Episode 34 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello. Now, whether you're looking to buy, sell-on or rent,

property really can offer a great return.

Yeah, that's true but you have to make sure you're getting

a good deal in the first place.

One place you might want to look for one of those deals

is your local property auction.

Auction properties cater to all sorts of requirements,

whether it's a new home or an investment buy-to-let.

Yep, or you might be looking to renovate to sell on.

Well, we have seen literally thousands over the years

on Homes Under The Hammer and here are the three we've got for you

on today's show.

Fancy a bath?

You won't get any privacy in this property

in New Moston near Manchester.

I don't know why they've done this and it doesn't seem to work for me.

And no privacy either at this converted shop

in Herne Bay, Kent. Not much you can do about it either.

You're standing in a shop window, but they've got to stay.

Oh, but please do something about the layout in Crewe, Cheshire.

To get to the kitchen, you kind of wiggle about.

You end up in this thing at the back.

All these properties were bought at auction.

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

when these homes went under the hammer.

Your lot, sir, well done.

I'm in an area about three miles north-east

of Manchester city centre.

Back in 1850, a booming society bought 57 acres of land here

to build on and since then, the development has grown.

With a metro station, frequent buses and close proximity to the M60,

it's well connected to Manchester and beyond.

I'm in the area of New Moston in this quiet cul-de-sac

and it's this extended two-bedroom semidetached

that I'm here to see.

It has a guide price of £70,000 plus. Let's check it out.

We're straight in the front door into a bit of a hallway here

and your stairs up to your bedrooms, into this really large lounge,

sort of dining area.

Big window letting lots of light in.

Radiator, central heating, which is good, and over here,

solid fireplace, which I quite like.

Into the dining area and it does feel like the house is

sloping away slightly into the conservatory

and to the back garden.

And as I look at the tiles, there are a few that have cracked.

Maybe that's something to do with that sloping feeling.

Into the kitchen. It seems a bit tight to squeeze into

and it feels a little bit pokey.

It's in not bad condition.

You could restore this and keep it as is.

I know the garage is that way, so you have the option

to extend as well.

Planning permitting, of course. But I think you could have yourself

a nice kitchen-diner.

Outside, the garden needs some green-fingered person

to give it a bit of a tidy.

But there is something I haven't told you about this house yet.

It was sold as a two-bed.

Apparently, it used to be a three-bed.

Time to suss that out.

And upstairs, we have the bedrooms.

You've got a small, quite a small, shower room just there.

Bedroom there. Decent sized bedroom looking out onto the back garden.

Into what would have been the master bedroom here.

Decent size. Again, some fitted wardrobes and over here

is bedroom number three.

And it's not a bedroom number three any more.

It's an en suite with a nice big corner bath.

So this was bedroom number three.

Potentially, bedroom number four is through that wall

and above the garage, which would give you four bedrooms.

I don't why they've done this and it doesn't seem to work for me.

# Splish, splash, I was taking a bath,

# Long about a Saturday night. #

I've heard of public baths before but not in a bedroom.

Now before you even think about building an upstairs over

that garage, the foundations would need to be sorted.

The legal pack reveals not just that there is an issue,

but it also gives you an estimate for the work.

So I've been looking round the garage

and it clearly has subsidence.

Huge crack at the front and a huge crack at the back.

Somebody's obviously tried to find the reason why those cracks

have appeared. That's why it's always and so important

to do your research so you know what you're buying.

I tell you what, get yourself a cup of tea and a few biscuits

and read the legal pack. All this information is in there.

Read the legal pack!

# It's a legal matter, baby

# A legal matter from now on. #

We asked a local estate agent along to look at this property

and give us his thoughts.

There is some movement in the walls of the garage potentially.

It is a worry. Clearly, work needs to be done to stabilise

and stop any future movement.

With it being a single storey, I can't imagine it's

huge amounts of expenditure.

You're possibly looking at figures of, in my opinion,

in and around £10,000.

So it isn't, in my opinion, ready to move into for a family

and the expenditure is required upfront.

So with a guide price of £70,000 and an estimate of £10,000

for the structural work, what might the property fetch?

Once renovated, I would recommend marketing this property

at £110 to £120,000.

This is currently a two-bedroom house,

it used to be a three-bedroom house and it could quite easily be

a four-bedroom house.

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

Lot 51, guide 70. Start me at 70.

65, need a bid. 60 then.

Start me off, 60 here.

At £60,000 at the back.

In twos, 60 I'm bid.

Having started slowly, the bids eventually overtake the guide price.

We rejoin in the bidding at £85,000.

Bid, 85 and a half.

86.

I'm selling it.

86 and a half.

87.

87 and a half.

87 and a half, 88.

First time...

and the second time.

All done at 87,500.

Here, now.

The successful bidder holding the paddle was Duncan who,

along with his business partner Mark, have worked on

several projects together since Mark did an extension

on Duncan's house.

I met Duncan at their latest 87 and a half grand purchase.

-Duncan, nice to meet you, sir.

-Dion.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Tell me why this particular property, then?

It's an area we know reasonably well.

I've got family reasonably close by.

It's always been known as a good area in North Manchester

and the guy who I work with, who renovates properties,

he's fairly local to here as well so it works well, really.

Now you've got it, have you had a good look around?

Has anything surprised you?

The bathroom... The open-plan bathroom surprises a little!

-Obviously, that's something we'll be planning to change, I think.

-Yes.

And we weren't surprised by... Obviously, there's a problem

outside with the garage. We were aware of that from

the legal pack and, obviously, the trial holes they've dug

to have a look at the foundations.

So no, all in all, nothing major.

I mean, I think if we wanted to, we could nearly just give it

a quick tidy up and rent it out if we wanted to go down that route.

It's in decent condition, isn't it?

Yeah, yeah. Better than the ones we've had previously, much better.

DION LAUGHS

And Mark's looking forward to not getting quite as messy

as he has on some of the jobs we've done.

Is he the one that gets all messy and you're the one that doesn't?

He is, yes. Absolutely. I try and avoid that.

I showed a little bit of willing for a couple of days,

and I realised it wasn't really for me.

Mark's going to get messy with that garage.

His plan - to knock it down and start again.

And depending on planning, to make it a two-storey for extra

bedrooms upstairs and more living space downstairs.

MUSIC: A Swingin' Safari by Bert Kaempfert

If we go upstairs as well,

-it's probably going to add around another 25,000.

-OK.

And I think we would recoup at least that,

based on the houses nearby, but it's whether, as I say,

it's whether there's enough extra in it to do that,

and whether we need the planning permission.

If we don't need planning,

we'll just go ahead and put right what's there at the moment.

Duncan and Mark are hoping that

since they're building on the current footprint,

they can sidestep a lengthy planning process.

Here's hoping that could save them a bit of time,

but what do they want to do with this house?

Assuming that we'll have that extra living space at the front, the plan

is to probably close this area off here

-that's been opened up previously.

-Just here?

-Yes.

-OK.

And then open up into the kitchen across there.

And bring the kitchen out a little bit into the end of this room.

And then we'll have, sort of, a kitchen, dining space there,

a good enough size lounge here and hopefully another lounge,

-study, playroom, whatever on the other side.

-OK.

And at the back of the property, you've got a conservatory as well?

Yeah, there's a conservatory there at the moment.

It's not in great condition.

We'll either take it down and level it or we will take the roof off

and renew that.

You know, a house like this,

it really needs three bedrooms, we think,

so we'll renew the bathroom,

that needs some work, definitely,

and then just tidy up the other two rooms and freshen it up.

-See how you go from then on?

-Yeah.

-So, you've mentioned a few scenarios here.

-Yeah.

There's many ways you can go.

-What's your budget?

-Yeah,

if we get the initial go-ahead to change it to another lounge,

and we have to rebuild that and then freshen everything else up,

-and make good as we've discussed, around about the 20,000 mark.

-OK.

If we were to go upstairs as well, and put a double extension on,

probably somewhere between 40 and 50.

And that's something we would have to think about, cos, as well,

-it's tying money up as well.

-Of course.

Are you going to be selling or are you going to be renting?

The medium-term goal is to get a number of properties rented out

and have a revenue stream coming in, but at the moment,

you know, we need the funds available to keep moving on,

so we'll probably sell this one on and, you know,

there should be plenty of appeal for families once it's done.

You seem to know exactly what you're doing.

What was it that got you into property in the first place?

I've always had an interest in it.

I think, originally, it comes from moving,

I think we moved six times while I was a child.

My mum never liked to stay in a place more than a few years.

She always wanted to be moving on to the next, the next level.

So, I've always had an interest in properties and moving about.

We've done three or four now.

The last couple of years, I've been working as a chauffeur

-for a footballer, funnily enough.

-Nice.

And whilst I've been doing that, my hours have been

a bit unusual, shall we say,

and I've had a bit of free time to be looking at other things.

Do I know this footballer?

You will know him, yes, yes. I'm sure you will.

OK. There's lots more questions I want to ask. But we won't.

-We'll do it off-camera.

-Yeah. No problem. Yeah.

-DION LAUGHS

How long is it going to take?

If we don't need the planning permission, I would say

probably around three-to-four months.

Probably around three months.

But we probably won't be starting for about three weeks till we

finish the project we're on.

If we went the whole hog, we're probably going to be looking,

sort of, six-to-nine months, with planning etc, and then more work,

probably nearer nine months, I would think.

So, again, another reason ideally

to stick to the easier option if we can.

-I wish you all the best, Duncan.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

-We'll have a chat off-camera.

-No problem. Thanks.

-DION LAUGHS

Duncan seems to be a shrewd chap, and with his business partner

Mark at his side, they clearly know what they want to achieve.

I think they've got themselves a decent property here.

Clearly the garage has subsidence and needs underpinning,

but the big question for Duncan is has it affected the house too?

Let's hope he gets those questions answered later in the programme.

MUSIC: Something More Comfortable by Kinobe

Welcome to tranquil Herne Bay on the Kent coast.

Two miles of shingle beach and all you'd expect from

a great British seaside town.

It's only eight miles from Canterbury and five miles

from neighbouring Whitstable.

Well, this is a great location very close to the town centre,

and back in the day,

this was the only main road linking the train station to the pier.

Now, buses used to go up and down here ferrying tourists.

Times now have changed,

as has the usage of the property I'm here to see.

Now, it's been a fruit and veg shop, it's been a hairdressers,

but now it's been converted into a one-bedroom flat.

Now, the guide price was £70 to £72,000.

I wonder what it has in store on the inside, behind those net curtains.

Well, the first thing you notice when you walk through the door

is how big this place is!

God, it's really, really spacious.

There's a bedroom through there.

You go up a couple of steps into the main body of the building.

Now, this was obviously an extension,

because it was the shop front, so you've got all this space here.

This would've been the original wall here,

because the bay window would've been there, so all of this is

a flat roof, so it does give you that bit of extra space.

And then through here, you've got another huge room,

which is the kitchen!

Now, the walls are rather angular.

You've got odd shapes, you've got glass bricks,

you've got a bit of carpet here, diagonal lines there.

But when you look at what you've got, I mean,

what a fantastic room to sit and have dinner in.

You could get a really big table over there, a lovely big kitchen

through here, although I think you could probably upgrade this.

And the thing I love the most,

all cooks and people of the kitchen will know this,

to have a separate larder, a separate room to put all your tins

and your cakes and your bits and bobs in,

and this kitchen has that.

So, for a one-bedroom flat...

..I think it's really, really spacious.

Is it too big?

Don't know!

Now you see the reason I say, "Is it too big?"

is, would the space be better used as a two-bedder?

The availability of natural light could prove an issue

but it's food for thought.

# Food for thought

# You give me food for thought... #

So I'm in the bathroom.

I'm happy to see there is not a coloured suite in here.

It's white, which is good news.

It's bright, and there's some happy dolphins splashing around

on the tiles, but the thing that amazes me the most is...

it's really big. Go on, off you go.

I mean, look how big, long and narrow this bathroom is.

I'm almost having to shout to the cameraman at the end there.

It's big, isn't it? I'm not complaining. Just saying.

Well, one downside to flats is that they're usually leasehold,

and associated problems with this include short leases,

high service charges and a lack of control over maintenance works.

But not with this flat, as it was auctioned with the freehold -

definitely a tick in the box, I'd say.

Even though this property's being converted into residential,

it still has that commercial feel to it,

starting with these glass bricks.

Now, are these way back from the hairdresser days, do we think?

But I'm not sure if they work here, especially in the bedroom.

There is no privacy at all.

You'd have to get a blind to cover those up.

And then again you've got things like these tiles.

You just feel like you're in an office or a waiting room,

so they don't work.

And something else that does bother me slightly

are these large windows.

Now I'm all for the light and bright space

and letting the light in, but you can just see the road.

THEY can see inside.

And you can hear the road out there.

But the reason you have to keep this in

is because you're in a conservation area.

It does feel like you're standing in a shop window,

but they've got to stay.

So whoever takes this on has got to think of some clever ideas

to get the privacy factor because I think that will be a problem.

We called in a local estate agent to get his views on the property.

He remembers it when it was a shop,

but could you make it into a two-bedroom layout?

I'd think to convert this into a two-bed would be quite difficult

because of the light factor.

I'd imagine the way it's designed with the borrowed lights

and the glass walls is to maximise the light for the accommodation.

By changing that, I think you'd make the flat quite dark.

With a £70,000 guide price,

what would it be worth after refurbishment?

I'd say this flat would sell

for somewhere around £75,000 to £80,000.

Well, with a guide of £70,000 to £72,000,

there might not be enough in this for a doer-upper and sell-on.

But, to be fair, there's not a lot to do

if you were looking to rent it out fairly quickly.

Talking of which, what could it rent for?

I'd say this flat could rent for £550 per calendar month.

Well, it might feel a bit commercial but for an auction property

this is a surprisingly clean, bright and light flat.

And although, well,

I don't think it's going to make anybody into a millionaire,

it would make a great rental investment

in this central Herne Bay location.

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

Good, modernised flat, ready to go.

Start me where you will, can I see 70,000 for it?

60 then? 60?

It's got to be worth 60. £60,000, I have.

At 60. And 2. 62, 62, 62.

65, 65, 67, I've got from you.

Can I say 70? 72 in a fresh place.

74 if you like. At £72,000, I will sell for the first time. £72,000.

If I don't get another bid for the second time... Third and final time.

At... 74. Just in time. 74, 75, 75, can I say?

At 74,000 then, 75.

76, in the pink. 72. Well, you'll be in the red then, wouldn't you?

75, I've got. 76 I'm looking for.

75 then for the first time, 75 for the second, third and final time

at £75,000, sitting down, I'm taking it.

GAVEL BANGS

Yours at 75, well done S587.

Bidding a little over the guide price at £75,000 was Mark,

who, with his wife, Fiona, had a few rental properties.

I met them to find out if that was their plan for this lot.

-Mark and Fiona, congratulations. Lovely to meet you both.

-And you.

-Hi.

-So here we are in sunny Herne Bay.

But, of course, it isn't sunny today, it's quite cold out there.

What has brought you to this area and why did you want to buy this?

Well, we've already got something here already

and it's a good return on the investment

for what you can get property for,

and it's certainly changing, it's getting a lot nicer as well.

So lots of coffee shops and a nice seafront now.

So are you guys local?

I run a B&B in Chilham and...

-Lovely little place, got six acres of land.

-Wow.

-A few animals.

-Yep, lots of animals.

I've been living in Chesterfield just down the road

-and we got married two years ago.

-Yep.

So why did you guys want to invest here

and who is it who spotted this opportunity?

Well, I'm always looking in the catalogues,

the auction catalogues. Every couple of months,

I have a little look to see if there's anything

and Fiona had never bought anything at an auction,

-so she just wanted to go along and have a look.

-I just wanted a look!

Oh, no! And you ended up buying something!

-Yeah.

-It's not a pair of shoes, you know!

-It's not handbag shopping.

-It felt like it.

I know, it is great that you can actually go out

-and buy something on the same day and literally get it.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Bit scary, though.

-So did you intend to buy this on the day?

-BOTH: Yes.

-Yeah, we did.

We did our homework, we did the viewing,

-the mass viewing with everybody here.

-Did you?

And then the legal pack, read all through that,

and in the legal pack it said that you owned part of the freehold

of the main building which, when I looked through the legal pack,

I didn't think that we were.

I thought we were just getting this part

and Fiona was looking through it

-and she saw the owner's mobile phone number so she...

-Being cheeky.

..did know more and rang him

-and he gave us all the information that we needed.

-Good.

That there's three different freeholds for this building

so we then knew that we had the freehold to this property

and we didn't have any maintenance issues with main building.

So, Mark, how would you upgrade this property?

I mean, where would you start?

We're either going to leave it as it is - just install gas,

because there's no gas - and put gas central heating in

and a new kitchen or we will do a bit more,

put a couple of new walls up and knock a few down

and make it into a two-bedroom

with new gas central heating and a new kitchen.

And the budget for the first one?

The heating is about to 2,500.

The kitchen would be about 1,500.

So we're thinking probably five, six...

OK, five to six grand to immediately rent this place out. No hassle...

If you were going to reconfigure

and turn this into a two-bedder, how much do you think that'll cost you?

Well, we did some figures the other evening

and we think probably about 10,000.

So almost double the expense.

Oh, it's a really tricky one for you, isn't it?

So out of the people that have viewed,

we've got people that want it as a one-bed at 650

and we've got people that would have it as a two-bed at 750.

So...

-It's going to be difficult.

-Sometimes, less is more.

-Yeah.

So we don't want to compromise the building

and then end up with two bedrooms but the whole feeling

is it's too cramped.

And if we were to do a two-bed... I'm very fussy, aren't I?

So why's she so fussy, tell me? If she's so fussy...

That's why she's got me.

-SHE LAUGHS

-I love it!

At what point are you going to make the decision

whether this is going to be a one-bedroom flat

or a two-bedroom flat? Shall we make it now?

THEY LAUGH

-Come on, let's make it now, on the telly.

-What you reckon?

I think we're going to leave it as it is.

I'm glad about that because, in this case,

I think less is more.

And with tenants queueing up, it may just be better to finish it

and get it rented as a bright one-bedder

in their four to five week timescale.

So, come on, you two. How do you get on working together?

I'm slightly...

And thinking that Fiona, you know, she's a perfectionist here.

I do the finishing touches.

I like painting, decorating and Mark will...

Actually, I like smashing things around as well, actually....

You like to do that bit and then you like to swan off

and then I like to do the painting and decorating.

You look shocked by that answer. Do you like to swan off?

-Well, if I can.

-Obviously.

-No, we...

-We... We work well together.

Well, look, good luck, guys.

I will laugh if, when we come back to visit you, it's a two-bedder!

-But good luck. I think you've got a cracking property here.

-Thank you.

It is lovely and I'm sure you're going to do a great job,

whatever you do. Lovely to meet you both.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Lucy.

-Thank you.

Well, Mark and Fiona are off to a great start,

with some potential tenants already lined up.

But will they end up leaving the flat as a one-bed

or will they take the works further and create that second bedroom here?

There's only one way for you to find out,

and that is to join me later on in the programme.

Coming up, this mid-terrace in Crewe seems normal enough,

except for a puzzle out back.

What on earth do you think that is?

And the conundrum in Kent - has Mark done ANY work?

-Well, I've got a qualification in swanning off.

-I'll agree there.

Earlier, I was three miles from Manchester in New Moston,

and I was there to see a semidetached house

guided at 70 grand plus.

But inside, while in good nick cosmetically,

there was a sinking feeling that comes with subsidence,

and that "reaching for anything to cover the modesty" feeling

that comes with having an open-plan bathroom.

# We're against privacy

# We're against privacy... #

But like a modern-day Archimedes,

it was while I was reclining in the tub that I had eureka moment.

Why not lose the garage on the side

and extend with a single brick double-storey?

Potentially, bedroom number four is through that wall

and above the garage, which would give you four bedrooms.

I don't know why they've done this and it doesn't seem to work for me.

An extension was exactly the plan for Duncan

and his business partner, Mark,

when they bought the property for £87,500.

Duncan was keen to move away from being a footballer's chauffeur

and drive forward property projects with Mark,

who will be doing all the hands-on work.

But whether they would be building a single- or double-storey extension

or not would be down to planning and, of course, money.

Yeah, if we get the initial go-ahead to change it to another lounge

and we have to rebuild that and then freshen everything else up,

-around about the 20,000 mark.

-OK.

If we were to go upstairs as well and put a double extension on,

probably somewhere between 40 and 50.

And that's something we would have to think about

-because it's tying money up as well.

-Of course.

So, 11 months on, what would it be? A solitary single?

Or double the pleasure? Let's find out.

# The devil's double loving

# Is what I'm gonna give to you

# Oh! I'm gonna double up all my love

# You're going to be satisfied! #

Well, they've gone two-up.

And, inside, a spacious ground floor dining area

where the garage once was.

Upstairs is a huge master bedroom and en suite.

Well, we looked at whether to go single or double originally

and we thought, if we're going to take down the structure

that was there, we might as well put a double-storey extension on,

partly because both properties either side

have gone the double-storey route.

The reason we went for four bedrooms in the end, obviously,

we're trying to think about the space downstairs as well.

You know, we do want to have too many bedrooms

for the amount of living space you've got downstairs.

We thought making a feature of the master bedroom

with the really nice en suite was the right thing to do.

And other things that are right, in my opinion,

are losing the conservatory - that was on its last legs -

and removing the walls give the brand-new kitchen more space.

Additionally, the existing bedrooms have been completely updated,

while the bathroom is now an office area with the new bathroom

boasting the luxuries such as walls and a lockable door.

But the one major challenge was addressing that subsidence.

We did have some issues with the garage,

the original garage that was there. There were some structural problems.

Obviously, we took that down and then we've had to pile that area

before we built the double-storey extension.

So there's been quite a lot of work gone into that

before anything you actually see above ground,

but that's solved the issues now

and there's a nice, steady structure there in place.

Piling is when wood, steel or concrete is buried underground

to create a secure base on which you can build.

Often deeper than you would normally go,

and I can tell you it's not cheap.

With regard to the budget, yeah,

we were thinking around the 40,000, maybe a little bit more.

We have gone a bit beyond that,

obviously with the piling that we had to do

and the finish that we've gone to in the kitchen,

the total spend is almost exactly 55,000.

Whoa, whoa! That's a good bit over their budget.

Finding a way to finance the extra work

and waiting for planning permission for the extension

has pushed their timescale from 9 months to 11 months.

So is their plans still to sell on?

I did, for a very short period, think about moving into it myself,

with all the work that's gone into it.

But I think it's more prudent at this stage

to get it on the market and see what it can achieve.

And to find out what it could achieve the market,

we've called in two local estate agents

for their thoughts and valuations.

The way that they've opened up the ground floor

will certainly appeal

and I like the way that they've converted the garage space

into an additional room which, of course,

allows them to have a fourth bedroom on the first floor.

There's been a lot of work carried out on the property

but the layout now really works.

To go from a three-bedroom property to a four

is an excellent addition and should really go well on the open market.

Duncan and Mark spent £87,500 buying the lopsided semi

and 55 grand spent straightening it up and extending,

meaning their total outlay is £142,500.

How might it fare on the resale market?

If I was placing this property onto the market,

I'd be looking to achieve a figure of £150,000.

If they were trying to sell in a reasonable timeframe

and make it look competitive against other properties

for sale on the road,

I would suggest marketing this at a price between 140,000 and 145,000

and realistically they should consider any offer

that's over 130.

That seems fairly low, really.

We've had a couple of valuations of our own already.

They've come in at around the 165, plus.

So hopefully I think we can achieve

a fair bit better than their estimates.

If you take the valuation Duncan quoted,

that would mean a potential pre-tax profit of £22,500.

So hopefully they will achieve that profit

but what else will they take on to their next project?

We have learned some lessons.

We didn't get the chance to view it inside before,

but you know, all in all, it's all part of the learning curve,

we'll come out of it with more experience

and hopefully with a small profit

so we can look at doing something else in the near future.

Off to Cheshire now,

and one of my favourite places at the moment

for auctioned properties - Crewe.

It's a town steeped in railway history.

It boasts a huge stock of relatively affordable

Edwardian and Victorian houses.

Great for families to live in and attractive for investors.

Well, a short walk from the town centre and the train station,

opposite a children's play area,

in a nice leafy, residential area is the property I'm here to see.

So it's looking pretty good so far.

£55,000 was the guide price - two-bed, mid terrace...

I must've looked at hundreds of these houses and never tire of them.

I love the red brick exterior

and the design above the front door is very attractive

and it looks in good nick.

So, nice, elevated position. We like that.

And quite an impression you get when you walk through the door.

It's a slightly narrower corridor but it's quite grand in its own way.

So, stairs up to your bedrooms there

and then pretty decent-looking front sitting room.

I love the bay window there, loads of light,

the coving which is good. Still in existence.

I mean, in its day, this would have been a middle management type house,

probably someone who worked in the railway, perhaps,

but, no, it's good, I like it.

Rear living area here.

There, by the looks of it, it starts to go a little bit wrong

because. although this is OK, a few signs of damp here and there,

to get to the kitchen, you kind of wiggle about and round

and you end up in this kind of like thing at the back.

Now this obviously needs completely renovating but...

I wouldn't even bother

because you need to do something more dramatic

before you even start and that is take out that wall.

Now, it's probably structural,

so you need to put a steel beam across or whatever.

But you can't have that wiggle because it just doesn't work.

Right, there you go. Good start, though.

One thing that becomes very apparent when wondering around this house

are the electric cables strung out all over the place.

The previous owner has opted to go for surface-mounted cabling

and whilst this isn't illegal or necessarily dangerous

when properly installed and protected,

I'm not sure how safe this lot is.

So upstairs and a sort of feeling of space continues.

Bathroom there, it's a good size.

I wonder if that originally was a bedroom or something like that

because, I don't know, you might have thought

that might have been downstairs, but anyway, it is only two bedrooms.

But I like the fact that they're two really nice-sized bedrooms.

One at the back here.

Absolutely... Well, huge, actually, by modern standards for sure.

This nice little landing area,

leading through to your front bedroom.

Loads of light coming in here and, yeah, again, loads of space,

some original features with fireplaces and that kind of thing.

I'm looking at this - you've got two windows in here,

so there might be some way you could maybe be re-jiggle

the configuration up here to move the bathroom

and maybe create a third bedroom, shift the bathroom over here.

I don't think I'd bother. I like it as it is.

It's well proportioned and, to me, it just works.

All in all, it's a lovely house.

The indoor spaces may be well proportioned,

but what will I find outside?

So out the back of the property

and a really nice surprise, actually.

A good-sized garden, we'll come to the minute.

But first is this little, sort of, lean-to porchy thing going on.

That's seen better days.

You'd want either replace that, take it down,

or maybe think about building some kind of extension

at the back here as, indeed, the neighbours look like they've done.

It's certainly something to consider.

But, as I said, rear garden, mostly laid to flags -

obviously somebody spent quite a lot of money here.

This little raised area's quite pleasant,

with the little garden shed, and it's all quite good.

What on earth do you think that is?

It's some kind of a gate. Well, obviously. But for what?

Pet rabbit? Well, that would jump out of the top.

Guinea pig? Likewise.

I have absolutely no idea what that would keep in.

But if you have one of those things, it's perfect.

It's all ready for you.

# Open the gate up

# Open the gate up... #

It's time to get some wisdom from a local property expert.

Remember this house is guided at 55,000.

So how much could it be worth once renovated?

I would imagine this house would sell

for somewhere near £115,000 - £120,000.

And if placed on the rental market?

I think that the rental figure may be around £500 to £550

per calendar month.

Well, I don't know about you but, for £55,000,

I think this is an absolutely cracking little buy.

Great house, lots of space, leads a bit of work but so what?

Good location. Yeah, a no-brainer.

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

Mid-terraced house, two double bedrooms, gardens front and rear.

What's this? 40 to start me on this one.

40 to start. 40 bid, thank you. Took it standing.

40, 42, 44, 46, 48...

There was a lot of interest in this one and bidding was brisk.

We re-join the auction at £78,000.

78, 78.5, 79.

No? That's 79 right against the back wall at £79,000.

Do I have 500 anywhere else?

If not, 79, 79.5, 80, 80... No? Sure?

£80,000 then against the back wall.

£80,000 once, £80,000 twice.

Third and last time, £80,000...

-GAVEL BANGS

-Your lot, sir. Well done.

That bid was made by warehouse worker Tim,

who was at the auction bidding 80,000

on behalf of himself and his brother, Chris.

They, like many, are interested in property developing

to make a better return on their savings,

so I met up with them to find out what their plans are for this house.

-Chris, Tim. Great to meet you both.

-Likewise.

-Congratulations.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

It was a nice big, old Victorian house.

and we wanted to rent it out and that was about it, really.

-And that's the plan. Is this something you do?

-No.

I'm a computer engineer and Tim...

-Warehouse worker at the moment.

-Right, OK. Brilliant.

-This is the first venture together then, is it?

-Absolutely, yes.

We haven't done this before so this might try our, sort of,

-friendship and brotherlyness.

-Really?

-Almost certainly.

-We're coming to blows already, I think.

-Really?!

Over whether to do the pointing, of all things.

Wow, yeah, not many arguments about pointing, generally.

What's up with the pointing issue?

There's just a little bit at the back that needs doing

but they want to spend as much money as they can already.

-Who?

-My brother.

-Ah.

-So are you the spendthrift then?

-Yes.

I think I'm going to be the one keeping the purse strings.

While Chris keeps hold of the purse strings,

Tim, who used to be an engineer,

will undoubtedly have some handy skills.

However, as yet, the brothers are not entirely sure

how far they will go with renovating their first property.

It's not too much to do but there's a little bit of an option

to maybe do the loft or there's potential

-for outdoor parking is well.

-Sure.

So if we really want to do the minimum,

we can just wallop the walls and do the kitchen and bathroom...

Wallop the walls?

-Well, paint and decorate it.

-It's a technical term, yes. I like wallop.

Wallop's good. Excellent. So what's the plan for it?

Is it to do it up and sell it on, or rent it out or...

At the moment, it's do it up to rent out at the moment

and then there's a possibility to sell later on.

So let's talk through the renovation plans.

What are you doing going to do?

Like I say, we're probably going to just decorate throughout,

new kitchen, new bathroom. Oh, and the electrics as well.

-Oh. The electrics are a nightmare, aren't they?

-Yeah.

-They're in a bit of a state.

-So that's a full rewire then?

Well, we'll see, but I think so, yeah.

You've got to get rid of the surface mounted cabling, haven't you?

-Absolutely.

-And then keeping the layout pretty much as it is?

I mean, you've got this wiggle to get through the kitchen and...

Yeah, there's a few options in terms of that,

cos we haven't really decided yet.

There's sort of two options to... That first plan, sort of,

just do it all up to a reasonable level

and then there's the option to move the door at the back of the house

-and then perhaps have a better-shaped kitchen.

-Right.

Open it all up.

That would be lovely. Are you both practical? Handy?

-Yeah.

-I'm not. But this one...

-I'll get stuck into it.

-He's a dab hand with a hammer.

-But you're a bit more hands-off?

Yeah, I don't know. I'd quite like to get involved

but it's just never been something I've been able to do.

Now is the time, perhaps.

There'll be a lot of help from family and friends,

no doubt, and I think quite a few people have pledged,

your side of the family.

Yeah. I've got my girlfriend's family, have all said

that they want to do something as well, so that would be good.

-Oh, great! Fantastic.

-A lot of hands, hopefully.

For sure. So what's the budget?

We said between 5,000 to 6,000, I think, for the remedial work.

Right. That's not including...

Is that including kitchens and bathrooms and things?

-We're trying to squeeze into that sort of frame...

-And electrics?

Yeah. Maybe... More towards 7 to 8.

-OK.

-It's the first time. We'll soon find out.

And what about timescale?

-We're hoping probably between two to three months.

-OK.

So, cos it's first-time, again,

we might need a little bit of time to get our heads around it all

-and get going.

-Yeah.

-Well, listen, congratulations. Good luck with it.

-Thank you.

-Nice to meet you both.

-Much appreciated.

-Thank you.

And looking forward to seeing how you get on.

So brothers Tim and Chris embarking on

their first property renovation venture together.

How will they get on?

How will THEY get on?

You can find out later in the show.

Well we've seen how one of the properties turned out

but what about the other two?

Yeah, will they be laughing all the way to the bank?

Or wishing they haven't even bothered bidding?

Let's find out.

'Well, space is something essential in every property

'and we saw a lot of it earlier in this ground floor flat

'in the seaside town of Herne Bay in Kent.

'The guide price of £70,000 to £72,000 for a vast living room,

'a big bedroom, and a huge bathroom had me hollering...'

I'm almost having to show to the cameraman at the end there!

'..and a kitchen big enough for a banquet.

'Its history as a fruit and veg shop and then a hairdressers

'was evident in some of the decor but I wondered

'if you could trim the space to become a two-bed.'

# It takes two when it used to take one

# It takes two when it used to take only one... #

'Couple Mark and Fiona added it to their rental portfolio

'with a 75 grand auction purchase

'and were undecided about making one into two.'

At what point are you going to make the decision

whether this is going to be a one-bedroom flat

or a two-bedroom flat?

Shall we make it now? Come on, let's make it now. On the telly.

What do you reckon?

I think we're going to leave it as it is.

'In which case it would call for a simple refurb

'and both of them had a role to play.'

Actually, I like smashing things around as well, actually.

You like to do that bit and then you like to swan off

and then I like to do the painting and decorating.

You looked shocked by that answer.

Do you like to swan off?

-Well, if I can.

-Obviously.

Well, Mark had a budget of £10,000

and a four-to-five-week timescale to change this from ugly duckling

to sleek cygnet and six weeks later, we're back.

So let's have a look and pay tribute

to what Fiona thinks is Mark's favourite pastime.

# Hear my swansong

# It was my mistake... #

Well, there's been no swanning about here -

both the living room and the bedroom have lost those office-style

ceiling tiles and are much better for it.

But through the back is proof that Mark doesn't scarper from

a potentially tough job. Using space from the kitchen,

they haven't created a second bedroom, but instead, an office.

Albeit unfinished.

We discussed it and we kept throwing ideas into what we could do

and we decided to make the kitchen smaller,

cos the kitchen is quite large.

And then we've made another room,

so it could be somebody's office if they wanted it as an office.

And it's made it more, more inviting, really.

Research certainly paid off the set for the couple,

as they realised a second bedroom matter had much rental value,

but an office area might attract a professional couple as tenants.

And what remains of the kitchen is fantastic.

Right, so, as you can see, there used to be a wall here with

the door going through to where the water heater was.

We've taken that out completely, built the new wall,

with borrowed lights in to get some natural light in there.

And then we put all the new units in, which look very nice I think,

with a new extractor, which is extracting to the outside.

New oven.

And then painted it with a nice colour to complement the units,

with a nice light grey floor.

Very happy with the way the kitchen has turned out.

It's certainly different to how it was before.

It's very nice. Very pleased.

This property remains very angular, but, thankfully,

Fiona and Mark have also reshaped the bathroom, losing a bit

of space and adding some curve to the property that geometry forgot.

And despite adding a new bathroom and kitchen, plus creating an extra

room and having gas installed, the couple have only spent £9,200.

A bit under their ten grand budget.

They've taken six weeks to do the work,

with getting the gas sorted out causing them a little delay.

But has Mark been swanning around?

Well, I've got a qualification in swanning off,

so I've definitely done a lot of that.

I'll agreed there.

No, I've done most of the major construction work

-and you've done lots of the, 95% the decorating.

-Yes.

Obviously, we've had electricians in to do the electrical.

The gas man in to do the gas and heating.

Sounds like teamwork.

Have they enjoyed working together?

-I think we've worked well together.

-Generally, we work well.

-Yeah.

-As long as she does what I say, then it's fine.

And as long as he doesn't pick the paintbrush up.

Ha! She's teasing.

A little bird told me that Mark painted the outside of the building.

We've asked along the agent that saw it before the renovation

for his thoughts on the changes outside and in.

Having looked around, I think the changes are very good.

Yes, it's the best I've seen it.

I particularly like about the flat the way it is spread out.

I think the accommodation is nice, it's spacious,

fairly light actually - considering there's not a lot of windows.

It's a neat and tidy flat.

The couple have spent roughly £84,000 and the agent thinks

it could sell for a top value of £115,000.

Giving them a potential £31,000 pre-tax profit.

But the couple are set on renting.

So, what kind of figures can they expect?

There is a great demand for flats at the moment.

So, there shouldn't be any problem with renting it.

In pounds per calendar month, this property would rent for £650.

Possibly a bit more with the shortage.

I think 650 is very reasonable, but we're very fortunate,

we've already got a tenant and we've achieved £700.

We've signed them up and they're moving in

in a week and a half's time.

Well, that is great, cos £700 a month gives them a 10% yield.

Fiona and Mark have had several people keen to rent this flat,

so, as landlords,

they've been able to be selective in this competitive market.

With one prospective tenant offering even more than

the £700 they've achieved.

The disadvantage of everything was he had a cat,

so we did say no on that instance.

So, you could say, well, he was going to pay more.

It would've been great, but as it is,

we'd rather have the correct tenant for our correct property.

Well, cat or no cat, this flat is purr-fect.

Sorry, I just couldn't resist that.

Back to Crewe in Cheshire where I saw this two-bed, mid-terrace,

guided at a fairly affordable sounding £55,000.

It was a solid enough property, but it did have definite layout issues.

To get the kitchen, you kind of wiggle about and round

and you end up in this, like, thing at the back.

As well as the confusing configuration,

the property also suffered from some worrying wiring,

with the majority of it being surface mounted.

40 to start. 40 bid, thank you.

None of this, however, put off the bidders on auction day,

as the property flew past its guide price.

For the third and last time, £80,000...

Your lot, sir. Well done.

# Hey, brother, there's an endless road to rediscover. #

It was bought for £25,000 over the guide price for 80 grand,

by renovation rookies and brothers Tim and Chris.

Unfortunately, there are fledgling partnership didn't get off to

the best of starts.

-We are coming to blows already I think.

-Really?

-Over whether to do the pointing.

-Oh.

-Of all things.

Wow, yeah, not any arguments about pointing generally.

As well as that sibling bickering,

their ideas on budget had me worried.

We said between 5,000 to 6,000, I think, for remedial work.

Right, that's not including...

Is that including kitchens and bathrooms and things?

We are trying to squeeze it into that sort of frame, but it...

And electrics?

Yeah, it may be more towards 7,000 to 8,000.

The boys had given themselves two to three months to make this

terrace terrific and ready for the rental market.

Well it's now just under two years later and we've returned

to see if Tim and Chris' maiden venture has been a success.

By creating a new, non-wiggle entrance to the kitchen,

they've made a more spacious and light-filled area.

Plus, they've done away with the makeshift lean-to

and have fitted French doors leading out to the rear of the property.

This means the rear sitting room is also much brighter

and more welcoming.

Throughout the property,

Tim and Chris have decorated to a high standard, breathing new

life into it, while also maintaining some of its original features.

I'm happy to report that all that ugly surface wiring

has been rendered invisible after a full rewire.

Upstairs, a brand-new bathroom suite makes a big difference

and the two-bedrooms are now bright and breezy with an excellent finish.

Out the back, not much has changed,

apart from the removal of that shabby lean-to.

So, the boys have done a cracking job on their first property,

but it has definitely been something of a learning curve.

I think the main problem was just organising workmen

and getting everything in order.

There was the plastering that we did.

-Working around our full-time jobs as well.

-Yeah.

It was a lot of work to be done.

And, yeah, trying to work it in around a full-time job

-and you just had a little baby boy.

-Yeah.

So, that took up a lot of time.

My partner had to back to work as well,

so I lost out on time after we had recently bought it.

It was a lot of fun.

Well, life can get in the way sometimes.

But with nearly two years having passed,

if I was worried about their budget before, now I'm really worried.

In terms of spending, we've gone a little bit over budget.

Obviously, we wanted to make sure that the kitchen was done properly.

The bathroom as well.

And with the plaster being in such bad condition,

we thought it would be a good idea to just do the whole house,

rather than waste around getting one or two rooms done

and then finding the other rooms giving us problems at a later date.

So, in terms of costs, I think we're about £10,300 all in.

So, that's not too much over budget.

Still, I think the money is worthwhile spending just to

make sure it stays in good condition for as long as we'd like.

Phew! That could have been a lot worse.

And I think they are right.

If they're going to rent it out, heading any potential problems off

at the beginning by doing a thorough job can save a lot of hassle later.

So, what's the plan for the property now?

Probably rent it out for a fair few years

-and then possibly sell it in the future.

-Yeah.

Oh, and the pointing question.

Well, it was Chris that wanted to do it

and started off the argument between the brothers.

So, who won that argument in the end?

Well, some re-pointing has been done

and the brothers are back on peaceful terms.

So, in total, Tim and Chris have spent just over 90,000 on

this property and with an eye on the rental market,

it will be interesting to hear the opinions of two local estate agents.

Starting with the agent who saw it originally.

I think it's really beneficial the way they've change the layout,

because, originally, there were two doors in the kitchen.

And with it being quite a small kitchen,

it was restricting the number of units that could be put in here.

So, I think they've made it flow a lot better.

I think they've done a really nice job on this property.

It's really light and bright.

They've done it quite modern,

so I think it'll really appealed to a young couple or even an investor.

There is a big demand for properties that are in

a ready to move into condition and this one is pristine throughout.

No expense has been spared and they've done everything

to the property to make sure it looks its best.

There would be an excellent demand for this property,

should it go to the open market.

And the agents think it could sell for a top figure of £105,000.

Potentially giving the brothers a profit of £14,700,

minus taxes and expenses.

While this is a decent profit, remember,

it's taken two years to get this stage and the market hasn't

boosted their profits much in that time.

The agent who first saw the property advises that although the market

is busy in the area, that's not been reflected by an increase in prices.

So, is the rental market the better route in her view?

To put this onto the rental market,

I would put it on at somewhere between £475 and £500

per calendar month.

From a rental point of view, I think we'd be looking around about

the 500, maybe £525 per calendar month.

Yeah, 525 sounds like excellent.

Yeah, sounds about right.

If they did achieve that top rental figure,

then that would give them a yield of just under 7%, which is respectable.

And since they plan to rent, all is well that finally ends well.

But with little differences along the way,

will they be working together again soon?

Yeah, it's worked out well.

-It's fine.

-Yeah, it's been OK.

A few little disagreements, but nothing too serious.

-We managed to get along.

-We got through it OK.

I'm still standing next to him now, aren't I?

Well, we hope you've learned some lessons from the stories

you've seen today.

Perhaps we given you a little inspiration.

-Or, perhaps, we've put you off for good.

-Yes.

Whatever, make sure you join us next time for more

-Homes Under The Hammer.

-Goodbye.

-Bye-bye!

-Bye.