Episode 18 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to the programme. All over the country,

people are looking for places to live in, to rent and to sell on.

But finding the right property for the right price -

well, that's what it's all about.

Yeah, a great place to start is your local property auction.

Whether a buyer takes on a semidetached house

or a plot of land, there's always going to be challenges.

Yes, time is money and money and time can run out pretty quickly.

Yeah, so let's see what's in store for our buyers on today's show.

Coming up, I see a beautiful Leicestershire bungalow

rise out of the quagmire.

It's just mud and it's a good job I had my wellies in the car.

Will this three-bed mid-terrace in Chesterton, Staffordshire,

allow me to access all areas?

HE HAMMERS ON THE DOOR

And this three-bedroom '30s semi in Thornton Heath, Surrey,

puts me through my paces in the back garden.

That's what you call a garden - a long one at that!

All these properties have been sold at auction

and we'll find out who bought them and what they paid for them

when they went under the hammer.

Ratby is a beautiful village on the outskirts of Leicester.

Traditionally, it's a farming village but, in recent years,

Ratby's become a very popular place for commuters,

as it's less than six miles from Leicester city centre.

On the outskirts of my home town, in this lovely village,

with some really pretty houses, is the lot I'm here to see.

It's not a house, it's a plot of land.

It had a guide price of £125,000 and it's down this driveway.

Let's have a look.

# Mud, mud, glorious mud

# Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood

# So follow me, follow

# Down to the hollow

# And there let us wallow in glorious mud... #

Set back off the main road, down a long driveway,

it's just mud and it's a good job I had my wellies in the car,

so I can wade through all this mess.

But what I can tell you about this plot of land is

there's plans in place for three separate properties already -

two two-beds, which are going to be situated in that area,

and a four-bed, separately, over there as well.

Lots of off-street parking. It's bigger than I thought it was.

But, subject to planning, of course, and your choice,

you could put four townhouses in a row across that back fence.

There's enough space, as well,

to have your two semidetached properties over there.

I think you could be onto a winner and a bit of a money-spinner,

if that's what you're thinking.

We called in an auction house expert to get some insight

into the village and valuations of the planned properties.

Bet he wished he'd worn his wellies like me.

Ratby's a really nice village.

It's located on the north side of Leicester,

about five miles from the city centre.

Real nice community feel to the village,

a couple of nice little pubs, good local primary school,

and close to the motorway network, so really good for commuting.

It all sounds idyllic.

So, what if you were to stick to the current outline plan

for two two-bed semis and a four-bed detached house?

What would they be worth?

I feel the two-bedroom semidetached properties would be worth

in the region of £145,000 each

and the larger four-bedroom detached property would have a value

in the region of £275,000 to £300,000.

If you were to get the site

for anything like the £120,000 guide price,

even if you take into account building costs,

there's still room for a good profit here,

as those sale prices total nearly £600,000.

And there's more.

If this plot of land isn't big enough for you,

you actually get an additional plot, a smaller plot,

a few metres that way.

There's no access to it at present,

but if you're nice to your neighbours, that could all change

and does give this venture and this site so much more potential.

Let's see who's ready to wade in, feet first, at auction.

Lot number 5. 120, excellent prospect.

115, I've got, thank you.

At £115,000.

116 is bid here. 116.

117 I've got. 118.

At 118,000. 119.

120.

It's a slow start but, once they begin,

the bids come in thick and fast. We rejoin the bidding at £138,000.

Against you at the back, £138,000.

Half. 138.5.

139. 139.5?

No? £139,000 here. One more quickly?

For the first time at 139.

For the second time at 139. Third opportunity, we're selling it.

£139,000.

GAVEL COMES DOWN

Sold at 139, thank you.

Although our cameras couldn't catch him at the auction,

the successful bid was made by Colin.

At £139,000, he bought the plot for himself and his wife, Sue.

They've lived in Ratby for many years

and have close family ties here.

We met to discuss their intentions.

-Colin, nice to meet you.

-Morning, Dion.

-Sue, nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Nice to be back home, in Ratby. I recognise the accent.

It's like going home to see the family.

-Tell us about the auction first and foremost.

-It was frightening.

The first auction I've bid on for myself.

We'd actually offered more before the auction

-than we got it for at the auction.

-Really? You offered more for this?

Yeah, we offered direct and they said no.

And we couldn't go to what he wanted, so went to the auction.

Yeah, we're over the moon.

So, tell us why, particularly, this piece of land and this area.

I was born here and my husband, when we first met, loved it here,

so we always wanted to live here anyway.

And because we've sold our house in Ratby,

we desperately wanted to stop here, so we thought,

"How about building our own? It's our dream."

# I have a dream... #

The house Colin and Sue sold was a seven-bedroom Georgian mansion.

Part of the dream is to give some capital from the sale of the house

to the children to extend their houses.

By staying in Ratby,

they hope to be able to spend a lot more time with the grandkids.

-This apparently used to be the brickworks years ago...

-OK.

..but we didn't know it was here.

It's like winning the pools for us cos we want to stay here.

-Cos it's nice and private as well.

-Yes, exactly, that's true.

"Winning the pools" - that's going back some time! So now, it's yours.

I know there's plans for a four-bed property and two two-bed properties.

-That's already in place.

-That's... Yeah, we've altered that.

We submitted plans yesterday for just a bungalow, just for us.

-Just one property.

-One large property.

-That could be amazing.

-It's large.

-It WILL be large on this big plot of land.

We're worried, now we've seen the size of the land.

The bungalow is large but we hate gardening.

Yeah. Might have to have a swimming pool.

Now, that would be a blow for you, wouldn't it,

-having to have a swimming pool?!

-Just to get rid of some land.

-I think she's gone long there.

-Did you hear that?

-Yeah, I heard.

-Just nudged that one in nicely there.

-Yeah.

But, yeah, we were amazed we got the land. It's where we want to be.

-We're now terrified because we've never done anything like this.

-No.

That's understandable. It's a big plot.

# Just running scared... #

And it needs a lot of clearing.

What kind of bungalow are we having?

-Tell us more about the specifics of the bungalow.

-It's large.

It's going to be approximately 22 metres long, 10.5 metres deep.

It's a dormer bungalow and it's all oak, all the front's oak.

Bi-folding doors. Our master suite's got a big oak frontage on.

-Juliet balcony.

-A Juliet balcony.

-Ah, romance.

-Yeah, bit of romance.

-No comment.

-THEY LAUGH

-It's what we want. But it's all down to budget now.

-Yeah.

-It's a bit unknown, really.

-Yeah.

-We're just getting prices at the moment.

-OK.

-We're having two prices.

-We're having the price to build it, finished, complete.

-Yeah.

And we're having a price to put the shell up and the footings

and then I'll use my friends and we'll do it bit by bit.

# I have a dream... #

The couple had looked in vain for a ready-built bungalow,

but found builders were more commonly building townhouses

these days to maximise the profit from the plot,

which is something Colin and Sue aren't too concerned about.

What about the budget?

The budget, initially, was £170,000. We've already revised that.

-Yeah, it's not possible.

-No, for what we want, for what we want.

-So we revised it to 210.

-OK.

So, we're looking at spending about 350 with the land and the build.

-We're not looking to make a profit.

-No.

-No.

-We're looking... It's ours.

-To build a home for yourselves.

-Yeah.

So, the budget is important but it's not the end value in cash,

it's the end value cos it's ours for the rest of our lives, really.

OK, and you've got people that you're turning to now to get quotes?

Yeah, I own a mortgage brokerage, so I do a lot of finance for builders.

-OK.

-And we're using them. They're quoting us, so using contacts.

-So, that's your full-time job.

-Yeah.

And this is a bit of a project for you.

-Sue, what do you do, away from...?

-I'm a merchandiser.

-OK.

-So, I'm part-time anyway.

-OK.

So, I'll be there when it's painting and decorating.

-All the pretty stuff.

-Yes.

And how long are you hoping the work's going to take?

What's the timescale from now, from what we see here,

to your dream family home?

We were hoping six months,

but now we've decided it will be six to nine months

and we don't really know the time schedule because even the utilities,

we didn't realise how long you have to wait for that to get in,

so it's a bit unknown but hopefully, this time next year,

we'll be in our bungalow.

I think you've done really well to find a plot of this size

-in an area that you both love...

-Yeah, definitely.

-..where your family are.

-We're very fortunate, we know that.

-I think so.

-And for the price.

-You want to feel at home.

There's another little hidden gem

that you get with this property as well, isn't there?

-Yeah, it's stuck behind... It's landlocked.

-Just over there.

-Yeah, behind next door's garden, but this is big enough.

-Yeah.

If we could get that, it would be lovely.

Sue would like to put a pool in there, as she mentioned earlier.

Swimming pool, play area for the grandkids.

But if the neighbour doesn't want to sell, we're not bothered.

It can just sit there.

It's not doing anything, it's not costing anything.

-This is more than enough.

-This is big enough.

You're sort of building, like, a family base, aren't you?

Not just a base for you guys but a family base that everybody can...

Come round. They do anyway, they're always down.

Yeah, we're having a big New Year's party, aren't we, for the family?

-Having an Oscars party.

-Are you?

-A farewell to the house.

-Champagne and tux and...

-Fantastic!

-You're not invited, Dion.

-Oh!

-That was my next question. Is mine in the post?

-Yeah.

I hope you're both very happy, I really hope you do well.

-Sue, good luck to you.

-Thank you.

-Congratulations, good luck.

Colin and Sue, very excited about their new venture.

Little bit of nervousness as well but they've found a plot of land

in an area they know very well, with all their family around them.

Will they get that family base they've wanted for many years

and will it have a swimming pool?

Find out later on in the programme.

# Up in the morning and out to school... #

Chesterton is a former mining village in Staffordshire,

about three miles to the north of Newcastle-under-Lyme.

As well as its proximity to larger towns like Castle,

as it's known round these parts,

there are also a number of schools and colleges close by,

making the village very popular with young families.

So, a very elevated position for the property I'm here to see.

You've got this sort of bank down to the road.

I wouldn't want to mow that. Maybe get a few pet goats or something.

But, anyway, £55,000 plus was the guide price for this.

It's a mid-terrace, three bedrooms.

The first thing you'll notice, it's got two doors,

so we're going to try an experiment, a first on Homes Under The Hammer.

Interactive television.

Do you want me to, number one, go through THAT door,

or, number two, go through THAT door?

All you have to do is get your TV remote control and push 1 or 2.

Ready? Go.

And the results just in. Looks like I'm going through door number one.

HE KNOCKS

HE HAMMERS ON THE DOOR

So much for interactive television, eh!

Through the front door. Don't know what that other door was.

But anyway, brief moment while we wait for those people

who accidentally retuned to a different channel...

-HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

-Dum-de-dum-de-dum. Welcome back!

So, what have we got?

Stairs up to the three bedrooms there.

You've got the lounge on that side

and then through to a small, I suppose, sitting room on this side.

The first thing you notice is, oh, my golly gosh, look at this!

Er...

Decorative plasterwork on the walls. Actually, it's really, really hard.

If you had a child falling on that,

I think they might actually hurt themselves.

So, you'd want to replaster that for sure, at least skim it.

We've got new radiators, which is good. The floor seems to be OK.

However, in a lot of areas around here,

that were places where a lot of mining went on,

some of the excess stuff from that mining actually ended up

as the sort of stuff underneath floors

and, over time, that can cause a bit of a problem,

so you definitely need to have that checked out

because it would give you a potential problem

if you were trying to get a mortgage.

But through here, through into the kitchen,

through this little archway.

It's crying out for a bit of thought, this.

Take out the whole of that wall, perhaps,

to create yourself a really nice kitchen-living space.

Cos you've not only got this but you've got this little thingy.

Let's incorporate it in the kitchen and create a really nice space.

What have we got back here?

A-ha! A door! The mystery is solved.

Now, I know I'm always banging on about ex-local authority properties,

but this is good solid housing stock.

There may be an issue with the floor but, on the whole...

# Most of all

# Most of all it's built to last... #

Yet more decorative plasterwork up here. Lovely(!)

You've got three bedrooms, so quite a lot of space.

Nice size bedroom there,

another good size double on that side here

and then it starts to get to the area

where we might be able to do a bit of jiggery-pokery

and do something quite dramatic.

At the moment, you've got this little loo here.

Very big cupboard, which just contains the boiler

but lots of space, so I wonder if you stick a combi boiler

down in the kitchen, free up that area

because that is the separate bathroom. It's got a shower in it.

But maybe playing around with partition walls in here

to create a really nice family bathroom.

Definitely something needs to be done.

Play around with it on a piece of paper and then commit to it.

Scope for some creativity upstairs then, but what about the outside?

Well, at the back of the property, a real nice surprise.

Not only have you got this really pleasant tiered garden,

but you've also got rear access.

No garage at the moment, but you could easily build one.

What they've got is this car pit here.

So, not too much work to get something really useful there

and then you've got that off-street parking, lots of space.

Looking at the back, the house doesn't look in too bad condition

so, all in all, lots of ticks.

But let's see what a local property expert makes

of what's on offer here,

for a guide price of £55,000.

The property offers three good size bedrooms,

also two reception rooms downstairs.

It's also got a very good elevated garden to the rear of the property.

The property does require some general updating throughout

and there's also the option of knocking through

to have an open-plan kitchen-diner.

How does he feel about reconfiguring the upstairs

to create a bigger bathroom?

I think the layout upstairs I would leave as it is.

You would need to sacrifice one of the bedrooms

if it was to be put in as a more modern bathroom suite.

Onto values now.

If the property was modernised to a good standard,

we would look to place the property for sale

in the region of £85,000 to £90,000.

If the property was placed onto the rental market,

we would look to achieve

somewhere in the region of £450 per calendar month.

Clarify the situation with the floor

and I reckon this place could be a real winner.

It's a good house in a good location,

nice garden, and it doesn't need too much work to get it up to scratch.

Play your cards right and this place could definitely bear fruit.

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

Lot 85. What's this? 50 to start me?

50 bid, thank you. At £50,000.

51 can I see now? At £50,000.

51 now? 51.

52. 53.

54. 55.

56. 57 next to you.

58. 59.

60. 61.

62. 63.

64. 65.

66. 67.

68. 69.

At 69, with you, sir.

At £69,000. 70 anywhere else?

Back in. 70. 71.

72. 73.

No? £73,000. Your bid, sir. £73,000.

74 anywhere else? 74.

75. Sure?

75, still with you, sir.

At £75,000 once.

£75,000 twice.

Third and final time. £75,000.

-GAVEL COMES DOWN

-You bought it, sir. Well done.

Well, that was fun.

Nothing beats a spot of quickfire auction tennis

and it was Bill and Sue that hit the winner with that £75,000 bid.

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

# And I want you

# Oh, I want you bad... #

-Sue, Bill, great to meet you both.

-Thank you.

-Hi.

-Congratulations.

-Great.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy this house.

Well, this is a long-term investment,

-so this is a later on in life pension.

-Mmm-hmm.

And why here and why this particular house?

The house is big, it came at the right price,

-so I thought, "Well, why not?"

-Are you both local?

Yeah, we live local.

-Right and what do you do when you're not doing this?

-Publican.

-Publican? You run a pub, both of you?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, great fun.

So, what tempted you into the world of property development?

-Well, it's not the first one.

-OK.

-We've done...

We've done three, haven't we, altogether?

The third one we're doing up now.

We've sold two, we live in one, and this is an investment.

What attracted you, specifically, to this one?

After about six months of actually going to the auctions

and getting nothing and nothing, and this one came on, we thought,

"This might be the one."

So, we came and had a look, viewed it, read the legal pack

and we thought, "We'll crack at it. We'll try this one."

Sue, what's your involvement going to be in the whole project?

-Decoration.

-Right.

-Are you going to get rid of the bubbly walls everywhere?

-Yeah.

-And Bill will put the back-work into it.

-Right.

-Yeah, try.

Tell me what you're planning to do with it then.

Plaster, hopefully, top to bottom.

New coat of paint. New kitchen fitted.

The bathroom has got a modernish-looking shower in there,

so I'm not sure about the shower, whether we'll rip it out or...

Cos it's a long-term rental,

we might just see how it goes on the viewings.

If people are saying they'd prefer a bath, then I'll come back

in a week's time and I'll chuck a bathroom suite in.

And what about the kitchen side of the downstairs?

Obviously, you've got the sort of dining room separate

and you've got that little rear area.

Yeah, when the plasterer comes in, we'll see what we can do.

-Whether to open it up and make it one big...

-Like a kitchen-diner.

-Nice.

-Maybe that'll be the plan.

Hopefully, fingers crossed, we can go that way.

With plenty of experience behind them,

Bill and Sue will tackle most of the work themselves.

Bill's speciality is DIY

and Sue will take care of the painting and decorating,

but they will leave the plumbing, electrics

and gas to the professionals.

But there is one job they're not convinced needs to be done at all.

So, what about the floor

because there was a mention of it, wasn't there, in the pack?

Yeah, when we first looked at all the pack,

we asked about the radon test certificate.

So it's radon, as far as you're concerned,

-not problems with the substrate?

-Yeah.

Radon is a radioactive gas

which comes from naturally occurring uranium under ground.

In some areas of the country, it's concentrated to very high levels.

Public Health England published an online map of the affected areas

but I'm told radon is not something of a major concern locally.

However, red ash is,

and that can mean digging up and replacing the floor.

Either way, both issues need to be sorted if you have them

and both cost money.

So, what's the budget?

The budget is going to be around £5,000, give or take a little bit.

-Yeah.

-And what's the timescale?

-Eight to ten weeks.

-Oh, wow.

Time is money so you can get people in as soon as poss.

Yeah, this is only the second time we've been here

-since we've had it, so...

-Yeah.

-Congratulations, good luck with it.

-Thank you very much.

-And we'll see how you get on.

-Thank you.

Great stuff. Thank you.

I think Bill and Sue have got themselves

a really nice property here.

However, I am a little bit concerned about the floor.

What exactly is the problem? Definitely needs to be investigated.

Hopefully, it won't cause them too many hiccups.

You can find out how they get on later in the show.

Still to come, three options to extend - upwards to the roof,

out at the back and over the garage.

This option gets my vote.

And Bill and Sue see the funny side of their schedule.

I think we could have done it in ten weeks

but cos of all the delays... BILL LAUGHS

Back now to my old stomping ground, Leicester,

and the nearby village of Ratby,

where earlier I viewed this 0.34 of an acre site,

bought by Colin and Sue, for £139,000.

The plot had outline planning permission granted for three houses

but Colin and Sue had other ideas.

We submitted plans yesterday for just a bungalow just for us.

-That could be amazing.

-It's large.

It WILL be large on this big plot of land.

We're worried, now we've seen the size of the land. We hate gardening.

Yeah, might have to have a swimming pool!

The pool would be a big hit with the grandchildren,

who live nearby, but would also be a big hit on the budget.

Colin was keeping his options open when it came to construction costs.

We're having two prices.

We're having the price to build it, finished, complete.

-Yeah.

-And we're having a price to put the shell up and the footings

and then I'll use my friends and we'll do it bit by bit.

They hoped, dependent on the speed of planning,

to be in within 12 months,

with the physical work scheduled for six to nine months

and a spend of £210,000.

The budget is important but it's not the end value in cash,

it's the end value cos it's ours for the rest of our lives here.

It's our dream.

With their seven-bedroom mansion sold,

Colin and Sue moved in with their daughter, while work proceeded,

and we're back 13 months later

to find out if they're living the dream.

Looks like Archie's enjoying

catching up with Grandma on all the current affairs.

# There's a place I go

# When I'm alone

# Do anything I want

# Be anyone I wanna be... #

Sue got her bi-fold doors in the kitchen, lounge and dining room,

not to mention the pop-up extractor fan.

# Hold it close, won't let this go

# Dream catch me, yeah

# Dream catch me when I fall... #

They say if you're going to dream, dream big.

Well, this dream is eight metres tall,

ten and a half metres deep

and 22 metres long, with cavernous rooms.

The dining room could easily be a bedroom, if needed.

It's not as if the kitchen isn't big enough to eat in.

# And I know now

# Who I am... #

The family bathroom serves two ground-floor bedrooms and the study,

not quite ready for filming yet,

but it could easily convert to a further bedroom.

But the planning application was for three bedrooms -

two down here and one in the dormer.

At the rear of the kitchen is the utility room.

That concludes the downstairs rooms.

Now let's go upstairs to the minstrel gallery.

# That's where I'm going

# Where are you going?

# Hold it close, won't let this go

# Dream catch me, yeah... #

At the far end of the house, above the garage, is the master bedroom.

With the Juliet balcony and high-quality light fittings,

there's no prizes for guessing who sleeps here.

The adjoining en suite, like everything in the house,

is fitted with the finest quality.

But there were some unexpected complaints

about the quality of fittings.

The plumber had never encountered

a high-quality waterfall shower before

and had to learn how to fit it.

But wouldn't we all go through a steep learning curve

to end up with a dream house just like this?

# Dream catch me when I fall... #

However, this dream started as a nightmare.

We had to have 17 20-ton lorries to clear the land.

People had been dumping here forever and ever.

That, along with us having to get the planning permissions altered

and then having to go two metres deep with the footings

and have a block and beam floor,

it took our contingency monies within the first month, of £20,000.

-Quite frightening, wasn't it?

-Oh, definitely.

Checks on the land at this wet site

meant a conventional foundation was out the question

and the extra cost of block and beam caused some casualties.

I'm afraid the swimming pool money went.

I'm quite glad cos I can't swim, so it was of no interest to me.

But it wasn't all financially bad.

As the bungalow is a new build,

Colin can claim back the VAT on certain things.

Probably £30,000, £35,000-worth of goods bought,

so we're talking probably...

I'm probably going to get about 10, 15 grand VAT back.

Colin planned on a £210,000 build cost,

but with the extra expense of clearing the land,

how did that affect the budget?

Final figure on the spend, disregarding the driveway,

is £370,000, so that's £230,000 to build.

Less the 15 grand VAT due back, I make that £215,000, 5 grand over.

But I'm not arguing.

There's no way Colin and Sue would consider

selling their dream home,

but we called in two property experts to establish

whether the bungalow was worth the money they had spent on it so far.

First, the representative from the auction house who sold the site.

Really impressed with this. They've done an amazing job.

They've built a very individual and unique property

for themselves and finished it to a really high specification.

I think this is an extremely special house.

It's been done up to a so high standard that, to be fair,

I love it that much, I think I'd buy it!

The couple bought for £139,000.

They spent £215,000, including the VAT refund, on the building.

They reserved £30,000 for landscaping

and laying of the driveway,

so a total of £384,000 is the magic figure to beat.

If the property was placed on the market for sale,

I'd expect it to achieve in the region of £450,000.

It's a difficult one because it's so well finished,

but I think if it went on the open market for sale,

we should put it on at £450,000, but offers over,

and then let the market decide what they're willing to pay for it.

We ARE bothered that it's worth what we've spent on it

but we're not really bothered on a profit cos it's our home, isn't it?

Yeah. That's all we were worried about in case we went over.

Yeah, we had good quality fittings, didn't we?

Yeah, so we could have gone over, really, so that's good.

As long as it's worth what we spent,

-so we're happy with that.

-Yeah, that's good.

With retirement on the horizon, are there any further property plans?

-We're just going to enjoy...

-Enjoy the house and get the outside done.

-Yeah, we've worked all our life for this, haven't we?

-Yeah.

It's our dream, so we're now going to enjoy our dream.

# Dream catch me when I fall... #

I'm sure we'd all like to wish Archie and his family

many sweet dreams to come.

Thornton Heath is a district of south London

that has easy access to green space

and great commuter links to the city centre.

It sits between Norbury and Croydon

and I've been in this area a lot recently.

# Got to get my old tuxedo pressed

# Got to sew a button on my vest

# Cos tonight I've got to look my best

# Lulu's back in town... #

As you can see from the properties around me,

it's dominated by the 1930s semi.

Well, I'm here to see a three-bedder

and it had a guide price of £350,000.

It's got off-street parking and a garage, which is such a good start.

Usually I like these houses,

so let's hope it lives up to expectations.

Oh, I do like this '30s front door, and hallway heaven inside.

Wow, look at this. I always go on about having a spacious hallway

and look at the staircase. That's really, really nice.

So, there's a lot to work with straightaway in this property.

Two reception rooms, great size in here.

Second reception room, again, very dated, as you'd expect.

And a 1930s kitchen. Well, a little bit on the small side here.

Terribly disappointing.

Right the way round here, we've got the garage through here,

a downstairs loo and a massive utility room.

I wasn't expecting this.

I suppose you could think about knocking this wall down

and opening it up and having a much bigger kitchen.

I wouldn't recommend you have the same size utility as the kitchen,

but there's a lot you could play with,

so, so far, so good. What a surprise, eh?

The second and third bedrooms look over the back garden

and damp has clearly been an issue in the smaller bedroom.

As was commonplace in the '30s, the bathroom and toilet are separate.

Knocking them together would get my vote.

The main bedroom overlooks the front of the house

and I think, with a bit of imagination,

you could have a really smart property here.

Forgive me for being overexcited

but on a lovely summer's day like today,

I just want to show off this fabulous garden.

The house is large inside but the garden just goes on...

..and on... We're not there yet.

..and on.

SHE WHISTLES

There's a bit more still. Come on, keep walking, cameraman.

The reason why I'm chivvying you along is because, look,

there's even more garden

and this is like a little secret area underneath the undergrowth.

Here we are. More of it to talk about.

Ooh, just getting through here. But look!

If you were thinking about cultivating something amazing,

with all this space... Da-da-da!

..well, you could, couldn't you?

That's what you call a garden - a long one at that!

If you wanted a veg patch here,

I reckon you could feed the entire street!

# My favourite vegetable... #

Failing that, it's ideal for a family.

Imagine the kids making dens at the bottom of the garden.

In either case, there's plenty of space to extend

without compromising the back garden.

MUSIC: Vegetables by The Beach Boys

Now, if you wanted to go down a more cost-effective way of extending,

what about extending over the garage here?

This is generally a cheaper route than building from the ground up,

because you shouldn't need to dig new foundations,

although building control will still want to check

that the existing ones are adequate.

One thing to bear in mind, though,

is, if the walls existing of the garage are only single skin,

they might need to be upgraded to match the rest of the house.

Now, I have seen that some of the neighbours have already gone

over the garage and they've already done this.

And if you did want that fourth bedroom and en suite,

this option gets my vote.

It all depends how far you want to develop this -

at the side, at the back, even up into the loft.

There are many options here.

But if you're doing this as an investment,

then best pick the brains of a local estate agent.

I'd extend to the rear by the maximum possible

and the easiest way to do that is go via permitted development

and extend by three metres to the rear of the property,

maybe make the kitchen and living room at the back of the property

a big nice open-plan space.

With this footprint, it could make a large open-plan space.

What sort of figure would you expect on the open market

after refurbishment?

Renovated as a three-bedroom house,

this property would sell for approximately £480,000.

Well, 1930s properties usually get a thumbs up from me,

but this one is so spacious and, if you want to make it even bigger,

well, there are ways in which you can do that too.

So, who saw the potential? Let's head to auction and find out.

Right, lot 11. Who would like to kick off on this?

How much?

350. 355?

355. 360? Yeah?

365? Yes. 370.

Two bidders don't want to be outbid.

We rejoin the contest at £428,000.

430, back in.

432? 432, sir?

434.

Quick, one more go? 434.

436, sir?

438.

440? 440.

442?

442. 444 elsewhere?

If not, 442. First time.

Second time.

Third and last time, if you're all done.

GAVEL COMES DOWN

Sold, 442. Well done. Started and finished it.

The successful bid came from Shaz.

Shaz has been on the show before

when he bought this three-bedroom semi in Streatham,

back in December, 2014.

And to say he had set a very ambitious timescale

would be an understatement.

Hopefully, we can get it straight on the market.

-You are thinking about selling it on?

-Yeah, I've spoken

to one of my friends. He wants to put an Open Day

-three days from now.

-What?!

Shaz did have an offer on Open Day, but decided to rent out,

getting a yield of 5%.

Today, he's bought his inspiration, his father, along

to view the latest £442,000 purchase.

I'm so happy you brought the great man himself today

because the last time we met,

you really were very much talking about your family

and how property developing has been a thing that your dad taught you.

-That's right, yeah.

-Is that right?

Yes, well, I was taught by my dad

and it's passed on since the generations.

Property in those days was about £3,000 for a six-bedroom house.

Plumbing, central heating - you name it and I was doing it.

-How much of that are you doing here?

-Well, luckily...

It's changed a little over the years, hasn't it?

I've worked out sometimes it's better to pay somebody else to do it

and I can relax a bit more. The faster they can finish the job,

the quicker I can move on to sell it and move onto the next project.

For me, I really enjoy making the deals.

You get deals made and sold

and within six months, you can get substantial profit.

Overall, days were hard work and difficult

and with little money involved,

but now it's a lot of money and little work, so it's work that way.

I love that - there's a lot of money and a little work.

That's how your dad sees it these days.

So, how involved are you going to be in this project?

He plays a consultant role and a finance role as well,

so occasionally, if I need some finances sorted out,

he will help out with that.

So, you're still there. The bank of mum and dad never ends, does it?

So, Shaz, I'm really intrigued to find out

what your plans are for this house?

This road is popular because of the side extension,

because we can build on the side and the rear gardens are very big,

so we can build a nice big six-metre extension

and you could put a loft conversion in here.

So, you could convert this property

from a three-bedroom to a five-bedroom

with massive open living space.

And I take it that is what you're going to do?

We've already put plans in and, whatever the plans are,

they're more or less under permitted development,

so we expect to get the permission for that.

Shaz isn't concerned about losing the garage,

which he feels is too narrow for a modern family car.

Several houses in the street have already extended,

knocking down the garage.

The previous owners of this property had only owned it

for a short period of time,

which caused Faz, Shaz's mortgage broker, some problems.

The previous...

The sellers had just purchased the property a month ago,

so I wasn't able to get a mortgage straightaway

and it was a lot of hassle getting the mortgage in place.

-So, well done, Faz.

-Yeah, he's a very close friend of mine.

I consider him my best friend right now.

Shaz was lucky.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders advise members

not to lend on properties owned for less than six months

and this is to help prevent money laundering.

What sort of budget have you got to spend here?

How much do you think you'll need to spend on this house?

Um, we can picture between £150,000 to probably £200,000, completely.

It's a big budget.

I'll try to probably keep it between £115,000 to £125,000

but it depends on what specifications you want.

Because it's a huge space,

if you go for high-spec, you can spend up to £200,000.

Who do you think you're likely to sell this on to or let it out to?

It will definitely be families. It will probably be sold, not a rental.

Rental wouldn't be the best option.

The best option would be to sell it on.

The last time we met, you kept going on and on about your builders,

about the dream team and how fabulous they were.

What I want to know is, have you still got the same team

and are they still as dreamy?

I'm still working with my dream team. They're working hard.

My granddad used to say, "You have to have a good accountant,

"solicitors, builders and you definitely need a good doctor

"to look after your health."

You've got most of those all covered and a cracking dad as well.

-Excellent. Thank you so much.

-So, everything's working out so far.

You're in a hurry to get the work done.

Realistically, how many months is it going to take you?

I expect to finish in six months.

My timeframe is probably six to seven months.

I'm really going to be pushing it on this.

Shaz and Parvez, it's been lovely meeting you both again

and I'm so glad that you brought your great dad along to meet me.

Yeah, he's a definite inspiration to me and so is your programme.

I hope it inspires many people to get on the property ladder

and own their own home.

-That's lovely to hear you say, so congratulations.

-Thank you.

-I can't wait to see the outcome.

-Thank you.

-Lovely to meet you.

It's great to hear that all is still going well for Shaz,

as he continues the property developing family tradition.

And it's just so lovely to meet his inspirational dad, Parvez.

I just can't wait to see the outcome of his ambitious extension plans.

Join me later on in the programme

and you can see for yourselves how it all goes.

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try,

-a plan just won't come together.

-Nope.

How many property projects become derailed? Oh, quite a few.

Yes, time, money, life just gets in the way.

But how did our next two buyers get on? Let's find out.

And so to Chesterton near Newcastle-under-Lyme

where, earlier, I saw this three-bed mid-terrace house guided at £55,000.

Lots of potential on offer here but a bit rough round the edges.

Look at this.

Er...

Decorative plasterwork on the walls.

Actually, it's really, really hard.

If you had a child falling on that,

I think they might actually hurt themselves.

On the ground floor, there was the option

to open out the kitchen into the dining room,

and upstairs perhaps move a few walls

to create a bigger family bathroom.

So, above ground, everything appeared straightforward.

Underneath the floorboards, though, not so much.

A lot of areas around here

were places where a lot of mining went on.

Some of the excess stuff from that mining actually ended up

as the stuff underneath floors and, over time,

that can cause a bit of a problem,

so you definitely need to have that checked out.

MUSIC: Shine by Take That

It was Sue and Bill who decided to take this on,

paying £75,000 in a fiercely contested auction battle.

They weren't that concerned with what may lie beneath their feet.

-Can't see it being a problem.

-It's been mortgaged since 1965

and the people that owned it were in it till now.

But as a long-term rental investment,

the couple planned to spend £5,000 on the renovation,

hoping to complete the project in eight to ten weeks.

Well, we're back five months later to see how they got on.

# Let it shine

# Let it shine... #

It may have taken them almost twice as long as they had intended,

but the wait was certainly worth it.

The kitchen looks fantastic

and, without the dividing wall, is now a kitchen-diner.

But the job wasn't without its problems.

When we decided to take the units out, all the tiles fell off,

the plaster fell off, so we had to take it right back.

Then we had to reboard it and plaster ceilings and whatever.

Then we decided to do the open-plan, take the wall out

and make it one big diner, so we've made it work.

Next door, in the living room,

Sue has been brightening things up with her paintbrush,

and removing that big old brick fireplace to make way

for a more understated marble effect, has also lightened the mood.

To finish off, what better

than a touch of Las Vegas pizzazz in downtown Chesterton?

Upstairs, the bedrooms have been freshened up

with decoration and new carpet.

And, although the bathroom isn't any bigger,

it has had a much-needed revamp.

Outside, there is little change,

so I'm guessing it wasn't the garden

that added to their eight to ten-week schedule.

It took a bit longer cos, obviously, I work at the pub

and then finding the time to come in, and stuff was delayed,

like plastering and plumbers, so that added on.

And... I think, if everybody came in at the same time,

or within two weeks of getting it done,

-I think we could have done it in the ten weeks.

-Mmm.

But because of all the delays... HE LAUGHS

..it was, like I say, 20 weeks, 21 weeks.

MUSIC: When Love Breaks Down by Prefab Sprout

This being their third project together,

Bill and Sue should be well-used

to juggling the demands of marital bliss

with the stresses of house renovation.

# My love and I

# We work well together... #

-This one's been a total...

-It's been a challenge.

-Top to bottom.

It's a good job we don't want to live in it really...

-No, we couldn't have lived in it.

-We'd end up killing each other.

Couldn't have lived in it cos it was like a building site

-in the beginning, cos I thought, "God, what have we done?"

-Mmm.

We've had a few disagreements but we've done all right.

I can guarantee, every time I was up a ladder,

the phone would ring and it'd be Sue. "What you doing?"

-And you wonder why, "Argh".

-So... But, yeah, we've done all right.

We've got there, haven't we, in the end? So, we've done it.

They've reached the finishing line but at what cost?

Bill estimated a budget of no more than £5,000.

How much did the couple end up spending?

£4,500 in the end.

Most of the work I've done myself.

I think it would have run to about £6,000

if I had to get somebody in to finish bits and bobs off.

-I can put my hand to anything.

-He's really good.

He likes doing stuff like that.

I like decorating, so we've made a good team, really.

We've had a few arguments though.

Well, Sue, you can put your feet up for a few minutes,

because it's time for two local property experts

to pop in and appraise the renovated house.

Will their valuations match Sue and Bill's expectations?

It's my first time in the property.

From looking at the previous details,

the property has been enhanced. Walls have been taken out

and it's been finished to a reasonable standard throughout.

The changes the vendors made have improved the property,

especially opening out the kitchen-dining area.

And it seems Bill and Sue were in luck with the red ash.

They've had a report giving them the all clear.

They've spent a total of £79,500 on this house,

so what's it worth on the sales market?

I would suggest putting the property on the market for an asking price

of £94,950, perhaps looking to achieve in the region of £92,000.

The property is likely to achieve somewhere in the region of £95,000.

And if they were selling,

that would mean a pre-tax profit of between £12,500 and £15,500.

I think I'll put it on for £100,000 and see how we float in on that.

The couple's original intention was to lease the house

as a long-term investment, so what rental income could they expect?

I'd suggest, on the rental market,

it would achieve in the region of £500 per calendar month.

The property is likely to achieve somewhere in the region

of £495 per calendar month on the rental market.

That would give a respectable yield of around 7.5%.

So have those valuations changed their plans?

It's difficult.

-We've got to think about what we want to do, haven't we?

-Yeah.

Cos if we want to do it again, which we'd like to,

-we need to sell, don't we?

-Mmm.

Back now to the town of Thornton Heath, Croydon, south London,

where, earlier, I saw this three-bedroom linked semi

with plenty of options for extending -

upwards to the loft, backwards into the huge garden

and sideways over the linked garage.

No stranger to the show,

Shaz brought along his dad, Parvez, to meet me.

It turned out there was quite a dynasty

of property developers in the family.

I was taught by my dad and it's passed on since the generations.

Property in those days was about £3,000 for a six-bedroom house.

But the three generations have seen quite a change.

Shaz paid £442,000 for this '30s three-bedder,

with a view to selling on after refurbishing and extending.

We could convert this property from a three-bedroom to a five-bedroom.

And I take it that is what you're going to do?

Yeah, we've already put plans in.

We're back seven months later. I can't see any extension.

The separate bathroom and toilet arrangement has been knocked through

and there's a new suite.

# Like gold

# Let it lead me astray

# Whoa

# Like gold

# Let it take me away... #

Every centimetre of space is utilised.

Two separate reception rooms remain downstairs

but the decor has changed.

# Like gold... #

Whilst the layout has stayed the same,

the electrics, the plumbing and plastering have all changed.

The front reception room, although some way darker, has a warmer feel.

The laminate flooring gives continuity to the different areas.

The furnishings aren't just room dressings,

there's a tenant resident.

Not much has changed in the kitchen,

more a case of a clean-up of the existing units.

# Whoa-oa-oa-oa

# Like gold... #

The downstairs toilet and utility room have been renovated.

And the clean lines of the laminate hall and stairs

complete the downstairs refurbishment.

# Everything is brighter now... #

Upstairs, there's a darker tone of laminate throughout.

This and the contrasting light decor makes the master bedroom,

albeit with the same wardrobes, much more appealing than it once was.

The same can be said of bedroom two.

And finally, bedroom three. Well, not hard to improve that one.

# Whoa-oa-oa-oa

# Like gold... #

All new doors complete the upstairs look.

Over to Shaz now. But be warned - he's a bit of a practical joker!

As you can see, we put brand-new porcelain tiles in here.

It's really appealing. We've got a nice hotel-style Jacuzzi bathtub.

You can play music and you can relax in there for hours.

We also added a shower which can accommodate two people.

Calm down, Shaz! Remember, your dad's watching!

Speaking of Parvez, he did help out with clearing the garden

and in an advisory role. So, how's that relationship working?

Sometimes I follow his advice

but, occasionally, I do exactly the opposite to what he tells me to do.

It's worked out so far, so...

We believe you, Shaz. Only to be a fly on the wall when he catches you!

Now, why aren't there any extensions, as planned?

We applied for planning permission for an extension,

loft conversion and side extension and we were granted that permission.

So, if I'm selling the house,

I'm selling it with these permissions in place,

so whoever buys the house would be willing to pay a premium for this.

The intention was to sell, but we can see you've got a tenant.

Why's that?

At the moment, I have a very close friend of mine

who actually, as soon as he saw the house, he wanted to move in,

so I've given it to him and rented it out.

What's happened to the £125,000 to £150,000 budget?

It must have come in well under.

We spent about £30,000 on the property itself

to bring it to this condition

and the rest of the money which was in the budget,

I went and bought myself a Ferrari.

For the sake of Parvez's health,

we would like to point out that this IS the end of Shaz's jokes.

We called in two local estate agents to give us some valuations

and views on the property.

First up, the chap who saw the house seven months ago.

The owner's done really well.

He's made the whole place very light and neutral.

He's kept the floor plan pretty much the same.

I would have expected him to knock through

from the kitchen to the dining room, open that space up.

to make it a lovely family space

but, nevertheless, it's a really nice finish.

Three bedrooms are much better than five bedrooms.

That's the main life blood of the area, three-bedroom housing.

That's what people ask us for because we've got large gardens,

semidetached, garages to the side and this is their expectation.

Once you get up to the five bedrooms,

there are other choices available which can be slightly superior.

So it looks like Shaz was right not to extend.

What about the market valuation?

The house cost £442,000 at auction and a further £30,000 to refurbish,

so anything about £472,000 is potentially profitable.

In its current condition, I would market this house for £525,000.

This property, as a three-bedroom house, without the extensions,

would sell for approximately £525,000, possibly £530,000.

The top figure has a difference of £58,000

for profit, taxes and expenses.

But what does Shaz think?

The right price is probably £575,000.

Expecting at least a price of £550,000 on this, yeah.

Well, we know that Shaz is already letting the property out,

but what do the agents consider to be a fair rent?

This property, as a three-bedroom house,

would rent for approximately £1,600 per calendar month.

For rental, this property would achieve £1,700 per calendar month.

Um, £1,600 is probably on the lower side.

I believe... We're getting, I think, probably £1,750 at the moment,

so that's the fair price, I think, for the condition of the house.

That gives Shaz just over a 4% yield.

Not ideal but Shaz has got a plan for the future.

There's uncertainty because of government regulations coming in,

a lot of restrictions on buy-to-let investments, stamp duty,

surcharges coming in,

interest rate tax relief is being discounted from 2017 onwards

and, you know, they're making life so difficult,

so I'm diversifying, currently, into different investments

and I'm not looking at just the UK

as a property development sector for me,

I'm looking worldwide right now.

Well, the weather may be pretty changeable in this country,

but there are no seasons when it comes to buying property.

Yes, but we have plenty of rain and sunshine in all of OUR stories.

Yes, so brollies at the ready

and join us next time here for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.