Rotting Accrington home gets TV show makeover

The small house in Cross Street, Accrington, went to auction with a guide price of just £10,000 – but was bought by a young developer for £37,000, almost four times the original amount.

However his costs didn’t end there, as he explained on BBC One's Homes Under the Hammer that he had to pay a further £6,000 in legal fees following the auction, and that was before a penny had been spent on renovating the house.

Damp on the walls of the property before it was renovated 

Ahmed, who bought the house, estimated it would take him just six weeks to transform the property riddled with damp into a state fit for renting, but viewers soon found out that 10 months later, work still hadn’t been completed.

While the living room and bedrooms had been lightly transformed with some plastering and new carpets, and the bathroom moved from one side of the house to the other, work still needed to be finished on the kitchen.  

The living room after renovation

In total Ahmed and his father, who was helping with the project, spent £58,000 on the house – and were left unhappy when an estate agent valued the home at just £60,000.

Paul Sutton, from the Accrington-based Property Shop, went on to say the home could be marketed at around £70,000 once all the work was finished – a figure the pair were still unsure about.

The were also unhappy about the estimated rental price of £400 per calendar month – with Ahmed’s dad saying he was expecting something more along the lines of £475 to £500pcm.

Located in the heart of Accrington town centre, the house is right next door to a car garage, but there is also a number of pubs, shops and takeaways nearby.

Ahmed outside of his property, which he plans to rent

Paul Sutton, Sales Director at the company, said: “It was an unusual experience going on TV.

"I've never done it before, but I really enjoyed it and it has been great watching it back, albeit a bit surreal.

"If you're looking to do a property up, I would involve Property Shop right from the outset before you purchase the house.

"What we are happy to do is to give you advice and make sure you're purchasing the right property with the right value.

Paul Sutton, from Accrington's Property Shop

"What you don't want to be doing is buying a property that won't necessarily make any money once you've finished the refurb. Get us involved as early as possible and we'll help you and advise you on making the right choice.

"We can advise on the renovation of the property in terms of the types of bathrooms and kitchens etc, help you with the finishing touches in terms of what carpets and flooring to put in etc and also help you in terms of the numbers and what we think it is actually going to cost to do the refurbishment."

If you missed the episode of Homes Under The Hammer featuring Paul and Ahmed, which aired on June 14, you can catch it now on BBC iPlayer.