Martin Roberts reveals cheapest ever Homes Under the Hammer makeover cost just £20 – and buyer had the last laugh
HOMES Under The Hammer’s Martin Roberts has revealed that one lucky property owner managed to complete a home makeover with just £20.
Whilst many of the guests featured on the show often spend in the tens of thousands to give a house a new and updated feel, one bargain-hunter named Kieran in Belfast managed to splash a very little amount and also achieve his renovation in just 25 minutes.
Revealing one of the most impressive behind-the-scenes secrets from the BBC property series, Martin told the MailOnline that it came as a result of a property crisis in Northern Ireland in 2007 and 2008.
The buyer in question managed to snap up a plush two-bedroom flat in a desired estate in Ulster, near Belfast at auction.
Detailing the renovations, Martin said: “Northern Ireland had a bit of a property crisis, like less than the UK did in 2007, 2008.
“And it wasn’t too long after that. This guy bought a very relatively new flat and it was in a pretty great condition.”
It caused Martin to scratch his head as he pondered just exactly what needed to be done in order to successfully improve a potentially perfect property.
Kieran then went on to make a surprising admission that only one thing was missing.
Martin recalled: “So we said, ‘well, what are you going to do? I don’t think there’s much that needs to be done.
“He said ‘I think the only thing I need is a toilet seat.’
“So I said, ‘what’s your budget?’ He said, ‘well, I don’t know, £19.99’.
“I’m like, ‘OK, so how long is it gonna take’?
“He said, ‘oh, I don’t know, about 25 minutes’. So we left him for a week.
“We went back a week later. And sure enough, the one thing that he’d done was fit a new toilet seat.
“So his budget was £19.99 and it did take him 20 minutes.”
In another win for Kieran, he even managed to secure the property for a real steal after similar flats in the area were priced at a much higher price-point.
Set in a quiet community, Kieran bagged the premises for £62,000 – a major coup considering similar properties were priced between £75,000 and £80,000.