Episode 7 Homes Under the Hammer

-Welcome to the programme.

-If you have ever tried to buy a property,

but got caught in the dreaded property chain,

you'll know what a complete nightmare it can be.

Oh! So how can you avoid that situation?

One way to cut through the chain

is to buy your next home under the hammer.

People go to auction with all types of budgets,

looking for all sorts of different properties.

There is an enormous choice of properties available so,

what inspired the buyers on today's show?

This could be a perfect first home in Surrey,

but you'd better tread carefully.

Maybe that's been laid too tight

or there is something more sinister going on underneath.

And over in Merseyside, this three-bedroom semi-detached

house was up for auction for just £50,000, but with good reason.

We'll find out why.

A 60 to £70,000 guide price sounds a lot for this bit of land in Kent,

but wait till you see the moneymaking plans it comes with.

All these properties have been sold at auction

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

when they went under the hammer.

Sold.

Just 19 miles from Greater London is the booming

area of Redhill in Surrey.

Redhill has got an explosive claim to fame.

Back in 1867, Alfred Nobel demonstrated

dynamite for the first time in a nearby quarry.

Let's hope the property I'm here to see is not a complete

demolition job.

The house we're here to see is situated about three

miles from Redhill in an area known as Salfords.

There are local shops and a train station close by. Sound good?

But the trouble with being so close to a train station is that

you are often also close to a train track.

In this instance, the line runs right past the side of the property.

So here's the house, it is a three-bed end of terrace.

It had a guide price of £175,000.

It's got quite an overgrown front garden here, but I think it is

right for turning into some handy off-street parking.

Let's look inside the house.

I can already see there's double glazing. Good,

that should keep the train noise out.

# I said shake rattle and roll... #

Surprisingly, there's a lot of internal space that

I didn't expect here. Really nice-sized lounge.

You've got a little downstairs loo and a fantastic kitchen!

I love this because - look!

There's loads of room over there,

you can call it an eat-in kitchen. Plenty of room for a table.

All you would need to do really is put a new kitchen in.

Worried about the floor.

Maybe that's been laid too tight

or there is something more sinister going on underneath.

But the footprint of this property is brilliant,

there's a lot you could do in time.

You could open out this wall,

you could put bi-folding doors leading out to the garden.

But as it is, it's got a really nice feel about it.

It could be a really good family home.

Someone has clearly started trying to refurbish the house.

With a new kitchen partly installed.

New electrics, new flooring and a new toilet.

And the same story upstairs in the bathroom.

And in the three good-sized bedrooms,

all of which potentially gives the new owner a head start.

But as always, particularly with the electrics and plumbing,

get them checked out by a professional.

And the best mantra is, when in doubt, rip it out.

Now, the auction catalogue also mentioned the potential to

extend out the back. And look!

There is a huge garden so there certainly would be room to

add a ground-floor extension out here.

In the past, permitted development allowed you to come

out by just 3m on an attached house like this but planning regulations

have now changed recently and now the limit has increased to 6m.

That is huge but there are still some restrictions, and bigger

extensions are subject to a neighbourhood consultation scheme.

So permission is not guaranteed.

But a bit more square footage would really add value

and certainly improve that property.

So that's a call to the planning department needed.

But there is no doubt there are tons of opportunities to add value

to this house, guided at 175,000.

But what did the local estate agent make of what was on offer here?

My first thoughts with the property, it's a nice spacious home,

good-sized room proportions.

I think it would be ideal for a family once it's

all in the right condition.

If there are any negatives, it is that there is a

train line just beside the house.

Which... It's there, someone would just have to take a view on it.

Yes, you can't do much about the trains but you can change the house.

So what would be the best way of maximising the financial

returns from the property?

There could be value added by extending,

but I think to get the best return, probably better just

refurbishing the existing building rather than extending at this stage.

OK, let's talk numbers on this house that was guided at 175,000.

I think once finished,

the property could resale in the current market for £275,000.

I think if the property were revamped to a good condition,

current rental would be £1,100 to £1,150 per calendar month.

So this is a decent-sized end of terrace with

room for improvement and a plot that I think would suit keen gardeners.

But will that train track put some people off?

Let's see who's out there ready to take on this

challenge as we head to auction.

Move down to Redhill.

Like this property, 170.

Thank you. 170. 175.

175. 180.

185. 190.

195.

200. 205.

205? 202, yeah? 204.

206.

208. Elsewhere, 210. New spot.

212.

214.

216.

218.

220.

2? 224.

224. 226.

228. 228.

230.

Round it off to 230? Must do it.

Have a think. Back to you. 228.

First time. Second time.

Third and last time. Have you all done?

Sold, 228. Got there, well done.

And so for £228,000, the successful bidders

for the three-bedroom Redhill house were Steven and wife Jan.

Steven and Jan run a property developing business together

and this will be their sixth property renovation.

One of their two daughters, Hayley, came along with fiance Aaron.

They had a mooch round the property while Steven fills me in on the plan.

Steven, congratulations.

What's your reason behind you wanting to buy this property?

My daughter has always looked at houses that we have

done up in the past and really likes them.

I kind of promised that if we found one that suited, you know,

we would let her get into one and help her onto the property market.

Wow! Lucky girl.

-Did she get a chance to look at this prior to the auction?

-She did. Yeah.

-What was her reaction when she saw it for the first time?

-She loved it.

As soon as she came in, she really loved it.

Yeah, it is tough to get on the property ladder

so this is a great support from Stephen and his wife Jan

and the plan is to initially rent the property to Hayley and Aaron

and when they can afford to, they will buy the house back from them.

So do you have building experience?

Erm, not personally myself, but we've got a good team of builder and the full team.

Just stumbled upon them because we were doing our own kitchen at home.

-OK.

-They were all on the job and I spoke to them

-about what I intended to do and it went from there really.

-Fantastic.

-So now you use them for all your projects?

-For all the projects, yes.

With your developers head on,

what could you do to really change this place?

I think extending out the back is possible.

But I think for my daughter, to keep

the cost down at the moment, we're just going to renovate it,

so new bathroom, new fitted kitchen, decoration throughout.

How do you think it will work with Hayley being directly involved?

How much control will you give her and Aaron?

Yeah, they can have more or less full control of choosing as long as

they give me the materials on time.

Steven wants to get the work done in 8 to 10 weeks

so if he is project manager I thought it was time

I caught up with his clients, daughter Hayley who is a beauty

therapist and her fiance Aaron, who is a ground works manager.

They're the ones who will be funding the work here.

Hayley and Aaron, you lucky devils. How fantastic is this for you guys?

-Really excited.

-Can't wait.

-Is this going to be your first home together?

-It is, yeah.

-Yeah. We still both live at home.

-You both live at home?

So how's your mum and dad going to feel about this?

I think they're quite excited about it.

Yeah, I think they will be happy to get me out of the house.

-What about you?

-The same, my sister can't wait to have my bedroom.

And my wardrobe.

Tell me, Hayley, what are the changes you need to make before you

-guys can move in here? Because it's not in bad nick, is it?

-No.

Kitchen, bathrooms. And the floor.

Really there's not a huge amount to do. The walls are all OK.

Have you made lists? Have you seen kitchens, do you know what kind of thing...?

Yeah, we've picked the kitchen. We've got two bathrooms.

How much money or budget have you got to make this home?

I'm guessing you guys don't have sofas and table and chairs

and all the things you need to furnish a house?

We've got a few bits, but, no, we haven't got sofas. We've got a bed!

-About 10 to 12,000.

-Yeah.

-Have you guys been saving up?

-We have, yes. Yeah.

-So what are you most looking forward to?

-Just moving in, I can't wait.

Just want to get stuck in now. Get the project going and get in there as quickly as we can.

Guys, good luck. I can't wait to see you in your first home together.

-Thank you.

-And congratulations on the engagement.

-Thank you.

-That's really good news. Well done. Lovely to meet you.

-Thanks, you too.

# ..a new day, it's a new life for me

# And I'm feeling good... #

Well, Steven and his wife are keen to give their daughter Hayley

and Aaron a leg up onto the property ladder,

this could be a perfect first home for them,

but there is a bit of work to do before they can move in.

Let's find out how this family get on creating that perfect home

later in the programme.

Liverpool.

Land of the Beatles and the Liver Birds. Gerry and The Pacemakers

forever immortalised the River Mersey with their famous lyrics.

# So ferry across the Mersey

# Cos this land's the place I love

# And here I'll stay... #

Well, through the Mersey Tunnel from Liverpool or across

on the famous Mersey Ferry, and you find yourself in the Wirral.

Now, property prices here have traditionally been a bit higher

than in other parts of Merseyside so it's great to hear about this.

£50,000 plus was the guide price, a three-bedroom semi-detached,

got to be worth a look.

The house is in the very popular Prenton area

and not at all far from Birkenhead.

The house has its own separate garage

and seems really good value for money.

It looks just great, almost incredibly so.

Ahhh! That'll be why it is cheaper then.

It comes with one unexpected optional extra - an interior.

Yeah! You've basically got a shell. Wow!

It's not often you see this. If you like open plan living, this is...

Well, going to be right up your street.

Through the kitchen, well,

I'm imagining that was the kitchen, into what

I imagine was the hall where there used to be probably quite

a nice living area here and then probably through another area

here into what was the other side of the lounge.

Come on, it's a big open space. I like it actually.

I certainly like those windows,

those big sliding patio doors looking out onto the garden.

Erm... It is without doubt a blank canvas on which you can paint.

You could channel your inner Michelangelo.

Designing an entire original interior here.

However, before we get all creative, a word of caution.

I'd want to get a structural assessment to ensure it's not

going to fall about your ears.

Well, upstairs and the extreme open plan living ethic continues.

Lots of space. Again, three good-sized double bedrooms.

One there, maybe not big but half decent sized bedroom there,

and a big one at the back.

This is obviously where the loo was at one stage.

So given that most of the walls have been taken out,

you have got literally that blank canvas,

so you could think about playing around with the layout.

I think the house is big enough to warrant and work as a four bed,

so that is something I would consider.

And certainly the layout here,

you've got two windows in this room, so put a dividing wall here.

Again, in some ways it's quite refreshing to have it

as a sort of...something you can kind of play with as you want.

So, you could have four smaller bedrooms here and add value,

or have a lovely spacious three bed. However, first things first.

With no bathroom and no kitchen,

this is probably for cash buyers only.

Well, these sliding doors really are quite spectacular

but, erm, bit of a design flaw.

It's about a... Oh!

..two-foot drop to get onto the patio

but it does lead out to a pretty decent sized garden.

Well, so I'm led to believe. It's down here somewhere.

But judging by the state of the rest of that,

and that I didn't bring my machete today...

I think I'll just believe them that it's pretty big.

So, a shell of a house with hardly any internal walls or surfaces.

And an enormous garden in need of being tamed.

What does a local property expert think of our property

in popular Prenton?

The property itself has got great potential for development.

It can certainly add some value for this property,

ideal for a builder to purchase,

add some value by refurbishing the property, and then either

letting the property or selling the property on for a potential profit.

It has a guide price of £50,000 plus. How would he value it?

I would value this property with the work completed at £130-140,000.

But if a new buyer wanted it as an investment,

what kind of rental could it attract?

For rental purposes,

I would value this property at £650 per calendar month as a three bed,

if it was reinstated as a three bed semi-detached family home.

So, is there a demand for properties like this in this area?

I would say there is a good demand at the moment,

either from owner/occupiers to purchase property to live in

themselves or from tenants.

Certainly a large increase in mortgage availability recently

that has reactivated the housing market.

But there's also a large number of people who cannot afford to buy

or simply don't want to buy,

and this type of family property is ideal for those types of tenants.

Well, this is a classic case of a house that will be really nice

when it's finished.

And for somebody with a bit of experience, the fact that

it's a work-in-progress could actually be quite a good thing.

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

It was one of the last lots up for sale at this auction,

so the crowd had thinned.

Lot number 34, £50,000, who is here? 50?

50 here straight in,

at 50 I'm bid now. In ones. At £50,000. Are we done at 50?

At £50,000 then, for lot 34.

51.

52. 53.

The bidding moved quickly past that £50,000 guide price

and we rejoin it when it reached 78,000.

78, 79.

80.

Shake of the head.

At £79,000. For the first time. Are you sure?

It's with you, sir, it's against you.

At £79,000 for the second time, back in at 80.

81. 82.

With you at 81.

At £81,000. First time.

At £81,000, second time.

82. 83.

84. 85. 85 I've got. 86. Shake of the head.

With you at 85.

At £85,000. First time.

At £85,000, second time.

All done, all out, with you then at £85,000.

Third and final time, selling away then.

Well done, sir. 693.

Paying £85,000, 35,000 over the guide price, is Joe.

I met Joe and his mum Sally back at the property to find out what

he plans to do with this, his first auction purchase.

-Sally, Joe, good to meet you both.

-And you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Got yourself an interesting project here.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this house.

I just thought it was a really good opportunity to get myself

-on the property market.

-Why this house in particular?

I just thought it had lots of aspects ready and waiting to be done.

Most of it is in here, all structurally sound

-and we just do cosmetic work to it.

-Right.

-So what's your involvement in all of this, Sally?

-General dogsbody!

-Fetcher, carrier, cleaner-upper.

-Is it a family project, then?

-No. No. Just Joe.

-It's just me. Just here for moral support, really.

-Right. So what do you do?

-I am an electrician by trade.

-OK. Working full-time?

-Yes.

-So what is this, a part-time thing?

Yeah. Just weekends, evenings, any spare time I get, really.

Tell me what you're going to do to it then.

Well, I'm going to start with the electrics, new central heating,

new bathrooms.

New kitchen. Plaster.

And hopefully we are there.

And is Joe at all fazed by the absence of a few walls

here and there?

It's pretty good, to be honest. It's a pretty easy start.

And from an electrician's point of view,

-easy peasy because you've got easy access...

-Ideal.

No moving furniture and carpets.

What did you like about it when you first saw it?

I think it's in a good position. It's got a really big back garden.

And it's sunny in the back and there's a possibility of turning it

from a three to a four bedroom by splitting the back bedroom into two.

Right. OK.

The front bedroom is quite big, so could become the master.

So... but it might be better for rental.

And rental is the name of the game here.

Joe is hoping that this will get his pension portfolio off

to a good start. With a three to four month timescale,

he has got a budget of 10 to 15 grand, but don't forget,

this house has no kitchen, bathroom or, er, walls.

But he will be doing most of the work himself

with a little help from friends and family

on his evenings and weekends, so that should save some cash.

Although you do always have to weigh that up with the rental

you're losing if it takes you a bit of time to get the work done.

Will mum Sally be offering more than moral support?

Are you going to get involved in some of the design

and the colour schemes and things like that?

Possibly the design and colour schemes.

-But it depends if I'm allowed!

-Always needs a woman's touch.

Well, I hope Sally is handy with a lawn mower, because while

the inside is a wide-open space, the same can't be said for the outside.

There's a few bits and pieces outside that need to be sorted,

not least the garden, and a rather precipitous drop at the front.

What are you going to do about those?

We're going to basically rake all the garden out, see what is actually

there, and in the front we are going to put a fence around it.

So it makes it into a back yard.

What is the rental potential, do you think?

Something in the region of probably 600 per calendar month.

We hope.

So in terms of what you paid, by the time you've factored

in your costs and everything, a half decent return?

-Yeah. We hope so.

-Are you happy with what you paid?

-Yeah.

I would have liked to get it cheaper, but wouldn't everyone?

Ha! That's some property developers for you -

always wanting it for less than was paid.

But I reckon Joe has made himself a smart investment here.

Other than what we can see, the structure of the building,

-as far you as you can make out, is pretty good?

-It's ideal.

Has this inspired you to do other stuff?

-We'll wait and see how this goes, but hopefully.

-Congratulations.

Thank you very much.

Good luck, and we look forward to seeing how you get on.

-OK, thank you.

-Thank you.

Well, Joe seems to know exactly what he needs to do

to sort this place out.

And he doesn't seem at all fazed by it.

Very useful being an electrician, that's for sure.

How will he get on with the help of the rest of the family?

You can find out later in the show.

Coming up, we'll be finding out how this plot of land in Kent

managed to see its value rocket to over half a million pounds.

And back to Merseyside to find behind many a good builder

-is his mum.

-I've had to do all of the cleaning after him. Fetch, carry.

Do the tea.

Back now to Redhill in Surrey.

And this partially renovated three bed end-of-terrace

which property developer Steven

and his wife bought at auction for 228,000.

They bought the property as a first home for daughter Hayley

and her fiance Aaron.

My daughter has always looked at houses that we have done up

in the past and really liked them

and I kind of promised that if we found one that suited, she would,

we would let her get into one and help her onto the property market.

Wow. Did she get a chance to look at this prior to the auction?

She did, yes.

And what was her reaction when she saw it for the first time?

She loved it as soon as she came in. She really loved it.

Steven had trusted builders ready to transform the house

in a two month timescale,

although the young couple were ready to roll their sleeves up too.

Hayley and Aaron, you lucky devils.

-I mean, how fantastic is this for you guys?

-Really exciting.

Can't wait.

How much money or budget have you got to kind of make this home?

Because I'm guessing you guys don't have sofas and table

and chairs and all the things you need to furnish a house.

Got a few bits, but no, we haven't got sofas and stuff.

But we've got a bed!

-About 10-12,000.

-So what are you most looking forward to?

Just moving in. I can't wait.

I just want to get stuck in now, get the project going

and get in there as quick as we can.

16 weeks after our first visit, we're back, to see if Hayley

and Aaron have made a home out of the end-of-terrace house.

# Open the doors and windows

# Whole world inside these four walls

# More than a building Floor to the ceiling

# A picture of love

# That's this house

# That's this house

# That's this house. #

Ah! Homely with a capital H, I'd say!

But this has been more than just a cosmetic job.

Done quite a bit, to be honest, we've renewed all the doors

in the house. Obviously redecorated everywhere.

Quite a bit of plastering,

completely renewed the bathrooms,

the cloakroom, kitchen. Flooring.

-Radiators.

-Yes, the boiler.

There have been so many changes, the whole house basically.

And true to their word, both Aaron

and Hayley have played their part in the renovation.

It's been really hard work, I've helped with painting and stuff

and a lot of the coving and skirtings and all that.

You've done a lot outside as well.

Yeah, get everything sort of cut back outside so that it is usable.

Get all the driveway clear. Some of the fencing.

Some of the groundwork. Again, a bit of everything, to be honest.

They are just waiting for the all clear from the council to

drop the kerb.

But off-street parking will be a real bonus here.

They'll finish landscaping the back garden in the spring,

but they must be so delighted with the way the house has turned out.

We absolutely love it at the moment.

I don't think Hayley will want to do it again any time soon,

so I think we will be here for quite a while.

And thanks in no small part to Steven, dad to Hayley,

father-in-law-to-be to Aaron, and now landlord to the two of them.

Yeah, it's been good working with Dad.

We've all worked well together.

It's nice we've all spent a lot of time together, obviously,

and working together and compromising.

Yeah, it's been good.

So, Dad, how has this project compared to previous property renovations?

To do it for ourselves rather than just selling the property on is nice.

Because you're not doing all the work

and then giving it to someone else, really,

so it's nice to keep the property in the family after all the hard work.

Hayley and Aaron had saved up

and were hoping the renovation would cost around £10-12,000.

But good old dad did help them out, so what was the final spend?

We've actually ended up spending 25,000,

which was quite a bit over our budget.

But that is because we wanted to make it nicer because,

as they grew to like the property as it went on, we decided

we wouldn't cut corners and we've put in nice bits rather than...

And extra bits that we wouldn't normally do.

So we knew what we were spending,

although we've gone probably 10,000 over.

A spend of £25,000 on top of their purchase price

of 228,000 brings the total spend here to £253,000.

We asked along two local estate agents to get

their take on the renovated end of terrace.

First up, the agent who saw the property before the work began.

I think it's completely different to what I have seen before

and a great make over.

First impressions of the property is

it's been brought up to a really high standard.

It would be snapped up very quickly in the resale market.

What I like in the property is the way the kitchen works now

and the space to get the dining area in one end there.

The selling features for me, the modern fitted kitchen,

the neutral decor and generally how light and spacious the property is throughout.

Now clearly Hayley and Aaron are here for the long haul,

but if they did want to sell the end terrace on, what might it fetch on the resale market?

I think the resale value of this property could be £290,000.

I would resale this property on the open market today at somewhere in the region of £300,000 to £305,000.

Those resale valuations would mean a profit

before tax and expenses of between £37,000-£52,000.

But what if the property came up on the rental market?

I think the rental value of the property would be £1,250 per calendar month.

I would hope to achieve somewhere in the region of £1,350-£1,400 per calendar month.

-Yeah, very pleased with those, really.

-That is really good.

-I am not quite getting that much!

I was waiting for that!

On the open rental market the estate agent's valuation would mean a yield of around

the 6% or 6.5% mark.

So are we to take it that Hayley is love, love, loving her new home?

It is weird not being with Mum, Dad and my sister all the time every day,

but it is nice as well knowing that this is ours and I've got to look after it all,

you know, and keep it all up.

It's nice but weird.

And Dad?

Yeah, um, it's quieter at home,

um, so we are missing her a little bit but it is just nice for her to have her own place and

a nice start on the property ladder, so, I think that's good.

A small and perfectly formed renovation there.

But what if you wanted to think bigger?

This is the characterful Kent village of Teynham.

It's got local shops and lovely country pubs.

But if you want high street facilities, Sittingbourne is nearby.

And the A2 and good train links make this place popular with commuters.

Teynham has a rather fruity history,

Richard Harrys lived here.

He was fruitier to King Henry VIII

and he ordered the planting of 105 acres of land with

apples and cherries obtained from abroad.

So, Teynham was one of the first places in the UK

where the cherry was grown.

# Life is just a bowl of cherries

# So live and laugh at it all. #

Agriculture is still an important industry here.

The village is filled with lovely lanes and cottage style properties.

I'm hoping the lot I'm here to see will be the pick of the crop. And here it is.

I have to say at first sight, well, it is a bit underwhelming!

Well, I am here to see, sadly, not a cherry orchard, but this rather scruffy plot of land!

Now it is situated on this main road that runs between Sittingbourne and Faversham.

And as you can see, it is busy and it is a rather noisy spot,

and, well, it is incredibly overgrown in here. So much so that I can't even get in!

It is so hard to see the full extent of the site.

But apparently it is 0.08 acres in total,

so I am going to see if there is a better view of it somewhere.

# At the edge of a very great fall... #

The land is on the edge of the main road

but just round the corner from a train station.

It is guided at £60,000-£70,000.

But what do you get for the money?

Well, let's have a look.

Bit of a climb here. I do all my own stunts you know!

Now the site might look like a scruffy patch of land or one big bush,

but the good news is, well, there is already planning permission in place to build five apartments here,

consisting of four one-bedders and one two-bed flat,

which is great news.

Now, we do know that it is going to be very high spec inside,

there's going to be lots of skylights so there will be light flooding through the apartments.

There's going to be corner windows,

off-street parking, you get one parking space per flat,

and it's only an hour into central London.

# Beat another bush

# Give the man a push. #

Nope, let's stop beating around the bush and take a look at the plans for this plot of land.

These architect's drawings detail open plan kitchen and living areas

and look like a very fair use of the space.

But with limited access, I'm slightly having to guess the full scope of them.

I like the look of these though.

And the buyer could of course resubmit plans to the local council

if they wanted to make changes or alter the use.

But as this is a conservation area, that could be costly,

cause delays, and I think it would be way wiser to go with what's been pre-approved.

But before anyone gets carried away...

One issue, though. There is a proviso in the plans,

you can't develop here until an archaeological study has taken place.

Which could cause a bit of a delay,

and, well, you never know what they will find.

And it is also another thing you have to budget for,

because the buyer has to pay for the survey.

What we found today though was a local estate agent

who came to share his opinion on the plot,

guided between £60,000 and £70,000,

and its proposed plans.

I think the proposal for the contemporary style apartments

that are going to be built here are a very good idea,

I think it is a good use of the value of the plot.

I think building a couple of

individual style houses wouldn't bring as much of a return.

So what does he think those potential returns are?

Firstly, sales.

If I was to value the flats as per the plans that I have seen

I would estimate the one bedroom properties to go for...

I would say around £135,000

and I would say the two beds, depending on what the presentation is like,

I would estimate around £150,000.

And rental?

I would say the one bedroomed is going to be from about £450-£550 per calendar month

and I would estimate the two bedrooms between £550-£650 per calendar month.

So will five flats be built here?

or will the new owner opt to build something else?

It all depends on who wanted to buy this little bit of land.

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

We are on to lot 69 now,

which is the land in Teynham.

has anybody got 60 to start me? £60,000.

I am on the way, 60, just in front of me. 62.

And 4. 64. And 66, another player, 66,

68, 70 now if you like. That's 70. And 2.

And I've spotted you now, 74 as well, there's five of you. 74.

And 76. 76.

And 78.

And £80,000 I've got, 82 I'm looking for.

81 I've got. And 2.

You've got a chance to think about it. At 81 it's back with you on the left hand side for the first time.

For the second time at £81,000.

Third and final time at £81,000. You're all done.

It's yours at 81,000.

That successful bid of £81,000 was made by Mark.

He's joined forces with his cousin, Tony.

# Me and my cousins And you and your cousins

# I can feel it comin'. #

Electricians by trade, they own and run an electrical contracting company.

But is this their first attempt at developing property?

Will sparks fly between the pair?

I caught up with them to find out more.

Mark and Tony, congratulations.

I'd like to say you've bought a wonderful site,

but I can't really see it.

You have bought a big bush, haven't you?

Yeah, in all intents and purposes we have at the moment.

But hopefully that won't be the case in 10-12 months' time.

Now, tell me that you did view that prior to the auction.

-No, we never.

-You didn't view it?!

-No, we took a massive punt at it.

OK, so you took a massive punt. How did you know whether it was a good buy or not? You do have

to literally take a look and see what you've got.

It was quite good because you had planning already on this plot,

so we were able to see all the UK planning drawings,

all the legal documentation added up, and, uh,

nice feeling in the belly. Bit of a hunch, they call it, I think.

Calculated risk, we call it.

Have you ever done anything like this before, guys?

Um, not building wise, but we are actually in business, in contracting,

we do quite a lot of big projects

throughout the Southeast and London. This is quite a new venture for us,

but we are really... The building thing is our new baby.

These boys certainly don't believe in thinking small.

This is a massive undertaking for a first time developer.

OK, really they should have come to see it, but they did get

to grips with the paperwork for the plans, which is essential with a piece of land like this.

With a strong background of seven years in the electrical contracting trade,

they are sure to have plenty of know-how and contacts.

They have already got an architect and builder signed up.

Plus their firm will handle the electrics, which will keep the costs down.

Firstly, they do need to arrange the archaeological survey,

and then, assuming they get the OK from that, clear the site

and get cracking!

But on what?

How's it going to work? Are you going to stick with the plans you got at auction, Tony?

Yes, yes, we are going to stick with the plans.

Why upset the apple cart when it is already there and,

we have spoke to estate agents in the area

and they are pretty positive and everything is adding up at the moment.

So you didn't want to tweak the plans at all and think about,

perhaps, two houses or one house?

-Two flats?

-No. There was the option of two cottages on the plot,

as well, but we see a bigger profit margin with going with the five flats,

so the outline planning, which we've got, and the hard work's been done.

The internal works may change when our architect gets involved with construction drawings,

but the main basis will go to plans that we got with the plot at auction.

-You are very positive about this.

-Very.

-Very confident about this.

Is that the real you? Or inside are you thinking,

"God, what have we just done? We've just bought five flats and we've got to build them!"

The only real worry I've got is selling them.

That's my only worry, really. Building it, you know,

value wise, the projects we run at the moment

are the same sort of value so I've got no problem with that.

Mark and Tony have done their homework, but no matter how prepared you are

there is always the unexpected.

In this case there is that archaeological dig.

The planning does specify that, doesn't it?

Which, um... Yeah, it could create a few problems, but doing our research yet again, we've looked back

and there has been properties built on this land before.

We're reasonably confident nothing will come up, but obviously none of us knows

what's underground, obviously, when they come to their surveys,

but again, their costing for their survey has been put in place in our budgeting

so all being well there won't be no hidden agendas under there.

So after they get through all that unscathed, Mark and Tony

have to make sure the flats they plan to build will sell.

They want to get the build done in 12 months.

And the quality and level of spec is going to be important here.

Especially as there are things that can't change, like this busy road.

So to do all that they've got a £250,000-£270,000 budget.

Or rather they hope to have.

We've spoken with banks, we've had various meetings before we went to auction,

because obviously we'd have had to get funds, whatever we were going to do,

and the thing is with banks at the moment,

they're not very loyal to you, if you like, they won't give a lot away.

They won't put the old offers in principle on the table like a few years back,

but what they will do is give you an inkling of what they might give you and we've had a few...

So you've had a nudge and wink

from the banker and you're going on the strength of that.

-When are you going to get, you know...

-Rubber stamped.

..money finalised and the rubber stamp on it?

-Monday.

-This Monday?

-That's when we're going.

-Do you have a Plan B in case this doesn't work out?

Not at present, but we don't look to Plan Bs because we always make Plan A work.

OK. I like it, I like it and let's hope Plan A does work.

Let's hope you get the funding from the bank and let's hope

when you start cutting back there's nothing untoward

-on that site that's going to make you miserable.

-Let's hope so.

-Pot of gold would be nice!

Pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Guys, good luck,

-really nice to meet you. Take care.

-And you.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

I would never recommend going to auction without having the money in place!

It's a risk, and that's not all.

This is electrician Mark

and Tony's first step into property developing and it's a big one!

Because these two have plunged straight in

and planned to build five flats as their first ever project.

I think the duo have a very steep learning curve ahead of them,

they haven't even got the funds to build yet,

and I'm worried that they might not be able to sell what they build.

How will the cousins get on? You can find out later on in the programme.

Well, time has passed

and we are hoping that money has been well spent and the correct decisions made.

Let's go back to the properties and find out what's happened to them.

Back over to the Wirral on Merseyside now, where earlier

we met electrician Joe and his mum, Sally.

Joe bought this property for £85,000 at auction.

The house looked fine from the outside,

but on the inside, well, the elephant in the room was...

there weren't any rooms at all.

Joe bought himself the blankest canvas I've ever seen.

Tell me what you're going to do to it, then.

Well, I'm going to start with the electrics, new central heating,

new bathrooms, new kitchen, plaster, and then hopefully, we're there.

And mum Sally's role was clearly defined.

-What's your involvement in all of this, Sally?

-General dogsbody.

-Right!

-Fetcher, carrier, cleaner-upper!

Sally was also going to add her decorative touch to the property

once Joe had put the rooms back.

In fact, he aimed to make this three-bedroom

a four-bedroom house.

Joe was going to be doing the work in his spare time,

and it was four months later we caught up with them

to see what they'd been up to.

Oh, look. Actual rooms!

And true to their word,

they've squeezed in an extra bedroom up the stairs.

Last time you were here, this was just one bedroom.

It's now been split into two, with a wall down the middle

and the door's been angled to make it more spacious.

The bathroom wall wasn't there, and that's now been put up

and the bath fits in there lovely.

And now the house... well, actually looks like a house.

New bathroom, new kitchen,

and every room rewired, re-plastered and redecorated.

And I'm glad to see the back of that floating stairway.

A lot safer now, don't you think?

If you remember when you first came to the house,

there was no walls downstairs.

We put this one in and made a good living space.

We also put this wall in and made a nice-sized downstairs toilet.

And then this wall finally went in and made the good L-shaped kitchen.

Really pleased with how it turned out.

From what was once a shell, we've now got rooms and walls,

made a lovely house that's ready to move into.

Joe has certainly been busy.

He's done a lot of the work himself,

along with help from his builder dad.

But mum Sally has helped as well.

She helped design the kitchen with Joe,

as well as doing some painting,

and she looked after her two hard-working boys.

I had to do all the cleaning after them. Fetch, carry, do the tea.

-And that was it, really, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

Sally might well roll her eyes. The cleaning up is often the hard bit.

With all the family helping out,

plus a few other tradesmen for the plumbing and joinery work,

they've managed to do a great job inside.

So, what about outdoors and that overgrown garden?

Well, we need to put a new fence in outside

and turf the garden, really,

but can't really do that at the moment,

because the weather's not quite right.

And we need to paint the soffits and drainpipes, don't we?

-Yeah, suppose so.

-Gutters.

SHE LAUGHS

MARTIN CHUCKLES

That's right, Mum, you keep him right.

In fact, that's exactly what she has been doing throughout the project.

She's been a good support, to be honest.

Probably about a month and a half into it, hit a bit of a lull,

and she picked us back up and then we carried on, basically.

Yeah, cos you've got to see it through to the end, haven't you?

# First I stand and then I sit

# Then I sit and stand a bit

# But I can't stand much more of it

# Oh, Mother, what'll I do now? #

With just a few little snagging jobs left, he's almost done.

So, what about budget, then?

Has he gone over that 15 grand top-end estimate?

Er, just under 14. So, it's come under-budget.

But we've been able to do that

because Joe's done a lot of the work himself,

so obviously that makes it cheaper.

That 14 grand budget, coupled with Joe's £85,000 purchase price,

means he's spent a total of £99,000

and created a four-bedroomed house

from what was originally a three-bedroomed house.

Will the agents be impressed?

I think they've done an excellent job.

It's been finished to an extremely high standard,

and it's quite different.

A lot of properties at the moment that have been refurbished

are very similar, where this has...

It's got quite a unique feel to it, the layout in which they've done it.

It's good. It's obvious that the property's undergone

a scheme of renovation over recent months,

and it's pleasing to see that the work that's been done

has been done to a good standard,

which means the property's now in a very presentable condition,

whether that be for sale or rental purposes.

Excellent standard of finish. I can't see any fault with it at all.

Been done to a really high standard throughout.

It's been finished really well. I don't see any fault with it at all.

We're all agreed that Joe and his family have done a cracking job,

so what kind of rentals could this property achieve?

For rental purposes,

I'd imagine we'd be looking at about £750 per calendar month.

For a rental valuation,

you'd be looking in the region of £750 per calendar month.

Right, OK. That's what we'd kind of expected.

Although the agent that has got it has got it in for 795.

A rental of £795 per calendar month

would give them a really good yield of just over 9.5%.

And since this is going to be Joe's pension,

that's not a bad result at all.

With the total spend of 99,000, what kind of resale value could it fetch?

I would look to put this property on the market

for a figure somewhere in the region between £155,000 and £165,000.

I'd value this property at £155,000.

Well, again, that was kind of what we were expecting.

I had an estimate of 160, so it's not far off.

Yeah, that's good, isn't it? That's good. That's good profit.

Yes, Sally, it is. Between £56,000 and £66,000, in fact.

But Joe is set on renting for now,

safe in the knowledge that he's sitting on a nice little nest egg.

It's been very worthwhile, and I'd definitely do it again.

Maybe not straight away, but keep my eye out and see what's coming.

-Yeah, we need a rest. Don't we?

-Yeah.

Well, it didn't look like there would be much rest

for the buyers of this plot of land in Teynham

that we saw sell earlier for £81,000.

It came with planning permission

for development of the site into five apartments.

It was bought by cousins Tony and Mark,

who own their own electrical contracting company.

This was their first foray into developing, and it was a biggie.

The funding needed a final sign-off,

and the site was subject to an archaeological survey.

What could possibly go wrong?

Do you have a Plan B in case this doesn't work out?

Not at present, but we don't look to Plan Bs,

cos we always make Plan A work.

OK, I like it. I like it, and let's hope Plan A does work.

Let's hope you get the funding from the bank

and when you start cutting back,

there's nothing untoward in that site...

-Let's hope so.

-..that's going to make you very miserable.

-A pot of gold would be nice!

-Pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

Well, I'm afraid to say that when we joined them

a year and four months later, there was no buried treasure.

But something magical has happened. A building has appeared.

Wow, look at that!

# Somewhere over the rainbow

# Way up high

# There's a land that I heard of... #

Within this development, we've got five flats -

four one-bedroom flats

and a two-bedroom, which is on the top floor.

Each flat is totally different to the other.

They're very bespoke design.

Well, I take my hat off to them.

This is an amazing first development project.

Each apartment has a slightly different layout

and is finished with nice fixtures and fittings.

The decoration is modern, stylish and just a perfect blank canvas

for any new occupants to put their own stamp on.

I really like the exterior design as well,

which seems sympathetic to the conservation area.

Mark and Tony didn't alter much

from the approved plans that came with the land,

as they would have had to reapply for permission,

and those plans included these off-street parking spaces,

which is a huge draw for any potential buyer.

All this depended on an archaeological survey

so, failing a pot of gold, did they find anything else?

The road that we are on here was an old Roman road,

and they find certain things,

you know, bits of old horse and cart,

or sometimes actually Roman villas.

Luckily for us, there was nothing here, and I say luckily,

because obviously if they find something

then it, you know, opens up a can of worms.

Well, it sounds like worms were the only thing that the survey dug up

and it was lucky there was no treasure to be uncovered,

because any historical discoveries could have delayed everything.

So, was this first project as easy as it looked?

It's been stressful, but a bit of a step into the unknown,

so obviously that does heighten the stress levels.

But really enjoyed it, I'm really pleased with the end product.

Mark took the more office-based role,

dealing with subcontractors and suppliers,

whilst Tony looked after the site day-to-day.

But they were constantly in touch on the phone,

and I'm pleased to see they are still speaking!

After all, a project like this can be a test for any relationship.

Yes, we're definitely still friends,

and the business is still going and we're carrying on as normal.

So, nothing's changed there.

Yeah, yeah, we managed to get through it.

There was many ups and downs, as with any sort of work project.

Like you say, this being our first one,

a lot of things we was encountering was the first time of asking,

if you like, so how we dealt with them, we weren't to know.

But, yeah, we've managed to get it through,

and we're both proud of the result that we've come up with in the end.

# The boys are back in town again... #

And so they should be. It's a really cracking job.

So, what about the schedule, then?

They hoped originally it would take 12 months.

The whole scheme has taken around 15 months. We got held up with...

preparation, because you've got to prepare first right,

otherwise, you know, you come unstuck in the end.

We had to put the relevant finances in place,

which took a little bit longer than what we thought,

and the building work has actually gone a little bit quicker.

We was thinking about ten months at first.

We then had a programme of six, and completed in seven,

which we thought was really quite good.

So, what about the budget, then?

They originally thought they'd have to spend

between £250,000 and £270,000 to build the apartment block.

But I'm guessing that a project like this...

well, it would be easy to see that just rocket.

I do believe we've probably overspent by about 10%,

which we did have in as a contingency.

In the main, including the cost of the land,

we've probably had a total spend of about 370 to 350, so...

Mark and Tony bought the land for 81,000,

so at their top estimate, the build has cost them around £290,000.

Given the finish, I don't think that's unexpected.

But what will two local property experts

think these flats bring to the local market?

The look of the building's obviously keeping in contention

with the villagey style, which is obviously quite a nice touch.

It doesn't look like a brand-new build from the outside,

even though it is.

All five apartments have been finished to a good standard,

and I think will appeal to the market.

Well, the standard of the finish is extremely high

compared to a lot of the other properties you get nowadays,

but the standard of the finishing is extremely good.

The parking's a real bonus - buyers are going to be keen to know

that they can get their car off the street

and that it should be in a secure location.

Onto figures, then.

Will the resale values of the five flats

be more than the top total spend here, which was 370,000?

I would expect flat one, on the ground floor,

which is the smallest flat and it's the closest to the road,

I'd expect that value

to be somewhere between £105,000 and £110,000.

Flat two and three, the one-beds on the first floor,

will be looking to achieve around £110,000 to £115,000.

And then flat four, to the rear of the building,

which is a quieter location,

is probably going to have a value of around £125,000.

And the two-bed will be looking to achieve £135,000.

Those top figures give a total of £600,000,

so that means a possible profit of £230,000, minus taxes and expenses.

So, what do the boys think of that?

We're pleased in that vein

that they are what we expected and not lower, obviously.

Would have been great to have been higher.

But, no, that's what we've worked our budgets on throughout the project,

round about them figures.

So, yeah, we'll be pleased if we can sell them on for within that range.

So, their first property project together has been a great success.

A healthy profit and friendship intact. So, what's next, boys?

I think we need to take a little step back,

get this one all signed and sealed and sold,

and then take a little bit of time, I think, just to relax,

before we move onto the next one, to make sure we make a wise choice.

Yeah, exactly.

Well, that's all for now.

Did we inspire you, or did we put you off trying for yourselves?

We will have more properties for you next time on Homes Under The Hammer.

-See you, then.

-Goodbye.