Episode 56 Homes Under the Hammer


Episode 56

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Transcript


LineFromTo

Hello and welcome to the show.

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Now, an auction really does offer a unique opportunity to find

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that fascinating property at an affordable price.

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Yeah, but it's not all about just opening that auction catalogue

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and choosing your favourite property.

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It's all about the research.

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Yeah, I sometimes feel a bit like a schoolteacher.

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The number of times I say you have to do your homework,

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especially if you're buying your next property under the hammer.

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Now, buying at auction can be a really efficient way

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of purchasing property.

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You can own it within a month.

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Yeah, but do me a favour,

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please try and look at the place some time before you bid.

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You'd be amazed at the amount of buyers

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we meet on this show who didn't.

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Let's hope it's not the case today. Let's find out.

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This two-up-two-down in Merseyside's a pretty picture.

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Am I painting a picture here of a house

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that is pretty much all together?

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It's a bit of a no-brainer really, isn't it?

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This Derby terrace is a '50s throwback.

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Look at those cupboards, they work perfectly!

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They are now retro and would cost you a lot of money.

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The kitchen cabinets are in the bedroom in this Dulwich flat.

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I'm hoping the final piece of the jigsaw will fall into place,

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because right now, it's just not quite making sense.

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The gentleman stood up...

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All these properties have been sold at auction.

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

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-when they went under the hammer.

-Sold!

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This is St Helens in Merseyside.

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The whole area was once a centre of industry,

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mainly mining and glass-making.

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And the site of the old Sutton Manor colliery, which closed in 1991,

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is now marked by this impressive 66-foot sculpture called Dream.

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# Dreams can come true

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# Look at me, babe, I'm with you

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# You know you gotta have hope

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# You know you gotta be strong... #

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So, am I here to see a dream of a property, or a bit of a nightmare?

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Well, St Helens is well located,

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halfway between Manchester and Liverpool,

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lots of local employment, which is good.

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And the property I'm here to see sounds appealing.

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It's a mid-terrace, £35,000, plus two bedrooms.

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Let's have a look.

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Well, you know, even after doing this for 14 years,

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I never lose that excitement of what you're going to find

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when you walk through the front door of even something as basic as this,

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a sort of what would originally have been a two-up-two-down terrace.

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Because even though the properties themselves are often the same

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from the outside, just inside, you just never know,

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and that's why it's really important

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to look round properties that you see at auction.

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You've got to see it, because you can't tell from the outside.

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So, in that case, what's this one like? Well, pretty standard.

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You've got a little porch area. We like that, it keeps the cold out.

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A reasonable quality and reasonable sized front living room,

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so that's pretty good.

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No smell of damp, looks to be in reasonable condition.

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This middle room would have been originally the rear of the property.

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My guess is that the stairs would have gone up there.

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But somebody's obviously done some kind of conversion.

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Because as we walk through,

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you can see the stairs are actually now here.

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That actually opens up the space quite a lot.

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And then, this from here on is an extension.

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You've got a kitchen, fairly standard layout.

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It's sort of a galley kitchen, long and thin.

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And then at the rear of the property, you've got the bathroom.

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Fairly standard. But you know, for this kind of property, pretty good.

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A nice start.

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# Loving you seems to easy

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# No melodramas, no heartache

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# There's no melodramas, no heartache

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# No melodramas, no heartache! #

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A simple redecoration here along with an oven hob

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and some white goods, and I'd say this would be ready to move into.

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I'd want to get that window fixed.

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But outside, the yard is very low maintenance,

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much like the rest of the house.

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So, two bedrooms up here.

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You've got your front bedroom, reasonable condition.

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Actually, even the floorboards look OK.

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And then, your rear bedroom. Not much else to report.

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Apart from the fact it all seems to be in pretty nice condition.

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No obvious signs of damp.

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A bit of a cupboard there with what looks like a relatively new boiler,

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and the central heating seems to be in half-decent condition.

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Double glazing. Am I painting a picture here

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of a house that is pretty much all together?

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Um...

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Yeah, it's a bit of a no-brainer really, isn't it?

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# But it's the simple things that make you smile... #

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The renovation might be simple, but would the decision to sell on

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or rent out this house be as straightforward?

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We've asked along a local estate agent for his opinion on the matter.

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The most buoyant market in this area

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is without a doubt the rental market.

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St Helens as a town is oversaturated with terraced properties,

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so you really do need to get them very cheap

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to make a huge profit on them.

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The best course of action for this property would definitely be

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as a buy-to-let investment.

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OK. So, just what kind of rental return might we expect?

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Once completed, this property should rent for £450 per calendar month.

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That brings in a yearly sum of 5,400,

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which could mean really great yield, depending of course,

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on the level of refurbishment chosen,

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and how close to the £35,000 plus guide price it was bought for.

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What about the sales market, then?

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Could there be money to be made on a quick sale?

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From a sales point of view,

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the property would be worth £70,000, once refurbished.

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Well, it looks like either way,

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you could be onto a winner with this house.

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Well, just remember that guide price, £35,000 plus

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for a pretty decent mid-terrace.

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Yeah, you can't go far wrong with this one.

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

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It's a two-bed mid-terrace house

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with double glazing and central heating.

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You've got a guide of £35,000.

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Shall we say 30?

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30. I see two hands.

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30, you. 31, 32, 33, 34, 35.

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36, 37, 38.

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I'll come back to you, it's 37.

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Gentleman stood up, it's against you sitting down.

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Anybody else in, if it's at 38,000?

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At 38, I see now...

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The bids progressed in £500 increments

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and we rejoin the bidding at 41,500.

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..41 for the second time.

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Last couple of seconds, sir, if you want to come back in.

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If not, third and final... You're in at 41.5. New bidder, 42?

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42 and a half now, sitting down. 43.

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And a half? No. 43 is the bid.

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You, sir, by the Together board, are we all done at £43,000?

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Last chance for anybody else.

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Not taken. It's yours. Well done, sir, at 43.

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Picking up this property for 43,000 was Paul and his wife Jan.

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That seems like a really good buy for the money to me.

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So, when they came along to meet me,

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I was interested to hear what they had planned for this house.

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-Paul, Jan, great to meet you both.

-You too.

-Congratulations!

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-Thank you.

-Tell me why you wanted to buy this place?

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We go to quite a lot of auctions and we buy quite a lot of properties

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in and out of them and it was just one that came up.

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We thought it was a reasonable price.

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We bought one down the road a couple of months back before, didn't we?

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-Mm-hm.

-So, yeah, bought this one.

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Good. I mean, there doesn't seem anything wrong with it.

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It's just a nice, solid sort of clean property.

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Yeah, generally. It's in pretty good nick, yeah.

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So, you say you've bought others.

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Is this what you do, then? Is this your day job?

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-Are you both property investors?

-Yeah.

-Well, Paul is, really. I help.

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OK! Very important help, I'm sure.

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-She's the interior designer.

-I do the interiors.

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I see, yeah, very important.

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-We do it abroad as well.

-Do you?

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We do quite a lot of work in Portugal as well.

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-Portugal, oh, wow.

-Yeah.

-Bit warmer, but a bit further away.

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-Yeah!

-Bit further to travel.

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-Yeah, yeah.

-How did this start?

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How long have you been doing sort of buying and selling properties?

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I've been in the building industry 25 years.

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And it started from then.

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-So, I've always done it.

-Right. And what do you generally do?

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Do you do them up and sell them on, or do you rent them out, or what?

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Both, really, yeah. Some for rent and some for sale.

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-This is going to go for sale.

-OK.

-Same as the one down the road.

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-So, we've completely gutted it...

-OK.

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So, tell me what you're going to do to it, then.

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As you said at the beginning, Martin, it's in pretty good nick.

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I mean, through the back, we're going to open up the back

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and open up that staircase to give it a much more brighter feel.

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-OK.

-So, I think the kitchen will lead into the dining room

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and it'll become a dining-kitchen.

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General decoration throughout.

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We'll change the kitchen and we'll change the bathroom.

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-OK.

-Fully tile the bathroom.

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The kitchen we'll partially tile and partially splashback it all.

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OK. There's no chance of moving anything upstairs

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-in terms of the loo, is there? There's not enough space.

-No, no.

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You take too much room off the bedrooms in these houses,

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if you move that up, so that'll stay where it is, yeah.

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So, what about timescale for doing it?

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Well, we're committed on other projects

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and we can't actually start for two or three months now.

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But when we actually do start, four to five weeks.

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So, what's the sort of budget for the work you're planning?

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Probably about 8,000 on this one.

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So, that puts you at about 51, 52, plus some costs.

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-Yeah.

-What do you think you might be able to get back if you sell it?

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Hoping to achieve about 70, between 65 and 70.

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70, yeah, you can't get much more than that in this area.

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-It's the ceiling price on the area, you know.

-OK.

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This experienced pair know what the top price is around here.

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With a quick flip, you must make sure you leave yourself

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enough room for profit, subtracting not just the purchase price

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and renovation costs, but always calculating any auction fees,

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estate agency costs to sell, and of course,

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legal fees for buying and selling.

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You should also make sure you know which taxes you might incur.

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Paul and Jan's £8,000 budget is quite low

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for the amount of work they want to do.

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But that's because they're getting stuck in themselves

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and helping with some of the labour-intensive works.

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I do the smashing and bashing bits and clean it out.

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Jan gets involved in that as well and helping out.

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Yeah, I do the carrying into the skip.

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-Oh, good! Really hands-on, then. That's good.

-She's very hands-on.

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And then Marcus, he's my cousin...

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..who was round with us to view the property

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and have a good look at it and that,

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he's more the technical guy and he helps me...

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Well, he does the building

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and I give him a lift with it, really, then.

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Right, so he's a bit of an adviser.

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-He's had a look round with you.

-He's very good.

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-He's a qualified electrician.

-He's an electrician, plumber, plasterer.

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-Yeah.

-Does everything.

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-Yeah, he's pretty good.

-Great.

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Doing it yourselves is going to keep the costs down,

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which as we've already established, is pretty important on this one.

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-Yeah, yeah.

-And if you can't sell it, I mean,

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would you drop the price, or would you consider renting it out,

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or does it not quite meet your criteria?

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It doesn't quite meet the criteria in what you'd achieve

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on the rental value to make it worthwhile.

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But if I feel like the market's in such a way

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that we can't get it, then yeah, we would rent it.

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-We'd have to rent it.

-Yeah, good.

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What do you enjoy about doing this whole thing?

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Well, obviously I enjoy the end bit.

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You know, choosing the kitchens, the bathrooms,

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the decor and seeing it finished at the end.

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It looks amazing when you've walked into it...

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This isn't too bad a property.

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But when you walk into some and then you see the end result,

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it's quite exciting, really.

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-Well, listen, congratulations. Good luck with it.

-Thank you.

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-I look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you.

-Yeah.

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Well, bing, bang, boom!

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Paul and Jan adopting the quick-in-quick-out approach.

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I don't know - I think, as a rental earner, this one,

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not a bad property to go for.

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However, they're going to sell on.

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How will they get on sorting it out? You can find out later in the show.

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Oh, and I guess it's not going to be long before they're off to Portugal.

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And I guess, on a day like today, who can blame them?

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DION: This is the civil parish of Heanor and Loscoe,

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just north of Derby.

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I'm in the village of Loscoe, and in the 19th and 20th centuries,

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Loscoe was a mining village and it had three mines,

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which were Old Loscoe, Bailey Brook and Ormonde,

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and they all provided jobs for the local people

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until the closure of the last one in 1970.

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# All I wanna hear her say is are you mine? #

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I'm here today to look at one of the terraced houses that were built

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back in the day for the miners and their families.

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That was when they were still churning out black gold.

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Now, there's great road links not too far away to Nottingham, Derby

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and at a push, Sheffield.

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This is our pad.

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It's got a guide price of £55,000 plus.

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Intriguingly, the catalogue describes this house

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as having two/three bedrooms.

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More of that later.

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Let's have a look and see what you get for your dough.

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# Are you mine? #

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Nice.

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A nice big porchway here.

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I'm taking a guess it wasn't like this when it was built.

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That being false, they must have nicked a bit of space

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from whatever's on the other side of this, which is...

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..I would imagine it would have been two rooms back in the day,

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but it's now one big lounge

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and taking the space into the porchway

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hasn't really hindered this lounge whatsoever.

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I can see...

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..a little bit of rising damp in the corner here, look.

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Let's have a look at this.

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Yes.

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It isn't... It isn't actually...

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It isn't actually too bad and that is solvable.

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But get it solved pretty sharpish.

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Lots of space in this area as well.

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This would have been the second reception room.

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'80s solid fireplace.

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'70s carpet.

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And we have on here...

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Oh, OK, we're taking safety to the next level here.

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We've got the fire alarm on top of the fire.

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Can't be too careful.

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Right, what else have we got?

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Down here, we've got the kitchen.

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Stairs just there, going up to the bedrooms.

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Now, I've seen some dated kitchens in my time,

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but this one is proper dated.

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There's hardly any kitchen in here, to be honest with you.

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Just a few cupboards, a few sliding cupboards here.

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There's your worktop. A little bit of a worktop there.

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It does feel a bit tight.

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Take this all out, get something modern in here.

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And look at these beauties. Ha!

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We used to have these back in the day.

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Look at those cupboards. They work perfectly.

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They are now retro and will cost you a lot of money.

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And all the way down towards the bottom,

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we've got a door there just going out to the back garden,

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and at the end, you've got the bathroom.

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Your toilet, your sink and your bath.

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It does need to be redone.

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You've got polystyrene tiles here, so they're a safety hazard.

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Get rid of those. Needs modernising.

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The whole of this downstairs needs to be freshened up.

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But there's enough space to make it pretty cool,

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pretty bright and more accepting of Mr Dublin.

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These dinky units could be resold

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to anyone looking for a vintage kitchen.

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They're in good nick.

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Or they could be handy in a workroom or a shed.

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Upcycle where you can. That's what I say.

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But when it comes to the old polystyrene tiles,

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they just have to go.

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The old ones were often not treated for fire retardant,

0:16:190:16:22

meaning the tiles or the adhesive could present a fire hazard.

0:16:220:16:27

Time to have a look at the first bedroom.

0:16:270:16:29

OK, upstairs, we've got three bedrooms,

0:16:290:16:32

this being the first one I've seen.

0:16:320:16:34

Nice and bright, white walls,

0:16:340:16:38

not my choice of carpet, I've got to say.

0:16:380:16:40

I'm pretty sure my grandma had this back in the day.

0:16:400:16:43

Nice, long, spacious back garden, which is good.

0:16:430:16:47

In here, we've got...

0:16:470:16:48

..a boiler, combi boiler as well, which doesn't look too bad at all.

0:16:490:16:54

Good start here.

0:16:540:16:55

But when it comes to the other two bedrooms across the hall, well,

0:16:580:17:01

things start to get a bit strange.

0:17:010:17:03

The catalogue describes this house as a two/three bedroom,

0:17:060:17:10

and here's why.

0:17:100:17:11

So, they've made... Right, just follow me.

0:17:120:17:14

Follow me. This is pretty strange, this.

0:17:140:17:17

First and foremost, concrete floors upstairs, which is pretty strange.

0:17:170:17:22

So, this is your bedroom, and then you've got another bedroom there.

0:17:220:17:26

This used to be one, I'm pretty sure of it.

0:17:260:17:27

Now, they've made two, which is fine,

0:17:270:17:29

try and squeeze another bedroom in.

0:17:290:17:31

But why would you have the door just there?

0:17:310:17:35

OK, why not have the door here?

0:17:350:17:37

Create a bit of a hallway here. Maybe just... You come in here.

0:17:380:17:42

You step to the left and you walk that way into that bedroom,

0:17:420:17:46

and have a door just here for this bedroom.

0:17:460:17:49

At the moment, if you can imagine, if someone's asleep in there.

0:17:490:17:52

Imagine this, that's my bedroom.

0:17:520:17:54

I've been to the pub and I've had one pint of ale, right?

0:17:560:17:59

OK, can you imagine?

0:17:590:18:00

That ain't going to work.

0:18:090:18:10

# He gotta work it out

0:18:100:18:12

# He gotta work it out... #

0:18:130:18:15

Working out how to get a bathroom up here would mean a plumbing nightmare

0:18:150:18:19

because of the concrete floors.

0:18:190:18:21

So, it looks as if the bathroom might have to stay downstairs.

0:18:210:18:25

OK, let's find out if it's likely to be an issue in the local market

0:18:260:18:29

from the auctioneer who sold this house

0:18:290:18:31

that was guided at £55,000 plus.

0:18:310:18:34

People like the bathroom to be upstairs.

0:18:350:18:37

Obviously, it's down here at the moment.

0:18:370:18:39

Normally, you would put your pipework and hide everything

0:18:390:18:41

between the timber floor and the ceiling of the ground floor.

0:18:410:18:44

Having that concrete floor means that that just isn't possible,

0:18:440:18:47

so you'd have to surface mount everything, from the electrics

0:18:470:18:50

to the pipework for that bathroom.

0:18:500:18:52

So that isn't something I would consider.

0:18:520:18:54

You could actually remove those floors.

0:18:540:18:56

It does only affect the front of the house.

0:18:560:18:58

And you could bring those floors down and replace them

0:18:580:19:01

with a timber structure with a ceiling,

0:19:010:19:03

and below, a traditional joist underneath.

0:19:030:19:05

My only caveat there would be until you bring those floors down,

0:19:050:19:08

you don't really know what exactly you're going to be dealing with.

0:19:080:19:12

In this case, it's best the bathroom stays put,

0:19:120:19:15

unless you're feeling very flush indeed.

0:19:150:19:18

So, based on renovating the house to a good standard

0:19:180:19:22

with a downstairs loo and reconfiguring the bedrooms,

0:19:220:19:25

what could this house be worth?

0:19:250:19:27

If this property were renovated to a good standard,

0:19:270:19:29

I would anticipate a sale being achieved

0:19:290:19:31

somewhere in the region of £85,000.

0:19:310:19:33

I think we've got a good, solid house here.

0:19:340:19:37

Lots of space inside, lots of space outside. DOG BARKS

0:19:370:19:40

Neighbours have just popped in to say hello as well.

0:19:400:19:42

It's just a little bit skew-whiff to me.

0:19:420:19:44

One-bedrooms becomes two-bedrooms.

0:19:440:19:46

It needs to be reconfigured.

0:19:460:19:48

Let's find out who wanted to reconfigure this place

0:19:480:19:50

and get it back up and running, when it went under the hammer.

0:19:500:19:53

A larger than average two/three-bedroom mid-terrace house.

0:19:580:20:01

The guide price today is £55,000.

0:20:010:20:04

Where do you want to start with this? 50?

0:20:040:20:07

We're going to get further than this, I know we are.

0:20:070:20:09

At £50,000, I'm looking for.

0:20:090:20:11

Thank you, sir. At £50,000 is the opening bid.

0:20:110:20:14

51 now.

0:20:140:20:15

At £50,000, 51.

0:20:150:20:17

51 here, 52.

0:20:170:20:20

52 is bid. 53, 53.

0:20:200:20:23

54. 54 is bid.

0:20:230:20:25

55, 55 now.

0:20:250:20:28

56, sir. 56 is bid.

0:20:280:20:30

57, 58, 59.

0:20:300:20:34

Shakes his head. With you, sir, at £58,000.

0:20:340:20:38

59 now? No.

0:20:380:20:40

At £58,000, seated on the aisle, then,

0:20:400:20:43

I shall sell for the first time at £58,000,

0:20:430:20:47

for the second time,

0:20:470:20:49

third and final time, the hammer's up, fair warning, £58,000, it goes.

0:20:490:20:53

Sold. Well bought, sir, at £58,000, and thank you.

0:20:530:20:57

Buying the house with a top bid of £58,000 was Steve.

0:21:000:21:05

We met him back at the house for a chat about his plans.

0:21:050:21:08

-Steve, nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

0:21:080:21:10

-Congratulations, pal.

-Thank you.

0:21:100:21:11

What was it that made you buy this particular place, then?

0:21:110:21:14

I'd actually got nine I'd been to view.

0:21:140:21:16

-Hold it, hold it. How many?

-Nine.

0:21:160:21:18

I'd been to nine viewings at nine different properties,

0:21:180:21:21

and I just got lucky on this one.

0:21:210:21:23

-You must have done a lot of research.

-Yeah.

0:21:230:21:25

It was a week or so's research, all the legal packs,

0:21:250:21:28

going through all the visits.

0:21:280:21:30

-But basically, the guide price...

-OK.

0:21:300:21:31

..was where I wanted to be and this was in the bracket.

0:21:310:21:35

# If you want to do something now, do it right... #

0:21:350:21:40

Potential property developers, take note.

0:21:400:21:43

Steve has definitely gone about this the right way.

0:21:430:21:46

Research, research, and just a little bit more research.

0:21:460:21:50

So, it's hardly surprising

0:21:500:21:52

Steve knows exactly what he's going to do with this property.

0:21:520:21:56

Downstairs, probably reduce the size of the porch,

0:21:560:21:59

probably put a false ceiling in,

0:21:590:22:00

-drop the ceiling to hide all the wires.

-OK.

0:22:000:22:02

-Because of the concrete ceiling above.

-Yeah.

0:22:020:22:06

Completely new kitchen.

0:22:060:22:08

There's very little in the kitchen, isn't there?

0:22:080:22:10

Yeah, there's not much really at all, is there?

0:22:100:22:13

So, no, the plan is to have a full new kitchen in there.

0:22:130:22:15

-Yeah.

-Both sides.

-Bathroom?

-Just a bit of cleaning up, tidying up,

0:22:150:22:19

that's all pretty straightforward, I think, in there.

0:22:190:22:21

So, what about upstairs then, Steve? It's a little bit...

0:22:210:22:24

-It's a bit strange up there, isn't it?

-Yes.

0:22:240:22:26

-All the paperwork said two/three bedrooms.

-Yes!

0:22:260:22:29

So, I'm thinking, well, how does it mean two or three?

0:22:290:22:31

-How can it be one or t'other?

-What's the stroke for?

0:22:310:22:34

Yes, exactly.

0:22:340:22:35

But I think, once you go up there, you find out.

0:22:350:22:38

OK, how are you going to sort that?

0:22:380:22:39

-Plan is to put a small stud wall in.

-Yeah.

0:22:390:22:41

Take a bit off the small one,

0:22:410:22:43

giving access then to the second bedroom.

0:22:430:22:45

-Yes.

-So, all three have got an individual access.

0:22:450:22:49

Steve has £8,500 to spend on the renovation,

0:22:490:22:53

which includes the work he plans to do in the garden.

0:22:530:22:57

Re-fencing one side and adding decking and gravel at the bottom.

0:22:570:23:01

The work should take around eight to ten weeks,

0:23:030:23:05

with Steve doing most of the work himself,

0:23:050:23:07

and he'll be doing the renovation full-time.

0:23:070:23:10

Steve previously worked as a draughtsman for 30 years

0:23:100:23:13

until sadly, his wife passed away.

0:23:130:23:16

-Things transpired and the head just wasn't quite with it.

-OK.

0:23:180:23:22

And I've always enjoyed doing DIY to quite a high level, so I thought,

0:23:220:23:26

-well, now or never. Why not?

-Good for you.

0:23:260:23:29

-You've taken DIY to the next level.

-Well, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah!

0:23:290:23:32

-So, I've done one already.

-Yeah.

-And I enjoyed it.

0:23:320:23:35

Will you continue doing it when you've sold this one?

0:23:350:23:38

Yeah, I'm enjoying it, so, you know,

0:23:380:23:40

it gives a good quality of life, I think, you know.

0:23:400:23:44

-Good luck, Steve.

-Thank you, Dion.

-Wish you all the best.

0:23:440:23:46

Cheers, thank you.

0:23:460:23:47

So, Steve's going to be selling on,

0:23:490:23:51

but he's got a few jobs to do before he does that.

0:23:510:23:54

First one, reconfigure those bedrooms upstairs,

0:23:540:23:57

which is a must.

0:23:570:23:58

I'm intrigued to find out what else Steve's got up his sleeve.

0:23:580:24:01

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

0:24:010:24:04

MARTEL: Coming up, it's a tight squeeze

0:24:050:24:07

in the second bedroom of this Dulwich flat.

0:24:070:24:10

I can definitely touch, if I do that.

0:24:100:24:12

And if you did get a double bed in, you'd have to roll out off it.

0:24:120:24:15

DION: And in Loscoe,

0:24:160:24:18

Steve was visited by someone born in the house.

0:24:180:24:20

Nearly finished the job and she came in

0:24:200:24:22

and said what a wonderful job you'd done, and that was a real buzz.

0:24:220:24:25

MARTIN: Back again now to St Helens on Merseyside,

0:24:280:24:30

and this good-conditioned two-bedroom

0:24:300:24:33

mid-terrace that I saw earlier.

0:24:330:24:35

You've got your front bedroom, reasonable condition.

0:24:350:24:37

Actually, even the floorboards look OK.

0:24:370:24:40

And then your rear bedroom, not much else to report.

0:24:400:24:43

Bit of a cupboard there, with what looks like a relatively new boiler

0:24:430:24:46

and the central heating seems to be in half-decent condition.

0:24:460:24:49

Double glazing.

0:24:490:24:51

Am I painting a picture here of a house

0:24:510:24:53

that is pretty much all together?

0:24:530:24:54

Yeah, it's a bit of a no-brainer, really, isn't it?

0:24:570:25:00

The house was bought by Paul and Jan for £43,000.

0:25:000:25:05

They bought a similar house in the same road recently.

0:25:050:25:08

-I do the smashing and bashing bits.

-HE LAUGHS

0:25:090:25:12

And clean it out. Jan gets involved in that as well.

0:25:120:25:15

Yeah, I do the carrying into the skip.

0:25:150:25:17

Oh, good, really hands-on, then!

0:25:170:25:19

She's very hands-on.

0:25:190:25:21

And then Marcus, he's my cousin,

0:25:210:25:24

he does the building and I give him a lift with it, really.

0:25:240:25:26

-He's a qualified electrician.

-An electrician, plumber, plasterer.

0:25:260:25:29

-Yeah, he's pretty good.

-And what do you generally do?

0:25:290:25:31

Do you do them up and sell them on, or do you rent them out, or what?

0:25:310:25:34

Both, really, yeah. Some for rent and some for sale.

0:25:340:25:37

-This is going to go for sale.

-OK.

-Same as the one down the road.

0:25:370:25:40

Paul and Jan have developing experience here and abroad.

0:25:400:25:44

So, they and qualified electrician, cousin Marcus,

0:25:440:25:47

plan to meet some other commitments and then get stuck into this

0:25:470:25:51

on a four to five-week timescale.

0:25:510:25:53

Well, we're back three months later.

0:25:530:25:55

# I just wanna be part of your symphony... #

0:25:550:25:59

I must say, opening the staircase has lifted this room immensely.

0:26:010:26:04

And the open spindles will allow more light onto the stairs.

0:26:040:26:09

And they've opened up the kitchen entrance.

0:26:090:26:11

The kitchen worktops add a touch of luxury.

0:26:190:26:21

With the house being in good order to start with,

0:26:250:26:28

Paul and Jan have been able to spend more of their budget

0:26:280:26:30

on fixtures and fittings.

0:26:300:26:32

The bathroom has feature tiling and has the only tiled floor.

0:26:360:26:40

They're confident the improved spec will help sell the property.

0:26:400:26:44

In the past, Paul and Jan have had good results furnishing the way

0:26:510:26:54

they would their own house,

0:26:540:26:56

and as this is to be sold rather than rented,

0:26:560:26:58

feature walls feature in both the lounge and the smallest bedroom.

0:26:580:27:03

Like the rest of the house, brightness is the order of the day.

0:27:050:27:08

In the larger of the two bedrooms, too.

0:27:110:27:13

As predicted, Paul and Jan did the smashing and bashing,

0:27:200:27:23

but today, Marcus has made an appearance.

0:27:230:27:26

We took out all this wall there.

0:27:280:27:30

We took out the back here, the doorway into the kitchen,

0:27:300:27:33

and then left you with the technical bit.

0:27:330:27:36

Yeah, you did all the fun stuff by knocking it all out,

0:27:360:27:38

and then I had to put it all back together.

0:27:380:27:41

Put the new banister in and the spindles,

0:27:410:27:43

made all the plaster good, took this doorway out, opened it all up.

0:27:430:27:47

-And it just really changes the room, it makes it more modern.

-Yeah.

0:27:470:27:52

I bet we all wish we had a cousin like Marcus!

0:27:520:27:54

But he's going now, so come on, Paul, just between us,

0:27:540:27:57

has it all been happy families?

0:27:570:27:59

I think working with my cousin is really beneficial.

0:28:000:28:04

We've got a good working relationship.

0:28:040:28:07

He's always... He's always ready to do favours as well when needed,

0:28:070:28:11

and we work well together, and good friends.

0:28:110:28:14

What a jolly useful chap to have around.

0:28:140:28:16

Mates' rate on labour must be one cost-cutting measure.

0:28:160:28:20

And when sourcing materials for the renovations,

0:28:200:28:23

Paul and Jan keep their eyes open for a bargain.

0:28:230:28:26

We were keeping our eye on the online auction sites

0:28:260:28:28

for a fireplace.

0:28:280:28:30

We couldn't manage to secure any for the price we wanted,

0:28:300:28:34

and we were just sat at the traffic lights,

0:28:340:28:37

and I looked to the left and there was a second-hand shop.

0:28:370:28:39

So, Paul jumped out the car, I spotted the fireplace,

0:28:390:28:42

he jumped out of the car and bought it,

0:28:420:28:45

-while I drove round the block to come back to...

-Load it up.

0:28:450:28:49

A wise buy, by the sound of it.

0:28:490:28:51

So, what effect did these money-saving measures

0:28:510:28:54

have on their £8,000 budget?

0:28:540:28:56

We actually came in at slightly under that at 6,700,

0:28:560:29:00

which was pleasing.

0:29:000:29:01

If you would employ a contractor to do the whole thing,

0:29:010:29:04

it probably would have come in at about 12,000.

0:29:040:29:06

But doing it the way we do it, we obviously keep costs tight.

0:29:060:29:10

What effect did renovating two properties on the same street

0:29:100:29:14

with home-grown labour have on the timescale?

0:29:140:29:17

We originally thought four to five weeks.

0:29:170:29:19

We were a bit late starting due to commitments on other work.

0:29:190:29:23

But when we got going, it was four weeks, as we anticipated.

0:29:230:29:27

So, yeah, it went straightforward on that score.

0:29:270:29:29

Paul and Jan paid £43,000 at auction and £6,700 refurbishing,

0:29:290:29:35

and they're confident of making a profit

0:29:350:29:37

based on their other property in the same road.

0:29:370:29:40

We had an offer within two weeks,

0:29:400:29:42

so we are expecting it to sell, no problem.

0:29:420:29:45

And who better to say if the same approach is going to work here

0:29:470:29:51

than two local estate agents we've called in to give us their take?

0:29:510:29:55

First, the chap who saw it first time round.

0:29:550:29:58

The price bracket that it's in is open to buy-to-let investors

0:29:580:30:01

because it's quite a strong yield that the property has, but also,

0:30:010:30:03

first-time buyers cos of the standard of finish on this home.

0:30:030:30:06

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

0:30:060:30:08

There's been a great attention to detail.

0:30:080:30:10

I think even the decor is of a modern standard,

0:30:100:30:14

it's going to be really attractive to potential purchasers.

0:30:140:30:17

Paul and Jan are interested in only selling.

0:30:170:30:19

So, what's the likely outcome their £49,700 spend?

0:30:190:30:25

OK, so there's a reasonable demand for property in the immediate area.

0:30:250:30:29

I think in terms of price,

0:30:290:30:31

we'd be looking in the region of about 75,000

0:30:310:30:34

as an asking price for the property.

0:30:340:30:35

As a resale value, I would value this property at £75,000.

0:30:350:30:39

A £25,300 profit before taxes and expenses.

0:30:390:30:44

The valuation we had was 80, but we're happy to put it on at 75

0:30:440:30:48

because we do want a quick sale and we think that's more realistic

0:30:480:30:51

for the property in this area.

0:30:510:30:53

In the immediate future,

0:30:530:30:54

the couple have work continuing developing in Portugal.

0:30:540:30:57

But do they have any advice for non-jetsetting renovators?

0:30:570:31:01

All I'd say is just make sure you scrutinise everything

0:31:030:31:06

before you start, because it's more costly if you've got to do it

0:31:060:31:09

at the end of the job instead of doing it

0:31:090:31:11

at the beginning of the job.

0:31:110:31:13

One job Paul missed until late on

0:31:130:31:15

was a small tree growing out of the chimney stack.

0:31:150:31:19

It was eventually spotted when accessing the roof

0:31:190:31:21

to re-do the chimney flashing.

0:31:210:31:23

So, apart from Portugal, any other plans?

0:31:230:31:26

Yeah, we're viewing a property today,

0:31:260:31:28

but it's not an auction property. But it is a complete refurb.

0:31:280:31:31

Straight from this!

0:31:310:31:33

Well, there's no substitute for enthusiasm.

0:31:330:31:35

MARTEL: South London now and the area of Dulwich.

0:31:400:31:43

With its bars and restaurants, parks and transport links,

0:31:430:31:47

Dulwich is one of the most popular areas of London to live.

0:31:470:31:50

# London

0:31:500:31:52

# Keep on going back to London... #

0:31:530:31:57

The property I'm here to see is on one of the busiest roads,

0:31:590:32:03

as you can see and hear, in this area of London.

0:32:030:32:06

And right now, it's one of the wettest, too.

0:32:060:32:08

That might not be so much of a bone of contention

0:32:080:32:11

because it's in a very desirable part of London.

0:32:110:32:14

That said, it's something you definitely want to take

0:32:140:32:17

into consideration because this is it right here,

0:32:170:32:19

it's just off the road,

0:32:190:32:21

it's a two-bedroom flat with a guide price of £190,000.

0:32:210:32:25

Let's go look.

0:32:250:32:27

# And the rain comes down, but nobody seems to notice

0:32:270:32:33

# In London... #

0:32:350:32:36

Even before I go inside, my initial thought is

0:32:380:32:41

I'd want to put this door, the front door here.

0:32:410:32:43

We could make a nice wee porch area. Why is this outside?

0:32:430:32:47

You could have your cupboards inside and feel you're getting

0:32:470:32:49

a wee bit more internal space...

0:32:490:32:51

..which it turns out you need.

0:32:530:32:55

Of course, in a leasehold flat like this,

0:32:550:32:58

moving the front door might be classed as a structural change,

0:32:580:33:01

which would require the permission of the freeholder.

0:33:010:33:04

I like this, by the way, I like this colour.

0:33:050:33:07

I don't know what it is - teal, turquoise - it's good.

0:33:070:33:10

This is not a big work space, is it?

0:33:110:33:15

When you're talking about a kitchen, I mean,

0:33:150:33:17

I've not seen one smaller than this.

0:33:170:33:19

Erm, I'm just thinking, it actually has the feel of a caravan.

0:33:190:33:24

It feels quite ramshackley.

0:33:240:33:26

And through to the bathroom, pretty cramped,

0:33:260:33:29

needs to come out, modernise.

0:33:290:33:31

If you were keeping the bath there,

0:33:310:33:33

you wouldn't have room for a separate shower.

0:33:330:33:36

It looks like there's no shower in it just now.

0:33:360:33:38

And the interesting jazzy carpet continues.

0:33:380:33:40

I'd imagine that's where that musty smell is coming from.

0:33:400:33:43

If you took that out, most of your problem's solved.

0:33:430:33:46

The carpet goes through to the bathroom.

0:33:460:33:48

And then, a really small bedroom.

0:33:480:33:51

I mean, you could get a double bed in, but not much more than that.

0:33:510:33:54

I'm hoping that when I see the next bedroom, this is a two-bed,

0:33:550:33:59

the final piece of the jigsaw will fall into place because right now,

0:33:590:34:02

it's just not quite making sense.

0:34:020:34:04

# I can't work it out but I'm never gonna quit

0:34:050:34:09

# I won't let you go, gonna make the pieces fit

0:34:090:34:13

# Working on this puzzle, I'm about to lose my mind... #

0:34:130:34:17

Well, I was hoping for more a master bedroom,

0:34:240:34:27

but this is pretty narrow and long.

0:34:270:34:30

I mean, I can almost touch, really almost,

0:34:300:34:33

I can definitely touch, if I do that.

0:34:330:34:35

And if you did get a double bed in, you'd have to roll out of it.

0:34:350:34:39

Because there's no room either side.

0:34:390:34:40

So, again, the caravan theme continues.

0:34:400:34:43

Good news, I've found the rest of the kitchen.

0:34:430:34:45

So, you've got cupboards along the wall.

0:34:450:34:48

This place is a bit odd.

0:34:480:34:49

I thought it might have been a one-bed

0:34:510:34:53

that was carved up into two smaller rooms.

0:34:530:34:55

That would have made sense.

0:34:550:34:56

But I think it was just built like this.

0:34:560:34:59

I don't want to be too disparaging either,

0:34:590:35:00

because if you can get away with it in London

0:35:000:35:02

and there's an appetite for it, why not?

0:35:020:35:05

I can't see any signs of heating at all.

0:35:050:35:08

Maybe they had plug-in heaters here.

0:35:080:35:12

Yeah, so back to the plusses.

0:35:120:35:14

Double glazing, so when one door closes, another...window opens?

0:35:140:35:19

This might be a small property, but it's potentially a big job.

0:35:200:35:24

Nothing really works here, for me.

0:35:240:35:27

Would it be better as a one-bed or would that lose revenue?

0:35:270:35:31

Whoever buys this will need to think creatively and practically

0:35:310:35:35

to get the best out of it.

0:35:350:35:36

What I do like about this property is that it's set on a courtyard,

0:35:390:35:43

which is pretty in itself, and then you come through this covered area,

0:35:430:35:47

which is good on a rainy day like today.

0:35:470:35:50

But there's a shared garden for finer weather.

0:35:510:35:53

The flat is set back from the road, so for me,

0:35:550:35:58

the outside ticks all the boxes.

0:35:580:36:00

Inside, well, it's a box.

0:36:000:36:02

So, I'm keen to find out what a local estate agent

0:36:020:36:05

thinks of the flat and its £190,000 guide price.

0:36:050:36:09

Given the market and this type of flat,

0:36:110:36:13

it's going to appeal to a first-time buyer or if it's a rental,

0:36:130:36:16

a young professional.

0:36:160:36:17

So, I think having better space within the living area

0:36:170:36:21

and having it as a good size one-bedroom would probably appeal

0:36:210:36:24

to a wider market than having a smaller second bedroom.

0:36:240:36:27

OK, that's an interesting opinion.

0:36:270:36:30

But do the numbers stack up?

0:36:300:36:32

First, rental.

0:36:320:36:34

A rental market, a flat like this, as a one-bedroom,

0:36:340:36:37

would achieve around £1,100 per calendar month.

0:36:370:36:41

And as a two-bedroom, around £1,250 per calendar month.

0:36:410:36:45

How about on the sales market?

0:36:470:36:49

On the sales market, currently,

0:36:490:36:51

a one-bedroom flat would achieve around £300,000.

0:36:510:36:54

As a two-bedroom,

0:36:540:36:55

you'd be looking to achieve around £325,000

0:36:550:36:59

once the property is done to a good standard.

0:36:590:37:02

This property, well, it's confused.

0:37:020:37:05

It's a two-bed, but seems too small for that.

0:37:050:37:08

I don't quite know how a one-bed would work.

0:37:080:37:11

And it feels like a caravan.

0:37:110:37:13

But it's in a great area of London, particularly desirable just now.

0:37:130:37:18

So, that alone gives it potential.

0:37:180:37:21

Let's find out who saw that potential

0:37:210:37:23

when it went under the hammer.

0:37:230:37:25

Nice ground floor flat in need of modernisation.

0:37:280:37:31

230 anywhere?

0:37:310:37:32

Turn it round, what about 200?

0:37:350:37:37

200 anywhere?

0:37:370:37:39

Thank you, 200 I've got.

0:37:390:37:41

With the first bid of ten grand more than the guide price,

0:37:410:37:44

bidding is thick and fast, to where we rejoin at 230 grand.

0:37:440:37:49

230, 232, 234, sir.

0:37:490:37:53

236.

0:37:530:37:54

If not, gentleman straight ahead, red jacket, it's £234,000,

0:37:560:38:00

it's against you sitting down on my left in the middle.

0:38:000:38:03

234 for the first,

0:38:030:38:06

234 for the second,

0:38:060:38:08

234 for the third and final time.

0:38:080:38:11

All done.

0:38:110:38:12

Sold, 234, well done.

0:38:120:38:14

Selling for 44 grand over the guide price,

0:38:160:38:19

the successful bidders were Michael and his wife Sharon.

0:38:190:38:23

The couple are retired and this will be

0:38:230:38:25

their first venture into property development.

0:38:250:38:28

Sharon, congratulations.

0:38:280:38:29

-Thank you.

-Michael, congratulations.

0:38:290:38:31

-Thank you.

-I'm pleased to meet you. So, this is a great location.

0:38:310:38:35

-Is that what attracted you to here?

-Well, for me, yes, it was.

0:38:350:38:38

Because I knew Dulwich, I knew it was a good area.

0:38:380:38:40

And when it was one of the ones that we looked at coming up

0:38:400:38:44

in the auction, I earmarked it for further investigation.

0:38:440:38:48

Tell me a bit about you. So, where do you live together?

0:38:480:38:51

Well, at the moment,

0:38:510:38:52

we've kind of like not got much of a base because we sold our house,

0:38:520:38:57

which was near to Windsor,

0:38:570:38:58

in order to do this as a project

0:38:580:39:00

and to have a bit of a lifestyle of travelling.

0:39:000:39:03

So, we're heading out to Turkey tomorrow for a time.

0:39:030:39:08

And then, we plan to do Spain later on in the year

0:39:080:39:11

and fit this project in and then hopefully,

0:39:110:39:14

if all goes well here, then do another project.

0:39:140:39:17

So, it's kind of a lifestyle thing we're looking at at the moment.

0:39:170:39:20

We can make that decision when we've done this one

0:39:200:39:22

-and see how everything goes.

-Yes.

0:39:220:39:23

Just so I'm getting this right, you're planning on travelling a bit,

0:39:230:39:26

Turkey, Spain, coming back here and really getting down to it,

0:39:260:39:32

-making it work.

-Yes.

0:39:320:39:33

And then, are you thinking perhaps of moving in here for a wee bit?

0:39:330:39:36

Certainly, yes, once it's done, or liveable,

0:39:360:39:39

we'll probably certainly live here.

0:39:390:39:42

Get to know the area intimately a little bit better,

0:39:420:39:45

because it's such a fantastic area and while it's on the market.

0:39:450:39:49

That makes sense. It's almost, I don't know, part of your travelling.

0:39:490:39:52

If you've bought here anyway, why not use it as a base?

0:39:520:39:55

-Yes.

-You could have good fun.

-Well, I think so.

0:39:550:39:58

And especially, you know, at that time of year,

0:39:580:40:00

you know, it's a good time.

0:40:000:40:03

Summertime in London.

0:40:030:40:04

-Probably a good time to be here.

-Yeah!

0:40:040:40:06

# We've been having fun all summer long... #

0:40:060:40:10

These guys have a great plan, winter abroad and summer in London,

0:40:120:40:17

and I'm glad to report that although this is their first project,

0:40:170:40:20

they did their homework and viewed the property.

0:40:200:40:23

And they've already started to think about

0:40:230:40:25

how they might reconfigure the space,

0:40:250:40:27

starting with moving the front door.

0:40:270:40:29

So, move it so you've almost got a wee porch area.

0:40:300:40:33

Yes, that's right and there's two cupboard spaces, one either side.

0:40:330:40:37

And then obviously, then...where the kitchen is at the moment,

0:40:370:40:40

move that and obviously make it a bit bigger space.

0:40:400:40:44

The living room's actually not too bad an area

0:40:440:40:47

to have a living room-cum-kitchen in.

0:40:470:40:50

Erm, so, yeah,

0:40:500:40:51

and just obviously we're hoping to do it to a really nice standard,

0:40:510:40:54

that sort of befits the area.

0:40:540:40:56

But that's the plans we have at the moment.

0:40:560:40:58

Move the door for that bedroom and we'd like a walk-in shower.

0:40:580:41:03

We've got to change the...

0:41:030:41:04

All the electrics have got to be done,

0:41:040:41:06

all rewired, heating system in, the floor's got to come up.

0:41:060:41:10

It's quite a small place, but I think there's quite a lot to do.

0:41:100:41:13

A lot to be done, yeah.

0:41:130:41:14

Replastering because I think some of these ceilings,

0:41:140:41:17

we'll prefer to have them, like, skimmed.

0:41:170:41:20

And some of the walls need it anyway,

0:41:200:41:22

so we might be as well to get the lot done.

0:41:220:41:24

The two beds, to me, it feels like it could be a nicer one-bed flat.

0:41:240:41:29

-We thought...

-And that may be the case if you're somewhere else

0:41:290:41:32

in the country, but I think you could accept the two beds here,

0:41:320:41:35

it's such a great location.

0:41:350:41:37

Yeah, I think it will put on significantly more money

0:41:370:41:41

at the end of the project to warrant having it two.

0:41:410:41:45

I take your point and at first, that's what we said,

0:41:450:41:47

we'll put a proper kitchen in and have it as a nice one-bed.

0:41:470:41:51

But I think being where it is and what, you know, bedrooms are worth,

0:41:510:41:56

I think two beds is the way to go.

0:41:560:41:59

First of all, what will you do once this is done up?

0:41:590:42:02

Right, well, Plan A will be to sell.

0:42:020:42:04

And if the figures don't work out for us, then we'll rent.

0:42:040:42:08

And either is a good option for us.

0:42:080:42:11

Because it'll increase our income

0:42:110:42:12

and allow us to do what we want to do.

0:42:120:42:15

# Yes, the good life

0:42:150:42:17

# To be free and explore the unknown... #

0:42:190:42:24

Michael and Sharon have a loose timescale of two months, but first,

0:42:280:42:31

there's holiday number one, to relax them, ready to start.

0:42:310:42:34

# So, be honest with... #

0:42:340:42:36

And how long are you in Turkey for?

0:42:360:42:38

-Certainly a month.

-Yeah.

0:42:380:42:40

We'll stay away until it gets really hot over there,

0:42:400:42:42

-and then we'll come back here and...

-Get stuck in.

0:42:420:42:45

Hopefully, the weather will be not too bad here when we come back.

0:42:450:42:48

This sort of like gives us a bit of a base to come back

0:42:480:42:50

and you're, you know, home.

0:42:500:42:52

Down to the nitty-gritty. What's the budget?

0:42:520:42:55

Maximum... 15-20,000,

0:42:550:42:58

although I think I might be up towards the 20 on it.

0:42:580:43:03

If it goes over, well, it goes over and the funds are there.

0:43:030:43:06

I'm a wee bit sick with envy, actually.

0:43:060:43:08

It sounds absolutely brilliant, the set-up you have,

0:43:080:43:10

and I really hope you make a success of it.

0:43:100:43:12

-I'm sure you will.

-Hope so.

0:43:120:43:14

-Good luck!

-Thank you very much.

0:43:140:43:15

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, Michael.

-Thank you.

0:43:150:43:18

Sharon and Michael want to use this project

0:43:200:43:22

as a launch pad to fund their jet-set lifestyle.

0:43:220:43:25

And to do so, they're keen to maximise their profit

0:43:250:43:28

and keep this as a two-bed flat.

0:43:280:43:31

Time will tell if two beds really are better than one.

0:43:310:43:34

You can find out what happens later in the show.

0:43:340:43:37

So, earlier, we saw property number one.

0:43:410:43:43

But don't worry, we've still got two more to go.

0:43:430:43:45

Did our buyers back a winner?

0:43:450:43:47

Let's go back and find out!

0:43:480:43:49

Time to head back to the village of Loscoe in Derbyshire,

0:43:510:43:54

where I saw this mid-terraced house

0:43:540:43:56

that was much bigger than first expected.

0:43:560:43:59

The porch was massive and the living area had been opened out,

0:43:590:44:03

which I did like.

0:44:030:44:05

However, I didn't like the rising damp in the front.

0:44:050:44:09

The '50s kitchen was cute, but impractical,

0:44:090:44:12

while the polystyrene tiles in the downstairs bathroom just had to go.

0:44:120:44:17

But my biggest gripe was upstairs and that third bedroom,

0:44:170:44:20

which had been created

0:44:200:44:22

by splitting up the front bedroom with a partition wall.

0:44:220:44:25

But why would you have the door just there?

0:44:270:44:31

OK, why not have the door here?

0:44:310:44:33

Create a bit of a hallway here.

0:44:340:44:36

Maybe just...you come in here,

0:44:360:44:38

you step to the left and you walk that way, into that bedroom,

0:44:380:44:42

and have a door just here for this bedroom.

0:44:420:44:45

It also had a concrete floor,

0:44:450:44:47

which would mean even trying to get a bathroom up here

0:44:470:44:50

would be impossible without digging it out.

0:44:500:44:53

Not a small job,

0:44:530:44:55

so probably best stick with my corridor and bedroom plan.

0:44:550:44:59

This idea was shared by Steve,

0:44:590:45:01

who paid 58 grand for this house at auction.

0:45:010:45:04

As well as altering the bedroom access,

0:45:040:45:06

he was going to do a full refurbishment of the house.

0:45:060:45:10

A change of skill set for the former draughtsman.

0:45:100:45:12

I've always enjoyed doing DIY to a quite high level, so I thought,

0:45:120:45:17

now or never. Why not?

0:45:170:45:19

Good for you. You've taken DIY to the next level.

0:45:190:45:21

Steve was going to be working on this house full time

0:45:220:45:25

and hoped to have it all completed within ten weeks.

0:45:250:45:28

But we're actually heading back a whole five months later

0:45:290:45:32

to see how he has got on.

0:45:320:45:34

And he's been working hard.

0:45:340:45:36

# Well, if you want it

0:45:370:45:39

# Go out and get it

0:45:390:45:42

# You've got to do it yourself

0:45:420:45:43

# Do it yourself

0:45:450:45:46

# Well, if you want it

0:45:460:45:48

# Go out and get it

0:45:480:45:50

# You've got to do it yourself

0:45:500:45:52

# Do it yourself... #

0:45:530:45:55

DI-why not?

0:45:560:45:58

Especially if you can do as good a job as Steve.

0:45:580:46:01

This modern kitchen really brightens things up.

0:46:010:46:04

Although there hasn't been huge changes in the bathroom,

0:46:130:46:16

the old polystyrene tiles have gone.

0:46:160:46:19

And all round, it's looking fresh and clean.

0:46:190:46:22

The rising damp has been treated and the porch been made smaller

0:46:240:46:28

to give this room a bit more space.

0:46:280:46:30

Upstairs, the changes are more than just cosmetic.

0:46:320:46:36

The house can now be called a three-bedder,

0:46:360:46:39

as Steve has added a corridor just off the stairs,

0:46:390:46:42

meaning there's a separate bedroom to the right

0:46:420:46:44

and another to the left.

0:46:440:46:46

It's a simple, yet effective change.

0:46:500:46:53

The master bedroom has been given the same level of redecoration

0:46:530:46:56

as the rest of the house.

0:46:560:46:58

There are new radiators and internal doors throughout.

0:47:020:47:06

Outside in the huge garden are also big changes.

0:47:070:47:11

So much work has been done at this house,

0:47:150:47:18

and I can see why it's taken Steve a lot longer

0:47:180:47:20

than his ten-week timescale.

0:47:200:47:22

But he couldn't have done it all himself, surely?

0:47:220:47:25

I did the majority of the work.

0:47:250:47:27

You know, from top to bottom.

0:47:270:47:30

But I did have a plumber in to plumb all the new radiators in.

0:47:300:47:35

I also had a bit of help from my brother,

0:47:350:47:37

who gave me a bit of a refresher course in hanging doors.

0:47:370:47:40

So, he hung the first one for me, which was a great help.

0:47:400:47:42

And then I carried on doing the rest.

0:47:420:47:44

And also, got my dad involved.

0:47:440:47:47

He was a great help doing the kitchen.

0:47:470:47:49

The kitchen worktop's quite a long thing.

0:47:490:47:51

You can't carry all of those on your own.

0:47:510:47:53

So, good old Dad came to the rescue.

0:47:530:47:55

Steve, of course, had a certified professional in

0:47:560:47:59

to take care of the gas, and got a plasterer in

0:47:590:48:02

to redo the walls once the damp had been treated.

0:48:020:48:05

But doing most of the work himself couldn't have been easy.

0:48:050:48:09

I think learn, just crack on.

0:48:090:48:12

Nose to the grindstone, as me mum would say.

0:48:120:48:15

And yeah, just keep working hard and get it all done.

0:48:150:48:18

No need to panic. It will happen when it happens.

0:48:180:48:21

Yeah, just a bit of hard graft and carry on.

0:48:210:48:23

Steve also didn't panic when it came to his £8,500 budget.

0:48:250:48:29

He had to spend a little more to solve the damp issues,

0:48:290:48:32

buy new internal doors.

0:48:320:48:34

And decking in the garden.

0:48:340:48:36

So, it's now at £10,000.

0:48:360:48:39

But it's been fruitful.

0:48:390:48:40

I'm quite happy with the finish.

0:48:400:48:42

Yeah, quite happy, it looks clean and fresh.

0:48:420:48:45

In fact, I had quite a good compliment.

0:48:450:48:47

I'd nearly finished the job and I had a knock on the door.

0:48:470:48:50

And it was actually one of the sellers of the house.

0:48:500:48:55

They came in, and she used to live here. In fact, she was born here.

0:48:550:48:58

And she came in and said what a wonderful job you'd done.

0:48:580:49:01

That was a real buzz. So, I think, yeah, nice job done.

0:49:010:49:04

Let's see if two more visitors give it the thumbs up.

0:49:050:49:08

We've asked along two local property experts for their opinions

0:49:080:49:12

on the changes to this house.

0:49:120:49:14

My first impressions of the property

0:49:140:49:16

are that it is extremely well presented.

0:49:160:49:18

It's clean, it's tidy.

0:49:180:49:19

I mean, clearly everything has been renewed, refurbished.

0:49:190:49:22

So, you'd expect it to look fairly pristine, and that's what it is.

0:49:220:49:26

The change in layout from what I understand the original to be

0:49:260:49:29

is a major improvement.

0:49:290:49:31

It just gives three bedrooms and privacy in each one of those.

0:49:310:49:34

So, they like the job Steve's done on the house,

0:49:350:49:37

but having invested £68,000 on this project,

0:49:370:49:41

will he get rewarded on the sales market?

0:49:410:49:43

I think if this went on the open market,

0:49:430:49:46

you'd probably achieve something between £90,000 and £92,000.

0:49:460:49:51

In terms of sale,

0:49:510:49:53

the owner ought to achieve something in the region of £95,000.

0:49:530:49:56

They would have been my initial feelings for that kind of figure,

0:49:560:50:00

but since then, I've obviously had an increased valuation,

0:50:000:50:04

which it's on the market for.

0:50:040:50:05

So, I think they're probably just a smidge low.

0:50:050:50:07

Steve has put the house on the market for £98,000

0:50:090:50:13

and if he achieves this, would give him a healthy profit

0:50:130:50:16

of £30,000 before taxes and fees.

0:50:160:50:19

So, with this second renovation in the bag,

0:50:210:50:23

what does the future hold for Steve?

0:50:230:50:25

Next on the agenda is a bit of down time, a bit of relaxation,

0:50:260:50:29

participate probably in two of my favourite pastimes, a bit of golf,

0:50:290:50:33

have a couple rounds of golf and then, with a bit of good weather,

0:50:330:50:36

get out in the little American car I've got,

0:50:360:50:39

a Corvette Stingray 5.7 V8,

0:50:390:50:42

have a bit of a trundle round in that.

0:50:420:50:43

Back to Dulwich, South London,

0:50:470:50:48

where earlier I took a look around a two-bedroomed flat with a courtyard

0:50:480:50:53

and shared garden space, but not much square footage.

0:50:530:50:57

My initial thought is, I'd want to put this door, the front door, here.

0:50:570:51:02

You could make a nice wee porch area. Why is this outside?

0:51:020:51:04

You could have your cupboards inside,

0:51:040:51:06

and feel you're getting a wee bit more internal space.

0:51:060:51:09

It was something I was pleased to hear new owners Michael and Sharon

0:51:090:51:13

planned to do. They bought the flat for £234,000 at auction.

0:51:130:51:18

They planned to mix a bit of property developing with travelling,

0:51:180:51:22

using this place as a base before selling it on.

0:51:220:51:25

And they had a plan for this bijou flat.

0:51:250:51:27

The living room is actually not too bad an area to have

0:51:270:51:31

-a living room-cum-kitchen in.

-We'd like a walk-in shower.

0:51:310:51:35

We've got to change the... All the electrics have got to be done.

0:51:350:51:38

-Heating system in.

-Yeah.

-I think the floor's got to come up.

0:51:380:51:41

It's quite a small place, but I think there's quite a lot to do.

0:51:410:51:44

-Yeah.

-A lot to be done.

0:51:440:51:45

Re-plastering, because I think some of these ceilings, we'd prefer

0:51:450:51:49

to have them, like, skimmed, and some of the walls need it anyway.

0:51:490:51:53

So it might be as well to get the lot done.

0:51:530:51:56

We're back four months later to have another look.

0:51:560:51:59

The front porch idea didn't come off, as structural changes like that

0:51:590:52:03

required the permission of the freeholder.

0:52:030:52:06

Sharon's taken care of the interior design,

0:52:120:52:15

with coloured splashes dotted around the neutral background.

0:52:150:52:19

They left the plumbing, heating, and electrics to the certified trades.

0:52:190:52:23

Michael fitted and tiled the kitchen, with Sharon's help.

0:52:230:52:27

# Oh, oh, oh, I'm gonna follow you home... #

0:52:280:52:34

The old bathroom layout was cramped, to say the least.

0:52:340:52:37

The new shower cubicle makes the most of the available space,

0:52:390:52:43

but Michael didn't do the tiling here - they got in a tiler,

0:52:430:52:46

a plasterer, and a professional laminate floor fitter

0:52:460:52:49

for the rest of the house.

0:52:490:52:51

Access to the smallest bedroom was improved by knocking down

0:52:510:52:55

a partition wall and moving the door further away from the window.

0:52:550:52:59

# And I've been waiting for a lifetime or so

0:53:010:53:05

# Oh, oh, oh I'm gonna follow you home... #

0:53:050:53:09

The larger of the two bedrooms would take a double,

0:53:130:53:16

but it's just used for storage.

0:53:160:53:18

All in all, it's a good result for their first auction purchase.

0:53:180:53:21

Here's Michael to take up the refurbishment story.

0:53:230:53:26

OK. Well, originally the kitchen was over here,

0:53:280:53:32

and we felt it flowed better and lent itself to go over there.

0:53:320:53:37

In here ,we've made a mini laundrette.

0:53:370:53:40

Originally, there was water tanks there, which we don't need

0:53:400:53:44

because we have a combi boiler.

0:53:440:53:46

So we gained space there, much needed as it was.

0:53:460:53:49

Here, we've reclaimed a scaffold board and cut it up

0:53:490:53:54

and made some shelves. Sharon's very pleased with that, I have to say.

0:53:540:53:58

We've got a little table with two leaves that come out for eating,

0:53:580:54:03

and we've also, down there, we've got a breakfast counter.

0:54:030:54:07

Very pleased with the end result, I have to say,

0:54:070:54:10

and hope everyone else thinks so too because, at the end of the day,

0:54:100:54:14

it's about the market.

0:54:140:54:16

The couple did spend over £1,000 renting a B&B in the early days

0:54:160:54:21

before deciding to move into the work in progress.

0:54:210:54:24

To be honest, we moved in too early,

0:54:250:54:28

and we should have stayed in other accommodation for longer.

0:54:280:54:31

Yeah. We had the floor down and we had a bathroom and we had a bed.

0:54:310:54:37

-That was pretty much what we had when we came in.

-Yeah.

0:54:370:54:39

And the rest was like a building site.

0:54:390:54:41

Yeah, so I would not go down that route again.

0:54:410:54:44

What else has been learned from the experience?

0:54:440:54:47

Oh, lots!

0:54:470:54:49

Lots and lots. I can now probably quite easily build a kitchen. Erm...

0:54:490:54:54

Wardrobes. Yeah, I've learnt all these skills, and I have done

0:54:560:55:00

a lot - a LOT - of painting.

0:55:000:55:02

Yes.

0:55:030:55:04

The original timescale was two months after returning from holiday,

0:55:040:55:08

and Michael reckons it's been 11 weeks of work in total,

0:55:080:55:12

with another week of snagging still to do.

0:55:120:55:14

How about the £15,000 to £20,000 budget forecast?

0:55:150:55:18

We've spent, on doing the refurbishment,

0:55:180:55:23

£16,500.

0:55:230:55:27

Yeah, so quite good.

0:55:270:55:29

So we're a little bit over the £15,000, you could say,

0:55:290:55:32

but well under the £20,000.

0:55:320:55:34

And it could have gone higher, because I didn't really have

0:55:340:55:37

any experience about what it might cost.

0:55:370:55:39

Time to find out if their money has been well spent.

0:55:410:55:44

We called in two local estate agents for their opinions.

0:55:440:55:47

Wow, is my first thought.

0:55:490:55:50

It's very small, but very well thought out as well.

0:55:500:55:54

So I think they've done a really clever job in the design,

0:55:540:55:56

and making it feel comfortable and nice.

0:55:560:55:59

It has a nice feel to it, but tiny.

0:55:590:56:02

I think the buyers have done the best they could have done,

0:56:020:56:05

given the existing layout of the property.

0:56:050:56:08

One idea would have possibly been to convert it into

0:56:080:56:11

a very large, into a decent sized one-bedroom flat,

0:56:110:56:14

but in order to maximise their return,

0:56:140:56:15

I guess they wanted to keep it as a two-bedroom.

0:56:150:56:17

That's exactly the reason why Michael and Sharon kept it as

0:56:170:56:21

a two-bedder, having sought advice from their own estate agent.

0:56:210:56:25

The couple are awaiting valuations before deciding whether to rent

0:56:250:56:28

or sell on. In either case, they'll probably live here for a bit longer,

0:56:280:56:32

as they really like Dulwich.

0:56:320:56:34

So, what kind of rental could they expect for their two-bed flat?

0:56:340:56:39

I believe we could achieve in the region of £1,100 and £1,150

0:56:390:56:43

per calendar month.

0:56:430:56:44

If I were renting this property,

0:56:440:56:46

I would be looking for £1,250 per calendar month.

0:56:460:56:49

Well, a little bit... The £1,250, I think is where it ought to be,

0:56:500:56:57

-personally.

-Yeah.

-I think the other's slightly low.

0:56:570:57:00

The top figure would give them a yield of nearly 6% on their

0:57:000:57:04

total investment of £250,500.

0:57:040:57:07

What about the sales values?

0:57:070:57:09

If I were putting this on the market today, I would ask £325,000.

0:57:090:57:14

If I were to put the property on the market today, I'd put the property

0:57:140:57:17

on the market at somewhere between £300,000 to £315,000.

0:57:170:57:21

We were expecting to get a minimum of £325,000 upwards...

0:57:210:57:25

-Yeah.

-..shall we say. So that £325,000 would be

0:57:250:57:29

the bottom figure that we would be looking at.

0:57:290:57:32

So we'll have to...

0:57:320:57:33

Sharon and I will have a chat now and see what our options are,

0:57:330:57:36

based on those figures. Mm-hm.

0:57:360:57:39

One option, based on the top figure,

0:57:390:57:40

is to sell at a potential profit of £74,500 before taxes and expenses.

0:57:400:57:48

Regardless of that decision, I'm sure Michael and Sharon

0:57:480:57:50

will have made up their minds about where to travel next.

0:57:500:57:54

Probably back to Turkey, I think, and then we're thinking

0:57:540:57:57

maybe, sort of early part of next year,

0:57:570:57:59

we might head off to the Far East for a month or so.

0:57:590:58:02

-Yeah?

-Yeah, we'll see.

0:58:020:58:04

-We'll see what they've got to offer.

-Yeah.

0:58:040:58:07

Am I jealous? Mm, a wee bit.

0:58:070:58:09

Seriously, you two have a great trip.

0:58:090:58:11

Well, that's your lot for today.

0:58:160:58:17

"Oh, no," I hear you cry, "it can't be true!"

0:58:170:58:20

Yes, that's auction lots Martin's talking about.

0:58:200:58:22

There'll be lots more next time.

0:58:220:58:24

So join us then on Homes Under The Hammer.

0:58:240:58:26

-Goodbye.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

0:58:260:58:27

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