Coach spooks TV presenter outside auction property
WHEN BBC’s Homes Under The Hammer presenter Martin Roberts turns up to view a house in Bryncethin, near Bridgend, going to auction with a tempting guide price of £55,000, he had a fright as a large, purple coach roared past him, making him jump. Fair play though, there were no naughty words.
Yes, he was not at all impressed with this shabby semi-detached property’s position, not only on a busy main road used continuously by large lorries and buses, as well as cars, but also at the junction of traffic lights that increased the road noise to epic levels.
Not a great start then, and it didn’t improve when Martin couldn’t get in through the front door and had to wander around to the back door to explore inside this auction lot.
But Martin is an experienced property professional, so knows never to judge a building’s book by its cover, although no amount of quality updating inside the house could change the fact that it was situated on a very noisy and busy street.
Martin wanders straight into the kitchen and it’s a tired space that needs a refresh, as you might expect from an auction property, but he is very impressed with the size of the room.
Through to the rear of the house and, in what Martin thought was the utility room, the more major issues started to reveal themselves.
In this room there was no ceiling thanks to a past leak and the old electrics were literally hanging by a wire in Martin’s face.
“Terrible, terrible, terrible!” Martin exclaims, and the negative vibes from the house continue in the open-plan reception room when he spots one of his annoyances – plumbing pipes in full view. He’s not happy.
Spotting possible damp too, he helpfully kicks the wall and the flaking plaster that cascades off confirms his suspicion that this Welsh home has an unwanted resident is confirmed.
But, Martin is starting to change his mind about this property, especially after seeing the size of the spaces in this three-bed abode that, from the front, did not hint was waiting inside for him.
It is a deep property, with three good-sized bedrooms, a generous first-floor bathroom and private garden, albeit accessed through a small gap at the end of the odd-shaped triangular drive.
It’s a Homes Under The Hammer house with potential that Martin is starting to really warm to, especially as the windows are doing a “decent job” of minimising the noise from that road outside that Martin definitely did not warm to – but would the road be a deal-breaker?
Definitely not to experienced property developer and landlord Andy, who secured the house at auction for £67,000, and was eager to get this renovation project under way as this home was planned to be flipped rather than rented.
Andy had appeared on the show previously with the renovation of a fire-damaged house in Port Talbot, so a leak and some damp was not going to faze him or his “right-hand man” builder Thomas.
A rather optimistic £8,000-£10,000 renovation budget was promised to Martin, as was a six-week timescale; and Andy hit neither.
Six months later the programme returned and surely most viewers agree that it was worth the wait?
This property book had been treated to a brand-new cover of fresh external paint in cream and a contemporary grey, as well as a modern front door that, when combined, promised a renovation that surpassed the standard.
And the inside totally delivered too. Damp banished, ceilings reinstated and pipework hidden was just the start. The interior design on top of the necessary rewire, replumb, new windows and replaster was of a show home standard.
A shiny new gloss kitchen, new tile and wood and carpet flooring throughout, brand-new luxury bathroom, and contemporary fixtures, fittings and radiators all had Martin gushing, exclaiming: “Loving that kitchen and the bathroom is a triumph!”
Surely it cost more than the £8k-£10k estimate to make this problem property into a Bridgend beauty?
Yes, Andy blew the budget by at least £20,000 estimating the final cost to be around £28,000. Phew, hopefully the resale value of the house matched the increase in the budget.
Was it right to “go the extra mile” to make this a high-end refurbishment way over the standard usually seen on Homes Under The Hammer in a house within this price bracket?
The estate agents matched Martin’s love for this polished diamond, with one saying it was a real gem of a property. The values were in and luckily for Andy it was good news with a resale value of between £125k-£130k producing a profit before fees and taxes of between £30k-£35k.
And a new owner can relax in the knowledge that there is nothing to do here but enjoy living as well as knowing that TV’s Martin Roberts also loves the house, even with the busy road outside.
Just hope a new owner remembers to close their blinds so the people on the bus passing the window can’t see what they are eating for tea.
Homes Under The Hammer is on BBC 1 every weekday from 10am, with selected episodes also on BBC iPlayer. The episode that contained this story is currently available to view and is series 23 episode 53.