Episode 48 Homes Under the Hammer

We know it's easy to get carried away and pay too much for your property,

especially in a competitive market.

We can all get overexcited, so do your research,

stick to your budget and do not exceed your limit.

There's no better place to try that out

and test your nerve than at the property auctions.

Over the years, we've seen the popularity of buying at auction

just soar.

One of the reasons for that is when the hammer falls

you have exchanged contracts.

It's not this long drawn-out process you get with other ways of buying.

Will the buyers on today's show be flying high?

Let's see what properties they went for.

Coming up... It's far from the fun of the fair

at this house in Wolverhampton.

It's like you've walked into one of those houses they have in fairgrounds.

Sorry, Martin, but at this house in Derby I'm having a grand old time.

From what I've seen so far down here, I am liking.

And whatever time's to be had at this flat in Middlesex,

it might not be for very long.

'The length of the lease is one of the shortest'

I've ever, ever come across on this programme.

All these properties have been sold at auction.

We'll find out who bought them and what they paid for them

when they went under the hammer.

Sold.

Welcome to the Midlands and the town of Wolverhampton.

Initially growing as a market town during the Industrial Revolution,

Wolverhampton was, well, revolutionised as it became

the centre of production for everything from cars to bicycles.

In fact, from the mid-1800s right up to the 1970s

Wolverhampton was home to over 200 bike manufacturers.

Just a four-mile bike ride from the centre of Wolverhampton

is the property I'm here to see. Classic 1930s semi.

Guide price £50,000 plus.

Sounds pretty low.

Will it be a question of... on your bike, son?

# Riding along on my push-bike, honey

# When I noticed you... #

So, what have we got? OK, a little entrance area here.

Front living room there, looks to be in reasonable condition.

Stairs up to your bedroom is in the middle of the property

and then through to the rear of the house.

It is a lovely room, actually, this is a real liveable space.

A nice sort of lounge area here, the kitchen going off there.

It's OK for the size of house.

I love this little sun room here,

and overall, this will be the heart of the house.

Yes, good start.

'So it's all looking pretty positive.

'That guide price of £50,000 plus

'is also looking pretty good about now.'

So, upstairs, as you might have expected, your three bedrooms.

A really nice-sized one to the front,

tiny sort of odd-shaped one there

and then, a half-decent single to the back there.

Bathroom and loo exactly where you'd hope it would be.

But you know what? All that is completely irrelevant.

Why? Because you come up here on to this landing

and it's like you've walked into one of those houses they have in fairgrounds

where everything is on a bit of a strange angle.

It's sloping this way, if you look up there, it's sloping that way.

We've got a crack there.

This house has got some serious problems.

# Run to the hills

# Run for your life... #

Somebody spoke too soon.

If I saw this before an auction I might not quite be

running for the hills, but I'd be getting it thoroughly inspected

before parting with any cash.

Let's go and see if we can find the cause.

So, a bit of detective work required.

What am I looking for?

Any obvious signs of something that could have caused that problem.

And, it looks to me like it's in this corner. OK.

Let's start piecing something together here.

Look at this bit of wall. Can you see these little veins on here?

That is the remains of some kind of climbing plant.

In fact, if you go down here, here is the root of the plant.

That looks to me like it is fairly substantial

and look how close it is to the wall of the house.

Those roots would have been going down into, underneath,

through, perhaps, the foundations.

It probably wouldn't break through the concrete, but what happens

if it's a really long spell of dry weather is,

it sucks all the moisture out the ground and then

the ground shrinks, and as a result, the property starts to go down.

Such a simple thing.

'I know a lovely old climber can add character

'but do ask your surveyor to take a look and get a professional opinion.

'When it comes to trees, oak, willow and poplar

'can be the most troublesome.

'But of course, there can be other causes to look out for

'such as broken drains.

'Time to check out the back garden.'

Well, at the back of the property, this single-storey extension

and again, look at this, another huge tree so close

to the property itself, or certainly the extension.

That's really not good, that needs to go.

More tree stumps here.

Having said that, the garden itself is really pleasant.

Really, these trees are a blessing and an absolute horror.

Too close to the house - bad.

In the garden - lovely.

So, I found this house a bit of a mixed bag.

Could this be a potential lovely family home with a tempting

guide price of £50,000 plus?

Or a property that needs considerable structural work?

Right now, I'm not too sure

so maybe it's time we asked along a property expert

from the auction house that sold it to see what he has to say.

First impressions of the property are that it's a nice semidetached.

There's extended accommodation on the ground floor

which makes it ideal for family use.

Well, we're agreed on first impressions but what about that movement issue?

There is signs of some movement to the property

so they are going to have to have a structural engineer's report

and, obviously, if there are any issues contained within that,

they will have to pay whatever the rate is for it.

That's a pretty penny but this house is guided at £50,000 plus

so, bearing in mind there could be expensive repairs,

what could this house be worth?

Once the house is finished and all the issues are taken care of

I would imagine that you would achieve in the region

of £150,000 - £160,000.

So, on the face of it, a great little property

and a very attractive guide price.

But, as ever, if it seems too good to be true it usually is.

A few subsidence issues here.

Let's see who bought it, nevertheless,

when it went under the hammer.

Lot 62, our next lot.

Attractive-looking property. Who'll bid me, then?

Start me if you will, lot 62.

Where are we? 50. At 50,000 I'm bid, and thank you.

Is that 60, sir? 60. 70?

70, thank you, sir, 70.

I've got him first, sir. Would you go 80 for me?

At 80. 90, is it now?

Is that 90, sir? 90. Thank you. Is it 100 now?

At £90,000 then. Is that 100, sir? 95.

At 95,000. Do I have 100 anywhere?

New bid at 100. Thank you, madam, at 100.

105?

105, sir. 110?

110. Who's first to 115?

115.

115. Is it 120?

No? At 115.

Are we all done?

Your bid, sir, 922.

First time to you, sir.

Second time, number 922.

Third and last time.

Sold. That's yours, sir. Congratulations. Well done.

Well, that guide price didn't last long.

That determined bidding came from the father of the new owner,

21-year-old Sam, who bought the property for £115,000.

Sam runs his own events security business and was inspired to

start in property by his dad who's been developing for over 20 years.

Will this investment prove to be a safe one?

-Sam, good to meet you.

-And you, mate.

-Congratulations.

-Thanks.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this place?

Well, just an investment really.

-Went to auction, fancied it and bought it.

-Right, as easy as that?

-Yep.

-Were you looking for a property specifically like this

or this particular property?

No, me and my dad went to auction and saw a cheap house

in Wolverhampton which is where we're from.

-It wasn't planned to buy these two...

-Right.

-..just a day out.

-Two?

-Yes.

-You bought two?

-Yes.

-On a day out?

-Yes.

-Had you been to visit them beforehand?

-No.

-No? Why?

Didn't get time. Just one of those things, just bought them.

# Fools rush in where angels fear to tread... #

Now, of course, we are not saying Sam is being foolish

but can you tell I'm a little bit nervous about this?

Sam has bought two properties without viewing,

potentially opening himself up to a world of pain.

I really hope he knows what he's doing.

So what did you think when you walked in?

It weren't too bad. I thought it would be a lot worse than it was.

It looks pretty clean to me. Nothing major so it isn't a bad buy.

-Is this the sort of thing you do a lot of?

-No. Not really,

Not without checking them out properly first.

-This is a little gamble.

-Right. Do you think it's going to pay off?

-I hope so.

-Not advisable, though, is it?

-No. Not at all. I wouldn't do it again.

Why this house? It must have been something at the auction that attracted you.

Seemed pretty cheap for the area.

-I thought, "Give it a go."

-Tell me what you're going to do to it.

Hopefully, refurb. New kitchen, new bathroom, strip the wallpapers off,

if it needs re-plastering, re-plaster it,

and paint up, new carpets, new wooden floor.

Do the gardens up, hopefully ready to sell.

# Don't speak, I know what you're thinking

# And I don't need your reasons

# Don't tell me cos it hurts... #

Yes, he's a man of few words, Sam, but I'm still worried that

none of those words seemed to have mentioned the subsidence.

Has he spotted it?

When we bought the property we didn't know about it.

When we did come to see it we saw the subsidence at the front, got surveying done.

They told us what the problem was, how much it'd cost to fix it

and wasn't a big issue.

Tell me what the problem was.

Apparently, it's a root at the front which you can see

outside now, it's right next to the house. That cracked the foundations.

What are they going to have to do to sort it out?

Dig the roots out, dig it down, underpin it

and it should be good to go.

What kind of costs have you been quoted for that?

-About £2,000.

-Not so bad really.

'Phew, looks like Sam's been very lucky, that could have been a lot worse.

'Sam plans to keep the layout as it is

'and he's planning to do the work in just a month.'

So, tell me what you're going to spend.

About ten grand, I reckon, to do everything.

-Including the subsidence?

-Yeah, hopefully.

-Great.

-Who does the work?

-Me and my dad. We try to, anyway.

-You've got building experience?

-Just a bit of DIY.

You're not going to be doing the underpinning?

-No, builders for that.

-Not a job for a DIY enthusiast.

-And then back to the auctions for another one?

-Hopefully, yes.

-If everything goes to plan.

-If it doesn't sell?

-Just rent it out.

Can't sit on it and wait for it to sell.

-Well, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Good luck with it.

-Look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

So, Sam not seeing the property before he bought it.

Still, it seems that resolving the major issues isn't going to

be quite as expensive as I feared.

However, you never know with building works.

How will he get on? You can find out later in the show.

Welcome to Hilton, situated just ten miles outside Derby.

It's very popular, not just because of its easy commute to the city

but since gravel production stopped here in 1945,

the site of the facility has gradually turned into

a picturesque nature reserve.

This makes Hilton a very beautiful place to live.

As I'm walking down this path towards the property I'm here to see,

I just get the feeling I'm in a really nice family neighbourhood.

Anyway, here it is.

It is a three-storey, three-bed property

with a guide price of around £125,000 plus.

It's lovely on the outside, let's have a look on the inside.

Nice, spacious hallway.

Central heating I can see, which is a good start.

Stairs up to the bedrooms.

Into the kitchen, which is a decent size.

It's in good nick as well, it looks like it's been looked after.

This is a keeper for me, which is good for the budget.

What else have we got?

Down the hallway, in here we've got a downstairs toilet.

We've got a bit of storage in there, and into the living room area

which is a decent size.

Nice feature fireplace, it would need a lick of paint just to

brighten it up a bit, and maybe new carpets as well.

But these double doors going out into the back garden I do like.

Little bit overgrown but you can turn it around, no problem at all.

A bit of decking as well.

From what I've seen so far down here, I am liking.

Let's have a look upstairs.

A nice back garden, good-sized rooms, a toilet downstairs

and there's even a playground literally a stone's throw away.

To me, this place is crying out to be an excellent family home

but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

I've still two more floors to explore.

OK, upstairs. What have we got up here?

We have got a nice big bedroom with lots of light coming in just there.

A double bed in there, no problem at all.

The bathroom just here, with a shower over the bath as well

in good condition.

The whole thing about this house is, it's all well looked after.

Into the second bedroom on this floor, it is a bit smaller,

may be best used as a nursery or a child's bedroom.

Let's have a look at the top of the house.

Up to the top of the house and we've got the master bedroom.

Nice big size, two big windows letting lots of light in.

I do like that.

Let's hope this is a bit of storage. It is.

That is fitted wardrobes just there.

And an en-suite as well with shower.

Really nice space up here, definitely an adults' area.

Kids downstairs, adults up here, a bit of privacy

and no queue for the shower.

Spot on.

# O Fortuna... #

Sometimes in property development things aren't always as they seem.

Just when things were looking good and I thought this could be

the perfect family home, I've found trouble.

Music: O Fortuna by Carl Orff

Not only would you have to repaint this house,

I've seen another problem.

You might have replace a few spindles as well.

I know I'm clutching at straws but that's all I can find.

# I'm spinning around

# Move out of my way

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

OK, so maybe I was being a little bit dramatic.

Assuming you can deal with those rogue spindles,

I really don't see too much wrong with this place.

# I know you like it like this... #

What does a local property expert think?

We've asked one along to find out.

Generally, the property needs a good lick of plaint, new flooring,

tidy up outside and it should be ready for the open market.

But as this needs very little work,

is there any opportunity to add value and make a profit?

Overall, I feel the improvements really should be done within £2,000.

If I were to place the property on the open market I'd recommend

an asking price of £159,000.

Some potential, then. What about the rental valuation?

I feel it would likely achieve £700 per calendar month.

I've got to say, this house has the potential to be the easiest

and quickest turnaround I've come across so far.

The kitchen is intact, the bathrooms are intact,

yes, you would have to spend a bit of money on paint, but you might

be able to save a bit of money if you can resurrect those carpets.

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

Lot number 45.

A modern three-storey, three-bedroom townhouse. Start me at 140.

130,000.

Who's got 125 to start me? 125.

20? 120, I'll take as a start, thank you.

At £120,000.

120,000. 121?

121? 121. 121,000.

122 at the back. At 122.

123 is bid. 123...

This was one popular property and the bids came thick and fast.

We rejoin the bidding at £130,000.

130,000. 131.

132. I'll take the half. 132,500.

133 is bid.

133,500. 134.

134,500. 135.

135,500?

No. For £135,000 then, we're going to sell.

For £135,000 once.

Twice, third time.

Sold at 135, thank you.

The successful bidders were Steve

and his slightly surprised-looking wife, Lisa.

Steve works in IT and they both are local to Hilton.

This £135,000 purchase marks their first attempt at property development.

So, I met them back at the house to find out their plans.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Same to you, Lisa. Well done.

It's a little gem, isn't it?

It's so nice, there's not a lot that needs doing to it.

Is that what you were looking for? A property like that?

Not initially.

But because we live in the locality...

..I thought I'd have a look and it turned out to be something good.

-Is has, hasn't it?

-Yes.

-You've done well.

I didn't actually view the property until last night,

-I didn't see it until last night.

-So who viewed it then?

-Lisa.

-Just you on your own, Lisa?

-Yes.

So, you actually stuck to the Hammer rules, but you didn't.

No, not at all, you know? Did a lot of research.

The one thing I didn't do was come round and have a look,

but Lisa took plenty of photographs, so I just had a look at those

and went, "If you're happy, I'm happy."

So, once you found it, how was the auction for you?

-It wasn't the first auction we've been to.

-OK.

We've been to three, four auctions before,

so we've bid on property, not won the properties,

but this one, because it was in the village,

Lisa said it's ideal, so we went for it.

-The top limit we set at 135.

-Yes. OK.

We said, "Any more than 135, we are out of it,"

just as we did with other properties.

So I did the bidding.

Unknown to Lisa, I was still bidding when she thought we'd lost it.

-Really?

-Yeah.

Where had you gone? Were you by the side of Steve...?

-I was... I was by the side of him, but in my handbag.

-Yes.

It's all right, little signals, like that.

-I was giving the old head.

-Really?

-Yes.

Lisa heard the bidding going up,

but didn't realise it was me bidding,

so it was a case of, "What? We've won?" at the end,

with a strange look on her face.

# If you really love me, baby

# Nod your head... #

Well, I think this must have come as a pretty pleasant surprise,

as I think they are onto a winner with this one,

especially as they kept to their budget of £135,000.

So, what do they intend to do with this property?

My first impressions,

it looks like it just needs painting throughout, top to bottom.

Um... There is a little bit of cat damage on some of the spindles.

-Yeah.

-Maybe fill them, replace them. Apart from that...not a great deal.

-A bit of work in the garden.

-Back garden.

Kitchen looks pretty good. We even found a dishwasher last night.

DION LAUGHS

-Just cropped up?

-Yeah. We just didn't realise it was there.

When you were looking for property, were you looking for something

like this to rent out or to sell on straight away?

What kind of properties were you looking for?

To sell on, straight away -

initially, it was something that would need a lot of work doing,

but as I say, this one...just...just appeared,

and I think, hopefully, it should be for the best.

-I think you did a good job.

-Yeah.

I couldn't agree more - I think Lisa has found an ideal property

for a first development.

It's local, so they can access it easily,

and they know the housing market round here.

There's also not too much work to be done.

What made Lisa want to invest in property in the first place?

I had some money in the bank.

-You like to be busy, don't you?

-Yes.

-That's one thing, so...

I'm in between jobs at the moment, so...

Rather than go back to full-time work,

have a go at this as a full-time project.

Yeah, that's it.

But this, two to three weeks, could be it, hopefully.

-Would that be your timescale, then? Two to...?

-Yeah.

Two- to three-week turnaround?

Well, between us, we've got a few teenage lads

that can give us a hand.

I've got two boys from my first marriage,

and Lisa has got three.

Harrison, Harry, George, Daniel...

-Joe.

-..and Joe.

THEY LAUGH I want you to name check them,

so they can't get out of not doing any work and not helping out.

-True, that's a good idea, yeah!

-What will they do?

What will they come and do for you?

Uh... I think they can be helping us...

There's not a lot of work to do in the garden,

so I'm sure they can help out in there, painting...

We'll find them something to do. There will be something for them...

It'll be handy, won't it, really? Just have bodies round.

They've all volunteered, in all fairness, though.

I'm sure... They'll do a couple of hours each,

and that's all that we ask.

# Can't get out of bed... #

Now I'm just being mean.

I'm sure the boys will be up and at 'em,

and hopefully, their help with the labouring

will allow Steven and Lisa to keep their budget to a grand.

This is Lisa and Steve's first venture into the property world.

I think Lisa has found a little gem.

There's hardly anything that needs to be done.

They have given themselves a £1,000 budget,

but who is going to do all the work?

Will it be Lisa or will she actually get those five sons out their bed,

getting their hands dirty?

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

Still to come, the layout of this flat in Middlesex

is frying my brain.

But, from the kitchen, you walk straight into a bedroom.

I've never seen that before.

And was trouble brewing in Derby for Lisa and Steve?

The refurb wasn't quite as straightforward as we thought.

Welcome back to Wolverhampton,

where I was looking at this three-bed semi

with a very attractive guide price of £50,000 plus.

Downstairs had some really good-sized rooms,

as well as a large back garden.

But upstairs... Well, there was evidence of a real problem.

It's sloping this way.

If you look up there, it's sloping that way.

We've got a crack there.

MARTIN SIGHS

This house...has got some serious problems.

# Red alert, red alert It's a catastrophe

# But don't worry

# Don't panic... #

Yes, my alarm bells were ringing

and I thought either this plant at the front

or this tree at the rear

could be causing problems with the foundations.

It didn't seem to put off new owner Sam, though,

who had bought the property for £115,000 -

over double the guide price.

But maybe that was because he hadn't seen the property

before he bought it. Oh, dear.

-Is this the sort of thing you do a lot?

-Not really.

-Normally I check them out properly first.

-MARTIN LAUGHS

This is, you know, a little gamble.

# You got to know when to hold 'em

# Know when to fold 'em

# Know when to walk away

# And know when to run... #

Sam had given himself a budget of £10,000

and hoped he could get the house turned around in a month

and get it back on the market to sell.

Had he played his hand well?

Well, seven months later,

it's time we returned to Wolverhampton to find out.

What a difference!

From the newly painted exterior and front garden,

now suitable for parking,

to the freshly skimmed and painted walls,

Sam has done a great job revitalising this dated house.

But before he could do any of that,

there was a certain structural issue he had to deal with.

How did he get on sorting the subsidence?

Well, we started off with the underpinning of the house.

It was meant to be a small job, just one corner at the front.

Ended up being the whole side of the house.

We had a burst pipe under the garage,

which caused the subsidence of the house.

It was a bit of a heartache when we found out,

but have to get on with it, don't you?

You can't be taken down by it.

# Ain't no stopping us now

# We're on the move... #

So the movement here was caused by a triple whammy -

the plant roots, a burst pipe,

and the tree roots at the back I was so worried about.

However, having sorted the subsidence,

Sam decided that the garage could be put to much better use.

Originally, this was the garage.

We opened up a walkway into the living room.

We had a bedroom-study on this side

and made a little shower room to the left.

It was too small to bring a car into the garage,

so to utilise the area, we made it into this.

It should be beneficial to someone working from home,

kids that need a play area

or someone who needs a bedroom downstairs.

Sam hadn't intended changing the layout,

but I do think this is a much better use of the space,

especially as there is still room to park a car at the front the building.

But with the structural work, the decoration and also hidden work,

like a complete rewiring of the property,

I assume it took a little longer than his prediction of a month.

From start to finish, the house took us six weeks.

But...we were meant to start it last year,

but we got busy with other projects which took longer than expected.

Bought another business in-between,

which took a lot of time, as I was setting up.

So this house had to wait.

Wow - it seems there really ain't no stopping Sam.

He has bought another business while this project was going on

and, although that caused a delay in starting the work,

completing it all took six weeks.

That's pretty impressive.

However, Sam and his dad did intend to do a lot of the work,

but as they were so busy on this other job,

they had to hire in builders.

I take it that original £10,000 budget was well and truly altered.

Ended up spending about £25,000 on house,

but that's because we built an extra bedroom downstairs, the shower room.

We did it to a higher standard than we first were going to,

and the subsidence went from one corner

to the whole side of the house, so it had to be done.

I think all Sam's changes make this house look so much better,

but what do two local estate agents

think of the work?

This is the second time I've visited the property.

I think that the most value and demand for the property,

from what he's done here,

comes actually from this fourth bedroom on the ground floor,

because he's opened up a much wider range of prospective purchasers

than the standard house would have attracted.

Fourth bedroom is a very versatile bedroom.

It can be used as a study, playroom,

or if someone wanted to work from home, they could use it.

So, it certainly has appeal,

but having bought the property for £115,000,

way over the £50,000 plus guide price,

and now having spent £25,000 on the renovation,

will all Sam's work be enough to make a profit?

Let's get some figures.

The property would fetch in the region of £175 - £180,000.

I would market this property for the seller at £180,000.

But if he were to rent it out on the current market,

I feel that he would achieve something in the region

of £650 per calendar month.

A rental figure for this, I would say,

would be £695 per calendar month.

Sam always intended selling the property,

so having spent a total of £140,000,

those top figures would make him a potential profit of £40,000,

minus the usual taxes and expenses.

Whilst we'd never recommend it on Homes Under The Hammer,

is this one gamble that has paid off for Sam?

The gamble will pay off when it sells,

but until then, it's still a gamble, isn't it?

Welcome to Greenford in West London.

In recent years, Greenford has benefited from the ripple effect

spreading out from its more expensive neighbour Ealing.

You definitely get more for your money round here.

You can get a terraced house in this area

for the price of a two-bed flat in Ealing.

Yes, it'd be easy to miss Greenford, but you do so at your own cost.

With wide, leafy streets, its own shopping centre

and a 20-minute journey to Oxford Circus

via the local train line,

there is lots to like about this dear green place.

# Cos I missed you

# Yeah, I missed you... #

Well, the property I am here to see is actually a flat.

It is on the ground floor, just here, of this mid-terrace.

It has got two bedrooms

and it went to auction with a guide price of £130,000.

So, in the auction catalogue, this is down as a flat,

but it's actually a maisonette, because it has its own front door,

which I think is a real bonus.

I love to have your own front door -

it is good to be independent from other people coming and going.

Very dated in here, as you can see -

you've got lots of textured wallpaper, a storage heater...

It's not ideal, you might need to install gas central heating.

A really lovely, big bedroom to the front.

A rather green and very dated bathroom to the back here,

and you know I mentioned textured wallpaper earlier?

Well, my goodness... It's everywhere!

Here, here, here... I mean, it's just all over,

so that is something you will need to think about.

Also, a bit of a '70s gas fire down here,

but the room is a great size, it's a good shape,

you can fit sofas along the walls...

You can really turn this around

and turn it into something really comfortable,

so I do like the space that is offered.

So, from the lounge, you've got the kitchen.

Now, this is a great space. There is green, flowery tiles and...

I think this is a wood-effect wallpaper,

it almost like sticky-back plastic.

I'm not sure that works -

you might need to think about a full refurb here.

But, from the kitchen, you walk straight into a bedroom!

I've never seen that before.

Kitchen into a bathroom, I've seen many a time,

but not walking straight through your kitchen,

with all the smells of eggs and bacon and whatever you're doing,

straight into a bedroom.

But I've racked my brains and there's not a lot you can do

to change the layout here.

You've also got little signs of damp on the ceiling,

so I'd certainly get that looked at.

So, not an ideal scenario.

Moving outside and things start off well -

there is off-street parking at the front,

but round at the back of the property...well,

there are more layout issues.

So, with this ground-floor flat, you do get a garden.

I think it needs a bit of a tidy.

The bad news is you walk out of your front door

onto somebody else's garden,

because you don't actually own this side...

It's this side that you own. But I do have a solution.

If you want to have instant access out into your own strip of garden,

I would change that window into French doors,

allowing you to go from your lounge

straight out into your patio area

without having to cross over the neighbours' garden first.

There you have it.

However, the biggest problem with this flat isn't on the outside -

and it's not on the inside, either.

Nope - the biggest problem can be found in the legal pack.

# You've got a problem

# You'd better work it out for yourself... #

Well, one big, fat negative with this property

is the length of the lease.

Now, it's one of the shortest I have ever come across on this programme,

because there is just - wait for it -

20 years left on this one.

Now, with a lease as short as that, this property, well,

it is pretty much unmortgageable

and it means that you will be faced with a big old bill to extend it.

Now, by law, you can apply to extend a lease

after you've owned a property for two years,

and the one bit of really good news

is that there is a section 42 notice on this flat,

meaning the previous owner

has already started the legal process for a lease extension.

# If you've got the money, honey

# I've got the time

# If you've got the money, honey

# I've got the time... #

Buying that extra time is still going to cost you some money,

although at least the initial slog has been done.

To instigate a section 42,

you need to have a surveyor advise you on the sum you should pay

and then your solicitor will serve notice.

If, after a set period of time, no agreement is reached,

then either side can apply

to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal for a ruling.

Doesn't all that sound like fun, eh(?)

Time to ask a local estate agent

to give us her thoughts

on what this time could cost in financial terms.

A short lease, obviously, got to extend the lease

and that can be very costly.

You would need to seek a surveyor and a solicitor.

It could cost in excess of £100,000, so not a cheap thing to do, really.

That's almost as much as the £130,000 guide price.

So what does she think the flat could be worth

once the lease is extended and the flat has been renovated?

When the property is refurbished and the lease extended, I think

you could sell this for £270,000.

And rental value?

If this came on the rental market,

it would rent for £1,300 per calendar month.

Well, this is a very dated two-bed flat.

It definitely needs an update and it's also got that incredibly

short lease, just 20 years left to run.

So who saw the positives

and wasn't put off by the negatives with this flat?

Let's find out who bid for it at the auction.

We're going to move to lot eight, two-bed flat.

Start at 140 on this one.

140 on my right, straight off. 145 anywhere?

145 with you. 145.

150. 155, sir.

155. 160. 165.

161.

162.

165, yeah? 165.

166.

165, with you. 166 elsewhere?

At 165, the gentleman on my left.

166 elsewhere?

It is back in. 166, 167.

170. 171.

You never know, that one might just do it. 171?

If not, 170, first time.

Second time.

Third and last time, if you're done...

Sold, 170, well bid.

And that successful bid of £170,000 came from Mujeeb.

Mujeeb's a taxi driver and also lets out a restaurant

and though he has a little development experience,

this is the first property he's bought at auction.

I met up with him to find out more about his plans.

-Mujeeb, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Well done. Tell me your story.

-Did you have your eye on this flat for a long time?

-Not really.

We were just working two doors away, the property we were renovating,

and we saw this property came up on the market.

We thought we'd go for it.

-How much research did you do?

-Nothing.

We did try to come a couple of times but we didn't have the time right,

the date was wrong and we couldn't look at the property from inside.

Every time we came, we looked at the property from the outside

and thought, next time we'll come and look at the property.

So you didn't actually get a chance to view the property, which is not a good thing.

Definitely. But we knew because we were working a few doors away,

we knew, even if it would be in

a worse condition, how much we would have to spend.

Oh, no! That's not a good start.

Always view the property if you can. At least Mujeeb knows

the market around here, or knows the flats anyway.

He'd read the legal pack and knew it had a short lease.

There is one of the shortest leases I think I've ever

-come across on this programme.

-Yeah.

-20 years.

-Yes, 20 years.

So, what do you know about that

and how much is it going to cost you to extend it?

The biggest problem being this is the first time

I am dealing with the lease.

I did not know how much it is going to cost.

We had a figure but the figure was going up a little bit.

It's already being up to a figure of 40, which they didn't accept.

I think from 40 to 50, we will get it.

The previous owner was able to reach an agreement with

the freeholder, hence the section 42.

But Mujeeb is hopeful he can settle it.

If he doesn't manage to do so,

he will let the property rather than sell it, but let's not forget,

while all this talk of lease extensions is going on,

in the background there is still a flat to renovate.

What are you going to do

and how much money have you got to spend here, Mujeeb?

We're not going to spend more than £10,000 on the property,

-which I think is more than enough to get it done.

-Really?!

-Yes.

-£10,000.

New kitchen, new bathroom, flooring, wall coverings, really

for £10,000? Are you going to do a lot of the work yourself?

Yeah. Most of the work just cleaning up,

most of the work will be local builders which I knew for a while.

Something I've noticed is that your garden is over there

and your flat door is over there

so it means you've got to cross over the neighbour's garden to get to it.

How are you going to get around that?

Where the double window is, we want to make it into a patio.

Then instead of going through the kitchen door, going into the garden,

you just walk in from the living room to the patio and into the garden.

So you want to put the French doors in this room,

over there where the window currently is.

-Is that inclusive in the £10,000?

-Yes, all inclusive.

-No way!

-Yes.

Do you sense I am a little sceptical, viewers?

That seems an awful lot of work for ten grand.

He has also set himself an ambitious timescale of eight to ten weeks.

It's not like he has a lot of free time.

Mujeeb is a very busy man.

You have got your finger in so many pies.

-You are busy man.

-I am a busy man.

I am not going to forget, I am a busy man.

I have a few parrots and I love spending time with them.

-You've got parrots?

-I have got around 50 parrots.

-50?

-Stop it!

-Yes.

-50 parrots. How many kids?

-Four kids.

-Four kids. How many taxis?

-One taxi.

-How many properties?

-One restaurant.

-And?

-Now I have this property.

-And a lovely wife?

-And a lovely wife. To look after me.

-She looks after you. Somebody needs to.

-Yes.

-You've got a lot of people to look after.

-Yes.

-I really look forward to seeing the outcome. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

So Mujeeb is a busy man - four kids, one taxi,

one restaurant and a very understanding wife.

Oh, yeah, and 50 parrots!

Will the lease extension land Mujeeb a big bill

and ruffle his feathers? I can't wait to find out how he gets on.

Join me later in the programme and you can find out.

Well, we've seen how one of today's properties turned out.

-What about the other two?

-Have these projects gone to plan?

I think it's time to find out.

Welcome back to Hilton, just ten miles outside Derby, where I've

come to look at this rather appealing three-bed house.

Set over three floors with a lovely park nearby.

You seem to get a lot for the £125,000 plus guide price.

The living areas are a good size.

There is a bathroom on the ground floor and the first floor.

The bedrooms are bright

and the master bedroom on the top floor even had an en-suite.

So, what was the catch?

# What you get is what you see

# Ain't nothing more to it... #

Yes, I genuinely couldn't find a catch.

Apart from a lick of paint and new carpet here and there,

this was in great nick

and that's exactly what attracted husband-and-wife team Steve and Lisa

to buy this for their first development.

I think they got themselves a bit of a bargain when they paid

£135,000 at auction, but it seemed to come as a bit of a surprise to Lisa.

So I did the bidding.

Unknown to Lisa, I was still bidding when she thought we had lost it.

-Really?

-I was by the side of him but in my handbag.

-Were you really?

-Yes.

-Lisa heard the bidding go up but didn't realise it was me bidding.

So it was a case of, "What, we've won?" at the end, with a strange look on her face.

# What's going on?

# What's going on...? #

The couple hope to complete any work needed in two to three weeks

with a budget of £1,000.

They have five teenage sons as a "volunteer" workforce.

Would everything go as smoothly as planned?

Five weeks later and we have returned to Hilton

to see how Lisa and Steve got on.

MUSIC: 19-2000 by Gorillaz

# Get the cool

# Get the cool shoeshine

# Get the cool

# Get the cool shoeshine

# Get the cool... #

Well, the house is still looking great.

So I think you can safely assume it was a quick lick of paint

and that was that.

No?

The refurb wasn't quite as straightforward as we thought.

As it turned out, the carpets weren't

quite as clean as I thought they were.

So we decided just to rip them up and start again.

OK. So, paint and carpets, still easy-peasy.

Let's get some values from an estate...

Hang on. I think there is more.

One of the most unexpected things was the boiler.

I presumed when we bought the property the boiler was working

but it turned out that it wasn't and hadn't been

working for about seven years. All it required was a new pump.

Originally I tried to repair the pump

because I've got a workshop at home. Tried to rebush it.

It didn't work. Ended up buying a new one.

In the end it probably took me three to four hours

and cost me around about £90 to fix.

So in the end, it wasn't such a major issue after all.

But if we had had to replace that, then we could have been

looking at potentially £1,000-£1,500 on top of what we had already spent.

Right, paint, carpets and the boiler. Sorted.

Honestly, I thought this was supposed to be easy.

Next you will be telling me those spindles were tricky.

I had a little bit of a problem matching them in

because the house is 12 years old

so it was finding some spindles to match with the existing ones.

So after spending two days driving around I came across 18 in a local

joiner's workshop and they were nearly perfect.

They're not far off, you wouldn't notice.

It took me three hours to change them, so all in all,

it worked out quite well.

# It's tricky

# Tricky, tricky, tricky, tricky Huh! #

I couldn't have put it better myself.

It goes to show that even those properties that look straightforward

can have hidden problems.

Thankfully, Lisa and Steve had their team of labourers to help them out,

by that I mean their teenage sons.

How did they get on?

The boys did get involved to a certain level, not as much

-as what we wanted them to, but they did help out, here and there.

-Yes.

-But sometimes it was easier without them, than with them.

-Yes.

Well, I suppose it's better than nothing.

Have they managed to keep to their two-to-three-week timescale?

-It took us three weeks of hard work.

-Yes.

Realistically, we were both exhausted when we finished,

but, I mean, we were here till 11, 12 o'clock some nights.

I was working during the day at my engineering job

and Lisa was here during the day and during the evening as well,

so between us we did... we did quite a few hours.

What about that £1,000 budget?

-We ended up around about 2,300-ish.

-Yeah, just over 2,000.

But that was including the carpets, which we didn't allow for.

Well, it took a little more work,

so will it still be able to turn a profit?

We've asked along two local property experts to see what they think.

This is my first time in this property

and I'm quite surprised at how big it feels.

I think with a three-storey house,

they are very often a little bit narrower than this,

but this has got a bit of width to it, so it's very good.

If this was my property, I think

I would try it on the open market to sell it in the first place,

so if that didn't happen, then I would look at renting it.

It would rent out very easily indeed.

It would command a good income from the rental market

and, in truth, renting it out is probably easier to achieve

now than actually selling it.

So, to sell or rent? That is the question.

The original plan was to sell the property,

but to rent in the short term may prove to be the more viable option.

Let's see if their valuation shed any light

on the investment total of £137,300.

I think if this property were placed on the open market for sale

today, it would achieve a price of around £155,000.

If this went on today's market for sale,

it would have a value of about £155,000.

If the property were to go onto the rental market today,

with the demand I would expect there to be, I would envisage

a rental price being achieved of £700 per calendar month.

If it went to rent, the rental value would be between £700 and £750

a calendar month.

With the total spend of just over 137,000,

those top valuations would give Lisa and Steve a pre-tax profit

of just under 18 grand or a yield of 6.5%.

They always intended to sell,

but have those valuations changed their mind?

-I'm more swaying towards the rental.

-Yes, definitely, definitely.

With the valuation as it's come in at,

the rental is definitely the way forward, I think.

So this could be the first property in Lisa and Steve's rental portfolio.

What have they thought of the first development experience?

-How would you rate this experience?

-Tiring, but fun.

-Yes, it has,

-it has been tiring.

-It has been tiring and it's...

But it's also been fun.

A little bit of stress, tiring, but, yeah, enjoyable,

actually, along the way, so, yeah, definitely do it again.

Welcome back to Greenford in Middlesex on the outskirts

of London, where I was looking at this two-bed ground-floor flat

with a guide price of £130,000.

The rooms were all a good size,

even if the layout left a little to be desired.

But from the kitchen, with all the smells of eggs and bacon

and whatever you're doing, you walk straight into a bedroom.

I've never seen that before.

# Hey, good looking What you got cooking?

# How's about cooking something up with me? #

But a bigger issue than the layout was the lease

which was a staggeringly short 20 years

and any extension would cost tens of thousands of pounds.

Luckily, the new owner, Mujeeb, knew about the lease

when he bought the flat for 170,000, but if I was relieved about that,

the feeling soon passed

when I heard his budget for the internal work.

We're not going to spend more than £10,000 on the property.

-Really?

-Yes.

-£10,000?

-£10,000, yes.

New kitchen, new bathroom, flooring, wall coverings, really, for £10,000?

-£10,000, yes.

-No way!

# You've got to make it happen

# You've got to make it happen... #

That budget also included new patio doors to access the garden

and he wanted it all done in just eight to ten weeks.

I thought that was a big ask, but could Mujeeb make it happen?

Two months later, and we're back to find out.

Nope, we didn't forget to record new footage, viewers.

Mujeeb's clearly not done any of the work he was initially planning.

So what has been done?

We haven't done much work on it.

The only changing we've done is just paint and new carpet and there was

some electric work needed to be done

for a certificate and that's it.

So there are no patio doors, no new kitchen or bathroom,

just paint and carpets. Why the change of plan?

We've already got a buyer who wants to buy it as it is

and that's the reason we don't want to do any work

because they want to do everything the way they want it

and that's why we thought we'd leave it

and we just knocked down the price and they were quite happy on it.

# Don't go changing

# To try and please me... #

Ah, so Mujeeb already has a buyer who wants to refit

the flat themselves, but the sale can't go through yet

as Mujeeb is sorting out that lease extension, so how's he getting on?

# I love you

# Just the way you are... #

We didn't realise how long it would take to renew the lease.

It is already nearly three months passed now

and it might take another few months, a few weeks,

it depends how quickly these people will come back to us.

We already offer £40,000 for the extension of the lease

and I think around £50,000 we will get it done.

Sorting out that lease has taken longer than he expected,

but Mujeeb's confident for 50 grand

an agreement can be reached in the next few weeks

and if that wasn't enough, until the lease has been sorted

and the flat can be sold, Mujeeb has a tenant renting the flat.

He never wastes a moment. Though his budget was initially £10,000,

I'm assuming he's not spent quite that on these pared-down plans.

With all the work, with the paint, carpet, electric and gas,

the certificate, £1,500.

Well, time to find out the opinion of two local estate agents.

Mujeeb's not done much work on the inside, but assuming that

short lease is no longer an issue, what do they think of the property?

I think they've made it more desirable,

the painted walls give it a nice fresh look,

the carpets are nice, fresh and clean, so I think it has

definitely improved it,

but I think they could have made some further improvements.

It's in a good location,

in terms of the station and everything else it's close to,

so we'd definitely have buyers for it and also tenants,

so, you know, even in its current condition,

you would still be able to let the property or sell it.

Well, I don't think it's too much of a surprise that both agree

that the flat could do with some more improvements,

but they seem to think there's a demand for it, nonetheless.

So with Mujeeb having bought the property for £170,000,

spent £1,500 on the renovation

and assuming he gets that lease extension for 50 grand,

what could the flat be worth?

If the lease was extended, this property could sell for £285,000.

In its current condition with an extended lease,

I would expect the flat to sell for somewhere in the region

of £280,000 to £285,000.

Well, assuming £50,000 for the lease,

that would take Mujeeb's spend to £221,500,

so that top valuation

would give him a potential profit of over 63,000.

In the meantime, Mujeeb is renting, so is he getting the market rate?

What would the agents ask?

In its current condition,

this flat could rent out for £1,200 to £1,300 per calendar month.

Per calendar month, I think

you'd be looking at something in the region of £1,250 to £1,300.

Mujeeb has a sale deal on the table and he has a tenant,

so how do his figures stack up with the agents'?

We've got a buyer, he's willing to pay 285 as it is

and we're renting the place for 1,200 per month.

That would give Mujeeb a yield of 6.5%

while he has his tenant

and a pre-tax profit of 63,500 when he comes to sell,

so for all my initial scepticism about his renovation,

Mujeeb appears to have done well here, without even spending

his £10,000, though, of course, that lease still has to be settled.

So would he buy a property like this again?

Oh, definitely, yes, it was a good experience

because I know in and out

and for future, if any friend or family want to know,

I'll know exactly which way you have to go through it.

Have you been inspired by today's show?

Well, we've got plenty more stories from the auction rooms next time.

-Yep, looking forward to seeing you then. Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

-Bye-bye.