1 week Ago By Dominique Hines
Homes Under the Hammer stars had their lives "ruined" after an experience left a couple one the show devastated. The pair bought one of Wales' cheapest homes 11 years ago. The one bedroom, no indoor bathroom home was up for auction in 2014 for £8,000.
It featured on the show at the time and the couple, Graham and Lima, bagged it for £14, 500. Presenter Martin Roberts was pleased with the initial price but when he visited the tiny property in the Blaenau Gwent village he swiftly understood why it was so cheap. The main room had been in ruin, there was no indoor bathroom and the stairs up to the first floor were rickety and unstable.
"It's down this little path but the word little takes on a whole new meaning when it comes to the property itself, a one-bedroom cottage," said the presenter. "The guide price is just £8,000." "Really, what you've got is this one room, upstairs I think I'll avoid because those stairs look really, really dodgy," he added, before looking for the bathroom, which was outside at the back.
He commented: "This actually, believe it or not, is the only toilet and bathroom facility on the property." He told the pair that the bathroom would have to be indoors, but that could really only be accomplished with an extension, for which the owners would have to get permission from neighbouring owners on both sides of the property. Lima said her husband, a cobbler and key cutter, liked a challenge and whimsical properties and Graham said he would rebuild the house with just a £25,000 budget, with much of the work being done by the pair.
Lima said: "On the last property I found out that I can paint, clear rubbish, make cups of tea, so I'll do what I can." And Graham added: "In my younger days I did everything bar the essential trades, gas, electricity, plumbing, so I can plaster, put the timbers in, floorboards, site manage." Asked by Martin how long he thought the revamp would take, Graham said: "Would you say six months would be reasonable?" The show revisited the pair three years later, in 2017, and the place was demolished with an extension added to the front and rear, with an added room inside for the bathroom.
But the costs had mounted as an archaeological survey had to be carried out on the property which uncovered a fireplace in the living area - this meant they had to abide by the party-wall act, employing party-wall surveyors. Graham and Lima also were set to use structurally insulated panels for the rebuild and contracted a firm for the work, only for the firm to then go into administration, losing the pair £23,000. They ended up using the traditional cavity wall construction, but it all made them way over budget.
"We've probably nearly trebled it," said Graham. The following year, the show returned to find a complete transformation of the property with a smart new kitchen, an indoor bathroom upstairs and a sturdy new staircase. The property had quite the transformation but kept its original stone walls and fireplace and some exposed beams.
"From the very beginning it was Graham's baby, he's finished it to his own vision," said Lima. "Overall, I think we spent around £90,000, possibly a bit more." That price includes the initial purchase of the property at auction.
But after going hugely over budget on the Brynmawr cottage, local estate agents valued the property for sale at around £55,000 - £60,000 - meaning a big loss if they put it up for sale. They estimated rental on the house as £350-£380 pcm. Martin is said to have felt devastated for the pair who said their property portfolio dreams were "ruined" by the nightmare experience.
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