Episode 31 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to the show.

Now, the reason we always recommend viewing a project

before bidding for it is that each property is truly unique.

Yes, until you actually go inside a place,

you don't know what kind of a state it's in.

Does it need taking back to bare brick or just a quick lick of paint?

Yes, but if you like what you see when you view,

get yourself down to the auction, but buckle up,

stick to your guns and don't go over budget.

There is a real buzz in the auction house.

It's fast-paced and the atmosphere is electric.

But in a room full of bidders trying to outbid each other,

it's crucial to keep a cool head.

Yeah, so let's see who did that

and find out what they bought on today's show.

I'm in my old stomping ground of Norwich,

but I'll be treading lightly at this three-bed terrace.

Wish me luck!

It's more crammed in than crampons at this tiny cottage in Brynmawr.

Really, what you've got is this one room.

And you can take a hike if you think I'm using this loo

at this two-bed semi in Maidstone.

I've heard of quirky,

but actually seeing through the door to the toilet?

£40,000 I'm bid.

All these properties have been sold at auction

and we'll find out who bought them

and what they paid when they went under the hammer.

Yours, sir, well done.

DION: Today's destination in East Anglia

is the home of Norwich City Football Club, also known as the Canaries.

Their majority shareholder and my friend

is famous TV chef Delia Smith.

And Norwich is a club I started and finished my football career at.

So, hopefully, I'm going to love this property

as much as I do Norwich itself.

I'm in a part of Norwich I know reasonably well.

This particular area is called the Golden Triangle.

It's about a ten-minute walk away from the city centre

and you've got all the local amenities,

restaurants and pubs you could wish for, all within walking distance.

This is the property I'm here to see.

It's a three-bed mid-terrace house,

over four floors with a guide price of £250,000 plus.

It looks OK to me.

Norwich's Golden Triangle has been dubbed the city's Notting Hill

and it's a conservation area, so has retained its Victorian character.

In fact, as locations go, it's purrr-fect.

So, what do we have?

OK, we've got a front room here with a nice big bay window,

nice original fireplace as well.

That's a decent-sized front room.

Down the hallway, stairs up to the bedrooms,

quite steep stairs, actually, up to the bedrooms,

into another reception room.

Fireplace, again, very similar to the one in the front.

Central heating and a nice big window.

Now, I know this was previously rented out to students

and this will have been put in to create another separate bedroom.

For me, if you're looking to buy this property as a family home,

you could quite easily take that out,

have a nice big living room, lounge area.

Now, do I go upstairs or downstairs?

I'm going to go down.

On the lower ground floor is the kitchen,

which although quite charming in its own quirky way,

really needs updating.

There's also a good-sized room with a window,

a bathroom and a modest-sized garden.

There's plenty of space here,

so you do have the option of knocking down that wall

for open-plan living, if that's your thing.

So, up on the first floor, we've got a decent-sized bathroom just here

with shower over the bath as well.

It is a bit tired, a bit old-fashioned.

I'd definitely get that changed.

And you've got a smaller bedroom here, with fireplace as well.

Down the hallway, you've got a nice, big bedroom

at the front of the property.

Now, I have seen some steep stairs in my time.

I'm pretty sure these wouldn't pass current building regulations.

But I'm going to give them a go all the same.

Wish me luck.

# Livin' on the edge!

# You can't help yourself from fallin'

# Livin' on the edge!

# Everybody! Everybody! #

If you like living on the edge, you could keep these stairs,

but personally, I would get them changed ASAP.

Now, although this place was rented out previously,

I think this could make a nice family home.

What does a local estate agent think would be the best option

for this lot, guided at £250,000?

Having had a look around the property, I think it offers

flexible accommodation for either the family market

or also the student market, which is very popular in this area.

The layout works currently for a student market,

with the individual rooms.

You would need to make sure that you adhere to certain regulations,

include fire doors, gas safety and electric checks as well.

For a family market I think,

kind of, a bit of reconfiguration,

especially on the ground floor and the basement,

would work really, really well.

It could go either way. But which would be more profitable?

What could it be worth once renovated as a family home?

Once renovated, I believe this property could achieve £385,000.

And what if you were to rent it out, room by room, as a HMO,

a house of multiple occupancy?

If this property was let out to sharers as an HMO,

I believe you could achieve around £1,500 per calendar month.

This is a quirky house that could appeal to an investor

or someone looking for a nice, family home.

There's a reasonable amount of work to be done.

I think you may have to reconfigure some parts of the house,

but you'd definitely have to sort out those stairs

at the top of the building.

Let's see who was up for the challenge

when it went under the hammer.

Golden Triangle, good spot, a hall entrance, terraced.

Start me off at 250.

250,000?

250,000?

240, then?

230?

230. 235? 240?

235, I've got. Looking for 240.

240, I've got. 245?

245. 250? 250. 255.

No? At £250,000.

Looking for 255.

OK, at £250,000, then.

I'll take one.

It's got to be worth more than 250, surely?

OK, at £250,000 then, it's yours, sir, at 250 for the first time,

for the second time at £250,000, third and final time,

it's going to be sold.

Congratulations, well done, sir.

After a very short auction,

getting the property for the guide price of £250,000

was chartered surveyor Arthur and partner Kirsty, who is a HR manager.

I caught up with them back at their new property

to find out what their plans were.

-Arthur, nice to meet you.

-Hi.

-Congratulations.

-Hi.

-Kirsty, nice to meet you too.

-Thank you.

Tell us why you bought this particular property.

It was the street that really drew us to this property.

We only live sort of a mile down the road, but, yeah,

a really nice, pretty one,

and it's probably the only sort of affordable house

-that we could get around here.

-Are you going to rent it out?

Are you going to sell it? Or are you going to live in it?

-We're going to live in it.

-So, it's going to be your home?

-It is, yeah.

-Yeah. Definitely.

-But you have a home at the moment?

We have a home at the moment,

but we put it on the market as soon as we got this at auction,

but it's already sold,

so it looks like we're going to have to be living in here

-sooner than anticipated.

-Yes, can be a little uncomfortable sometimes.

-Yeah!

-What do you want to do with it?

So, we're going to knock through, to make it one big living room.

-Yeah.

-We're going to try and keep the fireplaces,

we're going to restore the floorboards and just redecorate it.

OK. And that's the only wall you're knocking down here?

-On this floor, yeah.

-Good. Let's go to the basement.

What are you going to do down there?

We're going to knock through the dividing wall there

and it'll be a kitchen diner, so a new kitchen

and we're also going to put a utility in downstairs as well.

Oh, so right at the end is going to be the...

Oh, good idea. Very good idea.

Tell me about upstairs, then.

We're not going to do a lot to the bedrooms upstairs,

because there isn't really too much to do.

They're all in quite good condition really, so...

-And new bathroom as well.

-Oh, yeah.

Let's go one level up, the second floor.

-It's a really steep staircase, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Well, because they had to have a fire door at the top of the stairs,

they've had to sort of create, like, a corridor,

like a landing area at the top of the stairs, which takes up

so much of the room, whereas I want to take that out

and really open it up, up there.

So, it will be a nice room up there.

It's just the obstacle that is the stairs leading up to it.

We're going to get some advice and see what they say,

but it's not at the top of our list. We want to make it liveable first.

Probably do that in a few months' time.

There is certainly plenty to be getting on with,

but Kirsty and Arthur have some experience

as they've already renovated a property

which they currently rent out,

so hopefully their estimates are bang on.

What's the budget for all the work?

35-40,000.

We made a bit of money on the house that we've just sold,

so that's sort of funding all the work that needs to be done.

Where will most of that money go?

The kitchen, in the basement, I think is where it's all going to go.

And who's going to do the work?

We'll do as much work as we can.

-Kirsty's good at painting.

-Yeah!

But, yeah, some of it we'll have to get people in to do.

The house that we did up before, we found a few contacts through there,

so we know that they're good at what they do,

so we'll use them and hopefully,

-they'll be around in a few weeks to do that, so...

-The key, isn't it?

The key is trying to find people that you can trust to do a good job.

-Definitely.

-Well, I know that Kirsty will be doing the painting.

-What are you going to be doing?

-I'm taking down the walls.

Oh, you see!

-Destruction.

-Yes.

-Hammer.

-Easy stuff, yeah.

-Sledgehammer and get stuck in.

-Yeah.

-How long are you hoping the work's going to take?

-I think six months.

-Yeah.

-About six months, we would say.

And that's with you two mucking in, and all your mates?

-Yeah. That's it!

-Definitely.

-As many people that we can get in to do it.

Are you roping in any of your family as well?

We're not local, so, no, no.

Lucky for them, they're not close enough to help out with the work.

-So, where's home for you?

-I'm from Staffordshire.

-And yourself?

-And I'm from Solihull, which is just south of Birmingham.

But why Norwich? Cos it's so far away.

Yeah, the company that I work for, sort of international company,

so I applied to their HQ and then you get put out there

in different places and I was asked to go to Norwich,

so I happily accepted, Kirsty came with me.

Yeah. My job let me go there as well, so...

Having been here before,

a long time ago when I was playing for Norwich City, lovely area,

really good area this is. Very nice people in Norwich.

I'm trying to give you a quick history lesson

on how nice it is here and what a good idea it was to move here.

As you may have noticed, it's an area I'm very fond of,

so in my book, it's a very good decision.

But I'll stop banging on about Norwich and let them get on with it.

So, what's the first thing you're going to do?

Kitchen. Kitchen, yeah.

At the moment, it's got really horrible stuff,

that I don't know if it works,

so we need to sort that out first and we really think the basement

has value to be added, so we're trying to make that nice.

-Is that a bit of pressure off Kirsty, then?

-Yeah.

-Yes!

I'm not sure who's the boss, but I can guess.

Listen, I wish you both well.

Arthur, good luck, sir. Hope it works out for you.

-Thank you.

-Kirsty, good luck.

-Thank you.

So, this is going to be Kirsty and Arthur's new home,

but they have got a lot of work to do,

as well as sorting that steep staircase out,

right at the top of the building.

Just how much of the budget will that staircase take up?

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

MARTIN: Today, I'm around 30 miles north of Cardiff

in the South Wales market town of Brynmawr.

Its name translates from Welsh simply to mean big hill,

and though once a coal and iron mining area,

with plans for the Circuit of Wales motor-racing track

to be built nearby, there are hopes that this area

is revving itself up for a potential economic boom.

But currently, I'm just hoping the weather improves.

# Why does it always rain on me?

# Is it because I... #

Well, right by the side of this busy road and this even busier roundabout

is the property I'm here to see.

Now, it's down by this little path that the word little

takes on the whole new meaning when it comes to the property itself.

Because it's this, a one-bedroomed cottage.

OK, but here's the really interesting thing.

The guide price,

just £8,000.

Yes, just eight.

That's got to make it one of the cheapest properties in the UK.

Let's take a look around inside.

Something tells me it's not going to take long.

8,000. 8,000?!

That's just well, well, it's just...

# You're unbelievable! #

Right, pretty much as predicted, then.

Downstairs, really what you've got is this one room.

I mean, storage radiators, that's good.

Upstairs, I think I shall avoid investigating up there,

those stairs look really, really dodgy.

Through to the kitchen...

OK.

Seen better days.

I mean...

Wow.

Still, what do we expect for that guide price?

Small, pokey, tiny, it's all that and more.

Cats couldn't even jiggle in here, let alone swing.

# Live-a-live-a-live-a little!

# Live-a-live-a-live-a little!

# Live-a-live-a-live-a little! #

It's wider at the front than the back, how does that work?

And as for the stairs,

they're more suited to a ship's cabin than a house.

Nope, it's just not working.

I'm even beginning to think it might be overpriced!

Wait a minute, where's the smallest room in the house?

Well, out the back of the property, this little building.

Now, this is not a garden loo.

This actually, believe it or not,

is the only toilet and bathroom facilities...

..in the property.

So, one of the first things we're going to have to consider

is bringing this inside.

Unfortunately, I can't see anywhere where it would go.

An extension is definitely on the cards.

# And I feel so all alone

# No-one's gonna fix me when I'm broke. #

No, I don't think anyone's going to miss this.

And even when you're inside this outside toilet,

you're still outside, because the roof has fallen in.

This has to go.

So, could you reclaim a bit of the garden and still have room

for an extension at the back of the house?

And out front, there could also be room for improvement.

But being a terrace,

any development would involve party wall agreements

with both neighbours, which can be costly.

Now I'm starting to wonder about this one.

Perhaps it's not the potential bargain of the year

it first appeared to be.

What does a local estate agent think?

The guide price of £8,000. Wow, what a steal!

I've never seen a property in this area go onto the market

at a guide price of so little,

so it might actually one of the cheapest properties

sold in the area to date.

It does lend itself to being extended and if that was the case,

you could obviously make things a lot more usable

and incorporate a bathroom

and you know, maybe add another bedroom,

so you could potentially have a two-bedroom mid-terraced house

and it would be ideal then for a family or first-time buyer.

Building this house up and out is likely to cost considerably more

than what was an £8,000 guide price,

so what sort of value might it reach?

It's a one-bedroom house.

In this area, you could be looking on the open market

anything around £35,000.

If you were to extend the property and make it

into a two-bedroom mid-terraced house,

then on the upper market, you'd be looking at achieving

anything around £65,000.

Claustrophobia, the fear of confined spaces.

If you're one of the 10% of the UK population who that affects,

then this property really isn't for you.

However, you know what,

at that guide price, it's an interesting proposition, isn't it?

Hmm.

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

Small one-bedroom property.

Needs everything doing to it. Well, I say everything doing to it.

The roof's actually pretty good, but otherwise needs complete renovation.

5,000 to get it started.

Five, surely, come on. Four. Somebody shout me a figure.

I don't care where we start. Thank you, four I've got you at four.

Now five, can I see? Five.

Six, seven.

Seven, eight, nine.

Ten, 11.

I've lost you. 11, thank you, 11. 12? 12.

13. 14.

At 14,000. 15 I'll take from anybody.

It's 14,000. 14,500 if it helps you.

14.5, thank you, new bid at 14.5.

15 and back to you.

15, if you like. 15, thank you, 15.

15.5. 15.5.

16. 16?

At 15.5 for the first time.

At 15.5 second time.

Third and last time at £15,500.

Yours, sir, well done.

And paying the whopping £15,500 were Graham and Lima.

Graham runs a key cutting and shoe repair business and has three shops.

His Estonian wife Lima looks after the book-keeping in the business,

and she's been keen to encourage Graham to forge a new career path

in property developing.

# Hey, I put some new shoes on and suddenly everything's right

# I said... #

Graham, Lima, great to meet you both.

Congratulations.

I am quite relieved you're not, like, 6ft4 or something.

It helps!

So, tell me why you wanted to buy this rather small little property.

Well, we've been entering the property market

since the middle of last year.

And we were sort of going round and round and round this area,

and this property was for sale in the September auction last year.

At the auction, we bid for it but got outbid.

-It went for £16,500.

-Wow.

So, we bought something else.

That was above your budget? £16,500?

-Well, this has a value. Everything has a value.

-Of course.

-We felt it was a bit over the...

-Yeah.

In February auction, we were surprised to find it was back in.

So, we've had another go.

And we got it for £15,500.

-Well done.

-So, somewhere, thank you very much.

-Which made all the difference!

-Yes, £1,000 made all the difference.

So, what was it that made you want to carry on pursuing it?

Was it just the price or...? Because it does have a charm.

I have to say, Graham likes something quirky

and he likes challenges.

It is a challenge, isn't it? To see what we can do with it.

Graham and Lima live over two hours away in the Midlands,

but they have other properties in the area,

so will use one of these as a base when working on the house.

Graham is currently studying law,

which might be useful here, methinks.

And he's also been reading up about the property's history.

Apparently in the early 1800s, when all these were built,

the builder started at both ends, got his measurements wrong...

-No!

-Ended up with this.

-No!

-I have been told that twice, independently.

One of the things that we found out from the neighbours was that,

in the early days, this was lived in by a family,

mum and dad and four children.

-Four?

-In this little place.

Wow!

That's amazing. A family of six in here.

Makes you think, doesn't it?

But that's the past, what's going to happen to it in the future?

We'll have the new roof line up here.

What we want to do is increase the footprint, obviously,

so we're going to boost the front out, up to the roof line,

and come just up at the back.

Right. When you say push out, you mean, what?

-Take out the wall, or what?

-This has got to come down.

-What, the whole thing?

-Yeah.

-Knock the whole house down?

More than likely. My architect said it's really a demolition job.

-Oh!

-And then a new front wall up, over.

Build up the rear wall, and we'll have a living room, stairs up,

kitchen area, and upstairs, one bed with en suite.

There will be room for a hand basin, toilet and a shower.

Crikey! Graham makes it sound simple.

But he's going to need planning, party wall agreements,

and of course, demolition and building between two other houses

will involve some practical difficulties.

So, what's the budget, then?

-25.

-25.

That's to do this whole rebuild?

Well, it is one wall at the front, over the top,

-extending back up.

-Right.

So, Lima, what is your involvement going to be?

Well, I found out on previous property that I can paint,

I can clear rubbish, a lot of cleaning, cups of tea,

so I will do what I can.

And what will you do?

In my younger days, I did everything bar the essential trades.

Gas, electricity, plumbing.

So I can plaster, I will probably put the timbers in,

and the floorboards, and site manage.

Right. Well, it's all very exciting.

-Yes.

-I think, I imagine we will see a transformation when we come back.

How long is it going to take?

Well, would you think about six months,

-would be reasonable?

-Yeah, that seems good to me.

-Yeah.

-We'll come back in six months, then.

-Yes.

-Listen, best of luck to you both.

-I can't wait to see...

-Thank you.

-..how it all turns out.

-Goodbye.

Well, renovating this place is going to be a bit more of a challenge

than the repairs that Graham's used to.

And of course, they do have to get

that all-important planning permission.

Still, tune in later to find out

if they manage to put the heart and soul back into this house,

and of course, if they manage to heal it.

MARTEL: Still to come, it's a case of size versus scent

at this two-bed semi in Maidstone.

I like the size of this room. It really smells of damp.

MARTIN: And we'll find out what Graham and Lima

are keeping shtum about in South Wales.

I don't want to say any more!

DION: Back to the city of Norwich in East Anglia.

Situated in the desirable Golden Triangle area

was this three-bed terrace house over four floors

that went to auction with a guide price of 250 grand plus.

Now, inside was in pretty good condition,

but the layout had been chopped and changed over years,

and was left feeling quite boxy.

Now, I know this was previously rented out to students,

and this would have been put in to create another separate bedroom.

For me, if you're looking to buy this property as a family home,

you could quite easily take that out,

have a nice big living room, lounge area.

The lower ground floor was a touch more rustic,

and could definitely do with some modernisation.

On the first floor was a second bathroom and two bedrooms.

Or what I like to call base camp.

Now, I have seen some steep stairs in my time,

and I'm pretty sure these wouldn't pass current building regulations.

Crampons at the ready for these stairs

if you wanted to reach that third bedroom.

Climbing up the property ladder were Arthur and Kirsty.

They had just sold a property to buy this one at auction

for bang on the guide price of £250,000.

I reckon they've done well,

because this property is in Norwich's Golden Triangle.

It was the street that really drew us to this property.

We only live sort of a mile down the road, but, yeah,

really nice pretty one, and it's probably the only sort of

affordable house that we could get around here.

I have to say, I like the sound of their plans.

Especially for the basement.

We're going to knock through the dividing wall there

and it will be a kitchen diner, so a new kitchen,

and we're also going to put a utility in downstairs as well.

Oh, so, right at the end, is going to be the...

Oh, good idea.

They had a decent budget of 35-40 grand to make their changes.

And they were going to do a fair bit of the work themselves

while living there over a six-month period.

It's now two years later and we're back.

Wow, what an incredible transformation.

Losing that central wall has made all the difference,

and I do love that colour scheme.

The small study at the back has also had a stylish makeover,

but what about the basement?

Another wall down and it just gets better.

What was two outdated rooms is now a really trendy kitchen diner,

and I love that they've kept the original fireplace.

It looks brilliant.

The upstairs is looking stunning,

with a roll-top bath and mosaic tiles.

And the two bedrooms on the first floor

are looking nice and bright and have brand-new carpets.

The house is looking amazing. I'm tempted to move in myself.

But I am sure living in it, while renovating it,

wasn't a walk in the park.

It wasn't particularly comfortable when we didn't have a kitchen

and a very horrible bathroom,

so that was probably the biggest challenge.

The second-biggest challenge was finding a configuration

for the replacement stairs from the first to the second floor

that would actually work in practical terms,

and also to get building regulations.

It may have been a challenge, but they have done it.

By changing the level of the landing,

there's so much more space for the stairs

without eating into that attic bedroom.

More importantly, they are safe to climb,

but they've had their work cut out.

Hopefully, they haven't gone over budget.

So, the original budget was £40,000.

And I came under it pretty much with every aspect apart from the kitchen.

Because that went about £10,000 over.

My overall spend was £47,000.

It's not ideal,

but what they have achieved for that is pretty spectacular.

And Arthur kept the costs down by doing what he could himself

and brought in certified tradespeople

to do the jobs he couldn't.

So, it's more or less gone to plan, but why did it take so long?

To be honest, six months was a completely unrealistic timescale.

I hadn't really thought about it before I was asked

because it was one of those things, it takes as long as it takes.

So, yeah, it took about two years.

It may have taken two years, but is it worth it, now it's done?

I'm really happy with how it's finished up, and really proud of it.

I just don't know what I'm going to do with all my spare time now.

It's a brilliant job, no two ways about it.

So, it's time to find out what two local estate agents

make of the results of two years' hard graft

and the £297,000 spent.

I think it's a really good property.

The kitchen in particular is a great feature to the home.

The bathroom's superb and we've got some really nice sized bedrooms.

So, I think we've got a really good character property

in a great location.

Impressions are really good. It's got a great modern finish.

I think it's been made the best of what they could,

to maximise the kitchen space,

you've got good reception space from the sizes.

It's really maximised what's here.

I know this road really well and it's amazing what he's done.

This house could definitely prove popular,

but of course, it's not for sale.

But humour me, what could it achieve, if it was?

I'd place a value on this at £425,000.

With the successful viewing events and so on,

that could easily sort of go upwards.

The sale value for this property would be £475,000.

That's better than I was hoping.

I bought this with a view to it being 325-350.

So, I am over the moon with those figures.

And it's no wonder.

That top figure of £475,000 could mean a profit, minus taxes and fees,

of, wait for it, 178 grand.

Now, that could come in handy.

475, that's very tempting to have that lump sum, but no,

I will certainly stay here in the meantime.

In this case, the Golden Triangle seems to be the golden ticket,

but does Arthur have any golden advice

for any other budding developers?

Look at it round a couple of times before going to auction

and take a builder to give you a rough estimate

on all the different aspects of the pricing, and also a surveyor.

-MARTEL:

-I'm in the county town of Maidstone in Kent.

Maidstone lies at the heart of the Garden of England,

referred to as such because of its many fruit orchards and top gardens.

The area is steeped in history,

but also benefits from a bustling high street with lots of shops,

bars and restaurants.

It's only 20 minutes from London's St Pancras,

so it's also a popular commuter town.

# You never know

# In the Garden of England... #

This street is just a 15 minute walk from the town centre,

and just around the corner is an historic building.

But I'm not sure it will be the biggest selling point

for the property I'm here to see. Built in 1819, it's...

Well, it's the prison.

From those brick walls to the ones I'm going to see,

and it's a two-bedroom semi with a guide price of £185,000-£195,000.

Here it is.

Into our hallway.

Interestingly, this has the type of flooring

that you might associate with an alleyway that ran beside a house,

perhaps they've incorporated this into the house,

so you come through a really lovely archway.

Straight ahead, steep stairs.

Here we have a reception room, which is really nicely proportioned.

It feels quite solid.

A fireplace, which I like a great deal.

Could add some character, if you renovated it a wee bit.

There's double glazing, central heating, all plus points.

Through to our kitchen. Very tired, dated.

Probably needs to come out.

But, again, a decent size.

A really decent size.

The bathroom, perhaps typically for a property of this age,

is behind the kitchen on the ground floor.

Not ideal. It would be good to have it along with the bedrooms,

and a couple of cupboards, big cupboards, almost tiny little rooms,

that I didn't expect.

It really feels like there's wasted space here

that you could do so much with.

I don't really like very steep, narrow stairs,

and I think I'd try to move them

and perhaps have a better layout as a result.

You could even extend the kitchen sideways into the garden,

there's certainly space for it.

Upstairs to our bedrooms.

The first, decent size.

Seems solid enough.

Through we come to another really well-proportioned bedroom,

which actually has an en-suite.

So here's the en-suite. It's not quite like any I've seen before.

I've heard of quirky,

but actually seeing through the door to the toilet?

That's most unusual.

I think that needs to go. Stud partition could come down,

make extra space, and there's a real feeling

that with careful consideration you could have a family bathroom

that's accessible to both bedrooms.

# We're against privacy... #

What's more is that there is already plumbing up here,

so it shouldn't cost the earth to install something

a little bigger and a lot more private.

If you really wanted to expand this place,

there might be potential in the loft, but, wait,

there is another option, as this place also has a basement.

Actually, it's a really good space down here.

It feels like it's been used for something before,

because you've carpet coming down from the stairs,

and then this room, a decent size, no window,

building regulations mean that that couldn't be used as a bedroom,

and, through here, I like the size of this room.

It really smells of damp, but, you know,

that might just be because it's been uninhabited for a long time.

Now, it does have a window,

so you might be thinking, aha, third bedroom.

But basements can be a challenge to meet building regs.

The window has to qualify as an escape route

and ceilings need to be fire resistant as safety measures.

And, last but not least, there's tanking required.

So it has potential, but it's not without its issues.

Let's see if a local estate agent could get excited about this house,

guided at £185,000-£195,000.

The property needs a complete overhaul.

For me, there's a lot of potential with it.

With the basement, I would definitely convert it, tank it out,

make that into a third bedroom.

That's quite a big job, and expensive as well.

But if you do it, you'll definitely get the repercussions from the price

when you come to selling it.

Tanking a cellar involves applying a waterproof coating

to the surface of the walls and floor.

It prevents water ingress, making the walls watertight,

and stopping the cellar from becoming damp and mouldy.

The agent estimated tanking costs at between 10-15 grand,

but will an extra bedroom add that much value?

Once renovated, this property as a two-bed,

would sell for roughly £250,000.

With a full conversion, converting into a three-bedroom home,

the property could achieve anywhere between

£300,000 and £310,000.

My verdict on this property is it's in need of refurbishment

and could definitely benefit from some layout tweaks,

but with the bonus of that cellar, it really has potential.

Let's find out who agreed when it went to auction.

Lot 76.

It's a semidetached house for improvement and what shall we say,

start me at 180? 180,

you wouldn't be wasting your time. £180,000 anywhere?

170 then. 170, thank you.

£170,000 I have.

172.

After a slow start, the bidding does get going.

We join at £191,000.

191.

He's running out of money in the front row. 192 is behind you.

193.

194.

195.

At £194,000 then, for the first time, £194,000 for the second time.

I thought you were going to do that.

195.

My dentist pulls teeth faster than you.

196, 197.

No? At £196,000,

the gentleman in the dark blue shirt for 196 for the first time.

£196,000 for the second time.

For the third and final time, you're out in the green, are you all done?

Sold at £196,000.

The successful bid of £196,000 came from Bernie.

Bernie is a busy man, and he's been on the show twice before,

most recently when I met him at his acquisition in Dover.

Not only does Bernie have a portfolio of around 30 properties,

he also owns an IT recruitment agency

and runs children's homes with his wife. Despite his full-on schedule,

he managed to meet me back at his latest project.

Bernie, fantastic to see you.

-Lovely to see you.

-Again.

-Again, indeed.

Congratulations on your newest property.

Talk me through this property.

This property is obviously a bigger one,

there's a lot more work to do here.

The other one was a straight in-out kind of job.

This one's got to do walls, move staircases, moved...

but we're still very pleased with it.

And our normal approach is the more we can do,

the more that needs doing,

obviously the more profit

that a property makes, so...

Very optimistic about this one.

Yeah. Tell me what it is that you plan to do.

Both the staircases are kind of in the middle of the property.

Obviously at both ends, top and bottom of the staircases.

If we can move them against the wall and then we can open up the property

and make it a lot lighter, airier, more open-plan down here.

And on the next floor up, then we'll be able to put a bathroom,

more or less in the space that the staircase's currently wasting.

The kitchen hopefully will move into where the bathroom is,

and then this will become a through lounge with the existing lounge

so that's the other side of the wall behind you.

And, then, downstairs and the lower floor...

..we'll have one bedroom and another room.

That room won't have a window in it,

so it could equally be used as a games room, as an office.

That'll be down to the people that buy it.

We'll just make it all nice and modern and clean.

Wow, that is quite the list,

and Bernie aims to get all that work done for a budget of 35-40 grand.

But, with his trusty builder pal on board, it shouldn't be a problem.

We have to give a bit of a hero's mention to the guy who helps you.

To my friend and builder Ray.

-Yeah.

-And his team, of course.

Ray is invaluable.

His input is invaluable, isn't it?

-Yes.

-You're the brains behind the finances and Ray comes in

-and he's fantastic, isn't he?

-I said to him,

look upon it as I am the good-looking one of the arrangement,

and Ray does all the work.

You've both got a certain charm, Bernie.

Is there anything that's worrying you in particular?

No. No, I wouldn't say there's anything that's worrying me.

This property does have the pleasure of being next door

to a funeral directors. That might put some people off.

But we've had issues with a property in the past

-that's been opposite a cemetery.

-A funeral directors is a shop.

If it had to be next to something, it would be nicer, I guess,

to be next to a newsagent than a funeral directors, but...

It's a mild concern.

It's nothing, nothing major.

Now, there's another building which is not next door but not far away,

around the corner, a short walk, and that's a prison.

-Yes.

-Does that give you any doubts or worries?

If you can have a pretty looking prison,

it's quite a pretty looking prison.

The wall is obviously old-fashioned, kind of castley image,

rather than barbed wire and...

-..railings and things.

-Yeah.

-So, that one doesn't actually worry me.

How long do you want the turnaround to be?

I would like the turnaround to be next Tuesday, obviously.

But I think that might be a bit optimistic,

given the amount of work doing here.

Optimistically, I would say three months.

I anticipate it'll take four.

Well, you've got the experience. You know what can be done.

You've taken on worse.

Oh, considerably.

Yes, and indeed bigger projects than this one.

Best of luck, Bernie. Can't wait to see what you do with the place.

-Congratulations again.

-Thank you very much.

So another property for experienced developer Bernie,

and he's got some big plans to turn this round,

but will his builder Ray be able to transform that cellar into something

more homely, creating a third bedroom and a good family bathroom

on the first floor? You can find out later in the show.

We've seen what's happened to one of the properties,

but we've still got two to catch up with.

Yes, did they stick to the script

or did it all unravel in the final act?

Time to find out.

Let's go back and see.

Time to get back to the market town of Brynmawr,

around 30 miles north of Cardiff, where I saw this teeny,

tiny one-bed cottage that had a guide price to match.

Just £8,000.

# I-I-I-I-I'm not free

# Oh, but I'm cheap... #

OK, £8,000

is still a fair amount of money, but not for a house.

However, on closer inspection,

this began to seem less and less of a bargain.

Downstairs, really what you've got is this one room.

It may have been small, but it did have everything one person needs.

Even if it wasn't all under one roof.

This actually, believe it or not,

is the only toilet and bathroom facilities in the property.

-16?

-When it came to auction, they may have gone way over the guide,

but Graham and his wife Lima still bought the property for £15,500,

and the pair had some big plans for this little house.

What we want to do is increase the footprint, obviously,

so we're going to push the front out, up to the roof line,

and come just up at the back.

Right. When you say push out, you mean, what?

-Take out the wall or...?

-Basically, all this has got to come down.

-The whole thing?

-Yes.

-Knock the whole house down?

More than likely.

Their other plans included, of course,

getting the outdoor bathroom back inside the main house.

But as it was a mid-terrace property, any building work

would be subject to getting a party wall agreement from both neighbours.

So, would Graham and Lima get permission to get

the party started on their renovation project

that had a £25,000 budget and a six-month timescale?

Let's find out.

# It's my party and I'll cry if I want to

# Cry if I want to

# Cry if I want to

# You would cry too if it happened to you... #

Three years on and the house is still just a shell,

but that doesn't mean that nothing's been done.

The house has been demolished and rebuilt with extensions

at the front and rear and there is now space to fit a bathroom inside.

An archaeological survey Graham and Lima were obliged to undertake

before beginning work revealed a large fireplace

which has opened up the living area.

It wasn't all good news,

as the dig did put them three grand out of pocket and delayed

the beginning of the build, and, after that, well,

things didn't get much easier.

The main complication was something called the Party Wall Act

which means that when you work like this,

you have to engage party wall surveyors for here

and next door and next door.

The building owner has to pay for all the surveyors

and before you know it, you're embroiled in endless litigation

and surveyors and problems and it becomes quite a hodgepodge.

# You would cry too if it happened to you... #

The party wall issue took up quite a bit of time and money,

but it turned out the law degree Graham has

now graduated from came in handy.

He even wrote his thesis on the Party Wall Act,

but even when they were able to start building,

luck still wasn't on their side.

We were going to have a construction called S-I-P, SIP construction,

which is two sheets of OSB board with foam in the middle and they're

structural and you put the whole building up, including the roof,

in these panels.

So we paid for that, £23,000, and the day before delivery,

the firm in Scotland went into administration.

That was a tough blow, not just in the financial stakes,

but the idea of using OSB, or oriented strand board,

would have helped gain a few vital dimensions inside the property.

However, they've bravely picked themselves up

and carried on using the traditional cavity wall block construction

and expect the house to be completed in nine months,

taking the timescale to almost four years.

It's undoubtedly been stressful and taken way longer than anticipated,

but what have all these setbacks cost them?

We thought about 20, certainly to demolish and build.

I remember you saying on camera, £25,000.

OK, 20-25.

We've probably nearly trebled it.

I don't want to say any more!

It speaks for itself.

At least they're managing to be cheerful.

Graham and Lima seem to have been very unlucky so far.

In the end, Graham reckons he's spent 40 grand,

with another £10,000 to complete.

But it's not over until the agents sing.

So, what do two local ones think of Graham and Lima's

£65,500 investment?

The property is sort of unusual with it being the fact that

it's a one-bed. It's very sort of cottagey and small.

It's very sort of cosy, quaint feel about the property.

They've made some sensible alterations,

so I think I would have done very similar to what they've done.

My first impressions of the property, they've utilised the space

they have quite well. It's very well proportioned.

I think they've done everything they can to maximise the space

in the property without losing the garden at the front, also.

It may not be the investment of the century,

but the agents are happy enough.

And if Graham and Lima were to put it on the market currently,

it could be worth between 15 and 35 grand.

But if they complete the renovation to a good standard,

that could rise to 50,000.

So how do they feel about the numbers?

As Graham kept saying, he's not doing it for profit.

Unlike me!

It may have started out as for profit,

but those were the good old days.

Good thing it's not for profit,

as the couple could stand to make a £15,500 loss.

But as they're planning on holding on to the property long-term,

what income could they see on the rental market?

They could be looking between about 325 to 350 per calendar month.

If the property were to be placed on the rental market,

I would expect it to achieve around £350-375 per calendar month.

Oh, I'm pleasantly surprised.

I didn't think, given its size, that it would command that.

So, jolly good.

It's in fact a relatively good yield of almost 7%,

so all is not lost.

But how are they feeling after the long journey here?

I feel...quite positive about the whole experience and...

..all the way through, I would not be beaten.

I was constantly advised to shove it on the market, get shot of it,

but I want to see it through and I will.

Time to return to the county town of Maidstone in Kent,

where I saw this two-bed semi guided at 185 to £195,000,

just a stone's throw away from Maidstone Prison.

Inside, there was a decent sized reception room

with some nice original features

and a kitchen that would need to go.

With a downstairs bathroom at the rear of the property,

it was pretty standard fare.

But the steep stairs weren't great

and seemed to upset the flow of the living space.

Upstairs, the smaller of the two bedrooms was unremarkable,

but the larger master room was a room with a view

I'd rather not have.

So here's the en-suite.

It's not quite like any I've seen before.

I've heard of quirky, but actually seeing through the door

to the toilet? That's most unusual.

I said it was unusual!

Anyway, what made this house special was the additional space

at the top and bottom, and converting either

would lend itself to extra living space.

Successful property developer and entrepreneur Bernie

saw the opportunity and nabbed the property

for 196 grand on auction day.

With over 30 properties already under his belt,

he and trusted builder Ray were ready to whip this one into shape.

You're the brains behind the finances and Ray comes in

and he's fantastic, isn't he?

I tend to look on it as I'm the good-looking one of

the arrangement and Ray does all the work.

Bernie had assigned good old Ray 35 to 40 grand to do the work,

and as for timescale...

I'd like the turnaround to be next Tuesday, obviously!

I think that might be a bit optimistic,

given the amount of work doing here.

Optimistically, we'll say three months.

I anticipate it'll take four.

Well, we've returned six months later

to see how Bernie and Ray got on.

By moving that central staircase,

the whole downstairs has been utterly transformed.

The kitchen has been moved to the rear of the property

and the result is truly stunning.

The basement is now a usable family living space and,

like the rest of the house, it's been rewired,

re-plastered and has new carpets and brand-new double glazing throughout.

Moving upstairs, the bedrooms are looking much fresher,

and that glass fronted en-suite is gone.

In fact, by nicking a bit of space from each room,

combined with moving the staircase,

there's enough room for a family bathroom!

So, Bernie, just how do you move a staircase?

I personally have absolutely no idea because the lads come in and do it.

It's actually a lot easier than you'd think.

To start with, you just destroy it and that literally takes a morning,

and then you've got a carpenter

building the new one in a different place,

cutting an appropriate sized hole in the ceiling.

It's surprisingly not difficult.

You make it sound so easy, Bernie.

Were there any challenges at all?

The work in moving the stairs and shuffling the rooms

is the biggest change that people would observe,

but it wasn't actually that big a task for the lads.

Sometimes when you start taking things apart

you discover all manner of horrors.

We came across a four-foot snake skin in one property that we did!

Never did find its owner.

Now, that would be a Homes Under The Hammer first.

S-s-so, was he s-s-satisfied with all the work done

by Ray and his team?

I'm very happy with the team.

We've done many properties now and they do do a cracking job,

so I don't get my hands dirty.

Closest I've come to is moving a mouse and poking at the keyboard

and looking after the spreadsheets behind it all.

He's looked after them well,

as the project's come in at just £1,000 over budget

and the work on the house itself took four months.

But there was a slight delay as the builders were working on multiple

properties. So how does he feel now it's finished?

As I always say, when we start these projects,

it's a case of wipe your feet on the way out to keep the road clean.

Looking at it now, it's a lovely home.

I'm very, very pleased with it.

Will the professionals be as pleased with the property's transformation?

Let's see what two local estate agents made

of Bernie's £237,000 investment.

The property's been refurbished to a really high standard.

I think that the neutral colour is perfect

for any first-time buyer or investor.

The layout is perfect to really maximise the surface area

on offer, so it's really, really good.

I think it's a great house.

I think it's had some great improvement works done throughout.

Decorated to quite a high standard.

Obviously, some work's been done in the cellar,

which does give a bit more reception space.

It's a great house, all in all.

Bernie purchased the house for £196,000

and has spent 41 grand doing it up.

So, will he make a profit on the £237,000 costs?

I believe the resale value of this property would be on a guide from

£230,000 to £250,000.

I would suggest the resale value would be between 240 and £250,000.

That top figure of 250 grand would mean a potential profit

of £13,000 minus taxes and fees.

So how does Bernie feel about the result?

Very disappointed in that, given we've had two other

local estate agents come in who both agreed on

a 310 price, aiming at 300, so...

The value of £310,000 is based on the basement room

as a third bedroom, but currently the security bars

above the window would prevent escape in case of fire,

so, according to building regulations,

they'll have to be removed before it can be classified as a bedroom.

Something to get trusted builder Ray on to, but what comes next?

What's next for Bernie? We have two houses that are currently wasteland

with a couple of broken supermarket trolleys on it

that needs...they need to be built.

We have a few properties like this one up for sale.

On a personal note, in three weeks' time,

I have a family wedding in Las Vegas to look forward to,

so, on a personal note, my hope is to survive!

Well, there you go. Sometimes property developing

can feel like a marathon and not just a sprint.

It can require stamina and endurance to cross that finish line.

Yes, so join us next time for more Homes Under The Hammer

-and we'll find out who's got what it takes.

-Bye-bye.

-Goodbye.