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00:00Let's get on with the auction today.
00:03235, 240.
00:04Every year, tens of thousands of properties
00:07are sold at auction.
00:09Meredith Bidder, well done.
00:10From modest two-up, two-downs to waterfront mansions.
00:14We are throwing the kitchen sink at this now.
00:19More and more first-time buyers are seeing it
00:22as their golden ticket onto the property ladder.
00:25Oh, that's so genius!
00:26Yes!
00:28But these quick buys are often far from perfect,
00:32hiding some nasty surprises.
00:35You haven't been in?
00:35No, not yet.
00:36Hey, let's go in.
00:38I'm Sarah Beeney, and I've been buying, building,
00:40and transforming homes for 35 years.
00:43And I'm fascinated by the world of auctions.
00:46In this series, I'll be offering a dose of realism.
00:49You've got all these lovely, flamey ideas,
00:51and I'm pouring water on like that.
00:53As brave new owners take their homes
00:55from darling to diamond.
00:57I will be moving in at the end of this month.
01:01What I'll be moving in to, of course, remains to be seen.
01:05And we'll go behind the scenes of some of the country's
01:09biggest auction houses.
01:11Great bidding, guys.
01:12Perseverance paid off.
01:13Discovering whether property auctions
01:15are a risk too far...
01:18..or a great way to get the home of your dreams.
01:22I am really proud of myself.
01:23This is my first home.
01:30This week, two couples who've spent more than they planned
01:34at auction take on the restoration work themselves.
01:39A million-pound purchase hides a shocking surprise.
01:43If this isn't well supported, the wall could collapse.
01:47A family racing to move in.
01:50As soon as this is completed, we can have a house together.
01:54And I really can't wait for that, to be fair.
01:57And a new life for a piece of naval history is on hold.
02:01At the moment, the sticking point is the sewage system.
02:04So, you're a bit stuffed.
02:08First, I'm heading to South London.
02:11In Brixton, a well-finished period townhouse
02:14can go for upwards of one and a half million pounds.
02:20So, to buy a home here requires a significant investment.
02:26Which is what consultant Christy and accountant Matt did
02:29when they bought this 1870s Victorian terrace.
02:35We met travelling when we were 23.
02:38When we came back from Australia,
02:40we were living apart for quite a few years.
02:42But then we decided it just made so much more sense
02:45to just move in together.
02:47After losing out on, like, four houses,
02:49we were like, OK, we've got to try something different
02:50because this just isn't working.
02:52We're getting blown out of the water every time.
02:53Yeah.
02:54That's when we started looking at auctions.
02:57In the auction catalogue, they found this.
03:00A seven-bed, two-bathroom home
03:03with an auction guide price of £750,000.
03:09There was four open house viewings for this property
03:12before it went to auction.
03:14I was texting Matt, like,
03:15you have to come see this, you have to come see this.
03:19Full of original features,
03:21Christy and Matt instantly fell in love with the property.
03:26Auction day.
03:27I don't think I'll ever forget that day in my life.
03:31Matt was at the computer, ready to go.
03:33It was just a button, it was, like, bid.
03:35It was, like, confirm, yes.
03:37And then it would, like, pop up again.
03:39It's like, you've been outbid.
03:41It went right up to our maximum.
03:43And then Matt was like, do we go once more?
03:45And I was like, yes.
03:47I pressed it.
03:47And then I stepped back and then he was like,
03:51going, going, going, gone.
03:53And then I was literally just there, like, I couldn't even speak.
03:55I was like, I cannot believe that's just happened.
03:58To cover their £1,010,000 winning bid,
04:02the couple have had to spend all their £400,000 savings
04:06and take on a huge mortgage.
04:10And then we looked around and we were like, oh,
04:12there's a lot of work to do here.
04:16With no money left for renovating,
04:18they need to do all the work themselves.
04:23This project could take Christie and Matt years to complete.
04:30Spread across four floors,
04:32every room is in need of extensive refurbishment.
04:36Their plan is to start at the top of the house,
04:38so they have somewhere finished to live
04:40as they work their way down.
04:44In the loft,
04:45the previous builders had cut through supporting beams,
04:48leaving the building structurally unsound.
04:52The beams have started twisting
04:54because they were struggling to hold the weight.
04:59Repairing the damaged roof trusses,
05:01replacing the windows and fitting steels in the floor,
05:04has already taken the couple several weeks to complete.
05:12Progress has been slow.
05:14And with their only funds coming from whatever's left over each month,
05:17they're wondering how to move the project forward
05:20to save them living in the middle of a building site
05:23any longer than necessary.
05:26We moved in on the 27th of November
05:29and I cannot describe how cold it was in this house.
05:34There's no heating anywhere.
05:35Oh, gosh.
05:37One day, I came into the kitchen
05:39and to my absolute horror and surprise,
05:42there was a fox on my kitchen counter
05:46and we were like death staring each other
05:49and he was like,
05:49you're in my kitchen,
05:50and I was like, you're in my kitchen.
05:52But yeah, he just mugged me off and then after about half an hour
05:57ran out the front door.
05:58So the fox can't really tell whether it's the garden or not inside.
06:03Hopefully when it's modernised, they'll be able to...
06:05They'll be able to tell.
06:06Feel the difference.
06:07Yeah, yeah.
06:09With little renovation experience,
06:11they have big ambitions to completely restore this Victorian gem
06:16that's gone to rack and ruin.
06:20Christy's quite into designing
06:22and I quite like doing things with my hands.
06:25But you haven't got any money left for the renovation.
06:28You're basically spending...
06:29Just pay as you go.
06:31Pay as you go, I love it.
06:33Just pay as you go.
06:34Okay, Cindy.
06:34Other things that you just go,
06:36well, we can't do that till next month
06:37because we haven't got the money.
06:38Yeah, exactly.
06:39How much have you spent so far?
06:4114,000 so far.
06:43Gosh, only 14,000?
06:45On renovations, yes.
06:47Because obviously we've done 95% of the work ourself.
06:50So you really, literally are doing everything.
06:52We are literally doing everything.
06:54Yes, everything.
06:57Most of their time has been spent stripping the walls back to brick
07:00and carrying out emergency repairs in the loft.
07:03But Christy and Matt aren't sure what to do next.
07:08Gosh, it's a big space up here, isn't it?
07:12So what are you going to do with this space?
07:14I was maybe going to ask for your expertise on what to do.
07:17We've been toying with the idea of a sort of games room,
07:21maybe an office.
07:21But at the moment, I would do nothing if you don't know what you want to do with it.
07:27Because I don't think you'll use it as a games room.
07:29It's an awfully long way up the stairs.
07:31In my opinion, seven bedrooms and two bathrooms is a little bit bedroom heavy.
07:38The idea is you'd have a shower room up here.
07:40Okay.
07:40So that it would be a guest floor.
07:42Whilst you wouldn't necessarily do it at the moment,
07:45you probably want to kind of slightly pre-plan the plumbing for that.
07:48Yeah.
07:49You know, just kind of slightly be thinking before you see it all in.
07:53Yeah, absolutely.
07:55While decisions up here are on hold,
07:58fitting a bathroom on the floor below is a priority.
08:02This is the bathroom.
08:05Okay.
08:05And as you can see, it's quite small at the moment.
08:09Christy and Matt plan to push the existing wall back
08:12and create a large walk-in shower.
08:16Everything's out at the moment, so moving the wall is not a particularly big job.
08:20What's it going to look like?
08:21I was thinking about an enclosed shower,
08:23which I would love some guidance on
08:27because I'm not sure how to do a lighting where the roof is slanted like this
08:32and doing sort of enclosed spaces.
08:33So there's a lot of opportunity in a space like this to use shadow light
08:38so you don't see the source of the light.
08:40Okay, yeah.
08:40So a skirting that goes around the floor,
08:43but then it lights the floor rather than you see the source of the light.
08:47That would be really good in this kind of room
08:49because it's such a small window.
08:51Yeah.
08:51And it's quite hard to get enough light in here.
08:55Their plan for the first stage in this huge project
08:58continues with the renovation of two of the bedrooms.
09:02This is going to be our bedroom next.
09:04What are you planning on doing in here?
09:06Yeah.
09:06The plan for here is to keep the fireplace as it is because it's so sunning.
09:12And I think it would be really nice to try and put some of the detailing back in
09:16from the Victorian time to suit the room.
09:20Okay, so panelling and decorative plasterwork
09:23and just kind of bring a little bit more intrigue into the room.
09:36Into a bathroom done on a pay as you go budget, working around full time jobs.
09:40This is going to test Christie and Matt to the limit.
09:45They took a massive punt when they bought this house,
09:49but they put the time in and they put the effort in.
09:52and so that means they're not having to put the money in but only time will tell if that remains
09:59to be true it felt really nice to have someone who knows what they're talking about kind of
10:03validate some of the ideas we've got a lot of reassurance is exactly sometimes we just feel
10:09like we're going a bit rogue i'm definitely going to take forward thinking about how to future proof
10:15some of the rooms and also what she said about the lighting in the bathroom so we're really
10:21looking forward to hunkering down and actually achieving quite a lot over the next few months
10:29coming up red tape could ruin a family's renovation plans
10:35i'm surprised this is listed it's of no architectural relevance or historical i would argue
10:52tens of thousands of properties are sold to aspiring homeowners at auctions every year
10:59250 000 the third and final time your property welcome and i'm helping some of them as they try
11:06to turn their dreams into reality in the village of holbrook in derbyshire is holbrook hall estate
11:16in the 1980s the stables were converted for residential use
11:22and last year they were bought by first time auction goers finance assistant heather
11:27and company director dave to be their new home with heather's daughter sienna
11:34this should be our first house first house yeah first time living together first yeah and we went
11:39for a big project i still am living with my dad in leicester and heather lived just around the
11:48corner from this house so that's how we knew about the house the five-bedroom property had a guide price
11:54of 450 000 pounds but as the auction got closer the couple realized there was a problem we knew that
12:03we wouldn't be here for the auction day because we were going to ibiza the day of the auction we
12:10went
12:11down to the poolside constantly watching the clock so that we didn't miss it it was just an emotional
12:19roller coaster wasn't it heather and dave's winning bid of 520 000 pounds was 20 000 over what they'd hoped
12:27to buy it for leaving just 50 000 to renovate we knew was very very very tight um but you
12:37gotta make
12:38it work so that's what we're gonna do heather and dave have ambitious plans for the stables
12:50they want to move the kitchen into what was the old sitting room and turn a downstairs bedroom into
12:57a comfy front room upstairs they're going to create stunning new ensuite bathrooms for two of the four
13:05bedrooms to complement the family bathroom which will be ripped out and modernized
13:13along the way they plan to remove much of the 20th century decor and highlight original features
13:19like the stonework and wooden beams this is a grade two listed property and with that does come a lot
13:27of constraints that we didn't really appreciate so heather and dave planning delays mean they're still
13:37not into their listed building a year after buying it having missed their first christmas here now they want
13:45to be in in just four months to make sure that doesn't happen again
13:52so the question is how can they make that wish come true
13:57so how much in cash did you have the deposit if that yeah and all of it on a mortgage
14:03yep basically
14:05yeah yeah gosh yeah it's quite brave not only is it quite brave because it was a bit well you
14:12don't
14:12have the money and it was quite expensive yeah um but also it is listed isn't it it is i'm
14:19surprised
14:19this is listed it's of no architectural relevance or historical i would argue the joinery is 70s windows
14:28it's been pebble dashed in the 1970s 80s i'll be really honest if i was you i would apply to
14:36delist
14:36this yeah it's something that we're not really thought about it was an option really it's probably
14:42more valuable when you come to sell it one day if it's not if it's not listed and it gives
14:47you
14:47flexibility to do anything you fancy you know yeah a 50 grand budget with the constraints of a listed
14:54building and on this scale this is not going to be an easy fix so who's doing the work here
15:02then with
15:03the money you've got left me yeah yeah it is um we've got an electrician yeah i've got electrician
15:11to do the actual wiring up a fuse boards and stuff like that but running cables i'll be doing that
15:15and
15:16are you is this what you do are you no no i definitely no just a di wire okay
15:24this sprawling home is spread across 280 square meters
15:30trying to tick off every job before moving in would kiss goodbye to being in by christmas
15:37i think they need to take a different approach like focusing on the essentials and moving in asap
15:44i think you can get in quicker than you think and and it will be easier once you're here yeah
15:50you want to get in and camp in your building site yeah yeah and just do the minimal amount yeah
15:56and then see how you get on if they're going to live here while continuing the renovations
16:03they'll need somewhere to sleep oh thank you
16:10oh goodness this is a lovely big room isn't it what's the wall so this is going to be like
16:16partition
16:17for the ensuite so it's an open plan bathroom yeah we're not allowed full height partitions because
16:23of the listing oh why because the conservation officer didn't like a subdivision of a existing
16:30large room so we're going to put glass at the top of there basically he doesn't want to evolve any
16:36further yes the house has to stay as it is now yeah
16:40it's nice to hear a different opinion isn't it because it's things that we haven't really thought
16:45about and puts a different perspective on it she was saying live in your building site it's quite
16:51a positive way of thinking about it because we've been trying to put off living in the building site
16:56and doing as much as we physically can before we get in we do need to live in it so
17:01that we get a feel
17:02for the house and we can make decisions as we continue to develop the property a dream house
17:09but just a small pot of money for renovation and they want to move in as soon as possible they've
17:16got a long way to go to make this a reality there's a big mortgage on this and there's a
17:21lot of work to
17:22do my big question is is it's listing i think it's holding the building back and i think it's holding
17:28the
17:29family back and that has no value listed buildings are of special architectural or historical importance
17:40and have legal protection this means that the government has guidelines that you have to follow
17:46if you want to alter or renovate them if you're buying a listed building at auction it's a good
17:52idea to speak to the conservation officer at the local council first get a survey and read the full
17:58listing description in the national register to be across any restrictions
18:06in brixton south london christian matt have been living on their building site for nearly a year
18:13as they renovate around their full-time jobs they were hoping to complete two bedrooms and a bathroom
18:20in 10 weeks but they've hit an unanticipated problem
18:25the lime plaster was peeling off in large blocks into my hand and the further down i went into the
18:34beam the more i could peel parts of that out and back i started having a serious panic because
18:41if this isn't well supported the wall could collapse
18:45they're carrying out emergency repairs repointing the brickwork and properly treating for dry rot
18:52before swapping out the rotten timbers for a steel beam
19:01lime mortar will move with the building and prevent cracking so it's breathable and it's also more
19:09eco-friendly which is a big plus for us we've chosen a more heritage method because our house is heritage
19:21with only evenings and weekends free replacing the beam could set christian matt back several weeks
19:27meaning there's no chance of getting all three rooms ready on schedule
19:34here you go i'm sure there'll be some brick layers crying at this but i just want to make sure
19:41it's solid
19:41rather than making it look pretty finding this rotten beam is just such a good example of the experience
19:49we've had renovating this house because every time we peel back a wall we've just never known what we're
19:55going to find so yeah just hugely slowing us down which is a bit frustrating
20:07from sea forts to underground bunkers auctions regularly offer up decommissioned military buildings
20:15that attract the most creative of buyers but they sometimes come with a cautionary tale
20:24of blackpool 10 miles north of blackpool and fleetwood sits this grade 2 listed former naval
20:31radar training station on its own stretch of beach with panoramic views of morecambe bay and the irish sea beyond
20:45it was bought at auction almost two years ago for 97 000 pounds
20:50by architect ian garnell but his vision is grinding to a halt so this is it yeah i mean crazy
20:59as it is
20:59it's a really iconic building and in the most amazing position i mean there's only one of them
21:04i'm sure there's not another one of these in the world i just couldn't resist really built in 1961
21:12the building served as a base for teaching the latest radar technology but for the last two years
21:19it's been left empty something ian's hoping to change do you have any idea what you want to do with
21:26it yes so we want to turn it into either a live work unit or residential apartment like a one
21:31-of-a-kind
21:32like mega flat where we can have people who enjoy it and what's the the problem with that at the
21:38moment the sticking point is the sewage system so it doesn't have a foul connection and there is no
21:43foul in the road around here so so you're a bit stuffed we are a little bit at the moment
21:48in its previous life any student who needed the loo might have popped over the road to the local hotel
21:55but that won't do for the luxury pad ian's aiming for what a view that is so beautiful
22:04i'm not surprised that you saw it and just thought i have to have it it
22:08amazing it blows your way doesn't it yeah
22:12i mean high tined the boats are literally 100 meters away from you if that say it's nice yeah yeah
22:19ian's plans for inside will match the stunning view the interior will be divided between a super
22:27king-sized bedroom with an ensuite on one side and a living room and kitchen on the other
22:35it has so much going for it but without environmental and planning consent
22:40this building and ian's dream for it will vanish with the tide
22:47coming up with a sewage system that gets planning consent could cost ian thousands of pounds and
22:53take months but there might be an alternative
22:58you could in a short time or even the long term use what's called a dry flush loo yeah it
23:04looks like
23:04a loo and then when you do your business um it has a bag in it like a dog poo
23:10bag and then it as you
23:11press it the button it seals it up and then another bag comes out the top it still goes through
23:17and
23:17then those will go through to a container at the bottom and a bit like a caravan you have to
23:22take
23:22that away manually and empty it like how often does this need emptying and like do you have to refill
23:28the bags weekly daily is it depends how often you go well a dry flush loo could be a solution
23:35but because
23:37of the building's listed status everything will need to be carefully discussed with the conservation
23:42officer as well as building regs and the planning department can i ask you an honest question if
23:48you've known how difficult it was to get sewage would you have bought it yes do you mean that i'm
23:54still confident we'll get there okay hopefully in like a year's time you'll come back and you'll go
23:58wow brilliant and i'll need the loo and it'll be perfect probably probably buying unusual properties
24:07like this at auction should be approached with caution but i do think this building deserves to
24:15be saved ian's not going to be able to buy this building again in this position it's really iconic
24:22and if you can solve the engineering problems of the lack of sewage then it has got legs me and
24:31sarah
24:31was fantastic following her advice and we'll definitely be looking into it it's something we
24:36haven't seen on the market before so we'll speak to the manufacturers and see if there's a solution that
24:41will actually work for our building and her ideas hopefully could actually be the ones that get us through
24:48the uh planning coming up basically the windows too big heather and dave's stable renault runs into
25:00problems i'm worried because i did all the measurements the actual window on the pallet look
25:06rather large compared to the hole it's going to go into
25:16it has never been easier to buy at auction
25:21not let this one go 306 thank you last year more than 30 000 auctions were live streamed or held
25:29online
25:293 20 twice shut up third and final time at 320 congratulations well done
25:39but with the excitement of bidding it can be easy to pay more than you planned
25:46like christian matt in brixton who paid more than they'd intended and are now persevering on a shoestring budget
25:53so their new steel beam is in the new stud wall for the second bedroom is being built
26:05the walls are being insulated to the highest spec
26:09and they're excited to show what else they've been up to this is the attic which we spoke about when
26:17you
26:17were here visiting we definitely did take on board that you mentioned to future proof so we're going
26:23to try and keep space available so that we could make an ensuite at some point you'll see something
26:31looking very new here it's that shiny black thing christian matt are doing this house so well they are
26:41doing this because they want it to stand for another 150 years without a problem this is the
26:47bathroom there has been very little change in here and is unlikely to be before the end of the year
26:54which
26:55is pretty sad they'll do it in their own time and i love the fact that you know it's it's
27:01about more
27:02haste and less speed this is the two bedrooms we discussed when you were with us as well
27:09we had our first go at plastering award which was good fun i think it actually looks all right
27:15plastering is a really hard skill particularly for the first time you can always use a thousand grade
27:21lining paper and line over the top of it that will kind of even out some of the lumps and
27:26bumps in it
27:27and a patterned wallpaper covers many ills this is the main bedroom be plastered everywhere in here
27:36with the exception of the external facing wall what's brilliant about them in many ways is that
27:45they're having as much fun in the process as they are going to have with the outcome and that
27:52is the way to do a renovation like this and enjoy it
27:59in derbyshire it's been a year since heather and dave got the keys to their 18th century home
28:07they had planned to complete all the work before moving in but i'm glad to say they are now aiming
28:13to get in as soon as possible this will be our temporary kitchen which needs a corner off the toilet
28:20so we can use toilet and the kitchen at the same time as well as a temporary kitchen they're focusing
28:27on four rooms their bedroom a bathroom sienna's bedroom and the dining room heather's invited all
28:37of family around for christmas day so yeah we need to be in one essential job is replacing the rotten
28:46windows
28:50the first batch of seven have arrived at a cost of 13 000 pounds more than a quarter of their
28:57whole
28:57budget after getting help to fit the first two dave will do the rest himself to save on cash
29:06you have to put the time in don't you to get the dreams that you want and we wouldn't have
29:10been
29:10able to buy this any other way i had my worries because i did all the measurements
29:16the actual window on the pallet looked rather large compared to the hole it's going to go into
29:24boy fitted i wasn't i wasn't panicking at all
29:30one down six to go but there's a problem with the sitting room window
29:37dave's got his measurements wrong basically the window's too big it's the same size as the original
29:44one but the original one didn't have a trickle vent dave has spotted a solution
29:51i propose that we take the curb stone off the bottom and then fit the window so it lowers it
29:59once the window's all in build it all back up underneath the window giving it support
30:04fortunately this is the only window causing problems with the family desperate to move in
30:10the last thing they want is any hold-ups as soon as this is completed we can actually move in
30:16together
30:16and have a house together and i really can't wait for that to be fair i really look forward to
30:23it
30:28more of us than ever are choosing to buy and sell at auction 98 thank you 99
30:35but the auction house has always been a destination for property investors
30:40round me up to 100 somebody please
30:43at auction house sdl's latest sale in nottingham a team of 60 are busy making sure the thousand
30:50bidders are online on the phones and ready to go
30:56it's gonna go
30:59that's all yours to your property congratulations well done today's catalogue worth an estimated 20
31:06million pounds has grabbed the attention of developers across the country you watch it live when
31:12you want to bid tell me and i'll put my hand up on your behalf they're all looking to buy
31:18160
31:21165 on the telephone but only if the price is right and there's a profit to be made 175 online
31:28175
31:29180 that's just too much for right one more yes or no fair warning then 193 000 pounds
31:41the next slot with a guide price of just 37 000 pounds
31:45is this three bed split level apartment in grantham it's caught the attention of a developer with 55
31:53properties in his growing portfolio 29 year old jack gill i find that when mortgageable properties
32:01properties that need a significant amount of work it's more about how many rooms i can get in there
32:06that's of a adequate size looking at the floor plan on this property i could tell that i would be
32:14able
32:14to get at least five uh ensuite bedrooms uh within this property where are we going to start for it
32:2230 000 pounds is bid straight in as the auction begins five hopefuls are online including mr g jack as
32:30well as bidders on the phone don't think you're on your own with people not wanting to jump in first
32:35taking the ones make it nice and easy 30 000 pounds is bid 31 i have now with you mr
32:41g online 35 i have
32:44now 36 is bid 37 38 the competition is fierce who will come out on top miss b i need
32:5362 from you please
32:5662 62 000 pounds is bid you've both been brilliant bidders but mr g it is with you sir i
33:04think you may have it
33:06at 67 000 pounds it's gonna go
33:13it goes to you mr g well bid sir and congratulations
33:23at 67 000 pounds jack bagged the house for 23 grand less than his ceiling price
33:31and after getting the keys work on his 56th property is progressing well
33:38around nine years ago i actually saw an advert it was on facebook just about a course to sort of
33:44get
33:44involved or get started in property and i attended it i put my all into it and the rest was
33:50history
33:52so does jack still think his latest auction buy is another good investment there's a lot of work to
33:59be done here but it's nothing that i would shy away from it's in the town center location of grantham
34:05it'll be affordable living and by the time i'm finished with it it'll be a fantastic property
34:14it's been seven weeks since i first met heather and dave right cup of tea's first priorities yeah
34:24they're ticking off the job so they can move in as soon as possible
34:29they fitted more windows the temporary kitchen and toilet are done
34:38sienna's room is shaping up nicely my favorite bit about it is the bird mural i'm very excited about it
34:48and they're keen to share how far they've come on let's see how they're getting on the bathroom has had
34:55lots and lots of progress we've now got the sink what the basin and the tap is in and as
35:05if by magic
35:08we actually have water i think for heather and dave the important thing was to get finished enough
35:15this house so that they can get in and live together and that is the priority so a bathroom
35:22that's one thing as it stands we're not going down the delisting route because we've gone down all
35:29the correct avenues to be able to carry out the works that we wanted and got all the planning permission
35:35personally i think it would be worth investigating because it might be fine at the moment but the
35:41next thing that they want to do they're going to have to go through the whole process again
35:45they've made some good progress they are going to be getting in there it's not far away they just
35:50need to push over the finishing line coming up we'll just cut that off and hopefully it'll slot in
35:59has the risk of overspending at auction paid off see how it fits we're getting closer
36:14it's been four weeks since i last checked in on chrissy and matt in brixton
36:18oh yeah replacing the crumbling beam has put plans for the bathroom on hold
36:26so they're turning all their attention to their new bedroom
36:31chrissy is putting her passion for period interiors to good use restoring the original fireplace
36:38it was so fun putting the paint stripper on but the mess it created to try and actually get the
36:45paint
36:45off was quite crazy the final result proves the mess was worth it it came off the tiles really really
36:55nicely and quickly while matt is restoring the original 150 year old flooring
37:06you can go there new pine doesn't match aged victorian floorboards so it's either a trip to
37:13the reclamation yard or as chrissy and matt have done borrow it from another room before sanding and
37:20varnishing everywhere that looks perfect in holbrook heather and dave are also putting the finishing
37:33touches to their rooms with just a few days left before they move in i've given notice on my rental
37:41accommodation so the ultimate deadline is for me moving out to be able to get me and sienna moved in
37:50dave's working hard to get their dining room finished so they have somewhere to eat together
37:57we're getting closer there's light at the end of the tunnel we're very very very close to getting
38:03there there's a method in me madness much better sienna myself and dave are all just as excited as each
38:13other so we're really looking forward to it while the prospect of moving in is getting closer for
38:19heather and dave in brixton chrissy and matt are celebrating their own milestone
38:2710 weeks ago they'd already faced delays caused by emergency repairs to the roof
38:34unfortunately the delays kept coming if this isn't well supported the wall could collapse
38:42working evenings and weekends on their pay-as-you-earn budgets they've struggled to complete stage one of
38:49their project on schedule
38:53but now one key room in this long-term renovation is finally finished and it looks great
39:04we feel absolutely delighted everywhere else is a building site so it's really nice to have somewhere
39:10that feels calm and an escape
39:17the original floorboards and fireplace have been lovingly restored
39:25traditional style sash windows fitted and victorian panelling installed but they haven't just decorated
39:36they've repaired and replaced walls insulated and plastered it all themselves
39:44we have faced so many unexpected challenges throughout the journey that we've had so
39:49having somewhere at the end of it that's showing a little bit of how the rest of the house is
39:55going
39:55to look is really really motivating bit of an oasis isn't it to try and get away from the
40:01carnage from the rest of the house
40:04with minimal funds the couple of years away from completing this renovation
40:10we've been spending on average about two thousand pounds a month
40:14and i think we've now spent about 22. i don't know if it looks like we've spent a lot but
40:21but you've learned so so much and we're quicker yeah we are quicker
40:27but no matter how long it takes it's clear chrissy and matt are loving the process
40:38and if this first trim is anything to go by it'll be worth the wait you have to be a
40:44bit delusional
40:45if you take on a renovation otherwise you won't get through it i think by spring next year
40:52we should have at least we'll have three rooms done which would be good i'm gonna hold myself oh my
40:58god you've said it now
41:07unlike chrissy and matt heather and dave in derbyshire were more reluctant to move into an
41:13unfinished home a year ago they bought these grade two listed former stables for 520 000 pounds
41:2320 000 more than they hoped they'd get it for with just 50 000 to renovate it left the couple
41:31having
41:32to do most of the work themselves a big ask for a big project you have to put the time
41:38in don't you to
41:39get the dreams that you want and we wouldn't have been able to buy this any other way the home
41:44could
41:45take years to complete instead they refocus on getting a handful of key rooms ready so they could
41:52move in as soon as possible heather's invited all the family around for christmas day so uh yeah we need
41:59to be here and nearly three months later just before their festive deadline
42:15the transformation from what it was when we bought it at auction to now is massive really chuffed with
42:23the finish what they've achieved is proof positive that sometimes taking a gamble pays off
42:36it's come out better than expected now we've managed to expose the beam it really brings a bit of a
42:41character to the room from the day we got the keys and we walked in and there was water pouring
42:47in
42:47through windows god it's a million times better
42:53their bedroom was a bare shell waiting to be transformed
43:00what they've created is a beautiful inviting space
43:05i love it yeah yeah i love it we just went for it didn't we
43:16the wood paneling and feature wall bring a period charm to their designs
43:24although the ensuite is still on their to-do list i still love the idea of having the bath in
43:30the
43:30corner of the room so once it is finished it'll be really nice wouldn't it yes it will be lovely
43:37the family bathroom was a bit of an eyesore
43:42but now it's a showstopper and an amazing testament to dave's diy skills
43:50every time i come in i still keep looking around and i'm a bit like oh wow i can't believe
43:54it looks
43:55like it does we wanted it to be quite bougie didn't we yeah with the chandelier and like the gold
44:01accessories i can't wait to get in the shower or the bath for that matter
44:11the other vital room upstairs was sienna's bedroom
44:17it's bold and beautiful but what's the verdict from its new occupant i'm actually sleeping in it
44:25tonight and i'm just very excited i just love my bedroom so much
44:37the couple have spent a lot of time and effort getting these rooms ready
44:41but how much of their savings have they used we had about 50 something budget now we are literally
44:51month by month basis but we have got the kitchen it's in storage we have the new heating system
44:58on its way and all the wiring that needed changing is done so we've done all the main groundwork
45:07they had a lot stacked against them a listed property they hadn't viewed in person
45:14a tiny renovation budget and all the while living apart
45:20it feels like the end is near the whole thing's been a bit of a roller coaster
45:28until everything's done i think it is going to be up and down but we didn't expect anything else
45:33did we to be fair it's a dream house isn't it well it will be when it's done there's no
45:38way we could
45:39have done this unless it was at auction was there it's what's made it achievable otherwise it never
45:44would have been not in a million years
45:54house before wedding one couple are putting everything on the line a new series of location
46:00location location location starts next wednesday at eight but next tonight the story that shocked the
46:05world when the deadliest nerve agent to ever be created was used on british soil
46:10in salisbury poisonings the untold story
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