Episode 74 Homes Under the Hammer

Hello and welcome to the show.

Now, property auctions are not for the faint-hearted.

The action happens thick and fast

and it's an adrenaline-filled environment.

And you could have those keys in your hand

if you're the successful bidder in just four weeks.

So, do you think you have what it takes and would you consider buying

under the hammer?

Well, every auction lot tells its own story,

and we have seen literally thousands of them over the years.

And guess what, Martin, we've got another three for you today.

So, what are we waiting for? Let's find out what today's buyers got.

Lucy struggles to get a handle on the situation

in this detached house in Kent.

The door... Oh! And the handle that's just come off.

In Derby this prefab has me unhinged with excitement.

Woohoo! Talk about making an entrance.

I've not seen doors like that before.

And in Surrey, I make quite the entrance myself

when I visited this semidetached house.

They call...

They... They call me Roberts.

All these properties have been sold at auction and we'll find out who

bought them and what they paid for them when they went under the hammer.

It's gone, it's yours, sir.

Lucy is in Strood, one of the Medway towns in Kent.

Its development was dominated by the river, its bridges,

and the resulting road and rail links.

Well, this is a really convenient spot

with the high-street only a short walk away.

However, one thing that I've noticed - well,

there's no on-street parking, which isn't so convenient.

More about that later.

Well, I'm here to see our house and it went to auction with a guide price

of £150,000-155,000, and it's right here.

So, from stepping outside you walk straight into the lounge,

which is, oh, fairly good actually.

Because what I really like about this room are the high ceilings.

I do love a property with high ceilings.

It just makes it feel so much more spacious.

You've got central heating in here, which is a good thing.

There is a little waft of damp.

I can smell something in here, so I might need to do a bit of investigating.

Still got some lovely old original features up here, which is fantastic.

And then through into the kitchen at the back.

This really annoys me.

Boiler is in the wrong place and it's not even covered up.

How ugly does that look? That's got to be boxed in somewhere.

And not a bad kitchen at all, actually.

Enough room to put a table and chairs in here.

-And this is the cellar...

-SNIFFS

..and that is what really does smell.

There's a big waft of damp coming up there,

so I'd like to get somebody to go down there and have a good old look.

You've got a doorway leading outside as well.

So, overall, not a bad kitchen.

But I would get somebody to check out that damp,

because it's a little bit worrying.

Now, basements might be all the rage in London

but they can present issues with damp if not tanked out properly.

Nowadays a membrane and managing the water are popular solutions.

This could be a good usable space, but given the pong, it needs investigating.

Now, this is where it all starts to get a little bit odd.

So, the bathroom here, just off the kitchen - not ideal.

But that's how it is.

You've got a nice little bath and shower and a loo,

which is just there.

But nowhere to wash your hands. So, where's the sink?

There it is. It's in another cupboard.

So, the sink's in a completely separate room.

So you've got the door to the sink there, you've got the door...

Oh! And the handle that's just come off...

..there, and then you've got a door here.

So it's all a bit door, handle, yeah.

I think somebody needs to think about reconfiguring this little area

because it's not quite working, is it?

But, upstairs, there are two good-sized double bedrooms.

Bedroom number three is small but its access is via bedroom number two.

It may be better converted into an en-suite.

But would that affect the value too much?

So, I've got something to tell you. I've solved the parking with this property.

Here's our detached house,

and guess what - here is a parking space that actually comes with the property.

So, no more worries where to off-load the kids and the shopping.

This belongs to this.

Fantastic.

We called in a local estate agent to get his opinion.

Would it be worth making that small bedroom into an en-suite?

The third bedroom, potentially, you could change to a bathroom.

But then you lose the third bedroom.

So, I think as a whole the layout does work

and a lot of the properties round here do have a similar layout.

What's your opinion of the damp smell that permeates the house?

There's a slight issue with the rendering at the back of the property,

so I feel that may be the reason why there's a bit of damp creeping in.

I don't think it will be a massive problem going forward, though.

And what values could you expect to achieve from this house

guided at 150,000-155,000?

In the sales market you could look to achieve up to about £180,000.

In the rental market you're looking probably around £950 per calendar

month to £1,000 per calendar month.

Yes, there are improvements to be made but in this convenient spot,

and with the benefit of that parking at the back, well,

I think this detached house could be a wise investment for someone.

Who agreed? Let's head to auction and find out.

Lot 15, we go to now. Start me at 150.

130 then. 130. 130, I'm bid.

135 now, do I say? 135. I'm obliged.

140. It's against you.

140 bid, I'm bid.

145. 145.

150, can I say?

I've got 145 from him because I took that one before I saw...

150, I'm bid. Now it's against you on my left.

155, if you wish.

If not, at £150,000 it will be sold for the first time.

£150,000 for the second time.

Third and final time at £150,000.

Are we all done? You're out of it. It's yours on my right.

-GAVEL BANG

-£150,000. And your number, please?

At the auction with her boyfriend's parents was Gabby.

She's a beautician and her boyfriend Lee has a cold press juicing business.

Lucy met Gabby and Lee back at their £150,000 purchase.

Gabby and Lee, lovely to meet you today.

-Hiya.

-Congratulations.

-Hiya.

-This is a great property.

-Thank you.

-Now, you two are currently living in a rented flat.

-Is that right?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-OK, and you're going to be moving in to this house?

Yeah, pretty much straightaway.

There's a few things like the leaking windows and a few other bits and pieces that need sorting out.

But, yeah, we can pretty much move in straightaway.

If you guys are intending to live here, I mean,

there's quite a lot of jobs that need to be done.

Starting with that big smell of damp.

-Mm.

-That worries me.

-There is, yeah.

-Talk to me about that.

Well, the problem is this house hasn't been lived in for probably about four years now,

so the people who owned it before,

they bought it just to renovate real quickly to sell on but I think they held it for quite a long period.

So, no-one's lived here for, like, three, pretty much, yeah, four years.

So, are you not worried there might be something down there that's a bit

more problematic than just because it's not been lived in?

Possibly. You know, we've had the flooring up in here just to check if there's any damp. There's no signs.

-Yeah.

-I think downstairs, when you look up at the beams.

-The cellar might be a problem.

-Yeah. There's going...

-The beams might need redoing.

-So, Gabby, what's your budget here?

-15,000.

We don't sort of want to go over that really.

So we tried to set a realistic amount.

Cos sometimes you say so much and you end up spending so much more.

So, we said if we say that, hopefully it should be within that.

-Most people on this programme do that.

-Yeah.

-They say one thing and spend a whole lot more.

-Yeah.

Lee, do you think you can realistically stick to that budget?

I think so. You know, structurally the building's pretty sound.

So, it's really cosmetics, trying to get that cellar sorted out.

I think that's going to be quite a big chunk of the budget.

And, really, kind of just like making the place a bit better.

-So...

-What about the little area just to the right of me,

which is the bathroom/sink room? You've got so many doors going on.

Ideally, there's a bit of work we want to do.

So we want to, at the moment, block that kind of door entranceway up,

sorry, the entrance into the house,

up and put the entrance in the kitchen, into the rear-view garden.

And make that room into one big bathroom.

-Yeah.

-Cos there's just a crazy amount of doors in a small area.

-Yeah.

-So, what about upstairs?

We want to... There's a cot room at the back.

So, when we bought it it was advertised as a three bed.

We want to change that into a two bed because we don't think that room

really is big enough for another bedroom.

So, we want to turn that into an en-suite,

which should be pretty easy seeing as the bathroom's below it already,

so we can kind of run the pipes straight back up.

-And two big bedrooms, because they're quite a big size.

-Mm.

-Quite big bedrooms.

But, you know, if we can make those into a two big bed plus en suite that would be really good.

Lee seems quite ambitious.

He's never done a whole house before,

although he has fitted kitchens,

including the one in his factory in Sheerness.

But what is your plan?

To do this house up, to put your heart and soul into it,

to have it looking fantastic, and then what?

We'll probably be off somewhere else.

So, you're just doing this as a step on to the property ladder?

-Yeah, that's the plan.

-Pretty much. Yeah, we don't want to...

It's not somewhere we want to live.

Like, you know, it's on a busy road and the house isn't as big as really we want to be living in.

So, this is really just the kind of step on to the market,

do up and then really just sell it, isn't it?

How long do you think it's going to take you to do the work?

-We said, what was it, six months?

-Mm, yeah.

About six or seven months, depending.

Cos I go away quite a lot in the summer,

so hopefully about six or seven months.

-Have you ever lived in a house whilst doing it up before?

-Yeah.

-I'm sort of used to it.

-So, you know what hard work it is?

There's no romantic notions at all about that?

No, the heating's off then it's on. Then the electric's gone and that wall's down...

-So, it's just, yeah...

-So you're a roughie toughie really?

-Yeah.

And how about you? Are you going to mind at all?

-Mm.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Is he worse than you?

-Yeah.

No, it's just, I like stepping out of the shower and it being warm,

-and at the moment this place is not warm, so...

-Reality check!

Yeah. Once we get the en suite upstairs I'll be fine.

-So, priority number one.

-OK, so, you need to do the en suite,

you're going to sort this kitchen out.

Are you going to do anything else to change it?

I mean, I'm looking around, you've got textured ceilings everywhere.

The plan is to get rid of it down here.

-And put a bar downstairs. That's going to be...

-Yeah.

Whoa-whoa-whoa. Hold on a minute. A bar?

-Just a little one.

-First of all, you've got to get rid of the stink because it's awful.

But you want to put a bar downstairs?

Yeah, because we want somewhere fun.

This is like a grown-up area up here and then the boring upstairs and we want a bar downstairs, so, yeah.

-Really?

-For summer, yeah.

-So you really think that's going to help sell the house?

This fabulous house on the corner in Strood, noisy road,

-but you've got a bar downstairs.

-Basically.

-A bar downstairs.

-Is that just for you two to have a bit of fun?

-Yeah, it's either a bar or a Jacuzzi, isn't it?

-It's getting worse.

-THEY LAUGH

-Just don't spend any money on it because you're going to need it for the refurb.

-That's true, yeah.

-Can we have a deal where the bar comes last?

-I bought a bar, what was it..?

-How much?

-A couple of years ago.

So, we're going to put that downstairs and it's a couple of thousand, so...

-That should do it.

-Yeah, that should cover it.

Something I'm not happy with is that boiler there sticking out.

-Oh, don't.

-So, can we shabby chicify that and just box it in, please?

I think so, or it's actually probably going to go downstairs.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-Yeah, we're going to sort something, or move it slightly.

-It's going to go downstairs next to your bar.

-Yeah.

-That's it.

Well, luckily my twin is a plumber so he's going to do it.

-He doesn't know yet but he is actually going to move it downstairs.

-Yeah.

And same with the bathroom, same with that bathroom, same with everything.

-Guys, good luck with your first property.

-Thank you so much.

I'm sure you're going to make a real success of it. Lovely to meet you, Gabby.

-Thank you, you too.

-Thank you. And Lee.

-Thank you.

-Take care.

It's always lovely to see young couples like Lee and Gabby

taking their first property developing steps.

It sounds like they've got big ideas for this house, including that bar.

I love it.

Find out what happens when Lee and Gabby call time on their renovations later on in the show.

I'm three miles from Derby in this Alvaston suburb.

# Galveston, oh, Galveston... #

Not Galveston, Texas. RECORD SCRATCH

It's just on the A6.

That's better.

The village of Alvaston has been around since the 11th century at least.

In amongst the housing stock are Victorian and Edwardian houses,

1930s semis and terraces.

But I'm in search of one a little bit younger.

The property I'm here to see in the rain is on this cul-de-sac of brick bungalows.

Oh, hello. Yes, this is it.

There's no bricks there. It really stands out.

This is our three-bedroom house with a guide price of £38,000.

Let's go look. # I'm still standing... #

This house is what's known as a prefab.

They were the answer to the severe housing shortage in the 1940s and early '50s.

The design meant factory-built components could be put together

on-site more quickly than traditional methods.

And while they were meant to be a short-term solution,

many are still standing and are much-loved by lots of people.

# I'm still standing Better than I ever did... #

Woohoo! Talk about making an entrance.

I've not seen doors like that before.

Your hall is the size of a room in itself

and the colour theme is orange and turquoise and,

really weirdly, I kind of like it.

So, we've got one, two, three, four, five, six,

seven doors leading off that hall.

If that's not exciting I don't know what is.

Let's find out what's in this one.

It's a bedroom, and it's a really nicely sized bedroom.

You have polystyrene ceiling tiles, which need to come off, a real fire hazard.

And it feels like somebody's been quite handy

and made furniture for this house.

It's got an instant calming feeling to it, and, yes,

I am addressing you from a chair.

Let's find out what's round the corner.

Next up off the hall you have another good-sized double bedroom.

And this is interesting.

You've got your toilet, and the toilet's really old school.

It's like a bench with a hole in it.

And then a bathroom separately.

So, you want to think about knocking these two together.

Absolutely, it makes much more sense.

The colours are just charming.

Into... Right, OK, well,

this is your third bedroom but it's being used as a workshop.

This place has got great character, it really does.

Yeah, and there's still more to come.

Through to the reception room and this place has got the feel that

somebody said, "I've decorated it in 1972 and I like it so much

"I'm going to bypass the '80s, the '90s, forget about the bricks outside, I love it as it is."

And, you know, the thing is, it looks kind of pristine.

Everything's come back into fashion. This is a retro feeling house.

Here you have a solid chimney breast.

Now, removing that would give you the extra room

in a room and also it's not as big a job as it would be

if you had two floors because, of course,

the roof's just above you.

And then through to the kitchen.

Again, dated but charming.

Options? Well, this is a good size.

You could have your breakfast bar here,

plenty of room for all your appliances.

HOLLOW KNOCK But that's just a partition wall.

So, if you really wanted to create that feeling of modern living

you could knock down that wall, open it up into your reception room,

and really bring it up to a modern-day standard.

# This ghost is here to stay

# I survived the blast

# Get ready, get ready to say

# I've found my niche at last

# A prisoner of the past... #

You can see why people who lived in these loved them.

The design is simple and the rooms a good size.

But it has to be said they were not the most energy-efficient.

To the back of the house you've got a really nice secluded garden,

and out front you've got a good size garden too.

You have your outhouse, or shed,

which is prefabricated, as is the house.

Oh, and I just... these windows, they're single glazed and metal framed.

They need to go. Even though you've got double glazing on the front,

the ones on the back need replacing.

And, of course, the big thing about this house is that it is

prefabricated, which means it's of a nonstandard construction,

which means that you won't get a mortgage on it.

This will only be an option for cash buyers at auction.

You have to make sure you have bricks on the outside

and also that the roof is of a standard construction.

This house has held off for a while.

It's been the different one, the rogue one on the street.

But I'm afraid now there really is no option but to keep up with the Joneses.

We called in an estate agent from the auction house who sold the property

to see if he agreed about the need for this house,

guided at 38 grand plus, to have a new hat and an overcoat of bricks.

Externally, obviously the brickwork and new roof with it.

Inside, I would say you're going to be looking at replastering,

rewiring, gas central heating system,

new windows, kitchen, bathroom.

So, pretty comprehensive and you've got to have deep pockets.

Mm, how deep?

A deep pocket, I would say you're going to be a good £40,000,

could be a bit more.

The expert explained that a brick skin could create a cavity

to be filled with insulation,

but be advised that all structural works must pass building control

inspection and thereby gain relevant certification to make the house mortgageable.

With this done and fully refurbished, what could it be worth?

It's probably likely to achieve in the region of £140,000.

And what about for rental?

It's likely to achieve in the region of £595 per calendar month.

This house is not without its issues.

Not least the fact that in its current prefab state it's not even mortgageable.

But, if someone's willing to put in the hard graft,

this place could be transformed and meet all requirements.

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

A three double bedroom semidetached bungalow.

I do have a commission bid on this lot.

I will start the bidding on the guide at £38,000 with me.

39 elsewhere now? 38 with me.

39 now. 39 here.

Bids were off to a flying start but the commission bid with the auctioneer

beat those from the room until we rejoin the bidding at £61,000.

61, sir. 61.

62 with me. 63 with you.

63 with you, you'll be pleased to know the commission bid is out.

It's your bid at 63,000.

64 in a new place.

Thank you, sir. 65 now.

New bidders kept joining the action.

We rejoin again at 79 grand.

79 in a new place. 80,000 to stay with it, sir.

79 and a half, I'll take the half.

Treat you the same, sir. 80,000.

With you, sir, at £80,000, for the first time.

At £80,000, for the second time.

Sure and done, at £80,000, third and final time.

It goes, it's gone, it's yours, sir, at £80,000, and thank you.

The property was bought by security firm owner Carl

on behalf of an overseas investor.

He and his son Shane, who also works in security and is a trained joiner,

came to the house to meet me.

The refurbishment team was completed with Shane's sister Nicola,

who looks after the books and couldn't make it today.

-Hi, guys.

-Hi, you all right?

-Let's start off with the obvious.

So, either I'm really short or you're really tall.

-Well, I thought I was normal. So...

-No, you're tall, Shane.

-No, do you reckon?

-Yeah, I think so.

-Yeah, OK, yeah.

-You're making us all look small.

-What height are you?

-6'5", I am.

-And dad?

-6'2".

That's funny, because you're so tall you kind of look small and 6'2" is a good height.

-Thank you very much.

-More of a man, you see.

-I appreciate that.

Well, the long and the short of it is that these guys have a lot of experience.

This is their fifth joint project with the investor

and I'm wondering if they have any tall orders for this prefab.

There's a little bit of indecision at the moment about the chimney.

The chimney might come out.

I've got indecision also about making it into

a kitchen/diner by removing one of the bedrooms and extending through.

It'll be brought up to standard.

It'll be a really nice brand-new property, hopefully,

bang on the right price to make a nice family home.

What's your budget?

The buyer has strictly instructed that the budget

has to come in below 30,000 total.

Anything below 30,000 would be great because we feel that the house was

bought at the top-end scale.

The maximum price was 81,000.

The house just came in slightly under that,

so realistically there's not an awful lot left in it.

It's just the brickwork I think we'd struggle mainly with.

We'd have to employ somebody for that.

Everything else cosmetic-wise we can do.

We'll rip the kitchen out, we'll do the walls, do the ceilings,

we'll do all that between us to bring the cost down, like.

The decision to take it from three to two bedrooms,

I guess you don't want to come down to two bedrooms

and then have a lower sell-on price.

That's a good point, Martel, yeah. That'll have to be taken into account.

Is your biggest costing that's causing you concern the brickwork outside?

It's a new thing that we're bringing on board

because it's not a skill that myself or Shane has,

although somebody that works within the security industry with us

may be able to bring forward, so it's something that we'll deal with

and it's more of an excitement than a concern.

Getting someone with some expertise in for the brickwork is one thing,

and the other vital job to bring this place up to scratch is the roof.

Carl has been doing his homework on that and he isn't fazed by it.

The method is to take the old roof off,

because if you put another roof on top of the existing one

then that can cause some damp issues.

And then you've got different options of tiling or slates.

The plan for this house in the end is for your client to have it,

and will your client sell on or rent it out?

The client at the moment has rented in the past and now is in the game,

if you can call it,

of renovating and selling on, because she's currently got a property in Spain.

That could alter the time on this property

because I'm due to go out and do a little bit of work on that in Spain.

What I'd like to do while out there is probably get Shane in charge

to bring it on board and bring it in a reasonable timescale.

Yeah. So what is your timescale?

I'm going to guess at five months.

I'd like to bring it in shorter if we can but we're going to give

ourselves a realistic timescale so we're not pressured for time.

They say you shouldn't work with family.

He's my little boy. He does what he's told.

THEY LAUGH Little big boy.

Who is in charge when it comes to..?

-Nicola, cos she's in charge of the finances.

-Ah.

Right, can't wait to see what you do with the place, and best of luck.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, Martel.

-Thanks.

-Nice to meet you.

-You too.

Father and son Carl and Shane have their work cut out for them managing

this property, but also keeping on their security jobs.

But it sounds like they know what they're doing

and they've got a clear plan ahead of them.

Will that 30 grand be enough?

It kind of sounds like it has to be.

You can find out what happens later in the show.

Coming up in Surrey, I visited a house that left me in awe.

But look at this.

Oh, my golly gosh. I was not expecting that.

And in Derby we'll find out if Carl and Shane

manage to take this prefab into the 21st century.

We're back in Strood in Kent now

where Lucy visited this detached house guided at 150,000-155,000.

One of the first things that hit Lucy was the pong.

I can smell something in here so I might need to do a bit of investigating.

It was in fact a whiff of damp that was coming from the basement.

But the rest of the house was in good shape.

Actually, that's not right.

Some things were in the wrong shape,

like the third bedroom off the second bedroom.

And it got worse when Lucy tried to get a handle on the downstairs toilet arrangements.

You've got the door to the sink there. You've got the door... Oh!

And the handle that's just come off...there.

# Breakaway

# Breakaway...#

But before Lucy could break anything else,

purchasers Gabby and Lee came along to tell her about their plans.

They got the house for 150,000,

their first step on the property ladder.

And Lee had an interesting plan for the basement.

-And put a bar downstairs. That's going to be...

-Yeah.

Whoa-whoa-whoa. Hold on a minute. A bar?

Well, party round your house when it's finished, Lee.

Although this wouldn't be their home when they were done.

They would live in it while refurbishing and then move on.

They said the refurbishment would take them six to seven months, costing 15 grand.

We're back a year and eight months later.

So, what's changed?

This property has had a layout transformation.

A porch has been added to the front of the house,

giving enough space for shoes so you don't traipse mud into this stylish new living room.

They knocked down a wall in the kitchen, allowing them to create a larger area.

They also got rid of the door to the basement in the kitchen,

moving the entrance to the living room.

They increased the size of the downstairs bathroom as well,

knocking down the wall separating the sink and the toilet,

installing a sleek new suite.

Out the back the paving is gone,

replaced with all-new decking and fencing.

And upstairs the two bedrooms look terrific.

But what happened to that third bedroom?

I think this calls for a sit down and a cuppa to find out what they've done.

Gabby couldn't make the filming day as she was working

but Lee brought along their dog Binky to help fill us in.

So, Binky, tell us, did your owners change that bedroom into an en suite?

OK, not the talkative type, eh?

Well, they do say don't work with animals. Lee, it's over to you.

We got some advice from a few agencies

and they said it is more valuable as a bedroom rather than a bathroom,

so we just chose against it in the end, said, keep it as a cot room.

Gabby was actually quite happy because she can now have a dressing room.

So it keeps all of her clothes in, like, kind of one area and away from my room.

So, the big question is,

can we hear the clink of celebratory glasses from the basement?

Oh, no. Where's the bar and drinks, Lee?

We've completely tanked the whole place.

The smell of damp has now gone and the footings -

before it was just basically the bricks were sat on an opposite brick

and the damp went straight on to the mud.

So the damp was getting through those bricks into the walls.

So, all we've done is we've put new footings around the basement,

all waterproof, so there's no more rising damp any more.

We've taken out the door and we've put a new window in.

We've insulated the whole room and added the radiator.

We've also put the new stairs in.

The stairs before used to lead into the kitchen.

But to make the bigger kitchen we've now put it into the living room.

Unfortunately, because of the height from the ceiling to the bottom of the stairs,

there's not two metres so we can't have this floor as a bedroom, unfortunately.

Well, if it's not a bedroom and it's not a bar what will they do with it?

Fingers crossed, if Gab lets me, this will be my flight simulator room.

But more likely it will be Gab's beautician room.

Sorry? A flight simulator?

Since we last spoke the biggest learning change is I want to become a pilot next year.

So, come, hopefully, February, March time I'll be doing my license.

# Cos I have always wanted to learn to fly

# Learn to fly

# Learn to fly

# Learn to fly... #

Well, good luck with your new career path, Lee. Anyway, back to the property.

Gabby was landed with most of the decorating duties

while Lee reached new heights improving his handyman skills.

As envisioned, twin brother Ryan, who's a plumber, came to the rescue,

sorting out their plumbing and moving the boiler.

But did their budget of £15,000 go sky-high?

I think we've spent just over 20,000 on the place now.

That spend of 20,000 brings the total investment in this property to 170,000.

They still have a few finishing touches to make, so it's not quite over.

But what did two local estate agents make of it as it is now?

We invited them along to find out.

I really like the house actually. I think it's an attractive property. It's well laid out.

The way they've actually finished the house is actually really good.

They've mixed the old and the new and they've done it to a very good standard.

My first impressions are really good.

Actually, in particular, the kitchen stands out to me.

I do think that's been done to a really good standard.

And the fact that the cellar's now been done, sort of fully,

just maximises the space that the property's got.

And, if this property was to be put on the resale market,

how much could it be expected to make?

I would say if we were marketing the property we'd actually market the property for £250,000.

If I was asked to sell this property in the current market

I would recommend an asking price of £275,000.

OK, that's really good. It was in the ballpark for what we thought.

The agent giving the higher value thought it was worth testing the market at the £275,000 level.

If they did sell it for that it would give them a potential profit of 105,000 minus taxes and fees.

And this was going to be their first step on the property ladder,

so will they be climbing higher?

I feel like my heart's in the skies, unfortunately,

so what we probably will do is just stay in the house

for a little bit longer, see what happens next year, really.

You never know. Something might change.

This is Caterham, a Surrey town that is popular with commuters

due to its close proximity to London.

It has a rail station with services into London Victoria

or London Bridge, plenty of bus routes,

as well as easy access onto the M25 motorway.

Well, five minutes' drive from the centre of town and the train station

is the property I'm here to see in this really nice residential street.

£280,000-plus was the guide price for a three-bedroom semidetached.

Now, it's down at the end of this fairly steep drive

but hopefully we'll try and get down there safely and see what it's like inside.

# It's so easy to slip

# It's so easy to fall... #

One thing for sure - I wouldn't fancy walking down here

when it's icy or been snowing.

Fortunately, there's also stairs with a handrail.

Best make sure the car handbrake is in full working order.

That steep driveway aside, a very appealing property.

And straight through the door it has that feeling of this era of house.

So you've got your stairs up to your bedrooms and things there.

I'd like to see, you know, some kind of thing on the edge there.

I'm not sure that's up to current building regulations.

Through to a kitchen. Now, tiny kitchen.

For some reason these type of houses had, I don't know,

not the open-plan feel that we like these days.

But through this way and you've got a very classic dual-aspect living space.

Bay window here.

And in general it doesn't seem to be in too bad a condition.

I've not seen any major signs of damp.

But it would definitely benefit from a bit of modernisation.

It doesn't look like it's been really touched that much for quite a while.

But all the basics are here.

But before you get involved in the nice-to-dos let's think about the must-dos.

And straightaway I'm thinking, I wonder about this wall. Can we take this out?

Can we open it through into the kitchen to create a

really nice kitchen and living space here?

Because then you'd have this room, kitchen,

great doors out onto the garden, and you start to get a really nice feel.

But, you know, as a starting point, pretty good.

And now for the bad.

The textured walls and ceilings.

I think they've got to go so a total re-skim is required.

Also bad - the heating and wiring will likely need replacing,

along with the carpets.

And then there's this.

They call... They... They call me Roberts.

That doesn't sound good, does it?

It's not a Wild West kind of name, is it? Roberts.

No, you wouldn't see it on a poster.

"Wanted!"

It needs to be Clint or, or...

I don't know, something vicious and... Anyway, whatever.

Random thing to have in the kitchen. What is the point of that?

Really? I suppose there was a time when, yeah, that would have worked.

But the kitchen itself doesn't work.

I definitely think knocking that through is the way to go because you need that space.

At the moment...

..it's not even a spaghetti western.

It's not even a spaghetti restaurant.

-It just doesn't work.

-THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY THEME

Just remember, if you knock down walls you should have professionals check they're not structural.

And make sure to stay away from cowboy builders.

So, what we've got so far then is a pretty-decent-but-in-need-of-tender- loving-care semi-detached.

But step outside here and it all changes.

Not only have you got this two-storey garage,

which is quite nice as an additional feature, but look at this.

Oh, my golly gosh.

I was not expecting that.

A truly outstanding garden leading down to a railway line at the bottom there.

It just completely changes the feel of this property.

# A moment changes everything

# When a moment changes everything... #

This really opens up our options for making that kitchen bigger.

You could extend out the back or even up.

You could go out to the side and incorporate the two-storey garage,

though the foundations would need to be reinforced or underpinned,

as a neighbour tells us there could be subsidence issues.

Back inside and upstairs you have three bedrooms, two doubles -

one with a lovely bay window - and a small single boxroom.

There's also a very dated family bathroom, a very brown bathroom.

In fact, brown seems to be a bit of a theme in this house.

But I'm not browned off, I do actually quite like the place.

Let's see if a local estate agent agrees.

Does he think the property would benefit from increasing in size?

Extending would definitely be an option cos it has a really good-sized garden.

I would go for a double-storey extension

and then hopefully offering an extra

bathroom and good reception rooms downstairs.

I think an extension is definitely the way to go for family living.

But how does this property, guided at £280,000-plus,

stack up financially?

Once renovated this property could sell for £445,000-£465,000.

If you extend the property into a double-storey extension

you'd be looking at £475,000-£495,000.

Well, a pretty decent house becomes an amazing house the moment you step

out of that back door.

It has great potential.

If you check the prices of similar properties on the street and for

anything like that guide price it's a great one to go for.

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

A three-bedroom semi-detached house in need of modernisation.

Who would like to get me started on this?

300,000. Wouldn't go too much lower.

What about 280 and go upwards from there?

280. Thank you, 280, I've got.

The bidding took a while to get going but it slowly climbed.

We rejoin at 315,000.

315?

Have a think about it.

It's with the gentleman here on my right. Bid's at 315,000.

Anybody else? 317.

OK. 318.

Thank you. 320 on my right.

Have a think. If not, 318 for the first, for the second,

318 for the third and final time.

Are we all done? No, a little way off on that.

# Cos, baby, it ain't over till it's over... #

The hammer didn't fall but Rachel, who is an operations manager,

was at the auction and was able to strike a deal later for 320,000.

She came along with husband Tim, who's a teacher,

to tell me about their plans.

-Rachel, Tim, great to meet you both.

-Yes.

-You too.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-What a nice house.

-It's lovely. It's really lovely.

So, tell me why you wanted to buy it.

Well, we'd be looking for a while and...

..we just stumbled upon it on the internet

and found it and just kind of... My mum really pushed it.

She was like, "This is amazing, you need to go for it."

-Oh, wow.

-So, we did.

-So, you've bought it why?

Is it as an investment, or what?

No, it's going to be our forever home, hopefully.

-Oh, great.

-We're going to move in ourselves and do it all up gradually.

So, what was it about the house in particular that you liked?

I think we were looking for a three-bed,

and something that was affordable that we could kind of move into,

-needed a bit of work, but...

-It was a really good size for us.

-The garden is...

-Amazing.

-..absolutely amazing.

It's just so good.

We're not massively big gardeners but my mother-in-law is a very keen gardener.

-Oh, phew.

-So, hopefully she's going to take over some of the work for us.

Well, mum-in-law Sarah's green fingers have some work to do.

But then again Rachel and Tim have a lot to do inside.

We're going to transform the kitchen, make that modern.

New floors throughout because we've got some lovely brown carpets

everywhere, which I think we'd like to replace.

And then the rest, kind of give it a good clean,

new bathroom probably as well, and just,

you know, redecorating gradually, work on it from there.

So, is the plan then to move in first

and then do the jobs while you're here, or what?

Yeah, I think it will be a gradual move in.

So I think we're going to update the ground floor first of all and then gradually start moving in.

-Right.

-We may be staying with hotel mum and dad for a couple of weeks.

-Yeah.

-Ah, yes, the finest hotel there is.

Especially when the owners swing by to get stuck into the DIY.

My dad is going to be doing a lot of the work as well.

-Ah.

-He's very helpful.

-Is he handy?

-He's very handy, yeah.

As a child we moved into a house that needed a lot of work doing,

so he did a lot of that himself as well.

-I remember tiling the bathroom when I was about eight years old with him, so...

-Wow.

..I've got some experience there.

-Right.

-So, yeah, hopefully by doing a lot of the stuff ourselves

-we can save a bit of money.

-And Tim, are you handy?

-Not at all, no.

-Ah.

-I'm terrible at DIY.

I leave that all to Rachel.

I'm sure Tim will pitch in while Rachel and her dad crack on with the

work, which they'll be doing themselves

to keep costs under ten grand,

and are aiming to do it in six to eight months.

The couple also have a long-term goal of building a two-storey extension on the side of the house.

But that will need to wait after blowing their savings at the auction.

I went with my dad.

We got there really early so we were kind of watching what was going on

beforehand and crept in at the right time.

We had an idea of where we were going to go up to.

But when they said it didn't meet the reserve we were very excited

and we quickly made our way to find the right person

-and we were able to get a really good deal.

-Yeah.

So that whole side of it was really, really great.

How much over your budget did you have to go?

-A little bit?

-We only went another ten over our budget.

-OK.

-And because we were able to have that time to go over our numbers and

work it all out, we thought, you know what?

It's still a really good price for this.

-Yeah, yeah.

-So let's still go for it.

Listen, congratulations. Good luck. I can't wait to see how you get on.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you. Cheers.

I always love it when we hear stories about people buying stuff

at auction that ends up being their actual home.

And getting, perhaps, places they couldn't afford otherwise.

Still, budget is tight.

Will they manage to turn this place into their dream place to live?

You can find out later in the show.

Property renovation is not an exact science.

There are always several ways you could go.

Well, we've seen how one property buyer did it.

But what about the other two? Let's go back and find out.

Alvaston, Derbyshire.

Familiar? It should be because we're going back in time -

not just in terms of the programme but historically, too -

to one of the few remaining concrete constructed post-war prefabs

that haven't been disguised by a brick overcoat.

It really stands out.

This is our three-bedroom house with a guide price of £38,000.

Let's go look.

Prefabs were first built in 1948 and this one had remained

frozen in time on the outside since it was built in just a couple of days.

Amazing that a temporary house still stood over seven decades later.

It was a bit like a museum inside, too.

Everything's come back into fashion. This is a retro-feeling house.

Here you have a solid chimney breast.

Now, removing that would give you extra room,

and also it's not as big a job because, of course,

the roof's just above you.

It was bought for 80 grand by Carl on behalf of an overseas investor

to do up and sell.

Helping with the work was his son Shane -

a joiner who also works for his dad's executive security firm.

And looking after the back-office

book-keeping was Carl's daughter Nicola.

I asked Carl and Shane what decisions had been made about

the property's refurbishment future.

The chimney might come out.

I've got indecision also about making it into a kitchen/diner by

removing one of the bedrooms and extending through.

Carl was going over to Spain to do some work on the investor's house there.

Meanwhile, poor old Shane was going to be holding the fort back here.

They say you shouldn't work with family.

He's my little boy. He does what he's told.

Little big boy. THEY LAUGH

Prefabs may not have much kerb appeal but inside there were three double bedrooms,

a large kitchen and lounge.

I really warmed to the bungalow and, in some ways,

was sad to see this time capsule move into the 21st century.

But I was glad that I'd been privy to see its contents

before father and son began the stripping out and refurb.

What's your budget?

The buyer has strictly instructed that the budget

has to come in below 30,000.

Carl and Shane had forecast five months for the work and we are

back four and a half months later to see the changes.

# It's nice work if you can get it

# And you get it if you try... #

Carl and Shane did most of the clearing of the house and site,

calling in specialist trades like an electrician and a mini-digger driver

to excavate the footings.

In case you didn't know, footings are placed

under all the load-bearing parts of the foundation and are usually concrete.

So were there any snags?

No really nasty surprises,

except for the amount of ground that's come out from the property.

-Yeah.

-The depth of the footings.

Apart from that...

-No, we've not had many hiccups, have we?

-No, we'd call it a success.

Well, moving the estimated 70 tonnes of soil for the footings and the

landscaping, and the fencing, would definitely be a success in my book.

Apart from that, I can't help wondering why we're back early.

OK, the chimney's gone but the roof still needs doing and inside is far from complete.

And, well, the brickwork isn't either. So, what's going on?

The property at the present time is not finished because an underbidder at the auction

has come in and taken it off the buyer's hands.

They made an offer and a bid to purchase the property in its current condition.

You know, we got intervened halfway through.

So, a rival bidder who tried to buy the prefab at auction now owns the

property, which means Carl and Shane won't have to finish this project.

Meanwhile, it hasn't all been work and no play.

I've just taken two weeks off this project to go and have a relaxing time in Spain.

I've just recently been to Dubai as well.

We just got back. We do a lot.

It's a bonus for us really because we originally started with five to six months

and when we take into account the vacations we've had,

we've probably brought this project in within six weeks of working to this stage.

Nicola checked the books and found that of the 30 grand forecast budget,

they'd only spent ten.

I would quite comfortably say that we could bring it to a good finished

standard with the £20,000 that's left.

We've looked at spending £5,000 on the roof

and then all the interior and outside,

as far as I'm concerned, is really manageable.

Any disputes regarding the work along the way?

I guess I always have the final say.

-There's no doubt there.

-LAUGHS

The property has, of course, been sold on

but we asked two agents along to give us their thoughts on

this prefab and whether it's on the right road for the market.

I personally feel the key factor now is that externally

it's had an additional brick skin.

That, in the eyes of the lenders,

will certainly help on the mortgageability side.

However, internally it has no kitchen and bathroom with it.

They will also look at that.

Externally, the property's going to

look a lot better with the brickwork completed.

That way it will look normal.

And the change in providing the additional driveway and parking is

something most people are really going to appreciate.

Carl's client in Spain bought for 80 grand,

so spent a further ten grand on it.

So what would its current value stand at?

Considering the amount of work that's yet to be carried out,

the property at the moment ought to be somewhere around about the £100,000 mark.

Carl's client in Spain managed to sell for £103,000,

so is on for a 13 grand profit before tax and expenses.

As it stands there's still a good profit for six weeks' work.

But what would the property be worth when completed?

It's likely to achieve in the region of £140,000.

These properties have been known to make around 150 when they're completed to a high standard.

We're happy with that, yeah.

And on the rental market after completion?

I would anticipate a likely income of £625-650 per calendar month.

Wow. That's a shock.

Yeah, I wouldn't have expected so high with it being a bungalow.

We estimated 450, 475.

That's good figures.

And, never ones to miss an opportunity,

the chaps have put quotes forward to the new owners

to complete the roof and interior works and they're hopeful.

I'd say I would like to finish it, yeah.

We took it on with all intentions of finishing it,

so if the price is right we'll finish it.

After that this temporary dwelling should be good for another 70 years at least.

THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY THEME

Time to return to Caterham in Surrey.

Some things were good about this three-bed semi.

It had a good sized open-plan living space

plus a double-storey garage that offered potential for extending,

and a guide price of £280,000-plus.

The bad was the steep access to the front and then there was the ugly.

They call... They... They call me Roberts.

Look, I meant the door was the... Oh, never mind.

Random thing to have in the kitchen. What is the point of that?

All in all I thought this was a rootin' tootin' property.

OK, OK, time to round up this story.

There wasn't a lot wrong with this place and most of it looked like it

could be cosmetic if you didn't feel the need to extend.

And the garden, well, it was a cracker.

Rachel and Tim thought so, too, as they picked it up for £320,000 after it didn't sell at the auction.

They had plans to make it their forever home with help from Rachel's dad.

Not that Rachel is shy of a bit of DIY.

I remember tiling the bathroom when I was about eight years old with him.

-Tim, on the other hand....

-I'm terrible at DIY.

I leave that all to Rachel.

Well, you have to admire Tim's honesty.

They were intending to move in and do their new home up gradually

and have it shipshape in six to eight months for £10,000.

Well, we're back just shy of a year later to see how they've settled in.

Oh, I see the house is done up but

no sign of Rachel and Tim at the moment. Hm.

Well, I guess we'll have to leave it up to their cats, Tyrion and Renly,

to give us the house tour.

# Because a cat's the only cat Who knows where it's at... #

Through to the dining room, Renly, if you don't mind.

The place has had a fresh coat of paint

and looks like the cat's whiskers.

And what about the kitchen?

Did they get rid of those swing doors?

It looks paws-itively different in here.

It may only be small but they have really utilised the space purr-fectly.

Over to Tyrion to show us upstairs.

# Because a cat's the only cat Who knows where it's at

# While playin' jazz you always has a welcome mat

# Cos everybody digs a swingin' cat... #

The second bedroom has been repainted,

as has the master bedroom.

Rachel and Tim have two good-sized

double bedrooms while the third serves as an office.

And I'm glad to report that that mud-coloured bathroom is gone,

replaced with a sparkly new suite.

They really have done a great job modernising this home.

But what about that big selling feature, the back garden?

Don't worry, Tyrion, you've done enough.

We'll get the door.

The huge outdoor space has been spruced up,

creating plenty of space for the cats to play.

Speaking of which, thanks for the tour, boys,

but we should probably hand this interview over

to Tim and Rachel now.

They gradually moved into their home,

renovating each room at a time, while staying at Mum and Dad's.

Dad Mike was meant to be the designated DIY man

but did Tim get stuck into any of the work?

I'm pretty nifty with a paintbrush now.

I've painted enough of this house, I think,

and sort of done lots of the undercoat wood.

-Yeah.

-And glossing and everything like that.

Rachel's dad's been really helpful in the sort of just showing me

how to do it and then sort of leaving me to it really.

I've done a lot in the house as well,

especially when we replastered down here.

I've painted all banisters and I was helping my dad quite a lot as well.

My dad did quite a lot of the house, I have to say.

He was here at the very early start as well.

So he's knocked out the arch that we're standing under.

He's installed pretty much the whole kitchen,

bar the sort of plumbing and electrics that we've left to professionals.

He's done a lot of the painting, as well. He's done loads.

Every sort of a few days or weeks he's come back and he's

put things up and things like that, so it was really good.

Sounds like Mike really is super dad.

But did anything ring alarm bells for them?

There were sort of alarms around the house -

sort of security alarms things.

And I decided on a whim to press one to see what would happen,

to see if the alarm system was working.

-And it turns out it was...

-Yeah.

And set off the alarm outside, so I had to lean out of the window...

-Yeah.

-..with Rachel holding on to my feet...

-Yeah.

..with a crowbar, crowbarred the alarm off of the wall,

and it still kept going.

So, I had to then just smash it to pieces

until the alarm stopped going,

which was, yes, very entertaining.

-Yeah.

-Rachel didn't find that funny.

-No.

-But I found it quite funny.

Tim, Tim, some things you shouldn't do yourself.

One thing the couple thought they might tackle in the future was an

extension but there had been rumblings about potential subsidence,

which they might need to take into consideration.

Have they done anything about that?

We have had a couple of people in who've had a look at the house

and I think we're happy with it as it is at the moment.

We've had a few bits re-rendered on the outside,

so hopefully that will help everything.

For the moment the couple are happy to enjoy their fairly spacious home as it is.

The extension can wait.

So, have they spent their £10,000 budget?

We've been quite flexible with the budget.

We've kind of done things as and when we've had the money.

So, each month we've kind of done a bit more.

And I think in total we've spent about £12,000.

That makes a total investment of 332,000, so a little over budget.

But when it's your own home you always want to get it

just the way you want.

Tim and Rachel are still going to be doing jobs as they go,

but what did two estate agents think of their handiwork so far?

So the standard's good. They've done it very neutral as well,

so it's one of those where a buyer can move straight into.

The property's laid out in a very user-friendly fashion,

two separate reception rooms and a modern kitchen,

two very good-sized bedrooms and a third,

which is great for a nursery or a young child.

This is Rachel and Tim's forever home

but so far they have invested £332,000 in it.

So are they still ahead in the valuation stakes?

In terms of resale value I would suggest between £385,000 and £390,000.

The resale value is probably about on a guide

of £385,000-£395,000.

-Fantastic.

-That is really good.

-Yeah, great.

-Really happy with that.

The top valuation of 395,000 would mean a potential profit

of £63,000 minus taxes and fees.

So now they have a great home, what's next for them?

Lots to do for the future, really.

Possibly some children along the way in the next few years.

We've got a couple of rooms to fill.

But at the moment the kittens are keeping us on our toes and, yeah,

we'd just like to settle into the community a lot more.

Have we got you excited about visiting your local property auction?

I hope so. But you can still get your own fix without ever leaving the sofa.

Yes, just pop the kettle on, brew the tea,

and join us next time for more Homes Under The Hammer.

-Bye-bye.

-Goodbye.