Episode 58 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello! Now, as you're probably aware, the property market varies

as you travel to different parts of the country.

It really does fluctuate wildly.

Yeah. That can make it really difficult to decide

where is best to buy.

It's always best to do your research.

And there are property auctions all around the country.

It's not as difficult as you might think.

So, why not buy your next home under the hammer?

Here on Homes Under The Hammer,

we have offered you two key pieces of advice

more times than I can remember.

That would always be - view the property and read the legal pack.

You would have thought that, by now,

everybody would follow what we say

but you know what? That's not always the case.

Did today's buyers follow our golden rules?

Here's what they bought.

I'm in St Austell, Cornwall,

where this three-bedroom semi has hardly any worktop space.

So, you've literally got...that.

And at Lucy's two-bedroom mid-terrace in Croydon,

you wouldn't want to work in that kitchen.

There's bits of the outside hanging from the ceiling.

And this former family centre in Southampton

wouldn't suit a work-shy developer to make it habitable.

This place is a maze - it goes on and on forever.

All these properties have been sold at auction.

We'll find out who bought them and what they paid

when they went under the hammer.

Well done.

As counties go, Cornwall really is absolutely gorgeous.

This is St Austell, a popular coastal town.

Well, St Austell is one of the biggest towns in Cornwall

and, as a result, it's got good road links and also a railway station.

And, of course, all the shops and things like that you would expect.

So, good news.

The property I'm here to see

is walking distance from the town centre and, yet, the price -

well, not as high as you might think.

£85-95,000 was the guide price for a three-bed semidetached.

Let's have a look.

I'm actually approaching the back of the property

for reasons that will eventually become clear.

What's also clear is the size of this semi

and that there is plenty of parking space.

So, you're sort of coming in at the back of the property

and straight into what you would imagine is the kitchen.

It's a big space, but I've never seen a kitchen

with so little usable work surface.

You've literally got...that

in the whole kitchen.

Now, maybe there's a unit that should go there,

but I don't know how that fits in, anyway.

Whatever. It is a kitchen that is desperately in need of a redesign.

But it's certainly not a bad size.

So through, if you like, working backwards through the property,

you've got a large living room at the back of the property there,

and a similar sort of equally-sized living room

at the front of the property,

benefiting from a kind of conservatory thing.

What is it? Conservatory-porch thing. Whatever.

A thing at the front of the house,

which is catching lots and lots of light.

Now, you want to get that light into the house as much as possible,

so I would definitely be inclined to take out this wall

and make it really open plan, all the way through,

and maybe you can incorporate a kitchen redesign into that as well.

You could almost have the whole of the ground floor

as one big open plan space. That would be lovely.

But for starters, yes, not seeing anything that I don't like, yet.

Hmm. Sounding good.

It is, actually, a really well-proportioned house.

So, what have we got upstairs?

That's not good.

That is a fairly significant structural problem, that.

Oh, deary me. OK.

That explains the price, then.

I know it's a cliche, but if it is too good to be true,

it usually is, and that definitely needs to be investigated.

However, in general, house here,

space, light, downstairs, really good.

You've got three bedrooms, bathroom,

all in need of refurbishment

and, as long as you know what's going on there,

as long as you get it for a decent price, maybe it's not an issue.

Bit of filler!

I'm joking.

Now, of course, the issue could be historical

with movement stopping long ago and that would then be all well.

But before you address the lack of central heating,

or the antiquated electrics,

I think a structural survey is in order, don't you?

# Forget your perfect offering

# There is a crack in everything

# That's how the light gets in... #

Time for a look outside, where I can finally see

the beautiful colonial frontage of the house,

but that's not what's caught my eye.

So, in terms of access to the property, well,

you've got car access at the back and, at the front,

this kind of slope, which leads to a road,

which goes right into the centre of town,

so that's really good news.

But out here is a garden.

No kidding!

But what I'm most interested in is where it goes to,

because right through those trees and these bushes,

farther than I can see, there is the boundary of the property.

So the garden is absolutely massive.

It's big enough, perhaps, to build an extension,

or even a separate dwelling.

Ooh! That's interesting.

Now, most legal packs will give you an indication

of where your property boundary is,

but if there's any doubt, it is best to talk to the Land Registry.

Time to get some other expert advice

from the auctioneer who sold this property.

What would he do with this semi, and ample land,

guided at between 85 and 95 grand?

If I bought this house, the first thing I'm going to do

is either extend it,

or build another one on the end.

And while you're doing that,

by definition, you're going to deal with any subsidence issues.

So, two jobs in one.

Once you've dealt with the subsidence, one way or another,

to just turn this into as good as it can be,

I suspect you'd struggle to spend £30,000 on it.

And what about that extension, new house idea, in the garden?

What might that cost?

Off the gable end,

to deal with the subsidence and to make the most of the asset,

I'd go for building a three-bedroomed house,

which would cost £70-80,000,

depending on how big it was, and I reckon

about 75-80 square metres would do it just right.

But would that provide a return

that was "just right" on the sales market?

This house, in apple pie order,

I can see on the market for about £235,000.

The new three-bed, on the end,

would be worth the better part of £200,000.

So, if you do your research,

particularly on that subsidence issue, this has to be worth a punt.

# Let me take a chance on it... #

Well, it is a lot of property

and land for the money.

Those historic problems, obviously, keeping the price down.

As long as you know what you're letting yourself in for, though,

and definitely get a structural survey,

then it could be an absolute bargain.

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

The guide is 85-95. 85? Good heavens.

Who on earth's going to say 80, then? Get it going.

80 we've got. 80, I've got 80. There it is. That simple.

Is there two somewhere? Gotcha. 82.

Got to ask you for a four now, I'm afraid. 84?

84. 86. 87?

87? 87.

88, is you, sir. At 88?

Looking for nine. At 88? Nine? 89.

Do I see the 90?

89 and a half, got you. 89 and a half.

Slow to start, but eventually

the bidding got going and we rejoin the auction at 102,000.

102. 102 and a half?

102 and a half. 102 and a half.

For the first time.

102 and a half for the second time.

At 102 and a half. Three or not. Here we go.

Sir, yours. Madame, I'm so sorry. 102 and a half.

The successful bidders, at 102,500,

were Tim, here on the right, and Malcolm, on the left,

both of whom are involved in the running of a charity.

I met Malcolm, the charity's asset director,

with his tenant sustainment officer, Kate,

who also runs the volunteer activities team.

-Malcolm, Kate, great to meet you both.

-Nice to meet you.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

It was just a fantastic offer that came up that we saw.

We looked at the property,

because it's been derelict for about 18 months.

When we actually saw it come on the market,

we just thought, yeah, we definitely need it.

It fitted quite well with our plans.

Great. Tell me about your plans, then. What do you do?

I sense there is a story here.

-Well, we house homeless people across St Austell.

-Oh, wow!

We would like to do the same in this property as well.

Bring it up to a five-bedroom place to house and support

-homeless people in the area.

-Is there a big need?

Have you got a lot of homeless people here?

Cornwall has got the fourth highest rough sleeper count in the country.

So, yes, there is quite a demand in Cornwall.

-And this is the first time you've expanded?

-No.

This is our fourth property that we've bought.

All the others have been on the open market.

We've leased two properties, bought two on the open market

and this is our first auction property.

So, Kate, what was it about this house in particular that you liked?

Well, first of all, the location's fantastic.

If we have any residents with mobility issues,

they are very close to town.

It's got a lovely aspect, enough room to, perhaps, develop

and use the garden as well.

And it's just the right size

to house some of the lower support people that we've got at the moment.

Right. So, what are the plans for it, then?

Well, at this moment in time, we're going to convert it

into a five-bedroomed accommodation but then, we're looking to make

the actual main house to one-bedroom flats, starter flats,

and then build on the side

and have a two-bedroom starter home to sell on in the future.

Oh, wow!

So, Kate, talk me through the renovation plan.

What have you got lined up?

Well, one of our main things is to involve not only contractors

but volunteers and also residents in the renovation of the property.

So, we're going to totally renovate the inside,

change a few of the doorways and things.

So, there's not actually as much as we thought there was to do,

which is fantastic.

But we're hoping that, within three or four months,

we'll be on our way to a nice five-bedroom property

with a shared kitchen and lounge.

And within your volunteer group, do you have contractors,

-people who can do plumbing and electrics?

-Absolutely.

We have sprinkler systems,

because we will be putting a sprinkler system in,

electricians, that's with our own contractor database,

but we also have volunteers that do electrical work,

gardening work, painting and decorating.

So, it's basically a lot of people get involved.

So, let's just recap the separate stages of this worthwhile project.

The grand scheme here is to convert the main house,

with the addition of a possible extension into two flats

and also add further affordable housing on the grounds here.

All the properties will then be sold on to the benefit of the charity.

This is, of course, all dependent on planning and, as we know,

this can take some time.

Rather than let the house lie empty,

the charity will do a first stage renovation here.

That not only gives them a head start

on the work required on the main house,

but will turn it into a five-bedroom shared house

that will be used by residents that they work with at the charity,

who are almost ready to live independently.

Phew! So, what is the budget for the first stage?

-Between, at the moment, £35-40,000.

-Oh, wow!

So, that's with getting it all done for free as well?

Yeah, but we're going to put sprinkler systems in,

but we're also going to make it that

when we do convert to two flats, most of the work is already done.

So, we're going to bring it up to building regulations,

sprinkler systems, divide the electrics, etc.

We're going to spend a lot of money on the gardens.

-We've got a bit of structural works to do.

-Yes.

We're budgeting 35-40 and that includes the furnishings as well.

Right. Let's talk about the structural things you mentioned.

It does look like there's been

a bit of subsistence at some point, perhaps.

A bit of damp. What have you found out so far?

Well, it's not as bad as we thought, which is fantastic.

And if there is any underpinning to do,

we will do that at the later stages,

whether we decide to build onto the side or not.

We've had a good look and had the surveying done and we think

it's not too much of an issue for us to move forwards, at this stage.

Well, listen, it's a really worthwhile project.

-Lovely to hear about the charity.

-Lovely. Thank you very much.

-Good luck with it.

-Thank you.

-Look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

Well, I always love it when properties go to worthwhile causes.

Well, you could probably say that for whoever buys them

it's a worthwhile cause, but you know what I mean.

A great charity, housing homeless people,

and it seems like the house is perfect for them

with that opportunity as well

of adding on to the side and generating much-needed funds.

Fantastic. How will they get on? You can find out later in the show.

Lucy's auction lot this time is Croydon, Greater London.

It's an area that's seen a lot of changes over the years.

Back in the '60s, they tore down the old town centre,

built tower blocks to attract big businesses

and slapped a big old road right through the middle of it.

50 years on, and Croydon is reinventing itself once more

with a £1 billion regeneration plan

and these changes are impacting on South Croydon, too.

This area is fast becoming known as the Restaurant Quarter,

due to its choice of eateries and bars.

# I'm coming up... #

I'm here to see a two-bedroom mid-terrace

and it had a guide price of £230,000.

So far, I'd say my appetite has certainly been whet.

And through the green door, what surprises do we have on the inside?

It's a bit disappointing, isn't it?

Big hole down there. Look at that!

Now, that, to me, looks like a bit of a rotten old floorboard.

Certainly get that looked at. And just very, very dated.

Wallpaper coming off, carpets are all up. What's under here?

Is that the stairs? No, that's a huge understairs cupboard.

It's quite a traditional layout, this.

The stairs are tucked around this corner here, so, you know,

it would have been exactly as it was many, many years ago.

Usually, I see the stairs tucked up here.

So, it's quite unusual to see it like that.

And, of course, there's just things that need doing.

There's damp patches in the corner over there

and the kitchen, don't even get me started!

There's bits of the outside growing, hanging, from the ceiling.

So, a lot of work needs to be done.

There's not too much character on the inside,

but it'd be quite nice to see some of it injected back into this house.

So, not a great start internally.

Rotten floorboards, shabby walls, and then that kitchen.

# I can't go for that No, no can do

# I can't go for that Can't go for that

# Can't go for that, yeah! #

More of that later.

Upstairs, there are two bedrooms.

The master at the front of the house is a good size,

but it's showing signs of damp which need addressing,

as well as a good bit of redecoration.

Along the hallway to the back of the property

is the second bedroom, which is a single,

and is suffering from much the same problems as the master.

And next door to that is the bathroom.

Again, damp problems,

and that bathroom suite is well beyond repair.

# I can't go for that No, no can do... #

But at least some light is shed on the garden from up here.

The only access from the kitchen is firmly locked and blocked.

A problem if you're a barbecue fan.

Yes, you might have a lot of restaurants right on your doorstep,

but you can't eat out every night, can you?

Although, at the moment, well, you might want to.

So, what can you do to improve this kitchen?

First of all, it just needs to be ripped out, obviously, and replaced,

but it's still a little bit on the snug side, I think.

So, here is an idea for you,

depending on the size of that mystery garden.

How about extending to the side and out the back?

Now, I know that does take a bit of imagination at the moment,

but what a transformation that really would be.

And it certainly is in need of transformation.

At the very least utilising the small outside space

to the side of the kitchen

and, potentially, opening it out to the back reception room

would make for a much more family friendly space.

But, of course, building works like that won't come cheap,

so we invited along a local estate agent to find out

what type of profit could be hidden away

in this troubled two-bed terrace, guided at 230,000.

I think, first of all, whoever bought this property

would need to do a full survey.

Any rot, or anything like that, will need to be addressed very quickly.

Other than that, the basic things like new kitchens,

new bathrooms, flooring, walls,

maybe taking it back to brick, re-skimming, that sort of thing.

The kitchen's a small space at the moment,

so if the current buyer could extend to the rear, somehow,

maybe to the side as well, that'd be a fantastic bonus,

making it a really nice open kitchen,

maybe even a dining area there.

But, of course, with any renovation, let alone major building works,

it's all about managing that budget

to ensure you see a good return on your investment.

So, what does he think a house like this would sell for

without an extension?

This property, renovated, without doing any rear extensions,

or anything, would sell for approximately £300,000.

And with?

If the property was to have a rear extension

to the back of the kitchen, maybe, to open the area up,

this property would sell for approximately 325,000,

possibly even pushing up to the £330,000 mark.

Hmm. So you need to be careful if you did decide to extend.

The building costs, and a nice new kitchen, added to renovation costs,

could make a big dent in any potential profit.

So, getting this for around the guide price could be important.

But what could it rent for?

This property, as it is, renovated,

would rent for approximately £1,200 per calendar month.

Well, this property needs a lot of work.

That, of course, means a lot of money, time and effort.

Still, it's in an ever-improving location

and there's potential here to extend.

And who knows what's out there in that back garden?

So, who was ready to transform that kitchen and cook up a storm?

Let's go to auction and find out.

Croydon. Hot area. Good area. Lot eight is a nice traditional house.

I don't know, where would you like to start? Start 220?

220?

225?

225.

230.

235.

240.

After a cautious start, the bidding soon picked up.

We return when bids have reached 276,000.

276.

277.

278.

279.

280.

281.

282.

Have a think. 281 down here.

Anywhere else? 281 down here.

First time,

second time,

third and last time. Are you all done?

Sold. 281.

That successful bid of £281,000 - 51,000 over the guide price -

was made by Armah.

He's a part-time property developer with plenty of experience,

but this time he was bidding on behalf of his brother Ansa.

Lucy met Armah to find out more.

-Armah, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

What I want to know is everything about this house

and why you ended up buying it at auction.

It's a great area to invest in.

You've got some great schools, it's a great starter house, for anybody.

Great facilities close by.

So, I know that you bought this on behalf of your brother,

-haven't you?

-That's correct. Yes.

So, why is that?

My brother lives up North, he lives in Manchester. I advised him on...

He wanted an investment property, so I advised him on this property.

He hasn't seen it yet as well.

-Do you think he'll be happy?

-I'm pretty sure he will be, yeah.

So, you've got it now.

What do you intend doing with it and how are you going to change it?

A full refurb, brand-new windows, brand-new kitchen, bathroom,

-new flooring, new plastering, skimming.

-That's everything?

-That's everything.

-You're basically listing every single thing in this house.

And the garden, the garden needs doing, as you can see.

-You can't see the garden at all. It's full of trees.

-That's funny.

That garden is quite comical, actually,

but you do have to go upstairs to see it.

-I mean, that obviously didn't put you off.

-No, it didn't, no.

It kind of gave us an idea of, well,

we got to have a look at the neighbour's garden and seeing

that, it's quite a large garden, so there's definitely potential there

if we wanted to extend further out.

I really think that you could go to the side and to the back of

this property, I think it would really transform it, wouldn't it?

It would indeed, but there's always a question mark

on how much that's going to cost,

so we'd have to bear that one in mind as well.

How much are you planning on spending here?

We're looking to spend around about £25,000 for

a full refurb of the property.

It may go a bit slightly over,

depending on what we end up doing with the kitchen, if we do decide

to extend further out, so that would increase accordingly.

So it looks like we'll have to wait to see if

he decides to tackle that kitchen extension.

Being a seasoned property developer, Armah has a team of trades ready

and waiting to get started on the house and, with that help,

he expects the work to be completed in eight to ten weeks.

And then what do you want to do with the house?

Are you going to try and sell it on or are you going to rent it out?

We're going to rent it out. It's more for the long-term.

-So this is a keeper for you?

-Definitely, absolutely.

So £25,000 budget. Not including the extension.

-Do you think you can do it on that?

-Pretty sure I can.

Now, you are very confident.

Tell me, is this because you've got so much experience?

Yeah, my father has been developing properties for

a number of years, so I've kind of grown up watching him do it.

And I've done a few myself as well,

so therefore I'm quite confident, given the size of the house,

so we can easily get it done within that budget.

You're just very cool, calm and relaxed at the moment.

-Well, I hope you continue in that vein.

-Thank you very much.

-It's been lovely meeting you today.

-You, too.

I am really excited to see the outcome. Congratulations.

Thank you very much.

So, Armah is following in his father's property-developing footsteps,

and he seems to be taking this project in his stride.

But what will he decide about that kitchen extension,

and what will he find lurking out there in the back garden?

Let's hope he doesn't get stuck in the mud.

Well, join us later on in the show to find out.

Coming up, is this former family centre in Southampton just

too vast to make a viable living space?

This is a very, very big space.

And we find out if Armah's two-bed terrace in Croydon

gets the extension and the new kitchen.

We're heading back to the beautiful Cornish coast to see a really nice

three-bed semi that, though dated, offered plenty of space downstairs.

So what have we got upstairs?

That is a fairly significant structural problem, that.

Oh, deary me.

But I was over the moon when I saw the garden, because the potential

here was sky-high to extend or even build an additional property here.

Buying this property at auction on behalf of

a local charity for £102,500 was Malcolm.

Malcolm is the charity's asset director,

and Kate is the tenant sustainment officer.

-Well, we house homeless people across St Austell.

-Oh, wow.

We would like to do the same in this property as well.

Bring it up to a five-bedroom place to house and support homeless

-people in the area.

-Is there a big need?

Have you got a lot of homeless people here?

Cornwall has got the fourth highest rough sleeper count

in the country. So, yes, there is quite a demand in Cornwall.

So they not only hope to transform this property,

but also the lives of those who could call it home.

The plan was in two stages to benefit the charity.

First, they would renovate throughout and convert this

home into a five-bed shared accommodation that can be

used in the short term, whilst they apply for phase two.

This would be to convert the house into two one-bedroom flats,

and then they would hopefully add a detached home on the extra land.

All the properties would then be sold to add to the charity's funds.

So a complex yet worthwhile plan.

They hope to have the five-bed accommodation up and running

in three to four months,

so we're back four months later to see if it's all gone to plan.

And I'm happy to say that it has.

The layout has seen massive changes downstairs.

The old front room is now the shared living room.

Next door is the galley kitchen. The clever thing is that this

partition wall will easily come down when they make this

the kitchen diner for the one-bedroom flat in phase two.

By blocking this window, a downstairs shower room was possible.

And it solved the problem of failing window lintels,

which caused the crack on the stairs.

At the back of downstairs, there are now two bedrooms.

Upstairs, if I said there are still three bedrooms and a bathroom,

you'd think not much layout has changed, but you'd be wrong.

They've moved walls around internally to make the rooms

of a more even size, and added space by bringing the old balcony inside.

Everyone involved here really has done an amazing job,

and the hard work is really evident in the garden.

Malcolm has project managed this transformation,

while Kate was organising help, not only with volunteers,

but also the residents who would live here.

We've already got two of the rooms occupied.

And as soon as possible, we'd like to get the other three.

In fact, we've already got people ready to move in,

so we're really pleased, it's been such a quick turnaround.

Our residents themselves decided they'd like to get involved

with the garden and things, so we've had people

helping with the paths, had people helping clear the ground,

doing some physical work, and then also helping with some of the

finer things, like planting the plants and laying the turf.

It's been an all hands on deck sort of job, really,

and we've had to go with the weather.

We've just been really lucky to have volunteers from the community, and our own residence as well,

so they've taken real ownership over the property.

And so one of the initiatives we have is for people to grow

their own food themselves.

We've got some lettuce and things out there at the moment that people can enjoy.

And it's a hobby as well, it's a positive use of people's time,

for when they live here.

And hopefully it's something that will be continued.

That's a really nice idea.

One thing that doesn't grow on trees, however, is money and

it cost two grand more than their original £40,000 top budget.

But they have already laid most of the ground work,

so converting it into two flats will only take two to three weeks.

But it's the planning stage that will take time.

Well, we are looking to build two townhouses on here,

with the idea of selling the whole lot as either affordable homes

or whatever, for people to actually be able to live here and for people

in St Austell to move in here,

for us to be able to buy bigger properties

further out into the country with the ethos of our charity.

Well, it's time to ask two local estate agents round to find out

their thoughts on the house

and if converting to flats would be a good move.

First, the agent who sold it

and gave us his opinions before work started.

My first impressions of the property are,

I've come back to the wrong address.

Because it's absolutely astounding what the chap and his team

have done. Never seen anything like it.

The layout, on the face of it,

appears very specific to the charity's function.

But when you just look a little bit closer, it wouldn't take

anything to turn it into two really good sized one or two-bedroom flats.

I think the layout changes are for the better.

What we now offer is two very different styles of property.

Whereas formerly, perhaps, we were looking at family accommodation,

we're now appealing to investment buyers, maybe first-time buyers.

I think the conversion's for the better in this location of town.

As it stands, because it's not set up as a family home,

the agents think it could be worth between 215 and 225,000.

That would be an excellent pre-tax return on their £144,500 that

they've invested. But what sort of prices

would the two planned flats make?

Individually, as one-bedroom apartments,

I would feel £110,000-£120,000 would be appropriate.

The two flats, ground and first floor,

would be worth a similar amount,

depending on how much garden space went with each.

I would imagine they'd be viably on the market at around £120,000.

Yes, again, that's roughly the ballpark.

We've had a slightly higher figure, but I would say that's roughly

in the ballpark figure that we're looking at, which is pretty good.

Well, I've been really impressed with this wonderful renovation,

but more so with the work that Malcolm, Kate and all the

volunteers do for the charity.

And I'm sure this house will have a big impact on people's lives.

It's fantastic, because some of the guys and girls that are

moving into here are ready for independent living.

It's just that last step for that, so we don't bed block in any of our

other properties, so this is very low support,

just getting ready, getting used to sharing

a house with other people, having that amount of freedom,

yet still the security to fall back on should there be any problems.

People can't believe the turnaround.

They are absolutely enamoured with the state of the rooms now,

the quality of finish that we've managed to achieve

in such a short amount of time,

and they're really keen to let us know

that it really makes a difference

to how they're feeling in themselves

to have such a lovely place to live.

Bitterne is a suburb of east Southampton.

It was once a tiny hamlet with a few large houses surrounded by farmland.

Road links encouraged further development and in the 1950s

cottages were demolished and farmland used to build new houses.

Bitterne has great access to the motorway,

but still has a nice, rural feel,

while being close to the city.

The property I'm here to see is on a busy and noisy road,

but the good news is it's on the main bus route into Southampton.

Now, it's a detached property with a guide price of £280,000

and recently used for a family centre.

Here it is, let's take a look.

It's also been a guest house and small hotel,

business uses that fall into the C planning category.

Push-button opener, that's a commercial feel straight away.

Nice big hallway, though, lots of space, nice, big, high ceilings.

Lovely detail as well at the top.

In this room...

Decent size with a nice bay window.

Gives the game away a little bit - "reception" it says there.

Through over the hallway to this way.

This is a very, very big space.

Bit of a kitchen at the back there.

It just needs a bit of an update.

Again, some more lovely features in the ceilings,

but this is not a bad start, actually.

What else am I going to find?

Well, just on the opposite side of the corridor is a room -

I'm going to call it the pink room.

Further down the corridor, there is a laundry and toilet.

Opposite the laundry, you enter the main hall,

which is big enough for large functions or parties.

It could even be a conference room or training room,

with its own kitchen facility.

This place is a monster

and there are still two more floors to look around.

A lovely, wide staircase. As you come to the centre of the stairs,

a lovely big window there, lots of light coming in,

which is great, but this place is a maze.

It goes on and on forever and ever.

Now, what am I going to discover up here?

I'm not too sure - do I go left or do I go right?

I'm going to go left.

But I'll need to get a move on.

So, on the first-floor level, we have family room one,

family room two,

a hall with fire exit,

large bathroom, interview room,

manager's office and store,

staff WC, kitchen and large office.

There are also three further rooms at the front of the house.

That's the first floor.

The second floor is accessed from the front landing area

and comprises of a toilet...

..room one,

room two...

..room three...

..and room four.

I'm in no hurry to go down there,

but the basement has two storerooms, a toilet and a garage.

Then there's the outside space.

Not only do you get a huge car park with a big, substantial property,

I've got a little hidden gem to show you

even further back than the car park itself.

Look at all this space back here.

It goes a long way over there and it goes not so far there,

but it is a huge piece of land.

Could be a lovely garden or even a building plot.

Of course, any plans for this lot

would involve not just planning permission,

but applying for the change of use for the main building.

It has been a whole lot of things before, but what could it be now?

Time to ask a local estate agent.

Let's start with the back area.

I think getting planning permission for doing something there

shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Based on the space that I can see and its surroundings,

some small dwellings should be able to be put up there

without too much complication.

If the agent is correct,

then that could make this a very lucrative venture.

What could the small dwellings add to the venture

if developed on the back plot?

Realistically, the three-bedroom semis

you'd probably look to sell for around 250 each.

Depending on their specification, maybe slightly less,

but somewhere between 220 and 250.

And if you were to do smaller terraced properties,

two-bedrooms or one-bedrooms, you're probably looking anywhere

between about 150 and 180 per property.

OK, but what about the building itself?

What potential does the agent see here?

Putting a value on probably what would probably be

like a 10, 12-bedroom house is a bit tricky,

but probably around the region of

round about £1 million, I should imagine.

But a 12-bedroom property is going to have limited appeal.

What about the other option?

I'd probably be quite inclined from an ease perspective

to make it into student lets.

Yes, I can see that working,

and the agent thinks that this would bring in

around £350 per room per calendar month.

But what if you really wanted to maximise the profit on this lot,

guided at 280 grand?

I would probably make it into separate dwellings,

one-beds or studios,

and have those privately rented.

There are so many possibilities here,

so potential costs of redevelopment are anyone's guess at this stage.

But assuming that this was turned into

the maximum number of one-bed flats allowed by planning,

what valuation could we be looking at?

If the properties were renovated into separate apartments,

I feel the property could be worth in excess of £1.2-£1.3 million.

Depending on what you do with it,

what kind of rental income could this building reap?

I think you'd look to achieve round about

£5,000-£5,500 per calendar month.

That would be dependent on what type of separate dwellings were in here,

whether they were studios, one-beds, vice versa.

Obviously, you wouldn't be able to fit as many of them

as if you were just doing student let rooms,

but you can obviously demand a higher value for those properties.

If ever you wanted a property with space and potential,

then this is definitely it,

but it's not going to be a project for the faint-hearted.

There's a lot of work to be done here.

Let's see who wanted it when it went to auction.

Right, ladies and gentlemen,

somebody prepared to get me underway?

Opening bid - what can we say?

275.

275 here in the room. Thank you very much.

275 I've got. Now looking at 280.

Second bid in the room at 280, thank you. 280.

With the guide price exceeded,

bidding intensified to where we rejoin at £370,000.

370 we have.

375 standing now.

380? 380 we have.

-385.

-Two bidders then battled for the property.

We rejoin with the auctioneer looking for 499 grand.

499?

The round 500. 500 we've got.

501, he comes straight back in. Shall we do it in twos?

Might get there quicker. 503?

503.

505. He shakes his head. You're at 503, that's your bid.

503 for the first time. "Hurry up," she says.

503 for the second time.

503, it's going, third and final time.

-HAMMER FALLS

-Well done.

-503.

-The successful bid came from Nina,

at the auction with her operations manager Andrew.

She was hoping not to pay any more than 450 grand,

but carried on to £503,000 to secure the property.

Nina runs her own service department company

and has been buying and selling property for ten years,

so what's in store for this?

-Nina, nice to meet you and congratulations.

-You too, thank you.

Tell us what you've got in mind for something of this size.

Splitting it down into smaller residential-style units

and renting it to professionals.

And how many are you hoping to...?

-You could...

-Somewhere upward of 20,

-depending on the council.

-Wow!

Really? Now, there's even more space at the back of the property.

-You've got a huge back garden.

-Yes.

-And it goes further.

What are your plans for that as well? Anything at all?

Hopefully, we'll get planning for a couple of houses

with some nice gardens down there.

-It would be nice, wouldn't it?

-It'd be the icing on the cake.

What's your budget on this?

Cos you've already spent over your budget, really,

on buying the property.

Um, the budget at the moment is easily 150, up to 200 so...

-Wow.

-Yeah.

-Does that include all the build?

It includes the build for the existing property,

but there would be an additional budget

if we were to get the planning to put the properties in the garden,

so I would anticipate for each house about 75,000 to build.

Do you have the same team of builders?

-Yeah.

-New guys?

-No, they're all employed.

-They're doing another project at the moment, so...

-Your project?

-Yeah.

They'll be coming here after.

And timescales as well, if you want to turn it around.

Six to nine months.

-Six to nine months to get it from this to your completed...?

-Yep.

What are you like as a boss? Strict?

-You'll have to ask them.

-Yes, I'm sure.

It's quite a family environment.

I don't think I'm that strict.

Their manager is strict, their project manager,

so I can probably come in and be nice to them and say to him

what I want doing and that's where the mean side of it is.

Tell me, how many people will be working on this at one time?

There'll be at least six.

So, tell me, if you don't get the planning that you are looking for

for the property, what are you going to do with it, then?

Well, it just depends which class they allow us to put it into,

whether it can be fully residential,

or whether it has to go down as something like an aparthotel,

so, one way or another, change of use will be allowed,

it just depends which class they change it into.

An aparthotel is a creative idea.

That's a building with apartments and guest rooms for rental,

usually with a lobby and staffed a bit like a hotel.

Nina would still need planning and a licence for this,

and it's not her plan-A idea.

She knows she might have to be flexible,

but she's wisely got a planning consultant

working on this project with her to navigate the planning regulations.

For the moment, she hopes she will be renting

20-odd self-contained units to young professionals.

Are they going to be short-term lets, long-term lets?

What's your plan?

If it goes the way I want it to, then it'll be three months plus.

You must be so excited.

-I can't wait.

-You must be. You can't wait to get stuck in?

-I can't wait for it to be finished.

-Listen, I wish you all the best. Very nice to meet you.

-Thank you.

And I hope you get that planning permission.

-Thank you very much.

-Pleasure.

So the future of this property

is totally in the hands of the planners.

Will Nina get the permission she needs to turn it around

and will she also get the additional planning

for the houses at the back of the property?

You can find out later on in the programme.

We've seen how one of our developers got on,

but what about the other two?

-How are things going?

-Let's find out.

Back now to the much sought-after London borough of Croydon,

where Lucy looked at this two-bedroom, mid-terrace property.

Damp, dilapidated and dull, it needed a complete makeover,

not only inside, but also outside.

It was very overgrown

and maybe it was just as well the key was missing,

but fear not - there was a whisper of potential.

Here is an idea for you, depending on the size of that mystery garden.

How about extending to the side and out the back?

Now, I know that does take a bit of imagination at the moment,

but what a transformation that really would be.

# Imagination

# Is funny

# It makes a cloudy day

# Sunny... #

The man with the imagination was Armah.

A part-time property developer,

he bought this terrace at auction for 281,000.

Experienced Armah was actually buying the property

on behalf of his older brother Ansa

as a long-term rental investment.

He had plans for a total renovation of the property

and also hoped to extend depending on costs,

but it was his budget that had Lucy worried.

So £25,000 budget,

not including the extension.

Do you think you can do it on that?

Pretty sure I can.

So Armah was confident with his plans,

which he hoped would take just two months to complete.

Well, we've come back ten months later

and the outside is looking much smarter,

but can the same be said for the inside?

Yes, they have extended out into that former jungle,

making the kitchen far bigger and much more desirable.

We had a door here leading into the kitchen,

so therefore we decided to knock the wall down,

provide a steel beam for the support,

so we could create an open-plan kitchen.

The new extension is obviously a massive improvement,

and in the rear reception they've gone to the trouble

of removing the chimney breast to create more space.

Very clever.

The front reception, like everywhere else in this property,

has been re-floored, replastered, re-skimmed and, well,

redone to a wonderful level.

Each bedroom is neutrally decorated and partially furnished,

with the smaller bedroom also having the chimney breast removed

to create space.

The bathroom, much like the kitchen, is unrecognisable,

with a fantastic modern suite installed,

complete with a shower and bath.

The jungle has been beaten back a little,

and even though the extension eats into it,

it still leaves a respectable-sized garden.

Give him his due - Armah has gone the extra mile in making

a fantastic contemporary home ready for the rental market.

However, it is a pretty high-end finish here.

How is that contentious 25 grand budget looking?

We've spent in total round about 34,000,

maybe a few more thousands just to complete the garden as well,

so probably looking at an overall cost of 35,000-36,000

and the biggest cost was the extension

onto the kitchen.

The works did take about three to four months,

purely because there was a lot of breaks in between.

The biggest challenge of the project was probably the extension,

cos we did start it in the winter months,

so, due to bad weather, there were a few delays as well,

so there was work starting, then work stopping,

which is always not nice,

but that's what happens with extensions as well.

Remember, Armah was actually doing this

on behalf of his older brother Ansa

and I'm happy to report that he's delighted with the refurbishment

and his investment, which stands at around £317,000.

So with Ansa still keen on renting out the property

on a long-term basis, it'll be interesting to hear

what two local estate agents think,

starting with the agent who saw it originally.

I'm really glad that the owners have taken the opportunity

to extend the property.

I think it is 100% the right thing to do, it's added a lot more space

on the ground floor and it's what the property really needed.

The property has been finished to a really high standard

and there's been no expense spared on this property,

which I'm really pleased about. You can see that the vendor

has obviously done this before and, yeah,

all throughout, I think it's a great property.

The big selling point is definitely the space on the ground floor

and also the bathroom upstairs.

I suppose you could also say that the bedrooms are very equally sized

and that's good if you're renting -

two double bedrooms is great to have.

Well, they are planning to rent,

but perhaps the agents' sale valuations will change their minds.

This property would go on the market at approximately £350,000.

If we had the opportunity to market this property,

we'd be marketing this property at £370,000.

I think 350 is slightly on the lower side,

given this property and the standard of refurbishment done.

There has been a sale on the street for round about the 350 mark,

but it wasn't refurbished to this standard,

so this property could easily achieve round about 360-365.

Well, if they were able to achieve 365

that would mean a potential pre-tax profit of around £48,000,

very nice,

but what about those rental figures?

This property would rent very comfortably

for £1,300 per calendar month.

We'd be marketing this property at £1,400 per calendar month.

That top valuation would mean a rental yield of just over 5%,

so, with this project almost complete,

Armah is looking forward to his next auction visit.

I think, when the hammer goes down, you know it's yours and it can be

always a slightly trickier process if you're buying on the open market.

Time to head back to Hampshire now

and the suburb of Bitterne near Southampton.

It was here I looked around this substantial detached property

that had a guide price of 280 grand.

It had already been a guest house and a small hotel in its life.

It had most recently served as a family centre.

# I am your family tree

# I know your A to Z... #

Lovely big window, lots of light coming in,

which is great, but this place is a maze,

it goes on and on for ever and ever.

It was a multi-floored, multi-room property

that was more like a rabbit warren than a home.

With the property came a car park and a substantial plot of land

that was crying out for another development.

Yes, this property was certainly a handful

and demanded an experienced buyer to take it on.

Step up, Nina,

who bought it for £503,000,

223 grand over the guide price.

Nina had been buying and selling properties for over ten years

and currently ran her own service department company.

Tell us what you've got in mind for something of this size.

Um, splitting it down into smaller residential-style units

and renting it to professionals.

-And how many are you hoping to...?

-Somewhere upward of 20,

-depending on the council.

-Wow!

Yes, Nina had aspirations to make at least 20 studio apartments

in this former family centre.

She also wanted to seek planning for two houses on the land

at the back of the house.

All of that wouldn't come cheap and Nina earmarked a budget

of 150-200 grand for the property conversion only.

She had a timescale of six to nine months

to get it all ready for the rental market.

It's nearly two years on and still a work in progress,

but don't despair, we do have something lovely to show you,

but first, time for Nina to explain why it's not completed yet.

Planning took just over a year.

We wanted 20 studios originally.

That was blocked, there was quite a lot of neighbour objections,

so we've gone for nine higher-end apartments,

a mixture of three-beds, two-beds and one-beds

and we'll be selling them.

On each floor of the property,

there will be a one-bed, two-bed and a three-bed apartment

and while the first and the second floors

are a long way from completion,

the ground floor is very nearly finished.

See, I did promise something lovely.

It may be a work in progress,

but this ground floor is really coming together nicely,

with three fantastic, spacious and modern flats.

They've reconfigured almost every aspect of the ground floor,

making the most of all the space they had to work with,

as Nina explains.

The one-bedroom flat that we're in now,

we're actually stood in the original hallway of the old building,

so we've changed the layout, opened it up,

we've made the living spaces open plan,

which makes it nice and light and airy,

and added a modern feel to it.

Thankfully, Nina is very experienced and knows plans change

and has adapted accordingly.

But the time that planning took

and changing from 20 studios to nine flats

must have had a big effect on her original budget.

The original budget for the studios was a lot less.

We wouldn't have done a lot to the building, just a gentle refurb

and kept them as rental portfolio.

With the nine flats, we will have spent

between 500 and 550 by the time we're finished.

The budget obviously has gone up,

because of the change in outcome of the project.

The funding hasn't been a problem,

because the end value will be higher,

so the additional spend has not been a problem.

It's taken longer than the original timescale due to planning.

We've been on site for seven months now,

so we'll be out month eight, month nine.

So an overspend that would make most people's eyes water

is just another day at the office for Nina.

She wants to sell the property as a whole once the flats are complete,

plus she'll include the sizeable plot with the property

as she decided not to develop it herself.

So all in all, Nina has invested over £1 million in this project

and she'll be hoping to make a sizeable profit,

but will she?

We've asked along two agents

to give their opinions on this development so far.

Really impressed with what I've seen so far.

Just the quality of the finish that I can see is being done.

Obviously, the flats aren't completely done yet,

but you can see what's being done there

and you can see the quality that's in it.

Room sizes in general seem fantastic,

which is unusual for flats,

especially things that you get of new-build orientation at the moment,

so that should be very attractive in the marketplace.

I feel it's done to a really high standard.

They're very contemporary,

they've got the new build-type feel of them,

open-plan living areas, which are very sought-after at the moment

and the market is really crying out for them.

In relation to the different types of flats that we've got here,

I know originally they were looking to do 20 studios

and I think the fact they've gone to nine bigger apartments,

I think it is going to lead to more attraction in the market,

especially in this area at the moment.

There's a lot more of that kind of property coming up

and selling very well.

I think the studios would narrow the market.

I don't think there's many people

looking for that kind of accommodation at the moment,

so, based on the spec and the sizes of these flats,

I think they should do a lot better.

Not getting permission for the studios could turn out to be

a blessing in disguise,

but we'll only know when we get the valuations.

Remember, Nina wants to sell this whole property as one.

I think they should be looking in the ballpark

of approximately £1.5-£1.7 million.

In relation to what they'd be selling the block for as a whole,

just looking at what I feel each individual flat could achieve

in the marketplace and based on the different array

of the bedroom size flats that we've got here,

ultimately, I think the value should be around 1.6-1.7 million.

I think it's high, but if we can achieve that,

then we'll be more than happy.

So if the block was to sell for £1.7 million,

that would mean a pre-tax profit of just under 650 grand,

making Nina's latest project a bit of a success.

Very pleased with how it's gone.

Very glad that we did it and we would be doing it again.

We've got a couple in the pipeline.

Well, that's your lot for today,

but we'll have plenty more auction lots...

-See what I did there?

-A-ha! I like it.

..for you next time.

We've got plenty more to show you from all around the country.

Yeah, so we'll see you next time here on Homes Under The Hammer.

-Bye for now.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.