Episode 4 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello. The property markets are ever-changing.

They can be up, down. Martin, as we know, they're never dull.

No, it's hard to keep up sometimes with fluctuating market conditions,

changes in building regulations and planning approval permissions.

Well, to help us keep up, we're being joined by Dion Dublin.

-Hello!

-Yes, yeah. Great to be here.

People will know me as just being a footballer,

but my passion runs very strong

when it comes to property

and I'm so excited to be here on Homes Under The Hammer.

Well, a good place to start looking for a property is the auctions.

Yes, you need to do your research,

but there are bargains to be had, if you know what you're looking for.

So, let's take a look at the properties on today's show.

In Cornwall, will this rundown cottage

have people beating a path to its front door?

Interesting... Argh!

Interesting...

Argh!

In London, could opportunity come knocking for a novice renovator?

Paint the wall, change the carpet, put some curtains up.

I mean, that really is it.

And in Stoke, will this terraced house have me hitting the roof?

There is a hole in the ceiling.

Somebody may have trod in the wrong place and made that hole itself.

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.

It's now yours, sir. Well done.

I'm in Cornwall, in the lovely little village of Probus,

six-and-a-half miles north of Truro.

In the 18th and 19th centuries,

the area developed around the tin mining industry.

This generated the wealth that built homes

and, in many cases, the rocks that homes were built from.

So, on this little street of characterful period cottages,

I'm hoping to find something similar.

And, you know what? Look at this...

Two bedrooms and a lot more.

The guide price was 125,000 to 150,000 quid.

Broad range. Let's find out if it was worth it...

Whoa...!

Right...

Shut the door, first of all. Erm...

Scary electrics. They are going to need replacing.

But then, the moment that you walk through the door you realise

probably so is everything else.

Well, interesting... Argh!

Interesting...

Argh!

That'll do. Yeah, interesting layout.

We've got a sort of living room area over that side

and then another living room over this side.

But look at the height. Not ideal.

Big fireplace there. Open fire, which is lovely.

Because that's exactly the kind of character you want in a house like this.

It clearly hasn't been touched for a very long time.

Erm...

Let's carry on into the kitchen.

So, first impressions...

Well, there's no lack of character, though the charm isn't so obvious.

And as for upgrading this place,

already the fact that it will be an expensive process is unavoidable.

Just like whacking your head on the roof beam.

If you're more than five-and-a-half foot,

I think that would get you down after a while.

But another cracking door.

HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

Kitchen, though, surprisingly...

..a good size.

You wouldn't want to cook in here at the moment,

but it's a good space. I like it.

I'm kind of wondering what's underneath these ceilings.

But then, through into something quite unusual.

Look at this...

I guess it isn't part of the original house,

because the ceiling height is so much higher.

You know, you imagine nice patio windows looking out onto the garden.

Another radiator in an unusual place.

I suppose you could call it underfloor heating.

That was bad!

Over here, though, is a bookshelf.

Or is it just a bookshelf?

Nope.

It's another door.

There is another odd little room at the back.

In fact, these two rooms in the kitchen

are in an extension at the rear of the original cottage

that is accessed by a very steep step.

It might increase the space, but it's definitely not a logical layout.

I really do not know what I am going to find...

But that's a good start.

That is inspired. Erm...

OK, a radiator acting as a banister.

Well, hey, why not? It's a good use of space, I guess.

Upstairs, two bedrooms. We'll explore that one in a minute.

But over this side, at least you've got the bathroom in the right place.

That will need replacing.

But then, towards the front, the second of the bedrooms

and, well, I mean, a nice bit of storage.

Erm...

It's not big. But then, nothing is.

I think you could really make a dramatic difference upstairs here by taking out this.

You know, open it up right up to the eaves.

That would be fantastic.

Basically, you are going to have to repair everything, anyway, so why the heck not?

But look what we are working with here...

Look at the thickness of the walls on that window-sort-of-sill there.

Wow.

It's one heck of a house.

There's quirks aplenty here and some furnishings from a bygone era.

Well, into the master bedroom and...

..I guess I shouldn't have expected anything other than,

well, something pretty unique.

And you certainly get that.

It wouldn't look out of place in an 18th-century galleon, this.

Not sure about a little cottage in Cornwall.

So, plenty of oddities.

But they're not all restricted to the interior of the cottage.

Well, no garden to speak of at the front of the property.

But the back here, somewhere back there,

I think there is a reasonable-sized plot.

You've also got this garage and, fantastic, a greenhouse on top of it.

You don't often see that.

But I do note this, while I'm out here.

This is a borehole,

which I think is somebody taking out a sample of whatever this is made of.

Because, of course, we are in mundic territory,

so this could well be an extension that's made of mundic block,

which is a problem.

From around 1900 to around the mid-1960s,

many properties in Devon and Cornwall were built using concrete

made from aggregate from mining waste, or mundic blocks.

Unfortunately, chemically speaking, it's not stable.

If the concrete was made from china clay,

also mined in this area, then that would be a different story.

And it's likely to be OK if you need a mortgage.

But to find out which you've got, you'll need to do a test,

hence the borehole.

To find out more about this quirky house,

guided at between 125,000 and 150,000,

an agent from the auctioneers, who sold the house,

came along to tell us more.

This is a classic auction property.

You walk in through the front door

and you know that everything needs doing to it.

And it offers scope and potential to create what could be a stunning, desirable property.

Albeit with plenty of money thrown at it.

But what sort of value would the house be worth, once renovated?

If the property was refurbished to a reasonably high standard

in its existing footprint and its current layout,

then I'd expect that to be put on the market

for somewhere in the region of £250,000.

If the property was placed on the rental market,

once again, refurbished to a reasonably high standard,

you could expect to achieve somewhere in the region of £750 per calendar month.

Well, there's no doubt this is one of the quirkiest properties I've ever visited.

But you know what? Fantastic location,

enormous amounts of potential and oozing charm.

Somebody will definitely have fallen in love with it

when it went under the hammer...

Lot 58.

So, 125 straight in. 125.

It's going to make 125 all day long.

At 125. A choice of hands. I'll take that one. 125.

126. At 126.

128.

128.

130. At 130. Here we go. 130.

132.

132.

134.

134.

136. 136.

138. 138.

This is exciting. 138.

140. At 140.

At 140. I've got the gentleman in the alleyway here has got 140.

I'm asking for 1. I'd take 500, if it would help either of you.

At 140, first, second, third and last time.

Are you sure and done? Here it is, down here at 140 and out.

Congratulations, sir. The gentleman has it.

The successful bidders getting the lot for £140,000

were Michael and Julie.

But it's not for them.

They were bidding on behalf of their sons, Kieran on the right, and Miles.

Kieran is a sports teaching assistant,

while Miles is a qualified PE teacher.

So, are these the people to get this place back into shape?

-Miles, Kieran, great to meet you both.

-Good to meet you.

-What an interesting property!

-Yeah, I know. Amazing, isn't it?

Yeah, absolutely one of the quirkiest I've seen.

Tell me why you wanted to buy it.

Basically, me and Kieran have had a bit of savings

we've had from when we were younger

and we'd like to get a bit more of our independence

and we thought, oh, this property came up,

we know the area really well, we went to school in the area,

so we thought, well, let's go and have a look, kind of thing.

-And ended up buying it.

-Yeah.

So, you know the area.

Did you know the house, specifically?

No, not specifically. We've never actually seen this house.

So, when we saw it online, it was quite interesting.

So, we thought we'd have a little look at it and, yeah.

-What did you think when you came inside?

-Interesting.

-Bit shocked, really, when you walk through the door, isn't it?

-It is.

And as you progress further into the house,

it doesn't get any less surprising.

It gets a little bit worse, doesn't it?

The brothers, who both teach in nearby Camborne,

plan to make this their home and are looking at the renovation

taking six months to a year to complete.

And, of course, they're aiming to start during their summer holidays.

# School's out for summer

# School's been blown to pieces. #

The brothers have already started the planning process

to demolish and replace the rear extension,

which they will then dig down to the same level as the original cottage,

getting rid of those awkward changes in level.

But then what?

As you see, at the moment, the stairs are here.

-We're looking to relocate them to the extension out the back...

-OK.

..and make this into a completely open-plan lounge.

And then you walk straight out the back,

where it's levelled off, into an open-plan kitchen-diner,

with the stairs at the back running up the back wall.

And then a third bedroom up top,

making these two bedrooms here a lot bigger, with a big family bathroom.

Replacing the existing ramshackled extension with a new structure

will also solve that mundic problem.

Plus, they will improve the flow of the house no end by bringing it down to the cottage level,

which leads me on to another potential problem...

Now, you're both, you know, good-sized lads.

-And a lot of the ceilings and doorways are a bit small.

-Yeah.

What are you going to do about that?

Maybe looking at moving the beams, raising the beams up, maybe.

Because there's quite a lot of room upstairs with the roof.

So, maybe raising them up.

Well, big plans will need big money.

And the brothers have a budget of around £40,000,

which will be financed partly from Kieran and Miles's savings,

as well as help from Mum, Dad and other family members.

Everyone will be pitching in to help out.

But, for the brothers, this is their first ever renovation project.

Best of luck, lads.

I have actually previously done some work.

Mum and Dad bought a house in this village three years ago,

which was in sort of the same sort of condition.

And I did a lot of work there, after I finished university,

helped renovate it up to a good standard.

So, I've got a bit of experience helping out

and we've got lots of friends that will lend hands

and help to gut it and get us on the way.

So, how excited are you to embark on your first project?

-I think we're massively excited, aren't we?

-Yeah.

It's nice to get on the ladder and it's an area we know really well,

so, no, no, it should be a really good project.

-Great. Well, congratulations to you both.

-Thank you very much.

-I look forward to seeing how you transform it.

-Thank you.

Well, what a project for brothers Miles and Kieran to be embarking on.

But how fantastic they're doing this as their home.

A few challenges ahead. How will they get on?

You can find out later in the show.

It's from the green fields of Cornwall

to the oldest cricket green in the world,

right here in Mitcham, south west London.

But I'm batting for this area for a different reason...

Its great transport links and 18-minute train journey from London Victoria

and its relative affordability.

With purpose-built flats, I have certain expectations.

You need a good layout, good proportional rooms

and practical use of space for living and for storage.

So, I really do have high hopes

for this one-bed, purpose-built maisonette.

Well, I like it that it's smart and clean on the outside

and, also, I really like its guide price of £95,000 plus.

That's not bad for a property in London.

There's only one way to find out what it's like.

That's to head inside.

With the property guided at £95,000, this close in London,

it could be very popular indeed.

Let's take a look.

Well, I definitely see this as a positive, having your own front door.

Though, you do have quite a few steps to climb before you get up here.

Good-sized bedroom at the back.

Kitchen.

Well, not a bad space.

And it's got this rather big, old arch here.

I don't know whether I like it or not.

The kitchen certainly needs changing. It's all a bit dated.

You could definitely change this and make it a little more modern and contemporary.

So far, I'm seeing a nice, self-contained flat

and, yes, it is a bit tired and dated,

but I can't see anything that's putting me off.

Well, the bathroom is not bad.

I think all I would do in here would be to clean it

and replace the lino on the floor.

And into the living area.

Now, this is what I love about these purpose-built properties,

they just feel so easy.

It seems as though you'd need to just paint the wall,

change the carpets, put some curtains up.

I mean, that really is it.

You have got electric heaters,

so I'm thinking there's possibly no gas at all in this block.

If there were, it would be good to install a boiler,

gas central heating, that would be the way to go.

But something you might need to think about repairing...

I think the windows are all broken.

Looking at them, they could actually do with replacing.

But, overall, this is a really, nearly ready-to-go flat

and I really like it.

It's not glamorous or full of character,

but it does exactly what it says on the tin.

And what's more, it needs very little work doing to it.

But, as always, it's the details, when buying a property,

you have to pay attention to.

With so many properties, especially flats,

this is the time one needs to think about leasehold

and you sometimes need to keep an eye on how many years are actually left on the lease,

because anything less than 70 years,

well, you may start getting into issues with mortgages and resale and things like that.

But this property, well, it seems, has a 999-year lease.

So, many generations to come yet

before anyone needs to worry about renewing this lease.

That's if the property is still standing in 999 years.

Gosh, what is the world going to be like then?

Will we be living in pods in the sky or in big glass-domed eco-houses?

I'll shut up now.

# Is there life on Mars? #

Well, before we start talking about pods under the hammer,

let's find out what a local estate agent

thinks of this one-bed maisonette

with a guide price of £95,000 plus.

This property doesn't require too much modernisation.

It's actually a good property.

I think maybe the kitchen could be redone.

But, on the whole, I'm quite impressed.

This property will appeal to investors.

The rental market in this area is quite strong.

I think, also, first-time buyers,

as the property prices in this area are quite low.

OK, now, let's take a look at the resale figures first.

Refurbished, this property would sell for approximately £150,000.

And what about rental values?

This property would rent for approximately

£750 per calendar month.

I like this small and well-formed property

and I like it all the more for its guide price.

Around London, there just isn't really anything in that price bracket,

especially a property that doesn't need much work doing to it

and with its own front door.

Let's see who spotted this potential bargain

and if it stayed a bargain when it went under the hammer.

One-bed, purpose-built flat. See it on the photograph.

100,000. Not going to go for 100.

Can't get anything in London... 100,000.

I've got 100,000 in the aisle.

101?

101 on my left.

102.

103.

104.

105.

106.

107.

108.

After a sluggish start, the bids are now flying in.

We rejoin at 125,000...

125.

126.

127.

128.

129.

130.

131.

130 with you.

First time. Second time. Third and last time.

If you're all done?

Sold 130.

The Mitcham flat sold for 35,000 over the guide price to Craig.

And standby...

This might be our youngest property developer yet.

Matilda.

While Matilda checked out the flat,

dad Craig filled us in on what is a pretty long-term investment.

-Craig, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-So, you got the flat you wanted on auction day.

-Yes, I did.

-How much research did you do?

-I went to the catalogue.

I looked at all the properties that I thought I could afford,

that I might have a chance of getting.

I went round, did the viewings.

But, to be honest, there was only about three or four that was kind of in my price range.

So, did you pay as much as you thought you would on the day or a little bit less?

It took me right to my limit.

I was hoping, hoping for slightly less.

But I kind of thought, 130...

Yeah, it's about right.

So, what's the plan? Why have you decided to take this on?

The plan was erm...

It's all about my daughter, Matilda.

I was speaking to other parents and they were talking about when their children get older

and not being able to afford property in London.

And I had some money in the bank, it wasn't earning any interest

and I was just kind of slowly chipping away at it.

And I thought I need to invest it.

So, if I buy a property now,

we can rent it out and it will be there for Matilda when she's older.

So, what does she think of this property?

I've seen her walking around today and getting all excited.

-She's very excited.

-Does she understand that this is for her?

I think she does. I think erm...

I'm not sure she understands sort of the long-term strategy of it.

I think she's quite excited to think she owns her own property

and she was saying, "Can we use this as, like, a playhouse and I can bring my friends over?"

Kind of, but...

Is she going to get involved in this at all?

Yeah, I think she's planning on doing a lot of the painting.

-Oh, amazing!

-Yeah, I think she wants to help out.

I love it. Matilda might have her paintbrush at the ready,

but, of course, it's going to be a long time before she can take charge of the flat.

But Craig is a man who thinks ahead.

So, of course, he has a plan, in the shape of his friend,

who is also handy at refurbishing property.

My friend Keith, hopefully, is going to move in.

If he does, we're not going to do too much work to it.

We'll just get it liveable

and then he's going to rent it, sort of mate's rates,

and just live in it for a while.

Then we have the option, sort of further down the line,

maybe spend a bit more money on it,

maybe look at putting a boiler in, new kitchen, new bathroom, that sort of thing.

And then, maybe sell it on.

There is certainly plenty of time for this property to add capital value.

In the meantime, Craig is getting a return on that money,

that would otherwise just be languishing in the bank.

And Keith has somewhere to live at a reasonable cost.

It seems like a win-win all round.

Craig's simple refurbishment plans have a budget of around £2,000

and a timescale of six months,

which is when his friend Keith is able to move in.

So, I've talked to Craig about his plans.

But what about the real boss around here?

I think it's quite good, but it needs a little bit of work.

So, what don't you like about it?

I don't really like the kitchen,

because I don't really like the boards

and most of the things are not working

and it's not that nice.

So, what colour do you think you would like to paint this?

Because your dad did tell me that he might get you involved

and you might help him out a little bit.

Yes. I told him that I might do it a little bit pinky

or a little bit purply or a little bit white.

-So, have you ever painted any walls before?

-Yes.

And would you say you're quite good?

Yes.

So, now you've seen this flat for the first time...

..what do you think it's going to be like

when your dad has made it look fantastic?

Well, I think it will be quite nice. It will be a nicer place to live in.

And I think it will be much brighter and nicer

and you can use things a lot more.

Well, I have loved talking to you today

and I cannot wait to see if you do paint it a bit pink and a bit purple.

Give me five.

Matilda, good luck.

And you're a very lucky girl to have such a lovely daddy

that's bought you such a nice place for when you're older.

Well, if all goes to plan,

it seems that Craig can kill two birds with one stone.

Little Matilda has the start of a healthy deposit for her first home when she's an adult.

But, in the meantime, Craig's pal Keith,

well, he gets to live with mate's rates rental.

But will Matilda get her way

and turn this into her pinky-purple play palace?

You can join us later in the show to find out.

Coming up, in Stoke, this house might need its security beefing up.

It has one piece of Perspex on the inside

and it's only held in with screws.

In London, it looks like Matilda is preparing to be a landlord.

If he doesn't look after it,

I'm going to give him one piece of my mind!

But first, back to the lovely Cornish village of Probus near Truro,

where earlier we met Miles, here on the left,

and his brother Kieran,

who bought this two-bed characterful cottage for 140,000.

The lads, who live in nearby Camborne and know the area well,

see this as the perfect place to set up a new home.

But character wasn't the only thing it had.

Run-down, dilapidated and falling apart

were a few of the other ways to describe it.

But Miles is a PE teacher and Kieran a sports teaching assistant,

so what better pair to whip this place into shape?

When we saw it online, it was quite interesting.

So, we thought we'd have a little look at it and, yeah.

-What did you think when you came inside?

-Interesting.

Yeah, very quirky.

Bit shocked, really, when you walk through the door, isn't it?

It is. And as you progress further into the house,

it doesn't get any less surprising.

It gets a little bit worse, doesn't it?

Despite being first-time renovators, they're aiming big,

with plans not only to renovate the main house,

but also to demolish the rear single-storey extension

and, in its place, erect a new double-storey extension

and add in a third bedroom in the process.

All hopefully done in a timescale of six months to a year

and for a budget of £40,000.

But it was 20 months later when we returned.

And the result...

From the outside, with new rendering and a new front door and windows,

it looks so much better.

And inside?

Whoa!

Top marks, lads.

The two front rooms and downstairs loo have been knocked through

to create one gorgeous-sized living room.

And at the rear, there's now a great-looking kitchen.

Choose one of the two sets of French doors

to step into the newly-cleared garden

and you get to see the difference with this fantastic two-storey extension.

But before they got to this stage,

there was a lot of greenery to be dealt with.

The extension, it started off with a big overhaul of the garden,

because it was heavily overgrown with big trees.

So, we spent about a month actually clearing out the garden.

And, of course, that mundic block extension had to go as well.

And then there was the awkward floor level changes

between the front and back of the cottage to fix.

We then had to dig the levels down to match it up

with the front of the cottage.

Once we got the levels down to the right height,

we then got the foundations in and we also got the walls put in.

So, that created the space for us to put in the two-storey extension.

And inside, the extension houses the new third bedroom,

along with a family bathroom.

And with the removal of the old bathroom,

the two front bedrooms are far more spacious,

with the master now having an en-suite shower.

This cottage is very quirky

and I'm glad to see they've kept a character feel.

The beams and vaulted ceilings in the upper rooms,

along with lots of hardwood finishes, really works.

And outside, fortunately, the walls of the garage

were not made from that troublesome mundic brick, so that has been retained.

But it looks like the greenhouse has disappeared.

Or has it?

The greenhouse is actually back at the farm.

I think my mum wants to use it in her garden,

if my dad pulls his finger out

and actually does something in the garden for her.

For first-timers, Miles and Kieran have done an amazing job,

getting stuck into the renovation every spare moment.

And they've no doubt learnt a few tricks of the trade as they went along.

My role during this whole project has actually been quite hands-on,

along with my brother and my dad.

We tried to get ourselves involved as much as we can and do a lot of the work that we could.

So, a lot of the work that you can see around the house, we have done ourselves.

It's just been quite a long process and lots of weekends, evenings,

lots of time spent up here, me and my dad and my brother.

And lots of friends have come along and helped, so it's erm...

I wouldn't say there's been any problems, just a long process

and we're really glad with what we've got now.

Obtaining planning permission to demolish and build the extension took six months.

Then, with friends, family

and some of Miles's rugby team pitching in to help with the renovation,

it took a year to make this into a fantastic-looking home.

We absolutely love the cottage, how it's turned out.

I think it's a lot better than we first anticipated.

It's a lovely place and can't wait to sort of move in.

But looking at the high standard of finish here,

I bet they've gone a bit over their £40,000 budget.

I think we're more towards 60,000, with things like extra costings

and we've gone for the higher spec sort of kitchen and bathroom suites,

because we wanted to move in ourselves,

we wanted it to look right for ourselves.

Well, add that to their purchase price of £140,000

and the brothers have spent a total of £200,000.

Time to find out what two local property experts

think of Miles and Kieran's hard work.

Starting with the agent who first saw the property over a year and a half ago...

I love what they've done to the property.

The transformation is amazing.

The construction type has been done to a high standard.

The finishing, the architecture

and carpentry details are stunning.

The property is a classic village cottage.

The back extension and conversion have been done very thoughtfully.

The accommodation downstairs works well.

The actual conversion has been fantastically done.

Having spent £200,000 on the property,

the brothers plan to move in and enjoy the house.

But if they decided to sell, what could they expect to achieve?

On the current market,

I would value this property at an asking price of £280,000.

This property would fetch somewhere in the region of between £340,000 and £350,000.

And that would give the brothers a stunning pre-tax profit

of between 80,000 and 150,000.

The valuations are strikingly different,

but that could be down to the uniqueness of the property.

Properties in Probus vary greatly in price

and it's difficult to be exact and pinpoint the figure it should be on the market for.

But, I think, with a property like this and the wow factor

will actually set this apart from the others.

So, comparable properties don't come into it.

That's why I think you could push it up to 350.

All the way through, looking at around 250. That sort of mark.

So, yeah, we're really pleased with both valuations.

Well, the brothers seem very happy about that

and if they ever decide to rent out,

then they could expect a rental income of between £800 and £850 per calendar month,

giving them an annual yield of just over 5%.

I'm really pleased with the rental value

but, as we're looking to move in,

there's no real issue for that at the moment.

Miles and Kieran are aiming to enjoy their new home

and with help from their mum, Julie, and dad, Michael,

they've managed to get themselves a lovely foothold on the property ladder.

And they might even see themselves going off to auction for another little purchase...

Yes, I think so.

I think properties at auction,

obviously, give you an opportunity to find hidden gems, really.

And you can sort of polish them up and get outcomes like this one.

So, yeah, definitely.

Tunstall is a market town in the north west of Stoke-on-Trent.

An open-air market operated near what is now the clock tower until 1858,

when a covered market was built.

Today, redeveloped and renovated,

it is still an integral part of the town centre.

The property I'm here to see today is a ten-minute walk from the market.

It's a three-bed, mid-terraced house

with a guide price of £40,000 plus.

Now, the first thing that's caught my eye is the guttering on the front of the house.

That would definitely need to be sorted out.

But overall, it's a nice front garden here.

A little bit of TLC will sort this out, no problem at all.

That's the outside. I'm guessing the inside is a standard terraced house.

OK, a hallway. I wasn't expecting that at all, actually.

Nice, high ceiling.

In here, a smaller room than you would expect,

but it's definitely still usable.

I like this layout, rather than the traditional one of just walking in off the street.

It does keep in the heat better.

But there is a good-sized second reception room, which is a lovely space,

again with those high ceilings.

This room looks perfect for a comfy couch and a telly.

Ah, but not quite so perfect...

I've spotted marks on the back wall,

indicating there is or has been dampness.

My experience is, get that sorted very, very early

and it won't cause you any problems.

Here, they've got two different textures.

Now, you've got woodchip at the top and a bit of plaster here.

That might have been the damp that's been rectified already

that I did show you over here.

But, in my opinion, in the houses I used to live in,

possibly a dado rail.

Fingers crossed, it is just decorating marks.

But to be on the safe side, you will need to investigate it fully.

Otherwise, the rest of the downstairs seems like it just needs a bit of a touch-up,

possibly new cupboards in the kitchen.

The good news is the bathroom suite, which is downstairs at the back, is white,

but really could do with a bit of a makeover.

And there's broken guttering to the front,

which could cause further damp problems in the rest of the house.

Upstairs, there doesn't seem to be any major points at all.

Only small points in this house that need to be sorted.

The banister's coming away from the wall. That can be sorted.

No signs of damp at all. But there is a hole in the ceiling.

I don't think it's damp, because there's no staining around the hole at all.

Come through here.

This is a nice, decent-sized, middle-sized bedroom.

And there is a hatch to the attic just here.

That might answer the question of the hole in the ceiling over the stairs.

Somebody may have just trod in the wrong place

and made that hole itself.

# It wasn't me, baby

# No, it wasn't me, baby

# It must have been some other body

# Uh-uh, baby, not me. #

You've got to watch where you're stepping in attics.

You could do yourself and the house some damage.

As well as a middle bedroom,

there's a good-sized master bedroom at the front.

And a decent third at the back, which both look in good order,

without any signs of damp.

I'm not sure it would be worth the expense of creating a bathroom up here,

but, if you wanted to, there's room to do so.

There's some work to be done up here, but it's mostly cosmetic.

What about the outside?

Only a small area but, judging by the looks of these walls,

they've been newly-rendered.

Looks like they've got a bit of insulation, as well.

But there is a more pressing problem.

This looks like double glazing but it isn't double glazing.

It has one piece of Perspex on the inside

and it's only held in with screws.

So, that does need to be sorted out very quickly.

You could quite easily break into that house.

The security issue of the Perspex windows aside,

most of the jobs here are about poor maintenance.

You know that old adage about a stitch in time?

Well, if you don't maintain your property,

the costs can start to multiply

and the work needed here means that, whoever buys this, has a lengthy list of jobs to tackle.

At a guide price of £40,000,

this could still be a sound investment.

What does a local estate agent think?

I think it needs a new kitchen, new bathroom.

Perhaps a look at the central heating.

And then just your general carpets and decorating.

There's no doubt that this house would benefit from all the agent's advice.

But there is a very important factor to bear in mind,

if anyone is thinking of buying a house to rent out.

This area lies within a council-run initiative called selective licensing,

which is aimed at improving living conditions for the residents and the surrounding communities.

The selective licensing has been run on a trial basis

on certain streets in certain areas in Stoke-on-Trent at the minute.

The aim of it is to improve the quality of properties within the area.

If certain aspects need to be done,

so, damp-proofing or if the roof needs replacing,

then the landlord is under an obligation to get those jobs done.

Another reason, then, to do your homework

and properly research the property you're buying.

So, what kind of figures could we be looking at for this three-bed terrace?

Once the property has been refurbished,

we'd be expecting an asking price of £59,000

and a rental price of £375 per calendar month.

So, no major problems with this property at all.

Lots of little things that need to be sorted out.

The damp, hopefully, will be an easy fix.

But let's see who wanted this property when it went under the hammer.

Lot 94 is a forecourted mid-terraced house.

Its guide price has been up to £40,000.

Can I say 35 to start?

The bidders for this lot were out of shot,

but the bidding quickly rose to £41,000.

At £41,000 for the first time.

A £41,000 for the second time.

Third and final time.

£41,000.

Not quite enough, if the bidders would like to come and talk to us.

The last bid of £41,000 failed to match the seller's reserve price.

However, Chris and her daughter Donna-Marie, also known as Donna,

upped their offer by £500 and sealed the deal.

They came along to meet me with their partners Denis and Stephen,

who had a look around, while I chatted to the proud owners.

So, Chris and Donna, congratulations, first and foremost.

But it wasn't no ordinary purchase. Tell us about the auction.

I'd seen several properties I was interested in.

There was about five I wanted to bid on.

-The auction started and they were going way above the guide price.

-OK.

And I was very near to buying one and I just missed it.

And the auction was going on and we was getting towards the end

and this property came up.

So, anyway, I bid on it and got to 41,000 and the auctioneer said,

"Right, sorry, that's not enough, you know, but see us later if you're interested."

So, I was sitting, waiting for the next lot that I was interested in to come along

and the chappie from the auction came across, one of the chaps, and said,

"Oh, the seller's here today. He says if you pay another thousand, you can have it."

And I said, "Well, I've got one more lot I'm interested in, actually,

"and I would rather have that, so I'd rather wait."

I said, "If I don't get that, you know, I might be interested."

So, that's what happened. The next lot came. It was a tenanted place.

It went for more than I was prepared to pay.

So, of course, I waved to him and he come across.

He said, "So, do you want it?" And I said, "No, I don't."

I said, "Tell him I will pay another 500, take it or leave it."

Anyway, he went off and I could see a little bit of verbal going on.

But, anyway, then he comes back across.

He said, "Yes, OK. He says he'll take the other 500."

At the moment, this is Christine's tenth property

and she has aspirations to retire when it's done,

having worked as a property developer for 34 years.

Donna has 18 properties on the go at the moment,

having turned full-time three years ago,

after working in telecommunications.

So, there's signs of damp. Is that a concern?

Well, there's a few signs of damp

but, apparently, the back was treated, I think, under some kind of government grant...

-That's right, yes.

-..only about eight months ago.

So, it's still in the drying-out process.

-OK, so it's been dealt with.

-So, it's been dealt with.

So, hopefully, you know, I haven't bought myself a load of trouble.

So, the property is in a selective licensing area.

Now, does that concern you? Is it something you've come across before?

Not really. We've looked into it.

I have a property in another area of the city

that the licensing scheme has also started in.

This particular area has been under the scheme for a few years now.

It's not something that we've come across before.

We do know other landlords that have been involved with it.

But at least they're trying to do something in areas

-that are struggling with antisocial behaviour...

-OK.

..bad landlords,

issues with bad tenants congregating in certain areas, et cetera.

Is there any other major concerns, problems that you feel you might come across?

Well, the guttering at the front wants sorting out.

-And there's lots and lots of cosmetic work, shall we say?

-OK.

But considering there's quite a few empty to-let properties in the street

and I already have paid quite a premium,

considering the condition it's in,

I'm not going to go too overboard.

I'm just going to give it a good cosmetic sort-through.

New carpets, probably blinds, titivate the kitchen up.

-probably new doors and so forth.

-New front door.

-Brand-new front door.

Because the front door, I don't know if you've noticed, is only an internal door, actually.

So, it's having a new PVC door.

Will you oversee that, Donna?

Potentially, most of it, yeah.

And also there might be the potential...

The boiler's got to be inspected yet and that could be...

-It is a modern combi.

-Yes.

But it's a bit tatty-looking.

-I'm not going to put one in just for the sake of putting it in.

-No.

If it does need replacing, obviously, that's going to put

another couple of thousand more on to the budget, so...

Christine has set herself a maximum of a £7,000 budget

if a new boiler is needed.

And she thinks the work should take between eight to nine weeks.

Of course, you don't do property developing for as long as Christine has

without knowing how to delegate.

So, Chris, tell me, who's going to be doing the work on the property?

Well, we've got quite a good team that we've established between us over the years.

You know, a good electrician, a good plumber, tiler and so forth.

But Donna, actually, will be project managing most of it.

Oh, so you're passing the responsibility over to Donna on this one?

-About four years ago I had a stroke...

-OK.

-..and my husband, last year, had lung cancer and had to have most of a lung removed.

-OK.

And he's also got other health problems.

He's now got prostate cancer.

So, since 2002, actually, we've been going to Spain for a portion of the winter

and it's got more and more as the years have gone on.

And so, since Donna's taken over these last few years,

she's done most of the project managing on anything I've bought

-and she will be doing on this occasion, all being well.

-Yeah.

Let me get this straight. You'll be sitting in Spain on a sunlounger, having a pina colada,

and you'll be doing all the work?

Yes. I will be in Spain for a short period of time myself.

-She's going to Spain, as well.

-I think you've got it right.

She's semi-retired now, yeah.

So, on that note, I'm going to wish you all the best.

Again, congratulations on getting the property you didn't want.

Enjoy yourself doing it up. Enjoy yourself getting a tan.

And I wish you all the best. Take care. No problem.

-Thank you.

-No problem. Take care.

-Pleasure to meet you.

-Thank you.

So, Chris has her tenth property. She's going to Spain.

Will it be a stress-free holiday,

while she leaves her daughter here, Donna-Marie,

to project manage it for her?

You can find out later on in the programme.

Well, we've already seen how one property turned out.

What about the other two?

Has all the work been completed on time and on budget?

Well, there's only one way to find out, boys. Let's take a look...

We head now back to Mitchum in Surrey

where, earlier, we saw this one-bed, purpose-built maisonette.

It was neat and tidy and not much wrong

that a lick of paint and a little modernisation couldn't fix.

It would make a perfect little purchase

and snapping it up for £130,000 was gas engineer Craig

who, along with his eight-year-old daughter, Matilda,

plan to refresh the place.

But for Craig, this isn't a quick refurb and cash-in job.

It's all about my daughter Matilda.

I was speaking to other parents and they were talking about when their children get older,

not being able to afford property in London.

And I had some money in the bank.

It wasn't earning any interest and I was just kind of slowly chipping away at it

and I thought, I need to invest it.

So, if I buy a property now,

we can rent it out and it will be there for Matilda when she's older.

And until Matilda is ready to waltz in,

Craig's pal Keith will be renting out the flat.

But it seems Matilda has some changes in mind for this place, as well.

I don't really like the kitchen

because I don't really like the boards

and most of the things are not working

and it's not that nice.

Keith wasn't going to be moving into his new home for another six months,

so that was enough time for Craig to get the work done

and £2,000 was his estimated budget.

So, it was all very straightforward.

Seven months later, we're back to meet Craig

and to see if Matilda got the kitchen she wanted.

Despite talk of this being a simple and straightforward renovation,

it appears more has been done than originally planned.

I'm glad to say, Matilda has got her wish

and there is a new kitchen,

as she wasn't a fan of the old one.

Taking away that odd-arched wall has created a nice open-plan space,

which doesn't feel nearly as cramped.

When we had time to have a look,

we realised it wasn't a structural wall. So, it was just a stud wall.

So, we could knock that down and open up the kitchen through into the living room.

It came down quite easily, to be honest.

There wasn't much holding it up.

So, a couple of big kicks and the wall was down.

Giving that wall the boot and creating a new open-plan space

has improved matters no end.

And it's the same for the one and only bedroom.

Changes in the bedroom would be

the sliding wardrobe has been removed

to make a bigger bedroom for the bed to fit in.

I also found the smaller cupboard in the bedroom,

there was a void to the side,

which we opened up to make an in-built double wardrobe.

A much better use of the space that was there.

The bathroom had little wrong with it

so, apart from a clean-up, a lick of paint and a cabinet,

it's business as usual.

The maisonette has a brighter, cleaner feel,

all down to new carpets and a splash of paint,

something Matilda was keen to get stuck into.

Well, I've done quite a good job of painting the doors and stuff.

And I was a little bit messy,

so my dad was a bit worried that I was going to get it on stuff,

so he literally went, "Let's go and get some newspapers."

Put them down.

He said, "Don't put it on your shoes."

So, I was like, "OK, I won't put it on my shoes."

There were a few paint footprints around the room.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nothing wrong with that.

In the past, Craig has renovated his own properties

and used that experience in getting this maisonette ready for Keith,

who also chipped in and helped out.

No, there's nothing else I would do particularly differently.

I think it's all gone rather well.

Craig based his timescale of six months

on Keith having to fulfil his current tenancy agreement.

So, he was pretty relaxed about that.

Has he been equally relaxed about the budget?

The original budget was about £2,000,

which we were close to coming in on the budget.

But we brought Keith round to have a look

and we were hoping to get away with just cleaning the original carpets that were here.

He wasn't so happy with them,

so we decided to get new carpets throughout,

which blew the budget a little bit.

But it pushed us up to about 3,000.

Well, along with his purchase price of 130,000,

Craig's total outlay is £133,000.

Time to find out what two local estate agents

make of Matilda's little property empire,

starting with the agent who first saw the maisonette seven months ago.

What the owner's done now is he's opened up the kitchen

to the living room area and it makes a big difference.

The property flows really nicely. I think it's a nice touch.

It looks a bit more modern. And it gives the impression of more space.

I'm impressed with the way it's been modernised.

I think they've used the space very well,

opened up where the cupboards used to be

and opening the kitchen into the reception area makes a lot of sense, makes it all a lot brighter.

Craig, of course, already has a tenant lined up at mate's rates.

But what could this fetch on the open market?

In my view, the likely rental achievable would be

in the region of £800 to £850 per month.

Rental for this property,

we'd probably be looking at about £775 per calendar month.

Good rental.

I might have to revise what I'm charging my friend to stay here!

In fact, Craig is getting around £650 per calendar month,

which would give him an annual yield of just under 6%,

which is still pretty healthy.

However, this is all about creating an investment for Matilda.

So, what, if any value has the flat accumulated

on that total £133,000 investment?

I would value the property for resale now at approaching 150,000.

This property would sell for approximately £165,000.

We could possibly get a little more, maybe up to the 170 mark.

But I think 165 is a good mark.

In fact, those valuations from £150,000 to £170,000

could give Craig a possible pre-tax profit of 17,000 to 37,000.

I'm quite happy with that.

Yeah, the plan's still the long-term plan with renting.

But it's nice to know, yeah, I've made a bit of money.

So, in the short term, this looks like a smart investment.

But, of course, no-one really knows

what will happen in the long term in the property market.

But it looks like Matilda is a professional landlord in the making.

I think it's turned out really nice.

When Keith looks after the place,

I think he should look after it very, very well.

Because, if I get this flat,

I want it to look exactly how it was, because this is amazing.

If he doesn't look after it,

I am going to give him one piece of my mind!

We go back to the market town of Tunstall in Stoke-on-Trent

where, earlier, I looked around a three-bed, mid-terraced house

that had a guide price of £40,000 plus.

After failing to sell on auction day, a deal was struck

and it was eventually bought for £41,500

by experienced property developer Christine,

who, along with her daughter, Donna,

formed a formidable partnership.

Although, it was clear who the boss was.

Since 2002, actually, we've been going to Spain for a portion of the winter

and it's got more and more as the years have gone on.

And so, since Donna's taken over these last few years,

she's done most of the project managing on anything I've bought

-and she will be doing on this occasion, all being well.

-Yeah.

Let me get this straight.

You'll be sitting in Spain on a sunlounger having a pina colada,

and you'll be doing all the work?

Yes. I will be in Spain for a short period of time myself.

-I think you've got it right.

-She's semi-retired now, yeah.

Christine has got this property developing lark sorted.

And while she said, "hola!" to the Spanish sunshine,

Donna will be doing the donkey work in Tunstall.

She was hoping to say, "adios!" to the damp

and get this place tickety-boo...

I'm not sure what the Spanish is for that.

..all for around a £7,000 budget

and in eight to nine weeks.

Two months later, has Donna done it?

A simple and clean refurbishment is the order of the day here,

which makes this property perfect for the area and the rental market.

So, this is the front reception room.

It's been decorated, new carpeting, which is gone throughout the house.

This cupboard has been built to house the electric and gas meter.

New blinds. Ventilation put in the chimney breast.

And the wall behind you is where we had the moisture issues

that we're pretty much on top of now.

With the ventilation sorted, the pointing and the guttering all fixed

and the radiators added,

that should mean Donna has won the battle with the damp.

Or has she?

We are still unsure whether it's 100% fixed,

because we've had problems with the utility company.

The day we bought the property, they forced entry,

breaking the front door to get in,

to change the prepayment meter,

because of some ongoing issue they had with the previous owner or occupier.

And since then,

we've had issues getting a steady supply of gas to the premises.

So, even after we'd installed the boiler

to make sure that we could heat the property and ventilate it properly,

we haven't actually been able to fully dry it out.

So, on one of the internal walls, there is still signs of moisture.

But everywhere else, it is cleared up now.

With all the experience Donna has,

it just goes to show that you can get caught out with issues like this.

However, damp issues aside, Donna has turned in a neat job throughout.

Overall, the work that we've done on the house...

A full decoration,

brand-new flooring and window-dressings throughout.

We have installed a brand-new combi boiler.

There has been a brand-new front door.

Sealed units throughout, where needed.

There has been some building works outside repairing walls.

I think that's about it.

Their original budget was £7,000.

But the final renovation came in at £8,000.

The house, though, does look neat and neutral

and, in all, I reckon it looks very rentable.

Is mum Christine happy with this?

I have kept my mum up-to-date with regular photographs

and video calling her from the property.

And so far the feedback that she's given me

is that she is very pleased with the progress and the work that everyone's done.

And we just need to push on and finalise

which tenant we're going to be having moving in the property.

And then she'll be happy and we'll move on to the next project.

Her next project?

Didn't Christine say this would be the last in her portfolio?

This most definitely will not be my mum's last property.

Every property she buys is always her last property.

And then you find there's an auction catalogue come through the door

or she's got a viewing arranged

or she's asking me to go and have a look at a house for her.

So, despite what she says, she'll keep going.

I'm glad to hear it.

An issue for this property was that it fell within a selective licensing area,

which meant landlords had to make sure their property was well-maintained

and their tenants adhered to the licensing guidelines.

All things Donna will be doing.

So, it's taken Donna two months at a cost of around £8,000.

Meaning mum Christine has invested a total of £49,500 on this project,

which is heading for the rental market.

But, before that, what do two local estate agents think of the work done here?

Starting with the agent who saw it originally...

This is my second time round the property.

It's had quite a few improvements since then.

The bathroom has been improved.

The internal decoration's been upgraded.

And I think some new windows and doors have been installed, as well.

There is a demand for this type of property,

both from buyers looking to let the property

or, alternatively, there is demand already for tenants.

Sounds pretty positive. Let's talk valuations...

If we were placing the property on the market

we'd recommend an asking price of £49,950.

I would place this property on the open market

in the region of £55,000.

I think they're relatively high for the area.

We have got it as an investment and it is up for rental,

but I'll definitely be passing those figures onto my mum

for her to have a last-minute thought about whether she does want to consider selling.

But I think, really, it's a long-term rental.

Well, if Christine did sell at the higher estimate of £55,000,

that would mean a pre-tax profit of £5,500,

which could buy you one or two sangrias.

But before that, let's look at a possible rental.

I would expect a rental income in the region of

£400 per calendar month.

If it was going onto the rental market,

we'd recommend a rental price of £375 per calendar month.

Yeah, those figures are roughly about right.

375 edges more towards the two-bedroom type of property for this area.

400 to 425 is around about the rate for a three-bedroom property in this area.

And this is currently marketed at 395 and we've had a phenomenal response.

So, that's probably the amount that we're looking to achieve.

That rental of £395 per calendar month

would bring in a yield of a whopping 9.5%,

making this a real success.

So, what's the secret, Donna?

For anybody wanting to consider buying property,

I'd say do your research, do your homework,

double-check your figures, always have a backup plan

and a secondary backup plan and a third backup plan

and make sure you've got your money in place and you can't go far wrong.

There are always twists and turns in the property market.

Yes, and we'll have plenty more properties for you next time on Homes Under The Hammer.

-See

-you, then. Goodbye.

-Goodbye.