Episode Information Newport & Brentford

Date Published:

16/06/2009

It’s November 2007. The property market has tipped into decline. But like most people, Sean and Nicola haven’t quite realised it yet. They’re about to kick off their developing careers in Newport, South Wales. Sean is a jobbing builder and DIY enthusiast. In fact, he’s been renovating their own home for the last eight years.

Despite having no kitchen, bedrooms or front door, this couple have switched their attention from their own abode to a large, three storey house in a truly sorry state. Their plan is to carve it up into three one bed flats, but this means three times the work. If that wasn’t enough, Sean plans to project manage the entire job, and do all the building work himself, with only Nicola to help as labourer.

With Newport, like much of the UK, suffering from massive oversupply of one bedroom flats, Sarah advises them to transform this house into a two story maisonette, with a self-contained one bedroom flat in the basement. It'll be less work, and mean that they're not putting all of their eggs in the one very risky basket that is the one bedroom flat market. Persuaded by Sarah's logic, Sean and Nicola press ahead but it'll be a long road, with Sean working as both project manager and sole builder.

The Budget

Sean and Nicola bought the property for £129,000. They have a budget of £60,000 and plan to sell all three flats for a total of £240,000, making a £51,000 profit. The budget’s tight, but unlike the Brentford trio, Sean and Nicola plan to do all of the work themselves. The schedule? An eye-poppingly tight six months.

A week in and Sarah's on site to catch up on progress. Walls have come down and the couple are set on an open plan layout for the basement flat - the right decision for this type of property. The trouble is, with the bathroom in its current position it's as far away as it could possibly be from the bedroom. A quick rejig based on Sarah's expert advice and the build can gather speed. Or at least it should, but with Sean both project managing and building, progress is slow. After a big meeting, Nicola takes on much of the project managing, leaving her hubby free to get his hands dirty.

Since Sean and Nicola bought their investment property, house prices have been on the slide. Worse still, Sean and Nicola have run several months over their original deadline, and in that time the Newport market has been in freefall.

Instead of turning their rundown terraced house into three pokey flats, it’s become a much more saleable three bedroom maisonette and one bed basement flat. Inside, the maisonette the rooms are bright and airy with simple styling that certainly wouldn’t put anyone off. The schedule was a challenge but the finish is superb. Sean’s biggest test, though, was the stringent requirements for soundproofing. It's a success, however, and the properties meet all the relevant building regulations.

Final Figures

Sean and Nicola's original £60,000 budget was smashed, with the final figure tipping the calculator at £93,000. Added to the sale price, they've poured £222,000 into this development. With the downturn in the housing market, they'd now be happy to sell for £225-230,000, and the ambition is just to break even or scrape a modest profit.

A few weeks later, they're offered £230,000 for both properties. Choosing to take the money and run, Sean and Nicola have made a small £8,000 profit, and learned a lot about development along the way.