Episode 32 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to the show.

Often, people are looking for different things

in a property purchase.

For some, it's a home. Others, an investment.

But what they all have is that hope to turn it into a profit.

Yes, and one place you might find a profitable potential investment

is your local property auction.

If you're looking for value for money,

investing at a property auction

could very well help you achieve that goal.

That's not to say it's always a walk in the park.

Many auction properties need extensive renovation work.

Yes, let's see who wasn't afraid of getting stuck in on today's show.

In Wolverhampton, a three-bed terraced house

presents a massive challenge.

I hadn't banked on this being quite such a mess.

And a house I see in Romford doesn't get off to a promising start either.

What isn't a good sign is that.

And things don't seem to improve much

when I see this two-bed terraced house in Aberdare.

Well, you can see the state it's in. Not attractive at all!

All of these properties have been sold at auction

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

when they went under the hammer.

Yours, sir, well done.

This is the fair city of Wolverhampton which, surprisingly,

wasn't officially a city until the year 2000.

The then government decided to get on board with the millennial fever

that was all the rage back then and granted three towns -

Preston, Brighton and Wolverhampton -

city status, calling them Millennium Cities.

This street is a 15-minute walk from Wolverhampton city centre

and, right next door to the property,

you have a local convenience store,

which is great if you need to pop out and get a pint of milk.

The guide price was £15,000 to £20,000 and the catalogue described

the property as needing extensive modernisation and repair,

which sounds pretty dramatic.

Wish me luck as I look inside.

OK.

So, clearly, an awful lot needs done here,

but here's your first reception room.

It's small. Oh, dear.

You've got glass over the place.

The windows been smashed and there's metal grids on the other side.

There's parts of the roof that have massive holes in it.

Loads of letters!

Cobwebs, but I think that's kind of a small problem

when you see the state here.

More holes. Holes everywhere.

I hadn't banked on this being quite such a mess.

And here, you can see daylight coming through the roof,

which is quite something.

There may well be problems with damp, with subsidence.

The wallpaper's falling off

but, you know, that's a minor issue again.

And then... Oh, my word.

This is just rubble.

I'll try and guess what's through here.

I'd say that's the kitchen - there's not much to talk of -

and also a bathroom, which you would expect in a property of this age.

You'd have to think about getting it upstairs,

because it'd be far more desirable to a buyer.

But if I look worried and a bit concerned, it's because I am.

I mean, health and safety?

I wouldn't go up there, well, even WITH this.

Nah!

# Hey, hey, hey, hey!

# Ooh... #

It's such a shame to see a house forgotten about like this.

The state it's in is probably down to a combination

of water ingress and poor maintenance.

# Hey, hey, hey, hey! #

Outside, the garden is a decent size, but the back of the property

doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.

Those cracks make me think the whole wing

containing the kitchen and bathroom might need to be pulled down.

# Don't you forget about me... #

Now, normally at this stage,

I'd take you for a wee tour upstairs, but we have a problem.

The upstairs area is just one big hole,

so we won't be venturing up there.

# Looking back on when we first met

# I cannot escape and I cannot forget

# Baby, you're the one

# You still turn me on

# You can make me whole again... #

Upstairs, the three bedrooms are pretty much like the rest.

We sensibly took all the safety precautions we could,

but I wouldn't recommend a casual tour of this place at all,

not even to see the open-air toilet.

# You can make me whole again. #

Now, there's a legal clause relating to this property

which you don't see every day,

and I hope the buyer's done their homework

and knows what they're getting into.

At exchange of contracts,

they would have paid 10% of the purchase price.

They pay the remaining 90% when the job is done

and that has to be done in 12 months.

If not, they lose their deposit and they have to hand back the property,

which is a nightmare situation.

And, in this case,

the house is being sold on behalf of Wolverhampton Council.

So, after 12 months,

an inspector from the council will come and assess the house

to check the repairs adhere to the Decent Home Standards.

So this house could potentially be one big gamble,

but could it be worth it?

Where do you even start with a project like this?

We asked along a property expert from the auction house

that sold it to tell us more about the house, guided at 15 to 20 grand.

When you get a project like this,

your first thing to do is to check out

the stability of the property

and the framework, because if your framework's not right,

you're not going to be able to put anything in it.

I think I would have the roof checked out

and I would also sort out the wing addition at the back,

so that we know whether it is going to need demolition and rebuild

or a repair and rebuild.

I would imagine that one's going to have to spend

something in the region of £40,000 to £50,000.

And that is being kind, with repairing the wing

rather than knocking it down and replacing it.

50 grand?!

Let's hope whoever bought this stuck close to the guide price.

Could there be any profit to be made, once renovated?

Your normal pricing on something in this sort of road

would be in the region of £80,000 to 85,000.

If it's done particularly well,

you might make a bit more on an open market,

selling it to somebody who wants to live in it.

I think it's fair to say this is not a project for the faint-hearted.

Pretty much everything needs done,

starting with the fundamentals like walls, ceilings, windows.

But if the buyer can get it close to the lower end of the guide price,

it might just be worth all that hard work.

So who agreed? Let's head to auction to find out.

Three-bedroom mid-terraced house in Wolverhampton

on behalf of Wolverhampton Council. Start me, if you will.

30,000, am I bid?

25, if we must?

At 25, thank you, sir.

At 25, I'm bid. Is it 30 now?

30, sir? Thank you. I've got you first at 30.

Who's first at 35?

35, sir? Thank you, at 35.

40? 40.

45? 45.

50? No.

At 45 on the aisle, are we all done?

At £45,000,

first time, second time, third and last time.

That's yours, sir, well done.

Hidden from view was successful bidder Amir,

who paid £45,000 for the dilapidated terraced house.

Amir is originally from Iran but now lives in Birmingham,

and I caught up with him for a chat about his new acquisition.

-Amir, congratulations.

-Thank you.

Where to start with here?

Let's go back to the auction, how was the auction for you?

It was the first time I've been to an auction

but this was good, a good experience.

Had you looked inside this property before auction?

I'm guessing you had.

In the auction, I had the catalogue and after,

I had the time and I looked at it online by internet

and seen the location and I think, "I'll go for it."

So, hold on, this is the first day you've been inside this house?

Yes, that's the first time I've been inside the house.

You'd looked in the catalogue and you'd looked at a map online?

-Yes.

-And that was it?

-Yes.

-Now, be honest, Amir.

When you saw this for the first time, what did you think?

At first, I got a bit scared but after I keep my mind, I said,

"I can do it," and I'll try to finish it.

That's a big challenge for me.

If I finish that, I can improve myself for next job.

I like that positive mental attitude, Amir.

After all, he does have a bit of experience,

having renovated his own flat in Birmingham,

which I imagine was really well done.

My job is in welding.

I'm working for the companies with cars.

But at the moment I have to just take six months off

and just focus in this house and the work here.

So your time span is six months to get this done?

I try to finish quicker than six months.

But I put a six-month maximum.

OK. What's your budget?

-Around £25,000.

-OK.

Do you have people you think who can help you?

You have experts who can help you?

I know a few people from my ex-job, plus their people and the builders.

But I'm trying to do myself as much as I can,

but if I need a help, I will call them.

What do you want to do to the place?

First, a good clean. Give it a good clean.

Take the wallpaper out, put the new plaster, central heating,

kitchen and bathroom.

Just slowly, step-by-step, go to front and see what's happened next.

There's a big crack at the back of the property,

what did you think of that?

I will contact council.

They will send some people to have a look.

If they say that's OK, I can fill the crack and sort it.

If not, I have to move to a different plan.

Maybe I take that part out and build again.

And that costs more money.

So, worst-case scenario, they come back and say,

"You're going to have to knock down walls."

It's more than you even thought.

What would you do?

-I have to call back home and ask my family if they can help me.

-OK.

So Plan B is to phone home and ask for a bit of help...

-Yes.

-..with money?

-Yes.

In this case, it's not the Bank Of Mum And Dad,

it's the Bank Of Brother.

But, hopefully, it won't come to that.

Amir, there's a clause attached to this which doesn't often come up

and that's that you pay your 10% deposit at auction

but you don't have to pay the remaining 90%

until you've renovated.

You're aware of this?

I didn't know that 90% I have to pay when I finish the house,

but I knew that until 12 months, I have to finish this house

after they put the house to my name.

So, although there's so much to be done in the house,

it's a good news day for you in that

-you thought you had to pay the whole price?

-Yes.

The downside is if you don't renovate this house

in accordance with the Decent Homes Standard

within 12 months, you have to let them keep the 10% deposit

and you have to hand back the property.

Yeah, this is the bad news.

But I'm pretty sure in six months, I will finish this house.

-I believe in you.

-Thank you.

-You can do it. Good luck, Amir.

-Thank you.

As a first investment property, Amir's got his work cut out for him.

I mean, that's putting it mildly.

EVERYTHING needs to be done, and within 12 months,

and on a very small budget, and the margins are pretty tight.

Do not get me wrong - I admire his enthusiasm,

but I can't help but think Amir's being a bit naive.

I hope he proves me wrong. We'll find out later in the show.

Romford is a town in the East London borough of Havering.

Apparently, in the 1930s, this area staged quite a remarkable event.

Punters attending the greyhound races at Romford Stadium

were witness to a different kind of animal whizzing around the track,

because they had cheetahs racing there.

This experiment didn't go to plan,

as the cheetahs just weren't as interested in chasing the lure,

so only two races happened.

Although I'm not sure I believe this,

I think it was because the cheetahs...

were actually CHEATING.

Anyway, let's move on to today's property.

And the property I'm here to see

is on this very busy and noisy main road.

The house is a three-bed semidetached house

with a guide price of 250 grand.

Now, this is a good start.

Off-street parking.

Yes, it's not in a great condition, but what isn't a good sign is that.

Let's hope it's not a sign of things to come.

Let's check out inside.

OK. That's good news. It's not as bad as I first thought.

There is a hallway there but I'm going to go this way

into a decent-sized lounge.

I would want to get some brand-new windows in

and we have got central heating as well.

Not quite sure...

HOLLOW THUMPS

I like that sound, I like that sound,

because you could incorporate this room

to make a really good-sized lounge.

Take this out completely.

Round here, you've got a disappointing kitchen, actually.

Not in great condition, very old-fashioned, and it's tiny.

It just doesn't seem to fit

the potential of a really nice-sized lounge.

Then you've got this really small kitchen.

You wouldn't really fit anything else more in here,

no more cupboard space, cos it is tiny and restricted.

The potential in that side of the house is very good.

But the kitchen has disappointed me.

# I can only disappoint you

# Always... #

By switching things up and doing a bit of rejigging,

you could maybe make this kitchen flow right through

into the main living area,

which would make a massive difference.

Right, the bedrooms - you've got two good-sized bedrooms

just off this landing here.

I can see in the bedroom at the back, it's a good size,

and you've got some fitted wardrobes,

which I think you'd need to take out and put something modern in there.

The bedroom at the front of the house is more or less the same size.

Good space, room for a double bed, no problem.

Looking out on the front of the house.

And the third bedroom is more of a box bedroom.

In the corner there, it looks like it's damp but it's not.

It's more mould.

Maybe that's because this house has been closed up,

there's been no airflow.

And the bathroom.

I'm disappointed in the bathroom.

Like downstairs, and the kitchen,

it just seems to be a little bit too small for the house.

Apart from the bathroom and the kitchen,

I'm pretty happy with this place.

Yes, I am.

# Please convince me... #

I know I don't sound that sure right now...

# Tell me so it makes sense to me

# How much better it's all gonna be

# And please, please, please convince me... #

But we're not finished here,

as I haven't had a chance to explore out the back yet.

As you come out, you've got a good-sized back garden as well.

It's in a bit of a mess.

Needs some work doing to it but...

..not too bad. What I am thinking is that lean-to conservatory

has seen better days.

I'd be inclined to knock that down

and get a brick-built extension done.

You could possibly maybe bring it out to as far as here.

Check on the planning, of course, but it would be worth looking into.

And you still have a good-sized back garden as well.

It's positive out here.

Finally, something to put a smile on my face.

By extending out here,

you'd solve the issue of the small kitchen

and maybe even add a downstairs loo as well.

# Things are looking up, oh, finally! #

Time to see if a local estate agent shares my new-found enthusiasm

for this East London house,

guided at £250,000.

A rear extension would be a good asset.

If there's a possibility of doing a loft extension, and an en-suite,

then that would add value to the property.

So it would certainly be worth looking into.

Adding a bedroom in the family market does make sense.

But if you were looking to sell this on for a profit,

would there be enough added in the sales figures

to make the expense of a loft conversion worthwhile?

As a three-bed with a ground-floor extension,

the agent thinks it would be worth around 380 grand.

If the property was extended to the rear

and a fourth bedroom was provided,

I would expect it to achieve in the region of £425,000 to £450,000.

So not as bad as I first thought.

But one of the first things I do

is I'd get some decent, double-glazed windows in,

as it is quite noisy out here.

One of the things I do like about this project is it's got the scope

to extend out the back as well.

Good venture, this, I like it.

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

Er, 300 anywhere?

If not, you tell me. Where do we start?

Cor, house in London, under 300!

260,000. Are you sure?

Thank you. Yes?

260,000. 260.

Standing up, 265...

There were a few interested bidders at this early lot.

We rejoin at £298,000.

298, 300. 300 down here.

302, elsewhere?

You're going to lose it.

First time.

Second time.

Third and last time, if you're all done?

Sold, 300. Goodbye.

Out of the sight of our cameras was Singh,

who paid 300 grand for this house.

I met him back at the pad to find out his plans.

-Singh, nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you, mate.

-How you doing?

-Congratulations.

-Nice place, loads of potential.

-Yes. Lots of space here.

So was it you that found this, Singh?

It was my brother-in-law who looked into this.

-He's the one who found it.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

What was it about this place that attracted you in?

It's the area. It's coming up, the area.

I don't live too far from the area. So I know the area well.

Was it this kind of property you were looking for?

Yeah. This is what I do.

I'm a builder by trade, so I do building properties and stuff.

What did you see, then? As soon as you came in here

and you've got a builder's brain, haven't you?

What did you think as soon as you came in?

Nice and spacious, needs some work done to it, nothing we can't do.

Not an awful lot really, is there, that needs to be...?

Just a bit of make-up, really.

Bit of make-up? I like that one! Not heard that one before.

I might use that one.

OK, Singh, tell me, a little bit more detail,

what you're going to do down here first.

Downstairs, we want to create an extra shower

in the bottom bathroom and extension.

So, the bathroom, where are you going to put the bathroom?

-Just where the old kitchen is.

-OK.

-In that area.

And you're extending that way?

Yes, 4.5 metres out.

-Planning?

-Planning has already been submitted, yes.

-Has it, really?

-It's been about three or four weeks already.

-Ah, so you're forward planning?

-Have to.

It takes about two months for the council to come through.

With all his experience in the building trade,

Singh knows it's best to get those plans in ASAP.

He isn't just stopping downstairs

and hopes to add a fourth bedroom and en suite bathroom

in that loft space.

He also hopes to get a bigger family bathroom

by removing the chimney breast in the bedroom

and pinching more space from the bathroom.

Sounds like a lot of work that's not going to come cheap.

So what's your budget for the whole project?

I mean, we're looking at around about 50K.

-£50,000 to spend?

-That's right.

Cos most of the works we do ourselves anyway.

It was just the materials and a bit of labour.

-Got you.

-Most of the work will be done by myself

and my brother-in-law.

And how long is it going to take you, if it's mainly you?

I think it's probably about five months, I reckon.

But I'm away for three weeks with the family holiday.

-Where are you going on your holiday, by the way?

-India.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah.

-You lucky man!

Is that while it's all cold here, we're freezing here

-and you're going off to the sun?

-It'll be cold there as well.

-Oh, will it?

-It'll be cold. There's winter.

It's not as cold as here but it's cold.

What kind of temperatures would it be there?

That time, probably mid-20s.

Oh, we feel sorry for you, Singh! Eh?

In your shorts and T-shirts!

Over there, it's probably colder in the morning and evenings

but during the day, the sun comes out and it's quite nice.

So will that be in the middle of this renovation?

-It will be, yes. That was pre-planned already.

-Gotcha.

Will you leave people here working on this?

Depending on what stage I get to, hopefully decorating and stuff,

I have a couple of guys in there.

Are you happy with the way things are going so far?

Yeah, so far, so good.

All the planning has been submitted, so hopefully within the next month,

we'll hear from the council.

Going to get the overalls on?

Definitely. We're all coming in, starting tomorrow.

-Are you really?

-We are, yeah.

OK, I'm going to say goodbye and get out of your way.

-Lovely.

-Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

Good luck, Singh. Cheers.

So Singh doesn't seem to have any reservations

about this project at all, and I'm kind of with him.

He wants to do a loft extension and a single-storey extension

to about here,

but he's given himself a healthy 50 grand budget

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

I think he'll be fine.

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

Coming up, I'm off to Wales to see a house

that looks better out than in.

If that bit was, you know, OK...

HE SIGHS

..this bit really isn't.

And we return to Romford,

hoping the house is finished, inside and out.

I'm happy with the result.

-MARTEL:

-It was back in the Millennium City of Wolverhampton

where we first came across a three-bed terraced house that was...

Well, OK, let's not pull our punches.

It was in an awful state.

Truly awful.

-# Tell it like it is

-Oh, tell it!

# Tell it... #

I hadn't banked on this being quite such a mess.

And, here, you can see daylight coming through the roof.

And then... Oh, my word!

This is just rubble.

I'll try and guess what's through here.

I'd say that's the kitchen and also a bathroom,

which you would expect in a property of this age.

You'd have to think about getting it upstairs

because it would be far more desirable to a buyer.

But if I look worried and a bit concerned, it's because I am.

# I'm worried about you

# Babe, I'm worried about you

# Babe, I'm worried about you, baby

# And you better be worried about me... #

Well, there was so much to worry about -

holes in the floor, holes in the ceiling, holes in the walls.

Great if you want an open-air toilet.

And there was no doubting this house had certainly reached rock bottom.

So why would you take on such a large project?

Well, there were incentives from the council,

allowing you to pay just 10% of the hammer price

and then paying the other 90%

once you'd completed it to a standard checked by the council.

Sounds good, but of course, there was a catch.

That has to be done in 12 months.

If not, they lose their deposit and they have to hand back the property,

which is a nightmare situation.

So the clock was ticking from the moment the hammer fell

on Amir's £45,000 purchase.

And, having not viewed the property,

he was initially unaware of the daunting task he faced.

Now, be honest, Amir - when you saw this for the first time,

what did you think?

At first, I was a bit scared but after I keep my mind, I said,

"I can do it," and I'll try to finish it.

That's the big challenge for me.

If I finish that, I can improve myself for the next job.

Iranian-born Amir was a welder by trade,

so I guess he was used to fixing things

and putting them back together again.

But this was a massive task he'd set himself

with just a 25-grand budget and he'd taken six months off work

to fully focus on the rebuild.

# And I'll put you together again. #

And now, eight months on, and we're back.

This is truly astonishing.

Remember, I couldn't even get into this kitchen space

and the bathroom beyond was just a complete unknown.

And, upstairs, it's hard hats off to you, Amir.

Three great bedrooms, but what about that loo with a view?

Well, that's now a great shower room.

Mind you, I don't mind looking out onto that garden now.

That's amazing!

# I'm gonna fix the world up

# Up for you! #

# I'm gonna fix the world up

# Up for you! #

# I'm gonna fix the world up... #

So where did Amir start with this tremendous transformation?

The project was really big and so many rubbish in the back garden

and the basement and also so many rubbish from the house.

15 skips, and that's the biggest challenge I had.

Once 15 skips had been filled,

he just had the minor issue of rebuilding this place...

..with the end gable wall top of the agenda.

# Crackin' up

# Like a worn-out shoe... #

The crack was on the wall and we just take the wall out

and rebuild again.

The effort Amir has put in here is Herculean,

but with the need to complete the job to an acceptable standard

for the local council in a 12-month timescale,

he was under pressure to get it all done

but, luckily, he wasn't completely alone

in tackling this gigantic task.

I have two friends, Kasim and Simon,

and they mostly helped me and I'm really grateful.

That help has meant he thinks he's only a couple more weeks from

finishing it off totally and then he can put it on the resale market,

but his timescale slipped slightly.

So what about his budget?

My budget was £25,000 but at the end we finished with £35,000,

and plus I drove every day from Birmingham to Wolverhampton

and that's cost around £3,000 fuel money.

£38,000 spend on top of his agreed 40-grand purchase price

will eventually take the cost of this remarkable rebuild £83,000.

So is this house now suited to the local market?

What do two property experts think?

First, the expert who saw it last time.

This is my second visit to this property and, boy, what a change!

He's transformed it into

a nice little three-bedroomed terraced property.

My first impressions of the property is,

obviously, it's been refurbished to a good standard.

I think the refurb has been well thought-out and planned,

and the results show.

Amir really needs to sell this house on to pay off an outstanding 90%

of the purchase price he still owes.

But with his final outlay being £83,000, will he make any money?

If the property's placed on the open market to sell,

then I would imagine that it would achieve in the region of £100,000.

As a resale, I would expect the property to achieve £95,000.

I was happy.

Up to £100,000.

But if it's a little bit less, I am happy.

And so he should be

because there's a potential pre-tax profit here of £12,000 to £17,000,

minus taxes and expenses, of course.

And he certainly deserves to get some reward for all this hard work.

As a first development project, this was a real baptism of fire.

So would he ever consider doing it again?

When everything is sorted,

I take a small holiday and then maybe I do again

because quite I enjoyed this job.

-MARTIN:

-I'm 22 miles north-west of Cardiff today,

in the town of Aberdare.

# It's just a hop, skip and a jump

# To where my baby's at

# It's just a few more hops and I'll be bopping with that cat. #

And as with most towns in South Wales,

coal and iron were the main industries here.

But now, nestled amongst the hills and valleys,

this is just a pleasant place to live.

Well, just a hop, skip and a jump from the town centre

is the property I'm here to see, on this nice residential street.

Now, I've done a bit of research and the average house on this street

sells for £54,000.

So, at the auction, when you see something on this street

that's a guide price of 22,000 for a two-bedroom mid-terrace,

you've got to think to yourself, "Ooh, that's interesting."

Looks pretty good from the outside. Recently pointed. Nice stonework.

Double glazing. It's looking good.

Hm.

OK. Interesting little porch area here.

And then through into, well, basically one large living area.

Open-plan stairs up to the bedrooms.

Now, nowadays, building regulations say you can't have this kind of

staircase with the open back, they are quite dangerous.

Small children, especially, potentially falling through there,

and especially with this huge gap.

Not good. So I would want to work on enclosing that for sure,

if only for safety reasons.

But the room itself, I think, actually works quite well.

Big fireplace here - again,

you'd probably want to improve that and modernise it,

but it's not a bad-sized space.

And then through to the rear of the property.

Now, this looks to me to be some kind of single-storey extension.

It's housing the bathroom and loo and the kitchen.

And if that bit was, you know, OK...

-HE SIGHS

-..this bit really isn't.

Lots and lots of damp.

Well, you can see the state it's in.

Not attractive at all.

I think it's a bit more serious than that, too.

Let's investigate outside.

# I need you to see this

# I've found the answer

# It's somewhere else cos

# I can see

# The view from here... #

Well, bit of a trek across the garden,

and a bit of a handy vantage point

to take a look at that roof that's above the kitchen

and the bathroom in a bit more detail,

and you can see, just at first glance, it is in a right state,

as is the gutter. Now that is going to be causing all sorts of problems.

Worse than that, though, I reckon that's asbestos.

So, a hazard.

It's even worse because it's got all this moss on it,

which causes the surface to disintegrate

and that's when you have some real potential problems,

real serious safety problems.

So, it needs to go.

It needs to be taken away by a professional company.

And then you can start rebuilding this property

into something which is at least a watertight shell.

You're going to have to get rid of that anyway to get at these windows.

While you're up there, you're going to sort out that roof too,

there's even more guttering problems there.

Yeah, I reckon a big chunk of your budget is going to go

on sorting out this little bit just here.

The view looking towards the back of the house might not be pretty,

but the distant views certainly make you realise

that this is a great location.

But sorting out the extension-cum-lean-to

is going to be a big job.

Not only will it need a new roof, it may need damp-proofing,

insulating and then a complete kitchen needs to be installed,

along with new bathroom suite.

Upstairs, things aren't much better,

with the two bedrooms also in a rather sorry state,

with signs of damp and holes in the floor.

In fact, whichever way you look at this,

it's a back-to-basics refurbishment.

What's the view of the auctioneer who sold it?

The location of this property's great,

it's just above the town centre,

which means you can walk into the town

rather than having to take a car.

Downside, though, is that because it's so close to the town centre,

parking can be an issue. The house needs major refurbishment.

The existing extension is pretty poor.

It's got a roof covering which I believe is asbestos,

so that needs to come off, be taken off by a qualified contractor.

The kitchen is virtually non-existent,

the bathroom's pretty poor,

so the whole of the rear extension needs refurbishing.

You could extend it and create a better single-storey extension

out the back. Alternatively, while you're at it at it,

why not go up two storeys?

You could then put on the ground floor a new kitchen,

maybe a bathroom in

and a bedroom, possibly a bathroom upstairs as well.

That sounds like a great idea

but would it add value to a house guided at £22,000?

Once refurbished, in its current size,

this property could sell for about £60,000.

If this property were to be extended

and was then a three-bedroomed house,

it could sell for about £70,000.

And what about its rental potential?

If it were to be let, it would rent for about £350 per calendar month.

As a three-bedroomed house, it could rent for about £400,

maybe £425 per calendar month.

Ah. So, attractive on the outside,

a bit more work to be done once you get inside.

Still, if you buy it for around that guide price,

definitely money to be made.

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

Good buy-to-let property, just above the town centre.

Needing some modernising.

Start me at £20,000, will you?

20,000? Thank you, got you at 20.

At 20. And one now I'm looking for.

At £20,000.

One. 22? 22. 23? 23.

24? 24.

25? 26? 26.

27? 27, 27 there, thank you. 27.

28? 28. 29?

Perhaps surprisingly, there was quite a battle

for the two-bed Aberdare house.

And we rejoin the bidding at £37,500.

37.5.

38 now? 38?

38, thank you, 38.

38.5 behind you?

38.5.

39? 39, just one more?

39, thank you. 39.

39.5?

39.5?

39.5? Otherwise it's 39, then, on my left-hand side,

for the first time...

second time, third and last time at £39,000...

Sold, sir, yours, well done.

Number 22, is it? Thank you very much.

Have somebody down with you shortly.

# You know you're out of sight... #

And so, for £39,000, the man hidden at the back was Alex.

Alex and partner Sarah are based in Cardiff and they both joined me

back at the property to give me an insight into their plans.

Sarah, Alex, good to meet you both.

-Nice to meet you too.

-And you too.

Congratulations.

Tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

We wanted to start a portfolio in Aberdare,

as the prices are a lot cheaper than in Cardiff.

Why this property, then, for your first one?

Um...well, we didn't actually see the property before we bought it...

-Why?

-I just liked it from the outside.

It was bound to be fine inside, then, isn't it?

Well, you know, fantastic.

So when did you see it for the first time inside?

-On the day we completed sort of thing.

-Right.

Drove up and had a look, which was a real shock, really.

-Was it?

-It was a shock, yes.

I thought it would be quite nice inside,

not in the state it was in, like this.

What did you think about it when you saw it for the first time?

I actually was quite pleasantly surprised,

cos I knew obviously it was going to be bad on the inside

but I think I was less shocked than what Alex was.

What were his words, exactly, or are they too rude to broadcast?

-He just put his hands on his head and went, "Oh, my God!"

-Ah.

# It's a shock to the system. #

Well, that's kind of what you get if you don't look inside a property

before you buy it.

At least Alex has worked in the building trade

and is doing a carpentry course,

so he may at least have the skills to turn the shock into awe.

I think to start with what I'd like to do is just take off...

take all the walls out, like the porchway to take out

and, upstairs, the partitions,

and then get an empty canvas and just take it from there.

Got a little job with asbestos on the roof outside.

So that's going to be an important job to do,

to get somebody in to take it away.

And then from there we'll just decide what to do with it.

Right, and in terms of the design you might come up with,

are you going for two bedrooms, three bedrooms, what are we...?

-Two bedrooms.

-Two beds, yeah.

-And a bathroom upstairs?

-We're going to try and put a toilet upstairs.

-Toilet upstairs only.

-Obviously a few issues with damp

in the big bedroom, any ideas what's causing that?

Chimney stack.

Builders are coming next week to, you know, roof that.

-Great.

-So that'll be all sorted.

So they don't plan an additional extension,

but they do have a budget of £15,000.

But with all the work they've got to do here, I just hope that's enough.

You're going to be hands-on, are you going to be knocking bits around?

Er, yeah, I'll do as much as I can.

I'll be picking up all the rubbish and sweeping down,

while he does all the manual work.

And how much of it are you going to take on?

-All of it.

-All of it?

Apart... Well, apart from the electrics and the gas, presumably?

I've got an electrician

and I've got a Corgi-registered gas safety certificate person.

But all the rest I'll do myself.

Wow. Plastering?

Plastering. Tiling.

-Domestic plumbing.

-Carpentry, obviously.

-Carpentry.

-So you'll be full-time doing it, will you?

-No, we'll be up here every weekend, I think.

-Oh.

I've just taken on two projects in Cardiff and, in the summer,

I've got a little project in America to go and do.

-America?

-Yeah.

-What's that?

Oh, just some friends want a renovation on a basement.

You're going out to America to restore somebody's basement?

-I am, actually, yeah.

-THEY LAUGH

-It's a free holiday.

-Well, yeah.

-Whereabouts is it in America?

-New Jersey.

New Jersey. Oh, wow.

So we'll be out there for a month. I'll do that and then come back

and hopefully it'll be done not long after that.

How long is it all going to take, then?

Well, with all the work that I have got on at the moment,

I'm hoping maybe eight months altogether.

-Right.

-So I can do other work at the same time.

Well, listen, congratulations to you both.

-Thanks very much.

-I can't wait for how it all turns out.

-Thank you.

-And good luck with it.

-Thanks.

Well, I think Alex might be taking on a little bit more

than he was expecting with this place.

That, after not seeing the property beforehand.

Tut, tut. How will he get on sorting it out

and doing virtually all the work himself?

Well, you can find out how he transforms this place,

hopefully, later in the show.

Investing in property is a big decision

and requires a lot of time, money and care.

Now we know how one of our buyers got on when they took the plunge.

-How about the other two?

-Let's find out right now.

We are heading back to Romford in East London,

where I saw a three-bed semidetached house,

which looked a good size from the outside.

However, it really turned out to be a bit of a TARDIS in reverse.

Big on the outside -

on the inside, not so much.

Round here, you've got a disappointing kitchen, actually.

Not in great condition, very old-fashioned, and it's tiny.

Upstairs, two of the three bedrooms were well-proportioned,

but the bathroom just wasn't big enough to be the only one

in what should be a family house.

The lack of space inside was counterbalanced

by a lot of added space outside.

Builder Singh, who paid 300 grand for this property,

planned to use it.

Downstairs, we want to create an extra shower downstairs,

and a bathroom and extension.

OK. So the bathroom. Where are you going to put the bathroom?

Just where the old kitchen is.

-OK.

-In that area.

And you're extending that way?

Yes. I mean, space-wise, it's lovely.

The area's nice, got a side alleyway.

It needs some work done to it, which is nothing we cannot do.

Just a bit of make-up, really.

Bit of make-up! I like that one.

I've not heard that one before. I might use that one.

Singh had already applied for planning permission

to extend the house at the back and also go up into the loft

to add a bedroom and a shower room.

Now, I did say I was going to use that make-up line,

so it's time to head back six months later

to see if the makeover is complete.

# She's got her lipstick on Here I come, da-da-dum

# She's got her lipstick on Hit and run, then I'm gone

# Check my collar, collar Hey, hey-hey

# Check my collar, collar Hey, hey-hey

# Oh!

# Oh! #

Singh got his four-metre extension as planned,

which now houses a lovely kitchen.

It still left plenty of space in the garden,

and means the rest of the downstairs is very spacious...

..with an open-plan living room and shower room

under the stairs.

And he added more living space upstairs.

# Let me tell you how it works Hey! #

A loft conversion means there are now four bedrooms in total.

Three on the first floor,

and a family bathroom, too.

And on the top floor there's now a new double-aspect loft room...

..with another shower room next-door...

..which means there are now washing facilities on each floor.

Singh and his team have really outdone themselves,

even adding touches like the colour on the walls

that gives a house that added character.

He must be really happy with the end results.

Good feeling. I mean, what it was, what it is now.

It's totally...totally...

If you walk in through the door,

you wouldn't even notice. It's massively changed.

It's quite a massive improvement.

It's amazing. I mean, the whole kitchen layout,

it's got a lot more spacious now, as well,

so it's definitely much better than before.

Yes, I can't disagree with you, Singh.

But a fair amount of the credit for the work

has got to go to your brother-in-law,

who did a lot of the dirty work.

So what was Singh's involvement?

I was more of a project manager, my side of it.

This is a family business.

Me and my brother-in-law, we run it together.

I do a lot of the decorating stuff, plus the demolition side of it.

We've got a team of guys who work for us.

We've been running other projects as well at the same time.

Those other projects that he and his team are working on,

plus Singh's holiday to India -

that I've got to say I was a bit jealous of -

has meant he's not been bang on his five-month timescale.

We expected to do it in four or five months,

because we were away for a holiday, we had about four to six weeks off.

We had other projects running at the same time as well,

so I wouldn't say...

Yeah, I expected to finish kind of this time.

I'll forgive you for only being a month late, Singh,

as you got to enjoy your break.

But his 50-grand budget also slipped and ended up being £70,000.

So what happened there, Singh?

The reason being we have went into the fourth bedroom upstairs,

which is additional on what we were going to do.

Obviously that's put the price up on there, so I'm still...

I'm still happy. I'm sure I'll get my money back on the sale.

So I think it's probably worthwhile.

But will adding the loft extension help Singh get the biggest return

on his investment of £370,000?

Well, we've asked along two local agents for their opinion.

Quite impressed. Everything's done well.

The biggest selling point of this property would be

through lounge to the kitchen, and the garden's quite nice, as well.

The layout of the property works really well,

especially for a family coming in.

The skylight in the extension.

The light overall, the colours,

it's one of the best I've seen for a while.

So some good feedback there from the agents.

Singh hopes to sell this house and make a profit.

All in, the purchase and the work has totalled £370,000.

Has it been money well spent?

If this property was to be placed on the market at this time,

the initial asking price should be in the region

of £475,000 to £480,000,

and I would expect offers from £460,000 upwards.

The resale value of this property, between £475,000 and £500,000.

I think 500 is probably a bit too much for the area.

We were talking about 470, 480.

So I'll get a return.

If we go over 475, 480, I'll be happy.

His ideal £480,000 figure would give him a total profit

of 110 grand, minus taxes and fees, of course.

All in, Singh got absolutely everything done

the way he wanted it, made a profit

and even had time for a holiday in between,

so I would say it's been quite a success.

It's the first one we've done in an auction

and done to the max as possible.

We're not spending too much money on it, either,

so kept it within the range.

So I think we're happy. Happy with the result.

It was in the South Wales town of Aberdare where we first saw

a two-bed terraced house that from the outside

looked pretty traditional and solid,

but step inside the door and things started to go wrong from there.

This looks to me to be some kind of single-storey extension.

It's housing the bathroom and loo and the kitchen.

And if that bit was, you know, OK...

-HE SIGHS

-..this bit really isn't.

Lots and lots of damp.

Well, you can see the state it's in.

Not attractive at all.

# I'm in trouble You're in trouble

# Deep, deep trouble's going to burst our bubble

# And I'm in trouble Won't you save our souls tonight? #

Yep, this extension-cum-lean-to was a whole lot of trouble.

Not only was it in a sorry state,

it had an asbestos roof that would need to be professionally removed

and replaced.

Upstairs, the two bedrooms weren't great either.

Signs of damp, holes in the floor

and sadly lacking in character or charm.

All of which came as a bit of a surprise to Alex

and his partner, Sarah, who bought it at auction for £39,000,

having only viewed it from the outside.

# Oh, no-one knows

# What goes on behind closed doors. #

So when did you see it for the first time inside?

-On the day we completed sort of thing.

-Right.

Drove up and had a look, which was a real shock, really.

-Was it?

-It was a shock, yes.

I thought it would be quite nice inside,

not in the state it was in, like this.

# Oh, no!

# I've got that sinking feeling

# Oh, no! #

So somewhat-shaken Alex needed to roll up his sleeves and rock on with

a long list of jobs that were needed to get the place back up to scratch.

But he did have some previous building experience

and was in the process of becoming a qualified carpenter.

With a budget of £15,000 and an eight to nine month timescale,

he hoped he could turn those "oh, noes" into an "oh, yes".

But now, over three years later, we're back.

And the progress?

Well, outside is still the same.

But will it be the same shocker as it was before inside?

Well, this characterless house now has a warm, homely feel.

But what about that rear extension?

Well, gone is the asbestos roof.

And the re-roofed extension houses a modern kitchen...

..while the old bathroom is now a utility area.

Upstairs, and the bedrooms are almost unrecognisable -

replastered, new radiators, doors, flooring -

the lot.

By putting in a corridor,

Alex has created space to fit a modern shower room at the end.

That's a clever use of space.

And this place clearly isn't just a refurbishment project.

It's a home. But why has it taken so long?

Well, the timescale went a little bit over

due to, you know, I had work, I had college,

I did other renovations for other people,

plus I went abroad to America to work,

did a few jobs out there for friends,

plus I went to Spain on a few nice little jaunts.

And Alex reckons there's still a couple of months of work

to finish off - decking out the garden and sorting out those stairs

to meet current building regulations.

The house has been Alex's family home,

with partner Sarah and their daughter, for a few years now.

And during that time, it's been a bit of a voyage of discovery.

Really good finds in the property

were the staircase and the fireplace.

The staircase,

a friend of ours told us that if I picked up the floorboards

in the cupboard upstairs, I would find something.

So, next day, came home,

picked up the floorboards and there was the stone stairs.

All bricked up and everything.

When I took the wall down,

all the render of the fireplace had come down,

exposing this really nice fireplace.

And then I took the inner part of the chimney stack

to find the bread oven. So all of those were amazing finds.

We might find something the else.

You know, the floor at the bottom of the stairs sounds a bit hollow.

Either a mine shaft or a cellar.

So we've got two choices there.

# That is waiting there

# For you

# Like hidden treasure. #

So the house might have hidden depths, as well as hidden charm.

It's a shame those old stairs go nowhere,

but they're certainly a quirky feature.

But that fireplace is a real find,

and the great thing about these discoveries

is, apart from some hard graft from him and his partner, Sarah,

they were free.

And that's always a bonus when you've got a tight budget.

My budget was, er... I said it was 15.

I think I've actually spent about 15,500 at the moment

and there's still a bit of work to be done.

So I reckon about 16,500, maybe 17,000 would cover it all.

£17,000 refurbishment costs, along with Alex's £39,000 purchase price,

takes the total spend to £56,000.

So perhaps by luck more than judgment,

Alex seems to have unearthed a gem here.

But what do you two local property experts think?

Upstairs is lovely.

Especially with the two-bedroom layout

and the shower room.

The property has and nice feel, it really does.

It looks as if it's been thoughtfully done,

with some nice features.

I think the house has been finished to a high standard

and it's ideal for a young couple, first-time buyer,

and good use of space and nice and bright

with the added windows in the kitchen.

Alex sees this as his family home for the next five years.

But has all his hard work paid off

on a property he will have invested

£56,000 into once complete?

I think we could easily achieve a figure of £75,000.

I believe in the sales market at this moment in time,

I would estimate a valuation of around £80,000.

80,000, I think that's about right

for this current value, at the moment.

So good solid numbers that could see a pre-tax profit

of between £19,000 and £24,000.

And with rental figures between £400 and £475 per calendar month,

which would generate a yield of at least 8%,

there's really nothing shocking about this house now.

This has been a real labour of love for Alex

and, although he might have done most of the work,

he certainly didn't do it alone.

I'd like to thank Sarah, my partner,

and my children and the little one for supporting me.

When I was down, they came and gave me a good old push.

# You didn't have to shake me like you did

# But you did, yes, you did

# And I thank you

# You didn't have to make it like you did

# But you did, yes, you did

# And I thank you... #

You might have guessed that property renovation projects

never fail to keep us hooked.

Yes, and if you can't get enough of our stories,

there's plenty more where they came from.

Yes, we'll see you next time here on Homes Under The Hammer.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

-Goodbye.