Episode 2 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to the show.

Now, if we added up all the properties we've featured

on Homes Under The Hammer over the years,

well, it must run into literally thousands.

It's a staggering amount.

Absolutely, Martin, and to help us with all the action,

we are joined by Dion Dublin.

-Dion!

-Hello! How are you?

-Good to see you.

-How lovely to meet you.

Now, I know that you're an ex-Premiership footballer

turned pundit, but that's not all the story, is it?

No, not at all.

Yes, 23 years as a professional footballer,

but property has been a passion for years.

I've bought, I've sold,

but I can't wait to get stuck into Homes Under The Hammer.

Well, if you have a passion for property,

you're in the right place and if you love a bargain, well,

an auction could be a great place to start.

Yes, but you need to do your homework before you

stick your hand in the air.

Let's see who did just that on today's programme.

I'm kicking off today's show in Crewe, where this property,

on first inspection, had a clean bill of health.

Well...

-HE SIGHS

-I spoke too soon.

Whereas in North London, I reckon I've found a place

that would scrub up nicely.

It's amazing what a good old clean can do.

As for me, I'm awash with ideas on how to give this house a fresh start.

Take this out, take the fireplace out,

make it symmetrical again.

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.

Well done, sir.

Of course, Crewe in Cheshire is synonymous with trains.

So much so that the nickname for the Crewe Alexandra football team

is the Railwaymen and trains aren't the only transport.

Bentley cars are built here.

So, home to prestigious motors

and hopefully some quality properties.

Well, £85,000 was the guide price.

"For what?" I hear you ask.

Well, three-bedroom semidetached.

It looks pretty nice from the outside. Let's take a look.

Good-looking street, good-looking house,

but then one problem.

# I've been locked out

# I've been locked in

# But I always seem to come back again... #

Anyone know a locksmith?

Well, rather than wait around, we can cut through

the spacious garage...

..and into the even more spacious back garden...

..and finally we can get inside.

Definitely one of the first things you'll have to do is...

-HE GRUNTS

-..sort out the doors and windows.

Just looking from the outside there, they are completely shot.

Through the door, though, into the kitchen,

probably needs to be replaced.

I do actually quite like this quarry tiled floor.

Erm, I wouldn't say I like the colour.

Maybe you could, before you rip that up, polish it, maybe?

Hmm...maybe not!

Quite an interesting design, but then I guess that's

because we're kind of coming in the property from the back,

so it all feels a bit strange

because through the kitchen there into this room here, which is just

a really nice open-plan living room, dining room, a really nice space.

Big bay window there, lots of light flooding in,

yeah, a great room and, actually,

it doesn't look like it needs too much work.

# If I woke up in the morning

# And the world was back to front

# There was sunshine in the evening

# And the moon came out for lunch... #

So, despite seeing this place back to front, I think once you're

inside, it looks like this could be a rather good home for someone.

So upstairs, and good news, at least the bathroom is upstairs.

Bad news is, as you can see, it's pretty tiny,

only space, really, for a shower.

So, for a family house like this, not ideal

and I'm looking around thinking, how can you rejig the lay out,

maybe to get a bigger bathroom? And I'm not quite sure yet.

You've got a small bedroom at the back there.

A slightly larger bedroom in the middle and then this landing,

which is quite pleasant.

Hopefully, this might provide the answer, possibly it does.

This is the front bedroom and, as you can see, it's a really

good size, so can you divide this, somehow, to allow for a bathroom?

Well, there's a window there.

That's good, so maybe we can take a bit of the space in here,

still keep this as a double,

but get that much-improved bathroom size, something to consider.

Erm, and that's about it, really.

Ahem.

Well...

-SIGHS

-I spoke too soon.

Look at that! What is going on there?

And I'm not saying that somebody has deliberately put this

piece of large furniture in front of something to try

and cover it up, but when you move it,

erm, what's behind the cupboard...

That is a really nasty crack.

Now let's look at the worst- and best-case scenarios here.

What is causing that?

Well, best-case scenario, it's just old plaster,

maybe it's dried out, maybe it's cracked over time, it's historical.

Worst-case scenario, that is indicating some serious structural

problems with the whole front wall of the house, in which case...

that's really bad.

# Hide the cracks

# Jump back

# Hide the cracks... #

How bad are the cracks around the room?

Let's just say, I'm not leaning on the walls in case

we end up with a Martin Roberts-shaped hole there.

I think this house needs rejigging, but it does have potential.

There's a loft, so maybe develop upwards.

There is a better solution to the bathroom issue outside.

No, not that!

I'm talking about the possibility of building an extension,

a two-storey one, and the garden would still be pretty sizeable.

But would it be worth it?

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

thinks of this semi.

It's quite a busy road as regards to how many cars are parked on here

so a big selling point is the off-road parking and the garage.

Also the garden, it's a really nice size and it is quite private, too.

The property does need a lot of work doing to

so I can see an investor buying this property, maybe a cash buyer.

I would say you need to rewire,

certainly a new central-heating system,

decoration throughout and that shower room needs to be made bigger.

I think a bit of a reduction in the size of that small bedroom

wouldn't make a massive difference.

It certainly wouldn't make a difference to the price.

The agent wouldn't recommend the loft extension

unless the property was going to be kept as a home for a while.

So what would the potential profit of this house,

guided at £85,000, be if it was just renovated and sold on?

Once refurbished and the bathroom made a bit bigger,

you'd be looking in the region of £120,000 for sale

and for rental purposes, we'd be looking around 550 to £570

per calendar month.

Well, a bit of work to be done just to get it up to standard, but,

intrinsically, it's a good house and a great one to go for.

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

Traditional semidetached house, large lounge diner,

three bedrooms, garage and rear garden, does require modernising.

70, can I say, to start.

70 bid, lady's bid, seated, at £70,000.

72, can I say now?

72.

74? 74.

76? 76.

78? 78.

80?

No? At £78,000, lady's bid, seated,

at £78,000.

I'll take one off you, sir.

No? At £78,000.

One, anywhere, up?

One? 79.

80.

Another one?

If not, £80,000 for the first time.

Half?

80.5.

81? 81.

Another half? Sure?

81, then, with the lady, seated.

£81,000 once.

£81,000 twice.

Third and last time at £81,000...

It's yours. Well done.

So, for £81,000 - £4,000 under the guide price - the successful bidders

for the three-bed semi in Crewe were Anne and her husband John.

I met up with John to find out their plans.

-John, good to meet you.

-And you, Martin.

-Congratulations.

-Thanks very much.

-Well done. Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

-I just sold a property and I should have done this years ago.

-Right.

So I decided it's not too late, have a go.

And why didn't you?

Erm, I was tied up with what I was doing for 20 years.

I had a fishery.

-A fishery?

-Yeah.

So just the land and I built it up, the big house, the lakes,

-that kind of thing.

-Wow.

-Yeah.

-What kind of fish?

-Coarse fish.

-OK.

You mean people came and...?

-On a day ticket, water.

-Right.

-What, roach and carp and all that kind of stuff?

-Everything, yeah.

And were you a fisherman yourself?

-No.

-Oh, right.

LAUGHTER

No, I did it for my son, years ago.

He was a good fisherman.

So you built him a lake that he could fish in himself?

Well, he ran it.

I worked.

And did you charge per fish that people catch?

No, no, just per day, you've to fish

and then they put the fish back at the end of the day, yeah.

And they feed them as well. LAUGHTER

-That's a good business model, really, isn't it?

-Of course it is!

So that kept you from doing this sooner. Why now, then?

Just cos you've got a bit more time and money released?

Erm, yeah, I was a building control officer.

Remind me exactly what that entails.

Building inspector with the local authority.

Great, now you are definitely in the know, then.

Erm, I know a bit, yeah, let's put it that way.

-You said, "I know what not to do," don't you?

-Correct, yeah.

# You will have a fishy on a little dishy

# You will have a fishy when the boat comes in... #

No fish jokes, I promise.

John has managerial and building know-how, so this shouldn't be

an upstream struggle to turn this place into a real catch.

Oh, sorry, I lied!

So what are you going to do to it?

Putting on a lick of paint, I don't think is going to work, somehow.

So it's the complete works, isn't it?

Erm, new windows right through, new kitchen, new bathroom,

extend the bathroom into the little bedroom,

it's the only way to do it as far as I can see, pinch a foot.

Electrics want doing, a bit shot-at, as you might say,

and hopefully, yeah, we'll get there.

What about the front wall? Because it did worry me a bit.

There's some cracks in the bedroom upstairs at the front.

-That's only historic on plaster, I think.

-Yeah.

There's nothing structural showing outside whatsoever.

And you should know that, really.

Yes, I've seen quite a few over the years!

-LAUGHTER

-So that's good news.

-Yeah.

John's expertise is not just confined to diagnosing cracks.

He used to be a joiner,

so those carpentry skills are going to be used here, too.

He's hoping to pull this job together for £15,000

and in three months.

With all John's experience, I think

he's getting the bug for property development.

Now you've started, then, you've started the ball rolling, have you?

-Yeah.

-How many?

I don't know. I'll see how it goes.

Is the plan to do it up and sell it on or...?

Do it up, sell, move onto the next one,

but have the next one ready to go at, rather than be waiting.

-Well, listen, congratulations.

-Thanks very much.

-Good luck with it.

-Thanks very much, Martin.

-Look forward to seeing how you get on.

-No doubt we will!

Well, I think John has done really well with this property,

especially getting it for that price

and it's good to know there was nothing "fishy"

about that front wall!

Is he perch-ed on the edge of a financial success?

HE GROANS

You can find out later in the show.

Enough of that, thanks, Martin.

Right, moving swiftly on.

I'm off to Childs Hill in North West London,

where I don't think there's a fish or a fisherman in sight.

Despite being just a stone's throw from the swanky

area of Hampstead, currently,

property prices are nowhere near its more affluent neighbour.

So if you want to experience upmarket London living,

but without the hefty price tag,

well, I sense there may be an investment opportunity here.

Now, I am not one to dwell on the negatives

so I'm just going to get them all out of the way now.

This is a fairly busy road so it is not the quietest place to live

and the nearest tube station is a 20-minute walk away.

Now, that might not sound far to anybody living outside London,

but for commuters in the capital,

well, they do like to be closer than that.

But, on the plus side, the two-bed flat I'm here to see

had a guide price of £285,000,

which sounds pretty reasonable for this area.

Well, if a busy road and walk to the station are the downs,

then the guide price is definitely an up, as is the position

of this flat on the top floor of this rather pleasant brick building.

So onwards and upwards.

Well, it's all about the stairs in this property

because there are an awful lot of them to climb.

But look at this lovely, lovely banister and character as well.

So I've got a good feeling straightaway. It's spacious,

you've got a nice, big bedroom at the back,

a few little steps up here, but I like the feel of this hallway.

You've got some light coming through up there, which is

a bonus, another good-sized bedroom and the lounge through here.

Now, the window is so disproportionate

for the size of the room.

That really doesn't work at all and through here, well,

a very small kitchen, so perhaps take this partition down

and, if you intend to rent it out, well, you don't

actually need to do too much to bring it up to standard.

Yes, you might want to update those appliances and, erm, well, perhaps

install a combi boiler because that will give you more space.

But I think the units are OK, as is the flooring.

I think if you work with what's here,

you could save yourself thousands of pounds

and it's also amazing what a good old clean can do!

# Birds singing a song

# Old paint is peeling

# This is their fresh Their fresh feeling... #

You could go mad and make this a top-notch London pad

with all the high-end finishes if you really wanted to.

Certainly, the flat would benefit from being opened up with

the kitchen and living room being one fab, open living space.

Overall, though, I think it really just needs to be freshened up

and given a lift.

But, and I'm afraid there is a but...

..unfortunately, I do have another negative to tell you about.

Now, it only has 70 years left on its lease.

Now, that might not sound too short, but it will still reduce the resale

value and it will limit the mortgage lenders who will provide the money.

The lease really does need to be extended,

which will mean factoring thousands of pounds extra into your budget.

And I do mean thousands.

Renewing the lease could cost in excess of 20 grand,

which is likely to be considerably more than the refurbishment budget,

so it's a big chunk on top.

But extending the lease will add value,

so, overall, I think it would be worth doing.

# Give me just a little more time

# And our love will surely grow... #

The good news is that a thing called a Section 42 notice

has already been served to the freeholder.

This means the lease can be extended straightaway rather than

having to wait for the standard two years.

That is, of course, once you've stumped up the agreed amount

to get the longer lease.

# Give me just a little more time

# And our love will surely grow... #

But what does a local estate agent make of this two-bedroom,

top-floor flat?

I'm very impressed. It's in reasonably good condition.

It is in need of refurbishment and redecoration.

Obviously it's on quite a busy road. You're very close to the A41.

Parking, you have to have a resident's permit.

There's local schools, which, at school times,

obviously there's a lot of parking issues and traffic.

Well, I do agree.

The busy road isn't for everyone, but maybe the top floor position

means that traffic isn't such an issue when you're indoors.

But what about the big negative here, that relatively short lease?

The implications of the property having a short lease

are it limits the opportunity for people to purchase the property.

It's very difficult for buyers to get a mortgage.

If I was the owner of the property, I would definitely look at extending

the lease as it opens many more doors for potential purchasers.

The flat was guided at 285,000,

so could it work as an investment on the resale market?

Once renovated, this property, with a short lease,

should sell somewhere in the region of £350,000.

If the owner was to extend the lease

and sell the property once it was renovated,

it should achieve somewhere in the region of 440 to £450,000.

Wow.

So extending the lease could add £100,000 to its value,

so it certainly looks like it would be worth doing.

And what about its rental potential?

Once renovated, on the rentals market, this property should

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

Yes, there are a few issues with this flat, but, still,

there are plenty of positives here, too.

It doesn't need to much work, there is money to be made and,

if you do extend the lease, then the value will only go up.

Let's see who felt it was one to go for when we went to auction.

Lot 109 is a leasehold, self-contained, second-floor flat.

We have two bedrooms here.

260, anywhere? 260?

Thank you, there on my left, 260 on bid, here.

260 here.

265, thank you. 270?

270. 75?

75. 80?

80. 85?

85? 285. 90?

290 at the back. 295?

295. 300?

I'll take 2.5.

97.5. 300?

300 and 2.5?

2.5. And five?

No.

First time at 302.5.

Second time at 302.5.

Third and last time at £302,500.

Standing at the back. Have we all done?

One more? No?

And, hidden from our camera's view,

the successful bid of £302,500 for the two-bed,

top-floor flat in Childs Hill, North West London,

was made by Adrian on behalf of his daughter Dominique.

Dominique is a director of a property company in nearby Hampstead.

She joined me back at the flat to tell me more.

-Dominique, congratulations.

-Thank you.

You weren't at the auction, were you? It wasn't you bidding for this?

It wasn't, no. I had my dad bidding for me, basically.

I've been looking for quite a while, made offers on other properties,

and I thought this was the one I really wanted.

-So, how involved was he with this? Obviously he bid for it.

-Yes.

Did he view it or did you come and view it?

Do you know what, we didn't actually view it beforehand.

I kind of know the area so well because I work in Hampstead,

and it's where I'm based and I know the surrounding areas.

I saw a floor plan beforehand but now I actually see it, and

I see the layout and how big it is, I'm really happy with the purchase.

Dominique has been lucky with this flat.

Not viewing it is a risky strategy,

but she does have local knowledge and she read the legal pack.

After all, this young entrepreneur works in property.

Dominique, tell me more about your property company.

Yeah, definitely. Basically, I set up the company two years ago.

We specialise in rental, sales, property and management,

investments, developments.

Me, personally, I specialise in the rental sector of the market.

I've been doing property for a long time,

for about seven years now, maybe eight years, actually.

So, where does it stem from? Is it your parents?

My dad's in property, he's got a property company himself.

When I was younger, I was always in property

and I always got a feel for what the market was going like,

and then slowly, slowly over the years I've got an idea

and I've always known that I wanted to follow in his footsteps,

and have my own portfolio.

# Walking in your footsteps

# Walking in your footsteps... #

Ah, the voice of experience and Dominique is just 27. Amazing.

She might have got Dad on board to do the bidding,

but this project is very much hers.

What do you think you could do to improve it?

Obviously, it's mainly cosmetic work that we're looking at doing to the flat.

I don't really want to put a lot of money into it.

So, probably, obviously re-carpet throughout,

re-paint, and we're going to do the communal areas, as well,

because they're a little bit ropey, not so great.

-Make that look a bit more presentable.

-Good idea.

First impressions are always something that count to me.

What is your budget?

Erm, I mean, I would probably say, budget-wise,

I'd like to spend nothing if I could! But I have to spend something.

I'd probably say £5,000-£7,000, that sort of figure.

That is relatively low.

Yeah. That's what we're probably looking at spending.

Now, one downer is the lease.

It's not everybody's cup of tea to buy a property

with a rather short lease.

Yes, we are going to be extending the lease.

It is something we're going to be doing, yes, definitely.

Have you made any enquiries as to how much it's going to cost you?

Yes, we have made enquiries.

We know the sort of figure it is going to cost.

We took everything into consideration when buying the property.

How much, roughly, do you think it is going to be?

I'm not sure, I don't want to say a figure at this stage.

Is the cost of a lease on top of your budget of £5,000-£7,000?

Yes, it is.

'Along with her £7,000 refurbishment budget, she is hoping her builders

'can get this ready for the letting market in five to six weeks.'

Dominique, you're a director of a property company,

your own property portfolio, you are incredibly young.

How have you got to where you are now?

When you are passionate about something

and you love something, it becomes natural.

My enthusiasm to it is just natural, it is like love.

My work is like my baby, basically.

It's something I am nurturing because it is a new business

and I've always had the passion from a young age

and I think over the years it's just grown with experience.

Have you got your dad's experience to fall back on if you need it?

Of course, it's always great to have wise people at hand.

But, you know, definitely, I will always call him

and be like, "Do you think this is right? What do you think on this?"

I think it is only normal.

Dominique, I can't wait to see how much or how little you do

-when we return. Well done.

-Thank you.

So, Dominique might love property, but it's all about the figures

and getting the best possible return.

Join me later in the programme when you can find out how far

she does decide to take this renovation.

Coming up - this property in Greater Manchester is a sight for sore eyes.

I like it, but I like that view even more.

Back in North London, has Dominique decided to go for broke?

Once you start one thing, before you know it you do get carried away.

But first, it's back to the Cheshire town of Crewe.

It was here where we saw a three-bed semidetached house

which certainly looked promising from the outside.

With off-street parking, a garage, a good-sized rear garden

and inside, well, that was slightly harder to assess.

# Let me in

# Open up

# Why won't you open up that door... #

Well, when I did finally get in, what I found was a decent house

let down only by its general decorative order.

A disappointingly small shower room

and some slightly worrying cracks.

But none of this was of great concern to former joiner

and building inspector John, who had waited a long time for this,

his first property development project.

-I should have done this years ago.

-Right.

-So, I decided it's not too late, have a go.

-Why didn't you?

Erm, I was tied up with what I was doing for 20 years. I had a fishery.

-A fishery?

-Yes. So, just the land and I built it up.

-The big house, the lakes, that kind of thing.

-Wow.

-Were you a fisherman yourself?

-No.

No, I did it for my son years ago. He was a good fisherman...

-You built him a lake that he could fish in himself?

-Well, he ran it.

-OK.

-I worked.

And having paid £81,000 for the house at auction,

he finally had swapped working at a fishery

to pursue his long-held dream of property developing.

# Let's go fishing for a dream

# Let's find someplace new... #

And with a £15,000 budget,

he was hoping to get it ready to sell on in three months' time.

And now, five months on, we're back to catch up on John's progress.

And the outside now is looking much smarter

with its new UPVC double-glazed windows and door.

And there's no problem opening this one!

And inside...

..well, it's looking fantastic.

It's finished off to a high standard with furnishings

and a fully fitted kitchen.

In fact, it looks completely ready for someone to move into,

so what's going on?

My son is going to live in it himself.

So, within a very short period, he will be moving in.

Ah! So a slight change of plan with John's son, Glenn,

so impressed with the house, he wanted it for him and his family.

So, like downstairs, upstairs is furnished

and finished to a high standard.

And there's not a crack in sight.

And the bathroom has been modified to be more suitable for family living.

It needed extending badly and there's no bath in it,

and if it's a family home you need a bath for kiddies.

And, yeah, it's a modern, up-to-date bathroom. I'm really pleased.

So, really impressive.

And outside's not bad, either.

Stoned the back because my son is definitely not a gardener.

It looks, well, it looks fine.

Well, that is the epitome of low-maintenance space.

And with no need to have storage for a mower,

the outside loo has been given a new lease of life.

The outside toilet...

Been there many years and we decided rather than just keep it

as a storeroom, then we would keep it as a outside toilet.

I'm not saying it's a bit of a feature,

but why get rid of a toilet when you've got one?

That's how it's worked.

Fresh and clean, crisp and modern.

This three-bed semi has certainly scrubbed up well

after a lot of hard work, I guess.

I put all the doors on, put the kitchen in.

Trades, plasterer, plumber, electrician.

That's not my scope, so, yeah,

get the trades in to do all the work and it's turned out fine.

John has done a great job

and he had to adapt his original plans for the house,

putting in a higher-spec kitchen, bathroom and tiling,

as it's going to be son Glenn's new home,

which not only affected his timescale,

it also had to affect his budget.

I think they said the budget was 15,000.

I think we spent 25, maybe 26 on doing the property.

Well, John's son would be proud of Dad and, for a total of £107,000,

I think he has a fantastic place for him and his family to live in.

But what do two local estate agents make of this comprehensive refurbishment?

First, the agent who saw it last time.

I think the owner has done a really nice job on this property.

He's finished it with quite modern, quite contemporary fittings.

Nice brushed stainless steel light switches,

nice modern kitchen and a really nice bathroom.

I think the property is superb.

It's really finished well.

The fact that it has a good-sized garden and a garage

really aids the sale.

Also, three really good bedrooms.

Yes, not surprisingly, the agents are impressed, but will that be

reflected in their valuations of the house that John and his son

have invested £107,000 into?

On the open market, the property would sell in the region

of £120,000-£125,000.

For sale, I would put the property on the market at

£125,000-£130,000.

That's better than I thought it would be. Didn't expect it to be that much.

Well, there might be no immediate plans now to sell it on,

but, as an investment, it is looking pretty rosy

with a possible pre-tax profit of between £13,000 and £23,000.

The agents also thought rental values of between

£600-£650 per calendar month would be possible, which would generate

a yield above 6%.

So, a successful project all round, I would say.

What's up next for John?

The next property will be for my wife and myself.

The third property will be, hopefully,

the one where we buy and do it up and sell it.

I like doing property up

and I will carry on for as long as I possibly can.

# And I can't stop now... #

So, it seems that John has caught the property-developing bug

hook, line and sinker.

# And I can't slow down

# For no-one in town

# And I can't stop now for no-one... #

I've got to keep going, too, because there's another property to see.

Just outside Oldham in the foothills of the Pennines

lies the town of Shaw and Crompton.

During the Industrial Revolution, the town was home to 48 cotton mills

and, though all the mills have now closed,

the town's industrial heritage

is reflected in the classic brick terraces

once used to house workers.

The houses in the area remain popular,

not only for the shops and local amenities,

but also for the convenient transport links to Manchester and nearby towns.

The property I'm here to see today is one of those

red-bricked terraced houses.

It is in the middle of a street, it's two bed

and it has a guide price of £50,000-£60,000.

One of the things I've noticed straight away is that view.

Amazing.

Now that is a sturdy door. It's a very, very good start.

A little porch area here.

It's always nice to have a second door, as well,

which will cut out all the draught. That is a nice start.

Nice high ceilings, which I always like.

Big window, retro fireplace over here which is lovely

if you like a retro fireplace and it's your kind of thing.

For me, I would take it out.

A bit more space for your sofas, chairs,

whatever you want to put in here. But this is a nice room to start.

I would be inclined to put some carpet down.

I do like a soft underfoot downstairs.

Through into the kitchen.

First thing I can see is it's got a polystyrene ceiling,

that will have to go. It is a huge fire hazard.

The kitchen looks OK, it is in good condition.

If you're looking to rent, maybe tidy it up a little bit

and that would be fine.

The fireplace in the kitchen, which I haven't seen for some time,

I would be inclined to take this out.

Take the fireplace out and make it symmetrical,

a nice right angle there.

And maybe bring the kitchen surface space all the way to this corner here

or even have table and chairs.

Apart from that, it is a good start.

# Let me stand next to your fire

# Hey, let me stand next to your fire... #

Hmm. What I've seen downstairs so far has got me quite fired up.

Let's hope the rest is just as promising.

Up the stairs and then up the stairs again

to a strangely situated bathroom.

It has a bath behind the door, a sink and, as you can see, the toilet.

Somebody has tried to be very creative here

and get an inside bathroom any way they can.

Back in the old day, it would've been a tin bath

and maybe an outside toilet.

At least you've got something on the inside there.

Through into the front bedroom, this is a huge front bedroom.

High ceilings again, lots of floor space.

It looks like it's been prepped already just to be decorated.

But what I have noticed, there doesn't seem to be

any central heating anywhere in this house.

Hence, you have a fireplace. This is a cast-iron fireplace.

For me, I would probably strip it back -

this could be a nice retro feature which would set off this bedroom.

This is big, really big. I like it but I like that view even more.

I might sound like I'm being indecisive about fireplaces, but

I think the two downstairs should go because they are compromising space.

But this one in the bedroom is a real feature.

Either way, getting central heating is a must.

One thing that would definitely have to go

is that huge tank that is currently in the second bedroom.

A combi boiler would create much-needed space here.

Talking of space...

Out into a very small back yard.

This building here would have been the outside toilet.

It is small, it is a bit of a blank canvas.

You can get creative with a small garden like this.

You could put a bit of decking down.

If you wanted to level it out, you could do that,

but there are costs incurred. It's small, but it could be pretty.

This house is typical of the area.

The issues it presents for any would-be developer are pretty typical, too.

It really just needs modernising,

and I can't see any horrendous issues.

What do I think?

I reckon it seems a pretty solid house for the guide price of £50,000-£60,000.

To find out how it might fare in the local property market,

we asked along a local estate agent.

It's lost in time, really. It now needs a revamp.

It is double glazed, but that's about all.

It's probably not been touched properly for about 30 years, really.

It's a great area, it's a popular area.

It's an area where there is good demand from both first-time buyers

and people looking for property for buy-to-lets.

OK, that's good to hear.

That demand for properties in the area means that this could be

a pretty safe bet.

What does he think the property might be worth on the open market

once renovated?

Once renovated, I'd expected it to achieve between £85,000-£90,000.

What kind of rental figure might be achieved?

Once it's been renovated, you'd achieve £475 per calendar month.

On first impressions, this property didn't look like it needed

much done to it, but there are two things I would have to change.

The bathroom could be an expense, and some central heating most definitely.

But the views are amazing.

Let's see who wanted to invest in those views and this property

when it went auction.

Lot number three.

50 to 60 is the guide.

Requires a lick of paint, this.

Start me at £50,000.

At 50 here. At 50, I'm bid. Now in ones.

50, I'm bid. 51 anywhere?

At 50,000. 51 on the aisle.

52, 53, 54, 55.

56, 57. 57, I'm bid.

58, 59, 60.

A new bidder, 61.

62, 63, 64, 65.

66, 67...

At 67, I'm bid. 8?

Here at 67.

First time.

67, the second time. With you, against you and against you.

Third and final time, if you're all done now.

At £67,000. Are we done?

Well done, sir. Can I have your paddle number, please?

534, congratulations.

That successful bid came from John.

John was at the auction with partner Zoe.

The couple have two children

and wanted to buy the house as an investment for the future.

I caught up with them to find out more.

-Zoe, nice to meet you. And John...

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-..congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Tell us about the auction experience.

-How was it?

-It was good.

Nerve-racking. It was a bit fearful. It was your first time

-at an auction, wasn't it?

-Yep. My first one, so...

-And how did you find it? Weird or...?

-Yeah. My heart was pounding.

HE LAUGHS Why was it pounding? Tell us why.

Erm...

Before he started to bid, I was nudging going, "Bid, bid, bid!"

Yeah. I decided to leave it to the last minute.

That was my strategy for the auction.

-So you waited for the...?

-Yeah. Just for the very end of it.

Then Zoe was getting nervous that we'd miss out on it.

Obviously, the person before us thought they were going to

-get a steal or a bargain, but they didn't.

-They didn't.

-No, that's the thing.

-And you snuck in?

-Yeah, yeah.

It was actually against a bloke we know. The kitchen fitter.

-Was it?

-He was going to do the kitchen.

-The kitchen fitter we use.

-That's brilliant!

-Yeah.

So there might be some bad news, really. Bad words between us.

And had you seen the property before? Did you know the area?

-Yeah, we live in the next town over.

-OK.

-Then we came and viewed it

-and we were quite happy with the place.

-Good, good.

-And what are your plans?

-Definitely a bathroom.

-Yes.

Maybe add to the kitchen, change the kitchen.

-The windows are OK, so just decorate throughout.

-OK.

And central heating?

Yeah, all of it's going in next week. That's the plan.

You're not messing about, are you?

-You're going straight for it.

-No, you can't.

It's going to hold all the other traders up,

if we don't get it in soon.

We'll have the electrics and the plumbers here at the same time.

If it sounds like John knows what he's doing, it's because he does.

He's been involved in the property game since he left university

and has renovated and sold properties on,

as well as being a landlord.

He's got plenty of skills, and so has Zoe.

-What's your part in this, Zoe? Tell us what you're...

-Organising.

Ah!

-Are you organising more than one person, or the whole lot?

-Yeah!

-The list-maker.

-Yeah, we've got someone to do tiling and lights

and people that help out, but the majority of the work

-will be John and me just pulling things together.

-OK.

And is it something you want to continue to do?

Do you want a big portfolio of houses or...?

-What's your plans?

-Yeah, it would be nice. But it depends on the market.

We've already done one property this year.

We're going to aim to do one a year, I think.

The two of them have more than enough expertise in business

and property to make a success of this plan.

Zoe, who's currently expecting baby number three,

leases office space for a living,

while John is starting up his third printing company,

while doing some freelance work, as well.

So these two are going to be very, very busy.

I'm hoping, however, they have on their very full to-do list

a plan to get rid of one of my pet hates.

You've got the polystyrene ceilings.

-What are your plans for those? Obviously, they got to go.

-Yeah.

They've got to come down. They're a fire hazard.

We'll take them down and assess the ceiling.

-It will probably need replastering.

-OK.

Take them down, put some new light fittings in.

And the bathroom, as well. You said you want to change it.

-It's quite an unusual bathroom, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-You go up the stairs and up two more stairs.

-Yep.

-And it's on a level

on its own, so what are your plans for that?

-Just ripping it out. Refit, really.

-Yeah.

For the area, it's quite a standard bathroom.

Most of the terraced houses in this area

-have got bathrooms like that.

-Oh, right.

-Originally, you would have been in the back yard.

-That's right.

They had to put them where they could. But we've done one before,

with the exact same layout, so we'll probably just replicate that.

And in the kitchen, as well, there's a fireplace in the kitchen,

-which is quite rare. I've not seen that for many years.

-Mm.

-No.

It takes a little bit of space in the corner.

What are your intentions with that, John?

Well, we're going to weigh up the cost, in terms of ripping it out.

-OK.

-Because we can build the kitchen round it,

which we've done in the past,

-so it's just purely down to cost now.

-OK.

-And also time.

How long do you expect the work to take? Or want it to take?

Well, realistically, we want to do it in about seven.

But it's going to be more like three months,

because we got other commitments at the minute.

And tell us about your budget, as well.

What's your budget for this, hopefully?

Realistically, about 7,000. OK.

But we've got a contingency up to 11,000.

So we should be able to get it done within those brackets.

OK. And when it's done, are you looking to sell

or to rent or...?

Well, the rental market around here is quite strong,

so we're going to keep that as an option,

but we're going to see what the market's like when we finish.

John and Zoe, good luck.

I hope it turns out how you want it to and good luck with the new baby.

-Thank you.

-Pleasure.

-Thank you very much.

-Pleasure.

Zoe and John, what a lovely couple.

Very level-headed and they've done it before.

Will they take that chimney breast out?

How's that bathroom going to look? Will they rent or will they sell?

You'll find out later on in the programme.

Well, we've seen how one of today's properties got on.

-What about the other two? Martin?

-Can't wait.

It was in the Childs Hill area of north-west London

where we first saw a two-bedroom top floor flat,

situated in a pleasant, brick faced building.

This flat was...well, it was all right.

With no major structural issues, it just needed a bit of zhooshing up,

with both kitchen and bathroom

not really up to the expectations of the demanding London market,

but, you know, that was relatively easily sorted.

But, oh! If only things were that simple.

Unfortunately, I do have a negative to tell you about.

Now, it only has 70 years left on its lease.

Now, that might not sound too short,

but it will still reduce the resale value

and it will limit the mortgage lenders, who will provide the money.

Not an ideal situation with the lease,

but nothing a bit of money couldn't sort out.

And, for Dominique, well, this was just another property.

Part of her growing portfolio and a sideline to her property sales

and rental business, which she runs in nearby Hampstead.

And this was a girl who was passionate about properties.

So where does it stem from? Is it your parents?

Yeah, my dad's in property. He's got a property company himself.

So, when I was younger, I was always in property and I always got a feel

for what the market was like. And then slowly, over the years,

I've got an idea and I've always known that I wanted to follow

in his footsteps and have my own portfolio.

Yes, it seemed Dominique lived and breathed property.

And, having paid £302,500 for it at auction,

her plan was to spend just £5,000 to £7,000

on the cosmetic refurbishment

and have it ready for her company let out in six weeks.

And now, just eight weeks later,

we're back to check on how she and her building team have progressed.

Ah! That's a surprise. I didn't see that coming.

I thought this was going to be...well, just a refurbishment.

So we changed the layout on this room

by removing the door that was here. There was a door here.

We closed it off and we changed the other section of the wall.

Really happy with the changes.

Wasn't going to do them, glad I did them

and I really feel it has the wow factor.

Yes, it certainly does help.

Not only does it give the kitchen a more spacious feel,

but it lifts the living room, too.

So are there any more surprises elsewhere?

Well, no.

Not in terms of layout, but certainly in terms of spec,

with a much higher-specification bathroom installed.

And the bedrooms are also finished off nicely.

So why has she opted for the higher-quality finish?

It's very easy to get carried away.

You know, you start making one change

and then you want to make another change.

You go from just wanting to change part of the kitchen,

like the worktop surfaces, to wanting to change it all.

It's like when you paint half of a flat,

the other half looks not so great, so once you start one thing,

before you know it, you've got this and that and then...

Yeah, you do get carried away.

I, for one, am glad she got she got carried away, because this flat

warranted a reasonable amount of money spent on it.

And it's not just inside the flat that she's worked on.

She's also in the process of giving the communal areas

a bit of a lift, too.

All of which surely must have blown her £5,000 to £7,000 budget?

We have spent more than what we originally thought.

Obviously, I originally said 5,000 to 7,000.

It has increased to probably about 15,000 now.

Yeah, so I think that's more than enough.

But it wasn't just cosmetic changes where she needed to splash the cash.

There was that troublesome short lease, which not only affects

the value of the flat, but also its mortgageability.

We've managed to extend the lease now. We've added 90 years to it.

We're still sort of discussing the final figure,

but it's not far off from around the 20,000 mark.

Well, 90 years more on the lease certainly will boost

the flat's appeal, but another 20,000 spend,

on top of her £15,000 refurbishment costs

and a purchase price of £302,500,

takes her total spend to £337,500.

I hope it's worth it, but what did two local estate agents think?

After having a look around the property, the changes are fantastic.

The quality of the refurbishment are excellent.

I like the way they've opened the kitchen out.

Slightly better than it was before.

It gives a nice, modern, clean living space.

The flat works really well. The designs and finishes

are to a very high standard. The communal areas are very important.

It's the first impression people get when they come to view it.

So if it's done to a nice standard,

it will only help to rent or sell the property.

With Dominique's business having its own rental arm,

this was always meant as a rental property.

But with her £337,500 outlay,

has she got herself a good investment?

In the current market, today, it should achieve,

on the sales market, somewhere in the region of £410,000.

If I was to put the property on the market,

I'd be looking to achieve around £400,000.

I know that there was another property next door

that was actually sold for 455,000.

So I'm probably looking around the 440 mark upwards.

That sounds like a realistic figure to me.

Mm. Well, even if she got just the values the agents quoted,

she could see a potential pre-tax profit of £62,500 to £72,500.

That's not bad.

But what about those all-important rental values?

This property, on the current rental market,

should achieve somewhere in the region of £1,600 per calendar month.

If this property is for rental, I would look to achieve

around £1,600 per calendar month.

We currently have it on the market at the moment, with my own company

and we're marketing it at just over 1,700 a month.

Well, I'm sure she'll probably get that £1,700 per calendar month.

She does know her local market, after all.

But even the lower £1,600 per calendar month

would generate a rental yield of around 5.5%,

so I guess it's just another successful project for Dominique.

What words of advice would she give

to anybody trying to pursue a career in the property industry?

Focus on what you want, the challenge.

And what everyone else says,

ignore it, in the sense that if you feel it's right,

then go with it, cos your gut instinct is always right

and it won't let you down. That's what I've found, anyway.

Welcome back to Shaw and Crompton,

where I was looking at a two-bed terrace

with a guide price of £50,000 to £60,000.

It was a good size, but I felt it needed central heating

and a good modernisation.

Still, one thing I didn't have to look too hard for were nice views.

Just look at that scenery.

The house was bought for £67,000 by John and Zoe.

They plan to use it as an investment,

though, at auction, Zoe didn't think they'd get it at all.

My heart was pounding, so...

Why was it pounding? Tell us why.

Before he started to bid, I was nudging going, "Bid, bid, bid!"

Yeah, I decided to leave it till the last minute.

That was my strategy for the auction.

-So you waited for the...?

-Yeah, just for the very end of it, really.

Then Zoe was getting nervous that we'd miss out on it.

Well, their auction tactics worked

and John and Zoe gave themselves three months and £7,000

to get the inside of this terrace as picturesque as the outside.

They could afford to run over on budget, but not on schedule,

as Zoe was pregnant with the couple's third child.

A little over two months later and we've returned.

So they've stuck to that timescale, assuming the house

is finished, of course.

I think it's safe to say yes.

John and Zoe have completely modernised the old, tired terrace

and I particularly like that new kitchen.

So in here, we took down the chimney, it was in the corner.

It made the kitchen more square.

And then we re-plastered everywhere.

Put in some new lighting.

We then tiled it with these and Zoe's picked a really nice kitchen

and really nice worktops that go with the tiles.

And hiding in one of those lovely new kitchen cupboards

is a lovely, new combi boiler,

providing that much-needed central heating.

It also meant that they were able to get rid of that huge cylinder

in the second bedroom, creating more space.

And what about that master bedroom?

There was a cupboard that was built into one of the recess corners

in the main bedroom, so that was one of the first things

-that John ripped out.

-Yeah.

We decided to make a feature of the fireplace.

We were going to leave it originally, anyway.

But I saw the metallic-coloured paint

and I thought maybe that would be nice,

matching to the paint colour.

It looks modern and cosy, but I think the biggest transformation

upstairs has happened in the bathroom.

John's completely overhauled it, with new suite, new plumbing,

new tiles, a fresh coat of paint

and what a difference it's made.

John's been in nearly every day doing almost all the work himself.

But with two kids and a third on the way,

this can't have been easy on either of them.

It's been difficult, but you took quite a lot of the slack

-at home, haven't you?

-Yeah.

-Which means that I've been able to work

much later than I normally would do.

When the kids have gone to bed at night-time,

we've had a bit of a debrief some nights on, what can I take off you

to make the job a little bit easier?

On a day that I'm not in work, I've nipped out,

picked out samples of wallpaper, paint...

Yeah, things like all the paperwork.

So the admin aspect, as well, really.

-The organisation.

-The organisation is a better way of putting it.

What a team.

And I know about teamwork.

Never underestimate how much hard work these developments are.

Whether that's knocking down the chimney breast or having to

manage a job and development and a family all at once.

Hopefully, though, their hard work will have saved them some money.

How's that budget gone?

The original budget was 7,000 that we'd planned for.

We had a contingency up to about 11,000.

Up to about 11,000 contingency.

It came in at 7,900.

And then £1,500 on fees.

So we're well within that, altogether.

That's a spend of £9,400 for the development

on top of the £67,000 they paid at auction.

I'm impressed.

But will it impress some local property experts?

We've asked along two to get their opinion.

First, the agent who saw it last time.

It's much better than I last saw it.

It was quite dark and tired and old-fashioned.

They've really brightened it up.

Taken out some of the items that needed removing,

like the water tank upstairs and the fireplace in the kitchen,

so, yeah, it's a much better property, altogether.

It looks really, really nice.

It's been done up to a really good standard.

The kitchen, nice and modern,

and also the colour scheme's quite appealing,

it's not too drab.

John and Zoe have spent a total of about £76,000.

But when we last spoke,

they weren't sure if they'd sell or rent the house.

Let's get some valuations to help them make their mind up.

I think you'd expect to achieve probably in the low 90,000...

Somewhere between £90,000 and £95,000.

In the current market,

the vendor would be able to achieve £94,000 to £99,000.

If you were putting this on the market for rental,

you'd set an asking rental of £475 per calendar month.

The landlord would be able to achieve rental valuation

of £525 per calendar month.

We were thinking about renting for the short term

and then maybe selling in about six months.

Those resale valuations could mean a potential pre-tax profit

of between 13,600 and 22,600,

if they decide to sell on.

And the rental yield, even with that lower estimate,

would be about 7%.

Good news, whichever way they decide to go.

So, what do they have planned?

Have the baby and that maybe think about another one.

-In the summer.

-Baby or a house?

A house!

Well, that's all for today's show.

Join us next time when we find out who bought what,

what they paid for it, how and what they did with it.

We look forward to seeing you next time.

-ALL:

-Goodbye.