Episode 18 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to the show.

Now, the property market can seem a bit like

the good old British weather.

It's tricky to predict, difficult to deal with, and somewhat changeable.

Yes, that is true, Martel.

But you can reduce the stress by being prepared.

Yes. And heading down to your local property auction.

Auctioned properties offer a wide variety,

from flats to plots of land.

From former public toilets to disused water towers.

Yeah. We've seen them all here on Homes Under The Hammer.

But what is on today's show? Let's find out.

Bricks and mortar are our thing on the show.

But in this West Midlands flat, I'm not so sure.

This is a...monstrosity?

While in Brentford, Essex,

this fantastic building has thrown up some real gems.

This brick fireplace will have to be renovated

and restored to its former glory.

And in Stoke, this end terrace gives me a bit of a wobble.

As you can see, look at that.

Look at the movement, that nearly came down!

At 28, I'm bid...

All of these properties are being sold at auction

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

when they went under the hammer.

You got it, sir!

Nine miles from Birmingham lies the West Midlands

commuter town of Halesowen.

Here, the 140-acre Leasowes Park

was designed by 18th-century poet William Shenstone.

But a more recent Halesowen alumni was Robert Plant,

who spent part of his childhood here.

-# Babe, babe

-# Please come home... #

The property I'm here to see

is just a five-minute walk from Halesowen town centre.

So, there's no shortage of shops and amenities.

It's in this block here. It's a flat.

It's got two bedrooms and had a guide price of £24,000-£29,000.

Let's go find it.

# Babe, babe, please come home! #

There is a secure entry system

and the communal areas are basic but clean.

No lift, though. Poor postie!

# Gone too long... #

Inside, OK,

the hall's pretty narrow here but I like how the layout looks

pretty straightforward. All the rooms are off this hall.

You have good storage space here.

Right now, it's being used for a fridge-freezer

but it's always handy to have storage in a flat this size.

Through to the bedroom, yeah, it's a good size.

You could easily get in your double bed, and a wardrobe.

And over to the window.

Well, that's single glaze,

which can be a bit of a problem in a noisy area.

The noise coming through.

This is a storage heater, which you would definitely want to update.

It would save a lot of headaches if the flat's connected to gas.

Hopefully, it is. Fingers crossed.

And through to the kitchen.

It's not huge but plenty of room for everything you need.

The kitchen really needs to come out.

It looks like it's almost falling off the walls in parts.

And...good news.

There is a gas connection.

Once upon a time, this flat has been connected to gas.

So, that could save you a lot of money.

It can be very costly to connect a flat like this

to gas for the first time.

Now, the bathroom's pretty small, very tired.

The bath and shower together, you might want to reconfigure,

put them separately, though it's pretty tight in there.

I like the sunflowers that have been added in for a bit of sunshine.

Into the bedroom. Do you know what? It's even bigger than the other one.

So, there's plenty of space here.

Nice light, big window.

Do you know what? There's no damp. There's no cracks.

Everything seems pretty solid. It's a blank canvas.

You could make your mark quite easily and freshen it up.

Not bad.

# I wanna get fresh

# Get a little closer

# If it feels so right

# How can it be wrong tonight? #

This is a former local authority house

and I know that not only because of its style and generous room sizes

but because the paperwork tells me that the flat's lease

is owned by the council and the communal areas

are managed by them.

Now, could that be the door that's missing for the cupboard

where the freezer resides?

# Oh, oh, oh-oh!

Now, you don't have a garden, but...

..you've got a little balcony. Perfect.

Ah, this is a...monstrosity?

It was very popular in the '70s and '80s.

A fire surround. The problem...

The real problem is it dominates the whole room.

It actually takes up the whole wall.

Look at this! All the way along, right over here.

This is valuable storage space.

In a flat this size, you need every inch you can get.

# I think there's something you should know!

-# If you don't use it

-# Whoa!

-# You'll lose it

-# Lose it

-# If you can't take it

-# Can't take it!

# Don't waste your time to fake it

# Oh! #

We asked an agent from the auction house who sold the flat

along to tell us more about the property and the local area.

It's a popular area that people strive to get to.

Erm, the bit where we are at the moment

is probably a little bit of

the downside of Halesowen.

But from the point of view of the property, it would make a good

letting type, buy-to-let property.

Or alternatively, they may make a small profit

if anybody was to buy it, do it up and sell it.

As the agent said, this area is popular

but mostly for its nice semis.

This flat has a lot going for it.

These ex-local authority flats are good value for money

and great starter homes, as well as buy-to-let opportunities.

The other costs to look out for are ground rental and service charges.

Here, they total around £700 per year.

Factoring that into your cost, what rental could you achieve here?

On the rental market on this property,

if it's done to a reasonable standard,

I would imagine that it would fetch somewhere between 450,

maybe £500 per calendar month.

And if you were doing it up to sell...

Once renovated on the sales market,

I would envisage the value to be in the region of,

I say, somewhere between £60,000 and £70,000.

So, a modest flat but with a modest guide price

which might make the spending you'd need to do that bit more palatable.

I'd be looking at replacing the heating system as well as

taking out the kitchen and bathroom.

But all in all, you've got a solid little flat.

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

Our final lot, then,

which is a vacant leasehold apartment in Halesowen.

It is your last chance, folks.

Start me if you will.

I can't believe I'm saying this. £30,000?

Can't go lower than that, can we?

28?

We're now in the guide price range of £24,000-£29,000.

And I don't know about you,

but this is the first backwards auction I've ever seen.

26?

Yay!

What a buy this will be, sir, at 26.

26,000, I'm bid.

Is it 28 now?

28, thank you, sir. What a buy this will be!

At 28, I'm bid. Is it 30 now, sir?

29, is that? 29.

Is it 30? 30.

It's hardly difficult for the pace to quicken

but it does when we rejoin the bidding at £38,000.

38.

39.

40.

41?

No? I am on sale to you for £40,000.

Make no mistake.

Are we all done? £40,000 for the last lot of the day.

One, two, three.

Congratulations. Well done.

That successful bid of £40,000 was placed by James at the auction

with wife Lena, who's originally from Russia.

We met back at the flat to find out just what they had in mind

for this property.

-James, Lena, congratulations to you both.

-Thank you.

So, is this the first property you've bought?

First at auction, yes.

OK. So, you've bought other properties?

Yeah, we bought a bank repossession property about four years ago.

And we had it for about two weeks.

We had to get the work done quickly because I was working abroad.

OK. Did you do it in two weeks?

Yeah, we got it all completed in two weeks

and managed to make a little profit on it.

This bodes well for a quick turnaround.

-Hopefully!

-You'd been to see it first?

Yeah, been to see it first. Had a good look round.

And then read the legal pack.

Got all the information from there.

I am liking your style, James.

Reading the paperwork, viewing the property, quick turnaround.

That's how it should be done.

Unfortunately, James is not able to do a lot of the heavy work

after he suffered a serious injury in a car accident

a couple of years ago.

But he will do what he can.

I think the main things, like the kitchen,

I will leave to the professionals.

But other things, like tiling and things like that,

and putting flooring down, I'll do all that.

James has another rental property in the north of England

and hopes that that and any gains from the property here

will supplement his pension.

But James and Lena haven't been back in the UK that long.

For 15 years, I've been living in Saudi Arabia.

-Ah!

-Working out there with an aerospace company.

Was quite different.

Yeah, gets to about 50 degrees sometimes in the heat of summer.

-50 degrees? Almost too hot!

-Yes.

Are you trying to get your teeth into a project, now you're back

-and getting busy?

-We're trying!

Do you want to play an active part, too?

Yeah. I will paint it.

Very interested, would be to choose colourful carpets,

colourful, all decoration.

Your budget for doing the place up?

I reckon probably about 8,000-10,000.

8-10. And with that £8-10,000, what do you want to do?

The kitchen, of course, that's got to be done.

A new front door.

Then the heating system.

We're going to get that changed to gas.

Do you have contacts, tradesmen that you've used before, to help you?

Not in this area, no.

The house I did up north, the other house,

I had some contacts there.

But here, no.

So, erm, I've got an electrician, mind you,

that I've got to contact. So, he's quite useful.

How long do you think it will take to turn round?

I think two to three months.

Now, there is something that's going to take quite a bit of shifting

and it's that big period fireplace.

And by period, I mean the Dynasty and Dallas period.

Big padded shoulders, big hair and big fireplaces.

There are some interesting features in the flat,

not least this behind us.

Plans?

Well, my plan is to keep it but we've had an argument already!

Yes. Definitely!

I'm maybe not meant to offer an opinion, but I'm with Lena.

Oh!

Lena, why do you think it should go?

I think it looks old-fashioned. I don't like it.

James, why do you think it should stay?

I don't think it's that bad, actually.

If it was just brickwork...

It's white and I quite like it.

Once you're finished decorating, doing the flat, what's the plan?

We'll put it on the market and see how things are.

If things don't work out, then we'll rent it.

Well, good luck. Wish you all the best.

-Can't wait to see what you do.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thanks!

They say that if you wait long enough,

then everything comes back into fashion, eventually.

However, I think we might have found the exception

with that interesting fire surround.

You can find out if it stays, if it goes,

who wins that battle, later in the show.

Brentford in Essex is an affluent commuter town

about 20 miles from Central London.

It's always been a popular place but the introduction of Crossrail

could have an impact on property prices.

That might not be great news for those struggling to buy.

As ever, a decrease in travel times to London generally means

only one thing for property prices.

# The only way is up!

# Baby!

# For you and me now... #

Well, slap bang in the centre of town,

right by the side of this busy intersection

is the property I'm here to see.

And given its close proximity to the town,

it's amazing that it has fallen clearly into such disrepair.

Cos it is a simply magnificent building.

Originally two properties that have been joined into one over time.

£700,000-plus was the guide price.

Can't wait to see inside.

OK.

Wow!

It's not necessarily what you would hope for

when you walk through the door.

It obviously has been converted at some stage

to provide office or community space.

And so, we're into the realms of fire doors, stud partitions,

argh...!

HE SOBS

OK.

Hopefully, elsewhere, there will be stuff

that takes me from this precipice of disappointment.

# To say the least, I'm truly disappointed

# Truly, truly, truly Oh! #

On the first floor, an array of rooms

I just can't get my head around.

I remain truly disappointed.

I was hoping to see some fantastic original features

because this is a Grade II listed building after all.

So, you could look round this property and say

how come so much has been done to destroy and change

the character of what was obviously an amazing building at some point?

Well, this was all probably done before the building was listed,

which would have been,

relatively in the whole scheme of things, recently.

But now it has been listed and everything that's in here is listed.

Internal things, too.

Case in point here.

This has obviously been taken out and I guess it's been taken out

by the people who are responsible for the listing status.

And they've revealed this fireplace.

Now, it's been covered up over time but whoever takes this place on

is going to have to renovate this place to specifications

that are laid down in terms of listed buildings.

So, it will be in there, but this brick fireplace

will have to be renovated and restored to its former glory.

That's fine, but it is a minefield for the unwary,

and with that kind of renovation, and this kind of restoration,

comes a very big potential bill.

# She's expensive She's expensive! #

Well, here on the top floor,

we really are delving into the building's history.

This has been singled out by those people who know as the oldest part.

It's absolutely part of history and quite extraordinary.

They can tell things like these beams

were all hacked around by axes.

So, the reality of you ever being able to touch anything

that's going on here and do things you'd quite like to do

with this upper storey of the building, absolutely no chance.

# Oh, no woman won't change me now

# Won't change me now I won't change! #

Round the back, you can see how over the centuries,

a red, brick facade was tacked on,

pretty much encasing the original 16th-century building.

And then, even later additions in the 20th century

made this place even more of a mishmash.

Currently, the property is listed as D1 planning status.

That covers non-residential institutions.

So, it could be anything from a clinic to a creche.

Time to ask a local estate agent what he thinks

the future could be for this old building.

Personally, I would go for full residential.

I'd go for, like, a period conversion.

Look to get as many units in as I can with the square footage

that we have to work with on the top floor.

Because of the restricted head height,

I would go for two one-bedroom apartments.

On the first floor,

I'd look to two or three two-bedroom apartments.

And then on the ground floor,

certainly I could see three two-bedroom apartments.

I would think that would be looked upon favourably,

especially the fact it's got the off-road parking at the rear.

The agent thinks if you were able to create those seven flats,

you can have a combined resale value of, wait for it,

just over £2.1 million.

This would be by no means an easy project

but it could be a profitable one.

It's a project with a huge amount of challenges.

Let's find out who was willing to take it on, though,

when it went under the hammer.

A really important, historic, three-storey building,

around 7,000 square feet.

Heaps of potential

and good location.

So, got a lot going for it.

Fire your bids on this.

-Sorry?

-700.

-700 with you.

700.

705? 705.

710. 715...

There were two determined bidders after this historic property.

We rejoin the bidding at £860,000.

860, back in.

865.

870, 875.

880, 885.

890, 895.

900, 905, 910.

915?

910. Back to you. 915 elsewhere?

If not, at £910,000,

first time, second time,

third and last time. Have you all done?

Sold, 910.

The successful bid of £910,000 was made by Prashant,

who has developed a number of properties over the years.

But his main profession is as a pharmacist.

I met up with him to see what he prescribes

to get this marvellous building on the mend again.

# Don't we need a medicine man

# His shake and his rattle and his helping hand... #

Prashant, Lovely to see you.

Lovely to see you, too.

Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

Well, I've had a look at this place for the last few years.

To be truthful, I fell in love with it.

-Uh-huh.

-It's a beautiful building.

A beautiful, old building.

I thought it would be a very good project.

No.

I don't think there'll be

much opportunity to make a lot of money here,

-but it's just a very interesting project.

-Right.

With a view to what, then?

What's it for? What have you bought it for?

-We're going to convert part of it to community use...

-OK.

..and the other part to... for residential use.

But we are hoping to get residential use with no parking.

So we don't really want parking. It's in the centre of Brentwood,

very near to public transport,

-easy to get to London or other centres.

-Sure.

So there doesn't seem much point in having parking in this area.

And explain the community bit of it -

what do you mean by that exactly?

At one time, I looked into the history, and this was...

used as a art gallery.

-Oh!

-So we want to bring it back to an art gallery, possibly

with some cafe and bar use as well.

-Right.

-And, then, open up the courtyard at the back

so that people can have a look at the building from the other side.

-Ah!

-Looking into the building.

And so, what, would you rent out that space for somebody else to look

after, then, or are you going to run your own art gallery as well?

-MARTIN LAUGHS

-No, no, no. I'll not be running it.

We'll be tendering it out for people

to put bids in for running the...

obviously, the community use part of the building.

Oh, great. Early stages, obviously,

but do you have some ideas of the residential opportunity here?

How are you going to convert what is a massive amount of space into...

into...into what?

We'll try and get a few apartments, studios,

one-bedroom flats in.

How many?

Um, possibly between four and six.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-That all depends on planning, of course.

It depends on planning.

It also depends on whether we are allowed to raise the roof

to create a bit of extra headroom.

-Right.

-Obviously, being a Grade II-star listed building,

we'll have to negotiate with English Heritage and the council to see what

we can do and what we can't do.

It's one of those properties that will most definitely, I'm sure,

be worth it. However, something tells me, in the process,

it's going to cost quite a lot of money.

I've made allowances for it, hopefully.

So how much have you got set aside for sorting it out?

Shall I just say,

more than half a million, approaching £1 million?

Oh, wow! So you are...? You're going into this with your eyes open?

-That's right, yeah.

-You said before,

you don't think you're going to make any money out of this, then?

-Mm-hm.

-So...are you doing it for the good of the building, or what?

I'm doing it for interest.

It is such a brilliant project to actually finish.

I'm hoping not to lose money.

-Well, yeah.

-I don't think I'll lose any money.

As long as...

-it's even stevens...

-Yeah.

-..then I'll be very happy.

So what's the timescale for this project?

Hopefully...

we should be finished within the year.

-Within a year?

-Yeah.

-You are kidding me!

-MARTIN LAUGHS

-No, no. Not at all.

You've got to apply for planning permission,

you've got to get listed building people involved,

you've got to turn the place around -

-how are you going to do that in a year?

-Well, you know, let's see.

-MARTIN LAUGHS

-Well, yeah, for sure!

That's exciting. And then... After this, then, what?

Cos...how do you top this?

Well, then, we'll have to look for something else.

MARTIN LAUGHS

-A castle?

-I-I don't know.

I might fall in love with something else.

-Is that what it's like?

-That's what it's like.

You look at a building, and I say...

You think to yourself,

-"Yes, this is the one for me."

-Oh, wow.

And then, you have to wait, like all good things.

Oh, that's great. Well, listen, congratulations.

I'm delighted the building found you.

-Thank you, Martin.

-Good luck with it.

-I'm really looking forward to seeing how you get on.

-All right.

Well, it is an amazing building,

but one that needed somebody with,

potentially, amazingly big pockets.

So, hopefully, it has found that in Prashant.

But he's got the passion for the building, and that's exactly

what it needed. Exciting times ahead.

You can find out what happens later in the show.

Coming up, at this end terrace in Stoke,

I'm about to give you the run-around.

Why don't you go that way, and I'll meet you there?

And here we are.

And, in Essex, we discover that £1 million isn't enough.

The original budget has just been blown away.

Time to stop in again at Halesowen, where I saw a two-bed,

ex-local authority flat that was in generally OK condition,

if not a bit tired and dated.

The kitchen was in need of a refit,

as it showed real signs of its age.

Now, the bathroom's pretty small, very tired.

Definitely needs to come out.

The bath and shower together, you might want to reconfigure,

put them separately, though it's pretty tight in there.

I like the sunflowers that have been added in for a bit of sunshine.

Sadly, there wasn't much else to leave me feeling warm

in the rest of the flat, as there was no central heating system.

That didn't stop James and his wife, Lena,

from spending 40 grand on this at auction.

James met his wife, Lena, who's from Russia,

whilst working abroad in Saudi Arabia.

But they had both recently moved back to the UK.

Safe to say that the cultures might clash a bit.

But so, too, of course, can people's tastes,

especially when it comes to that humongous fireplace!

Well, my plan is to keep it,

but we've had an argument already.

Yes.

James, why do you think it should stay?

I don't think it's that bad, actually.

If it was just brickwork...

But it's white, and I quite like it.

-I'm maybe not meant to offer an opinion, but I'm with Lena.

-Oh.

I'd like to think that I had the deciding vote.

But there's only one way to find out what happened at the flat.

Yes, it's time to head back and see how it looks, five months on.

This brand-new kitchen looks fantastic.

And now, of course, includes central heating.

Out in the hall,

a new open-planned cupboard might not be for everyone...

..but it's a handy space for shoes and jackets.

Is there now more living space in the living room?

# So tell me right now

# You think you're ready for it

# I wanna know why you got me going

# So let's go

# We'll take it out of here

I think I'm ready to leap, I'm ready to live

# I'm ready to go

# Get me out of my mind

# Get me out of my mind... #

Hooray! The horrible fireplace has gone. Oh, did I say that out loud?

Sorry, James.

I asked various people,

they either loved it or hated it.

-In the end, we decided...

-Instigations.

My wife got her way, and I took

a sledgehammer to it and removed it.

And, I must say, I think she was right.

-I was.

-She was right.

Sometimes, you have to say "goodbye to the old and in with the new,"

which is what I'll have to do with those sunflowers

I was so keen on in the bathroom.

Everything here is brand-new, sleek and modern.

It's made such a difference.

Back along the hall now to see the two bedrooms,

which have been given a sympathetic redecoration

to match the rest of the flat.

James and Lena, they should be proud of their work here.

I've done all the plumbing in the bathroom.

Did everything in the bathroom, really.

Living room...

we destroyed... Well, I destroyed the, um...fireplace.

Together destroyed.

All right, together we destroyed the fireplace.

We've done all the redecoration.

We're learning...

We learnt all the time about different things

and how to do things.

-There are mistakes.

-Yeah.

You make plenty of mistakes.

-I can say that.

-Yeah!

-Well, we did, anyway.

But we...pushed through that,

and I'm pleased with the results.

So I'm happy with that.

I'd say James is becoming a dab hand at the old tiling.

But they did, of course, get in professionals for the heating

and electrics. Various family commitments have meant, all in all,

it's taken them five months,

rather than their ideal two-to-three month timescale.

And that £8-£10,000 budget was almost stuck to,

but the purchase and installation of a new front door

that matches fire safety codes cost £1,000,

so it took the total spend to £11,000.

All in, it's pretty much going to plan,

so it seems that Lena and James work like a well-oiled machine...

but it may be more like oil and vinegar.

-JAMES:

-'We've had certain problems working

'with each other because Lena's got different ideas than I have.

'When we originally got the property,'

my plan was to rent it.

But Lena would like to sell.

And I've come round to her way of thinking.

Well, we're going to see what it would fetch.

But we'll find out,

and then we'll make our decision from there, really.

It's a good thing, then, that we've asked along two local estate agents

to give us their valuations.

But, first, let's hear their thoughts on the flat itself.

Well, it's been finished to a high standard,

so I think presentation's important

for first-time buyers and investors.

And it's also very convenient

for the local amenities of Halesowen centre.

The kitchen's done to a particularly good standard.

It's really modern, so it will appeal to the younger buyers.

So it's an ideal starter flat that's ready to move into.

But what should James and Lena do with their £51,000 investment?

The agents both think that it would sell for around £65,000,

which would be a tidy pre-tax profit

of 14 grand. Which might tempt Lena,

but what could it rent for?

I would suggest an asking price of £500 per calendar month.

If we were to rent this property out,

we'd expect to achieve between £500 to £525 per calendar month.

I think we'll discuss our options.

We haven't decided yet.

But the rental figure sounds very good.

The valuation was about what I thought it would be.

I wonder who will get their own way in the end.

But I have a feeling the top-end figure of £525 from the agent -

that would give a rental yield of a healthy 12% - might just win out.

James and Lena haven't seen eye to eye on everything on this project,

but its successful outcome must have them itching to do it again.

-Oh...

-Would we work together again?

-..no.

-Yes. Well...

only if she was the boss, then, yes, we'd work together.

But when I'm the boss, no, it doesn't seem to work, really.

I'm just outside Hanley,

one of the six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent.

The property I'm here to see is in the area of Northwood,

home to Stoke Athletics Club,

the only athletics centre in the area

certified by the International Amateur Athletics Federation.

So I'm going to be hitting the ground running with this one,

even if it's to get out the rain.

So ten minutes from Hanley town centre and Northwood Stadium

is the property I'm here to see, and here it is.

It's a three-bedroom end terrace property

with a guide price of £50,000.

And I like the look of this one.

Let's take a look inside.

# I just ran

# I ran all night and day... #

Nice. We are into a spacious hallway...

just here, lots of room and light.

Lovely front door.

Very, very pretty, but not very secure.

I'd look to get that changed.

Right, you've got your stairs going up to the bedrooms,

and here you've got a really nice-sized kitchen.

Bit of a galley kitchen, but it's dated.

You'd want to take all that out

and put a nice, fresh, clean kitchen in here.

And at the back, I can just see there's a toilet downstairs as well.

OK. Why don't you go that way, and I'll meet you there?

And here we are. Two decent-size reception rooms just here,

and they are separated by this glass here - this clear glass.

A couple of gas fires as well.

But that big bay window is very, very pretty.

You could restore that and keep it, if that's your style,

but if you wanted to change it to double glazing,

it might cost you a few quid,

so you'd have to pop that in your budget.

So far, so good.

I'm going to check out upstairs.

So far, so good, so optimistic.

Yes, it's a nice, spacious house,

but it's in desperate need of a clear-out.

So, first things first,

strip everything out and start from the very beginning.

Just keep an eye on the budget, in case things get a little dear.

OK, upstairs to the bedrooms. But before I do,

this is a really solid banister.

If you were to strip that back, that would be really pretty.

Anyway, there are three bedrooms up here, and a family bathroom.

Good-size family bathroom. Again, it's dated,

and I can see a slight crack just in between some tiles

at the side of the window.

It's not alarming me,

but that colour pink is slightly alarming.

Get a new bathroom in there, really smarten it up.

Nice, big bedroom just here.

And I can see that there's a bit of damp just below that window just

there. It looks like it's localised,

cos I've not found it anywhere else in the house, so get that sorted.

Two other bedrooms here.

Small third bedroom just to my left.

And this is the main bedroom.

Some fitted wardrobes and drawers that I haven't seen for some time.

I'm pretty sure I lived in a house -

or several houses - that had these in.

Get all this out and really tidy this place up.

There's a lot that needs to be done, here -

new bathroom, new kitchen.

If you are going to change those windows,

that's going to cost you a few quid as well.

New carpets, paint, everything needs to be done in this house.

And you've got to be careful of those profit margins,

cos if you're going to spend a lot of money,

that profit margin is going to get smaller.

Of course, if you were to get this for anything like

the 50 grand guide price...

That's not a money spider, is it?

I would suspect you would have plenty of wiggle room,

providing that nothing more serious turns up.

OK, out the back...I can see as I've walked up...

There's a little bit of... Look at that.

A little bit of cement. Doesn't look the safest wall at all.

As you can see. Look at that. Look at the movement.

That nearly came down. And into the back garden, backyard area.

It is pretty small. And, as you can see,

the pointing here definitely needs to be re-done as well.

And around the corner here, we've got a little bit more space.

But as I look back at the house,

I can see that those windows definitely

need to be replaced.

I can safely say they've seen better days.

The jobs are mounting up.

Still, I reckon the trick with this one is not to go too far

over that guide price.

An agent from the auction house who sold it came along to tell us

how to get this place back up to scratch.

Depending on who actually does the work,

15,000 would probably go a long way

to getting this property in a liveable condition.

Assuming the house sells for the guide price of £50,000,

that would bring your total spend to 65 grand.

So is there scope for potential profit, here?

After refurbishment,

I would place this property on the market

in the region of £100-105,000.

OK, well, if you did get it for that guide price,

that could mean a handsome return.

But what if you kept the property long-term and let it out?

On the rental market,

I would expect to achieve in the region of £450-500

per calendar month.

This is a good, solid house, and it's well-proportioned.

But you will need to get it to as close to that guide price

as possible, though, cos you will need to spend a few quid on it.

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

Here's a spacious, three-bedroom

end of terrace house.

May I say 50 anywhere? Thank you.

52 anywhere else?

52. 54. 56. 58.

There was a lot of interest as the bidding got off to a flying start.

We rejoin the auction at £70,000.

70.

71, sir?

72? 72?

72?

71, then, is our current winning bid.

For the first time.

I thought you were going to say that.

71.5, I'm taking. 72, sir?

And the half again, Madam? 72.5.

73. 73.5?

73 is your bid, sir.

You're on the halves if you want to come back in.

If not, here we are, then. At £73,000, then, for the first time.

£73,000.

Your bid is looking stronger by the second.

For the second time.

Are we all done, then, at £73,000?

You got it, sir, at 73,000.

The successful bid of 73 grand went to Geoff and wife Carolyn.

Geoff is a fireman and has experience

helping friends on similar projects.

Carolyn is a netball coach at a local college.

This project is all theirs, and I caught up with them

to find out their plans.

-Carolyn, nice to meet you.

-Hello. Nice to meet you.

-Geoff, nice to meet you too, sir.

-Pleased to meet you.

-Congratulations.

-Thanks.

-Thank you very much.

-Got yourself a nice property here.

-Yeah.

-And it's your first one?

-It is.

-It is, yes.

What made you look for a property like this?

Oh, it's been a will of mine to do this sort of thing

for a long time, and now's the time to do it. Been busy...

He's very good. He is very good...

Oh, don't tell him that!

I have to give him a bit of praise, don't I, now and again?

Yeah, no, he's pretty capable...

..and all my trust is in him, really,

cos I'm just the fetcher and carrier and, "Hand me this, go get me that."

She'll be on the roof later today.

Is that because she's angry with you, or...?

What are you going to do with this place?

I think it's a really nice pad that you've got.

We're looking at blocking up that door that goes...

The sliding door into the kitchen.

So, now, we're giving us more wall space in the kitchen

so we can have a set of units that come all the way across.

That will free up the room in that utility area there as well,

because it will mean things like the washer, the tumble dryer...

-Yes.

-You know, sort of, uh,

we can look elsewhere to put them

and create like a nice little downstairs bathroom.

Yes, I've got you. Bit neater, a bit tidier?

-Yes.

-Yeah, make it... Yeah. Yeah.

Carpets and everything else coming out?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-Fireplaces as well?

-Definitely.

-"Definitely".

-Those have got to go.

"Definitely got to go."

Got to go - they're about 500 years old, I think.

THEY LAUGH

-I think you'll find they're 450, actually.

-Oh!

-To be precise!

-Well, you'd be more of an expert than me, of course.

We'll go with that one.

Get me, the expert on fireplaces!

Do you think I got away with that? Anyway, moving on.

They plan to alter the layout a little bit and move the back door.

And, of course, they are going to replace the bathroom and kitchen.

I'm conscious they've paid quite a bit over the guide price -

23 grand to be exact -

so the budget will have to be spot on.

We've been able to do a proper look-round.

We're looking at £15,000, we think...

-OK.

-..to do all of the work that we need to do.

-That's all because the man that can...

-Yeah.

-..is doing the work.

-Oh, OK.

-And the woman that can't is...

-Helping.

-..watching.

-"Is watching"!

As well as being a firefighter, Geoff is a qualified electrician.

So aside from plumbing in the boiler and fitting the new double glazing,

he'll be doing everything himself -

and that includes under-felting the roof -

all hopefully within a timescale of four to six months.

And ideally, when you've finished the house

and you've got it exactly how Carolyn wants it...

-Yes.

-..what would you like to do with it once it's all done?

I'd say sell. We're going to do it to too high a spec...

-OK.

-..to be on the rental market.

That's MY personal thoughts.

I might want to move myself.

-Here's your new pad.

-There you go, yeah.

That could cost you a few more quid if you start doing it for yourself.

Yeah. No, no, she's moving. I'm staying where I am!

-Very good. Very good.

-We are only joking.

So is it something that you want

to get into full-time, you know, property?

Would you like to buy more properties

-and do some more renovations?

-Yeah.

Well, we'll see how this one goes first,

but I'm coming up to retirement soon.

I know I don't look old enough...

Yeah, yes, yeah, I was just about to say that. Beat me to it.

..but I feel it!

So, um...yeah, possibly.

So is there anything that you've seen in this property in particular,

as it's your first, that's surprised you or frightened you?

Nothing's really surprised me and nothing's really frightened me.

So, no, it doesn't scare me, this place.

Well, on that note, I wish you all the best.

I think you've got yourself a really good first property.

And I think, with your leadership,

and your brawn and skillset, I think you'll be OK.

-BOTH:

-Thanks very much.

-I wish you all the best.

-Good luck.

-Thank you, Dion.

-Geoff, all the best.

-Thanks very much.

-Good luck. Cheers.

I think this is a good first project.

They've given themselves a decent timescale

and a realistic budget considering

Geoff's going to be doing a lot of the work himself.

I think they'll be fine on this one.

With Carolyn coaching from the sidelines, no problem at all.

Fireman Geoff to the rescue.

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

Well, we've seen how one property turned out,

but there's still two more to come, so don't go anywhere.

Yes, will our remaining renovators be quids in?

Or will they wish they hadn't bothered bidding?

Let's find out.

Time to return to Brentwood in Essex,

where I saw an absolutely stunning Grade II listed building.

The auction catalogue said parts were believed to date back

as far as the 16th century.

I was very excited, but then I stepped inside.

It obviously has been converted at some stage

to provide office or community space.

And so we're into the realms of fire doors, stud partitions.

HE GROANS

HE SOBS

# Wipe your eyes cos there's no use crying... #

It was a CRYING shame that this property had lost a lot of character

internally. It was really CRYING out for someone to come along

and put things right.

That someone was hopefully Prashant,

who paid a whopping £910,000 for this at auction.

As a pharmacist and property developer,

he had an interesting PRESCRIPTION for the property.

The back area downstairs would remain a community space

and the rest of the building would become four-to-six flats,

which was certainly an ambitious plan in a Grade II listed building.

Even though he and his building team had experience

with period conversions, I was blown away by his timescale.

We should be finished within the year.

-Within a year?

-Yeah.

You are kidding me.

-No, no. Not at all.

-MARTIN LAUGHS

-Not at all.

-You've got to apply for planning permission,

you've got to get listed building people involved,

you've got to turn the place around.

-How are you going to do that in a year?

-Well, you know, let's see.

Well, yeah, for sure.

You had to admire Prashant's optimism in the face of all

that planning red tape.

So I guess there's only one thing for it -

time for us to head back and see if the work is complete

just 12 months later.

# I've been living through some hard times

# I've been seeing through some dark times

# Everybody seems to know

# Don't say I told you so... #

Oh, me?

I wouldn't dream of it, honestly I wouldn't.

Listed developments like this are never simple,

and I may have thought 12 months was too quick,

but I did think the project would have made at least

some kind of progress in the past year.

Well, basically, what's happened is that we've been stuck in the

planning system, because it is a Grade II-star listed building.

Obviously, there are about 3,000 only in the United Kingdom.

It's also become part of the Brentwood Development Scheme,

so this is kind of like a focal point of the town centre.

The building's Grade II-star listing means that it's a building

of more than special interest

and accounts for only 5.5% of all listed buildings.

The local council have also had to have their say in how they would

like the building to be used, which has thrown up its own issues.

I think the major problem occurred in terms of community use.

How would a building which was actually central to the community

and a very popular building... going forward,

how would the community have some part to play in it?

Prashant had to work with his architect

and all the various agencies in drawing up new plans

which he feels will meet the requirements

of all parties involved,

and this is what they've come up with.

There will be a community space on the ground floor,

and the rest of the building will be split into living accommodation,

comprising of five one-bedroom flats.

This is similar to the original plan,

but there could be an added bonus.

The local planners have indicated that they may also allow

the construction of a new build at the rear of the property,

which would incorporate three ground-floor flats

and three duplex apartments above

in this rather stunning-looking modern building with a grass roof.

But I don't think that Prashant will be able to achieve all this

with his original top budget of £1 million.

The budget is whatever it takes.

But I think the kind of like original budget

has just been blown away.

We'll have to have a look at the finances and see whether

it's viable to rent, or much more viable to sell.

I mean, obviously, it would be very good if we could rent it,

because then we can keep an eye on what's going on

and make sure the building is maintained

to the appropriate standards.

It would be brilliant to see this building back to its best

in the near future. But with the time it's taken already,

I don't think there are any guarantees there.

The biggest challenge has been for someone like me,

who likes to get things done,

I've had to become a lot more patient and a lot more understanding

of the processes that happen in...

..basically bringing alive a dying building,

which is listed.

So that has been a very major challenge,

but I think I'm beginning to crack it now.

Well, to see if this tough nut is worth cracking,

we've asked along two local estate agents

to see if they think it's a project worth sticking with.

First, the agent who saw it before.

What does he make of the slow progress on the project?

Brentwood Council can be quite strict,

especially when it comes to the high street

and how the high street looks.

So they will always probably take special caution on any planning

permissions close to the Brentwood sort of town centre.

So there's absolutely a huge amount

of demand for luxury apartments

in and around Brentwood.

With the imminent arrival of Crossrail,

I would say probably 70% of people that we're dealing with

at the moment are coming in from London

wanting luxury apartments, and especially period conversions.

Prashant still plans on renting the properties out if and when they are

complete, so what kind of figures could he be looking at?

So for the one-bedroom conversion apartments,

we would see in the region of £1,200-1,300 per calendar month.

I would estimate something around £1,200 per calendar month.

I think it might be a bit optimistic to get 1,200-1,300.

I think about 1,000-1,100 sounds about right.

Those figures, along with the new-build flats,

would bring in approximately £155,000 per annum in income.

However, if Prashant decided to sell,

the agent valuations for all completed flats

amount to roughly £3.5 million.

So as long as his final build cost is under 2.5 million,

he won't have lost money. However,

I don't think money was ever Prashant's main motivating factor

on this project.

I'm kind of like - how do you call it -

in love with older buildings now, suddenly.

Time to jog back to Stoke where at the starting blocks

was this three-bed house.

It was pretty tired and had run out of puff.

Downstairs needed a complete modernisation

and, upstairs, there were three bedrooms.

And a family bathroom -

good-size family bathroom.

Again, it's dated and I can see a slight crack just in between

some tiles at the side of the window.

It's not alarming me, but that colour pink is slightly alarming.

Outside, in the pouring rain, you could see the windows and guttering

looked like they were letting in a fair amount of water.

Now, that DID set my alarm bells ringing.

Luckily, the person who paid 73 grand for this at auction

is used to alarms, because Geoff is a firefighter.

And along with his wife, Carolyn, were prepared to tackle anything

this house could throw at them,

and he wanted to do most of the work himself.

Oh, it's been a will of mine to do this sort of thing for a long time,

and now's the time to do it.

He's very good. He is very good.

Oh, don't tell him that!

I have to give him a bit of praise, don't I, now and again?

Yeah, no, he's pretty capable,

and all my trust is in him, really.

I'd say the heat was on Geoff, but let's be honest -

a property renovation is nothing like the day-to-day pressure

of being a firefighter.

He's also a qualified electrician and a dab hand at other trades,

so I'm sure the house and Carolyn's trust were in safe hands.

But we're heading back later

than their planned four-to-six-month timescale.

It's actually 13 months since we last saw the house,

so I'm hoping everything has turned out OK.

I'd say so.

This fully-integrated kitchen is very smart.

And the layout of the new utility is much better.

By making the floor level and moving the door,

there is now a space for white goods and a small toilet at the back.

Although some original features have gone, others have emerged,

like this Minton tile floor.

And the dated living space has been completely modernised.

The new heating system,

double glazed windows and losing the kitchen door to the back room

has made such a difference.

The addition of double doors to the garden

lets light pour in from both sides.

Upstairs, the modern makeover continues.

Removing the airing cupboard meant there's now space for a four-piece

suite, so the bathroom is as modern as the rest of the house.

All the rooms have been fully redecorated with a splash of colour

to give it a bit of warmth for potential buyers.

Outside has seen big changes, too.

Geoff has re-felted the roof

and replaced the windows and gutters

to sort out that issue of the damp.

But it didn't stop there.

When we also looked at the ground levels outside, they were actually

breaching the damp course,

so it was no wonder that there was some damp

on the inside of the property.

So the first thing that we did

was started to re-point outside...

-..and unblock...

-And I did some pointing.

Unblock the drains. Carolyn was excellent at pointing.

-New skill.

-It's a fantastic skill to learn!

Can I just say that, you know,

he's lived and breathed this property for 12 months.

The little help that I've given, or anybody else has given, you know,

just falls into insignificance in terms of, you know,

trying to compare it to what Geoff's done.

How he's managed to move... Carry things.

I-I don't know.

I really don't. I'm so proud of him, it's untrue.

Being in the Fire Service,

Geoff always puts safety first, so he had all the professionals

in for the gas and the windows as required.

Geoff also improved the fire safety in the kitchen

by replacing the glass doors with timber.

Geoff may be safety conscious,

but does that mean they were able to stay

within safe limits of their budget of 15 grand?

When we sort of decided on the finish,

we decided it isn't worth spoiling the finish.

So now the budget's sort of spiralled out of control, really.

Sort of pushed the expenditure now to about the £20,000 mark.

But I still think it's been money well spent.

But will two local estate agents agree?

We've asked them along to find out what they think

of that total outlay of 93 grand.

Will it be money well spent?

It looks great from the outside and then, when you get inside,

it's even better.

It's not what you'd expect to come into in this area,

to be done to this high a level.

The layout of the property works really well,

especially with the French doors off the back

leading out into the garden.

The kitchen and utility room and the downstairs loo are really good,

especially if it's a family that buy the property.

Sounds like Geoff and Carolyn won't have any problems

selling this property.

But will their 93 grand investment yield a good profit?

To look to resell the property, we're looking

between £105-110,000.

I think, on the open market, I'd put this property on the market

between £110-115,000.

We always did it as an investment,

you know, because interest rates are so low.

So anything along the lines of what's been quoted

would still give us, you know, the...

-A good return.

-..the good return that we were after.

But we have still got all the tax implications

and everything else to figure out.

Carolyn is spot on.

The top figure of 115,000

would mean a profit of £22,000.

However, developers always have to think about taxes and fees

and factor them in.

The couple are keen to sell on and get onto the next project.

As this has been a real success,

what tips have the first-time developers picked up?

If you're not so savvy, let's say,

take somebody with you that does know,

otherwise you could get your fingers burnt.

Geoff comes...not free of charge -

if you want his services, then it's me you have to speak to.

Hopefully, you've enjoyed today's stories and maybe even learned some

lessons along the way.

Yes, I'm hoping we've given you a bit of inspiration

to get involved in property yourself.

Or, perhaps... scared you off forever.

Either way, make sure you watch next time

for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

-Goodbye.