Episode 41 Homes Under the Hammer

-Hello.

-We know investing in property can be frightening,

especially if you've never done it before.

Yeah, do your research, make sure the property's for you

and it won't feel as daunting.

No, and one place you might be able to pick up

that perfect opportunity is at your local property auction.

There are so many different types of property that come up for auction.

Yeah, but don't be swayed by all the options.

-It's all about making one right choice.

-Yeah.

Let's find out what today's buyers on the show decided to go for.

Two sisters don't need the bank of mum and dad

to buy in No Place, Durham, but DID need them at the auction.

-Did you need them there?

-Moral support.

In Wellington, Shropshire,

could that be baby Monty offering moral support on dad's DIY?

-Is your DIY getting any better?

-MONTY BURBLES

And Bal the buyer has promised his son a home

and it's not this Ealing flat.

I promised Tom a house,

a small house with chickens at the end of the garden.

All these properties were bought at auction.

We'll find out who bought them and how much they paid

-when these homes went under the hammer.

-Sold!

MUSIC: No Place Like Home by John Holt

Only 11 miles from Durham and a stone's throw from Beamish,

a village famous for its open-air museum, is No Place.

And you know what they say...

# There is no place like home... #

So, a lovely little village

with one of the strangest but coolest names I've ever heard - No Place.

You've got to love it, you really have.

Anyway, it's a two-bed mid-terrace house with a guide price of £20,000.

What I want to know is, is No Place really like home?

Let's get inside. It's cold out there, really cold.

Anyway, straight into the lounge area.

You've got this retro banister here on the stairs

going up to the bedrooms.

But a nice size lounge area and look at that fireplace.

If you could restore this to its past glory,

you'd have a nice feature in this lounge area.

Open-plan to what I think would have been the kitchen

but it looks like they've actually turned this into a dining area now,

judging by the flooring.

Nice open-plan, lots of space. Let's have a look through here.

# There is no place like home... #

This is a promising start. Viewed from the outside,

I wouldn't have expected as much space in here,

but the open-plan living area and dining areas are deceptively roomy.

Into the kitchen and it's definitely colder in here. There's no heating.

I have read the legal pack

and I know for certain there's no insulation on this flat roof.

That said, get a new kitchen in here,

take this out, clean it up, tidy it up,

I think you'd have a nice space to do your Sunday roast.

# Baby, it's cold outside... #

Or, if you would rather have a barbie,

then the fairly decent size yard at the back of the house

would serve nicely, but not today. It's freezing!

Upstairs, there are two double bedrooms and a bathroom.

The front bedroom has painted floorboards

but it's a shame to hide what could be a real selling point.

I reckon they'd look fabulous stripped back, sanded and varnished.

The back bedroom is a bit untidy but with complete redecoration,

would be as good as new.

The bathroom is the perfect size for this house - small.

But if your budget was tight, I think some paint

and perhaps a bit of new flooring would freshen it up nicely.

That guide of £20,000 looks very tempting

as there doesn't seem to be much work needed

to get this place up and running.

A local estate agent battled the elements to give us his opinion.

No Place is an area

that will appeal to, perhaps, some first-time buyers.

The majority of properties here are two-bedroom

and with the price range,

they're likely to appeal to first-time buyers,

but also to buy-to-let investors.

There's a lot of rental properties here

and I think it's a good investment for a buy-to-let investor.

I think a new kitchen would certainly be in order

and replacing the current bathroom.

The heating system looks to be in decent order,

so I don't think there's anything required there,

so it's mainly cosmetic and decorative improvement required.

And what valuations could the new buyer be expecting?

I think this house would refurbish to a decent standard.

You could be looking at a resale price in the region of £40-45,000.

I think, from the rental side,

you'd be looking at a price of roughly £350 per calendar month.

There isn't a lot that needs doing to this property. It's very superficial.

New kitchen, new bathroom and the insulation in this roof above me.

But if you get it for anywhere near the guide price of £20,000,

I think you could be onto a winner.

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

OK, 20's your guide. First lot of the day.

Two-bedroom mid-terrace house.

Benefits are gas central heating, double glazing.

Start me off at 20. At £20,000 am I bid?

15? Need a bid. Can't sell it without one.

15 here, just beat you to it.

With you, madam, at 15. 16, can I? 16. 17?

At 17 I'm bid now. 18?

18 I'm bid. 19? At 19 I'm bid.

20? Yeah, 20 I'm bid.

1, madam? Can you? 21. 22? 22 I'm bid.

23? 24? Shake of the head.

Here at £23,000. At £23,000, in the middle of the room, first time...

Take a half, sir? 23.5.

24? 24 I'm bid. Half?

Maybe not. Here at 24.

At £24,000 then, for the first time,

lot number one, second time,

at £24,000 if you're all done, selling away.

-HE BANGS GAVEL

-Well done, madam.

# This is the right time... #

Leading from the front, with some confident bidding,

was 27-year-old Charlotte.

Along with her 20-year-old sister Sophie,

she had decided the time was right to begin building a property portfolio.

This is the first purchase for the sisters at auction

and we met up back at the house for a chat.

# This is the right time... #

-Charlotte, nice to meet you.

-You too.

-Sophie.

-Nice to meet you.

Congratulations.

Now, you went to auction. You didn't go alone, did you?

No, we went together and we took our mum and dad with us as well.

-Did you need them there?

-Moral support.

-Did it help?

-Um...

-Not really.

We were OK on our own but it just offered a bit of support for us.

-Who was doing the bidding? Who was in charge?

-Charlotte.

-I was.

-I wasn't trusted.

-Were you not?

Did you only go for this property? Was this the only one you looked at?

Yeah, at auction, we just went for this property.

-And did you get it for what you wanted it for?

-Mmm, less.

-So you saved some money?

-Yeah.

We expected it to go a bit higher than what it went for.

So, tell us why this property in particular.

Did you look at any others or did this one catch the eye?

We did look at some others and we went to auction

and we didn't win those so I came and viewed this one

before the auction and there wasn't a great deal to do.

No structural work, it's just mainly the interior.

It's a nice area and the properties aren't too expensive

and I think they're let out quite well and sell on, so...

We thought the price was really good as well for the property,

-so what we were getting for our money.

-And are you happy?

-Did she do good?

-Yeah, she did good. I didn't see it before, so...

-Good.

-And you read the legal pack as well?

-Yeah, had a look.

-Good.

Now you've got this property, what are you going to do with it?

We're going to start by stripping everything out.

We'll replaster, do upstairs,

like change all the skirting boards, door frames.

New kitchen, bathroom and then just decorate throughout.

And what about the extension out the back?

There's no insulation in the ceiling. How are you going to warm it up?

We're going to have to put insulation in.

The ceiling will have to be lowered slightly

so we can get some spotlights in as well.

And then we're going to put some blow heaters

in the plinths underneath, so on the floor.

It'll need it, cos you'll be throwing money away,

the heat going through there. So, the ceiling's coming lower,

so I'm not going to be able to fit in there.

Thank you very much for that.

Not welcome back for a cup of tea, I understand.

# There's no room in your world for me

# There's no room in your world for me... #

Looks like I'm off the guest list.

But the girls will be issuing a special invitation

to their dad, Neil.

A builder by trade, Neil's help will be crucial

in getting this renovation project completed.

Once upon a time, he would nag THEM to do their homework

but now he'll be the one doing their HOME-work.

Our dad's going to do most of the work cos he's a builder

-and he's got his own company.

-What will he do for you?

All of it, really. And then we'll do the decorating.

What do you see are the biggest problems to overcome?

Probably getting our dad up here.

Expecting him to come up every weekend might a be a bit too much.

-How far's dad away from here then?

-About an hour away.

But the girls are prepared to get their hands dirty

and once Dad has got the big jobs out the way,

they will get to work making the place look bright and modern.

And as this is going to be a family affair,

Mum will also lend her expertise on kitchen layout and tiling

and she's a dab hand at decorating as well.

All seems a doddle - so far.

How long are you hoping it's going to take him to get it completed?

-Roughly about 6 months.

-So tell us about the budget.

How much are you looking to spend?

As little as possible I know, but what would you like to spend?

Roughly between about £8-10,000.

Their plan to sell this house once renovated

means that if Charlotte and Sophie manage

to keep within the £10,000 budget,

their total spend would be £34,000.

Based on the estate agent's top valuation of £45,000,

the girls could be looking at a potential profit of £11,000 -

not bad for a part-time occupation.

So, what do you do when you're not buying properties?

I work in renewable energy in training and forecasting.

-And yourself?

-I'm at university, studying at the minute

but I'm on a two-year placement

at a car manufacturing company in the north-east.

-Enjoying it?

-It's really good, interesting.

Now you're into the property-developing world,

are you going to stop here? Is this a one-off?

No, we'll probably carry on. If this goes well,

we'll look to buy another one, maybe at auction again.

Pricing's good and we found a good buy here.

There's quite a lot of properties that come up on the market

quite frequently around here, so...

And will you change from buying to sell?

Will you rent any? Will you keep any yourselves?

Yeah, once we've done a few, we'll maybe do some buy-to-lets.

Create a bit of a portfolio maybe.

And will you actually look at properties

that maybe need a bit more work doing or would you steer clear of them?

-Potentially in the future.

-Is that only because you've got Dad there?

-Yeah.

-To do everything for you?

-He's got to help.

And you're so young to start doing this.

I think you're doing it just at the right time as well.

And if you can find some gems like this, I think you'll do well.

-I wish you good luck.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

So, dad Neil has got his work cut out with his two lovely daughters

who have their heads screwed on

getting into the property-developing world so young.

And if they can get the work done within the timescale and the budget

and they can receive that healthy yield,

I think they'll be onto a winner

and I don't think it will be the last property they buy.

Find out how they get on later in the programme.

This is Wellington,

a historic market town on the outskirts of Telford in Shropshire.

The town once played host to King Charles I, who in 1642,

declared war on parliament from right here.

So, that's the history, but what about the property I'm here to see?

Well, it is on a bit of a major road,

which is a bit of a disadvantage,

but the good news is the flat I'm here to see

is only five-minutes' walk from the railway station.

Guide price of £50,000 for a two-bed. Sounds good.

Oh!

So, it's an upstairs flat...

..which actually, some people really prefer.

But what's it like?

Well, first impression is pretty good. In nice decorative order.

You might not like the wallpaper. It's a bit dark for my taste,

but it seems to be in pretty good condition.

Very large bedroom there, which is nice to see.

Second bedroom which isn't as big but is pretty reasonable.

Bathroom there. It could do with a bit of modernisation

but it's a nice size, as, indeed, is the lounge.

Really good size space. And then, to cap it all,

into the kitchen which could do with a bit of modernisation.

It would certainly benefit from new units, perhaps,

but you've got to figure out what you're going to use this place for.

Are you going to rent it out? Would this be serviceable?

I think it probably could. So, all in all, a pretty good little flat.

I can't see anything that worries me

and it's a reminder that sometimes properties sent to auction

are just there for a quick sale or for different reasons,

other than being really problematic.

But still, take nothing for granted. There's that legal pack to check.

And some wallpaper catalogues, possibly!

So, because I am a good boy, I've done some homework,

and I can tell you that the flat has a 99-year lease

and, with no communal areas to worry about,

only the shared roof and exteriors are a joint concern.

The service charge is £180 per year.

See, that's the sort of stuff you need to know.

When you start out as a property investor, you have, in your mind,

grand ideas of the kind of properties you're going to take on.

Big castles or huge great houses with turrets and all sorts of stuff.

You know what? When you start out,

you need to start small to hone your skills

and this is exactly what you should be looking for.

If you are an inexperienced property developer,

something like this, which isn't going to cost you so much to buy,

which you can do a little bit to tart up,

add a bit of value to, gain that knowledge,

start with something like that and then buy your castle.

# Come on by some night My castle's rockin'...#

A castle it might not be but what it lacks in turrets and tiaras,

it more than makes up for with layout and proportions,

not to mention being a sound investment

with that guide price of £50,000.

We asked a local estate agent along to hear his opinion.

The flat itself is very, very spacious. Very good layout.

In terms of the actual rooms,

nothing really to be done to them at all.

Some of the decor is a bit iffy/ psychedelic

and I'd certainly be doing some redecoration if I was to buy this.

Possibly put in a new kitchen and new bathroom

but probably not spending an awful lot on that,

so probably going for the budget ranges of both those things.

And also, I'd get the electrics checked.

One of the plugs appears to have got tape round it,

so it would be prudent to get that inspected,

particularly if someone is looking to let this property out.

Good call. Some of the electrics do look rather dodgy.

This exterior trunking is less than desirable

but the agent is impressed with this flat. Time to talk dosh here.

What could it make on the sales and rental market?

If this property was to go on the open market

once it's been freshened up,

I would suggest a marketing price of £70,000.

However, if they decided to go down the rental route,

I would suggest a rental income of £495 per calendar month.

Well, it's a nice little flat in a good location.

If you wanted to, you could pretty much move into it as it is,

although I, personally,

would think about replacing the kitchen and the bathroom.

But let's see who fancied it when it went under the hammer.

It's a leasehold first-floor apartment

with two bedrooms and it is in need of modernisation.

What's this? £50,000 start?

48 then? Can we get it going at 48?

48 bid, thank you. At £48,000.

Bid's at 48. 49 on the front row.

At 49. 50? 50.

51. 52. 53.

At £53,000 on the front row.

54. 55?

No, at 54. At £54,000 to my left.

55.

56?

At £55,000 to my right then.

At £55,000. 56 anywhere else?

If not, £55,000 once.

£55,000 twice.

Third and final time... Got you. 56.

57. No? 57, still with you, sir.

£57,000 then once...

£57,000 twice...

Third and final time, £57,000.

-HE BANGS GAVEL

-You bought it, sir. Well done.

# Let's try again... #

The successful bid of £57,000 was made by Ben.

He and his wife, Emma, have bought this, their eighth property.

We first met Ben and Emma in 2012

when they bought a fire-damaged property in Telford

which proved to be rather tricky.

But, clearly, it hasn't stopped them trying an auction buy again.

Time to find out their plans for this nice flat.

# Let's try again... #

Ben, Emma, good to meet you. Again.

-But first of all, who's this little chap?

-This is Monty.

-Monty.

-How old is Monty?

-He's seven months old.

-Seven months old.

-Yeah.

So, the last time we met, you didn't have Monty.

-No, just the other two girls.

-Right, so new addition to the family.

-Yes.

Bit of extra work, bit less sleep.

-Right, but you've also got a new baby with this place.

-Yes, indeed.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this one.

It just seemed like a nice flat in a reasonable area at a good price.

Doesn't need much doing to it.

We got our fingers burnt last time, taking on a bit too much.

Right. Last time we saw you, you got your fingers burnt a bit or...

Yeah, we probably shouldn't have bought that particular house,

-so it's the first time we've been to auction since then.

-Oh, wow.

What happened? What went wrong?

It was a fire and smoke-damaged house,

so we didn't quite appreciate the implications of that.

-We thought a bit of wiping down the walls and job done.

-Right.

-But what was the reality?

-Well, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Quite a lot of replastering, a lot of very expensive sealants

and it just took forever, didn't it?

Yeah, specialist paints

and lots of extra expense that we just didn't know about.

-And the big one was it wasn't mortgageable...

-Oh, wow.

..which we hadn't realised at the time we bought it,

-so it caused a certain amount of stress.

-No kidding!

So it's been three or so years

before you ventured back into the auctions.

Did it turn out all right in the end? Did you make any money on it?

Er, yes, I think so. I think we made a reasonable return.

Probably, we could have earned as much just doing a paper round

or something but... Some time taken, but it's fine.

It's a good buy-to-let house and it's a good house to have.

OK, so you moved on to this one which, on the face of it,

-is in pretty good condition.

-Yeah, that's what we thought.

Is that one of the things that attracted you to it?

I wasn't at the auction. Ben went on his own.

He vaguely said he wanted to see a flat

just to see what the land was like and he went on his own

and came back and said, "I've bought a flat."

-I was like, "Oh, good."

-So you didn't know.

-No.

So, were you happy when you saw it?

I saw it yesterday for the first time,

-so yeah, it's much better than I thought it would be.

-Right.

Ben did lead me to believe it was key-ready.

Yeah, I remember it being totally immaculate,

ready to give a key to someone and thank you very much.

Seems to have deteriorated a bit since I last saw it, but...

It must be the mice!

You must be the ultimate person who wears rose-tinted spectacles

-when you go round to look at houses.

-I think so, yeah.

Because judging by the experience,

the only experience I've had with you is they haven't been quite as...

No, they seem to differ on the second viewing but, you know.

So, what's the plan for this place? What are you going to do to it?

-Ideally, as little as possible, just redecoration...

-Yeah.

Fix the obvious issues, tart it up a bit -

new lino in the kitchen and bathroom, regrout the bathroom.

Fairly basic stuff really.

-Probably a budget of £2,000-£2,500.

-Right.

-And then get it let out.

-OK.

# Now we've got to keep it simple and that's that... #

Thankfully, this does look like a far more straightforward proposition

than the last auction property they bought.

However, there was, last time, I recall,

a question around Ben's DIY skills.

Now, who's going to do the work? Cos last time we did discover

that you weren't the world's best DIY-er.

Yeah, I can probably manage slapping some emulsion on the wall

but we've got another...

This is property eight now.

-We've done a few others not through the auction.

-Right.

We bought a few others not via the auction,

so we've got a team of builders who have done general work.

-Is your DIY getting any better?

-MONTY BURBLES

-Not really.

-Monty knows! He just said.

Thanks for the input, Monty.

Ben will be getting the builders in,

so he'll not be testing his DIY skills.

He also has a painter and decorator lined up

and the timescale will depend on his availability.

Once it's done, it'll be rented out.

Do you know what rental you might achieve?

Er, hoping for about £475.

But potentially a good turn?

Yeah, we're hoping for something approaching a 10% yield

which is kind of what we hunt for

so that we can get the mortgages paid off within 10 years or so

and hopefully retire at some point, but that's a long way away.

-Congratulations on lots of levels.

-Thank you very much.

The house and the baby.

-We look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Wonderful.

-Nice to see you again.

-You too. Thank you.

-Nice to meet you.

So, an unfortunate experience at the auction last time

didn't put Ben and Emma off from visiting again

and I think they've done really well in this instance.

Not too much work to be done,

which is just as well when it comes to Ben's DIY.

And, of course, they've got Monty to help out.

How will it all turn out? You can find out later in the show.

Coming up, this Ealing flat is taking me

all the way back to the '80s.

I would have been listening to Duran Duran

and wearing ra-ra skirts in those days.

And whatever era the wallpaper was from in Wellington,

someone has decided it was catch of the day.

Monty particularly liked the fish, so we thought we'd go with it.

There's no place like No Place.

And it's to No Place we're now returning.

This small village in northern County Durham

is home to this two-bed terrace house which was up for sale at auction

for a mouthwatering guide price of only £20,000.

The village definitely had a cool name

but this house's kitchen was even cooler.

Into the kitchen and it's definitely colder in here. There's no heating.

I have read the legal pack

and I know for certain there's no insulation on this flat roof.

Aiming to bring a little warmth to proceedings

are sisters Charlotte and Sophie who bought this place for £24,000.

They put up the cash

but would be relying on their dad, Neil, to put up the muscle.

Our dad's going to do most of the work cos he's a builder

-and has his own company.

-What will he do for you?

-All of it, really.

And then we'll do the decorating.

MUSIC: Diamonds by Rihanna

The house was dated and in need of a new kitchen and bathroom

but it presented the girls with a great opportunity

to begin their property portfolio.

With a budget of £8-10,000, they aimed for a finish of six months.

And guess what, one month ahead of schedule, we're back to see

how first-time property developers Charlotte and Sophie have fared.

Well, I'm actually speechless.

The girls have transformed

what was a very tired and old-fashioned house

into a bright and modern family home.

# Shine bright like a diamond Whoa

# Shine bright like a diamond Whoa... #

With its new tile job, the bathroom looks completely new.

But in fact, the old suite was in such good condition

that the girls decided to keep it,

adding new taps to spruce up the style.

Both bedrooms have had a complete makeover

with fresh new wallpaper and paint, new carpets and electrical fittings.

But my favourite room has to be the kitchen.

It's the girls' pride and joy and not just because it looks great.

An accident at work meant that dad was unable to help assemble

and fit the units, so it was all down to Charlotte and Sophie.

Dad fractured some of his ribs at work,

so it was a bit difficult when we were trying to fit the kitchen.

-The flat-pack kitchen, putting that together was...

-Challenging.

..challenging, yeah and a lot of the walls were out of plumb

in the kitchen, so nothing fitted right to the back of the wall.

We had to cut them down and fill them out.

It took a lot of time and effort and a lot of rubbish instructions.

MUSIC: Relight My Fire by Take That

Girls, we've all been there with flat-pack instructions.

Let's hope there are no bits left over though.

From flat-packs to flat roofs,

Neil recovered in time to insulate that problematic kitchen ceiling

and he replaced the roof felt for good measure.

A new window and door finished the job.

The half-height wall in the open-plan area was taken away

and instead of ripping out that old fireplace,

Charlotte spent four painstaking days turning it

from an eyesore into a fantastic focal point for the living room.

I stripped the fireplace as well and took it back to its original colour

and then that's all been waxed

and we've had some new slate as well for the hearth.

# Relight my fire

# Your love is my only desire... #

And as a finishing touch, the girls turned their attention

to that rather sad and nondescript backyard.

# Need your love... #

MUSIC: Lust And Lies by The Ramona Flowers

With some decking, paint and a few plants,

even the most unappealing garden

can be turned into an attractive outdoor space.

Very pretty.

When we first saw this house,

it seemed it could have had a simple redecoration job,

but appearances, as we know on Homes Under The Hammer, can be deceptive.

Initially, we didn't expect to have to take

all of the paper off right back to the brick.

We've had to replaster basically the whole house.

When we first started stripping all the walls,

we noticed that there was a leak running down

and when my dad had a look, the whole ceiling just came down

and there'd been a leak coming from the toilet in the bathroom.

I think it had been there quite a while.

So, we had to plasterboard all the ceiling

before we could then plaster it.

Completing the project

a month ahead of their original six-month timescale

is testament to the girls' hard work and project management.

But has keeping control of their £8-10,000 budget

-been a piece of cake?

-We actually spent about £12,000.

That's because we had to have things done like plastering the whole house

and originally,

we thought it would only be the odd room that might need doing.

We finished things to quite a high standard as well,

so we spent a bit more on finishing.

I think the girls have unearthed a little diamond

in this former coalmining area.

But will it dazzle two of the local property experts

we've invited along to give us their valuations?

I'm very impressed with the work

that the vendors have done on the property.

I think the standard of the finish is very high

and it'll certainly attract the right type of buyer to the property.

The layout is very traditional in a terrace-style property,

although it has had an extension to the kitchen.

It's been refurbished to a very high standard

and it's excellent living space for a family.

Charlotte and Sophie bought this house for £24,000

and have spent £12,000 on its renovation,

bringing their total spend to £36,000.

Has this been a good investment?

On today's market, the property would be marketed at £64,950

and for rent, it would be on the rental market

for £375 per calendar month.

On the sales market I would expect this property to achieve

in the region of £60,000 and on the rental market,

I would expect the property to achieve

in the region of £350 per calendar month.

Although a rental value of £350 per calendar month

would bring in a return of 11.5%,

the girls are content to sell and move on.

With that top valuation,

they could be looking to make a pre-tax profit of £29,000,

which would be a great start to their property development scheme.

We've already been looking at other properties

and hopefully we'll pick something up at auction again

and carry on doing the same thing.

Welcome to Ealing in West London.

It's long been a popular suburb

due to its leafy streets and busy town centre,

giving rise to the nickname the Queen of the Suburbs.

-# And we'll never be royals

-Royals

# You can call me Queen Bee

-# And, baby, I'll rule

-I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule

# Let me live that fantasy... #

And this popularity, along with property prices, is set to increase,

as in 2019, the new Crossrail high-speed rail link

will cut journey times to the city centre to just 11 minutes.

The property I'm here to see

is a couple of miles from the nearest Crossrail station

and it's on this fairly busy main road,

but its W5 postcode is still desirable,

albeit it is kind of on the boundaries

between Ealing and Brentford.

But the property itself is a two-bedroom flat.

It's on the first floor of this purpose-built block

and it went to auction with a guide price of £250,000 plus.

These flats were built in the 1980s

and the grounds look pretty well-kept.

And the good news is there's a parking space

allocated in the communal car park.

So, that's the outside. What about the inside?

So, let's have a look around the flat. Well, good size single.

It certainly is a single there. We've got a double bedroom here.

Ooh, we have got a pink bathroom!

Yes, that probably needs a repaint and a new shower, a new loo,

a new sink. You could do with upgrading all of that in there.

The doors also need replacing. And a really nice lounge. A big space.

Not a lot to write home about. It's a bit bland.

This is built in the '80s, typical of what you'd expect.

Kitchen through here. Again, some very dated units, painted yellow.

You could really give that a good old face-lift.

Over here we've got single glazed windows.

They're broken and because there's a busy main road out there,

you can hear a lot of the road noise,

you can hear the wind howling.

If there is a chance to upgrade those windows,

I would certainly try and do that.

This flat is typical of the '80s era.

I would have been listening to Duran Duran

and wearing ra-ra skirts in those days.

Ooh, that's a scary thought!

# Please, please tell me now

# Is there something I should know?

# Whoa... #

Well, like my ra-ra skirt, this is past it and needs updating

but, like Simon Le Bon, it's still in good nick.

Still, if you were looking to buy this,

there IS something you should know.

Now, like a lot of flats, this property is leasehold

and, unfortunately, there's only 71 years

left to run on the current lease.

Mortgage companies hate short leases,

so if you opted to do this flat up and sell on,

without paying for a lease extension,

then you'd probably have to sell to a cash buyer

which certainly narrows the market you're selling to

and it'll have a negative effect on the sales price.

So, your best option is to cough up the cash for that longer lease.

So, this auction lot isn't quite as straightforward

as it first appeared.

It's time we got the opinion of a local estate agent.

What does he think of the property, guided at £250,000 plus?

The main things of focus here would be

it will require a new kitchen,

it certainly would benefit from a new bathroom.

Unfortunately, with this type of building,

replacement windows is quite difficult to do.

Management companies would have to be involved.

You may or may not get the permission to do that,

so noise could, potentially, be an issue.

And what about that short-term lease?

A 71-year lease is now going to be considered far too short.

Anything less than about 80 years now,

lenders will be very reluctant to lend upon.

# Just give me just a little more time

# And our love will surely grow... #

Assuming the lease extension would cost £20,000

on top of the guide price of £250,000 plus,

what could this flat be worth?

So, once done up, I would expect this property to achieve

somewhere in the region of £395,000.

When this property is put back on the rental market,

I would expect to achieve a figure

of somewhere around £1,295 per calendar month.

Well, this two-bedroom flat needs an update

and that 71-year lease could be a bit of a sticking point with buyers.

But it's a good little flat and it could prove to be popular.

Let's head to auction and find out who bid for this one.

A well-located two-bedroom first-floor flat.

I've seen this one myself. It's a good renter, this. Great location.

270 anywhere? Right, 240 then, try and help.

Thought it was cheap. 240 I've got. 245 anywhere?

245. 250, yeah? 250.

255? I'll come to you. 255.

This property was proving popular and soon the price shot up.

We rejoin the bidding at £307,000.

307. How much? 308, yeah? 308, back in.

309 on the floor. 310.

311, thank you. At 311. 312? No?

It's with you again, sitting on the floor here on my extreme right.

311 for the first...

311 for the second...

311 for the third and final time. All done?

-HE BANGS GAVEL

-Sold. 311. Well bought.

The flat went for a final value of £311,000.

So, who was the mystery bidder? Well, it was Bal.

MUSIC: Sweet Little Mystery by Wet Wet Wet

We met up with him and his son, Tom, to find out more.

# It's just that sweet little mystery

# That makes me try.. #

-Bal, congratulations.

-Thank you.

We didn't actually see you at the auction. Were you there?

I was. I was sitting in a no-film zone

because it was the only seat available.

So you were being naughty. You were hiding from us.

Just in case you were wondering what a no-film zone is,

we always try to respect bidders' wishes not to be filmed at auction

by reserving part of the room our cameras avoid.

But this was a busy, busy room on the day,

hence Bal having to bid from there.

He was looking for a property to live in with his son Tom,

aged four and a half.

But this wasn't the one he intended to buy.

I wanted one of three others but I was outbid,

-so I got this one instead.

-Had you even looked at this property before?

-No.

-You hadn't even seen it?

-I knew nothing about it.

-So you purely went on the photograph?

-Yes.

So, why did you think, "I'll go with my gut.

"I think this will be a good one to bid for"?

Just cost and because I live in a one-bedroom flat

and now I need more space, I thought,

"If I can go for two that would be great."

So, obviously, now you've got a nice room for Tom here,

is this going to be your family home?

Possibly, and if I don't like it,

I will move out of London and buy a house.

I promised Tom a house, a small house

with chickens at the end of the garden.

And I'm a country person and I've lived in London for so long,

all over it, but it would be nice to go and just...

I like green fields and woodlands and that sort of stuff.

Well, as lovely as Ealing is,

it's not quite the country idyll Bal hopes for.

But it does seem to fulfil his current needs

and it's another step up the property ladder

and closer to his end goal.

And, besides, Tom looks like he's got comfy already.

So, what are his plans to turn this into a home for him and Tom?

Maybe replace the windows cos you open them and then they crack.

I realise that's one issue.

Tickle up the kitchen,

do something with the carpets which are horrendous,

the bathroom needs a major sort-out

and, apart from that, I don't know.

Now, you mentioned a tickle-up in the kitchen.

I think it needs a bit more than a tickle-up.

So, what are you going to do in there?

Are you going to drastically change it or will funds not allow you?

-Funds don't really allow me to do a lot.

-Mmm.

But I'll come back again with a pen and paper

and I'll write down what I think I can do

and maybe bring somebody in that renovates places.

So, how much budget have you got to spend in here?

-Nil.

-So, you've got nothing? You spent all your money on auction day?

Yes, I've got nothing left but I can work that one out somehow.

Oh, Bal, you're breaking all the Homes Under The Hammer rules.

First you buy without viewing

and now you've not left a budget to renovate?

Mind you, over the years,

Bal has done up many a property he has lived in,

including one that was almost derelict,

so that side of things doesn't faze him.

What about that short lease?

I've spoken to the solicitor and he gave me a price

of bumping up the lease, but I can't do that yet.

-So, how much is it to bump the lease?

-About £17-20,000.

-Ooh.

-That's what he said.

-Were you expecting that?

Mmm... The last lease I bumped up was £53,000,

so £17-20,000 isn't bad.

Bal seems pretty relaxed and will sort out the lease later,

as he knows it could make a big difference to any eventual resale.

In the meantime, the exciting thing is,

this is going to be a home for him and Tom.

So, how many months, days, weeks is it going to be

before you guys move in here?

I think it'll take a month, maybe, or six weeks, perhaps.

So, have you always been involved in property, Bal,

or have you had other jobs as well?

I've had lots of other jobs, one of which was at Buckingham Palace.

I was senior footman at Buckingham Palace.

I had the privilege of travelling the world

with Her Majesty the Queen

and I was on Princess Diana's carriage in 1981

going to the church.

Marvellous job and the loveliest job I've ever had.

It was really great and it sets you up for life.

It teaches you so many things,

so I was very grateful for that opportunity.

What kind of things does it teach you? Tell me.

I don't know. A way of being, communication,

everything, all life skills, which is not bad.

-And I'm sure you've met a lot of the lovely Royal Family.

-All of them.

-Tell me what they're like.

-Great, really, really nice people

and a wonderful family to work for.

-Bal, it's been wonderful meeting you.

-Thank you very much.

-Good luck and I hope you and Tom are very happy here.

-OK, thank you.

Well, from working in Buckingham Palace

to possibly living in the Queen of the Suburbs, Ealing,

Bal certainly has his royal connections,

but will he and Tom be able to turn this place into a palace?

And that short lease - will it be a problem for them?

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

Now, there are endless reasons

why property renovations can take a lot longer than expected.

Yeah, even the most straightforward projects

can hit unexpected complications.

Will the remaining two buyers stick to their deadlines? Let's find out.

Back now to the historic town of Wellington

on the outskirts of Telford.

Just five minutes' walk from the local railway station

was this two-bed top-floor flat

that had an attractive guide price of £50,000.

Now, usually a low guide price would have my alarm bells ringing,

but this well-proportioned flat was in really good order,

despite some fairly fishy wallpaper choices.

Plenty of people were happy to dive in on auction day

with the property eventually selling for £57,000.

You bought it, sir. Well done.

That bid was made by father-of-three Ben.

He and his wife, Emma, had appeared on the show back in 2012

and had struggled with a fire-damaged property,

but Ben wasn't put off

and was raring to go with his latest purchase.

# You keep on trying, darling

# Keep on trying... #

Ben did lead me to believe it was key-ready.

Yeah, I remember it being totally immaculate,

ready to give the key to someone and thank you very much.

Seems to have deteriorated a bit since I last saw it but...

Must be the mice!

You must be the ultimate person who wears rose-tinted spectacles

-when you go round to look at houses.

-I think so, yeah.

Because judging by the experience,

the only experience I've had with you,

is they haven't been quite as...

No, they seem to differ on the second viewing but, you know.

# I'm looking at the world through rose-coloured glasses

# Everything is rosy now... #

Ben is obviously a glass-half-full kind of guy,

but I remember all the trouble he had last time, not to mention,

by his own admission, his somewhat questionable DIY skills.

This was a different prospect altogether though,

with the couple earmarking a budget of £2,000-£2,500

and a timescale of just one to two weeks

to get this property ready for the lettings market.

Six weeks on, we return to see

if our own second viewing is going to be a positive one.

Wow! This has been made into the ideal rental property,

with a well-executed neutral decoration plan throughout.

I'm happy to say the majority of that rather garish wallpaper

has been replaced and the property now looks clean, fresh and bright.

Although in the bathroom, that fishy wallpaper has clung on.

It may not be everyone's cup of tea,

but it adds a certain amount of charm and character.

I can't wait to hear from Ben and Emma

and, of course, Monty to see how it's all been.

We've cleaned the place up. We've stripped everything.

The hall, stairs and landing, all the wallpaper's come off.

Everything's been painted.

Bathroom and kitchen just had a quick tidy-up and that's it.

In the bathroom, we decided to leave the wallpaper.

Monty particularly liked the fish, so we thought we'd go with it,

but we've given it a bit of a clean-up, replaced the taps,

put a new toilet in, replaced in behind the sink,

and it just looks brighter and cleaner.

This is the couple's eighth property, so they are no novices

but Ben, by his own admission, is not the world's best DIY-er,

so did he resist the urge to get his hands dirty?

Yes, I was hoping to repair my DIY reputation

by doing some of the work but it didn't really happen in the end.

We pretty well handed the keys to our builder.

My role, really, was just buying it on auction day

and manipulating the finances,

so we could actually afford to pay for it come completion day.

Emma's role was bossing the builder around

and the builder did everything else.

A big part of property renovation is knowing what you can do

and what's best left to the professionals,

which Ben has clearly taken on board.

But with Emma taking on management duties,

how's their £2,000-£2,500 budget and one to two-week timescale looking?

We spent £1,700, so we're quite happy with that.

In terms of timescales, it took about three and a half weeks

which was about what we were expecting.

-We're quite happy with the time.

-Hmm.

It seems that Ben and Emma have found this project

as easy as taking candy from a baby.

With the couple keen on letting,

but with an eye on selling the property in the future,

will a total investment of around £58,700 prove a wise one?

We asked along two local estate agents to take a look,

starting with the agent who saw it originally.

Second time I've visited the property.

Overall, the changes that have been carried out

are OK for a rental standard.

It's been pretty much what looks like a quick makeover,

decoration throughout and some new floor coverings.

Kitchen's, bathroom's pretty much the same,

apart from the toilet in the bathroom,

which I can see has been replaced.

But, as I say, pretty much acceptable for rental standards.

The standard of the finish is good.

Kitchen, bathroom, very neat and tidy,

a lot better than others I've seen in the area,

so I'd say the condition is good for the area.

Time to get some numbers then. Let's start with sales valuations.

I would expect the property to achieve £70,000 to £75,000.

If this was to go on the open market today,

I would expect this property to achieve £75,000.

If it did achieve that top valuation,

it would mean a pre-tax profit of £16,300,

which for three and a half weeks' work isn't too bad at all.

But for the time being, the couple are looking at the rental market.

I'd expect the property to achieve, as a rental,

£475-£495 per calendar month.

If this property was to go on the rental market,

I would suggest a marketing price of £495 per calendar month.

That top rental estimation would mean a yield of over 10%,

which makes Ben and Emma's second go at buying at auction

a resounding success.

So, with baby Monty taking a well-earned nap, let's hear

how Ben and Emma are feeling about property renovation now.

It's good fun, I think. It's turned out OK.

It's a nice flat, we've made a reasonable profit, if we sell it,

or it's a good buy-to-let investment, so we're pretty happy.

Back to Ealing, the queen of London suburbs now.

Earlier, I saw a two-bed flat valued at £250,000 plus.

But outside and inside,

the flat reminded me of a time when shoulder pads, fingerless gloves

and crimped hair were all the rage. I had them all.

Yep, if you were a New Romantic, you'll remember it well.

This flat is typical of the '80s era.

But, back in this decade,

Bal paid £311,000 for the property at auction.

He planned to make this the family home for himself and his son, Tom,

and it might be palatial, given his background.

I was senior footman at Buckingham Palace.

I had the privilege of travelling the world with Her Majesty the Queen.

Marvellous job and the loveliest job I've ever had.

# Prince Charming, Prince Charming

# Ridicule is nothing to be scared of... #

No, there wasn't anything to be scared of,

as Bal had experience renovating two properties before.

Well, nothing except the less than princely sum of his budget.

So, how much budget have you got to spend in here?

-Nil.

-You've got nothing? You spent all your money on auction day?

Yes, I've got nothing left but I can work that one out somehow.

Oh, dear.

And somehow, he might have to factor in the renewal of the lease

which only had 71 years left. That was a long-term issue.

But how has he got on in the short term, namely six weeks on?

From the outside, I can see those broken windows have been repaired,

but what about inside?

OK, so I know what you're thinking.

Much of it looks the same, but this was a property

where there was more subtle but essential work needed,

as Bal explains.

I have recarpeted, put a new boiler in,

bought a washing machine, put a new bathroom in,

got rid of the death trap in the cupboard which blew the fuse box.

Death trap?

There's a description you never want to hear about your electrics.

So what happened?

The electrical box was in a cupboard

and it collected electricity at night, but it didn't work

and it was connected somehow to the boiler which didn't work

and the bathroom didn't work, so nothing worked.

So, I've replaced the boiler,

got rid of that storage thing in the cupboard.

The electrics have been checked. I need to finish the painting.

The kitchen sink has gone in, the oven now works.

I'm changing the handles on the kitchen cupboards

and I'm doing another coat of paint in there.

I'm not sure what colour, but not lemon yellow. It was horrendous.

I'm glad the flat's decor is coming into this decade.

Bal reluctantly had to change the carpets, as they were beyond saving.

I made a mistake with the measurements for the carpet in here,

so they had to put an inset into this room, but it's OK.

Bal's learning curve extended to the bathroom,

where he decided to replace the bathroom suite.

I made a mistake with the bathroom measuring.

They put the floor down before I bought the new one so, of course,

I had to put a little in-fill in there too, so it's not my forte.

I've been quite hands-on with this project

because I bought the bathroom suite with a friend of mine

and she helped me -

not that she knew anything about it either, but we helped each other.

I now know a lot about sink traps and bath traps

and shower attachments and I know what they're all called

and so, if I ever have to do this again, I'll be a bit wiser.

And he went two weeks over his timescale,

due to waiting for tradespeople

for the parts he couldn't do himself.

So, now that tough question - how's that nonexistent budget looking?

My original budget was zero,

borrow as much as you can from friends, so I did.

But then I borrowed a bit more, then I said,

"Well, can you just pay for this for me, please?"

So, now I've got to pay it back.

I think, in total, I have spent probably about £7,000 or £8,000,

which I think is reasonable.

That's what friends are for,

although I'd like to know your generous mates, Bal.

Is the plan still for him and his son, Tom, to move in?

Right now, I plan to finish this flat, then I could rent this out

for six months and then wait until I start working,

so either way, I think something will work.

So, with that plan in mind,

Bal will be keen to know what rental figures he could get.

Time to ask two local estate agents

their opinion of the property,

starting with the agent who saw it the first time.

I think the property now has improved substantially

on what it first appeared when I originally inspected it.

Obviously, it'll be repainted, new doors.

Nice to see the current owner has put a brand-new bathroom suite in

to a very good standard.

I think it would have been nice to have, perhaps, seen

a new kitchen go in, however, it has been improved substantially.

So, we've got a new boiler, new bathroom,

new carpet and flooring, which is good.

I can see there are a few areas that just need to be finished off.

One outstanding issue is that short lease.

Bal was advised it could cost around £17,000 to extend it.

That would mean more borrowing. So, what would the agent advise?

My advice would be to speak to the freeholder,

find out how much the lease extension's going to cost,

advertise the property with the full lease,

so that you can get maximum exposure and the best price

and then pay for the lease extension on the draw-up to exchange,

so then he gets his money back for the lease extension,

first-time buyers get a property with a long lease

and they pay the going rate for the property in the local area.

If he fails to do that, then the only people, really,

who's going to be looking to purchase this property

is going to be a cash buyer or an investor.

If we include the cost of the lease,

the total investment in this flat would come to £336,000.

The agents think that, with that extension,

it could sell for between £375-400,000.

And that would mean Bal stands to make,

based on that top figure, a pre-tax profit of £64,000.

But Bal thinks he might rent

so, leaving the lease cost aside for that calculation,

what are those figures like?

I would expect it to achieve somewhere in the region

of £1,400 per calendar month.

Rental expectation for the property

would be in the region of £1,400-£1,500 per calendar month.

It's a little higher than I thought, but if it could go for that,

that would be great, if only for six months.

At an average of £1,400 per calendar month,

Bal would see a 5% yield.

After renting for six months, they might move in -

that is if the contractors get the painting finished.

I will keep this for six months,

possibly convert the flat that I'm living in,

which doesn't belong to me, and stay there or move here

or rent it for six months or sell it, if I can sort out the lease.

I don't know what to do, but I'm doing something.

Who knows? I might win the lottery!

Have these stories struck a chord with you?

Could you be inspired to take on a project of your own?

Well, we will have more property auction buyers for you next time.

-You never know, it could be you.

-See you soon.

-TOGETHER:

-Goodbye.