Episode 12 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to the show. Sometimes when you're buying

at auction, the heart can rule the head.

But that's not always a bad thing.

We should always be prepared for those pitfalls.

Yes. Now, nobody wants to pay over the odds,

and a good place to start is your local property auction.

Now, here on Homes Under The Hammer,

one of the cardinal sins is not doing your research on the property

and the area that it's in.

Yeah, we always say,

"Visit the property beforehand and read the legal pack."

-But you know what?

-What?

-People just ignore us!

Were the buyers on today's show saints or sinners?

Let's find out.

Strange things are going on in this Cheshire bungalow.

Just a few things that have got me a bit flummoxed.

Well, Martin, not as strange as my visit to this barbershop and flat

in Rochdale, Lancashire.

I'm not sure I can carry this off.

And the price of 90 grand is hair-raising at this site

in Eccles, Kent, considering what you get!

Da-da-daah! A couple of sheds! Ha-ha!

All these properties are being sold at auction.

We'll find out who got them and how much they paid for them

when they went under the hammer.

Well done.

Alsager is a small town in Cheshire situated six miles from Crewe

with fantastic rail links.

The town's growth stems from the nearby potteries,

and in the Second World War,

workers flocked to the town to work in the nearby armaments factory.

But it's all quiet on this Western Front now.

Neighbourhoods with lots of bungalows, I love them.

They're peaceful, they're generally well-kept.

Yeah, and bungalows, as you know if you've seen the show for a while,

well, I'm a great fan of them. And here is a classic.

£95,000 was the guide price,

looks to be in reasonable condition.

Let's take a look.

Oh.

That's not a good start, is it?

Something going on there, looks like a bit of damp.

But, erm, nice little entrance for you, apart from that.

And it's through into a fairly classic layout for these kind of bungalows,

a central area off which all the different rooms spread.

Oh.

The second thing that's not so brilliant. What is going on there?

As you can see, all the paint is coming off the doorframe here.

Very odd. But anyway, kitchen there. It looks little bit dated,

but it's a reasonable size and you've got windows on two sides,

so you've got lots of light coming in there.

It needs a bit of tarting up,

but apart from that, it's quite pleasant.

Um, I mean...

Huh?

That's very odd.

Another bit of a conundrum.

The bottom of the doorframe there has all rotted away

and it looks like there's damp on that wall.

It seems to me there's portions of the bungalow

where there's a bit of a damp issue, and yet it doesn't smell damp

and the carpet's not particularly ruined and...

Hmm.

My property-developer brain is working overtime on this one,

and it can't quite figure it out.

I will eventually, though.

Through into the living room, erm, and it's of that era.

It's a 1960s bungalow and lots of the original 1960s features are still here.

But I'm not seeing anything which I don't like.

Just a few things that have got me a bit flummoxed.

I wonder if the water tank has flooded at some point.

That could account for why it seems worse around the bathroom area,

but it doesn't explain why the wood has rotted.

I'm still flummoxed.

One thing for sure, it wasn't caused by an overflowing bath.

There isn't one.

MUSIC: The Flood by Take That

# No-one understood

# We were holding back the flood

# Learning how to dance the rain... #

It'd be nice if it had a bath in there. Unfortunately, it's only big enough for a shower,

unless you do a bit of jiggery-pokery.

Erm, and then two bedrooms.

One there. Erm, again, I love the fact you've got these windows looking out onto the garden,

and it's not a huge bungalow, but it's got everything you need.

It's got two bedrooms.

This is one of them.

Well, the second one of them. Built-in cupboards - quite nice, maybe.

Erm, it needs a bit of decoration, needs a bit of bringing up to date.

But no signs of that localised damp or whatever that problem is in here,

which is good news.

And overall, it's a fairly together, fairly lovely bungalow.

The key to recognising a property's potential is to be able to see past

any dated decor or before any house clearance has taken place.

On first viewing, I'm looking more at the size of the rooms,

how they may be better configured, and the size of the plot.

And the potential to extend,

which is usually the greatest way to add value.

Well, at the side of the property, you've got a decent driveway,

which could lead to a garage.

But it doesn't. It leads to this cute little shed.

Maybe building a garage would be a sensible thing to do.

Somewhere to potter, stick your car, stick your rubbish, the usual thing.

But at the back here, a really nice-sized garden.

It's fairly mature, some nice trees and all that kind of stuff.

It just adds to the property.

Yeah, I'm not seeing anything I don't like.

We called in a local estate agent

to see if there's anything that they don't like.

Local knowledge is usually the most crucial factor in

determining a property's value.

The village of Alsager is a small town, made up mainly of small,

independent shops, but with some larger supermarkets.

There are excellent road links, with the A500, the M6 and the A51.

In addition, we're told this street of mainly bungalows is desirable in this area,

buoying the sales market for retirees and downsizers.

So, valuations!

Once fully modernised, I'd be looking to mark it on the sales market for £145,000,

and on the rental market, £600 per calendar month.

Well, in general, I don't think you can go too far wrong with bungalows

and this one is no exception.

With that really attractive guide price, there's money to be made or a nice home to be bought.

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

Let's start with lot number two,

lot number one has been sold prior.

Lot number two. Can I say 80,000 to start?

75, then. Can we get it going at 75?

75 bid, took it there, thank you. At 75,000.

80 bid. At £80,000.

I'll go in twos if it helps. 82.

82 it is. £82,000.

£84,000.

The first auction lot of the day takes a steady path upwards

to where we rejoin the bidding at 106,000.

106.

Yeah. 106 and a half. 107.

107 and a half. 108.

108 and a half, yeah? 108 and a half.

109.

Another half?

Yeah. 109 and a half.

110.

No? At 110 then, pointing at her now.

£110,000.

Another 500 anywhere else?

If not, £110,000 once.

£110,000 twice.

Third and final time, 110,000,

You bought it, madam. Well done.

The successful bid came from Ann, at the auction with her husband, John.

They've been on Homes Under The Hammer before,

when they paid £81,000 for this three-bedroom semi in Crewe.

John took me through their plans in August 2014.

It's a complete works, isn't it?

Erm, new windows right through,

new kitchen, new bathroom,

extend the bathroom into the little bedroom.

It's the only way to do it, as far as I can see, pinch a foot.

Electrics want doing. Er, a bit shot at, as you might say.

Mmm.

And hopefully, yeah, we'll get there.

Five months later and John had completed a very smart renovation.

And just as well, as John's son was so taken with the finished product,

that he moved in himself.

John and Ann met me back at their new £110,000 purchase.

Ann, John, good to see you.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

Well, basically, I've always wanted a bungalow.

Oh, OK.

Erm, I live in a ground-floor flat at the moment,

in a nice area in Nantwich, in Cheshire,

erm, but this came up and I thought, well, you know,

have a go and see whether we can get it at the auction.

Right.

-So, that's the way it's gone.

-That's it.

-We were lucky.

-Right. It's for you, then?

-Well, it's for the both of us.

-Yes.

-Yeah, it's both of us.

-Right.

-If we can sell my flat, then that's fine, we'll move in.

If I don't sell my flat, then we'll just see

whether we get this one sold.

-Right.

-It's an if/or.

You know, one way or the other.

OK. So, John, what do you think about it?

It's what it is.

It wants doing up, that's why it's at auction.

The old story. New bathroom, new kitchen, rewiring, plumbing, new windows.

They're the old aluminium ones, which are not good for condensation.

Take it from there.

-Right. But your goal is to try and make it liveable.

-Oh, yeah.

A place that you're going to live in?

-Yeah. Yeah, that's not a problem.

-Right.

20,000 budget, I should imagine.

If it goes a bit over

and it takes four or five months,

it takes four or five months, so...

A few issues, which are still confusing me quite a bit.

The doorframes in the kitchen, or going into the kitchen,

the paint's come off it, and then,

-in this room here, the lounge...

-There was a leak.

-..there was a leak.

-There was a leak, apparently,

but the estate agent told us.

I don't know how long back, but, you know, take the linings out,

get it replastered, no problem, as far as I can see.

But it was very obviously a very specific leak in one place, because it doesn't spread to the floor.

It was coming from within the roof,

so, whether it's the old tank that's still up there, I don't know. I haven't been in the roof yet.

Right.

Erm, we might take a wall out. Again, depending on which way the joists are going.

We'll investigate that.

The estate agent said something about it hadn't been dried out properly

and that's why it rotted the way it did.

Oh, I see. So, there was a leak and then it wasn't dried out properly. So, bits were dried out. OK.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, but we'll sort it.

I think it looks a bit worse than what it is.

Aha! Flummoxed no more. All is explained.

And with solid floors,

there shouldn't be too much damage to deal with.

Still, there's a lot to do,

and despite allegedly being retired for ten years,

John is going to be doing the work.

But, then again, he is very qualified.

Erm, I was a joiner many years ago.

OK.

Erm, a building inspector after that, for quite a number of years.

Erm, so, yeah, I'll stick my hand to anything.

Right. Literally hands-on stuff.

Oh, God, yes. Yeah.

Obviously not the wiring or the plastering or the plumbing,

but anything that wants doing and joinery work and shifting

and the skip filling up, well, I'll do it.

Will you ever sort of slow down and take your foot off the gas?

No, I'm a young 69. I've got lots of years in front of me yet.

When I snuff it, is the time to sleep.

Erm, I'll carry on as long as I can.

-Good lad.

-I just tell him not to kill himself doing it.

So, then, after this one plans for more or what?

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

I'd do another.

Do you enjoy it?

No, I'm not going to retire. No, for sure. No, no.

So, in normal circumstances, it'd be buying them, doing them up

and selling them on, or renting them out?

-That was the plan, yeah.

-That was the original plan.

-Was it?

-Yeah, that was the original plan, but, you know...

-Seems to have gone a bit...

We'll get there in the end, yeah.

So, the original plan was to buy it, do it up and sell it on, and then Ann stepped in and said,

-"Actually, hang on a minute..."

-I want that, yes. Correct.

So, yeah, it'll happen.

John says it will happen and reckons on a four to five month timescale.

That should give them plenty of time to sell their flat.

But, with Ann being so keen on the bungalow,

I wonder if laid-back John is going to feel under pressure.

No, er, "Oh, it's got to be done, it's got to be done!", but we'll get there.

And the budget? Quite a healthy budget, then.

Say 20,000. Again, if that goes over, it goes over.

Erm, I'm not bothered. It's a case of "it's for us", so,

that's the final thing. It's for us.

Well, listen, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Good luck with it.

We look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thanks.

-Thanks a lot.

-Cheers.

Well, a few things slightly up in the air on this one,

but one thing for sure, Ann wants it, and if John can make it happen, he will.

You can find out what does happen later in the show.

MUSIC: All Around The World by Lisa Stansfield

Rochdale was the birthplace of the first modern cooperative in 1844.

In more recent times, the Lancashire market town has produced

a string of world-famous entertainers,

such as Gracie Fields and this lady, Lisa Stansfield.

# Been around the world

# And I-I-I

# I can't find my baby... #

The neighbourhood I'm in is a mix of commercial

and residential properties and that's pretty fitting,

cos the lot I'm here to see is just that, and here it is.

On the ground floor, there's a working barbershop.

On the first floor, it's a one-bed flat.

The whole unit has a guide price of in between £60,000 and £70,000.

Let's start in the barber's.

It's a lot of space in here.

Nice and bright, as well.

As you can see, mirrors everywhere, cos it is working at present.

You've got a kitchen out the back, toilet as well.

Now, if you were to take on this venture,

you've got tenants already in place, which means income.

Not a bad start. I'm quite happy.

Judging by the busyness of the road,

the shop should benefit from plenty of passing trade.

But do they provide good-quality male grooming?

There's only one way to find out.

Could you just take a bit off the top and maybe a bit off the sides as well? Thank you.

That's it, that's how you do it.

That's it, perfect. Perfect.

Phew. I'm not sure I can carry this off.

MUSIC: Devil's Haircut by Beck

# Got a devil's haircut

# In my mind... #

Well, that certainly made my hair curl.

Thanks, pal.

Moving swiftly on.

OK, we're upstairs in the flat now.

Just a small hallway here.

To my right, we have a decent-sized kitchen for a one-bed flat.

You'd have to take all that out and start again.

Here you've got the bathroom.

Lovely shade of green. It is quite tight in there but, you know,

it's a one-bed flat so you're not expecting anything too big.

That, as well, would have to come out and you'd have to start again

in the bathroom, too.

Through into this room here, which is the bedroom.

It is quite small and you seem to have a skylight up there

which hasn't been finished at all.

That would need doing.

Through into this room here,

which is definitely the lounge.

Summing up this flat.

New kitchen, new bathroom.

Just spruce it up a bit.

Bit of elbow grease and I think you'd be there.

And, to put a commercial perspective on things, who better to speak to

than an expert from the auction house who sold the property?

First impressions on the property, great little investment.

You've got an income straight away from the tenant on the ground floor.

It's a hairdressers, they're always popular

and people always generally want them in the future.

So, even if it becomes vacant,

probably it wouldn't be that difficult to find another tenant.

Erm, the flat is separate, separate access.

So, again, it would suit a first-time occupier,

somebody looking to move out of the family home.

Probably lives local, maybe works in Rochdale.

So, there will always be a good demand for something like this.

And how much does he estimate the new owner will have to spend

to get this place back up to scratch?

To get the place up to scratch,

£1,500, £2,000.

Er, general redecoration.

Probably new floor coverings.

The kitchen, bit tired.

Perhaps new doors on the cupboards, new worktops,

but otherwise, not a great deal.

Would there be any benefit in selling the shop and flat separately?

There's no demand at all for these properties individually,

the flat or the shop separately.

They would always be sold as one unit,

so, we'd expect this to sell for between £80,000 and £90,000.

This is potentially a great little investment in a good location,

and whoever buys it, they've got that business downstairs,

so money's coming in straight the way.

There's not an awful lot that needs doing in there, so I think it would be money well spent.

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

Traditionally constructed, end-of-terrace property

providing self-contained ground-floor retail commercial unit,

with a first-floor, self-contained flat,

accessed from the rear.

Nice and easy, 65.

60, then. See a bid at 60,000?

Anybody here straight in at 60?

60 I'm bid. At 60 I'm bid, then.

In fives. At £60,000.

Five anywhere?

If not, I'll take two.

At £60,000, then.

62.

64...

Once the bidding got started,

the price rose steadily.

We rejoin the auction with the price at £85,000.

At £85,000.

On my right on the aisle.

Here to sell, don't lose it.

First-time.

Second time at £85,000.

New bidder, 86.

87. 88.

89.

90?

89, here. Been with me all the way.

At £89,000.

With you, sir. Against you and against you.

First-time. Second time all done.

£89,000...

selling...

Well done, sir. 692.

The successful bidder was Faisal,

a local property developer and landlord.

Before he moved into this business,

Faisal had another occupation and the song is a bit of a clue.

MUSIC: In The Navy by Village People

# In the navy

# In the navy... #

No, he wasn't in the Village People.

All will be revealed back at the flat.

Faisal, nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-Congratulations, sir.

-Thank you very much.

What attracted you to this property?

It's the area, because I live locally

and most of my properties are in this area.

It's easy to have a look at them and easy for maintenance-wise as well.

And then, I'm concentrating more on the commercial side,

and this property was already rented,

so it's extra income already coming.

Tell us a bit about your background, before property.

Er, before property, I was in the navy.

I was Lieutenant Commander in the Pakistan Navy.

I served on board ship 14 years,

and after I have took premature retirement and came to UK in 1996.

So, when I came to this country, I didn't have a job.

So, one of my relatives, he was, erm, he kindly offered me.

He said, "Oh, I do the property, so if you want to join in, you know,

and then let's start this renting business."

What're you going to do to the flat?

Er, I'm going to do the kitchen, full reinstatement of the kitchen.

-And we'll take the chimney breast out of the kitchen.

-Yes.

Just upstairs, not the downstairs.

And, then I'm going to do the full bathroom new.

Fully tile the bathroom, take out the bath and put a shower there.

And then, basically,

everything renovating in the bathroom and the kitchen.

Talking of work, who's going to do the work for you?

I've got a team of builders and I've been doing the property development

almost for 18 years as well, so, I'm quite handyman myself as well.

And, er, my team is really, really very good,

so I think we all will chip in

and hopefully get this property going very quick.

What will you do yourself? What are you handy with?

I do kitchens and I do bathrooms as well.

Do you? You don't need anybody else!

No, of course not. But, because of the number of properties, you know,

it's very difficult to concentrate and spend more time on one place,

and that's why I bring people in to help me out.

OK. And downstairs, you'll just keep it as is? Let that run itself?

Downstairs will stay as it is because it's on the, you know,

self-repairing and insuring lease, so, we're OK with that.

I think it's going to maintain that,

and it's in good condition as well at the moment.

So, it doesn't need spending anything downstairs.

Faisal's wealth of experience means he's well equipped to deal with any

problems this Rochdale property might throw at him.

Well, almost anything.

So, Faisal, have you got any concerns on the roof?

-I see there's a few...

-Yeah, there's a few missing tiles, so,

first thing is, I'm going to get the roofer in and make sure that

the tiles are sorted because the weather is...

Rochdale is always raining, anyway.

If there's nowhere else raining, it's raining in Rochdale.

So, that's the priority for me to sort out.

-Anywhere near Manchester it's always raining.

-Always raining, yeah.

'Now, I do want to rain on Faisal's parade,

'but he paid 89 grand for this property,

'which is pretty much the market value the estate agent estimated.'

And were you happy with what you paid for the property?

Erm, in fact, I think I've been very lucky,

because when I went to the property I thought,

"Oh, yeah, probably my limit was up to £100,000."

And it came out to be about £89,000, so, I was really,

really happy that I got it for that price.

But I was ready to go up to £100,000 as well.

-Ah, so you've got a little bit left in the budget, there?

-Correct, yes.

-And how much have you got to spend on this?

-I think about £3,000-£4000.

Especially because, my experience in property development,

if you want to do a decent kitchen, it costs you around £2,000.

And then roughly the same, you know,

about £1,000-£1,500 on the bathroom as well.

And then a little bit on the painting and decorating.

So, I'm hoping, really, between £3,000 and £4,000.

And how long will it take you to get this one turned around?

Erm, I think, er, four weeks.

That's the, you know, timescale I'm prepared to spend, you know,

time-wise on this one.

Because I think, after that, I'm holding back this flat

for... For no reason.

I could easily put a tenant in and just start getting the

-income from, er, you know... straight away, then.

-OK.

So, what kind of money are you going to be getting back?

Downstairs shop is already rented to the barber shop and is producing

£500 income per calendar month, and I'm expecting £350 for the flat.

So, hopefully, once it's tenanted the altogether income will be £850.

Is that the kind of yield you were looking for?

Yeah, I think it's roughly about 10%,

which is really great in this industry, for the property industry.

People are expecting, and when they're working,

they're working almost for this yield,

keeping in mind they'll get 10% return on their investment.

Are these the kind of properties you look for?

I had residential properties first,

but I've moved on to commercial ones now.

The reason is that commercial tenants are more stable.

They're there for a longer time

and they're not as much maintenance required, to be honest.

-You've got it all wrapped up, pal.

-It is, yes.

-It's a doddle for you.

-I wish you all the best.

-Thank you very much.

-Good luck, Faisal.

-Thank you very much, thank you.

With Faisal's experience, this project will be a doddle,

and with his naval history, I'm sure he'll take command of the situation.

But will he sink or swim?

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

Coming up, in Eccles, Kent,

there are no short cuts when it comes to new-builds.

Don't ignore the rules, as they're there for a reason.

And in Rochdale, Lancashire,

former naval officer Faisal has reluctantly got back in the water.

Our work had been hampered majorly because of the rain.

Remember this two-bedroom bungalow in Alsager, Cheshire?

With a shed at the bottom of the drive,

and a back garden that needed a bit of a clear-up.

When I looked around it, I found some peculiar water damage.

That's very odd.

The bottom of the doorframe there has all rotted away

and it looks like there's damp on that wall.

Seems to be there's portions of the bungalow where there's a bit of a

damp issue, and yet it doesn't smell damp, and the carpet's not

particularly ruined and...

HE SIGHS

Hmmm.

'Bathroom was bath-less, so, as a possible source of the problem,

'it was off the hook.'

'The property was bought by husband-and-wife team John and Ann

'for £110,000, to initially do up and sell on.

'But then Ann decided she'd like to keep it as their home,

'and she knew who was going to cop for most of the work.'

Erm, I was a joiner many years ago.

Building inspector after that, for quite a number of years.

-Literally, hands-on stuff.

-Oh, God, yes. Yeah.

Obviously, not the wiring or the plastering or the plumbing,

but anything that wants doing,

and joinery work, and shifting, and the skip filling up, I'll do it.

Will you ever slow down and take you foot off the gas?

No, I'm a young 69.

I've got lots of years in front of me yet.

When I snuff it, it's the time to sleep.

Erm, I'll carry on as long as I can.

The couple were expecting a four to five month work schedule.

In reality, it turned into 13 months,

but they did take a five-month break.

They were able to sell their own flat remarkably quickly,

so, they moved in before tackling the outside work.

John retired ten years ago but, as a building inspector on site,

he was used to being king of all he surveyed - quite literally.

But, with this project,

he's had to take into account the wishes of his Queen Ann.

# And, oh, oh, oh, I was a king under your control

# And oh, oh, oh, I want to feel like you've let me go

# So let me go. #

As you might expect from a former building inspector, everything,

and I mean everything, has been done to the highest standards.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the bathroom,

which finally lives up to its name.

It has a bath!

And no worries about the water-damaged woodwork -

that's all been replaced.

MUSIC: King by Years and Years

The colour scheme and finishing touches of soft furnishings

have a very tasteful touch,

and the all-new windows and light-fittings

really brighten up the rooms.

What was once tired and jaded has become modern and vibrant.

John and his specialist trade people have definitely breathed new life

into this bungalow.

And, of course, all of it under Ann's discerning eye.

Well, by the looks of it,

King John and Queen Ann certainly make a good team.

But there must have been differences of opinion along the way, I'm sure.

I do like the new bay window, though.

We've put a bay in.

Ann wanted a bay rather than a flat window.

I wasn't fussy,

but I'm glad that she's got her own way because it does look nice.

Well, it works.

Was there anything else you gave way on, John?

She's the boss,

so I did as I was told and what she wanted went in.

-Got in, in the end.

-THEY LAUGH

Didn't that make working together a little tense?

Er, working together? Pass.

I'm joking. Erm, we get on great.

He'd start something and I'd say,

"I think I've changed me mind on that one. I think we'll have something different."

-As women do. But everything's been fine.

-It's good.

-No problems.

-No.

-We haven't fallen out at all.

-No.

I wish that was the case for all the refurbishments I see on the show.

How about money? That can usually cause a tiff or two.

How did the original £20,000 budget stand up?

Price-wise, how much have we spent?

Ooh, gosh...

Er, roughly round about 28,000.

We didn't expect to spend that much,

but because we were going to live in it ourselves, it was a case, well,

we'll do better stuff.

We'll have nicer flooring and nicer doors and light-fittings

and all the rest of it.

And the kitchen was a little bit more higher spec than we probably would have put in.

We've put in two local estate agents to get their views and valuations

for the property.

I think the main selling points of the property are the

excellent finish to the renovation,

particularly all-new double glazing,

new central heating system and new electrics put in place.

I like that the bedrooms are at the back of the property.

I think it gives more privacy and I think it's quite a selling point

for that reason.

I also like the fact that the kitchen is on the front,

because I think it is quite nice

to have a little look out while you're washing the dishes.

Although John and Ann show no signs of selling just yet,

what would their property be worth now?

They paid £110,000 at auction

and spent a further £28,000 on refurbishment.

So, any value above 138,000 would be good news.

On the current sales market,

I would value this property at £155,000-£160,000.

In the current sales market,

this property could achieve in the region of £175,000-£180,000.

Crikey! That could potentially mean a pre-tax profit of anywhere between

£17,000 and a stonking £42,000.

What do they think of that?

I'm really surprised.

Never thought, for one minute, it would reach those figures.

Whichever one, the lower or the higher, is great.

That's fine, because we were looking at it for a living here,

possibly for the rest of our lives,

but we'll wait and see on that.

Possibility. We'll wait and see. See what fate takes us!

Well, I'm betting fate takes you back down to the auction once again.

Just as soon as John gets bored.

I'm in the county known as the Garden of England - Kent.

Home to hops, oast houses and the village of Eccles -

not to be confused with it's northern namesake,

where the cakes come from.

Eccles is a short hop from Maidstone, and there's easy access

to the motorways nearby.

And if you want to be close to open green spaces, well,

this is a great street,

because you're surrounded by fields and parks.

Just look at the view over there - it's lovely.

Now, this is a sought-after road to live on,

but the guide price for the auction lot I'm here to see was 90-95,000.

Sounds intriguingly cheap for this area.

Shall we take a look and see what you actually get for your money?

Dun-dun-duh!

Couple of sheds, ha-ha!

A really glamorous one, as well, at the end here.

It's like a little gingerbread house.

But, no, that's a joke because that's not with you get.

Come into the garden and, erm... Voila!

It is a plot of land.

It comes with planning permission to build a semidetached house

on the end of this one here.

So, it's going to have three stories and four bedrooms.

My guess is the people that used to live next door

have sold their garden off to create this wonderful plot.

Fantastic.

I said semidetached,

but I suppose it's actually going to be an end-terrace,

and the former end-terrace will become a mid-terrace.

It seems more than likely that the owners must have weighed up any loss

in value in the house against the money made from selling the plot.

However, if certain guidelines are met,

you can retain the existing external wall as a separation

between the old and the new house.

If you do go down this route,

then the foundations will have to be exposed and checked

to ensure they're suitable for an increased load.

The wall will have to be checked to ensure it complies

with building regs and can sustain movement without cracking,

and has an effective damp-proof course.

A party-wall agreement with the neighbouring property

will also need to be made.

The route you decide to take will be dictated by building regulations

and the condition of materials you're working with.

Don't ignore the rules, as they're there for a reason.

The granted planning permission is for a similar house

to what will become next-door -

a top-floor master bedroom in the roof space,

and three bedrooms on the first floor.

Building works will undoubtedly mean disruption and noise.

My advice?

Keep the neighbours informed

and listen to any concerns they might have.

It should make everyone's life more pleasant.

We called in a local estate agent to get some valuations

for the completed project, and to find out more about the area.

I think this street is a very desirable street.

There's a park opposite for the children and it's a good place

for families to raise their kids.

What are the thoughts on the quality of the plot?

I think this is a great building plot.

It's flat and I think the house should be easy to construct,

there's no clearance required, so it should be a fairly easy project.

Would you change anything about the plans?

Having studied the plans,

I don't think I would make any changes at all.

The only thing I may do is consider adding a conservatory at some point

in the future, just to create that little bit of extra space.

This is a relatively small village, so,

will there be a demand for such a large house?

I think there is a good demand for four-bedroom houses in this location

and I hope that they finish it to a good standard and it should be quite

easy to sell.

What sort of potential market is there for the property around here?

When this house is actually built, I feel that, freehold,

it will sell for £285,000 at today's values.

And, as far as rental is concerned, approximately £1,500 a month.

From a shed to a whole new house,

this is an auction lot with more potential

than it seemed at first glance.

Yes, I'm sure there will be challenges along the way,

but buy this in this popular spot, and you're off to a good start.

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

130 now,

and this is land with planning for an attached four-bedroom house.

Very good area for resales, it's freehold and vacant possession.

Where are you going to start me? Can I see £90,000 to start me?

£90,000, can I say give me 85, start me where you will?

85,000 have got.

87 bid I have.

Put it up to 90. At 90, and two.

92, 92 can I see?

94, 96?

96, 98?

98? Going up to 100.

And two. 102.

And four? And six?

And eight?

In the packed sales room,

bids climb rapidly to where we rejoin at 114,000.

At 114. 116?

116, 118, 118?

No? At 116, back to you, madam.

116,000 for the first time.

116,000 for the second time.

Third and final time, at 16,000, stuck with it, yours,

well done and the number is M260.

Right from the first to the last bid,

it was a success for Sue and Graham.

Now, I won't ask if they've done their homework on this purchase,

because not only does their daughter live down the road,

Sue and Graham, and their puppy Gus, currently live right next door.

# Walking the dog

# You are walking the dog

# Walking the dog, just walking the dog. #

When the couple were viewing the plot,

they discovered the house was for rent from the owner,

so they're here until the build is finished.

How perfect is that?

The house! Not the puppy.

Although the puppy is just so perfect, too.

I met Sue to talk through with the plans.

Sue, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

Now, this is just... Well, it's such a lovely garden, really, isn't it?

-Yes.

-So, tell me the story. Who found it, why do you want it?

-I found it.

-Yeah.

My husband was going to auction,

so I found loads of properties for him to look at that were potential

and he didn't, you know, just didn't ever buy anything.

Mostly because they went for too much.

Because I gave him a limit for each property, so I said,

don't spend more than that on that and they all went over the limits,

and then this was the first auction I'd been to, property auction,

and I'd seen this plot and put a budget of 120,

because I knew how much property was worth round here,

knew what we were building. So, yeah.

So, were you looking specifically for a plot of land

-to build something for you to live in?

-No. No.

-So, this just happened to come up and it ticked a lot of boxes?

-Yes.

We were looking really for renovation properties,

but this came up and it just seemed ideal.

So, I know this plot comes with planning permission to build.

Are you going to tweak the plans or leave them exactly as they are?

Yeah, we're hoping to build an extension as well,

because currently, the planning only covers to the side of the house

-without the 2.5 metre extension.

-OK.

So we've submitted plans for that and, providing we get that,

that will make a huge difference.

If we don't, then we'll probably build a conservatory.

Sue's hoping to incorporate a ground floor extension within the size

that would normally be permitted development.

This will include bifold doors into the garden.

The neighbours have already extended in this way, so signs are hopeful.

This isn't their first project.

They've already renovated a house they inherited.

But this is their first foray into new builds.

Sue's been lucky to find a builder who'll give them an all-in price.

He is going to do everything for you?

You've got a price, it's within budget.

Come on, share the information, how much is it going to cost you?

It's going to cost us 128,000.

-Exactly?

-Well...

-And that's to do everything?

-That's to do everything.

-Yeah.

That's to tile, carpet, flooring, bathrooms, the whole works.

Obviously, you know, and the bifold doors, and if anything changes,

then we've got contingency for it.

But, I'm not thinking that we'll change very much.

Just be careful of those extras.

It's all those extras, you see, that they can add on that end up,

you know, amounting to quite a lot.

It's great that you've encompassed an all-in price with this.

How long do you think it's going to take to build?

-The builder says six to eight months.

-Right.

And you've got your budget, your timescale,

so is there anything that's worrying you about this?

No, not especially.

It's quite rare to actually buy a plot of land that's going to be

-attached to another house.

-Yes, yeah.

Any stipulations, have there been any problems so far with what you've bought?

With what's happened?

The only stipulation was that we had to have parking for two cars

somewhere on the plots.

So, we're planning to put the parking out front,

which none of the other houses on the road have,

but I don't really understand why.

And the other one is they did say that we couldn't build anything else

-on this plot of land.

-Mm-hm.

So the other bit with the extension, might be a slight problem.

Now, I know you got another little addition at the moment that's going

to be very involved.

Tell me about that gorgeous dog of yours!

Well, we lost our dog a year or so ago

and we've taken a long time to get over it

and we just got here and felt so settled, that my husband said,

"I think it's time we got another dog."

So, I looked online and found a little Jack-A-Poo,

so he's a Jack Russell crossed with a toy poodle.

-So that's where the fluffiness comes from, the poodle?

-Yes.

-He's absolutely gorgeous.

-Yes.

And are you thinking that this is going to be a long-term home for you

-to stay here for a long time?

-No.

-No?

-No.

We'll stay here until the build's finished,

and maybe a month or so after that, and then we'll find somewhere else.

-This isn't a home for you to live in?

-No.

This is the development project?

Sue, what role are you going to play whilst the project is going on?

I'm just go to sit and watch.

In the garden, in the sun!

-Hopefully.

-With the doggie?

-With the dog, yes.

-Really?

-Absolutely, yes. Definitely.

Sue, it's been lovely meeting you today.

I cannot wait to see the end result.

Good look with the project and good luck with the puppy.

-Thank you!

-Thank you, lovely to meet you.

OK, and you.

So, it's the first new-build project for a Sue,

but at least she's living right next door to keep her eye on the build.

But that's if she can tear herself away from her new little puppy.

Join me later in the programme to see if it all works well,

or if it turns out to be a right dog's dinner.

We've seen how our first buyer got on, but what about the other two?

Yeah, were they laughing all the way to the bank, or are they crying into their cornflakes?

Eloquently put, Lucy, you've been reading the thesaurus again.

Let's find out how they got on.

Time now to head back up the M62 to Rochdale, Lancashire.

The property I visited was this barbershop,

and an upstairs one-bed flat with separate access.

With the shop already leased to a tenant for £500 per calendar month,

there was ready income for any new buyer.

Now, it's well-known that us media types can't resist an opportunity

of a free makeover, but when this chap got going,

it was a hair-raising experience.

It did remind me of a short spell I had playing football for...Barnet.

GROANS

I'm here all week, folks!

No.

Upstairs, the flat was in reasonable condition,

but a new kitchen and bathroom but wouldn't go amiss,

and a general redecoration would finish the job nicely.

It was local property developer Faisal who paid £89,000

for this potentially lucrative buy-to-let opportunity.

My limit was up to £100,000 and it came out to be £89,000,

so I was really, really happy that I got it for that price.

A former officer in the Pakistan Navy,

Faisal swapped his sea legs for a sturdy pair of stepladders

and has built up some handy DIY skills since starting out

in the property world 18 years ago.

What are you handy with?

I do kitchens and I do bathrooms as well.

You don't need anybody else!

In this flat, those kind of skills were exactly what was required.

Faisal was keen to get this property turned around quickly and so set

himself a timescale of four weeks with a maximum budget of £4,000.

Eight weeks later,

we're back to finding out how he's been getting on.

Aside from a spot of snagging here and there,

this flat looks ready to move into.

But what does Faisal think of the end result?

I think overall,

I like the outlook of the kitchen and the bathroom.

You know, they just look amazing.

The work has been done to a good standard.

A major refurbishment has been done in the kitchen,

which means new kitchen units, new sink, new worktops

and the new tiles have been put in which nicely blend in

with the paint we've done, which is the magnolia.

And then the rest of the work in the bathroom, where we had a bath,

that has been removed now

and we have put a shower there, fully tiled,

new sink and new toilet set has been done there as well.

In the living room and bedroom,

it was a straightforward decorating job,

although new carpets have been added throughout.

Faisal even got to exercise his DIY muscles.

Most of the work has been done by my builders,

apart from the kitchen units and the worktop which I've done myself.

Nice job, pal, but don't forget it you still have to box in those

central heating pipes.

Although the heating, plumbing and electrics looked to be in good

condition, Faisal wasn't prepared to take any chances.

No work has been done on the heating and plumbing apart from checking it

so that it's safe for the tenant when they come in.

Safety first is definitely the only way to go when dealing

with gas and electrics.

# You'd better be nice, better think twice, better be careful. #

Always leave a little aside in your budget

for any expert inspections your property might require.

For peace of mind, it's worth paying that little bit extra.

On that subject, how did Faisal get on with his budget of £4,000?

We've been very lucky because I've done the work myself as well,

like, in the kitchen units and the worktop, I've done them myself.

So, at the end it cost us £2,650.

That's a massive £1,350 under budget.

And did he manage to complete the job within the four-week timescale?

Work has been hampered outside, majorly, because of the rain and,

because of that, we had two weeks delay in the project.

Apart from that, everything just went on schedule as we planned.

# Why does it always rain on me? #

Losing those two weeks meant that removing the chimney breast

in the kitchen slipped off Faisal's to-do list,

although the builder did manage to fix those loose slates.

Faisal's very happy with how the flat's turned out.

And, no matter how much rain falls in Rochdale,

nothing will dampen his spirits.

We've asked two local property experts

to have a look at the work he's done

and give us some valuations based on the local property market.

It's my first time inside the property.

The update to the kitchen and the bathroom, clearly money well spent,

as well as the redecoration work and the new carpets.

The standard of the finish is done to a very, very good standard,

and as soon as it does come on the rental market,

I know for a fact it will fly out.

So it shouldn't be difficult to let it.

On the sales market,

the agents believe the flat and the shop, sold together,

could fetch between £95,000 and £105,000.

At the high-end, that would give Faisal a pre-tax profit of £13,500,

against his roughly £91,500 spent.

What would the flat achieve on the rental market?

I would value this particular flat, in today's market,

at £360 per calendar month.

I would expect it to achieve a rental income

of approximately £375-£400 per calendar month.

With the downstairs shop earning a rental of £500 per calendar month,

and an additional monthly rent from the flat

possibly as high as £400 per calendar month,

could bring Faisal a total monthly income of £900,

and that's a yield of 12%.

I've got, already, somebody who's interested in the property,

and he offered me 325, which I've accepted.

So, I think I will stay with them because we've already agreed.

Settling for that lower income still means that Faisal is earning

a return on investment of 11%.

He's shown that a little bit of DIY knowledge can save money

and add value.

Does he have any tips for wannabe developers?

I would definitely say to people who want to do the property development,

that they should do it but, before doing that,

they should have some sort of on-hand experience -

joining, a builder, or just go to college or any institution

which can provide a few tips and training to these guys.

And it will be definitely worth it,

but you have to have a little bit of experience before,

if you want to do DIY yourself.

Back to Kent, and the small village of Eccles where,

previously in the show, I looked around a side and back garden,

bought at auction of £116,000.

Shall we take a look and see what you actually get for your money?

Dun-dun-duh!

Couple of sheds! Ha-ha!

A really glamorous one, as well, at the end, here.

Come into the garden and... Voila - it's a plot of land.

It comes with planning permission

to build a semidetached house on the end of this one, here.

So, it's going to have three stories and four bedrooms.

My guess is the people that used to live next door have sold their

garden off to create this wonderful plot.

The new owners of the plot were husband and wife Graham and Sue.

Their aim - to do the new build and sell on,

budgeting £128,000 for the work over a 6-8 month time period.

So, you want to build an exact replica of what's next door,

and you also want to try and build an extension of the back of the house,

like all the others along have.

-Yeah.

-Do you think you may have any problems with that?

Possibly. I don't really know.

The architect's working on it at the moment and he's,

he's on holiday this week,

but he's hoping to submit the plans next week.

So, were you looking specifically for a plot of land

-to build something for you to live in?

-No.

-So this just happened to come up and it ticked a lot of the boxes?

-Yeah.

We were looking, really, for renovation properties,

but this came up and it just seemed ideal.

Altering plans that have already been passed

can be a very time-consuming exercise.

Permitted development rules on extensions only apply to existing

structures, and Sue and Graham were planning a new build.

This also meant their plans would be open to objections

from members of the public.

We're back, nine months later, to see what happened.

# Carry me home when this is over

# Carry me home into the sun

# Through all the highs

# And all the hard times

# When we are grey and old

# Will you carry me home? #

Well, it's nearly finished, and they got permission for the extension,

although the planning process had delayed things.

Sue got her bifolds and the lounge extension looks to have

doubled the space.

Where there was once a gable end wall,

there's now an entrance hall and kitchen with all the mod cons.

# One day, baby, we can have it all. #

You could, Gary, including your own state-of-the-art wok burner,

state-of-the-art sink and kitchen units.

# You could carry me...

# Carry me home, when this is over... #

Let's carry on upstairs, to the second floor to be precise,

which comprises of an en-suite with roof windows to give a bright,

airy feel to the master bedroom.

From here, you get a good view of the remaining back garden,

here, on the left.

Down on the first floor there's the family bathroom,

which is fitted out with good-quality tiles and units.

# When we are grey and old

# Will you carry me home? #

It's on this floor where you'll find the three further bedrooms,

all of a reasonable size.

And, finally, on the ground floor, by the front lobby,

is a downstairs toilet which has a central heating boiler installed.

From an end of terrace garden to a new abode,

has anything else changed in the past nine months?

We've now decided that we're going to move in.

We like the area and it's very convenient and...

Yes. So we're hoping to move in in about three or four weeks.

What do you think Jack-A-Poo Gus will make of it all?

He's got a lot bigger than we thought he was going to get,

and changed colour.

But he's absolutely adorable and I think he'll love it,

absolutely love it here,

cos he's got so much more space to run around.

Apart from objections to the plans, were there other delays?

The plan we put in was wrong, so then we had to submit another plan.

Then we had put a larger window in the dormer than was in the original

plan, so we had to submit a plan for that.

And that probably extended all of that by about two to three months.

Currently, there's no water connected and the parking spaces are to be completed,

but has anything turned out better than expected?

My favourite part is the family bathroom.

I absolutely adore it.

I'm so pleased with it.

The tiles are lovely and the bath's a nice shape and, yeah,

I'm really pleased with that.

I bet you can't wait to get the water on, Sue, to try it out.

Sue thinks that, on completion,

they'll have spent £10,000 over their original budget,

taking the build cost to £138,000.

We called in two local estate agents,

to see if the project has been financially worth it.

The addition of the extension on the ground floor, I think,

is very necessary,

because it's quite a big house but most of the accommodation,

of course, is on the first and second floor so,

in order to create more of a family-type home,

it did need a little bit more room on the ground floor.

I'm very impressed with what has happened to this property.

White emulsion walls are very in keeping with the current trend.

The kitchen is very well fitted to a very high standard.

Yes, certainly very impressed, overall, that there's, really,

nothing I don't like, at all.

I think it's got top marks from me.

Sue and Graham have decided to move in,

but what potential profit might they have realised?

They paid £116,000 at auction for the plot

and £138,000 in build costs -

a total of £254,000.

If this property was put on the market now,

I would say they should achieve a figure in the region of £320,000.

I believe this property could sell for around about £325,000.

I'm quite impressed with that.

325 would be really, really good.

320, yeah, I'd be really happy with that.

Who wouldn't be happy with a £71,000 gain,

minus the usual taxes and expenses,

in just nine months?

Is it something you'd repeat, Sue?

I think if you'd asked us six months ago, we would have both said no,

we wouldn't do it again.

But I think, now, especially with the values that we've had

from the estate agents, I think, yes, we would do it again.

Behind every auction property there is a story to tell.

Yes, and it's generally a fascinating one.

And, what's more, we'll have plenty more for you next time.

Yeah, so join us again on Homes Under The Hammer.

-We'll see you then.

-Goodbye.

-Bye-bye.

-Goodbye.