Episode 54 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello, you might think that buying a property at auction

is only for cash buyers, but you can still get a mortgage.

Yes, so if you've got the money for a deposit and the fees,

you're ready to bid.

Yes, just be prepared for that fast turnaround

between the hammer falling and picking up the keys

when you buy your home under the hammer.

Buying at auction can help you discover that everyone's home is their castle.

Well, yes, if you mean by that, crumbling brickwork,

faulty pipe work and enough damp to fill a moat,

you might be right, Lucy.

Well, let's hope that today's buyers got a better deal than that.

Let's take a look.

Coming up on the show...

I may have been a little bit quick to judge this property in Buckinghamshire...

Wow, it really is looking like first impressions were not correct.

I don't think speed will be too much of an issue

for the developer of this flat in Oldham.

It took me 26 years to tile the bathroom so...no.

In London, I'd be changing the decor of this house as quickly as I could!

Lots and lots of this...glossy wood panelling.

I think that would have to go.

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.

Little Chalfont in Buckinghamshire is three miles away from Amersham

and its lovely countryside surroundings

belie its close proximity to the city of London via good rail links

or just over an hour's drive, ha-ha, on a good day via the M25.

Oh, I do love a good post-war housing scheme.

That's exactly what you have got here, a really interesting estate.

I'm here to see a two-bedroomed flat.

A guide of £165,000 gets you the top floor

of this solid looking ex-local authority building.

Let's see if the inside is as promising as the outside.

So, it's an upstairs flat

so into this little area here. Useful bit of storage,

which is definitely something that's often lacking in flats.

And then, not surprisingly, upstairs.

HE CHUCKLES

So, what have we got?

Well, very, very small room there.

Your first bedroom.

That's a bit of a disappointment,

but hopefully there's more space that way.

Oh, well, actually, thankfully, it looks like it does.

A good second bedroom there in terms of size.

Bathroom looks in fairly nice condition.

It's not massive, but perfectly adequate.

And then down the corridor here, a good-sized lounge.

And then through here, wow,

it really is looking like first impressions were not correct.

Once you get past that tiny first bedroom,

it's really nice, this flat.

Look at this kitchen here.

It looks like it's been relatively recently finished off,

I don't even know if it's ever been used.

Whoa! Fantastic!

# Give me a chance

# Oh, say you will. #

OK, OK, I get it.

I was a little too quick to jump to conclusions.

I'm hoping the potential buyers don't make the same mistake I did.

There's so much going for this flat, and, as roomy as it feels,

just now I can see an obvious way to get more.

Well, as I said before, especially with flats,

what you're always looking for is opportunities to increase

what is often a relatively small space.

-And things like this...

-HE CHUCKLES

..yeah, an immersion heater in this massive cupboard

just stick out like a sore thumb, don't they?

I know it's going to be a bit of effort,

in terms of plumbing and all the expense involved,

but the amount of extra space you would generate by swapping this

for a combination boiler in the kitchen...

And there is a tiny one there, so I don't know what was going on.

But replace that with a bigger one

and that would have then negated the need for this.

Yes, it will be a bit of expense to do it,

but I don't think you would regret it.

Yes, space equals money, so don't waste it.

Oh, and when it comes to that second bedroom,

I don't think there's much you CAN do about that.

But on the bright side, if you need any more room,

just take a step outside and into your very own garden.

# My secret garden. #

With a guide price of £165,000,

I think this is a property definitely worth considering.

But what does a local estate agent think?

We've asked one along to get their opinion of the flat

and find out a little bit more about Little Chalfont.

Little Chalfont is a small village set on the edge of the Chilterns.

Very good for commuting

and also within walking distance from very good schooling.

It sounds like this location has a lot going for it.

But what does he make of this property?

I think the property is very good.

They're extremely well built, these houses.

I think this property doesn't need a huge amount of upgrading.

It's mainly decoration, but apart from that,

it's in very good condition.

Certainly, very good as a starter home or as an investment property.

With a guide of £165,000,

once this well-built flat was modernised,

would there be a profit to be made if it was placed on the open market?

On completion of the works,

I would anticipate marketing the property in the region of £220,000.

And a rental valuation?

On completion of the works, I anticipate a rental value

in the region of £800-£850 per calendar month.

So a nice enough flat in a pretty good location.

Yeah, a bit of a textbook auction purchase.

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

Lot 61.

First-floor flat here with a garden.

Start me, please, for this one at 150.

At the back, thank you, sir.

At 150 now. 155?

Here we are, stripy top. 55. Make it 60.

60 now. 65?

65. Make it 70.

70 now. 75?

As you can see, it soon passed its guide of 165,000

at this busy auction.

We rejoin the bidding at 190,000.

190 with you now, sir.

Against you, madam.

For the first, second,

third and final time at £190,000,

gentleman's bid, here. Are we done?

You like those £1,000 bids, don't you, sir?

Go on, then. 91, 92... 92, 93?

93. 94?

No. 193... You might get this one.

First time at 193...

Sitting.

Second time at... 194, 95?

194, standing up, first, second,

third and final time at 194,000.

At 194...

..yours, sir, standing,

at 194,000.

And with that bid of 194,000, right at the death,

the flat was finally purchased by Mair.

If you recognise Mair it's because he's been on the show before,

where Lucy met him on one of his previous developments.

I met up with the full-time property developer

to find out what he had in store for this flat.

-Mair, good to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-Yes.

So what led you to this property? Why did you want to buy it?

Because it's a nice location. It's quiet.

And, er...

It's two bedroom, with big garden, I like this.

You don't find a lot, something like that, around the area, really,

-for the price.

-And why did you buy it?

-With a view to doing it up and selling it or...?

-No.

I am doing it for letting mainly.

-OK.

-Just, only refurbish the whole flat and after that

I will let it for a couple of years and after that I will sell it.

You're going to sell it, OK.

# This is how we do it. #

It sounds like Mair has really thought out

what he's doing with this one.

To be honest, I'd expect nothing less from him.

He's been a professional developer for over 25 years.

I have no doubt he walked into what was a hotly contested auction

fully prepared for all eventualities.

Er, didn't he?

So, did you enjoy the auction? Happy with what you paid?

Not really because what I haven't...

I don't read the special conditions.

-Ah!

-And I found a few things unusual

to add 1.5% to the auction.

-Huh?!

-Yeah.

And they added another 1% to solicitors' fees.

So there was extra money which you weren't expecting?

-Extra, about 2.5%.

-Was that written in the legal pack?

It's written in the legal pack, yes.

-So had you actually read the legal pack?

-I don't read the legal pack.

This time I was a little bit rushing.

I don't read the legal pack, no.

-Oh!

-It's a mistake for me.

But normally I read the legal pack, to be honest with you.

So what was the result of that?

How much extra did you have to pay?

-I think it's about 5,700.

-Wow.

Yes, this is extra.

-So next time...

-Yes?

-..will you read the legal pack?

I have to.

That's true, there's no joke about it.

I have to, yes.

# You're unbelievable! #

Oh, Mair, it just goes to show

even experienced developers can make mistakes.

And it shows exactly why

one of Homes Under The Hammer's golden rules

is always read the legal pack.

You never know what key information

and potentially costly details could be in there.

Anyway, now that's sorted, the next thing is to fix is the interior.

# It's unbelievable. #

Well, it looks like it's had quite a lot of work done already.

Yes, because I think it's because it belongs to the housing association,

they've done some work on it, already.

But, as you see, it needs some modernisation.

Talk me through exactly what you're planning to do, then.

I'm planning to do plastering some of the rooms,

spotlights, parquet flooring in some of the flat, here,

carpet in the bedroom

-and I will put a new kitchen.

-A new kitchen?

Yes, or maybe what I'm going to do,

to make the cost a little bit down,

I change only the face of the kitchen and the worktop only.

But it looks like it's fairly new!

Yes, but, little bit... it's not my taste really.

MARTIN LAUGHS

They have to modernise it a little bit

-to be appealing for sales if you want to sell it.

-OK...

And then the bathroom. Similar?

The bathroom I'm going to full-tiling the bathroom, as well.

And I change the taps and a few things, as well, yes.

Right. And the small bedroom, which isn't ideal,

-but there's not a lot you can do.

-Yes, there's not much you can do.

But I'm going to take some of these pipe out as well.

It's sticking out for the gas pipe.

And I move all the gas meter out, as well,

because it's not really convenient

to put a gas meter inside this small room.

And, obviously, the immersion heater in the corridor.

-The immersion heater, I'm going to take it off completely.

-Right, yes.

Sounds like it's going to be a thorough job.

I think any extra space he can wrangle out of that small bedroom

can only be a good thing.

So what's the budget for the works you've got planned?

-The budget is about 15,000.

-OK.

So quite a reasonable amount.

-What's the timescale?

-About eight weeks.

-OK.

-Yup.

-And then the plan for you, then?

Another 25 years perhaps?

-Oh, I don't know.

-THEY LAUGH

I don't know yet.

-But you enjoy it, obviously.

-I enjoy it, you know,

I don't like to stay and not do something.

That's why I get it, to occupy myself, to be honest with you.

You know, that is, maybe it's not a lot of money there,

-but something to do is better than nothing.

-Well, yeah.

-Well, listen, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-Good luck with it.

-Nice to meet you.

-You, too.

-Look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you very much.

Well, Mair certainly seems to know what he's doing.

How will he get on sorting out this little flat?

You can find out later in the show.

Oldham, seven miles north-east of Manchester,

is undergoing a bit of a revolution

with a £60 million redevelopment scheme planned for the town centre.

That could be really good news in terms of stimulating property prices.

That sounds like music to my ears.

We're about a ten-minute walk away from Oldham town centre

and just up this small hill here, the property I'm here to see

is a two-bed maisonette with a guide price of £30,000 - £40,000.

Let's take a closer look.

The apartment block was built around 1960 from the local authority.

It may not be the most attractive building I've ever seen,

but it's in pleasant surroundings with car parking,

UPVC double glazing and a security door.

The maisonette we are looking at is on the ground floor.

OK. Got a bit of a small hallway here going into the kitchen,

which looks relatively new and in good condition.

Stairs up to the bedrooms here.

In decent condition so far and you've got a big sort of lounge area, lounge-diner area.

Two big windows off this room, here.

Not too bad condition.

You've got a hatch, here, which they've obviously filled in,

going into the kitchen.

I am thinking to myself, "Could you take this out?"

Could you just take the top half out

and maybe have a bit of a breakfast bar that comes out so far,

maybe a few stools in here.

What that would do is give you more floor space,

you wouldn't have to put a table and chairs in.

Have your breakfast at the breakfast bar,

chatting to whoever's cooking it.

# Open up, open up

# Open up, open up. #

Opening this up would definitely give it more of a modern feel,

but you would lose some cupboard space in the kitchen

and you'd need to get professional advice

and the freeholder's permission before tackling it.

But I still reckon it might be worth considering.

# Open up, open up

# Open up, open up. #

So upstairs to the two bedrooms, then.

You've got the bathroom here, which looks OK.

It's slightly dated, yet again.

A decent-sized bedroom here to the back of the property.

That could be a double bedroom or two singles in here.

And another bedroom here which is of the same sort of size.

So two nice rooms there.

And this is the boxroom.

Now, the rough guidelines are that a bedroom has to be 70 square feet

in order to get that title

and that's nowhere near.

Well, it might not qualify as a bedroom,

but as handy space goes, it's pretty good.

It could be a walk-in wardrobe or just extra storage.

But with two bedrooms, both a good size,

this maisonette really feels pretty good.

The bathroom would need some attention.

A new bathroom suite, flooring and tiling wouldn't go amiss.

But, overall, I think this place wouldn't take too much money

to get it up and running.

But what can a local estate agent tell us

about this maisonette and the area it's in?

This particular area of Oldham

is within close proximity to the town centre.

Probably, yeah, two or three minutes' walk,

very, very convenient for local transport links,

communications and the shopping areas.

Yes, there's no doubting this location ticks all the boxes.

But what about the maisonette itself?

It's actually quite spacious to be honest with you.

I do like the fact that it's a maisonette style with two levels.

I think I'd recommend for this property,

a general decoration overhaul

and certainly a new fitted bathroom suite.

it seems to be on trend that white is the popular choice

and that would just freshen up things.

Some of the tiles and some of the general fittings could do with a,

yeah, a bit of a tidy up.

The maisonette was guided at £30,000 - £40,000,

which sounds pretty competitive to me.

But what are the current local area prices for a property just like this?

Sale value, once refurbished,

we'd expect that the property would achieve around £50,000-£55,000.

And how would it fare on the rental market?

Once the property has been refurbished,

you'd probably be looking at £400 - £425 per calendar month.

So it's a two-bed maisonette

with not a lot of work needed to get it up to scratch.

Now, if you get it at the right price,

this could be a really good place to go for.

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

It was one of the last lots of the day

and it was a relatively quiet auction room that battled for it.

So, we're onto lot number 38 in your catalogue,

good-sized two-bedroom maisonette apartment,

provides accommodation at both ground-floor and mezzanine level.

Start me at 35.

30 then.

At 30, am I bid?

30 here.

30, got you, sir.

At £30,000.

31 in the room,

32, 33, 34,

35, 36, 37.

37 on the phone.

38. Here on the floor at 37.

I'll take a half, sir.

Half, you're back in. 37.5.

It's against the phone now.

I'm with you, sir, at the rear.

38. Half?

38.5, 39.

At £38,500 I'm bid now.

In the room, then at 38.5, it's against the phone.

First time to you, sir.

Second time to you, then.

At the back of the room at £38,500,

if we're all done and out,

selling this...

Well done, sir.

With the hammer falling at 38.5 grand,

the successful bidder was Gary.

MUSIC: My Girl by The Temptations

Gary lives in nearby Manchester

and I joined him along with his daughter, Elise,

and four-year-old grandson, Ethan,

back at the maisonette to find out his plans.

-Gary, nice to meet you.

-And you.

-Elise, nice to meet you and congratulations to you both.

-Thank you.

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

I bought it for Elise, for her and her little boy to move in to.

Elise, how's he done?

He's done quite well.

I didn't know what to expect because I've not seen it

and I didn't know what it was going to go for,

but I'm impressed because it's not far from where I live now.

-It's not too far for me to go back and forward.

-Are you impressed?

-Yeah.

-Your daughter's impressed.

-Well, you know.

That's something.

# Think I got it right this time. #

And I think the maisonette will be a great place for Elise

and her son Ethan to live.

And both of you know the area well?

Yeah, my family's been in this particular area for about 200 years.

Um...

so...

-we are quite...

-That's a lot of years!

-..local. Yeah!

That's my school across the way.

I was born just down the road, about 200 yards away.

-This is proper home, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Proper on your doorstep!

-Yeah.

So this is...this is where we belong.

200 years of local knowledge take some beating.

What's the current generation's plan for their new home?

So now you've got the property, what would you like your dad to change?

I'm looking forward to changing the bedrooms,

because the carpets aren't great.

So I'm looking forward to just decorating it,

and making Ethan's room a proper room,

because at the minute we are both sharing one.

For him to have a proper little boy's room, it will be nice.

-And what are you going to do for his bedroom?

-He loves superheroes,

so I will probably... Everything to do with superheroes.

Have your dad everywhere. Put your dad all over the wallpaper.

-Yeah.

-THEY LAUGH

So any obvious changes that you're going to make straightaway

-as soon as you come in?

-One of the things we're going to do is flooring throughout.

And I was also looking at maybe changing the banister to

something that's not 1970s.

-DION LAUGHS It is a little bit dated.

-Yeah.

The only major thing I envisage is the bathroom.

Stripping it out, putting a new bathroom in.

I was looking at the kitchen,

but it looks like it is a relatively new kitchen, so rather than

strip that out at the moment, I'm just going to leave it as it is.

What about all the pretty touches, the colours and wallpaper?

-I got a smile there off Elise, straightaway.

-I'm in charge of that.

-Is that you, is it?

-Yes.

I don't think he's got much of an interior design nose.

Have you got people that are going to come and help you? Family, friends or builders?

Yeah. I've got a joiner who is going to come in.

Tell us the budgets on all the work you've got to do.

Well, I'm not...

I've got maybe up to about £5,000,

and the majority of that is probably going to be the bathroom.

Along with a £5,000 budget,

Gary is hoping to get the work done in six to eight weeks.

He will work as project manager,

with Elise taking an interior-design role

when her studies from sports science at university allow.

Dad Gary is an optician,

but they both have sporting interests they share.

We are both black belts in taekwondo.

I run a club, a local club, in Oldham.

I'm a fourth dan, Elise is a third dan.

-So taekwondo is the one thing we do.

-That's incredible.

That must have taken time, lots of time, to get to those high standards.

Yes. It's commitment, perseverance...

and indomitable spirit, we say.

So you just keep at it and keep at it, and so it comes.

So will you be going into the property developing world even more,

or was this just a one-off, just for a home?

No, no, I'm terrible at things like this, it is a one-off.

Took me 26 years to tile the bathroom, so no.

That's not the reason we are doing it.

I'm doing it for Elise,

and then there will be something for the future for them.

-Looking forward to it?

-Yes.

-Looking forward to the new life?

-Yes, I'm so excited.

-And your dad's done good for you.

Yes, he's done well. Well done.

-I hope you remember that.

-Exactly. THEY LAUGH

-I hope you are really happy, Elise.

-Thank you.

-And well done. Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Good luck. And well done, sir, well done.

-Thank you.

So Gary has bought this for his daughter Elise and her son Ethan.

Now, this could be a lovely little family home for them,

but will it take Gary 26 years to get this done?

You can find out later on in the programme.

Still to come at this house in London,

these two developers don't seem to have been too choosy.

He was actually on holidays and having fun and all that,

so we ended up with this one.

And we'll see if Gary's DIY skills have improved in the flat in Oldham.

Took me three months to paint the banisters.

Back now to the village of Little Chalfont,

where I was looking at this top-floor flat,

with a guide price of 165,000.

I was a little disappointed when I saw this little bedroom,

but this little flat in Little Chalfont had a little more to offer.

Wow, it really is looking like first impressions were not correct.

Once you get past that tiny first bedroom, it's really nice,

this flat. Look at this kitchen here.

# We have something more

# Oh, we have something more... #

The good condition

and amount of space appealed to professional developer Mair.

He bought the property for £194,000.

But even with his 25 years' experience behind him,

the sale wasn't without the odd issue.

There had been some additional fees contained in the legal pack.

-So had you actually read the legal pack?

-I don't read the legal pack.

This time I was a little bit rushing,

-I don't read the legal pack.

-So how much extra did you have to pay?

-I think it is about 5,700.

-Wow!

-Yes, this is extra.

-So next time, will you read the legal pack?

-I have to.

That's true, there is no joke about it.

MUSIC: I Should Have Known Better by Jim Diamond

Ah, well, even the most experienced get caught out sometimes.

Still, Mair is a professional and he was going to do this right.

With a budget of £15,000 and a timescale of eight weeks,

he was clearly aiming to improve what was already a pretty good flat.

Six months have passed and we've returned to catch up with Mair

to see what's happened to this first-floor flat.

What a difference! All that dated decor has disappeared.

Even the kitchen, which looked fairly new,

has been massively modernised.

So what exactly did Mair have to do?

I changed everything, really. I done...

Plastering the flat, rewiring the flat.

Full central heating. New kitchen.

Decoration of the flat, completely, has been gut,

the flat has been done, all, everything there.

Wow, he has been thorough.

But I think that could pay dividends, as not only does

the flat look great, he can rest assured that things like plumbing

and electrics are up-to-date, safe and working properly.

But all that work must have thrown up a few challenges.

The biggest job is with the immersion heating,

I have to take it away.

And I have to take all the tank out, hide all the pipes,

because it is external pipe, and we are now using it as a storage here.

Getting rid of the tank, along with all the work to the gas pipes

in the small room has proved costly, but I'm glad he's done it.

With a flat like this,

the additional storage that's been created is invaluable.

# Since you've been gone

# Since you've been gone

# I'm out of my head, can't take it

# Could I be wrong?

# But since you've been gone

# You cast your spell, so break it. #

Mair originally planned to complete the project in eight weeks,

but he had another project and he decided to prioritise that.

Actually, I used to have another project in the centre of London,

and this, for me, is a small project,

and the other one is a very big project in Mayfair,

so that's why I consider it for another one.

Otherwise it will be finished after a couple of months, really.

Ah, so Mair has been multitasking,

concentrating on a bigger development in Mayfair, London.

So if he's been in London, how involved in this development was he?

No, I have to come sometimes to supervise the work,

see what is done, something is not done properly.

You have to put your eye there, really.

You cannot leave everybody to do this job without...

without observing everything.

Very wise.

It's easy for instructions to be misunderstood or budgets to spiral,

if the development isn't properly project managed.

Mair had set himself a budget of £15,000.

Did he manage to stick to it?

It was 16,500 for the flat.

Everything, fully refurbished, including everything.

16,500 is not bad at all, given he was caught out with

the additional expenses in the legal pack.

It's time to find out

if two local estate agents think that that spend was worth it.

I think it's a well furbished

two-bedroom flat in a very good location, close to two stations.

Very, very suitable for professional couples.

It's been very nicely done, it presents well.

It's just as tenants would like to see a property

when they move into a property.

I think he's done a good job.

Including those unexpected auction fees,

Mair spent a total of £199,700 at auction.

And with the £16,500 on renovations,

his grand total spend was £216,200.

Can he make any profit from this flat?

If I was to market it, I would sell it at around £250,000.

If he was looking to sell the property,

I would suggest a quoting figure of £240,000.

Wow! That could give Mair a pre-tax profit of just under 34,000.

Not bad at all, given this wasn't his main project.

What about rentals? That is his plan after all.

I would suggest a rental figure of £900 per calendar month.

We would look to put this property on the market

at £900 per calendar month.

The flat round the corner, which is not modernised,

has been let for 950.

And already somebody's coming tomorrow to have a look for 1,100.

His hope for £1,100 per calendar month would mean

a yield of just over 6%.

And after 25 years of property development,

it doesn't sound like he has any intention of retiring just yet.

To be honest with you, this is one of the things I like to do.

I love to do something different, you know?

I take something run down completely,

I create something to make it nice...and modern.

Refurbished and all this kind of thing. I enjoy it.

Today I'm in London, in the area of South Norwood.

Now, South Norwood is slightly less well known

than some of its more illustrious neighbours,

but with great transport links to the city centre

and a planned regeneration,

South Norwood could be a great place to invest.

Now, this road is a cul-de-sac,

and as there won't be any through traffic,

well, it should be a quiet place to live.

Now, a recent survey also found out

that not only will potential homeowners

pay a little bit more to live in cul-de-sac

as opposed to on a main road, your neighbours are more likely,

well, to invite you over for a cup of tea.

So, positive start for the road and for me.

But what about the property I'm here to see?

Well, it's a three-bed terrace, and it had a guide price of 230,000.

# Dead-end street, yeah

# Dead-end street, yeah Dead-end street... #

OK, well, this is not typical of a lot of terraced houses I see

because there's not usually a doorway here.

So this has clearly been opened up.

It's very dated, you've got a lot going on,

you've got a handle rail here,

but you haven't got one going up the stairs.

And through here, ooh, this is an enormous space!

So obviously somebody has taken the wall down that was here,

opened up both of the rooms.

And I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm in a fish tank.

I'm not sure the glass panelling along here really does work.

So maybe something a little more contemporary,

or even block it back up and put a wall there.

So very open, you've got two nice large rooms, a doorway here

leading to the back of the property, which, again,

is another large open space.

I mean, I am all for open plan

but this really has taken it to the next level. All the rooms are open.

Got a kitchen, sliding doors here, little window at the end.

Lots and lots of this glossy wood panelling.

HOLLOW KNOCKING

Not sure I like it, think that'd have to go.

So there's a lot you can do to tweak this place.

The big main thing is here, it needs a drastic layout change

because it's just not working as it is.

And just when I thought I'd found all the surprises the ground floor

had to offer, I stumbled across this downstairs shower room.

Honestly, this layout is like nothing I've seen before.

Thankfully, upstairs was off to a more positive start

with two good-sized bedrooms at the front of the house.

So, at the back of the house, you've got another double bedroom

so three double bedrooms upstairs.

What's behind here?

Ooh! Oh.

A very small bathroom. Now, that is just too small.

It's almost like an aeroplane cabin bathroom. It's all angular.

I would potentially steal a bit more space from this room here,

you've only got a partition wall, you can hear that,

move the bathroom back a bit

and just have a bigger, better family bathroom.

Because at the moment, it's tiny. I can just about fit in there.

Excuse me!

# Cos you're hot and you're cold

# You're yes then you're no

# You're in then you're out

# You're up and you're down... #

Ah, now it seems like

every time I find something good about this property,

I find something else that just needs a bit more work.

And if we take a look out the back, it's the same again.

A back garden in London? Great!

A back garden with no grass and an old garage taking up all the room?

Not so great.

Now, onto one of my favourite Homes Under The Hammer topics,

polystyrene ceiling tiles. Look, they are everywhere in this house.

Unfortunately, they are a real fire hazard

and although they're not actually banned,

they would not be legal under current building regulations.

They definitely need to go.

Now, with the strong glue that holds them in place,

it's not an easy job and the ceilings underneath

will almost certainly need to be replastered

once they've all been removed.

But talking of building regulations,

that applies to some types of gloss paint, vinyl and wallpaper.

In new properties, building regs say walls and ceilings

are required to have a class zero rated surface.

So, back to the house. It seems to be a mixture of pros and cons.

It's in an up-and-coming area, giving it a competitive guide price,

and it's definitely spacious.

But the footprint of this house is, shall we say, less than ideal.

And sorting it is going to take a lot of work and a lot of money.

I think it's time we got the thoughts of a local estate agent.

We asked one along to get his opinion,

and to find out more about South Norwood.

South Norwood is mainly undervalued.

For the links we have into London,

the schools we have.

Um... Lots of leisure facilities.

So there is a lot more potential in South Norwood.

So, our agent agrees that South Norwood has good potential

for investment, and he even thinks that

being on a cul-de-sac could add between 5% and 10% in value

compared to a similar house that was on a through road.

Talking of money, it's going to take a lot

to reconfigure this property and bring it up to spec.

Would it all be worth it?

Is there still room for profit on this house, guided at 230,000?

Once renovated,

this property could sell for in the region of £385,000 - £395,000.

Yes, this property does need some updating. And some layout changes.

And a little less of the glass and laminate panelling.

Still, it's a really good-sized house in a decent location

and you might get offered a cuppa by your neighbour. Can't be bad!

So, who could see past this dated decor?

Let's head to auction and find out.

So, move on to lot 24, three-bed mid-terraced house.

I don't know, start, 240, not going to go below 240.

240 anywhere?

240 with you, madam. 245?

Anyone? 245.

250? 255, sir? 260.

265?

Once the bidding got going,

it was clear that this was a popular property.

We rejoin the bidding as it hits the £300,000 mark.

300. 301, sir?

300 standing up. First time, second time.

Third and last time, are you all done?

301? Give us a shout, else I'd miss you. 301.

302?

Yeah, 302. 303?

304?

Have a think. 303 down here.

Looking for 304?

If not, 303, first time, second time.

Third and last time.

Sold, 303.

Hold on a minute, I recognise that face.

That bid of 303,000 came from Farhan.

Now, I recently met him at his property in Croydon.

He was just starting his new development career

which was also going to combine with

his convenience store and pizza business.

This time, Farhan is joined by Sakeeb,

and this is their first venture together.

I met them back at the property to find out more about their plans.

-Farhan and Sakeeb, congratulations.

-Thank you.

Now, Farhan, we meet again,

so how's your property development career going?

It's very good so far.

We did a couple, one that we filmed with you last time,

and we have done another one. So this is the third one for me now.

And is this a joint venture for the both of you now?

-This is, yes.

-So, guys, how well do you know each other?

We are cousins, we've known each other since long.

We have a bit of the same business background as well,

because I own a convenience store, he owns a convenience store.

This is the first project that we're going to work together

as business partners, but we are looking forward to it.

So who talked who into doing this,

-did he talk you into this or did you talk him into it?

-He talked to me.

Really? Is this something you feel quite excited about?

Yes, actually, we've been thinking this since many years,

but he started but I haven't started.

Then again, he told me,

"You should join with me on this project," and I said, "All right."

And you've done it, you joined together, the two cousins.

So, hopefully, Sakeeb can learn from the experience of Farhan

and these cousins can make a successful team.

# I want you

# To show me the way... #

So, why did they decide on this house in particular?

He was actually on holidays and having fun, and all that,

so I was looking round on the properties.

Normally when I go to any auction, I try to look at 8 to 10 properties,

because you never know which property is going to be right for you.

So we ended up at this one.

I had, you know, kind of constant contact with Sakeeb

and I keep telling him, we have this sort of house coming in the auction.

So we had a rough idea what we are going to buy.

So, Sakeeb, you had your total trust

-and faith in Farhan's choice?

-That's right.

So now you've seen the property, what do you think?

I think it's really a very good choice.

We are very hopeful for the future as well.

Well, I do think this place is brimming with potential.

Having already spent 303,000 at auction,

I just hope they know how much work is going to be required here.

So, what are their plans?

So, as you can see, the house is dated.

It needs, in terms of layout, it needs many changes.

To make it better, we can do changes to make it more...

to offer more space and all that.

Upstairs, there is not much to do with the layout

because we have three good-sized bedrooms, all three are doubles,

we have an OK-sized bathroom, we can make it a little bit bigger.

But downstairs, we have this through room which is a good size,

but when we go back, I don't like the way the kitchen is right now.

So we are thinking to make it open plan.

I absolutely agree, I think the kitchen just does not work.

That needs to be opened up.

I think you can't have this as an open room, that as an open room,

and the kitchen... I just think you need to maybe

reinstate the wall in here, possibly,

to have a nice, quiet drawing room or sitting room somewhere.

It's quite interesting what the previous owners have done here.

I'm not quite sure this is working, with these windows.

Do you intend on keeping something like this here?

We intend to get rid of it and... I don't like this zigzag wall.

So we'll try to just get a straight wall there.

When we straighten up this wall,

so our hallway will end up being bigger and spacious.

So that will be what we will get out of it.

# Do you read my mind? #

Great minds, eh, guys?

Farhan is saying all the right things for me,

and with a budget of £20,000 and his regular team of builders

standing by, things are sounding promising.

The cousins have given themselves a timescale of two months

and I hope that's enough. They're busy people, you know.

So, how are you going to balance this with your pizza business,

your convenience store, your property developing? You're busy.

I am busy, of course, but in this project, I have Sakeeb with me.

And as I said, we have a team of builders.

So, I mean, it's mostly managing how the things are,

and making those choices.

And with the help of Sakeeb, I think I should be OK.

I'm looking forward to seeing the outcome, congratulations, well done.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

It's great to hear that Farhan's property developing is still

going strong, but will his success continue

during his first joint venture with his cousin Sakeeb?

And what will they decide about this ground-floor layout?

You can join me later in programme to find out how the pair get on.

So we've seen one finished property, but at what stage are the other two?

Will they be fit for a king or a bit raggedy round the edges?

I think it's time to find out.

Over to Oldham again where I saw a two-bed maisonette flat

guided at £30,000 - £40,000.

While the property was in good nick on the inside,

it was pretty dated,

and I only really like to see avocado in my salads.

With a mostly cosmetic job to do, it seemed ideal for Gary.

He bought the property as a home for his daughter Elise

and grandson Ethan for £30,500.

Elise was already plotting the decor for her new home.

I'm looking forward to changing the bedrooms,

because the carpets aren't great.

I'm looking forward to decorating it and making Ethan's room proper,

at the minute we're sharing one.

For him to have a proper little boy's room will be nice.

What will you do for his bedroom?

He loves superheroes, so probably everything to do with superheroes.

Put your dad everywhere, put your dad all over the wallpaper!

I would love that, it would give him nightmares!

Every superhero need superpowers...

and Gary had lots of those,

and not just a five-grand budget.

We're both black belts in taekwondo.

I run a local club in Oldham,

I'm a fourth dan, Elise is a third dan.

So taekwondo is the one thing we do.

But every superhero has his kryptonite and Gary's is DIY.

I'm terrible at things like this.

It took 26 years to tile the bathroom, so no!

Well, we did say to Gary it might be a bit difficult

coming back after 26 years.

Thankfully, he's asked us back after eight months.

So, has our hero dad stepped up for daughter Elise,

or did his arch nemesis, DIY, beat him again?

# I need a hero

# I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night

# He's got to be strong and he's got to be fast

# And he's got to be fresh from the fight

# I need a hero

# I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light... #

I think it's fair to say, superhero dad Gary wins.

And although Elise and Ethan couldn't be with us,

we met up with Gary to find out how he turned it into the perfect pad.

We had a chap come in, he was a joiner,

he replaced all the doors,

put down the laminate flooring throughout,

underneath the laminate flooring we have got acoustic tiling,

to retain some of the heat.

The biggest challenge wasn't the major work,

it was the minor work, it was the painting, the decorating.

I'm not by any means a painter and decorator.

Paint all over the place, paint on the floor.

All the major stuff, electrics, we got an electrician in,

plumbing, we got a plumber in, joiner in,

builders in, great.

I thought I could do a little bit of painting,

took me three months to paint the banisters.

Three months to paint the banister, Gary?

With respect, I can see now how a bathroom takes 26 years!

However, the bathroom here is finished

and it's Gary's favourite part.

The bathroom was an old avocado style

which was trendy 40 years ago.

The joiner brought in a fitter and a plumber

to completely gut the bathroom,

replace it with a modern white style,

tiled, completely tiled bathroom.

Infinitely better than it was before.

Both bedrooms are ideal for Elise and Ethan.

But the box bedroom is being used as storage for the moment.

It will eventually become a walk-in wardrobe for Elise.

What this flat really needed was a bit of modern style,

and that's what it's got now.

Gary didn't actually start the work until the beginning of the year,

and then having taken three months to paint the banister,

that original timescale of 6-8 weeks was a long-distant memory.

But did he stick to his budget?

We went over budget.

Initially, I thought maybe 5,000.

We spent £7,500

on getting the professionals in to do it.

Plus the materials I needed to do the painting,

so you're looking at maybe, in total, maybe about 8,000, 8,500.

But money is no object as long as Elise is happy.

She is happy, isn't she, Gary?

She's happy.

She moved in maybe about two months ago, with her little boy, Ethan.

She loves it.

And during the renovation, has he had time for his taekwondo?

I was recently nominated for the Oldham Coach Of The Year.

I didn't actually win, but to be nominated was good.

Met Bryan Robson, former Manchester United footballer,

so, yeah, it was not too bad.

The legend Bryan Robson, eh, Gary?

Are you trying to meet every member of the United squad I was in?

Should I see if I can get Paul Scholes

to value your maisonette for you?

Sorry, Scholesy, but I think we'd better leave the valuations

to two local estate agents.

Do you think Gary could do any more to this flat?

With this type of property, they have a ceiling value

and there's no point overdoing it with the works

and the spend on fixtures and fittings

because you're not going to get the end value back, potentially.

So I think the amount of money they've spent

and the work they've done is spot-on.

I wouldn't have done anything differently to the property,

I think the owner has maximised its potential.

Gary's total spend is £47,000 and, of course,

this is a home for Elise and Ethan, so they won't be selling.

But just for nosiness, what would it sell for?

If the property was to be put onto the open market,

I would suggest an asking price at £55,000.

I would be looking to try

and achieve about £55,000 for this property.

I didn't expect any increase in value above what I paid.

So, yeah, that's...that's quite good.

A potential pre-tax profit of eight grand is quite good, Gary.

But could it fare better on the rental market?

For this property on the rental market I would put it on

for £475 per calendar month.

I think this property would achieve £400 - £450 per calendar month.

Yeah, good. I'm throwing Elise out

and we're going to put it on the market!

HE LAUGHS

I think he's joking, Elise, or at least, I hope he is!

Don't worry.

But theoretically speaking,

if this place was rented for £450 per calendar month,

it would mean an 11% yield.

So, profitable, but more importantly,

a nice flat to live in for daughter and grandson.

But has Gary any tips for us?

When you watch it on TV, it looks easy.

It's not. Fortunately, I did have enough money to cover everything.

That's the one thing I've learned. Don't get involved.

Organise it, get somebody else in and let them do it.

Back now to London and the three-bed terraced house in South Norwood

that had a guide price of 230,000.

Although walls had been removed to open up the downstairs space,

the dated decor and the design decisions left me distinctly flat.

And I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm in a fish tank.

I'm not sure the glass panelling along here really does work.

# Look at me... #

Yes, as spacious as it may have been, the layout did not work.

And it was going to need a lot of work to sort.

Rising to the challenge were cousins Farhan

and Sakeeb, who brought the property for £303,000.

Farhan had already developed two properties

and the pair were hoping his experience had found them a winner.

He was actually on holidays and having fun and all that,

so I was looking around on the properties.

So, Sakeeb, you had your total trust and faith in Farhan's choice?

That's right, yeah.

# Oh, this is the one Oh, this is the one

# This is the one

# This is the one This is the one... #

With a budget of 20,000, and a timescale of two months,

the cousins were ready to get started.

Could they fix this lamentable layout

and create a premium property?

Almost three months later, we're back to find out.

Well, it's safe to say

they've followed through with the big changes.

Out the back, the garage is no more.

And although there isn't any lawn, the garden is spacious and tidy.

On the first floor, all the bedrooms have been painted,

replastered and had new flooring put down.

And that's not the biggest change up here.

Actually, the bathroom was very small upstairs.

So we just increased the space for the bathroom

and we make the room a bit smaller

and we made a little bit more space for the bathroom.

And we redecorated the bathroom as well.

But my favourite room has got to be this new kitchen/living area.

So, as you can see, this is where we put our new kitchen.

Previously it was at that corner

and we had a wall dividing kitchen and the dining space.

So we managed to knock that wall down, and we had to run these beams,

and now we have our kitchen here

and this whole space is open for your dining and living space.

So this is my favourite and I'm very happy with the way...

this space we have created.

Between having to replace a load-bearing wall

and taking down all those polystyrene ceiling tiles,

I think Farhan and Sakeeb have done a great job in here.

But there is a bit of an elephant in the room.

Much to my dismay, that glass panel wall is still there.

So what happened, guys?

We initially planned to do that, but when you are doing your projects,

there are bits that you cover, there are bits that you can't cover.

You have to look at your cost controlling as well.

So we decided to leave it as it is, because it doesn't look that bad

with the new property and layout, this glass,

when you look outside, so it makes it OK.

# I want it all

# I want it all

# I want it all

# And I want it now... #

OK, OK. Maybe I do want it all.

But it would have been nice to have seen that wall changed

and not just for aesthetic reasons.

If that wall were built today, fire-resistant safety glass

would have to be used in order to pass building regulations.

In addition, ideally the staircase would have a banister on both sides

to be up-to-date with regulations too.

So, with the plans changing,

were there any disagreements about what should be done?

Actually, overall we were both involved in the project,

and so whatever we made, the choices, we made together.

Especially in the kitchen.

So, with all that work, did they manage to stick to their budget?

Although we started with a budget of 20,000

to achieve the overall refurbishment in this property,

our plans changed during the course of refurbishment

as well so all of it, of course, costed us more money than we thought.

Having bought the property for 303,000,

Farhan and Sakeeb ended up spending a total of £30,000

and took almost three months to do all the work,

rather than the planned two.

Will all that work for the cousins make a tidy profit?

We asked along two local estate agents to get their opinion.

The best thing I like about this property, when you walk in,

compared to before, is the large open-plan living area downstairs.

It's very family-friendly, lots of space,

loads of room for kids to run around in.

Looking at the bathroom, to make the bathroom a better size,

they cut into the bedroom.

The bedroom at the back is slightly on the small side

but still great for a child and the bathroom is a great size,

it would be absolutely fine for a family of three.

The estate agent suggested a rental valuation of between £1,400

and £1,500 per month,

but Sakeeb and Farhan want to sell the property,

so let's get those valuations.

For the sales value, this property would go on the market for £395,000.

In the current sales market,

I believe this property would achieve £395,000.

We have received an offer for 400,000.

We are likely to accept it although we just want to leave the property on

the market for a week or two in case, if we can achieve any more than that.

Well, that's great news.

Having spent a total of 333,000,

were they to accept that offer of £400,000,

it would make a potential profit of 67 grand,

minus the usual taxes and expenses.

That's good going for almost three months' work.

And I get the feeling this won't be the last development

the cousins do together.

Definitely, it was a very good experience

working as a team together,

so whatever we achieve from this property,

we are going to put back together as a joint venture again.

Very interested in property now,

and I think that when I get money in, I will start a new project,

in partnership with Farhan as well.

We hope you've enjoyed the show

and maybe even inspired you to visit your local auction room.

We'll be back with more tips, advice,

properties and buyers for you next time.

So join us then for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-Goodbye.

-Bye.

-Bye.