Episode 76 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to the show.

Now, whether you are buying property as a home

or as an investment, you want to make sure you buy wisely.

Yeah, it can be difficult to find exactly what you're looking for

but value for money is the key.

And in our experience, the property auction can offer just that.

So will you buy your home under the hammer?

From derelict dwellings to magnificent mansions,

there is all sorts on offer at the auctions.

So what inspired the buyers on today's show to raise

that paddle and make the winning bid?

'Today, I see an imposing Victorian property in Ilkeston

'that might not be all it's CRACKED up to be.'

Look at this crack.

'And Lucy isn't cracking a smile

'when she sees inside this basement flat in West London.'

Oh, dear! Oh, dear!

'And in Shropshire,

'I'm at the third and final cracking property of the day,

'with structural issues that really blow my mind.'

Whoa! Look at this. Have a look at that here.

It's in the market, ladies and gentlemen.

'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.

The Derbyshire town of Ilkeston is situated bang in between

Nottingham and Derby.

If you take a short walk around this market square,

you'll see more than a few grand period buildings.

So, will the property I'm here to see today be as impressive?

Well, as you can see, I'm surrounded by some pretty grand buildings.

And I think it's fair to say this is where the gentry

would have lived in years gone by.

And it is a suitably grand house that was up for auction.

Guide price - £70-£85,000 for this.

But a property with a very interesting recent history,

because it was Ilkeston's registry office. Mm.

# It's a nice day for a white wedding... #

Oh, great excitement.

What have we got?

Well, a nice little entrance the with a Minton floor there.

That's lovely to see.

And an indication of what we might find,

cos it would have been the expensive houses that would have had those.

And yes, you come into this little entrance area.

What, in its day, would have been a pretty grand staircase.

You'd want to see that stripped back.

But at least it's setting the scene.

And then a large sort of reception room over there.

Immediately, you get this feeling it's probably Victorian.

It's got the right sort of feel to it.

The big windows, the high ceilings.

Then this sort of little ante-area at the back.

Quite disappointing kitchen,

which probably bears reference to its more recent past.

In its day, probably one of these rooms would have been

a much more grand kitchen.

But right now, you've only got these two little rooms.

Something you are going to have to spend a bit of money on is

putting a really beautiful kitchen that suits the property in here.

But then into this rear living room area.

And obviously a bit of an extension to...

CHORAL MUSIC

That's very kind of you. Thank you very much.

..to suit the fact that this was the ceremony room,

where weddings would have been performed.

How marvellous is this?

As properties go, it's a doozy.

# You make me wanna say I do

# I do, I do-do-do-do-do-do... #

I'm ready to say yes to this address.

But am I committing too soon?

So, upstairs. What delights are in store up here?

Oh, dear.

I didn't have to go very far

to see something that's not good news at all.

Look at this crack.

Worst case - it's subsidence.

Best case - it's historical.

As in, the building has been moving in the past but has now settled.

The only way to really know that is to do some tests.

Someone who does these things will put little strips on, things which

they can measure and over time, see if it's actually still moving.

A good structural survey is definitely required

before you go too far on this one.

Could explain the low guide price, I guess.

But if you can get it for that low guide price,

you can just factor in some budget to sort out whatever the issues are.

Cos nothing is ever insurmountable.

Meanwhile, let's carry on.

We've got two loos there.

Obviously a bit like the kitchen situation downstairs.

For a family, you need a family bathroom.

So knock those two together to create a nice family bathroom.

But then you've got four really nice-sized bedrooms.

And just everything is so well proportioned.

In Victorian times, they just seems to nail it, get it right,

you know, it just works. It flows.

All the rooms sort of work.

Obviously, this one in recent times was used as an office.

But again, even up here, nice, high ceilings,

some lovely original features.

And can we forgive it the cracks?

Well, I want to know a little bit more information,

but I think probably...

yes, we can.

One thing that would be unforgivable

is not asking the advice of a local property expert.

So I think now is a good time

to ask the opinion of the auctioneer who sold it.

It's obviously got several possibilities.

Clearly you can continue to use it as offices,

that's the established use.

It would make a lovely family home.

Quite a lot of character.

Or you could probably go down the route of

applying for it to become two flats.

Which might be a bit of a pity, because it's got a lot of style

to it which is going to get destroyed, really.

But I would go down the route of making it a family home.

I think the auctioneer is right.

I don't really like to see these lovely properties carved up.

And the auctioneer doesn't think it would make financial sense

anyway, given the additional building costs for conversion,

soundproofing, two kitchens and so on.

So, say this house was restored to its Victorian glory,

how much could it sell for,

bearing in mind that relatively low guide price of 70-85,000?

I would say, once renovated,

it would have a value of about £175,000.

Well, a really lovely property that would be suitable

for all sorts of uses,

subject to obtaining the correct planning permission.

But you know what, personally,

I'd like to see this converted back into an amazing family home.

And yes, there is work to be done.

Especially when it comes to sorting out that subsidence.

But that said, it's got to be worth it. Great place.

Especially at that guide price.

Let's see what it actually sold for when it went under the hammer.

Who's got 75?

75,000 to start me.

75, I have, in two places.

At £75,000. 76 is bid.

It's in the market, ladies and gentlemen, it's here to go.

77. 78.

79. 80,000.

81.

Not surprisingly, there were a few keen bidders in the room

and on the phone.

And we rejoin the bidding at 135,000.

135. 136.

£136,000 on my right.

500. 137. 500 again?

138. 138,000?

500. 139.

139.5?

500?

£140,000.

140,000, for the first time,

second time, third chance.

Sold at 140. Thank you.

The successful bidders, paying £140,000 for this property,

were husband and wife Michelle and Alan.

It's their first time developing property,

so I was keen to meet them

and find out their plans for this lovely building.

-Michelle, Alan. Great to see you both.

-And you.

What an interesting building. So, what are the plans for it?

Well,

we don't want to knock too many walls about.

All the rooms are a good size,

so we don't think there's too much worth knocking walls through.

-There's no real kitchen, is there?

-No.

So, were going to make a big kitchen in the room next door,

the other reception room,

and have the doors opening onto the garden.

Nice.

The two separate toilets we'll knock into one

-and make that into a family bathroom.

-Right.

So, the idea, then,

-is to do it up into a house that somebody would live in.

-Yes.

-A nice family home.

-Yeah. Beautiful.

And, in terms of then selling it, or renting it out?

We're not quite sure, really, are we? We may rent it. We may sell it.

We're not sure.

OK. Or live in it.

Well, we won't be able to, because we've got horses at home.

-So...

-Oh, OK.

-..we need the land.

A bit of grass across there?

It won't be enough for my lot.

-How many horses have you got?

-Ten.

-Ten horses? Wow!

What kind of horses are they?

Well, they were children's ponies, originally.

And, then, we've got two show-jumpers

and two racing ponies as well.

-Oh, so a real passion for you.

-Yes.

Yeah. The daughters all do showjumping

and the one daughter does pony racing.

-Right. Have they been successful at

-showjumping? Very.

-They showjump at national level.

-Oh, gosh!

The eldest works with racehorses down south

and the youngest has just started pony racing.

So, we're a bit new to that.

-# My lovely, lovely, lovely horse

-My lovely horse

-# My lovely horse

-Running through the fields... #

Before they do any work, Michelle and Alan need to get

the underlying structural issues checked out

to see if they have ponied up a property that isn't stable.

We're going to get a structural engineer

because there are one or two cracks

that need a bit of careful consideration.

-Mm-hmm.

-We have talked to the neighbours

and he says that all of the houses here

-have got historic...

-Cracks.

-..subsistence issues.

Apparently, the whole street is slowly moving downhill.

-Well, it makes it more convenient for the shops.

-Yeah, it does.

And the good news is,

we are at the top of the hill so we'd be the last to go, really.

But you're doing absolutely the right thing, then,

getting in a structural engineer

and he's going to tell you what to do.

We've already had somebody in to look at the drains and they seem OK.

We looked at the legal pack before we started.

-So... As you advised.

-Good. Absolutely.

Did you have a mining survey done, or did it contain one?

It contained a mining survey and there's actually three...

-mines within the boundary of this property.

-Oh good.

-Yeah.

So, if we disappear, you know why.

Great. So, what's the timescale?

Well, at least five months, we've said, haven't we?

And are you going to stop doing the other things you do, or...

-You've got other jobs?

-It'll be one of my projects.

-And, then, Alan...

-I'm an engineer with an aerospace company,

so I'll carry on doing that and this'll be weekends, evenings and...

-Right.

-..what have you.

-But passionate about it?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Really looking forward to it. To getting going.

-Fantastic.

What kind of budget have you set aside?

-Well, we think... About...

-20,000, we think, hopefully.

Possibly with a little bit more.

So, 20,000,

that doesn't include much remedial work for any subsidence.

No, were hoping that it's all historic

and we don't need to do too much,

but we'll wait and see on that.

Let's hope the movement is historic, because if it IS more serious,

having to underpin the property could mean

a very large commitment, in terms of time and money.

Speaking of commitments,

I'm glad that they have vowed to keep this house together

and really build with the relationship,

rather than trying to split it into flats.

But were Alan and Michelle ever tempted?

Yeah, we have thought about that, but I think it'd be a shame.

It's a lovely, big, substantial home.

Well, that's good.

There may be more profit in that, but, at the end of the day,

-it's not all about profit, I don't think.

-No.

How will you decide what to do in terms of selling it on,

or renting it out,

what do you think the local market would sustain?

I did consider towing it to London and selling it for two million

but I don't know if that's practical. Well...

Well, if you leave it long enough,

-it might make its own way down there.

-Well, possibly, yes.

And once this one's done, will you consider more?

-We'll see how it goes, I think.

-Yeah.

Well, I don't want to do one over the winter

but we'd consider doing another one, I think.

-Well, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Really excited to see how it turns out. And good luck.

-Thank you.

Thank you.

Well, it could so easily have been a developer who wanted to

maximise profit and convert this place into flats

who bought this house but, you know what,

it's so great that Alan and Michelle got it

and they're going to really treasure what it's all about.

Bring back those original features

and turn it back into an absolutely gorgeous family home.

How will they get on?

You can find out later in the show.

Today, Lucy's in Shepherd's Bush in West London,

where a certain football team play in blue and white hoops.

This part of Shepherd's Bush is home to QPR -

Queens Park Rangers Football Club.

Now, they've played here on and off since 1917.

Now, plans are afoot for the club to move to another location

but, for the time being, this is still their home ground

and on match days, well, it can get pretty busy around here.

And we're right on the doorstep of the stadium.

So, hopefully, whoever buys the property

Lucy's looking at is a football fan.

The property I'm here to see is a lower ground-floor flat,

in this period mid-terrace property.

Now, it's got one bedroom and it had a guide price at auction

of £275,000.

It's right down there. I'm going in.

The flat does have its own entrance, which is a plus.

Oh, dear. Oh, dear.

Now, basement flats do have a bit of a rep

for being dark, dingy,

dismal, damp,

and this property has all of that!

And, along with quite a lot of shelving.

Now, hmm, yeah, I think that's because

there are quite a lot of books in here

and a lot of rubbish as well.

So, a room to the front of the property

and it is just full up with stuff everywhere.

I mean, look, bags, you need to get a skip in here.

That's the first thing I'd do.

Not a bad space.

Although, up there, you've got some damp, you've got more damp,

peeling paper, a bit of cornicing.

But, um, it's in a right state.

I think what you need to do is get in, clear it out

and then work with what you've got.

But this will certainly put a lot of buyers off.

# Oh, I'm a mess right now

# Inside out

# Searching for the sweet surrender

# But this is not the end... #

It doesn't get any better the further back you go.

There's a kitchen, but it's in a right old state.

Normally, we'd be recommending taking down those polystyrene tiles,

but they appear to be coming down

with a very dangerous-looking ceiling,

which is also falling down next door,

onto the bathroom and separate WC.

So, certainly not a safe place to have a scrub in the tub.

To add to this flat's woes is the short lease of only 69 years.

A short lease means it's much harder to get a mortgage,

and some companies operate a minimum lease length

below which they won't lend.

But it's not all bad news withthis property.

Now, one huge bonus with this flat is that it has outside space.

But it's almost impossible to work out how big the garden is

at the moment, because, look, it's so overgrown.

And you only own part of it because part of it is shared.

But having outside space, well, it gives you the option to extend

but, remember, permitted development rights don't apply to flats.

You will need planning permission

and permission from the freeholder before you can build anything here.

Even if you did untangle where boundaries start and end out here,

you'd also need cooperative neighbours

to allow access or permissions.

# Jungle boogie Jungle boogie

# Get it on... #

It is a legal jungle out here, too.

-# Jungle boogie

-Get it on... #

We invited along a local estate agent

to get his opinion on this basement flat

guided at 275,000.

My first thought for this flat is that it needs some work,

but I think, you know, lots of people, so many people, buyers, now,

are looking for something they can get their teeth into

and do some work to.

These sort of finds are getting rarer and rarer these days.

It's currently a very large one-bedroom.

You could quite easily make it a two-bedroom, two-bath.

So there is certainly scope for a lot of extension.

So, the state of the flat shouldn't put people off

and, by the sound of it, it could make it more appealing.

But what about that close proximity to the football ground?

I can actually speak from personal experience -

my garden used to back onto Loftus Road.

It gets busy around match days,

but there is a nice vibe around the area, you know?

It's certainly manageable, and if you do have a car,

you just have to manage, you know, have a thought

that if you leave here at 12:00 on a Saturday afternoon,

you probably won't be able to park right outside your flat again

until after six o'clock.

Well, that's some indispensable local knowledge right there.

And the good news is that it doesn't sound like a major issue.

So, all things considered,

what could this flat be worth once renovated?

So, if you were to put this on the market today

as a one-bedroom, very good spec -

same layout, but to a higher specification -

you'd be looking around £550,000.

If you were to spend some money on it and refurbish it,

again, to a good standard - two bedrooms, two bathrooms -

you would be looking around £650,000.

This flat has a few issues -

it's damp and it's derelict, to start with.

But it does offer the potential to extend

and turn this one-bedroom into at two-bedroom flat.

So, who spotted the opportunity with this property?

Let's go to auction and find out who won the bid.

Lower ground-floor flat.

Going to start me at 275?

275? All over the place.

Give me 280.

280. 290? 290.

300? 300. And ten?

Yes, 310.

20? 20. 30?

OK. At 320,000.

Anybody at 330?

Yes, gentleman there. 330.

40? 50?

I'll take it, sir, thank you.

345. 50?

350. 55?

No? OK. 350,000, left of the aisle.

First time at 350.

Second time at 350.

Third and final time, Shepherd's Bush.

-GAVEL BANGS

-Sold to the gentleman there.

The buyer, paying £350,000 for the lower ground-floor flat,

was full-time property developer Simrit,

who Lucy met before, back in 2013,

when he bought and demolished a pub in Denham

and replaced it with some new build homes.

-Simrit, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

We meet again, because we met before,

in the pub in Denham that you bought.

-That's right, yeah.

-Now, it goes without saying,

this is not everybody's cup of tea.

So many people would have been put off instantly,

the minute they walked through the door.

It's a complete tip inside.

For me, I love the fact that it's a real mess,

because it means there's more value to be added to the property,

and auctions, I like,

because once the hammer comes down, it's yours.

And so...yeah, I just thought it was a really good opportunity

to get my hands dirty and just add a bit of value to this place.

So, what was it? Obviously, yes, you can add value here.

But is it the location? Is the proportions of the flat?

Is it the building? What is it?

A combination of all those things, actually.

The location, I've done a few properties here before,

so I know Shepherd's Bush sells very well,

if I want to sell it.

And also, the proportions,

I did a bit of research on other properties on this road

and lower ground-floor flats

have been made into pretty large two-bedroom flats on this road,

so I thought, you know, there's a very good chance

I can get planning permission for that.

So you just walk in the door and you see beyond what's here,

which is a big old mess at the moment!

Yeah, lots of people would have been put off by it, but I loved it.

-I mean, coming outside, you can't even see the garden.

-No.

You're going to need to be chopping back for days

before you even get anywhere,

because you own part of this, don't you?

Yeah, so about three metres from the end of my building here,

I own, and then the rest of it is shared.

But I'm going to approach the freeholder and see

if she's willing to sell her share of the garden,

cos she obviously doesn't use it, anyway.

Yes. It would be a real advantage to you.

-Exactly, yeah.

-So, are you planning on any extensions

or coming out to the side or any of that?

Yeah - so, I'm planning on going back

to the extent of the land I own

and also here, to the side, to fill in the extension here.

So that's really, kind of, doubling the space inside.

Yeah, it's going to be a pretty big flat when it's finished.

So, tell me about the internal space.

What are you actually going to do with it?

Well, I've actually... There's a property down the road

that has been remodelled,

and I've done a bit of snooping around,

and I found the architects.

And what they did is create a two-bedroom, two bathroom flat,

for a house five doors down.

And I'm basically just going to copy that exact floorpan.

-Very clever indeed.

-And use the same architects.

In terms of internal layout, I mean, how will you change it, then?

So what's going to happen is at the front,

where the big room is,

some of that is going to remain as the first bedroom,

then I'm going to take a chunk out of it to make a bathroom there.

-Right.

-And then here is going to be another bedroom,

and this will be a light well, and then it comes all the way out

and then for an open-plan living-dining-kitchen area.

If Simrit goes ahead with his plan,

the dark, dingy basement feel should be no more.

But he's got a lot of clearing out to do first.

Something I do want to ask you - what about all the stuff in there?

I've seen the complete works of Shakespeare, books, and nice desk...

-There's loads of stuff in there.

-I know.

-Will you turf through all of that?

-Definitely.

And you'll probably see some of that stuff

on an online auction site.

You'll make money out of this project, whatever happens!

Exactly! By hook or by crook.

Hopefully, Simrit won't need those book sales,

as he has £70,000 for renovations and an extension,

and has a timescale of six months.

Having already got a preliminary agreement

from the freeholder to extend,

he hopes to get the planning application submitted any day.

So you really have got the ball rolling.

That's what I remember about you last time.

You just get things going, don't you?

-I like to, yeah.

-Are you going to be on track with this yourself,

coming down every day, making sure things are turning over smoothly?

Yeah, absolutely, I'll be on site most days.

There's a couple of issues - first, it's a shared garden.

-Yeah.

-Second issue is the lease is only 69 years.

-Yeah.

-So I've addressed both of those

with the freeholder, who lives upstairs.

So, assuming both of those things come through,

I'll get a 90-year lease extension and I can buy the garden off her.

When it's done, I anticipate it'll be worth around £700,000.

What will you do with this? Are you going to keep it?

Are you going to sell it? Are you going to let it?

We shall see.

If it's really nice, I might live in it myself.

I'm not sure. But the plan is to sell it.

-So, if it's really lovely, you could be tempted yourself?

-Possibly.

I might sell that flat and move here.

Well, I'm really excited to see the outcome. Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-Well done.

Well, Simrit had some great plans for this flat.

He hopes to extend, turning this rather damp and dismal property

into something bigger and better.

Will he succeed in getting the planning permission he needs?

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

Coming up, I'm LEANING on past experience

at a flat in Shropshire.

I'm guessing this is not...

..a weight-bearing wall.

And has Simrit learned anything new?

One thing I realise now

is that things always take longer than you expect them to.

It was in the Derbyshire town of Ilkeston

where I think I found my match.

Guide price, £70,000-£85,000 for this,

but a property with a very interesting recent history,

because it was Ilkeston's registry office.

Mmm!

# Love and marriage Love and marriage

# They go together like a horse and carriage

# This I'll tell you, brother

# You can't have one without the other... #

It was bought by Michelle and her husband Alan for 140,000

and they propose to turn it into a large four-bedroomed house.

We're going to get a structural engineer,

because there are one or two cracks

that need a bit of careful consideration.

-Mm-hm.

-We have talked to the neighbour

and he says that all of the houses here have got...

-Cracks.

-..historic subsidence issues.

Apparently, the whole street is slowly moving downhill.

-Oh - it makes it more convenient for the shops.

-Yeah, it does.

And the good news is we are at the top of the hill,

so we'd be the last to go, really. MARTIN LAUGHS

I guess you could say they took this house in sickness and in health.

# This is my vow

# This is my vow... #

And, for richer, and hopefully, richer.

They plan to love, cherish and renovate the house

on a budget of around £20,000

and a timescale of at least five months.

But now, 17 months later, we're back to check,

after all this time,

to see if they are still wedded to property developing.

Clean, crisp outside finish -

OK, time now to step over the threshold.

What a nice, sympathetic refurbishment.

And the kitchen? Well, that's so much more lovable.

So, how has their relationship with the property been going?

Uh...I think, like all marriages, it's had its ups and downs.

More ups than downs.

Yeah, probably.

But we've...

Yeah, we've had some challenges along the way,

but I think we've overcome them, finally.

They certainly have,

with upstairs now having a big family bathroom

and four bedrooms...

..one of which is en suite.

And it did turn out that the cracking

was down to historical movement.

So the cracks are now repaired and it's all looking great.

But why has it taken three times longer than they first envisaged?

Just the sheer size of this building -

I don't think we realised when we bought it

how large a property this is.

Everything just needed doing,

and it just seemed to be such a long job, didn't it?

Yes, it has been a long old road,

with a change of use from commercial to residential,

delays in finding builders, and, more significantly,

there was lots of work both inside and outside.

The garden also took 50 trips to the local tip!

The work has been done by the whole family, really.

'We've learned that our children have got a lot of skills.'

'We didn't realise what they could do, did we?'

'No.'

'But Alana was really good in the garden.

'Did a lot of work.

'She learned how to...

'Wanted to learn how to use every tool that we've got.

'Both girls helped put the kitchen together, didn't they?'

'Yeah.'

So, really, as a family, we've learned a lot.

So, with Alana and her sister Antonia's help,

this family project has eventually come together

to produce a harmonious house - but at what cost?

OK, well, with the budget,

we've spent a little bit more than we planned.

We started off at about 25,000, didn't we?

Yeah. We've actually spent about 40,000.

And that £40,000 budget, along with that £140,000 purchase price,

takes Michelle and Alan's total spend to 180,000.

So, is this the perfect marriage of old and new?

What do two local property experts think?

Not a lot has changed here in terms of room layout,

So we've renovated what was here already.

Perhaps changed the location of the kitchen, but other than that,

we've just upgraded it.

Having said all that, it does look good.

I think the property has got lots of lovely, charming character.

It's great, the history, with it being an old registry office,

so lots of births and deaths registered here,

and local custom and memories.

Great, great feel, and light.

The plan with this house is very much to have an amicable divorce

and go their separate ways, but should they think again?

Maybe it should be to have and to hold.

I would say this would rent

for between £825 and £850 per calendar month.

The rental valuation would be

between £850 and £900 per calendar month.

Quite a good figure,

that's actually more than I thought it was, so...

-But I think we're still going to sell.

-Yeah.

-Because we need to.

So, rental income that could see a yield of around 5%

is not for them.

More importantly, can their total spend of £180,000 register a profit?

It would probably go on at somewhere

between £235,000 and £245,000,

and see what offers you get.

For the sales valuation, you would expect

£250,000-£275,000.

Yeah, we were thinking around about the 250,000 mark was about right,

so, yeah, I think they're really spot-on.

It would seem that the time delay

has possibly worked in their favour,

as the market has changed.

If they did sell it for 250,000,

then they would make a profit of £70,000,

not including taxes or fees.

This union appears to have been very successful.

Yeah, the honeymoon period is over. We're in it for the long haul, now.

Telford in Shropshire was a new town established in the 1960s.

With its own railway station and access to the A5 and M54,

it's a popular choice for commuters working across the West Midlands.

And I think these good transport links

would have pleased the town's namesake,

the rail and road engineer Thomas Telford.

# Metal Guru, is it you?

# Metal Guru, is it you?

# Metal Guru, is it you? #

So, not far from the town centre,

with good train links to Wolverhampton and Birmingham,

is the property I'm here to see.

It's a first-floor flat just up there.

It's got two bedrooms and a guide price of £50,000 plus.

Let's get in and take a look.

'And the entrance is round to the side

'and up a short flight of stairs.'

Right...

A few more stairs and we are in.

And into a really good-sized hallway.

Everything is off the hallway.

You got a kitchen just there, to my right, which is spacey.

Good units, they look in good condition.

The flooring, you'd have to change in here, but apart from that,

a lick of paint, and the kitchen would be fine as it is.

The bathroom, however,

doesn't look in the same condition as the kitchen.

That would all have to be ripped out and start again.

But again, it's a nice size bathroom.

You've got a bedroom there and...a bedroom here as well.

Both really good size rooms.

And into the lounge...

And, again, it's...not in great condition.

You will have to redecorate in here, skim the ceiling again,

get rid of the carpets...

Proper, full refurb in here.

It doesn't feel as big as it should.

Now, that might be...

OK, I've already counted two bedrooms,

and they are good-sized bedrooms at that,

but somebody has tried to create another room in there.

Now...

OK, here we go.

Right - I'm guessing this is not...

..a weight bearing wall.

Let's take a little closer look at this room as we go inside.

OK, yeah - they've tried to create a third bedroom here.

Doesn't really work for me,

cos you'd have to access this room through the lounge,

not a great idea.

I'd like to knock this wall down and create that nice, large lounge.

Oh...! No. Look at this. Have a look at that, here.

Look at the crack on this wall.

It goes right from the bottom all the way to the top,

and it's quite open as well.

And... Now, you can't see this.

But as I look through there,

I can actually see light on the other side.

It's that bad.

I've got to investigate that further.

# I can see through you... #

And the crack's even worse on this side.

Now, it goes from the top all the way to the bottom -

again, it's a concern of mine.

Find out what's causing this and get it sorted ASAP.

# I can see through you... #

Now, it looks bad, but the good news is

this might not be the flat owner's problem,

because this is a leasehold flat.

So, taking care of the fabric of the building

should be down to the freeholder.

But do you really want to start refurbishment

without having all that agreed and repaired first?

And there is something else you need to be aware of.

The freehold is owned by the local housing authority

and they have a schedule of works planned.

What that means is that everybody that lives in the building

will have to contribute around about £5,000 towards that work.

Now, if you ARE thinking of buying a property like this,

which is leasehold, and you hadn't read the legal pack,

that's a cost that could just be sprung on you,

and £5,000 is a lot of money.

So, what I would say is, read the legal pack.

I did - that's how I know. Buyer, beware.

-# Yo

-This got so out of control

# I learned my lesson now, so...

# Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh-oh

# Be careful... #

Yes, how many times do we have to say "read the legal pack"?

It could make or break a project.

The £5,000 spend actually will enhance the flat

with new windows, driveway and a fix to the chimney planned.

But it could potentially be taking a large chunk of your budget

if you weren't aware of it.

# Be careful... #

So there are a few issues to consider, here.

But what does a local estate agent think of the flat?

I would hope that the crack can be partly looked after

by the freeholder.

Hopefully, the schedule of work's in place for that.

Following on from that,

I think bathrooms and general decor need attention.

Kitchen is salvageable, I'd say.

Agreed. But what about the layout and that odd bedroom?

I would not actually count the property as having a third bedroom,

because it wasn't designed to originally have that.

I don't think there's any benefit from having it.

I'd remove it and just make a larger living room.

Less is sometimes more, but as a two-bedder,

what could this flat, guided at 50 grand plus, sell for?

Once renovated, I would suggest that you could market the property

in the region of £89,950.

If it were to go onto the rental market,

I would ask £525 per calendar month.

That crack does worry me

and it'd be the first thing on the list

I'd want to get sorted out, ASAP.

Apart from that, I like the flat, I like the space.

It has got a bit of a strange third bedroom,

but it's still gets a tick from me.

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

Lot three is a leasehold first-floor two-bedroom flat.

50 to start it?

50 bid, thank you.

At £50,000. At 50.

I'll go twos on this. Bid's at 50.

Looking for 52, now.

52. 54?

54. 56?

I'll go in ones, now.

Bid's at 56.

Back in, 57. 58. 59.

59. My right, then, at £59,000.

60 anywhere else?

60, left, at 60.

61? 61.

62?

63.

64, sir?

64.

65. 66, sir?

66.

Shaking his head. Still with you, standing.

£66,000. All done, now?

£66,000 once, then. Twice, then.

Third and final time.

66,000.

-GAVEL BANGS

-Bought it, sir, well done.

And so, for 66 grand,

the hammer fell on this two-bed first-floor flat in Telford.

It was bought by Gary and Sam.

Gary does garden landscaping and fencing,

while wife Sam is a full-time property developer.

This flat is the couple's fifth property project.

-Sam, nice to meet you.

-And you.

Congratulations. Same to you, Gary.

Tell us why you bought this particular pad, then.

THEY LAUGH

-Why not?

-Yes, why not?

It's a good size two-bed flat and we're looking for an investment,

really, to rent on.

We have noticed a couple of bits that have surprised me.

The crack in the bedroom.

-Yeah.

-Worried?

No, not in the slightest.

I mean, we've been in touch with the local authority

and it looks like there's a strong possibility

their insurance is going to cover any...

-Cos the problem, we think, is in the attic.

-OK.

-OK.

-Because it's a hip roof.

So there's a slight bit of expansion there,

so we think their insurance will cover it

as it was like this before we purchased it.

-OK.

-And it's a leasehold.

A hip roof, in case you were wondering,

is one where all sides slope down towards the walls.

And unlike a gable roof, they're self-supporting.

Anyway, Sam and Gary are all over this.

They are aware of the problem and possible solutions

and they also know about the £5,000 contribution they will have to make.

You see, they read the legal pack too.

Top marks.

Tell us about what you're going to do with this flat now.

Right, well, the kitchen basically is probably going to be

plastering the ceiling, redecoration,

we'll probably leave the tiles and the kitchen itself

-cos it's only three years old.

-OK.

Bathroom is completely being changed.

If we can save the bath because it's an old cast-iron, that'll be great.

-Yes.

-But if we can't, then it'll be a completely new bathroom suite,

tiles. The floor in the back bedroom is coming up

cos there's a slight bow in it.

And our work mainly will be doing, like,

taking away the wall to make the lounge bigger.

So are you creating just a larger lounge and losing a bedroom?

Well, I don't see much point in having a third bedroom anyway.

-I don't think it's going to increase the rental value.

-It wouldn't work.

No, it's not worth bothering.

And all the work you've just told me about, what's the budget for that?

Realistically, we're looking at between eight and ten.

-OK.

-I would say six.

-It's normally the other way around, isn't it?

-No, I'm the tight one.

-OK.

-And you're the realistic one?

-I'm realistic. We'll see, we'll see.

-OK, so let's go between six and ten, just to keep you safe.

-Yeah.

We're doing a big margin there,

-so we'll be right anyway, won't we?

-Exactly.

-We're going to be covered.

So, a broad spread of budgets

and they have a broad range of timescales too.

Sam would like to get it complete in three months,

but knows there's no point in getting too much work done

until the infamous crack is sorted by the freeholder.

So Gary feels a more realistic timescale would be around

eight to ten months. Who knows how long it's going to take them?

But I was intrigued to find out

what got the couple into property developing in the first place.

To me, it's a release from having to go out in the pouring rain

and work and all this kind of stuff. For Sam, it's been a passion.

-Yeah, I love it.

-She's always loved it, lives and breathes it.

Is it something you both want to do full time or are you happy

-just to...?

-It's a full-time thing.

Eventually, I mean, this is our second rental,

eventually we'll build up a portfolio, so we've got a few.

We're hoping the kids are going to jump in, they're 20 and 18.

-OK.

-So they'll be helping on this one, doing little bits.

But, yeah, were trying to build something up.

We're doing the foundations, the kids will take it further.

We're just creating a living for us.

It'll make their lives easier, not ours.

-Sam, I wish you all the best. Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

-I hope it works out. Good luck, Gaz.

-Thank you very much.

-Pleasure.

So, Sam and Gary are not worried about the crack, which is good news.

They also read the legal pack, so they knew they'd have to

contribute around £5,000 on running repairs on the building.

Everything else, they seem to have under control.

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

Well, the clock has been ticking and hopefully work has been progressing.

And maybe even completed on our two remaining auction properties.

Have the piles of bricks and the bags of cement

been put to good use, and has the paint dried on the walls?

Let's find out.

Earlier in the show, Lucy was in Shepherd's Bush in West London

to visit this one-bedroom, lower ground floor flat,

up for auction with a guide price of £275,000 plus.

With Queens Park Rangers stadium just up the road,

football might not be coming home, but it's a pretty close neighbour.

And on match days, well, it can get pretty busy around here.

So, potential problems outside the flat, but what about inside?

Now, basement flats do have a bit of a rep for being

dark, dingy, dismal, damp,

and this property has all of that.

And that was just the Ds.

It's also cramped, cluttered, cold and its condition? Not cool.

Not a bad space, although up there you've got some damp, peeling paper,

it's in a right state.

But that didn't deter local property developer Simrit

from making a successful bid of 350 grand for this place.

In fact, for Simrit, the messier the better.

I love the fact that it's a real mess because it just means

there's more value to be added to the property.

He planned to turn this into a two-bedroom,

two-bathroom flat, and depending on planning permission,

extend out to the overgrown garden.

And he was happy to admit that this wasn't his idea.

There's a property down the road that has been remodelled,

and I've done a bit of snooping around, and I found the architects

and I'm basically just going to copy that exact floor plan.

With a budget of £70,000 and a timescale of six months,

Simrit set out immediately to tackle the planning permission,

negotiating a lease extension and seeing if the freeholder

was willing to sell some of the back garden.

A year and seven months later, we're back.

You know, sometimes it's hard to believe

we're back at the same property.

This is staggeringly different.

The layout of the flat has been reconfigured to provide

a lovely, bright bedroom at the front,

a bathroom and then a larger en-suite bedroom at the back.

But the biggest transformation has been the addition

of an extension which houses a large kitchen-diner.

We went for a design that sunk it a little bit,

hence the stairs there.

And create lots of light, two roof lights,

obviously the big, floor-to-ceiling sliding doors.

And then just the window onto the lightwell there.

For a lower ground floor flat, it's very light, open, airy.

And the other thing I like is from the road you can't tell

that this is actually quite a big, spacious, roomy flat.

And I quite like that about it as well.

And before the builders could begin the extension,

Simrit had to clear the back garden.

That was a massive job in itself.

We chopped down two trees in the back

that had been sitting there for about 30 years.

Cleared out a lot of the rubbish, it was a big job by itself, that.

The slabbed area marks the boundary of Simrit's land,

with the rest belonging to his upstairs neighbour.

And he's had to install a stairway

to allow them access to their part of the garden.

But he's keen to own the whole lot.

We're still in negotiation,

I'm trying to buy it off the lady upstairs.

I'd actually hope to build like a studio right at the back,

which somebody else about three doors down has done.

And what's been the biggest challenge he's had to face?

The trickiest part really was

because this has been sunken down by about a metre,

it was removing all of the soil from here through the house

and then getting it all onto a skip and then getting it carted away.

This was scheduled as a six-month project, but took a lot longer.

One thing I realise now

is that things always take longer than you expect them to.

Especially in London and especially a lower ground-floor flat

like this, where you've got parties

on all three sides, above you, left and right.

And by the time all of the planning issues had been resolved,

the party wall issues,

the first work on the house really only started taking place

about 11 months after I'd bought it.

But the actual build itself has taken about seven months,

which I'm very pleased about, for the amount of work that's been done.

But it's just little niggly bits here and there that are going on,

otherwise it's ready to move into.

And who's going to be moving in?

When he first bought the property,

Simrit wasn't sure whether to sell or rent.

Yeah, the plan now is I'm actually moving into this flat.

I decided that it was such a lovely space, I like the area,

I think it's up and coming.

I just think it's a good place for me to be at this stage in my life.

So, has he managed to stick to his original budget of £70,000?

I actually ended up coming in at around £125,000.

But that also includes £20,000 for the lease extension

and the extra spec that I put into the house,

so I'm quite happy with it.

The gloom has been banished from this flat for good.

But will the finances be as bright and cheerful?

We asked two local estate agents along to see the finished result

and give us an idea of how much this flat is now worth,

starting with the agent who originally viewed the property.

My first impressions of the property are very good.

You know, adding another bathroom, which is excellent,

certainly for renting and obviously resale.

And it's nice to see things like brushed aluminium sockets,

double-glazed sash windows,

all these things help massively in achieving your best price.

My first impressions of the property are very good.

In terms of the way it's been refurbished,

but also the space, the way the flat flows,

the flow of light that it has, I think he's done a very good job.

And you've got that direct access going out onto the garden.

For a lot of people, that is very interesting and quite a premium.

And so to values.

Simrit has spent a total of £475,000 on this project.

What do the agents reckon this flat could sell for?

We wouldn't be looking to put it on at £725,000

and expect to achieve £725,000 or extremely close to it.

I would expect it to achieve a price from £700,000 to £750,000.

Those figures mean that Simrit could earn

a pre-tax profit of between £225,000 and £275,000,

minus fees and expenses, of course.

That's actually brilliant.

The 750 one would represent a 50% return on the investment,

which is more than I could have hoped for.

With just a few finishing touches to add,

Simrit is almost ready to move in.

I think this one is definitely going to be home for a bit.

I've got a bit of space to grow into it

and also maybe move in the girlfriend at some point.

Time to take a trip back to Telford, where I saw a first-floor flat

that was in need of some modernising and reconfiguring,

as this stud wall had been added to create a third bedroom

off the living room, and it just didn't work for me.

However, I had a more serious concern.

Puh! Look at this.

Have a look at that here.

Look at the crack on this wall.

It goes right from the bottom all the way to the top,

and it's quite open as well.

As I look through there,

I can actually see light on the other side, it's that bad.

There was more evidence of movement in other rooms too.

But this didn't put a serious crack in my confidence in this property

because it is a leasehold flat,

so the freeholder would be the one responsible for fixing this.

But you'd have to get in touch with them before buying this property

to see if they actually planned to do so.

That's just what Sam and Gary did

before they paid 66 grand for this place.

Sam had already ascertained that the freeholder's insurance

might cover the structural work, which is good news.

They would, of course, have to spend a fair bit

to modernise this flat internally,

but they couldn't agree on how much exactly.

-Realistically, we're looking between eight and ten.

-OK.

-No, I would say six.

-It's normally the other way round, isn't it?

-No, I'm the tight one.

-OK.

-And you're the realistic one?

-I'm realistic, yeah.

We'll see, we'll see.

We will indeed. And their timescale depended on

when the freeholder would sort out the structural issues.

We're back four months later to see if those cracks have sorted.

And yes, they have.

The freeholder had metal ties put to the end of the vault

to keep it in place and filled in those cracks.

All Gary and Sam had to do was ask...

# Will you fill me in? #

This meant Sam and Gary could get on with renovating the inside,

which would include removing the partition wall

and the redundant third bedroom.

There are big changes in the bathroom too.

The kitchen was only three years old,

so just needed a clean and fresh flooring.

One of the cupboard doors has been replaced, as it was damaged.

The couple have created a really nice flat, but I'm keen to find out

who was on the money when it came to the budget.

Was it realistic Gary's ten grand, or tight-fisted Sam's six grand?

The original allowance I gave was because I was allowing

possibly for us having to fix the crack.

-You were getting that in quick, weren't you?

-Yeah, and the kitchen.

-And the kitchen. So I was probably spot-on.

-No, I don't think so.

I just thought if the kitchen had to be done or we had to fix the crack,

we'd be getting close to ten. But the final figure was...

Well, we have got to a figure, I think, now,

of about £5,800,

but there is a cooker to go in as well.

So we are just over my £6,000.

I would have probably liked to have been five.

-But we've done well, considering.

-But we have done all right.

Aside from not having to spend money on the crack, another reason

why they came in nearer the lower estimate was the fact that

their two sons got involved in helping do the work in the flat.

-I think it's been quite a family affair, really, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

On doing up the property.

The redecoration inside was mainly down to you and the lads, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

-The youngest helped with ripping stuff out.

He likes that bit. And Kieran helped mainly with redecoration.

Yeah, but he was getting a bit bored, wasn't he?

Yeah, they get a bit bored.

But both helped out with sorting the garden out. And I did the garden.

-And you mainly did the inside of here, didn't you?

-Yeah.

-Decoration and the blinds.

-And the cleaning.

-And the cleaning.

-And the cleaning.

-And the cleaning.

-And the cleaning.

That was all done, and the doors, a carpenter came in to do that.

So, yeah, had a few trades in,

but just to do certain things that we wanted done properly.

Spot-on. There are some job you really need the professionals for.

And don't forget,

you must have qualified people when it comes to gas and electrics.

Gary and Sam were planning on

adding this property to their rental portfolio.

But now it seems like they're going to change their minds

and try and sell the flat.

-We can change our minds, can't we?

-Yeah, as soon as possible,

I'd like a break. That's all it is.

I don't mind doing the properties, I mean rental-wise,

-it's just a case of...

-I think that's why we've gone

over-budget a bit with putting the blinds in really.

To see if it will sell on.

And if it doesn't, it's not going to be any hardship, is it?

It'll just go on for rental.

So we'll just test the water, see what happens.

Now would be a perfect time to ask around two local agents

to see if they think the flat is ready for the sales market.

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

It's had a really good refresh and refurb.

The selling points, I would say, would be the size of it.

It's really very big for a two-bedroom flat.

It also has a garden, which is quite rare. And it has parking too.

What I'm most impressed with this property

is the standard of finish that's been carried out throughout.

And also particularly the size.

The size in these types of flats are much larger

than you'd get in comparable new-build properties.

So yeah, generally very impressed.

But will Gary and Sam be impressed with their sales figures,

bearing in mind they've spent nearly 72 grand on this flat?

In the property were to be resold, I would suggest asking £89,950.

If I was to place this property on the market today,

I'd be suggesting to the clients an asking price of round about £95,000.

- Yeah, we'd like the top end of that really,

because we think it's worth it. There's a lot of work into it.

-See how we get on, really, isn't it?

-Yeah.

And if it doesn't sell, then let's go for the rental.

If they did manage to achieve the higher figure,

then that would give them a cracking profit of 23 grand.

That's not including taxes and fees, of course.

If they were unable to sell and they had to rent instead,

then the agents feel a figure of around £500 a month,

giving them just over an 8% yield, which is a reasonable return.

Either way, this project has been a success for Gary and Sam.

So, will there be a next one?

It can be a stressful experience sometimes

when you're trying to juggle everything about.

But otherwise it's a good experience.

It's nice to get to this point, it's nice to get to this stage,

-cos it makes it all worthwhile.

-I like the messy bit.

It makes it all worthwhile when you get to this stage.

Summing up the experience - I just love it.

Bring on the next one, I think.

If you are thinking about visiting a property auction any time soon,

I hope we've given you a bit of inspiration.

Yes, but if you'd rather watch the action

from the comfort of your sofa,

well, I think we've got that covered too.

So make sure you join us next time for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.