Craig and Lucy Taylor Britain's Empty Homes


Craig and Lucy Taylor

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Across the UK, there are nearly a million homes lying

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unloved and unlived in waiting for someone to come along

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and give them a bright new future.

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So whether it is a tired semi or a rambling mansion,

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we are on a mission to rescue Britain's empty homes.

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If you have ever wondered why some properties

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sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds,

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while others in the same street lie empty, this is the show for you.

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We are revealing what is behind the boarded up

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windows of Britain's abandoned properties and discovering how they

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can be turned into dream homes by those brave enough to take them on.

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Today, I will use my experience of renovating an abandoned building

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to help a couple decide what to do with the tricky house

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they have just bought...

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Clearly in need of a bit of attention!

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..and introducing them

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to experienced renovators who can pass on valuable advice.

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It makes you happy to be in a light house.

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We will also be on the beat with an empty property officer investigating

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houses in need of help.

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I can see from the cobwebs here,

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doesn't look like this door has been entered in a while.

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Buying an empty property and renovating it,

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isn't just a good opportunity to flex your creative muscles,

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it's also a fantastic way to get on the property ladder

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in a desirable location and at a price you can afford.

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Craig Taylor who owns a window cleaning business

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and his wife, Lucy, a cafe manager,

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had been looking for a dream home where

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they could start a family for three years.

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We were quite open-minded about what we wanted.

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We didn't mind if it was a new build, old build, bit of land.

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Finding a bit of land was really good, but it was hard to find.

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Despite a healthy £700,000 budget, sky-high prices in the

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Oxfordshire villages where they're searching meant they struggled to find the right place.

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With the news that Lucy was pregnant, they've taken the plunge

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and are just about to complete on the purchase of a bungalow that's been empty for eight months.

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It will be nice to have a big garden with the baby on the way.

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We are limited on space here.

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We are on a big housing estate.

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It will be nice to walk out into fields,

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take the dog and the baby and just have some space.

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'With little experience in building work,

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'I hope I can reassure them about their plans for their new home.'

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This is quite a number!

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'The bungalow they are buying is in the village of Harwell in Oxfordshire.

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'It has access to both the front and rear which could be handy

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'because it looks like there is a lot to do here.'

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It is in need of a bit of attention.

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Is that what it said on the agent's particulars?!

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-Unique fixer-upper was missed out!

-Unique fixer-upper!

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-It is obvious that everything needs to be sorted out.

-Yeah.

-Right.

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You can do my job. Give me the house tour.

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'Craig and Lucy have snapped up this two-bedroom project for £190,000

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'and it is in need of a complete overhaul.'

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Challenging is the word I would use to be fair!

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-This is as bad as it gets.

-Yeah.

-OK.

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-What is this going to be?

-This is our lovely living room.

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Yeah. It is your classic post-First World War prefab bungalow.

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These are all timber on a bit of brick, presumably?

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How long have you had to think about this one?

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-When did you get the keys?

-There aren't any keys!

-We only completed today.

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-Welcome to our new home.

-I feel I should congratulate you.

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Thank you very much!

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I am also feeling the nervousness about this one.

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-What do you reckon? You are about to have a new baby.

-I'm a bit nervous.

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We are quite lucky in that we can stay in our home as we are

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whilst we are doing this.

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-You can get on with this.

-There will be no caravan.

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We can stay put and Lucy can enjoy motherhood

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and she can see the progress.

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This is big stuff

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if you have never taken on anything this big before.

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-Yes.

-It will be fun! You've got to have some fun!

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You've got to have a challenge.

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-That's your kitchen.

-Kitchen-diner.

-And the bathroom!

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'This certainly is a challenge and outside things aren't much better.'

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-That used to be an old stable.

-He had horses.

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Behind there is Del Boy's car!

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THEY LAUGH

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What are you going to do with this place?

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I think to be honest, demolition.

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-Demolition. Knock it down and start again.

-Yeah.

-Completely.

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'Now, I would rather see a building saved rather than demolished.

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'But while Lucy and Craig could salvage some of the structure,

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'I think on this occasion, they are doing the right thing.'

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It's hard to see really how you would save any of that,

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or why you would bother.

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-Yeah.

-Got any plans?

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Yes. It will be four-bed with a study and...

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-Large kitchen-diner and living room.

-That's Lucy's bit.

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You have got what you want, the large kitchen-diner,

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-you have a study.

-Yes. You get what you want. You have to have a go.

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'But the old bungalow will live on in some form as Craig and Lucy plan

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'to copy the original lay-out making additions where planning will allow.'

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My concern is that you have never taken on anything this big before.

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I think if we get you to have a look at a couple of renovations,

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one of which is in progress

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so you get the sense of what the building is all about,

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and one which is finished to give you some design ideas,

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hopefully you can take lessons from those and employ them in managing this project.

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It is a great idea. I love your excitement for it.

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-It is brilliant.

-Let's get digging!

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For somebody like me who is passionate about renovation,

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seeing a building like this one decay to such

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an extent that it is unsalvageable is heartbreaking.

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The lessons involved in any successful renovation

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underpin any successful new build, exactly the sort of project

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that Craig and Lucy are going to take on here.

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There is a lot to learn and they will have to learn in a hurry.

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No-one knows better how tough it can be than Irena Murray,

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who took on this former dilapidated barn conversion in Nottinghamshire.

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Like the place Craig and Lucy have bought,

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this was far from a dream home when Irena paid £226,000 for it in 2007.

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I could just see the huge potential of it.

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Although it was a cart shed that had been badly converted in the '80s,

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it looked like a boring bungalow.

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The fact that it had been previously converted from a barn

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there wouldn't be a planning issue, so it was fantastic.

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To try and get this transition between indoor

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and outdoor space, there are several things you can incorporate -

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the folding sliding doors which can really open up the space.

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Try to have that all on one level so it is a seamless transition.

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Trying to take the materials through from outside to inside.

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I have used porcelain tiles here and they're carried through and then I've used cedar decking.

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Cedar features on the fascia of the building as well.

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So trying to continue those materials to get that

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continuity is important.

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Using lots of greenery as well in the outdoor space.

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Greenery is nature's colour. It is restful, peaceful.

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Irena set out on a renovation costing £195,000

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and has created a truly bespoke home which was made possible

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because she had the vision to take on a challenge.

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The merits of the building are that it's not a huge footprint,

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but it appears much bigger than that in terms of the volume

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of each of the rooms because I have taken it right up to the ridge.

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But also I love the quality of the light.

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The bedrooms are all east-facing so they're getting the right quality of light.

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The joy of it really is in the flow of the spaces.

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I certainly don't feel as though it is a retirement bungalow.

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I'm not old enough for that, not just yet!

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House-hunters aren't the only people taking

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an interest in abandoned homes.

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Local councils employ empty property officers who try to get

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derelict buildings back into use again.

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One such officer based in Amber Valley in Derbyshire is Sue Li.

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She is charged with managing the council's 900 long-term empty properties.

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In the last year, she has found new owners for more than 100 vacant buildings.

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It's great when you see a property that's been looking unloved

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and you are able to help make it somebody's family home.

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Today, Sue is on a new investigation.

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I'm going to have a look at a property where neighbours

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have complained that it's potentially empty.

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It's starting to look quite overgrown, there may well be vermin,

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so I'm going to have a look and see if their complaints

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are justified and see if there is anything I can do to help.

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The neighbours of this house believe it has not been

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lived in for three years

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and feel its rundown appearance has a negative impact on their street.

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Oh gosh, this wall is bulging quite a bit!

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Sue needs to establish if anyone is living at the address.

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I have a knock. Make sure there is no answer.

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No. Post has been cleared to the side.

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I can see from the cobwebs here doesn't look like this door

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has been entered in a while.

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It doesn't look like a normal maintained garden.

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The guttering is quite overgrown.

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These are quite typical issues associated with empty properties.

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Lack of maintenance basically. It starts to look unsightly.

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The local residents become quite dissatisfied with it.

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It is an eyesore.

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It lowers the tone of the whole road.

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It is a shame because it's a very nice house.

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To get a proper picture of the place,

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Sue needs to take a closer look at the rear.

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Fence panel is missing. Overgrown.

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A rotting shed. Lots of vegetation.

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Plenty of hiding places for vermin.

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Looking at the state of this, I don't think anybody could

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have got to the house from this entrance as well.

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So I am pretty confident this isn't a property that somebody lives in.

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She will now get in touch with the owner to ask them

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to improve the appearance of the house.

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If they don't do that, then there's a few options we can look at.

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Firstly, as the council, we could do that work ourselves.

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We could charge that to the owner and ask them to pay our costs.

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If they don't do that,

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then we could look to enforce sale of the property to recover those costs.

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Alternatively,

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we could look at compulsory purchase for any empty property.

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That would always be a last resort for the council.

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In fact, since Sue's visit, the owner contacted her

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and has said they will make improvements

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and they plan to move in when the work is done.

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If you like the idea of buying a derelict property and renovating it,

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you may need to think carefully about how you are going to fund it.

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Depending on its condition, you may find it hard to get a mortgage.

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So unless you are a cash buyer,

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getting some good financial advice is a good idea as early as you can.

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With a new baby on the way,

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Lucy and Craig Taylor have bought a virtually derelict bungalow

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which they are planning to knock down and rebuild from scratch.

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With no experience of serious building work,

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I am taking them to meet other homeowners who have

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taken on similar projects so they can get first-hand advice.

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-Right, what do you think of this? Classic barn conversion.

-Looks big. Looks very nice.

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It is very big. They have made it much bigger.

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When they started, this is what they found.

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Turning that into that has taken two years.

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Right. Come and have a look.

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Having lived in the Buckinghamshire village of Grendon Underwood for 13 years,

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Robert and Kate Dukes had driven past this old barn hundreds of times

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unaware that one day it would become their home.

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We had always kept an eye on it knowing it was more or less

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a derelict barn.

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We were delighted when we got wind of the fact that it was

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going on the market.

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I think it is lovely to give what was quite a sad building as well

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this whole new lease of life.

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The couple bought the barn two years ago for £275,000

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and rather like the place Lucy and Craig are about to take on,

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they pretty much started from scratch.

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They have kept the barn's floorplan adding their own design details to transform it.

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They moved in earlier this year

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but still have a few finishing touches to make, like landscaping the garden.

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-Hi, Kate.

-Hello.

-Nice to see you.

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This is a perfect opportunity for Craig and Lucy to pick Kate's brain

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and get as many tips as possible before they embark on their build.

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-Amazing. It is huge.

-Very spacious.

-There was nothing here at all?

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No, we basically, the timbers are the original timbers.

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We rescued every bit we could.

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I think one of the things about this barn is that it's got lots of lovely design tricks.

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There are no radiators in here, we've got underfloor heating.

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is that something you would think about with yours?

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-Definitely.

-What about powering it?

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We have been looking at heat source pumps if we can.

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We went for an air source heat pump.

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Ground source is the best.

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It was too big an outlay to start with.

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We are so pleased with the air source, it is brilliant.

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That is interesting.

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-This is the kitchen.

-The shape is amazing.

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Can you see this curve here.

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I think this is the really clever design bit.

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That is very impressive. Did you design it all?

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Yes, we had an architectural designer who came up with

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the idea of the curve.

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-Everything else was chosen and designed by us.

-That is lovely.

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-Amazing view.

-Lighting is an interesting one.

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This had no lighting design that you could follow

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and your build is exactly the same.

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Figuring out what kind of lights, where you put them,

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you know, plug sockets, all those sorts of things,

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you've got to think that one through.

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There's some lights in the floor there which at night shine

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up along the beams.

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That is nice.

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They are right by the beams there, set into the floor.

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-That is all you need at night in here.

-That is interesting.

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That is a really nice touch.

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That is something we could all do and retrofit. Nice.

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Is it easy to change your mind halfway through about your plans?

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Is it easy to say, "I would like to change that"?

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I think it is.

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If you're working with an architect, you need to have a good relationship with them.

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As long as it doesn't affect the planning permission that you have

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been given in the first place, there is nothing major, you should be OK.

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If you get good tradesmen,

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sometimes they will suggest things to you that you hadn't thought of

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and perhaps practical elements that will make your life easier.

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Let's look outside at this lovely window from out here. I love this.

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Lovely with the curve.

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Can you give us a couple of top tips that you have picked up along the way?

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I suppose the first thing I would say is decide

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what your priorities are, what style of house you want and stick with it.

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And the other thing, one of our priorities was light.

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It makes you happy to be in a light house.

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-It's a real credit to you, Kate. It is gorgeous.

-Thank you.

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Every building has its own personality and character and this one is no exception.

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It is packed full of interesting design ideas

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that often say as much about the building as the people that live in it.

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I am pleased to say that I really think it's inspired Craig and Lucy

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to take some of those ideas into their own new-build,

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just as I hoped it would.

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Later, I will be taking them to see a finished project which I hope will

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show them the hard work involved in a renovation can pay off handsomely.

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Before that, back in South Derbyshire, empty property officer Sue Li

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is off to check on the progress of one her success stories.

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I'm driving to look at a property that the council was going to

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compulsory purchase because we couldn't find an owner.

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We traced one and it's been sold and the new owner is renovating it.

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I can't wait to see what he's done with it.

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Set in a village in rural Derbyshire,

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this three-bedroom terrace had been the subject of probate

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before being bought by its new owner, Mr Partridge.

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-Can you see a bit of a difference?

-It looks transformed already!

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-Come and have a look round.

-Thanks.

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-This is the lounge.

-Yes!

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There was the old-fashioned 1960s fireplace there, we have

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knocked that out now and put the old-style fireplace back in again.

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-It's made it very light.

-It is. It is so different.

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We're still working through this.

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-It's great.

-But, er...

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-I think this again is transformed since you last came?

-Oh, yes!

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It's been a very big challenge.

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The property had ivy growing out of the window,

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both windows upstairs and downstairs.

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The ivy was pushing the panes of glass out of the frames it was that bad.

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It was in total dereliction. There was no central heating.

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The bathroom suite was 1960s. So old, so decayed.

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It's been a total renovation.

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This is the bathroom.

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Such an improvement on the last one. It was very tired. Very worn.

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Having stood empty,

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the house had been a cause for concern for neighbours.

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This is a very friendly street and I think it was always felt

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sort of a bit sad seeing this house just empty and deteriorating

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so it would be lovely to have someone else coming in and joining us.

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You have addressed all of the repairs that needed doing to it

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to bring it up to standard.

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But you have used your imagination as well. It's fantastic.

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This is just what empty properties can be about.

0:19:270:19:31

The potential that they have got. It is wonderful.

0:19:310:19:35

-It's houses like this that make my day, really is.

-Good.

0:19:350:19:38

For Sue this is a really positive outcome

0:19:380:19:41

and another case off her books.

0:19:410:19:43

Now up for sale, the house will hopefully be someone's home again.

0:19:430:19:48

'Craig and Lucy Taylor are expecting their first baby

0:19:520:19:55

'and they are about to tackle their first renovation.

0:19:550:19:59

'They have just bought a derelict bungalow which they plan to transform

0:19:590:20:04

'so I'm introducing them to experienced renovators who can equip them with some tips.'

0:20:040:20:09

Hi, nice to see you.

0:20:090:20:11

'Now I want to show them a beautifully-finished project which

0:20:110:20:14

'I hope will give them the confidence to forge ahead with theirs.'

0:20:140:20:17

-Now, what do you reckon to that?

-Pretty amazing.

0:20:170:20:22

'When Richard and Pauline Andrews first saw this

0:20:220:20:24

'bungalow in Thame, Oxfordshire, it had been empty for months

0:20:240:20:28

'and wasn't much to write home about.

0:20:280:20:30

'They snapped it up for £285,000 and although it was rundown,

0:20:300:20:34

'like the one Craig and Lucy have bought, they have taken

0:20:340:20:37

'a radically different approach by keeping the original building

0:20:370:20:41

'and adding to it with a cutting edge extension on the side.'

0:20:410:20:45

You see where we're coming from on this one?

0:20:450:20:47

They have now today got the keys, deeds, call it what you like -

0:20:470:20:53

keys are probably irrelevant with your building -

0:20:530:20:56

to their own prefab but post-First World War, I think, 1920s or so,

0:20:560:21:01

which you are going to demolish and knock down.

0:21:010:21:04

-Effectively that is what you have done here?

-Yes.

0:21:040:21:07

We have sort of built around it because we were able to

0:21:070:21:11

stay in the bungalow while all the work was carried on around us,

0:21:110:21:14

so that saved us having to go into rented accommodation.

0:21:140:21:19

It has taken us six years so it's probably just as well!

0:21:190:21:23

Don't tell her that!

0:21:230:21:24

She is hoping he is going to get this done in 12 months!

0:21:240:21:27

You have more motivation to get on with it if you are not here.

0:21:280:21:33

There is another great motivation -

0:21:330:21:35

if you knock the building down completely and start again, you don't pay

0:21:350:21:38

any VAT on any of your materials, labour, all the rest of it.

0:21:380:21:43

-That is not bad.

-Certainly interesting.

0:21:430:21:46

I will be picking this man's brains later.

0:21:460:21:48

That's exactly what you're here to do.

0:21:480:21:51

'The new extension has allowed them to create a four-bedroom three-bathroom home.

0:21:510:21:55

'The result is stunning.'

0:21:550:21:56

-This is lovely.

-This is the new bedroom block.

0:21:560:21:59

It is partly let into the ground enabling us to have much more accommodation.

0:21:590:22:04

The section beneath the ground is almost irrelevant in terms of planning conditions

0:22:040:22:10

and a very useful trick that people are using.

0:22:100:22:13

Interesting idea.

0:22:130:22:14

Ever thought of sinking or burying part of your new construction?

0:22:140:22:19

Not until now!

0:22:190:22:21

It is much more contemporary than I thought it was going to be.

0:22:210:22:24

I love the glass, makes it look so open and light.

0:22:240:22:29

I am taking everything in and thinking what ideas

0:22:290:22:31

I can pinch from these people!

0:22:310:22:34

'That is just what Craig and Lucy should be doing here,

0:22:340:22:38

'picking up great ideas to take forward into their build.'

0:22:380:22:42

-What do you think?

-Very nice.

0:22:420:22:44

-I can see this happening on your plot.

-Especially these doors.

0:22:440:22:50

I have had a couple of quotes and they vary a lot.

0:22:500:22:55

It is things like that, you think it is worth spending the money.

0:22:550:22:58

They are the things you are looking at day-to-day

0:22:580:23:01

and that is where the detail is very important.

0:23:010:23:05

Now we are getting a few more design ideas, can you paint me

0:23:050:23:08

a picture of what your new house is going to look like?

0:23:080:23:11

Big open spaces, lots of windows.

0:23:110:23:14

We had talked about compromising on having big picture windows

0:23:140:23:18

at the back if we ran out of money.

0:23:180:23:20

Now, seeing it, it is more important to me than not having it.

0:23:200:23:26

So...

0:23:260:23:28

Already, I suppose one's financial priorities are changing to some of these final finishes?

0:23:280:23:33

-Yeah. Definitely.

-Let's look through here.

0:23:330:23:35

This is the very latest bit of the property, the last bit?

0:23:350:23:39

Yes. We finished this four weeks' ago.

0:23:390:23:42

Is it steel frame with a timber insert?

0:23:420:23:45

It is very simple window frames which form the three walls

0:23:450:23:49

and then there's two steel coloured goal post arrangements

0:23:490:23:53

and then a simple flat flying out roof covered with stainless steel

0:23:530:23:59

that gives you that canopy to sit outside.

0:23:590:24:02

Most garden rooms that you see come off the property that way,

0:24:020:24:06

whereas yours goes the other way and you have all this light coming in.

0:24:060:24:10

It opens the view.

0:24:100:24:12

Have you thought about that because on your plans,

0:24:120:24:14

there is no suggestion of a conservatory?

0:24:140:24:17

It is something we were thinking of putting on at a later date.

0:24:170:24:21

We hadn't considered a sun room like this.

0:24:210:24:24

What key ideas have you taken away from this one, you two?

0:24:240:24:29

The sun room. Something that I would love to have.

0:24:290:24:33

Sun room, and the great use of open space and light coming right through.

0:24:330:24:37

-Yes.

-It does make it feel warm and very inviting.

0:24:370:24:42

Yes. I can't wait to see your plans when you get home. They will be scribbled on and rubbed out!

0:24:420:24:47

Can you give us some parting words of advice as two people

0:24:470:24:51

who have gone through the new-build process effectively?

0:24:510:24:55

Remember, have a goal at the end and keep your mind fixed on that.

0:24:550:24:59

There will be low points. There will be times when you think,

0:24:590:25:04

"I wish I had never done this" Keep the enthusiasm up.

0:25:040:25:07

Don't be fooled into thinking it has to be a functional building on a plot of land.

0:25:070:25:12

Make it as fun and as quirky as you can.

0:25:120:25:15

I really hope that seeing this place has fired up Craig and Lucy

0:25:150:25:21

to go ahead with their empty property project.

0:25:210:25:23

Guys, it seems a long time ago since we visited your new purchase

0:25:270:25:30

and, again, congratulations, are you still excited about it?

0:25:300:25:34

Very excited. It's all very real now.

0:25:340:25:39

We can get on with it and push on and get stuck into things now.

0:25:390:25:43

-Very excited.

-Lucy, you said you were daunted this morning?

0:25:430:25:47

-Yes.

-How are you feeling now?

-Still a bit daunted, but excited.

0:25:470:25:50

-I haven't lost that.

-That is the main thing.

0:25:500:25:53

Anything that is going to make a difference, any changes after today?

0:25:530:25:58

Absolutely. We were going to have a conservatory at the back

0:25:580:26:02

but I'm thinking a sun room with a solid roof now.

0:26:020:26:05

So that has given us a good idea.

0:26:050:26:07

Both of our properties today have been very extensive

0:26:070:26:11

and expensive as well.

0:26:110:26:14

How do you feel about project managing and managing the books now?

0:26:140:26:18

Who is going to take care of that?

0:26:180:26:20

That will definitely be you.

0:26:200:26:23

It may have to be, after some of the toys we saw today,

0:26:230:26:26

Lucy may need reeling in a bit!

0:26:260:26:28

We will see how far we can make the money go.

0:26:280:26:33

Maybe the 12 months time spell may have to be stretched.

0:26:330:26:39

Here is to you. Best of luck. Congratulations on your new home.

0:26:390:26:43

-Thank you.

-Cheers.

0:26:430:26:44

There is no getting away from it, Craig and Lucy

0:26:440:26:47

are taking on a huge project and to be fair,

0:26:470:26:50

they do seem a bit daunted by it and you can't blame them.

0:26:500:26:53

This is a massive undertaking bearing in mind

0:26:530:26:55

they have never done anything like this before.

0:26:550:26:58

Hopefully, after today, they are feeling a bit more inspired,

0:26:580:27:01

armed with a new sense of confidence to make the next 12 months

0:27:010:27:05

just that little bit easier.

0:27:050:27:07

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