Episode 13 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello, and welcome to the programme.

We three all share a passion for property.

Yes, we learn something new every single day.

Yes. And if you want to know more,

well, a property auction is a really good place to start.

Well, we have many hammer golden rules -

always do your research,

always visit the property before you buy it.

And make sure you read that all-important legal pack

before you bid.

Let's see what properties tempted the bidders on today's show.

In North London, this one-bed flat -

well, it doesn't exactly have the sweet smell of success.

Unbelievably unpleasant! One word - stinky.

In Nottingham, there's something missing about this house that

won't let you make a grand entrance.

There's no door.

It's over there, and it's in pieces.

And a lack of space in this two-bed house in Derby is more than

made up for by the garden.

I think you need a machete and a GPS tracking system

because I can't even find the end.

All these properties have been sold at auction.

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

when they went under the hammer.

-GAVEL BANGS

-Sold at 80,500. Thank you.

This is Kilburn, in North West London,

which was once renowned for the medicinal qualities

of the water from its wells.

Nowadays, it's perhaps best known for its Kilburn High Road,

the main thoroughfare which runs through the area.

It has every local amenity you could possibly need

as well as several railway lines

which take you straight into Central London in only ten minutes.

And the good news is the property I'm here to see

is right around the corner from Kilburn high street

and right on the borders

of West Hampstead, and that makes it a very desirable place to be.

So a good location and a lovely street,

which means it will come as no surprise that the one-bedroom flat

I'm here to see had a fairly hefty guide price of £330,000 plus.

Now, it's in this attractive building here.

And if you are a tennis fan,

well, you don't have to travel far for a quick rally.

Oh! Unbelievably unpleasant!

One word - stinky.

Gosh, it really does hit you in the face.

And if I were to mark it on a level, it would be ten.

It's all right for you guys sitting at home,

I've got to walk around this flat today.

It really is very unpleasant.

And you only need to look around to see why that is.

I mean, look at that,

that's probably the worst scale of damp I've ever seen in a property.

Wow. That's quite scary.

And what I want to know is, where is the water coming from?

All the floors are very springy, you can see little holes everywhere.

I mean, is it coming from outside in

with the water swilling around in here for a long time?

I mean, look how bad it is.

You certainly need some sort of expert.

Look, it's just falling apart. You can almost go through to next door.

That's going to be a costly problem

and one that needs looking at, and looking at fast.

Now, I don't want to dampen anyone's enthusiasm for this place,

but the owner of this flat will need to get a damp-proof expert in,

and pronto, to get the source of the problem sorted.

The signs of damp are everywhere.

The kitchen floorboards have buckled and there are ominous stains

in the bathroom, the rear bedroom and the large lounge at the front.

Whatever's causing the problem, one thing is for certain,

fixing the damage will make up quite a large part

of any renovation budget.

I'm laughing to myself

because it's quite awful the fact that my nose has now got used to

the stinky smell in this flat and I can't smell anything.

But let's now just talk about the positives of this property.

Well, for starters, fantastic high ceilings.

It really gives the feeling of space in this property.

And of course, this is a brilliant room.

Something I have been thinking about -

you could potentially bring the kitchen out here

and line it up along the back wall

to have an open-plan kitchen/diner/lounge.

It would compromise this space a bit,

but then you could sell this on or let it as a two-bed flat,

which probably is the right thing to do.

But something I'll never tire of, I love a game of tennis,

and I just think that has got to be one of the best views,

looking out of this beautiful sash window out onto the tennis courts.

Amazing!

# Well, do you like tennis?

# Do you like tennis?

-# I said, do you like tennis?

-Do you like tennis?

# Yes, I do. #

Of course, they could be creating a bit of a racket over there,

but back in the flat, smell and damp aside,

believe it or not, there are still positives here.

Each of the rooms are a good size. And through these wonderful

little French doors, is a garden that just needs,

well, a bit of a tidy up.

Yes, a new kitchen and bathroom are definitely needed.

But get this place renovated

and with the character windows restored,

this could be a gorgeous little flat.

We invited along a local estate agent to brave the pong

and give us his opinion on the property

that was guided at £330,000 plus.

Property is very, very spacious.

You've got a lovely kitchen which, once refurbished, could be

a beautiful kitchen/diner.

Bedroom is an adequate size for this property.

The lounge is spacious, got nice big windows,

nice and bright.

Once it's refurbished, it will be lovely property.

If you were to renovate this property,

I would definitely suggest you do it to a very high specification.

People purchasing in this area do require a very, very high standard

and it's the way to achieve the best possible price.

Well, I hope the new buyer has a good-enough budget,

not only to fix the damp problem

but also to renovate the flat to a very high standard.

But what can the finished property expect to sell for?

Once refurbished to an exceptionally high standard,

this property would sell for in the region of £470,000.

And the rental income?

Once refurbished, this property should achieve

somewhere in the region of £1,500 per calendar month.

The agent also reckons that

if the flat was turned into a two-bed apartment,

then it could be resold for £520,000

or with a rental income of £1,700 per calendar month.

So, either way, it could prove to be a lucrative option.

Well, this is a good location and, once renovated,

well, I think somebody could really fall in LOVE with this flat,

especially if they're a budding tennis player.

However, will the owner of this property have met their MATCH

with the water damage in there?

Let's head to the auction and find out

who's prepared to take a shot.

Right, lot 29.

Ground-floor garden flat,

obviously near Kilburn High Road.

Who would like to start off on this?

I don't know, 325,000.

There, 325,000 on my left. 330,000 anywhere?

330,000. 335,000.

340,000. 345,000. 350,000.

350,000 on my right. 350,000.

This property could prove to be a good investment,

and there was plenty of interest in the lot.

We rejoin the auction, where the bidding has reached 393,000.

393,000.

394,000. 395,000. 396,000. 397,000.

398,000. 399,000.

400,000. 401,000.

Must go for 401,000.

He might stop. 401,000.

402,000. Didn't.

403,000. 402,000 back to you.

403,000.

402,000 in the front.

First time. Second time.

Third and last time, if you're all done.

-GAVEL BANGS

-Sold 402,000.

And getting the lot for 402,000,

72 grand over the guide price was Vahji.

And it wasn't him but his son Nitin who actually bought the flat.

Nitin has a degree in architectural technology

but has now decided to focus on a property-developing career.

We met up with him to talk about his plans for the flat

and about that worrying damp.

-Nitin, hello.

-Hi there.

-Lovely to meet you.

-Nice to meet you too.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

You obviously wanted to buy this on auction day

-and you weren't put off by the amount of damp everywhere.

-No.

I think what it was

was there's probably a leak in one of the rooms and,

because of the flooring, it actually spread into all of the other rooms.

So I don't actually know how much damage there is under the floors,

but we'll see when we actually take the floors apart.

Is this as bad as it's going to get?

Hopefully, it's stopped now because it actually looks worse

-than when I originally saw it.

-Really?

I saw about four properties on the same day,

so visually now I'm looking at it for the first time again. So, yeah.

But once you've ripped everything apart, it should be all good.

Walking in here with the untrained eye,

I mean, most people would be put off immediately.

A, by the smell. B, by the water damage everywhere.

-Yes.

-The bricks are even wet.

Why were you not put off on auction day?

Everything can be repaired.

Once you take it back to the bare brick wall or you take

the floors apart, everything can be replaced.

I'm not really scared about how the condition of the property would be.

So, have you had a builder or somebody come round so far

to give you what they think, or a slight sort of estimate,

on the problem?

Not really, because me and my dad work on this hands-on,

so we're physically going to be doing the work ourselves.

Nitin and his father, Vahji,

with maybe some help from mum, Kutha,

are going to get stuck in and find the root cause of all this damp.

And fixing it shouldn't be a problem as the team aren't exactly novices.

My parents have been in the property business for the past 35 years

and I've been doing this for the past ten years with them.

And it's been a few months now,

I've started doing this full-time now.

Because I was doing it part-time before and I've also studied

architectural technology,

so now I thought it's time to do it full-time.

So this is what I'm trying to do now.

So, really, you've just come into this full-time

as a property developer.

What is it you like about it?

I like to see a property in this condition

and then after working on it for a small amount of time,

the finished product.

And the money is good, so I can't complain.

How does that differ from studying architecture?

Cos I'm sure that was college days,

lots of hard days studying for exams.

I've always wanted to go into property developing but

I thought that it would be good to have a qualification

in a similar trade.

So just in case things don't go to plan, I've got a backup plan,

I can go back to my office job.

Wait, that sounds like your parents talking now. Is that right?

Well, everyone has got the same feeling, yes.

# Something to fall back on

# Something to fall back on... #

But I reckon Nitin's got a taste for renovating properties.

The plan is to sell the place on, so he'll be

aiming for a top-notch finish.

That means gutting the entire flat right back to the brickwork,

installing new plumbing and wiring,

and putting in a high-spec kitchen and bathroom.

And I reckon there's an opportunity here for Nitin

to put that education to use.

What about the fact that you've got a really large kitchen

but an even bigger lounge area and it's currently one bedroom?

-Yes.

-Are you going to be changing that?

I'm still thinking about maybe turning this into a bedroom

and have an open-plan kitchen/living at the front,

so it gives a two-bedroom product.

I mean, one of the best schools is just up here,

so it's probably good for the potential buyers to actually

have two bedrooms for the children, a second bedroom for the children,

so it's ideal buying a property for them.

How soon do you think it will be

before you got it looking spick and span?

I'm still working on another project at the moment,

so we won't be starting on this straightaway.

Another two to three weeks' time we will start on this.

And it should take about five weeks to actually do the whole property,

so roughly two months to go and it will be all ready.

-Two months?!

-Yes.

So you really think you can crack this in two months?

-Yes, should be done.

-How much is your budget for the work?

Budget should be around £25,000-£30,000.

-But you've got the five grand contingency...

-Yes.

..in case it goes wrong.

I think you might be using that!

Hopefully not, but, yes, that is there for that.

Nitin, congratulations.

And you're a brave man. Good luck with this project.

Thank you very much.

It's an exciting time for Nitin, who is now property developing

with his parents full-time.

I love his optimism about the damp in this flat...

but I really hope it's not more of a problem

than he's expecting it to be.

Join me later in the programme and you can find out how he gets on.

We're now off to Nottingham, where legendary local Robin Hood

is celebrated.

The city and county of Nottinghamshire

are justly proud of their links to the story,

as demonstrated by the Robin Hood Pageant held every October.

The statue outside the castle

remains one of the city's most popular landmarks.

And this is Mapperley, a residential suburb of the city

with plenty of shops, cafes, restaurants,

along with local amenities.

On this busy road, roughly two and a half miles northeast

of the centre of Nottingham is a property I'm here to see.

It is an end of terrace comprising three separate self-contained flats.

It has a guide price of £120,000 to £140,000.

I'm going to take a look inside.

The property is on the side of a hill, so despite appearances,

the house actually has four floors

with a basement flat unseen from the road.

OK, we're straight into the front room on the ground-floor flat,

and there is no door.

It's over there and it's in pieces.

Apart from that, it's a nice start.

Can't see any signs of damp anywhere,

the floor seems to be in good condition.

One thing I do like - double-glazed window.

There's a very busy main road out there.

That will keep the sound out, keep the heat in.

And it's good that it's got heating as well.

What else am I going to find through here?

We have another room of a similar size, maybe a little bit bigger.

Bit of a feature fireplace there.

Again, it's all in good condition, no major problems with it at all.

More heating in here.

Get your double bed over there.

Hmm, I like it.

I think it's a nice little one-bed flat which

I could turn around into something quite cosy.

Only if you get a new front door, though.

So it could prove to be a bit draughty,

but apart from that, this is a good start.

Along with decent-sized rooms, there's a small, serviceable kitchen

and shower room with toilet,

both of which just need a little clean-up.

In fact, as far as I can see, it wouldn't need much more work

or, more importantly, more money

to get this ground-floor flat into good shape.

There's a communal hall with a separate entrance to the

basement flat, and up to the first-floor maisonette with

a further flight of stairs up to two bedrooms.

These are both good sizes, just like the space on the first floor.

You've got your bathroom, you've got a really large lounge

and the running theme of double glazing all the way

through this property.

Through into the kitchen, which looks in really good condition.

Got some funky flooring, silver funky flooring as well.

Got a chimney breast just there which is bricked out, very modern.

There's not a lot to do here.

I think you could make this into a really cosy flat.

Again it's all good news up here.

This two-bed maisonette is huge and, just like downstairs,

there's nothing a lick of paint and cleaning couldn't sort out.

So far, so good for me.

The house is over four floors,

so it's all the way downstairs from the last flat.

Now, in the basement flat,

the kitchen is just around that corner there.

But into another really decent-sized room.

You will get the ceilings that little bit lower in the basement.

You've got a patio door going out to what is a small back garden

or yard, whatever you want to call it.

But I'm so surprised that there's so much space

on an end-of-terrace property.

Central heating as well.

Big bedroom through there with its own en suite as well.

There's not a lot to do here, there really isn't.

You'd probably get away with spending the lower

end of your budget to get this turned around.

It's a really nice building.

And that's it.

Two flats and a maisonette all needing a little bit of work

but nothing to intimidate a decent DIYer.

And with enough room to satisfy Robin and his merry men.

But for a second opinion, we asked along a local estate agent

for her thoughts on these three properties that are together

guided at £120,000 to £140,000.

-POLISH ACCENT:

-The property needs some work.

However, there is potential.

I would definitely recommend

start from redecorate the property and tiling, bathroom,

kitchen and toilet.

I don't think the property needs new floors,

and it looks like the electric works has been already done.

So with the three properties guided at £120,000 to £140,000,

what could they fetch on the resale market once renovated?

The two-bedroom maisonette

should be able to go for around £85,000.

One-bedroom, ground-floor flat,

and one-bedroom, basement flat

will be able to go for around £65,000.

That could mean a total potential resale value of £215,000.

And with rentals per calendar month,

the agent reckons the maisonette could achieve around £550,

the ground-floor flat - £450 to £475,

and the basement - around £450.

I'm impressed with this place. It's a lot bigger than what I thought

and most of the work seems to be cosmetic.

I don't think you need a big budget either to turn it around.

Let's see who fancied it when it went to auction.

The auction of the property was one of the last of the day

and most people had already gone.

We move to 202 in Nottingham.

Let's see where we end up.

Someone, bid me 100,000.

Thank you, sir. 100,000 I have. 102,500.

Lady sitting, 102,500. Gentleman standing at 105,000.

107,500. 110,000.

Counting 1,000. 111,000.

112,000. 113,000. 114,000.

115,000. 116,000.

117,000. 118,000.

OK, 117,000. 118,000 anywhere else?

118,000. 119,000. 120,000.

Shake of the head, OK.

Still with these. Willing to pay 119,000?

120,000 anywhere else?

First time at 119,000. Second time at 119,000.

Third and final time at 119,000 on my right. Are we all done?

That's two of you there, I'm so close.

Not sold for the time being.

Come and see us.

However, that wasn't the end of it.

After the next lot had gone under the hammer, the auctioneer

spotted a potential customer and decided to give lot 202 another go.

Don't want lot 202, do you, sir?

It's in Nottingham.

Bid me 120,000.

120,000, lot 202.

Anyone else want to bid? I'm going to sell. 120,000.

Happy? First. Second.

Third and final time at 120,000.

-GAVEL BANGS

-Sold at 120,000.

# Everybody gets a second chance

# Take my chance and tell you I'm sorry too... #

And the successful purchaser with that final offer was Brett.

Brett is a Nottingham local, so knows the area well.

I met him back at the house to find out his plans.

-Brett, nice to meet you. Congratulations.

-Afternoon.

Let's start at the beginning. How was the auction for you?

The auction was interesting, actually.

The lot I actually wanted was the one over the road

and there was a bit of a battle there. I did get outbid on that one.

This one was before that lot.

This didn't sell. It didn't reach its reserve, actually.

But because the one after I lost to someone else,

the auctioneer came back to me, asked if I'd like to bid

a little bit more for this one and I got it in the end.

You seem to have found your feet with this one, Brett.

I think so. I'm happy with it, yeah.

It's a lot bigger than what you expect

-when you look from the outside.

-It is, it's a bit of a TARDIS.

Yeah. We've got the whole use of the roof space

and the cellar below as well.

So what you see from the road is only a fraction of it.

Well, Brett may have fallen on his feet with this buy,

but he's no novice to this game.

Since 1998, he's been involved in property renovations,

buy-to-let properties and sales

and has recently moved into doing new-build projects.

What made you go into property?

Years ago, it was a lifestyle choice, actually.

It was less than a nine-to-five, it fitted in with what

I wanted to do, a little bit of travelling, that kind of thing.

And I got the property bug.

Once you've done it once or twice, you kind of get hooked on it

and you don't want to do anything else.

-What were you doing beforehand?

-I was involved in IT briefly, erm,

and then various jobs that didn't really mean much, I guess.

So now you've got a bit of a portfolio, building it up?

Building it up, yes.

I've not done anything, bought anything to keep for a few years.

This will be 15 properties, this particular one.

The reason why I've started to buy again is I think the market

is changing a little bit, prices are creeping up,

there's a bit more confidence in there, it seems to be.

The rental market is still very strong around here,

so it just seems the right time for me

of still being able to get some good bargains

but a bit more confidence that it will rent and sell if I need to.

Brett obviously thinks the time is right

to get back into local properties and, in fact, he has tenants lined up

ready to rent this place once he's finished with it.

But there's another reason why he's jumped back onto the property wagon.

I've got a second child on the way, due any day, actually.

-Good man, congratulations.

-I'm expecting the phone to go

and tell me my other half is in labour but...it's that close.

So something like this, I think, is a great university fund

or a pension fund for me.

I've got no other investments other than property, so this is in

addition to that to cover the extra expenses of having a little one.

If the phone goes, feel free to throw us out as soon as possible.

-I might have to, yes.

-THEY LAUGH

Well, we'd better kick on with this interview then.

What are his plans for this house?

We're going to start the top to bottom and paint it throughout.

It's not too bad, but it does need a freshen up.

And there's a handful of jobs in each flat that need doing.

Just loose banisters, hearths missing, this kind of thing.

Service all the boilers, get the electrics sorted out.

Just freshen it up, really, getting it ready for the tenants to move in.

So your budget, what's your budget on this?

Erm, again, it's only light cosmetic work, really.

I think costs all in are going to be around 5,000, that's all.

-That's very good!

-I'd like to think, yes.

We'll keep a tight rein on the workmen,

but hopefully that's where we are, yes.

Well, that small budget won't last long.

And that's exactly how Brett wants it to be,

hoping to have it all ready in just three weeks.

Brett will be leaving the work to a team he normally

employs for renovation duties.

Not that he won't be busy himself.

My daytime job is new-build properties,

so property development.

We'll acquire land, get planning permission on it and build those out

and then sell them on.

What's better for you financially? What's the better gain?

Erm, it's kind of different, really.

This is a long-term proposition where, as I say, we keep hold

of it for the long term,

we'd hopefully make money each month on the rent.

And it goes up in value over time.

The new-build projects,

we tend to sell them on and we'd obviously profit

on the sale of those.

So it's more frequent and larger sums, I guess.

This is slow and steady with the rental kind of income.

I think you have got your bases covered.

Listen, mate, I wish you all the best.

-Good luck with baby number two.

-Thank you very much.

-Hope it all goes well.

-Sure it will. Thank you.

Like Brett says, this property is a bit of a TARDIS.

It looks very small from the outside,

but when you get in, it's room after room.

Very superficial turnaround for someone of Brett's experience.

Will he get it right? I'm pretty sure he will.

You can find out later on in the programme.

Coming up, this semi in Derbyshire needs a little more space.

-Suddenly...

-HE INHALES

-HE EXHALES

-..you're allowing the house

to breathe.

And in Nottingham, was Brett able to breathe easy after this renovation?

We've had a quick whistle round, got it in good shape

and more than happy.

Earlier, we were in the buzzing North London suburb of Kilburn,

where we saw this ground-floor, one-bed flat

that was sold at auction for 402,000.

A lot of money for a rundown apartment, but its location

near the affluent suburb of West Hampstead meant there could be

some big bucks to be made from this place once it was in good shape.

And the man who bought it was Nitin, who, after finishing

a degree in architectural technology, decided to get involved

full-time in his parents' property-developing business.

You've just come into this as a property developer.

What is it you like about it?

I like to see a property in this condition, and then after

working on it for a small amount of time, the finished product.

And the money is good, so can't complain.

Well, before that, there was a lot of work to be done

because the damp problem here was so severe.

I reckon this flat should really be made seaworthy.

But father Vahji had 35 years' experience in fixing properties.

And with a £25,000 to £30,000 budget and a five-week turnaround,

the team were aiming to get this place shipshape and sold on.

So when we returned three and a half months later,

had they achieved their target?

Wow, what an amazing-looking lounge!

With beautiful new flooring and those lovely windows restored.

But that's not all.

Nitin has gone for that open-plan kitchen/living space route,

and it definitely works here.

Well, this was the living room initially.

The kitchen from the other room has been moved here.

Now it's an open-plan kitchen/living space.

As you can see, everything is brand-new with built-in appliances.

New electric fire.

All the TV equipment has been pre-wired, sound system,

so it's turned out pretty well.

I'm just hoping that I will be doing the same

type of standard in my own house that I'm living in at the moment.

Go down the hall and that old bathroom suite is...

..well, a stunning new bathroom suite

complete with a hot tub option.

The old kitchen is now a spacious second bedroom.

And the restoration work continues

with those gorgeous French doors brought back to life.

So far, so good.

The whole project has turned out pretty well because of the

lighting, the technology and all the custom-made woodwork.

Everything I can think of has turned out pretty well.

But look over Nitin's shoulder

and it looks like the garden has had an extreme makeover of its own.

Well, this is the newly landscaped garden.

It's got new decking, newly laid lawn, lighting.

Originally there was a big tree over here, which we've cut down,

and I ended up making a custom-made table over here

using the actual tree trunk, so it saved me from digging it out.

The end result has turned out pretty well

because, originally, you physically couldn't get into the garden.

And now everything is nice and clear,

you can actually see the big size of it.

Perfect spot to catch some sun.

But size is an important element of the last room of the house because

if you think the rear bedroom does look bigger, you're right.

Nitin has incorporated

and expanded part of the corridor into the room,

which now houses extra storage space,

moving the door to the top of the steps.

All round, a cracking job, Nitin.

And I figured there's no prizes for guessing the biggest

problem on this project.

The main problem of this property was the water damage.

What we had to do is physically rip all the floors apart

and let it dry for two weeks.

And when we came back, everything was nice and dry.

And then we started doing the second fixing.

# Home and dry

# Home and dry-ey-ey... #

Not only did Nitin and his father, Vahji, deal with the dampness,

but they did all the plastering, woodwork and kitchen fitting,

leaving the electrics and gas fittings to qualified tradesmen.

The entire renovation took six weeks of their time

and, all in all, is a marvellous transformation.

But with such a top-notch finish,

how did their 25,000 to 30,000 budget cope?

Because of the auction fees,

the stamp duty, it cost us approximately 20,000

to physical purchase the property.

It cost 30,000 to do the works.

And the whole project has been successful

and the finish has been great, so I'm really happy with it.

In most cases,

the seller pays the auction costs out of whatever it sells for.

But some legal packs will state that the buyer pays the auction fees,

and this is such a case.

So always, always read the small print at the auction.

Add this to his purchase price of 402,000

and Nitin's total outlay is now £452,000.

But despite its high cost,

Nitin feels this place has the high-end finish it so deserves.

This is the first time I've done it to this high specification,

but I feel that it's necessary to do it

because of the location of the property.

And the buyers looking in these areas are looking for these type of things.

Nitin certainly has plenty to be proud of,

but time to find out what two local estate agents make of this flat.

Starting with the agent who first saw the property before Nitin

and his father got to work on it.

Changes to this property are absolutely fantastic.

The current owner has added a bedroom,

also completely re-landscaped the garden.

The finish is very, very good. It's definitely the high-end.

Amazing finish. Amazing finish. Really good high spec.

The floors, I think, are excellent finish.

The fittings, I think, they've been good,

and also the lowered ceilings with the mood lighting.

I think they really add a little bit extra to it.

But was Nitin right to plump for that high-end finish?

I would say it's what the buyers are demanding now around here.

If you're looking to pay good money for a property,

you would expect to have a decent finish for the money

you're going to be paying. So it's what I would expect now.

With Nitin putting the flat up for sale,

will that high-end finish give him a profit

from his 452,000 outlay?

If this property was to go onto the sales market today,

it should achieve somewhere in the region of £600,000.

I would value this property at £650,000.

Yes, it's more or less what I had in mind

and it's made a great profit for a couple of months of work.

If Nitin manages to sell the house for either of those two valuations,

then he could, before taxes and fees,

expected to make an amazing profit of between 148,000 to 198,000.

Wow. And the agents reckon there could be a rental income

of between £1,800 to £1,950 per calendar month.

That could give him an annual yield of around 5%.

Tempted, Nitin?

It's not a bad evaluation, but really,

I'm after the sales for this property.

And who could blame him? With just six weeks work, Nitin and Varji

have rescued this flat, created a beautiful new home and will

hopefully be reaping a staggering profit. And don't think that

Nitin will be putting his feet up.

My plan is to actually complete another property today which

is just a few doors down here. I'll start work on that while I'm

still working on another current project.

2.5 miles east of Derby city centre is Chaddesden, known locally

as Chad. Originally, this was a village in its own right.

By the mid-20th century, neighbouring Derby was growing and

when much of the land came up for sale in the 1930s, the city

corporation bought it for housing. And today, Chad is one of

Derby's largest suburbs.

So what was on offer?

Well, for a guide price of £50,000 plus -

a two-bedroom semidetached.

Looks a little bit worse for wear on the outside.

Let's take a look inside.

I think one of the first things that's going to have to go is

that little porch. Definitely, yes. A little bit tired.

As is the rest of the house.

At first glance, anyway. Through into your living room area here.

Feels, interestingly, quite narrow.

Although you have got this big bay window.

We like the light that that's kicking in. I guess that chimney

breast there doesn't help with this feeling of

a slight crampedness in here.

Likewise, the under-stairs cupboard. I'd like to see this wall

taken out. Again, just open it up a bit. And give it a bit more

space. The other thing you could think about doing is taking

out this wall here. This is the dividing wall in between the

lounge and the kitchen. Although this is a good-sized room, to

open-plan it even more by taking that wall out would be a

potentially good thing.

On the other hand, Plan B could be to keep it as it is, have that as

like a dining area attached to the kitchen. Need to think about

that a bit more. Anyway, what have you got in here?

It's not about size. Lots of light, again, from the window.

Obviously in need of a complete refurb.

So, straightaway, one of those classic properties where you

can add so much value by just doing the basics.

Basics like rewiring, replacing the electrical fittings,

round-pin plugs for sockets like these first came on the scene

in 1934 under British Standard 546, don't you know?

Ask any electrician today to use them and I'm sure they'll say,

"Take a hike!"

# We gonna to rock down to Electric Avenue

# And then we take it higher... #

Well, upstairs. Strangely, the stairs here feel quite open.

It's usually the other way round, isn't it? The stairs are normally

the cramped bit. But not here. Not to worry.

Bathroom where you hope it would be. Avocado suite. Eat your heart out.

Be nice to replace that. But again, kitchens and bathrooms, two

things that are so easy to do and you always get your money back

if you do those on a property.

Nice, white suite in there.

Front bedroom, not in bad nick. Not a bad size.

Rear bedroom though, suffering a little bit like downstairs.

It feels a little bit cramped.

Partly because you've got that water tank and hot water cylinder there,

taking up pretty important space in this bedroom.

In an ideal world, combination boiler downstairs, get rid of the

boiler that's in the lounge and also the chimney breast.

Get rid of that and suddenly...

You are allowing the house to breathe.

Yes, there is lots to do inside

to get the patient breathing freely again.

And outside at the back,

another structural bolt-on that needs unbolting.

A lean-to with far too much leaning.

But I did find one place where there is plenty of space to breathe.

Well, here at the back of the property, there is a garden.

No kidding, Sherlock.

Yes. Normally with a garden, you know, a pair of shoes

maybe is what you need to explore it. Not here.

I think you need a machete and a GPS tracking system.

Because I can't even find the end.

It literally goes back and back and back.

I mean, judging by some of the neighbouring properties,

it goes back a very long way.

How very intriguing!

With a huge garden like this, I always question whether it would

be worth sacrificing some for an extension.

It's the sort of question a local property professional would

know the answer to. And who better than the auctioneer

who sold the property in the first place?

I think if you were to extend it, you are probably looking at

investing something between 15 and £20,000.

I'm talking single storey, not double storey,

otherwise it would be a lot, lot more.

You've got to be careful how far you go because, clearly, at the end

of the day, it's going to have a ceiling value, and whatever you

do to it, you're not going to raise its value greater than

that ceiling value.

It's one of those where I think you would need to be

a little bit careful.

Assuming the extension was done, I don't think that would be

cost-effective, it might raise its value by about £10,000

but it would cost you more than that to do it.

So you would only look at extending it, I think, if you were

holding on to it for the long-term.

Point taken. Given that the guide price is £50,000,

what could the house achieve without an extension?

If we renovate what's here, and we are not looking at extensions,

it would probably have a ceiling value of around £100,000.

If it was renovated and then put on the rental market,

its rental value would be in the order of £450 per calendar month.

I heard this is a great auction property.

A classic in some ways.

One that you can really add value to by doing the basics.

And yet, it's in a really nice location, in a desirable area.

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

Lot number one, ladies and gentlemen.

Turn to your catalogue if you will.

Can I say 60,000 for it?

Who's got 50 then? The guide price to start.

Thank you very much. 50 I have. At £50,000. The opening bid.

51 is bid at the back. 52? 52,000 is bid.

53. At 53. 54.

55.

Bids from a packed auction room continue up to £75,000,

where we rejoin the bidding.

75. At 75.5.

76 is bid. At 76.

At £76,000. It's going to get sold. 500.

76.5. 77.

77.5.

78, sir?

78 is bid.

At 78. You sure?

At £78,000, going once...

Going twice...

Third and last chance. All done with it?

Sold at £78,000. Thank you.

Right from the first bid to the last, and at £28,000 over the

guide price, the successful bidder is Richard.

We met up at his £78,000 purchase to talk about his plans.

-Richard, good to meet you.

-Good to meet you, Martin.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this house.

I took a voluntary redundancy from Royal Mail. My mum died last

year, so I decided to invest the money in the property. I've always

wanted to do this sort of work. The opportunity arose,

so I took the plunge and bought this house here.

Wow. Why haven't you done it before? Just funds?

Funds basically.

Right. And what is a particularly that appeals about the idea of

doing up a property for you?

Um, well, you see how it was. Then I'm sort of taking it forward

and bringing it into the 21st century, if you like.

Total renovation. Like that.

Are you going to be very hands-on then?

No. I've got a builder, an electrician, I've got a plumber,

we are doing the decorating, my son and myself will be doing the garden.

So talk me through the plans. What are you going to do with it?

New kitchen. The back conservatory will go down.

In the lounge, the boiler will go.

I'll open up under the stairs. The front porch will go.

New windows throughout. A new bathroom.

Where the boxroom is, I'm going to open it up so I can get a

dressing table in that area there.

The front will just be cleaned up.

The gates will go. I intend to put a patio on the back here.

-Then decking sloping down through the garden.

-Wow.

Obviously, lawn and whatever we get beyond the jungle.

Right, it's difficult to quite see how big the garden is, isn't it?

It is really, yes. There is a concrete path on the other

garden that seems to go on forever.

Then if you look at the satellite, it sort of goes this bit here

then trees, then something at the back of those.

How bizarre that you are having to look at the garden via satellite.

Yeah, yeah, cos I could only get, as I say, about 40 yards in.

-And it gets rather difficult after that. So...

-Funny.

Funny. It is, isn't it? Satellite, eh? First for everything.

But joking apart, Richard may be able to gain access

and build a garage on the current wasteland of a garden.

So it could be another way of adding value to a house.

# Out here in the fields... #

What kind of profit do you think there is in it?

How much do you think it can resell for?

I bought it for 78. Probably 100 plus, I hope. 120 or thereabouts.

-What is your budget?

-12,000.

-OK.

And then probably 3,000 above that. So I'll take it to probably 15.

-But we will see how it goes first.

-That's a bit of a contingency?

A contingency fund, yes. That's the word.

What is the timescale?

-Three to four months.

-OK. And then on the market.

If this goes well, on to project number two?

Two, yes. I hope so, yes. That's my plan.

How was the auction?

Interesting.

I was on the front row, or almost front row. I opened the bidding.

It went on from there.

Of course, you get to that bit where its £1,000,

you're down to 500, and 77.5...

Another £500, sir? Sold once, twice.

I thought, "I've bought it," you know.

-I was shaking like that.

-Really?

What have I done? But...

I've done my research, like you suggest. I've done legal prep.

When I viewed it, I viewed all the rooms three or four times.

It's a good project, I reckon. A good project.

-Good. Well, good luck with it.

-Thank you, Martin.

-I'll look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Yes.

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

A nice little project for Richard to get his teeth stuck into

as his first dalliance into the world of property renovation.

How will he get on? Will he stick to that budget?

You'll find out later in the show.

We've already caught up with one property, what about the other two?

It's been months. Have they done everything?

Have they done anything?! Let's find out.

We now head back to Nottingham and the suburb of Mapperley,

where earlier we met Brett, who had bought this

house at auction for £120,000.

Brett is a local boy and, since 1998, has been wheeling

and dealing in property, buying and selling and developing new builds.

He has also built up a portfolio of 15 properties,

and this is his latest purchase.

And with two one-bedroom flats, one in the basement

and one on the ground floor, plus a two-bed maisonette,

I reckon he has done well on this one because, apart from a lick

of paint and a clean-up, there's not a lot here that needs fixing.

And that's just as well.

A big renovation job is the last thing on his mind.

-I've got a second child on the way, due any day, actually.

-Good man.

I'm expecting the phone to go and tell me my other half is in labour.

-It's that close.

-If the phone does go, feel free to throw us out

-as soon as possible.

-I might have to.

-THEY LAUGH

With a new baby on the way, Brett was counting on this

property to become some all-important extra income.

And with tenants already lined up, Brett want to work fast,

planning on a three-week turnaround with a £5,000 budget.

And three weeks later, we returned to see if that was enough time

and money for the job.

And here it is.

The ground-floor flat has had a new front door added

and each of the rooms have had a lick of paint and a clean-up.

That's it for down here.

As predicted, there has been no big changes.

But then, why do more than necessary?

And as for the maisonette, it's the same prescription.

A fresh coat of paint with some minor changes,

like a new hearth for the fire.

And I'm going to let you into a little secret here.

On the very day we came to film, Brett had to leave us to it

and dash to the hospital as Rebecca, his wife, was in labour.

So it was four days after that when we caught up with him again.

It took a little bit longer than we thought,

but the second time you were due to come round, we'd actually had

that call and I was in the labour ward.

We waited, but he was worth it, yes. Little baby Albie was born.

Well, congratulations to Brett, his wife, Rebecca,

and of course, baby Albie.

The new addition to the family might have turned up later than planned,

but getting this place right in the timescale of three weeks

obviously meant Brett faced no big delays.

This job was planned to be quite easy.

You never know until you get stuck into it.

But it did go as planned, really. There was no major upsets.

I did have a few concerns about the boilers and that kind of thing

with the property being empty for over 12 months.

And we did have a couple of issues,

but we got away without replacing them, which was my biggest worry.

We had a good engineer who sorted them out.

It's gone pretty smoothly. Couldn't be more happy, actually.

Brett has kept everything simple.

Unlike the ground-floor flat and the maisonette,

the basement has been decorated. Throughout the house,

the plumbing and the wiring have been checked and passed.

New electric showers were installed in two of the flats.

Overall, this has really been one of the easiest renovation jobs

I've seen. A real case of - if it ain't broken, don't fix it.

# That's why I'm easy

# Ah ah ah ah

# I'm easy like Sunday morning... #

But let's not forget this wasn't Brett's first choice property.

At the auction, there was actually another property over the road

there that I quite liked.

I did get outbid on that. I came back to this one.

I was a little bit disappointed to start with, to be honest.

But when I had a third look at this one, when I had the keys,

I was pretty chuffed with it. There wasn't a lot of work to do.

We've had a quick whistle round. Got it in good shape. More than happy.

And from the business side, it looks like everything is set for this

place to be sooner paying its way.

We do have tenants lined up for this property.

I kind of knew that before I bought it, which is

another reason that it was right for us.

They are going to be moving in in two to three weeks' time.

It appears to be a great little project all round.

Little work needed and little work done.

Soon it will be occupied and Brett must have kept within his budget.

The initial budget for this renovation was round about 5,000.

We are happy to say that we came in at 4,800, just below that.

We look like we have finished everything. I think we have.

That should be the end of it and the tenants can move in.

Add that £4,800 to his purchase price of 120 grand

and Brett's total outlay is just under £125,000.

Time to find out what two local estate agents make of this latest

edition to Brett's property portfolio,

starting with the agent who first saw the house a few weeks ago.

The property has been improved loads.

The owner of the property painted it throughout

and it definitely will be easier to find new tenants for this property.

The layout is really good.

The kitchens, bathrooms,

it is really done to a really high standard.

It's light and airy.

It feels nice.

So, with tenants lined up, what do the

agents reckon Brett should be getting in rental returns?

The two-bedroom maisonette will be £525 per calendar month.

I would hope to achieve £495 per calendar month.

Yeah, I'd say that's fair.

We do have tenants lined up who have agreed to pay us 550.

We've done well there. More than happy.

The ground-floor flat can achieve the rent of £475 per calendar month.

I would hope to achieve £400 per calendar month.

We've again got tenants lined up at 450. In between the two.

Again, happy with that.

If we were to get the basement flat on the rental market,

I would hope to achieve £450 per calendar month.

It will achieve a rent of £450 per calendar month.

That's great. That's exactly what we've got from our tenants.

We are glad all our estimations worked out.

In fact, Brett's total rental income will be £1,450 per calendar month,

giving him a whopping annual yield of just under 14%. Incredible.

But if Brett has decided to sell, then the agents reckon the maisonette

could go for between £85,000 to £90,000.

The ground-floor flat - £65,000 to £80,000.

And the basement flat - £65,000 to £75,000.

That would give Brett a total possible resale value

of £215,000 to £245,000,

giving him a potential pre-tax profit

of in between £90,000 to £120,000.

It surprised me a little bit that they are that high.

We've always worked on slightly more conservative figures.

But if we were to sell it, we'd be happy to try the market

at those figures and see what we get.

But for now, this is going to be a little rental machine to

build for baby Albie's future.

And what's to say there won't be more to come?

Auctions, of course.

I feel really happy with this project, actually.

It's gone very smoothly. No problems.

It's a lot more simple than some of the larger sites that we do,

so it's definitely something I'm going to be doing again.

And from experienced developer Brett to first-time renovator Richard,

who earlier in the show bought this two-bed semidetached

house in Chaddesden, Derby, for £78,000.

Richard was a postman who took voluntary redundancy

and then decided to take his first steps into property

development with this, his first purchase.

The house needed a wholesale refurbishment.

From the beat-up kitchen, a decrepit patio, to a shabby bathroom,

everything needed looking at.

And with a garden, that was all Richard could do at the moment.

It's difficult to quite see how big the garden is, isn't it?

It is really, yes.

There is a concrete path on the other garden that seems to go on forever.

Then if you look on the satellite, it sort of goes this bit here,

then trees, then something at the back of those.

How bizarre that you are having to look at the garden via satellite.

Yeah, yeah, cos I could only get, as I say, about 40 yards in.

And it gets rather difficult after that.

It was going to take more than some secateurs to deal with this jungle.

Richard certainly seemed to be up to the challenge to deal with this

and the renovation work needed here.

And he had a £12,000 to £15,000 budget.

And a three- to four-month timescale.

But it was just under ten months later that we returned to Chaddesden

to see if our former postie had delivered a first-class product.

Well, there is a new front door and new windows, so that's a good start.

And inside?

The cramped front room has had the chimney breast removed,

opening up the space and making it a far more comfortable room.

At the rear, well, this is looking so much better.

And upstairs, well, if that main bedroom does look bigger to you,

that's because the chimney breast has also been given the heave ho.

It's a great idea all-round, Richard.

This is the front bedroom, above the lounge room.

We removed the chimney breast here, which we were happy with.

We put new architraves in here, replastered the walls,

we painted it to a high standard.

New radiator. And a new bedroom door.

And a fully fitted carpet throughout.

The smaller bedroom has also gained some space with the boiler

cupboard being removed and resited in the kitchen.

And the rejigging has also taken place in the bathroom,

creating a more practical space.

Not only that, it looks modern and stylish too.

With the whole house replastered, recarpeted, with new electrics

and radiators added, it looks bright and airy.

And that includes the view from the kitchen,

where Richard has consigned the decrepit patio to the skip.

And now the true size of the garden can be revealed.

The garden goes down approximately between 88 and 90m.

Quite a long back garden. With a mini orchard, believe it or not.

And it now seems like Richard is starting to

think like a property developer, as he has some

plans for the area beyond the fence, where there lies an orchard.

I'm a bit undecided. I may hang onto it as a potential building plot.

But that depends on the bloke right at the bottom.

As long as his garden doesn't have access to the back of my property.

That's my plan at the moment.

So watch this space.

In fact, getting a good view of this garden proved to be

one of the biggest headaches during the renovation.

The biggest challenge on this property was sorting

the rear garden out.

And taking down the conservatory on the back of the house.

The worst job was taking the paint off the back.

It took a couple of months to do that job.

They were the worst jobs on this property.

The rest of it's been straightforward, really.

No hidden surprises.

It's been quite enjoyable.

Well, that's good news. Richard got builders in to fit the kitchen

and remove the chimney breast.

And tradesmen in for the plumbing and electrics.

Leaving him and his family to do the decorating.

He originally planned to do the job in three to four months,

but the final timescale for the works was six months.

Still, it looks have been a fairly straightforward renovation.

So hopefully Richard managed to stick to his budget

of £12,000 to £15,000.

It's come out at between 20 and 25 because of the hidden jobs,

the extras, the paint.

Tools to do the garden, things like that, really. It just pushed it up.

Add that upper spend of £25,000 to Richard's purchase

price of 78,000 and his total outlay is £103,000.

And with plans to put it up for sale, it's time to find out from two

local property experts what they think of Richard's first investment,

starting with auctioneer who originally sold the house.

I think there is very acceptable standard of accommodation that's

now on offer here.

Certainly, as far as the area goes, which is a residential locality,

it is appropriate and I think it will appeal.

I don't know how long it will take him to sell it,

but it will certainly sell.

I think the layout of the property, it works.

I believe that they've taken out a cupboard in the back bedroom

and also a chimney breast in the living room. The living room

is not very big, so it would have been quite small,

I guess, with the chimney breast in. The hallway is rather small.

I think the adjustments they've made have been worthwhile.

With Richard still planning to sell the house on, what sort of

resell value could he make, bearing in mind his spend of £103,000?

If this property went on the market now,

I would expect it to have an asking price in the region of £115,000.

And I would expect him to achieve close to that.

I would suggest an asking price of £124,950,

to accept anything over £120,000.

The house is under...for 119,500.

We've had a second valuation for 124,000.

I would consider putting it with the second estate agent.

But at the moment, I'm undecided what to do with the plot of land at the

back of the property, which I will decide once I've sold the property.

Well, if the house did sell for that upper evaluation of just

under 125,000, then Richard could expect to make a pre-tax

profit of around £22,000.

But should the rental option tempt Richard, then the agents reckon

there could be a rental income of between 500

and £525 per calendar month,

giving him a potential annual yield of around 6%.

Quite impressive rental figures. It's what I estimated myself.

I am happy with both sets of figures.

That rental income may not be enough to dissuade

Richard from selling the house.

But now he's got his first successful renovation under his

belt, I reckon it won't be long

till we see Richard getting his next project.

What's next? Again, view the properties that come up at auction

and just generally look round.

You'll probably see me again, I think. Definitely.

Well, that's all we've got time for today.

But there are many more properties being sold under the hammer.

Yes, so join us next time to follow the progress of some

of the country's new property developers.

-We will see you, then. ALL:

-Goodbye.