Episode 26 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's 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?

I'm always fascinated to hear the personal stories behind each auction buy.

Yes, it's always nice to find out why they bought them

and what they've got planned for those houses.

Yes, you'll be pleased to know it's time to find out.

Here are the properties we're featuring on today's show.

In Staffordshire, I'm hoping this house could have a happy ending.

I guess it all depends on what buyer chooses this property and what they

decide to do.

Whereas in Birkenhead, is this project a developer's dream?

I can't see anything else that needs to be done...

Yet.

And I was really excited by this one,

but could this Paisley Project turn out to be just a fantasy?

It looks like a magical castle! What more could you want?!

All these properties have been sold at auction.

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

when they went under the hammer.

You bought it, sir, well done.

Just five miles from Newcastle-under-Lyme is the charming Staffordshire

village of Madeley.

The centre of Madeley sits on the banks of an old 18th-century millpond

and the mill building itself remains today.

Although since converted into homes,

it still has a lot of period character.

But will the charm continue with today's property,

which sits just a mile from Madeley village centre?

I'm in Madeley Heath and I'm here to see an end-of-terrace three-bedroom

property. So far it's a promising start because it's along this street,

with a really well-maintained row of houses, almost with a cottagey feel.

Here it is. It had a guide price of £70,000.

Let's see what it's like inside.

Straight into a reception room.

Might not be everyone's cup of tea to come right into it - I don't mind it, myself.

Double glazing, good news.

So far, looking around, can't see any signs of central heating.

Quite small, actually, this room, as a reception room.

But you have the same again and probably a little bit more in another reception room.

Could think about taking down this wall to open things up.

What I do notice is that the flooring's very uneven,

really bumpy.

Now it might just be because it's an old property,

or I happen to know there's a problem with both red and black ash in the area

from the pottery industry.

And this can cause all sorts of problems when it's under your floor.

So you definitely want to get that tested by an expert.

# And, honey, I couldn't see the trouble underneath... #

Hard-core and waste materials from industries like mining,

steel and the potteries were used to strengthen concrete on hundreds of

thousands of properties post-war, until the early '70s.

There's red ash slag and grey fly ash and black ash.

Unfortunately sulphates in the mix combined with dampness can cause the

concrete to fail, so it can be an expensive business to solve.

And unfortunately that doesn't look like the only problem you might have

to sort out.

Ah, this is really small.

It's L-shaped so a bit awkward, but it's so pokey,

people would expect a bigger kitchen.

Look at this. So, that's narrow, you couldn't even get two people in.

No chance of having a conversation.

What are your options?

The thing that's stopping you just knocking down walls is that you have

a staircase right here in the middle.

You could make this your bathroom area and out here some open-plan living with your kitchen.

That would really open things up.

But it does require some careful consideration.

# Am I too small to matter at all

# Oh, where do I fit in? #

Upstairs, one, two, three.

Good news, good-sized bedrooms.

Really good-sized. Often in terrace properties you find that two are

decent sized and then one is pokey, more of a boxroom.

But it feels really well proportioned.

Not so good, clear signs of damp on the walls, wallpaper falling down,

damp patches.

So having three good-sized bedrooms is fantastic news.

Not so good if you have a family who want to buy - well,

they might prefer to have a bathroom upstairs which you don't currently have.

You could make a bathroom, sacrifice one of the bedrooms to have two,

or maybe you could have the best of both worlds and have a bathroom,

move your layout a bit, and just make one of the bedrooms smaller.

I guess it all depends on what buyer chooses this property and what they

decide to do.

# I can't make up my mind

# Someone has to help me I never seem to know what to do

# I just can't decide for myself... #

Good thing we asked an agent from the auction house who sold it

to come along and help us decide what the best layout for this property could be.

If the current layout was kept as it is, with the three bedrooms upstairs,

I don't think it would maximise the potential of the property.

Therefore I would suggest that the bathroom be moved and the kitchen

opened up and actually make it a two-bedroom,

for who it is likely to appeal to within this area.

And if those changes were carried out,

the agent felt a rental figure of £575 per calendar month would be possible.

So, could there be money to be made on the sales market for this property, guided at £70,000?

If the property is refurbished to a good standard,

making it a two-bedroom property with the bathroom moved upstairs,

we would look to place the property for sale somewhere in the region of £125,000.

So potential headaches with this property.

That floor, damp, and the layout.

But fundamentally you've got a really charming house with loads of

potential to work with.

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

Good location. 65 to start it.

65 bid. Thank you.

At 65,000. 67 can I see now?

At 65,000. 67.

69? 69.

We'll go in ones now. Bid's at 69.

70 can I see?

70. 71? 71. 72.

73. 74. 75?

Half, he's saying. 74,500. 75. And a half?

75. Seated right at £75,000.

Another 500 anywhere else?

If not, I'm selling it at £75,000.

You bought it, sir, well done.

The successful bid of £75,000 was made by Ali,

who was at the auction with his dad, Roger.

Ali has bought this house to develop and sell.

Now, is it just me, or are property developers getting younger?!

-# We are young

-Whoa!

-# We are young

-Whoa! #

Ali, congratulations on the house.

Is this your first property?

No, this is actually my fourth investment property.

Do you mind me asking how old you are?

-I'm 20.

-I thought you looked young.

20! Four properties?

That's not bad going. When did you start?

Probably started around 17, got the bug for it, I guess,

as they keep saying, the property bug.

And here I am.

Well, the immediate question is, how, at 17, do you manage to do that?

Yeah, well, it's a bit of an interesting story.

Once I finished my A-levels, instead of going off to university,

I had to have surgery to resurrect previous

surgeries that had gone wrong which were all caused from having a bone

cancer at 12.

So I'd been on crutches for five years,

at which point, finished my A-levels, I thought, I'll get it sorted.

And whilst I was doing that, my parents said, have a go at a house,

it'll keep you busy, you can do as much or as little as you want.

Which suited me down to the ground.

That's an amazing story.

It's quite inspirational that you don't have to go to university,

you're clearly doing very well.

-Did your parents give you a bit of a hand?

-Yeah, definitely.

They've had to have helped me out,

but I'm hoping to stand on my own feet once I've done a few properties.

And run it off my own back and hopefully make a career of it.

And no crutches now?

No. I must say, it feels good.

It's been a year, crutch-free.

And yeah, it feels great, I can get stuck in a bit more now.

And has it given you extra motivation to make a success?

Yeah, definitely.

I feel like I'm quite driven, probably from previous experiences.

So I'd like to say there's not much that's going to hold me back.

Ali is hoping he'll make enough profit from this property to be able to go

forward without his parents' financial and physical help.

I'm just full of admiration for his courage and determination.

Those qualities will stand him in good stead,

because this project is potentially not the easiest.

The more time I spend in here, the more work needs to be done!

It's got obvious problems like the damp.

This floor's particularly wobbly.

But, you learn, don't you?

The last property I did was a bit of a curveball,

but you just take it on to next one and hopefully they'll get smoother and smoother

and I'll know what to look for.

So what kind of curveball were you thrown for your last property?

The last one had ash in the foundations,

which required me to break up the concrete,

dig it all out with two buckets and a shovel.

Probably dug up the best part of five tonnes.

-In a week.

-When you say you, you mean you?

Yeah, just me on my own.

-Really?

-I think my dad came and took the glory of the last bucket,

just to say he helped out! But, no, I did most of it.

Do you think ash might be a problem with this property?

Well, initially the floors are showing signs of what would be ash.

They're raised, I pulled up the carpet,

there's white sulphur marks coming through.

But I'm hoping that it's too old to have had ash.

Fingers crossed.

The floor issue aside, Ali will tackle the downstairs layout.

He's thinking about having the staircase moved and the possibility of moving the bathroom.

There might also be a few walls to be knocked down.

So is he up for that?

I've knocked walls down before that needed supporting.

Can't say I've done it quite on this scale before.

But it's going to need re-plumbing, the electrics need doing,

central heating needs putting in.

All quite costly.

-Yeah.

-Which brings us to your budget.

Yes, my budget I'm hoping will be between 20,000 - 25,000.

-And timescale?

-Four months, I'm hoping.

Four months-ish, hopefully.

Will you be able to commit a lot of your time to that?

I'd like to say being self-employed and treating it as a full-time job,

you work when you want and for as long as you want,

but I've since found out that you end up working weekends and ridiculous

hours just to get it done!

I love the fire you have in your belly.

What do your friends make of it? Is it totally different to the kind of thing they're doing right now?

Yeah, they're all at university, partying.

Tell me you indulge in a few parties, though.

Oh, yeah, definitely. But it's sometimes a bit harder

in the morning when you have to come back to work, to get it done!

Honestly, I can't wait to see what you do with the place, and good luck.

Thank you very much.

Ali's story is moving and inspirational.

This property is not without its problems.

But you can't help but root for someone like him.

A lovely guy. You can find out how he gets on later in the show.

Birkenhead is a town in the Wirral Peninsula of Merseyside and is just two miles across the river

to Liverpool's town centre.

In the 1800s,

many ships carried people and goods over to New York from Liverpool and

Birkenhead can also claim its own famous export across the pond.

The world-famous Central Park can actually trace some of its roots back to

Birkenhead's Park.

One of its creators, American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted,

visited here in 1850.

Inspired by this trip, Central Park was opened seven years later.

Anyway, history lesson over, let's get on with today's property.

# And I don't wanna waste more time

# I'm in a New York state of mind. #

The property I'm here to see is in this block of flats.

It's a ground-floor, two-bed flat with a guide price of £25,000 plus.

Let's get inside.

# Hey, you're just too funky for me

# I've gotta get inside of you... #

OK.

Right. Intercom system, I do like.

Great for security, find out who's at the door.

Alarm system also great for security, but try and get one that works.

I think we need a new one right here!

But, big hallway, which is good.

In here we've got the bathroom.

A nice-sized bathroom, as well.

The tiles look in decent condition.

There's carpet in here, as well, which I'm not a fan of in the bathroom.

Not bad, needs tidying up.

Just to the left there, we've got the second of the bedrooms,

more of a single bedroom, that one.

And then into bedroom number one, the larger of the two bedrooms.

You could quite easily get a double bed in here, no probs.

You've got textured ceilings. Positive note, you've got

central heating and you've got what looks to be

relatively new double glazing.

Apart from a lick of paint and new carpets,

I can't see anything else that needs to be done...

yet.

And here's the main living area at the front of the property.

Your kitchen/living room, so to speak.

Needs a new carpet as you can see down here.

Looks a little bit tatty.

The kitchen itself to me looks in good condition.

Nice retro colour.

But the boiler looks dated.

Get a new one in and stick it on the back wall, as well.

Keep it nice and flush with the kitchen units.

Now, if that's the only problem we've got with this flat...

# I ain't gotta work it out I know I'm onto a winner... #

With the boiler being the only major expense here,

this does seem like great value for anywhere near that guide price of

£25,000 plus.

Another bonus is that long lease of over 100 years.

This place keeps getting better.

Our flat is at the front of this block,

which means it's furthest away from...

..the railway line. Which is just over that fence there.

Let me tell you, that might put some people off, but not me.

I think it's a bonus, because this train line has got direct links

into the centre of Liverpool

and the surrounding areas. Got to be a thumbs up.

# As far as I can see

# You're the one for me

-# No doubt about it

-No doubt about it

# I've got a one-track mind...#

Arriving right on schedule was the agent from the auctioneers that sold the lot.

I think this is a great buy for the guide price of £25,000 plus.

Does she think I'm on the right track, or going off the rails?

I think living beside a railway line has its pros and cons.

Some people, you know, wouldn't want to, with the noise.

I think others, you just get used to that noise once you've been there

for so long, or if they don't have their own transport,

it's convenient for them to get to any local train station.

And what about the local market for two-bed flats such as this one?

Demand for an apartment like this,

I can't see it selling on the open market quickly,

but it would definitely rent.

So what kind of rental income could you get for this flat,

guided at 25 grand plus?

I think once the work's all been done, rental-wise,

you'd be putting it on the market for 450 per calendar month.

Now, I don't think this should be a big problem for anyone to turn around.

Yes, you have got to address that boiler situation,

and I don't think the train track is going to be a major problem.

Let's find out who went full steam ahead when it went under the hammer.

It's a two-bedroom ground-floor flat,

you've got double glazing and central heating.

I have a proxy on this.

That said, let's go.

The guide's 25,000.

Let's see. Anybody in the room for this at £25,000?

I will then start the proxy off at £25,000, then.

So it's with the proxy at 25,000.

26 is you, sir. I can go to 27.

Can you do 28?

-I'm 29...

-The bidding between the proxy and those in the room took the

price up to 38,500.

You're 38½. You've done well! You took me out.

I was doing my best to keep it with the proxy.

Anybody been sitting patiently, waiting till the last moment,

now's the time to jump in.

It's 38.5 for the time being.

For the first time...

there we go. As predicted!

A late entry to the party.

39. By that window there is our current winning bidder.

For the first time

and the second time.

You're back in at 39.5.

Not giving it up lightly. 40.

It's a half already. It's 39.5.

You want to make it 39,750?

I can't sell another lot with 750.

Well, I might have to. Here we go. £39,750.

Your bid, sir. For the first time...

Second time, they're having one last chat over another £250 bid.

No. Third and final time at £39,750.

Right, it's happened twice at the same auction.

Well done, it's yours at 39,750.

The successful bid of 39,750 came from Harry.

He bought this property with his business partner, Joe.

I met them back at the flat to find out more.

Well done, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Why this particular property, then?

I own a letting agency, so I know there's a tenant demand for it.

And to us it just seemed like a no-brainer when we saw it and we saw the numbers. The numbers stacked up.

-A walk in the park for you, this one?

-Yes. Pretty much, yes.

-Is it really?

-Yes.

-So how have you two come together in business, then?

I worked for a letting agency, I've always been in the letting agency, property.

Harry worked within the letting agency that I worked for.

I then went off on my own, self-employed.

Harry and I became really good friends and now business partners,

golfing partners.

And everything else, aren't we?

-I still beat him at golf.

-He still beats me at golf!

He's got a few years on me, though, so we're all right.

-Experience!

-That's it!

A bit of banter on the greens is par for the course.

As long as it doesn't drive a wedge between this pair on this project.

So what're you going to do to this place?

Firstly we're going to strip out all the carpets and the flooring.

Redecorate everywhere.

Check the boiler out by the gas safety engineer.

See, is the boiler working?

So is this a small project for you two, then?

-Yes.

-This is a lower-end, quick-turnaround project.

-All systems go?

-I'll be in here, doing all the work.

So, you're going to be doing all the work?

-Yes.

-OK, and how much is it going to cost to do the work that you've told

me, including - let's say including the boiler, as well?

We think about 2,500 all in.

We have the facility where we have our own builders, obviously.

We have Harry on hand

-who is very hands-on.

-Hands-on Harry!

Hands-on Harry!

So we can keep costs down.

-OK.

-And then I'll just ensure that the other side of things is dealt with -

the lettings, the management, and everything else.

-That'll be down to you?

-That'll be down to me.

-OK. No pressure!

-No pressure!

-No, none at all.

-It won't be any pressure, because it's...

-It's not.

We have interest already - that was one of the reasons we bought it.

We did all of our research prior to buying it,

knowing there was a market for a tenant,

so we'll have somebody ready and waiting to move in probably before we've finished.

How about your timescale?

Maximum, it will be three to four weeks, maximum.

-Really?

-Mmm.

-That is sharp, isn't it?

I know it's not a major refurb for you guys, but...

We could potentially do it quicker.

We have other projects on that we need to probably take a bit more

priority, that have works ongoing on them.

I can't wait to see how this goes. 2½ grand, four weeks?

Five weeks? I'll give you five weeks.

Give us five!

Just in case we come back early!

Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Pleasure.

So this sounds like it's going to be a bit of a doddle for the lads.

Joe's got his eye on the finances and he's going to make sure this place is tenanted ASAP.

While Hands-on Harry has had a look around and found nothing to worry

about. My only concern is that boiler.

If it needs changing, how much is it going to add to their budget?

You can find out all the answers to the questions later in the show.

Coming up, in the Renfrewshire town of Paisley,

there is an iconic building up for sale. But be warned...

Something like this you just know is going to be a complete money pit.

And in Birkenhead, is this refurbishment one of the best?

It's actually better than other jobs he's done for us,

so I was a little bit disappointed he hasn't done the other jobs to that level!

But first, we return to Madeley in Staffordshire and the nearby village of Madeley Heath.

This popular spot was where we first saw an end-terraced three-bedroom.

Apart from keeping perhaps the double glazing,

the house was going to need a complete scheme of works.

Once the downstairs bathroom and kitchen layout was sorted, that is.

Ah, this is really small.

It is L-shaped, so a bit awkward.

But it's so pokey!

People would expect a bigger kitchen.

Look at this! So that's narrow.

You couldn't even get two people in. No chance of having a conversation.

Mind you, there wasn't going to be much time for talking here.

# A little less conversation, a little more action, please

# All this aggravation ain't satisfaction in me... #

Roll up the sleeves, shift that bathroom upstairs, clear the place out,

and open up the kitchen. Those were my thoughts.

You bought it, sir, well done.

It was bought for £75,000 - with some financial input from his dad -

by property developer Ali.

And if you're thinking what I'm thinking -

he's young for a property developer - well, you'd be right.

He's just 20.

But lacking in property experience?

Oh, no. Not this lad.

Is this your first property?

No, this is actually my fourth investment property.

When did you start?

Probably started around 17.

How, at 17, do you manage to do that?

Yeah, well, it's a bit of an interesting story.

Once I finished my A-levels, instead of going off to university,

I had to have surgery to

resurrect previous

surgeries that had gone wrong,

which were all caused from having a bone cancer at 12.

So I'd been on crutches for five years.

At which point, finished my A-levels, I thought, get it sorted.

And whilst I was doing that, my parents just said, have a go at a house,

keep you busy, you can do as much or as little as you want.

Which suited me down to the ground.

Ali is incredibly brave on so many levels.

Not only facing his illness,

but taking on projects that could easily overwhelm much older

and experienced people.

He's already tackled one property when he had to dig up the concrete floor because of red ash.

With this house, he'd given himself a budget of £20,000 - £25,000

and hopes to complete it all in four months,

ready for the resale market.

And now, five months on, we're back.

So, come on, Ali, impress me!

An impressive start.

Pretty smart in the front room.

But it's that downstairs bathroom and kitchen area which were really

muddly and messy.

That's more like it! A kitchen/diner with style.

Nice work, Ali!

He's even found room for a downstairs cloakroom.

The old bathroom space could be used as a bedroom,

but perhaps is best suited as a study.

So what about upstairs?

I really want to see the bathroom now.

Impressive stuff all round.

And this young developer has certainly made it look easy,

despite some unexpected problems.

Yeah, the roof was in dire straits.

All the tiles had to come off,

had to be felted and then the tiles put back on.

And then the floors were dug out because they did have ash.

Oh, no! Not again!

Poor Ali. So not only did he have to dig up the floor,

he had to replace the flooring, insulate it,

and have new hard-core and concrete put in.

And unfortunately, that wasn't the only "not again" moment.

Digging out the floors is quite labour-intensive.

I actually broke my leg

whilst walking down a ramp. It snapped and gave way.

So I was on my own when my leg broke.

I phoned my dad, who was actually in a meeting at the time,

and calmly asked if he could come and pick me up.

Turns out he had to get an ambulance out to help.

You'll not be surprised to hear that Ali was undaunted.

I was on crutches for

probably eight weeks, at which point I had surgery.

And I was walking within a week from after the surgery and back to work within two weeks.

Ali is certainly made from stern stuff!

You know what they say...

-# When the going gets tough

-The tough get going

# When the going gets rough... #

He might have been back at the house in two weeks,

but it was eight weeks before he could really get fully involved again.

He needed to bring in additional help,

and his dad Roger also came to the rescue -

putting in the hours to help the house stay reasonably on track.

And what about the budget?

I was aiming for 20, as you do.

You aim for the lower figure.

And the extra 5,000 was for contingency.

I've probably come in around 23,000.

Wow, that is impressive considering what he had to contend with.

So along with his 75 grand purchase price,

Ali's total outlay will be £98,000.

But has he made all the right moves here?

Are two bedrooms better than three?

Well, let's ask some estate agents to find out.

First, the agent who saw it last time.

Really good first impressions coming back to the property.

As soon as you approach the property you can see it's been updated.

Coming through the door, a really bright, fresh, new bathroom,

new kitchen and very appealing throughout.

In a couple of lines,

I'd probably describe this property as the best of both worlds.

Everything you need from a modern house,

combined with what you'd really like to buy in terms of an older property.

Looking good, Ali, looking good!

Hopefully you get a good price on your 98 grand investment.

I would love to place the property for sale for somewhere in the region of £125,000.

I think, sensibly, a figure in the region of £125,000.

I'm happy at 125.

The higher-quality finish reflects that, I'm happy with it.

So a potential profit of £27,000, minus taxes and fees,

and the agents also thought rental values of £550 per calendar month

should be possible.

Which would give a yield of nearly 7%.

So once more, in the face of adversity,

Ali has shown his resilience and has made this venture a success.

Near-future plan is to maybe go into new builds or land or commercial.

But for now, just renovations.

Just renovations!

Just make sure you look after yourself, Ali, my pal-y.

Please!

# Take good care of yourself... #

Seven miles east of Glasgow,

close to the airport with good motorway links,

is the Renfrewshire town of Paisley.

This historic weaving town is home of course to the Paisley pattern and

many of its old buildings reflect the wealth and prosperity of the town

around the turn of the late 1800s.

In recent years it's undergone considerable regeneration and I found yet

another iconic building that, for me, has echoes of the past.

Now, if you're of a certain age,

then you will be able to complete the following without any problem whatsoever.

Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew...?

Cuthbert, Dibble, Grubb. Of course!

Trumpton and Trumpton fire station.

Maybe that's the reason I've always been fascinated by fire stations,

fire engines, almost wanted to be a fireman.

Well, how about owning your very own fire station?

You know what? That is a possibility, here right in the centre of Paisley.

£50,000 plus was the guide price for that!

Not only is it an old fire station, it looks

like a magical castle! What more could you want?!

This really isn't like any of the fire stations I remember playing with as a boy. But it's amazing.

With turrets and towers, it's straight out of a storybook.

This huge Victorian building was built in 1897,

but in recent times this story has been less of a happy one and it now

finds itself on Scotland's Buildings at Risk list.

Now obviously, its location was picked with primary use in mind,

which is to be a fire station.

Right now, though, in terms of

potential future uses,

it's not really ideal because you are surrounded on all sides by fairly busy roads.

But what a building!

I mean, this huge, great, beautiful design,

local sandstone blocks.

I mean, it really is a classic.

I mean, so much so that it is in fact listed.

And that just throws up a whole host of extra issues to deal with.

Oh, well, if alarm bells weren't ringing before, they should be ringing now!

Well, before you even get to the issues of what the planners

would and wouldn't allow you to do with the building,

you've got to cope with the building itself which is in a right old state.

You could almost call it derelict.

Yeah, all right, let's call it derelict!

So much so that I can't actually go inside.

Not only is it full of pigeon droppings,

structurally, it's a bit dodgy.

So we've got a building which, although on the outside it looks solid,

has all sorts of potential problems.

And something like this

you just know is going to be a complete money pit.

So you have to be very clear about what its potential could be.

And as yet, I'm not. I need to think about that one.

While I had a think, with hard hat on, following safety protocol,

our intrepid cameraman had a look inside the ground-floor space.

Quite frankly, it's pretty much as you'd expect - a right mess.

So how to save this building?

# Rescue me! #

What could you do with this, though?

How about residential, for a start? Convert it into flats.

Well, there's a university nearby, so maybe student lets.

Not ideal with the noisy road, but wow, who wouldn't want to live here?

How about offices? Well, yeah, that might work.

Or mixed-use development, perhaps?

Or how about this? How about some funky restaurant?

Big windows on the front here,

tables and people wanting to be seen eating in the front there.

Or possibly a microbrewery.

The building certainly lends itself to that.

I mean, the fantastic thing is all these are potentially possible!

# Anything is possible, yeah... #

Yes, with the building being in such a prominent position in the town,

the council are keen to get it back in order and to see it used.

So they're open to most ideas.

I met up with the then leader of the Renfrewshire Council to find out more.

So, Mark, an absolutely incredible opportunity here.

What would you like to see happen to the building?

I think it would be really good as some kind of commercial space.

You know, something that we could maybe do to encourage businesses.

There's a lot of, they call them incubators,

and small business units that we can help start the really small

businesses, the micro-businesses, to grow.

That's something certainly from an economic point of view would be really good.

And do you know much about the potential grants that might be

available to help somebody?

They'd be many and varied.

I'm not sure in terms of the amounts.

No. But there would be something there?

Yeah, yeah. From government grants to grants coming from Renfrewshire

Council as well.

Ah, grants might be the key to this.

A developer on their own might feel the amount of work,

red tape and general hassle that comes with such a large problem listed building

doesn't merit the returns.

But with financial help from a range of grants,

suddenly the project could be feasible.

So what does an agent from the auction house that sold it think?

What does he feel the local market needs?

This building is over 7,000 square feet,

so there's plenty of scope for a mixture of properties.

I think one and two-bedroom flats would be the right mixture.

OK, but what kind of returns could flats generate in resale,

and in rental?

So a one-bedroom flat locally will sell between 40 and £50,000.

A two-bedroom flat, traditional, in a nice building, will be 60 to 70.

Rental use in Paisley,

normally a one-bedroom flat you would rent between 350 and £400.

Two-bedroom flats here would rent between 450 and £550.

And there's the rub. Because even if you turned the entire building over

to residential, and got, say, 12 two-bed flats in,

your total return would only be around £800,000.

Yes, I suspect this is a £1 million-plus project.

So this will need some cash from elsewhere to make it worth investing in.

Well, there are so many ifs,

buts and maybes with this particular property.

You know what? Who cares?

Who wouldn't want to own that building?!

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

Original Victorian Paisley fire station,

large landmark building in the heart of Paisley.

Headquarters or perhaps mixed use.

Let's get it started.

40. Need a bid at 40.

Can't sell it, withdraw it if I don't get one.

40 here. At 40 I'm bid now.

41 here.

Just beat you to it, sir, sorry. 42 can I say?

43. 44. 45. 45 I'm bid.

46. 47. 47 I'm bid.

48. 49. 49 I'm bid.

50. Shake of the head.

With you at £49,000.

At £49,000, then.

First time. £49,000 second time.

Third and final time. What a bargain. Well done, sir.

And so just below the guide price for £49,000,

the large derelict former Paisley fire station was bought by local man Ross.

He joined me back at the site with his twin brother, Martin.

He's the one on the right. And there really was only one burning question

I had to start with.

# Why? #

Ross, Martin, great to meet you both.

-How are you doing?

-Tell me why you wanted to buy it.

It was kind of done on a whim.

-On a whim!

-Yes.

-As you do!

-It was at auction, it's a good big building, kind of thing.

So we thought...give it a shot.

I mean, it's a lot of money,

but it's not a massive amount of money to take a punt, though, is it?

No, no, that's it.

At 50 grand,

it's not a lot, it's not a big punt to take, you know?

For the amount of building you're getting for it,

I certainly think it's worth a chance.

I mean, it is a quite extraordinary building.

Yeah. It's one of the nicest buildings in Paisley.

Fingers crossed we can do something good with it.

Tell me about you two, then.

I'm a joiner by trade, you know?

-A joiner?

-Yeah. I run my own business,

I have done for seven years.

Don't get me wrong, I've never done anything this size!

I've done wee projects, kind of thing.

Small flats, kind of thing.

One- and two-bed flats, you know.

So we've always worked together on that, you know.

-What do you do, Ross?

-I'm a mechanic by trade.

Totally different, obviously, not in the building trade.

But I do kind of shift work, so that allows me to, in my spare time,

help out with Martin and do maybe the odd flat,

like smaller-time development stuff, kind of thing.

But nothing, as Martin says, on the scale of this kind of thing.

So let's come on to talking about it.

What on earth are you going to do with it?

There's been a lot of work done by the architect who's worked on it

previously. He sat down with

a potential commercial client to take it on a 30-year leas.

-As what?

-As offices.

-Offices?

-Yes, office accommodation.

And they would be interested in taking the whole lot of it.

But running alongside that would be a residential project.

-At the same time.

-At the same time. Cos we don't obviously want to rule out...

Cos it could also go into ten flats, as well.

Right. What about the budget, then?

-I mean...

-In terms of budget, it's all down to grant money, I think.

I'm told there is quite a substantial grant available,

to enable the project to move forward.

Because this thing will just gobble up money, won't it?

-Yeah.

-Figures going about round about the 1.2 million kind of thing.

1.2 million? So in terms of timescales?

Well, the architect's looking to get it to the planning stage

within three or four months.

-Right.

-And from there on we hope maybe a year after that.

A year? So to get it...?

To get all the work done, you know.

And what do you potentially hope to gain out of it?

If we get a commercial tenant in, kind of thing, with a 30-year lease,

it will obviously go towards pension, essentially, or sell it on,

depending how the figures stack up.

It's all very ifs, buts and maybes.

It's very early.

A very early stage, aye.

You could come back in so many months' time and it could be flats,

you could come back in so many months' time,

it could be office accommodation.

Who knows? Well, it's all very exciting.

Yes. It is exciting! It is exciting, you know.

Well, listen, congratulations!

-Thank you very much.

-Good luck.

-Thank you!

-I think we might need it!

-And we really look forward to seeing how you get on.

-No bother.

So identical twins Ross and Martin buying this place on a bit of a whim

and a punt.

Still, if it comes together,

this could be a really interesting project, couldn't it?

Can't wait to see what happens.

You can find out later in the show.

Well, when it comes to any property journey,

there comes a point where you have to make some decisions.

Which way is the renovation going to go?

Do you go for the high-spec option and risk overspending,

or no frills and hope for more profit?

Yes, indeed. We've found out how one project got on,

but what about the other two? Let's find out.

Just across the Mersey from the city of Liverpool is the town of

Birkenhead.

It was here on the ground floor of this purpose-built apartment block

that we first saw a two-bed flat.

I thought this place was pretty together.

You've got central heating and you've got what looks to be relatively new double glazing.

Apart from a lick of paint and new carpets,

can't see anything else that needs to be done...

yet.

Well, further exploration did reveal that the bathroom could do with

a bit of an update and the kitchen needed a spruce up.

After a quick refurb and a bit of elbow grease, it would be job done.

And although the flat was close to the railway line,

I didn't think it would greatly derail its prospects as an investment project.

It was snapped up at auction for 39,750 by property developing duo

Harry and Joe.

With Harry being a property maintenance and building contractor

and Joe a letting agent, they both brought different skills to the table.

We have Harry on hand

-who is very hands-on.

-Yes. Hands-on Harry!

-Hands-on Harry!

-Hands-on Harry!

So we can keep costs down.

-OK.

-And then I'll just ensure that the other side of things is dealt with -

the lettings, the management and everything else.

Just to ensure everything goes smoothly. That will be down to me.

And Hands-on Harry had a budget of 2½ grand at his disposal.

And with a tenant already lined up by Joe,

he was hoping Harry could get the flat ready within that four-to-five-week timescale.

So Harry was going to really need to crack on.

Just over five weeks later,

we are indeed back to check on Harry's handiwork.

New laminate flooring and decoration, that is just the ticket.

With the kitchen, we stripped out the kitchen worktops.

Painted the kitchen units and then put a glaze over them to protect them.

I didn't actually mind those green cabinets,

but the white finish does look fresher and crisper.

It turned out the boiler had a few more years in it yet.

That's a result.

And the two bedrooms are looking mighty fine.

What about the bathroom?

Re-tiled the bathroom, shower area.

Put a new bath panel in.

And I'm glad to see the carpet has gone and has been replaced with

a much more practical vinyl flooring.

You have to say, these changes are spot-on.

But does Joe think Harry's work is up to his normal standard?

It's actually better than other jobs he's done for us,

so I was a little bit disappointed he hasn't done the other jobs to that level!

No, it's great. We knew it was going to be... You know,

we agreed on the work that was going to be done,

we agreed the price of the work that was going to be done.

So from my point of view, I'm happy, Harry's happy,

and we're ready to move on.

Harry does bring in other tradesmen to help with some of the work.

But while he's still Hands-on Harry, it's very much stay away, Joe!

I work best behind a desk, so I'll leave...

I'll leave all the building work to Harry and I'll concentrate on finding

the next property. So that's where I'll operate.

Yeah, yeah, Joe, you just sit down and tap away at the computer.

Leave all the hard work to Harry!

In fairness to him, he's already got a tenant lined up.

So the flat can start generating income to cover some of their outlay.

We spent in total 1,360, so...

Plus my own labour, which I never added on!

And the late nights. But, no, it was... We was under budget.

The original budget was 2.5 grand, so they came in almost 50% under.

With their £39,750 purchase price,

they have spent in total a shade over 41 grand.

Seems like pretty good value to me.

But what do two local estate agents make of Harry's handiwork?

Yeah, it looks very clean finish, clean lines, modern feel.

Good-quality carpets, good-quality laminate flooring.

The kitchen looks modern and clean.

And it's ready to go.

The selling point of the property is certainly the condition.

The internal condition, it's very good.

Also the location, transport links and local amenities.

I really like the open-plan living/kitchen area.

I love the fact that it's got parking, gardens.

The two bedrooms are of a good size.

It's got a nice feel to it when you come in to the property.

With a tenant already lined up, this isn't currently a resale project,

but I'm still intrigued to know whether Joe and Harry's 41 grand

investment is a solid one.

I think this property is worth, on the resale market, £50,000.

If we were to sell the property I'd market it at £50,000.

And would advise offers of £45,000 being accepted.

It's probably about right for the market, isn't it?

It's nice to know there's a little bit of equity in it,

based on what we bought it for and what we spent.

But regardless, we're going to be renting it out.

So currently there could be a small pre-tax profit of between four and

nine grand on the resale market.

But this is a longer-term project aimed at the rental market.

I believe this apartment will fetch between £425 to £450

per calendar month.

I believe the flat could achieve £375 to £425 per calendar month.

We're at the higher end of that figure,

we did all of our research before we bought the property.

We knew we'd be able to get 450 to the level

we were going to do it to.

And we've managed to get 450,

so we're fairly happy with that based on what we've spent.

That £450 per calendar month equals a very healthy rental yield of over

13%. That is very good.

And with other properties already lined up,

I'm guessing the Harry and Joe property machine will roll on.

-Definitely.

-Definitely.

You know, we've known each other for years.

The relationship works well.

And, yeah, I think the simpler we can make it, the better.

And we seem to be doing a pretty good job so far.

12 miles west of Glasgow is the town of Paisley,

and this is a place that boasts a number of fine buildings such as

Paisley Abbey and the Townhall.

And near to the centre of the town was yet another example of Victorian

splendour.

£50,000 plus was the guide price for that.

Not only is it an old fire station, it looks like a magical castle!

What more could you want?!

But this former fire station was in need of rescue itself.

We've got a building which, although on the outside it looks solid,

has all sorts of potential problems.

And something like this

you just know is going to be a complete money pit.

So you have to be very clear about what its potential could be.

Listed on the Buildings at Risk list, derelict,

this iconic building would be some project.

But undeterred by all its problems,

the old fire station was bought at auction by local twins Martin -

on the right - and Ross for just £49,000.

Brave lads!

# Take on me

# Take me on... #

Tell me why you wanted to buy it.

-Just kind of done it on a whim.

-On a whim?

-Yes.

-As you do.

Yeah. It was at auction and it's a good big building so we thought,

-give it a shot.

-So the lads bought it knowing it was a bit of a gamble.

Martin is a joiner by trade and Ross is a mechanic but has helped Martin

on building projects before, but nothing on this scale.

There were at least architect plans for the twins' whim and they outlined

the possibility of either making the building for sole commercial use

or a mixture of commercial and residential apartments.

Importantly for Ross and Martin,

they hoped there was going to be grants available for what they suspected

would be a million-pound-plus project.

Now over three years on, we're back.

# You got me wrapped up Uh-oh

# You got me so wrapped up Uh-oh... #

So the building is under wraps but what's beneath that cover?

Oh, like that Christmas present that seems so exciting sitting under the

tree, the content turned out to be a little disappointing.

Not the toy racing car you wanted - just a pair of old socks.

So what's been going on?

We've secured planning for office space along with listed building consent,

which has enabled us to put the scaffold around the building,

obtain costs for windows, start stone cleaning

and scaffold will also facilitate

any roof repairs that we're going to be doing.

Ah, so after a fair amount of wrangling,

they've managed to at last get their project underway.

They're now endeavouring to make the building watertight and much more

presentable, but then what?

I think the ground floor definitely will be commercial and the upper two

floors will be residential.

That is what there is a demand for.

Predominantly we'll focus on finding a tenant for the ground floor

and then we'll then develop the top two floors.

Ross and Martin were hoping to get some additional funds for the

renovation work through grants,

but currently they haven't been successful in getting any additional

monies, so the idea would be that, having secured a commercial client

on the ground floor, they can potentially raise money to tackle the upper two floors

and create eight one-to-two-bed flats.

So how did they feel about having to go it alone?

We just need to go on with it.

It's our building at the end of the day so we're responsible for putting it right.

We've bought it now so we're committed and getting it fixed.

Fair play to the lads. Despite the difficulties,

they've ploughed on and they're determined to restore this building back to its former glory.

And this isn't all talk.

They're putting their money where their mouth is.

# I will try to fix you. #

Budget, we didn't really know. What we have done is committed 250,000,

which I think is quite conservative,

but I think it would do what it has to do kind of thing.

I think where the serious money is going to be spent is the internal fit-out,

hence the reason why we've got to make sure we get it right.

If they can secure a commercial client on the ground floor,

they hope they can complete the flats and finish the whole project

in a year's time. And they're in no doubt the total cost will be in excess of a million pounds.

So can a mix of commercial and residential space work?

What does a local estate agent think?

I think because of the position of the site, there's commercial options

such as potentially coffee shops or offices.

There's a lack of supply as far as residential property goes.

If there are some well-regenerated historic buildings,

there is an appetite for those,

mainly within the young professional market, but the developer would

probably have to make sure they were putting in a high specification of

finish so as to attract that audience to this part of Paisley.

Ross and Martin are hoping for eight mainly two-bed flats on the upper floors.

So what kind of values might those achieve on the resale market?

If the builder was to put in one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments,

you could look at a value for one bedrooms of being between 80 to 90,000.

Two bedrooms being somewhere in the region of 100 to 115,000 depending

-on the specifications.

-Those resale values equate to an average price of

£100,000 per flat, so eight flats could bring you £800,000.

How do they feel about that?

It's kind of what we were expecting, to be honest. You know,

flats in similar buildings in Paisley have sold for that kind of money,

so we'd be happy with that.

And, of course, there's the commercial space, as well.

But given that no tenants have been identified for the commercial spaces

yet, it would be impossible to predict what the rental or sale value would be the moment.

So three years on,

how do they feel about their whimsical purchase now?

I'm happy we've got it.

I think it's a good building and once it's done, it'll be great.

Don't get me wrong, a lot of heartache along the way but I think you

expect that with old buildings and stuff like that.

No regrets. We're doing OK with it.

Good on you, lads.

And somehow, I don't think this is goodbye.

More au revoir,

because hopefully we'll be back and see what I'm sure will be a

magnificent building when it's all finished.

Have today's properties inspired you to try out the buzz of the auction?

Or perhaps you've been watching and enjoying the show from the comfort of your sofa.

Either way, we'll be regaling you with more renovation stories next time,

so do join us on Homes Under The Hammer.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.