Episode Information Property Ladder: Clevedon & Surrey

Date Published:

11/06/2008

A couple of years ago Sarah Beeny met two sets of developers who found you can change the property but, good or bad, you're always stuck with the location. Now she's back to see if they've been able to carry on up the property ladder.

Meet The Developers

Mike and Sally's first development went so well, they built on their success to go straight on to their second.

However Tina and Craig Young's first go on the property ladder wasn't so successful. Now, despite making a loss last time, they're launching themselves into a massive six-flat conversion. Will their second development be as disastrous as their first?

If you buy something with an amazing view already in situ, like Mike and Sally did in Clevedon, just outside Bristol, then you're off to a good start. They bought a four bedroom family house outside Bristol with views to die for. Follow this great development and see how they followed it up with their next project.

Mike and Sally hoped to maximize their profit by adding a large two-storey extension. Unfortunately, they took a massive risk with their finances to pay for it; it's never advisable to use credit cards to finance a development.

After the first project, Mike was keen to continue developing, so the paint was barely dry before he started on his next property. It's a combined shop and three bedroom house in Clevedon town that Mike is planning to turn into four one bedroom flats in just five months.While his last property was a safe bet in a prime location, he's now bought on a busy road, right next to a pub with a distinct lack of parking. He'll have to do a great job to lure people to this location.

It's rarely possible to buy in a jaw-dropping location. Take the part of Surrey where Tina & Craig bought their 1930s art deco house. It's a great property, but some would say the safest solution with this house is to bury its deco style inside a more suburban exterior. People round here like more traditional family homes with pitched roofs, not leaky flat ones.

Despite Sarah's warnings that a stylised art deco house could be difficult to shift, structural engineer Craig and his wife Tina stuck to their guns. They sold their own home and invested £225,000 in the property. It turned out to be a disastrous decision.

A year on, Craig is not daunted and wants to turn his property developing career around. He's found a massive six apartment project, and Sarah's back to see if he's learned from his mistakes.