Episode 25 Homes Under the Hammer

Welcome to the show. In the world of property, timing is critical.

The buyer, the seller, even the market

all have different opinions on when the right time to buy is.

Yes, but if the clock is ticking and time is not on your side,

why not head down to your property auction?

Yes, sometimes just 28 days after that hammer falls,

you could have the keys to your new property.

So, do you fancy buying your next home at auction?

On this show, we meet people who buy at auction for all kinds of reasons.

Some might buy to make it their family home,

some may buy as a source of income.

Yes, for some, it's their very first property.

And for others, it's the latest addition to their rental portfolio.

Yes, the reasons can be manifold. There's a good word. However,

there are some great stories and properties out there.

What's coming up on today's show? Let's find out.

I'm in Guildford to see a semidetached house that has

an interesting open door policy.

Oh, hello. There's two doors there, I quite like that, a wee bit quirky.

I'm down by the seaside in Torquay,

on a treasure hunt in a Grade II listed terrace.

There's loads of original features

just waiting for me to discover them.

I'm also on the British coast,

over in the Welsh town of Barry and I'm doing my best to drum up some

interest in this house.

RHYTHMIC TAPPING

All these properties have been sold at auction and we'll find out

who bought them and what they paid for them

when they went under the hammer.

This is picturesque Guildford in the county of Surrey.

It has a pretty high street with an array of shops and restaurants.

It also offers frequent train services into central London

that only take 40 minutes. So, with all that going for it,

don't expect property prices to come cheap.

So, what do you get for a guide price of £230,000 plus?

This three-bed semidetached house, that's what.

Hello, it looks like work's already started.

I spot a skip. Let's go inside.

In the front door to...

Well, it's definitely not a cosy living area.

It's an outbuilding of some sort

that's tagged on to the side of the house.

Work has definitely commenced.

You can see a wheelbarrow, ladders, it's in a bit of disarray.

It's derelict. Through there you have a sink in a little room

that was once a bathroom. It's not what you'd expect.

You could think about incorporating this somehow into the house,

so it doesn't feel like a draughty -

that'll be because there's no roof - a draughty outhouse.

Let's see if things are a bit warmer inside.

You've got your stairs up to the right.

On the left, it's quite a small room.

Looks like it was possibly once a bigger room.

But a partition wall has been put in there. That's pretty new.

Through to... What would this have been...?

Ah, a kitchen, is my bet, because it has lots of pipe works.

Yes, there's another smaller room,

so I'm guessing whoever has started work wants to make extra rooms.

Through to our...

I'd guess, reception room. Oh, hello. There's two doors there.

I quite like that, a wee bit quirky.

Everything needs done. There's air coming in.

There's a brick wall here

which makes me wonder if this was once the end of the house,

this part's actually an extension.

And... Ah, slightly worryingly,

I don't know what this new wall is covering up.

But there are bolts holding it to this wall and I do wonder if there's

been some structural issue.

This property really throws up a lot more questions than it does answers.

It needs everything done.

If you're looking on the plus side, it is a blank canvas.

It's a bit quirky. It could work.

# Seems like the more I look

# Well, the less I seem to find

# I get impossibly lost

# I'm a work in progress

# What you see ain't always what you get

# Lovin' the process... #

Upstairs, there are two smaller bedrooms to the front.

Which, like the rest of the house, are still far from complete.

And back off the hall to the side of the house is a small loo.

Into the back bedroom, which is a decent size,

but this is really worrying.

Here you have something that's not yet been covered up and it's the

roof, it's exposed. The plaster has been taken off.

And it's definitely a damp issue.

You can smell it slightly, you can see the damp.

You can see the damp around the windowsill.

This looks like it could be quite extensive and definitely needs

a thorough investigation.

# Take a look

# Above you

# Can you feel it?

# I can, everywhere... #

The worn roof and guttering looks to be the source of the damp.

So it will need to be repaired and factored into your costs, but, hey,

it's in better nick than the one on the garden shed.

To shed light on if it's worth continuing with all the repairs,

we've asked a local estate agent along to get her opinion on this

property, guided at £230,000 plus.

The property itself,

I can see good potential in turning it into perhaps a four-bedroom

property. With potentially letting it out to sharers or students

because your return would be a lot higher than I think it would be if

you were to resell it on.

As a four-bed, the agent thinks a £350,000 sales figure is only

five grand more than if it was a three-bed.

So with all the work to be done here, maybe rental is the way to go,

if the numbers add up.

If you were to take it as a sharers,

you could potentially rent this as

a four-bedroom at £1,500 per calendar month.

If the rooms were to be rented separately to sharers,

HMO or house of multiple occupancy, regulations might apply.

These rules generally cover amenities like toilets and kitchens,

as well as fire and other safety aspects,

so that's something to keep in mind.

Work's already started on this property but there's still an awful

lot to do. And it's hard to see what the end result will be.

Let's find out who had the vision

to turn it round when it went under the hammer.

Where would you like to start off on this?

I don't know... 240?

Not going to go below 240. House in Guildford.

With you, 240. 245.

At the back, sir, 250. Standing up.

That bidder may have been out but two others were vying for this lot,

so we rejoin the bidding at £284,000.

284. 286.

288. 290. 292.

Oh, please, don't stop on the round figures.

292?

He's going to... He's thinking 290.

I can see it in his eyes.

290. First time...

Second time...

Third and last time... If you are all done.

Sold, 290. Good buy.

The successful bid of £290,000 was made by Stuart.

He's got a few rental properties

in his portfolio in Birmingham and Guildford. So I was keen to find out

why he made this property his latest acquisition.

Stuart, hello. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Tell me about why you chose this house.

I mean, the first thing is price. It's a fantastic price.

It's a great location. There's just real fundamental value here.

Have you always been in property?

No, no, not at all. So, I was a trader.

The best part of my working life was actually spent in Asia.

I lived in Singapore until about two years ago.

I was fortunate enough to retire early.

So I moved back and needed something

to do with my time, so I bought one,

just for something to do. And got quite into it.

It's quite good fun. And before I know it,

I'm up to a number of properties. The hardest bit was actually doing

the research around the properties and the areas themselves.

So... You know, I got in my car,

I must have gone to 20-25 cities in the UK and I really got under the

bonnet of the fundamentals of the property market in those places.

I went to see councils...

lots of agents, hospitals... I looked at the demographics.

-Absolutely everything.

-So you really did your homework.

In a way, you applied what you did as a trader to your new venture?

Absolutely. I mean, I think to be successful in anything,

research has to be meticulous.

You have to give yourself the most favourable odds to succeed

-as is possible.

-OK.

So you fancied this house, why? Had you been to see it?

With every property I buy, I come in with my builder,

so we can see what's possible. And he will give me an estimate of how

much it's going to cost to turn it into, you know, the end product

-that we want to see.

-Talk me through what you've done already.

Well, really, just the basic stuff. I mean, with this house,

I'm doing something a little bit different, actually.

Whereas you go in to most houses nowadays,

and everyone wants the big open-plan,

knock down walls and create these big, open spaces.

Now, I'm going to do the opposite here. I don't do this on the others

but for this one, I think there's a real lack of properties that can

house families with three, four kids,

and with a separate kind of living space for the kids, so Mum and Dad

can, you know, relax without having loads of toys and whatnot around.

So I'm actually going to create more rooms in this property.

I'm not going to divide it up into lots of tiny rooms.

But there's going to be a lot more rooms here.

-So this area here would be your living area?

-Living space. Yeah.

-This would be the main reception room.

-And you've got a kitchen

in the middle and then you would have a kid's bedroom?

Yes, so this is a three-bedroom house.

Now, I want it to be a four-bedroom house. So there's a room at

the front which I'm turning into a nice double bedroom. And then

next to that and on the other side of the kitchen is

going to be a kids' playroom.

Stuart's already got a head start on the work to the layout and he's had

his building team busy repairing and underpinning that back wall to the

extension, which suffered from subsidence.

They are also tackling the damp caused by the leaky roof.

With all this work to be done, the costs must be mounting.

So, how much of a budget have you reckoned for...?

-30,000.

-30,000?

-Yeah.

-OK, and timescale?

About six weeks. My guys are pretty quick.

-Six weeks?!

-Yeah. They're young. They're young.

They'll need to be more than young. They'll need to be super quick.

What do you intend to do with the property? Rent it, sell it?

Um... Do you know, I don't know at the moment, if I'm honest.

There's so many options with this area cos it's such a strong market.

You clearly know your stuff. You know the area inside out.

-Yeah.

-And you know there's a market for what you're doing.

Which is invaluable. And you also speak like a man who maybe has

-sympathy with people who have children.

-Correct.

You're talking about having a room so the toys can be

in there and the parents can...

-You're really sympathetic towards a family.

-Absolutely.

-Does this mean

-you are a family man yourself?

-I am, yeah. I've got three kids.

A girl of 13, Isabella, a boy of 11, Felix,

-and another little girl who is 1 tomorrow. Florence.

-Lovely.

-Big age gap.

-So that must be really nice,

giving up a full-time trading job to have a bit more time with them.

Oh, it's amazing, yeah. Absolutely.

They are obviously a very different stages of their lives but, yeah,

it's pretty full-on but very enjoyable.

Can't wait to see what you do with the place. Good luck.

Thank you very much.

Stuart seems to be taking the amount of work that needs to be done here

in his stride. The former trader

seems certain this is a great investment.

Is he right to be so sure? You can find out later in the show.

Beautiful Torquay, on Devon's southern coast.

In Victorian times, this became THE place to have a holiday home

and anyone who was anyone would come here.

Hence it became known as the English Riviera.

Those heady days have left Torquay

with some glamorous looking villas and it's a shame their size and cost

of maintaining them has meant many of them have been divided

into flats. However, it sounds likely that today's property

has more than a bit of substance.

Well, just a short walk from Torquay town centre and that lovely seafront

is the property I'm here to see.

Grade II listed, six bedrooms,

character period house.

I already love it.

I love the £50,000-£80,000 guide price, too.

This is one of several houses in a Victorian terrace and the access

is through this shared passage.

This is all very exciting.

What am I going to find?

Nice big ceilings and, straightaway, oodles of character.

Gosh. This is kind of just the reception room, I suppose.

And I'm getting really excited because judging by things like this

stained-glass window, and this strange bit underneath the stairs,

we have a house here which has not been messed about with,

so that means there's loads of original features just waiting for

me to discover them.

And this place is huge, so this will be a bit of a whirlwind tour.

Or we'll be here all day.

This lounge has a lovely window and fireplace.

Towards the back of the house, there's another staircase,

going up to the first floor.

It's hard enough for me to get my head round the layout of this place,

and I'm here. Basically, that second set of stairs at the back there

leads through to this here,

which might have been a servant's bedroom, I don't know.

There's a bathroom there, separate loo here. And then up this little

stairway into what I imagine is the main part of the house again.

Stairs up there to, like, an attic room.

This is sort of like a transition room area and it links off the top

of those other stairs. And you come through to what I guess was the

master bedroom. It's got this lovely window and a really nice feel to it.

It also is dual aspect because through these doors into the front

part of the bedroom, what is quite interesting when you look out

the front there, you see that we are actually located above the driveway.

So this will be a flying freehold,

so you definitely have to have that checked out by your solicitor.

And then through another doorway into...

Are you sticking with me here?

Through this doorway into this, which is, I guess,

the second big double bedroom.

Lovely fireplace. Lovely features.

And then round again to the top of the stairs. You need a good

architect to draw you some plans to figure out quite what you would do

here cos it's not obvious.

# And I got a problem and I

# Don't know what to do about it... #

One thing that is obvious is this old house has a few structural

issues that need attention.

# And I know this much is true... #

There's a garden, outbuildings, and a courtyard out back.

But some of this could be shared,

so my advice would be to give that legal pack some decent scrutiny.

So, a few issues to clarify out there,

or get your solicitor to clarify it, for sure.

But it brings you into the rear of the property and lots more space.

A sort of like utility area here

and then down into a sort of food storage area, I would guess.

I would be interested to know how thick and how supporting these walls

are because clearly in an ideal world, you would remove these

to create one really nice big space. My guess is that this was the area

where the servants in the house would have lived.

And prepared the food and whatever...

You almost expect to see one of those bell things on the wall.

Ding, ding, ding. Tea required in the study kind of thing.

Large fireplace.

Now, I would love to know what's behind there, but to my mind,

that is an asbestos panel. I'm not too keen to take that off.

But let's just assume there's a really nice thing in there.

And it just adds to the overall

thing that this house is just amazing.

# I think it's amazing

# I think it's amazing... #

We invited the auctioneer who sold it to come along and tell us about

the house, guided at 50-80,000.

It's an auction classic, in the sense that it needs everything

doing to it, from top to bottom, it needs refurbishment.

But of course it is a Grade II listed building,

so whoever does the refurbishment needs to hold hands with the

conservation officer.

You can't come in and bulldoze it down and start rearranging and

configuring walls, changing staircases, etc,

you have to be absolutely very careful that what you do is in

keeping with the aesthetics of the property and the era.

Now, as I mentioned earlier,

there are costs involved in running large houses like this.

It's a real pity but it means they often get divided off and the room

sizes here do offer the possibility of an HMO -

six rooms for rent, which could be lucrative -

with the auctioneer suggesting a total of £1,400 per calendar month.

But what would he recommend?

Personally, I think the best option for the buyer, the most viable

option, would be to go along and lovingly restore this to a family

period home and then put it on the open market for resale.

I would expect to put this on the market somewhere in the region of

£170,000.

It's not going to be a simple renovation, it's listed, it's...

You've seen it.

However, it just needs somebody who loves it to take it on and turn it

back into what it once was. I guess it's all down to whoever decided

to buy it and there's only one way to find out who that was -

by going to the auction.

It's a six-bed period property.

Won't muck around. 40. At 40. Who will give me? 40 And we're away.

At 40 and we're away. At 40.

And 2. And 4.

And 6.

52, he goes. 52. So, 4?

The bidding continued both in the room and with the telephone bidder.

The first telephone bidder may have dropped out, but another joined in,

so let's go back to the bidding at 101,000.

On my right on the telephone, at 101,000.

And a half. Sorry.

102.

And a half, you are in. And 1, he goes. 103. At 103.

At 103,000.

At 103 and a half?

103, we're in.

At the first time... 103, for the second time.

At 103,000.

Selling, all and done at 103,000, on the phone.

Sold.

Well, the telephone bidder who made a final successful bid of 103,000

was Greg.

He runs a property letting company in Torquay.

I met him back at the property to find out the plans.

-Greg, great to meet you.

-And you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy it.

Well, the main draw was the room sizes.

-All of them were in excess of ten by ten.

-Yeah.

-So, there's a lot

I can do with this property.

I run a property letting company and I run a lot of HMOs,

-house of multiple occupation.

-Right.

So, there could be, potentially, sort of six letting rooms here.

Subject to acquiring local authority consents.

Failing that, it could be split very easily into two houses.

-Right.

-Or it could be turned into maybe a number of flats.

None of the things you mentioned are restoring it back to its former

glory and having it as a single house, are they?

No. That's going to be plan D, if none of the above...

OK. Let's start with plan A.

HMO... For, not students, professional lets?

-Sort of thing?

-Well, these days,

there's quite a large demand for single people under the age of 35.

For, like, a room only in a shared accommodation.

-Right.

-So that could be a way forward.

Well, it could be, but only if the relevant authorities agree.

If not, Greg's plan B would be to divide the property into two houses

and either sell them or rent them out.

Plan C would be to turn the place into four flats.

Again, all the plans depend on getting the right consent from the

planners and the listed buildings department.

How do you think the listings people are going to view it? Flats?

-HMOs?

-Yeah, I know.

But we can only try.

No matter which consent he gets, Greg plans to have the project

finished within six months from that point.

And he's set a budget of around £45,000

for each of his four options.

He does have plenty of property developing experience,

but can he handle this project?

I haven't been involved in a Grade II listed before,

so it's going to be a bit of a learning curve. I understand that

they've only got a listing for the front of the building at the moment.

Whether they come in and list everything else, I don't know.

There are some lovely features which are hidden behind years of paintwork

-and stuff. What are you going to do with those?

-It really depends. If we

are going to go down the HMO route, then just sort of preserve them

but not sort of bring the full beauty out.

But if we are going to go for the former glory of a home, then

definitely sort of bring out all the features as much as possible.

Right. And in the kitchen, there is

a tantalising bit of plywood in front of what I hope

would be a range or some kind of amazing cooking thing.

We've yet to use a screwdriver to remove the panelling to see

-what's behind there.

-How can you control yourself?

You own the house now. I'd be there with an electric screwdriver,

taking it off, the moment I'd got it.

As soon as you guys have gone.

-OK. Maybe do it before we go so we can see.

-Possibly, OK.

# Please, please, tell me now... #

OK, I'll just have to wait.

Taking the asbestos panel off needs to be done safely.

-And then what's next for you?

-Again, another project. Yeah.

-Listen, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Good luck with it and we look

-forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

Well, there are those who would have hoped this house would find somebody

who would take it on and restore it to its former glory,

as a single property. But these are tough times in the world of property

and Greg is taking a very business-like approach.

Will it be an HMO, will it be a flat or two?

Will it be two properties? It all comes down to planning and the fact

it's listed, I think he could have a few hurdles to cross before we find

out what happens to this beautiful old house.

You can find out later in the show.

Coming up, I'm in the Welsh coastal town of Barry to see

a terraced house. I'm only just in the door and it's got me hooked.

I've just found some hooks. Perfect.

And find out if Greg has completed the work in his Grade II

listed terrace, or will he leave us hanging?

It hasn't had my full attention.

Back now to the county town of Guildford in Surrey,

where I visited this three-bed semi with a guide price of £230,000 plus.

It was clear that someone had made a start on the work and it was a case

of looking worse before it got better. A stud partition had been

put up to divide a large room into smaller rooms

and there was evidence of a kitchen in the centre of the house.

But it was the rear reception room

that led me to my diagnosis of this property.

Everything needs done.

There's air coming in, don't know what this new wall is covering up.

But there are bolts holding it to this wall and I do wonder if there's

been some structural issue.

This property really throws up a lot more questions than it does answers.

Luckily, there was someone who could answer a few of those questions.

The person responsible on the start of the work was purchaser Stuart,

a former city trader in Asia and now an enthusiastic developer.

He bought the house for £290,000

and he was approaching the project like he would any other investment.

You know, I got in my car,

I must have gone to 20-25 cities in the UK and I really got under

the bonnet of the fundamentals of the property market in those places.

I went to see councils,

lots of agents, hospitals, you know...

I looked at the demographics, absolutely everything.

So you really did your homework.

In a way, you applied what you did as a trader to your new venture?

Absolutely. I mean, I think to be successful in anything,

research has to be meticulous. You have to give yourself the most

favourable odds to succeed as is possible.

Stuart seemed to have developed a recipe for success

and had a fine-tuned budget of 30 grand and timescale of six weeks.

But did his winning formula work a treat or come crashing down?

Eight weeks later, we're back.

There have definitely been some improvements out here

but what about inside?

The old entrance is now a welcoming hallway and utility space

and the shabby outbuilding is now a handy downstairs shower room.

Stuart decided that this was not just going to be

another open-plan home.

He wanted to create a home where a family could have kiddie space

and kid-free space when needed. The kitchen is now stylish and bright.

Leading off is the grown-up relaxing area Stuart promised.

At the front of the house is also a kids' playroom and a double bedroom

which makes bedroom number one.

So, what will we find upstairs? Let's see.

Bedroom two,

bedroom three, and what is now bedroom four, and it's damp free.

I wonder how Stuart dealt with that?

I think there was a problem with the guttering. I'm not the most erudite

when it comes to talking about building problems. But the builder

that works for me pretty much full time, who is an absolute genius,

I might add, he resolved the damp issue down there.

There were other problems.

I think in this reception room there was subsidence where we had to

underpin the floor. Everything was wrong with this house.

It needed to be rewired, replumbed, re-everything.

Stuart's genius builder and equally brilliant team have even managed to

squeeze a second shower room upstairs.

With all these bright sparks on board,

it doesn't sound like Stuart had to get too stuck in.

I wasn't hands-on at all. In fact, I couldn't have been more hands-off.

I would come down every now and again and, you know,

bring pizzas to the lads working on-site. That was about it.

No shame in leaving it to the professionals and even with that

pizza bill, he still came in right on budget at 30 grand.

So, now that it's all done and dusted,

what is Stuart going to do with the property?

I'm going to sell it.

I would like to sell it to a family because it's a nice family house.

A family with three kids, let's say, could very happily live here.

However, you know, if an investor does want to come in and buy it

then obviously I'd be very happy to sell to them as well.

Right on schedule, here's a local estate agent

to help with that quandary.

First, let's see what he thought of the renovation,

which has cost Stuart a total investment of £320,000.

I think the finish is very good.

It's very contemporary. It's a blank canvas. So whatever furniture

or styles or colours the eventual people that move in want, they can

add their own stamp, their own personality to the house.

But the quality seems very good,

so all the basics have been done to a very good standard.

What does he think of Stuart's choice to buck the trend and keep

the layout as individual rooms?

I think the owner's decision to not make it into an open-plan house is

a good one. The location of this house is so close to the university,

the hospital, and a large research park,

and there is a huge number of sharing

rental applicants at the moment, who would relish getting hold of

a house like this with so many bedrooms.

So I think the layout is perfect for a rental investor.

So, Stuart has given himself a very wide market indeed -

a family home or a rental vehicle for an investor. So, what kind of

valuation figures could either of these options achieve?

I think if the owner wanted to sell to a family, we'd describe it as a

three-bedroom house with a potential fourth bedroom,

using one of the rooms downstairs. In the current market,

the value would be somewhere in the region of £400,000 to £425,000.

If we were to market this property to investment buyers, I think it

would actually be more valuable because of the layout and the

phenomenal demand for rental accommodation in this area.

We would market the property with a guide price of between £450,000

and £475,000.

It's about as I would have expected.

The rental demand in this area is so strong that there will always be a

demand for these properties from investors because the rental returns

are so high. So I'm not surprised by that at all.

Well, he's a meticulous researcher and it seems to have paid off,

with a top potential profit of £155,000, minus taxes and fees.

He really has nailed that recipe for success.

When you find something that works, why not keep going with it?

It's not going to be a full-time occupation for me because actually

I'm moving back to Asia in about four weeks.

But I will definitely keep investing in this area, absolutely.

Barry is South Wales' largest town.

While it might be best known these days for its fictional residents,

Gavin and Stacey, the main draw to Barry for almost 150 years has been

its beach-side amusements.

With Cardiff just 30 minutes' drive away, there is a mixture of locals

and commuters seeking property in this area.

Even though we are a good ten minute drive away from the hustle

and bustle of Barry town centre and all the fun of the fair,

the hustle and bustle continues on this very busy main road,

where we find our property.

This is a three bed terraced house with a guide price of £65,000 plus.

It's going to need double glazing.

So noisy on the outside but is it sound on the inside?

Right.

I'll get to that floor in a second. Let's close this door.

Right. Somebody has definitely tampered with that door.

It's really difficult to close. And there's pizza boxes on the floor.

That tells me somebody may have been in here or tried to come in here.

Look at this floor as well. As soon as you come in through the door,

first step, that is all over the place.

Not the prettiest sight.

That will have to get sorted out. I've just found some hooks.

Perfect. Right. Where do we start?

You've got stairs going up to your bedrooms and into the first

two reception rooms in this property, which is now one big room.

And a nice-size room it is. But as soon as you come into this place,

it feels like it's not had very much love over the last few years.

You've got a gas fire there. There's no flooring in here.

There's no flooring in the second reception room as well.

And these wood panels...

Look - everywhere. And these panels have got to go.

But they don't sound too bad.

HE TAPS RHYTHMICALLY

Sorry. I'll have a look at the rest of the property.

Down the hallway, under the stairs there is a bit of storage there.

And then through into the kitchen and, yes,

there's a little bit more wood panelling as well.

And that very old boiler.

That would need to be ripped out, put a brand-new one in there.

I'm thinking, if you were to take all of this out,

you would have a decent-size kitchen here.

Nice brand-new, bright kitchen as well.

And just for the record,

these are not real.

It's not a cottage.

Get rid of them, they don't work.

And round the corner, let's have a look around the corner,

see what we've got. In here, OK, right at the back of the property,

you've got the family bathroom and, yes, you've guessed it,

more wood panelling.

Get rid of it, start again, freshen it up, brighten it up.

But there is one thing I'd keep - it's that chocolate bidet.

Only joking.

# They gotta take it all away

# They gotta take it all away... #

Like a lot of this house, it needs to be taken away and fast.

Let's hope upstairs delivers something a bit more my taste.

OK, upstairs to the three bedrooms...

Starting off with this one at the back of the property.

There is a bit of damp around the window itself and what looks like a

bit of mould underneath the window, but not too bad.

Good size to start off with.

Up a couple of stairs to the landing, a bit of storage here.

Which has seen better days. Good idea, but seen better days.

Bedroom number two, again, it's in a bit of a mess.

Some of the plaster work needs to be sorted, too.

And then into an even bigger first bedroom,

which leads me to believe you could actually get a family bathroom up

here, maybe put it in the first bedroom I showed you,

maybe split it in two, have one side

as a single bedroom and the other side as a family bathroom.

I'm happy with upstairs.

There is less work up here than there is down there.

Not that these rooms couldn't do with some attention.

But when I mean more work down there,

it isn't just inside the house I was thinking about.

So, I'm out the back in the back garden.

As you can see, it's overgrown.

I normally come out the back and think to myself,

can you increase the inside space by having an extension?

It's not the largest back garden and I wouldn't really want to make it

any smaller. Plus I'm not sure it's going to help with the price of the

house because there is a ceiling price in this area,

so I don't think you'd gain from it anyway.

The back garden itself, clear it up, get some slabs down,

but some grass down, whatever you want,

it's outside space and it's always a bit of a bonus.

And it's practical, too.

With no space out front, you are going to need this area to move all

the stuff that needs to be ripped out. But with all the work that is

needed, will there be enough left in the house to make a hot property?

So, what does a local estate agent think?

What can she tell us about the area?

Where we are situated, it's 19th-century period properties,

mostly tenanted with a mix of homeowners.

The property needs complete renovation -

new kitchen, new bathroom, new central heating system,

probably the wiring...

Most people, you have a downstairs bathroom,

you probably would put it to the first floor.

I know then you would lose a bedroom but it would be more saleable.

People looking for a home to live in would possibly appreciate the

bathroom being upstairs.

But while saleability can mean a quick sale for the investor,

the numbers have to stack up.

So bear in mind that 65 grand-plus guide price.

Interestingly, the agent thinks the resale value would be pretty much

the same, whether you move the bathroom or not.

You'd be looking in the region of £120,000.

What would the rentals be?

If it was a two-bedroom, by taking the bathroom to the first floor,

you'd be looking in the region of £550 per calendar month.

If you left it as it is and kept it the three bedrooms,

it would be £600 per calendar month.

Normally, you don't have to tick every box when it comes to doing

a refurb, but with this one I think you do.

There's an awful lot of work that needs to be done here.

This is a job for somebody who doesn't mind getting stuck in

and getting their hands dirty.

But please get rid of that wood panelling.

Let's find out who wasn't work-shy when it went under the hammer.

OK, we've got a three-bedroom mid-terraced house,

needs a refurbishment throughout.

Looking to open the bidding at 65,000.

Do I have 65,000? 65, thank you.

65. Looking for 66.

Do I see 66?

Thank you. 67? 67. 68?

68, thank you. 69,000? 69.

70 now I'm looking for. Looking for 70. 70 is bid there.

Looking for... We've got 70,000. 71?

71 at all?

There's nobody else here for it. Going to sell at 70,000.

Sold to you, sir, 70,000.

So, the hammer fell at 70 grand

and the person there at the back was local man Chris.

# I'm right behind you... #

He bought the Barry house as a joint project with his brother Scott.

# I'll be beside you

# On that dusty road... #

I met them both back at their new project to find out their plans.

-Scott, nice to meet you.

-Dion.

-Chris.

-Nice to meet you, all right?

Nice to meet you too, chaps. Congratulations. Are you happy?

-Really happy, yeah.

-What was it about this place that you liked?

Well... I can't lie to you,

-we didn't see it before the auction, so...

-So bought blind a little bit.

That's not a great start. You didn't view the property.

-No.

-No. Went in blind.

-Chaps...

-Well, I've got a couple of properties in Barry.

I know the area. So we thought it was a good buy, didn't we?

-Yeah, yeah.

-So when you are not in the auction house,

not looking for properties, what do you do? What's your day jobs?

-We've got a building company.

-Ah.

-So...

Yeah, it lends itself to this sort of work.

I'm in the Fire Service as well.

So obviously on my days off, I do it with Scott, the building side.

Despite not seeing the house beforehand,

Scott and Chris clearly aren't fazed.

And why should they be? They are experienced builders.

They're hoping in two or three months and with a ten grand budget

they'll have this place up for sale in no time.

Let's get to the nitty-gritty of it. Ten grand you've got to spend.

What are you going to do with this place?

I think a lot of it is going to be a complete rip out, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-And, yeah...

Just taking it back to a shell and putting it back together, basically.

New bathroom, new kitchen.

-Replaster.

-Plumbing throughout.

What about this beautiful finish?

I think that's going to have to go, I think.

We were thinking about putting a log burner in, weren't we?

-Yeah.

-Talking about it. Some sort of feature.

-Exactly.

-And that's modern living, isn't it?

-And we can burn the wood as well.

-There's a lot of it, let me tell you. Isn't there?

-Yeah.

There's a bit of damp about, isn't there?

Yeah, yeah. We'll have a look at that. In the corner there.

But it's all stuff that we've come across before.

We feel fairly confident that we can deal with it.

-No probs.

-Yeah.

-What about the back of the building where you've got

your kitchen and bathroom downstairs?

-Yeah.

-Is that staying where it is?

Potentially, we might move it up to the back bedroom.

There's three bedrooms upstairs at the moment.

So we might turn the back bedroom...

Either split it down the middle so you have a bathroom on one side and

then a small, like, a nursery room.

A kid's room.

And out the back?

Just clear it up and see what we are dealing with.

-I don't know. Possibly pave it. I don't know.

-I think so, yeah.

So, the brothers have worked on properties within the Glamorgan and

Cardiff areas. Most of them have been sold on but Chris has chosen

to rent a couple in the past.

So, is the aim to build a portfolio?

I think that's the long-term plan.

Long-term, I would say for now it's just turning them over, isn't it?

-Yeah, for now.

-A quick turnaround. Sell them. And then obviously...

When we get the cash in place...

Just build up a portfolio then, hopefully.

-OK. Good luck.

-Cheers.

-Good luck.

-Cheers.

Even though the boys didn't view this property before the auction,

I'm pretty sure they will be fine. They are experienced builders,

so I'm confident they'll turn this place around no problem at all.

But there's an awful lot that needs to be done -

windows, doors, floors, electrics, plumbing, the whole lot.

But the big question for me is, when we come back,

will we see a bathroom upstairs or will it still be downstairs?

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

Well, we are one property down but we've still got two to go.

Yes, did they keep a cool head or did things get a little bit heated

-along the way?

-Let's find out.

Back now to Torquay on Devon's beautiful coastline,

where I revelled in a fantastic property with lots of potential.

Grade II listed, six bedrooms,

character period house.

I already love it.

I may have been in love but it was clear that the property had lots of

remedial work to be done.

We have a house here which has not been

messed about with, so that means there's loads of original features

just waiting for me to discover them. It's fair to say that some of

the hidden features were more appealing than others.

There were additional staircases,

probably remnants from the days of staff below stairs.

Lovely fireplaces, lovely features,

and then round again to the top of the stairs. You need a good

architect to draw you some plans to figure out quite what

you do here because it's not obvious.

The man with the plan... Well, several plans, actually, was Greg,

a full-time property developer who paid 103,000 for the privileged

position of becoming the owner.

There could be potentially sort of six letting rooms here.

Failing that, it could be split very easily into two houses.

-Right.

-Or it could be turned into maybe a number of flats.

None of the things you mentioned are restoring it back to its former

glory and having it as a single house, are they?

No, that's going to be plan D.

We are back four years, five months and 18 days later

to see the changes and I for one can't wait

to see which plan worked out.

Whichever it was, I think it will be a revelation on an epic scale.

What? This isn't a revelation.

It's more of a retrograde step.

Are you sure the crew got the right address?

Yep, looks like it.

And they caught up with Greg for an explanation.

The project itself was always going to be a back burner project

for myself. I've got other properties and projects that I've

been working on. So it hasn't had my full attention.

And the building has been sort of stood still for maybe a year or two

before we actually started work.

Planning permission was troublesome and Greg dropped his initial idea of

a house of multiple occupancy for a more favourable two dwelling option.

A two-bed cottage to the rear and a three-bedroom to the front,

but all work had to be sympathetic to the Grade II listing.

We have to retain all the wooden windows

and repair as much as possible.

The ceilings are all lath and plaster.

And we have to repair and keep them in situ.

We can't put plasterboard up.

And the rules apply to the outside fabric, too.

It's lime render all the way around.

And we can only replace that with like-for-like materials.

But plans then had to be amended due to the structural sinking of the

front wall.

Where we are at today is that we are working on the rear

section of the building to create a two-bedroom dwelling.

We are working on that, full steam ahead.

The front section is on standstill,

while we are obtaining a variation on the planning permission.

This is the second time an amendment to planning to increase the scope of

the works has had to be applied for,

all contributing to much delay on the original six months timescale.

Start to finish, it's going to at least be double that time,

with taking the breaks in between

and condensing that work period, yes.

One year, at least.

But with two builders and two labourers working on the rear

two-bedroom cottage, how long will that phase now take?

We are looking at around about ten weeks to try and get everything sort

of, like, wrapped up.

Whether it's going to be ready for letting at that point, I don't know.

Maybe a week or two more. Maybe.

Originally, Greg hoped that budget would top out at 45 grand.

I think I've already spent that already.

And I'm going to be at least spending that again, if not more.

We called on two local property experts to give us the benefit of

their local expertise in both

valuations and the potential audience for this property.

It wouldn't make any sense to keep it as a six bed.

There's just not enough demand for something of that size in the

particular area the property is in the moment.

Next up, the auctioneer who saw the property before the work commenced.

There's a back-to-back split so you've got a three-bed cottage to

the front and two-bed cottage to the back. That works perfectly well,

particularly with the three-bedroom cottage.

They've gone right up into the top floor to create an extra

ensuite bedroom, so it ticks a lot of boxes.

And Greg sorted the flying freehold issue by buying his neighbour's

freehold land in the passageway,

so no issues on that score.

It's close to schools and local amenities and facilities.

It will tick a lot of boxes I think for the wide marketplace.

This kind of price bracket is very popular at the moment.

In fact, to be honest, there's not enough for the amount of people that

are out there at present.

More info on that price range in a mo because Greg intends to let the

properties.

Greg's total spent so far is 148,000.

And he thinks it will cost another 45,000 to finish the work,

bringing his total spent to 193,000.

So, taking the agents' top rental valuation

of £625 per calendar month, for the two-bed

and £700 per calendar month for the three-bed,

gives a total yield of just over 9%.

Yeah. Yeah, I would expect that. That's good.

But what about the market valuation option?

Looking at the two-bed at the rear and the resale value on this one

would be somewhere between 180 and £190,000.

The two-bedroom property should fetch somewhere in the region

of £190,000 - £200,000.

Wow! Really? Well, that is surprising.

The three-bedroom house,

if completed to a high specification and high standard,

should fetch somewhere in the region of £239,000.

I think maybe marketing it at 235,000 probably gives the vendor

a bit of scope to manoeuvre on it.

I'm really, really surprised.

Yeah. Wow!

Wow's right. If Greg were to sell for those top values

and keep his budget at 90k,

he could be looking at a potential profit of 246 grand,

minus taxes and fees. Are you still going to rent them out, Greg?

It is...

a very viable option now to sell, yeah.

So I'm going to reconsider.

Something else Greg would reconsider

is buying another Grade II property.

This is going to be the longest project in my career.

And I don't want to repeat that experience.

We are heading back to the Welsh seaside town of Barry...

# Don't hold me up cos I'm going down

# Making my way towards Barry town... #

..where I saw a three-bed terraced house on the main road that needed a

lot of work, starting with some double glazing and it had a wonky

floor with some joists as rotten as my dancing.

First step,

that is all over the place.

The decor was a bit all over the place, too.

If you weren't taken by the ski lodge wooden panelling,

you could perhaps keep the beams in the kitchen.

No? Me neither.

Get rid of them. They don't work. And round the corner...

Let's have a look around the corner, see what we've got.

In here, the family bathroom.

It's downstairs and, yes, you've guessed it, more wood panelling.

# You better knock

# Knock

# On wood... #

That must have been what brothers Chris and Scott did here because

they didn't view the property before spending 70 grand at auction.

Good thing they are builders because they weren't fazed by the amount of

work here and were ready to roll their sleeves up.

What about the back of the building? You've got your bathroom downstairs.

Is that staying where it is?

Potentially, we might move it up to the back bedroom.

-Re-plaster.

-Plumbing throughout.

-What about this beautiful finish?

-I think that's going to have to go.

We were thinking about putting a log burner in, weren't we?

-Yeah. Thinking about it.

-Some sort of feature.

-Exactly.

And that's modern living, isn't it?

And then we can burn the wood as well.

There's a lot of it, let me tell you.

These lads had their work cut out

if they were to complete this job within 2-3 months.

So, let's head back and see how it's turned out five months later.

The new double glazing and freshly painted exterior looks brilliant.

But inside, will anyone using the kitchen have to touch wood again?

# I never had to knock on wood

# But I know someone who has

# Which makes me wonder if I could

# It makes me wonder if I

# Ever had to knock on wood

# And I'm glad I haven't yet

# Because I'm sure it isn't good

# That's the impression that I get... #

Wow! This is much better.

The bathroom at the back has gone

and now double doors lead to a lovely garden. But it does leave

an important question.

Did the lads rise to the challenge and fit a new bathroom upstairs?

# Has it ever come down to do or die?

# You got to rise above the rest... #

They sure did.

By pinching a precious few feet from each bedrooms either side,

they have now managed to fit in a family bathroom

right bang in the middle.

The bath sits in an area from the old front bedroom and the rest of

the space is from the back bedroom. That is very clever.

The rest of the house looks just as smart.

And they've managed to keep some nice period features.

Oh, no, it's that wood panelling again. I'm almost scared to look.

# Might be a coward, I'm afraid of what I might find out

# Never had to knock on wood... #

I'm glad to say the wood has gone.

No, it's not been turned into kindling -

that would have been unsafe.

But I do like the wood burner.

Do check with your local council that the fuel you intend to use is

permitted if you are in a smoke controlled area

or you could end up with a hefty fine.

So the place looks great, but it must have taken a lot of work.

There was a lot of initial labour to go into it.

Once we took the rear chimney breast out in the kitchen and the wall into

the back bathroom, we realised the floors were all over the place.

A lot of damp coming through.

So we had to put a new damp proof membrane right throughout and

re-concrete and basically put a new floor in.

This house was taken back to brick and with help from their mates

in the trade, it has had new plumbing, wiring and plastering.

So, why did it take too much longer than they thought?

-Basically, it was trying to fit it in.

-Yeah.

We are on week 14 of the project and we're near enough there,

what we have finished.

So, yeah, we hit our target.

And we are happy with that.

No wonder. Chris and Scott have done a good job and should be pleased

with the quality and finish they have achieved.

But how has that affected the initial ten grand budget?

Basically, we overspent by between 7,000 and 10,000

but probably end up around 24, 25,

I would imagine, with a few finishing bits to do.

It was just for the unforeseen issues with the floor

out the back there. We had to replace the roof with a rubber roof.

And, yeah,

it was just a couple of unforeseens and we did go a bit higher spec

probably than we should have.

But it's just what we wanted to do, basically.

But will going for a high level of finish means they see a return in

the sale price for this area?

We've asked two local estate agents along to see what they think of the

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

First impressions of this property, it's been done to a very,

very high standard.

When I first entered the property, it was in a derelict state.

Not habitable.

But now it's light and airy and it's an ideal property for somebody

looking for maintenance free.

The kitchen diner being all open-plan has impressed me the most.

Especially the neutral colours chosen

and with a nice outlook to the garden. It was essential for them

to move the bathroom from the ground floor, as modern-day living

really do need a bathroom on the bedrooms' floor.

And I believe they haven't lost too much room in the bedrooms,

so I don't think it'll impact the price, only improve it.

That is good feedback.

But will Chris and Scott's hard work

and 95 grand spend be seen in the sales figures?

If this property was put on the market for sale,

it would achieve between £125,000 and £130,000.

For this three-bedroom property, I would expect to achieve £130,000.

-Really happy with it, isn't it?

-Yeah. Yeah.

It's a nice little profit there and

hopefully put us in a good place for the next one.

So, that's a potential profit of 35 grand, minus any taxes and fees,

so it's all turned out well, then, despite them spending over twice

their original budget and buying blind,

which we would never recommend.

So what do we do before buying at auction, guys?

I would say probably a good idea to view before.

We got lucky but next time I don't think we'll be doing that again.

Three great stories from the auction house and maybe you've been inspired

-to get involved, too.

-Yes, I think I can hear a few cogs turning

-and a few light bulbs pinging out there.

-What, really?

-Yes.

-Join us next time for some more Homes Under The Hammer.

-Bye-bye.