Episode 37 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello. Whether you want to create your family home or buy a property

as an investment, the auction room is a great starting point.

There really is something for everyone. You've got to keep a cool head, and don't get carried away

-when the bidding starts.

-Yeah, do all that,

and you could be a winner, buying your home under the hammer.

The rewards can be great if you get it right,

but there are plenty of opportunities to slip up.

Yes, everything from unforeseen problems to bad planning

-and budgeting.

-Yes, were today's buyers prepared before their homes went under the hammer?

Something could be disturbing the neighbours in this north-east

London flat.

LOUD CREAKING

It is really bloomin' noisy.

With two flights of stairs between your bed and the loo, you

might consider buying a bedpan with this South Wales terraced house.

It is not ideal, is it?

And this flat near Manchester comes with all sorts of extras,

mainly eight-legged ones.

And you can keep the cobwebs if you want, that's optional.

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.

Sold, so yours, well done.

This is Woodford Green in north-east London.

Historically part of Essex,

in 1965 it was incorporated into Greater London.

With its proximity to the City, and with the M11

on its doorstep, Woodford Green is a great spot for commuters.

# In the city there's a thousand things

# I want to say to you... #

We are a 15-minute walk from the closest Tube here,

so it is a little bit of a hike to catch a train to work,

but it is not too bad.

Well, I'm here to see a first-floor flat in a semidetached 1930s house,

and it went to auction with a guide price of £150,000.

And it is somewhere behind this big hedge. I'm going to investigate.

Unfortunately, the driveway is too narrow for some off-road

parking, but there is a garden at the back that belongs to the

property, and a large outbuilding, which could provide handy storage.

But what about the flat itself?

So up these really steep stairs.

It is almost as if I've got to pull myself up,

they are sort of sloping this way.

Once you are at the top of the stairs,

there's this rather unusual full ceiling that's been

put in here, and I don't know what all that is about.

Very strange indeed. So, here we are.

It is quite a good layout, though. You've got a bathroom with a coloured suite.

You know my rules, keep it white, keep it bright.

Bedroom here, nice size. Second bedroom, again, a good-sized double.

Into the front of the building, which is the lounge.

I like it because it's got a big window, letting loads of sun in.

It needs a complete, modern overhaul. You've got woodchip on the ceiling,

this rather interesting fireplace,

which I probably would just take out and cover up.

And what is through here?

I do like the matching carpet and curtains, by the way.

What is behind the curtain? The kitchen! Voila!

That is hilarious. I love the way it was just tucked behind the curtain there.

Again, it just needs to be brought out, literally just put something

very simple and white and bright in there and it will really do the job.

So, overall, it is a good-size flat, it needs a big, modern overhaul,

and something I am noticing...

LOUD CREAKING

It is really bloomin' noisy.

These floorboards are so creaky, there is no way anybody could

ever creep in late at night and get away with it.

It may not be noise pollution,

but these creaky floorboards must be driving the downstairs neighbours

up the wall, so do them a favour, pull up the carpet and check if there's

a problem, and you might find they just need screwing down properly.

But the floorboards aren't the only issue here.

Now, there are two nasties in this flat.

Firstly, polystyrene ceiling tiles. You know what I'm going to say.

They are a fire hazard.

Now, if there was a fire in this property,

they would melt and they would drip big globs of molten plastic

tile, spreading the fire and giving of noxious fumes.

Nowadays, polystyrene tiles are treated with a fire retardant,

and have to be put up with the correct adhesive in order to

meet current fire safety standards.

But these old ones should definitely go,

and that means the ceiling will need to be replastered.

And while the plasterer is in,

well, you could get him to deal with my next pet hate.

In the hall, that old favourite of mine. Textured plaster.

The modern trend is for nice, smooth walls, but you can't just sand this

stuff off because, until the 1980s, this stuff often contained asbestos.

Now, it is no danger when it is undamaged like this,

so you can just skim it over, or you could get it professionally removed.

Just don't be sanding it off and get all that dust in the air.

So there's a bit of work to do in this dated flat.

But one thing you don't have to worry about is the lease.

There is still 122 years to run.

Does the local property expert think that this would be

a worthwhile investment?

'This particular location is probably the lower end of Woodford Green,'

but everywhere is popular now.

Especially in the first-time buyer or buy-to-let range.

You need new central heating, new kitchen, new bathroom.

The wiring may need to be checked. Nice, smooth walls. Nice flooring.

Because if you refurb it nicely,

then you will obviously get a better price for selling or for renting.

And in terms of valuation,

what price does she think the flat could achieve on the sales market?

I would say anywhere from

£235,000-£250,000.

And what about rental?

I think you could achieve, here, £1,000 per calendar month.

Well, this two-bed flat needs a complete makeover.

New bathroom, new kitchen, don't forget those creaky floorboards.

The works. But once it is done, it would make a great little rental property

or home for someone. Let's find out who bought it at auction.

First-floor, self-contained flat.

Lot 64, then, where do you want to start? Should we say 150?

150, thank you, straightaway, 150.

152 in the aisle. 152, 154. 156.

158. 160. 162.

This lot flew out of the traps,

and we rejoin the bidding with the price at £184,000.

Still got value 184. 186.

188. 190.

192. Sure?

191, I'll try and help you out.

191. Out. 192. 193.

194. 195.

196. 197.

Sure? £196,000.

197 anywhere else? Otherwise, £196,000 I have.

Another 1,000? Could be last chance.

Otherwise, 196,000, then, for the first...

196 for the second...

Third and final time at £196,000.

Are you sure? We're all done? Sold.

After that battle of the bids, the new owner of the property was Yasin.

Yasin runs a men's clothing company and, along with his mum

and dad, also buys the occasional property as a business sideline.

We met up back at the flat to discuss his plans.

# Cos every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man. #

-Yasin, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Now, you did quite well on auction day, didn't you?

You didn't pay too much over the guide price.

I had a limit, so I stayed within the limit, so that was OK.

-So what was your upper limit you would have paid?

-200.

-I was close to it.

-£4,000 off that.

-Yes.

-So it is purely for investment purposes you've bought this?

-Yes.

It is for rental, so I'm not really looking for the after

sale on it, or anything like that, but just to sort of keep it.

Yes, rent it out, hopefully.

So, walking in this flat for the first time,

-what did you think when you first saw it?

-Didn't need too much work.

Most of it is decoration.

I've done something similar to this one, so should be OK.

Now, I know you are in menswear. Looking very chic today,

-I might say.

-Thank you.

-Tell me a little bit about that, and how are you going to

work it so that you've got time to develop this flat?

Yes, so we've got a couple of clothing stores and a website.

But I'm not really going to get my hands dirty at all.

I'm going to leave it to a team of builders.

There's someone I've used before, but they are really busy,

so I'm going to have to look elsewhere, unfortunately.

So you are really reliant on just handing over the keys to

-somebody, crack on with the work and then you'll come and check up on it?

-Basically.

So why don't you get your hands dirty and get involved yourself?

Just don't have the time. I don't think I have the skill as well.

I think anything I do, the builders will have to do it again, to repair, so...

Apart from painting, maybe I could do a bit of painting,

but apart from that, no, I'm useless.

So you're good at folding shirts and making clothes look nice,

but you can't get your hands dirty and peel wallpaper off?

Exactly, yes.

# I like your style

# I like your style... #

With style being a big part of Yasin's clothing business,

I wonder how much of it he will bring to this refurbishment.

Basically, the plan is to gut everything.

So everything you see in here we are going to get rid of.

The floor is going to be laminated, so all of the wallpaper is going to come off.

Replaster absolutely everything. New kitchen, new bathroom.

And the layout, keep it the way it is.

And in terms of the radiators as well, we found that

some of the pipeworks go up into the loft, so we are going to make sure

that they all go under the floor and, yes, that is basically it.

So the woodchip ceilings and the polystyrene tiles are all going to go?

Yes, they're all going to go. If you want it, you are more than welcome...

-And the velvet curtain that leads into the kitchen is going to go?

-Yes.

Whoo! Keep it.

I'm very relieved to hear that everything

I dislike about this place won't be here for much longer. Hurray!

And the new flooring should sort out those creaky floorboards.

-What about that garden?

-I didn't even know about it until today, actually.

So you bought this, you didn't even know it came with a little plot?

-It is a bonus. Maybe I would have gone a bit higher.

-You've got a nice old garage, or a shed on there,

that belongs to you.

Yes. It is like finding a fiver in your pocket, in a pair of jeans...

A bit more than a fiver.

THEY LAUGH

Yes, it is going to take a bit more than a fiver to sort this place out, so how much has

Yasin set aside?

8 to 9,000. I was hoping to spend eight.

Now knowing that the builders I usually use

are not going to be doing it, I may have to pay

a bit of a premium in getting someone else in, or someone...

So I'm not too sure what the cost of the labour is going to be,

so that's what it is. Eight to nine, I think, should do it.

-Are you nervous about trying to find your new team of builders?

-Yes.

Only reason... Don't know what the quality of work is going to be like.

That's the only one issue I've got, because I know...

Some people are very good, and some people are not,

and it is normally the finishing, especially with something like this, where it...

-It is going to be the finishing.

-What is your timescale, and how long have you got?

-As soon as the work's started, one month.

-Four weeks?!

-Hopefully.

-Four to five weeks.

-And this is with a team of builders you've never met, you don't know?

-That's the thing.

-Four weeks?

-That's the problem that I've got now. I say four weeks. I'm hoping.

And again, finding someone, so, yes, I think

it shouldn't take longer than four to five weeks, I don't...

You've just added a week there. I like the way you did that.

Four to five weeks. Yasin, good luck, I can't wait to see if you do it.

-On time, within that £9,000 budget. Good luck.

-Great, thank you so much.

Yasin plans a pretty straightforward refurbishment for this flat,

with no major structural works and no layout changes.

He's happy to keep it as a two-bed property to let out.

So will it all go smoothly? Will Yasin keep to his budget

and timescale and will he find the right team of builders?

Join us later in the programme and you can see how he gets on.

I'm in Penrhiwceiber, a former mining town in the Welsh

valleys, about 30 minutes' drive from Cardiff.

Once home to two pits, the last one closed in 1985,

after more than a century in operation.

Nowadays it is a commuter town for people working in Cardiff or

Merthyr Tydfil.

Well, typical of many of the mining towns in the Valleys,

Penrhiwceiber is full of streets of terraced houses like this,

originally built, probably, for the mine workers.

But they do make good, solid houses.

And the one that was up for auction is this one.

£25,000 plus was the guide price. Three bedrooms. In we go.

So, what have we got? Entrance hall here.

-HE COUGHS

-First impressions.

Looks all right. Smells pretty rancid.

Oh, wow. Um...

Just thank your lucky stars they haven't invented Smell-O-Vision yet.

What have we got? Front room there.

It's not a bad size, quite a large window, lots of light.

Stairs up to your bedrooms there.

And then through into what you would suspect was going to be

the kitchen, but it is not. It is another living space.

Um, but looks like I'm going to have to search further...

to find what I might expect. If you know what I mean.

Yes, from the ground floor, I'm going down.

The construction of this house is typical of the area

because of the steepness of the hills these towns were built into.

In this case, from the front, it looks like a regular two-storey

affair, but from the back you can see the extra lower floor.

# Get down, deeper and down

# Down, down, deeper and down... #

Well, down to the lower floor

and finally...some of the facilities you expect in a house.

A kitchen. The bathroom, well, that's the bathroom there.

It's a decent size. It needs refurbishment. As does this space.

Ah, it is not ideal, is it? Especially if you are upstairs in the bedrooms,

down two flights of stairs to use the loo in the middle of the night.

Er, no. But in terms of position for the kitchen, well,

you've got great views out onto the garden there, across to the hills.

So actually, the position of the kitchen works.

And with these types of properties, in this part of Wales, it is

sort of what you have to have, given the shape of the land.

# Can you dig it?

# Oh, yeah... #

So, apart from the rather potent pong of pet,

the property doesn't seem to be in too bad condition.

It is a bit dated and in need of complete redecoration,

and the kitchen and bathroom will obviously need replacing.

But so far, I am digging it.

So up finally onto the top floor, where you've got your three bedrooms.

Now, they are all a pretty decent size.

So I guess the 64 million question is,

could you get a bathroom up here? Um... Well, maybe.

I mean, these walls wouldn't be too much of an issue to take out.

Maybe reconfigure it up here, get at least a loo, maybe a shower room.

It is going to be quite a lot of effort.

It would make living here more pleasant. Will it affect what you get in rental? Probably not.

So it really depends on your end use for the property.

Yeah.

Let's ask a local estate agent if he thinks changing

the layout would be a benefit in this multilevel property.

The layout is typical of this type of property,

this type of three-storey property.

The bathrooms tend to be on the lower ground floor

because of connection to the drainage system.

Unfortunately, I can't see any potential to put

a bathroom on the first floor, or the top floor.

So, unfortunately, the bathroom will probably have to

remain in the lower ground floor.

It sounds like moving the loo is more hassle than it's worth,

so when modernised and redecorated,

what could this three-bed terrace be worth?

Provided the property is refurbished to a good standard,

I would recommend the property be remarketed at an

asking price of £55,000.

And what about rental?

Depending on the quality of the finish,

this property could achieve up to £425 per calendar month.

Well, it is a terrace that needs a tidy,

but intrinsically a good, solid property. Would you bother

with the whole moving of the toilet upstairs and reconfiguring?

As I said before, it is all about what you intend to do with it.

So, let's see who bought it,

and find out what they are going to do with it.

Let's go to the auction.

I have a proxy bid on this property.

It is guided at £25,000.

Will you start me, I don't know, we'll start, shall we,

on the proxy bid at £20,000?

At 20, then, it is with me on my proxy. At 20. 21 now, can I see in the room?

21, thank you. 21. 22. 23, sir. 23.

24. 25.

Thank you, 25. 26. 27 now.

27. 27. 27. 28.

29. 29, no.

At 28,000, and with the proxy.

You are now out, both of you. And there.

At 28,000, it is going to be sold then for the first time.

29, sir.

29, thank you. 29. Proxy is now out. £29,000, it is with you.

At 29,000. 30, can I say from anybody?

Well, it is 29,000 here, for the first time.

Second time.

Third and last time. At £29,000.

Sold, so yours, well done.

That final bid of 29,000 was made by Andrew,

who lives in Pontypool.

I met up with him back at the house to find out what

he was planning to do with it.

Andrew, good to meet you.

-Nice to meet you, too.

-Congratulations.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

Well, as an investment, and I've been going to the

auctions for nearly a year and bid on a couple of the actual

-various properties, usually churches or pubs.

-Oh, right.

-For some strange reason.

-MARTIN LAUGHS

I decided to just jump in and buy something.

-Right, is this the first one you've bought?

-It is, through the auction, yes.

Was it sort of the romantic in you, wanting to do the churches,

-up into amazing buildings?

-Yes, basically, yes.

I think live in a church and do it up while you were living in it

and, you know, sort of just live some sort of bizarre film lifestyle.

Well, yes, I guess so. Fantastic.

-Something with a big organ would have been nice.

-Yes.

But not to be on this occasion.

No, this was purely sort of sensible, I think,

and buy something, and something small,

-something you can manage and maybe actually do and finish.

-Right, OK.

Property development is not Andrew's day job.

He's an automation engineer.

And, erm, I'm not quite sure I know what that is, either.

# No way to control it

# It's totally automatic... #

It's when you've got, usually, a reasonably large house

and you automate it to...

well, the customer's specifications, whether it is heating blinds,

lighting. Pretty much whatever they want, and whether they want to control

-it from within the house, so pretty much anywhere in the world.

-Wow.

-So what can you automate?

-Anything you want. I can't do ironing.

But pretty much, up to ironing, anything.

-What, like turn the washing machine on?

-If you want to, yes.

-Run a bath?

-Yes.

Fridge... Can programme the fridge so it will order your food for you

when you run out of certain things as well.

MARTIN LAUGHS

-Can't do the hoovering, though, I would imagine.

-Yes, can do the hoovering.

-What?!

How do you do the hoovering?!

We have robotic, little round robotic Hoovers that go

-and hide on each floor. They come out when you're out, do the hoovering.

-Whoa!

-What's the most extravagant thing somebody has asked you to do?

-I don't know. I mean,

there is running a bath. I think...

You haven't quite got home and you fancy a bath, so you don't want

to wait for the bath, so you can programme the bath to actually fill.

So, I mean, that is reasonably extravagant,

because that takes quite a lot of doing, to actually know the bath

is not going to overfill and you end up that it has

come through the ceiling by the time you get home.

I'm doing one at the moment

so a chap can turn his children's bedrooms off in the day,

because they're not revising, so we're shutting...

the actual bedrooms down completely in the day.

So then they have to... They have to go downstairs and study in the office.

This sounds like something from a film, not from real life!

MUSIC: Monster by The Automatic

Talking of films, Andrew has appeared in one.

I wonder, given his occupation, did he play the part of

a mad scientist controlling an army of evil robots?

# What's that coming over the hill? Is it a monster? Is it a monster? #

The only one sort of major, I was a zombie in a movie.

-You were a zombie in a movie?

-Yeah.

-What did you have to do?

-Twitch.

-Twitch?

-Yes, mainly twitch

and look zombie-ish.

THEY LAUGH

So, you didn't get any calls asking for your services after that?

No, I obviously...

I don't know if I overstretched being a zombie

and I should have maybe been something else.

HE LAUGHS

But, it was an interesting sort of few days,

running round and dressed up as a zombie.

MARTIN LAUGHS

Well, with his career as a screen zombie firmly behind him,

Andrew's task is now to bring life back into this three-bed terrace.

So, what's his plan?

You know, it doesn't really look that bad

so I think it's going to be more decorating than anything else,

other than the bathroom and some other little bits.

I think mainly decorating and some bits of flooring and things

-and see where we go from there.

-Right.

So, the layout's staying pretty much as it is.

I mean, it sort of works, it's not to everyone's taste

but it does work as it is, sort of, doesn't it?

I think to change it is going to be a bit expensive for what it is.

It would be lovely to have at least a toilet upstairs, but...

-I think it's a little bit sort of, you know, you would be wasting money.

-Sure.

So, what's the budget?

Well, as I didn't actually see the property, I didn't have a budget.

-You didn't see the property?

-No, no.

-After all this time at the auctions, you didn't see the property?

-I saw other properties.

Oh, right. That's useful then(!)

Well, you know, I got an idea of what they might look like.

-I... You know, I was thinking sort of 2 or 3,000.

-OK.

But, the budget is reduced cos I just took the kids on holiday

so I have got less budget now, so we'll see how we go.

So, what's the timescale for getting it sorted, then?

I'm going to say six months, what everybody says,

cos I'm not going to overly rush it.

I'm quite busy as well in the daytime

-so it's going to be an evening thing, so...

-OK.

I know a couple of people.

I've got a colleague that works with me and he lives quite nearby.

-Great.

-So, I'm hoping maybe a fridge and some drinks

and some evenings working on it, really, so...

-Oh, yeah. Mates' rates.

-Yeah.

Well, mates' help. Well, listen, congratulations

-and good luck with it.

-Cheers.

-It's really nice to meet you.

-Cheers, you too, thanks.

So, after a year of visiting the auctions,

Andrew buys a house without viewing at first.

Tut, tut.

However, I think he's got a great property here

and it sounds like it could end up being the most sophisticated

and hi-tech property on the street.

How automated will it be when we return?

You can find out later in the show.

Still to come, I discover a mould problem in Middleton near Manchester.

I can't see any vents in this room.

The air can't circulate in here.

-And talking of FUN GUY...

-HE LAUGHS

..Andrew tells us what happened to his renovation budget.

I drove through the Alps and bought lots of wine.

We now return to Woodford Green in Greater London,

where earlier I visited this two-bedroom upper flat,

situated on a quiet cul-de-sac but close to the M11.

Outside, all was tranquil,

but in the flat, something was disturbing the peace.

Something I am noticing...

LOUD CREAKING

-SHE LAUGHS

-It's really bloomin' noisy.

Noisy underfoot and nasty overhead.

These polystyrene ceiling tiles would have to be dealt with,

as would this patterned plaster.

You can't just sand this stuff off,

because until the 1980s, this stuff often contained asbestos.

These were all issues that would need to be addressed by new owner Yasin,

who purchased the flat at auction for 196,000.

Yasin runs a clothing company, but together with mum and dad

was investing some money in properties to rent.

He was realistic about what contribution he could make to the renovation.

Anything I do, the builders will have to do again to repair, so...

Apart from painting, maybe I could do a bit of painting,

but apart from that, no, I'm useless...

So, you're good at folding shirts and making clothes look nice

but you can't get your hands dirty and peel the wallpaper off?

Exactly, yeah.

To make matters worse, his regular team of builders were unavailable

and Yasin wasn't relishing the prospect

of finding a completely new crew.

Are you nervous about trying to find your new team of builders?

Yes, the only reason...

I don't know what the quality of work is going to be like.

That's the only one issue I've got,

because I know some people are very good and some people are not,

and it's normally the finishing, especially with something like this, it's going to be the finishing.

With a budget of £8-9,000

and a timescale of four to five weeks,

Yasin set off to find some builders

who could turn this very tired and dated property

into a modern and rentable commuter pad.

Were his new builders up to the task? Let's take a look.

MUSIC: Let In The Sun by Take That

# Let in the sun

# Let in the sun... #

Well, the new builders appear to have broken through the storm clouds

that were gathering over this project.

It looks like they've done a great job.

I think the work that was done was done to a very good standard,

something I would have expected my regular builders to do,

and the timeframe, very happy with the timeframe.

It took four weeks.

I was quite surprised

cos when we did see the renovation after two days,

they were practically halfway through the property

so we were quite chuffed about that.

The living room and bedrooms have had a complete overhaul.

Gone are the potentially hazardous ceiling tiles and wall-coverings.

Every surface has been plastered and decorated,

and spotlights have replaced the central room-lights.

And new flooring has been laid throughout the flat,

meaning Yasin was able to eradicate all the squeaks.

We've put in a thick underlay

in the whole of the flat.

The steps also were quite squeaky.

We were thinking that they may even need changing,

but once we got the carpet off, we realised that

it just needed a bit of securing and once that was done, I think,

we got rid of all the squeakiness. I think.

# Let in the sun...! #

Unfortunately, it wasn't just the sun that was let in.

Once we got the plastering done

and we started the paintwork,

in the front living room we noticed there was damp coming through.

One of my tilers we worked with previously

noticed that, yes, there were some repairs

that needed to be done in the roof.

It cost us £1,050 with the scaffolding and the repairs.

It could have been worse.

But it was something that needed to be done.

Yasin's original budget was £8,000-£9,000,

but the unexpected roof repairs

and the fact that the new builders were slightly more expensive

meant that he ended up spending £11,000.

There's one area of the property that hasn't had any impact

on the budget whatsoever!

# What you waiting, what you waiting, what you waiting

# What you waiting, what you waiting, what you waiting for... #

As you can most probably see, we haven't done nothing to it.

But whoever does move in,

they're more than welcome to put their own stamp on the garden.

And, hopefully, whoever does move in, they stay here for long enough.

And two people we hope will stay long enough to give us their opinion

on this renovation...

are these local estate agents.

What will they make of the changes to Yasin's two-bed flat?

Starting with the agent who viewed the property earlier.

It looks very bright and clean.

Kitchen and bathroom much improved.

Overall it does look much better. More habitable.

It's all very modern.

It's all very clean.

And you can move straight in -

all you need to do is bring your personal belongings

and, bang, you're in. I think it's presented well.

Having completed the tour,

who is this likely to appeal to?

And is there a demand for this type of property?

The flat will appeal to some first-time buyers

and definitely to an investor.

There's a strong demand for flats.

There's a strong demand for everything in all the local areas.

It's an absolute prime time to sell or let.

With that in mind let's move swiftly on to values.

Purchased for £196,000,

Yasin has spent a further

£11,000 on refurbishment

bringing his total spend to £207,000.

How much would this flat be worth if it went on the sales market?

I think we could achieve a selling price

in the region of £265,000-£270,000.

This flat could resell for around

£265,000.

Well, that would earn Yasin a pre-tax profit

of between 58,000 to 63,000.

But it's always been his intention to keep the flat for rental,

so what do the agents reckon he should be asking per month?

Rental per calendar month of £1,100-£1,150.

This flat could rent for £1,100 per calendar month.

And that would give Yasin and his family a yield of around 6.5%.

We've actually secured two deposits at the moment.

It just depends on who we want to go for.

One's actually slightly higher than the figures you've given us,

depending on whether we give it furnished or unfurnished.

So, yes, spot-on, I'd say.

So, slightly over budget, but bang on schedule.

Has Yasin enjoyed this project?

I am glad that it's done, but it definitely was...

It was a bit of a rocky ride. I don't like stress.

I like things to be done sort of quiet and smoothly,

so every time there's a phone call from a builder

it's always a big sigh before I answer.

But I'm glad it was done. It was quite quick and painless, so...

It was good.

Middleton is a Lancashire town that sits within Greater Manchester.

Its industrial roots lay in cotton and silk production,

but these days it's a popular commuter town.

Sitting on Middleton's doorstep is Heaton Park.

At 600 acres, it's one of the largest in Europe,

and has played host to some of Britpop's finest acts,

including Oasis and The Stone Roses.

MUSIC: Some Might Say by Oasis

So this property is close to everything -

a short walk from Heaton Park and the local supermarket

and it's only a stone's throw from three major motorways.

It's a one-bed flat with a guide price of £20,000-£25,000.

I'm going to have a look.

From the outside this property doesn't look too great.

Ideally what's required is getting an agreement from the occupants

to look after these communal areas,

but sometimes that's easier said than done.

OK, so what have we got?

A small area, first and foremost.

This is a bit, er, strange.

Some kind of partition as you come through.

But, I can actually see why they've done this.

This is the meter here.

Now, to move these it can be quite expensive.

You'd have to leave this here

and maybe make a feature of it - put some shelving up?

Just make use of that space there.

Anyway, nice-sized lounge for a one-bed flat. Tidy it up.

I can't see any central heating anywhere.

Kitchen through here.

Needs to be ripped out.

Needs to be made brand-new.

But, again, a decent-sized kitchen for a small one-bed flat.

Not bad, not bad.

OK, so you've got a bathroom there...

Small bathroom, but you could just tidy that up.

Put a new system in there.

You can keep the cobwebs if you want - that's optional!

Through to the bedroom.

You can see here this is...

To me it looks like some kind of condensation

which has turned into mould.

I can't see any vents in this room.

The air can't circulate in here,

so that's what would've happened there.

Over here I can see some kind of...

Some kind of, I don't know... Some kind of thermostat?

There's one in the lounge, as well.

There would've been some heating here at some stage.

But I haven't seen one of these before.

# It was the heat of the moment

# Heat of the moment... #

Of course, I'm far too young to remember the '70s,

but these wall thermostats are a relic from that era.

It goes without saying that a functioning central-heating system

is a must, as is proper ventilation,

otherwise the condensation and mould

will keep returning.

Another thing that thrives in these conditions

are these eight-legged critters.

Daddy-longlegs spiders, or cellar spiders.

As the name suggests, they usually live in cool, dark and damp places,

but I think the lack of heating and ventilation here

has made this place just as attractive.

Next stop, the garden.

So, round the back of the property

it has been neglected slightly.

A bit weedy.

As you may be able to hear,

the motorway is just over the back there, behind those houses.

But there's a bit of space if they were to tidy it up.

You could maybe use it.

But the bonus is, this property does come with a garage.

Which one it is...I'm not too sure.

# I've been driving in my car... #

Even if you don't use it for the car,

the garage is handy as extra storage space, or you could even rent it out.

Yes, it makes this flat

just a bit more appealing.

But what would a local property expert make of it all?

Yes, definitely popular with commuters.

The road to Middleton,

and our sort of well-respected areas.

We have people who've lived here for a very long time

who are quite proud of their own town.

We're approximately five miles away from Manchester city centre,

and we do have Bowker Vale Metrolink station only a mile away.

We do have local bus routes just round the corner from here

going direct into Manchester city centre,

and we are on the doorstep of junction 19 of the M60.

So, top marks for location

and transport links, but what about the flat itself?

I think this property does have a lot of potential,

and we would definitely recommend a simple renovation throughout.

What might this flat earn in rental terms?

Once this property is renovated,

we could be looking at a rental market

for approximately £400 per calendar month.

And bearing in mind the £20,000-£25,000 guide price,

what could it sell for once renovated?

I think in the sales market at the moment

this property could achieve up to £40,000.

So it is what it is.

It is a one-bed flat,

but the merits are its price,

and it is close to everything.

Now, it does make sense to buy a property like this

which is close to a big city.

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

This is a one-bedroom ground-floor apartment

situated in a highly convenient location.

£20-£25,000 your guide.

So, where are we going to start?

First bid of the day, say 20 to get it started.

At £20,000, am I bid?

At £20,000, then.

15. Need a bid.

At £15,000.

15 here. At 15, I'm bid.

In ones, nice and easy.

16 behind you. 17 in the front.

Back in at 18 behind you.

In the front, sir, at 19.

Can you at 20, behind?

Thinking about it. New bidder.

20.

21.

22. 22, I'm bid.

23.

24.

25.

26.

26, I'm bid. Thank you.

27? Shake of the head.

With you at £26,000. Are we done?

At...

26 and a half, I'll take it.

27.

Half?

With you, sir, on the end at £27,000. We're here to sell.

First time.

Second time.

Third time. Are you all out?

Well done.

So, with that bid of £27,000

it was Calvin who walked off with the property.

Calvin is a self-employed plasterer

and is gradually making the move

into full-time property development.

We met back at the flat for a chat.

He's a young man with a bright future.

# The future's so bright

# I've gotta wear shades... #

Calvin, nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you, too.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Tell us about your experience at the auction. How was it?

Nerve-racking, but I enjoyed it.

-First time?

-First time, yeah.

Lunchtime break at work.

Pop to the auction.

I set out knowing I was going to get it.

And I got it, so...

-A bit of confidence there.

-Confidence.

And what made you want this particular property?

Why here? Do you know this area well?

Erm... I know it.

Not too well, but I know of it.

And price.

And it's small enough.

Good to manage.

I can get here fast if anything ever goes wrong.

-And who will be here when you're not here?

-Probably my labourers.

Keeping an eye on.

Keeping things ticking over the odd day or two while I'm not here.

But other than that I'm hoping to be here myself.

-Most of the time?

-For the rest of the time, yeah.

MASTERMIND THEME MUSIC

Calvin sounds like he knows what he's doing,

and has done most of the required homework.

But as he's a fan of Homes Under The Hammer,

it's time for a little test.

MASTERMIND THEME

Did you view the property?

-No.

-You didn't?!

-No.

So, you broke one of the Hammer rules, you see.

Yeah. The main one that always pops up on the show, but...

I seen one similar to it in the area, so...

I know there's nothing much could come up.

Apart from one incorrect answer,

Calvin knows his specialised subject pretty well.

Being familiar with the area can compensate

for buying a property blind,

but nothing beats stepping over the threshold.

So, what does Calvin think he'll do with this place?

I intend to sell, but with it being in a good location,

I think that, you know...

the long-term gains is in this property, so...

-You're busting to start the work.

-Yep.

Tell us what you're going to do.

Complete rip-out. New kitchen, bathroom.

A bit of paintwork.

New doors, architraves, skirting.

New rewire, it looks like it's going to need.

-A bit of heating, cos there's no heating.

-Yeah.

Odd bit of damp, here and there, but nothing that can't be sorted.

-Nothing that you're scared of.

-No.

And what are you hoping to spend?

Looking at it, you're probably talking about...

-five, six grand, tops.

-OK.

You'll have to sort of get rid of a lot of spiders.

There's a few of them about!

Yeah, there's a few of them about.

-They'll be homeless after you've got the paint out.

-Yeah, definitely.

And how long do you hope it'll take

to achieve what you want to achieve with the property?

I reckon a good four, five weeks.

Me being here.

And what about the work itself?

New bathroom, new kitchen...

Is that your skill? Or will you get mates in...?

I've got plumbers on standby.

I've got electricians on standby.

But with the fitting of the kitchen,

I'll take that on, do that myself.

Same with the bathroom.

They'll put the main pipe works

and I'll finish it off and retile.

Decorate.

-It's a doddle for you.

-Yeah.

Seems that way.

Calvin has the division of labour well organised.

It sounds like he'll be doing most of it himself,

but he has left one very important job for his family.

Yeah, probably just the removing of the spiders, and cleaning.

-Get them to do the dirty work.

-Yeah, just the dirty work.

But, not so much.

I mean, probably a few cousins helping with the clean-out.

But, other than that, just tradesmen and myself, really.

So, from this property... It's now your second property?

-Yeah.

-Do you intend to continue buying property?

Do you intend to go back to the auction house?

Yeah, I'll always continue trying to buy.

So long as they're there for the right price,

and I can get my hands on them, then... Yeah.

But, then, further down the line,

less hands-on, more management.

-Get dirty when you need to.

-Exactly.

-Get your portfolio up, get some properties on board.

-Yeah.

-Always learning.

-Exactly.

-Listen, mate, I wish you all the best.

-Yep.

-Good luck.

-I know it's going to turn out well.

-Yeah. Definitely.

So, Calvin is only 27 years old,

but so mature with it.

When I go to lunch I normally buy soup and a sandwich,

Calvin goes and buys property -

and a good property, at that.

I wonder how he's going to get on.

You can find out later on in the programme.

We've already seen how one property's got along.

But what about the other two?

-Did they go according to plan or were there a few hiccups?

-Let's find out.

It's time to return to Penrhiwceiber in South Wales,

where this traditional three-bed terrace

was up for sale at a guide price of £25,000.

Built on three levels, to cope with the sloping terrain,

it had everything you could want in a house -

just not necessarily where you would want it.

It's not ideal, is it?

Especially if you're upstairs in the bedrooms...

Down two flights of stairs to use the loo in the middle of the night.

No!

With two flights of stairs

separating the bedrooms from the bathroom,

I was desperate to find a solution!

# Hurry...

# I want you to hurry... #

I guess the 64 million question is

could you get a bathroom up here?

It's going to be quite a lot of effort,

so it really depends on end use of the property.

# Hurry!

# Baby, hurry... #

In no particular hurry was Andrew,

who bought the house for £29,000.

An automation engineer by profession,

the list of things he could do to a house was impressive.

-So, what can you automate?

-Anything you want.

I can't do ironing, but pretty much up to ironing, anything.

-What, like turn the washing machine on?

-If you want to, yes.

-Run a bath?

Yeah. The fridge can get a program so it'll order your food for you

when you run out of certain things.

-Can't do the hoovering either, I'd imagine.

-Yeah, do the hoovering.

What?!

That's all well and good, Andrew,

but what will you do to this place?

We're back eight months later

to see how many hi-tech gadgets

Andrew could install with his modest £2,000-£3,000 budget.

Have things gone as well as could be expected?

MUSIC: Wallace & Gromit's The Wrong Trousers

Although everything is very clean and tidy,

it's all looking quite familiar.

Andrew has been saving cash by recycling

rather than replacing.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the kitchen.

With the kitchen itself, we were very, very lucky

because we actually managed to save all the units,

which was a bit unbelievable when we came in for the first time.

We've saved all the wallpaper.

That's all just been decorated, painted.

The kitchen units have all been cleaned up,

which took a lot of work.

The actual doors and windows were actually cleaned with toothbrushes,

and some special cleaning detergent.

And that was a lot of work, as well.

But for the amount of stuff that has been replaced in here,

which is very negligible, I think it looks very good.

Circumstances have changed for Andrew since we last spoke,

and he's now living here full time.

So, any thoughts of renting or selling

have been put to one side for the time being.

Although not quite in show-home condition,

there has obviously been a lot of hard work done.

Andrew must be exhausted!

My time over the last couple of months

has been very short. I've recently set up a new company,

so I didn't have any time at all to put into the property.

Erm... Probably about two months ago,

we started doing the main sort of cleaning, and starting to work on it.

I say "we", I've done very little myself.

So it's mainly been the ex-wife who's done most of the work

and most of the decorating and all of the cleaning.

She likes decorating. She's always been interested in decorating.

It would be a nice project for her, really -

to actually come and save my bacon.

Melanie, Andrew's ex-wife, has not just saved his bacon,

she's saved him a lot in labour costs, too.

# Save me... #

And there's another factor that is saving him a few quid -

the next-door neighbour.

It is fantastically warm, all the time.

And that's the biggest complaint - the fact it is so warm.

There's no heating on,

but next-door has an open fire,

so the one wall is always warm, all the time.

And it just hits the rest of the house.

# I'm gonna steal your fire... #

With such a warm house, you'd be forgiven for thinking

that a spot of gardening would be in order to get some cool, fresh air.

No. I mean, weather hasn't been so good

when we've been working on it, so we've done nothing outside as yet.

Probably we'll paint the windowsills, clean the garden up,

because it is still a jungle.

Less of a jungle than it was last year,

because things like sheds have appeared, and things,

since the brambles died back.

But that's probably just going to be cut back for the time being,

and kept clear of bramble as much as we can.

But the brambles in the back garden

aren't the only thing Andrew has been cutting back.

His budget also got a bit of a pruning.

Unfortunately,

I drove through the Alps and bought lots of wine,

and had about 10 to 14 days with my kids in the Alps, camping,

and playing and spending money.

So when we came back... We hadn't had a budget at that time,

and that was gone, so, erm...

Maybe that's why we didn't work on anything at the end of last year.

So, really, we have had no budget.

It's been buying paint as we've come along, really.

So I think we've probably spent about 2,000 on it, at the moment.

MUSIC: Home Computer by Kraftwerk

If I'm honest, I was hoping to see at least

one robotic vacuum cleaner whizzing about,

but despite that glaring omission, Andrew - or rather, Melanie -

has created a comfortable home here.

What will two local estate agents make of it all?

And will some carpet and paint add significantly to the value?

It still needs a lot of work to be carried out,

to bring it up to standard,

and to make it fit for letting.

I think if it'd been mine,

I'd have just taken what's considered probably the easy option,

and sent a team of builders in

to rip everything out and start again.

But that would've cost me a lot more money.

Yes, Andrew - money.

The stuff that buys wine in the Alps.

Although this is now his home,

it is of course an investment of £31,000.

So, do the agents think Andrew has spent wisely?

What values do they place on this three-bed terrace?

In the current market,

and when it's fully finished,

I would expect this property to achieve in the region of £65,000.

And, in its current condition?

If this property were to be offered for sale

on the open market, I think it would sell for about £55,000.

I have seen properties like this

for about 65,000 on this street,

but they don't seem to be selling.

So I would think that is probably a little high.

A sale at £55,000

would make Andrew at tidy pre-tax profit of £24,000.

But he's in no rush to move out.

I'm relatively happy living here at the moment,

and it's comfortable and it's warm,

but if the market looks like the houses are selling in the area,

and you could be achieving that sort of early 50s,

I would be happy to sell at that.

It's time to return to Middleton near Manchester,

where earlier I visited this one-bed flat which was in desperate need of,

well, everything, really.

A new kitchen,

a new bathroom,

but, most of all, some central heating -

the lack of which was causing a real problem

in the bedroom.

You can see here - this is condensation

which has turned into mould.

I can't see any vents in this room.

The air can't circulate in here,

so that's what would've happened there.

Damp and mould weren't the only occupants -

a fear of spiders would definitely be a drawback

if you were purchasing this place.

Outside it needed a good tidy up,

but the good news was...

This property does come with a garage.

Which one it is...I'm not too sure.

The new owner with a bid of £27,000 was Calvin,

a self-employed plasterer.

This was his second property renovation,

and he was confident the experience

he'd picked up on the first project

would be put to good use here.

With the fitting of the kitchen -

I'll take that on, do that myself.

Same with the bathroom - retile, decorate...

-It's a doddle for you.

-Yeah.

Seems that way.

Making him promise to clear the place of spiders,

we left Calvin to get to work.

Five months have passed and we're back to see

if he's cleared the cobwebs, or if his budget has grown legs.

Yuck!

Well, Calvin's hard work has made such a difference in here!

The spiders have been banished and the mould eradicated,

and there's an extra bit of space at the front door.

There used to be a big structure here.

It was housing the old electric consumer unit.

And what we did, we dismantled it, got rid of it,

and we got the electric board

to come in and reposition the new meter.

Then, my electrician put a new consumer unit against this wall.

And that's what we done with this space.

Calvin has fitted a brand-new kitchen,

and he's kept the same configuration,

but with one important improvement.

Within the kitchen, there was an old water cylinder

which, obviously, supplied the hot water for the flat.

But with it being so small in there,

we decided to get rid of the water cylinder

and go with a new under-sink water heater

what provides instant hot water for washing your pots

and your basin within the bathroom.

The bathroom, too, has had a complete transformation.

With it being so small,

we was limited to things you could do within there.

But after a bit of planning

we've got there in the end,

and we decided to go with a little wet room

so it utilised the space to the maximum.

Putting his trade as a plasterer to good use,

Calvin stripped back every wall to the brick

and then plaster sheeted and skimmed before final decoration.

Did he manage to keep to his budget of £5,000-£6,000?

Just over seven.

So...

I'm quite happy, because a lot of the finishing touches

are a bit more than what

I originally had in mind,

so I'm pretty pleased with that.

A little bit over budget, and he still has some snagging to sort out,

but Calvin's eight-week schedule

did run away with him a bit.

Mainly because he took time off

to get married to his fiancee Haley.

I'm trying to do this property,

but I also run my own business

and I'm trying to fit working in around

and we're planning a wedding.

Just planning a wedding alone would be a lot stressful, so...

I got there in the end.

And talking of happy couples,

here are two estate agents to tell us

what they think of Calvin's renovation.

Starting with the agent who previously visited the property.

I think this property is a tidy

and ready-to-move-into property.

I think the changes to the property have been really practical,

and they have been done to a really good standard.

It's got some good features. Unfortunately, I think

there are one or two finishes that still need to be done.

Calvin may have to get his caulking gun out to seal a few gaps,

but is there a gap in the local market for this type of flat?

I think there is a huge demand for this

type of properties in the local area,

particularly for first-time buyers,

and buy-to-let landlords.

And so to values.

Calvin has spent £34,000 on the purchase and renovation of this flat.

What do the agents think it's worth on the rental market?

I think on the rental market

you're probably looking somewhere between

£350 per calendar month, to £395 per calendar month.

I think this property could achieve in the current rental market

between £375 to £400 per calendar month.

I know I can get about 425.

A rental of £425 per calendar month

would mean a very healthy return on his investment of 15%.

How about the sales figures?

In the current sales market I think this property could be achieving

between £40,000 and £45,000.

I think if we was putting it on the market,

we'd probably put it on around £39,950.

I reckon around £50,000-£54,000.

So it's about 10... One of them's 15 off, and one's 10 off.

Calvin seems pretty sure he can achieve a sale significantly higher

than the estate agent valuations.

His top estimate could mean a potential pre-tax profit of 16 grand.

But with a very tempting rental yield

of 15% on offer, what will he decide to do with this flat?

I'll test the market out first,

but, if not, then it will go down the rental side of things.

And, finally, what's next for this budding property entrepreneur?

I'll definitely go back to the auction,

and if something comes up at the right price,

and we can do it all over again, that would be great, yeah.

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

We'll see more properties next time on Homes Under The Hammer.

-We look forward to seeing you then. Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

-Bye.