Tony and Michelle Britain's Empty Homes


Tony and Michelle

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Across the United Kingdom,

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there are nearly a million homes lying unloved and unlived in,

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ready for someone to come along and give them a bright, new future.

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So, whether it's a tired semi, or a rambling mansion,

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we're on a mission to rescue Britain's Empty Homes.

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Why buy somebody else's idea of a perfect home

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when you could create your own?

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You could, of course, build one from scratch

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but how about taking on the bare bones of an existing property

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and injecting it with your own sense of vision and style,

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giving it a whole new identity and a brand-new lease of life?

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Today, I'm passing on my own renovation knowledge

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to help a couple who are searching for an old building

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they can transform into their next home.

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Gorgeous, isn't it? I'm excited now.

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'I'll be getting them invaluable advice

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'from experienced renovators who've done it all before.'

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I tell you what, this is a cheap way of renovating things,

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-paint them on.

-Fantastic.

-Who needs a door? Paint it on.

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And we'll also be discovering

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the challenges empty property officers face with neglected homes.

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There's a hole in the eaves

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and that's where the pigeons are getting in.

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Rescuing a wreck requires real vision and grit.

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Often, taking on a dilapidated building

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can seem like a pretty overwhelming task at first.

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But if you plan well and remain focused,

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not only do you stand to get the home of your dreams,

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but you'll also come away

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with an enormous sense of satisfaction as well.

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Tony and Michelle Kennedy recently sold their old, family house

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and are currently renting whilst on the lookout for a major project

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to turn into their perfect family pad.

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I think the opportunity just to create our dream place, isn't it?

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Something with a gorgeous view, good outside space for the kids.

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-Mwah.

-The opportunity to have open-plan living, a nice big kitchen.

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Being a mum, I spend quite a lot of time in the kitchen. So...

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With £800,000 to buy and a further £400,000 for any renovation work,

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Tony and Michelle have a sizeable budget.

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But where they're looking, within an hour's commute of London for Tony's work,

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the detached properties they like do not come cheap,

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especially as they want a place with land.

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I think, probably, around an acre as a minimum

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-would be a nice sort of space.

-Yeah.

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But if it was two, or ten,

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-we'd, probably, think about it.

-Ten?

-Probably not.

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And while the couple have never taken on a large-scale project

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of any kind before, their ambitions are big.

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When I grew up, my parents took on a large renovation project.

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Having seen it all once,

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-I kind of feel that it's something...

-Get your hands dirty.

-..that I'd like to do.

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Whilst Tony and Michelle are excited about the prospect of a big project,

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they still need to work out the scale of renovation

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they would be prepared to take on.

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To help them make this decision,

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I've decided to set our wannabe builders a test.

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So, without me there to guide them, I'm sending Tony and Michelle off

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to have a look at sort of empty property they could buy

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to see if they've got the right attitude.

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And who knows, it might even tickle their taste buds.

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Set in three acres of Hampshire countryside

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with uninterrupted views,

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this former hop kiln is currently completely derelict.

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-Oh, my gosh.

-It's a derelict house with a tin roof.

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-It kind of looks like a shed.

-Yeah.

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Transforming a building like this into a home,

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even for experienced renovators, would be a challenge.

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But what will our amateurs, Tony and Michelle, make of it?

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-Wow.

-Oh, my word.

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-It's a total rebuild, isn't it?

-Yeah.

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On the market for £950,000,

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while this place would stretch their budget to the limit,

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the pay-off could be a stunningly unique family home.

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-But will they see it?

-It's a big, square nothing with a tin roof.

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It's... No.

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It's a big, square opportunity

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with a tin roof covering a sensational, wooden roof.

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Tony's right, this place is a fantastic opportunity

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because it also comes with detailed planning permission

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to create a spacious four-floored home with two towers.

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-You've got two garages, one in each kiln.

-I like that, his-and-hers.

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That's really cool.

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I've always wanted a house with a tower.

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-Now you've got two.

-Two towers. Brilliant.

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And the architect estimates the basic costs to be around £550,000.

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It's gorgeous, isn't it? I'm excited now.

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So, if they were to take on a project of this size,

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just how would they tackle its transformation?

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My immediate thoughts are that we would project manage it.

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We would bring in all of the separate craftsmen and so on.

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We wouldn't outsource that.

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We wouldn't hand it over to someone to build the property.

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I found it quite hard to visualise anything.

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Once we were given some of the drawings, that really, really helped.

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It got me excited about it, actually.

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I felt really, you know, "Wow, this could be amazing."

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You see a derelict building, you see fantastic plans and you go,

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"How do you go from one to the other?"

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The two ends of the journey is, you know, quite a daunting thing.

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Large renovations needn't be intimidating

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as long as they're well-planned.

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But taking on an unconventional building does require

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more preparation than most.

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So, I want to allay any concerns that our couple have

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by introducing them to other homeowners

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with lots of renovation experience.

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With Tony unable to join us,

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it's up to Michelle to learn what she can.

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Well, Michelle, now we've got the chance to show you, I think,

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quite an interesting and very extensive renovation in progress.

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But Tony can't be with us today so it's all down to you,

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-you're the fact-finder.

-Yeah, I know.

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It's a bit of pressure on me today to get everything ticked off

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and find out all about it.

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-Well, let's see what you make of it.

-OK.

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Miriam Maxim and Christopher Harris just knew

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this 16th-century cottage was destined to become theirs

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when it was put on the market back in 2003,

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having been empty for a year.

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I think the first thing I saw was the pond

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which absolutely fascinated me.

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And then, this amazing, chocolate-box house behind it.

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It was quite stunning

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and I never thought we could ever own a property like this.

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It had the space, size

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and an enormous amount of scope to doing exactly what we want.

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They bought it for £670,000

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and spent a further £350,000 renovating it.

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We are in the fortunate position that I could stop work

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and that meant that I could dedicate my time to helping the builders

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when I could, getting my hands, actually, on the lime mortar

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and working on it.

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The build has taken five years, so far,

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and it's still a work in progress.

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I was describing to Michelle, on our way down here,

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that, you know, it's a very big, extensive property, this.

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It's had a lot added to it over the years and a bit taken away.

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Give us the story, Christopher.

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Originally, this is a 16th-century cottage, in the centre of the house.

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Then we've got Georgian, Victorian pieces over this side,

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a stable block that's joined to the house.

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And then, the whole thing was knitted together in the '50s.

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This was, originally, a two-storey cottage with its kitchen-garden.

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But now, clearly, that conservatory arrangement isn't period, is it?

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This is a work in progress.

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Our intention is to remove this conservatory

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which was erected as an emergency in the 1990s.

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We hope to reveal the front elevation

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as it would have been in Elizabethan, Victorian times.

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Interesting. What do you think?

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I'm amazed. I think it looks amazing.

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I can't wait to see what it's like inside.

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You know, just the whole complex of different periods of history

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coming together as one, will be fascinating.

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Let's go and have a look inside. Come on. After you.

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Ah, now then, this is more like it, isn't it?

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-This feels very period to me.

-This was one of the first rooms we did.

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And there was a suspended ceiling here.

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We had no idea these beams were underneath.

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We had no idea about this fireplace.

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You had no idea that that huge inglenook was there?

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Can you imagine taking off a few bricks and tiles and then thinking,

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"Oh, my goodness me, there's a void behind here."

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It's fantastic, isn't it?

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It's just so full of character which you wouldn't have got with, like you said,

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that suspended ceiling and all of this. It's brilliant.

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I think what we've tried to show here

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is something that we're sympathetic to the rest of the building.

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We raised the beams to create a feeling of light and space.

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It's gorgeous, isn't it? It's fantastic.

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So, this was a separate thing?

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-This wasn't all...

-Just a garage.

-Just a garage, wow.

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These flagstones are gorgeous.

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-Were they here?

-No, we found those.

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These were originally designed for St Paul's Cathedral.

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They made a lot of extra tiles when St Paul's was redoing their crypt.

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I think they add everything to this kitchen.

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But you've also undertaken quite a lot of the work yourselves, haven't you?

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I mean, one of the things I know that Michelle is keen to find out

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is how much any of us can take on in a renovation.

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-Give us an idea what you've done.

-It's been such wonderful fun.

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But I've been taught how to use lime mortar

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and I've learnt how to knap flints

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and I'm actually building a flint wall.

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It's not that difficult.

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If you've iced a cake, you can ice a wall quite easily.

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It's a nice analogy, though.

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I mean, are you up to that kind of thing, you and Tony?

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Definitely up for finding out how to do things.

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Yeah, definitely want to get our hands muddy, as it were.

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And get into doing stuff like that.

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It's also wonderful to be adding our bit to this building

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because it's, the original bit is 1580s.

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Everyone, the Georgians, the Victorians

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and now us in the 21st century have added our bit.

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And we've had a lot of fun going around reclamation yards.

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And finding and sourcing the right kind of material.

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That door came from a skip down in Devon.

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That's now a traditional larder.

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-Ah-ha-ha, clever.

-Larder door.

-Yeah, I like that.

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-Brilliant. So, everything just breathes inside.

-Yeah.

-Brilliant.

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We're now in the old part of the house again.

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Oh, what do you think of this, Michelle?

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That's just lovely, isn't it? It's really lovely.

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This floor was supported below by luck,

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that's what, according to our builder, it was. You can see the way it slopes.

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But we've revealed these lovely boards which we wanted to retain.

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And what's going on with this fake door?

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-That's what's called a trompe l'oeil, I think.

-Yeah.

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And, under layers of wallpaper, we found the remains of that door

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and we restored it to what we think it should have been

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to reflect the door on the other side of the room.

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It was make the house look bigger than it was

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because that's the chimney brace

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and that's where the house used to end.

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I tell you want, this is a cheap way of renovating things,

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-just paint them on.

-Fantastic.

-Who needs a door? Just paint it on.

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I mean, Michelle, we've had a brief look at this piece of history.

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What's your view now on starting from scratch

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and going for a new-build or taking on an old building like this one?

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It's just completely changed my mind about it all. It's just lovely.

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I love the idea of getting something back, if you like, from history.

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-I love that. It's just gorgeous.

-What do you think Tony would make of it?

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I think he'd be sold on it.

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-Really?

-Yeah, I do. I'm really, really gutted he's not here with me.

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But what, kind of, top tips can you leave Michelle with,

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from your experience, the pair of you?

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Get expert advice. Always try and find a builder,

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we had a builder who came and saw the project beforehand,

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spent half an hour before the meeting just getting to know the place,

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so that he could give us sound advice from day one.

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We've used an architect as well who has been able to do

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all the tricky negotiations with the authorities

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and that's saved us one hell of a headache.

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-Fantastic.

-And whatever you do, don't project manage this yourself, OK?

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-Right.

-I really give you that piece of advice.

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-You don't have the expertise or the knowledge.

-Great.

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-I will underline that so Tony can see that.

-Brilliant.

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Well, look, we have just touched the surface.

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I'm going to let you three explore this beautiful building

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a little longer and I'll catch up with you outside.

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Enjoy.

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You can't fail to be impressed

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by Miriam and Christopher's passion for their home.

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It truly is a heartfelt restoration

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and I hope their enthusiasm has rubbed off on Michelle.

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Later, I'll be taking Michelle to see a finished project

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which I think will show her you don't need experience in big renovations

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to turn a wreck into a wonderful home.

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Wow. I love the open spaces.

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Somewhere on a street near you, there is a house

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that was once somebody's much-loved home,

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but now, it's abandoned and alone.

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It's the job of empty property officers all over the country

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to track down these abandoned buildings

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and do what they can to get them lived in again.

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And in the London Borough of Southwark,

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this challenge is down to officers Celia Esimaje

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and Michelle Williams.

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They've been responsible for bringing nearly 1,500 homes

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back into use since 1996.

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And this year, their target is to transform another 135.

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Today, they're on their way to a Georgian townhouse

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which, until recently, was in such a poor state

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it was on the national Buildings At Risk Register.

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It has taken a long time to get this property back into use.

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I mean, we're talking 2004 to now.

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Wow, but that's what happens sometimes.

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You've just got to work with owners and help them keep their momentum.

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But we got there in the end. So, let's go and have a look.

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The building was rescued in 2004 by its current owner, Agi Stylianides.

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With a small government loan of £45,000

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and £300,000 of his own money,

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he has not only returned the building to its former glory

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but created three flats to rent solely to people

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on the council's housing list.

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Wow. Nice and bright. Wow, we've got here. Six years.

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-Got the three flats in the end.

-Celia's been no end of help.

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She's stood by me all the way.

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Unfortunately, it's taken us two years to get it to the standard

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that I wanted, which is so the house can last another 200 years.

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And can be in the hands of the council for their tenants to enjoy.

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To work with an owner, to see a property right through to the end,

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and to know that, basically, this is going be somebody's home

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and it's public funding that's helped to contribute to the schemes.

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So, we want to make sure that we are, actually, getting quality work.

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-Good stuff. Are you pleased?

-I'm pleased. I just hope you're happy?

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No, we are. Thanks ever so much. All the best.

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Yeah, that's great. Three two-bedroom flats.

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These will be available for Southwark residents.

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-It's a good result all round. Well done.

-Definitely.

-That's three off the target.

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So, this former wreck can now stand proud as someone's home once more.

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Renovating a house doesn't need to be done all at once.

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Transforming it in stages can be the best way to do it

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on a limited budget.

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Which is just what Sherina Agassi is doing

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with her large, Victorian semi in Southeast London.

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Sherina bought the house in 2005 for £320,000,

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after it had been standing empty for two years.

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Then, she set about gradually turning it into the ideal home

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for her family.

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Initially, when we walked up towards the house,

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it looked really gloomy. It was red doors, red windows.

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And we walked through the door and it was like,

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"This is horrendous, what have I done?!"

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But then there was calm

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because I knew if we could really pull this off,

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it would be an absolutely lovely home

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that I couldn't possibly afford other than this way.

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The first room that you walked into, it was a sort of brownish colour,

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everything was brown and grey, and dark blue.

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It was just not very inviting at all.

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And then we went in through the second lounge and that was massive.

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But, of course, totally neglected.

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As money was tight, Sherina embarked on a renovation

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which took two years and involved her getting stuck in,

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doing as much work as possible herself.

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The garden was completely overgrown.

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There were lots of tips of rubbish and debris everywhere.

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But it was, actually, the willow tree that sold me the house.

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With the transformation costing £32,000,

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Sherina's total outlay was just under £350,000.

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She's created a wonderful family home, valued at 600 grand.

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So, taking on an abandoned house has certainly paid off for her.

0:17:120:17:17

If you plan, and you're able to think of it on a creative level,

0:17:170:17:21

you can actually buy your dream,

0:17:210:17:24

but you will have to take a risk in doing so.

0:17:240:17:27

It's hard, don't get me wrong, and it's challenging,

0:17:270:17:31

but it's certainly possible.

0:17:310:17:33

It's 100% worth it.

0:17:330:17:35

Tony and Michelle have sold their four-bedroom house

0:17:430:17:47

and want to find a vacant building with land

0:17:470:17:49

to transform into their new family home.

0:17:490:17:51

They've seen an old hop kiln brimming with potential

0:17:510:17:55

and panoramic views.

0:17:550:17:57

Having seen what can be done with challenging restorations,

0:17:570:18:01

I now want to show Michelle a spectacular barn conversion

0:18:010:18:05

which may provide some inspiring solutions

0:18:050:18:07

as to what to do with the hop kiln.

0:18:070:18:09

Feast your eyes on that.

0:18:090:18:12

-Wow.

-Yeah?

-Gosh, it's absolutely gorgeous.

0:18:130:18:18

JULES LAUGHS

0:18:180:18:19

-Wow.

-But would you have wanted it when it looked like this?

0:18:190:18:23

-LAUGHTER

-It was a complete wreck.

0:18:230:18:27

Just a cow shed, never been anything other than that.

0:18:270:18:30

Now, of course, it's a wonderful family home.

0:18:300:18:33

But the journey from this to that

0:18:330:18:36

is what you could be letting yourselves in for.

0:18:360:18:38

That's exciting. That's scary. LAUGHTER

0:18:380:18:42

-What would Tony say?

-He'd probably go, "Yeah, brilliant.

0:18:420:18:44

"Brilliant, up for it, great."

0:18:440:18:47

-Well, let's go and figure out how you do it and meet the owners.

-OK.

0:18:470:18:50

When Margo Alfrey and Douglas Gee took on

0:18:520:18:56

these 200-year-old dairy barns in East Sussex,

0:18:560:18:58

they knew they'd found somewhere to create a home in the country

0:18:580:19:01

where they could bring up a family.

0:19:010:19:04

When we started to think about having a family

0:19:040:19:07

and moving out of London,

0:19:070:19:09

that's when we saw the property and thought it had potential to be a home for us.

0:19:090:19:13

But it was quite a big vision because at that stage, when we saw the property,

0:19:130:19:16

it was completely run-down, completely dilapidated

0:19:160:19:19

and I think a lot of our friends and family thought

0:19:190:19:22

this was a bit too ambitious a project to go for.

0:19:220:19:25

We could turn it into our dream home.

0:19:250:19:27

With the budget that we had, we could end up with a property

0:19:270:19:31

that we felt would last many, many years.

0:19:310:19:34

And to create the space that we thought would be ideal

0:19:340:19:37

for us as a family.

0:19:370:19:38

Although the dairy barns hadn't been used for 60 years,

0:19:410:19:44

they still had to be reclassified for domestic use

0:19:440:19:47

which meant Margo and Douglas had to spend three years

0:19:470:19:49

getting planning permission.

0:19:490:19:52

This was the original hay barn.

0:19:530:19:55

So, here, you had where the carts came in with the hay

0:19:550:19:58

and then would go out through there.

0:19:580:20:00

And it just meant that we would be able to get doors

0:20:000:20:03

that would open right open so that, for instance, if we have parties

0:20:030:20:06

or with children, the space would feel open, light,

0:20:060:20:10

you can move through it all the time.

0:20:100:20:11

-What do you reckon?

-Wow. I love the open spaces.

0:20:110:20:15

I love the way the doors, sort of, mirror each other as well.

0:20:150:20:19

Just giving that sense of outdoorsiness to it, even further.

0:20:190:20:22

-It's fantastic.

-That's kind of you.

0:20:220:20:24

One of the things we did do was meet with people that had done barn conversions.

0:20:240:20:28

Margo got upset with me going out and buying lots of books on barns.

0:20:280:20:32

But it was a good way of finding out who's done barn conversions before.

0:20:320:20:35

Is there a club? Did you have meetings?

0:20:350:20:37

The, sort of, yeah, The Barn Owl Club. No, no, we didn't.

0:20:370:20:40

But what we did do was we found out about

0:20:400:20:42

which architects had done what barns

0:20:420:20:45

Then we were able to go out and meet the owners and talk to them.

0:20:450:20:48

But the finish here. What would Tony think if he walked in here now?

0:20:480:20:51

Same as me, he'd love the windows.

0:20:510:20:53

I'm sure and the beams, they are just beautiful.

0:20:530:20:57

Have you seen the kitchen? Look at this, this is lovely.

0:20:570:21:00

This is terrific. Is this all locally-made?

0:21:000:21:02

We used a local carpenter

0:21:020:21:04

and working directly with someone who uses wood every day,

0:21:040:21:08

he gave us some great advice.

0:21:080:21:10

Do you know what I love about it?

0:21:100:21:12

It's very easy, in a barn conversion, to slot in extra floors.

0:21:120:21:15

Here you haven't had to do that.

0:21:150:21:17

You've been able to leave the bulk of the main barn itself entire,

0:21:170:21:22

if you like.

0:21:220:21:23

The pitch of this barn is steep.

0:21:230:21:25

We looked at putting another floor in and we realised

0:21:250:21:28

we were going to lose what we wanted. We wanted that open feel,

0:21:280:21:31

that wow factor when you come into your kitchen, living space.

0:21:310:21:35

We're lucky that the barn, the hay barn runs into an old cow byre

0:21:350:21:39

where we've been able to have all our bedrooms.

0:21:390:21:42

So, we've got our smaller spaces there.

0:21:420:21:44

We've kept our accommodation in there

0:21:440:21:47

without impacting and losing our open-plan living space.

0:21:470:21:51

Now then, we've alluded to your other accommodation,

0:21:560:21:59

bedrooms and so forth.

0:21:590:22:00

Because it is on one level. Effectively, it's a bungalow.

0:22:000:22:04

It is, exactly.

0:22:040:22:06

Basically, we live in a glorified bungalow.

0:22:060:22:09

I think this is an interesting idea to take away, Michelle.

0:22:090:22:12

You've got everything kind of zoned very much, in that,

0:22:120:22:15

you've got day-to-day living in the barn

0:22:150:22:17

which whilst imposing is still a very manageable, modest size here.

0:22:170:22:22

Then everything else in this series of outbuildings, all on one level.

0:22:220:22:25

-Is that something you'd take away?

-Definitely.

0:22:250:22:28

I don't think we'd thought about it before.

0:22:280:22:30

But, yeah, it works, doesn't it?

0:22:300:22:31

What would be your parting thoughts for Michelle,

0:22:310:22:34

who's heading off to take on

0:22:340:22:36

this kind of project with her partner, Tony?

0:22:360:22:38

I suppose, we talked about it and the first one for us,

0:22:380:22:40

is understand the local planning law. It's important.

0:22:400:22:43

And hire someone to help you if you don't.

0:22:430:22:45

The second thing we talked about was take time

0:22:450:22:48

to find the right team to work with you, both the architect and then, in turn, builder.

0:22:480:22:52

The third thing was really create

0:22:520:22:54

a very detailed specification document

0:22:540:22:56

so that you're going down to almost the window fitting level

0:22:560:22:59

so that when you do go out for a tender,

0:22:590:23:01

you know you're tendering for the whole thing.

0:23:010:23:04

And it's almost a turn-key type project.

0:23:040:23:06

For us, in our stage in life with two small children,

0:23:060:23:08

-that was the right solution for us.

-Well, guys, congratulations.

0:23:080:23:13

-Sadly, it's not for sale, Michelle.

-Oh.

0:23:130:23:15

-If it was, you'd be in.

-Definitely.

0:23:150:23:17

Meanwhile, back in the London Borough of Southwark,

0:23:210:23:24

empty property officers Celia Esimaje

0:23:240:23:26

and Michelle Williams are responding to a call about an empty house

0:23:260:23:29

that's been on their books for a while.

0:23:290:23:32

There was a complaint from a neighbour

0:23:320:23:34

saying there was an infestation of pigeons, basically,

0:23:340:23:37

getting into the empty property

0:23:370:23:39

and, also, causing problems with their property

0:23:390:23:42

and just wanted us to find out what was going on.

0:23:420:23:45

There it is.

0:23:450:23:46

Because of the diseases they carry,

0:23:460:23:48

pigeons are considered a public health hazard.

0:23:480:23:50

Once they've gained access to a building,

0:23:500:23:53

they cause damage with their droppings

0:23:530:23:55

that corrode floorboards and block drains and guttering.

0:23:550:23:57

-The hole in the roof is at the side.

-Right.

0:23:570:24:00

And the house has been a cause of concern for the neighbours.

0:24:000:24:03

It's a worry that it's, structurally, falling down, for a start.

0:24:030:24:06

And the pigeons and the squirrels as well.

0:24:060:24:10

At one point the squirrels got into my loft

0:24:100:24:12

and I had to get vermin control to come and remove them

0:24:120:24:15

because they were keeping us awake.

0:24:150:24:17

Celia and Michelle are aware the house has been left empty

0:24:170:24:20

for approximately three years

0:24:200:24:22

as the owner intends to eventually renovate it.

0:24:220:24:25

They've blocked off the letter box.

0:24:250:24:27

Even the porch looks like it's coming away a bit.

0:24:270:24:32

-The garden's all overgrown.

-There's a hole in the side, in the eaves.

0:24:320:24:35

And that's where the pigeons are getting in.

0:24:350:24:39

The neighbours at the back have also complained,

0:24:390:24:42

so, they're getting in all over the roof.

0:24:420:24:44

Celia gathers evidence should she need to take further action

0:24:440:24:48

in forcing the owner to make repairs.

0:24:480:24:50

So what we'll do now, we'll get in touch with the owner

0:24:500:24:53

to find out if they have got some sort of timetable of works

0:24:530:24:57

and also see if they need any assistance, any guidance.

0:24:570:25:01

And since filming, she's successfully contacted the owner,

0:25:010:25:05

who has now repaired the gap in the roof.

0:25:050:25:08

I've taken wannabe renovator Michelle Kennedy

0:25:080:25:11

to see a couple of impressive former empty homes

0:25:110:25:13

to try and inspire her as to what can be achieved.

0:25:130:25:18

Now, then, Michelle, we've seen two quite interesting properties today

0:25:180:25:21

which have involved some very extensive renovations,

0:25:210:25:24

to say the least.

0:25:240:25:26

-Have they put you off this idea?

-No, not at all.

0:25:260:25:30

It's just they're very different in how they've approached things.

0:25:300:25:34

One being enormously historical,

0:25:340:25:36

another being, virtually, a complete a new-build.

0:25:360:25:39

It's really given a lot of food for thought.

0:25:390:25:42

What are you going to tell Tony?

0:25:420:25:43

What's going to be on the list of the do's and don'ts.

0:25:430:25:47

One, really be careful of planning.

0:25:470:25:49

Two, definitely get a project manager in.

0:25:490:25:51

And three, you know, I think I just feel really inspired

0:25:510:25:54

and encouraged by it.

0:25:540:25:56

So I think I'll take that enthusiasm home with me as well.

0:25:560:25:59

But can you cast your mind back to that empty property

0:25:590:26:01

that we showed you and Tony?

0:26:010:26:04

You were pretty daunted by it.

0:26:040:26:05

What about now that you've seen what can be done?

0:26:050:26:08

You're absolutely right. It terrified me when I first saw it.

0:26:080:26:12

But having just seen these two and having seen the plans,

0:26:120:26:17

I feel, actually, more excited by it.

0:26:170:26:19

Much less daunted.

0:26:190:26:21

Is it one that you would consider taking on

0:26:210:26:24

or is it just a useful example?

0:26:240:26:26

I think there's, I think it's definitely worth talking about

0:26:260:26:29

in much more detail.

0:26:290:26:30

Interesting. So, Tony might get more than he bargained for out of this.

0:26:300:26:34

It'll be the last time he sends you off looking at empty properties?

0:26:340:26:37

Definitely.

0:26:370:26:38

Well, having shown Michelle, I think,

0:26:400:26:43

two very interesting and extensive renovations,

0:26:430:26:45

I think she's firmly convinced that a renovation is the way to go.

0:26:450:26:49

Both of today's examples have taken at least five years to complete.

0:26:490:26:54

Where will Tony and Michelle be in five years' time, I wonder?

0:26:540:26:57

Who knows?

0:26:570:26:59

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