BBC Homes Under The Hammer Martel Maxwell's stern warning to buyer over crumbling home

Homes Under the Hammer: The team look at barn in Chatham

BBC star Martell Maxwell headed to the desirable town of Chatham, Kent with Homes Under The Hammer when she was met with an “unusual” barn. The 47-year-old was left speechless when she witnessed the crumbling exterior and shell of the structure telling the new owner he "must" double his planned timescale.

The one-bedroom maisonette was in a perfect location and was situated a short walk away from the train station – meaning London commuters could get into the city in just under an hour. Property experts shared it would have a great rental yield once renovated.

While it boasted planning permission with the ability to extend outwards and upwards to create a larger living space. It had a guide price of £50,000 but sold at auction for £82,000.

Before entering the home, Martel discussed its curb side appeal: “It is a bit different and unusual for an area like this. It does not look like a charming agricultural exterior.

Claiming that she “was not expecting” what she laid her eyes on. Sam, a recent graduate of architecture managed to get his hands on the home and had huge plans including incorporating sustainable materials and technology into the refurb.

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Homes Under the Hammer’s Martel Maxwell issues warning after uncovering problematic property (Image: BBC)

Sam explained that he had trained for over ten years to become an architect and was passionate about eco-friendly homes.

His priority was to create a humble abode that used “zero fossil fuels” and “renewable energy” as this would not only help the environment but slash living costs.

It took him “2 to 3 months” to find the property sharing that he was immediately sold as soon as he came across it in the brochure and was determined to outbid everyone.

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He confessed that it had “a lot of character” and was the perfect unit to kick-start his portfolio.

However, he planned to gut the property and extend it within 6 months, which left Martel speechless, the expert warned him to at least consider doubling the time frame.

However, three years later the team returned and the abode was still a construction site.

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Crumbling "unique" Barn Style property in Kent (Image: BBC) window.topArticlesScript="https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/js/dist/article-top-articles20240813.min.js"

Sam explained that he decided to create a larger extension to allow 2 bedrooms and a much wider downstairs living area.

After ploughing nearly £70,000 into the build and having a long way to go he reckoned that overall, the total would amass to an eye-watering £350,000 – including the property purchase.

Although he did not appear bothered as he said it was a “great investment” that he planned to keep and potentially do short-term lets.

Homes Under the Hammer continues tomorrow at the earlier time of 11am on BBC One and Iplayer.

BBC Homes Under The Hammer Martel Maxwell's stern warning to buyer over crumbling home

BBC Homes Under The Hammer Martel Maxwell's stern warning to buyer over crumbling home

BBC Homes Under The Hammer Martel Maxwell's stern warning to buyer over crumbling home

BBC Homes Under The Hammer Martel Maxwell's stern warning to buyer over crumbling home

BBC Homes Under The Hammer Martel Maxwell's stern warning to buyer over crumbling home