Episode 66 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello, and welcome to the show. Believe it or

not, I'm quite a competitive person, and some people can be

exactly the same as soon as they step into the auction room.

But don't let it get the better of you. Make sure you do

your research first.

And once you have done that, then go to the local auction house

and see if you can buy your home under the hammer.

Some people go to auction knowing exactly what they want.

Yes, and then they buy something completely different.

That's correct. Sometimes you never know what's going to happen.

Let's find out what today's buyers bid on at auction.

In Kent, I discover I can walk through walls.

Something I wasn't quite expecting is this, very open-plan.

While in the Welsh valleys, I have a great new business idea.

Then, of course, there's the option at the back, to go for a ski slope.

And in the outskirts of Birmingham,

there's a cracking house that makes me a bit jumpy.

Maybe you'd have a spring in your step when you'd finished.

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.

Congratulations, madam.

Chatham, in Kent, started life as a small village

but developed into a large town centred around the dockyard.

Like the rest of the UK, during the '20s and '30s,

Chatham benefited from an acceleration in house-building.

The 1930s were a boom time for the semidetached house

and thousands were built around the country,

including those you can see in this Medway town.

And it's a 1930s semi that I'm here to see.

It's a modern style called a sun-trap house, named after

its windows, which are supposed to let in as much light as possible.

Now, it had a guide price of 140-145,000, and although

it looks a little tired on the outside,

there's off-street parking, so that's a great start.

I wonder if it will live up to its bright and cheery name

on the inside.

# Cloudy. #

Well, it's definitely not a bright and cheery day.

# Cloudy. #

So, this will be a good test for the three-bedroom sun-trap house.

# Cloudy. #

Ooh! Well, it's certainly all about the windows in this house.

And the front door that won't shut. There we go.

So, you've got one, two, three lovely windows

letting in loads of light,

all on the right-hand side of the property.

Something I wasn't quite expecting is this, very open-plan.

Look, I can just walk straight through here because this

wall has been knocked out to create that instant open-plan space.

You've got the textured ceilings,

so all of that needs to be thought of, and dodgy electrics, big-time.

Check these babies out! They are just hanging from the ceiling.

Loads of them, everywhere.

So, one reception room, two reception rooms through here,

I think I would like to put some doors on here, because maybe

you need to create a bit more of a private space in this room.

So, with a bit of rearranging

and a bit of thought going on here, you could create a

really nice family home, and what I love about it, it's so light.

However, it's not all sunshine in here.

# My brain is cloudy

# My soul is upside-down

# Terrible, terrible. #

Now, apart from the old patio doors over here, they need replacing,

I've seen something else that is just a little bit worrying.

Have a look down here.

Now, look, can you see these small, little holes in the wood?

That is a sure sign of woodworm, which is

not good news for this house.

What happens is, woodworm larvae,

they sort of burrow through this timber,

potentially causing vast amounts of damage

and weakening the structure here.

That could be a costly issue to resolve,

so I would get an expert in straightaway

to have a little look and assess the level of damage here.

Now, you know me - I do like a bit of open-plan living.

But I think this might just be too open-plan.

I hope there are some walls upstairs.

Ah, thank goodness - there are three bedrooms with walls.

Two are a very good size, as you'd expect in a house of this era,

and there's also a smaller room.

Now, the bathroom, again, has generous proportions,

though of course it could do with a little updating.

The views from the house add to the feeling of space,

and while we're looking outside...

So, we expect a '30s house to have a good-sized garden,

and this semi does not disappoint,

even on a rainy day like today.

So that brings me onto my next point -

extension potential.

Now, the downside of this property -

well, it's got a really small kitchen through here,

but if you increase the footprint on the ground floor,

you could have a lovely, large, open kitchen-diner

with bifold doors out the back leading out into the garden.

I think that would really let the light flood into

this sun-trap house.

We invited along a local property expert to find out her thoughts

on the possibilities for this semi

that had a guide price of £140,000 to £145,000.

This is a really good-sized house,

and is going to make a great project for somebody.

It does need a huge amount of work,

and it really depends how far they go with it.

So, if the house was simply refurbished,

what might it be worth?

I think if you just did the normal renovation

and put your new kitchen, bathroom and everything else into it,

you're going to be looking in the region of about

£220,000 to £230,000 for the property.

I think if you decided to put a single-storey extension on it,

you're going to be looking at somewhere around about

£250,000 to £260,000.

If you took it into a double extension,

then you could be looking as much as £300,000 on the property.

I really like '30s houses,

and although there's plenty of work to do here,

it's a really good size,

and once the ground-floor layout has been sorted out,

it could be a lovely family home for somebody.

So who saw the potential?

Let's head to auction and find out.

Lot 53 is the semi in Chatham.

So where would you like to start me on this one? 140,

145 is the guide price.

Start me at 140?

I'm on the way. I did see you, sir, right in the corner.

140 I've got. 142 if you like.

142. 145?

On the right...

Despite a few empty seats at the front,

the price climbed slowly but surely,

and we rejoin with the bidding at £190,000.

190.

192. 194. Otherwise...

Yeah, 194 I've got.

At £194,000 I've got, then it's obviously going to be sold.

196 I've got.

198 behind? That was a very...

That was a big shake of the head, wasn't it? 198.

If there's no further advance, for the first time, then,

at £196,000.

For the second time at 196.

If you're sure, all done, third and final time

for £196,000, sitting down.

GAVEL BANGS

Well done, sir. It's yours at £196,000.

Stealing that last bid of 196,000

was Dave and his wife Dee.

Dee is a therapist and former sports coach,

and Dave works in the construction industry.

He's renovated properties in London before,

but this is his first foray into the Kent market.

I met them to find out their plans.

-Dee and Dave, congratulations.

-Thank you.

How well do you guys know Chatham, and why did you want to buy here?

Well, I don't know Chatham that well.

Dee probably knows it better than I do, because she comes from here.

I come from London.

I've got a building company up in London,

which my two sons, Ben and Sam, run at the moment,

cos I'm kind of semiretired.

And we thought we'd have a bit of a dabble down in this area.

So you saw this - this took your fancy,

or was the price just right, Dee?

No, the price wasn't right. There was a guy at the back

and he was actually bidding up against us,

and I knew we'd gone up a little bit too much.

But he was adamant, competitive.

So would you say you paid a little bit more than you wanted to

-on the day?

-Yes.

-For sure, yeah.

-And, Dee, why do you think that is?

Cos he wouldn't let it go, like a dog with a bone.

So how much would you say you paid over the odds?

How much more did you have to pay on this in the end?

-I'd say 25,000 to 30,000.

-Ooh, OK.

So you've got to be really careful on how you now do this.

Yes and no. I mean, because I'm not one for skimping

on the work we do on jobs we do.

How are you going to change it,

-and are you going to add or take away anything?

-Yeah.

What I've got in my mind at the moment -

bearing in mind that could change, cos I do change things a bit -

closing the back section here and make a downstairs toilet.

-Mm-hm.

-Take the wall out in the other room there

so it becomes a lounge right the way through.

Quite a big extension on the back, with a pitched roof on it.

Nice kitchen.

Central island etc is what the ladies like.

I do like to look after the women.

-That's very considerate of you.

-It is, yeah.

I think so.

And nice bathroom upstairs etc.

Kind of a wow-factor bathroom.

And I'm hoping that's going to do the trick.

Dave is planning a single-storey extension that will fall within permitted development,

so although he'll need building regulation approval,

he won't have to go through the full planning process.

What about a hallway?

Because obviously this house used to have a hallway,

there would have been a wall behind you. Are you going to keep it

as open as it is, or are you going to close up some of the spaces?

-No, we're going to leave it open.

-So you're going to have a very open house.

Yeah. Put a porch on the front, in that sort of small area there,

so you'll come into the porch and then into here.

It doesn't always work for everybody.

I think sometimes one private room

is something that I think families would like.

Hm. Yeah, you could well be right there.

I mean, it might be a good idea to put a couple of doors there.

Dave is building a very flexible family-friendly space,

but I do hope he creates some quiet space while he's at it.

Since he works in construction,

Dave is not fazed by issues like woodworm.

But even so, moving staircases

and an extension and a wow kitchen and bathroom -

they do have a lot to do here before they can sell it on.

So what's their budget?

I think between 20,000 and 30,000.

Wow, that's... I thought you might have been saying a little bit more,

-considering what you're going to be doing with the kitchen.

-Maybe.

Well, I think because we've got everything at our fingertips anyway,

because we've got it in London, we've got all the stuff there,

we've got everything we can do and we've got experience in it,

it shouldn't cost us that much money.

So will you actually be doing the work here,

-or will your sons be coming down?

-Sons will come down,

but I'll still probably do some of the work here.

-You'll probably do the kitchen.

-Yeah, probably.

I'd certainly do the stairs and things like that.

As they say, a little help from my friends. They just don't know yet.

What about a little help from Dee here?

How are you going to be getting involved?

I do the final touches. I do the garden and I'll do...

I'll make sure the decor's the right colour

and make sure... The woman things, you know.

-How long do you think it's going to take you, Dee?

-About eight weeks.

Really?! That's quick!

Why do you think it's only going to be eight weeks?

Cos he maxes out the day.

He doesn't do just a five- or six-hour day - he'll max it out

and he'll keep it going as long as possible.

If he has a target, he meets it.

Well, guys, it's been lovely meeting you today.

I can't wait to see what it looks like,

and I really hope you do stick to your two-month timescale, because that'll be pretty quick.

Well, probably more like three months, I think.

-Oh, no, hold on a minute! You're changing it!

-Yeah, but you didn't ask me, you asked her.

You said two months, you say three months - what will it be?

-Three months.

-Lovely to meet you both. Dave, good luck.

-Thank you.

-Dee, lovely to meet you. Well done.

-Nice to meet you. Bye.

So Dave and Dee admit they probably paid

a bit over the odds at auction,

and now they are relying on creating the wow factor

in the kitchen and bathroom to try and make some profit here.

How long will this project really take them?

Join me later in the programme and you can find out how they get on.

There's a saying here in the valleys of South Wales.

If you can see the hills, it's going to rain.

If you can't see the hills, then it's already raining.

Possibly a little bit harsh -

when it's sunny here, it is absolutely beautiful.

I'm in Tylorstown.

Tylorstown was named after Alfred Tylor,

whose coal rush turned a hamlet into a busy mining town until the '60s.

For any would-be commuter, Cardiff is about a 40-minute drive,

and this place has some really affordable property.

So, what am I here to see?

An old coal miner's cottage, perhaps?

Nope. A standard terrace?

Nuh-uh.

This is a plot of land

with planning permission for the building

of two detached three-bedroom houses.

Guide price was 15,000 quid. Mmm!

The price might be attractive,

but it's very important not to lose the plot when buying one.

There are lots of issues to be considered.

# Among the trees I have lain

# And passed my golden days

# Among the trees

# Watching all the rain

# As it patterns the veranda

# Then disappears again... #

So, does this make a good building plot?

Well, the bad news is, it's very, very hilly.

The plot goes all the way back up there

and the gradient is quite severe,

so there is going to have to be a lot of digging out.

Basically, I think you're going to be left

with a very, very hilly garden.

On the plus side, though, you are fronting a road, so that's good.

You're in an area of existing residential properties,

which is also good, cos you'll have things like services,

electricity, gas, sewerage and water etc on hand.

And you know that this is a place that people want to live.

But don't underestimate the amount of ground clearance you're going to have to do here.

For a start, you've got to get rid of all these trees

and their roots, dig in.

I mean, it's all sounding quite expensive.

So that budget is going to be all-important to keep an eye on.

# And that is why

# They call me Hawk-eye... #

The plot is a bit overlooked,

with a public footpath to one side,

and there are houses perched above on a higher road at the back.

As a plot, this isn't without its challenges.

# They call me Hawk-eye... #

So, what are the plans that have been passed?

Now, the fact that there are plans is a real big bonus.

It's taken away months of negotiations with the council,

with the planners, whatever. This is what's allowed, this is what you can do.

You can basically get on and do it. You've got to get building regulations approval,

but apart from that, go ahead. And what have we actually got?

Well, two houses, side-by-side. This is the front, this is the back.

And then that all-important plot,

and how it makes the most of the plot.

Now, this is the incredibly steep bit of the garden here.

That remains, obviously, and what I imagine, then,

is this bit where the houses are situated

will be dug out to create a level plot.

And you've got the two houses side-by-side. Three bedrooms,

and there's a study as well. Integral garage.

I mean, it all makes sense. The only thing you've got to be careful of,

really, is going overboard on the build quality and the size,

bearing in mind the area.

And then, of course, there's the option at the back,

to go for a ski slope.

# For me, it's getting steep. #

One thing that's not steep, though,

is that £15,000 guide price.

We invited a local estate agent

to have a look over the plot and the plans.

Having seen the plans,

I would have thought possibly semidetached would be

more of a reasonable project on this site.

Detached, because of the location,

really wouldn't add any benefit

to the resale value.

But the semis, obviously, with the costs involved in building,

would make a significantly easier project,

in my view.

Building two semis might well be a cheaper option,

but you'd have to go through the planning process again.

So what did he make of the plans that have already been passed?

I think the plans themselves

seem to offer a good option on accommodation.

Obviously the more accommodation that can be given,

three to four bedrooms, would be beneficial.

But on the whole, I think it's a good plan for this location.

And what would a three-bed detached house be worth once built?

I think at the moment, in the current market,

a three-bedroom detached property

would be in the region of £125,000.

And what about letting those detached properties once built?

In the current rental market,

my assessment would be that the rent would be in the region

of £550 per calendar month.

So this plot of land is not without its issues,

particularly the layout

and the fact it's very steeply sloping. But on the plus side,

it does have that all-important planning permission,

which I'm sure tempted the buyers when it went under the hammer.

Onto lot number five in the catalogue.

Who is going to start me off?

Who's got 10?

10. Thank you, 10,000 is bid. 11?

11 is bid. 12,000 is bid.

13? 13,000.

Bidding crept up slowly, and we rejoin at 17,000.

17? Yeah, 17 I've got.

17 and a half?

17,500 I have. 18?

Thank you, sir. 18,000 is bid.

18,000.

Come back in, sir?

No? 18,000 on you, sir.

OK, you're in the market.

So I'll sell it at 18,000.

Last chance to come back in.

I've got 18 here.

18 I've got.

Last chance.

-GAVEL BANGS

-You, sir.

The final bid of £18,000 was made by Matthew,

who was at the auction with dad and business partner Terry.

Matthew spends a lot of his time working abroad

as a quantity surveyor,

so it was left to former building surveyor Terry

to explain why they wanted this particular plot of land.

-Terry, good to meet you. Congratulations.

-Thanks.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy this bit of land, then.

-We didn't.

-HE LAUGHS

-Oh, fair enough.

I got told in no uncertain terms

that I'm not allowed to buy any more land,

and my son decided to start bidding at the last moment,

and he said, "Oh, I thought it was a good price."

But who's told you you can't get any more?

-My son.

-Oh, he said you can't? And then he went and bought some?

-Yeah.

-It was just too good a price, then?

-Yeah.

-Right.

-So you've got lots of land already?

-Well, we've got bits and pieces.

You know, we've got about four, five pieces,

which I seem to have acquired over the last couple of months.

Fair enough. So is the idea, then, to just hold on to it

-and do it in the future, or actually to get on with it?

-No.

-In the next seven, ten days, we hope to start work.

-Oh, wow.

We'll clear all the trees, mince it all up,

just throw it back to the ground, tidy the plot up,

and then we'll start building.

So your background, then - is it as a builder, or...?

-Well, I started off as an apprentice bricklayer.

-Right, that's useful.

Went to university, did a degree in building surveying.

Went out to the Middle East to work. Enjoyed that out there.

And then having a chat with my boss one day,

he said, "You need to get a few more qualifications."

-So at the moment, I'm doing a law degree.

-A law degree?!

-Yeah, contract law.

-Wow!

So that finishes this year, with a bit of luck,

-if I can get my dissertation right!

-God.

# Terry's not a bit like you... #

Well, Terry obviously likes to keep very busy,

because he also owns a business

which exports electronics to the Middle East.

But for him and quantity surveyor son Matthew,

property developing is an enjoyable sideline venture.

So why this plot, then?

-He just bought it.

-HE LAUGHS

I notice he's not here to defend himself!

No, well...

-Well, it's his money, he can do what he likes with it.

-Oh, is it? OK.

He's the financer, so I'm only the gopher.

-But a gopher with great experience.

-Yeah.

So we get along great. We're a father-and-son team.

And is the plan, then, to stick with what the plans are?

Yes, we did think about changing it slightly,

but the new regulations that have come in

in the last couple of years means that we'd have to spend

about an extra £10,000 on just getting the plans done.

So what do you think the biggest challenges with this one are going to be?

-The biggest challenge to start with is going to be clearing this land, I think.

-Yes.

And then we can see what we've got.

And from there, I think it'll be straightforward.

The building is everyday bread-and-butter stuff for us,

so it's nothing that we can't cope with.

And then, obviously, digging out a bit of the land,

I imagine, to get at least some flat,

-but leaving the majority of it as this ski slope?

-Yeah.

Basically, the way that I would do it

is to clear the trees,

go to the back, do the garden, make it into a nice slope.

Keep that flat piece of land here for our houses,

and then build our houses, but make sure the gardens are finished

sort of reasonably before. Cos we won't be able to get at them afterwards.

Yeah, I was just thinking that. That's good thinking, isn't it?

-Cos you need to get the heavy diggers and all that kind of stuff in.

-Yeah.

That'd be awful, wouldn't it? If you'd built the houses

and then think, "Oh, now, I need a JCB round the back... Oh."

And there's no back entrance.

As you most probably can see.

# Baby, I can dig it... #

See? A bit of forward planning always pays off.

But there will be a lot of digging to do here to level the site.

Terry will be project-managing this build,

but otherwise, he'll be very much hands-off.

So what about the build cost, then?

Talk me through the finances of it all.

Well, we've got a budget at the moment

-which is 75,000 per house.

-Right.

-We bought a lot of material a while ago.

-Oh.

-Bathrooms, kitchens, from a bankruptcy sale.

-Oh, OK.

-So we bought that at really good cost.

-Right.

We've sort of done a rough calculation

of the area of the houses,

-and we seem to think we can do it for 75.

-OK.

But we have got a contingency plan for about 15 on each.

But wouldn't want to go much more than that.

-So what's the timescale?

-The timescale would be six months,

-in a good way.

-Right.

But with the winter coming on -

last year we had a lot of snow before Christmas,

so there was a lot of time lost.

So if that's the case this year, then it might take eight months.

Before we both get drenched, congratulations. Good luck with it.

-Thank you very much.

-I'll look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

Well, Terry and son Matthew didn't mean to buy this plot of land,

but when they got to the auction, the price was just too good to miss.

How will they get on developing

this sloping site in Wales?

You can find out later in the show.

Coming up - on the outskirts of Birmingham,

I discover there are some tough choices to be made.

Maybe have to sacrifice a bedroom upstairs.

And in the Welsh valleys,

it's not exactly a welcome on that hillside.

We started work. Within about two days,

we were stopped by the council.

We're back in Chatham in Kent...

..to see what happened to that three-bed sun-trap semi.

And there may not have been sunshine to trap,

but there was plenty of space inside.

So one reception room,

two reception rooms through here -

I think I would like to put some doors on here,

because maybe you need to create a bit more of a private space.

So you know, with a bit of rearranging and a bit of thought

going on here, you could create a really nice family home.

This house provided plenty of opportunities inside and out

to add lots of value.

Now, the downside of this property -

well, it's got a really small kitchen through here.

But if you increase the footprint on the ground floor,

you could have a lovely, large, open kitchen-diner

with bifold doors out the back leading out into the garden.

The house was bought by semiretired builder Dave

and his wife Dee for 196,000,

which Dee thought was a fair bit more than they should have paid.

There was a guy at the back,

and he was actually bidding up against us,

and I knew we'd gone up a little bit too much.

But he was adamant, competitive.

So would you say you paid a little bit more

-than you wanted to on the day?

-Yes.

-For sure, yeah.

And, Dee, why do you think that is?

Cos he wouldn't let it go, like a dog with a bone.

Dave has been in the building trade all his working life,

and he couldn't wait to get going on the house.

Take the wall out in the other room there

so it becomes a lounge right the way through.

Quite a big extension on the back, with a pitched roof on it.

Nice kitchen.

Central island etc is what the ladies like.

I do like to look after the women.

-That's very considerate of you.

-It is, yeah.

Well, while he was looking to be considerate, Dave was also hoping

to achieve the wow factor here with a budget of £20,000 to £30,000.

And while Dee thought they could turn it around in just eight weeks,

husband Dave thought he'd need a month longer.

A whopping eight months later,

we're back, and Dave definitely has got me wowing.

# Wow, wow, wow, wow

# You got it

# Wow, wow, wow, wow... #

The house has indeed been transformed.

It's bigger and brighter,

and it's finally living up to its sun-trapped name.

Downstairs, the open-plan layout has been retained,

and there's a brand-new extension with a brand-new kitchen.

The supposedly semiretired Dave is busy now on another project.

No rest for the wickedly busy, then!

So Dee came along to tell us what they've been up to.

The extension was my husband Dave's idea

and to raise it as high as we can

to give it the feeling of height.

We kept everything in the permitted development,

and as my husband is a builder, he knew the rules and regulations,

so we stuck within that regime.

# Wow, wow, wow, wow... #

That was a very smart move, to stay within permitted development

so they didn't have to wait for planning permission for the extension.

And it didn't stop Dee from having some fun inside

with that massive new kitchen.

This is a floating island that we designed for the kitchen.

It was my idea, and then Dave thought it wasn't very good.

You can actually move it across the room,

and you can actually put it in another place -

you can use it as a breakfast bar at the side,

or you can divide the kitchen.

# Wow, wow, wow, wow... #

Wow, I like that.

Dave didn't go for my suggestion in creating a separate quiet space,

and he's left it open-plan throughout.

But he has added a downstairs loo,

which is always a welcome addition.

Upstairs, the three bedrooms are bright and fresh.

And, of course, there's a luxurious new bathroom.

Throughout the house, they've replaced the wiring

and the plumbing, and they've replastered every wall,

and it looks absolutely fabulous.

But why were they both so wrong about the timescale?

We did give a timescale we shouldn't have done.

But the reason being that we thought we had the team in place.

Of course, things happen, and our teams from London

had to come down to help, predominantly at the weekends.

In the end we got there. But a bit late.

And since time is money,

I'm guessing the original renovation budget took a bit of a hit as well.

We aimed to do it within a 20,000 to 30,000 budget,

but unfortunately, it all went over.

It rose to about 40,000.

Well, it's not hard to see where the money has been spent.

This really is a cracker.

What is Dee most pleased with?

I'm most pleased with the extension,

cos I think it is a wow factor,

and the light that's in this house -

there's an amazing amount of light in this house.

It's encouraging even on a dull day.

Well, now, Dee thought they'd paid too much at auction - £196,000 -

and now they've overspent on their budget as well.

It brings their total spend on this semi to 236,000.

So how does she feel about that now?

We really are confident we've created the wow factor,

because I think at the end of the day,

it's the woman that buys the house.

-SHE CHUCKLES

-I like your thinking, Dee,

but I'm not sure Dave would agree.

Time to find out what two local property experts

think of their work.

The layout flows very well throughout the property.

The open-plan is highly desired at the moment.

The standard is very, very high quality.

The decoration that has been done is very good,

it's very appealing, nice neutral colours throughout.

The main selling point of the property is that

it's got a large downstairs living space,

aided by the extension,

and the large kitchen area

would be great for entertaining.

Dave and Dee bought this house to sell on.

So what about the all-important resale price?

Will they make a profit on that £236,000 investment?

In the sales market, I'd estimate

this property could achieve up to £280,000.

My sales valuation for this property

would be about £240,000.

Well, that's quite a difference in valuations there,

but the potential profit for Dee and Dave

would be between 4,000 and 44,000.

So have those figures changed Dee's mind?

We would definitely sell.

I would say top end if I could,

because I think this is a growing house,

so there's a lot that can be done with it.

It's a blank canvas to a lot of people if they want to purchase it.

And with this sun-trapped semi looking for a new owner,

will Dee be putting her feet up and relaxing?

What comes next?

Probably looking for another house and another auction.

Perry Barr is only three miles north

of the hustle and bustle of Birmingham city centre,

and as well as the local shops and amenities on your doorstep,

you also have the north campus of Birmingham City University.

And what's more, it's only a mile away from my beloved Villa Park.

What more could you possibly want from a property?

The property I'm here to see is that close to the M6

I can actually hear it,

and it's a 15-minute walk away from Perry Barr train station.

By the way, Perry Barr has a great dog track -

been there several times.

Anyway, this is the property I'm here to see.

It's a three-bed mid-terraced house

with a guide price of £78,000 to £84,000.

Just across the road there we've got quite a sizable allotment.

But will this house have A LOT to offer?

Oh, come on - it wasn't that bad!

OK, I'm straight into the lounge front-room area.

The stairs are going up to the bedrooms just there.

What I do like is that off-street parking.

It's a really good selling point.

Quite easily get two cars parked on there.

And I did see a bit of strange sort of concrete guttering as well.

Haven't seen that before.

Right, what have we got? Decent-size lounge.

Nice, big window there. Double-glazed window.

You would have to redecorate in here.

Central heating as well.

It's a sort of decent size,

what you'd expect from an ex-local-authority house.

Through into the kitchen.

You have got your bathroom downstairs here.

I'm a huge fan of having bathrooms upstairs near the bedrooms.

So, with that in mind, could you knock this down,

give yourself a kitchen-dining area?

Maybe have to sacrifice a bedroom upstairs,

but that's just what I'd do. That's my preference.

Into the kitchen, which I think is a good size.

You may have to take all this out and start again,

give yourself a new kitchen.

Window looking out to the back garden as well.

It's a decent size in here.

And over here, you've got sort of a lack of plaster.

It's falling away quite easily.

So, yes, this would have to be reskimmed and redone.

But apart from that,

I think it's all right. I like it so far.

Let's investigate further.

# No need to ask

# He's a smooth operator

# Smooth operator... #

If you are thinking of reskimming, make sure you get several quotes

if you're calling in a professional plasterer.

There's no doubt fresh plaster

makes a place look fresh and up to date.

As would creating a big dining room.

But if you're not buying this to live in,

it's all about the money,

and losing a bedroom to move a bathroom upstairs

might not be the best move financially speaking.

So upstairs we have the three bedrooms.

From what I can see, this is the smaller of the three.

There is a little sign of damp just there on the ceiling,

but it's not enough to alarm me at all.

Another bedroom just there.

Both of those looking out onto the back garden.

Into what I would think is the main bedroom,

it's the bigger of the three.

Completely need to redecorate this.

New carpets, which would be pretty simple to do.

I'm seeing there's a bit of a void over there, and a cupboard as well.

So if you wanted to create a bathroom

or some sort of washing area upstairs,

you could quite easily knock this wall down, or part of it,

build yourself a bit of an en-suite for this bedroom.

Although an en-suite would be nice,

it might be a bit tight in here to get a full bathroom in.

Either way, if you're renting it out,

it's probably not worth the hassle,

and you probably wouldn't get your money back in the short term.

Out front, there's off-street parking,

which a lot of people like and a lot of people don't.

But it does add value.

It doesn't make for the most attractive feature.

I like a bit of greenery myself.

But it turns out there is some.

No, not those.

Out in the back garden, and what a size back garden it is as well.

It does go back a long way.

It does look a bit of a jungle - it's overgrown,

it's been left to its own devices.

What I have noticed is there's an extension -

a single extension on that side,

and there's a double extension over there as well.

My thoughts are, is it worth doing it -

or doing the same, should I say - on this particular property?

If you're going to buy to live in, then I would say yes.

Otherwise, maybe not.

You've got to check on those ceiling prices within the area,

just to see if it's worth spending that money

and eating into your budget.

Apart from that, really nice back garden,

I like the house, it would be easy to turn around.

Maybe you'd have a spring in your step when finished.

-# Jump

-Jump!

# Go ahead and jump

# Jump! #

Well, before anybody does any jumping,

I sought out those nasty-looking gutters.

But a three-bed house for in between £78,000 to £84,000 -

I reckon the bidders will be jumping all over this.

Let's see if a local estate agent agrees.

My first impressions of this property are that it offers

spacious accommodation, three well-proportioned bedrooms,

and although it needs some cosmetic upgrading,

generally it seems in quite decent order.

Some properties in this area have made these kitchens bigger

by moving it into the bathroom, which is the room next to us,

and put the bathroom upstairs.

But that obviously then means you've only got two bedrooms.

I personally would leave it as three bedrooms

and a bathroom downstairs, so I wouldn't reconfigure at all.

OK, but what about the possibility to extend?

My thoughts on extending the property would be not to do that.

The likely cost of a single storey

would maybe be £15,000, £20,000.

Double storey, perhaps 30,000 or onwards.

And it wouldn't reflect an increase in value to anything like that.

There's always going to be a ceiling price for this style of house

that it's likely to achieve. So the only person that would be likely

to do an extension like that is someone that was going to live here

for a good number of years to enjoy the benefit.

As I suspected. But what kind of values

would he place on the property in its current configuration

after being renovated?

My thoughts on the price of this property,

when all the works have been completed satisfactorily,

would be to market in the region of £130,000,

and perhaps look to achieve somewhere in the region of £125,000.

Rental demand for this property will be high,

and I'd imagine we should achieve a figure of between

£600 and £625 per calendar month.

So this is an ex-local-authority house,

and as you know, we do love them on this show.

Normally well built, solid and a good investment.

Now, there's not a lot of work that needs to be done in there,

and I think it could be a pretty simple turnaround.

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

This next lot is a three-bedroomed

freehold mid-terraced house

that we're offering with vacant possession.

This lot came up almost at the end of the auction,

but there were still some determined bidders about.

Where should we start, folks?

75?

Thank you, sir.

Is it 80?

At 80, madam, and thank you. At 80.

85? 85.

And 90?

Is that 86, is it? 86.

87. 88.

89. 90.

The battle for this property narrowed to two determined bidders.

We rejoin when the bids had soared to £108,000.

108. 109? No?

You've been a great bidder, sir.

With you, madam, at 108.

And are we all done? Sir, is it 109?

No, you've been a great bidder, but I'm selling for 108,000.

One, two, three.

Congratulations, madam.

Sticking it out and getting the three-bedroom property

for £108,000, 24 grand over the guide price, was Karen.

Karen has experience in developing properties,

but her day job is a childminder.

So will she think renovating this property is child's play?

Time to find out.

-Karen, nice to meet you.

-Hello.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Tell me, why this house in particular?

It's local to where I live, local to where my daughter lives,

and it's a layout that I was looking for,

and it has a drive, which I know adds value.

I mean, off-street parking is fantastic, and a lot of it as well.

-Tell me, did you look just in this area for houses?

-No.

I'm registered with the auction, so they sent the catalogue.

So I had a look through it,

and I decided this was the main one that I wanted to go for.

Karen has regular tradespeople she uses,

and they come in whenever needed.

But she also has the support of her daughter and her husband's family.

So plenty of help.

The big question is...

Can you tell us what you're going to do?

We are going to put a new kitchen in.

We'll have to rewire.

Recarpet, redecorate.

We're thinking about putting an en-suite in the main bedroom

-in the area that's over there.

-OK, yes.

And then general decoration,

and do the garden.

Karen, did you ever think, at any stage,

maybe knocking the kitchen through to have a kitchen-diner,

getting rid of the bathroom down here,

maybe moving the bathroom upstairs?

No, it's never been a thought.

I'm quite a fan of downstairs bathrooms anyway.

But I wouldn't want to lose a bedroom,

cos I know it'll devalue the house, and that's why we thought about

-putting an en-suite in the main bedroom.

-OK.

Karen has given this a lot of thought, and of course, she's right.

Not everyone will care that much about a downstairs bathroom,

and some people don't like open-plan kitchens either.

Karen knows her market, so I wonder if she's considered extending,

just like the neighbours.

We feel the kitchen is a decent size,

and we want a quick turnaround.

So we don't feel at this time

that we want to extend.

But as people that come to view it,

they can also have that option if they want to, to extend,

cos the garden is quite big.

Karen is keen to keep it simple, and I think that's a wise move.

She's got a budget of in-between £7,000 to £10,000,

and hopes to get the project turned around and finished

within four to eight weeks, which is quite a tight timeframe.

However, Karen has a secret weapon.

I have a project manager who's an electrician as well,

so he oversees the work,

and he will get the needed qualified people in.

And then myself and my family and friends,

we will sort of be doing the cleaning up,

the stripping of the wallpaper.

Anything that needs doing, the running around,

is what the rest of us that aren't qualified will be doing.

So what family are going to get involved, Karen?

-Well, I've got my daughter.

-What's her name?

-Amelia.

And her husband, Jermaine. They live just down the road.

And then my project manager

is actually Jermaine's father,

so obviously we're sort of related now.

My brother is going to come and help.

And then it's just friends

and people that I've met before on my other builds

that will be doing the work as well.

What do you plan to do with the house when it's all finished?

We're probably going to be looking down the rental line

with this property. I'd be looking to make about ten,

but I'd keep it at that and then wait for the property

to rise in value, and then sell it further down the line.

OK, so do it up, rent it out initially,

-and then maybe down the line sell it.

-Then sell it, yeah.

So, Karen, I wish you all the best.

I'm pretty sure you've got all your bases covered.

All your friends and family helping you out - you'll get it right.

-Yes, hopefully.

-Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

Childminder Karen is used to dealing with screaming kids,

so her team of builders, her friends and family

will be easy to keep on top of.

But I think this should be a pretty simple turnaround.

You can find out how she gets on later on in the programme.

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

-but there's no time to rest.

-Yeah, what about the other two?

Yeah, why don't we find out?

It's time to return to the beautiful Welsh valleys -

the Rhondda, to be exact -

and a plot we saw earlier in Tylorstown.

So, does this make a good building plot?

Well, the bad news is, it's very, very hilly.

The plot goes all the way back up there,

and the gradient is quite severe.

It wasn't all bad news, though.

There was clearly access to a road and services.

But clearing the trees and their roots was a big challenge.

And the good news was the site came with planning permission

for two detached houses.

Now, the fact that there are plans is a real big bonus.

It's taken away months of negotiations with the council,

with the planners, whatever. This is what's allowed,

this is what you can do. You can basically get on and do it.

This is the incredibly steep bit of the garden here.

That remains, obviously, and what I imagine, then,

is this bit where the houses are situated

will be dug out to create a level plot.

And you've got the two houses side-by-side. Three bedrooms,

and there's a study as well. Integral garage.

I mean, it all makes sense.

The plot was bought for £18,000 by Matthew,

who attended the auction with his father, Terry.

The twosome have developed several properties

and have bought plots of land before,

but they didn't intend buying this one - or so Terry thought.

I got told in no uncertain terms

that I'm not allowed to buy any more land,

and my son decided to start bidding at the last moment,

and he said, "Oh, I thought it was a good price."

They set a budget of £75,000 for each house,

and, like me, they reckoned with planning in place

it should be relatively straightforward.

And they thought they'd be done in six to eight months.

-The biggest challenge to start with is going to be clearing this land, I think.

-Yes.

And then we can see what we've got.

And from there, I think it'll be straightforward.

Well, straightforward is not the word,

because it's now three years on.

# It's been a long, long time... #

It may have been a long time, but finally,

here are two detached houses,

nicely positioned on this steep plot.

One of the houses has already been sold, and the other

has just a few finishing touches awaiting completion.

# It's been a long, long time... #

Downstairs at the front of each house

there's a decent-sized sitting room,

and to the rear of the property, overlooking the mountain-cum-garden,

there's a well-equipped kitchen-diner.

# It's been a long, long time. #

But why did it take so long to build these houses?

Well, it was about a week after you left the first filming

that we started work.

Within about two days, we were stopped by the council

because we failed to get the conditions met.

There was a drainage condition

under the new laws passed by the Welsh Assembly,

and there were certain conditions put down that we had to meet -

to say what type of slate we were using, what type of render,

what type of bricks, these sort of things.

Some of them were very easy, but the drainage one

was the biggest problem of all, which took forever.

# Every day when I wake up

# I thank the Lord I'm Welsh. #

It just goes to show that even experienced developers

can get caught out by the unexpected.

That six-to-eight-month timescale just proved too optimistic,

and they had to adapt.

With the problems we've had with the planning,

the water and other things,

we most probably lost somewhere in the region of 12 to 18 months.

But also the jobs have been carried out

like a hospital job, where when we're not busy,

we'll come and work, and when we are busy,

we get on with the other projects we've got on the go.

With Matthew working abroad, it's been down to his father Terry

and his team to keep going.

Upstairs, there are three good-sized bedrooms,

two of which have en-suite bathrooms.

And there's a study here,

which would easily double as a fourth bedroom.

Finally, there's a large family bathroom up here

to complete the package.

Flexibility and patience have been key to this project's success,

but dad Terry has been the one on site,

and teamwork has been a big factor.

Well, the work was mostly carried out by our crew

which we regularly employ.

I've been in, obviously, making sure that things are done properly.

Matt has been elusive, as he always is.

He brings the money to the table,

so that's the important part.

Well, you can't build without the cash,

so this partnership clearly works for the family team.

But with all the delays and changes to foundations and designs,

did their original budget of £75,000 per house stay fixed?

I believe that we've now come out at around £80,000 per plot,

so we spent about 160 on both properties.

This father-and-son team have managed to stay

within sight of their original total budget of 150,000,

overspending by only £10,000,

which is pretty good considering the changes they had to make.

They bought the plot of land for £18,000,

so their total spend is 178,000.

It's time to find out what two local property experts

think of their work.

First impression of the properties,

an excellent construction on a small site.

The rooms are a good size. Good proportions.

The layout proportion for this area is magnificent.

The houses in this area are normally about 100 years old,

so it's very unusual to get a new property.

And with one house already sold,

what do the estate agents think the remaining house could sell for?

We know that the property next door

has already sold for 134,000.

This property is currently on the market for 135,000,

and obviously I would have no problem with that valuation.

If I was going to sell the houses

not knowing that one had already been sold,

I would probably have started around about 130 to achieve 120.

So to get 134 is a very good price.

If they also get around 134,000 for the second house,

that would give them a total of 268,000.

They'd then be heading for a profit of approximately £90,000

minus taxes and expenses.

When we first initially had them valued earlier in the year,

they were valued at 150,000.

We didn't get any response,

so obviously we reduced the value to 135,

and they seem to be selling at that price,

so I think they're about right.

And what's up next for the father-and-son property duo?

Our next project is a bit bigger than this.

It's a piece of an old school we bought up in Pontypridd.

We're looking to build 21 units on it for a housing association.

The project is already completely sold to the housing association,

so it's just a case of getting there, getting started

and getting it finished.

Welcome back to Perry Barr, just three miles north of Birmingham,

but more importantly, just a mile away

from the magnificent Villa Park.

I don't know if I mentioned that.

Anyway, I was looking at this three-bed ex-local-authority

mid-terraced house with a guide price

of in-between £78,000 to £84,000.

It needed a thorough modernisation, and the bathroom was downstairs -

not my favourite layout, but I wasn't discounting it yet.

If you wanted to create a bathroom

or some kind of washing area upstairs,

you could quite easily knock this wall down,

build yourself a bit of an en-suite for this bedroom.

# Moving on up

# Nothing can stop me... #

Whether you'd prefer to move the bathroom or add an en-suite,

the point was, this place had options.

It was bought by local childminder and developer Karen

for £108,000, and she knew what she wanted to do.

Karen, did you ever think of getting rid of the bathroom down here,

maybe moving the bathroom upstairs?

No, it's never been a thought.

I wouldn't want to lose a bedroom,

cos I know it'll devalue the house.

# Don't speak

# I know just what you're saying

# So please stop explaining

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

That's fine - don't listen to my ideas, honestly.

It's like being back on the pitch again.

Anyway, keeping that extra bedroom

would be a sensible move from Karen,

as she wants to rent the property out.

But would she be able to stick to that budget of seven to ten grand

and the four-to-eight-week timescale?

Two months later, we've returned

to see if Karen has turned this terrace around.

-# Turn the beat around

-Ooh, I'm talkin' 'bout the beat

-# Love to hear percussion

-Ah, my, my, my, my

-# Turn it upside down

-Oh, yeah

-# Love to hear percussion

-Love to hear the beat, now... #

This house was always well laid out,

but now, with a complete modernisation, it looks the part.

There's a new kitchen and a modern, bright finish.

We caught up with Karen to find out exactly what she's done.

We had a project manager, and he's an electrician,

so he was able to do all the electrics.

A plumber came in, he fitted the kitchen, did the bathroom.

We had the plasterer in.

We had the carpet fitter in and the floor guy,

and then the rest of us that couldn't...

we were just cleaning up after them and going to the shops

and doing the teas and the coffees, biscuits etc.

A real team effort, then.

It certainly looks like they've done a good job.

But where's that en-suite?

No, we decided we weren't going to put an en-suite upstairs

as originally intended.

It was felt that it wouldn't add any value to the property

and that the bathroom down here was OK for the purpose of renting.

Well, this is a profit-making venture,

so if an alteration isn't going to add value,

there's very little point.

On the other hand, Karen's made sure that practical problems

have all been sorted.

As well as updating the electrics and the plumbing,

she's sorted out the guttering that was causing that damp upstairs.

So is she pleased with the finish?

I'm very happy with the finish.

My project manager is quite a stickler

for having things done properly, and that's what I like as well,

because I feel more comfortable in offering it to somebody

knowing that there are no underlying problems,

all the work is done properly,

and that it should last for quite a while.

# It's got quality... #

That's the attitude I like.

But has she kept to her budget, even keeping to those high standards?

We spent just over 12,000.

When we finally had a go at the garden,

it was full of weeds that were well overgrown,

so we had to get all them dug up.

Then we had to returf it,

we had to put in new fencing around it,

cos the fencing wasn't there.

We put new pipes along the guttering.

And we went for a better-quality kitchen in the end.

That's only two grand more

than her original budget of seven to ten grand.

And the work has only taken five weeks,

which is within her four-to-eight-week timescale.

Pretty much a success.

It sounds like the attention to detail has been worthwhile.

While we were in the process of doing up the work,

somebody came and asked me -

they said they had a friend that wanted to rent it,

and would that be OK?

So I said, "Yes, bring them round."

So they came round, were impressed with the way the work was going,

and so they came, signed the contract.

And when we were done, they came and moved in.

This house is obviously popular with possible tenants, then.

But what do two local estate agents think

of the terrace Karen bought for £108,000?

The main selling points of this property, in my opinion,

are the off-road parking, proximity to schools and to transport

and all other amenities,

plus three good-sized bedrooms ideal for a family.

The work that they've carried out to it, it's quite good.

They've done a nice kitchen and bathroom.

You've got three decent bedrooms upstairs.

Nice, long back garden.

In fact, almost everything a family would want.

Based on the agents' valuations,

Karen's best potential profit is only around £5,000 from sales.

But it's the rental she's really interested in.

My thoughts on the rental value for this property

would be in the region of £600 to £625 per calendar month.

The rent on the property would fetch in the region

of £575 per calendar month

to £600 a calendar month.

Well, they're slap-bang in the middle of what I was expecting,

really, and I'm actually achieving 600,

so I'm quite happy with that.

Bang on target.

That's great news, as the rent gives her a solid yield of 6%.

So has Karen enjoyed the project?

Yes, I've enjoyed buying it at the auction,

I've enjoyed working on it.

And everything's come together

and it's tenanted, so it's a job well done.

Well, there you go.

More property owners that went for it and bought at auction.

So, were you inspired?

Join us next time for more Homes Under The Hammer.

We'll see you then. Bye.