Episode 67 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello, and welcome to the show. Now, if you're a property developer,

you certainly get to experience a whole range of emotions -

excitement, fear and, if everything goes well, joy.

Yeah. Being in control of your emotions is the key.

Don't let your heart rule your head.

So, why not head down to your local property auction

and buy yourself your home under the hammer?

Now, even the most experienced developers

make mistakes and wish they could turn back the clock to fix things.

Yes, until they invent a time machine -

which is not possible at the moment! -

you'll have to learn from your mistakes.

So let's hope today's buyers didn't make too many mistakes.

Let's see how they did.

'I'm in Folkestone in Kent to see

'a ground-floor flat that's exercising my patience.'

If you can get one that fits, perhaps. That's a mat.

HE GROWLS IN FRUSTRATION

'I had my own form of exercise in mind

'at this former depot in Milton near Stoke-on-Trent.'

Bit of a gym. Bit of circuit training.

And a full circuit of this three-bed detached house in south London

might be too much for Lucy, because she's hitting...

A wall, right there!

All these properties have been sold at auction,

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

when they went under the hammer.

Sold, 304, well done.

Folkestone in Kent is a seaside town

that used to be a small fishing village.

But by the 1840s,

it had become a departure point for the steamers heading to France.

These days, travellers can catch the train via the Channel Tunnel

to the Continent and beyond.

Well, the flat I'm here to see is situated close

to Folkestone Central train station,

and that has very high-speed trains into the centre of London.

So this is actually commuter territory, perhaps,

in which case a two-bedroom flat with a guide price of

£110,000 to £115,000 sounds like a very, very attractive opportunity.

# She said, "I don't blame you, I'd do the same"

# Opportunity knock-knock-knocks Open the door... #

So what's on offer? Oh, I tell you what.

You could dramatically improve the first impression straightaway by

changing the door to something a bit prettier. Or at least painting it.

But through the door...

If you can get one that fits, perhaps. That's a mat.

-HE GROWLS IN FRUSTRATION

-I'll leave that for a minute.

Through the front door into the...

Excuse me for two seconds, dear reader.

Get out the way! Thank you.

Anyway, really nice entrance area, really big,

which sets the scene for what is hopefully a really good-sized flat.

Certainly, bedrooms - you've got one bedroom there,

a really big bedroom there.

Obviously you've got some kind of central heating, which is good.

Honestly, these entrance areas, when they're like that,

they just really just affect the whole feel of a house,

houses AND flats, so that's a really good thing.

Kitchen, well, that doesn't disappoint. It's a good size.

Lots and lots of light, lots of windows.

Now, clearly, the units are very dated.

This whole thing's probably maybe been changed once

in its life since it was built in probably the 1970s.

And that era of flat definitely has a few things going for it,

-one of which is the solidity...

-SOLID BANGING

Wow, what a great noise that is!

..the solidity of the construction, so solid walls,

none of your sort of stud partitions, which is really great.

Anyway, into the main living area in the flat.

And as you can see, again loads of light coming in from these massive

windows, a really good-sized space.

It's rare, I think, to find a flat

that immediately ticks so many boxes.

This is a great place. You could imagine living here,

it's in a good spot. Yeah!

Brilliant!

'This flat is so bright and airy and has a long lease of over 900 years,

'so it's almost without a blemish.

'Almost.'

Well, in this pretty spacious flat,

the only bit that lets it down is the bathroom, because it's not huge.

And it's accessed via this...

very dated sliding door.

The good news is, just behind there, there is a large cupboard.

And although in flats you don't really want to lose storage space,

I think get rid of that cupboard, increase the size of the bathroom,

give yourself a proper-sized bath and then everything just works.

'The great thing about this flat is that it also comes with a garage,

'so if you did lose that cupboard,

'you could have some extra storage space there.

'But this is a leasehold property,

'so getting permission to knock walls about

'might be a bit more hassle than it's worth.

'Something else that could be a pain are these.'

Now, the windows are definitely a big feature in this flat.

Absolutely amazing, throws all this light in here.

But as you can see, one of them has got a bit of a problem.

And this is something which happens on older double glazing.

You get this kind of...

well, condensation inside the unit.

Well, clearly, that is a bit of a problem,

because you certainly don't want that.

'Erm, so, what to do?

'Specialist companies can replace the glass

'or inject a drying agent into damaged units and reseal them.

'If they are beyond saving,

'you would have to replace them and budget for that.'

# Steamy windows... #

Someone who won't be talking hot air

is the local estate agent that we've asked along.

As this flat comes with a garage,

how much of a bonus is that in this location?

Parking is a little bit compromised, because it's permit basis, so...

or they just have an hour's parking.

So to have a garage, whether people use it for their vehicle

or indeed additional storage, is a real benefit to the property.

And what about the flat itself?

It's a very well-proportioned apartment.

Obviously, being ground floor

is going to be a really good benefit to a lot of people.

It does require some updating, but a lot of it is cosmetic.

So I think once all of it is improved,

it will be a really super property.

So, what could this flat, guided at 110,000 to 115,000,

be worth when renovated?

I think in terms of the value of the property,

you'd be looking at about £165,000 to £170,000.

Well, it's not often you come across a flat like this that's so instantly

appealing and, when you go into it, doesn't feel claustrophobic.

It feels light, it feels airy.

It needs a bit of work, obviously it needs modernisation,

but I think there's money to be made by doing that.

And, you know what,

when somebody came to buy it off you in the future,

they would walk in and have the same reaction as I did.

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

Two-bedroom flat with a garage. It's convenient for the town centre.

So what are you going to start me on that one? £100,000 do I see?

100? £100,000 I've got.

100 I've got. And five now, if you like.

105,000 I'm bid.

110, if you like. 110 I'm bid.

112 now, if you wish.

112. 112.

As this was one of the early lots,

this meant that there was quite a lot of interest in this flat.

We re-join the bidding at 138,000.

At 138. At £138,000, then, I have for the first time.

138,000 to the original maiden bidder for the second time.

Third and final time. If nobody...

140 I've got. 142, sir.

141. 142. 142, if you like. 142, if you like.

At £141,000, then, I'm selling for the first time...

142. 143.

144. 144?

No? At £143,000, then, for the first time again.

143 for the second.

Third and final time, are we all done? 143,000.

Yours at 143. Well done, sir. T407.

'The successful bidder, paying 143,000 for this lot, was Mike.

'He came along to tell me why he bought this ground-floor flat

'and what he planned to do with it.'

-Mike, great to meet you.

-Hi, how are you?

-Very good.

-Congratulations!

-Thank you.

-Nice flat.

-It is, isn't it?

Yeah, really light and airy and, you know, just...

-It's a really nice flat. Presumably that's why you bought it.

-Yeah.

Location. It's quite close to the seafront and it's quite close to the

-station, as well, so...

-Right.

-Yeah.

-So why did you buy it, other than those things?

What's the purpose of it?

Good price.

Erm, to do up and to sell on, hopefully.

-So...

-And what was it that you particularly liked about it?

I think it's, for me, because it's going to be my first development...

..it's quite a simple one to do.

So it's new kitchen, new bathroom, windows to be sorted.

-But it's all fairly sound.

-So, you say this is your first project.

What's tempted you into doing this now?

I've always fancied doing it

and wanted to basically start a property career.

So this is just... I thought I'd like to buy in London,

but I can't afford that.

So looking out,

looking all round the south, and this one ticked all the boxes.

-Yes.

-So...

-Is this your background, is this what you do?

Er, no. I've done quite a few different things.

I just fancied having a go at this...

-OK.

-..to be fair, so... No, I do extra work.

-Extra?

-Yes.

-Film and TV.

-Oh, wow.

How do you get into being an extra, then?

I basically replied to an advert a long time ago for an extra to be in

-Les Miserables.

-What, the stage or the film?

-The film.

-Oh, right.

-And from there,

kept me on the books and more things have come through from there,

so, yeah. It could be anything. I could have a phone call to be...

I mean, I've been a pirate.

-You've been a pirate?

-I've been a pirate!

-Brilliant.

-Yeah, so...

-Gosh.

-Very varied.

So do you get your name up on the credits?

-No!

-Oh!

-Hopefully in the future if I do something, but, yeah.

So, in my mind it makes property developing

sound a bit boring in comparison!

If I can balance it and do this and also do the

background stuff and whatever, it's great, life's good.

I think for fun, we should put Mike in a starring role.

For starters, let's see that walk-up again.

Only this time, with some different music.

MUSIC: Little Green Bag by George Baker

And little film effect...

There we go, much better.

# Yeah... #

Inside, it's time to knock up the tension for a Hammer walk-around.

DRAMATIC MUSIC

Feel the excitement!

Feel the emotion!

Feel the wall for damp!

And of course, Mike gets a credit for this.

But enough silliness, back to the task at hand

and a different kind of credit.

-Budget for this.

-Yes, yeah.

I've allowed 15,000.

-OK.

-So, I'm hoping to come under that.

So that's kitchen, windows, bathroom and everything throughout.

I'm probably going to do quite a lot of it myself,

so I'm hoping that I've overcooked the budget.

-So...

-Right. And what kind of timescale?

-Six to eight weeks.

-Right. And then on the market?

-And then on the market.

-So, you paid 143 for it.

So, add in your 15-grand budget, takes you to about 160.

What do you think it'll be worth once you've done all that?

-I'm hoping 180-ish.

-OK.

-Yeah, 170, 180.

-Right, so maybe 20 grand in it.

-Yeah.

-Then move on to the next one?

-Yeah.

-Yeah? Carry on.

-So, yeah.

-Are you looking forward to it?

-I am. I can't wait, actually. I really can't wait.

-Good.

I've got some friends that want to get involved as well,

-so...

-Oh, great.

I think it will be fish and chips and bottles of wine.

That's the way to go! Well, listen, congratulations.

-Fantastic.

-Good luck. I shall look out for you in films.

-Yes! I'll wave.

-And now you really have hit the big time.

-Indeed!

-Now you're on Homes Under The Hammer.

-Too right, too right.

-And you're not an extra, you got a starring role!

-Ta-dah! Fantastic.

-Really lovely to meet you.

Lovely to meet you. Cheers.

Well, yes.

Mike going from bit part to starring role

on his first property renovation.

And a great flat to take on.

I can't wait to see how he transforms it.

You can find out later in the show.

The Caldon Canal runs through the Milton area of Stoke-on-Trent.

Opened in 1779,

the canal was originally built to carry limestone to Stoke potteries.

While the 1950s saw the end of commercial use

and a period of disrepair,

it has found a new lease of life in recent decades as a cruising canal,

taking boaters on a journey through the area's industrial past.

Just a two-minute drive from the canal

is the auction lot I'm here to see,

a former council depot consisting of two buildings over 0.22 acres.

It has a guide price of £35,000 plus,

and it's not your average Hammer lot.

But I'm going to have a look.

OK, so it's a commercial building...

which doesn't seem to be in bad condition.

Maybe a few minor repairs on the roof and on the walls.

But depending on what your business is, maybe a bit of storage,

maybe you could store your truck in here and all its tools.

It could be used for several kinds of businesses.

Maybe you could store your landscaping tools in here, as well.

Or even go back into my genre, when I was a little bit fitter.

Maybe line the walls, bit of flooring.

Maybe you could have a boot camp in here, bit of a gym.

Bit of circuit training. I'm a bit too old for that now,

so I'm going to have a look round the back, see what else I can find.

# Witness the fitness

# The Cruffiton liveth

# One hope, one quest... #

Walking out of here was exactly what the council groundworks team did.

But it looks like it's been abandoned

for as long as my fitness regime.

Into the second unit, which is a bit of a mess.

From what I can see, it has a toilet,

a back room, and I would imagine this would have been the canteen

or kitchen area. But it's...

it's all a bit... It's been destroyed in here.

You would have to spend a bit of money turning this round,

and it's nowhere near the same condition

as the first unit that we've already looked at.

And it would eat into your budget.

But this lot has an ace up its sleeve. Follow me and I'll show you.

# Walk this way

# Talk this way

# Walk this way! #

The beauty of this whole lot is this plot here.

There's more than enough space to get two houses on here,

obviously subject to planning.

You would have to consider the electricity and these trees as well,

that you might have to factor the cost of that into your budget.

But whoever gets this whole, the whole lot and this here,

could be onto a winner and a nice reward.

In fact, dump the boot-camp idea.

And why not demolish those sheds and build even more houses?

However, before you give them the boot,

even if removing this electricity supply pole is allowed,

it could mean a very high charge, maybe even going into thousands.

That needs to be taken into consideration,

because trying to sell a house with this as a garden feature could prove

a bit of a shocker.

# Well, it's a shock, shock... #

It's also a good idea to get the opinion of a local estate agent.

They should be able to give you an overview of the area to see if it's

even worth building houses here.

So here's one we invited along for his views.

So, basically, the site is located next to a public park.

And it's on the edge of Milton village,

which is a very popular area here in Stoke-on-Trent

with lots of shops and amenities, doctor's surgery.

It's a really good residential area. Basically, if I'd bought the plot,

I would seek planning permission

for two houses in front on the green side.

And I would further look to demolish these outer buildings to

probably build a couple of semis on here,

so making four houses on the site in total.

There are plenty of residential properties in this location,

so it does seem a bit of a no-brainer.

And four houses are definitely better than two,

planning permission allowing, of course.

So let's look at the numbers. What could two detached houses sell for?

If somebody was to develop two separate three-bedroom properties

at the front of the site,

they are looking at a value around the 170,000 per unit,

giving a total of 340,000.

And with the agent valuing the potential semidetached properties

at 140 grand each, that could bring a total return here

to a very respectable 620 grand.

And with that guide price of only £35,000 plus,

I think this could be a great venture.

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

We'll say it's 25 to start me.

25, as I say, to start.

20, then. We're going to go 20. Cheap enough at that for a site.

20 to start. 20 to it there. At £20,000.

21 can I see now?

At £20,000. 21. 22, sir, 22.

23. 24.

The bids soon flew past the guide price of £35,000 for this lot.

Some bidders fell away. We re-join the bidding at £61,000.

If not, £61,000 for the first time.

Right in the corner, go on, then. 62.

63. 64. 65.

66. 67.

68. 69.

Shaking his head.

Still with you, sir. 69, in the aisle at £69,000.

70 anywhere else now?

New bid at 70.

71. 72. 73.

74. 75. 76.

77. 78.

No? At £78,000 standing, then.

At £78,000. 79 anywhere else?

If not, £78,000 for the first time.

£78,000 for the second time.

79, back in. Cost you 80 now, sir.

No?

79, then. In the aisle, then, at £79,000. All done now?

£79,000 in the aisle, no mistake at 79.

Bought it, sir. Well done.

'Paying more than twice the £35,000 guide price was Justin.

'He's renovated some residential property

'but focuses more on commercial property.

'He rents out single units for small businesses,

'a builder's yard and even a children's nursery.

'So I started with the obvious question.'

Justin, nice to meet you. Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-And you normally do commercial?

-Yeah.

-What's your ideas? Now you've got it, what's your ideas with this?

-Are you going to do the same sort of thing?

-Well, now I've looked at it,

I'm not so impressed with it,

because I only had one look in the dark

and I thought it was a bit better than it was.

But having had some planners look at the plot of land,

they're saying I could do more with it than I thought I could.

So I'm more interested in doing something with the residential now,

and then possibly in 12 months or so I may attempt

to put some houses on this or something, as well.

OK, so you're going to go residential.

-Yeah.

-What are you going to do? Tell us exactly what you're going to do,

because you've got a little bit more than you expected.

Well, when I first spoke to the planners,

I said I wanted to put a three-bed detached on.

And looking at the size of the plot, I thought that's all I'd get on.

But he looked at it and he said

I could get easily two three-bed detached on

with two parking spaces for each and big enough gardens etc.

So I was quite pleased with that.

And that's without this bit, this is just the greenery bit.

What are you going to do with this?

Well, hopefully put one or two on this after.

'Justin hopes that if he can build the first two,

'they will help him finance the next stage.

'For the first stage, though,

'he's already had some outline plans drawn up.

'Part of this site backs onto a children's play park,

'so that might be one of the issues that dictate what planners say.

'This is Justin's first new-build project,

'but he won't be tackling it on his own.'

I've got a friend of mine who's a very good builder.

He won the Bricklayer of the Year competition years ago when he was a

teenager. He's a good lad, he is. And he does all building work.

He does everything himself. He labours for himself,

does everything, and he's going to build them.

I'm going to help him occasionally.

So to have one man working on your project for you and you'll come and

-oversee it to make sure he's...

-And help him a bit.

-And help him, yeah,

to get it how you want it done.

How long is it going to take one person to get what you want done?

Well, I don't see any reason why it shouldn't take

more than six to eight months.

As one person? That's a lot of work for one person.

-Well, I'll be helping him a little bit.

-Yeah.

Got to clarify that "help a little bit" more for us!

Well, more than a little bit. I'll be labouring for him, but...

-So you don't mind getting stuck in yourself?

-No, I don't mind, no, no.

It will take more than hard labour to build two houses here.

It will take hard cash, too.

Justin hopes to get the building work

on the first two houses done for 100 grand,

which does not seem like a lot.

But with his builder mate Wayne and Justin doing the work themselves,

this could keep the cost down.

It could also be handy that building runs in the family.

Well, my grandad was a builder,

quite a large company in the '40s, '50s,

'60s and '70s,

and he built quite a lot of council estates and schools etc.

But when my dad was born, he built two roads just up in Sandyford,

one called Russell Road and one called Russell Close.

And they were named after my father.

And when I was born, my father was into building,

and he built somewhere in Porthill a cul-de-sac

called Justin Close after me.

So I'm hoping to name these Amy Rose Cottages after my daughter.

-That's fantastic!

-That's the idea, if I can get away with it.

'It must be pretty special having a street named after you.

'Dion Drive, anyone?

'No? OK. The council will decide whether to approve it or not.

'I bet Justin's 11-year-old daughter Amy Rose

'will be chuffed if it happens.

'But will she be following in her father's property footsteps?'

I don't know! I'm hoping to give it up myself soon.

You might be able to, mate, if it keeps going like this.

-Oh, well, you never know, so...

-I'm sure you'll be fine, Justin.

-Thank you.

-I wish you all the best.

-Thank you very much.

-I hope it goes well.

-Thank you.

Justin may have got a little bit more than what he was expecting.

He thought he only had space for one house.

He's got space for two houses.

And on this plot here, he might get three and four, as well.

I think Justin's onto a winner.

Amy Rose Cottages could be in the making.

You can find out how he gets on later on in the programme.

Coming up, Lucy just can't keep a lid on her excitement

at this three-bed detached house in south London.

I am such a fan of the old paint pot!

And in Milton near Stoke-on-Trent,

Justin got a bit of a shock when it came to moving a power line.

..and I expected quite a large bill for that.

Back now to the seaside town of Folkestone in Kent,

where I saw a surprisingly bright and airy two-bed ground-floor flat.

Although some of the window units were blown and would need to be

replaced, they did let in a lot of light to the spacious rooms.

And with a long lease of over 900 years,

this flat had a lot going for it.

But it wasn't perfect.

Well, in this pretty spacious flat,

the only bit that lets it down is the bathroom, because it's not huge.

And it is accessed via this...

very dated sliding door.

The good news is, just behind there, there is a large cupboard.

And although in flats you don't really want to lose storage space,

I think get rid of that cupboard, increase the size of the bathroom,

give yourself a proper-sized bath and then everything just works.

The pokey bathroom really was the only big negative here,

so I can see why Mike paid £143,000 for this flat at auction.

It was his first time trying his hand at property development,

as his main income is from work as an extra in film and television,

where he's played everything from pirates to policemen.

So do you get your name up on the credits?

-No!

-Oh!

-Hopefully in the future, if I do something, but, yeah.

So, in my mind it makes property development sound a bit boring in

-comparison, doesn't it?

-Well, no. If I can balance it and do this

and also do the background stuff and whatever, it's great. Life's good.

It seemed like Mike had cast the right flat for his first property

development. He thought he could get the work done in six to eight weeks,

so it's time to see if this flat is

ready for its premiere ten weeks later.

There's not a red carpet in sight, but I think Mike can take a bow.

The new flooring and the modern, streamlined kitchen

with lovely worktops are A-list,

and Mike has also made the best of that lovely hallway.

But what about the bathroom, which, although not a Hammer horror,

it certainly did need a remake?

It remains the same size, but Mike decided to give it a bigger part.

The changes here, it's quite dramatic.

We ripped everything out, started again,

moved the bath across to this side.

We were going to maybe try and pinch a bit of space from that cupboard,

but when we actually put the full bath in, it works really well.

We've got a brand-new shower,

new tiles, and the floor tiles I absolutely love.

I'm really, really pleased with it.

I think it's probably one of my favourite rooms.

The rest of the flat has been rewired

and redecorated in neutral colours.

And although as an extra Mike

did not get his name up on the big screen,

he certainly deserves credit for doing a lot of the work...

..as do a few other people

who have helped make this transformation happen.

Well, originally I was going to be doing a lot of the work myself.

And I found a guy down here called David - a big thank you to David.

He came in and he helped lay the floor, helped me put in the kitchen

and also helped put in the bathroom, as well.

The main person I want to say thank you to is Debs,

who's been here all the way through, through thick and thin.

She has been the filler queen,

painter extraordinaire, and it's been a joy to have her here.

It didn't all go to plan on the first take, though,

for Mike and Debs.

We'd been working quite late. We went out and had a pizza...

and a bottle of wine or maybe two.

And we came back, and I decided

to paint the feature wall of an olive colour,

which, the next morning, when we looked at it,

decided that I'd painted the majority of the ceiling with it.

So I had to basically change that,

and so we've gone neutral throughout now. So, lesson learnt!

Yes, wine and painting are not a good combination.

Best avoided. One of the bigger issues of this flat was those

double-glazed windows which looked to have failed.

Well, I think when I first looked at it, a lot of the windows were blown.

So I then assumed that they'd all have to be ripped out,

which is where the budget was about 3,000, 3,500.

That's what I'd sort of estimated.

And as it was, the local company down here in Folkestone came in

and just said no, it's just a case of actually replacing the glass.

And they came in at £460.

So overall, the original budget was 15,000

and I spent round about 13,500.

So, yeah, it's come in. And we've come in sort of within budget

and also within the timeframe, as well.

With a holiday sneaked in, as well!

A well-deserved holiday, as Mike has had a busy few months.

Also been doing some extra work whilst this has been going on.

So, the last one was I was an American soldier in that.

So... And there's...

I'm going to potentially be a very posh polo player

watching a polo match,

which is coming up in the next couple of weeks.

And there's a few others coming along.

So, yeah, it's a good balance. It's good fun.

# Film star, giving it class

# Living it fast tonight... #

Mike seems to have had good fun on the property-developing side, too.

Now he has grabbed the bull by the horns and done his first renovation,

will he do more?

I think, erm, I would definitely develop again down here,

because I've got a good team around me now.

But it all depends how much it's worth, really.

Well, it's time to find out, Mike.

As usual, we've asked along two local estate agents to see what they

think of the changes in this flat.

First, let's hear from the agent who saw it last time.

It's really well presented.

Obviously, nice new fitted kitchen, bathroom, all new carpets

throughout. So it's all ready to go.

The bathroom is a small space, but it's been nicely utilised,

well designed. The finishes are good, quality of fittings are good.

All in all, I think a good result.

Whether Mike goes for a sequel in this area

will depend on the outcome of the valuations.

So, will he make a profit on his £156,500 investment?

The market value for this property

currently would be £175,000 to £180,000.

In today's market, I believe this flat

could sell for £180,000 to £185,000.

That is really where I was in line with.

Originally, I'd sort of thought maybe 175.

I have spoken to another estate agent that said high 100s,

but it's pick a number, really.

And it really comes down to who would actually buy it and what price

they're prepared to pay. So, no, that's ideal, that's fabulous.

Getting that top valuation of 185,000 would mean a pre-tax profit

of 28,500.

Has he enjoyed this Folkestone project?

It's been great.

I mean, I think it's been ideal because of the weather, as well.

To finish here and then go down to the sea and go for a swim

has been awesome. So, no, it's been great. Really good experience.

This is Norbury in south London.

It's an area that has plenty of green spaces,

local amenities and a train station

which takes you into central London in 20 minutes.

The first station was built in the 1800s.

Passengers would disembark here to see the horse races that were held

in the area.

Well, the races may have finished,

but plenty of people are still jockeying for position

in the property market that there is in this popular south London spot.

I'm here to see a three-bed detached house,

and it had a guide price of £450,000 plus.

Now, it looks a little bit dwarfed

by its large neighbours on either side,

doesn't it?

# Is there anybody home who wants to have me

# Just to love me?

# Stuck in the middle... #

Wow, that's a lovely, big,

heavy front door with some beautiful stained glass.

I mean, so much more character on the inside

than what I was expecting. You've got all this lovely wood panelling,

although it's very dark and oppressive.

I am such a fan of the old paint pot!

If you could paint that, it would really lighten the place up.

And, you know, painted wood can look fantastic.

That's a fabulous staircase.

Look at that. It's got a real '30s feel to it in here.

And again, look. Lovely, solid wood doors.

You can really imagine what that would be like with a lovely layer of

paint over it. Now, I can hear some of you going, "What?

"You should stain it and keep it as wood!"

But I think that would look really finished once painted.

Again, you've got a nice little fire surround up here.

I'm not quite sure about the beams above my head.

They don't add too much character,

and it sort of gives a bit of a stripy feeling in here.

So I think I'd probably be more inclined

to board that whole ceiling over.

But there's a lot you can work with in this room. It's spacious.

I mean, you've already got double-glazed windows here.

They're not my favourites, uPVC, but they're in and they look quite new,

so maybe it's best to leave them. So, so far so good.

A fantastic space, it's got character,

and I can really imagine a family wanting to live here.

Lucy is spot-on there. This is a sizeable property.

Upstairs, there are two good-sized bedrooms and a box room,

and there is a bathroom and a separate loo.

Probably best knocked into one.

But Lucy has discovered some more pressing layout issues downstairs.

This is where it goes a little bit wrong.

So, you've got a bit of an interim area.

There's a loo in there, and then you walk through into the kitchen.

Erm, and it's just a little bit clumsy.

You've got the boiler there, really small space.

So I'm not excited by the kitchen at all.

And then you've got a wall right there.

So, a wall there,

and there's a wall here and another sort of corridor through here,

and then you've got this rather nice room,

which is, I think, the original part of the house.

And then you've got this area through here, which is like a cold,

hard, tiled floor, maybe a dining room,

but you've got another wall here.

I know I'm going on a bit, but it just doesn't flow.

It really doesn't work for me,

and it feels very lovely and original

down the front part of the house as you walk in, very '30s.

And at the back, well, you know...

Look, these sort of French doors leading out to the garden.

The character just stops

and it just doesn't seem to connect with the house.

Yeah? I'm going to have a look out in the garden.

Well, no! I won't be walking out to the garden from here

and that's because...

there's a six-foot drop!

Loads of bushes in my way,

and basically it's just me and a Juliet balcony.

I mean, it's such a shame that you

can't have direct access out to this garden!

# Romeo and Juliet, they never felt this way, I bet

# So don't underestimate my point of view... #

It's not fair Verona where we lay out our scene, of course,

but lay a veranda out here and you could have direct access to outdoor

space without having to go through the kitchen.

What could also work would be to take a leaf

out of the neighbour's book and extend.

But what kind of extension would give the best return here?

We asked a local estate agent along to give us his advice.

This specific area, people look for between three and five bedrooms.

The property prices are a bit higher.

Adding a bedroom or two would

drastically improve the value of the property.

It sounds like a no-brainer.

However, there might just be a catch.

Looking around at this property,

I think there could be some scope for extension,

although I think it would be difficult

to get maybe a room or two in the roof,

just because of the way it's shaped.

So, an attic conversion might be out of the question.

So what does the agent think the best option would be?

I think for this specific property, keep it as a three-bedroom,

and just make it as best as you can,

good finishes, kitchen, bathroom etc, and I think that'll be fine.

The agent thinks that without an extension,

this house once renovated could sell for anything between £575,000 and

£590,000, depending on the level of finish.

But adding a nice, large single-storey extension

and spending your money on high-spec finishes

could be the best way to maximise your profit.

Extended and renovated to a very high standard,

it would sell for approximately £650,000,

possibly pushing the £675,000 mark.

Well, this is a good, solid property in a popular spot.

It's got character, and once you've sorted out that layout, well,

I think it could be a really lovely home for someone.

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

Three-bedroom detached house in need of modernisation.

Offered with vacant possession.

Who'd like to give me a start on this? 470 anywhere?

Somebody want to have a crack at this?

Thank you. 470 I've got.

Straight ahead, thank you. 475.

480. 485.

How much? 482.

484.

The bidding wasn't exactly frantic for this lot,

but there were still a few interested parties.

We re-join the action at 496,000.

If not, 496, standing up on my right at the back.

That's against you sitting down at the back on my left.

Anybody else? 498?

498. 500, yeah?

500. 502.

No? If not, 500 for the first, 500 for the second.

500 for the third and final time.

Sold, 500.

The successful bidder, paying £500,000 for this property,

was Luca and his dad Paul.

They have bought this as a business investment together.

Luca works for one of his father's companies

and also runs his own developments.

Luca used to be a League Two footballer

but kicked that career into touch

and is now tackling property development.

He came along with his friend Howard

to tell Lucy about their tactics for this '30s house.

Guys, congratulations. Luca, lovely to meet you.

-Nice to meet you, too.

-Howard.

-And you.

-Now, Luca, it was just you at the auction.

-Is this your property?

-It is indeed, yes.

I've been to a couple of auctions previous.

-Yeah.

-A lot of money exchanging hands etc.

-Yeah! Just a bit!

-Yeah, so...

We were going to bid for a couple of properties before this one came up.

I think we've had a bit of a touch,

that we didn't get them and we've managed to secure this one.

Do you think this was the right property for you?

Certainly, yeah. I mean, we're sort of building in stepping stones.

So, we've done a couple of flats together and a house in Leatherhead.

So this is sort of the next step for us.

And, yeah, we're extremely happy, over the moon to get this one.

-Looking forward to getting started.

-Tell me a bit about the both of you.

Now, do you work together as a team? Howard, what do you do?

Well, I'm basically the project manager, so I do a lot of the work,

but I oversee it as well.

And, yeah, it's been going quite well

so far on the previous projects.

So, are you two mates? Do you stem from a long friendship?

-Friends about eight years now.

-Yeah, eight or ten years.

Used to play football together,

so then obviously going out when we were younger a lot on the town,

and so we built, obviously, built a good relationship.

And we've started working together now, so that's going really well.

-Is it a good, fun day at work?

-Yeah, brilliant.

-Is it?

We love going to work, to be honest with you.

And do you socialise together?

-Oh, we live together.

-Yeah, we live together as well!

You're planning your nights out while you're working!

Exactly. Yeah, yeah.

We're here, seeing what we can do on a Saturday night.

We play football together, as well, so...

-Can't get rid of him.

-You're now project-managing all the properties,

-you're buying them.

-Yeah.

-We had a good team, didn't we?

Yeah. I mean, we've had a team for about a year now,

so we all sort of have our input, get everyone in together,

all the tradesmen, and we sort of go from there, really.

So you're actually on-site, both of you, every day?

-Me. I'm here every day.

-So, tell me what you have to do, Howard.

Well, I do a lot of the work myself. Tiling's my main trade,

but I've done property development for a few years.

So I know a fair bit about it. And...

..the contractors we've had in before,

they're all friends, as well.

So, we all work together well as a team,

and I oversee them, make sure they do it all properly,

but I trust them, they know exactly what they're doing

and I do every bit of work that

-I can, basically.

-So, are you both excited about starting this project?

-I'd say this one more than any.

-Yeah, definitely.

-Best one so far.

So, why is this the best one so far?

What's got your juices flowing about this house?

-Potential in it.

-Potential in it, definitely.

-Yes!

-The area...

is a busy area, it's sought after, so there's a lot we can do with it.

What changes can you make

and how can you add value to a property like this?

-We like... We like the entrance, don't we?

-Yeah, certainly,

the old traditional front door with the stained glass,

nice timber panels as you come in.

That's... All them features we're going to keep,

certainly at the front of the house.

Starting with the windows, we are going to keep it traditional.

We're going to go with the flush fit in the casements.

-Are you?

-Yeah.

-Really?

-Yes.

-I'm really surprised.

I'm really glad about that, because they're my favourite,

but they're really expensive.

They are. I mean,

as a family, we own two window companies.

-Oh, there you go.

-It's going to be no cost to us.

-Not quite as expensive.

-Fantastic! Bingo!

Exactly, it's a bit of a touch... It's a touch for us to...

-So no uPVC in sight. That's going.

-Yeah.

-You can have lovely wooden

-timber casements.

-Exactly.

-Oh, fantastic.

-Timber casements

-and then aluminium bifolds towards the back of the property.

-So new

-windows and doors.

-Yeah.

-Anything else?

-Kitchen's obviously going to

have to be redone. We're thinking of putting an island in the middle,

-aren't we?

-Yeah.

-And a new bathroom suite.

That's all going to be needed.

So, let's talk about the downside, for me.

As you walk through the front door,

all fantastic, and then it's a bit of a rabbit warren.

-It doesn't really work.

-Those walls,

as you come through the front, obviously,

like you say, a rabbit warren.

They get in your way a bit. And we want the light coming through

from the front door, so we're going to knock a few walls

through there so it's much easier access to the kitchen.

And that'll be the utility and toilet area to your right,

and then, as for out the back,

we're going to put a balcony out through the doors,

aren't we? South facing, as well,

so they get the nice bit of sun on the balcony, as well.

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

Because it sounds like extensive plans.

You're going to spend a bit of money on the place.

I'd say we're probably looking at roughly around 50 grand.

-That sort of thing.

-£50,000.

-50, 60 grand.

How long do you think it's going to take you?

I think we can get this out in three, four?

-Yeah.

-Three to four months? You think you can turn this around?

So you're purely buying this up to sell it at a profit.

-Exactly.

-Guys, I'm so excited to see the outcome.

Congratulations and good luck with this project.

-Well done.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

So, Luca and Howard seem, well, pretty relaxed

and actually really excited about their latest project.

But will it all be as straightforward as they think?

Join me later in the programme and you can find out.

We still need to find out what's happened

to our two remaining properties.

Are they doing a Mexican wave or are they just waving goodbye to profit?

Let's find out how they got on.

Time to head back to Milton near Stoke-on-Trent,

where I saw a former council groundworks depot.

It had a large shed that was actually in good condition.

Around the back was a separate building

that housed some offices that were less so.

But the beauty of this whole lot is this plot here.

There's more than enough space to get two houses on here,

obviously subject to planning.

You would have to consider the electricity

and these trees, as well,

that you might have to factor the cost of that into your budget.

But whoever gets this whole lot and this here could be onto a winner.

The successful bidder, who paid 79 grand

for this lot at auction, was former

car salesman turned property developer Justin.

He normally buys and rents out commercial properties,

but with this, he's trying something new.

Well, when I first spoke to the planners,

I said I wanted to put a three-bed detached on.

Looking at the size of the plot, I thought that's all they'd get on.

But he looked at it and said I could get easily two three-bed detached

on with two parking spaces for each and big enough gardens etc.

So, I was quite pleased with that.

This was his first attempt at a new-build,

but construction runs in the family.

His grandfather and father were both builders and the family tradition is

to name streets on estates they've built after family members.

Justin planned to follow suit.

I'm hoping to name these Amy Rose Cottages after my daughter.

-That's fantastic!

-That's the idea, if I can get away with it.

Armed with some outline plans,

he was ready to negotiate with the local planning department

to hopefully have his builder friend Wayne

put up the houses in around six to eight months.

Now, we're back a year and ten months later.

Amy Rose Cottages should be a reality.

# But I guess that's why they say

# Every rose has its thorn

# Just like every night has its dawn

# Just like every cowboy sings a sad, sad song

# Every rose has its thorn... #

Sadly, the planning has been a prickly issue,

so Justin hasn't managed to have anything built here yet,

which must be disappointing.

Unfortunately, the council didn't like the idea that the houses both

weren't facing the road in a line.

They were talking about the frontage needed to be the same all the way

down the road, so they told me that they wouldn't allow it,

but we went ahead anyway.

It got refused, we went to appeal and it got refused again,

so now we're back to square one and we're looking at a single detached

house with four bedrooms,

which is probably where we'll end up having to go.

Justin did manage to do some preparation work

during all the wrangling.

Some trees have been removed, and I'm glad to see that they've managed

to have that electricity supply pole moved.

And you might be shocked at how much it cost.

We got hold of the electric company

and I expected quite a large bill for that.

But as it happened, they didn't charge me anything.

All they asked for was...

..to put the electric within a metre of the boundary,

so they had access to it and to sign a wayleave for me to put it there.

And they never charged me a penny.

# I owe you nothing

# Nothing, nothing at all

# Nothing, nothing at all, all... #

Well, not quite for nothing.

The electricity company now have an access agreement to enter the

property's boundary to make repairs at any time.

This agreement normally transfers to any future owners of the land

or property on it, which may put some people off purchasing it.

So, slow progress on the plot of land,

but Justin has at least been able to utilise the groundworks depot.

I've now converted this bit here into usable for myself.

I've put a toilet in it and drains etc, electric, water.

And it will be a good base when we eventually get planning permission

to build just at the side there. So, I'm happy about that.

With plenty of secure space to store materials and equipment,

the depot is an ideal base for the site, and in the future,

once the house is hopefully complete,

he intends to convert the depot into a nursery and add it to his

commercial rental portfolio.

The budget for the building of the two houses was 100 grand.

But how's that new plan affected his budget for a single four-bed house?

We're still on a similar budget, I'd imagine, because the one house

we're building now is going to be a lot bigger and a better spec,

and also the council asked us to put a brick wall

around the outside of the property, which will cost a few quid, as well.

It's time to see if two local estate agents think that his

new, revised plan is the way to go.

First, let's hear from the agent that saw it last time.

Well, obviously, you know,

currently the plans are to put a four-bedroom property on the land

adjacent to the building here.

That's probably a good plan, because the land is a substantial size.

Obviously, it's within a good area for residential, for families,

so I would think it would be a very attractive proposition.

The current plan for the four-bedroom detached house, I feel,

is a much better idea, certainly, one plot with four bedrooms,

and allow for the parking in the property.

I feel it would fit in the surroundings well

and certainly would be a good idea to move forward on.

So, it's right for the plot and the area.

But is it the right move financially?

A four-bedroom property in this location would be worth £220,000.

In today's market, if a four-bedroom home was built and had the usual

sort of layout, with four bedrooms, en suite, first-floor bathroom,

off-road parking, I would suggest that the property would be worth

around £250,000.

I think they're right.

I mean, I personally thought about 240-ish, anyway.

I think if the house was somewhere else,

you could probably get a bit more, because it's going to be a quite

good-spec house. But on its own, where it is, I think 250...

I'd be happy with that.

Well, a top value of 250 grand would give Justin a pre-tax profit

of £71,000.

Plus, he's got the potential income from renting the depot unit in the

future. But something that might be worth more than money is the chance

to carry on the family tradition and name it after his daughter.

Well, the intention originally was to build two and call them

the Amy Rose Cottages after my daughter.

That got knocked back, so I'm applying for one,

one house, the Amy Rose Cottage.

If that gets knocked back

then we're going to rename this shed the Amy Rose Shed.

I like his attitude. Be it cottage or shed,

a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet for Justin.

Back now to Norbury, where Lucy saw this charming 1930s detached house.

It had bags of character in the front,

but the ground floor at the back was less appealing.

It was a bit of a warren, and to say the access to the garden wasn't

great...well, that would be an understatement.

Well, no, I won't be walking out to the garden from here, and that's

because...there's a six-foot drop!

And it was going to take a fair few drops of sweat to get this old house

back to its best.

Feeling up to the challenge was Luca.

He spent a hefty 500 grand on this house at auction.

He wasn't on his own, though,

as his mate Howard is a tradesman and his project manager.

As they play football together,

they make a great team both on the pitch and at work.

-Is it a good, fun day at work?

-Yeah, brilliant.

-Is it?

We love going to work, to be honest with you.

And do you socialise together?

-Oh, we live together.

-We live together, as well.

So you're planning a night out while you're working.

Exactly. Yeah, yeah.

We're in here, seeing what we can do on a Saturday night.

-We play football together, as well. So...

-Yeah.

Can't get rid of him.

One thing that they did want to get rid of was that Juliet balcony,

so we're back eight months later

to see if they've managed to dump poor Juliet.

# You keep on giving me the hold-up

# You used to be my Romeo

# Cos you see, my dear, I have had enough

# Of keeping quiet about all this stuff... #

They have indeed.

Balconies and verandas do not fall within permitted development, and

planning has taken four months longer than they would have liked,

but it has been worth it in the end.

OK, so what we done here, we extended the wall,

obviously put the big bifolds in,

which gives you that bigger feel with the kitchen. As you can see,

we've added the balcony, so we've added the steels in,

the high-spec deck and then the glass.

And we didn't want to put any balustrades in,

so it gives you that sort of open feeling.

So, the outside is looking fantastic, but what about inside?

Let's start at the front, which had so many nice original features,

like the stained-glass windows and wood panelling.

It's bright and fresh,

but, sadly, the original features have gone and there are no casement

windows. What happened to Luca's original plan?

To be honest, we were going to...

We didn't know whether to keep the front of the house

a more Victorian feel.

However, we just thought that with the sort of light grey

that we've gone for and a modern look,

we'll just take out all the original features

and just go completely new everywhere.

This new, modern look can best be seen

at the back of the house in this...

-# Brand-new... #

-..kitchen/diner.

Moving the partition wall has really created space.

They've also added a separate...

-# Brand-new... #

-..utility room...

..and managed to squeeze in a...

-# Brand-new... #

-..downstairs toilet.

# Brand-new Brand-new, brand-new... #

Upstairs has had a reconfigure.

The larger bedrooms have had the walls knocked around

to make a small box room into a proper double.

The separate toilet and bathroom have been combined and now house

a full-sized family bathroom that is...you guessed it...

# Brand-new...

# Brand-new... #

This house has clearly had a complete overhaul.

The whole project, including fees and stamp duty, has cost 100,000,

which is 40 grand more than Luca had budgeted for. So why the increase?

The reason we went more was because...

One was because of the balcony at the back,

which we didn't know we were going to add at the time.

Two, obviously, we've rendered...

we completely rendered the outside - we didn't know whether

we were going to keep it pebble-dash or render.

The drive, rather than just putting shingle down everywhere,

we've block-paved it. The kitchen, we've gone high spec, the bathroom,

we've gone high spec, obviously extended one of the bedrooms.

So we haven't just done, like, a full refurb.

We've moved some walls around

and put top-spec kitchen, wires, bathroom etc,

and then that balcony is the wow factor,

so that's cost a couple of quid.

Luca decided against wooden casement windows because of the style

of other houses in the estate.

But they are brand-new, like everything else.

So, what position has ex-footballer Luca played in this project?

I was more of a relaxed role in this project,

so I was here probably once a week, coming, doing little bits,

especially at the start in terms of ripping the place out.

But whilst the project got sort of moving and all the trades came in,

I sort of took a step back and just came to oversee it,

basically bought the blokes lunch,

bought all the boys lunch, bought them a drink every now and again

and just made sure that, yeah,

it was all moving forward nice and smoothly.

There is no such thing as a free lunch, though,

and it was up to Luca's friend Howard to be there daily,

to manage the team,

who have put in a fair amount of graft in this house.

Yeah, I'm very happy with Howard.

I think he's done a blinding job with the place.

He's obviously kept on top of it,

made sure the boys are here doing their jobs, and he's...

he's obviously got stuck in himself and he's done a top,

top job of doing all the tiling, fitting the kitchen and that.

So, yeah, over the moon with Howard.

It's turned out very nice. I'm very happy with it.

I think the bathrooms,

the kitchen and the balcony are the three key factors to the house.

Very nice, very high spec and, yeah,

I don't think anyone wouldn't like them, really.

I agree, Howard, but let's test that theory and ask two local estate

agents if they like it. First, the agent who saw it last time.

It's my second time in the property,

and the changes are fantastic, actually.

I think this property's been finished to an excellent standard.

You can tell from the doors and the kitchen that they've used,

all the way through to the colours, as well.

So I think it's exactly what you want to see here.

The selling points definitely are you've got the three bedrooms

and they're all good-size bedrooms.

You've got the two reception rooms, the open-plan kitchen,

you have got an upstairs bathroom, as well.

And obviously it is high specification, as well.

So I think that definitely works for the property.

But will the sales figures work?

A total of 600,000 has been invested in the house.

What could it sell for?

On the sales market, this would achieve approximately £625,000,

possibly £630,000.

I think the property can achieve anywhere

between £625,000 and £650,000.

We were looking at sort of certainly 750, around that mark,

specially with the spec of the place and with the properties that are

for sale. We know what a few of them have sold at

and what they're on the market at at the moment,

and with what we've done and the places that are for sale,

yeah, it's a bit low.

If I'm honest with you.

We're still going to put it on the market at just under 800 grand

and see what we get for it from there.

So we're still happy with the investment and the purchase.

-Confident we can sell it at that price, anyway.

-Yeah.

With Luca and Howard's full spend, including fees and taxes,

being 600,000,

either way they are onto a winner

and it just takes one buyer in a very competitive market

to pay the price they're looking for.

So, will this team stick together for more projects?

-Of course.

-100% we'll work together again, yeah.

-It's going very well.

-Living together, working together.

-Yeah.

-It's not that bad.

Behind every auction, there's a different story to tell.

Yes, and we'll have lots more stories for you next time.

Yeah, so join us here on Homes Under The Hammer.

-See you soon.

-Bye.

-Goodbye.