'I treat myself to kebabs thanks to my knack for spotting empty homes in Portsmouth and Hampshire - I've made £1,700 so far'

A double-glazing salesman has scoffed hundreds of kebabs thanks to his £1,700 side-hustle spotting empty homes.

Toby Yarrow, 46, from Portsmouth, goes door-to-door selling new windows around Hampshire. But while scouring the streets for the homes of potential new customers, the German-born businessman has his eyes peeled for a very different type of property.

Toby is constantly on the lookout for empty homes, knowing each successful spot will earn him £20 – covering his weekly doner with chilli sauce from his local Copnor Grill kebab house in Tangier Road.

If he identifies a property, he takes a snap on his phone and fires it over with the address to Empty Property Hunters – a London-based firm buying up vacant homes to return to use.

If Empty Property Hunters confirm the property is genuinely empty, they pay £20. If they go on to buy it, Toby stands to receive one per cent of the purchase price.

There are more than 1m empty residential properties in England, some 265,000 of which have been vacant for more than six months, according to Empty Property Hunters.

Britain is in the midst of a severe housing shortage, and the firm is on a mission is to find homes for thousands of families.

A dead pigeon was the first clue that led to Toby getting his first Empty Property Hunters pay day.

He said: “I can spot a vacant house within seconds. And that pigeon was no exception - it led me to an abandoned home. So that poor bird made easy money for me.

“I just saw it as £20 lying on the ground waiting to be collected, you wouldn’t walk over one of them would you.”

Toby, who has been a hunter for around two years, has earned roughly £1,740 so far - enough to cover his weekly kebabs.

He said: “I love a kebab. You can never have too many of them, and every £20 I earn goes towards kebabs and takeaways. It’s fantastic.”

It’s not just the money that motivates Toby, he also loves the idea of turning a derelict house into a home for a family.

Toby said: “It’s great knowing that a house I spot could get repurposed, and a family could have a roof over their heads one day. It’s win-win as far as I’m concerned.”

He added: “It's just purely a numbers game if you do enough hours and you do enough doors, probability will be on your side, and you will find an empty home."

Last month The News reported on a Fareham home which had been empty for 60 years. The house, in Scafell Avenue, was bought by the owners of the next-door house but was never used. Now it is falling into disrepair.

In a bid to spur more people to sign-up to become hunters, Toby has outlined his top tips for spotting vacant homes.

Toby’s tips for finding empty homes

Look for physical signs when door-knocking

Cobwebs sealing the front door, built-up mail, mouldy or disintegrating curtains, bins with cobwebs between them (this suggests they haven't been moved), weeds on driveways and gates that have not been trampled down are all excellent indicators of an empty home

Knock and ask neighbours

You can simply ask them whether anyone lives next door - an easy win

Post on Facebook

You can ask your community to report derelict or nuisance properties, this way you can generate addresses and road names from local intel

Search via Google

Putting in "abandoned house complaints" will help you find streets mentioned in complaints, then you can cross-reference on Google Maps or Street View

Check Google Earth

Here you can scan for overgrown or unusual-looking properties from satellite view

Document with video evidence

I regularly send narrated walkthroughs sent to Simon, it works a treat

How to report a property

• Take a clear photo of the property.
• Submit the address and upload your picture to Empty Property Hunters.
• The EPH team will investigate and keep you updated if your lead progresses.
• For more information on how to report a property visit Empty Property Hunters

How to spot an empty home

Signs a property may be empty include:

• Overgrown gardens
• Boarded-up windows
• Build-up of post behind doors/windows
• No lights or activity for long periods
• Neglected appearance
• Neighbours saying nobody has lived there for years