Episode 69 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello, and welcome to the show.

There really is something special about the auction process.

The strategy, the pressure.

Yeah, sizing up the bidders, knowing that when the hammer falls,

-it's all over.

-It really is very special,

that feeling of knowing that out of all the bidders,

you're the one who held your nerve and got your house under the hammer.

The various sizes and shapes of auction properties

never fails to boggle the mind.

Yes, you can have a million pound property

or a garage that has a guide price of just a few thousand pounds.

Yeah - and this variety

means that there's usually something for everybody.

So what did today's buyers go for?

I'm missing something at this two-bed terrace in Crewe.

I was expecting a bathroom here...

..but there isn't one. So that is good news.

The bathroom at this one-bed cottage in Blackwell, Worcestershire,

is full of surprises.

I'm surprised, actually, there's a bathroom up here in the first place.

And if size matters, this studio apartment in Poplar, London,

might not be for you.

And it's exactly what I expected.

It's small.

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.

In time, sold.

I'm in Crewe, in Cheshire,

a town that grew up around the railway station -

and it's sure to grow even further,

as the HS2 train line is planned to run through here by 2027.

Unidentified passenger, wave if you watch the show.

Thought so!

HS2 will cut journeys to the capital by 45 minutes.

# Feeling all right with the groove... #

Well, it's probably a long way away,

but the prospect of the HS2 train link

going to a station literally a stone's throw from here

has got to potentially push property prices, surely,

in one direction -

and once it's operational,

and it's such an easy route down into London and beyond,

come on, £58,000 for a two-bed mid-terrace, then,

is going to seem like an absolute bargain.

So, what could you possibly get for your money?

Well, straight off the street into the front living room,

very traditional layout for these houses,

which were probably built for the workers in the railway.

A few nice original features, which is good to see.

Nice front living room area, there.

Traditional layout,

stairs up to your bedrooms in the middle of the property -

and then through to your rear sitting room.

The chimney breast has been blocked up.

A few signs of damp over there, which I'm not too keen on...

..and it's a bit worrying,

not sure if this is a solid floor or suspended floor.

If it's a suspended floor,

then that kind of damp could well have transferred itself

to the floor joists, which isn't good -

but then, again, traditional layout, out the back here, a kitchen...

..and some definite signs of quite bad damp on the ceiling, there.

Now, I was expecting a bathroom here...

..but there isn't one.

So that's good news - not that there isn't a bathroom,

but it's somewhere else.

Well, at least I hope it's somewhere else.

So, all in all, not a bad start for that guide price.

Yes, for £58,000 in an area on the up, this might be a real gem...

..but let's address the problems first,

and find the source of that damp.

So upstairs, fairly classic layout.

Top of the stairs, left or right, a bedroom.

Nice sized, actually -

but here we start to see some of the damp issues that we saw downstairs.

Looks like it's coming in, probably the flashing around the chimney.

However, a bit of a design flaw.

The bathroom, no, it wasn't downstairs.

It is, in fact, up here, which is good.

It's accessed only from that bedroom, though,

which really isn't ideal.

It's a nice size, but I wonder,

given its location and that damp downstairs in the kitchen,

if actually there is a leak up here which is causing that problem.

Play around with the stairs,

swap things around and do a few stud partition walls.

It's an age-old problem, and there is an easy solution.

Well, easy, but kind of expensive.

And factoring in the fact that this house needs central heating

and the damp course, it might be too rich for some people's blood.

One bonus is that you do have a sizeable loft space,

but you may want to have a look at the stairs to it,

which are a tad rustic for my liking.

Well, at the back of the property, not that much to speak of.

However, a few indicators.

Nature doing its job of pointing out some potential problems,

as it often does.

Look at all this green kind of algae stuff.

It could just be that this is a very dark little corner of the house -

however, there seems to be lots more

actually against the house itself, there,

so I wonder if that's yet another sign of the damp we've already seen.

As is stuff on the walls here.

Look, all this stuff is coming off.

Again, at the back here, you get an impression, as you do inside,

it's a house that just needs a bit of tender loving care.

What it also needs is a bit of a sort out.

Look at this.

What could be a reasonably sized little rear area

needs to be cleaned up - and more so, at the back there,

there is actually a little alleyway.

That could be opened up if you spoke to the neighbours, perhaps,

to give a really useful rear access.

And out here, I also note a few missing slates on the roof.

So, while you're up checking the chimney cap, best to replace them.

It's time for a local property expert to check out this property,

guided at £58,000.

How much does the agent think it needs spending on it?

The property does need quite a bit of money spending on it.

I would envisage it needs at least £10-15,000

spending on the property.

So, you're talking an outlay of around £73,000 in total.

Does that seem a worthwhile investment for sales and rentals?

Once complete, I'd like to see this property do £80-85,000.

From a rental point of view,

I can see this property doing in the region of £495 per calendar month.

Well, yes, there's a bit to be done to sort this place out,

but even so, I think short term,

this is a really good rental investment,

or a pleasant house to live in.

Longer term, though,

a really interesting speculative investment opportunity.

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

50 to start me on this one.

50 bid, thank you. £50,000.

I'm going once again. 51, 52, 53.

Bid's at 53. 54.

Bidding continued to £58,000, where we rejoin.

58. 59, 60. 61. 60,000.

On the front row, then, at £60,000, against you standing.

At £60,000, once, then.

£60,000 twice.

Third and final time, £60,000.

You've bought it, well done.

The bidders getting the property for 60,000

were Ali and her husband, Rob,

buying one of two properties at this auction.

We saw them at their other purchase in Stoke, a semidetached bungalow,

which they completed work on in February 2017.

Maybe try one and see how it goes.

Yeah, yeah, we don't like to make it easy on ourselves, really.

It may have been hard work, but they did make a £22,000 profit

before taxes and expenses.

And so we met again, this time to see what they were going to do

with their £60,000 purchase.

Ali, Rob, great to see you again.

-Cheers.

-And you, hi.

-Good.

Now you, if I remember rightly,

you had a bit of a bonanza day on the auction day, didn't you?

Oh, we did, yes. We bought two properties on the day, yes.

Right, and this was one of them?

Yes, yes.

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

It was a bit of a last-minute decision.

I had previously seen it online, and, to be honest,

we'd scrolled through so many that it got lost amongst

all the properties -

but then saw it again in the brochure on the auction night...

..but I'm from Crewe originally -

in fact, I was born just a couple of streets away.

-No way!

-Yes.

-Fantastic.

And my dad used to work in this street for over 40 years.

-Did he? What was his job?

-He was a security printer,

so it's now a different...

-Right.

-..organisation altogether now, but this was where he worked.

-Oh, my gosh! How amazing.

-So I know the area, yes.

Very much so.

Do I take it from that you didn't visit the property particularly

-before you bought it?

-No.

-Not really, no, no, no.

-We didn't.

-Not really? Yes or no?

-No, no, not at all, no.

You won't get away from it, because you know you made a boo-boo.

I know, yes.

Because there could've been all sorts of problems with it.

-And there is.

-And there is.

I am going to say, "Good," because I mean good. Shouldn't do it.

The question is, had you seen it before hand,

would you still have bought it?

I think so, but...

Possibly, because we're gluttons for punishment that way...

..and we quite like the bones of the property.

We know this kind of property quite well.

-And it's a bit of a challenge.

-Yes.

Oh, good, right. Would you have paid as much as you paid?

Before we started bidding on it, we'd put a cap of 63.

-OK.

-And we paid 60.

We figured, cut it low in case there is something bad inside it.

So when you got it for 60, did your alarm bells start ringing?

Not at the time, but...

I did think, "Do they know something we don't?"

Well, they might have visited it.

-We're not fazed.

-No, no.

-Anything is overcome-able, really.

-Yes, sure.

Well, not only did they not view inside,

the couple live in Edinburgh -

quite a long commute to their new pair of properties,

aptly described by two famous Scottish singers.

# Well I would walk 500 miles

# And I would walk 500 more... #

What about the option of buying a property in Edinburgh?

Wouldn't that have been a bit easier?

Yeah, geographically, certainly, yes.

We didn't really see anything at the right price, you see -

and also, where we live, there is a lot of listed properties, as well.

So we thought we could probably get more for our money.

So tell me what you're going to do to the place to sort it out.

Damp is absolutely the first thing.

Sort the damp out.

We're getting damp specialists, and do that.

We're going to get it rewired, and get the stairs reversed

and create a hallway to make that a definite bedroom,

rather than just a walk-through.

-Have you had a quote for that?

-Not yet.

Not yet - but we've got some people in mind,

we've been recommended some people.

I am a little wary, as you can probably tell,

as it would cost at least several thousands of pounds

to move the stairs.

Plus, Ali and Rob still need to budget for the new kitchen,

bathroom and those regular long drives from Edinburgh.

They are unsure about renting or selling this one,

and even though they plan to do a lot of the work themselves,

they will still need deep pockets.

So what is their budget?

Possibly about 15,000, overall.

-Including the stairs?

-Yes.

-Including the stairs, yes.

I mean, we have got, you know, a little bit of contingency,

which we would probably need to dip into -

but we've got to start with some sort of figure in mind, yeah.

Sure. What's the timescale?

About six months.

Yes. A realistic timescale.

-Yeah.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-And good luck with it.

-Thank you.

-Look forward to seeing the house.

-Thanks ever so much.

-OK, thank you.

Well, quite a few challenges ahead

for Rob and Ali to sort this place out -

and some of them a bit of a surprise,

because they hadn't seen the property before they bought it.

Anyway, how will they get on, on their steep learning curve?

You can find out later in the show.

With its picturesque views, this could only be in Middle England.

So it makes sense, considering we're slap bang in the middle of England.

I'm between Worcester and Birmingham,

a mile away from the M42 - and Barnt Green train station

is less than a couple of miles away.

I'm just getting in the spirit of things.

I'm in the country.

I'm just on the outskirts of the village of Blackwell,

and about 40 minutes from the centre of Birmingham -

and there's green everywhere.

Everywhere I look.

To my left, to my right.

You know what? They've even got a green gate, as well.

There seems to be a lot of birdlife around this woodland area,

and the house comes with its fair share of greenery, too.

1.8 acres worth, to be exact.

That's enough of that.

This is our house.

Now, if you can believe it, it's only got one bedroom.

But it's got a guide price of 125 grand,

which makes me very intrigued.

Let's have a look inside.

This cottage might have the wow factor,

but will it in a good way?

Wow!

Yeah, wow!

Look at this.

This is the original door with the original door knocker.

Come on in. Too late.

I'm in already -

and you come straight into this very small, very cottagey feeling

front first reception room.

This will have been the old fire -

but there's been a wood burner there.

They've taken the burner, and they've left the wood.

There's no glass in the windows at all.

Wow. For me, as I come through the door,

I'm already getting the feeling of,

let's get rid of the whole of this building and start again -

and I've only come into one room.

There's a little bit of storage there.

Through into the kitchen, through this very small, low door.

That just gives you that cottage feeling again,

and, you know, it's just...

Look at the size of this place. It's absolutely tiny.

You've got a sink in here, you've got a freestanding cooker.

Everything needs to be done.

I'm taking a guess this place hasn't been touched in years.

It might have been decorated just the once.

There's no space down here. That is it.

That room and this kitchen, and that is it -

and here are the stairs, minus...

That.

-CREW MEMBER:

-Step over it, come on. Right, action.

Pushy, aren't you?

All right, all right -

and to think I joined Homes Under The Hammer for the glamour.

Premier League winner, Golden Boot international.

Oh, hello. Anyway, upstairs,

we have got a lot of mould in this stairwell.

Not good at all. It must've been closed up for some time.

You've only got two rooms up here.

This room is the family bathroom.

I'm surprised, actually, there is a bathroom up here in the first place.

This would've been a bedroom back in the day,

but they've actually put a bathroom in here -

and it's a good-sized bathroom. It's not bad at all...

..but mildew, mould on the ceiling.

Mould on the walls.

It's a bit of a mess...

..and it's still enticing me into taking this whole place down

and starting again.

HE SIGHS

OK, through into the one bedroom, then -

and it's not a bad size bedroom at all.

It's a double bedroom.

You've got a fireplace, which has been boarded up.

There's mildew everywhere.

It's not in great condition.

You know what? When I walked into this place, I was totalling it,

I was taking it down and starting again.

Brand-new build, lovely new three-bed, four-bed house -

but I'm having a bit of a U-turn.

I think you could keep hold of some of this build and add to it.

It's got a bit of character.

I've seen loads of two-up two-downs on the show,

with no options whatsoever.

This one is completely different.

At the back of the property, you've got this lean-to,

which is part of the footprint,

and is going to help if you wish to extend.

So much land to work with.

Get the right planning in place,

and you could turn this place into a lovely family home.

To be honest with you, who's going to complain?

Who's going to chirp up?

BIRDS SING

All right, you lot!

And there's a fair bit of land to play with here.

1,292 square yards, to be exact.

With some added features, like the outside toilet.

Could be handy when gardening.

OK, I can't stand the suspense any longer.

Time to hear from a local estate agent to see if he's spellbound,

or if he thinks it's a Hammer house of horror.

My gut feeling is that it would be a shame to knock it down,

because it has got a bit of character about it -

but, in all honesty, it needs to be a brilliant extension.

It desperately needs it.

So, like me, the agent can see potential here.

Which would be the most cost-effective?

Extend or demolish?

If you can get the planning,

and it was a good enough extension and it worked well enough,

then go for that, because that would probably be cheaper -

but in all honesty, you could knock it down, as well, to be fair.

This property has both of us in two minds.

What could it sell for if you extend it to a three-bed house?

Probably 250-300,000.

If it was any smaller than that,

then obviously it would come down in price.

To do it up and extend it, I think it's at least 150,000.

And on the sales market, if done up and not extended?

Again, very unusual.

On a plot this size, you're probably looking at a three- or four-bed.

So with it being a one-bed, I would say somewhere around 300-325,000,

if it was all done up and landscaped properly.

Now, if ever there was a blank canvas, this is it.

You could add to this building,

or you could tear it down and start a fresh project.

There's a fair bit of land to play with, but there's so many options.

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

It's an absolute belter of a property

to be sold under the hammer,

and it needs probably everything you can think of doing to it and more.

Some auction houses or vendors require the 10% deposit to be paid

by banker's draft, as was the case for this lot.

The draft means the sum has been prepaid to the bank

and is guaranteed to be paid to the vendor.

Can I have 150, sir?

Can have 125 then?

It's going to go way past.

Is that a yes? 125, 150, sir, thank you.

Do have a draft, sir? At 150, I'm bid, it's at 175 now.

With the guide price well past, bids continued at pace,

until we rejoin at 275 grand.

275, 277.

No, you're saying, "No," with a smile.

275, can you get your draft ready, please.

Thank you, madam, waving it.

We can get the thumbs up from Rachel, this is yours at £275,000.

Bankers draft is good.

The property is now yours.

The former woodsman's cottage was bought by Simon.

Well done, best of luck.

Birmingham-based Simon is a ski instructor.

He's also learning to fly and has forged a career in pharmaceuticals,

as well as developing property.

Well, I think I was lucky to catch up with this very busy bloke

to discuss his 275 grand project.

-Simon, nice to meet you.

-Morning, how are you?

Congratulations, pal.

I love this place. It's got a great feel about it.

-Yes.

-What was it that attracted you to this place?

-Literally that, the feel.

-Was it really?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The noise. There is none.

That's it, isn't it? Because...

BIRDS SING

It is peaceful -

but Simon went 150 grand over the guide price to buy this.

There was a lot of interest in it because of the guide price,

and I think that's why they set it a little bit lower

than it should have been -

but I sort of had a figure of 250 in my head.

There's not a lot of it.

What attracted you to the property itself?

Because there wasn't a lot of it.

-Really?

-So it's small, it's quaint, and then you can add to it.

Tell us exactly what you're going to do, then.

A large extension, double extension at the back.

So it'll look like two cottages put together.

-Got you.

-Then, at the back of that, a balcony,

-just to capture the views, you know.

-Oh, nice.

Big living area and bifold doors going into a patio

out onto the woodland, really.

So how many bedrooms are you going to try and achieve in the end?

It'll finish with one master

and then two more bedrooms.

So, three bedrooms in total.

And what about downstairs, then?

Downstairs, I want to keep the cottage feel.

-Got you.

-And then as you go into the new build at the back,

it'll be all open, so you'll have two little rooms at the front,

olde worlde style, and then walking into modern at the back.

You're knocking down the outhouse?

Yes! I think...

They're a thing of the past, you know?

Nobody uses outhouses any more, do you?

Lean-to outhouse, whatever you want to call it.

So upstairs, three bedrooms, en suite in one,

family bathroom upstairs as well?

Yes.

Simon's had his architect draw up plans,

and he'll be dealing with the complications

of working in what is a green belt area,

hopefully in nine months' time.

And despite all this effort, Simon doesn't plan to live here.

He already rents out four flats, and this property is an investment, too.

What about your budget, then? Because there's a fair bit of work

to be done with extensions and big doors...

Budgeting about 120.

-OK.

-And then all this will just be landscaped.

So, you know, you will, anywhere, feel like you're in the woods.

Did you ever think to yourself, I'm going to buy this,

I'm going to live in it?

-No...

-There was a little bit of hesitation.

Only because when we bought it,

you do think, "Oh, actually, it's not that far away" -

but I'm a townie. At the moment.

I think it will be... It's up for sale.

And you, are you looking to take your profits

-and then continue to go back to the auction?

-Yes, yes.

I mean, I normally go for somewhere, something quite safe.

-OK.

-Flats.

-That's what I was looking for at this auction.

-But you didn't!

I saw this and went, "Oh, I do fancy that as a project."

-OK.

-It's probably the biggest project, personally, I've took on,

yes, so it's a biggie...

-Yeah.

-But not too fazing, if you know what I mean?

-Good.

-The thing is with these properties,

they don't come up very often.

-Yeah, true.

-That's the big thing about this one,

it's sort of a once-in-a-lifetime property.

-Yes, of course.

-Because, you know, you can go and get a terrace,

you can go and get a flat, but something like this,

they're once in a blue moon,

so, the idea is just to take the time and enjoy it.

-Well, exactly.

-And be happy with the outcome.

-That's the idea.

-Simon, good luck.

-Thank you.

-I wish you all the best, pal.

Thank you very much. Cheers.

So, Simon's a self-confessed townie, a city lad,

but he's happy to take on this project out in the country,

and he wants to make it double the size with sliding doors at the side

to the driveway, and he wants to make it ultra modern.

I'm just sad he's going to get rid of that outside toilet.

Do stay tuned and you can find out how he gets on.

Coming up, my key to maximising space in this Poplar studio.

You can't change the square footage,

but you can maximise your space and make it look good.

And there's some good news at this former woodsman's one-bed cottage

in Blackwell, Worcestershire.

All the hard work has been done.

Time to return to the railway town of Crewe in Cheshire,

and a two-bed mid-terrace guided at 58,000.

It had some unwanted features, damp and more damp,

plus a traditional layout of a front sitting room and rear room...

..but one terrace tradition had been tackled.

The bathroom, no, it wasn't downstairs.

It is, in fact, up here, which is good.

It's accessed only from that bedroom, though.

Which really isn't ideal.

I thought moving the staircase could offer an easy solution

to the bedroom layout. But...

Well, easy, but kind of expensive.

But I wonder, given its location and that damp downstairs in the ba...

..in the kitchen, rather, if actually,

there's a leak up here which is causing that problem.

Edinburgh-based Ali and Rob bought this for 60,000

as well as a bungalow at the same auction.

Talk about diving straight in to the deep end

for these novice developers -

but they committed one of the two cardinal Hammer sins,

you can guess which one it was,

when I tell you that at least they'd read the legal pack.

So I guess, the question is, had you seen it beforehand,

would you still have bought it?

I think so, but...

Possibly. Because we're gluttons for punishment that way.

And it's a bit of a challenge.

To say damp was an issue would be a fine example of under exaggeration,

but Ali and Rob thought they would need six months to sort this out.

But their first viewing was by torchlight,

as it was dark and there was no electricity

when they finally got the keys.

# How can I see the light

# When the darkness is so bright... #

We're back nearly 22 months later.

What a change.

It's as if the house just needed a little creative inspiration -

and some dosh.

# I want to be like you want me to... #

Ali and Rob did a list of our top re's - rewire, re-plaster

back from brick downstairs, re-plumb,

redecorate and renew floorings -

and I don't think they'll be re-gretting a single one of them.

Oh, and there was a new one,

re-levelling the rear reception floor,

which had a six inch slope on it.

# Do you feel like you feel alive? #

I do like the new retro radiators and the fireplace.

# My heart wasn't there but it is now... #

And all the front room heaters are much easier on the eye.

Ali and Rob also recapped and re-leaded the chimney,

but they weren't able to redirect the staircase.

More of that in a bit.

Can you work out why the bedroom on the right seems a bit narrower

than it used to be? It's to do with access to the bathroom.

# I feel so much better now

# I feel so much better now... #

The space for a new corridor came from the width of this bedroom.

Looking back from the bathroom behind,

it's clear that both bedrooms have independent access to it.

It turned out, turning the staircase wasn't an option,

due to the limit of floor-to-ceiling space.

It would actually be against regulations to put it that steep,

so we've had to leave the stairs the way round they are.

You know how we always bang on about doing your research.

If Ali and Rob had talked to their neighbours sooner,

they may have saved some time and money.

We found out after we'd done all the investigation

that they'd already looked into all that

and there was nothing they could do.

When removing the concrete slabs at the back,

they discovered Staffordshire blue brick,

which surprisingly is made from red clay that turns blue

when fired in a low oxygen environment.

They just raised the bricks up and made a whole new surface.

There were some unpleasant surprises, too.

We also found a drain that had been covered up with a for sale sign

that had a big hole in it,

so we've had a manhole cover installed in the back yard.

Then there was the shocking discovery of the electric shower

installation that definitely wouldn't pass current regulations -

or even the old ones, for that matter.

The electric cable for it went out the back of the shower, outside,

down the wall, into the kitchen and hooked up to the cooker point.

Whoever installed this was taking a big risk,

because should work you carry out kill or injure someone,

you could end up in prison.

Once again, a reminder that electrics are not for amateurs.

Always get the work carried out by a certified professional,

like Ali and Rob are in the process of doing

with their new electric shower -

but dodgy electrics weren't an end to their problems.

We also found fire damage.

Fire damage and damp, we had it all, you know?!

Ali and Rob prioritised work on the bungalow which they sold,

and after commuting south, decided to move into this property

whilst work continued, all of which meant overrunning

their approximate six month timescale.

So how accurate was the £15,000 budget forecast?

It's just around the 16,000 mark, I think.

We invited two local property experts along,

to witness Ali and Rob's handiwork.

What is most appealing?

It's nice to see a mix of old and new,

what with the ceiling roses,

standing radiators, modern kitchen and bathroom suites.

On the surface, it looks good.

The key areas I really like is the kitchen.

I think they've done it to a really high spec.

As well, the bathroom, it's a fantastic size,

as are both of these bedrooms.

The couple bought for 60,000, and spent a further 16,000 on it,

so disregarding taxes and expenses,

anything over 76,000 is a potential profit.

If we were to put this property on the market today,

I'd be looking at putting it on in the region of £90,000.

If we were to market the property,

I would expect to achieve in the region of 80 to £85,000.

-OK!

-OK.

-We'll take that!

-Yeah.

The agents' top rental value is £500 per calendar month,

but Ali and Rob had decided to sell,

and are using the profits from this and their bungalow

to buy their yurt village development in Lincolnshire,

where they hope to self-build a house and keep goats and chickens...

..but one thing they've learned along the way

is, complete the sentence, Rob,

no matter how well you know the area...

You should view the property first!

This is Poplar, an area of East London,

but it hasn't always been particularly popular -

but I'm pleased to report that Poplar is becoming more popular.

Only one mile from Canary Wharf, more people than ever

want to live in the commutable yet relatively affordable area.

It's a district that's been heavily regenerated.

There's so much new development here,

including a £300 million investment that's been pumped into the historic

Chrisp Street Market, creating new homes and retail space.

Sounds like an ideal place to invest in an auction property.

This area's dominated by different aged blocks of flats,

some modern, some older.

The one I'm here to see is in this block, here.

It's a studio with a guide price of £175,000 plus.

I'm guessing you don't get a lot of space for your money,

but there's only one way to find out.

# Things are looking up

# I've seen the opportunity... #

Things are literally looking up,

as these clean communal areas are always a good sign.

Upstairs, I took the stairs, four flights up -

but there is a lift, which is really good news.

Actually, this is lovely.

Especially on a great day.

You've got views over Poplar,

there's loads happening down there -

oh, and if I go like this, I can see Canary Wharf.

You can pay an awful lot more money for that -

but they do say it's what's inside that counts, so let's find out.

Inside, to a very small hall area.

A bathroom. You've got enough room there for your shower in your bath.

Of course, it's pretty small, but it is London.

And your kitchen.

That needs to come out, the bathroom needs to come out,

complete modernisation. The kitchen is small.

Enough room for your appliances and no more.

Through to your studio, living area, and it's exactly what I expected.

It's small. That's very old.

You want to think about replacing that with a combi boiler.

You've got a couple of damp patches, I'm spotting.

Nothing major, but they're on the ceiling, and of course,

we are on the top floor, so above is the roof, and fingers crossed,

there's no problems there,

but you do always want to check that out with a damp specialist.

I do wonder what was here once, some sort of fireplace.

The windows, now, they've seen better days.

The handle's just about falling off.

The rubber casing is almost completely gone.

But outside, you have the London landmark, the Gherkin.

That's put a smile on my face.

On one side you've got Canary Wharf,

the other side you've got the Gherkin,

it's definitely not all bad.

For a young professional wanting a short commute to the office,

this could be i-dill...

..but if you are planning to making structural changes here,

you could find yourself in a bit of a...

Pickle.

My first thought with any studio flat is,

can you make it into a one-bedroom, because then you'd be adding value,

but there's just not the space to do it here.

So let's think around it.

How can you make this flat feel more spacious?

For me, it's a no-brainer to take down the kitchen wall.

So, you'd take down the kitchen wall,

but you would absolutely have to check with the freeholder,

because this is a leasehold property,

that you have permission to do that.

Once that's down, you can really think about maximising your space,

and it would feel so much bigger.

Now that does mean you'll be living, cooking and sleeping

in the same space, so that might not be for everyone,

and you would have to check that your plans

did meet building regulations.

There might be issues around fire prevention.

But once you've done that, it's time to think about furniture,

being clever, how you can make this feel bigger.

So glass tables, glass shelves, nothing that feels cluttered.

Definitely not any oversized furniture.

Keep it small, maybe a foldaway bed.

You can't change the square footage,

but you can maximise your space and make it look good.

Yes, aesthetics are important,

but could it look good from an investment point of view?

Let's see what a local estate agent thought of this studio flat

guided at £175,000 plus.

It's a little bit on the small side, smaller than I expected to see.

I think my only concern

is there's quite a lot of work to be done in here.

New kitchen, new bathroom

and full redecoration to the property, as well.

He's not wrong. It's a small space,

but are there any big pros or cons here?

I really like the location, that's the biggest thing for me.

Nice views out across to London and to certain different aspects.

I think the only real flip side for me

is probably the construction of the property.

I think it's nonstandard construction,

possibly concrete build,

and also it's got deck access to the rear.

Deck access is basically where you access the property via a deck,

like a pathway at the back of the property,

so from that point of view,

you might have a problem with a few mortgages on that,

so, yeah, have to wait and see.

As ever, you should always make sure you have finance in place

before bidding at auction.

Lenders can be nervous about properties

that stray too far from what they think of as the norm,

so nonstandard construction and the deck access

could mean this is one for a cash investor.

Bearing all this in mind, what could it be worth once sorted out?

You know, a good standard of finish,

I think we'd be looking around £240-250,000.

Yes, this property is small,

and it's a bit rough round the edges,

but what it has going for it is a cracking location.

Let's find out who was prepared to invest in this ever-improving area

when it went to auction.

It's a purpose-built flat in need of modernisation,

offered with vacant possession, 190 anywhere?

You having a go? Thank you.

190, I've got.

191, 192, 193...

A rapid sequence of bids followed

until we rejoined the bidding at £196,000.

196. 197. 198, yeah?

198. 199. 200.

200 back in.

201, 202?

Go through it again. 201 for the first, 201 for the second,

201 for the third and final time.

All done, sold, 201.

That successful bid of £201,000 on the day

came from Bill and his son James -

and I caught up with this pair to hear what they had planned

for the studio flat.

James, pleased to meet you.

-Thank you.

-And Bill.

-Bill, yes.

-Congratulations on your purchases.

-Thank you very much.

-So, why this one?

It was a small project to start off with, it's our first one,

so we're looking for something to get into

that won't take too long and,

er, might make us a little bit of profit in the short-term.

So tell me a bit about you.

What do you do?

What's your background, Bill?

Well, I'm retired. I used to be in IT.

I was a project manager for a while,

but I really wanted to do something else,

and, er, the opportunity came up to work with James.

And, James, what's your background?

I currently work for a large water company full-time.

A plumbing background and a gas engineer -

but I love doing things from home, DIY,

plus built my own home extension on our house,

so I'm keen to get my hands dirty and hopefully turn this around.

So, father and son, who's the boss?

My dad, I think. Financially, at least, anyway.

In control of the money!

-Definitely.

-And for myself,

it will be, obviously, purchasing things like the bathroom suite,

the kitchen, new boiler, all the other bits and pieces.

-And doing most of the work.

-And doing most of the work, yes!

# Like father

# Like son... #

Yep, it looks like those roles

are pretty clearly defined from the offset, so,

what tasks is James going to have on his to-do list?

Ideally, what we'd like to do is open this back wall on the back of

the kitchen, and open it up into the lounge area.

I do think that side, there's much we can do.

Obviously, put in a new bathroom suite, brand-new kitchen,

and hopefully taking out the hot water cylinder

and putting a combi boiler in

to make more space within the living area.

So, we're agreed on all that,

but have they explored getting permission from the landlord

to do the work?

I've made tentative enquiries already with the landlord here,

with the freeholder.

They haven't been able to give us a definite indication as to whether

we'd be successful or not,

and they won't do that until we've got completion.

Hopefully, we get a favourable outcome.

Open it up, make it nice and fresh, Bob's your uncle.

Bill's your uncle - except Bill's your dad.

Bill's your dad doesn't really have the same ring, does it?

Moving swiftly on,

Bill and James have a budget of ten grand

for their first renovation project,

and plan to get the work complete in six months,

with James getting stuck in at evenings and weekends.

Hopefully, it'll be happy families at the end

when it's ready to sell on.

How do you two get on, generally? Be honest.

-Any fights?

-Don't think so.

-No.

As long as you - as long as you keep your nose out of my bank account,

it'll be all right.

I'm just buying the stuff, that's it.

Hopefully, he'll let me just crack on with it.

As long as we agree, which I think we do, pretty much,

it should be good.

Good. Congratulations again.

Thank you very much.

-And good luck. Cheers.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, James.

So this is a first investment property

for father and son team Bill and James,

and they're starting off with something small

and hopefully straightforward -

but will they get that permission to knock down the kitchen wall

and really improve the space?

You can find out later in the show.

Well, earlier we saw how one of our property developers got on.

What about the other two?

Yes, I'm intrigued to see how the other two got on,

and if there were any unexpected surprises.

Yeah, I don't mind an unexpected surprise,

it's the expensive ones that I'm not a fan of.

Let's see what happened.

Back now to a lovely spot in north-east Worcestershire.

A mile away from the M42 lies the village of Blackwell,

where I looked around this one-bedroom

former woodsman's cottage and a plot nearly 1,300 square yards.

There's been a wood burner there.

They've taken the burner and they've left the wood.

There's no glass in the windows at all.

Wow.

It was bought by Simon, who works in the pharmaceutical industry,

for 275 grand, with a view to extend, and so on.

I want to keep the cottage feel,

and then as you go into the new-build at the back,

it'll be all open,

so you'll have two little rooms at the front, olde worlde style,

and then walking into modern at the back.

What about your budget, then? Because there's a fair bit of work

to be done with extensions and big doors and...

Budgeting about 120.

OK. Did you ever think to yourself,

"I'm going to buy this, I'm going to live in it?"!

No, I'm a townie.

At the moment, it's up for sale.

Simon had a local architect who has worked closely with the council,

so he was optimistic about plans being passed.

He saw property developing as a hobby to occupy his spare time.

In this case, he thought nine months of it is all it would take.

We're back five months later to see how he's getting on.

In essence, there have been changes inside, as you can see,

and on the face of it, they are changes for the worst...

..but as you know, on a refurbishment,

things have to get worse before they can get better,

which is certainly the case here.

At least inside.

Outside, though, there have been positive changes.

Simon's plans have gained planning permission,

and after shifting 30 tonnes of soil and putting in footings,

the new extension is starting to emerge out of the ground.

The new bricks are a close match to the existing ones,

and work divides between outside construction on fine days

and internal stripping back in bad weather.

Over to Simon for a tour of the works.

OK, this is coming out of the existing cottage

into the new extension.

This is all one room.

Kitchen area, stairs going up to the first floor,

and that's the living area down this end,

with a little utility room at the back.

Basically, this is open-plan living.

So you've gone from olde worlde,

two little tiny rooms which we're keeping as a snug, an office,

two bedrooms, and then, here,

we will go up the stairs into a big master bathroom, onto the landing,

and then a box room and an en suite bathroom.

I mean, you can visualise it now.

Plenty of light through the big windows.

You get a feeling of the size of it now,

so I'm really happy with it at the moment.

So basically, this is just about the downstairs open-plan living.

As expected, although the planning process took its time,

overall, Simon got good feedback from the council.

By listening to them in the first place,

we haven't had to go to and fro.

We've just said, "What can we go up to?"

And that's what we've done.

Because it was a falling down cottage,

and we wanted to keep it as a cottage and not development land,

because you've got to live in it, they were quite good.

You know, I can't - I can't really knock them.

It wasn't, "Oh, no, we don't like building."

You know, they want to see the place up and running.

You know, it's... It's an eyesore!

But it's an eyesore with an owner that has a vision.

Now, how has it been project managing at the same time

as your day job in the pharmaceutical industry?

There's only three of us on site,

and we've got two guys here at the moment.

They're pretty much here full-time.

So I go to work early in the morning, do three or four hours,

then I come on site.

Managing the time hasn't been too difficult.

How is the 120 grand budget going?

Oh, that's gone. No, it hasn't!

Phew! You had me there.

No, no, I mean, we're at the start of the project.

Planning has got a certain cost, which, you know, we met.

The ground works, we found nothing untoward,

so that can be a big, big problem.

So, we saved a little money there, and we've just started building,

so the costs haven't started to grow yet.

And what about the timescale, originally planned for nine months?

We're on schedule. We've had it for about five months.

Obviously, three or four months of that took,

was taken by getting the planning.

We've actually been working on it for probably six weeks now.

Um, but all the hard work has been done.

-And what's been the best bits so far?

-None of it!

It's all been enjoyment.

From the auction, which was great fun, to actually getting planning,

which was the big hurdle.

That was a massive high -

and then once you start actually working on it,

it's becoming reality.

So, yeah, it's been enjoyable.

We haven't had any downs at the moment.

They've all been ups, they've all been highs.

But there's been a change of plan.

Simon's decided to keep the house

and live in it with his girlfriend, Kim.

We've got what we wanted,

so we're happy, we're building it for ourselves.

So it's going to be a family home.

Wow. Simon has decided to give up his townie ways.

Time to find out from two local estate agents,

could he make a profit

if he changed his mind again?

Firstly, what do the agents make of this unusual project?

The layout will be a lot better than it is at the moment.

You're still going to have walking straight into a living room

off the front, but that's accommodated,

because the main living area

is going to be at the back of the house now,

so I don't think that's as big an issue as it would've been

with the cottage originally.

A lot of people around here love their privacy,

and, you know, it's, it's tree-lined,

it's framed by well-established trees,

so it's a nice secluded spot in a really desirable location.

Simon paid £275,000,

and hopes to complete within his 120 grand budget,

a grand total of £395,000.

So what could it sell for once it's finished to a high spec?

A realistic valuation in the £550,000

would be a reasonable expectation.

You may, depending on the market conditions at the time,

want to try it at a higher asking price and see where the market goes,

but we would have to review that at the time.

I think in the current market, where we stand here today,

if the property's done to the finish that we would expect,

we are looking to achieve about £550,000.

Well, this derelict old cottage

is going to be given a new lease of life,

and it looks, if Simon changes his mind again,

as if he could potentially realise a pre-tax profit of £155,000.

What does he make of that?

It's nice to hear that you're putting value into something,

and it's growing, so it is an investment.

Obviously, it is for the future, so, I'm pleased with the valuation.

That's good.

It's back to East London now and the area of Poplar.

Sitting just one mile from Canary Wharf,

Poplar is a much sought-after area with buyers and investors alike,

making it, well, popular.

# You know and I know your popular mind is like... #

I came here to look at a fourth floor studio flat with a guide price

of £175,000 plus -

and with stunning views of the city from the front and the back,

I was keen to maximise the potential here.

How can you make this flat feel more spacious?

For me, it's a no-brainer to take down the kitchen wall.

So you take down the kitchen wall,

but you would absolutely have to check with the freeholder,

because this is a leasehold property,

that you have permission to do that -

but once that's down, you can really think about maximising your space,

and it would feel so much bigger.

Yes, for me, when buying a studio property,

it's all about making the most of what you've got,

and I felt this could make a really sound investment.

Two people who agreed with me were father and son team Bill and James.

All done. Sold, 201.

First-time investors Bill and James bought a property for £201,000

at auction, and they had some familiar sounding plans.

Ideally, what we'd like to do is open this back wall

on the back of the kitchen, and open it up into the lounge area.

I don't think that side, there's much we can do.

Obviously, put in a new bathroom suite, same with the kitchen.

Brand-new kitchen going in there...

..and hopefully taking out the hot water cylinder

and putting a combi boiler in to make more space in the living area.

Bill would be overseeing the project,

while son James planned to do a lot of the work himself,

being a qualified plumber and gas engineer.

They had a budget of ten grand and a timescale of six months,

to make this poky studio a spacious one.

We are back just short of eight months later.

# Looking good

# Looking so good

# You're looking good

# I knew that you would... #

Due to building regulations,

they weren't able to make the property open-plan,

but they did move the boiler into the kitchen

and extend the kitchen a couple of feet for more space.

Smart thinking.

# Looking good

# Oh, so good... #

The bathroom has been re-plumbed and refitted by James.

The entire flat has been rewired to suit a modern buyer.

# You make me feel good

# You make me feel good... #

It's clean, neutral and absolutely perfect for the sales market.

OK, so what we did, our initial thoughts

were to knock down this wall behind us and make it all open-plan -

but, unfortunately, due to building control,

we weren't allowed to do that,

and the flat being on the fourth floor,

we were advised that we would have to put in a sprinkler system,

so, we decided against that.

We had the place replastered from top to bottom.

We put in new ceilings, put new LED spotlights in,

put the storage space in behind us,

so, obviously, got storage space within the flat.

I did the whole plumbing system and central heating system myself,

being gas safe registered and a plumber, um,

so it kept the costs down quite a bit...

..and also the kitchen, we did ourselves as well.

The extra space we've created by moving the wall back,

that enabled us to put in some slimline units in the kitchen,

so, more storage space, as well.

The only person we got in

was the chippy to do the worktop itself,

to get that fitted together and make it key in nicely

with the rest of the units.

My role has been support, definitely support role.

James has taken the lead on everything.

Um, so, whatever he's told me needs to be done,

then I've got on with it, really.

So from my point of view,

I had a go at the skirting.

I did a lot of the painting, but it was supporting, taking walls down,

building new ones, anything that James needed, really,

I was there to help.

Moving the kitchen wall did extend its space,

but would it translate into profit?

James and Bill had a budget of ten grand and a timescale of six months.

How's that looking now?

Yeah, we originally thought we were going to be able to get away

with about £10,000, but we ended up spending about 11 and a half,

so, over our original budget.

We initially said six months.

Due to myself, I have a full-time job,

and only being able to get over here

sort of evenings and weekends, really,

um, it did take a little bit longer.

One of those was the fact of, like we were saying earlier, the wall,

we had to wait for building control to come back

and say yes or no to that.

We had to wait a little while for that.

Once we got a, "No," we had to rethink what we were going to do.

So, yeah, it took on a bit longer.

So, all in all, they invested £212,500,

and are eager to get the property onto the sales market.

We asked two local estate agents along for their opinions.

I think by making the kitchen a little bit larger,

and having the space for it to become fully functional

with a fridge freezer

will certainly add benefits to the flat itself.

I think they took the right amount of space

and they haven't made the studio area too small.

This is my first visit to the property,

and what they've done to it is lovely.

Decoration is nice and bright.

It's got lovely views over the city.

South-west facing, so a lot of light is coming into the property.

So, the agents sound enthusiastic -

but let's hear those all-important valuations.

When this property goes on the market

it would achieve in the region of £250,000.

I believe the property should go on the market for £250,000,

and I believe offers should be invited close to that level.

OK. It's less than we thought, to be honest with you.

We have had some valuations already from a few agents,

and they've gone from about 258 up to 270,000.

So, we're hoping for a little bit more than that,

to be honest with you, at this stage.

So, not quite the numbers they were looking for,

but a £250,000 sale would still result

in a very healthy pre-tax profit of £37,500.

So, whatever way you look at it,

their first project has been a success -

but will they be venturing back to the auction room?

Er, yeah, I think so.

Hopefully! I don't know!

Yeah, I think so. We'll give it another go.

See what happens.

As you've seen, it's important to have a little bit of flexibility

-with your plans.

-Yes, you never know what's round the corner

or under the plaster.

So join us next time when we see another three properties

-that went under the hammer.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

-Goodbye.