Episode 33 Homes Under the Hammer

Welcome to the show.

Have you ever thought you could earn a living investing in property?

Yes. The risks can be high though,

so careful planning is the key to reaping rewards.

And a good place to start looking for your property

is at an auction, of course.

There can be pitfalls in property developing.

Never let your heart rule your head.

Yes. Stick to your guns, don't get carried away and you'll be OK.

Let's see if today's buyers stuck to those golden rules.

Today on the show, it might be time to phone for some help

to sort out this house in Kent.

I mean, why would you just put a shower in the middle of the room

like a telephone box?

And in Bridgend in Wales, I'm worried that these developers

may need a bit of help.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

I haven't got a clue. Why did we want to buy the house, Mark?

'And in Northumberland, it looks like someone's

'already been lending a helping hand.'

Somebody's started working here already.

What I've seen so far, I'm liking.

All of 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.

Sheppey is an island in the Thames Estuary,

just off the North Kent coast.

Sheppey boasts incredible beaches with miles and miles

of pebble and sand. Isn't it lovely?

I'm just a few hundred yards from the beach

and with this kind of remote location, well, it's hard to believe

you are less than two hours from central London by train.

And with such great links to the capital,

well, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised

with the average selling price in this postcode.

It's been a whopping 23% increase in the last year.

Suddenly, there seems to be an added appeal to this property

I'm here to see. Well, here it is.

It's a 1930s' four-bedroom detached house.

You get a lot of house and garden for the guide price

of £130,000 - £140,000. I'm excited.

Well, the house certainly seems big

but it's the garden I can't get over.

There's a fair bit of driveway

but so much space off to the sides, as well.

Things really are looking promising.

Whoa! OK. Lots going on the minute you walk into the hallway.

We've got overhead beams, a spiral staircase of sorts...

Rather unusual.

Behind me, a huge sunny room, which goes into the bay window

at the front, another room to the side, here.

You know, I'm not sure about these. Do we like them?

I just think they're always a bit precarious

in the night, when the lights are off and you're trying to come down.

I think I'm more of a traditional stair girl.

And in here, the lounge - wow.

I mean, this really is a cracking space.

Fantastic for entertaining, sliding doors at the end and, of course,

with the whole mishmash of characters in this property,

a Gothic fireplace.

Yes, well, I think I'd have to take a paintbrush to that

but the space is just wonderful.

Next door, there's a bright and sunny kitchen,

though I'm not sure what that platform is all about.

The property is certainly quirky

and there are two good-sized bedrooms downstairs

and a decent bathroom, as well.

Time now to tackle that staircase.

# I'm running up a spiral staircase

# I can't reach the top

# I'm running up a spiral staircase

# And I'm too scared to stop... #

So, upstairs we have two bedrooms.

One to the front, here, which is the double

and a rather unusual one, here, at the back.

Be careful of the sloping ceilings of course

because there are loads of them. Here as well.

It's very angular, it's a bit awkward

and you've got your beams back upstairs, as well.

Now, through here. This is quite funny because there's the shower

but you have to go round here to get over to the loo and the bidet,

and here we are again. It's great, isn't it?

I mean, why would you just put a shower there

in the middle of the room like a telephone box?

Now, you know when you see the outside of this house

that the upstairs rooms are going to be, well, odd.

But surely it must be possible to use the space better

because there's plenty of it

and that's matched by the outside. It just seems to go on and on.

Hm. I like this house, I think.

It's in decent condition and there are lots of options.

Take a look out here.

Now, in addition to the space at the front,

there is quite a sizeable garden and the detached garage,

which also belongs to the property, as well,

you could see this garden out here as an opportunity to just

extend and go crazy.

You could even think about extending upwards

and sorting out all those space problems upstairs.

But if I was feeling in a really sledgehammer-happy kind of mood,

you could just knock down this garage

and completely create a decent building plot. How about that?

It's all worth thinking about if you want to wring as much

potential profit from this auction lot.

This house has some fairly unusual features

but with plenty of opportunities to sort those out,

this could be a fantastic project.

We asked along a local expert to take a look and see if he agreed.

First impressions... This is quite an oddball, really.

It could be an absolute stunning home

and the plot is just magnificent. Absolutely.

It could lend itself to...

Obviously, being a fantastic family garden or potentially development.

So, I'm not the only one to see the development opportunities,

though that would depend on planning permission,

so let's focus on the existing house.

What value could this achieve?

Once refurbished to a good standard,

I think you'd be looking in the region of about £220,000.

And what about the rental market?

Once refurbished, you'd be looking in the region

of about £900 - £950 per month.

Come on! How could you not fall in love with this quirky property?

Yes, it's unusual. Yes, it's a little different perhaps

but most of all, there's a lot of potential just waiting

to be set free and bags of space to go with it.

Let's see who couldn't resist its charms

when it went under the hammer.

Where are we starting on this one? I've got a guide of 130 - 140.

Shall we say 130, bottom of the guide? No?

Give me 120 then. 120 can I say? 120, 120, 120, thank you.

122? 122, I have...

Surprisingly, the bidding was slow to start,

but things began to pick up and we rejoin the bidding at 153,000.

..153, he says, yes. 153, I have.

154, 155, 156,

157? 157, 158,

159 now. No.

It's with you on my right at £158,000 then.

I shall sell for the first time, for the second time,

third and final time. If you're quite sure and all done...

GAVEL BANGS Sold. Thank you very much.

Securing the property at £158,000

was retired builder Derek and his wife, Lorna.

I met up with Lorna back at the house.

-Lorna, congratulations.

-Thank you, thank you.

-Wow, this is such an unusual house.

-I know, I know.

-Tell me what attracted you to it.

-We saw it in the auction catalogue.

-My husband wanted to look. I didn't want to look.

-Why not?

I thought it was a bit far out but then I said, OK, we'd come,

and just sort of fell in love with it.

-So, where were you based originally?

-At the moment we're in Dover.

Prior to that, we were in France and prior to that, Spain.

Prior to that, Lincolnshire, where we had a pub.

Prior to Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Northampton,

-Peterborough area.

-And now Sheerness.

-And now Sheerness, yes.

-So, why here?

-Price of property, to be honest...

And it was the house that brought you here?

..and a house that we liked and we could see that we could do it

without too much blood, sweat and tears. We thought.

You are quite relaxed about this.

I find it intriguing the way you just pluck an area out of the blue

and you put your little stick,

-"That's it, we're going to live there!"

-Yeah.

-And you're going to make this home?

-Yeah.

-For how long? You don't know anybody here, do you?

We don't, we don't. And, funnily enough, a friend said to me the other day,

"Are you going to stay here?"

I said, "I can't imagine saying that about anywhere."

Unless probably when I go in a care home, maybe...

But at the moment, no. I think we're a bit nomadic.

-Really?

-And like a challenge.

-Well, you've certainly got a challenge here.

-Yes, very much so.

# They call me the wanderer

# Yeah, the wanderer

# I roam around, around, around, around... #

Lorna and Derek have certainly moved around

but they've absolutely fallen in love with this unconventional abode.

Could it be the one that makes them settle down?

So, it was obviously love at first sight for you,

but is this going to be a home that you're going to live in yourselves

or more of a project?

Primarily for us. We will do it with us in mind but bear in mind

that if we need to sell it, we can't do anything too drastic.

The kitchen, we're planning to open right up

and have a big kitchen day room and possibly make the lounge

into a dining area on one end because it's huge.

I mean, it is huge.

And then there's a bathroom downstairs

and two bedrooms downstairs.

Both have got a sink in, which is a bit odd

but at least you've got water and drainage

in different parts of the house so you're not limited

as to where you can put things.

So, we might change the layout of the bedrooms and the bathroom.

And upstairs, clearly, we've got to do something with that bathroom.

And that bedroom with all those slopey ceilings everywhere. Gosh!

I know. You won't want to get up in the night and bang your head, no.

I think...

We're not sure whether we're going to reconfigure upstairs.

We haven't decided on that one yet.

This is Derek and Lorna's eighth property renovation

but what about my idea of extending further?

It's plenty big enough for us

and I think even for a family, it's big enough.

We are thinking of possibly applying for permission on a building plot.

So, did you buy this house thinking you've bought a house

-and a building plot?

-No, no.

-So, you have almost two bites of the cherry?

Well, yes. We knew we possibly could but it doesn't matter to us

if we get it or we don't

cos we can carry on doing what we were going to do with this house

because it's not going to encroach on anything

we're planning to do here if we get it or we don't get it.

So, Lorna, what sort of budget have you got to spend here?

-We're thinking 40.

-OK.

We paid 158 and we don't really want to spend any more than 200,000.

40,000 is a healthy budget but there's a lot of work to be done.

Derek and Lorna have also given themselves

a relaxed 12-month timescale.

And with Derek being a retired builder,

they're not wasting any time in getting started.

The plan is that we're having a bed delivered in a couple of days' time

and we're going to camp here two or three days a week to make a start.

-That's going to be fun.

-I know.

And then we'll move. We'll sell our house where we are,

put it on the market and when that sells, we'll move over.

Lorna, I've loved meeting you today. Good luck with this project

and I cannot wait to see how you tackle the inside of that house.

-Thanks so much.

-Good luck!

Lorna has fallen in love with this house

and it seems like the perfect project for her.

It looks like it will be a labour of love as she plans

to put her heart and soul into making it her home.

But will it turn out to be the place that convinces Lorna to stay put?

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

Bridgend is a busy town

located between Cardiff and Swansea in the south of Wales.

People have lived here since before the Romans arrived

but it was also the scene of several battles

as the legendary Twelve Knights of Glamorgan

did their best to secure Wales

for their invading Norman king William the Conqueror.

# Everybody wants to rule the world... #

Well, I'm on an estate of houses built in the 1950s

to house the baby boom generation and, one thing for sure,

they're generally solidly built, these houses.

£72,000 was the guide price. Three-bed, mid-terrace...

Let's take a look.

So, what have we got? Oh, that is very '50s.

The old glass bricks in the wall there, but actually it does

throw quite a lot of light onto the stairway, there, which is good.

And then a really nice-sized foyer.

Yeah. Entrance area here just gives a good feeling to the house

the moment you walk in. That's a bit strange.

The downstairs loo is absolutely massive.

Good if you need downstairs facilities like that

but I wonder if there's something else you could potentially

use that for if you didn't need those facilities.

We'll have a think about that one.

Moving further into the house, the feeling of space just continues.

This is the main living area. You've got your front living room, there,

a feature fireplace. I'd like to see a real fire in there for sure.

Then, this classic design of this little dining room area at the back,

which works well. Kitchen - down there.

Again, a good size. It's all turned out to be a bit surprising, really.

From the outside it looks OK but inside... Wow.

Loads of space.

Yes, it's bright and roomy and full of potential,

particularly that large downstairs bathroom.

And what's more, I don't think the rest of the downstairs

would need a lot of money spent on it to get it up to rental standards

if that's what the plan was. Yep, I like the look of this one.

# Don't be afraid to call my name

# And let me know that you're my man

-# I like it

-I said, I like it... #

So, upstairs and what have we got?

Well, three really nice-sized bedrooms.

One on that side. Looks pretty good.

And one on that side... Also looks pretty good.

And a slightly smaller one towards the back.

Airing cupboard there with a boiler and a good-sized family bathroom.

It just rounds off what is already a perfect family house.

And it's not just perfect for families.

It could be perfect for rental, too.

Now, I know I always go on about keeping bathrooms upstairs

but this bathroom could be ideal for using as another bedroom,

maximising the rental potential.

You would have to negotiate the boiler

but there's space to play with.

And there's more.

Well, at the back of the property, a good surprise.

Look at the size of this garden. Absolutely fantastic.

So, it's a family house inside and it's a family house in the garden.

Fantastic!

It's solid, it's big, it's well proportioned

and it has a very attractive guide price of £72,000.

Let's see if a local estate agent likes it as much as I do.

The property needs somebody to come in here

and turn this back around into a good neutral blank canvas.

It appears to be slightly damp in areas, although that may be down to

a lack of ventilation here.

It needs a modern bathroom and perhaps an upgrade

to wiring and plumbing here.

So, nothing too troublesome there, then, but is there profit in it,

sticking with its current three-bed configuration?

Once fully modernised, it's worth in the region of £90,000 - £95,000.

If it was to go to the rental market,

it's worth £550 - £575 per calendar month.

And what if it was converted into a four-bed property?

If the owners were to place this on the sales market

as a four-bedroom property,

it should be worth in the region of £115,000.

Alternatively, if they were choosing to rent this property

as a four-bedroom house,

it would be worth in the region of £625 - £650 per calendar month.

Well, it's a lot of house for the money

and in the whole scheme of things, it doesn't need that much work

to sort it out, does it? Yeah, a good find.

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

A relatively modern house. Good owner occupier house. Needs some updating.

Guided at 72. Start me in that sort of region.

Will you start me at 70,000? Make it 60 then, if you like.

I'm in your hands. 60,000, somebody. It's got to be 60 to start.

Thank you. 60, I've got you, madam. At 60,000. And one now, can I see?

61, 62, 63?

64, 65, 66, 67?

No. At £66,000.

66. 67 now, anybody? We're selling all the time.

At 66,000 on my right-hand side then for the first time,

second time, third and last time...

At £66,000... GAVEL BANGS

Well done, sir, madam. Madam and sir. 76...

Bidder Bev looks pretty surprised that she and her husband, Mark,

are getting the property for 66 grand after just six bids,

and £6,000 under the guide price.

Maybe six is just their lucky number.

The couple are no strangers to property renovation

and are eager to get going with this one.

Bev, Mark, great to meet you both. Congratulations.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

It was at an auction. It was a house... I haven't got a clue.

-Why did we want to buy the house, Mark?

-Well, it's a good start.

-You don't know why you bought it?

-The price was right for a start.

-The price was right. I love that.

-You don't know why you're buying it. Oh, it's a house, it'll do.

-Yeah.

Well, obviously we're in the rental market so we are landlords.

So, we basically wanted to buy this for rental.

-Right, OK. So that's the main reason then?

-Yes.

Landlords... What kind of landlords are you?

Well, I've just actually passed an accreditation course as a landlord.

-Oh, right.

-In Wales, in September of next year,

the Housing Bill will come out, which will say that every landlord

needs to be registered and accredited

so that's something that's a necessary, mandatory thing.

So, at the moment it's not mandatory so I thought,

"I'll do it before it's an absolute need."

Right. What kind of things do you learn on the course?

A huge amount of things. All the legalities,

all the things like what is the best thing to do for the tenant,

all the different things that you deal with if there are problems.

All sorts, and I really learnt a lot. It was very worthwhile.

-Do you think it's good news that they're bringing it in?

-Absolutely.

There are some brilliant landlords but, occasionally, you do get

those bad ones and it will just hopefully sort everything out.

-But you've been landlords prior to this?

-Yes, yes.

-This will be our sixth house.

-OK!

We've got five others tenanted and it actually works out quite well.

-We've got some brilliant tenants, yeah.

-That makes all the difference.

Bev manages to combine property with her job as a medical practitioner

in a local surgery but it's Mark who is the full-time developer

and it turns out he's no slouch

when it comes to getting trained up, either.

So, who does the work?

I'm a DIY...type of guy so, yeah.

-I've done a kitchen course.

-Kitchen fitting, isn't it?

Kitchen fitting course and also I've done basic plumbing courses

and I've done basic carpentry courses and things like that so basically...

-Plastering.

-Plastering, yeah.

-Tiling.

-Tiling, yeah.

So I've had a little bit of a go.

Roofing, gardening, damp proof course installation...

I have done gardening, yes. THEY LAUGH

-Quite a few courses, then?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But you are actually putting them into practical use?

-Yes, hopefully.

-It is amazing. I'm really proud of him cos when we got married,

he couldn't actually change a plug or a light bulb or anything.

He was absolutely useless at that sort of thing

but now he's a completely different man. I'm brilliantly pleased with him.

-Now, have you pushed him slightly into those courses?

-Yes.

I think it's because you want to do things properly.

If you're doing work on a house and you do a shoddy job,

the tenants are going to be calling you back, so he's doing it properly.

-Fair play.

-Yeah.

-And he's doing a good job.

-Yeah, I enjoy it.

-And she's the foreman so I've got no choice.

-I'm the foreman.

# Whoa, whoa I've got to go

# Back to school! #

Well, I know we always say do your homework,

but these two have gone all the way back to school.

It's a very clever move because those courses

are an investment, which will save them money in the long run.

So, what are you going to do to it, then? What's the plan?

Well, basically we're just going to paint it, new flooring...

The kitchen... We might put a cooker extractor fan and sort all that out,

make it look a bit nicer.

Now, what we wanted to do was change it from a three-bedroom

to a four-bedroom but we had a look upstairs and with a boiler...

You know, you're going to be pulling loads of walls out

and moving things around, which, to be honest, with the time element...

We don't know whether that's right for us or not

so, basically, we looked in the downstairs bathroom

and we could see that we could use that maybe as a fourth bedroom

or a study depending really, so...

Have you looked into how much difference it would make to rental, three to four?

Yeah, quite a bit actually so this is why

we would actually look at trying to get it into a four-bedroom.

-There is a bit of a difference. Quite a bit actually.

-How much?

-Well, we were looking at DSS as a guide.

-Right.

I think it's £500 a month for a three but it's £650 for a four...

-Oh, wow.

-..so quite a difference.

-Yeah, £150 a month more.

-That's right.

-So worth pushing for it if you can do it,

but it's a bit tight to get a bedroom in that bottom bit.

-It is, yeah.

-It is tight and that's why we were trying to

-think of how we can refigure upstairs.

-Right.

Time for Mark and Bev to get their thinking caps on with regard

to redecoration and also do some calculations

to see if reconfiguring the house is going to pay off.

It sounds like a great return for a four-bed but it could end up

being costly, which might reduce that all-important yield.

This is all part of the pension plan so they need to get it just right.

Still, with those skills of Mark's,

they should be able to save a few quid and all that time spent

waiting around for tradesmen to be available.

Talking about how time...

So, what's the timescale?

Now, we're currently working on a property at the moment,

which is going to take us at least, I would say, four to eight weeks

and then we'll start this one

so it will probably take about six months with the whole of everything.

OK, and what's the budget?

Oh, I think we can reasonably do it, as long as there are no big hiccups,

-between 4,000 and 6,000.

-Right. Well, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Thank you so much.

-Good luck with it.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

And we look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you so much.

-Nice to meet you.

-Thank you.

Well, Mark and Bev certainly seem to know what they're doing

and I think they've got a great buy with this place.

Yes, a bargain indeed and with all that experience and training,

I'm sure there'll be no problems whatsoever sorting it out.

You can find out how they get on later in the show.

Coming up...this developer in Northumberland

isn't planning to go it alone.

I'm going to have to rely on other people maintaining it

and to look after it because I won't be able to.

And Bev and Mark put all that training into practice.

We actually dug a trench in the middle of January.

It was a nightmare.

Earlier in the programme, I was in the Isle of Sheppey,

just off the North Kent coast,

and there I saw a four-bed detached house guided at 130,000 - 140,000.

With a huge driveway and garden, things looked promising,

but inside was very quirky.

Overhead beams, Gothic fireplace, sliding doors...

Hey, why not have a platform, too?

I was dazed and confused

and, upstairs, it wasn't the spiral staircase that made my head spin.

Oh, no. It was the, er, well, geometrically challenging bedrooms.

Be careful of the sloping ceilings of course

because there are loads of them. It's very angular, a bit awkward...

Now, through here... This is quite funny

because there's the shower, but you have to go round here

to get over to the loo and the bidet, and here we are again.

It's great, isn't it?

# I'm spinning around

# Move out of my way

# I know you're feeling me cos you like it like this... #

Well, I didn't really like it like this, to be honest.

A bit of work was needed to bring out the house's charm

and Lorna agreed.

She and her husband, Derek, paid £158,000 at auction

and they looked to pause their nomadic lifestyle that had seen

them living in Spain, France and just about everywhere in England,

to put some roots down here.

A friend said to me the other day, "Are you going to stay here?"

I said, "I can't imagine saying that about anywhere."

-I think we're a bit nomadic...

-Really?

-..and like a challenge.

-Well, you've certainly got a challenge here.

-Yes, very much so.

They'd given themselves a year and £40,000

to transform this place.

So, 12 months later, we've come back to see

if this quirky house has become a home.

Well, it certainly has.

First of all, Lorna can take us through

the changes in the kitchen dining area.

I would say this room is the major change.

If you remember, here we had a raised area

so basically the kitchen was just this square.

We just put a new floor down.

We were going to do a utility area there

but I felt it was going to encroach on the lovely space

and so we've gone for integrated units,

hidden everything away and managed to keep the room as one.

But the real focal point of the kitchen is the island.

We did this because, obviously, the structure.

And we had to work with it

so I wanted an island because it's nice for me to work

and someone's sat there having a glass of wine chatting.

It's just a lovely space.

It's my favourite room in the house, I would say.

There's a few changes to talk about in the lounge, too.

The fireplace - we just had to live with it. It was quite a large room.

To be honest, I was struggling as to how I was going to furnish it

but that problem didn't arise

because we stole the end of it to replace the fourth bedroom.

Hold on. Lorna, please explain what you did

with the downstairs bedrooms.

There were two bedrooms downstairs,

one of which we stole to make a bathroom so then we've taken

the end of the lounge and made it into

the replacement bedroom, if you like.

This room is more or less as it was,

with the exception of the bay window, which we've replaced.

All the windows have been replaced in the house now. We've coved.

We kept the floor and just decorated

and it's a lovely bright and airy room, with another window here,

which gives you a double aspect.

Well, upstairs remains a work in progress with plans to renovate

the two existing bedrooms and the en-suite.

But the route upstairs, the spiral staircase, certainly has changed.

The spiral staircase... It was a no-no from day one.

We realised we'd have to replace it. Not as easy as one would think

because of the nature of the shape of the stairwell.

It was very difficult. The guy that did it did an amazing job.

Lorna's husband, Derek, a retired builder, has done the majority

of the work in the house, but how's that budget looking?

Oh, my God, the budget.

Oh, dear. Sorry, Lorna, but we do have to ask.

Yes. I said 40,000.

I think that could have been wishful thinking again.

We are 50% up on that.

It's about 60 but that does include all the materials

that we have outside to do all the patio areas outside.

We've already bought all the stuff for upstairs and the bathroom.

Hopefully 60,000 will do it.

But there is a bonus.

Lorna and Derek have planning permission to make

even more extensive changes in the future.

Where the garage is, we're planning

and we have planning permission for a three-bedroom chalet bungalow.

We have the plans here.

So basically the front door is going to be

on the other side of the property.

You'll come in the front door

and there'll be a bedroom to your left and a living room.

And downstairs there'll be a bathroom, as well,

and a fairly large kitchen diner

and then upstairs there's going to be two more bedrooms, one en-suite...

So, we're hoping to perhaps build that ourselves or get a price for it

from a builder to do it. We haven't really decided as yet.

If we don't want to develop it when we finish this,

we might decide to market the whole caboodle.

Well, how much is the whole caboodle worth?

And is it worthwhile building that extra property?

One way to find out is to ask two local estate agents,

starting with the agent who saw it one year ago.

I think the changes that have been made since my last view

have been absolutely fantastic.

It's a wonderful finish, the property is light and airy,

spacious and the views are fantastic, as well.

A real, real improvement.

The finish of this property is great.

It's definitely what people are looking for in this current market.

It's modern and a great size.

So far, Lorna and Derek have spent 218,000

buying and renovating the house.

So, what kind of value could it sell for?

I would potentially put this property on the market

between £260,000 - £270,000.

I would envisage this house would be looking to go onto the market

between £260,000 and £270,000.

The couple have estimated that the cost of building the chalet bungalow

could be 120,000 so what could it sell for?

If they did build the new-build on the side, it would be worth

between £200,000 and £210,000.

They'd be looking to achieve in the region of £200,000 - £210,000.

The agents agree and at that top valuation,

Lorna and Derek could make

a pre-tax profit of £52,000 on the existing property.

And the new build could have a potential profit

of 90 grand before the usual taxes and expenses.

So, what does Lorna think of the valuations

and will they build that bungalow?

I think the figure for the house seems a little bit low.

I think possibly we might go ahead with the new build. I don't know.

We'll see. We'll have to have a board meeting I think.

I'm sure if the board of Lorna and Derek

do decide to build, then we'll be back.

But reading the leaves, I think

Lorna is pleased with this renovation.

Is there another project brewing?

I think some days we've enjoyed it and some days we think,

"We must be mad." Whether we'll do it again, I'm not really sure.

My husband does say, actually,

he thinks this could be the last project so watch this space.

I'm in Northumberland and the estate of Scotland Gate,

which is just on the outskirts of the village of Choppington.

Lots of the estates around here centred around the mining industry

and back, in the day, miners from Ashington, Bedlington and Choppington

used to refer to the collieries there as A, B, or C.

# ABC, easy as 1, 2, 3

# ABC 1, 2, 3,

# Baby you and me girl... #

And swotting up on your ABCs will stand you in good stead

when it comes to today's property.

On that note, the property I'm here to see is a three-bed

semidetached house with a guide price of £20,000.

Let's take a look.

There is a shed, which is always good news,

but in this case you do have to share it with your neighbour.

Let's take a look inside.

So, into a small hallway here.

Stairs going up to the bedrooms. The bathroom down there.

Downstairs bathroom, I'm not a massive fan of a downstairs bathroom

but it does look in good condition.

Although it's not in my preferred position,

it is a modern suite and it has been fitted and tiled to a high standard.

Just a shame it's not upstairs.

The dual aspect lounge is a good size

and links the kitchen to the entrance hall.

Into the kitchen.

Now, it looks brand-new to me.

Somebody's definitely started working here already

and done a good job. At the end, there, there's room for utilities.

What I've seen so far, I'm liking.

Yes, this doesn't seem too bad at all

although it looks like someone's started installing

a new heating system and didn't bother finishing it.

Now, let's make use of those lovely patio doors

and see what's out the back.

Over there, there used to be a colliery,

which would have provided employment

for thousands of people but right now, to us, it's an amazing view.

I'm stood here on a raised piece of decking,

which I can see somebody has tried to make good.

But overall this is a nice-sized garden.

Get this grass sorted out, cut it down, table and chairs in here.

Now, I know what you're thinking,

"Forget the table and chairs, we could get an extension out here."

Well, actually, no, you can't because,

tucked away in the legal pack, which of course you would always read

being a viewer of Homes Under the Hammer,

is a covenant that says the property has restrictions

on what you can do with it.

You can do minor improvements but no extensions. It has to stay the same.

How do I put this?

-# You can't change me

-You can't change me

# Or rearrange me... #

I couldn't have put it better myself.

Of course, there's no reason not to be perfectly happy

with the accommodation as it is because upstairs is fine.

Turn right once on the landing, and you're in the largest bedroom

overlooking the fields at the back of the house.

The second bedroom, although not palatial,

is plenty big enough for most practical purposes.

And the smallest bedroom is just about big enough

to fit in a small single bed.

I really like this property, especially guided at 20 grand.

It's a lot of house for the money.

What does a local estate agent think?

It's a nicely presented three-bedroom property.

I think the selling points are the open views to the front

and to the rear, as well. Some good improvements made.

I just think with the shared access next-door, it might put off

one or two potential buyers.

So, with not a lot of room to add value,

especially when you bear in mind that covenant,

what does he think it could sell for

if you were to give it a cosmetic lift?

I think in the current market this property would achieve

in the region of £45,000.

However, the good news is that, having done a bit of research,

this is definitely an area where people are looking to rent.

So what rental valuation would he put on the property?

On the rental side of things, I would recommend we put this

on the market for £400 per calendar month.

So it is what it is. It's in good condition

and you wouldn't need a huge budget to turn it around.

Let's see who saw the potential when it went to auction.

We skip along to Choppington. It's lot 241.

Start me at 10,000. Lot 241. 10,000 I say.

Thank you, sir. On my right, the far right, 10,000.

11... 11...

12, 13, 14,

15, 16, 17,

18, 1,000...

In the busy saleroom, bids soon outstrip the £20,000 guide price.

We rejoin the bidding at £26,000.

..26, 27?

Gentleman's bid on my right. 26,000. 27 anywhere else?

First on 26, second time on 26...

for the third and final time at £26,000, your bid. It's going to go.

Half? Why not? 26 and a half, 27?

And a half?

No. Still with you. It's 27,000 this time.

First time, second time,

third and final time at £27,000 on my right, against you on my left...

-GAVEL BANGS

-Sold at £27,000.

Clinching the property for 27 grand was Chris.

He hails from Woking, over 300 miles away,

and fits TV aerials for a living.

He's looking to add to his small rental portfolio

and I gave him a welcoming reception at his latest purchase.

-Nice to meet you, sir.

-Nice to meet you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Did you go just for this property or was there anything else

-that you went for?

-There were four or five other properties.

There were two others I would have bid on and I found that

if I had bid on those, it would have meant

probably six months' work on doing it up cos they were...

-wrecks.

-They were a mess?

-Yes.

Nothing like this. Superficial, isn't it, everything to be done in here?

-Yes.

-Is that what you were looking for, that kind of property?

-I was. To be honest, I was.

-You're a Woking lad?

-Yeah.

-You live in Woking.

-Yes.

-Your family is in Woking.

-Yes.

Why here?

Well, it's unfortunate. The price of houses...

-it's much cheaper around here.

-Yeah.

That's, I suppose, the main reason

but the north of England is a great place.

It's a great place. It's a long way away from home

but that doesn't seem to faze you, the journey.

I'm going to have to rely on other people anyway.

If it was more than 100 miles, I'd have to rely on other people

to maintain it and to look after it because I won't be able to.

-# And it's a long, long way

-Long way

# From where you want to be... #

That distance is an issue for sure but it's not putting him off,

and rather than drive, Chris intends on using the train

and his trusty bike to cover the 300 odd miles.

In fact, far from putting him off,

he might even buy another property in this area and that makes sense

because there might be some economies of scale.

I think Chris has got himself a neat little rental machine here

so what does he feel he needs to do to it?

Well, the fireplace needs sorting out, replace the carpets

and decorate throughout.

Again, it looks like it's been decorated and painted

so there are just little bits I need to sort out.

So, Chris, are you going to do all the work?

Have you got a team of people to help you?

I'm going to do the basic work. The electrics... Sort that out.

But obviously the gas, I will get professionals in to do that.

Chris is trained in electrical matters for his TV repair business

and, of course, all work needs to be certified

if you're renting out a property. On a larger scale,

Chris has thoughts on my pet hate - the downstairs bathroom.

I do like a bathroom upstairs and a toilet upstairs.

My thoughts were perhaps an en-suite in the bedrooms

but I found that around here it's actually normal

for the toilets and the shower and the bath to be downstairs.

One of the bedrooms upstairs...is big, isn't it? It's quite large.

It's big enough to take an en-suite, yes.

-So, that's just something you've got to think about and maybe turn around yourself?

-Yes.

Chris hasn't got that much to do, so should this take too long?

-I would hope to turn it around within the next six weeks.

-OK.

If I can do that, that would be good. Two months and I'll be out.

-OK.

-Up here, unfortunately they don't have any grace on council tax,

so as soon as you purchase a house, you start paying council tax.

-It's yours.

-It's mine. You don't get any help that way.

OK. So that's your timescale, and your budget, as well?

Um...2,000, 2,500. It really depends on the en-suite.

I don't think there's going to be any surprises.

You've looked in all the nooks and crannies. Have you had any surprises?

-I haven't been in the loft yet...

-Ah-ha.

-..and there is a gaping hole

in the loft where there used to be an old boiler up there.

So, there may be some issues in the loft.

I might have to insulate that more.

So, though he's got that travelling to do, it sounds like Chris

is on it with this house and it turns out he didn't have to travel

quite so far for the other properties in his portfolio.

I bought my neighbour's house about four years ago

and we had already purchased my mum's house.

She passed away a few years ago but we purchased it

in 2000 from the council and so this is the third house.

Is it always going to be a rental thing or are you looking to

maybe buy and sell as well or buy and live in, maybe?

Because I haven't paid into a pension,

I've been self-employed for the last 28, 30 years,

I would like to use this as my pension, yes.

And something for my kids, for them to live off.

I wish you all the best, Chris. I know you're going to do well.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

-I hope your children have got lots of houses to choose from.

-Yes.

Thank you.

So, Chris purchased this property, which is over 300 miles away

from his home in Woking. Will he get sick of the train journey

and will he get all the work done within that £2,000 budget?

You can find out later on in the programme.

So, we've seen how one buyer got on, but what about the other two?

Did they stick to their schedule and budget

and do they stand to make a profit?

Mm. Let's take a closer look.

Time to return to Bridgend in Wales

and this three-bed mid-terrace, guided at £72,000.

# Baby I love

# I love only you... #

Yes, built in the '50s to house the growing baby boom population.

For me, it was a nice surprise.

From the outside, it looks OK but inside... Wow!

Loads of space.

Not only that but it had a huge back garden

and two large bathrooms, one downstairs...

and one up.

Could there be potential to use some of that space as an extra bedroom?

It was bought at auction for £66,000 by husband and wife Mark and Bev.

So what was it that piqued their interest?

I haven't got a clue. Why did we want to buy the house, Mark?

It's a good start! You don't know why you bought it?

-The price was right for a start.

-The price was right. I love that.

Oh, it's a house, it'll do!

# I find it every time you bet

# They can't fool me... #

Don't let them fool you,

Mark and Bev have a portfolio of rental properties

and Bev recently passed her landlord accreditation course.

They saw potential in this place, especially if they could add

an extra room. But would the return justify the extra cost involved?

Mark and Bev had set aside a budget of £4,000 - £6,000

and a timescale of six months but those plans abruptly changed

when, very sadly, Mark's father passed away.

It was difficult when my father died to actually focus

and carry on with the build. It's very difficult

because everything just goes through the window, really.

You just don't think of what's important and then it took

a little bit of a while for us to focus and then,

when we got back to it,

we were able to carry on with the build but it was a difficult time.

It just makes you realise that family is more important

than finances and work.

So true. And having taken a few weeks respite,

Mark and Bev continued renovating the house

and we're back five months later to see how they got on.

# I'll be your Emmylou

# And I'll be your June

# If you'll be my Gram

# And my Johnny too

# No, I'm not asking much of you

# Just sing little darling Sing with me... #

In the time that we've been here,

the work that we've actually done has involved, first of all, the safety issues.

So, we've had a plumber in to give us the gas certificate,

we've had a partial rewiring, we've had a qualified electrician in.

We started off with the bedrooms.

The existing doors that were damaged, we've done them.

Some of the frames were damaged, too. We've done that.

We painted it, put flooring in, we levelled the floor up in the lounge,

we obviously plastered about three or four walls,

we put a fireplace in, we put the kitchen in...

Miles and miles of laminate flooring.

-Miles of laminate flooring.

-My knees are still sore.

Yes. You've done well. Is there any more?

Oh, there's always more.

Mark and Bev have given a terrific example

of how to renovate a house intended to be let.

What did these lovely landlords decide to do

with those two bathrooms?

We were unsure what to do with the downstairs bathroom so we called

a couple of estate agents. So, they came and had a look, one of them did,

and we decided that we'd be better to turn

it into a bedroom, so that's what we've done.

With the bathroom upstairs, we didn't really want to spend too much

with it cos it looked not in bad condition

so what we decided to do was put transfers around it,

we cleaned the tiles up and then we put a shower and a screen in

and just cleaned it all up.

I think it was smart to get the opinion of a local estate agent

to help them make their decision.

Whenever you're thinking of major work, it's always worth checking

with local experts from trade professionals to planning officials

to help you make an informed decision.

Unfortunately for the couple, there was

another bathroom-related problem that had to be dealt with.

We noticed the pressure was quite low

so we decided we had to put a new water mains in

so we actually then dug a trench in the middle of January.

It was about one foot to two feet in width

and two and a half feet down. It was a nightmare.

The soil was really solid and it's not the best thing to do in January

and then we had to lag it and pipe it, so it was a bit of a nightmare.

It took ages.

# Can you dig it? Oh, yeah

# Can you dig it? Oh, yeah... #

Yes. When you see people making a profit on Homes Under the Hammer,

remember what they had to go through to get there.

Mark dug that trench by hand and it's that hands-on approach

that helped them keep to their budget of £6,000.

And despite everything, they're still within

their timescale of six months, having taken just five months

although they say the actual hard graft took 12 weeks.

They bought the house for £66,000, 6,000 under the guide price.

But will their work impress local estate agents?

We've asked two along to find out.

Since I first visited the first property,

there's been a substantial change here.

Aesthetically, there's a big difference here.

It's a much more modern property now, aligning it very well for both

the sales and the rental market.

I think this property would rent almost overnight

cos there's a large demand for rental properties.

It's also a saleable property, which could sell in a reasonable timescale.

That strong rental market is great news for Mark and Bev

but unfortunately, when it comes to valuations,

the room that used to be a bathroom won't necessarily

be counted as a bedroom as it's downstairs.

Both estate agents shared the opinion that this should

be considered a three-bed house with a flexible room downstairs.

So, having spent a total of £72,000, is there still potential for profit?

In the current sales market, I would estimate a value

of between £85,000 and £90,000.

In my opinion, the likely price to be realised for this property

would be somewhere in the region of £100,000.

If they were to rent the property out,

I would estimate a rent in the region of £595 per calendar month.

In my opinion, the likely rental value of this property

would be in the region of £595 per calendar month.

I can understand why the estate agents

would call it a three-bedroomed house.

We've renovated it as a completely flexible room.

However, it has been let out as a fourth bedroom

and we are actually managing to secure a tenant on 650,

which is brilliant.

Mark and Bev had done their research

and followed the Department of Social Services stipulations

for size and rental price of a four-bed house,

so it's great that they have a tenant

and that rent of £650 per calendar month will give them

a yield of almost 11%.

So, after everything they've been through,

how will they remember this experience?

The experience has been really quite hard work.

Yeah, it's been difficult because of my father's passing, really.

-I'm proud of what you've done, though.

-Thank you.

Welcome back to Northumberland and this three-bed semidetached house.

It had a modern kitchen, spacious rooms,

and when a guide of £20,000 buys you views like this,

I thought this could be a good buy.

It was snapped up at auction by aerial fitter Chris,

who bought the property for £27,000.

I thought the layout could be improved so I dropped a hint.

I do like a bathroom upstairs and a toilet upstairs.

My thoughts were, perhaps an en-suite in the bedroom.

One of the bedrooms upstairs... It's big, isn't it? It's quite large.

It's big enough to take an en-suite, yes.

# Get up Get on up

# Get up Get on up... #

As subtle as ever, eh?

Chris had given himself a budget of £2,000 - £2,500 for the renovation

and a timescale of six weeks to two months,

but as he lived in Woking, any work he had to do

would involve a long trip.

Would he fix his distance dwelling?

Well, five months have passed.

Has this house completed its renovation journey? Let's find out.

The house was in decent condition

but even then it's amazing what a little bit of TLC can do.

The new carpets have really brightened up the place.

Chris has sorted out the fireplace fitting in the living room...

..the dodgy decking out in the back garden has been replaced

and Chris has been very hands-on in other areas.

I needed to sort out some of the electrics.

I'm a qualified electrician, so there's not a problem there.

Also the windows upstairs had to be secured

so they couldn't open fully for Health and Safety.

I sorted that out and general painting, as well.

Always remember, safety comes first and use a certified professional

when work is required on specialist areas like electrics and gas.

As Chris is a trained electrician himself,

he could get stuck into the work, saving some money.

And he also saved some money in other areas.

We decided not to put an en-suite in.

There was going to be extra funds needed for that

so we kept it downstairs...

..put the shower curtain up

and just the usual things that you would have in a bathroom.

# Take it easy

# Take it easy... #

Well, I do prefer a bathroom upstairs

but as Chris is looking to stay within his tight £2,000 budget,

I can understand why he decided to leave it where it is.

So, with no bathroom to move,

this renovation would have been simple, surely?

Well, it's never that easy.

There was a hole, roughly about a foot square,

in the top right-hand corner just under the gutter.

When the boiler was replaced, they took it out of the loft

and put it in the kitchen.

Unfortunately, they didn't fill the holes up,

where the pipe came out and so I had to fill the hole in.

The other challenges... It took nine hours to get here from Woking.

I've used the railway and that's been interesting.

Never underestimate how tiring travelling can be.

In the end, Chris would come up from Woking every few weeks

and stay at the house a few days at a time to get the work done.

How has that reflected on his timescale and his budget?

I was planning for it to be finished within six weeks.

Unfortunately, due to the distance,

it took three months to complete the work.

I had £2,000 to spend on the renovation

and, um...I spent in the region of £2,000

so I was quite happy with that.

So, it's taken Chris longer than he'd hoped

but, having done the work himself,

he's managed to keep under his £2,000 budget.

Has all that commuting been worth it?

We've asked along two local estate agents to get their opinions.

There's been a good standard of finish throughout the property

including the carpets and the redecoration.

I think the owner's been right to leave the bathroom

on the ground floor for this particular property.

Three good-sized bedrooms upstairs

and that's going to be one of the main selling points.

The selling points of the property... I would say

definitely the size of it, it's a good layout,

it's clean and tidy, it's south at the back

and not overlooked on either side.

So, having spent £27,000 at auction and two grand on renovation,

what could Chris expect were he to sell?

If I was putting this property on the market today,

I would put this on the market at 45,950, offers in the region of,

with a view to accepting at about £40,000.

As far as the sale figure is concerned,

I would expect the property to achieve around about £40,000.

With a total spend of £29,000,

that would give Chris a pre-tax profit of 11,000.

Not bad at all. But Chris saw this as a letting opportunity

so let's get those rental valuations.

If I was putting this property on the market,

I would suggest an asking price of £325 per calendar month.

Rental value - I would expect to achieve

something around £300 - £325 per calendar month.

Yeah, I'm really pleased with those figures.

I'm still planning to rent it out but if I find some more property,

then I might actually sell it and start again.

I've had enquiries of £300 so, yeah, I would go with that.

In fact, since filming, Chris has rented the house out

at £375 per calendar month,

giving him a yield of over 15%. And it has obviously inspired Chris

to carry on, although he has perhaps learnt a few lessons.

My next project would be to buy another house,

perhaps a little bit closer to where I live now,

which makes it a little bit easier for travelling.

Well, there's plenty more properties being sold up and down the country.

Yes, so for more action from the auctions, join us next time.

-Yes, we look forward to seeing you then. Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.