Episode 75 Homes Under the Hammer

Welcome to the show. It's no secret that there are opportunities

for good investment in the property market.

No, it certainly isn't,

especially given how much we talk about it.

But how do you make a good investment?

Well, don't overspend, make a plan, have a budget

and stick to it, and possibly buy your next home under the hammer.

There are all kinds of reasons for buying property at auction...

But the main one is possibly get yourself a bargain.

Yeah, so let's see what today's buyers managed to do.

In Streatham, South London,

this four-bed mid-terrace has a really cute roll-top bath,

but there's not enough room for the both of us.

I'm reminiscing about the good old days in this two-bedroom

apartment in Newport, Shropshire.

Would you mind just giving me a minute? I'm getting quite emotional.

Drastic measures to support a dodgy wall

at this three-bedroomed end terrace in Cwmfelinfach, South Wales.

I could just stay here for a little bit longer. There you go.

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.

Yours, sir. Well done.

Nowadays, Streatham has a busy high street

with plenty of local amenities, as well as three train stations with

services into central London.

It's hard to believe now, but Streatham was once a village

with natural springs, celebrated for their health-giving properties.

Now, I've travelled a mile and a half from the centre to an area

known as Streatham Vale, which is becoming more and more desirable.

On the downside? Well, this can be a busy road,

but on the upside?

Well, there are local amenities right on your doorstep, as well as

something else that can never be taken for granted in London -

unrestricted on-street parking.

Now, that'll save you the cost of the permit

and it'll also save visitors having to root around

in their wallets to find a pay-and-display.

So, I'm here to see a four-bedroomed mid-terrace house

and it had a guide price of £250,000 plus.

Sounds like a lot of property for the money in this area.

But how much healing will it need on the inside?

I think whoever buys this 1930s property will be needing

more than spa water to breathe new life into it.

Straight away, this house has got such a wonderful feel.

A really nice front door, a fantastic hallway.

Everything has been stripped so it sounds quite hollow,

but lots of wood everywhere. Panelling all along here,

which, once you've painted, will look lovely,

a great-sized lounge and a fantastic fireplace.

It's made out of marble.

Once you've given that a bit of TLC, that would come up a treat.

What I would change are the windows.

They're metal and they certainly don't look right and, um, well,

round here, you've got... Well, you've got a very open-plan kitchen

and a sort of loungey-dining room area, I suppose.

French doors out to the garden.

I love that dresser! That would look beautiful painted.

Again, you could use the same paint on this. Little table and chairs

in here to demonstrate how you can eat in this kitchen.

It's got a really nice feel, this house. So far, so good.

One key skill, when renovating an old house like this,

is to strike the correct balance between old and new features.

# No matter what the future brings

# As time goes by. #

And remember, before you skip anything,

check out the value at a local reclamation yard.

The bedrooms on the first floor comprise a small one to the front...

..a medium-sized one to the rear...

and the largest overlooking the front.

# Where the blue of the night

# Meets the gold of the day

# Someone waits for me

# And the gold of her hair

# Crowns the blue of her eyes

# Like a halo tenderly... #

There's some really lovely quirky little features in this house.

These beautiful, stripped-back, grey wooden floorboards and these -

'30s panelled doors, absolutely gorgeous.

But the biggest surprise is in this bathroom.

A wonderful roll-top bath!

So lovely, but there's not enough room for the both of us.

# Splish splash I was taking a bath

# Long about a Saturday night

# Rub-dub Just relaxing in the tub... #

So up to bedroom number four and, OK, it's not too small up here,

but with the pitch of the roof, the head height,

well, it's a bit restricted, so what would you do to improve it?

Not great.

I think it's crying out for a dormer window extension through here.

That would rarely improve the size of this space.

It would give more head height and I think you need to try

and think about fitting an en-suite bathroom up here as well.

It would really make a difference.

The top of the door reveals the scale of the height problem

and, providing the floor has been strengthened

to pass building regulations,

a dormer would easily add value.

Out the back here and you've got a fairly decent-sized garden.

Plenty of space for the kids to play in

or a barbecue when the British sun decides to shine.

Like today, it's amazing!

But could you do anything else with this garden?

Maybe think about extending. The house already has four bedrooms,

so I don't think you need to add any more of those, but you could

perhaps think about a single-storey extension out here

to improve on that ground floor space and then you could create

a really lovely kitchen and diner out the back here.

That extra living space would really add to the saleability

of a house like this.

We called upon the services of a local estate agent

to get his opinion and valuations.

The layout of the property on the ground floor,

it does actually work quite well.

There's a few minor tweaks and changes you might want to make.

The main one is,

it looks like there's a supporting pillar

that is in between the dining area and the kitchen.

That could be knocked through to make it a nice big open-plan space

and maybe block up the original kitchen door

and just have one entrance through to the rear of the property.

I think that would work really well.

There are so many combinations of possible extensions, let's stick

to the value of the house after a straightforward refurbishment.

Once renovated, without extending the property,

this would achieve approximately 475 to £480,000.

With a guide price of £250,000,

it seems that there's money to be made here.

What about rental?

Once renovated, this property would achieve

approximately £1,800 per calendar month.

Well, that's the London factor for you. Elsewhere in the country,

we'd be looking at much lower values than that.

Yes, there are some issues to iron out with this house,

but there is also plenty of space to work with.

That says potential to me and, brought back to full health

and fully refurbished, well, this could be a lovely family home.

Who agreed? Let's head to the auction and find out.

Move on to lot 96.

Four bedroom mid-terrace house

in need of modernisation.

Looking for 250. Don't want to go too much lower.

240 anywhere?

240 I've got.

245. 250. It's with the lady here on my right.

Anybody else? 255, sir, yeah? 255.

260.

Leaving the guide price way behind,

bids continue and we rejoin at 348,000.

348, 349, 350, 351.

352, 353, 354.

No? It's with you, sir. Blue jumper. £353,000.

The bid's with you,

it's against the lady at the front here on my right.

Anybody else?

If not, 353 for the first, 353 for the second, 353 for the third.

354, back in. Nearly. 355? 356.

Sure? I'll go through it again.

355 for the first, 335 for the second, 355 for the third

and final time, all done?

-GAVEL BANGS

-Sold 355.

The successful bid came from Daryl.

He and his brother, Richard,

have been developing properties for ten years.

I met brother Richard, a professional rugby player,

back at their £355,000 purchase to talk about their plans.

-Richard, lovely to meet you today.

-Yes, lovely to meet you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Now, you weren't actually bidding for this at the auction, were you?

Well, me and my brother went to the auction together.

I was there in the morning.

I then had to go off for some other business.

My brother stayed and I trusted it to him

and we ended up with this one.

Were you happy with the outcome, the price he paid?

We paid less than what our target was,

so we're actually very happy with the price we paid.

It's a great property.

It almost like a blank canvas for us to just gut it

-and send the builders in.

-This is a really great property.

-Thanks.

I walked in here and thought, wow!

I like it, it's got a lot of shabby chic style to it

and a lot of people would love to live in this as it is,

but I'm sure you have got major plans for the place?

As you might be able to tell,

not everything here necessarily meet building regs.

-Like the wall behind us here.

-That bit of wall!

Yeah, this little bit of wall here, that's going to have to come out.

We'll probably need to stick a steel in above,

so there's going to be a bit of work to do.

We want to turn this back into, give it new life

and turn it back into a good family property.

It really is that, it's a big, solid, four-bedroom family house

and it does work.

There are a few things you could tweak to make it even better,

so what is your plan? Where are you going to go from here?

We're going to build a dormer onto the back

to create a lot more space up there.

Fabulous, it really needs a dormer.

It just doesn't work as it is. It's like, I need to see outside!

Exactly.

We'll probably be able to fit an en-suite up there as well,

so we're going to have a lovely big master en suite. Redo the bathroom.

Downstairs, we're going to put a downstairs toilet

-into the cupboard under the stairs.

-Fabulous.

Anything that's going to add value because ultimately,

this is an investment for us.

How do you cope with your rugby training

and your matches alongside property development?

-Surely that must keep you busy?

-It does, yeah.

The nature of a rugby player, we can't, it's the nature of any

sportsman, you can't be training every hour of every day.

Your body physically can't hack it, so you do get a lot of downtime.

Training is hard, you're physically tired, but it lends itself quite

nicely to doing some work outside, to have some other interests.

I will look to get out of rugby in the next couple of years.

I'm 30 now and I don't want to be playing for too much longer,

to try and save the body little bit.

-Yes, actually, you still look intact.

-Relatively.

I've got a little bit of a cauliflower ear and scars.

Your nose is all right. Yeah, it's looking good.

Thank you, it's very nice of you to say.

So you only think you have a few more years left in rugby?

Well, potentially.

I'm involved with Canada now, we have the World Cup coming up

at the end of this year, so I would hope to be involved in that.

That is going to be the pinnacle of my rugby career.

I'd love to get to the end of next season with the option of

either carrying on playing or going into full-time property developing.

So, let's talk about this property.

How much money and budget do you have?

We're not going to be doing any of the work ourselves.

We've got a team of builders that are going to do the work for us.

We're satisfied they'll do a good job for us.

So, what's the budget? How much?

They've assured us they'll get everything done

that we're asking for, for £50,000.

Wow, that's fantastic!

How long do you think it will take you to do the work?

We've budgeted four to five months.

-The builders assured us it will be done in four.

-Another assuring!

-That's £50,000 and five months work.

-Quite, you take that as it is.

It's an assurance, it's not a guarantee.

So, Richard, what happens after this investment?

Well, we would like to roll straight onto the next one.

The idea being that we've added enough value here to be able

to borrow against the added equity

-and that can go towards our next project.

-You're quite hungry for it.

Property developing really is something that you're

-getting into in a big way now?

-Well, absolutely.

I hope for it to be my career when I retire from rugby.

We're going to finish this project about the time

-I'm hopefully playing with Canada in the World Cup.

-Are you?

Hopefully. I need to get selected first. But ultimately,

we just want to be able to flip straight onto the next one.

Well, I'm really excited to see the outcome.

-We will be back in five months to check up on you.

-Great.

Now, I'd like a rugby player's handshake please.

-Thank you and good luck.

-Cheers, thanks very much.

-Thank you.

So, rugby player Richard has big plans to whip this property

into shape, but how will he choose to tackle the renovations?

Well, we'll touch down later on in the show and you can find out.

Six miles north of Telford, Shropshire,

lies the pretty market town of Newport which has been

a place of settlement since the Saxon times.

Despite a fire in 1665, some historic buildings remain today.

# Built to last! #

Although much more modern, the lot I'm here to see is just as sturdy.

Say what you like about local authority blocks of flats,

but there's one thing you have to say - they were built properly

and you won't find any stud walls in there.

It's in there, on the first floor, we find our property.

It's got two bedrooms and has a guide price of £65,000 plus.

Let's take a look.

And this leasehold flats comes with a 99-year lease

and an annual service charge of £543.

I have to say, from the outside, it all looks clean and tidy

and well maintained.

OK, we have a small little hallway here.

Large lounge just over there, but I'll come back to that.

In here, we've got some storage. A nice big storage cupboard there.

Straight into the kitchen, which...

a bit of damp or mould in the corner just there.

The kitchen would need to come out.

A brand-new kitchen in here, freshen it up a bit.

Some new flooring as well and that'd be really nice.

Extra storage in there as well. A good-sized kitchen. Happy so far.

Into this area and we've got the bathroom in here.

More signs of damp as well

and it all seems to be centred near the windows or above the windows.

But this, you may be able to salvage.

A bit of elbow grease in there,

maybe paint the radiator as well and I think you'd be OK.

I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.

Yes, the basic layout to the flat is great.

It will need a new kitchen,

but I think you might be able to save the bathroom.

And that damp? Well, this place has been unoccupied for a while

and, with the windows closed and no heating,

this looks like it might be damp from condensation.

Open the windows, get that heating on, I reckon the damp will be gone.

I think I'd still bring an expert in just to be sure.

OK, let's check out that lounge.

And what a nice-sized lounge it is as well.

Loads of light coming in through that huge window.

There's a few signs of damp in and around the room,

but nothing too major.

Great spaced lounge, but...

I just want to show you this additional piece of space.

Normally, you don't get any outside space with a flat, but here, you do.

And this is definitely a bonus.

OK, well, the views might not be exactly stunning

but it's a chance to open a door and...

# Get outside

# Get outside. #

And with no garden,

this little bit of outside space can really make a difference.

So I'm here in the master bedroom and it's a really nice-sized room.

Lots of light coming in.

You need some new carpet in here, decorate it throughout

and it would be done.

But I'm over here near this cladding.

Now, it can hide a multitude of sins, but somebody has already been

investigating and that looks OK to me.

Let's check out the other bedroom.

And into the second bedroom, which is my favourite, and that is why.

Look at that wallpaper. Get in there!

-# We're playing for England

-England!

# We're playing the song

# We're singing for England... #

This is pretty much finished to me.

The only thing you'd want to change is the carpet,

cos everything else is perfect.

Would you mind just giving me a minute? I'm getting quite emotional!

It's taking me back, so if you got just...

If you wouldn't mind, just leave me in here alone, I'd appreciate it.

Thank you. All the way.

-# We're singing for England

-England! #

'Sorry about that. It might've only been four caps,

'but playing for my country was undoubtedly one of my highlights

'and a great honour, I might add.'

But a bit like the general decor of this flat, it's now in the past.

It wouldn't take much effort to resurrect it

and bring it back to tip-top shape.

The flat, I mean, not my football career.

The knees have definitely gone.

What does a local property expert think?

Can this flat be Premier League? And what can he tell us

about this part of the country?

Newport is a desirable town.

It's just outside of Telford, which is a major shopping centre,

but Newport's very self-sufficient.

The schooling's very highly regarded here and there's

some really good local amenities and transport links as well.

But if the location is up to spec,

what's needed to be done to the flat to prepare it for modern life?

It wouldn't take very much. It is just generally cosmetic attention.

The kitchen maybe needs replacing.

Otherwise, just general decor and carpeting, I think.

This flat was guided at £65,000 plus,

so is there most potential uplift in the value to be had?

Resale of the property, once the work is carried out,

would be around £95,000.

That's encouraging, considering, on the face of it,

how little work is needed here.

What about the rental returns?

The property would rent for

approximately £500 per calendar month once the work was done.

There's not a lot you can say about this flat

and there's definitely not a lot that needs doing.

Yes, you would have to deal with that damp issue,

but I'm 99% sure that it's just

because this place has been closed up for a few months.

You'd have to modernise it

and hopefully keep that wallpaper as well.

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

Lot 62. It's a two-bedroomed first floor apartment.

It is in need of modernising. 60 to start?

60 bid. Thank you. At £60,000.

62, can I see now? 62.

64. 66.

At £66,000.

One, you're saying. 67. 68 now to my right.

£68,000. 69?

69 on the phone.

70.

71.

At £70,000, then, to my right. At £70,000.

71 anywhere else? If not, £70,000 once...

£70,000 twice...

Third and final time. At £70,000...

Your lot, well done.

And so the hammer fell at £70,000.

Hidden from our camera, the successful bidder was Sandra.

Sandra is an English teacher and, together with her husband,

Simon, they've been building up a small property portfolio.

I met her back at the flat to find out more.

-Sandra, nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-You've got yourself a very nice flat.

-What attracted you to this flat?

-I think the town.

-Yeah?

-It's quite a vibrant little town.

-Do you know the area?

-Do you know it well?

-Yes, very well. I live quite near.

-Oh, so you...?

I feel quite comfortable that it's a decent flat and a decent area.

-Did you view the flat?

-Yes.

-Good. Did you read the legal pack?

-I did.

Get in there. So, in the legal pack,

was there anything that surprised you or shocked you?

Not shocked. But interesting. It made me go back to the figures.

So, for example, the service charge on this flat, it's about

£46 a month, which is quite expensive for this type of flat.

The other one I've bought is about £10 a month.

And, equally, they've got a planned spend on the building over

the next three years, I think it is.

And I'm getting my legal packs a bit confused, but it's a few

-thousand, so roughly that equates to an extra £150 a month costs.

-Wow.

'Well, I'm glad to hear that teacher Sandra

'had done her homework on this one.

'Gold star and go to the top of the class, young lady.

'And it had meant she has spotted a few hidden extras in that

'all-important legal pack.'

What are you going to do to it?

If anything!

Of course, it's beautiful. New kitchen, new bathroom, new carpets.

-And decorate and then I think it's good to go.

-Quite a lot of damp.

-Yes.

-Doesn't seem too severe for me, really.

-I didn't think so.

When I looked at it, it's that kind of damp where people haven't opened the windows.

I also just checked with the neighbours. I knocked on the door and said, "Excuse me.

-"Have you got any damp problems?" "No." So, I felt quite confident that's just a...

-Good for you.

..quick, easy clean.

-So who's going to do the work?

-Erm... Not me.

-Is that you out?

Yeah, yeah.

I've got a nice builder whose children go to school with mine,

so I'm hoping he'll do me a nice deal.

-And if he doesn't...

-You'll find someone else.

-Yeah.

They'll have to make new friends.

Nice painter and decorator.

A couple of kitchen companies are going to look around,

measure up and give me some nice quotes. We'll go from there.

-New bathroom or you going to try and resurrect that?

-That's a hard one.

My builder wants me to resurrect it, but I think that's cos

he just doesn't want to do it, cos it's tiling, but it needs a new one.

I think, really. I want it to be as nice as...

-Nice enough, if I want to live in it, then...

-Yeah. Completely.

-What's your budget?

-I think I could do it in five.

-Mm-hm.

Maybe even slightly under.

OK.

Five grand should be enough for this flat and Sandra's given herself

two months to get the work carried out and get on the rental market.

So your other properties, your other ventures, are they similar to this?

Do you stick to flats? Or do you get all kinds of properties?

I'm still in the baby stages, so I've got a few... What have I got?

Two two-bed terraces, a flat in Glasgow

and I've just, the month after this auction,

I bought another one at the same auction, just round the corner.

Good on you. Why did you get into property in the first place?

I love what I do. I teach and I love it.

But I don't think I'll be such an enthusiastic teacher at 67,

so this is kind of the retirement plan and it's quite fun.

And it seems to be working for you, otherwise you wouldn't have

got to the situation of having as many as you have.

There are risks, yeah. We didn't rent the Liverpool one out for about three months

and, fingers crossed, it should rent out at the end of this month.

-So... But another one paid for it, so it was OK.

-Good for you.

-Too many of those and that would be bad.

-That's it, exactly.

-You've got to be careful what you get, what you buy.

-Yeah.

-Sandra, I wish you good luck.

-Thank you.

-I'm sure you'll be fine.

-Take care.

-Thank you.

I think this will be a walk in the park for Sandra to turn around.

She has got other properties up and down the country,

but I'm pretty sure this will be her easiest renovation to date.

She's also done her research and read the legal pack.

The only question I have is what yield is she going to achieve?

You can find that out later in the programme.

Coming up, I've seen damp before,

but this property in South Wales has turned it into an art form.

This wall... Look at it.

Wow!

And we find out why emotions are running high for teacher

Sandra in Newport, Shropshire.

I feel emotional.

Back now to Streatham, South London,

to an area close to Norbury Station called Streatham Vale

where earlier I spotted an opportunity to add value to

this 1930s four-bedroom mid-terrace

by adding a dormer to the rear roof space.

That would really improve the size of this space.

It would give more head height and I think you need to try

and think about fitting an en-suite bathroom up here as well.

It would really make a difference.

The property was sold at auction for £355,000 as a joint venture between

Daryl, who put the bid in, and his professional rugby playing

brother, Richard, with a view to renting after refurbishment.

It was clear that the house needed a significant amount of work,

but Richard was equally clear that the future for the two brothers

lay in property development.

They already had their eyes set on their next venture.

I hope for it to be my career when I retire from rugby.

We're going to finish this project about the time that I'm

hopefully playing with Canada in the World Cup.

I need to get selected first. But ultimately,

we just want to be able to flip straight on to the next one.

-Well, I'm really excited to see the outcome. We will be back in five months to check up on you.

-Great.

Well, Richard did get selected

and passed the refurbishment ball to Daryl.

Now, Richard got back the night before we came to film,

so will he be happy with the conversion or will

he think Daryl should have TRIED harder?

# When I can't find the words I just go

# Doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo

# I don't like it, no, I love it. #

What's not to love?

The sleek units, appliances and tiling make for a modern finish.

# I love it. #

Closing off the old kitchen door

and removing that stub of a wall has really opened this room up.

And it allows access under the stairs now for a downstairs loo.

New windows, heating, electrics, flooring

and replastered walls give this '30s something a new lease of life.

# Doo-doo, doo-doo-doo

# I don't like it, no, I love it. #

And the new feel continues upstairs, where I'm sad to see the panel doors

and the roll top bath haven't survived the renovation.

But I suppose, well, they're not to everybody's taste,

whereas the neutral tone splashback provides a fairly safe backdrop.

The largest bedroom on the first floor looked like this. And now...

# I don't like it, no, I love it.

# Doo-doo, doo-doo-doo

# I don't like it, no, I love it. #

The other two bedrooms are equally bright, clean and carefree.

Instead of being a no-go area, the back garden is now cleared.

And from here, you can really get a good view of the new dormer.

Over to Richard.

Well, this is where the bulk of the structural work has taken place.

It's actually opened up a nice new window with great views,

so that's going to be really nice for the master suite.

Got new laminate wood floor gone down, we've repainted the walls.

New lighting's gone in and a nice en suite,

which will make this a great master bedroom.

Brother Daryl seems to have done a good job supervising

the builders, but were there any unforeseen hiccups?

Building a dormer on the roof of your property requires

the permission of your neighbours, because we're in a mid-terrace.

Obviously, if our builders are doing some work, and suddenly it causes

a crack on the wall, that's going to affect our neighbours.

That's obviously something we were aware of.

We knew we had to get party wall agreements in place.

But we didn't foresee that both sets of neighbours would want to appoint

their own surveyors, which they're perfectly within their rights

to do, but we hoped we may just be able to get away with our surveyor.

So that whole process took a couple of weeks before the builders

were able to start work on the dormer up here.

Did the delay affect the original £50,000 budget?

Once we had dotted all the Is and crossed all the Ts on our contract,

the builders came in at 55,000 and that's what they delivered on.

And what about the insurance on the timescale from the new builders?

We were informed by builders that they'd be able to get it

done in four to fine months. Unfortunately, that took a little

bit longer than anticipated, but it hasn't been an issue for us.

But will the brothers still be happy

when they hear what our two estate agents have to say?

Their business model is to rent this property

and, having paid a total of £410,000, it will be interesting

to see what the agents consider the rental income should be.

And, for that, first impressions count.

The property feels very airy and spacey.

You get a lot of light coming in to the property. It's very spacious.

I don't think you could have done a better job of it,

-to be honest.

-The finish that they've used at the property is very

neutral, which is very appealing.

It makes it stand out to the majority of the competition.

We know the boys intend renting out, but with a total

spend of £410,000, just for us, come on, what's it worth now?

I believe the resale value of this property would be

somewhere in the region of £470,000 to £475,000.

I feel the property will fetch on the current market £475,000.

A potential pre-taxes and expenses profit of £65,000.

Given that, what sort of rental income can the boys expect?

I believe a rental figure would be achieved of somewhere

in the region of £1,950 per calendar month to £2,000 per calendar month.

On the rental market,

the property will fetch £1,995 per calendar month.

But the guys have already got tenants lined up.

We sourced the tenants ourselves online

and we have gone through the vetting process and we've been able to rent

the property out to these tenants at £1,950 per calendar month.

That rental income will give the chaps a 6% yield on their investment

and, with mortgage rates relatively low, what are their future plans

and do they include new builders?

One of the primary things that we've learned is

the benefits of having a very good team around you.

We've had a fantastic team of builders that have just

worked tirelessly and with very little stress put back on us.

So we're going to roll them straight in to our next project.

We've bought a very similar house just down the road in Streatham,

which they're going to be able to roll straight in to. But then, moving forward,

we're going to look to start scaling up what we're trying to do.

Well, Richard's got another four years to keep

expanding his portfolio before he has to choose

if he's going to don his number eight shirt again for his

mother's birth country Canada or stick with the high vis jacket.

Over to the South Wales valleys now, where the

town of Blackwood, Caerphilly, has a musical claim to fame,

for it was at this school in the Oakdale district where pupils

formed a band, the Manic Street Preachers,

and the rest, as they say, is history.

Well, about a mile and a half from the towns of Blackwood

and Risca is the property I'm here to see.

Now, it is right by the side of this busy main road, which isn't

ideal, but the good news is that it is at least in an elevated position.

£42,000 was the guide price for this three-bed end of terrace. In we go.

I'm in the former mining village of Cwmfelinfach.

It depended on coal until its colliery closed in 1964.

OK.

A little entrance area there with an interior door, which is

good and then into sort of a...

I suppose a welcoming little bit, I suppose, you'd call it.

Would you? Would you have that on the details?

One dining room, one lounge, and one welcoming little bit.

Well, maybe it's not estate agent speak, I don't care.

This is a welcoming little bit from now on.

Kind of front living room area there, which is

quite pleasant, although nasty signs of damp on that end wall.

Yikes! But stairs up to your bedrooms there.

Through into your rear sitting area,

through the welcomey bit into the rear sitting area.

And again, this wall... Look at it.

Wow!

Nasty, nasty, nasty. Now, that is the end wall,

so my guess is some of the rendering on the outside perhaps has

failed, but that's definitely something that needs addressing.

But then through into the kitchen.

Ah, this is quite pleasant.

Looks like it's been refurbished in the not too distant past.

And if you're renting it out,

this bit of the house looks like you could leave it pretty much as it is.

It's a nice space. So, ground floor, a few bits and pieces there.

In fact, there's a downstairs loo out there.

Ground floor, getting a pretty big tick.

# I think I've found it

# And I think I love it. #

Of course, you would need a suitable budget for re-rendering

the damp walls, but square footage-wise,

it's a winner and a downstairs loo is always a bonus.

Although I think it's fair to say it's seen better days.

So, upstairs, does that spaciousness continue?

Yeah, I think it does, actually. Big bedroom towards the back there.

Nice-sized family bathroom.

Second bedroom towards the front of the property there.

It's not huge, but it's OK. And then a fairly decent-sized third bedroom.

Lots of light coming in through the windows,

some nice views across the valleys.

Obviously, you've got central heating as well, which is

good, but the only downside you can see inside is again

the continuation of that damp. So get that sorted.

And what you've got here is a pretty big house.

In general, most render coatings have a lifetime of 15 to 20 years.

Common causes of breakdown are water getting behind the render

and freezing. Well, at the back of the property,

you've got this little courtyard area.

Looks to me like it's always going to be fairly shady, so not ideal.

But something which is a bit more problematic is this.

Now, you find this kind of thing in a lot of properties

in the Welsh valleys. It's a massive retaining wall.

It's basically holding back the valley.

As you can see, at the end here.

It's already started to give way and that is a fairly serious issue,

because you can imagine the weight of soil that's behind here and

the amount of work that goes into actually building a wall like this.

More specifically, repairing a wall like this,

to do it properly, you'd be talking about taking the whole lot,

all this stone and what's behind it out,

and that means access issues, who knows what, and then rebuilding it.

I mean, you could literally blow 10, 15,000 quid just sorting

this wall out, and, at the moment, it doesn't look like it is...

This bit is about to fall down, but, judging by that, it won't be long,

so this really, really needs to be taken into consideration.

Or I could just stay here for a little bit longer. There you go.

Won't move now.

# All in all, you're just another brick in the wall... #

I'll get somebody in to build it.

# All in all, you're just another brick in the wall... #

Sorry. Well, it was all a bit too good to be true.

That retaining wall certainly does need retaining.

It'll be a dirty job, and, as they say,

somebody does indeed need to do it.

Overall, though, I think this house has potential

if you got it for the right price.

So what does a local estate agent think?

Yeah, in general, I think there's not a massive amount to do here.

I think that obviously there is some work that needs to be looked at.

There are a few damp issues, I've noticed, on the one-side wall,

in particular. And some work outside at the rear with the retaining wall.

But in general, I think it is

mainly sort of a lot of cosmetic work, redecoration,

new carpets, and I think it'll be a very nice property when it's done.

One thing the purchaser will need to bear in mind is that this is

a leasehold property. Thankfully, with an 880-year term.

But it may cause issues with the freeholder

when it comes to structural work, like the two walls.

How's the local sales market?

Yes, it is decent at the moment, probably the best I've seen it,

sales wise, in quite some time. Lettings is still moving well.

But I do think people are starting to think to themselves,

"As it's moved, sales-wise, a lot better now, let's give it

"a go at selling it, rather than going down the lettings route."

But both are good.

What level of rental income could the purchaser expect after sorting everything out?

Once the property is complete, I feel the property could

achieve a rental value of about £500 per calendar month.

And if brought to market for a sale?

Once the work is complete, I feel the property could

achieve between the value of about £85-£90,000.

Well, it is certainly a lot of house for that £42,000 guide price.

A bit of damp, but, you know, lots of space.

Don't particularly like the fact it is right above

this busy main road, but the elevated position is good.

But for me, by far the biggest issue is that wall at the back

and how much it is going to cost to sort it out.

Still, let's see who decided to take it on when it went under the hammer.

Lot 21, which is a bay-fronted,

end of terrace house. Popular location, Cwmfelinfach.

Start me, I don't know, start me at 40, will you?

Do we see a hand at 40, just to get it started? Thank you.

40, I've got you there. At 40. At 40. At one can I see? At 40.

One I'm looking for. At 40,000, one I'm looking for now. 41.

Thank you, 41. 41. 42 there. Back to you. Thank you, 42. 43. 43.

42.5, then. 42.5. 43, if you like. Thank you, 43. And a half. No.

At 43,000. Make no mistake, it is being sold all the time.

At £43,000, then, for the first time, second time,

you are now out, third and last time at £43,000.

Yours, sir, well done. Your number, please. 90. Thank you very much.

We will have somebody down with you shortly.

The successful bidder was Ryan,

a production planner at a steel company.

We met up back at the house.

-Ryan, good to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-Congratulations.

-Cheers.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

It is just another one to add to the portfolio.

-Going to do it up and sell it on.

-Oh, great. So, big portfolio?

-Yes, nine at the moment.

-Oh, great. So, how old are you?

-26.

-26.

-When did you start with your first one?

-The first one was at 18.

-Wow.

And how did you finance the first one, cos that's always the hardest, isn't it?

-The first one was a borrowed deposit off my parents.

-Right.

What attracted you to this particular house, then?

It is not very far from where I live and it was pretty cheap,

-to be honest.

-You obviously know the area pretty well.

-Yeah.

On a busy main road, but it is a bit elevated,

-so that wasn't too much to put you off?

-No, I think it is a good area.

Knowing the area and where the better properties for investment

are located are a big bonus.

As is living nearby, so that, when it comes to doing the renovations,

the commute is much cheaper. What about the house itself?

To be honest, the house, I think, is in good condition.

Just a lot of damp, which needs sorting.

-That's the main issue, really.

-Right.

So let's talk about the damp, then. What do you think is causing that?

Either a problem with the roof or the rendering on the end wall.

-I think it's sort of contained to the end wall.

-Right.

-Hopefully that will sort it out.

-And how much work do you do, actually?

A lot myself. I use a few trades on the side. But, yes, a lot myself.

-And, spare time, what is your family life like?

-Good.

-I've got a shift job, four days off a week, so it works out OK.

-Family?

Yes. A little daughter. Hiding around here somewhere.

-HE LAUGHS

-Will she be helping?

Yeah, she loves helping. She likes passing me screws.

Really? Oh. And a bit of painting. How old is she?

-She is two and a half.

-Oh, wow.

In fact, Isla, the next generation of property developers

in the family, gave her seal of approval earlier when taking a tour.

So, have you budgeted specifically for the wall in the garden?

Yes, it has been taken into consideration in the budget.

And what is the total budget?

-I'm looking at around 10 to 12,000, if I can.

-So, what's the timescale?

I'm hoping within six months. I've got a small project to finish

this month, and then straight onto this.

-And then rent it out, or sell this one on?

-Sell.

-Sell.

Well, listen, congratulations. Good luck with it.

-And I look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Cheers.

Well, I think Ryan has got himself a good property here,

but I think he may have underestimated the cost

and effort required to sort that wall out.

How will he get on,

and will we come back to see little handprints all over the walls?

You can find out later in the show.

So, we saw how one of our buyers managed their renovation,

but what about the other two?

Yes, time and money has been spent, but how's it turned out?

Let's take a look.

Earlier, I was in Newport, Shropshire,

where I took a look around this first floor, two-bedroom apartment.

It had been empty for some time,

which I thought had led to a few damp problems.

With a 99-year lease, ground rent and service charges of £543 a year.

But my favourite room was the second bedroom. And that is why.

Look at that wallpaper. This is pretty much finished to me.

The only thing you would want to change is the carpet,

because everything else is perfect.

# We're playing for England

# England...! #

If you wouldn't mind just leaving me in here alone.

I would appreciate it. Thank you.

# We're playing for England

# England...! #

Yes, I know this song came out eight years before I joined the England

squad, but you know what they say, nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

Eventually, I had a one-on-one with English teacher Sandra,

the new owner. She paid £70,000,

and I wanted to know what her tactics were going to be.

New kitchen, new bathroom, new carpet and

-decorate, and then I think it is good to go.

-Quite a lot of damp.

-Yes.

I also just checked with the neighbours. I knocked on the door and said, "Excuse me,

"have you got any damp problems?" "No."

So, I felt quite confident that that's just a quick, easy clean.

-New bathroom, or are you going to try and resurrect that?

-That's a hard one.

My builder wants me to resurrect it, but I think that is

because he just doesn't want to do it, because it is tiling. But it needs a new one, I think, really.

-I want it to be nice enough for if I want to live in it.

-Yeah.

-And it is good.

But Sandra thought she would rent it after a five grand renovation,

taking two months.

We're back six weeks later to find out

if her punctuality has been as good as her punctuation.

# That's what I go to school for... #

In the front bedroom, Sandra is

top of the class at removing the old mildew stains and wooden cladding.

The kitchen, too, is a lesson in out with the old and in with the new.

# That's what I go to school for

# That's what I go to school for... #

In fact, the kitchen was the teacher's pet, with a sizeable

chunk of the budget spent on it.

In the lounge, I'm pleased to see the dated decor is replaced

with a new, neutral palette.

In here, like the rest of the flat,

new flooring coverings have brought the place to life.

Sandra's builder got his way when it came to the bathroom.

Apart from the new toilet, the bathroom suite cleaned up nice enough,

even for Sandra to use.

# ..I can't help but stop and stare... #

Where does that leave? Oh, yes, the back bedroom.

The shrine to the beautiful game and England.

I wonder what it looks like with new carpet.

VOICE ECHOES: NO-O-O-O!

# ..we drive past school to say goodbye

# My friends They can't believe their eyes. #

I'm speechless. Utterly speechless.

But fortunately, my script says,

"What was the biggest challenge, Sandra?"

I think perhaps organising the different people who were

coming into work. That would be a top tip for somebody.

We organised a schedule of works.

And we sent that to everybody, so they were clear what needed doing,

who was coming in when. So that made it go quite smoothly.

And next time, I'd probably put cleaning on there,

because I was surprised, in between tradesmen,

I sometimes needed to come in and do a bit of cleaning up.

And, if it was further away, that would be really hard.

Little things like that can make a huge difference.

And it was lovely to come in with a bag of doughnuts one day and see the

kitchen fitter, and the builder had the scope of work stuck to the wall, with a plan.

They were really, clearly following it, and they did appreciate that.

I bet they appreciated the doughnuts, too.

Sounds like you plan things pretty meticulously.

I'll be honest, I haven't done much of the organisation.

My husband is a project manager, so he's organised that, really,

so he's organised me and he has organised everybody.

So, I have to give him some credit.

Sandra and her husband have renovated before.

Has this one gone to plan?

This is the first one I've personally seen from auction

to refurb, so that's quite nice. I feel emotional.

SHE LAUGHS

That makes two of us, Sandra. I loved that England wallpaper, too.

-What about the budget?

-My budget was £5,000.

But I've only spent £4,800.

Are you impressed?

Very impressed.

But the important test comes from the two estate agents

we called in to give the apartment the thorough examination.

With her first solo property, Sandra has decided to let.

Let's see what the agents think.

First up, this chap, who looks familiar

because he has seen the flat before.

First impressions of the property, very good.

I do remember it from the first time, it was very rough

around the edges and it needed quite a lot of work doing it, to be fair.

But it smells very fresh, it looks very good,

and I believe they have done a very good job with it.

I like the finishing in the kitchen and the bathrooms.

They've used high-quality vinyls,

the splash backs are very nice in the kitchen.

High-quality units, and the paintwork is very good as well.

And so it should be.

Sandra's painter and decorator spent 14 days using special mould

treatment, steamed stripping, lining and finally emulsioning the walls,

making it the most time-consuming of all the refurbishment jobs.

What would the end result rent for?

Rental potential, the owner should achieve £525 per calendar month.

On the rental market, I believe this property would

achieve £525-£550 per calendar month.

I think those values are fair.

I know other flats here are rented for about 525.

I've got somebody interested already,

and it has only just gone on the market today,

so I think I should definitely be able to rent it for 525.

If she does get 525, let's do the maths.

Sandra bought for £70,000 and spent 4,800 refurbishing.

Minus the service charge and ground rent, her annual

income will be over £5,700,

giving her a yield of just under 8%.

How's that for an investment, Miss?

This has been a great investment property and a great introduction

to investment property, so I'm definitely going to do some more.

I bought one the following month at auction,

and that will be finished in four weeks.

And I'm hoping that I can get another two bought and done,

perhaps in the next three months.

Apart from the schedule of works, which I'm certainly going to use

in the future, has she got any other tips?

I think, even with a really simple kitchen like this,

it's worth getting some kitchen companies in.

They'll come in free of charge, they'll make a plan for you

and give you some advice, and then you're actually

in a great position to talk to both companies about a good quote.

And I've been back and I've looked at my invoice,

I actually saved 85% on this kitchen.

That's good negotiation, isn't it? Definitely worth that.

Well, I mark that as a nine out of ten.

Would have been full marks, Sandra,

if you had kept the England wallpaper.

Now, listen carefully. I'll say this only once.

Back now to Cwmfelinfach, South Wales, where earlier

I saw this three-bedroom end terrace, sold at auction

for £43,000 to Ryan.

At the tender age of 26,

he wasn't the youngest property developer in the family.

That would be his charming 2½-year-old daughter, Isla,

in charge of passing screws to Daddy.

I found this house to be very spacious,

but not without its problems. This wall, look at it.

Wow.

Nasty, nasty, nasty. That is the end wall,

so my guess is, some of the rendering on the outside perhaps

has failed, but that is definitely something that needs addressing.

And sadly, it wasn't just the internal and external walls

that looked like they could need expensive repairs.

As you can see, at the end here, it has

already started to give way, and that is a fairly serious issue,

because you can imagine the weight of soil that's behind here.

But with this being his ninth property that he hoped to

sell on, production planner Ryan remained undaunted.

So, have you budgeted specifically for the wall in the garden?

Yes, it has been taken into consideration in the budget.

And what is the total budget?

-I'm looking at around 10 to 12,000, if I can.

-Right.

-We'll see how it goes.

-So, what is the timescale?

I'm hoping within six months. I've got a small project to

finish this month and then straight onto this.

We are back just over six months later to find out whether this

young property developer made the right decision when he bought it.

# I know we're so young

# But I swear you're the one for me #

Many would have run a mile upon seeing this damp.

But...

# I knew it right from the start

# You're some kind of heaven

# That's all that I need

# I found it in you I found it in you. #

What a transformation.

I especially like the tiling into the window reveals.

And the weathered darker tone of the tiles coordinates with the flooring.

And the new P-shaped bath affords extra room for a shower above.

Downstairs, the old toilet is now a much happier place

with new fittings and a makeover.

The same goes for the kitchen, which used to look like this...

Ryan certainly had vision when deciding on his plan of action.

# I knew it right from the start

# You're some kind of heaven

# That's all that I need

# I found it in you I found it in you

-# You're some kind of heaven

-Heaven

# That's all that I needed

# I found it in you Too good to be true

# You've got me singing, baby... #

The lighter colours in the reception room make the most

of that beautiful bay window.

The second reception room was plagued by the terrible damp

that inflicted all of rooms with the gable end wall in them.

That's now cured,

and the result is a bright, fresh open space.

Much improved.

Upstairs, the bedrooms have neutral colour schemes

and painted woodwork replacing the darker previous wood stain.

And again, the damp damage has been repaired with replaced ceilings

and associated plasterwork.

So, was the gable end a big job?

The problem, I think, mainly, was upstairs.

There was a leak, in a pipe running along that wall.

And it seemed to be just running down it,

and it done a lot of damage.

So, we fixed the leak and we've replastered the wall,

and it seems fine now.

That was a lucky and money-saving happenstance.

Were there further damp issues?

We was thinking we may have to do a damp course,

but the water was coming from above, not below.

There doesn't seem to be any rising damp at all.

So, if the gable end wasn't the problem you thought it might be,

what was the biggest problem?

The biggest job was the bathroom. We had the whole thing out.

Had all the floors up. Had to redo the pipework.

It was in a bit of a state.

But it seems to be looking tidy now, anyway.

Ryan reckons he's done at least 40% of the work himself.

But he needed expert help when it came to the retaining wall.

This is the back yard,

where we had a problem with the old retaining wall.

We've managed to take it all out by hand, filled two skips,

and we've had a builder in to rebuild this one instead.

So, it's a lot better.

So, how's the budget?

We're pretty much on budget.

I've spent about 13,000 all in.

Nothing's really gone outside the plan.

Everything sort of has gone in the direction I was expecting.

At the time of filming,

Ryan had six properties rented out and two for sale,

planning on putting this one up for sale also.

But have plans changed?

The plan now is just to put it straight up for sale.

And move onto the next one.

To find out if Ryan can move on,

we called in two local estate agents for their thoughts and valuations,

starting with the agent that came here before.

I think he was wise to address the retaining wall at the back.

It's a big wall and, obviously, it could cause problems in the future.

He's done such a good job inside the house, I'm glad he's done that.

This is my first time inside this property.

I think it's been refurbished to a good standard.

It is a good layout inside the property

and I think it'll make a great family home.

Ryan bought the property for £43,000 at auction

and has spent another £13,000 on it.

So, what would it be worth now?

To achieve for sale, I would expect about £85,000.

I would put the property on the market for about 95,000,

looking to achieve between 90 and 95,000.

If Ryan achieved the average of the two at 90,000,

that would mean a profit of £34,000, minus the usual taxes and expenses.

How's that?

That's pretty much what I was expecting. Happy with those figures.

Any lessons learnt on this ninth property?

What I've learned from this one is sometimes it can go OK.

I've had a lot of others gone a lot worse.

In fact, things continued to go OK,

because, after our filming, Ryan sold for 90,000.

And Ryan's confident that Isla will continue her role

of passing screws to Daddy at his next purchase.

Well, we hope you've enjoyed the programme.

And you've got some inspiration from our buyers on today's show.

Yes, we'll see you next time for more stories from the auctions

-here on Homes Under The Hammer.

-ALL: Goodbye.