Episode 70 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello, and welcome to the show.

Now, property prices are on the up in certain parts of the country

which is great news if you're a seller but if you're a buyer,

well, it makes getting a bargain a little harder.

Oh, it certainly does, Martin.

You've just got to do your homework to get the right area

for the right price...

Martin, where is a good place to search?

At the auction.

You're likely to see a wide range of properties at auction

to suit all tastes and budgets.

So let's take a look at what went under the hammer on today's show.

'Today on Homes Under The Hammer,

'a three-bed in Ebbw Vale has a surprising interior.'

That's an interesting design style -

building site look.

'In London, a beautiful basement flat has a nasty surprise -

'damp.'

That could cost thousands of pounds.

'But there's no surprises in Workington.

'You know the layout of this two-bed terrace.'

What do you think's next? Go on, guess - kitchen.

You've seen properties like this

a million times before on Homes Under The Hammer.

All these properties were bought at auction.

We'll find out who got them

and how much they paid when the homes went under the hammer.

Your flat, sir.

I'm in the village of Waunlwyd, South Wales, in Ebbw Vale.

An area where the communities and culture

grew around coal and other heavy industries, like steel.

The bad news, economically speaking,

was the closure of the steelworks in 2002.

Well, this whole area was once badly blighted by pollution

from the Ebbw Vale Steelworks nearby.

But since the closure of those steelworks,

the environment has generally got a lot more pleasant and,

in terms of redevelopment, there's some very good things going on.

A brand-new sports centre has been built,

new housing and a new shopping centre.

So, this could well be a place for a developer to keep an eye on.

# Whoo whoo whoo Keep an eye

# Keep an eye

# On your close friend... #

Well, on offer at auction, in a very pleasant location,

was a three-bedroomed mid-terrace.

This is it.

The guide price, though,

£18,000.

That's not a lot.

What's the catch?

# You're as cheap as the perfume

# That you wear... #

Ah.

Well, that's an interesting design style...

..the building site look.

HE LAUGHS

Okey-dokey.

Well, clearly it's a property that is partway through being renovated.

Um, but it's odd to see things like these great piles of sand,

and cement mixers. It's obviously a work in progress.

One big, big, big room at the front here, though, which I actually like.

It's got a really good feel to it, really open-plan with these stairs

probably relocated from where they were originally.

At least somebody's started it in the right kind of way.

You don't know how well the work's been done but, yeah, I like...

Well, actually, strangely enough, I like it.

Hmm. That said, I'd like it a lot more if it had a bathroom

which it doesn't,

and a kitchen,

which is also doesn't.

Open sewer there, lovely. Um, OK.

What does it matter?

Well, you know, the whole house is being completely refurbished anyway.

The fact it hasn't got a kitchen or a bathroom, though,

means it's unmortgageable

which means you're going to have to fund this with cash

and then, maybe, apply for a mortgage once the work's done. Er...

At least it's a blank canvas on which you can do whatever you want.

This might seem like a gift but before you get mixed up in it

you shouldn't assume all the work has been done to a good standard.

I'd still want to check the electrics and plumbing,

along with what looks like a leaky roof.

# Just be patient

# I'm a work in progress. #

So, upstairs and no surprises. Lots of work here to finish things off.

But, like downstairs, lots of space.

A big double bedroom to the front, two slightly smaller bedrooms

towards the back, but some nice design features.

For instance, both of these rear bedrooms access

this little flat-roofed area.

Now, I don't know if you can sit on it or walk on it

but that would actually be quite pleasant because...

..there's actually a really nice view across the garden

and upwards to the hills.

Perfect!

Actually, you'd need to do a safety check on it

and then it would be perfect.

But there are some imperfections -

you shouldn't be able to see your bedroom from the kitchen,

for example. And there is THAT big negative.

# We're on a building site I tell ya

# We're gonna build We're gonna build

# We're gonna build our love tonight

# We're gonna build We're gonna build

# Cos we're on a building site. #

Let's ask along a local property expert for his thoughts.

When a property is in such a state as it is at the moment

it's beneficial to put this into a really good modern standard.

The market is difficult round here,

so to try and separate this from the competition,

putting it into the best standard possible

will be beneficial for the developer.

Bearing in mind that tough local market,

what kind of resale value could you get once renovated?

I think the property could be worth in the region of £75,000.

And what could you get for lettings?

If the property was rented as a three-bedroom, sort of,

fully modernised, fully renovated property,

it should achieve in the region of £425 per calendar month.

Well, it's not often you find an auction property

with a ready-made place to play with your toys.

But that's certainly what you get here.

What you also get, more seriously, is a bit of a project.

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

Lot number 36.

You'll have looked at it, you'll have made up your mind,

lot of interest in this, guided at just £18,000.

Notice there's a bit of a hush descended over the room.

We actually have a proxy bid on this so I'm going to just

make my life easier by starting with the proxy bid at £20,000.

At 20,000, now one, can I see from somebody?

21, 22,

23, 24,

25, 26,

27, 28,

29, 30,

31, 32,

33, 34,

35, 36,

37, 38,

39, 40,

41, 42, 43...

I'm going to say 45. 46?

46. Right, then. Proxy bidder's out. £46,000?

47 now to somebody?

At 46, then, it's...with you, sir.

That was short and sweet, wasn't it?

If only they were all like that. At £46,000, then, for the first time.

At £46,000 for the second time.

Third and last time, at £46,000, there we go.

Number 14, thank you very much.

Wow! You don't see that every day at the auctions.

And the buyer, Andy, certainly won't have seen that before

as this was his first ever auction.

His successful bid of £46,000 got him his first project

and I met up with him at the property,

or should that be building site?

-Andy, good to meet you.

-Hello.

-Congratulations.

-Thanks.

-So tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

-I... As an investment.

-Er, to basically do up and sell on.

-Right.

Have you got expertise in that kind of thing?

Um, I'm a bathroom and kitchen installer, um,

so I do this sort of thing generally but for somebody else.

It's perfect, then, because it hasn't got a kitchen or a bathroom!

No kitchen, no bathroom. Definitely not. No.

An unusual property,

probably would put a lot of people off, the state it's in.

Um, yes, but it's...

Essentially, once you see past what was here with the piles of junk

and stuff, then, yeah, it's not too bad.

So tell me the process. What are you going to do to make it liveable?

Er, we have builders coming in...shortly.

Um, we have to do some drainage, we have to repoint part of the outside,

re-render the outside. It's already had a pretty reasonable rewire done,

we've just had a new fuse board put in.

Er, obviously, it's going to need a huge clean, decorate,

there's still plastering to finish off... Kitchen and bathroom.

-Keep the layout pretty much as it is?

-Absolutely. It seems ideal.

-Yeah, it's nice.

-It's perfect.

And then you've obviously got the flat roof area

which is accessed upstairs,

that looks like it's been leaking, or something...

-Yes, certainly. Yeah, absolutely.

-What are your plans for that?

Er, the builder's coming to have a look at that, basically,

in a couple of hours' time.

When he does have a look at that I also want him to tell me

if it's structural, if we can stand on it,

because it does appear that they've made it

as if you were going to have a balcony from there.

-Yep.

-With twin, sort of, patio doors going on to it.

-Which could be quite pleasant.

-So, hopefully, turn it into a balcony.

'Andy will continue working on fitting kitchens and bathrooms

'while developing this house.

'But he also has another reason for being here.'

I am in South Wales quite often

because I go kayaking around this area.

Oh, right, is it good for kayaking?

It is, a little bit further over, but, yes, it is good round here.

What are the good rivers for kayaking?

-There's one called the Mellte which is very nice indeed.

-Right.

-Mm.

So, hopefully we won't have too much rain

and we'll actually get some work done

-rather than skiving off and going kayaking.

-Yeah!

I reckon Andy is certainly not going to be up a creek without a paddle

with this property. However, there is one major issue.

-I'm in Letchworth, Hertfordshire.

-Not local at all, then?

-No, no.

It did mean a very early start this morning.

That must be a two, three, four hour, even, commute, is it?

Er, three hours and a bit, three and a half.

And how are you going to, sort of, manage that, then?

Driving down, staying with friends

and then, when this is vaguely liveable,

I'll come in here, sleep upstairs,

install things and paint, and stuff like that, at the same time.

Now I'm worried it's his car,

and not his kayak, he's going to be spending all his time in.

He's going to have to factor in added time and petrol costs

to the equation. In my experience,

you want to spend more time renovating than accelerating.

Andy plans to sell this on and he has his eye on

a retail price of £90,000, based on a local sale.

So, how much does he plan to spend?

-12 to 15 to do it up. If I can spend any less, obviously, I will.

-Right.

-Um, but, obviously, that's not including my own time.

-Of course.

Um, so, see how it goes, really.

Tell me about the kitchen and the bathroom, what are you going to do?

I will probably go for, sort of, painted finish on the kitchen,

although it's whatever I can get at the right sort of price.

And reasonable quality bathroom suite. Um...

Just, yeah, kind of tidy it up

and actually put something in there that works.

It's going to be very different when we return.

-I hope so.

-When will that be? How many months?

Oh, there's a very good question.

It depends on my workload back at home.

So, two or three months or so.

Um, it should be...

..easily done, but that's famous last words.

-Well, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Good luck with it.

-Thanks a lot.

-I look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Cheers.

Well, it seems that Andy has the perfect skills needed

to sort out a place that would faze a lot of people.

He's a kitchen and bathroom fitter,

it doesn't have either of those, so, fantastic.

The only challenge will be making sure

he doesn't spend too much time in his kayak, locally,

rather than sorting the house out.

How will he get on? You can find out later in the show.

Welcome to West Dulwich in Southeast London.

The area is thriving with shops, bars and cafes,

and is very popular with young professionals and families,

thanks in no small part to the train station,

which will get you to London Victoria in 14 minutes.

So West Dulwich gets a big tick from me,

but what about the property I'm here to see?

Well, so far I AM feeling positive, because this...

Well, it's a lovely residential road and West Dulwich's shops and cafes

are only a five-minute walk away from here.

But will that feeling continue?

Well, I am here to see a one-bedroom flat

and it had a guide price of £190,000.

And it's in this lovely Victorian building.

Looks great from the outside.

It goes up one, two, three storeys.

No, I'm not going all the way up.

I am going down into the basement.

Now, basement flats can be quite dark and dingy.

Fingers crossed it's not too bad down there.

# Get down, deeper and down

# Down, down, deeper and down. #

One positive is that the side entrance

means you do have your own access to the property.

But will that entrance just lead to a dark flat?

Oh, wow!

What is not to like?

This is a big surprise.

What you have to get right with a basement flat is lighting.

It's so important that it's not dark and dingy,

and it's a nice, light and bright space.

This is almost like it's recently been renovated.

You've got a fabulous bathroom through there.

I mean, look at that! I fancy taking a shower in there myself

and I rarely say that on Homes Under The Hammer.

-And the kitchen!

-SHE GASPS

I'm going to investigate!

It's really nice.

Yeah, the kitchen looks great,

with a modern boiler and very new appliances.

The bedroom is a good size, too,

with clean fitted carpets,

and the lounge has a really nice feature fireplace

and looks like it's been freshly painted.

But what really brings the whole flat to life

and stops it feeling like a classic basement flat

is that there's a brilliant combination

of big windows and good lighting.

# Light up, light up

# As if you have a choice

# Even if you cannot hear my voice... #

Goodness, this feels like we filmed it after rather than before.

But I have noticed some worrying signs.

There could be a real issue for this flat. Come here.

Just have a look down here.

That is white mould caused by damp.

All of that. And there are signs of it in all the rooms, everywhere.

Now, I would employ a damp specialist straight away

to assess the cause of the problem.

It might not be too much to worry about,

but, if it is, well you might need to strip back the whole flat,

the flooring, say goodbye to that nice kitchen,

and that lovely bathroom.

That could cost thousands and thousands and thousands of pounds.

# We really got a problem

# We don't know how to fix, yeah. #

Damp can be a serious problem.

The three most common kinds are rising damp, penetrating damp

and condensation.

If you want to know what to look out for,

with rising damp the clues are dodgy skirting and floorboards,

salt-stained plaster and peeling paintwork.

Ring any bells here? Hmm.

I think it's time to find something positive

to perk up any prospective purchaser.

So I'm going to deliver some news

that every London flat owner would like to hear.

This property comes with a bit of garden!

Now, there's 38 feet to be had of this lovely,

well-kept, outside space area.

So I think that's up to about here.

So, great news if you'd like to have a barbecue,

sit outside on a sunny day,

I mean, really fantastic for a little London flat like this.

As well as this outside space,

there's a 99-year lease to go with it.

That damp is the only downside of this basement flat,

guided at 190,000.

So what does a local estate agent think?

So, a basement flat, they do have a stigma.

I feel this is more of a lower ground flat,

and I don't want to make that as a spin,

but in reality it's got a lovely bay window,

it doesn't feel particularly basement-y to me.

So I don't think you'd have an issue in terms of moving it on.

On first glance, it's lovely

but I suspect there's a little bit to do here.

The main issue here is that you've got damp on the internal walls

as well as the external walls.

So it could be a case that you may have to take all of the walls

back to brick, put a damp proof course in, reline it, essentially.

And that could cost anything up between 10,000 to 20,000

to do a large-scale job, if it's as severe as that.

So, potentially, there could be a lot of work -

a lot of expensive work.

But would all that work be worth it

if this flat could be bought for its guide price of £190,000?

Well, let's get some valuations.

If this flat was to come back to the market in good condition

throughout, I would expect this to achieve

circa £325,000 to £350,000.

Wow! That's a lot of profit potential.

And for rental?

In good condition presented back to the market,

I can see this flat achieving between £1,150 per calendar month

to £1,250 per calendar month.

Now, it's not too dark and dingy in here

and, on face value, it looks pretty good.

But the damp issue could easily transform this

from a straightforward project into a real money pit.

Let's head to the auction

and find out who was prepared to take this on.

Basement flat is next.

The self-contained, lower ground floor flat, this one.

What shall we say for it? Will you start me at 200 for it?

You will, thank you. Straight away, 200.

202 now. 200 I have.

202. 204?

204. 206.

208?

208. 210?

I'll take 210 from you, madam. Thank you. 212...?

This lot proved popular and that guide price of £190,000...

Huh, well, it became a distant memory.

We now rejoin the bidding at 272,000.

Yours, madam, at 272, at the moment.

275 anywhere else?

Against you, over here.

Yours at 272.

275, 278, 280.

Are you sure?

278 with the lady here for the first.

278 for the second.

Third and final time...

Your flat, madam. 278,000. Your bidder number, please?

Getting the property for £88,000

over the guide price was Julia.

This £270,000 purchase

is the third property in her portfolio.

She's a primary school teacher,

so I'm hoping she's going to go to the top of the class

with the research she's done on this flat.

-Julia, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-Lovely to meet you.

Now, you look like a happy person that's bought a flat that they love!

I'm so happy.

I was expecting it to be really run down, damp.

So, this one, I was just pleasantly surprised.

I mean, that's the first thing that struck me.

You walk through the door and it's like somebody's renovated,

-decorated and made it look nice to sell.

-Absolutely.

Now, I am just gone to backtrack a little bit, cos you said "damp".

-Yeah, there's...

-There is damp.

-There is damp, yeah.

Do you know about the damp? Or have you just found out about the damp?

I've just, this morning...

I had a chat with the guy who sold me the flat.

So he's going to take me for a drink this afternoon in the pub

and we're going to sit down

and he's going to share what he knows about the damp issues.

So there is a damp issue here.

Now, how do you feel about that and what do you know about damp?

Not much.

I'm just going to go out and find a damp specialist

and, hopefully, he can come and do his magic,

and fix the problem, I'm hoping!

-You just want him to wave a magic wand?

-Yeah!

I mean, you know, hopefully, you know,

he can just work out what the problem is,

what's causing the damp.

I think there is a history...

of 30 years of damp.

This is what the vendor has just told me.

So... But maybe he just didn't do the damp treatment properly?

Oh, I love your positivity!

You see, I'm thinking basement flat equals damp equals...

This is what I don't want to happen to you, that you have to

bring everything up, ie pull your kitchen out,

pull your bathroom out,

everything that looks fabulous, all this flooring,

-everything has to all come up...

-It's possible.

..and you then have to treat the damp.

Now, that would be worst-case scenario for you.

That would be worse.

But are you prepared for that, cos that may happen here?

You take a chance when you go to the auction.

But I still think that this is a good investment

and even if I have to do that, so be it.

I still feel that this flat is well worth it.

# Mr Magic, Magic

# Magic man. #

Oh, Julia, I love your positivity

but this could be a very expensive lesson.

However, she is absolutely right.

Once this flat is sorted, it will become brilliant.

But without a magic man,

I think treating the damp could be a large and costly job.

So what sort of budget have you got for the work here?

Well, I was hoping, when I first looked around,

when I did the viewing, I thought,

"Oh, it's only going to be a couple of grand, a bit of paint", you know.

I could see a bit of damp but I thought, "It doesn't look too bad."

So, I'm hoping it's just going to be a couple of grand.

But I really don't know at this point.

Do you have a budget? Do you have a substantial amount

that you could spend on this, if need be?

-Not really but I'd have to. I'd have to just take a loan out.

-OK.

What's your timeframe for this?

Well, I've got a big, fat mortgage on it

so I'm hoping to do the work as soon as possible,

in the next two to three weeks, hopefully.

-Possibly a month.

-Mm-hm.

I've got enough for a couple of mortgage payments.

And then you're desperate to rent this flat out?

Yeah, I need to, cos, you know,

every month I've got to find that money, haven't I? So...

So will you be doing any work to the flat in the short-term?

No, there's no point until they've sorted out the damp.

So, when we come back and see you, you may have done everything...

-Yeah.

-And the kitchen may have gone, the bathroom may have gone.

-..or you may have done nothing at all.

-No, yeah.

We'll see. We'll see what the specialists say, the experts,

and they're going to tell me what my next steps need to be.

But you still, overall, feel happy?

I'm chuffed. I'm still happy about it. I think it's a good bargain.

I can't imagine you getting down about anything actually!

I'm still happy where I am. Even if it costs more than I think,

I think, well, I will always get my money back in this area.

It's a lovely area.

Julia, Julia, Julia, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for you.

-Yeah, me too.

-Will it be really bad damp

or not so bad damp? We will find out.

-Time will tell.

-Thank you.

-Lovely to meet you today.

-Lovely to meet you, too.

-Thank you.

-Cheers.

Unfortunately, I think Julia has taken on a little more work

than she intended here and I really hope her spirits aren't DAMPENED

when she gets to the bottom of this flat's issues.

Join me later in the programme and you can find out

if we can award Julia an A for effort

when all her hard work has been done.

Coming up - in Workington, it might have an ordinary layout

but is there a hidden problem?

It also covers an extension of the next-door neighbour's.

Could be a bit of an issue.

And, in London, did Julia fix all that hidden damp?

The damp will come back and then some,

which is basically what's happened in this flat.

Ebbw Vale in Wales is where we return to now

with its tranquil countryside.

And, low down in the valley, I found a property that was low on price.

£18,000.

That's not a lot.

What's the catch?

I was about to wish that I hadn't asked.

Ah, that's an interesting design style!

The building site look.

Strangely enough, I like it.

Hmm, that said,

I'd like it a lot more if it had a bathroom

and a kitchen.

Yes, the whole place was half-finished

with building equipment everywhere and plenty of work to do.

Absence of a kitchen and bathroom was no problem for Andy,

who fitted them for a living.

He paid £46,000 for the property

and, while it was a big commute - over three hours from his home -

he knew his way around.

Mostly on the water, that is.

I am in South Wales quite often

because I go kayaking round this area.

So, hopefully, we won't have too much rain and we'll actually

get some work done rather than skiving off and going kayaking.

Yeah.

With a three-month timescale,

if he could stay off the water,

Andy wanted to turn this place round sooner rather than later.

So, two months later,

is everything shipshape?

From building site to pleasant sight,

what has Andy been up to here?

Somebody had started work on it.

However, most of it wasn't any good.

So far, what we've done is, um... stripped the whole place out,

plastered, painted,

new kitchen, new bathroom.

I believe it's its first central heating system ever.

And just generally smartened it up.

Apart from not having any central heating,

it was missing a kitchen and a bathroom.

I'm glad to report that this property

found the most appropriate owner ever,

and it does have a nice, smart bathroom.

Installed in what was previously an empty space,

it turned out the plumbing presented some challenges.

We couldn't find any drainage to start with.

Fortunately, a builder moved some rubble

in the bathroom area and found a soil pipe.

So we've managed to connect onto that,

extended it to upstairs and put a toilet and basin in there.

That is a very clever solution to the downstairs bathroom conundrum.

You don't have to toddle downstairs at night.

That has to be a good thing.

And the bathroom hasn't encroached on the bedrooms -

bonus!

And how about that kitchen?

So this is the kitchen area,

which in the auction particulars said, "Space for a kitchen".

There was literally nothing here.

There was no plumbing, there was nothing in the room.

And I've installed a nice, new kitchen in this,

which, hopefully, should be nice, because it's what I do for a living.

A good job by Andy, I would say.

And another good job is the balcony area.

When I first viewed this place, I saw there were two doors

leading out to the flat roof area.

Maybe not quite as simple as we first thought -

the flat roof was leaking quite badly. We've had it all resealed.

So decking and a nice rail, a nice place to sit

and have a sort of cup of coffee in the morning.

If you had to wake up and smell the coffee here,

you'd be quite happy, I'd imagine,

soaking in a nice view of the valley to start the day.

However, is Andy happy with his budget?

I've come in at around 9,000.

Um... If I carpet it, I will spend another thousand,

so 10 in total.

I've obviously saved money on a few areas like the wiring,

and I do a lot of the work myself.

Then it's time to put your feet up, Andy.

The hard work now falls to two local estate agents.

This is the first time I've viewed this property

and, to be honest with you,

I think whoever's done the work here has done a really nice job.

Obviously, it needs finishing.

Love the bathroom. I think that's absolutely lovely, really modern.

Kitchen's nice and I love the idea that you can walk

straight out onto a terraced garden, effectively, at the back here.

I think the layout of the property works really well.

It flows nicely. There's a nice layout downstairs

with it being open plan.

And it would be lovely...

Upstairs, you've got enough space for children, etc, for a small family.

Bought for £46,000,

and spending 9,000 here,

Andy's total spend has been 55,000.

So, what could it get in terms of resale?

On the open market, I would put this property on for £90,000

and I would expect it to achieve in the region of £85,000.

I would place it on the market

at £94,500.

And I would expect it to realise

around £90,000.

That top estimate of £90,000

would net Andy a very nice £35,000 pre-tax profit.

Was that close to what he'd hoped for?

It's kind of what I was expecting, figures-wise.

Um... I've done some research into the local area.

I've actually viewed a house on this street, so...

Although that has been reduced by 5,000 since I've been doing this one,

so it's kind of what I was expecting.

He did his research and he'll make a profit.

So, after all this work, has Andy had a chance to take to the water?

Sadly, this is in a great area for kayaking, there's been plenty of rain

and I haven't been once since I've been here.

I've been far too busy.

To the west of Cumbria lies the industrial town of Workington.

It has long been a producer of coal, steel and iron ore,

and was famed for the manufacture of railway track.

This black steel column in the town centre

commemorates Workington Steel.

# I was born in a small town. #

Rail tracks made in this town were so widely exported

that it was said that, "Workington rails held the world together."

Well, I'm also making tracks to see a local property

guided at £25,000 plus.

So let's see what you can get for that kind of money in these parts.

Well, ten minutes' walk from the town centre,

how about a two-bedroomed mid-terrace?

Looks all right from the outside. Let's take a look.

It's staggering to think that in London £25,000

wouldn't even pay a deposit for a house like this.

So what's this place like inside?

So what have we got?

Um... A little entrance porch here,

and then into your front sitting room.

Fireplace has been removed, you want to put something nice back there.

But it's not a bad space.

Er, storage radiators, so no central heating,

I would hazard a guess.

Stairs up to your two bedrooms there

and then through into your rear living area.

Um, what do you do with this?

Dining room? Change the kitchen round...?

I don't know. But it's not a bad size space,

little courtyard out the back.

And then through into... I mean, this is, what do you think's next?

What you think's next? Go on, guess.

Yep, kitchen. You've seen properties like this a million times before

on Homes Under The Hammer.

It's a classic design

but is that because, in general, it works quite well?

So through here into this little kitchen area.

It's a bit tight cos it's quite narrow.

So, maybe some kind of extension, perhaps?

Through there, though, is your bathroom.

Again, a very classic layout.

It's not ideal but, in these kinds of properties,

it's almost to be expected.

Um, as a starting point...

it's fine.

Upstairs there are two bedrooms,

one to the front

and one to the back.

But before you ask, nope,

there's definitely no room for a bathroom up here.

Time to look out the back to see if there's any surprises in store.

Well, this won't be a surprise to anyone living in a seaside town.

# Why do birds suddenly appear. #

GULLS CAW

Now, the good news for gulls and the bad news for house owners

is that once they've moved in, you can't evict them.

Gulls, like all wild birds, are protected

under the Wildlife And Countryside Act of 1981.

Removal of chicks, adults,

or their nests, is a criminal offence,

which could lead to a large fine or even prison.

They do tend to come back to nest in the same place,

so deterrents to nesting can be tried,

such as sonic devices or spikes and wires.

But culling, regarded as a last resort,

is only permitted with a special licence.

Well, at the rear of the property, a tiny little courtyard

leading onto this rear alleyway.

That's quite good. It's always good to have that kind of access.

But one thing which is slightly concerning is THAT. See that roof?

That sloping roof there?

Well, not only does it cover the kitchen of this property

but it also covers an extension of the next-door neighbour's.

If you get on with the next-door neighbours, that's fine.

Um, otherwise... it could be a bit of an issue.

Aside from the communal roof,

this is all pretty standard fare for this part of the world.

Let's see what an agent from the auction house who sold it

can tell us about this terraced house,

guided at £25,000 plus.

The positives of a property like this is that it's quite easily rentable.

There is a good demand locally for this kind of property.

Within walking distance of the town centre.

The train station, supermarket and the local football ground as well.

The negatives of the property... it does have a top end value.

Areas like this will always have that,

which is why people are tending to buy these up now

for the rental yield that they'll get from renting them out.

If it's been done to a very high standard,

the ceiling for this area is around £70,000.

Given local sales recently, we would confidently expect to achieve

a minimum of £65,000.

And what kind of rental figure could the new owner expect?

Rental is quite popular.

However, the ceiling for the rent is quite limited.

It could achieve quite easily £350 per calendar month.

To put it onto the rental market,

you don't really have to do that much to it.

You could leave the heating the way it is,

put a new kitchen and bathroom in,

and it could be rentable fairly quickly at a relatively low budget.

Well, a fairly simple one, this one.

Almost a starter project to cut your teeth as a property developer on.

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

Two-bedroom mid-terraced house.

Ideal investment.

25 is your guide.

Let's sell it in the room. 25, then.

At £25,000...

25 here.

At 25, 26, new bidder.

27, 28, 29, 30.

One... You're out. With you at 30.

At £30,000.

At £30,000, are we done?

31, 32,

33, 34, 35,

36, 37, 38 in the corner.

39, sir?

39 here? No. With you in...

On my right, at £38,000. With you, sir.

Against you and against you.

At £38,000... 39, you're back in.

40... One...

With you again on my right at £40,000.

First time at 40.

Second time at 40.

Are we done?

Half?

Half, 41, half?

Not sure? With you again, sir, at 41.

With me all the way, first time, 41,

second time, are we done?

Selling away then at £41,000...

GAVEL BANGS Well done, sir.

Can I have your paddle, please?

Lucky for some, 13.

That successful bid of £41,000 was made by Nigel,

who, along with wife Alison,

came along to meet me for a chat at their newly purchased house.

What plans await? I wonder...

# We're only making plans for Nigel. #

-Alison and Nigel, great to meet you both!

-Hello.

-Hello, there.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Tell me why you wanted by this little place.

-Well, Nigel was very ill a couple of years ago...

-Oh, no!

-..so he had to change his... He was a builder.

-Right.

-So he had to change his career.

-I was a builder for 40 years.

-Right.

-So I know the game. We've got a good team of lads doing jobs...

-Right.

-So, yeah, hopefully it'll be OK.

-So, is property investment new to you?

Is it something you've done a lot of?

-Er, fairly new to it.

-Yeah.

So, OK, tell me about this place.

What are you going to do to it to sort it out?

-Well... Ha-ha! The back door, we're going to close up.

-OK.

And extend the bathroom, make it bigger,

so we can get a bathroom shower into it.

-We're going to make this into the kitchen.

-OK.

-We'll move the kitchen into here.

-Oh, right!

Units round, so they can have a table in this area.

Make that a little utility room.

New central heating, new electrics, new skirting boards, where needed.

Skimmed out where needed. New bathroom, new kitchen.

-Decoration.

-Decoration.

-Decoration, yeah.

# Moving

# Moving. #

Nigel and Allison strike me as a pretty sensible couple

and seem to have everything worked out.

But there's that small matter of the communal roof at the back.

Are they going to make friends with their next-door neighbours?

-Basically, I own the property next door.

-Oh, right!

-I bought it at the auction before this one.

-OK.

And then this one came into sale about a week after, so I thought...

"Oh, I may as well buy this one as well!"

-And, if they're both together, they are easier looked after, so...

-Mm!

# I'll be moving next door to you, now, baby

# I'm moving next door to you-ooh. #

Well, that's them sorted

if they ever need to borrow a cup of sugar or even repair a roof.

So, what's the timescale?

-A couple of months, I'm hoping.

-Right.

-Get it turned round.

And then is the idea to rent it out or sell it on?

The idea is to rent both of the properties out.

Mm, rent it out, yeah.

-Do you know what rent you might get?

-Um...

We're looking for 390, something like that.

What's the budget going to be?

-About eight to ten.

-Yeah.

-OK.

Alison and Nigel are looking for more than the rental figure

the agent thought was the going rate.

However, that's because they're not taking the easy route

in doing the bare minimum.

And I'm glad to see that.

I like the idea of giving your tenant

the nicest property you can budget for.

And they'll still do OK, if they stick to their budget,

which will make a yield of 9%. Seems like pretty good return.

# Were only making plans for Nigel. #

And how much of the work do you two actually do?

-He does a lot more than me!

-THEY LAUGH

Yeah, I do quite a lot. I'm out... Well, I've been out every day.

And just...

I can do most things, as long as I don't have to lift heavy weights.

Um, we have a joiner, who does all the joiner work, obviously.

A plumber, heating engineer and electrician.

And then Simon, my friend, he helps me. He does the decorating.

-He's a decorator, so he helps on that.

-Right!

-Well, we're working together on the decoration.

-Oh, great.

And then after this one, plans for expanding the portfolio further?

-Yeah.

-Hopefully, yes.

-Hopefully.

If we can do four or five a year...

-Oh! But you're enjoying it, though?

-Yeah!

-Yes.

-I've really enjoyed it. Because I was off work for a year.

-Ah!

And I did nothing.

And I was so bored, it was unbelievable.

-So, yeah, this is great.

-Well, listen, congratulations!

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

-Good luck with it.

-Thank you.

-I look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

SEAGULL CRIES

Well, the seagulls certainly seem to like the property -

and so do Nigel and Alison.

The second one in this street - next-door, no less!

How will they get on with sorting THIS one out?

-You can find out later in the show.

-SEAGULL CRIES

Shut up!

Well, nobody says it's an easy job.

We've seen how the first developer got on. What about the other two?

Will they be happy or disappointed

when they hear those estate agents' evaluations?

Let's find out how they got on.

Back now to West Dulwich, South London,

with its excellent shops and amenities.

It also boasts ideal rail links.

The property I went to see was guided at 190,000 -

and looked perfect!

Then, it turned out to be a basement flat.

# I'm going down, down, down, down. #

But I was about to be very surprised.

This is almost like it's recently been renovated!

You've got a fabulous bathroom through there. I mean, look at that!

And the kitchen... I'm going to investigate!

It's really nice!

'But the pleasantries didn't last long because this beautiful flat

'was riddled with damp in every room.'

# Well, it's water, water everywhere

# And not a drop to drink So tell me now... #

I would employ a damp specialist straight away

to assess the cause of the problem.

It might not be too much to worry about.

BUT if it is, well, you might need to strip back the whole flat,

the flooring, say goodbye to that nice kitchen

and that lovely bathroom.

That could cost thousands and thousands and thousands of pounds.

'But it didn't dampen the enthusiasm of primary school teacher Julia,

'who paid 278,000 at auction and was delighted with her purchase.'

I was expecting it to be really run down, damp...

So, this one, I was just pleasantly surprised!

You said damp...

-Yeah, there's...

-There IS damp.

-There is damp, yeah.

-Do you know about the damp?

-Um...

-Or have you just found out about it?

Just this morning, I had a chat with the guy who sold me the flat.

We're going to sit down

and he's going to share what he knows about the damp issue.

How do you feel about that? And what you know about damp?

I'm just going to go out and find a damp specialist and hopefully

he can come and do his magic and fix the problem, I'm hoping!

'Julia only had £2,000 in her budget

'and needed to turn the flat around fast.

'So, when we returned one month later,

'there were some subtle changes to the outside.

'But what about the inside?

'You'd be thinking that nothing has changed

'but eagle-eyed viewers will notice a few vital improvements.'

# Take a closer look at Take a closer look at

# Take a closer look at

-# Take a closer look

-Yeah, yeah. #

It looks like Julia has fixed the damp and, when we last saw her,

she was meeting the former owner to find out about how bad the damp was.

So what did he tell her?

This flat has always had damp, ever since he had owned it.

When I've been talking to the builders, they explained,

if you've done a damp-proofing course

and you haven't done it properly, it will fail.

And the damp will come back and then some,

which is basically what's happened in this flat.

Yes, the damp was everywhere.

So, did she have to pull out that recently renovated kitchen

and bathroom to fix it?

A few of the builders said we're going to have to rip out the kitchen

and I had a heart attack because the kitchen is really lovely.

I didn't want to replace it.

But this team of builders said,

"We can do the treatment from the outside."

So, they drilled holes on the outside and did the treatment.

They poured the chemicals in and dealt with the damp from the outside,

rather than the inside.

And that saves me having to replace the kitchen and replace the bathroom!

Phew! That will have saved Julia a fortune.

But other rooms required much more work.

This wall was really bad.

Apparently, they had to take seven layers of plaster off

to get to the brick. Then they did the treatment,

which is the chemicals.

And then they had to keep coming

and, a bit like spreading butter on bread,

they had to do layer after layer after layer.

Afterwards, it needed to be skimmed.

Finally, he repainted the whole of the living room, the ceilings,

after the plaster had tried out, which took about four days.

Replaced the skirting boards, repainted them...

I'm really pleased with the result. I think it looks really good.

The whole renovation cost 6,000 and took a month to complete.

And that put Julia £4,000 OVER her original budget.

But she said that if she went over budget, she'd need take out a loan.

So, how did she cover the extra cost?

I just used the last of my savings. I'm literally on the last bits now.

That's cleaned me out now. Yeah, I'm absolutely broke!

Well, you might not be broke for very long, Julia.

Two local estate agents can tell us their impressions of this property.

And most importantly, its value.

When I first came in, at first glance,

you wouldn't realise a lot had been done.

But actually, being here before and seeing the extent of the damp

and now it's gone completely, we understand the work has been done

to a high standard and obviously it's been redecorated throughout as well.

So it's looking great.

My first impressions are it's nice and bright,

considering this is a lower ground floor.

And it's been refurbished to a high standard.

So, bought at auction for 278,000

and having renovated at a cost of six grand,

Julia's total spend is £284,000.

I think, in this market,

this property could achieve somewhere between £325,000-£350,000.

If this property came to the market today,

I would estimate its value between £325,000 and £350,000.

A top valuation of 350,000

would give Julia a pre-tax profit of £66,000.

Is she pleased with those valuations?

Yeah, they're really good! I'm really pleased with that.

That's a good result. It means I've got what I paid for it

and a little something.

So, yeah, I'm really happy. Really pleased!

Those numbers are a great start but Julia always wanted to rent

and is pitching the flat at around £1,200 per calendar month.

Now, is that the right market value?

From a rental perspective, I think

this property could achieve around about £1,200 per calendar month.

For the rental market today, I would estimate this property

achieving between £1,150 per calendar month to £1,250 per calendar month.

An average value of £1,200 per calendar month

would give Julia a 5% yield.

We did a little bit of research

and that's the figure that I thought we would get for it,

so I'm pleased for that.

# I was making it easy for the clean-up woman. #

Julia is putting a few final touches to the property.

And I'll bet she'll be glad to mop up a decent return

on her investment.

But would she take on a property with this kind of problem again?

I so would take a flat that's got damp.

I think if you bring in some experts that know what they're doing,

then they can take care of the problem and, you know, job gets done.

We're heading back to Workington in Cumbria now,

a town that isn't monkeying around

when it comes to major redevelopment.

But while the town is undergoing changes, some things never change.

Like the layout of this two-bed mid-terrace, guided at £25,000 plus.

You've seen these two-up two-downs so many times before on this show,

I'm sure you could draw a map of the layout!

What do you think's next? What do you think? Go on, guess.

Yep. Kitchen! You've seen properties like this a million times before

on Homes Under The Hammer. It's a classic design.

But is that because, in general, it works quite well?

And, of course, bathroom at the back, etc, etc.

But out in the lane, behind the house, there was an unusual problem.

See that roof? That sloping roof there?

Well, not only does it cover the kitchen of this property

but it also covers an extension of the next-door neighbour's.

Well, if you get on with the next-door neighbours, that's fine.

Um, otherwise... it could be a bit of an issue.

Shared roofs didn't put off Nigel and Alison,

who bought the house for £41,000.

And it turns out they had a solution to that roof problem.

-I own the property next door.

-Oh, right!

-I bought it at the auction before this one.

-OK!

And then this one came in to sell about a week after, so I thought...

"Oh, I may as well buy this one as well!"

'Nigel certainly had the experience to deal with two properties.'

-I was a builder for 40 years.

-Right.

-So, I know the game.

-We've got a good team of lads doing jobs and...

-Right.

Yeah, hopefully it'll be OK.

Nearly five months later, when we returned, well, the house

certainly looked as if things were happening on the outside.

But what about changes inside?

Alison and Nigel have clearly made a lot of changes.

Let's find out what's been going on.

It's taken us about four months.

We started about a fortnight after you were here last time.

We changed all the doors

and we changed all the skirting boards upstairs.

And it's completely decorated in new carpet.

And then downstairs, new skirting boards, new doors,

new kitchen, new bathroom, new living room and floors.

Floor coverings right through.

'Thanks, Alison. But not the changes I was thinking of.

'The major change is the kitchen moving.'

# Moving furniture around. #

Here in the kitchen,

the original fireplace had already been taken out.

So it allowed us a nice open space.

So we decided to move the kitchen out of the galley kitchen

and make a nice kitchen in here. All new units.

We put board on here, which gives a nice finish.

And we're very, very pleased with this result.

'And what was the galley kitchen is now a bathroom. I don't believe it!

'Have Nigel and Alison found a way to change the layout

'of this most predictable property in a way we've not seen before?'

Right, so in the bathroom, what we did, we took the wall out,

which made the bathroom a lot bigger

and enabled us to put the big bath in and move it that way,

so we could have a shower and it didn't splash on the window.

New sink, new toilet and multi panel on the wall, rather than tiles.

Erm, I think the multi panel is better than tiles

when you're going to rent.

You don't have the problems with grout and things like that.

So it's made quite a nice bathroom.

'And the new back door area is a good solution,

'sitting between the new kitchen and bathroom.

'But with these major changes and the renovation upstairs,

'have they gone over their budget?'

I think originally we said about eight

but we went over that by a little bit.

I think it's come out at about 12 now.

We felt it was worth spending a bit more money

to put a nice kitchen in and a nice bathroom in

-and alter the kitchen to put it in here.

-Yeah.

Because it makes a better finished job.

'And all the work took four months. I agree with Alison -

'the extra budget has created a good quality finish.

'Let's hope that two local estate agents agree.'

Clearly, as you can see from what it was previously like,

they've made quite a lot of improvements. Moving the kitchen,

creating a dining kitchen, which has created better space.

And they have the property now ready to either sell on or rent out.

I think the size of the kitchen now

is the main thing for me in this house.

The ability to dine with a proper table,

within a two-bedroom, mid-terraced house,

I think is a good advantage over others.

'Bought for £41,000 and with a renovation spend of 12,000,

'Alison and Nigel's total cost is £53,000. So, what about rentals?

'And we're in luck because one estate agent

'knows this area particularly well.'

Well, I'm fortunate that we've actually rented

the property next door to this very recently,

which was in good condition, like this is.

And we've achieved £400 per calendar month for that property.

I'd anticipate that we'd get the same for this.

We'd expect to get in the region of £300 per calendar month.

Low.

Very low. No, we get a lot more than that for next door.

'Well, Alison isn't having any of that.

'The second agent felt that £300 per calendar month

'could stretch to £325 but it is a whopping difference.

'Well, that's why we always ask for two professional opinions.

'It's not a perfect science.

'Those valuations would give a 9% or 6% yield respectively.

'So, what about the resale value? Would that cheer them up?'

We would anticipate achieving £65,000 for this house,

perhaps to ask very slightly higher.

We would expect to market the property in the region

of 64,950, with a view to achieving somewhere in excess of 60,000.

That top value of 65,000 would give Alison and Nigel

a £12,000 profit before the usual taxes and expenses.

-It's quite good then, isn't it?

-Yeah, it's not bad.

-Yeah, it's all right. It's not for sale but...

-Quite happy with that.

-Yeah.

-It's worth knowing that it's worth more than when we started.

So the couple keep marching on in the property game,

transforming mid-terraces into marvellous manors.

And I think it's down to their partnership.

Do they work well together?

-Er...

-Yeah!

-We work well on camera, I think!

-No!

But we DO work well together, don't we? We do!

I'm not sure about anywhere else...

Well, that's how today's property stories unfolded

but we'll have plenty more for you next time.

Yes, so join us for more auction action and development stories

-from Homes Under The Hammer.

-We'll see you then.

-Goodbye.

Goodbye.