I always knew we’d have to move a couple of times before we could afford our dream home,’ says Melanie. ‘So the plan was to buy a stepping stone house that we could add value to as a springboard up the property ladder.
We’d almost finished renovating our two-up, two-down terrace when my friend said her next-door neighbour was selling up. Unfortunately we weren’t quite ready to buy it, but it didn’t sell anyway and they took it off the market. A few months later it was back up for sale at £20,000 less, so we quickly sold our house via an online agent and made an offer the next day. Although it had a new boiler and was in a desirable street, it hadn’t been updated in years. It was just the challenge we were after.
First steps
On day one my dad cut back all the overgrown bushes and trees, while Christian and I filled up the removal van with garden waste
