In the summer of 2023, Auction House South West listed an extended semi-detached bungalow located in the popular residential area of Laira, on the outskirts of Plymouth city centre. The property had received some partial renovation work prior to being offered, but this had stopped abruptly, leaving plenty of scope to add value for a new buyer.
Experienced local property developer, Ryan Lakey, was searching for his next project when he saw the opportunities the property had to offer and decided to register for the auction, hoping that there may be less competition in the auction room than over the open market. Although the July auction was a busy one, Ryan felt he lucked out when he placed his one and only bid, securing the property at £155,000. “The bidding started lower than the guide price and after a few bids back and forth between other buyers, I placed a bid just over the guide, the hammer went down, and I won the property. I felt very lucky there and it just goes to show you never know what the other buyers' maximum might be!”.
This wasn’t Ryan’s first auction purchase, so how did the process compare to previous auctions? “It was really straightforward and simple, the team were easy to deal with, everything is made clear before the auction starts, and the terms and conditions are easy to follow too.”
So, what were Ryan’s plans with the property? “I had two plans for the property prior to winning the lot; one was a simplistic refurbishment on the ground floor level only. The second was to go one step further and carry out the landscaping externally and convert the basement into a usable space as well, which is what we inevitably decided to do.” The basement had restricted head height which would limit its uses, so to convert this would be a real bonus for the property and attract a much wider audience when coming to resell.
Gone are the artex ceiling and dated fireplace, and in its place a sleek and modern living area.
And the biggest hurdle of the project? Did you come across anything you didn’t expect? Ryan says, “The biggest learning experience from the project had to be the basement conversion. It's something I hadn’t taken on previously, and the level of work involved was much more intrusive than I originally thought. We also found out we would need to extend the foundations of the property to complete this which added a lot more complexity as well as time to the overall project. This also required structural calculations from a surveyor to complete the work. It’s certainly taught me to look more thoroughly at my plans before completing another one”.
The tired and cramped kitchen has been replaced with a stylish and open planned kitchen/dining area, perfect for hosting.
Although Ryan estimated around a 10-week turnaround time using his trusted build team, due to the extra complexities of the basement, the overall build ended up taking around 15 weeks. After a complete overhaul of the property, he has now created a breathtaking modern bungalow with a high specification finish, landscaped gardens with decked areas, as well as a versatile space on the lower ground floor suitable for a home office or possibly an additional bedroom as it has the added benefit of an en-suite shower room.
The property now benefits from two bathroom suites, thanks to the well-planned renovation.
So, what were the costs? Ryan originally estimated around £40,000 - £50,000 – did he stick to it? “No, not at all! We blew the budget and ended up spending around £74,000 on the overall project”.
The landscaped and decked garden area is now an ideal space for a family.
And what is your onward plan? Have you had the property valued? The plan was to always resell the property once the works had been completed, and we are already working on our next conversion but hoping to buy another couple more properties this year. The bungalow has since been valued by multiple agents at offers over £280,000 and is now on the open market for sale.
What would you recommend to anyone looking to buy a property at auction to renovate and sell on, i.e., flip? “I would recommend doing your calculations beforehand, knowing your strategy, and don’t get yourself in a bidding war! If it doesn’t work for you, be prepared to walk away as the more you go over your budget – the more it eats into your profit margin! With all that in mind, the auction is still a great way to purchase the property as the process is a lot more straightforward and it removes the uncertainty that you have with a conventional purchase”.
