Episode 42 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to the show.

One of my favourite things about housing stock

across the whole of the UK is just the sheer variety.

But where do you start?

That can be the biggest challenge facing us all.

Well, whatever you're looking for,

it could be waiting for you under the hammer.

Well, buying at auction can often be adrenaline-filled, believe me.

And you can quite often end up paying too much.

Yes, the trick is to keep a calm head

and not get swept along by the drama.

Yes. Let's see what happened to the three buyers on today's show.

I'm off to Cumbria.

But is this cottage as solid as it looks?

It's all false and all removable.

Whereas Lucy finds a real problem with this London pad

that's going to need...

Patience and perseverance to strip away this paper.

But on a visit to Cornwall,

I discover an unbelievable amount of room.

An enormous space!

Look at this.

All these properties have been sold at auction and we'll find out who

bought them and what they paid when they went under the hammer.

Well done, sir. Congratulations.

Today, I'm visiting a property just outside the Cumbrian town of Wigton.

It's a rural location which will

appeal to those seeking a bit of peace and quiet.

But if you fancy upping the pace just a little,

the bright lights of Carlisle are only half an hour away.

# Let's get away from it all... #

I've said it before and I'll say it again,

some of the views and landscape in Cumbria are beautiful.

And this is no exception.

These buildings behind me were farm buildings

but some years ago, some eagle-eyed investors

turned them into separate dwellings,

creating a really nice rural community.

It's one of those houses I'm here to see.

It has two bedrooms, and a guide price of £55,000 plus.

Let's get inside and take a look.

What I do like, as you come in the first door,

you've got an area there for your dirty shoes

and your dirty wellies and a bit of a cloakroom.

That's a really good use of space.

And as you come into the house itself,

you've got this little area, a tiled floor.

I would imagine if you were to give them a bit of a scrub,

they'd be really pretty.

What have we got? We've got a downstairs bathroom -

I want to say bathroom, but it's got a shower in it.

It looks a bit dated.

Me personally, I'd want to put a nice new suite in there

and brighten that shower room up.

Two rooms.

This one here has got a nice big window there.

Double window.

You'd get a double bed in there, if it is a bedroom,

but we're downstairs.

OK. This room here is...

OK, I've been in houses like this before out in the countryside,

of this sort of age, and what they tend to do

is have the bedrooms downstairs

and the day-to-day living upstairs

so they can take use and take advantage

of all those nice country views.

These would be the two bedrooms down here, most definitely.

It feels really sturdy in here. Nice, thick walls.

I haven't seen any central heating as yet,

but they have made good use of the space.

In this upside-down house, storage is at a premium.

So there is a walk-in cupboard in one bedroom

and a crawl-in cupboard in the other.

I'm going upstairs to see what the downstairs has to offer,

if you see what I mean.

# Upside down

# Boy, you turn me... #

OK, upstairs, we have got the living area, lounge,

and you have got two huge windows to let lots of light in.

But as I mentioned downstairs, look at the views.

And why not have your living space upstairs

if you can see things like that out the window?

This, it looked like a false fire and it certainly is.

That's just decorative.

Not a bad size lounge at all.

Over here, you've got the kitchen.

The kitchen is a little bit tight and it's definitely dated.

I'd want to take all of that out,

put a nice modern, fresh kitchen in there,

really give it the wow factor.

And maybe even...

Yeah, you could take this wall out.

You see, this is a completely false wall and...

That's a false ceiling, as well,

so you could open the whole of this out.

Maybe you could actually take this one out as well.

And you can - it's all false and all removable.

For me, I'm opening the whole of this top floor out

to give it a nice, modern feel, a real sense of a family area.

For me, that's the only way to go.

As for the outside, you get all the benefits of the lovely greenery

surrounding you without any of the hard work of gardening

because this patio area is low-maintenance.

An agent from the auction house who sold the two-bed terrace

came along to tell us more.

I like the property.

It's in a great location.

We've got fabulous views.

I think this property would benefit

from an overall superficial decoration.

It doesn't really need that much

to bring it up to standard.

A lick of paint here and there, new carpets,

possibly having a look at the kitchen and the bathroom.

If that was fitted out, then that would benefit the property.

And once renovated, how much would this property fetch

on the local sales market?

I estimate it should achieve around about £95,000-100,000.

And if it was put on the rental market?

On the rental market, this property should achieve

round about £450 per calendar month.

This place needs to be brought back to life

and I don't think it would cost you too much money to do so.

Downstairs, you are kind of limited with that layout.

But for me, upstairs, a nice, big open-plan area is the way to go.

There's lots of potential here.

Let's see who was the last person standing when it went

under the hammer.

We're on to lot number 31,

which is a two-bedroom cottage-style property.

55's your guide.

Anybody for this? Last lot of the day. 55?

At 55, am I bid?

50. Need a bid. 45, anyone?

At £45,000, 45 bid.

In once, nice and easy. 45 bid. 46.

47. 48. 49. 50. 51.

51 bid. 52. 53. 53 bid.

54. 55. 56. 57?

A shake of the head here at 56.

At £56,000, first time with you, sir.

Second time at 56.

Back in at 57?

57. 57 and a half. 58.

And a half. 59.

And a half. 60.

Half. You're out. Here at 60.

At £60,000 with you, sir. Stood against you, sir.

At £60,000, here to sell in the room.

Don't lose it, at £60,000, for the first time, are you sure?

Second time, if not, I'm selling this at £60,000.

All done.

Well done, sir.

After a slight wobble at 56 grand, it was Keith who held his nerve

and bagged the final lot of the day.

# We've been friends now for so many years... #

This was a joint purchase between

Keith and his friend and next-door neighbour, Wilson.

# Let's be friends... #

I caught up with them back at the house to find out

why they bought this place.

-Wilson, nice to meet you.

-Dion, nice to meet yourself.

-Keith, nice to meet you, sir.

-Hello, Dion. Hi.

-Congratulations to you both.

-Thanks a lot.

-So, who's responsible

for finding this little gem?

I suppose that would be me, really, Dion.

We...

We live close by and we, Wilson and I, we're neighbours

and we have a few beers on a Friday night.

We'd spoken about investing in property and running

a bit of a project.

And I saw this was coming up for auction and thought, well,

it's got to be worth looking at.

And lo and behold, we bought the damn thing, you know?

It's a bit tired and needs doing up,

but I think it's a decent opportunity.

I think it's a great first property for the two of you to get started.

Now, talking of getting started, what are you going to start with?

Um, well, the minute you guys have gone today,

we're going to get cracking on it.

We're going to, sort of, pull the floor covering up

and there's a few walls that need to be knocked down.

And there's not one inch of the place, really,

that doesn't need some sort of attention.

So, what walls are you thinking of moving about?

This one here is going to be removed totally.

The kitchen wall, that needs moved.

Bring the kitchen slightly more into here.

From a structural point of view, that will be all.

They're not supporting walls.

Let the light in. It'll just give it a more spacious feel.

It's already got a nice vaulted ceiling,

which could be shown off to a really good effect.

So, yeah, that's what we're going to do.

-And downstairs?

-Downstairs,

in terms of the bathroom, it's a big shower in there for a small bathroom

so we might look at putting a smaller shower in

and bring that a bit more into size.

-Yes.

-It just looks a bit disproportionate at the moment.

-Mmm.

-Stair-wise, remove the old ranch rails.

I think if we put spindles up there it'll look far, far nicer.

Perfect. And how much have you given yourself in regards a budget?

-What is your budget?

-Well, our budget to press is 10K.

-OK.

-We thought that was...

Whether we can do it a little bit cheaper or... We want the place

-to look right. That's the most important thing.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

'Along with that ten grand, they have set themselves

'a four- to five-month timescale and plan to sell the house on

'once the work is completed.'

And who's going to do that work?

Who's going to get their hands dirty?

Well, we'll both be getting our hands dirty.

I think, to be fair, Wils has got a lot of the skills,

the finishing skills and the detail, being an engineer.

And will there be anybody else

that's going to be giving you a hand? Any mates getting involved?

Yes. Yes, we're pulling friends, relations in...

-We've got a...

-I don't do the plastering.

The rest of it, I'll do that.

In terms of the electrics, the plumbing,

-I can sort that, but I'll have it checked over...

-Of course.

..by a local electrician.

We've also got a lot of strong advice coming from our wives

who put us right when we think we're going wrong

in terms of what we think we might do with it.

So, yeah, there's plenty of direction

being given from behind, if you like.

-From the bosses.

-Indeed.

-Yes, absolutely, absolutely.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Yeah. We're not overstating ourselves.

So, I think we've got a plan

and we just need to make it happen, I suppose.

Good on you. I wish you all the best. I think you'll do well.

-Wilson, good luck, sir.

-Thanks a lot. Thanks, Dion.

-Good luck, Keith.

-Thank you, Dion.

-All the best.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

For their first venture together,

I think Keith and Wilson have chosen a very sensible project.

And turning upstairs into an open-plan area

is definitely the way to go.

But will those beers in the back garden turn into champagne?

And will I get invited to that champagne party?

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

Ealing in West London has great transport links,

green spaces and plenty of shops, cafes and restaurants.

In fact, all that you need is right here on your doorstep.

Yes, it's a pretty pricey place to buy property,

but if you can't afford neighbouring Chiswick,

travel three miles further west and you do get more for your money here.

The property Lucy's here to see is in South Ealing,

which benefits from the nearby Gunnersbury Park.

This is a pretty street

so I'm hoping to see a ground floor flat with kerb appeal.

And as it has three bedrooms, well,

I'm hoping it'll be spacious inside, too.

However, the guide price for this property was £290,000,

which sounds suspiciously cheap when the average value along this road is

over £480,000.

So, I'd better not set my expectations too high.

But, yes, it's pretty from the outside, so that's a good start.

Lovely little tiles just out there,

and look at this rather glorious front door.

I really like that.

Now, straightaway, walking into here it feels like there's character.

You've got a really good sized room here.

You could use that as a bedroom.

It may even be a bedroom or a lounge,

depending on how you want to lay this property out.

Interesting gas fire.

I think that needs to go

because there's already central heating in here.

Second bedroom, a great space.

Now, I do like this rather long corridor.

It does give this property the feeling of space,

but that's because this is a purpose-built flat

so it was always made to feel like this, which I think is a real bonus

when you're looking at properties like this in London.

Er, hm. Bit of a downside here.

This is what I would call a very small bedroom.

I think at a real push you might get a single bed in there

but I think it would be better used as an office

or even a little cot, a nice nursery.

And then right at the back, ah, the bathroom.

Now, come in here. There's easily enough room for a bath in here.

You've got a little shower shunted into the corner

and I think this would benefit from a re-tweak, a little rearrange,

because I just think it's pointless having the shower there and no bath.

Doesn't everyone like a bath?

I know I do. And then right at the back here you've got a sitting area,

a dining area, perhaps.

It comes straight from the kitchen.

The kitchen's not the biggest so maybe you could think about

nibbling a little bit away with this wall to open the space up.

So, thinking about the layout with this property,

the front room would serve well as a bedroom,

you've got a second bedroom, a very small third bedroom there,

and this area to play with here.

So, I think, as a purpose-built flat, well, it's doing its job.

It certainly is. But there's a job here that definitely needs doing,

which would drive anyone up the wall.

Yes, it's our old nemesis, textured wallpaper.

There's a wide variety in this flat and, oh, yes,

a firm favourite of any would-be renovators - woodchip!

And it's everywhere in this flat, even on the ceilings.

Now, it can be an absolute nightmare to remove,

especially if it's covered in layers of paint like this one.

Awful stuff.

Now, the first thing you should do would be to score the paper

before you try and strip it back.

And I would recommend buying a specialist scoring tool.

Now, once you've done that you'll probably want to use a steamer

to melt away all the glue underneath here.

But I warn you, the combination of glue,

water and woodchips will be a really dirty, messy one.

Now, once the paper is soaked,

you can use a scraper together with patience

and perseverance to strip away this paper.

Probably piece by piece rather than in big old strips, I'm afraid.

# We're in pieces

# In pieces... #

And if you're really unlucky, the plaster will come off and the paper,

and you'll also need to skim the walls.

But let's hope it won't come to that.

Well, I'm really pleased to tell you that this little flat

has its own outside space.

Now, any outside area in London is a bonus.

It's not huge and it needs a bit of a tidy-up,

but it would be great for families or even pets, and for me,

thrown in with the three bedrooms that you get with this property,

it's a real tick in the right box.

# Tick my, tick my

# Tick my whoohoo!

# Tick my box... #

Let's see if a local estate agent

thinks this property has more ticks than crosses.

I think the layout's very adaptable.

It can be used as a two- or a three-bedroom property.

I think that the kitchen is relatively small

but it can be opened out into the space before it

to make it into a nice big open-plan kitchen/diner.

And use the front room at the moment as another bedroom.

So, three bedrooms seems to be the way to go here.

However, this is a leasehold flat so you do need to get permission

from the freeholder to make any structural changes.

Oh, and there is 90 years left on the lease, by the way.

What kind of returns could you get on this property guided at 290,000?

Once renovated as a three-bedroom property,

this would rent for in the region of £1,550 per month.

In the sales market, I'd be confident to achieve £500,000.

Half a million?!

Well, if it went for anywhere near that £290,000 guide price,

you could have an absolute bargain on your hands.

Now, overall, I would say my expectations have been met

with this rather charming flat,

although, yes, it does need plenty of work and some layout changes

and it is a shame about the lack of bath.

Who was ready to strip some wallpaper

and turn this place around?

Let's head to the auction and find out.

Lot two is a two-bedroom ground-floor flat.

So, where'd you like to kick off on this, say, 250?

250 with you.

255?

250 with you.

Anyone else? First time, second time...

You won't get it if you don't bid.

After what seemed like an early bargain,

people were soon bidding all over the room

and this popular Ealing flat flew past its guide of 290,000.

We rejoin the bidding at 395,000.

If not, it's going at 395.

First time.

Second time.

396. 397.

Nearly. Yeah.

398. 399. 400. 401.

You must go one more.

I bet you his limit's 400.

LAUGHTER

Everyone wants to see if it is or not.

401. 402.

Hey, well done. I knew it wasn't.

402. 403. 402 with you.

Anyone else? 402.

403? If you're all done...

..sold, 402.

Paying 402,000, just hidden in an amused auction crowd,

was the successful bidder, Adrian.

Retired accountant Adrian came along with daughter Olivia.

They hail from Birmingham and came to tell Lucy why they've chosen

this flat in London for their second family project.

# Second time around... #

Adrian and Olivia, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-So, who was it that found this flat?

I actually found it.

I'd been going to auctions for about the last three or four months

and it came up and this was the only one that met all of our criteria.

So, what was your criteria?

Go through your tick box for me.

Tick box was, it's a purpose-built flat.

It's actually got four rooms apart from the bathroom and the kitchen,

so two reception rooms,

so we're hoping to turn one of those into a third bedroom.

It had to be on the west side of London

so that we can easily get back to Birmingham.

I mean, those are the two main ones.

Olivia, as a family, you guys have done this before, haven't you?

Bought a property and done it up and renovated it.

Well, I spent last summer doing that with my dad to get that one done.

Now, currently you're busy, you're studying, aren't you?

Yeah, I'm at university, so...

But I think...

I get quite a long time off for the summer so I think that will be

the time that I'll then come down here and help.

Yes, with Olivia further afield than Birmingham,

at Manchester University,

this can really only be a summer job if she's to get involved.

But what are they planning on doing here?

We're going to start really in the kitchen,

completely empty all the units out the kitchen.

Put new kitchen units in, a new central heating boiler.

And, obviously, it comes straight in here which will be

a really nice kind of lounge/dining space, I take it?

It will, yeah, that's the intention -

to move the lounge which was at the far end of the property,

to move it actually into this room.

So, you're hoping to rent this out as a three-bedder,

although that small bedroom is incredibly small.

Can you really fit a single bed in there?

And have you tried laying down in that space?

No, I haven't tried that at all.

Erm, also I haven't tried taking woodchip wallpaper off yet,

so it might be a voyage of discovery, I think.

Oh, yes, a voyage is exactly what this sounds like.

But what's the cut of their jib when it comes to their bathroom plans?

Are you going to leave it as a shower room or will you be putting

-a bath in there?

-No, we have... we've already bought a bath.

Yay! I can't wait to see it.

So, what sort of budget have you guys got in mind for this?

I think it's going to be in between 15,000 and 20,000

Erm...I'd be unhappy really if it went much over 20,000.

Do you have a timescale for the work you need to be done?

If I can get it done in four months, that will sort of be falling in line

with other plans for the family.

And, Olivia, you're prepared for a lot of hard work, I take it?

Do you actually enjoy working alongside Dad?

Um...no, yeah, I do.

I think it was really nice last year,

and especially when you look back and see what you've accomplished,

then that's a really nice feeling.

So, yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

So, you're lucky to have her being

so willing, sort of, just about, nearly.

I'm not quite convinced.

-Are you?

-I'm quite convinced.

I keep telling her it will be good experience for her

-when she's got a house of her own.

-Exactly.

Guys, good luck with this project.

I hope it's not too much of a long, arduous summer for you, Olivia.

But it's been really lovely meeting you both.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

So, Adrian and Olivia have some renovation experience

but after that big spend in the auction room, well,

I think they're going to have to keep a close eye on that budget.

Who knows what they'll uncover

once they start stripping back this wallpaper.

Will it be a fun, fabulous project for them?

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

Coming up - in Cornwall, there's a property that's big and rundown

but offers lots of opportunity, methinks.

In London, has Adrian achieved his aim?

What I've been trying to do is to return the property to the way

that the property would have originally been constructed.

But first, it was just outside the Cumbrian town of Wigton

where I came across this two-bed stone cottage which featured

a charming upside-down living style I've found in a lot of rural houses.

What they tend to do is have the bedrooms downstairs

and the day-to-day living upstairs

so they can take advantage of all those nice country views.

And this cottage certainly was surrounded by glorious views,

so you could see why this layout made perfect sense.

But the house was showing its age

and was going to need a full refurbishment

before it could be turned around for the resale or rental market.

It was bought for £60,000 at auction by Wigton locals Keith and Wilson

after they decided it was time to stop talking

and time to start doing.

# Put your money where your mouth is... #

Wilson and I, we're neighbours,

and we have a few beers on a Friday night.

We'd spoken about investing in property

and running a bit of a project.

And I saw this was coming up for auction and thought,

"Well, it's got to be worth looking at."

And lo and behold, we bought the damn thing, you know?

# ..Put your money where your mouth is... #

Wilson is an engineer

while Keith used to run a kitchen installation business,

so, together, they had skills to do a fair amount of work themselves.

They're giving themselves a ten-grand budget

and hope to complete the renovation in two to three months.

The plan was to sell the cottage once complete.

Five months on, we're back to see

if this upside-down cottage is now in good order.

Yes, it's freshly painted and it looks like someone's made good use

of a power wash on those slabs.

It looks like these downstairs bedrooms

have been smartly finished off.

But this cottage is all about upstairs living.

The biggest change upstairs,

erm, I think we got from knocking walls down.

Yes, those partition walls needed to go

and it's really made this space much lighter and brighter.

Also, we got rid of the old stone fireplace,

put a nice modern fire in.

Unlike the other fireplace, this one actually works and provides heating,

along with the new convection wall heaters.

So, it's all looking good.

Wait a minute, what about the downstairs bathroom?

What's happened there?

Yeah, the bathroom was the biggest challenge, actually.

And I think any normal bathroom

would be pretty square or pretty rectangular.

But this one not only had a square wall

but it's built into a radius on there and that radius goes round

to the next wall but it also comes out at the bottom.

So you're actually trying to get those tiles further at the top

than what they are at the bottom, and this bathroom, basically,

it was starting to do my head in, but we've got round it,

we've got it sorted, and very, very pleased with it.

And, boy, has he got it sorted.

It's not just a shower room but a proper wet room.

Hats off to you, Wilson, for sticking with it.

But some of the work didn't go as smoothly

as they had initially hoped.

How about their working relationship?

Did that go OK, or was that challenging, too?

-We...

-He hates me guts!

-We...

We've complemented one another in terms of...

Keith... And I think he'll freely admit it,

Keith's not a practical person.

-I'm the practical person...

-Correct.

-..which has done most of it.

But he's been great, foraging for parts and getting the deals.

This gentleman's really stepped up to the mark

and got some really good deals for the house.

I, basically, just keep supplying stuff and Wils keeps fitting it.

-That's the way it works.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

Keith and Wilson might have thought they were in control of

this project, but we all know where the power really lies.

# A man's, man's world

# But it wouldn't be nothing

# Nothing without a woman or a girl... #

Although two of us have been down here doing the work,

we do get direction from our wives.

You know, their opinions have been valuable, haven't they, Wils?

They have, yeah. And they're quite good at telling you

-where you've gone wrong.

-Yes.

In fact, they're quite willing to spend time and effort

-to put us right.

-Aye.

-Yeah.

Along with the input from their wives,

family and friends also helped out with some of the work.

I think, collectively, they've done a rather top job.

But at what cost?

Budget, I suppose most people have a ballpark 10,000.

It seems to be, er,

a nice round number.

We've actually come in at less than that.

We're going to come in at...

At the moment, we're standing less than 8,000, aren't we, Wils?

Yeah, just a tad under, yeah.

An £8,000 budget on top of their 60-grand price sees this cottage

come in at 68 grand in total.

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

But what do two local estate agents think?

I really like what the buyers have done with the property.

They've replaced the bathroom downstairs with a useful wet room,

totally tiled out.

That's looking really nice.

And they've done the best, they've made the best of this property.

I really like it.

It's been renovated in a very attractive style.

They've made lovely use of the beams, and, um...

They've combined, I think,

modern fixtures and fittings

with the character of the old building very, very successfully.

So, all pretty positive.

But what does that mean financially

on Keith and Wilson's investment of 68 grand?

On the open market, I would recommend

a guide price of £100,000-110,000 for this property.

The sales value for a cottage like this is probably

going to be about £110,000 now.

We have actually sold it, haven't we, Wilson?

We sold to a local couple, a nice couple.

It was 107,000.

We were pleased, they were pleased and it's gone locally and it's nice.

We've come out with a nice profit.

It's a good return for us for our efforts

and it's passing a good property

on to a young couple who, you know,

who are looking forward

and I hope they have a lot of happy years here, really.

Well, that's brilliant.

And a £107,000 sale price

would present a pre-tax profit of 39 grand.

Even split two ways, that's still not bad.

So, have they enjoyed their first property venture together?

We've had some really seriously good laughs, haven't we?

Aye, we have, but don't tell the wives we have.

It's supposed to have been miserable.

It's been good. It's been a good experience.

-Yeah.

-And what went from a few drinks on a Friday night,

and, "Yeah, let's have a go at some property."

And then it became time to say,

"Well, OK, let's put our money where our mouths are,"

and this is the end result of it.

Par is a small town in Cornwall,

one of my favourite parts of the country.

If you fancy a paddle, there are two beaches -

Par Sands Beach and the smaller Spit Beach.

There's also a harbour completed in 1840

and built thanks to the china clay industry.

Well, Par is on the edge of clay country.

But what I'm here to see today

is definitely not fitting the usual mould.

It's a former sports and social club accessed via this little lane.

The guide price was £45,000-£60,000.

Big question is, will it be above par? Let's find out.

Well, it's certainly above par on the map at least,

because it's a mile and a half north of the town and in the small village

of Biscovey.

And the first thing is, it's huge -

a stone building with a massive rear extension. Wow!

I haven't really got a clue what I'm going to find,

but through the door into this little entrance area,

there's somewhere where people would have hung their hats and coats.

And then straight into this, what I guess is a lounge-bar area.

It's a good-sized room.

I mean, it's not in bad condition.

I love this old fireplace.

Look at this. Wow, that is a feature and a half.

So, a really interesting space.

I just feel it's the beginning.

There's more.

# Yowser, yowser, yowser! #

Oh, wow! It goes on.

Bar area here leading into an enormous space.

Look at this. It's obviously the main sort of entertainment area

of the club. Obviously, got the stage.

Massive space.

Wow! High ceilings.

Er...

I've got to, really.

Ta-da. I wonder who's actually performed on here.

I wonder if there's some, like,

major star that started out their career by appearing on that stage.

You never know. I mean, the building has character, it has history.

Now, I have to start really thinking...

.."What on earth could you do with it?"

INTRO: Love Don't Live Here Anymore by Rose Royce

Well, let's look at the history.

Sports and social clubs like this traditionally have a heritage

of mainly working-class patronage as a place to meet, drink and be merry

whilst participating in bar games like darts, snooker and dominoes.

And, of course, the once ubiquitous 1970s disco.

But now it looks like the patrons are long gone.

# You abandoned me

# Love don't live here anymore... #

Ha! Right, well, this is one that definitely gets

the old property developer juices flowing, doesn't it?

What you've got here is an absolutely massive building,

and the options are what, then?

OK, we could try and reinstate it as a social club,

put it back as a feature of the local community.

Well, that would be a nice thing to do but it failed once,

for whatever reason, so it might fail again.

Realistically, redevelop it as something else, maybe a...

I don't know, a daycare centre, perhaps.

A child... I don't know, something like that.

Another facility for the local community, perhaps.

Residential. Well, I don't think you're really going to be able

to convert this building as it is so you'd have to knock it down

and build something in its place.

Well, you've certainly got a lot of land here.

So, that's an option.

However, reading the legal pack and doing your research,

you would find out that there is actually a restrictive covenant

put on by the church which says that you can't actually knock it down.

That's very bad news.

However, the good news is that covenant is promised to be removed.

Erm, so, it looks like you would be able to potentially knock it down.

You've also got a road which is the access.

Now, that provides an access also for some of the houses round here.

So, you're going to have to be very careful

about how you deal with those neighbours,

and, obviously, you couldn't lose their right of way.

Lots of things to consider.

But also...

..lots of opportunity, methinks.

But what I think might be quite different

to what a local property expert thinks.

Here comes one now from the auctioneers

who sold this not so little lot.

I wonder what his first impressions are.

My first impressions of the building are

it may have been at some point fit for purpose. That's...

Those days have gone. And now I see it simply

as a residential redevelopment opportunity.

In physical terms, there's probably room for three or four actually

half-decent detached, a bit, houses, from each other.

It will all, I think, boil down to

how many the county highways will be happy with

off not the best of vehicular accesses.

The site entrance is off a busy road,

which will bring limitations on the development.

But with a guide price of £45,000-£60,000,

what sort of market price are we talking about for the housing here?

A three- or four-bedroomed detached and semidetached house here

should be worth £265,000... £275,000 in kind of theory.

However, that's so close to the stamp duty threshold of £250,000,

if I was doing the sums, I'd put in £250,000 as the probable tops.

# Get on up on the floor

# Cos we're gonna boogie oogie oogie

# Till you just can't boogie no more... #

Four times 250,000 equates to £1 million, if I'm not mistaken.

That should get a few developers dancing.

How about the rental side of things?

On the rental market, there would be pretty good demand

for a three- or four-bedroom detached house.

You could be looking at as much as £750 per calendar month.

Now, I know there are the hurdles of planning

and the build costs to consider

but, overall, it sounds to me like good news,

and let's face it, who's going to miss architecture like this?

It's a really interesting one, this, isn't it?

You know, so much potential, so many challenges ahead.

But for a £45,000-£60,000 guide price, would you have a punt?

Let's find out who did when it went under the hammer.

OK, this is Biscovey Sports And Social Club.

It's potential for conversion

or would you just clear the site and maybe something else?

Who knows? There's potential for a variety of uses.

Who'll kick us off? 50?

And 50. No 50 at the moment.

So, we'll look for 40, then.

At 40, thank you, sir.

At 40, we're away. At 40 by the pillar.

At 40,000.

And two, down the middle.

I've got you, madam, down the line, at 42.

And four.

After that surprisingly low start,

the bids climb steadily in £2,000 steps.

We rejoin the bidding at 85,000.

And five. Do I see. Yes, 85.

85.

At 85. At 85, then, for the first time.

At 85 for the second time.

At 85,000 for the third and final time.

86. That was close.

That was close. 86. 87, the lady goes.

At 87, so looking for 88.

88, the person goes.

89. Looking for 90.

But 89. 90. 91. 91 for the first time.

At 91 for the second time.

All selling and out at £91,000.

Sold. Congratulations.

Well done. Well done.

Well done to Pam who's no stranger to property management.

She has 22 flats that she rents out and I met her

at her £91,000 purchase to get the rundown on her plans.

-Pam, good to meet you.

-Nice to meet you, too, Martin.

Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-So, why did you want to buy this place?

I saw it by accident on viewing another property.

-Huh?

-Yes, I know.

I was on my way, I saw a... lovely cottage in Saint Austell.

-Cottage?

-Yes.

-How many bedrooms?

-Two.

-Two-bedroom cottage?

It looked lovely. And I went inside and I hated it.

-Oh, right.

-And they were viewing this property after that one.

So, we thought, "Well, it's on the way home,

"we'll just have a quick look,"

-and I loved it.

-It's not quite a two-bedroom cottage, is it?

I know. No. I know.

But when you were jotting down on your piece of paper what I'm -

or in your mind's eye, or whatever - what I'm going to buy.

Hm-hm-hm, small cottage, two bedrooms, that'll do, yeah.

Blah-blah-blah-blah.

Large ex-semicommercial former social club thing,

which I'm probably going to knock down and build something on.

-Probably.

-So, it was that?

-That was it.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Wow!

-And then when I drove up, I loved it.

So, OK. So, something changed when you drove up the drive there?

-Yeah.

-What?

-The size of it.

The peaceful, quiet location.

The garden at the rear.

Absolutely beautiful.

Things do seem to happen to Pam by chance and today is no exception.

I've met a really nice builder today...

-OK.

-..that is local, and he wanted to purchase it a few years ago.

-Did he?

-Yes.

And I'm going to have him do the building work for me.

It's not a bad joint venture with him.

You throw in the property, he throws in the building work,

you split the profits.

I haven't thought about that.

Maybe suggest a joint venture. You never know.

-It wouldn't be a bad idea, that, Martin.

-Yeah.

-I quite like that.

You've put the money up for the property,

he'll put the money in for the building,

and then you split the profits.

So, I know it's an ever-changing feast at the moment,

but, in principle, what do you think you could build here?

I think two houses.

Right.

Maybe four bedrooms each house, garage,

both with garden at the rear.

And then is the idea to sell them on when they're done?

Yes.

Erm, so what about budgets?

-Budget?

-Yeah, money, spending.

I think about 50,000.

Four bedrooms, 50 grand, you'll be lucky.

-Yeah?

-Yeah. You want to talk to your builder.

Yeah, well, I can always add it up a bit.

The worst part is going to be the planning.

It's the time they take to get the planning through.

And then I'll need the architect to make up the plans.

So, I'm thinking probably about nine months.

-OK.

-Maybe a year.

Congratulations. I can't wait to see what happens.

-Right, so can I.

-Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

-That's lovely.

-Nice to meet you.

-Thanks very much for coming.

-Pleasure.

-And you.

Well, it's not quite the two-bedroom cottage

that Pam set out to buy, is it?

No, but she strikes me as a lady who can spot an opportunity

and there's certainly one here with this place.

Still a few hurdles to jump over before it comes to fruition.

How will it all turn out?

You can find out later in the show.

Well, we've seen how developer number one got on

-but what about the other two?

-Yes, will they be cup winners

or will they get knocked out in the semifinals on penalties?

Let's find out those results.

Back to West London now and the sought-after area of South Ealing.

The average price for a three-bed property round here is over 480,000.

So, Lucy was intrigued to find this three-bed ground floor flat

that had a guide price of 290,000.

Inside was dated and tired

but it had character and plenty of potential,

although the previous occupants were clearly big fans

of an old Homes Under The Hammer nemesis.

Yes, I'm going to be talking about lovely woodchip wallpaper,

and it's everywhere in this flat.

Even on the ceilings.

Now, it can be an absolute nightmare to remove.

Especially if it's covered in layers of paint like this one.

Awful stuff.

# I better knock on wood, baby! #

As well as the woeful woodchip was a bathroom with no bath,

a tiny third bedroom complete with tiled floor

and the kitchen with no elbow room.

Still, this did not put buyers off on auction day with the property

selling for £402,000.

The successful bidder was retired accountant Adrian who,

along with the help of daughter Olivia,

hoped to turn this second property renovation

into an attractive long-term rental,

although he had a couple of concerns.

That small bedroom is incredibly small.

Can you really fit a single bed in there?

And have you tried laying down in that space?

No, I haven't tried that at all, erm...

Also I haven't tried taking woodchip wallpaper off yet,

so it might be a voyage of discovery, I think.

Well, before they set sail into uncharted waters,

Adrian had earmarked a timescale of four months

and a budget of £15,000-£20,000

to get the property ready for the rental market.

Well, it's now a year later

and we've returned to see how Adrian got on.

Fantastic. This ground floor flat is flying high.

Beautifully redecorated, there is not a trace of woodchip to be seen.

The neutral, modern decor is complemented

by the sympathetic restoration of the existing period features,

while the addition of ornate fireplaces adds a touch of class.

Here's Adrian to tell us exactly what he's been up to.

Right, in this room we've put in a new cast-iron fireplace,

we've taken out the water tanks

which had previously been serving the whole of the flat

and they're no longer required.

We've put in new real wood flooring throughout,

refurbished the sash window,

and probably the main structural item was

we've opened what was previously a single doorway into an archway.

Er, that way, the area can be more of a combined, er...

cooking and living area.

Yes, opening the entrance into the brand-new kitchen

creates a lovely modern feeling in this once-dated property.

In the master bedroom,

they've made the most of the space by removing cupboards.

The third small bedroom is much improved.

And we're happy to report,

in the brand-new bathroom they have indeed added a bath.

Marvellous.

Outside, there's still work to be done

but Adrian has worked his socks off to create a flat that's still

full of character whilst also being sleek and contemporary.

What I've been trying to do is to return the property

as much as possible to the way

that the property would have originally been constructed.

So, on the front door it was painted red

and had some generic horrible glass in it.

So, I found a stained-glass manufacturer who could actually

replicate the style of all the other stained-glass windows

along the street, also on the...

It's got sash windows and rather than replace those with UPVC,

I've actually restored all of those windows one by one

and that was quite a time-consuming exercise.

# You know I will go that extra mile for you... #

It's really impressive that Adrian has gone to the efforts

of restoring this property, as well as modernising it.

But was he flying solo, or was his daughter able to muck in?

She contributed a certain amount.

But, logistically, it became very difficult

because she's studying at Manchester.

But my brother and my wife and my brother's wife have stepped in

where she wasn't able to help.

Yes, Adrian and his troop of helpers did the majority of the work here,

which helped keep the budget down to 18,000.

But the timescale of four months was a different story.

I think I was probably being far too optimistic

with the original schedule.

So, I would probably say, overall,

it has probably taken about eight months of work.

So, with the plan still to rent and a total investment of £420,000 here,

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

I think the flat's been refurbished to a really high standard.

I like the mix of old and modern elements.

And I believe the bathroom is done to a really high standard.

I think period features are really important.

I think they help for the ambience,

it's good that he's gone for the contrast -

so kind of contemporary and period together, so, yes.

It's not hard to be impressed by what's been done

to this once dingy flat.

But with Adrian paying so much for the flat,

is the total £420,000 investment a sound one?

I think if the property was put on the market for sale,

it should be placed at around £489,000.

I would put this property on the market for £525,000,

but expect offers of around £499,000.

Well, if it were to sell for 499,000,

that would mean a pre-tax profit of a whopping 79,000.

But it's only rental Adrian is interested in.

I think he could ask £1,600 per calendar month for this property.

I think when the property's placed on the market for rental,

you're looking to achieve around £1,600 per calendar month.

That's exactly what the figure I would have had in mind,

and actually ties in with the figures that I was putting together

when I first purchased the property.

That rental figure of £1,600 per month

would equate to a yield of around 4.5%,

making Adrian's renovation project something of a success.

Just one and a half miles inland from the fishing port of Par

in Cornwall is the small village of Biscovey.

With the beautiful coastline and the Eden Project nearby,

this tranquil spot has a lot of appeal.

Unlike the old village sports and social club we saw,

which was no longer attracting many visitors.

No more pints being pulled, no more Saturday night dances,

no more snooker - this place was slowly going to pot.

I mean, the building has character, it has history, erm...

Now I have to start really thinking,

"What on earth could you do with it?"

# Knock it down, knock it down

# Knock it down, knock it down, yeah! #

Yes, sadly, that probably was the best option.

But with no planning permission to rebuild anything,

this former commercial space

was going to be a gamble for anyone taking it on.

The person to take the risk?

Well, it was Devon-based property developer Pam.

In principle, what do you think you could build here?

I think two houses.

-Right.

-Maybe four bedrooms each house,

garage, both with garden at the rear.

-And then is the idea to sell them on when they're done?

-Yes.

Developments such as these are never quick,

so Pam had estimated nine months to a year

and a rough budget of £70,000 to clear the site and build the houses.

Well, nearly two years on we return with Pam and her granddaughter.

So, has there been much progress?

Hm, doesn't look very different to me.

# Still the same, still the same

# Still the same, some things never change

# Still the same... #

Yes, so the buildings remain standing.

What's been going on?

I haven't done anything to the property at this moment.

But we applied for planning permission

for originally four houses but Heritage got involved

right at the very last minute and they wanted to keep the old chapel.

But now I've got permission for two houses and a semidetached,

but keep the old chapel building

which I hope to develop into possibly two houses or two flats.

So, actually, Pam has got over the biggest hurdle

of getting planning in place for two houses at least.

That's no small feat.

But what are the two three-bed houses going to look like?

In the area we're standing, this extension will be demolished.

This is a plan of both the ground floors of both the houses.

They reflect each other.

They both have a kitchen, separate dining room, lounge,

and a downstairs cloakroom.

And then, on the first floor, we have three bedrooms,

and two bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms.

One house is stepped slightly further back than the other house.

They'll both be very similar-ish but trying to keep them in

with the Cornish stone and a bit of character.

This is all really quite exciting.

But it's been a battle.

So, has she ever been tempted to exit stage left

and let someone else take it on?

Yes, there was a point when I wanted to give up.

Once the planning was refused -

at that point, just for the day, I wanted to sell.

But I have changed my mind and I'm going to do it myself.

# Yeah, can't give it up no more cos I'm much too strong... #

Good for her. But she is going to need more of that fighting spirit,

as not only has she got two three-bed houses to build

but she's also keen to develop the troublesome chapel.

We haven't got any planning permission for it at the moment.

But I'm going to have plans put in to hopefully have two flats

in the top part of the building, and then with parking underneath.

Well, we know that this process can cost her time and energy

but if she was to get the two flats along with her two houses,

what kind of costs financially are we looking at?

My budget for the two houses is about 70,000 each.

For the two flats, I would think maybe 40,000 each.

Along with those proposed build costs, Pam has spent £102,000

on purchasing the site and paying all the planning fees.

In addition, she thinks it would cost

around £15,000 to clear the site.

So, building the two houses alone

will take her total spend to 257,000.

But will this development be worth the wait?

What did two local property experts think of progress so far?

What we mustn't underestimate is what they've achieved to date

and that is two brand-new houses in close proximity to this building,

and that's really well done.

I don't see much happening.

I think it's quite slow.

I think it's been a bit laborious, a little bit, but, yeah,

this is one that needs to pick up the pace a lot more, I think.

Hm, yes.

But the ball is at least now rolling.

And if Pam does manage to build the two houses for £70,000 each,

then her total investment at that point would be 257,000.

So, could just building the houses alone see her in profit?

The three-bedroomed, two-reception-roomed houses

they've got consent for -

I'd see them on the market for about £185,000 each.

Semidetached three-bedroom house of this construction

would be in the region of about £185,000 to around £195,000.

Crikey. Well, you know, that's made me smile.

Find me the builder now.

I just want to hire a tractor and knock it down now.

Yeah, no wonder she's pleased.

Providing she sticks to her build costs,

she could see a pre-tax profit

of between £113,000-133,000 just for the three-bed houses.

And anything that she might get

from converting the chapel to flats would be a bonus.

But this has been a long old process and we're only just at the start.

There's still clearing of the site and the build to come.

I would say this time next year all the work would be done.

Let's hope that is the case.

It would be nice to see something on this site in the end, Pam.

I was going to ask you, would you come back when I've done it?

And that would actually make my day.

-I'd love it.

-Oh, who knows, Pam?

Who knows? Maybe this is more au revoir and not goodbye.

# I'll wait patiently for your return

# You're coming back!

# You're coming back! #

I love to see the end result of a property renovation.

But you can never take success for granted.

It takes hard work, judgment, and just a smidgen of good luck.

Yes, join us here next time for more highlights and lowlights

-on Homes Under the Hammer.

-Goodbye.

-Bye-bye.

-Goodbye.