Hi Matt. A word of advice on your rental property portfolio. Try and standardise across all your properties ie use the same paint colour from the same manufacturer, same kitchens, door handles, light switches, sockets etc. Makes maintenance in future much easier. Trust me if you have different colours of paint from different manufacturers you will end up painting full rooms because you can’t remember what the paint was. If they’re all the same you can paint individual walls to freshen up when tenants change. Good luck.

Nothing wrong with those radiators, leave them alone.

Radiators can stay as the other comment suggested!! Nothing wrong with them, wash them get them painted if necessary, I also advise you to place a bath tub with a shower, not sure who has the time but apparently it's a selling point! The apartment could be sold to a young couple who eventually have a kid! Widen the scope of the potential buyers..

I love the style of these videos they’re great. The editing is so clean and the financial transparency is a rare and worthwhile addition. I also really appreciate that it’s very similar to High Peak Autos yet so distinctively a different Channel. Keep up the great work. Maybe a house tour of your own place sometime?

Replace the boiler by all means but I'd leave the radiators, I'd fit new thermostatic valves maybe return valves too and it's job done.

We need a 'house vertical' report to check for mot failures, outstanding finance, mileage discrepancies and previous accident damages etc. Got to check service history on these older examples too. Seriously though, this looks like a great project and will make a lovely home for someone. Can't wait to see it finished.

Nice one, before you put new floor covering down just check the copper rad pipes in the floor have been wrapped - concrete and copper don’t mix and I’ve had to hack through new floor coverings to fix leaks over the years, not what you want in a flat and especially when rented out.

Nice find Matt, Perfect bread and butter stock. But we do need to work on your negotiation skills. A couple of points if I may: 1) Wall down and breakfast bar - Agree, the small outlay will make a massive difference and really make the property look more modern. 2) Cupboard into a wardrobe in the 2nd bedroom - Agree, just what I would do too. 3) Bathroom - If this were a house 100% I would say keep the bath as that is always high on the list of wants for families. However, your target market is more likely to be single professionals or older/retired people so I think the shower and more space in the bathroom will appeal to them more. 4) whilst the box housing the extractor fan ducting is annoying, it's not really taking up any usable space, so the cost of ripping out and making good won't give you any return on your investment. Personally, I would leave it, re-route the fan via the loft if you wish, and maybe add two down lights recessed in the old box to be over the bed lights. If I can share a word of advice, you need to treat these properties more like your part exchange cars, you are always saying you could do X,Y,Z to improve the car but it's not worth investing your money past a certain point. Well, the same for property rentals. Things like media walls and moving the light in the hall won't add money to your rental. In fact, people may hate having a media wall as you are forcing them to use the room how you configure it. If you were flipping the place then I would agree with these things as you want the property to really stand out. I was the same when I started out, I used to gut the places entirely and start from the ground up. However, after a while, I realised a fresh coat of paint, new flooring and a kitchen and bathroom update make a property look and feel fully refurbished. Plus you can turn the properties round much faster and save thousands. I can honestly say all tenants want is a clean and tidy property they can call home. And if you want a lower turnover of tenants, offer the property unfurnished. But you are well on your way.

A lot of these jobs and ideas sound like the sort of thing you do to your own house, not necessarily to a rental property where it is all about return. Such as the bathroom extractor re-routing

I bought a very similiar flat from an elderly lady who had to move to a retirement home. I did a full a renovation myself other than the plastering and electrical testing. The main advice is to keep to budget and keep it simple. Don't think about what you like but just what does the job and looks nice. Avoid grey as that's out go for white and neutral colours. My flat is now rented. Good luck Matt. 👍

Those radiators look fine. There are no such things as 'inefficient' radiators, they can be slow or quick to heat a room, but our house has them and they work perfectly well.

For the pipework for the rads, you can buy skirting which has a rebate in the back of it for heating pipes. It is what I intend to do on the ground floor of my house as I also have solid concrete slab.

Dammit, beat us to it regarding keys and service history 😂. Lovin’ this content Matt 👍🏼

Just put new doors on the existing kitchen units.

Put an hvac system in, as the lounge is dining too. Worth every penny, place will always be fresh, wont need extractor over hob, wont need fan in bathroom, wont need fan in bedroom, very very little to run, they're silent, tenant pays running cost and your property is aired permanently. Go all electric too, unvented water cylinder and electric wall heaters, pipe problem is gone ! I'm amazing!

Great purchase Mat. Would be nice to see the property finished 👍👍

Evening matt saving this for 2 am drive to the airport will be covered. Keep em coming

The only carpet we have is on the stairs and the landings. Makes for easy cleaning too. 👍👍👍

Great presentation Matt. As always no nonsense and straight to the point. Love the way you way you have diversified into this new channel running in parallel to High Peak. I think you a role in one of those daytime TV property programs awaits you. Your a natural at this. Well done. x

I love Matt’s video I’ve always had an intrest in realestate my dad does property, catering and cars so I learn majority of my dad’s property advice of Mat. Inspirational🤟🏽

Thanks! Now I know the meaning of Cheap!

Loving the videos. It would be interesting to hear of your negotiations/ dealings with the freeholder and the management company with regard to all the works you are planning.

Another great episode. Having done this myself for developers I’d say, change the radiators for new double convector rads the same size as the existing. Solves the pipes issue. They’ll get hot quick and cost less to run. You could lose the radiator in the kitchen all together as cooking creates heat and the living room rad will be sufficient for both rooms. Good idea opening up the space between the living and kitchen to provide a space for some sort of seated dining. Personally I’d not fit an oven, just leave a space for a free standing oven so it’s the tenant’s responsibility, they get filthy anyway so saves cleaning. Electric shower is the way to go although I’d keep a bath, parents use then to bathe children. I was nearly going to suggest losing the gas altogether and having electric heaters in each room and small electric on demand water heaters for the hot water, it would negate a yearly boiler service and safety check. You decide on that one. There may well be a clause stating that hard floors are not allowed in the living room, landing and bedrooms, carpet usually has to be fitted to stop it being noisy for the downstairs occupant.

You should be on mainstream TV and start your own production company. The quality of your videos is excellent. Succinct, realistic, passionate, knowledgeable, honest and homely. Your car videos are brilliant, and this video adds another dimension to your work. Please keep it up and hopefully one day you'll be on TV! Although KZfaq is TV!

For the radiators you can get coloured pipes or sleeves so the pipes match the skirting boards.

I'd leave the rads exactly as they are. Can't see a reason to change them; just flush them.

Yes! Go with a large shower! Gives room for a decant sized vanity for storage too.

That looks a solid project and nice on the exterior too. This is going to sound weird, but, my parents house was built in the same year and the bathroom had exactly the same extractor fan which made exactly the same racket. It just brought back a memory, like these things do 😂. Good luck with the refurb.

Chrome copper/ stainless steel pipe work for the radiators can be a better look when pipe work is on show

Pumping the content out lad 👍

You forgot to mention that it needs a gearbox oil service and a good buff ;)

Have been waiting for this one Matt🙏🙏

Keep the kitchen wall you don't want cooking smell where you sleep. Also don't piss about with small useless vanity projects. A lick of white paint and a few nice kitchen cabinets go a long way especially if it's going to be a rental.

Very interesting twist in the program. I wonder if you may start with the property as you get it, messy run down and as it comes. That will show the contrast of the before and after, all you efforts and work done to turn it around into a smart living space. Cheers and keep it up!

Thanks so much this is a really helpful video to learn from. 😊

Chase the pipes into the wall matt. I'm a plasterer and I hate surfaced fixed pipes. I've skimmed round enough of them lol

Re the radiators they will be imperial sized but if you measure them you can get a new one around 50mm smaller and fit a drain tail on the valve and you won't need to alter pipe centres. Also keep them big and then you can get a low temp system that will do the job and also save on gas 👍

I always see this guy driving about the countryside in various different cars talking to himself.

Good purchase Mat

Really good channel - Thank you 👍👍

You're smashing it 👏🏻

Nice video matt. It would be nice to see what your properties look like after their refurbishments :)

I’d leave the rads as is and upgrade the bathroom rads and put most the money in kitchen and bathroom 🚽

Looks like a solid property, looking foward to seeing progress

First view of your property, very interesting look forward to the work 👍👍👍👍👍

Those old style gas fires didn't half belt out the heat, unlike the trendy modern ones!

The Old radiators, will Outlast any new cheap ones, just flush the system👍🤗

One thing I'll say with it being an old house, be careful of mold. If the house isn't insulated it could get really bad in the winter with water dripping down the walls and stuff. Btw the smell Ur smelling is probably must or a moldy smell

Looking forward to seeing the finished project

I know someone has said nothing wrong with rads, but I'd change them all for new ones. Get a longer, slimmer one to fill the gap between the pipes in the living room. The bedroom with the fitted wardrobes....change the door around so that it opens into the room. Will give better access to the new cupboards & privacy to the room. Doors never opened the way it does at the moment, so that when the door was open, you still couldn't see in the room. I wouldn't move the light on the landing, you'll end up with dark spots. I also wouldn't do the breakfast bar. I know it's fashionable, but noise & smells from the kitchen are really annoying when you've got over the "it's so modern" feeling (they stopped doing it in the 70's for the reasons given) It's amazing how loud a 3kw fast boil kettle is when you're watching a film 😁 Completely up to you obviously, but that's my take. PS, don't tile the bottom of the stairs, fill that space with entrance coir mat. Cheaper & will save the carpet oon the stairs .

Love your attitude and candidness about how you fund everything.

Got to admire the get up and go of this guy.

To everyone saying have a walk-in shower not a bath, that really wouldn't be possible. The SVP serving the bathroom is located on the left of the wall at the hall end. You can see the fall in the existing pipe from the bath where it runs behind the WHB. Sure, you could lift the whole thing and step up into a long, open-ended shower but that would look crap. An over-bath shower is definitely the way to go here for this and a few other reasons.

Leave the wall, spend the money now on a complete re wire, lots of plastering being done anyway, new boiler, keep the radiators. Cheap kitchen but decent taps and other hardware, sort out the bathroom and ventilation. Don’t tile floors - consider noise transfer.

Open plan looks good until you think about noise smells and steam and if you have no utility room you have the noise from the washing machine too.

I am sure you have already checked but you might need written permission to remove the kitchen wall and have the bathroom fan run through the loft space also you might find that you might have access to the loft space but it might not belong to you. The shower room seem a good idea. If your having a new central heating boiler it would make sence to have the old radiator pipe work replaced considering its been in from the get go. It might be worth looking into having cat 6 put through the property. If you make this property a very high spec consider the rental income. I am certain you will have looked into this already good look.

1) leave the rads the same size as the pipe work will look naff. 2) washing machine needs plumbing so you won’t be able to put a fridge freezer where you suggested. 3) 500 cupboards is a great idea to ‘find’ free space - don’t go bigger. Best of luck!

It's different here in Scotland, once you own it it's yours, there's no lease but it's called "feudal" unless you don't pay a debt secured on your property it's yours completely

Matt, top of the stairs. Take the small wall down and install open stainless steel or chrome horizontal railing - throws a lot of light down the staircase.

Matt, I have managed a block of 30 flats for 22 years. Check the terms of the lease if you intend knocking down walls, or drilling into a reinforced concrete floor, or doing things in what is likely to be a communal roof. You own the lease, but the Freeholder/Landlord owns the fabric of the building and will likely need to be consulted for written consent if you are going to make certain alterations. You may need a Licence to Alter, or you may not, but you need to contact the Freeholder, whatever, so that they are made fully aware of what you intend doing. for example, at present, if there is a fire in the kitchen, the kitchen door can be closed to contain it. If you knock the partition wall down to create a kitchen diner/living room, fire safety could be compromised. This is less of an issue in a private house where you own everything, but this flat has another lessee living below on the ground floor and the lease is there to protect everyone's interests who are a party to it. It is a legal document that each lessee and the Freeholder/Landlord sign up to and your signature assumes you have read, understood and agreed to all of the terms. Your solicitor should have gone through the lease with you before you signed.

Interesting video, looking forward to the next update. Subbed 👍

Just paint the walls magnolia all the way through and leave the next owners to decorate it to their own taste , its inoffensive and neutral and if you rent it the walls will be knocked and marked and it will only need touching up to keep it fresh .

I would put a combi boiler where the immersion tank is, and so free up the space in the kitchen. That allows you to make a much better use of kitchen space and getting looking really nice. The space around the new combi boiler can be carefully shelved (so nothing can touch the boiler) and so be a good airing cupboard.

Easy resto this one, open the kitchen out to the Lounge, clean decor and flooring and job jobbed! Plenty of space for various ideas. Maybe leave those big old rads unless they’re in the way of something, admire your enthusiasm but keep it cheap and effective 👍🏻

Yes the boiler is original, obviously replace. With the kitchen don't jump to 600ml units

Nice little project you've got there Matt. Despite the property market and interest rates changes you're onto a winner here. Good luck with that 👍

get a paper scratcher it will help your steamer strip a lot easier

I can beat your 11 months - I bought an investment flat last year and it took 15 months. At times it really seemed like the vendor didn't want to sell. However like you I knew it was a good price so I persevered and I'm now glad I did. That flat has a short lease but it's nothing really to worry about as long as you're aware from the start.

I agree with rob in the comments ..do not change the radiators ..the ones in are and will be better quality steel than new ones you can buy...just do a power flush...I've done exactly that with older rads in my house ..and they work perfectly...save your hard earnt cash matt

A good purchase

Fair play for having a go Matt, I myself (chippy) owned 2 houses(outright) by 38 yrs old and stopped, biggest mistake I made was stop driving forward by buying bigger and better. 26 yrs later in the doldrums

Loving the new channel, really enjoyed this one, cant wait to see it all done.

Awesome video

You are in the right sector of the market. Get rid of the bath and do the walk-in shower. I would be inclined to insulate the roof space while the extractor tube is put in. It will enhance the rental blurb. Wood chip - the decor equivalent of your favourite Nissan SUV. Typical 70s cheapjack papering. Check the lease to see if the maintenance charge is subject to an increase - and, if so, when. Sound investment.

very professional i like your taste and the overall vibe of the editing. The transitions are excellent aswell. Nice work man, dont forget to update us its been 3 weeks

I would agree with others…… just flush the heating system and recharge making sure the fluid has inhibitor in it. Nothing wrong with that radiator unless you know it is damaged or corroded.

I’m sure that grey jag was outside your last property video 👀

When you raise the staircase wall, put a glass pane in to raise the height and make it safe while not making the space feel smaller

Agree with others, a radiator is a radiator if it works don't spend money, but TRV is worth installing. It's easy to get carried away and pursue your own tastes when the market doesn't demand it. Seems ideal for young professionals. Open plan living seems to be the current fashion, if you make it a tasteful lounge/diner at reasonable cost then go for it. Check with the management company about structural changes, also check about access to the loft, it may not be your responsibility. I would put the consumer unit up high, they are not unsightly. Might be worth thinking about EV charging. At some point it will be required, maybe some years off for rentals. White suite is essential bath with a shower gives more versatility for future tenants/owners. At the end of the day it's all about return on investment, don't get carried away. Good luck.

Reminds me of my childhood in England, looks just like a small town that I think was called Tring.

I'm looking to buy a flat like this next year. I really like this flat: lowish service charge and I like that it has it's own front door and stairs rather than a communal stairwell. One thing I would reconsider is replacing the bath with a shower only. I would install a new bath with shower over. I do enjoy a bubble bath once a week in addition to showers at other times! Also, think about the potential buyers. They might have young children and I understand that it's easier to bathe them them subject them to a shower.

Depending on where you measured Your kitchen units , they should be around 570mm deep including void at the back .15mm/18mm for the doors and Worktops are generally 600mm or 616mm depending on where you buy them .

Good sized rooms, especially the kitchen. You need to check whether the gas fire has a flu, and establish which direction the rooms face. If the sitting-room faces north, it might explain the long radiator. A lot of flats dispense with the bath and fit a shower, to make room for a washing machine, and the extractor will vent the steam. You might want to find out whether the kitchen wall is load-bearing before you think of removing it. The flat looks to have plenty of potential as the brochures tend to say.

Iam an avid watcher of your high peak car videos and only second time watching your property chanel I wish you every success with your projects matt and as my dad used to say God loves a tryer keep the videos coming matt really enjoyed it and all the best 👍

Hard flooring may be noisy, particularly for the neighbour below.

Can you consider making a complete beginners guide on property covering everything on what exactly you do and how you do it and laws to follow.

As a person who lives in a building with wood flooring on top of concrete (carpet top layer) it’s bloody freezing 24/7. Concrete sucks away any heat you have. My advice would be to rip everything up. Put down reflective flooring down and put at least 2” of Kingspan down then wood flooring/tiling on top. Helps you sell it as you can claim top notch insulation underneath flooring. With the heaters, have electric installed. Far more efficient in the long run as the electric goes into heating 99% and a lot easier to install than water heaters.

Obviously you know what you are doing. Just one caveat and that is something you touched on; the cost of borrowing and of course cashflow. Good luck and keep us all updated.

Radiators are fine but if you must replace them get same width in the living room just less hight it will match the window width better , also the bathroom wont need a bath in an upstairs flat just go with a nice large shower nobody has time to run baths these days anyway.

Loving this off shoot of the car videos. You come across as a normal bloke just wanting to do well. Can't wait to see the finished result.

We've hidden the pipes behind the skirting boards. You can channel out yourself or buy them of the shelf with channel in them.

if its a two bedroom stick with a bath shower combined the rad in the living room to make up for the loss of the heater shouldve left the wood chip and painted over it a night mare to strip

Fantastic mat love this property channel.subscriber from high peak auto.

I’m sure you’re on it Matt but make sure you get a Structural Engineer to do the relevant calculations if you’re removing a load bearing wall. It will cause you issues when you come to sell it if you don’t , as I found out a few years back !!! Great video as always .

Wow didn't know about property you started too good luck and I will check every video

MDF radiator cover might be an idea for covering the living room radiator a scan of Google might be in order 🤔

Unless there is something wrong with the gas heater, why replace it? You can add a tv installation kit above it, and a renter can add a tv above it, with wires leading down to their own furniture for the game unit/dvd player, etc.

Hi Matt, Just to let you know the 500mm deep kitchen units are standard but by no means as popular as 600mm ones. They’re often used as in your flat when floor space is a consideration. The bit of extra floor space may be worth more than the extra 100mm of cabinet storage room. Good luck. Oh and one other thing there’s a young lad like you flogging cars. He has a KZfaq channel with a similar format to yours in fact it’s the same name. You should look into it.

Could use a radiator cover for the living room, would hide the pipes

Matt You deserve a TV show where u flip everything from cars to houses 😂😂 Cheers tho for the vid!!