Episode 45 Homes Under the Hammer

There are many different ways you can go

when dealing with property development.

What you've got to do is find the best way that suits your project.

Yes, but in the end, if everything goes according to plan,

you could make a healthy profit.

One place to potentially buy your next property project is at

your local auction.

You know, it can often feel like there are too many choices to make

in the world of property development.

Yes, decision fatigue is something most developers

have experienced at some point.

Yes, but did all today's buyers choose wisely?

Let's find out.

I'm in the lovely Hampshire countryside.

I'm a man with a plan.

Now, the front of the property will be there.

In Bilston, in the West Midlands,

there is only one thing to curb my enthusiasm at this terraced house.

The issue you've got is this.

It's a kerb.

And Lucy has to level with you and explain why she's a fan of bungalows

like this one in Kent.

I'm quite a lazy person.

I don't normally like running up and down stairs.

All these properties were sold at auction, and we'll find out

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

Third and last time...

It's hard to believe, but this beautiful landscape is

just eight miles from the busy centre of Southampton.

This is Curdridge in Hampshire.

And unsurprisingly, this is a rural town in high demand.

That makes today's lot even more intriguing.

So, we're off the busy main road, down a private lane.

But today, I'm not here to see a property.

I'm here to see a plot of land

with a guide price of £240,000 plus.

# Now we live in wonderland and walk down leafy lanes... #

A leafy lane set back from the road in English countryside

might seem idyllic.

But remember, as it's a private road,

you'll be partly responsible for its maintenance.

But it's well worth a walk along,

as the plot I'm here to see is enormous.

What a great piece of land, and symmetrical too.

It was part of the house just over that fence,

but they've sold it on separately, with planning permission.

But the planning permission, which will surprise you,

is only for a three-bed bungalow.

I'd want more than that.

# Never enough, never enough, never enough... #

I'm not being greedy, but the plot is almost a quarter of an acre.

So you could get a lot more than a three-bed, one-storey bungalow.

# I just want more... #

So what could you fit on this piece of land?

For me, a nice two-storey,

three- or even four-bed property would be perfect.

But what you need to know, and what you should know is,

if you've done your homework, in the last couple of years,

planning has already been refused

to go into the loft space of that bungalow.

It might not be as easy as you think.

The plans that do exist today were granted on appeal.

So this has never been a straightforward site.

Part of the conditions of the permissions means

it has no permitted development rights.

So forget getting into the roof space using that legislation.

To complicate things, this house falls under the CE23 policy,

which promotes smaller houses that might be more within

the financial reach of locals.

This bungalow will be classed as affordable housing,

due to it being just under 1,200 square feet.'

# It ain't easy

# It ain't easy

# It ain't easy to get to heaven when you're going down... #

No, it won't be easy to change these plans.

But it's nice the local council are attempting to make access to

affordable housing easier where they can.

Thankfully, from a developer's point of view,

it looks like drainage has been put here.

Those foundation works give indication that building is ongoing.

This keeps the planning in place, which otherwise could have lapsed.

Now since it looks like you might be scuppered building anything bigger,

let's focus on the plans that are in place.

I just, by chance, happened to come across the plans for this property.

Now, the front of the property will be there,

with lovely gardens spreading just to the side.

South facing's there, west facing over there -

a three-bedroom bungalow with lounge and dining room combined.

Now, it's a very attractive design they have here on paper.

And for a three-bed bungalow, it's a very, very nicely laid out property.

To find out a bit more about this site, guided at £240,000 plus,

we've asked along a local estate agent

to fill us in a bit more on the affordable housing policy.

Well, affordable housing is a big issue.

I mean, there aren't enough properties being built.

And that's the reason why they're scaling down the size of some

properties, to allow the people who have not got the income to buy,

you know, bigger properties.

But, quite frankly, you need high income to buy

even a smaller property in this location.

Houses big or small don't come cheap around here.

At the moment, the average house price is

around half a million pound.

But what if a buyer doesn't want to build a three-bed bungalow?

Is there any hope of changing the permission?

You need a planning consultant to advise you.

But it's probably a stage-by-stage over a period of time,

and eventually you should, hopefully,

get a larger property on this site.

But if you were to build a three-bed bungalow

that planning permission has been granted for,

what could you expect to fetch on the resale market?

Well, in my opinion, a three-bedroom bungalow in this location,

should attract a figure in the region of £600,000.

Wow! 600 grand doesn't sound very affordable

in most parts of the country.

And if you manage to get permission to turn it into a four-bed bungalow,

the agent thinks it could be worth up to 800 grand.

If you get this land for anywhere near the guide price of £240,000,

and spend 200 grand on it, you could be quids in,

even with a smaller property.

Finding a piece of land with planning permission in this area

is incredibly rare.

The plans are for a three-bed bungalow.

Now, if you want more than that, and bigger than that,

it might be difficult.

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

Undoubtedly one of Southampton and Hampshire's finest areas.

Who'll get me under way? Someone open the bidding.

225,000.

Do I have an opening bid?

225, I have, nice and promptly.

Looking for 230.

There's a statement. 250,000.

Good bidding, sir. Straight in at stamp threshold.

252.

Yes? 252, he comes over the top.

254.

256.

258.

260 we have.

262.

264.

266.

268.

No? 268.

1,000?

269.

270, he's in at.

New bid. 271.

Have a little think, we'll see where we go.

272.

273.

274.

275.

276.

277, 278,

279, 280.

Do you want to make it two, might knock him out? 282?

282.

284.

286.

288.

290.

292.

294.

296.

298.

300.

Nope. You don't get these every day of the week.

It's £300,000 that we have here for the first time,

300,000, I have, for the second.

It's £300,000, going, third, and the final time.

Well done sir, 300, 7014.

And the buyer is a familiar face to Homes Under the Hammer -

it's Mick!

# Do you

# Re-me-mber me? #

Running a family building business

with wife Penny and sons John and Ryan,

I first met them in 2014

when they renovated a rundown four-bed in Southampton.

Now, for 300 grand, they've got themselves a plot,

but what's their plans?

-Mick and John, nice to see you.

-Nice to see you.

Tell us what you're going to do with this big plot.

They've had plans drawn up, the previous owners, already,

to build a three-bedroom bungalow.

We would like to take it one step further,

keeping it a three-bedroom bungalow,

but putting some bedrooms in the loft with some dormers.

Whether we get away with that or not, I don't know, with the council.

How're you going to get round it?

We're going to fight them as we always do.

-Fight them on the beaches?

-Basically.

No, I mean, you've got to sit down and talk to them, basically.

That's what we going to do. See where we get.

OK, so what do you envisage,

whereabouts on this plot are you thinking of putting the house?

Will it start right at the front, will you have it set back?

Obviously drive in, and then I'm hoping to get a car port over there.

At the moment they've just got parking for two cars,

I'd like to have a car port at least or maybe a garage

and then the house will be somewhere in that area there.

North facing there, so that'll be the south facing garden,

you've got the sun, perfect.

And I think it'll be a fantastic house.

# If you don't get what you want

# If you don't get it you gotta let me be... #

If Mick and John don't get what they want,

they can build a three-bed bungalow.

But they are looking at ways around the CE23 ruling,

including adding a conservatory which would add square footage

but obviously wouldn't increase the height of the house.

Still, it's always good to have a plan to fall back on.

Mick, what's your role going to be, John, what's your role going to be?

I'm going to be on-site, hands-on work.

-Getting dirty?

-Yeah, getting dirty.

-Getting stuck in.

-Yeah.

And the boss?

-Yeah!

-The last couple of years, I've taken a step back,

I do more of the organising and the ordering and playing golf really.

THEY LAUGH Hands dirty or playing golf,

I know which one I'd choose, let me tell you.

-That's it, yeah.

-Tell us about the actual build you're looking to do.

What kind of spec are you looking?

Michelmersh bricks, which are obviously...

Yes, hi spec.

And handmade clay tiles, small tiles, yeah, so it would be nice.

We're going to probably go upmarket a bit

with the kitchens and the bathrooms and the electrics,

and, you know, try and get a very good spec.

-In keeping, I suppose, with what's around you?

-Yeah, it's the area.

We're not going to skimp.

We're going to put the right sort of money into it.

And they have a budget to back it up.

140-160 grand for the plans that have been passed,

or 200 grand if they do get to add another floor.

They hope for a timescale of seven months,

but it's those handmade bricks, not the planners,

that might hold them up on the build.

# I'm living it brick by brick... #

The only problem we have got is obviously cos of the bricks,

we've got a 25-week waiting time.

That's for the bricks you mentioned?

That's for the bricks, yeah, so we're probably going to

get the fittings done, get the drive in, get it all ready,

get the services in so we've got electric and water on-site

and then once the bricks turn up, then...

Why those particular bricks?

There's a shortage of all bricks at the moment in England

cos of the amount of building work that's going on,

but this is like a handmade brick, so,

it's not your everyday brick.

Beyond the problems of the bricks and mortar,

I worry about the family foundations of this build.

Families and business doesn't always work out.

Tell us how it's going to work for you guys.

It works well, his brother works for us as well.

He's only 17, Ryan, but, yeah, he's started for the firm.

My wife does the office.

John's keeping quiet, he's being very clever.

He's letting the boss talk.

-Listen and learn.

-That's it, listen and learn and do as you're told.

But, yeah, it's always been a hobby of mine

so I think it's growing on John

and hopefully it will grow on Ryan as well.

And what's his skill? What will he do?

What will you bring to the table, so to speak?

We've given him a year basically just to decide what he wants to do.

He's trying to learn to drive at the moment so...

Two things at once at 18 is not a great idea, is it?

-That's right, no.

-I wish you all the best, hope it all works out.

You'll be getting your hands dirty and you'll be...

-Playing golf.

-Playing golf as always.

-Thank you.

-Good luck. Good luck, Mick. Good luck, John. All the best.

So Mick and John know what they want to do to make the most of this plot,

but it's out of their hands. They've got planning for the bungalow -

will they get planning for the first floor? They need it.

You can find out later on in the programme.

Situated just two miles south-east of Wolverhampton

in the West Midlands is Bilston.

A market town that was built around the coal and iron industries,

and it's now a popular and affordable area.

Well, for a house just round the corner from the town centre,

in a really nice little residential street,

you would expect to have to pay quite a lot of money,

Well, no. £29,000-34,000 was the guide price for this.

# She's too good

# To be true

# They broke the mould

# When they made you... #

So, what have we got? Erm, you know what?

It's immediately better than you might imagine for that guide price.

A good sized front sitting room here, looks like an open fire,

although you definitely want to have that checked out just to make sure

that the flue or whatever was in good condition.

Nice bits of storage.

Through to the rear room where the kitchen is.

Obviously, it would benefit with some new units,

but you could transform this pretty easily.

There, a downstairs loo.

My guess is it's the only loo

because that is a fairly substantial bathroom.

So, potentially an issue there.

Kind of... I quite like the way it's there, I don't know.

Probably creates more space upstairs.

Overall, as a starting point, for a house this kind of price,

I think it's pretty good.

# You got it You're wow-wow-wow-wow! #

It won't be everyone's cup of tea

to have the bathroom sitting off the kitchen,

but it has been done really well.

Perhaps the upstairs can offer some possible solutions

if you're not a fan.

So, upstairs, your bedrooms.

One, two...

..three, four. Right.

That one's a good size, that's one is a good-ish size,

that one is a small size,

and then that one there is also small.

However, in terms of practicalities,

if you wanted a baby room or a little study,

both of those would work.

And there is, of course, the option to move the bathroom

into one of these smaller rooms,

but will it be cost-effective?

I suppose it depends on what

the buyer plans to do with the property.

At the back, there is a pretty decent sized back garden,

albeit in need of some urgent TLC.

But it's out the front which offers yet more.

So at the front of the property, currently a scraggy bit of lawn,

but this could actually, surprisingly,

add quite a lot of value to the house.

Not just by mowing it, but by using it as off-street parking,

that's exactly what the majority of houses in the street have done.

The issue you've got is this. It's a kerb.

And easy though it would be

to just drive your car up on there and park, that's not ideal at all.

You have to approach the council and get planning permission to lower the

kerb here and then you could get a proper driveway into the house.

Not very much money relatively and it would add certainly a lot more to

the value of the house.

So plenty of ways to add value here,

but which would be the best option?

We asked along a local estate agent for his opinions.

I think if I was moving into here,

having upstairs toilet is probably a lot more beneficial

than the extra bedroom.

However, of course, it does depend an awful lot on what people's

family commitments are when they come along.

If they decided to move the bathroom upstairs,

it wouldn't be too expensive to do.

The one small bedroom is actually above the ground floor bathroom

and they would be able to connect into the connections down there.

If the fourth bedroom upstairs was converted into a bathroom,

I don't think it would make any real significant difference in price,

because the people that would do it

would want the bathroom upstairs for convenience

rather than having to trip down the stairs in the middle of the night.

Yes, no-one wants to take a tumble

when they're trying to have a tinkle.

So, with the layout as it is, and after the refurbishment,

what kind of rental can be expected?

If the property was to be rented out,

I would assume that they would get

something in the region of £600 per calendar month.

OK, so, what about the resale value?

Depending upon the standard to which the work was done,

I would envisage the property being worth

somewhere between £110,000 and £120,000.

Yes, it needs a bit of modernisation, but intrinsically,

a good, solid house that doesn't need too much

to bring it up to scratch.

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

This next lot is a freehold, four-bedroomed, mid-terraced house.

So who will bid me? Where should we start?

Have we got 50 over there? Thank you, guys.

At 50,000 I'm bid, is it 60 now?

50, out on my left. Is it 60 anywhere?

Is that 55, is it, sir? 55. 60 out on my left, thank you.

I got you first. 60. Who's first at 65?

62?

Thank you, sir, 62.

Madam, 64?

65, thank you, same to you, madam?

66. 67? 68. 69.

70.

Is it 70?

70. 71?

No? At £70,000 on my left, are we all done?

With you, and on sale, for £70,000...

For the first time, second time, third and last time.

That's yours. Well done.

Just out of sight at the auction was the successful bidder

and first-time renovator, Hema.

She paid £70,000, which is almost twice the guide price,

and came along with her mum, Urmila.

Whilst Mum had a look around the property,

I took the opportunity to ask Hema about her plans.

-Great to meet you.

-Same here. Great to meet you, too.

-Congratulations!

-Thank you.

-So, went a bit over the guide price, then?

-Yes.

-What do you put that down to?

I think it was a bit low, when I looked at the houses around

and the prices that the houses were being sold at.

It was not a true reflection of what the house prices were, to be honest,

and we were expecting it to be higher than that.

-Right, so you're happy with what you paid?

-Yes.

So, tell me why you wanted to buy it?

Basically, the house itself is not in a bad condition at all,

and it's very close to the train station,

probably two, three minutes' walk -

and with local shops just a walk away,

so it's centrally located and it's a very good area for rental.

Great. So, are you a buy-to-let landlord?

Yes, well, it's a first investment and...

Oh, it's the first one, is it?

-Yes.

-Oh, you speak with such confidence,

I thought you'd done this loads of times before!

No, no, I came to England last year.

-OK. From?

-Mauritius.

-Oh, wow!

-Yes!

So then, I was looking into ideas, investment ideas

and this seems to be a good project.

So, tell me what you are going to do, then, to sort it out?

So, the bedroom... It's advertised as three bedroom,

but if we're looking at renting, probably leave it as a four-bedroom.

The windows are very old, so those need to go

and just a bit of tidying, replastering, repainting

and doing the carpeting. And the back yard is a bit of a mess,

so we need to look into that one, as well.

And, as you can see, this is the only house who hasn't got

a proper driveway, so we're going to look into that, as well.

Lowering the kerb and getting off-street parking?

-Yes, exactly.

-Good idea.

With help from her parents and husband Jes,

Hema will be the project manager,

and she hopes to keep the budget between 6,000 and 8,000.

But will that include relocating the bathroom?

Bathroom and kitchen, plans for that?

The bathroom and the kitchen are both in very good condition,

so probably just make it look better,

cosmetic changes, here and there.

So, these are the things that we are looking at, yeah.

You could, theoretically, put it upstairs, into one of the bedrooms?

It could be an idea, but it's not in our project at the moment, no.

We are planning to leave it downstairs for now.

So, keeping it as four, even though they are quite small bedrooms?

Yeah, possibly for kids.

-In the area, it's mainly for working families...

-Right.

..so it will be good for families with children.

What current budget have you got for sorting it out?

We're looking, at the moment, about £,6,000 to £8,000,

just to tidy and do the work.

What's the timescale, then, for getting you up and running?

We're looking at a timescale of five to six weeks, to do that.

-Looking forward to it?

-Yeah, I'm really excited!

Planning to start work as soon as possible.

-Good. Well, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Good luck with it.

-Thank you.

-We'll see how you get on.

-All right!

Hopefully, Hema's first renovation project proves to be

pretty painless.

Nothing too complicated. Keeping the four bedrooms?

Maybe I would have moved the bathroom upstairs. Well, whatever.

You can find out how she gets on later in the show.

Coming up, Lucy's found something rare in this bungalow in Kent.

Something I don't often say on Homes Under The Hammer,

but this is the sort of place you could move straight into.

And was Hema and her husband Jes's renovation all they thought

it would be?

The boiler wasn't working, so we weren't expecting that.

Time to head back to Hampshire and the lovely village of Curdridge.

And I wasn't looking around a dilapidated old semi. Oh, no.

It was a plot of land which was almost a quarter of an acre.

MUSIC: Breathe by Pink Floyd

# Breathe

# Breathe in the air

# Look around

# Choose your own ground... #

Not only was it large,

it also had planning permission in place already,

although it wasn't quite what I had in mind.

The planning permission, which will surprise you,

is only for a three-bed bungalow. I'd want more than that.

Just put in some new plans, I hear you say,

but it wasn't that straightforward.

What you need to know - and what you should know - is,

if you've done your homework, in the last couple of years,

planning has already been refused to go into the loft space

of that bungalow. It might not be as easy as you think.

# Don't be cruel

# To a heart that's true... #

Well, one man who was willing to take on the planners

was property developer Mick.

Along with his wife Penny and sons Ryan and John,

who was with him on the day, they paid 300 grand to take on

the project.

We would like to take it one step further,

keeping it a three-bedroom bungalow, but putting some bedrooms

in the loft, with some dormers.

Whether we get away with that or not, I don't know, with the council.

-How are you going to get around it?

-Fight them, as we always do!

# War! Huh! Look out!

# What is it good for? Absolutely nothing! #

Mick was confident that, rather than war,

an agreement could be made with the council to build a property

that would make more of the size of the plot.

He planned that the work on the property he had in mind,

if approved, would take around seven months and cost about 200 grand.

But if it was rejected,

he had the back-up plans that were already approved,

which he thought could take the same time to build

and cost about £140,000 to £160,000.

It's now 21 months down the line and it's time to see exactly how

Mick and the family have got on.

What an incredible detached property this is.

What was a patch of scrubland is now a huge three-bed

detached family home.

And the inside isn't too bad, either.

The massive family kitchen is beautifully finished

and definitely has the wow factor.

Just off this is a useful utility room,

also done to a very high standard.

A trio of French doors in this huge living room is a lovely idea.

So, too, is the addition of the wood burner.

This will create a feeling of warmth in this spacious living area.

Just next door to the living room is a spectacular orangery.

With a roof lantern and plenty of windows,

it's like a conservatory and feels in keeping with

the rest of the house.

By creating this orangery,

they've increased the square footage of the property.

This means it is no longer classed as affordable housing...

..which, in turn, meant that they could now make this

a two-storey building, moving the three bedrooms upstairs.

Two of the three bedrooms have en suite

and there's a family bathroom up here...

..plus a toilet downstairs.

Top to bottom, inside and out,

Mick and wife Penny have created a home anyone would be proud of.

Since the last time you were here filming,

we've obviously built this house, a lovely three-bedroom house.

It's been a bit awkward along the way, with planning,

but we finally got it done.

The biggest problem we had with the build was waiting for

the planning applications to go through and work their...

you know, go through the course.

First of all, we had to get it out of affordables,

by putting on the orangery. Then, we had to get it all passed downstairs,

then we had to apply for the upstairs three-bedroom extension.

It's taken quite a long time. It's taken nearly two years, from date

of purchase to the end result here.

Nearly 18 months of that has been in and out of planning,

and probably the builders have been here between six to eight months.

Originally, Mick had earmarked a budget of 200 grand

for the property he wanted to build, which also includes

those special bricks he wanted to use. So, how is the budget looking

and what about those bricks?

The bricks we used are handmade.

I think they took 15 weeks to be delivered,

but it was worth waiting for, because they are a lovely brick.

We spent 300,000, plus we bought the plot for 300,000, as well,

so somewhere in the region of 600,000,

which is way over budget, but we usually do go over budget.

The thing we normally do is, before we finish, we get a valuation,

because we always aim for a 20% profit,

so we knew what we could spend on it and still come out with our 20%.

So, that's the way we work and it seems to work for us.

It's been a long road getting here, and they've overspent by 100 grand,

but will it be worth it?

We've asked along two local estate agents to have a look.

First, the agent who saw the plot originally.

It was important to improve the planning,

because formerly it was just

a three-bedroom bungalow.

Now, you have three bedrooms in the roof, as well as the spacious

ground floor accommodation. I think there will be a high demand

for this type of property, as it's the only opportunity

in the area, that I'm aware of, currently where you can buy

a brand-new property. So, that's the number one feature.

This house certainly has a good wow factor about it.

Incredible kitchen and an amazing dual-aspect, 24-foot reception room.

It's lovely. I think, putting the bedrooms upstairs was definitely

the right thing to do. It opens up as a family home.

-Definitely the right way to go.

-Mick and Penny have spent 600 grand

creating this fabulous house and are confident of a 20% profit.

Will the agency valuations match their figures?

If we were to market the property today,

I would suspect you'd be looking to achieve in the region of 750,000,

but we would certainly market it as 765,000.

In my opinion, the value of this property is between

£750,000 and £800,000.

I think the values are spot on and we currently have the house

advertised for £765,000.

Yeah, we're going to get our 20%, which is the way we work,

so we're happy with that. Move on. You know, just keep going.

If they do sell the house for 765 grand, as they've advertised,

that would mean a pre-tax profit of £165,000,

making this tricky project a resounding success.

There are a wide variety of houses in Wigmore, near Gillingham in Kent.

In the Fairview district, where Lucy is today,

there are also plenty of shops and local amenities.

Only a short walk from this quiet street is Wigmore Park,

so it's an ideal place to live, if you've got kids to keep you occupied

or a dog to walk.

So will the property I'm here to see be family friendly?

Well, it's not the sort of place usually associated with

family living and that's because it's a two-bed bungalow,

which had a guide price of £240,000 to £250,000.

However, it does come with planning permission, so hold that thought.

I will reveal more shortly.

I'm going down here.

Well, take care, Lucy.

Bungalows are fast becoming an endangered species,

as builders can get more profit from the land by building flats

and townhouses.

I really like bungalows. I find them quite sociable,

Everything's all on one level. I'm quite a lazy person.

I don't normally like running up and down stairs,

if you forget your car keys!

So, we have nice double-fronted little space to live in here.

We have a lounge with a fireplace, a rather interesting

textured ceiling up there! I think that might have to go.

Got a nice bedroom to the left, all painted magnolia.

It feels quite fresh and friendly.

We've got a kitchen, a bathroom. Oops, with a carpet in.

I don't think that feels right to me,

to have a carpet in the bathroom. And then, right at the back

of the property, another bedroom.

We've got two bedrooms here. But, you know, it all seems lovely,

it's got a nice flow throughout.

More textured ceilings, quite a few of those.

I'd have to get my head around that and probably get rid of all of them,

but great view from the bedroom window. Lovely large garden.

Yeah, something I don't often say on Homes Under The Hammer,

but this is the sort of place you could move straight into.

The windows are already double-glazed

and the central heating and boiler look like they're good

for a few more years. But will all that be about to change?

Does Lucy have the answer?

And what do I have here?

Well, I just so happen to have the plans that have been passed,

which is great, and I've been having a look at them.

So, what have we got?

Well, as well as the side and rear extension here,

the roof height will be raised to include a whole new floor,

making this a chalet bungalow, like this.

On that new first floor, there will be two bedrooms.

You've got a family bathroom,

another en suite and a nice large bedroom with an en suite as well.

And on the ground floor, you've got a spacious kitchen-diner,

as well as a really nice large lounge.

There's a wet room, a utility room and a study -

or you could even call it a fourth bedroom - just here.

Now, these plans would allow the buyer of this bungalow

to create a much larger and more family friendly property,

if that's what they want to do, of course.

So, overall, I think they're really nice.

Bungalows are often built on generous plots,

so there is room for that side and rear extension,

although you will, of course, have to lose some of the garden.

The plans also make provision for a blocked paved driveway

to replace the current narrow one.

Good job, because having one like this could have you going...

# Crazy

# You've got me crazy... #

So, a big part of extending this bungalow

involves raising the roof height, but how big a job is that?

Well, the answer is, it's a pretty big one,

because it involves so much structural work.

You'll need to remove part of, or all of, the existing roof,

and then rebuild it to the required height and structure.

And a new wall?

Well, it can't simply be added on top of the existing walls.

Instead, they have to be made taller from the bottom up.

In addition, existing floor joists may have to be strengthened

in order to bear the new load.

Now, all of this work adds cost and raising the roof?

Well, it could amount to anywhere between £50,000 to £100,000.

So, it's certainly not a cheap thing to do.

No, Lucy, it's certainly not.

Whoever bought this is going to be raising the roof,

in both senses of the phrase. But that said,

creating a chalet-style bungalow can still be a cost-effective way

to increase the size of your property.

We've called on a local estate agent

to come and value the property and evaluate the plans.

But would a bungalow like this

attract a good amount of interest in this area?

Overall in our area, the demand is for bungalows.

We just don't have enough of them.

So many people, I think, have converted and, for a lot of people,

they don't want an upstairs and they are desperate for bungalows.

So, yes, bungalows is the answer.

The question, then, is, is it more profitable

with or without the extension? How do the figures stack up?

If this was just renovated as a two-bedroom bungalow,

we'd be looking somewhere in the region of £350,000 to £375,000.

With the extensions,

we'd then be looking somewhere in the region of £450,000-£475,000.

If you've got the money to spend,

you could completely transform this property

from a single-storey two-bedder

to a three- to four-bedroom chalet bungalow.

No planning battles to go through here.

So, who thought this was a good one to go for?

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

Right. Lot 33, we go to now, which is detached bungalow

with planning permission for a good residential area.

Almost like a knock down and start again, quite honestly.

Planning permission is quite detailed.

Like to start at the bottom end, £240,000 anywhere for the bungalow?

240, 220, then?

220, I'm bid. 220. I should think so, too.

225, 230, 235, 240.

As bids touch the bottom of the guide price band,

we rejoin the bidding at 262,000.

262. And 3 and 4

and 5 and 6

and 7?

And 8. And 9.

269, 270.

And 1? 271?

The two bidders seem to be the only ones left in this bidding war.

We rejoin at 285,000.

And 5. And 6.

And 7. And 8.

And 9.

290.

And 1. 291.

And 2. And 3.

292 I've got from the gentleman at the back.

293 I'm looking for.

At 292, then, for the first time.

292 for the second time.

Third and final time at £292,000.

Yours at the back, 292, sir, and your number, please?

Yes, the successful bidder has been on the show before,

back in March 2013.

Andrew from Hertfordshire featured when his mum and dad

bought this three-bedroom detached wreck of a cottage

in Sittingbourne, Kent,

but both Andrew and his dad, Derek,

had some very valuable renovation skills.

We're both plasterers, a family business.

My dad started out and I sort of went along with it,

went from there.

This body-building plasterer and his family certainly went for it,

achieving an estimated growth in value

of between 37,000 and 82,000.

Now they're about to tackle a second auction property.

As usual, he'll have Mum and Dad helping,

and his builder friend Brian is on board as well.

Time for Lucy to hear his plans for the house.

-Andrew, congratulations!

-Thanks.

-We meet again.

I think it was almost two years ago to the day that we met last time.

Tell me about this house, and why did you fancy bidding for this one?

I think it's got a lot of potential.

The road it's down is really attractive.

It's one of the ones where you spend a bit of extra money on there,

but there's a good chance you could get it back at the end of it.

What are you going to end up turning this property into,

and are you going to stick with those plans?

The plans are pretty much going to be left as they are.

We don't have to change them too much. We're quite happy with them.

There's a few little tweaks

we might do here and there, but nothing major.

Are you going to need to apply for planning permission

to change them again or not?

We're not, cos the plans weren't actual drawn-up plans.

They were basically just permission accepted,

so you can change them here and there if you want to.

So, what sort of budget have you guys got to do the work?

We've put aside... We reckon 120,000

should be a healthy budget to give it a nice finish.

£120,000?

So, what sort of timescale have you got for this?

We reckon hopefully within two months,

we should have the plans and the go-ahead to do the work.

We reckon probably another six months of work itself.

So, eight months, it should hopefully be on the market.

Wow! So you have bought this to sell on?

-That's right, yeah.

-At a profit?

-Hopefully.

-How much would you like to sell it for?

Optimistically, sort of 480.

-As a big, lovely family house?

-Exactly, yeah.

Why have you decided to go into this with somebody else as well?

Well, it suits us all.

He hasn't got much work at the moment,

he's a builder, so it suits him.

There's a lot of building work to do here.

Are you quite excited about this project?

Can't wait to start now. Just want to get on with it.

When do you get the time to do your bodybuilding?

I mean, surely, a long day on-site,

building, plastering, all the work, and then you go to the gym?

Go to the gym straight from work.

Don't go home first, otherwise you sit down and you don't want to go.

So, straight there, get it done, and then get home.

With two months to tweak their outline plans to final ones,

then six months of building the building by day and weekends

and building the body by night,

Andrew is going to be super-fit by the end of this project.

I know you're probably going to be the main plasterer here,

but would you get involved

in doing the paving and the other bits and pieces?

Yeah, we don't really touch the electrics and plumbing.

Other than that, we can put our hands to anything, really.

Anything you're worried about with this?

You're always worried on the budget,

keeping that down, but it is what it is.

You've bought it. You've got to get on with the work

and do it as best you can, as cheap as you can,

and hopefully it's going to make money at the end.

Have you got the time to apply to put into this property?

Yeah, it'll probably be, again, mainly a weekend project,

but we always find days in the week

where we can come down here and work late and push it on.

Mm. How about your parents?

Are they taking a back seat, or are they going to be as involved?

They'll be full-on. They can't wait to get started, like me.

They got quite involved in your last project

-that you bought at auction, didn't they?

-They did, yeah.

They loved it. They worked from six in the morning till seven at night.

-They just can't get enough.

-That is the perfect parents!

Now, what about these lovely textured ceilings

that are everywhere?

Are we going to get rid of this look?

-Definitely going to go, the lot of it.

-Yes!

It'll be just the four external walls

that will be left before we start work again.

I'm really excited to see the outcome.

Andrew, good luck with this project.

-Great to see you again.

-And you.

-Thank you.

Well, it's the first time Andrew has taken on a project of this size.

He's certainly got his work cut out with this bungalow,

and he's got to fit it in around plastering and his bodybuilding.

Join me later in the programme and you can find out how he gets on.

Being cautious is often the way to go to getting it right in property.

-But fortune often favours the brave, Dion.

-Yes, it's true.

So, which path did our remaining two buyers travel down?

Back to Bilston, two miles south-east of Wolverhampton,

where I saw this four-bed mid-terrace.

It didn't look too bad, and the front room looked decent.

Through to the rear room, where the kitchen is.

Now, obviously, it would benefit from some new units.

But you could transform this pretty easily.

There, a downstairs loo.

Mm. Well, my guess is, it's the only loo,

because that is a fairly substantial bathroom,

so potentially an issue there.

I quite like the way it's there. I don't know...

Probably creates more space upstairs.

It did indeed.

There were four bedrooms, though two were on the small side,

and I reckon if you wanted, you could have one as a bathroom,

but whether it would be worth it is another matter.

Former investment banker Hema, who is from Mauritius,

decided to take the property plunge in the UK,

and paid £70,000 at the auction.

After showing her mum, Urmila, around,

we had a chat about the bathroom.

I mean, you could theoretically

put it upstairs into one of the bedrooms.

It could be an idea, but it's not in our project at the moment, no.

We're planning to leave it downstairs for now.

So keeping it as four, even though they're quite small bedrooms?

Yeah, possibility for kids and...

In the area, it's mainly for working families.

-Right.

-So, it will be good for families with children.

It's a very good area for rental.

Great. So are you a buy-to-let landlord?

Yes. Well, my dad... It's a first investment, and...

-Yeah.

-Oh, it's the first one, is it?

-Yes.

-Oh, you were speaking with such confidence,

I thought you'd done this loads of times before!

Let's hope she's still smiling.

Now we are back two and a half months later

to see how her venture into property development has gone.

# For the first time...

# Oooh ooh-oooh oooh ooh

# Ooh-ooh... #

The house wasn't in bad shape to start with,

but the kitchen has had a spruce-up and some new worktops and an oven.

The bathroom has remained the same,

but has been given a good old clean and a fresh coat of paint.

The same can be said for the living room,

which has also had new carpets put down.

There was a little more work to do upstairs, though,

as the old rotten windows to the front were replaced,

and in this room,

the timber joist has been covered over and re-plastered.

All bedrooms are freshly decorated and have new carpets.

Hema's mum, Urmila, is around

to see the work that Hema and her husband, Jes, still have to do,

such as the rendering and painting at the back of the house.

To the front, they decided against

dropping the kerb for the time being,

and just put some fresh turf down.

While Urmila looks round the rest of the property,

I'm keen to know if Hema and Jes have got their hands dirty here.

The painting we've done ourselves.

Jes did the men stuff!

But we had contractors coming in

for, you know, the chimney, the gutters,

re-pointing, the boiler...

..the central heating.

When we bought the property,

we realised that there were no radiators upstairs,

and we also found that the boiler wasn't working.

We weren't expecting that, so we've had a brand-new boiler fitted.

We've had radiators to all the rooms upstairs fitted as well.

Also, sometimes, you know, in terms of timescale,

we were just a little bit over timescale, by a week or two,

because the contractors were not available

at the time we wanted them to come in.

And, obviously, we had a plan for each work to be done,

so basically, we wanted the upstairs to be done before the downstairs.

So, yeah, this is where we took a bit longer.

A couple of weeks over isn't too much of a worry,

but with unexpected items like a new boiler in the mix,

did they also go over-budget?

We had an initial budget of 6,000 to 7,000 initially,

but we were able

to do all the renovation work below budget, actually.

We spent just £5,000 doing everything.

Hema and Jes will be spending the money they saved on a holiday,

but before they go off to relax,

how does Hema sum up her first foray into property development?

This project was my first one,

so everything that I've done so far was a good lesson for me, you know,

in terms of how to manage renovations and, you know,

building relationships with estate agents,

so it's being a very good journey for me so far.

That's nice to hear!

It's now time for two local estate agents

to make the journey over to the house

and see if they like Hema's first house renovation.

First impressions of the property, now they've finished doing it -

there are one or two items that still want doing,

but they've cleaned it up and made it look fresh and bright.

First impression of the property is, obviously,

it's been refurbished throughout,

and it's the fourth bedroom

that sort of creates straightaway that first impression,

cos most properties in the area are two or three bedrooms,

so it's going to be ideal for people with a larger family.

This house should have a strong demand

when it goes in the rental market as planned,

but how much could it bring in per month?

If they intend to rent the property out in its current condition,

then I would envisage them obtaining

somewhere between £625 and £650 per calendar month.

I would rent this at £625 per calendar month.

Yeah, I think this is what we were expecting all along.

Yeah, it's really good rental value.

This £625 a month figure actually works out as a 10% yield,

so Hema has a nice little long-term investment here,

but could they stand to make a more immediate profit

on their £75,000 spend?

Given its current condition

and the property market in the area at the moment,

I would envisage them putting it on the market at £110,000.

I'd expect it to achieve £110,000.

-Yeah, I think that's really good.

-Yeah, it's a very good price.

A very good return on our investment.

We were planning to rent it initially,

so we'll stick to our initial plans,

but if we get a good offer,

maybe we will consider sometime in the future.

We're looking to buy our second property at the moment,

so we're doing some kind of research,

so I'm going to go into property full-time, probably, yeah.

Yes, this could be the first of many for Hema.

Best of luck in the future!

We're heading back to Wigmore in Kent,

where Lucy saw a two-bed bungalow

that was actually in pretty good condition.

This wasn't the most important fact about this auction lot, though,

because it actually came with outline planning permission

to transform this bungalow into something bigger.

And what do I have here?

Well, I just so happen to have the plans that have been passed,

which is great, and I've been having a look at them.

So, what have we got?

Well, as well as the side and rear extension here,

the roof height will be raised to include a whole new floor,

making this a chalet bungalow, like this.

This was certainly an exciting project,

but one that would take a lot of skilled work.

Good thing that the person who paid £292,000 at auction

was bodybuilding plasterer Andrew.

He's added more muscle to his team

by partnering with his builder friend, Dave,

and he'll need all that help,

as the roof will have to come off this house.

This also meant we can say goodbye to one of Lucy's pet peeves.

What about these lovely textured ceilings that are everywhere?

Are we going to get rid of this look?

-Definitely going to go, the lot of it.

-Yes!

It'll be just the four external walls

that will be left before we start work again.

Are you excited about this project?

I can't wait to start. Just want to get on with it.

When do you get the time to do your bodybuilding?

I mean, surely, a long day on-site,

building, plastering, all the work, and then you go to the gym?

I go to the gym straight from work.

Don't go home first, otherwise you sit down and you don't want to go.

So, straight there, get it done, and then go home.

Well, Andrew couldn't wait to get started here,

and thought it would take around eight months to complete,

but as planning took a little longer than expected,

we've returned 14 months later

to see if the heavy lifting has been done.

It certainly has worked out.

The new roof houses the second floor,

but what about the extension to the side and back of the house?

Well, it's absolutely huge,

and means that the downstairs pokey little kitchen is no more.

It's lovely, and big enough for the whole family and then some,

as is the new lounge,

which now stretches the full width of the property.

Of course, the biggest change has been by adding the upstairs...

..which has three of the four bedrooms...

..and a nice family bathroom.

There are actually now four toilets in this property,

so you certainly wouldn't be caught short in here.

And there is no shortage of space in the master bedroom,

which also boasts this en suite shower room.

The two bedrooms to the front are very good sizes.

Overall, it really is an incredible transformation.

Andrew hasn't just raised the roof.

It's fair to say he's also raised his game.

I've had a part in pretty much ripping off the roof,

helped build the extension, all the decor inside,

decorating and plastering, bits of woodwork here and there.

A general sort of overview of the whole property, really.

Well, it looks like the hard work has paid off.

Andrew decided not to have two en suites as per the plans,

which gave more space to the bedrooms,

but what layout changes happened downstairs?

With the original plans, we found the kitchen

would be too small with the utility room downstairs,

so we decided in the end to use that space elsewhere.

Downstairs has now got an open-plan kitchen-diner,

the lounge, and we've also got a bedroom with an en suite as well,

and a downstairs toilet.

We've gained a bigger kitchen,

which we think from a selling point of view

would be a lot more appealing than a utility room.

Having a wow kitchen like this

should make the house easier to sell, but wow costs money,

so how did this affect his £120,000 budget?

The total cost was about 160,000, so a bit over-budget,

but, obviously, a bigger project,

there's always more hidden costs you don't really allow for.

We're intending to sell the property,

but if nothing happens in a few months,

I might consider living there myself, because I do like the area

and I like the finish we've the property as well,

so it's a possibility.

I can understand why Andrew would be tempted to live here,

but let's see if the opinion of two local estate agents

can help him make a decision.

I think the property's been finished to a very high standard.

The kitchen and the bathroom, especially, you can see

there's been a lot of money spent on it,

and generally, it looks very good in everything that's been done.

I think extending the property was definitely the right thing to do,

maximising the amount of profit that you could get from it.

This sort of property in this area's very desirable.

It's a great location as well,

so I think it'll attract a lot of interest.

I think the standard here is really good.

It sort of feels almost like a party house.

I think it would be great for entertaining.

I really like the kitchen with the island

and the bifolding doors onto the patio.

I may have done one thing slightly differently.

I may have tried to squeeze in a small en suite

in the third bedroom upstairs.

But has Andrew managed

to squeeze every bit of profit out of this house?

His total spend here has been 452,000.

If I was to put this property on the market,

I would advertise it offers in excess of £500,000,

looking to achieve in and around between that sort of figure,

up to about 525.

I believe this property would sell in the current market for £525,000.

The valuation is pretty much what we anticipated from the start,

so pretty much spot on, really.

That top-end value would give Andrew a pre-tax profit of 73,000,

which isn't bad at all,

but he's not just cash-rich, he's also rich in knowledge.

I've learnt a lot from doing it.

I've learnt, obviously, the structural side of things,

a lot more involved than what I would have really known.

But also, on the downside,

there's a lot of hidden costs you don't really allow for.

The timescales always go over as well.

Next time, I'll do a lot more research beforehand

and make sure it's a bit more accurate

than what it's been with this one.

So he's gained money and new skills,

but will he be adding muscle for any more bodybuilding events?

With the bodybuilding, it's natural shows that I compete in.

I've done three up to now,

so this is my last one, it's in nine weeks' time,

so I'm halfway through my diet at the moment.

I'm 30 now, so I'm not getting any younger,

so it could be the last one.

Any chance of having a cheeky pint

to celebrate the house being complete?

There may be a pint, but it'll probably be a protein shake pint,

as opposed to a beer, but...!

Property renovation can sometimes be stranger than fiction.

I think they're more entertaining, and we have got plenty more.

Indeed, so join us next time for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-Bye-bye.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.