Channel 4 show to feature Oldham home bought at auction

Channel 4's BAFTA award-winning show, The Great House Giveaway, returns to screens this autumn which challenges two strangers to renovate a property bought from auction in a strict time frame of six months.

The pair are given a set budget and if the project is successful, both get to share the profits, or the house goes back to auction.

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In one episode, presenter Simon O'Brien gives Naomi Hanmer and Terry-Ann, who met just hours before the renovation, three houses to choose before they eventually put a bid on a 'two up two down' terraced property.

Ms Hanmer, who is a plasterer by trade, said when they picked the house, she had no clue where it was.

She continued: “It’s one of those places I’ve heard of, maybe driven through, but never been to.

"It was quite a nice area though, not too far from where I live in West Yorkshire.”

The plasterer described the renovation as "quite straightforward", adding that the surveyor's report helped her to identify what needed to be done. 

Naomi Hanmer has been inspired by the renovation to build her own home with her wife (Image: Together/Channel 4)

Ms Hanmer continued: “It was kind of standard work that was needed, no major horror stories.

"When I first saw the house I definitely had a vision straightaway.

"I knew it was going to be newly plastered obviously.

“Even though I was fairly confident in my skills, I had never done a project of this size before, and I hadn’t really dabbled in trades other than plastering.

“I still wanted to be very hands-on and wanted to do as much of the work myself as I could. 

"For example, I was plumbing in the bathroom myself and it was a case of going on YouTube and trying to figure out how to do it.”

A major part of the project involved renovating the roof which Ms Hanmer said was in really poor condition.

The home post-renovation (Image: Together/Channel 4)

But, in true DIY style, she paired up with her dad to tackle the massive job themselves.

She continued: "It’s interesting because you push yourself and then you do it and then you feel better and you can do it again.

"And it was just a great confidence builder.

"Every week, I was just gaining more and more confidence as I managed to tackle the issues.

“Since being on the show, I’ve taken on a couple of roofing jobs as well, some chimney stacks and things.”

Thanks to her time on the program, and having developed the skills she needs, Ms Hanmer and her wife now plan on building their dream home from the ground up.

Ms Hanmer continued: "Originally, my wife and I wanted to buy a house straight away and do it all again but now we've gone in a completely different direction.

"We want to buy some land up in the Scottish Highlands and create our own home up there."

As for the Royton home itself, the pair successfully transformed the house from a "run-down two up, two down", into a modern family home.

To provide finance advice to the house purchase, Cheadle-based auction finance specialist, Together, partnered with Channel 4 for the programme.

Together said buying homes at auction is becoming an increasingly popular way for people to find their forever homes having seen a 30 per cent increase in people purchasing their homes this way as an alternative to moving up the property ladder. 

If you have a story, I cover all things Oldham from food reviews and local business news to music and events, pubs, education, crime, property, health, community concerns and much more. Please email me at Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk or send me a message on Twitter @Livbridge with your news.