Episode 31 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to the show. Now, if you've ever been tempted to

-go to the auction...

-Perhaps it's time to take that plunge.

Yes, so why not pop down to your local auction house

and see if anything there is right for you?

Now, a lot of people, they get very nervous about buying at auction

but, really, they don't need to.

No, it's really not that difficult.

Bid clearly, shout out if you need to

and make sure you don't go over your limit.

Let's find out what our buyers on today's show went for.

First up in Stoke-on-Trent, someone who did suffer from auction nerves.

In fact, my hand was shaking

when I was writing the cheque for the deposit.

And in Littleover, Derby, I take a look around a property that really

had me singing its praises.

It's great, it's great, it's great.

Whilst in Earlsfield, southwest London, it's true what they say -

ignorance is bliss.

-It's almost like, la-la-la-la...

-Yes.

-..just do it.

-Yes.

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.

You bought it, sir, well done.

Welcome to Talke Pits, in Staffordshire,

part of the historic Kidsgrove urban district.

It lies close to Butt Lane,

birthplace of Reginald Mitchell, the designer of the Spitfire.

But, for now, back to Talke Pits

and this two-bed semi-detached house with a guide price of £46,000.

Just along the road from Butt Lane is the property I'm here to see.

Let's see what you get for your money.

There is quite a cold feeling as you come through the front door,

so I would imagine there will be some damp somewhere,

I can't see it as yet.

But this is a bigger room than what I was expecting from outside,

nice high ceilings, central heating as well.

Not a bad start. What else am I going to find?

Let's come through here.

A little bit of detail there, on this archway.

Another decent-sized room, high ceilings again,

double glazing, which is a good thing.

And into the kitchen,

which is typically small for this kind of property.

If you wanted to rent it out, you could just, maybe,

give it a bit of TLC, pop a little hob in there and

I think you'd be fine.

But there's no bathroom, as yet. It's got to be upstairs,

I'm going to have a look.

Well, personally, I'm quite pleased about that

because I do think having a bathroom upstairs feels a bit more homely.

But if you're developing to make an income, you have to be flexible.

Even though the two bedrooms need updating,

it's great that they are both a really good size.

So upstairs I've already found two decent-sized bedrooms,

into this large bathroom.

First thought is, could you turn this into a third bedroom?

But where would you put the bathroom? Let's keep looking.

# If I could change your mind... #

Fickle, who, me?

Yes, I know I'm always bending your collective ears

about having a bathroom upstairs and here we have one,

and not a bad-looking one at that.

Now, I'm talking about moving it. I'm never satisfied, eh?

I am thinking about maximising rental income.

Maybe I should be paying more attention to that damp,

which is fairly bad here.

But, no, I'm on a hunt for a place to put the bathroom.

So I've come outside into the backyard, to the back garden.

It is only small here, but you've got an option of some more space,

coal storage, that would have been, and a downstairs, or should I say,

an outside toilet, there?

I can see next-door have used theirs for bathroom,

so I'm thinking that upstairs bathroom you could change to

a bedroom, give yourself another bedroom,

maybe put a bathroom down here.

But you would have to factor that into your costs,

and into your budget

and would it be worth it when it comes to the rental market?

Food for thought, though.

And to help mull over that decision,

we've asked along a local property expert.

So what does he think of the property, guided at £46,000?

It's a good property. It's an ideal buy-to-let property.

The property itself is in need of a little bit of modernisation.

Although there's quite a lot of stuff already done in it,

ie the uPVC double glazing,

the central heating system and the bathroom's not too bad, as well.

Ah, so he quite likes the bathroom.

And does that mean he likes where the bathroom is?

Would he change the layout of this house?

Personally, no, I wouldn't change the layout of the property itself.

If you did try to convert it into three bedrooms,

you may only achieve an extra £5-10,0000 on the sale of it

and, actually, the cost of doing that would, probably, outweigh it.

# That don't move me That won't get it

# That don't move me

# That don't move me at all... #

As for the added rental value of the third bedroom, he was doubtful

it would be worth it, given the possible cost of the work needed.

Well, I can see why he has doubts.

Shifting a bathroom can be a big deal and

will need planning permission

and you'll have to bear in mind, moving soil stacks

and drains can cost a lot of money.

It's not just about moving the stuff in the loo, it's what lies beneath.

Right, onwards and upwards.

What could this property sell for if it was renovated?

This property, probably, could achieve £80,000 on the open market.

What about rentals?

This property could, probably, achieve £425 per calendar month.

This is a pretty standard two-up, two-down with very little work

needed at all, apart from the damp, of course.

So, I think, if you get it anywhere near to the guide price

of £46,000, I think you've got yourself a little gem.

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

Lot number seven is a semidetached house, it's got two bedrooms,

double glazing and has gas central heating.

40 to start me on this one. 40 on the front low left. At £40,000.

42, can I see?

At 40,000. 42 bid. 42.

44, 46...

'As two bidders in the room battled it out,

'they were also joined by a keen bidder on the internet.

'We return to the bidding at £56,000.'

56. Bids in the room, front left at £56,000.

For the first time, £56,000 for the second time,

third and final time, 56,000.

Just in time, 57, 58.

Yes? No? 58, front left, then.

£58,000, once, £58,000 twice,

third and last time.

£58,000.

59.

Sorry, madam. 60? 60.

Is it another one, or not? Definite?

OK, £60,000 once, £60,000 twice,

third and final time, £60,000.

You bought it, madam, well done.

And that persevering bidder was Claire,

who finally got the property for £60,000.

I met her back at the house to find out her plans.

# Oh, what I'd give and What I'd take for

# Perseverance... #

-Claire, nice to meet you and congratulations.

-Thank you.

You went to auction, you got this property.

Was it the only one that you went for?

No, I went for five properties in total

-and this was the one I liked the most.

-So you had a list of five.

I had a list of five, yes, and I went round

and viewed all five before the auction and read the legal packs.

But this was the one that I thought was going to be the one I was

interested in the most.

-Sticking to the Hammer rules.

-I was, yes.

-Well done, I like that.

-You didn't break those first and foremost.

-Nope.

So tell me, why this particular property out of all the five?

I thought it wasn't in too bad a state.

It had been owned by a housing association,

so it had been looked after and, also,

I wanted to be able to change the

layout of the property, initially.

Who did you go to the auction with? Did you go alone?

No, I went with two investor friends - Steve and Daniel -

and they were both sat either side of me and they were both going to

grab an arm each, if need be, to stop me going over my limit.

# Don't stop me now

# I'm having such a good time I'm having a ball

# Don't stop me now

# Yes, I'm having a good time I don't want to stop at all... #

I like those tactics -

make sure nobody gets carried away with the bidding.

Claire said she initially thought about making changes to the

layout, what were those?

Initially, I wanted to change the outhouses to a downstairs

bathroom and convert the bathroom upstairs back to a bedroom.

However, I've taken advice off somebody who knows more than

I do and I'd like to keep the configuration as it is now.

And if I want to do that conversation at a later date,

then I'll do it.

Great minds think alike, eh?

It turns out Claire has had advice similar to that

of the agent we spoke to,

so we'll both just have to let that downstairs bathroom

thing go for the moment.

Claire has done the right thing doing her research,

which, given she and her husband Nicholas have been dabbling

in property part-time for the last seven years, isn't surprising.

Why property, Claire? Because this isn't your first skill or job.

Tell us what you used to do.

I'm an engineer, a design engineer in aviation, for the last 15 years.

My husband does the same job,

so we wanted to be able to look to the future, towards our pension

and what we're going to live on when we become older.

We've both worked for ourselves for a number of years

and it's very difficult to have a pension when you work for yourself.

So the idea of property was to build an income that we could live off

-when we decided to retire.

-So your husband's in aviation as well.

-He is, yes.

-But he doesn't work here, does he, close by?

No, he's down in Leyton Buzzard at the moment.

In the week he lives away,

so he's leaving me to it.

I keep him updated every night of how the project's going and he's

very much involved, even though he's not with me on a day-to-day basis.

And what about the work itself?

-Are you going to get your hands dirty yourself, Claire?

-I am, yes.

Are you, really?! Tell us what you're going to do.

I'm hoping to do a lot of the decorating myself

and the preparation, the wallpaper stripping,

and I'd like to do some tiling as well,

and see how it goes from there.

I'm getting professionals in to do the important things.

-Have you tiled before?

-A little bit.

I like that Claire is going to have a go.

She's got a seven grand budget but, as she's going to get

stuck in with some of the basic work, that could be doable.

Plus, she's going to enlist the help of ten-year-old son Oliver,

who is keen on property himself

and has an eye on becoming an architect one day.

So, with everyone mucking in, how long does she thing it will take?

-About six-to-eight weeks.

-To get it from this to finish?

-Yes, to get this...

And I would like to get it rented out at the end of it.

I looked for comparables in the same area, as to what

rental it would achieve.

Also, there's a couple of properties in the same road

that are up for sale,

so I thought it might not be a good idea to sell it straight away,

so to rent it out for at least six months.

Claire is being a real pro here. She's seeking out advice and

looking at the local market to gauge just what to do with this property.

Six months ago, she and Nicholas decided to take the plunge

and work in property development full-time.

It's something we really both love and it came to the point

where we decided one of us was going to do it full-time,

and that decision was last year.

-So now you're a full-time worker.

-Yes, now I'm full-time in property.

-He's left you to it.

-Exactly, yeah.

Are you going to continue to build it, Claire?

Or are you looking to just try and get, maybe, three or four and then stop?

No, no, I'd like to do one after the other, really,

if I get the chance to do that.

So that's the idea.

When this is nearly finished, I'll be looking at the next project.

-Is it something you'll go to auction to again?

-Possibly, yes.

This is the first house I'd bought at auction and it was a very,

very smooth process, very quick.

In fact, my hand was shaking

when I was writing the cheque for the deposit.

-Good luck, Claire. Wish you all the best.

-Thank you.

Once we're out your hair, the builders can get in.

-OK, thank you.

-Pleasure.

Former engineer Claire may not have invented the Spitfire,

but she clearly has an engineering mind

and lots of plans for this simple but sturdy little property.

And will she stay within that £7,000 budget she set herself?

You can find out how she gets on later on in the programme.

Well, I'm in the Derby suburb of Littleover

and I am, literally,

little over two miles from the centre of the city.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

I'm here to see this. It's a three-bed detached property

in an area the locals call "The Village".

It's got a really village-y feel, so you can understand why.

£150,000 was the guide price. Looks pretty good from the outside.

# A little village, baby

# Ain't large enough To be a town... #

To add to the village-y feel, there's a primary school

just a stones throw away, which is either or a positive or a negative,

depending on your viewpoint.

What definitely is a positive, though,

is the garage and the double driveway with this property.

Fingers crossed for the inside.

Oh, that's good to see, isn't it?

A really nice-sized entrance area,

somewhere to your hang your coat, in the cupboard here.

It's just very practical. Yeah, that's a great start.

To the left, here, when you come in into this room,

obviously your main living room.

Interesting window at the end there, it's virtually floor-to-ceiling.

Wouldn't it be great if those were actually opening doors

out onto the garden?

As it is, there is a beautiful view of the garden, though,

so that is nice, but patio doors would have been even nicer.

But it's a good size.

Immediately, you're getting the impression that it's a property

that needs a bit of updating but, intrinsically, it's really nice.

Dining room towards the front, up that side there,

and then this little corridor leading to a downstairs loo,

which is a useful addition.

How dating is that?!

A little sliding door leading into the kitchen.

Straight away I'm thinking this wall here,

which separates the kitchen from that dining room,

knock that down to create a really nice open-plan kitchen/living area.

The kitchen itself, though, well, again, a bit dated

but it's in reasonable condition.

You'd obviously want to spend a

bit of money sorting this out, though.

But how about this?!

What a classic cooker!

So, so, so '70s.

It's brilliant. I don't know whether to cook on it or maybe

put some coins in it and play a few tunes.

It looks like a jukebox, doesn't it?

Ha! Don't worry, I won't be cooking up any tunes.

On the whole, this house is in good order.

I know the cooker and the rest of the house interior

has a late '70s/early '80s vibe.

It was a period known for some corking decor, but still...

Well, stepping out the back of the property

and I just can't get over what

a thoroughly together house this is.

I mean, look at the brickwork, the roof, just everything about it.

There's a few little outbuildings, rear access there to the garage.

Possible space for an extension at the back, here.

Whether you'd want to do that or not, I don't know.

I think it works pretty well as it is

and I don't think I'd go to the expense.

Another thing you don't have to worry about either is the garden.

Look at this. Somebody has really loved this in the past.

There's some mature shrubs, lovely things.

It's great, it's great, it's great!

# Goodness, gracious Great balls of fire... #

Yes, I know I'm gushing.

But it's just so nice to find an auction property that's been

so loved and cared for.

I'm going to say it again, it's great!

So upstairs and a nice-sized landing area leading to the three

bedrooms - two relatively small ones at the front there.

As you might have expected with this age of property,

bathroom and separate loo, which, of course,

you might want to knock into one or leave as it is - your choice.

But you'd want to spend a bit of money sorting that out.

Then into probably the master bedroom, in its day,

of course, fitted out with fitted wardrobes. Classic.

But dual aspect, lots of light coming in here and it just

rounds off what is just a very appealing property.

I love it, but don't be fooled. It will still need money

spent on it to bring it up-to-date, if that's all you plan to do.

Time to hear from an agent who's from the auction house that

sold this property that had a guide price of £150,000.

I think one of the main options here for somebody to look at,

when buying this property, is there is certainly the opportunity for

them to extend to the rear.

I would be tempted to, maybe, increase the size of the kitchen,

either by having that extension to the rear or knocking

through to the dining room to create a living kitchen.

Modern occupation is really what people are really looking for.

The agent estimated a sizeable extension could cost £35,000.

For me, I think this house works pretty well

with a few minor alterations

and it would mean keeping that nice outdoor space.

Assuming you kept it to that simple renovation,

what could this house resell for once brought up-to-date?

I would say that once completed, if the original footprint were

retained, that the property would achieve a sale somewhere in the

region of £195-200,000.

If this property were offered to the rental market,

retaining its original footprint, I would anticipate it being let

somewhere in the region of £750 per calendar month.

OK, what about if the buyer were to decide to extend?

I would anticipate a sale being achieved

somewhere in the region of £220-225,000.

If this property was offered to the rental market,

I would anticipate it achieving somewhere in the region of

£850 per colander month.

Well, there are some houses where everything just clicks

and this is definitely one of those.

You walk in and, immediately, you feel at home.

The garden is beautiful, the house itself, yes,

it needs modernising, updating, etc but it's worth it.

It's a great property.

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

And we have an attractive three-bedroom detached house.

'This was the penultimate lot of the day,

'so there were not many in the room to bid for the property.'

150. Start me at 145, if you will.

145, thank you. 145 I have.

At £145,000.

146 somewhere else? 146.

146, 147.

148.

148, 49.

149, 150. 162...

'Eventually, the bidding started to build up

'and the guide price was overtaken.

'We rejoin the bidding at £163,500.'

£163,500.

Once... 164.

164, 500.

165? It's worth another shot.

165.

500, again.

At £165,000, against you at the back, no mistakes.

Going once, going twice, third time.

Sold at 165, 253...

The successful bid of 165,000 was made by David, who, helped by his

wife Rosemary, looks after a herd of 40 cows

and is looking for a change.

He'll be undertaking this project with his daughter's partner

and experienced builder John.

# Me and the farmer Get on fine... #

-John, David, great to meet you both.

-BOTH: Great to meet you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this house.

Well, John is my youngest daughter's partner

and he has his own building business,

and I am looking for a new venture...

-Oh, great.

-..and so we decided to

go in together and do a property up.

Have you retired recently or what was your previous work?

No, I'm a farmer but my nephew has

now come back into the farming business,

so he is taking over the reins there, so I'm looking for,

-as I say, another venture, another project to do...

-Right.

..and I've always been interested in doing houses up.

So David is up for a change from looking after his herd of cows,

along with Rosemary.

And teaming up with John, who's a builder by trade,

seems like a great move

and it looks like he's taking it in his stride.

It's a really simple project,

-I personally think...

-Yeah.

-..not a great deal to do.

Right, so tell me what the plans for it are, then.

Well, the plans are to take all the walls back, strip all the walls.

Probably replaster, redecoration, new skirting boards,

new doors, probably knock the kitchen and dining room into one,

to open that up, make it a bit more spacious.

For upstairs, probably, knock the bathroom and toilet into one

because they're separate and just an overhaul of the place, really.

Right. So, roughly, how much is that going to cost to do that?

We're hoping to spend between 15-18,000 just renovating.

-Quite a healthy budget, then.

-Yep.

Redoing the kitchen quite nicely, presumably within that.

-Yeah, we're going top-of-the-range.

-Right.

And, obviously, there is scope, perhaps, to do an extension.

Is that something you've considered?

We've looked at doing an extension but, obviously, due to costs

and, obviously, the area...

By spending so much money, are you going to get that money back

and is it actually worth it for the timescale, really?

We may look at putting in planning for the next people.

The people who buy it have then got planning in place.

Right, that's a good idea.

'John knows his stuff. Keeping an area's ceiling price in mind

'when renovating is a wise move,

'especially, if like John and David, you are aiming to sell on.

'Plus, getting planning permission may make the property more

'appealing to buyers.'

They've estimated the work, sans extension, will take around

eight weeks, with John managing the project day-to-day.

But aside from providing the funds, what will David's role be?

Eh... Make the tea, I expect.

Come on, you've got the opportunity to learn.

You've got to lean some new skills.

Yes, I think we'll work well together and see from there, really.

-I'll just do what John tells me to do.

-Right.

Are you going to have him as an assistant?

Yeah, I'll get him working, I will.

Terrific. Well, listen, congratulations to you both.

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

-Thank you very much, Martin.

-Cheers.

So a new family venture for John and David

and a great project for their first joint venture.

Yeah, it's a great house

and I can't wait to see the improvements they have planned.

You can see how it all turns out later in the show.

Still to come, in Earlsfield, London,

dropping a kerb proves to be a hefty expense.

-About £1,500...

-Oh!

-Oh!

-..which is a bit, "Oh!"

And in Littleover, Derby, we return to see if farmer David's

first foray into property renovation has been fruitful.

Time to fly back to Talke Pits in Staffordshire now, which was

home to this two-bed semidetached that had a guide price of £46,000.

It was a decent property with two bedrooms and,

with an eye on the rental market, the only room for expansion

I could see was, wait for it, to move the bathroom downstairs.

I know, how is this for a complete turnaround on my usual thinking?

That upstairs bathroom you could change to a bedroom,

give yourself another bedroom, maybe put a bathroom down here,

but you would have to factor that into your cost and into your budget,

and would it be worth it when it comes to the rental market?

Food for thought, though.

Someone weighing up this very issue was former aviation engineer Claire,

who, along with her husband Nicholas,

purchased the property for £60,000.

Claire had really worked hard at her research, but it now appeared

'her initial plans to move that bathroom had been grounded.'

I've taken advice off somebody who knows more than I do

and I'd like to keep the configuration as it is now and,

if I want to do that conversion at a later date, then I'll do it.

With restructuring plans on the back burner,

Claire had a £7,000 budget and a timescale of six-to-eight weeks

to get the property off the ground and into the rental market.

So here we are, bang on time,

eight weeks on, to see if Claire has stuck with her revised plan.

That kitchen is looking great, bright and clean but, hang on,

what's that I can see right behind it?!

Could it be a bathroom?

Yes, it is, and it seems Claire did decide to go for the downstairs

bathroom after all. Amazing.

Instead of the old outhouses, there is now a lovely modern family

bathroom in their place.

The lounge and dining room have been tastefully decorated

and are looking brand-new.

So if there is a bathroom down here, that means changes upstairs.

I did like the idea of turning the upstairs bathroom

into a third bedroom, but it was never going to be an easy job.

So how did it go?

If you remember, when you were last here,

we had a bathroom here, there was a bath here

and we had a false wall here, which housed the soil pipe.

This wall, when we took the plaster off,

we found out that the wall was actually resting on a floorboard,

so we had to have a concrete lintel put in to support that.

We changed the glass to clear glass and, in the corner of the room,

we had the original boiler, which was housed in a cupboard,

which we removed to make the room a lot bigger.

My son Oliver did the first coat of paint in this room,

so that was his contribution to the project.

Well, with a little help from Oliver, plus one or two tradesmen,

I imagine, Claire has turned this into a terrific property.

Claire was advised against moving the bathroom by a property agent.

However, she decided to go back to her original plan after

reviewing her homework.

She is convinced this is the best way of maximising her

investment in a rental market. But what about everything else?

The rest of the house, I've replastered most of the upstairs,

I've fitted a new kitchen and a new bathroom

and refurbed throughout, new carpets,

and also painted the outside.

The change of mind, with regards to the bathroom,

meant a change in budget, from seven grand to £10,000,

with £4,000 going on the conversion alone.

That wasn't the end of the spending either.

I'd had a survey done on the property before I actually

completed and the survey told us that we

needed a firewall installed in the loft.

This was a good idea, finding this out at the beginning of the project

because, you can imagine a house in this state,

having to go through the house and build a wall in the loft,

so it was a good use of money at that stage in the project.

It was just to make it safe.

Because the house hadn't been sold in more than 30 years,

that's a problem that you can come across.

A firewall is fitted in most semis and terraced houses.

It provides protection from fire in neighbouring properties and is

essential if, like Claire, you're planning to rent your property out.

Claire has tried to do a lot of the work herself,

along with sons Dan and Oliver and husband Nicholas.

Plus, she's built up good working relationships with various

tradesmen along the way, but it hasn't all been plain sailing.

The last three weeks has been a challenge because all the work has

been on the bathroom and the kitchen,

and it's quite a small area to

manage all the different trades in that area.

So it's just been a juggle to get one trade in after the other to

complete the project.

Complete it she has and all within her original timescale

of six-to-eight weeks.

Claire has invested a total of £70,000 here.

Will her decision to add a bedroom pay dividends?

We've asked two local estate agents for their opinions.

The selling points are definitely the three bedrooms.

It's a good location, really nice kitchen and bathroom, as well,

so I don't see any trouble selling this one.

It's actually rental that Claire's interested in,

but let's have a listen to those sales valuations anyway.

If I was to place this property on the open market,

I would expect it to achieve somewhere in the region of £90,000.

For market resale purposes,

I'd suggest putting the property on the market at £90,000-95,000.

Well, if Claire was to change her mind and decide to sell,

she could achieve, with that higher valuation of £95,000,

a very healthy pre-tax profit of 25 grand.

But it's yields, not profits, we're interested in.

If I was to put this property to the market,

I would look at £475 per calendar month.

This property should achieve a rental figure of

£475 per calendar month.

OK, that's about right.

I was talking to some of the neighbours,

they were talking more like £500,

but I'm happy with 475-500.

Well, I'm happy to report that, since filming, Claire has actually

found a tenant who will be willing to pay £475 per calendar month.

That equates to a yield of around 8%, which is brilliant.

So with this property done, dusted and successful,

what's next for Claire?

In the next month or two, I'm becoming a property mentor,

helping other people achieve their goals with buying property.

I love helping people and I love property, so it's combining the two.

Earlsfield, in southwest London is the setting

for our next property story.

And just to remind you how long it can take for property

projects to make any progress, I first visited this one in 2010.

So what have we got in store for you today?

Well, it's not a house, it's not a flat, it's a plot of land.

But not just any old land, it's a garage plot, no less,

so I suppose that's taken the guesswork out of

what you could do with this.

Well, it's here and it had a guide of just £7,500.

Let's explore.

Just to warn you, it probably won't take that long.

# Why don't you come with me because it won't take long?

# No, it won't take long... #

This street, itself, is typical Earlsfield, lined with nice

Victorian terraces and just a ten-minute skip to the station.

I've got my audience.

Let's just hope that black cat means my luck's in with this lot.

So here it is, our garage plot.

It's as you'd expect, really, not very big.

Now, it was created from the garden next door and it's actually

already got planning for that garage I keep mentioning.

Now, this design states it will be 2m high, 2.7m wide

and a little over 5m long.

The garage will have stone brickwork,

it'll have flat felt roof and timber gates,

and they will go at a strange angle

to avoid moving that electrical substation outside.

Now, I can't claim it's the most thrilling idea I've ever heard,

but it's hard to get your creative juices flowing,

designing somewhere to park your car, if you get my drift.

# Cars and where Where to drive them... #

Well, it sounds simple enough

and coming in at an angle shouldn't be too much of a problem.

But, in my experience, there is always a catch of some sort.

Just because this plot has planning, it doesn't mean there isn't

work for you to do here prior to building because, look,

what is wrong with this picture?

It's this, there is no dropped kerb,

which you will need before you can begin.

Now, this shouldn't be a problem,

but you'll need to apply to the council to get this dropped and then

you'll have to foot the bill for the work, which, all in all,

it could cost you a couple of grand.

Now, it's not a big deal, but it's a little bit annoying.

Ah, the old red tape is never too far away in London

and, with a plot of land barely big enough to swing a cat,

the added headache of planning permission to drop a kerb,

hmmm, may just put people off.

So who's going to want this?

Well, somebody who's after secure parking, for sure.

But would it be worth their while? Does the investment add up?

Well, say you live in a biggish house down the round,

you spend seven grand on the land, ten grand building the garage,

say total £20,000 with extras.

You could add around 15-20,000 on to the value of your home,

so the answer is, no, it doesn't add up.

It adds saleability for sure, but it's not going to make you a penny.

# Man you won't give me no money... #

So maybe this goes to someone who doesn't want to make

money from it, perhaps a family that needs extra storage, or a car

enthusiast that wants to keep his precious motor off the busy streets.

However, whoever it is will feel the tiny grip of yet more red tape.

So when is a garage not a garage?

Well, when it's too small, according to Essex County Council.

Last year, they were claiming that garages had become too titchy for

many modern cars and that the

government guidelines should be changed.

Now, they argued the minimum size should be 7m-by-3m,

substantially bigger than the garage planned here,

and anything smaller shouldn't be classed as a garage at all.

Now, I don't know where they've got with this

and whether Wandsworth Council will think of following suit,

but this sort of situation demands you do your research

because you don't want to buy a plot of land for a garage

and find out that you've spent thousands on a plot of land

for what's little more than a shed.

'Oh, crikey! It's enough to give you a headache.

'Let's see if a local property agent can see the positives here.'

A lot of the houses around here don't have garages

or any off-street parking.

Most of the roads around here are just the standard houses with

no parking at all. I think to have a garage in this road,

because there are no garages to the houses, I think, you know,

when the house came on the market to sell around here,

to have the garage, you know, would be popular.

Your one would be the next one to go because you could offer that facility.

As I thought, then, it won't add value

but it is an appealing prospect for those in need.

So with that in mind, if a garage is built,

what kind of value are we talking about?

I think to market a garage along here would probably be somewhere

between 15-20,000 and then hopefully

we got as close to it as we could.

So one option could be to rent the garage, what about that?

I think, if we rented out the garage on a monthly basis, we'd be starting

off at £500 a month and just see how close we could get to it.

I can't imagine there's a huge market for this lot

but for someone, well,

it could be just what they've been hankering after -

storage, security, off-road parking, or a little investment opportunity.

It's an odd one, but I'm sure there was someone out there who

wanted this at the auction.

Lot 30 is garage plot, handy location,

planning permission for a garage unit.

I don't know, start...1,000.

Got 1,000. 1,500, anywhere?

1,500, 2,000.

2.5, 3.

3.5, 4.

4.5, 5.

5.5...

There's plenty of interest in this little lot.

We rejoin the action with the bidding at £20,000.

Anyone else? It's going at 20,000.

Another 5, 20.5, 21.

21.5.

21.5.

If not £21,000, sitting down.

21.5

22, sir.

22.5.

22, sitting down.

First time, second time, third and last time, if you're all done.

Sold, 22. Well done.

Billy made the successful bid on behalf on Liz, sitting next to him.

I was eager to find out why she was prepared to pay almost three

times the guide price for a garage plot.

Could it be something to do with the fact that it's just 300m away

from where she lives?

Liz, congratulations.

Now, you paid quite a bit over the guide price for this, didn't you?

-I did, yeah.

-So you really wanted it?

-Yes.

-But it wasn't you bidding on the day.

-No, it was my partner.

It was because I do all the background work,

I do all the research,

but I need someone else to come with me to give me

moral support and to actually just go for it.

-It's almost like, la-la-la-la...

-Yes!

-..just do it!

-Please just get on with it!

-Finish!

Don't go any higher, don't go any higher, please.

That's enough, that's enough.

-So £22,000.

-Yep.

Why did you want to spend that much money

and what is it worth to you, this plot?

To me, hopefully, it should be worth quite a lot because I'm proposing

to build a garage here and, if possible, if I can get permission

to make it into a workshop as well, so that I can have...

Because I make clothing

and I specifically make leather jackets and, at present,

I'm renting a workshop which is quite a long way away from here.

So if I can get permission to make a workshop here,

but also have a garage as well, I'd be very happy.

It would just make my life so much easier.

So is your shop local to this area?

It is. It's very local

and I've also noticed, over the last few years,

with lots of development going on in the area,

there is less and less parking and I have to drive a vehicle, a big van,

and I just really want somewhere safe to have the van.

If I can combine it with the workshop,

which is so close to home,

it will cut down hours and hours of travelling for me.

And the other thing is, the worst comes to the worst,

I might, even at the front here and at the sides...

I just want to plant lots of things, as well.

Because the permission is only being granted for garage/garden,

so if I can make it as green as possible as well...

I've got quite a few plans.

I was thinking you can get these roofs, I saw them in Norway,

when I was in Norway many years ago,

-that are made out of tiny, tiny alpine flowers...

-Yes!

..and I was thinking, that if you're having a flat roof, it would

-be quite beautiful to have all these alpine flowers.

-Wow!

And then people who live here, when they look out, because I'm a bit of

a green person, it would be rather nice for them to see flowers,

rather than just a roof.

It's so lovely this plot has found someone who really needs it,

but who's also going to try

and make it an attractive space for herself and for her neighbours.

But, of course, before we start planting,

the garage has to be built.

You spent £22,000 at auction.

How much do you think it will cost you to built the garage?

So far, I've had some estimates and it will range between

about £10-15,000.

Now, looking outside, you're going to have to drop the kerb.

That is going to be a little bit costly for you to do, as well.

-Yes...

-Have you looked into that?

Yeah, I've been in touch with the council before I bid to find

out the viability of dropping the kerb,

so that you've got access and that seemed OK.

But, obviously, I had to wait until I actually owned the land

before I can get the permission and it's going through right now.

So that will be in about six weeks.

OK, how much money do you think that will cost you to drop the kerb?

-About £1,500.

-Oh!

-Yeah.

-Oh!

-Which is, yeah... A bit "oh!"

Yeah, I bet that was a bit of a shock, wasn't it?

It was, actually. I thought it would be a couple of hundred,

but it's got to be done.

So, Liz, how long do you think it's going to take you to

erect your garage here?

The timescale, I'm sure it's going to be six months or probably more,

just because, by the time you've got the crossover...

There's a delay in that because, unfortunately,

it has to go through the council

and then I would hope to have it done within about six months.

Liz, I'm really excited because I think you're going

-to have the prettiest little garage in south London.

-I hope so.

I hope to make it look quite green and pleasing, if nothing else.

Well, I'm really looking forward to it and good luck with this.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Lovely Liz has got just what she wanted here.

And, no, it's not going to make her a mint

but it will make her life so much easier.

And, sometimes, that's all you want from an investment.

Join me later in the show to see the gorgeous garage

and how she's getting on.

One property done and dusted, and ready to go.

Yes, let's see if the other timescales

and budgets stood the test of time.

Yes, I can't wait to find out.

Let's head back to the Derby suburb of Littleover now, where earlier

I looked around this three-bed detached property

that had a guide price of 150,000.

With decor and amenities straight out of the 1970s,

it certainly needed updating, but it's obviously been well cared

for and was ticking a lot of my boxes.

Another thing you don't have to worry about either is the garden.

Look at this. Somebody has really loved this in the past.

There's some mature shrubs, lovely things.

It's great, it's great, it's great.

There were plenty of people on auction day who thought it

was great, too,

with the successful bid of £165,000 coming from cattle farmer David.

He teamed up with John, a professional builder,

for his first venture into property development.

John's partner is David's daughter Hannah, so this was a family affair.

They had plans to completely modernise the property from top to

bottom and had earmarked a healthy budget of between £15-18,000

and a timescale of around eight weeks.

It's now just over three months later and, straight away, you can

see that the off-street parking and garage doors

have really been improved, creating excellent kerb appeal.

I can't wait to step inside.

Oh, that's a good start!

Knocking through the wall between the kitchen and the dining room

has created a really snazzy kitchen/diner.

I told you French doors would be better here.

Now, you can step straight out into the garden and onto some decking.

A neater greenhouse has replaced the outhouse

and you know I love gardens,

so I'm really pleased so much of the original garden space remains.

The garage has also been cleaned up and turned into a utility room

with access to the kitchen, a shrewd and space-saving idea.

Time to look upstairs, I reckon.

Knocking down a wall between bathroom

and toilet has created a lovely family-sized bathroom.

John explains how it was done.

So we decided to knock this wall down.

Luckily, it wasn't a structural wall,

so that made it nice and easy.

Obviously, we blocked the doorway up,

so then it's given us a nice big opening to have a nice big

separate shower, nice family-sized bath, toilet and sink.

From top to bottom the house has been transformed,

with the three bedrooms going from dated to delightful.

I'm really impressed with what's been done here, with John and David

creating a really lovely and contemporary family home.

We've totally refurbed, we've gone for new plaster,

new wiring, new plumbing,

redecoration, new bathroom, new kitchen.

This property is impressive inside and out and, as a first project

together for this team, they seem to have got everything right,

despite a few hiccups.

We planed to renovate the property in eight-to-ten weeks,

but it's taken us 11 weeks in total

due to having new electric, new plumbing.

We didn't take that into account.

We thought the electrics would be okay

with just a little bit of tweaking up,

but we had to put new electrics right the way through.

They had already decided against extending the property

when we first met and I think that was a good decision.

Reconfiguring the kitchen has really made this property

so much more family-friendly.

We have gone overbudget by 4,000, to be exact,

so that's 22,000 -

that's mainly due to the electrics.

And we decided, when we saw the state of the plumbing,

that we wanted to replumb the whole house as well.

So that's just put us a little bit over,

but we're not too worried about that.

That overspend means that David and John have made a total

investment here, including the purchase price, of 187,000.

So will two local property experts think it's a wise investment

in a property they plan to sell?

First impression is great. Yeah, I love the drive.

It's a nice-looking house.

It's of a certain age, which is appealing to people,

follows through inside, that's great.

I think the changes, actually, were warranted.

In this day and age, dining/kitchens are the thing, larger bathrooms,

they've achieved all that.

I think it's very appealing.

I think there's a few things that stand out about the property.

The garden is a lovely size.

It's great to have the garage and the spacious kitchen,

so there are a few things there that are going to set it

aside from the rest.

The agents sound as impressed with the changes as I am,

but will that be reflected in their valuations?

Rental first.

Yeah, I think if you put this property up for rent,

I'd look at asking £695 per calendar month.

I would say it's got a rental value of about £700 per calendar month.

The higher rental figure there would bring a modest yield of around 4.5%.

However, it is the sales valuations that David

and John are most interested in.

I would put it on the market at a price of around £215,000.

I would hope to get close to that,

but it might take a little time to achieve.

I think it's a great property, I really like it myself.

If I were to put this on the market, I would put it on at £235,000.

-We're quite happy with that, aren't we, John?

-Yeah, I'd say so.

I think the rental,

we think we'd get around the £800 with our research,

with the standard of house that it is.

And resale, I think 215 is a little bit on the low side, but...

..225/230, I'd be quite happy with.

If they were to achieve their desired figure of 230,000,

that would mean a pre-tax profit of £43,000, which would be a great

result for their maiden property venture together.

As for David, he's enjoyed the journey as much as the finish.

Yeah, I feel it's just been nice just to see it progressing from a very

run down house to what it is now, which is a...

you know, very top-of-the-range three-bedroomed nice detached house.

Time to return to the sought-after area of Earlsfield

in southwest London,

where, in 2010, we first found this tiny plot of land that had

a guide price of £7,500 and planning in place to build a garage.

Now, space is always at a premium in London and a guaranteed

parking lot should have been worth its weight in gold, shouldn't it?

So who's going to want this?

Well, somebody who's after secure parking for sure,

but would it be worth their while? Does the investment add up?

Well, say you live in a biggish house down the road,

you spend seven grand on the land, ten grand building the garage,

say total 20,000 with extras,

you could add around 15-20,000 onto the value of your home.

So the answer is, no, it doesn't add up.

It adds saleability, for sure, but it's not going to make you a penny.

So this wasn't going to be a money-maker.

Plus, you'd have to apply for planning permission

and fork out a hefty sum to get the kerb out the front dropped.

None of this, however, put the bidders off on auction day,

with several battling it out.

Sold 22, well done.

The successful bid of £22,000,

almost three times that of the guide price,

was made by Billy, who, on the day,

was bidding on behalf of his partner Liz,

who is more than happy with her purchase.

-£22,000.

-Yep.

Why did you want to spend that much money

and what is it worth to you, this plot?

To me, hopefully, it should be worth quite a lot because I'm proposing

to build a garage here and, if possible,

if I can get permission, to make it into a workshop as well.

So that I can have...

Because I make clothing and I specifically make leather jackets.

At present, I'm renting a workshop which is quite

a long way away from here.

So if I can get permission to make a workshop here

but also have a garage as well, I'd be very happy.

It would just make my life so much easier.

# I knew when I met you You were just my speed

# Now that I got you You're all I need

-# You're just right

-Just right for me

-# Yes, all right

-Just right for me... #

So, far from wanting to make money, Liz wanted to make her working

life easier, so this little plot of land was worth every penny to her.

She'd already submitted planning permission to add the workshop

and also to drop the kerb outside.

She also had aspirations to make the space as green and ecofriendly

as possible, all with a budget of 10-15,000

and a timescale of around six months.

Well, now five years on and, as you can see,

not all has gone to plan.

The plot has been cleared and levelled with gates,

added to create a rentable and secure parking spot.

Plus, out the front, the kerb has been dropped

to accommodate the space.

Back in July 2010, Liz had plans for a workshop

and garage, approved by the council.

But, unfortunately, due to personal issues,

Liz wasn't able to begin the works, so the plans lapsed and,

on reapplying, they were subsequently rejected,

as Liz explains further.

The plans which were initially accepted by the council

were for a workshop, but with a mezzanine.

I wanted a mezzanine level, so that I could store a lot of my goods.

We decided to do a beautiful curved roof with glass at the front,

so that the light would come in for when I'm sewing.

Unfortunately, they're the plans which were initially passed,

but when we...

Obviously, it lapsed, the planning application lapsed,

and when I reapplied it wasn't accepted.

So back to the drawing board for a lower level roof.

Planning permission can be refused

if there is objections from the neighbours, which was the case here.

So while she rethinks her plans, Liz has made the best of it

and has rented the site out as a parking space for £100 a month.

Liz is clearly a very positive person, but it's been a challenging

few years for her and her partner Billy.

Unfortunately, my partner's been very, very ill

and we only live around the corner,

but his illness prevented him from, actually, even going upstairs.

So I had to spend money

and time converting the lower ground floor of our property

into accommodation, so that it would be very comfortable for him

whilst he goes through his illness,

so that's also what's stopped me banging on with this.

So it's been a bit of a rocky road for Liz and Billy,

but it's great to see that lovely Liz is still smiling.

As it stands now, along with the purchase price,

she's invested around £28,000.

So, after four long years, and Liz having to go back to the drawing

board with her plans, is she still happy with her little plot of land?

I'm still very happy that I bought it because, in the end, I know that

if I don't get the planning permission that I want

then I've always got the alternative to just come in here, put a load of

organic soil down and make myself an organic vegetable garden,

which I'd be very happy to do as well.

Well, before Liz gets the compost out,

let's hear what a local agent thinks of this plot of land.

I think a garage in this particular area is in extremely high demand.

I don't think there's going to be much problem in trying to

obtain consent for a garage here again.

It's just the more elaborate kind of garage that the council may not

look too favourably on.

The agent sounds very positive

and he thinks a garage can rent for up to £400 a month,

which would be an improvement on the £100 a month Liz is currently

getting for the parking space.

But what about valuation of a garage on this site?

A garage in this area, we feel, could be worth somewhere in the region

of £30,000.

With those figures, it would appear it makes no financial

sense for Liz to build a garage to sell on.

And, with her current rental, she's doing well.

But making money was never what this was about.

This plot was bought to make her working life easier,

so let's hope next time we come to visit her, she'll have that workshop

sewn up, or maybe the garage plot will be a garden plot.

In the meantime, what's Liz's advice

when it comes to buying at auction?

I would say don't ever be put off,

don't be put off, and just go for it.

So that's what happened to the buyers on today's show.

But there are as many stories as there are properties.

Yes, so come and here more tales from the auction rooms next

time on Homes Under The Hammer.

-See you then.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.