Episode 10 Homes Under the Hammer

Welcome to the show!

Bricks and mortar can be the best investment out there,

but only if you get it right.

Yes, and if you're looking for good value and choice then,

in my opinion, you should head down to your local property auction.

Yes, make sure you know what you're getting into

when you buy your home under the hammer.

If you're dipping your toe into property development for the

first time, make sure you don't bite off more than you can chew.

Yes, that's true, Lucy.

Lofty ambitions are all well and good but you

do need to keep your feet well and truly planted on the ground.

Yes, let's find out what our three sets of buyers had to

tackle on today's programme.

Coming up, it sounds like this couple have exciting

plans for a house in Croydon.

I like things contemporary, I like a pop of colour.

We're not doing boring.

At this house in Coventry, I'll be telling you how to add value

and make friends in the process.

You take that tree down, you've got a lot of light in this back garden.

Your neighbours will love you.

And the sunshine is bringing out the colourful best in this

house in Nottinghamshire.

Wow. Well, wow, double wow. How lovely to see that still in place.

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.

Yours at the front.

Addiscombe, in the London borough of Croydon, once housed a military

academy used to train officers on the East India Company regiments.

150 years on and travel

and education are still key to Addiscombe's attraction, with

a sought-after school

and excellent transport links via the Croydon tram link.

So up for auction was a three-bed end-of-terrace with a guide

price of £295,000.

So, sounds fairly standard,

but what is interesting about this property is a little line under the title "potential",

where it says "Suitable for a loft/mansard conversion and extension."

Now potential like that can certainly be very interesting indeed.

Time to go in and explore.

Right, so it's a little bit shabby on the outside

and very dated on the inside,

but I'd never let that put you off because obviously whoever

takes this on is going to come in here

and splosh some paint around - I'm not keen on the yellow.

Update the carpets, you know, it is dated but it can get only better.

So I'm thinking already it's a great space, a really big lounge,

wow, that is super. Brilliant for a family,

although the double glazing looks like it may need to be replaced.

Through here, bit of a galley kitchen so it looks a bit crammed in

and there is so much stuff in this house talking about being crammed in.

Whoever takes this property on is going to have to get a skip

outside and clear it out because there's lots of stuff in here.

And right at the back, again, a massive room.

So this is the second reception room.

You could have this as a really nice dining area, you could go back

and think about knocking this wall down here to have the kitchen

and dining room as one big family space.

I always think that really works well, it's so much more sociable.

Come over here, this ain't so great. Now look at this.

It's a little plastic, corrugated roof going on there,

more of a lean-to. You've got some doors leading out to the garden.

So you've got a couple of options.

You could just tear it down or you could think about working

within permitted development and creating a little extension

out there, because I think that would be nice.

So a lot to do, as you can see, look - very dated, very messy,

you need to put a lot into this house.

But it's got space and it would be ideal for a family.

Now that banister on the stairs could be dangerous for young

children due to the large gaps, so that'll need replacing.

But after that the news gets better with three good sized

bedrooms up the stairs.

Two doubles and a single,

along with a family bathroom.

It all feels very spacious, at least, it could feel spacious.

MUSIC: Inside by Stillskin

Yes, I think a call to a local skip hire is in order.

There is so much clutter here that's going to have to be cleared

out before you can do any work.

And if downstairs needs clearing, and upstairs needs to be cleared

too, you've probably guessed the back garden needs clearing as well.

Still, once all that's done, there's no doubt that it is a good size.

So let's go and have a look.

Now, as I said earlier, the catalogue

hinted at the possibility of going up into the roof.

So if you did want to do that there's one thing you need to

decide. What type of conversion do you go for?

Now the three most common are,

you've got the roof window conversion where you just put

a window in line with the roof,

but you will need high ceilings in the attic space for that.

You've then got the dormer roof conversion where you add a window

which is also built out on the roof, so you create a bit of extra space.

And then you've got, well, like our neighbours,

the mansard conversion, which lifts the whole side of the roof,

creating so much more space.

But much more disturbance outside, which means more regulations

and of course, neighbours to keep on board.

Now there are examples of each type of conversion all along the street.

So what you go for really depends on your budget

and the value it could potentially add to the property.

For a bit of expert advice we've asked along a local estate

agent to see if he thinks a conversion is worth the investment.

In my opinion, when doing a loft conversion it's always better,

where possible, to do a mansard roof or a proper dormer extension,

and that way you can definitely get two bedrooms rather than just

maybe one big loft room.

If this was my property I also think I would do a rear extension

and maybe open up the kitchen to the dining room

and make that a nice big open family space.

Well, I couldn't agree more, that old lean-to has seen better days.

But if completed, what would a new extension out the back

add to the value of the property?

The property just being left as it is would

sell for approximately £400,000.

Doing the rear extension and refurbishing to a good standard,

this property would sell in excess of £450,000.

And if you were to add the new extension

and convert the attic space?

Doing a loft extension with a proper dormer

conversion at the back, I think you would get two bedrooms

and therefore the property would sell for approximately £500,000.

With a lot to be done here this certainly cries out as a great

investment opportunity.

And with the catalogue also pointing out that loft conversion potential,

surely this must have been a popular lot when it went up for auction?

Let's find out.

So end-of-terrace house here, does require a bit of TLC this one.

What should we say for it? Shall we start at 300, see where we go?

We will, you were first.

300. What are you saying?

You are 305? Thank you, sir, 305.

310. 315.

320. 325.

330. 335.

No.

Absolutely sure? Come back to you in a minute.

Yours at the moment at £330,000.

335 anywhere else?

Take a couple of thousand pounds if it helps you or anyone else,

otherwise we're here at the front at £330,000.

And we will sell unless we can do better.

At £330,000 then for the first.

330 for the second.

Third and final time at 330.

GAVEL BANGS

Yours at the front. Bidder 946. Thank you very much.

Now that cheery bidder was Chris, who, along with wife Pauline,

bought the property with a bid of 330,000, and if they look

familiar to you, well that's because they've been on the show before.

They're full-time property developers who gave up City careers

in finance and bought a mid-terrace house in Croydon,

where Pauline used her creative flair to make it very nice indeed.

-Guys, congratulations, lovely to see you again.

-Nice to see you.

Pauline and Chris.

Now, you've been very busy,

this is the second time we've seen you on the show.

But I noticed at this auction there weren't that many people

bidding for this property, were there?

No, I think there was people living here up until recently.

Hence why there wasn't that many bidders, I think.

So do you think that put people off that they couldn't

get in to see the property prior to it going under the hammer?

Yes, I think so, massively, I mean not many people buy them blind.

So tell me, Chris, why did you want this?

Um, this one, it's a nice house, nice size,

and the price was right on the day which is the important part.

Yes, I really think you're right.

It's a really lovely spacious house and, you know, I can imagine with

a bit of your magic sprinkled on the top it's going to be fantastic.

So I'm really intrigued to find out, what are you going to do here?

Well, the extension thing they've got at the minute,

-that'll probably get knocked down and rebuilt.

-Hold on a minute, what do you mean extension thing?

-Not quite sure what it is...

-Sort of plastic roof.

Yes, it's that corrugated plastic that

-I see quite often on this programme.

-That's got to go.

And that might go deeper cos we're allowed to go three metres

and I think it's about a metre and a half at the minute,

so we might go further into the garden with that.

So that might become the kitchen's dining space.

That wall will probably come down and make a nice kitchen/diner

so you've got a decent sized kitchen.

And everything else you just tidy up really.

MUSIC: Kiss This Thing Goodbye by Del Amitri

So we can kiss goodbye to that old lean-to

and look forward to saying a big hello to a nice new extension.

But what about the attic? Will there be some new rooms up there?

No.

Now that's interesting,

is it because funds won't allow or do you not think it needs it?

-It's not so much that funds won't allow, it's more the time factor.

-Planning permission.

It'd extend the project by a good sort of two, three months.

And, well, we're hoping to be in and out and on to the next one.

One of the ways to try and make a profit flipping property is

make sure you have a very quick...

# Turn around... #

So I can see their logic,

and having experienced delays with solicitors

when selling their previous properties,

Chris and Pauline have come up with a plan,

so that they can get an even tighter, um, what's the word? Um.

# Turn around... #

Thanks, Bonnie.

Well, as soon as we're ready to sell the house we're going to get

all the searches done then we can just pass them to the buyer

and hopefully that saves us a few weeks.

Then they're not waiting to do them from when they've put the

offer in sort of one or two weeks after we put the house up for sale.

With the last one, it pretty much took longer to sell it than

it did to renovate it.

So that really is a really good tip to anybody looking to sell

-really, isn't it?

-Potentially if it works, yes.

So this is the first time you're going to be doing that to see

if that really does speed things along.

Well, they've thought out their plan.

They've given themselves a budget of between 20 and 30,000, a timescale

of three months to get it done, and then they have their secret weapon.

Pauline has been taking interior design classes

and she has got one or two ideas.

I like things contemporary and understated,

but sometimes I like a bit of pop of colour, but Chris reins me in.

He reminds me it's not our house. "Stop doing that!"

My purple toilet in my house is fine but not for a project.

I think we need to see a little bit of Pauline's personality.

It's difficult to get it right

because we want it to be interesting enough

so it's got a wow factor but boring enough that anyone can move into it.

We're not doing boring, can I just tell you that now, we're not doing boring.

I'm working on the bi-folding doors.

You do have a fabulous garden here and I'm all for letting the light

come flooding through and having that sort of outside garden room.

-What are your reasons for not going along that route?

-Cost.

Oh, money, cost.

It's always about money.

Which of course you're going to benefit from at the end of the day.

I have my eye on a couple of things.

-So, what have you got your eye on?

-Oh, another handbag or something.

-I thought you meant for the property.

-No, for me.

A payment in kind.

It's like, "Oh, I've worked really hard

"I should get a handbag or something."

Guys, I'm so excited to see the outcome.

Will you be extending, won't you?

Will I see those French doors, won't I?

I know I won't be seeing any magnolia, that's for sure.

It's been lovely seeing you again

and I look forward to seeing the end result here. Pauline, thank you.

-Great to see you again.

-Chris. Good luck.

-Thank you.

Ha-ha, so, Chris and Pauline are back for more.

Will we return to see the extension

and the lovely bi-fold doors at the back here?

Or will Chris keep a tight rein on the budget? And Pauline!

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

Welcome to Coventry,

the birthplace of such celebrities as Sir Nigel Hawthorne, Pete

Waterman and the legend has it, St George of dragon slaying fame.

MUSIC: Dragon Attack by Queen

Thankfully, there haven't been any dragons seen here in some time,

so it shouldn't affect your insurance policy.

The property I'm here to see is not far from the city centre, Warwick

University and also Coventry City's old football ground,

Highfield Road, which does hold some fond memories for me.

Thanks for your support.

Anyway, here it is, it's a two-bed,

mid-terrace house with a guide price of £75,000.

I'm going to take a look.

OK, we are straight into what actually looks like a bit of a building site.

There's nothing in here at all.

This would be the front room, it is quite small.

And there would have been a chimney breast just here

but somebody's actually taken it out, on the angle as well,

so probably created a bit more space.

It does look incredibly dodgy over there,

there's a few holes as well in the floorboard.

So I'm going to go down what would be, or should be, a wall just

here down the hallway to the next room.

Into the second reception room

and it's pretty much the same in here as well.

It's actually been stripped back to the bare bones.

There's polystyrene tiles which would have to come down,

huge fire hazard.

And again the chimney breast has been taken out here,

again it would have been on the angle,

so they're probably just trying to get as much floor space as possible.

But judging by up there, it doesn't look very safe at all,

so I'm going to move away into the middle of the room.

This house needs a re-wire, it needs central heating,

it just needs the lot.

Well, it looks like someone has made a start on stripping this

place out already. But there's still a lot of work to do.

Let's head through to the kitchen to see if it gets any better.

And no it doesn't get any better in the kitchen either.

It's very small, quite pokey.

You've got the stairs going up to the bedrooms off the kitchen.

Your bathroom is just through there at the end of the property.

What I have noticed is there's brand-new windows through the whole

of downstairs and that's a bit of a bonus when it comes to your budget.

This place needs time and it needs effort.

It also gives somebody a blank canvas to really put their stamp on.

# It's just a drop in the ocean #

OK, so those windows aren't much to hold on to, but I'm trying to

be positive because upstairs it's not much better.

There is a master bedroom at the front of the property

and a smaller one at the rear.

But in all honesty, neither of them are particularly spacious

and both are in a state of disrepair.

Perhaps the back garden can offer some inspiration.

So out in the back garden it is only small

and it's a bit of a mess at the moment.

But if you were to get rid of all of this you'd have a nice back

garden area without any fuss.

The big question is that tree just there and what you do with it?

My advice would be to get a tree surgeon over to remove it

safely and quickly.

You take that tree down, you've got a lot of light in this back

garden, moisture's back in the ground.

Most important thing, your neighbours will love you.

And perhaps clearing some space here could pave the way for a single

or double extension, giving the house some much needed extra room.

MUSIC: More, More, More by Bananarama

Well, whether more space should be added to this property will

really come down to the numbers.

The guide is 75 grand,

but what does a local estate agent think of its potential?

Chapelfield is a popular area.

It's located quite close to Earlsden, which is

an immensely popular and very prosperous area.

It tends to be popular with young families, there's a lot

of good nursery schools and there's a very nice park just up the road.

So the houses in this area are in demand,

but this one needs so much work to get it up to standard.

How much does he think it will cost?

Without overspending I still think we're going to be

looking in the region of £25,000, possibly higher.

Whoever buys this property is really going to have their work cut

out for them.

So, with a guide price of £75,000 what could the house

sell for once the renovation is complete?

I'd like to think in the current market that this house could

achieve £130,000.

And if the house were put on the rental market?

Once renovated I think this property could

achieve in the region of £700 per calendar month.

It's just a two-bed terrace. Or is it?

Could you get an extension on it? Maybe.

But what I will say, this has been stripped back to the bare bones.

You're starting from the very beginning,

so I would want to get this to as close to the guide

price as possible and save as much money in that budget

so you can spend it on turning this house around.

Let's see who wanted to get their hands dirty

when it went under the hammer.

So, lot 206, a two-bedroom, mid-terraced house,

needs a little bit of work doing to it. 80,000 anywhere?

Turn it round the other way, 60,000?

60,000.

62, 64,

66.

68. 70,000.

It may have been late in the day,

but once the bids started, they came in thick and fast.

We rejoin the bidding at £97,000.

97, 98.

99. Get..99. 100,000, sir?

99,000 on the phone, against the three other phones,

against you in the aisle and against you at the back of the room.

99,000. I'm selling it. At 100, he's rounded off.

101. On his first bid. No.

100,000 on his first bid, gentleman at the back of the room.

At 100,000 to the gentleman at the back of the room.

100,000 for the first, 100,000 for the second,

100,000 for the third and 101.

102.

Looking for 103, 102 for the first, 102 for the second,

102 for the third and final time.

GAVEL BANGS

Sold.

And that successful bid of £102,000 came from Bali.

Property developer Bali is local to Coventry

and already has a small rental portfolio.

He also has a regular team of builders and they were

the ones who took this place back to brick in just a couple of days.

But with all that work required,

why so keen to spend 27 grand over the guide price?

-Bali, nice to meet you.

-Hello, how are you?

-Congratulations, pal.

Let's start from the beginning, the auction.

How did it go and the price you paid and...

Yes, the price I paid wasn't great.

Not what I really wanted, but, my limit was 100 with

an allowance of three grand if I was really really wanting it.

So you must have been able to see the potential.

Yes, and thought that there was...It's a two-up, two-down

and there's a possibility of maybe getting four lettable rooms out of it.

MUSIC: From Out Of Nowhere by Faith No More

Four bedrooms in here? I didn't see that coming.

Still, the agent did say that this area is a great

location for students looking for accommodation.

So maybe registering it as a House in Multiple Occupancy,

or HMO, is not such a left-field idea.

Bali certainly has the experience in managing those type of properties.

So, how does he intend to get four bedrooms in this house?

We will have, well, there's two original bedrooms upstairs.

The front one is larger so there'll be an en suite room added there.

The back one there'll be an extension made for the en suite.

Downstairs there'll be a room at the front, which is a bit smaller,

but probably will get an additional shower room under the stairs with a toilet.

Then the back room, again there will probably be a three metre

extension for an en suite room there.

And why an HMO and not a family house?

Simply, I mean, if it was for resale family would have been the way to go.

-Do it up as it was, the original shell.

-Which is the easy way.

Which would have been the easy way, yes, would have been a lot more easier.

But returns-wise, it's definitely got to be HMO.

Returns-wise, in this area,

you'd be getting around about 595, 550 to 600 for a family house.

-Whereas with the HMO, it's going to be well above double.

-Really?

Obviously additional money going on.

But, um, maybe two to three times more.

That is a lot to take on.

Bali has extensions to both floors in his plans

but will need to sort out architects plans and talk to planning.

He will also have to ensure that he complies with all the HMO regulations.

Any property that is the main home to at least three unrelated tenants,

and which shares a kitchen, bathroom or toilet comes under HMO rules.

Bali is an experienced developer

and this is the smallest property in his portfolio.

I am sure that he's well aware,

to get the best yield from this particular HMO, he is going to

have to keep his costs down, especially after paying over the odds.

-So, your budget?

-The budget, 35.

35, and how long's it going to take you to do the work?

-Um, yes, um.

-That's the big question.

I hope, hopefully, the builder's said he's going to get everything done in six weeks

apart from the upstairs extension, which depends on planning.

And then kind of allowing maybe two weeks for that.

-So, hopefully, within eight weeks.

-Get those fingers crossed.

It's going to be, yes, very rushed.

The reason is it needs to be ready before the student intake,

which is kind of end of September going to October, then it gets hard.

This is a very fast turnaround.

Hoping to catch the student intake is definitely going to put

the pressure on.

At least by stripping the place back they have discovered that

unsupported chimney, so they know some of what they're dealing with.

-It's made harder, isn't it, when you've got timelines as well...

-Yes.

-You're going to have to stick to.

-And then you're relying on the council as well.

-Of course.

And the architects and the council hopefully,

you need everything to kind of fall into place

-because there wasn't much time to start off with.

-HMO it is then.

-That's right.

-I wish you all the best.

-Cheers.

-Bali, good luck.

Thank you very much, cheers.

Bali has got his work cut out trying to turn this house into a HMO.

And I personally think he's going to stretch

that £35,000 budget to the limit.

But he's a seasoned property developer,

he's done his research and all his figures stack up.

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

Still to come, in Nottinghamshire this developer is revved

up for a renovation.

-So is this something that you do as a living?

-No, I'm a chauffeur.

-Wow.

So this is my first venture.

While in Coventry, Bali's HMO terrace is cooking up problems.

We had to actually knock down the whole kitchen and start over again.

Welcome back to Addiscombe in Croydon, where I was

looking at this three-bed terrace with a guide price of £195,000.

It wasn't easy to appreciate the space here

because it was a bit full.

There is so much stuff in this house.

Whoever takes this property on is going to have to get a skip

outside and clear it out.

I had no doubt that once the house had been

cleared that it would feel spacious.

But there was even more room for expansion.

MUSIC: Up On The Roof by The Drifters

Yes, this house was ideal for an attic conversion.

It was bought by husband and wife developing team Pauline and Chris.

Now Pauline was hoping that her design course

and love of colour would transform this drab house. No magnolia here.

But would they be converting that attic?

-No.

-Now that's interesting, is it because funds won't allow it?

It's not so much that funds won't allow, it's more the time factor.

We're hoping to be in and out and on to the next one.

MUSIC: Ain't Got Time by Curtis Mayfield

Time was of the essence and they decided that time spent

converting the attic would just eat into their profits.

However, they did intend building a new extension at the rear and had a

decent budget of 20 to 30,000 and a timescale of three months to do it.

So, did these experienced developers manage their speedy schedule?

Almost five months later and we're back to find out.

MUSIC: The Air That I Breathe by The Hollies

There is suddenly room to breathe here now. What a transformation!

Chris and Pauline have created the airy home that this place

always had the potential to be.

The walls have been skimmed and damp-proofed,

and thanks to the decoration, the rooms look modern and welcoming.

Let's hear from the interior designer and chief, Pauline.

Well, this room was completely filled with rubbish

when we first got it and we spent a few days clearing it all out.

My vision was to make it nice and neutral

and just to showcase what a lovely living room it could be.

So we picked greys because it's a good background colour

and you have splashes of colour like the rug and the cushions.

It kind of puts a bit of life and personality into the room.

So, yes, all in all, I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

It looks effortly stylish even though it was probably anything but.

Did they have any problems during the renovation?

Initially, it was just the amount of junk that was left in the house.

We spent literally thousands on clearing it out.

Never ever underestimate the cost of clearing out a house.

Skips can end up eating into your budget.

What about that other big issue with this house - that back extension?

The other big problem was the extension was built to a very,

very low quality. It's more of a lean-to than an extension.

So we decided in the end to knock that down and rebuild it,

which had effects on our time and budget as well.

And here's how it looks now.

Wow!

Well, the back of the house is where we've made the biggest changes.

It was the old lean-to extension that was here.

We just knocked it down and rebuilt it properly,

up to current building reg standards.

So, it's all nice cavity walls, insulated,

we've put the roof lights in.

We've also knocked down the wall between the dining room

and kitchen, and yeah, it's our first big build on a project,

and we're really pleased with the results.

Much like the rest of this house,

I think the open-plan living area looks great.

It seems Chris and Pauline really do make a good team.

Were there ANY arguments?

I'm married to a control freak, right?

He says he gives me complete free rein, but you know

when you pick your colours, and he looks at you and goes,

"Oh, no. Not different colours for every room. It's budget,"

and all this, you know?

But, generally speaking,

he came round to my way of thinking most of the time.

SHE LAUGHS

# One of these days, these boots are gonna walk all over you #

Oh, now that's a mean music choice! Chris is no pushover.

After all, Pauline didn't get the bi-fold doors she wanted.

Speaking of money,

how did they get on sticking to their £20,000-£30,000 budget?

SHE LAUGHS HE WHISTLES

Uh-oh! Come on, out with it.

We sailed through our original budget, but it was a sort of

thought-out expense.

As soon as we decided to rebuild the extension properly, rather

than just patch it up, the extension would take up a good £30,000,

and the rest of the house was going to be a good £30,000 as well.

But having bought the property for £330,000, they've now spent a total

of 60 grand on the renovation,

and taken almost five months rather than the original three.

Will that additional spend be worth it?

We've asked along two local estate agents to see what

they think of Chris and Pauline's handiwork.

The house is actually non-recognisable from the last

time I saw it. In particular, I really like the kitchen-dining area.

They've opened it up, it's really modern, it's bright,

it's spacious, it's what buyers would really want in this area.

I think the look and the finish of the house is really nice.

It's appealing, it's nice and warm, very cosy,

and most importantly, it appeals to someone who's coming in.

It makes them feel like, "I can live in here. This is my home."

Well, the couple always intended selling on this property.

Could there be a profit for them if they did decide to let it out?

The rental for this property would be approximately £1,750 per

calendar month.

Rental-wise, I would probably expect them

to get around about £1,800 per calendar month.

With a total spend of £390,000, that would give Chris

and Pauline a top rental yield of 5.5%,

but it's the sale value that they are really interested in.

This property, I would have put on the market for around £475,000,

maybe £480,000.

I think the value of this property, as it's done, would be

around the £480,000 to £490,000.

Right, it's under offer at £479,000, so it's exactly on the money.

Yeah, pretty bang on. Good.

Well, that's brilliant news.

Chris and Pauline have already accepted an offer of £479,000,

which would give them a profit of 89 grand, minus the usual taxes

and expenses.

So, I think the big question on everybody's lips is -

does that mean Pauline gets a new handbag?

-Oh, yes.

-Oh, is that your treat from this, is it?

-No...Yes.

We haven't even got the money yet.

SHE LAUGHS

Welcome to Nottinghamshire, where the bacon sarnie's

best friend was invented,

and if I said it was brown and spicy, would you know what I mean?

# I love sauce #

And in tribute, I decided to wear a saucy little number myself.

I'm in Old Nuthall, a village about 4.5 miles from Nottingham,

on the hottest day of the year, hence no jacket.

Phew! Here to see, hopefully, a hot property.

£165,000 was the guide price for this.

It's a three bed semidetached, lovely area, let's have a look.

# I need hot stuff #

Wow. Well, wow, double wow! How lovely to see that still in place.

So often, with this era of house,

features like that have been removed.

This amazing inner stained glass door.

Whatever you do, you'd want to keep that.

It's really nice to have that little porch area out on the front.

Into a really nice open entrance area here,

bedrooms obviously upstairs.

The layout, you must have seen 1,000 times.

Living room over to the right-hand side there.

Probably got a bay window, yes, of course it's got a bay window.

Rear living room there, and then through to what is always

the issue with this design and era of house.

The kitchen is always small.

This is an amazing family home,

and yet there's this really small kitchen.

So, a classic thing to do with these kind of properties is

take out this wall.

Obviously, you need to put the proper strengthening there,

a steel joist going across or whatever, and get

a builder in to check that out and make sure that's done properly.

But then open it all up, and you've got an amazing family living/kitchen

area, and then, wow, this is turning into a really nice project.

In the front garden,

I've noticed a rather large tree blocking the view,

and some of the light from the front room,

so I think it would be worth removing, but just make sure

to check with your local council that any tree is not covered by a TPO.

So, another nice stained glass window on the stairs there,

a landing, and off it a bathroom and separate loo.

Most people would probably knock those into one,

although I'm never sure.

Nice sized rear bedroom, and a smaller boxroom,

and through to, I guess, the second double bedroom.

Some lovely features. Again, look at that window at the front.

That bay there, the round radiator.

Gosh, I hope you don't have to replace that. Beautiful.

And the whole house needs a bit of sorting out, needs a bit of

tender loving care, needs a bit of modernisation,

but it's just waiting for somebody to do that.

And intrinsically, what a great house this is.

It looks as if this house was probably home to a senior

citizen, and whilst it needs a bit of work to bring it up-to-date,

the original features have been well maintained,

and it has bags of character.

This house was clearly very well loved.

# I will take care of you. #

So, out through these really lovely patio doors from the dining

room to the back garden.

We'll come to that in a minute, but out here you've got a single

garage and a couple of useful outbuildings. That's good.

Now, really good - look at this garden. Ha!

What an absolute delight, especially on a day like today.

It's going to take a lot of work to get that garden in order,

but once it's done it could be beautiful.

With all this space and versatility on offer,

I reckon this house could be a bit of a bargain,

if you could get it anywhere near that guide price of £165,000.

What does a local estate agent think?

We asked one along to get his opinion.

General condition, obviously it's a little dated,

it does need some upgrading.

From what we can see, you're looking at new windows and doors,

central heating, electrics, full modernisation throughout.

So, even just a modernisation will possibly take a bit more work

than we first thought.

What about changing the layout?

What I'd look to do is bring the two rooms at the back together,

to make a big open dining kitchen, and also spend a bit of time

renovating the garden and making it more family friendly.

So, given its guide of £165,000,

were someone to fully modernise the property

and open out that kitchen living area,

what could they hope to achieve when it's put on the open market?

When completed, if done to a very high standard,

we'd be looking to put the property on the market around

about the £235,000 to £240,000.

And if they were to let the property?

We've recently rented another property, similar size,

on this street, for £795 per calendar month,

so we'd be looking to achieve a similar figure.

Well, this is a classic auction purchase, isn't it?

A house which obviously just needs a bit of updating,

in a good area, that you can certainly add value to.

Let's see who spotted the opportunity

when it went under the hammer.

Unfortunately, we didn't catch all the bidding for this property.

However, we can see the final bid of £178,000 being made by Howard.

Sold at £178,000, thank you.

Howard lives in London, but I met him back in Old Nuthall to see

his new property, and find out more about him.

-Howard, good to meet you.

-Thank you.

-Congratulations.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

I've been looking for some time for a place to renovate.

First time I've done one.

Oh, wow.

I was looking around, and this seemed like a nice property to buy.

-So is this something you do as a living?

-No, I'm a chauffeur.

-A chauffeur? Oh, wow.

-So this is my first venture.

-Right.

What kind of chauffeuring do you do?

-I work in London.

-Right.

-So it's more just sort of VIP chauffeuring.

-So you got a posh car?

-Fairly posh, yeah.

-With leather seats and champagne on tap.

-Yeah, sort of.

So, from being a chauffeur to being a property investor,

-how did that come about?

-I came into some money last year, some cash.

-It's something I've always wanted to do.

-Right.

I came to look at the house, and I just thought it was a lovely house.

Family house, lovely garden, nice size rooms.

And actually a very nice area.

It is, actually, yeah, now that I've looked round.

Yeah, it is a very nice area.

# Who's gonna drive you home tonight? #

Well, it could be Howard, if you are important enough.

But does Howard intend to give his new property the VIP treatment?

New windows throughout.

-Probably going to take that wall down.

-Good idea.

I think the kitchen's a bit small, although all the rooms are nice

size rooms, but the kitchen's a bit small.

The front porch, new, but the door as you walk through, going

to keep that because that's nice

-stained glass doors, they're lovely.

-Yeah. Oh, good.

And the one on the landing as well, going to keep that,

-because that's a nice feature.

-Good.

-The bathroom, going to knock that into one.

-OK.

-Make a big bathroom.

I've had an electrician look at the wiring, he said everything is good.

-It doesn't need anything doing to it, but new sockets put in.

-Right.

And it's difficult, obviously.

-The heating seems OK. The radiators and pipework, but a new boiler.

-Mm-hm.

-Put a combination boiler in.

-Not that we need it on a day like today.

-No.

-Hottest day of the year.

Did I mention it was hot? However, Howard is one cool customer.

Even though this is his first venture, Howard has done all

the right bits of research and thought this through.

And, take note -

he has also had a solicitor check the legal pack.

I'm impressed.

-And what's the timescale for getting it sorted out?

-I'm in no rush.

Six months? Got plenty of time, really. Yeah, no immediate rush.

-And then back on the market?

-It could be less than that.

Yeah, then put it back on the market.

Because of his job, Howard is tied to London for most of the week,

and he will be getting local tradespeople in to do

most of the work.

So, why did he choose to buy so far out of his home city?

To be honest, I couldn't afford to buy in London. It's too expensive.

But where... I didn't mind where. Could have been anywhere.

So, that's probably, what? Two and a half, three hours from here, is it?

-Yeah, about two and a quarter hours to get here, so not too far.

-Right.

Well, it can take you two hours to get across London, can't it?

-Exactly. Yeah.

-And what's the plan for it, then?

-Are you doing it up to sell it on, or rent it out?

-Yes.

Yeah, just to sell it on.

You've obviously looked at potential profit,

so talk me through your thought processes on that.

-I think it'll probably go for 230, and up.

-OK.

And how much are you planning to spend on doing it up?

-I think 20 should be ample.

-Then move onto the next one, perhaps?

Yeah, yeah, then do another one, if we're successful.

-Well listen, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

So, Howard a long distance developer, living in London

and buying a property near Nottingham.

But, I think he's got a really good one here, and he can add value.

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

So our first buyer can take a well-earned rest,

but what about the other two?

Yes, will it be the sweet smell of success for them,

or the faint whiff of disappointment?

Let's find out.

We are back in Coventry now,

to take a look at this two-bed terraced house.

Located in a popular area, and with a guide price of £75,000,

I was feeling pretty positive, right until I walked through the door.

CHUCKLES

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

# So please stop explaining

# Don't tell me cos it hurts #

Yes, this house was going to need the works.

Heating, electrics, plumbing, you name it.

But the thought of all that work didn't put off property developer

Bali, who bought the house for £102,000, and had big plans.

So you must have been able to see the potential?

Yeah, I thought that there was.

It's a two up, two down, with a possibility of maybe getting

four lettable rooms out of it.

# I wanna do great things

# I don't wanna compromise #

Yes, you heard right - Bali wanted to turn this into a

four-bedroom HMO rental property, by building an extension at the back.

He had a budget of £35,000, and a very tight eight-week

timescale in the hope of catching the new student intake.

Even for a seasoned developer like Bali,

this was going to be a big job.

Well, four months later, we're back to see

if there's any hard-working students in situ.

Wow. I said that Bali would basically have to rebuild

the interior of the house, and it looks like he has.

He's even managed to get rid of that tree outside,

but has he been able to cram four bedrooms in?

Let's hear about all the work he's done from the man himself.

OK, so when you were last here,

as you know the house was in terrible condition.

We've had to strip it all bare to the brick, rewire it,

re-plumb it, created two new bedrooms downstairs,

with their own private bathrooms, two en-suites upstairs,

so four bedrooms now with their own private bathrooms,

redone the garden, built this into a kitchen and common sitting area.

Situated where the rear living room used to be,

the kitchen has been nicely finished.

By sorting that chimney breast,

Bali has made this communal area as large as possible for any tenants.

But, more important to Bali than the kitchen,

the four double bedrooms are all present and correct.

So, here we're in the upstairs rear bedroom.

We've created a second story extension to make this en suite

for this room.

Another nice little bonus is the builder had

an idea of creating some extra space over the stair,

so we've got an extra cupboard over here over the stairs.

So yeah, quite pleased with this one.

That extension has really made the world of difference in terms

of making space for the rooms.

I think Bali deserves a lot of credit, for not just the size,

but the quality of the finish on these rooms.

They really look like a pleasant place to live.

Did he have any problems with that extension?

The original plan was to extend backwards, one extension there,

and another extension upwards, for the en-suite upstairs.

We had a little bit of a problem,

discovering some movement in the previous kitchen.

So then we had to actually knock down the whole kitchen

and start over again.

# Aye aye oh, shake your foundations

# Aye aye oh, shake it to the floor #

I think the new extension is a vast improvement, but having knocked down

that kitchen means a costly project could well have cost a lot more.

How much exactly did Bali spend?

The final spend has run a few thousand pounds over,

mainly due to the wall which needed to be knocked down.

Before the furniture we've installed yesterday,

it was below £45,000, and after the furniture it's just below £50,000.

The total time taken with the job has been about four months,

just slightly more than I would have wanted, really.

The main reasons for that being the kitchen, which needed to be

knocked down and rebuilt, which was not expected.

A 15 grand overspend on his original budget,

and don't forget, he'd already paid top price at auction.

That brings his total to £152,000.

So, what will two local estate agents think of this investment?

This is my second time in the property,

and the changes are dramatic, to be honest.

I'm really surprised at what I've seen.

I think the new layout of the property does work

particularly well.

It's a terrific job.

Demand for this property's going to be high.

There's a very, very high market for Earlsdon with students,

and this is a perfect find.

Bali spent £102,000 at auction,

and 50 grand renovating and furnishing the house.

The estate agents estimated that the bedroom without the en-suite

could reach a figure of between £120 to £125 a week.

What about the bedrooms with the en-suites?

The en-suite bedrooms could expect to return in the region of

probably £135, £140 per week.

We would be looking around the £135 to £140 per week mark.

Yeah, that's almost spot on.

A little bit more on one, and about the same for the others.

On the face of it, that's a yield of over 18%, but it's worth remembering

that those rooms may not rent all year,

particularly those long summer months, if you do rent to students.

Still, it's a good result nonetheless, and if Bali were

to sell his £152,000 investment, could he make a profit on it?

I'd be expecting to put it on the market for about £185-£190,000.

That would generate a yield of about 9%,

based on the rental figures that I've given.

For that price, a new buyer could still make a decent yield of 9%,

and Bali would potentially have a pre-tax profit of 38 grand.

But this developer has his sights set on other things.

During the course of this renovation,

we had some very good news.

Planning permission was passed on another property we already own,

and work will start in three or four months'

time to extend that to make 11 en-suites.

We're back in Nottinghamshire, to see

this three bed detached house, guided at £165,000.

The bedrooms were a good size, as was the garden,

and the first thing I saw as I walked in was a real treat.

Wow. Well, wow, double wow. How lovely to see that still in place.

This amazing inner stained glass door.

Whatever you do, you'd want to keep that.

# It's all just a little bit of history repeating #

The good news was those little pieces of history were

dotted all over the house.

The bad news was that another

piece of history had also been kept - that tiny kitchen.

It was way too small for a modern family home, but here to put it

to rights was Londoner Howard, who bought the property for £178,000.

-So is this something you do as a living?

-No, I'm a chauffeur.

-A chauffeur? Oh, wow.

-So this is my first venture.

# Bye-bye baby

# Time to hit the road to dreamland #

Would this property be Howard's road to a new career?

He had a budget of £20,000, and a timescale of six months

to turn this into every homeowner's dream.

Well, time now to return to see

if our chauffeur has transported this to the 21st century.

MUSIC: Old, old-fashioned by Frightened Rabbit

Gone is the old-fashioned decor, revealing a modern,

bright family home.

Nowhere more so is this evident than the back of the house, where Howard

has knocked down the kitchen wall to create a spacious living area.

But it took more than a sledgehammer to get this look right.

There was a window we had bricked up, there was

a door there which we had bricked up,

so that we could have the kitchen flowing all the way round.

The door was a last-minute decision.

We decided it would look best to have the door bricked up

and have the kitchen flowing all the way round.

And the modernisation goes further than the things that can be

seen by the naked eye.

Howard has re-skimmed the walls, had a partial rewiring,

and replaced the boiler.

However, as glad as I am to see the house has been brought up to

date, I have noticed that some of the stained glass windows are gone.

What was Howard's thinking there?

The original windows were very nice, but they were wooden.

We were told everyone wants PVC windows these days,

so we replaced all the windows except the back bedroom.

That one had already been replaced, and the patio door.

The front door, we've left,

and there's a window on the stairs by the landing we've left,

because again that's got stained glass and it looks nice.

Well, as much as it is sad to see them go,

if Howard wants the house to appeal to the broadest spectrum,

I suppose replacing those windows was a sensible decision.

# Leave the past behind #

And I have to say that he has done it quite sympathetically.

In fact, I'd say a lot of thought has gone into the design

of this place, not least combining the bathroom and toilet.

It looks very chic.

We decided to go for a little bit higher spec.

We weren't quite sure who we'd be selling it to,

but it was either go very cheap or...

And we went a little bit over spec, but I think it looks quite nice.

I agree, there are lots of nice touches throughout the house,

such as the decking,

which I think gives a real focal point to that enormous garden.

Howard is based in London, so how did

he find organising such a large project from such a distance away?

I tried to do some of the work, but I was so busy with my own work,

so we had a mixture of traders I knew and local traders.

The project has gone on more than I thought it would,

but because it's my first venture, I wasn't on a timescale.

I thought it'll be when it's ready, so there was no rush to do it.

But what about that budget?

Did he manage to stick to that 20 grand maximum?

The budget, I think, is now about £33,000, maybe £34,000,

but we've gone a higher spec than we thought we would.

Well, I think it looks great.

But will it be good enough to warrant that additional expenditure?

Time to get the experts' opinions,

so we have asked along two local estate agents.

The layout works really well for a family,

especially with the room at the back.

Now with the four-piece bathroom suite,

and the two good double bedrooms, it really is a nice family

property, and especially in a nice cul-de-sac location.

It's a very attractive property, in a good location,

and it's convenient for Kimberley, the town centre,

and I'm sure that a number of people will be interested.

Very positive, but will that be reflected in the valuations?

Howard bought the property for £178,000,

and has now spent £34,000 on it.

What could he expect if he were to rent out or sell on the property?

In the current rental market, we'd be looking to achieve

somewhere between £800 and £850 per calendar month.

On the current rental market, I believe this property would

make between £775-£825 per calendar month.

That top rental figure would mean a modest yield of not quite 5%.

So, having spent a total of 212 grand on his first venture,

can he make a profit?

On the current sales market today,

we'd be looking to achieve somewhere between £250,000 to £260,000.

I believe this property would make, on the current market,

between £235,000 and £245,000.

Phew! Howard's decision to burst the budget has paid off,

as that top valuation could mean a potential pre-tax profit of £48,000.

So, is he happy with the result?

I'm very happy. It could have gone the other way,

we could have had a lot of problems with the house

and broken even, or even lost money, so I'm very happy with that.

And, although I don't think his job as a chauffeur will take

a back seat quite yet, I have a feeling that there will be

other projects for Howard further down the road.

As soon as we sell this one, I'll be back to the auction to look around.

Get another one.

Property development can sometimes put you through the wringer,

-but there are rich pickings if you do it well.

-Correct, Lucy.

As well as financial gain, the satisfaction on a job well done.

Well, we will have plenty more stories from the auction

rooms for you next time, here on Homes Under The Hammer.

-Goodbye.

-Bye.