After years of moving from one rental property to another, Mandy Naldrett and her husband Andy dreamt of buying their own home in their beloved seaside town of Eastbourne. ‘Andy and I were absolutely fed up with renting,’ explains Mandy, ‘we’d paid out thousands over the years to landlords and really wanted to invest in a house locally and get on the property ladder.’
The couple had worked hard to save for a deposit and, in 2009, were finally in a position to start looking around. ‘Our daughter Amy was six at the time and our son Ryan had just turned one, so finding a threebedroom property near to a good nursery and primary school were our top priorities,’ says Mandy. After an initial search, the Naldretts realised that their budget wouldn’t stretch to anywhere that had already been renovated, and so started to look for a project property, eventually finding this 1950s ex-council house. ‘Although it was set back from a main road, which is a pain for parking, it was in
‘The walls were bright yellow and every cupboard either had the door falling off its hinges or no door at all, but with no money left in the kitty, we had to make do and mend’
KITCHEN
A cupboard curtain discreetly covers the washing machine, while a white ceramic
