Homes Under The Hammer viewers gutted as man has to sell dream home

Homes Under The Hammer viewers have been left heartbroken after a first-time property developer transformed a piece of overgrown land into his dream home, but had to sell it rather than move in due to rising costs taking the project over budget. After purchasing a plot of around 300 square metres at auction, Mohammad was quick to jump into action and get building.

The grassland near Nottingham had a guide price of £55,000, and he purchased the plot for slightly more than this at £60,000 during the auction in February 2022. BBC presenter Tommy Walsh soon visited the site, which is only around two-and-a-half miles from the city centre.

After entering the plot, Tommy said: "Obviously, someone's fenced a piece of their garden off and created this, this garden plot if you like. At the moment, its just overrun with weeds and trees that need pruning back."

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He described the plot as being "more than adequate" to build on, but that it needed "a fair bit of work." However, what made this plot special was that it already had outline planning permission.

Mohammed, who lives locally with his wife Manija, had always dreamed of going into property, but Tommy explained he had "jumped straight in the deep end" for his first project. Whilst the outline permission was for a three-bedroom house with a garage, Mohammed changed the plans to include an extension to the rear and remove the garage.

He said: "I've always had it in mind to turn the three-bedroom into a five-bedroom. I want to take it easy, put the three bedrooms plus the extension in first, if they approve it, then I might put another application in for a five-bedroom."

Tommy questioned: "Where would you put the extra two bedrooms, in the roof? To which Mohammed replied: "In the loft yeah, with the dormers at the rear."

Viewers were left nervous as Mohammed explained he had no experience in building or renovations, but enjoyed challenges and wanted to challenge himself by taking on this project. He had an initial budget of £180,000 and hoped to have it built in seven to eight months.

A year later, Tommy returned to the site, where "great progress" had been made thanks to Omar, who was the builder. Permission had been granted for the additional two bedrooms and a bathroom in the roof space, and Mohammed and his wife decided they would be moving into the property as their dream home.

At this point, Mohammed was £20,000 over budget, but hoped it would all be finished in 12 weeks. It was 18 months after the first visit that Tommy returned to see the finished house, which has a massive hallway, super-sized lounge, downstairs shower room, modern kitchen and utility room all on the ground floor.

The first floor had a family bathroom and three bedrooms, whereas the top floor was another two bedrooms and a bathroom. There is also a rear garden, patio area, lawn and space for three cars to be parked off the road.

Mohammed said: "I've now spent £280,000. The reason for the increase is due to material prices going up by 30 per cent.

"I didn't know this at the time, but I had to borrow from friends and family to complete the project." The pair were going to move in, but decided they now needed to sell due to all the money invested in the house.

He added: "Now that I've spent well over the anticipated price and had to borrow money from friends and family, now i've decided to sell it, just to get my money back and pay off the people that I owe money too." Including the original purchase price of the lot, Mohammed had invested £340,000 on his dream.

In November 2023, an estate agent valued the property at about £350,000 but unimpressed with this, Mohammed invited other estate agents who gave him valuations ranging from £475,000 to £535,000.

Tommy described the transformation by Mohammed and his builder Omar as a "tremendous effort." The stunning home is currently listed with Springbok Properties for offers over £460,000.

The Homes Under The Hammer episode, which aired on BBC1 today (Tuesday, April 30), is now available to view on BBC iPlayer.