Episode Information Property Ladder: Balcombe & Herts

Date Published:

12/06/2008

In this episode of Property Ladder, Sarah Beeny follows two developers looking for a clever way of funding their children's university fees.

Mark & Linda, Balcombe & Lindfield

Financial advisor Mark Fairall and his wife Linda think they can turn property development into a family business with their teenage children Ben and Hannah, with the profits being used to fund the children through university. But are they taking a major risk by re-mortgaging their family home to buy an ugly 1960s property?

This will be a mammoth job that will take up all of the summer holidays. Renovating this property will not be easy with a ground floor that has all sorts of problems, a tiny garage that's too small for a family car, a dilapidated lean-to and a cramped kitchen all requiring urgent attention.

Having bought the house for £285,000 they plan to spend £108,000 on the refurbishment and then sell the property on for £415,000. Will this projected profit of just £22,000 in an already rising market prove a worthwhile investment of time and money?

When Property Ladder returns to visit the Fairalls, they've blown a massive £367,000 on a dilapidated bungalow. They have grand plans to extend and profit, but with no planning permission in place they're playing a dangerous game. Can this family of developers prove that taking a risk can pay off, or will they be left paying off the mortgage for years to come?

Karen & Ben, Hertford

Mature art student Karen reckons this tiny Victorian cottage will prove the perfect 'gap year' project for her 18 year old son Ben. Karen is keen to stamp the property with her own artistic vision, but the last thing Ben wants is to see his university fund disappear in a creative flight of fancy.

This property certainly presents a challenge. It's dark, dingy and dilapidated and will require a lot of work if it is to create a profit. On top of this, Karen is determined to use the property to showcase her own artwork, and her plans for the layout are just as singular.

Karen plans to relocate the kitchen to an unorthodox position at the front of the house, moving the lounge to the back and then building out into the courtyard with a costly glass walled extension. However, are they missing a trick? There is enough room in the back bedroom to build an all important upstairs bathroom, thereby freeing up room downstairs to create more living space off the kitchen and removing the need for a costly extension.

Having bought the cottage for £170,000, and with an impossibly tiny budget of just £20,000, Karen hopes to smash the ceiling price in the road and sell for £210,000. However, will Karen's plans lower, rather than raise, the value of this property?