Episode 57 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello, and welcome to the show.

Now, we see all manner of investors, each with a different story to tell.

Yeah, they all have their own ideas

and will probably end up with different outcomes.

Yeah, I can't think of a better place to start a property

journey than down at your local property auction.

Here on Homes Under The Hammer,

we meet property buyers from all over the country.

That's right. Some are just putting their foot on the property ladder

for the first time, and others are increasing their ever-growing rental

-portfolio.

-Mm-hmm, but whatever their experiences,

they're worth following.

Let's see what we've got coming up for you on today's show.

I'm in Cumbria at this former pharmacy that's in need of a remedy.

There is a lot of damp here too, black, hairy, mouldy damp.

I'm meant to be at this three-bed semi in Haverfordwest,

but I'm in the doghouse with the cameraman.

Can I come in now, please?

And I'm going the distance at this mixed-use premises in Alvaston.

Just take a look at this.

It goes so far back.

It's unbelievable.

65,000 in the room.

All these properties have been sold at auction,

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

when they went under the hammer.

Sold. It's yours, sir.

Cleator Moor is a small town about 20 miles from the Lake District

National Park in Cumbria.

In years gone by,

the town used to be bustling with people who worked in the local

ironworks, many of whom had travelled across from Ireland

in search of work. This influx gave the town the nickname

Little Ireland.

Another more famous visitor was the matchstick man himself, LS Lowry.

He spent a lot of time here painting the local scenery,

and in a town as pretty as this, why wouldn't you?

# Pictures of matchstick men and girls. #

Now, the property I'm here to see, it's got me a bit perplexed,

which is odd considering I'm not even in the front door.

Now, the auction catalogue here describes it as four properties.

I'm guessing this is where it starts.

And then it says it used to be four properties.

And then... Yeah, but still going.

And then it says in the description it is actually two properties,

one residential and one commercial.

It certainly looks big enough to be four properties.

What I do know is the guide price is £50,000 plus.

Let's go look.

Looks like I'm going round the back.

One thing I do know about this property

is that it was a former pharmacy,

so will it be just what the doctor ordered?

Aha. We're in.

Now, I'm coming into the back of the commercial property,

so this I can tell has been a storage area.

You still have some boxes.

Along this way, you have a corridor and more rooms.

I'll investigate that further a bit later.

Now, you come to expect the smell of damp in auction properties,

but it is pretty overwhelming here.

It's coming in waves and it's strong.

Through to... Oh, I do like this.

It just paints the picture of how things were run.

So many shelves around this room would be used

to store your pills and your potions, and then, aha,

there's the wee hatch that the pharmacists would use

to give the prescriptions for customers in the front room.

I do love this, coming into a place where people worked

and just seeing how things were.

I'm looking forward to seeing what's next.

Wow. So I expected the front of the shop to be big,

but this is enormous.

It just goes on and on and on.

And so does that smell of damp,

and I can see clear damp patches on the floor.

Actually, still really wet.

And the ceiling tiles, just lots of water's been coming through.

Need to investigate that.

But let's concentrate on the positive of this shop

just being enormous.

So if you're on a main stretch, off-road,

and there's lots of shops there,

it's great to have your shop right there.

It's even better if you have double frontage.

This is quadruple frontage.

What could it be used for?

You could have one massive bar.

You could have a post office.

You could carve it off into four shops or a couple of cafes.

You might want to think about residential,

make this into some flats and commercial property.

Because we are in a conservation area,

you may well find there's a council stipulation -

because we are on a main road - to keep some of it

as commercial property.

Something you have to look into.

Right, you know those rooms I spotted earlier?

I'm off to have a look.

# Doctor, Doctor, gimme the news

# I got a bad case of lovin' you

# No pill's gonna cure my ill

# I got a bad case of lovin' you. #

Bathroom.

The rest of the rooms run off this long corridor,

and there's no shortage of storage space.

I mean, really no shortage.

It just goes on and on and on, and this is just the ground floor.

Aha, upstairs.

This place is vast!

So you've got more storage rooms this way.

You've got this big hall area and then space for storage.

Staff would have used the locker rooms, the little kitchen,

bathroom, too.

And then, my word, there's more.

How much storage does this place need?

Yeah, there's a lot of damp here, too - black, hairy, mouldy damp.

Look at this, it's just...

It's pretty worrying.

So you've got a lot of rooms but you've got an awful lot of damp.

And that trend continues in the residential property, too.

The entrance and utility room are not so bad and the two bedrooms are

good-sized doubles.

The bathroom and kitchen suite could do with a face-lift

but the extensive damp in the living room is very worrying indeed,

and don't forget it's throughout both of the properties.

Fixing that is high up on the to-do list, but once it's fixed,

what could you do with all this space?

And will that conservation area

cause any limitations on your options here?

What did a local estate agent think?

There are restrictions to what you could do with the property,

so while it would be great to turn it into completely residential,

you do have to maintain a commercial business as part of it.

And it's not just the conservation area.

There's another planning consideration.

You'd need to check out what use class it comes under

and whether you'd need planning permission to change it.

The agent thinks this would be nice to turn into residential,

but what if you were to avoid all the hassle

and just renovate the spaces as they are?

Bearing in mind that seemingly reasonable guide price

of 50 grand plus, what could it resell for?

The entire premises, both the shop and the flat,

I would think it would be worth around about £100,000

once refurbished.

What about if you converted the rest of the residential space

into one and two-bedroom flats?

A one-bedroom flat in this area would sell for around £25,000.

In this area, a two-bedroom flat would sell

for around about £30,000.

Wow. Where to start with this property?

It's a bit of a monster.

You don't have carte blanche to do exactly as you please,

because we are in a conservation area,

but the potential is definitely there.

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

The old original four properties occupying a prominent position

in the high street. A lot of property this, again.

Start me at 50.

At £50,000, am I bid?

Anybody here? 45?

40?

35?

-Not going lower.

-35.

35 bid.

£35,000.

In one. It's nice and easy.

At £35,000.

I'm going to tell you, I'm here to sell.

It's in the room, then. Don't lose it if you're here,

or one bid gets it. First time.

Second time.

Don't let them have it. It's too cheap.

Third and final time.

Fair warning. Hammer's up.

Hammer's down. To the phone.

# Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh

# Stop telephonin' me! #

That canny telephone bidder who bought the property

for an astounding 15 grand below the guide price was Chelsea,

and I met her back at the former pharmacy

to see what she had prescribed for the building.

Chelsea, hello.

-Hi.

-Pleased to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-And congratulations.

-Thank you.

-You've got yourself a monster of a property.

-I know.

-So what's the history behind this?

How did you find it?

Why did you want it?

I own a property over the road, so we were here.

We'd seen it go up for market.

It wasn't going to auction at that stage.

I didn't even look to see how much it was.

I was looking at another property a couple of months later

with the local auction house, and he said,

"Oh, have you seen the pharmacy at Cleator Moor's going to auction?"

Brilliant. We came down to look at it.

Thought it was fantastic.

I didn't expect to get it for the price I got it for,

-I have to say.

-Well, the guide price was 50.

-Yes.

-And you got it for under that.

-Yeah.

-You got it for 35.

Brilliant, isn't it?

It is brilliant, but there's an awful lot of money,

probably, that needs spent.

But that didn't put you off when you came in?

No, because I don't tend to look at properties that don't need a lot of

work or money spending on them.

I'm not attracted to them, really.

Can't get away from that damp smell,

and also the signs of damp are still visible on the walls,

and some ceilings... Have you looked into what the problem might be?

Yeah, I mean, there's three flat roofs.

They all need replacing,

so they're probably the biggest contributor to it.

And the damp on the ground?

It's been leaking, so we had a leak in the back.

There's been a leak on the front.

Several of the shop windows were damaged.

It's been empty we think over two years now.

-OK, it's...

-It could be a lot worse.

So you sound like you know your stuff.

What kind of properties do you have already?

I've got a rental portfolio.

We are currently working on our biggest development at the moment in a neighbouring town,

so that was one again we bought at auction and we are making

into four properties, so that's kind of how I built myself up,

-by developing.

-Wow.

And you say we, who's we?

My husband is a joiner and he has a building firm,

so he does all the work.

-Brilliant.

-It's good.

And do you have a day job or is this your day job?

This is getting more and more to be my day job,

but I do work with a local estate agent as well,

which is a really good foot in the door.

I've got advice whenever I need it, so...

Yeah, and I guess you hear about things coming up because you're...

-Yes.

-..in that line of work.

Chelsea and husband David make a great property power couple,

so what are this dynamic duo planning on doing

with the commercial part of the building?

I'm hoping to get as much residential out of it,

because that's what I know best.

Because it's in the town centre, there is a policy,

they want to keep some shop frontage,

which I'm more than happy to be on board with,

so we are just negotiating just how much shop space.

This is a really big shop for Cleator Moor

and I think that there would be a big risk of it being left empty

-if we left it this much.

-Yeah.

-Like, floor space.

We're hoping, if the council will go with it,

we would get five residential units and a commercial unit

from the whole building. That's an ideal scenario.

We have three residentials upstairs, two downstairs,

and then the shop.

The flats themselves, how will they be comprised?

One, two-beds?

I would like to go for two-beds.

Ideally, it would be nice to have a three-bed upstairs as well.

The flat that's there at the minute, it's pretty much good to go.

There's a couple of weeks of work in there.

So I will tenant that initially,

just so it's generating some money initially.

If I got a really happy tenant,

I maybe wouldn't change the layout there.

It is a really big two-bed flat, though.

I think it could be a three-bed.

So that's another thing that might change along the way,

depending on who moves in upstairs.

Chelsea certainly knows what she wants,

but it all hinges on the local planning department.

She is aiming for five flats and one commercial unit overall and,

with the help of her husband David's building firm,

they plan on achieving all that for 100 grand.

What's your timescale?

So, we are hoping to finish where we are working now beginning next year,

hopefully that will be a nice time.

The plans should be finalised for here

so that we could just roll straight onto this job.

OK, so you've got another project.

-Yeah.

-And then doing this.

And then committing to that kind of...full-time?

Yeah, hopefully, erm, and I think we'll be on here six months.

Chelsea, I cannot wait to see what you do with the place,

and the best of luck.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thanks very much.

Chelsea seems to have it sorted, doesn't she?

She's got a husband who owns a building company

and he's a joiner by trade, and she's worked as an estate agent.

But the best laid plans have to be OK'd by the planning department,

who say you can go ahead with your plans.

Too many plans?

You can find out what happens later in the show.

Haverfordwest is the county town of Pembrokeshire in Wales.

It's certainly been home to many famous faces over the years,

like actors Christian Bale, Rhys Ifans,

Gruff Rhys from the Super Furry Animals and even Suggs from Madness

went to school here.

I'm on this quiet and very well-kept residential estate,

and the kids are very lucky,

because they've got a ready-made football pitch across the road.

It also has a feeling of space and community.

The house I'm here to see is this place right here.

It's a semidetached house.

It's got three bedrooms and a guide price of £85,000 plus.

Let's go in and see what you get for your money.

# Standing here, in the rain

# Maybe the weather will change again

# Change again or stay the bleeding same. #

Now, you have got a nice space out there, just in that porch way,

to put all your dirty shoes or your coats.

Keep all the mess out there.

Keep this hallway clear.

And it's a decent-sized hallway.

The stairs go up to the bedrooms.

This is the lounge/living area.

Good space. Gas fire in there, which I would want to get rid of.

A nice big window as well.

Lots of light coming in.

Good lounge area. I like that.

Down the hallway into the dining room.

Again, it's not a bad size at all.

Double-glazed windows, central heating - always a good start.

It does have a feeling of being strong and sturdy,

and off the dining room, you've got the kitchen,

and a good-sized kitchen.

I wasn't expecting it to be this spacey, to be honest.

It's not in bad condition, either.

Depending on what you want to do with this house,

you might get away with keeping the cupboards.

You will need a new hob and cooker, of course,

if you're thinking of renting, that is.

But I do like it. I really do.

It's got a feeling of maybe post-war '50s, '60s.

Whenever this was built, it was built well.

In terms of change,

why not speak to a local expert to see if you can't knock down a wall

to create a kitchen-diner?

But remember, not all buyers want open-plan,

so if your plan was to sell it,

it might not gain as much value as you think.

In that case, I wouldn't bother.

I thought it looked strong and well built from the outside.

The interior matches that.

# No matter, cos there's something inside so strong. #

Right, so upstairs to the bedrooms. We have got three bedrooms up here.

Two to my left.

You've got more of a box bedroom and a double bedroom just to my left,

too. There's in-built cupboards,

which don't take any floor space up at all.

Very well thought out, well proportioned.

Ah, there is a downside to this house at last...

..the bathroom.

A little bit cramped, and I'd want to make that a little bit bigger.

So into the third and final bedroom, a lot of space in here again.

It's a double bedroom,

but I'm thinking about this bathroom and the space of the bathroom.

Could you come through this wall, maybe nick a metre,

come to about here, put a wall up here?

Yes, it would make the bedroom smaller.

I still think you'd get a double bed in.

You'd be doubling up on your bathroom space,

so that would be my Dublin solution.

# Fill my eyes with that double vision

# My double vision gets the best of me. #

But you don't need Dublin vision to see this house

has a lot going for it.

This estate, like many round here, was built

by the Ministry of Defence,

so they are really well built and with families in mind.

Let's have a look out the back.

Now, this is something you don't get

with brand-new residential housing, all this space as your back garden.

You've got access out into the lane.

You've got a gate there to come into your back garden as well.

It's really well proportioned.

The cameraman stayed inside because it's raining,

so can I come in now, please?

I'm coming in anyway, cos it's raining.

In property, if it seems too good to be true, get a second opinion,

so we've called in a local estate agent to get his thoughts

on this three-bed property.

These properties are particularly well built,

being ex-Ministry of Defence.

They are structurally very sound.

They are set in good grounds as well.

The garden sizes are exceptionally large for this type of property.

The layout of the property is very workable for a growing family.

I believe that the general condition is reasonably good,

and I believe that, with some minor modernisation,

this property could be sold in the near future for a profit.

Guided at 85 grand plus,

what could this house sell and rent for once renovated?

Once renovated, if the property was put on the rental market,

I would expect it to achieve between £600 and £650 per calendar month.

I believe this property should achieve in the region of £140,000.

I do like a solidly built house, and that is what you're getting here.

I also think it would be a perfect first project for someone.

Let's find out if that was the case when it went under the hammer.

£30,000 to get the bidding started.

Now, due to a technical hiccup,

we can't show you the footage of the auction on the day,

but I can tell you the house was bought for £91,500

by Kelly, who was at the auction with her dad, Andy.

Kelly is going to live in the house,

so I wanted to find out a little bit more about her first step

on the property ladder.

-Kelly, nice to meet you.

-Hiya.

-Andy, nice to meet you, too.

-Nice to meet you.

-Congratulations.

Well done. So, when you went to auction,

was this the property that you went for?

No. There was two other properties before this,

and I thought I'd get either one of them,

because this was the better one, so I didn't think I'd get this one.

And they went for more than I could afford, the other two,

so I really didn't think I'd get this one,

and then my dad and brother gave me a bit more money there

-and then on the...

-Oh, you see.

They helped me out and I ended up with this one,

so I didn't come away empty-handed.

-I knew that Andy would come into... come into play very, very soon.

-Yes.

So... So this was your fave, but you thought it was going to be too much?

Yeah, I thought it was going to be too expensive for me,

so I would have been happy with either of...

-Any of the three.

-OK.

Yeah. So, Andy, you helped out?

Yes, well, I didn't want to see her disappointed on the night.

She's been heart...

Felt that you needed a house...

-Yeah.

-She needed to move out of our house.

-OK.

-So I stumped up some extra cash.

-Oh, you see?

-Yes.

It was handy, bringing him.

Wasn't it just, eh?

Oh, Daddy's girl.

-Yes.

-Yeah. Gets what she wants!

And rightly so. Good on you.

# My dad, the best dad that I've had. #

Now, Kelly, when you're watching this,

it's a reminder that your dad

deserves a really good Father's Day gift this year.

This is a great first home, and I'm sure you're going to love it.

Do you know anything about this area at all?

Yeah, I only live a mile away now.

-So...

-Oh, do you?

Yes, so it's handy.

It's close to work for me.

-OK.

-It's... It's just... I don't need to move far. It ticks all the boxes.

-Yeah.

-I've lived here all my life, so...

-Yeah.

-Since '61, so I know the estate quite well.

And...

-Good on you.

-Yeah, it's a very popular estate to live on.

And it's a solid-built house, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Very solid. The old Goodwick brick, they call it.

-Goodwick.

-Goodwick.

-OK.

-Even drill bits get blunted on those bricks.

-Do they?

-Yeah.

-I...

-I learn something new every day.

Tools out, lads, let's test it!

They're famous in south-west Wales, these bricks,

-like, so...

-OK.

-They're solid.

When we grew up as kids, this was known as the naval site.

It was a big naval site in Brawdy.

-OK.

-And then later it was RAF Brawdy,

when the RAF moved in on the estate.

And after Brawdy moved out, the army moved in,

but they built a new estate for them on the other side of Haverfordwest.

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

Now you've got it, it's yours, it's now going to be your new home...

I'm not sure, really. It depends on money.

-OK.

-And how much things cost.

-Well, Daddy's there, so you'll be fine.

-Yeah.

-As per the usual.

I'd like to try and make the bathroom bigger if I can.

-OK.

-Somehow.

But it all depends on cost and everything.

And maybe open up the kitchen-diner if I can.

-Exciting, though, isn't it?

-Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Cos it's going to be your home.

-Yes, so...

-Can you picture things and where you're going to put stuff

-in here and...?

-Kind of.

I couldn't really remember what it looked like, so...

-OK.

-I didn't want to get my...

..something set in my mind and then it not be that.

-OK.

-So...

-And who's going to do the work?

My dad and my brother.

Yes. Yeah.

And then what they can't do, we'll have to get somebody in.

With Kelly's needs, which I'm pretty sure will be quite high...

-Yes.

-Standards will be quite high.

-Oh, definitely, yeah.

-Good luck on the purse strings with that one.

-Yeah.

-With the new kitchen, new bathroom and...

-Yes.

-How much is your budget?

It's not very much. I've got about 2,000 to £5,000.

OK. With Dad there, anyway...

-Well...

-If it's five, it might have to be 60, 70...

-Five, ten...

Fivey, sixey, seveny, you know?

I'm fairly cheap on my labour rates as well!

-Mate's rates. Family rates.

-Mate's rates, yeah, yeah.

So, in between two and five with the budget.

What about the timescale?

-About six months.

-So what is your...?

What you do when you're not,

you know, getting your new house ready to live in?

-What's your job?

-I'm a health care assistant in the hospital.

-Nice.

-Yeah.

-How about you, Andy?

I'm a coach driver. I used to be a greenkeeper at the golf course,

the local golf course, for 25 years.

-Did you?

-And...

That's how I know lots of my friends, like,

on the golf course as...

-OK.

-Plumbers, carpenters, I know them all, like, so...

Yeah, we'll have that spic and span...

-Wow. Ready to go.

-..come the summer.

Lucky you. She's a lucky girl, you know.

You're a lucky girl. Wow.

Having a dad who is going to help you out like this.

-Good on you, Andy.

-Yes.

-I hope it works out.

I'm excited to see how your new home's going to turn out.

-Thank you.

-I wish you all the best. Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

-Thank you, Dion.

-Thank you.

Now, that is a really nice story.

Kelly couldn't have done this on her own.

She's got her dad, Andy, who's going to be helping with everything.

And so we've got a DIY dad, a good starter home,

and a decent budget to tackle not a lot.

Let's see if Kelly is happily settled in later in the show.

Still to come, I'm just outside Derby in Alvaston,

and you'd better hold on to your hats, because...

This place is not disappointing.

And back in Haverfordwest, we'll find out what's got Andy in a twist.

I'm still in shock.

Time to head back to Cleator Moor,

where I saw a former pharmacy that had bags of potential.

# Doctor, Doctor, gimme the news

# I got a bad case of lovin' you. #

This giant commercial unit had so much space,

it was easy to get lost on the ground floor.

Aha, upstairs.

This place is a vast!

So, you've got more storage rooms this way.

You've got this big hall area,

and then staff would have used the locker rooms,

the little kitchen, a bathroom, too.

As there was also a self-contained two-bed flat at the back

of the commercial unit,

you might have thought turning this all into residential

would be the best way to go.

But the important thing to note here was its location,

as it was a conservation area,

and at least some of the ground floor had to remain commercial.

That didn't put off Chelsea from purchasing all this for 35 grand.

As an estate agent and property developer,

whose husband, David, has a building firm, well,

she was excited about the potential on offer here.

We're hoping, if the council will go with it,

we would get five residential units and a commercial unit

from the whole building. That's an ideal scenario.

We'd have three residentials upstairs, two downstairs,

and then the shop.

Chelsea thought the full renovation plan of five flats

and a commercial unit would be completed in six months,

once planning had been granted.

In the meantime, she'd work on another project in Whitehaven.

As far as this lot was concerned, she had a plan B for the short term.

The flat that's there at the minute, it's pretty much good to go.

There's a couple of weeks' work in there,

so I will tenant that initially,

just so it's generating some money initially.

It was a smart plan, so, as we return just one month later,

how have things gone in the meantime?

Yes, as you can see, there wasn't too much to do in this flat

to get it to a rentable standard.

The main issue was sorting out the damp,

which was coming in through the old fascia were the front sign was.

And down in the utility room,

it was caused by some loose tiles which have now been sorted.

So, the flat is dry and freshly decorated,

but if you were expecting big changes in the commercial unit,

well...

You will, of course, have to wait quite a bit longer.

It's only been four weeks,

and Chelsea's still going through the planning process,

but Chelsea has managed to get this flat up and running quickly,

and it's ready to get a new tenant in the door,

and some income in her pocket.

This has been a really straightforward refurb.

The standard of finish that we've gone for in this property,

we've done a cosmetic refurb everywhere.

The bathroom and the kitchen were perfectly practical and usable,

and they were neutral enough, they are both white.

So the state that we did was the back wall drying out

with the new plaster.

We hadn't seen that that was going to need replacing.

It did hold up the decorating.

Chelsea managed to source a loss of the materials,

such as new flooring and paint, at a reasonable cost,

as she always buys in bulk for use in her other projects.

So far, the spend on this flat has been £2,000,

which is small change when compared with the overall estimated spend

of 100 grand for all five flats and the commercial space.

It may seem like a simple renovation,

but Chelsea has her hands full with other commitments.

This hasn't been my full-time job.

I tried to give it as much attention as I could over the two weeks

that I allowed it. Me and my husband make a really good team

and normally we do work on every project together,

but, when this one came along,

he was far too busy on another one of our projects,

so I managed this on my own.

We got some local workmen and at times I was even painting it myself.

But I do also have another project that's going on in Whitehaven

that's at a really crucial stage, and I did find it hard

juggling them both,

and I was grateful, really, that this did stay such a basic refurb,

and I was able to do that.

I'm really pleased with the refurb on this flat.

I think it feels much more homely now.

It came together really quickly and it's going to be generating income

very soon, so it's perfect.

Exactly what I was hoping for.

Chelsea has in fact already got a tenant lined up for this property,

so let's get two local estate agents along to see what they think

of the changes and what she should be charging for rent.

First, the agent who saw it last time.

The property, it's undergone quite a simple transformation,

but it's given it a full new lease of life, fortunately,

so it's nice and fresh and ready to move into.

I think it's nice and neutral, but also it is fresh

all the way through, and so the new carpets, the new paint

gives a real good impression.

Chelsea reckons if she gets planning sorted,

it's going to take nine months until she is getting income

from the other flats and commercial space, but, in the meantime,

is she getting the right price for this one?

In terms of rental value,

I estimate this property would make between £375 and £400

per calendar month.

As a rental, I think you would be looking at around £350 to £400

per calendar month.

I agree with those rental valuations and I am achieving £380 a month,

not including bills.

With that figure and Chelsea's total outlay here being 37 grand,

she's already making a very good 12% yield on just this one flat alone,

and to think there could be another four flats,

plus one commercial unit still to bring in more income...

Chelsea must be keen to get things started.

We have had the survey done.

The architect's been several times to meet me and we are still in

discussions with the planners,

and we hope in the next few weeks to have some drawings put together.

I have been approached by several local businesses already,

so it's very exciting.

And hopefully when we return,

everything will have gone as smoothly as this first stage.

This one's been really easy so far.

I'm excited to do the development.

I love working with my architect.

It's not listed, which previous projects have been,

and that is always difficult, so, yeah, the future's bright.

This is Alvaston, a large suburb of Derby,

about three miles from the city centre.

And although we may only be a few miles out of Derby,

we're also right on the doorstep of Alvaston Park,

an 85-acre area of green space which opened back in 1913.

And the property I'm here to see is just over half a mile away.

But there couldn't be a greater contrast in location.

Well, right in the heart of Alvaston's shopping centre

is the property I'm here to see. Interesting one, this.

A former retail unit, it's obviously closed.

But it's being sold with vacant possession and a flat.

Well, actually, it's not really a flat, but it could be a flat.

See, I'm thinking ahead. An office space above.

£90,000 was the guide price.

Let's have a look.

Well, certainly when it comes to good locations for a retail unit,

it ticks lots of boxes.

A very, very busy road.

You've got a major roundabout, other shops all around.

And free parking, at least parking is available, which is great news.

Then the actual unit itself.

Well, it doesn't look much from the outside.

But just take a look at this.

It goes so far back, it's unbelievable.

I mean, talk about a Tardis.

It stretches through one bay, then another bay, then another bay.

It just goes on and on.

Great start.

What a surprise!

# Baby, what a big surprise

# Right before my very eyes. #

This former hardware shop was one of those retail treasures where you

could buy almost anything.

And, given its position, passing trade and so on,

it could suit a lot of businesses.

But you know me, I always like to look at the residential potential.

Well, upstairs and yet more space.

Lots of storage at the moment.

Back there, a storage area, large area here, you've got a loo.

And as I said at the start, it is currently an office,

but straightaway I was thinking, "Yes, this is so obviously a flat."

I mean, it's huge for a start.

I mean one flat, yeah, probably.

Two bedrooms at least. Not only have you got that area there,

you've got this area at the front which obviously is a former office

itself, an office.

It's on the road, you'd need to have double glazing.

But in terms of space, fantastic.

I mean, so many options.

And that's what I like.

And there is room to release that potential without too much hassle.

You could, under permitted development rights, change

the use from office to residential without having to get

full planning permission.

Though, of course, you'd still have to comply with building regulations.

The shop, however, is a different issue and use classification.

I'd always have a chat with your planning department

before taking the plunge.

And do bear in mind from time to time regulations can change.

Well, this place is already screaming potential, isn't it?

But wait until you see outside because it gets even better.

You've got a separate side access that leads to this area

which is made up of all these sort of sheds.

But it's a huge space.

And it gets even better because as you come up through here and past

more of this kind of stuff, you've also got this building here.

Now, it's currently just another storage area,

but it does have access onto another road there.

How amazing is this?

I mean, the potential for building something here, I don't know,

some flats, a house, whatever it might be, is just huge.

This place is not disappointing.

# There's not much to say

# But there's so much to do. #

So not only is there a shop, a space for an upstairs flat,

but there's also all of this, and all for a guide price

of just £90,000.

Of course, you would need planning permission for out here

but the mind boggles at the possibilities.

Time to hear the thoughts and opinions of the agent

from the auction house that sold it.

First thoughts are that it's impressive in terms of space.

A casual glance from outside,

you think it's just a lock-up shop with some accommodation above.

But we've got a really deep property here and a lock-up yard

and storage facilities. It sort of seems to go on and on and on.

So, very deceptive in terms of space,

and therefore a lot of potential.

So, retain the shop, maybe two, possibly three, residences.

So the agent sees the same kind of potential that I have.

But what kind of ballpark valuations could we be looking at?

I think if we look at a refurbished shop,

and we'll assume it's rented out,

and we'll assume that we've got two one-bedroom flats.

One on the ground floor, one on the first floor.

With some lock-up storage,

which I think you've also got potential to sublet if you want to.

And let's just assume that we've got an income of somewhere

between 20 and £25,000 a year from those three or four ingredients,

you've got a capital value that would be somewhere

between £225,000 and £250,000.

Well, lots of potential and therefore profit on this one.

You've got the retail unit,

you've got the office upstairs for the opportunity, perhaps,

of a flat there. More flats out the back.

Yeah, it's a really interesting project.

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

Sensible guide of 90.

Who'll start me off on the guide price of 90?

We do have telephone bids and we do have internet bids on this lot.

Don't want to go too far backwards.

90,000, bid me.

90 I'm looking for. Surely we're going to get past this.

90. 88. 88,000. 88. 88 I have, thank you.

88 is bid. 89 is bid. 90. 90 is bid.

And one. 92.

And three. And four.

And five. And six.

And seven. And eight.

And nine. 100.

Plenty of interest in this lot, then.

We rejoin the auctioneer looking for 148,000.

148 I need on the phone.

148 I'm looking for.

The bid's 147 in the room.

148 on the phone.

149. Are you bidding me, sir?

149 is bid. 150.

150 is bid.

151? 151.

152. 152.

153. 153 is bid.

154. At 154 is bid on the phone.

It's against you, 155, sir.

155. 156 I need, Chrissie.

At one hundred and... 156.

157? 157.

158? 158 on the phone.

159. Shakes his head.

At 158,000, on Chrissie's telephone.

The bid is £158,000.

Make no mistakes.

For the first time at 158,000.

He's back, 159.

160 to stay with it on the phone.

Gentleman's bid, 159 in the room.

160 I need.

At £159,000 for the first time.

For the second time.

For the third and final time. Fair warning, internet.

The hammer's up. At 159,000 it goes.

Sold. It's yours, sir, 159.

Sold for almost £70,000 over the guide price.

The property has gone to businessman and developer, Chris.

He has a few buy to let properties in his portfolio already

and I'm eager to hear his plans for his latest purchase.

Chris, really lovely to meet you.

-Nice to meet you, Martin.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-I have to say, you're looking pretty sharp.

Thank you.

You were expecting me to talk about the property, weren't you!

Straight in there. Well, you know, it's good to see.

So, tell me why you wanted to buy this place.

Well, I thought it's got a good opportunity here

because in Alvaston there's a lot of new companies coming around here.

So it's an investment decision?

-Investment, yeah.

-Do you know the area quite well?

Yeah, because I own the petrol station across...

-Oh! Across the road?

-Across the road.

-Oh, right.

-Yeah, and I know the area very well. Right.

So you've seen it from the petrol station and thought, "Oh, hello,

-"that's something interesting"?

-Yeah, and also I looked at the area

-and then it's got a potential for flats above.

-Yeah.

And especially the location.

-Yeah, yeah.

-So what are your plans for it?

I'm going to make it into the flat, the back side of another flat.

-OK.

-One bedroom.

And then two bedrooms upstairs.

And then the front, going to rent it to a pizza place

or something like that.

Food? Now, it would obviously have to have a change of use if it was going to be food, wouldn't it?

-But there's a food place next door and...

-Yes.

That's why my architect is looking into it.

-OK.

-Is it OK to change the licence?

Right, OK, fine.

And what about all the space at the back, then?

What about all the other bits and pieces you've got?

Eventually, I want to do another two-bedroom flat in the back.

-Oh, wow.

-But that's going to take a while to go through the planning and everything.

-Yeah, yeah.

In the meantime, I just want to do it up very quickly.

-OK.

-And then, eventually, I'll do that up.

So what's the budget for the project?

Probably 35 to 40.

OK. And then is the plan to rent the flats out or to sell them on?

-No, rent them out.

-Rent them out?

-Yeah.

-What kind of money do you think you'd get for the flats?

I think the two-bedroom, probably 450 to 475.

-Right.

-And also the one-bedroom around 400.

400, OK.

And how much do you think you'd get for the shop?

Shop, probably 12,000 a year.

-12,000 a year, so that's about £1,000 a month.

-£1,000 a month.

Wow, really?

That's a local estimation of value.

So that's 1,000 plus your 475 plus 400.

So, £1,875 a month coming in.

-Yeah.

-Remind me what you paid for it?

-159.

-159. Plus you are going to spend say 40 or so, 200.

-200.

-Right.

So it's delivering way over a 10% yield, isn't it?

It's very difficult to find properties like this

-now for this 10%.

-Yeah.

Good result. And what's the timescale?

For me, it's three months.

-Oh, wow!

-Yeah.

-Bang! Straight in here.

Yeah. Yeah, if you keep a property, it costs you money,

so I want to do it up quickly.

And get a tenant in.

Hopefully. I don't know about the shop side,

I'll get the tenant straightaway,

but I'm confident the flat will rent out because they're short

of properties around here. For a flat that size.

OK. Wow. Well, listen, congratulations, good luck with it.

-Look forward to seeing how you get on.

-Thank you, Martin.

Well, Chris clearly knows what he's doing

and he has spotted the potential profit and long-term yield

for this place.

Yes. Lots of flats, retail unit rented out,

it's definitely a gold mine.

How will he get on sorting it out?

You can find out later in the show.

Well, earlier, we saw how one property turned out.

Yes, what about the other two?

It's time to find out!

It was on this quiet estate in the county town of Haverfordwest

that I saw this three-bed semi that went to auction

with a guide price of £85,000 plus.

Built by the MoD with families in mind.

The downstairs living accommodation had good proportions.

And the two double bedrooms and box room upstairs

had plenty of handy storage space.

Though I felt the bathroom was letting the side down.

I'd want to make that a little bit bigger,

so into the third and final bedroom.

Could you come through this wall?

Maybe nick a metre, come to about here, put a wall up here.

You'd be doubling up on your bathroom space,

so that would be my Dublin solution!

The bathroom wasn't working for me, but seriously,

I thought I was having double vision when I saw

the absolutely massive back garden. My conclusion?

# I'm seeing double. #

This was a great house for a first-timer.

And that first timer turned out to be health care assistant, Kelly.

She bought the house to live in for 91 and a half grand.

She came along with her dad, Andy, to tell me about her roller-coaster

auction ride.

There was two other properties before this and I thought I'd

get either one of them, because this was the better one.

So I didn't think I'd get this one!

And they went for more than I could afford, the other two.

So I really didn't think I'd get this one.

And then my dad and brother gave me a bit more money.

-Ah, you see!

-It was handy, bringing him!

Look at you, honestly! Look at that!

So, Daddy's girl had her foot on the property ladder.

And she had some good ideas, too.

Like enlarging that bathroom.

But would she be able to manage a budget of £2,000 to £5,000

and have her first home ready in a timescale of six months?

We're back eight months later to find out.

Kelly and Dad Andy have been hard at work making this house a home.

The whole place has been replastered and rewired by the professionals.

A new boiler has been installed in the kitchen,

which is still a work in progress.

As is outside, where Andy and Kelly have been busy digging out

the beginnings of a fantastic new patio.

But what about that tiny upstairs bathroom?

# I'm coming home! #

By knocking down the partition wall and moving the doorway

of the neighbouring bedroom,

they've managed to make the bathroom bigger.

And you don't miss the space in the hall as that benefitted

from losing the old heating system.

Kelly and her dad have done a cracking job

getting this house ready for Kelly to move in,

but has the renovation all gone to plan?

We had a little problem when we were getting ready for the plasterers

to come in. We bonded all the walls.

-We had all the family in.

-Yeah, all of us were here.

The ceilings, walls.

And we did it the wrong consistency,

-so we had to do it again the next day.

-Yeah.

Small hiccups aside,

it seems everyone in the family has been hands on.

So who's done what?

Tim has come down from Cardiff, he's helped us with a few weekends.

He's our second eldest, and me and him with the hammer

and the crow bars, have been demolishing the walls upstairs.

Kelly's been helping out.

Yeah, and my mum's been...

Co-ordinating all the purchases.

Yes, she's keeping an eye on us with money and everything like that.

Everyone pitching in should have helped keep the costs down,

but has Mum, Anne, managed to keep the purse strings tight

on that budget of £2,000-£5,000?

We ended up spending about £9,000.

-So far.

-Yeah.

More could be spent yet, but my biggest shock

-of all this was the skip.

-Yes.

Over the years, I've had a skip, no more than £100, £120, £130,

this was £840.

-Yes.

-Big mistake by me putting timber and plastics in the skip.

It comes out as a mixed skip, and I'm still in shock.

An expensive lesson for Dad Andy there,

but I'm sure he fitted the bill for that one as Kelly has been saving

hard the whole time to increase the budget.

In fact, that's what caused the delay in the schedule.

But now it's done, what's the plan?

I'm going to move in. Yeah, even though I think Dad

would like me to sell it.

Dad would like you to come home!

But, yeah, I think you'll be very happy here, Kel.

Yeah, I like it.

Aw, that is nice, he wants her home.

So let's see if two local estate agents can persuade her.

So far, Kelly, her dad and brother, Tim, have all chipped in

to the tune of £100,500.

So let's get a professional opinion,

starting with the agent who saw it first.

On arrival, I was very impressed with the quality of finish of throughout.

I can see that the property has been fully rendered internally,

which obviously offers a much nicer finish to the property.

There's new flooring throughout and I think, overall,

the property has been finished very nicely.

So the property's been finished to a really good standard.

It's a lovely modern decor and I think the owner

will be very happy here.

The only negative I can see is there is currently no off-street

parking with the property.

However, there is potential for off-street parking for somebody

to do at a later date.

While off-street parking can add value,

in a quieter street like this, perhaps that isn't such an issue.

Some other residents in the street have pretty gardens out front,

so it will be up to Kelly, after all, it is her home.

But if she was going to sell it on,

what could it be worth on the market?

As the property stands, as it is not 100% complete,

if the property went on the open market, I would expect it to achieve

somewhere in the region of £125,000 to £130,000.

If we were looking to place this property on the open market,

we would place it an asking price of £155,000

and look to agree a sale in excess of £125,000.

A sale of £130,000 could mean a profit of £29,500

minus taxes and fees.

The agents estimated between £135,000 and £140,000

when complete, meaning the potential profit could rise to £39,500.

So what do the pair think of that?

Definitely, I'm happy with the highest price.

Yeah, I'm happy with the price as it is now.

So is Kelly tempted to change her mind?

-I'm still going to move in.

-Yeah.

-The price doesn't change anything.

It's been Kelly's main aim for many years to have her own house,

so this is a dream that's come true.

Earlier in the show, I was in the suburb of Alvaston,

just three miles from Derby city centre.

And it was right in the heart of the shopping centre

that I saw a former retail unit with office space upstairs

guided at £90,000.

So, good location - check.

Off-street parking - check.

And the unit itself?

It goes so far back, it's unbelievable.

I mean, talk about a Tardis, it stretches through one bay,

then another bay and another bay and it just goes on and on.

Great start, what a surprise.

# I want a big surprise tonight

# A big surprise tonight. #

And the surprises kept coming when I saw the size of the upstairs.

Straightaway, I was thinking, "Yes, this is so obviously a flat."

I mean, it's huge, for a start.

I mean, one flat, yeah, probably.

Two bedrooms at least.

That wasn't the end of it -

round the back was a massive yard and a huge outbuilding

with access to the main road. I mean,

the potential for building something here is just huge.

This place is not disappointing.

It seemed like Chris, who owns petrol stations

and develops property, agreed,

considering he paid almost £70,000 over the guide price for it.

I'm going to make it into the backside of another flat.

-OK.

-One bedroom and then two-bedroom upstairs,

and then the front is going to rent to pizza places or things like that.

-OK, food or drink.

-Yeah.

-It would obviously have to have change of use

if it was going to be food, wouldn't it?

-But there's a food place next door.

-Yeah.

That's why my architect is looking into it.

-OK.

-Is it OK to change the licence?

With plans for the outbuilding on the back burner,

Chris was focusing on getting the main building ready for rental

in three months, and he had a budget of £35,000 to £40,000 to do it.

So, would he manage it?

We're back one year and four months later to find out.

It has taken longer than planned,

but what was once an old, tired office

is now a spotless two-bedroom flat.

Some clever reconfiguring in the hall has made way

for the first double bedroom, which is a good size.

By joining two small storerooms,

there's now a fantastic spacious master bedroom.

A smart new shower room completes the layout upstairs,

but did Chris's plans for downstairs come to fruition?

The fittings have been stripped and while some fantastic tiles

have been revealed underneath, there's no sign of a pizza place

or a one-bed flat.

Perhaps Chris and his contractor, Demis, can shed some light.

Our original plan was to make another one-bedroom flat downstairs

and then the company who want to take it from us,

they preferred to take the whole thing.

Then that's fallen through.

Then what are we going to do then?

We decided who will come in, they need the whole space.

That's why in the end we decided not to do another one-bedroom apartment.

Unfortunately, the pizza place that was due to move in

couldn't get change of use to the A5 hot food takeaway classification,

so the agreement fell through,

but the planning process lost Chris the best part of a year.

So the space will now be a convenience store.

And the tenant? Well, it's Chris himself.

Originally, we wanted to rent it,

now we thought our company is going...

It's a new experience for me,

we've been mostly into business associations

and commercial buildings and properties.

This is a new challenge, as a shop, we're going to run it.

My manager, Dave, is quite keen to get up and running in the place.

Another side-line for the business savvy Chris,

who also has a tenant moving in upstairs.

But, no, it's not him.

And that space at the back of the property is going to good use too,

with part of it being rented as storage to a local business.

Though Chris and contractor Demis do still have their long-term goal

of a flat conversion in the outbuilding.

Probably in the future, if you get planning permission,

just put another couple of flats at the back

and use the other site for a shop.

So, plenty to do,

but for now, how did they get on with that £35,000 to £40,000 budget?

The original budget was £40,000.

The whole project, because we done pretty much half of the project,

that's probably cost us £20,000 now.

It worked out we stick with our budget,

we didn't go up in the budget at all.

Half the budget!

That ain't half bad,

but there's only one flat rather than two as originally planned

and that could affect the profit margin

on Chris' £179,000 investment.

But before we get the figures,

let's see what two local estate agents make of the changes.

Well, first impression of the property is obviously

it's been transformed to what we see today.

They've gone right through it,

refitted it and kitted it completely so it is now as a flat up here

ready to go. The shop downstairs really hasn't changed,

but then a tenant will come and fit that out.

My first impressions of the first floor flat in particular

are very good. It's clean, it's tidy, it's ready to move into.

They've done a really good job.

Downstairs, obviously, there's less work to do

with it being a commercial premise, which is fantastic.

It's ready to go as it stands.

In this case, it will be Chris' franchise convenience store

that will be moving in downstairs,

but what kind of price will he be getting

for the two-bed flat upstairs?

I would expect the two-bedroom flat to rent in the region of £495 per

calendar month.

If the flat was offered on the open market for rental,

£500 a calendar month would certainly be achievable.

The agents also thought the shop could achieve

between £830 and £1,000 per calendar month on the rental market which,

in addition to the higher value of £500 for the flat,

could take this building's potential yield to over 10%.

Impressive stuff.

So, is Chris happy with that?

-Wow! Brilliant. Very good.

-Yeah, that's good news.

Yeah.

The agent also put a total value on the whole building

of between £195,000 and £225,000,

which could give Chris a potential profit of £46,000 minus taxes

and fees, but he'll be holding on to it for now.

So I'll mark this one down to a success.

Does that mean this partnership will continue?

Yeah. Yeah, Chris is definitely great to work with.

He's a really good boss and we work great and nicely around and stuff.

So, yeah, we will be definitely looking to the future.

Well, that's it for today's show and I can't help but feel inspired

by all the hard work I've seen.

Yeah, I feel the same.

Let's hope the people at home have been inspired, too.

Yes. Join us next time for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-Bye-bye.

-Goodbye.

-Bye-bye.