively, there's the option of demolishing what's here

and building something new.

However, this property has a rather chequered planning past.

Ready for this?

In 2011, and again in early 2012, permission was sought

to knock this down and replace it with a pair of semi-detached houses.

Both times, the planners refused permission.

Then an application was made

to substantially extend the existing dwelling,

and again, that was refused on the grounds of the scale

and bulk of the development, saying it was too prominent

and detrimental to the neighbouring houses.

It just goes to show,

you really, really need to do your research.

All the signs so far are that getting planning permission

to develop this site could be very problematic.

And, as if that wasn't enough,

there's also a restrictive covenant in place,

so you can't build anything above 0.9 of a metre forward of the existing building.

So this will definitely be a tricky development.

What would a local estate agent advise?

Should you say bye-bye to the bungalow and build something new

or will you have to make do and mend what's here?

I think it needs substantial redevelopment.

So much so that I would see it as a plot

rather than a property to develop.

And what style of new build would the agent suggest?

I'd like to put a three or four-bedroom detached house on it.

However, a bungalow would probably be easier to get permission for.

And what does the agent think the bungalow could be worth,

renovated as is or as a new build?

If this was renovated in its current configuration,

you should get in the region of £240,000.

If you were to flatten it and build a new property

of maybe three bedrooms, you should get in the region of £350,000.

And what about rental?

Er, rental on a two-bedroom bungalow would probably

rent for about £900 per calendar month.

A new build three or four-bedroom house could be in the region

of £1,500 per calendar month.

On the surface, this is a property with potential.

Now, you could make all sorts of plans to renovate it or even

knock it down and replace it

but you won't be able to do anything major without planning permission.

And getting that could be problematic.

It's also non-standard construction, so arranging finance,

it may be difficult.

There are a lot of potential pitfalls with this one.

Let's find out who bid for it at the auction.

A detached bungalow on a good-sized corner plot close to the centre of

Paddock Wood and the railway station with good access up to London.

So 190 I'm looking for to start me. 190. I'm obliged.

£190,000, I'm on the way. 190.

Now 2. 192. 192 and 4, 194.

And 6 and 8 and 200, and 2, 202.

It's with you, sir, at 200 and 202 I want. It's worth more than this.

£200,000 I've got for the first time,

then, at £200,000 sitting down on my right-hand side.

You can come in back one more time, it's your chance.

For the second time at £200,000.

If not, for the third and final time,

sitting over on my right-hand side at £200,000, all done.

Sold. It's yours, sir, for £200,000.

And that delighted buyer paying £200,000 was David

who was at the auction with his wife Marie and their daughter.

David, a chartered surveyor, and his wife Marie,

a retired head mistress, currently live locally in Paddock Wood

and they bought the bungalow as a new home for them

and their kids Niamh and Doug.

I met up with them back at the property to find out their plans.

Congratulations. I want to know why you wanted to buy this at auction.

We had originally thought that we might retire to the West Country

but all our friends and our family are round here

and we thought that in our twilight years we wanted to be close to them.

Makes sense.

We originally looked at converting an existing house elsewhere

in Paddock Wood which we'd seen but we could never find what we wanted.

And the beauty of this place is that it's a double plot

and we can build exactly what we want.

We could convert and extend it for our own needs.

We're probably going to knock it down and start again.

Dun-dun-dun! I was waiting for those three words - "knock it down".

-You're going to knock it down?

-We are.

-Yeah.

-You're going to knock it down.

# Blow the house down. #

The couple are looking to downsize from their current property

and ideally build a new home that will tick all the boxes

that Marie, a keen artist, has drawn up.

So I want lots of light, a really big kitchen.

Now look at Marie's face light up here. Go for it!

And also, because of the way that the building would be configured,

I'll be able to have a room that

I can do all my artwork in as well, separate to the house.

Do you feel with the property as it is you just couldn't achieve that?

Well, the problem with the existing building is there's

no insulation in the walls

so we'd have to strip off all the internal walls.

There's no insulation in the floor so we'd have to

take up all the floorboards.

So we're largely starting from scratch.

We can virtually double the size of this house with ease

and permitted development rights.

Er, ie - without the need of planning permission.

But I'd rather build something that was striking, innovative,

-great design...

-21st century.

-21st century.

I mean, to convert this, it's just an uphill task.

I hear what David's saying

but sometimes planning can be an uphill task too and this

property does have a chequered past as far as that's concerned.

Undaunted, David has his ideas already on paper.

Can I show you, firstly,

that's what we don't need planning permission for.

Wow, so you've got a complete separate structure along the side?

-Yes.

-Is that the art room? Hold on a minute, Marie,

I mean, that is almost as big as the house itself!

I know, I know, I need space.

Well, also, it'll be my office as well, because I work from home.

-OK, right.

-So it'll be the art room, the office...

-And a bar!

-And a bar, of course.

-So I can see that's just with an extension

-used within permitted development.

-That's the worst-case scenario.

Marie said it looked like a factory and I think it probably does a bit.

OK, so, well, that's Plan B, what does Plan A look like?

It's quite contemporary, it's striking... And much bigger windows.

Lots of space. But again, it makes your second area,

-your office/art room/bar, almost as big as the house.

-Yes.

So it sounds like you guys want to have some fun, you're downsizing...

What about the children? What do they think?

We are consulting the children.

They've got their own ideas on the design.

So are you letting them have a say, Marie,

because I know it's for you two, but will you let them have a say?

I am, they will have their own rooms upstairs.

So they'll have their own bedrooms, but, yes, they really want...

Because my daughter's very much a party girl

and wants plenty of space for parties.

My son will give you his ideas, I'm sure.

Well, if the wish list for Niamh and Doug is anything like

as lengthy as Mum and Dad's, the architect is going to be a busy man.

He might need a bigger plot!

I'm wondering how much of a downsize this is going to turn out to be.

On the face of it, the family are leaving a large,

Georgian-period house for something smaller,

but with the requirements so far, well, this house is getting bigger.

So what's on the kids' wishlist?

Doug and Niamh, I've had a good old chat with your mum and dad.

-Aren't they fun?

-They are good fun.

Now, they've told me all about you two

and what THEY want from the house.

And they've also told me that you're party animals.

-Yeah, a little bit.

-Come on, Doug, what do you want to see here?

What's your list of things that you want?

Well, number one thing, parents didn't really like it...

Fireman's pole directly from my bedroom...

-What?!

-..straight to the fridge.

-So a fireman's pole for you.

-Anything else?

-Er, just a big bedroom and lots of light, really.

That's all I need.

Your dad's already told me that he's very keen on having a bar.

-He's got a disco ball ready to put up.

-No way!

-And a giant shark.

-And a giant shark head.

I love it, they're so rock'n'roll, aren't they?

MUSIC: Disco Inferno by The Trammps

Well, a few unusual ideas there from the kids and David and Marie,

but how much do they think it would cost to demolish the bungalow

and build their dream house?

Tell me, what sort of budget have you got for this?

-I would say about 150,000.

-Yeah, if it ends up at 200, so what?

And how long will it take you to complete the build, would you say?

Three or four months to get planning permission,

six to nine months to build it.

If it takes three years, it doesn't really matter.

-The important thing is we do it right.

-Congratulations.

I'm really excited for you and I think this is the right thing

-for you to do at this time in your lives.

-Thank you.

Thanks ever so much, nice to meet you.

Ideally, David and Marie want to knock this old bungalow down

and build a new home.

Well, they've never built their own home before and the property

already has a bit of history in terms of planning refusals.

Will David and Marie

and the kids be able to build what they want here?

Or will they have to compromise their plans?

You can find out how it goes for them later in the programme.

There's a pleasant surprise at the rear of this Derby property.

Down these steps, and you are into a bit of a garden wonderland.

Look at this!

And there's also a bit of a surprise back in Kent.

It sounds really wild and wacky and we loved the scheme.

Welcome back to Burnley in the northwest of England

where we were looking at this two-bed mid terraced house.

Situated just a mile from the town centre,

it had a very low guide price of just £15,000 plus.

Not even dated decor could explain that.

So, I wonder, what could explain it?

Lots and lots and lots of damp,

and so much that the ceiling here has collapsed.

Ah, that'll be the reason, then.

The roof was in pretty poor condition,

though it was tricky to get a look at it properly.

The house next door was rather derelict

and that may have been the cause of some of the problems.

But without further investigation, it was impossible to tell.

The property was bought by Dean and Paul for £24,000,

but why has the damp not put them off?

-We didn't even look at it, to tell the truth.

-You didn't look at it?

No, no, no, we made the cardinal sin.

-So what did you think when you walked in?

-All right.

You're saying "All right" and you're sighing very heavily.

No, it's not as bad as what we thought.

# And I'll tell myself I'm over you

# Cos I'm the king of wishful thinking

# King of wishful thinking. #

Well, they get ten out of ten for wishful thinking

but this was going to be a tough gig.

Trying to fit the work in with their jobs and the journey from London,

they hope to get it done over three to four months.

Six months later, and we return to Burnley to see

if our London lads had a good effect on this damp dwelling.

It's all looking fresh, clean,

and there's definitely a decor statement or two.

More importantly, it all looks dry. Not a whiff of damp.

So how have they resolved those horrendous damp issues?

We've had the roof stripped back completely and re-laid.

Er, all the rendering in our property to make it water tight.

We got everything stripped back, really, to the brickwork.

-New bathroom, new kitchen.

-Complete top to bottom, really.

# Ooh, and it's all right and it's coming on

# We gotta get right back to where we started from. #

Well done, lads.

It can sometimes mean extra cost and it definitely means extra work,

but I think stripping it back was exactly what this place needed.

But I'm only seeing one property renovation project here.

What happened to the plan of trying to buy next door?

Yeah, we were thinking of buying next door's property because,

obviously, it would enhance the value of this property

having that property done up as well,

but we couldn't get hold of the landlord at all.

Of course, part of the reason Paul and Dean hadn't seen either property was they actually lived in London.

How was it developing a property 250 miles away from home?

Er, the biggest problem, I suppose, we had was the travelling.

Cos Dean don't drive so it was always on me.

And, er, so we'd drive home from here. Five, six hour drive.

And then straight to work that night.

So we thought we would take between three and four months

but I think it's taken just under six.

Just under six but probably a month and half of actual work.

It's just we work full-time...

Actually getting the time to get up here and to actually do the work.

That sounds like some gruelling shifts Paul and Dean have put in.

But it's always worth remembering that's what has to be done

if you're going to combine development with a full-time job.

Will all that hard work have helped them

keep to their maximum budget of 15,000?

We've come in within budget, I think...

About ten and a half...

Yeah, about ten and a half, give or take, a thousand here and there.

And we've got the outside to do so...we ain't actually done

the final figure but it's round that.

It won't go over 11.

£11,000 on top of their purchase price of 24,000,

brings Paul and Dean's total spend to £35,000.

We've asked along two local property experts

to see if these figures add up to some profit for Paul and Dean's

blind buying experiment.

This is the first time I've seen the property.

It's been done to a great finish, perfect for first-time buyers

and, very soon, it could make an ideal family home.

The layout works really well.

In particular, I like the kitchen/diner downstairs,

I think it's a lovely room for...family environment.

So, yeah, yeah, absolutely, works really well.

If Dean and Paul were to put this on the market,

could they expect any profit on their £35,000 spend?

In my opinion, I'd expect this property to sell for offers

over £45,000.

If the property was to be placed on the market by the owner

in the current environment, I think a sale price could be

achieved from anything from £40,000 upwards to £44,000.

This would give Paul and Dean a profit of between £5,000

and £10,000, minus the usual taxes and expenses,

but they're looking to rent the property.

What could they hope for then?

The rental market's really strong, at the moment, so I would expect

this property to achieve in the region of £350 per calendar month.

If the property went on the rental market, currently, it should achieve

anything from £365 per calendar month to £375 per calendar month.

It's good, really, for...

Yeah, but, I mean, it's what we thought, isn't it?

-It's what we budgeted for.

-Yeah.

We've got a tenant moving in when you leave, and we're going to...

-Yeah, it's more than that.

-£385.

-It's more than that.

Yeah, so it's £10 more than what...

With a tenant already in place paying £385 per calendar month,

Paul and Dean can look forward to a yield of over 13% - a good result.

So, how have they found the whole experience?

-Tiring.

-Yeah.

It's been tiring, it's been a bit knackering, but...

-It's well...

-..well worthwhile.

Two and a half miles east of Derby city centre

lies the large suburb of Chaddesden.

Once a village in its own right,

it is now a highly popular residential suburb of Derby

with good local amenities and transport links

into the city centre.

So, it's a good bet for buying a property at the auction.

So, what am I here to see?

Well, it's a really well located property in this popular

residential area.

Three-bedroomed, semi-detached, had a guide price of £70,000 plus.

Looks like it's seen better days but let's take a look inside.

Interestingly enough, the entrance,

front door, is actually on the side.

-# Side effects

-Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

# Side effects #

Now, that whole entrance door on the side thing does give

a slightly unusual layout when you come through the door.

Facing you, a little hallway, stairs up to the bedrooms, and on

the right-hand side, here, you've got this little front sitting room.

I love this. Fantastic.

Erm, yeah.

A bit old-fashioned, but I bet that really pumps out the heat.

You'd probably want to replace it, though, wouldn't you?

It's a nice room, though.

Through this way, though, cross that little hallway

into your rear living room.

Again, a really nice sized space.

Erm, that's a bit strange.

It's sort of a half cellar, doesn't go down very far but there's

a few steps into something, so I don't know what you'd use that for.

And I imagine this is where the house originally ended.

What you've got now is this single storey extension.

I say single storey, it's got a sloping roof which is really nice.

Stick a couple of roof lights in there,

throw a bit more light in here.

As a kitchen it's good, I like the location,

views out onto the back garden.

You've also got a loo there, which is really great.

So, all the sort of sewerage stuff and pipework is all there for you.

Bit of a storage cupboard.

So, I think you could make great things here,

and whether or not you, I don't know,

took out that wall or certainly increase the size of that hole

is something you might want to consider,

cos there's a window there and that's a bit weird.

But apart from that, straightaway, a house with lots of potential.

What I really like is the quirkiness.

It's not your standard three-bed semi.

But downstairs does have an odd layout

and that weird semi-basement - what on Earth is that for?

# I just don't know what to do with myself. #

Up the staircase that faces the entrance,

are the aforementioned three bedrooms -

a double at the front,

a smaller room to the side...

..and a third to the rear.

And... Phew! ..an upstairs bathroom, but with no WC.

Someone will have to spend a penny or two in here to remedy that.

Well, at the rear of the property...

-LAUGHS

-..fantastic surprise.

Cos down these steps and you are into...

..a bit of a garden wonderland.

Look at this, fantastic.

Let's explore. I don't know how far it is to the back

but we've got some lovely shrubs here.

I mean, it's a case of chopping some of this back so you can see what

you've got, but you've got apple trees,

erm...I don't know what else.

Bit of a wildlife haven too, at the moment, which is good.

But, erm, yes, definitely a few good hours with a strimmer.

But, actually, joy of joys, right at the back...

HE GURNS

..every gardener's dream -

a garden shed.

No, there is, honest.

I know you can't see it, but it's there.

Dig further, and in the undergrowth, there's a garage too,

all for the guide price of £70,000.

The garden alone has got me smitten, but big deep breath

and sensible head on, there is a lot of work to be done.

In the kitchen, those polystyrene tiles have got to go

and the whole house needs refurbishing,

but I reckon it could blossom.

We asked the auctioneer who sold it what he thought of the property

and its prospects.

I mean, the unusual thing about this house is it seems to be

sort of narrow, one-room wide, but quite deep,

and yet you've still got three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.

I think the first thing you'd address,

with a house like this, is the kitchen arrangement.

Erm, clearly, that's got to be improved.

What about sale and rental potentials, then?

Once renovated, this would have a value on today's market

of about £105,000.

In terms of rental,

the rental value would be in the order of £525 per calendar month.

Well, what is there not to like about this house?

It's solidly built, it's in a good location, great garden...

Yeah, an easy one to go for.

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

A three-bedroomed,

semi-detached house just behind Chaddesden shopping area.

There is a proxy bid in on this,

and I will start the bidding at £75,000.

76, I've got. 77 with me, 77.

78 for you, sir, 78.

79, 79, 80...

..80,000. 81, 82,

I'll take 500 if it will help you?

81,500, 81,500, that's stymied me.

82,000, I'm in, 82,000.

82,500, I'm out.

£82,500, 83 somewhere else?

At 82,500 once, twice, third time...

Sold at 82,500, thank you.

Beating the auctioneer's proxy bid

with an £82,500 bid of his own was Dave.

# That's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh,

# I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh. #

Dave and his wife, Elaine, bought the house

and its amazing garden for their two daughters, Jade and Abbey.

Dave works as a domestic energy assessor,

and Elaine works in HR for a local car manufacturing company.

And they live just a mile down the road.

-Elaine, Dave, great to meet you both.

-Pleased to meet you.

Yeah, congratulations. So, why did you want to buy this place?

We thought it was a good potential for the children, erm, and we

thought that it would be nice to sort of set them on the property ladder.

-Great.

-They've both been to university,

they're both just graduating,

you know, we'll renovate it for them and then they take over.

But obviously, Jade and Abbey are going to sort of say what they want.

I mean, obviously, we're going to do sort of the plastering,

we know that sort of thing that needs doing, but everything else,

you know, they might decide what they want doing, the type of kitchen, etc.

There's going to be lots of children watching going,

"I wish my parents were like that!"

Well, it's a start, isn't it?

-It's brilliant.

-Yes, yes.

-Yeah.

They've been good girls, they've, you know,

-done well in what they've done and graduated, so...

-Great.

..it's just a way of showing our appreciation, really.

Well, good on you. So what do your daughters think about all of this?

Well, they're over the moon.

The oldest one's with us at the moment, but the youngest

-one's touring around Europe, backpacking for a month.

-Oh, great.

So, erm, yeah, they're really excited about it

and they're going to both have a big input in, like my wife says,

what goes into the property, decor, design and everything like that.

-So, erm...

-Terrific.

..it'll probably be things that we don't agree with or

we don't like but it's their house so they can do what they like.

# It's up

# To you

# Cos I've done everything I can. #

Dave and Elaine have given 23-year-old Jade,

who is an art graduate, and Abbey,

who recently graduated in psychology,

a really great start with this house.

Dave has bought at auction before,

but I'm wondering how he feels about having paid £12,500 over

the guide price to get it, given there's so much work to do.

Erm, a little bit more than I thought.

We were prepared to go up to about 80...

-Right.

-..but then you just get sucked in, you know,

"It's only another thousand, it's only another two thousand,"

but, erm, yeah, we're very happy.

So, what about internal layout, is it going to stay the same?

Yes, the only difference that we're going to do is the kitchen

out the back has been split,

there's a toilet in there which we're going to move upstairs,

and a store cupboard, and, hopefully,

we can knock the walls out and make that bigger.

-But keep the wall in-between here and there?

-Yes. Maybe...

Because this funny little window's a little bit weird, isn't it?

It is, yeah, and we think that it doesn't shed a lot of light in

because there's not many windows in the kitchen,

so, hopefully, we're going to put a couple of VELUXs in the roof...

-OK, right.

-..and then make this double doors into here...

-Ah, nice.

-..and that will shed a lot more light into here

because there's only one, one large window, there.

Great ideas to get more light down here and improve that kitchen.

They also plan to do a simple renovation upstairs

whilst removing old water tanks hiding behind those cupboards

in order to fit a WC up here.

The couple have a budget of £10,000 and hope to get the girls

settled in here in six months' time.

And it just keeps getting better for those lucky sisters...

And then who's actually going to do the work?

I will do the majority of the work.

Are you experienced in that sort of field?

I've done a couple of properties up, erm, mainly for her mum.

We bought, or her mum bought, a bungalow that was virtually

derelict and we've done that up.

Yeah, so, we've done it once and we're going to try it again.

And are you going to get involved helping out?

Yes, yes I'm hands on, definitely, yeah, yeah.

Wherever I can use a screwdriver or a hammer, I'll be there.

Do you have any sort of things you particularly enjoy doing?

-The garden is my forte...

-Yeah.

..I can't wait to get started on that garden.

Any idea what you will do to the garden?

Well, I think, basically, we're going to chop a lot of the trees down

-and make them more, sort of, at a reasonable height.

-Mm-hmm.

But I do want to keep some of the bushes

and trees to give it a bit of character.

I'm already doing cuttings off of my own garden at home, ready...

SHE LAUGHS ..so we can pop them in.

And then decking out from the back door

and then steps down to a lawn, like she says,

and then the trees in amongst the lawn and everything...

-That sounds lovely.

-There is an apple tree down there somewhere...

-Right.

-..and, erm, yeah, hopefully we'll keep that in.

But, certainly, it's a really exciting project.

Well, listen, congratulations.

Well done for being such a good mum and dad,

and we look forward to seeing how you get on.

Thank you, very much. Yeah, great.

Well, what a great thing Dave and Elaine are doing

for their daughters, and a great house to boot.

I can't wait to see what they do with it.

But what will their daughters decide to do with it

once it's completed?

You can find out later in the show.

Well, we've already seen how one property has got on,

what about the other two?

-Yes, were they straightforward or were there a few surprises?

-Hmmm.

Let's find out.

We're back in Paddock Wood in Kent to catch up

with this detached bungalow, guided at 195,000 to 205,000.

It was a non-standard construction

which can prove tricky for those needing a mortgage.

Then, there were planning problems.

In 2011, and again in early 2012,

permission was sought to knock this down

and replace it with a pair of semi-detached houses.

Both times, the planners refused permission.

Add to that a covenant that said you couldn't build more

than 0.9 of a metre forwards.

But undaunted by all those restrictions were David and Marie,

who paid £200,000 for the bungalow.

They saw this as a place to retire and a place with huge potential.

We're probably going to knock it down and start again.

# Dun-dun-dun. #

DRAMATIC MUSIC

With this planning history? Really?

But David was a chartered surveyor

and was confident they'd get permission.

Marie wanted an art studio space and they wanted four bedrooms too.

They certainly weren't messing around

because they'd already had plans drawn up.

-So you've got a complete separate structure along the side?

-Yes.

-Yes.

Is that the art room? Hold on a minute, Marie.

I mean, that is almost as big as the house itself.

I know, I know, I need space.

But why have one funky, exciting plan when you can have two?

The couple really wanted to build something much grander.

But it's quite contemporary, it's striking,

-and much bigger windows, lots of space.

-Mm-hmm.

But, again, it makes your second area, you know,

your office/art room/bar, almost as big as the house.

As if that wasn't enough, their children, Niamh and Doug,

also had a wish list to accommodate.

Anyway, the family were poised to rip down the bungalow

and build something space age and amazing!

Two years on, we return to...

..no sign of a fabulous new family home.

SHE SIGHS

MUSIC: Ghost Town by The Specials.

Time for David and Marie to fill us in.

It took us a year to get planning permission, in effect.

Yes, the site did have a bit of a planning history,

but there was an existing property already here,

we did not demolish the property until such time

as we got planning permission.

The architect started off with a really innovative scheme,

which was, effectively, two opposing cheeses.

It sounds really wild and wacky, and we loved the scheme,

but the planners weren't quite so enamoured.

It was still four bedrooms and we had a double height lounge

up two and a half storeys.

And, effectively, they said, "Love the scheme but not here,

"because it doesn't fit in."

So, we then went back with a slightly

tweaked scheme which was two cheeses, effectively, side by side.

Erm, they didn't like that either.

# A change would do you good. #

Hmmm. Two cheeses sounds crackers, but I like it.

However, even if you're not in a conservation area,

planners might be reluctant to let you build anything that

doesn't fit in with the streetscape.

It can end up being a bit of a compromise, but in the end,

the architects came up with a plan that worked for everybody.

It was very, erm, very modern, very light, very open,

very adaptable, which is exactly what we asked for.

And by the time we got to that stage the planners were happy

because it was very eco, we were happy,

the architects were happy.

Brilliant. So, when does the work start?

This year, we've been looking to sell our current house, which is

about a mile away from here,

and, unfortunately, the market

didn't really like our existing house as much as the agents had told us.

-Yes.

-And the price kept on coming down, and coming down, and then,

at the end of August/early September, we just said,

"We live in a beautiful house,

"we can actual fact create the flexible accommodation that we

"need by having two flats upstairs, and we have, you know,

"primarily ground floor accommodation."

And the kids loved the idea because they've lived there all their lives.

As soon as we told our neighbours that we were not moving to the

new site, they were delighted

-and they came round straightaway with a bottle of champagne.

-Excellent.

And when you've got neighbours like that who have lived

next-door to you for so long

and are so overjoyed that you're not moving, I mean, what can you do?

You know, you have to stay, don't you?

I'll drink to that.

So, David and Marie might get a dream home

at their current home, but there's an added bonus,

they now have a big plot with planning permission.

Two local estate agents can explain why that's so valuable.

It gives the developer... To just go straight into it

and get on with what they need to do.

Having the planning permission certainly adds value

because it takes a lot of the hassle element out of the approach

to the local council and makes the project much more definite.

Demolition cost 9,000

and all the fees associated with planning cost around £26,000.

Having paid £200,000 at auction, their total spend is £235,000.

What is the plot with planning permission worth as it is?

This plot of land with the planning permission that it currently has,

I think, it would be worth approximately £300,000.

The value of this plot of land is valued between £280,000 to £320,000.

-I think they're pretty good, actually.

-Very good, actually.

-I'm very pleased.

-Yeah, very pleased.

At an average of 300,000, Marie and David

could make a pre-tax profit of 65 grand,

and they haven't even laid one brick.

So, would it be worth going ahead with building and then selling?

If the property is built to planning, I believe you can sell it on for

£450,000 to £500,000.

I think the finished property could reach in the region of £500,000,

done to a nice specification.

Taking the top value of £500,000,

and based on David's £200,000 construction budget,

Marie and David could make a profit of £65,000,

before taxes and expenses.

Same potential profit as just the plot, so, why bother, I say?

I think that's probably a bit on the light side.

We're not looking at it as a single house,

we're looking at it as two houses.

It would have been great to live here, but actually,

-we're really happy where we're going to stay.

-Yeah.

Well, they didn't get their dream retirement home here,

but, by converting their existing house,

they will get two flats and Marie will get her art studio,

and they could still make a lot of profit on this plot.

Any regrets?

We're not in any hurry. This was always our long-term retirement plan.

You know, I've got a few years in the office yet.

I've got to keep her in the style to which she's become accustomed.

-I'd like to become accustomed to.

-You'd like to become accustomed to.

Time now to return to Chaddesden on the outskirts of Derby.

This three-bedroomed semi had a guide price of £70,000 plus,

and once I'd worked out the front door was on...well, on the side,

I found it had some good size rooms, an extension out the back,

and a garden that went on for...

-VOICE ECHOES:

-miles!

OK, maybe not miles, but it's pretty big.

The house was bought for £82,500 by local couple Dave and Elaine,

as an investment for daughters Jade and Abbey.

We thought it was a good potential for the children, and we thought

that it would be nice to, sort of, set them on the property ladder.

They've been good girls, you know,

-they've done well in what they've done, and graduated.

-Great.

It's just a way of showing our appreciation, really.

Well, good on you. There's going to be lots of children watching going,

"I wish my mum parents were like that!"

# We got family, we got family

# So when I call you up, get y'all in. #

It really was a lovely way to use what could be a lovely house,

but make no mistake, with a kooky kitchen layout

and some terribly tired decor,

Dave and Elaine had their work cut out.

15 months later, and we're back in Chaddesden to see if

Dave and Elaine have turned this into their daughters' dream home.

# It feels just like it should

# I wake up, this, and this is what it looks like

# So don't miss this, this is what it looks like

# So call on me, it feels just like it should

# So call on me. #

Good job, guys. And Dave and Elaine haven't just made cosmetic changes.

There's new plumbing, new insulation, new electrics, and,

most importantly, they've moved that WC to the upstairs bathroom,

freeing up the kitchen.

We've done a lot of work, in here,

we've knocked a dividing wall down that had the old toilet

and a store cupboard in to make the kitchen a lot bigger.

We've put new doors in,

which throws a lot more light into the kitchen and makes it

look very spacious. And, erm, yeah, we're very pleased with it.

A bigger, brighter kitchen and a toilet upstairs -

simple but good ideas.

But, moving a toilet and knocking down a wall

pales in comparison to tackling that jungle of a back garden.

We got a mini digger in

and we spent a complete week

with the mini digger on the garden.

Even you had a go, didn't you?

I had a go, yes, he insisted I had a go and took a picture.

We found two sheds down the bottom

when we started to clear it which weren't visible before.

We didn't even know we had.

Two sheds! Some of us would consider that to be a bonus...

AND they had a go on a digger!

Here's the grown up bit, however.

If you do hire a digger, read all the safety instructions

very carefully, be mindful of anyone in the vicinity,

and always think about stability and what might be under the ground.

It might seem like an exciting new toy,

but all machinery has to be treated with respect.

I do like that they've created another room outside, though.

It's really nice, now, you know,

to open the patio doors straight onto the decking.

What we intend to do now, which we haven't done yet,

is to completely fence the garden, which will make it really quite nice.

However, although all this might have gone to plan, it would

appear daughters Jade and Abbey will not be moving in after all.

We are not sure whether they're going to move in or not,

they're still thinking about it.

But if they don't move in, we are going to move in,

renovate our property and go from there.

So, that will probably be another 18 months project, will it not?

Yeah, definitely.

# I guess I'll have to change my plan

# I overlooked that point completely

# Until the big affair began

# I guess I'll have to change my plan. #

Ah, well, best laid plans and all that.

Never mind, this house is looking great,

and it allows them to continue with their plans for more development.

So, all's well that ends well, assuming they've not overspent?

Right, the budget we set for ourselves was £10,000.

That was mainly doing most of the jobs ourselves,

which we have done, and we've now met £9,750.

So, we're well pleased that we're within the budget.

But obviously, that's because a lot of the work

we have completed ourselves and we've not paid other people to do it.

We've had a plumber in to commission the boiler and to gas the boiler up.

I've put the electrics in the kitchen, and then we've had

an electrician in to check all the wiring, to wire the sockets up.

And a plasterer to do all the plastering.

-We're well pleased, we've achieve what we wanted to.

-Very pleased.

Very pleased, yeah.

Dave and Elaine bought the property for £82,500

and have done well to keep just under that £10,000 budget.

But doing all the work themselves has meant the development

has taken 15 months rather than the intended 6.

We've asked along two local property experts

to check out their hard work.

I love the layout. It's nice to have the hallway in the middle

and then they've got the dining room,

which is open plan to the kitchen, which is a great feature.

This is my first trip around the property.

Having seen the original photographs,

I was pleasantly surprised at the approach to the house.

You've got the lovely, big, private garden to the rear with

mature trees and that lovely big deck area for eating out.

Ah, picnics on the patio - what a good idea.

Having spent £92,250,

what could Dave and Elaine expect,

were they to sell or rent the property?

I would expect to achieve a sale price of up to £110,000,

and a rental value of up to £550 per calendar month.

To put this property up for sale, I would expect £115,000, erm,

to rent it out, maybe £550 per calendar month.

That rental figure of £550 per calendar month would give them

a pretty good yield of over 7%.

Were they to sell,

they would make a profit of £22,750

minus the usual taxes and expenses.

I think the figure he's given us,

we'll be happy with that for the time being.

We know that we've got work to do, but I think, like you say,

at the end, when we've done it all, that figure will be what

we were looking for, and the rental is exactly what we thought.

Yeah, definitely.

Dave and Elaine kept a budget

and now have a good potential profit to show for it.

Would they do it again?

-We're not getting any younger and, erm...

-Speak for yourself.

We would think about another one, just a little bit less work.

We don't mind some of it, but not quite the major transformation

we've done on this one.

So, that's how today's three properties turned out.

But for more auction action, you know what to do.

Join us next time for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.