Episode 61 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello. Now, property bargains are out there,

but they can be easier to find

in some parts of the country than others.

Yeah, so if you are looking for all the options in your area,

hm, I've got an idea for you.

Yeah, Martin, are you talking about visiting your local property auction?

Auction buyers could have a couple grand to spend

or a couple of million.

Yeah, but they're all on the hunt for a bargain.

So, did today's buyers find what they were looking for?

Coming up, we return to this land in Kent

to see what's been developing.

It already has planning permission

for two new properties to be built here.

I'm worried this development in Lincolnshire

could take a turn for the worst.

Lisha hadn't seen it...

Sorry, whoa, whoa, whoa.

You hadn't seen it before you bought it?

And at this commercial property in Nottinghamshire,

I'm taking the flexible approach.

..and have a gym downstairs,

a bit of yoga and Pilates upstairs.

All of 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.

MUSIC: New World Symphony, Largo by Antonin Dvorak

Time now to step back into

Homes Under The Hammer's distant past.

Well, 2014 if you want to be specific.

# Now I'm on the outside... #

Yeah, that's more like it,

and especially appropriate as I was visiting, not a property,

but this piece of land in Chatham in Kent

with a guide price of £140,000 to £150,000.

Now, that guide price might sound expensive for this,

but not when I tell you it already has planning permission,

for not one, but two new properties to be built here.

Yes, planning had been accepted for a design

which, from the front, looked like one detached house,

but was in fact two semidetached, three-bed houses.

Now, it was an interesting design choice,

and I thought marked a nice change

from the more common symmetrical look.

However, as with many new builds,

it wasn't without its compromises.

Each garden now will only be seven to nine metres in depth

and five to six metres in width,

which won't be for everyone because they'll be small.

Unfortunately, that is often the price you'll pay

when you buy a new-build house,

and if you like period features and a sense of history,

well, these properties will not be for you.

However, they do appeal to a lot of people

as they're more energy-efficient,

they're chain free,

and if you buy early enough on in the build,

well, you might be able to have a say into the design.

-# You got the right stuff

-# You got it

# Baby

# You're the reason why I sing this song... #

A new house on the block will always appeal to a certain market,

but even if you think you have a design that has the right stuff,

with a new build, there's still a lot of paperwork to do.

# The right stuff. #

Firstly, the development must be started

within three years from the date of the decision.

Secondly, no development can take place

until samples of the proposed external materials have been shown,

such as bricks and maybe even roof tiles.

And also, you have to consider both hard and soft landscape works,

they have to be submitted and approved by the local authority too.

Add in the fact that, for this land,

building regulations were still to be secured

and amenities such as gas and water had to be connected,

it was all too clear that, even with planning sorted,

there was an awful lot of work to be done before a property was built.

These semis have been well-designed,

and once built, there could be some serious money to be made here.

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

Lot 34.

It's land with planning permission

for a pair of three-bedroomed, semidetached houses.

140, my SA.

Can be 130, then. 130, bid.

I'm on the way. 130. And five?

135, 135. 140 now. 140.

140, I'm obliged. 145, it's against you.

Take two, if you wish.

142. Now five?

147. 150, can I say?

148? 148.

149? 150?

And one? And two...?

With the bidding underway, it soon got competitive.

We rejoined at £190,000.

190? And one? And two? And three?

And four? And five? And six?

And seven?

Seven? £196,000, I've got.

197, I'm looking for.

We all done at 196, then?

For the first time.

196 for the second time.

Third and final time at £196,000.

You bought it, sir.

Or three of you have bought it. 196 and...

That successful bid of 196,000 came from builder, Ray.

# I've seen that face before... #

Oh, yes, I certainly had.

I'd met Ray along with his sister, Louise,

on one of their previous developments.

That, however, had been the renovation of an existing house.

Building from scratch would be a much bigger proposition,

and despite his 30 years building experience,

I wanted to know if Ray was ready for the challenge.

-Ray, we meet again.

-Yeah.

-Congratulations on this plot.

-Thank you.

Now, did it appeal to you that this site came with planning permission?

It did, yeah. It saved a lot of hassle,

but not realising it didn't come with building regs, bit of a shock,

but there we go.

It's all in process now, so a week or two, we'll be starting.

And how much extra cost is that going to be?

£1,000. Just over £1,000, so it's not too bad, but...

Also with that, we've still got to get the building warranties

which we didn't allow for.

Another couple of thousand pounds there, but...we'll still be OK.

-It's all a learning curve for you.

-Yeah, it is, definitely.

Even with his experience,

Ray had already been caught out by a couple of issues.

Still, though they couldn't be there that day,

sister, Louise, and his partner, Julie,

were joining him as part of the team.

So, he wasn't on his own,

and remember, he already had planning permission

granted for these houses.

So, was he feeling confident?

I think I'll be OK. I mean, it's...

I put it down to being like to build a big double extension.

It's nothing different, really, but you're not joining onto nothing -

you're just doing a completely new, new build, so...

-So, now, are you going to be laying the bricks?

-I can lay bricks,

but I'll probably take three or four times longer than a bricklayer,

so I shall get two bricklayers in,

and probably three or four weeks, they'd have it all up,

so, cost wise, it's not going to cost that much.

Your expertise is all the other bits and pieces.

Yeah, I mean, I'm going to do all the ground work, roof, everything else.

I'll get my brother-in-law to do the electrics,

we'll get someone in to do the gas, and everything else, it'll be me.

So, what's your budget for this build here?

I'm going to say 120,000 to do both houses.

It's going to be tight, but I think we can do it.

-Is that absolutely it?

-That is...

-Kitchens, bathrooms, ground work...

-That's the lot.

-That is the...

-..driveway, gardens, landscaping.

-That's the lot. That is it.

-120,000.

-Yep.

-60 grand a house.

-Yep.

Timescale?

I'm going to say...ten months,

but my partner insists I say a year, so...

-Say a year for the telly...

-Yeah.

-..but ten months in your head...

-I'd like to do in ten months.

-..so we don't tell you off.

No, I'd like to do it in ten months, but...

I see no problem with that. I think we can do it.

I know you've been really working hard at this.

-This is really what you want to do because you love it.

-Yeah.

Are you taking a wage yet? Are you earning any money out of it?

How's it working financially for you?

My lovely partner supports me,

but I take a minimum wage, just to cover household bills at home...

..and then at the end of it, we just split the profit.

So, it was time for us to leave Ray to it.

Would we come back to find two new houses?

When we returned under a year later, there certainly had been progress,

but the houses weren't complete.

# It's getting better all the time

# I've got my wings and I can fly

# I will fly to you

# It's getting better... #

Yes, although not complete,

things were coming together nicely,

and although plot two needed a lot of work,

we asked Ray to take us

through the layout of the almost complete plot number one.

On the right, we have, like, a downstairs cloakroom.

Next to the downstairs cloakroom is a utility cupboard

with all the electrical services in.

On the left opposite that is the kitchen

where the kitchen is starting to go in now,

and we're just waiting for the granite people

to come and do a template there.

Opposite the kitchen is the stairs up to the first floor,

and then we come in through the hallway into the lounge area,

out two patio doors onto a patio and the garden.

So, upstairs is planned.

There was a good-size double bedroom...

..a single room...

..and a master bedroom complete with en suite,

and the first floor would be finished off

with a family bathroom.

Though it had been a year,

Ray had only worked on the site for eight months,

as getting the required planning regulations

and amenities connected had taken longer than expected.

This was almost inevitably one of the reasons

that plot number two was further behind,

but had that also affected his budget,

which was originally £120,000 to finish the whole project.

Household budget, yeah, we're probably at 120,000 now, actually.

We've probably got 30,000 left to spend,

so it'll probably be about 150 in the end.

The reason we've spent more than budget

is mainly utilities, drainage, building regulations,

so it's just been added on.

Aside from the brickwork and the roofing tiles,

Ray had done all the work himself,

but even with that,

he already reached his original £120,000 budget for the renovation.

Still, in general, the houses were looking good,

and he hoped he wasn't too far away from finishing.

# Almost there

# We're almost there... #

So, by that point, Ray had spent 316,000,

and, if he kept to his new budget,

his total spend would end up being £346,000.

So, could these houses still turn a profit for Ray?

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

If the properties are completed

to the same standard as I've seen today,

they're going to be excellent.

I think the properties are a very good standard.

A lot of thought's gone into them.

I think the layout's really good - it's good that they're unusual.

Plot one is a bit different from plot two, which is facing the rear.

I would anticipate them selling for around about £250,000 each.

If the properties were brought to the marketplace today,

I would envisage an asking price of £250,000.

So, despite the overspend and overrun in the schedule,

the news looked good,

but it all hinged on Ray staying within his revised budget.

If he could, he stood to make a pre-tax profit of 154,000.

Could he...or would he?

Stick around and we'll tell you how it all turned out.

I'm in Lincolnshire today,

a place with a lot of interesting historical connections,

like Gainsborough Old Hall, a fantastic medieval manor house.

And it seems that this place was once a must-stay venue

for a very important royal - Henry VIII.

Well, when you think of Henry VIII,

you don't necessarily imagine him on his holidays.

However, he is thought to have visited Gainsborough,

although perhaps not this specific street.

I'm not sure that a three-bed mid-terrace

was necessarily his style.

However, that was what was up for auction.

Guide price, £20,000 plus.

Let's see if it gets the royal seal of approval.

So, let's see if this house has any crowning glories.

-OK, enough of the royal puns.

-HE LAUGHS

Straight into the front room,

and my enthusiasm is dampened, quite literally, straightaway.

I am spotting a lot of signs of damp -

on that wall there, that chimney breast

and also on the floor, which is very worrying.

I mean, look at the state of this skirting board.

Now, I am very concerned about this,

cos , look, just pull the wood off and it crumbles -

that is not good news.

And to get like that, it's not just a case of it being wet,

that is often a sign of something much more sinister - dry rot.

Little tendrils, looks like spiders webs.

I don't know, poking around there, I'm sure if I pulled a bit more of,

I would see if it was there.

Definitely something to consider.

My guess is that's exactly what someone's been doing

when they've looking round,

because the floorboards here have been taken up,

-and again, I mean...

-HE SIGHS

It's not inconceivable that you could get a torch down there,

look around and have a good poke about

just to see if there's any more signs of damage

caused by whatever caused that water to come in there.

A bit of...a health and safety hazard waiting to happen.

But anyway, front sitting room,

apart from being damp, it's not a bad size.

Through into the rear of the property

where you've got the kitchen.

I mean, it is a classic sort of two-up two-down layout.

Not a bad size. They've obviously done quite a bit of work

to remove what was ever in place before.

So you are going to have to refit the kitchen,

but they've actually done part of the work for you.

Stairs up to your bedrooms. I mean, classic layout.

Er, but I am really focusing on some of those basics.

Water's great...

but only if it's in the right places,

and it isn't here.

# Drip, drip, drip, drip

# Drip, drip... #

Dampness is always to be sniffed out,

but never to be sniffed at,

as it can cost you dearly.

But then again, you do have to remember that

this house is guided at just £20,000 plus,

so we shouldn't turn our noses up at it quite yet.

# Drip, drip, drip, drip... #

And I'm pleased to say there are no nasty surprises on the outside.

I'm just a little concerned, because if there's damp downstairs,

I think there's a good chance there could be some more upstairs.

So, what have we here?

Well, to the front of the property, not a bad-sized bedroom.

Again, a few signs of damp,

both on this front wall and seemingly, yep, this wall as well.

And downstairs, it's the chimney breast

which has got the biggest signs of damp.

Hm... That's classic sort of flashing on the roof

or something that's gone wrong.

The rest of this, I don't know, it's just, hm...

The whole property, I think, it's definitely stemming from top down,

so get the roof sorted first and foremost.

But through to this little, erm, sort of corridor-y bit here, and...

Right.

OK.

Large cupboard?

Nope. This...

-HE SIGHS

-..is the second bedroom.

# That don't impress me much... #

Er, no, and no again.

There's no space for a bed, no cupboards

and, most importantly, no window,

which means it's not a bedroom.

Officially, a bedroom needs a second exit in case of a fire.

The bathroom down this corridor is in need of updating

and is also not the biggest

thanks to the corridor that's been added

to accommodate the stairs leading to bedroom number three.

Oh, now, that's more like it.

Thank goodness for that.

After the disappointment of the middle floor,

up here, it's like an attic room,

but I love the way that the brick there has been exposed

and you've got this little archway.

Really nice high ceilings as well.

Lots of light coming in from the dormer there.

This is a beautiful master bedroom, in my mind.

Um, and...

Just this house, it sort of,

it takes you on an emotional rollercoaster,

but luckily, we're ending on a high.

But will a local agent get giddy

on this particular property rollercoaster?

I think some people are put off by the immediate condition

and the amount of work that the property needs.

Anything that's showing a hint of damp or rewiring

or central heating issues,

people are a little bit concerned, I think.

But if you buy stuff in this sort of condition,

and you have the ability to add value by doing it yourself,

then, then that's the way forward.

I couldn't agree more.

So, what does he think the house could sell for once sorted?

Bringing up to a really good standard,

you would probably look to market between £45,000 and £50,000.

And if it was to be rented out?

My thoughts on rental prices would be £350 a month up to £400 per month.

Well, obviously a few things to get sorted out with this one -

number one, resolve the damp issues.

But it's a good house, I like the area,

and I think there's money to be made,

especially around that guide price.

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

Start me, if you will, at... I have a number -

15,000 which doesn't sound a lot, does it?

15,000, please, lot 141.

Thank you, there is somebody on the phone - Stuart.

15. Thank you. 16 anywhere?

15,000. 16 there, and 17.

18? And 18. 19? 19.

20? No-one for 20? 20 on the phone.

Gosh, long time since I've sold a house at this.

20 on the telephone with Stuart. 21? 21. 22?

23? 23. 24?

24. 25? No.

First time at 24 with Stuart.

Second time at 24.

25, madam. I see you. 26?

26?

First time at 25. Second time at 25.

Third and last time at £25,000, lady's bid.

HE BANGS GAVEL Well done. 25,000.

The successful bid was made by nurse, Lisha.

Lisha loves British houses because where she was raised in China

most people lived in flats.

She has developed a property over there,

but this will be her first in the UK.

She brought along her friend, Roland,

to tell me what her plans were.

Lisha, Roland, great to meet you both.

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you too.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this house.

Because I like properties,

and I've been watching your programme for years, years,

and finally, I've done it myself. I can't believe I've done it!

Oh! Are you excited?

-Yes, very much so.

-Wow.

What was it about this particular house that made you go for it?

Because of the price.

-It's the only so I can afford it.

-Right.

Are you local? I mean, do you know the area?

-No, I'm from London.

-London?

-Yeah.

-Wow.

-And that's where you live and work, is it?

-Yes.

-Right.

So, this is purely an investment property purpose then, is it?

-Yes.

-Yes.

Great. And what was your involvement in the decision-making process?

Erm...

I'm just helping do the DIY.

You know, I enjoy doing DIY

and, yeah, it's like a hobby for me, yeah.

-Right.

-Yeah.

-He's, he's my handyman.

-He's your handyman. Brilliant.

Yes, everyone should have a handyman,

and never has one been needed more than here.

The good news is Roland and Lisha are not tackling this alone.

Well, the builder's actually coming tomorrow,

so once he's done the damp proofing and the roof,

I can do painting, wallpapering,

and...I think I can fit a new kitchen as well.

-Oh, great.

-Yeah. I think I can do that.

-Have you not done one before?

-No...

-MARTIN LAUGHS

I think it's something I could do, yeah.

-Do you think he can do it?

-Yes, I believe him.

That's fantastic.

Yeah, so our builders going to do the work tomorrow,

start eight o'clock in the morning.

-Wow.

-And he's said to me he will bring through other tradesmen,

come over and work as much as possible

so we'll finish, the basic work, we'll finish in about three days.

-Three days?!

-That's what he told me.

-Wow!

Yeah, and then we'll do the rest.

-Right. So, what's he going to do in three days? The roof...

-The roof...

-Damp proof...?

-..the bricks, repointing the brick...

-Right.

The damp proof, of course, and the plastering.

-Right.

-Three days.

-In three days?

-Yes.

-Hm. Has he given you a quote?

-Yes.

-How much?

-Er, £3,000.

-£3,000, three days?

-Yes.

Well, if he sticks to that, that'll be, that'll be good.

And by good, I mean miraculous.

Anyway, Lisha's checked out the credentials of her chosen builder,

and she's happy he has a good reputation.

I would always recommend speaking to previous clients

and going to look at their work if you can.

Although Roland has carpentry skills,

he's a lorry driver by profession,

so he's going to have his work cut out.

They're going to use days off and holidays to do the work,

but don't forget, they're going to have to travel from London,

and Lisha has an eye-wateringly tight budget of £5,000.

And then...there's this.

Well, I hadn't seen the house myself

and Lisha hadn't seen it,

and then when we came to visit...

Sorry. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

You hadn't seen it before you bought it?

-No, because...

-And you say you watch Homes Under The Hammer,

and what's my number one rule? Apart from reading the legal pack.

-View before you buy.

-Ah!

-MARTIN SCOFFS

-I read the legal pack.

-Oh, good(!)

-I did the research.

One out of two ain't bad. No!

-Why didn't you go and see it?

-Cos...

I couldn't - I'm busy, work.

-MARTIN CHUCKLES

-Well, what can I say now?

There is one last thing that bothered me, though.

-So, it's obviously described as a three-bed.

-Mm.

The third one's a BIT tiny. Were you worried about that?

Not at all. It's just a box room.

-Maybe you can use as a study.

-Right.

Just put a study desk in

and then show people you can study in this little room...

-OK.

-..or have a cup of coffee.

LISHA AND MARTIN GIGGLE

Fair enough. Look on the bright side.

Yeah, and the other rooms are a good size,

-especially the top one, yeah.

-Yeah.

So, I think, for the money we paid, it's quite a good size, really.

Yeah. Hopefully the work won't cost too much.

Well, listen, congratulations to you both.

-Really look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

Thank you very much.

-Yeah, good luck with it.

-MARTIN CHUCKLES

Well, Lisha's clearly very excited about

her first property for renovation,

and hopefully, with Roland's help, it'll all go to plan.

However, that budget is terribly tight,

and will the builder do everything he's promised

in three days and for 3,000 quid?

Er, not so sure.

You can find out later in the show.

Still to come, these developers in Nottinghamshire

have a trick or two to keep the cost down.

-That's quite a small budget, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

-We've got plenty of free labour.

-In you two?

-Yeah, exactly.

-MARTIN:

-And it sounds like things got tricky

for Lisha in Lincolnshire.

The damp, actually, has come from both sides.

It's very terrible, yeah.

We return now to Chatham in Kent

to a plot of land we first visited in 2014.

The site had planning permission for two three-bed semis to be built,

and new builds can often be very attractive to potential buyers.

They do appeal to a lot of people as they're more energy-efficient,

they're chain free,

and if you buy early enough on in the build,

well, you might be able to have a say into the design.

The plot was bought at auction by Ray for 196,000.

Ray, with help from his partner, Julie,

along with his sister, Louise,

have dealt in small-scale building works,

but this was the first time they'd tackled a new build.

I think I'll be OK. I mean, it's...

I put it down to being like to build a big double extension -

it's nothing different, really, but you're not joining onto nothing,

you're just doing a completely new, new build.

He'd set a budget of 120,000 to complete the two houses,

and he reckoned on a timescale of ten months to a year.

So, always one for punctuality,

a year later, we turned up to see how he'd got on.

The first house on the left was not far-off being finished,

and the second, well, it was underway.

That budget had taken a bit of a hit, though.

Household budget, yeah, we're probably at 120,000 now, actually.

We've probably got 30,000 left to spend,

so it'll probably be about 150 in the end.

The reason we've spent more than budget

is mainly utilities, drainage, building regulations,

so it's just been added on.

The finish line was in sight for Ray,

but could this builder with 30 years' experience

push on through and complete his first-ever new build?

A year and a half since he first bought the property,

and the good news is Ray has reached the finish line.

# Finish line

# Finish line

# Finish line... #

The house on plot one looks amazing,

and it looks like it has a very high quality finish.

The house on plot two isn't quite there yet,

but I'm sure after a couple of weeks of decoration,

it'll be up to the same high standard.

Let's hear from Ray to tell us what he's done.

Plot one, we...finished off.

We've put the worktops on the kitchen,

tiles in the en-suite and the downstairs cloakroom,

general decorating and second fix of the electrics,

and I think that completes plot one, then.

Plot two was just sort of a bare shell,

and now, it's been completely finished.

We're sort of 99.9% there.

We've just got little touches and the back patio to do.

I'm really pleased with it. I think, for my first new build,

I'm sort of proud of myself, I should say.

But, yeah, it's come out well.

Ray's got every right to be proud.

These look great,

and he's done most of the work himself

with a little help from Julie.

Well, I work in a school,

so I've been coming down during the school holidays

and helping out as and when I can.

Julie's done a lot of the gardening, colour schemes, decorating

and generally just supporting me through it,

all through the whole build, really.

Sounds all quite boring, but I just love doing it.

I love seeing a job start from the beginning, working through it

and seeing the end result.

And having Ray as my guidance, you know, he's always teaching me -

he's got a lot of patience.

Well, by the looks of the finish of these houses,

he may have been a very good teacher,

but Julie's been a good student.

With Julie already having a full-time job,

what has she thought of the venture?

Absolutely amazing.

To see the way that Ray's put his absolute heart and soul

into creating these houses has been marvellous,

and a great opportunity for us all to work together as a team again

with Ray's mum, his sister and myself,

sort of chipping in as and when we can.

Yeah, it's been a tremendous experience.

Yes, it seems the whole family have been onboard supporting each other,

and that was a good ting to have, as Ray has run into more problems.

In order to pass the government's energy performance check

for all the new houses,

they had to add solar panels that they hadn't budgeted for.

-But the biggest setback?

-SHE CHUCKLES

The good old British weather.

The weather throws up all sorts of obstacles -

you just can't do nothing. The slabs down the side of plot two

need to be pointed - can't do that cos it's raining -

and just the patio in general, but it has held us up a bit.

So, how has all that affected the revised £150,000 budget?

I think we're probably about 148 at the moment.

We've got two or three little builds to come in.

Even with the solar panels, we've just come under,

so I think we'll probably, it'll probably be 150 at the end.

It would have been very easy to overspend

on the fitting of the suites and the decoration,

but Ray and his family have kept that budget under control,

and that really is great news,

especially as the pair have someone else

I think they'll be looking forward to spoiling.

To have become grandparents for the first time.

Little William,

and then we've got our daughter's wedding next year in July.

And we have got to get everything together for that.

So we've got a busy year ahead of us, anyway.

Aw!

Well, after all the admin delays,

the construction may have taken them 14 months,

but after spending £196,000 at auction

and a further 150,000 and a lot of hard work,

Ray and Julie, along with sister, Louise,

will be able to tell young William

that his grandparents built these houses.

But will they make a profit?

I think it's time we found out.

So we asked along two local estate agents to get their opinions.

First up, the agent that saw the houses last time.

Now the houses are finished, they are both excellent.

The quality, the finish,

the standard of the fittings -

absolutely first class.

The standard of finish is very high.

The owner's attention to detail

is absolutely evident throughout the property -

very nice quality.

Well, it's quite clear that

Ray's passion and professionalism on this build is coming through,

so let's cut to the chase and get some valuations.

I think the property on the left is likely to sell

for around about £250,000 to £255,000,

and the one on the right is probably 260, maybe £265,000.

So, I would value these properties at £260,000 to £270,000.

The values sound about right, really,

cos we marketed them at 250 to 270,

and we've sold the first one for 250 and the second one for 260.

So both houses have already been sold,

which is fantastic news.

With the houses selling for a total of 510,000,

that'll give the couple a pre-tax profit of 164,000.

And looking at the finish on these houses

and the hard work that went in,

I think that's thoroughly well-deserved.

So, what's their secret? Teamwork?

-We make a great team, don't we?

-Yeah.

-We work off each other, so...

-And I think that...

-..and we'd love to do it full-time.

-Oh, yeah.

That would be our dream -

to work as a full-time partnership, most definitely.

-Yeah, that's what we're aiming for, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It will happen one day.

-Yeah.

Just 19 miles from Sheffield

and 28 miles from the city of Nottingham and Lincoln,

Worksop in Nottinghamshire is a busy market town

with a good rail and road network.

And in the case of the next auction lot,

great access and plenty of bus routes, too.

# Bus stop

# Bus stop

# Are you ready to do the bus stop? #

Right in the centre of Worksop,

across the road from the bus station

is the property I'm here to see.

So, what have we got?

A commercial unit set over two floors with a guide price of £32,000.

What do you get for your money? I'm going to find out.

OK, on the ground floor, this would've been a shop,

which would make it class one, which is retail.

It was a minimart and a food shop and a clothes shop,

so lots of different uses beforehand,

but what surprised me is how far it goes back.

It's long and thin, but there's a lot to explore over there.

I'm going to investigate further.

Now, that's a surprise - this place is deceptively big.

# Such a long way back. #

Even opens out just that little bit more towards the rear.

You have got two changing areas, cubicles just there,

a toilet and rear access as well.

So, you could keep it as a commercial unit

or you could even apple for change of use to residential.

But me, being a little bit selfish on this occasion,

I'd have a gym downstairs,

maybe a bit of yoga and Pilates upstairs.

But, as always, it's supply and demand,

but it's food for thought. Let's check out upstairs.

So, up onto the mezzanine level,

and it's an OK size up here.

I can see there's a curtain here

which is...signs of it being a shop back in the day.

I did mention it being a gym - I'm going to forget that one,

and I'll come up with some more ideas of what it could potentially be.

It could be a commercial unit, maybe on its own, the whole thing.

You could incorporate commercial and residential as well -

you've got a front entrance and a rear entrance.

All depends on planning, of course, and change of use as well.

So lots of options here.

I'm inclined to separate the two -

commercial downstairs, residential up here and to the back.

# Is it time to go

# Our separate ways? #

The backend of the current shop space and the upper floor

could potentially become a split-level studio flat,

while the front could be left as a retail outlet.

In that way, you get the best of both worlds.

# Is it time to go

# Our separate ways? #

But does a local property expert think that's a good idea,

and more importantly,

is that the best way of maximising the financial return on that lot

which was guided at £32,000?

With regards to the retail unit, if it was separated,

then you're looking to achieve

somewhere in the region of around £30,000 to £35,000.

The residential quarter, depending on the specification,

you're looking to achieve a further £30,000 to £35,000.

Well, that's encouraging. What about its rental potential?

Rental wise, if the upstairs could be converted into,

let's say, a one-bedroom apartment,

then overall, combined with the income downstairs,

you're looking to generate

within the region of around £500 to £600 per calendar month.

This whole unit is deceptively spacious.

Now, you could keep it as a whole commercial unit,

you could split the usage to residential and commercial,

but I think the potential here is endless.

Let's see who saw that potential when it went under the hammer.

Lot 16. It's a two-storied commercial unit.

Retail sales unit, ground floor,

office or studio area at first floor.

25, then, to put it into the bidding.

Can't really go wrong with that sort of money.

Thank you. 25, I've got there.

25. 26 in the corner. At 26.

27 in front of me. 28 on the left.

At 28. 29 is bid. At 29.

30, Sir? 30,000. Thank you.

At £30,000. 31?

30,000, I've got on my left-hand side.

31 somewhere else?

31. 32?

33? 33,500?

No? £33,000, then, here.

For the first time at 33.

Second time at 33.

Second thoughts, quickly. It's going to go.

All done at 33,000.

Sold at 33,000. Thank you.

And in no time at all,

the Worksop shop was sold for 33 grand to Rich and Lee.

Rich, on the left, is a commercial floor layer by trade,

whereas Lee is a shop fitter and joiner.

They've been working together for over 15 years

on various shop-fitting projects,

so who could be better placed to buy this?

It is, however, their first property venture together,

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

-Rich, nice to meet you.

-Hi.

-Congratulations.

-Same to you, Lee.

-Hi.

-Why this property?

We think it's got a huge amount of potential,

and of course, it was extremely cheap in the auction.

What are you going to do with it?

Our intentions are to create a two-bedroom dwelling in the rear

and to the upstairs,

and reduce the front shop unit.

In what areas are you going to partition off?

Oh, at the bottom of the stairs,

we'll put a stud partition across there

and a small sort of kitchenette area with toilet,

and that'll create the shop.

And then the back area is what you see here

and two bedrooms upstairs.

The entrance to the shop's going to remain at the front

and then, just to the side, there's an entrance

where they'll lead into the rear new two-bedroomed flat.

Well, Rich and Lee are clear about what they want to do here,

and they both live half an hour away from the area,

so know it quite well.

But a change of use will require planning consent,

so potential delays should be taken into consideration.

I can't see that there's going to be any, any problem

with the change of use or for the planning for the conversion.

What makes you think there'll be no sort of hurdles, Rich?

What makes you so confident?

Well, we've got a great access point to enter the rear of the property,

and it just seems that it's going to fit in superbly.

Erm, and, you know, as we know,

housing stock is very short in town centre locations.

Well, they're certainly right there -

town and city accommodation has become much more sought after.

But planning is still never a given,

so I hope their confidence is well-placed.

As soon as you get in, what's the first thing you're going to do?

We've got to take that wall down to create a bathroom

and then partition the shop off

and then, obviously, form the bedrooms upstairs.

We've got a slight issue with the electric meter,

which we're taking advice on -

we're going to have to split the electric

because we're making two units.

That'll pretty much come as one of the first main jobs.

But other than that, as you've seen and you look round,

it is pretty much straightforward.

Straightforward? I hope Rich hasn't jinxed it.

In property developing,

you never know when a nasty surprise will crop up and catch you out.

Still, Rich and Lee do seem to know what they're doing.

I think they can pull this venture off.

What's your budget to turn it around?

We're looking at about 8,000, I think, all in, legals and things.

-That's quite a small budget, isn't it?

-It is.

-Absolutely.

-Plenty of free labour.

-DION LAUGHS

-That's very true, yes.

-Yeah, so...

-In you two.

-Yeah, exactly.

And your turnaround time, your timescale?

-About three months, I think.

-Yeah, three months.

We don't want to be here for much longer than that.

And in addition to the labour and expertise they bring,

they know various people in the trade

who will do the electrics and the plumbing for them.

So it looks like they've got most of their bases covered.

But I was still interested to know

what was the motivation for taking this project on.

Just wanted to do something where we'd have a laugh doing it

and hopefully make a bit of money on side,

and that really is it.

-It's all about enhancing our lives.

-THEY CHUCKLE

-Not creating stress.

-As a business.

-Yeah.

Are you hoping... Is this the start for the two of you, then?

Hopefully, yeah. If this goes all right.

We've not committed to anything.

If this goes all right, and we have a laugh doing it,

and we'll probably do another one.

I mean, we've bought this as a starter

cos we see it as an easy project,

but, you know, we wouldn't dismiss new builds

or a much larger conversion of older properties, you know?

-We're open to anything.

-I like that.

A businesses that'll do anything, really.

-Nothing is going to frighten you.

-No.

-Not really, no.

-Rich, I wish you all the best.

-Thank you.

-I know it'll work. Good luck, Lee.

-Thanks.

-Cheers.

This is Richard and Lee's first venture together

into the property world. Now, what more could you ask for?

A shop fitter and a carpet expert joining forces

to take on this building,

dividing up the shop and making the rest of it into living quarters.

Now, it makes good business sense to me,

but will it all fit together?

You can find out later on in the programme.

So, we've seen how one of our purchasers got on.

Did our other buyers' experiences prove fruitful or frustrating?

Let's find out how they got on.

Welcome back to Henry VIII's holiday destination of choice.

Yes, it's Gainsborough,

where I was looking round this three-bed terraced house

guided at £20,000 plus,

and it's safe to say things didn't start well.

I am spotting a lot of signs of damp -

on that wall there, that chimney breast

and also on the floor, which is very worrying.

# Cos I see you everywhere

# And you're always on my mind... #

I'm not surprised - damp everywhere would worry me too.

But Lisha, with the help of friend, Roland,

saw all this work as the chance to add value,

and bought the property for £25,000.

Although, I was a little surprised at the quote she'd being given

for the structural repairs.

The basic work, we'll finish in about three days.

-Three days?!

-That's what he told me.

-Wow!

-How much?

-£3,000.

-£3,000, three days?

Well, if he sticks to that, that'll be, that'll be good.

# I'm wishing on a star... #

I'm sorry, we're being a little mean there

because Lisha had compared other quotes

and looked at her builder's references.

It's just that, to me, that seemed a lot of work

to cram into three days.

And with a total budget of just £5,000,

even with Roland taking on the majority of the DIY,

money would be tight.

Well, we've returned,

admittedly a little later than the planned three-month timescale.

14 months have passed, but will it all have been worth it?

At first glance, I'd say a resounding yes.

The house has been transformed,

and thankfully, there's not a patch of damp to be seen.

How did they get on sorting it?

Yeah, apparently, the damp, actually, has come from the...

Well, top and the bottom.

The top, the tiles need to be refitted, and the chimney.

The chimney, the ring, ring water comes as well.

Yeah, there was damp underneath the floor

rising from the ground up the walls.

So, it's like double side.

It's very terrible, yeah.

# Double trouble

# Double trouble

# Oh, yeah. #

What a nightmare.

Damp from the roof down and the ground up.

Lisha's builder fixed the roof, repointed some of the wall

and carried out the damp proof treatment throughout,

and you'll not be too surprised to hear

it took a little longer than three days.

About two weeks in total,

which I still think is really good going.

Once all that work was sorted,

it was time for Lisha and DIY fan Roland to get stuck in.

Well, after the damp proofing was done

and the plastering was done,

then we repainted everything and did wallpapering -

-all that we did.

-Yeah, so we did...

-Did all the flooring, didn't we?

-Yeah.

Tiled the bathroom.

So, he did quite a lot of work on this house, yeah.

It's great they both did so much work,

as that's the way you keep your costs down and make a profit.

And it wasn't easy for them,

especially as both Lisha and Roland live in London.

Well, because it's so far to travel from London -

three hours' journey -

you know, we can't come here just for the day.

So, every weekend, we'd stay here all weekend and go back.

We also spent a holiday up here.

-Yeah, so we've spent a lot of time living here, actually.

-Yeah.

It's become a bit like a second home almost, hasn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Yeah.

# It's always better on holiday

# So much better on holiday

# It's always better on holiday

# So much better on holiday... #

Remind me not to holiday with you pair.

You should always remember

how time-consuming developing a property is,

particularly if travel is involved.

But in Lisha's case, I think it was worth it,

especially when you remember the state it was in

when she first bought it.

When I first bought the property, when I first saw it,

I just couldn't believe it. I was...

Well, I have to say, I hadn't viewed it before I bought it.

But that was a kind of, like, mistake, and I was crying.

So he said to me, "Lisha, don't worry, we will get there."

And they have got there.

OK, it's taken £10,000 rather than the planned £5,000

and a total of 14 months,

but it's now ready to be someone's home.

Has it all been worth it?

We've asked along to local estate agents to get their opinion.

It is a reasonably well presented property.

It does benefit from some things

like the upstairs bathroom and the double glazing.

My thoughts on the property are that

it's in generally good order throughout

and over three floors, it offers well appointed accommodation.

Lisha bought this house to sell on,

but what kind of rental could it achieve?

In the rental market, a property like this would be worth

approximately £300 per calendar month.

In the current rental climate, I would expect this property to

achieve somewhere in the region of 300

to a maximum of £325 per calendar month.

That would mean an impressive yield of 11%.

What kind of profit would Lisha make on her £35,000 investment?

I would recommend putting the property on the market for sale

somewhere in the region of £35,000.

In the current sales climate,

I would anticipate this property could achieve

somewhere in the region of £35,000 on the open market.

I was hoping to get 50, at least.

If we can't get what we want, we'll have to rent it, won't we?

-Yeah.

-For it to work. Yeah.

-And then, hopefully, we can get more like what we want.

-Yeah.

Hopefully the market will pick up in the future.

Unfortunately, markets can go down as well as up,

and some houses in this area

are selling for less than they once were.

One of the agents also felt that a more substantial kitchen

might have improved the price of this property.

On the bright side, Lisha hasn't lost money,

and this is certainly a viable rental property.

So, after this, her first UK development,

will Lisha and Roland be tackling any more?

-Yeah.

-Yes, definitely consider it.

But we'll do more research next time.

Definitely come and have a look at it, for one thing.

Welcome back to Worksop in Nottinghamshire,

where I was looking at this little commercial property

guided at £32,000.

At least, it looked little from the outside.

But what surprised me is how far it goes back.

It's long and thin, but there's a lot to explore over there.

I'm going to investigate further.

# Is that you, baby?

# Or just a brilliant disguise? #

Yes, that unspectacular frontage

was actually a surprisingly large property

which included an upstairs mezzanine level

and a second entrance.

It was bought by business partners Rich and Lee for £33,000.

They were hoping they could make a profit on this

by keeping the front as a shop

and turning the upper and rear sections into a two-bed flat.

Just wanted to do something where we'd have a laugh doing it,

and hopefully make a bit of money on side,

and that really is it.

-It's all about enhancing our lives.

-THEY CHUCKLE

-Not creating stress.

-As a business.

# Well, that'll be the day

# Oo, oo. #

Well, I'm yet to see a stress-free development.

Though the guys haven't worked together in the past,

they have both developed properties before

and had given themselves an £8,000 budget

and a timescale of three months.

Would we come back to see, not just a new property,

but a new, relaxed Rich and Lee?

Well, it's time to find out. Four months later, we've returned.

Gone is that tired-feeling commercial space,

and in its place, a compact but neat and modern-looking shop.

And all that space at the back, well, as hoped,

Rich and Lee have turned it into a residential property.

On the ground floor is an open-plan kitchen-living area,

along with a bathroom,

and upstairs, there are two bedrooms.

We met Rich to find out how the pair got on

converting this into a residential property.

The planning permission went through really smoothly.

It was a simple case of filling in the appropriate forms.

Building Control came out initially,

and we picked their brains on a few issues,

and we got the answers we needed.

And all we need now is the final visit to sign it all off.

Though there weren't any problems

with planning and building regulations,

connecting the electricity to the new property was a different matter.

We had to apply for a new electric supply to be fitted -

that came with a few problems.

The process is quite difficult and costly.

The road had to be dug up,

there was an issue finding the correct cable.

# Let's get it on

# Oh, baby

# Let's get it on

# Let's love, baby... #

Yes, it's worth bearing in mind that

getting new amenities connected and turned on

can be more complicated than you think.

In Rich and Lee's case,

because the new supply involved digging up the road,

they had to liaise with the local council

as well as the energy company.

How badly did it affect their eight grand budget, though?

Oh, we've overspent on that initial budget,

but that's been down to the new electric supply,

and also that we'd planned on doing all the work ourselves,

but that hasn't worked out.

Lee was busy on a shop fitting,

and I had a problem with my back,

and so we made the decision that

we were going to employee different trades to do the work.

Well, Rich, don't be coy - how much have you spent?

We've spent £11,000 altogether.

Oh, dear. That's three grand more than the original budget,

and not surprisingly,

this has had an impact on their three-month timescale as well.

We'd originally hoped that

the project would've taken three months.

However, from a slow start in the planning application,

it's taken a little bit longer than we'd hoped for.

However, after obtaining planning permission,

we really have completed the works in seven weeks

after we made a start.

It's taken them a little longer than they planned,

but having spent £33,000 at auction and 11 grand on the development,

it's time to ask along two local experts

to see what they think of Rich and Lee's new layout.

Totally transformed property from what it was before.

Very much down at heel, needed a lot of work doing to it,

and I thought, from what I can see,

I think the standard achieved has been very good.

I'm really impressed.

The property is pretty spacious, it's done to a good spec,

there's no sort of corners that have been cut or anything like that,

so, no, I'm really impressed with it.

And what do the agents think

is the best way of getting the biggest return

on these two properties?

My recommendation for the owner

would be to sell the property as a whole.

I think there would be too many issues

with regards to sort of splitting the property

within the two elements.

If this was my property, having had it refurbished,

I would rent it out, I would get two incomes from it,

I would then sell it on the open market

as a mixed commercial retail unit

with an income as an investment property.

As Rich and Lee want to sell, to get the highest value,

they should first try and get tenants in

and sell both properties as one concern.

If they did, what's the total sales value they could expect?

I would expect to achieve somewhere around £60,000, £65,000.

Maybe a shade more.

My evaluation for both the residential and retail shop

would be £55,000 to £65,000,

the higher being if the properties were rented.

Having spent a total of 44 grand,

that top valuation would give them a pre-tax profit of £21,000.

Well, we've actually had an offer for in excess of that already,

and we're just deciding on whether to take that.

Well, that's good news.

So, financially, this has been a success for Rich and Lee,

but has the project proven to be the fun, relaxing work

they were hoping for?

Erm... The project's been quite entertaining at times.

We have had a lot of laughs, we've had a few arguments as well,

but we're still great friends at the end of it.

Well, that's it for today's show. We'll be back next time

with more stories from the property auction room.

Yes, we'll see you then for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

-Bye-bye.