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00:02this time we're catching up with some old friends today i'm back in color coats to see mark and suz
00:10six years ago they couldn't decide whether to love or list their four-bed mid-terrace home
00:18when i first met mark and suz their debate over their home in timeside seemed to be growing arms
00:24and legs oh i'm just being kicked do you missed it no no definitely love it to settle this dispute
00:33once and for all nothing short of divine intervention was going to stop us are you being
00:39serious you are joking no i'm not no way though it was both tears and smiles when we asked the
00:49all-important question i am pleased i think it's the right decision you've set me off now
00:56it was clear mark and suz were capable of incredibly clever jaw-droppingly good renovations it's not
01:04often i see something where i'm truly envious and so six years later i couldn't wait to go back up
01:10north
01:10to see the latest fruits of their labors the mark and sue's way is the right way and give them
01:17some
01:17pretty good news of my own your time has been worth money crazy
01:28when mark and suz first called kirstie and i in to help back in 2019 it seemed my sidekick was
01:35feeling rather excitable oh phil i am very taken with color coats after suffering enough of phil's
01:45driving i'm at the wheel for a change oh look at that it's a castle it's a castle oh god
01:52i'm gonna
01:53drive down there look at the bridge this is why i normally drive because we actually get there
02:02the place we're trying to get to is the home of susan mark drummond and their three-year-old daughter
02:07cora they've been in a predicament for some time i am completely fed up in having the conversation of
02:14do we stay or do we go it's gone on for far too long yeah and i'm quite clear that
02:19i want to stay
02:20and i just need to convince you that that's the case mark thinks it's time to move on from their
02:25lovely
02:25four-bed mid-terrace house i've been swiping at properties day after day what about this what about
02:31this just like well that's the same as ours that's not this this is not that there will be something
02:36out there tough job hopefully tough job we bought this house almost 10 years ago and i fell in love
02:43with it at first sight our parents are like don't buy the first one you see so we viewed another
02:4715
02:48and we came back to this one but with the arrival of cora the frequent visits of mark's daughter kaylee
02:54and a new baby girl on the way the house doesn't function as well as it once did downstairs is
03:00not
03:01working for me the big wall would just keep walking around constantly between the kitchen the dining room
03:09i just want to get a sledgehammer to this wall but suz can only see the positives i love the
03:17location
03:17the size of the rooms but it doesn't offer a garden it doesn't offer a drive downstairs space kirstie
03:26needs to bring out a massive wand to uh change the space wand at the ready hey kirstie as always
03:36but
03:36you'll need more than a bit of magic to convince suz to abandon her perfect coastal location whenever i
03:42come home i see the sea and i get a feeling of calm that comes over me and i love
03:46that and
03:47i just can't see us like replicating what we've got i think we'd have to compromise as much as she
03:54loves the location suz has a much deeper connection to this house in october 2014 after a long time of
04:02uh trying and and eventually find out we were pregnant um we unfortunately lost a little boy just after a
04:09few hours um when he was uh when he was born so our little chester um is is very much
04:17part of this
04:17house it would be a break in terms of the emotion in order to have to to give this up
04:22and move but
04:24there are happy memories attached to this house too with cora's birth and another baby girl on the way
04:29cora's team love it she loves this house and uh yeah oh just being kicked team mr no no definitely
04:37love it now that's what's called recruiting them early not to worry you phil but it's girls against
04:44boys on this one four to two time to meet them i think nice looking house
04:52morning how are you doing i'm phil phil mark come in please meet you hello hello
04:57kersi hi suz come in come in get out the rain mark you're wearing flip-flops suz you're wearing
05:03sandals bear arms and it's posing with rain outside welcome to color codes so there's obviously a good
05:14lifestyle going on here yeah why would you even be thinking about moving well you're thinking about
05:19moving i i most definitely am not so for me the location wins this place over and i absolutely want
05:26to
05:26love it and i'm team listing good man i knew we were going to get on yeah for me we've
05:34been here
05:34for 10 years now as a growing family we're filling it fast and we don't have a garden at the
05:41rear for
05:42playing and entertaining and obviously storage is becoming an issue as we get bigger how many bedrooms
05:48we've got in this house we've got four but it sounds like you're going to run out of space downstairs
05:52rather than upstairs on you yes but it's more than bricks and mortar keeping suz here i do have
06:00a real strong emotional connection to to this property at the moment unfortunately we did lose
06:05our son just after a few hours after he was born so seen us through the worst of times and
06:10would you
06:10say that trauma is keep it's to some extent keeping you here it's not the sole reason for keeping me
06:18here
06:18but that i think the emotion just tips it it would be hard for me to go it's understandable that
06:24suz is
06:25attached to this house so we're more determined than ever to help them make the right decision for the
06:30future this room becomes a corridor yes albeit it's a very nice corridor yeah quite a big one but i
06:37can
06:37see their problem and actually the problem is going to get worse with the arrival of the next baby and
06:43really you want to just get rid of that wall turn the table have yourself come into the sitting room
06:48this way your easy option is taking this wall out that's the simplest quickest cheapest method
06:56i agree but as the hallway provides a far escape route for both the front and rear of the house
07:00that wall can't be removed on top of that whilst i have 35 grand to solve the lack of the
07:07social kitchen
07:08diner in reality the ceiling price of the street is only 25 grand more than the house is currently
07:14worth so i don't want to overspend i think you've got your work coming out i'll leave you to it
07:20i'm
07:20gonna have a look around upstairs i am a bit flummoxed actually because there just isn't the space
07:28it's not about the budget it's about the space and creating something which will add value
07:35i'd rather tell us a phil search lovely area oh wow they have done a beautiful job
07:46on this house upstairs is amazing but downstairs has got some serious problems and i
07:51i'm not sure that kirstie be able to resolve them and what's the pity i can tell your heart's bleeding
07:58for me phil well with a sizable listed budget of 370 grand i should be able to show them a
08:06property
08:06that has no problems upstairs or downstairs but you'll also have to blow 8 500 pounds in stamp duty
08:14as well as over five grand in moving and legal costs that's just under 14 grand better spent on
08:20creating their forever home here they have a beautiful house here's my take on it i think for
08:27her own self suz has to make one last attempt to stay here and you can't make it bigger no
08:35no you
08:36can make it different but you can't make it bigger phil's pretty smug he thinks you need to move and
08:46that he's it's like no contest but but having said that i love the house but i can find you
08:52and show you
08:53houses that are have much better connectivity for family life so what would you need to see yeah so
09:00four bedrooms um either semi or detached good local amenities um good schools and public transport links
09:09big downstairs external storage or a garage fun enough i've just had a new idea when i was standing here
09:18so he's just come to me no i didn't need to chat with you phil go on tell us no
09:23no you get going
09:25get on with your research phil don't worry about we got this we got this taped we've got it in
09:30the back
09:30no now no no i've i've got my mojo back i can practically hear the cogs turning
09:38well they should definitely list that much is clear kirstie's got a great plan up her sleeve
09:44can't wait to hear it yeah yeah she may have a good plan but phil's definitely gonna find
09:49something that ticks all the boxes that we require moving forward as a larger family
09:55i was feeling quite chipper until you had whatever just happened in your brain
10:00it's very very simple but i'm not gonna share it with you
10:09we need more space downstairs this doesn't offer it another house will
10:17i'm back in the lovely coastal village of color coats in north tyneside
10:21where in 2019 with a new baby on the way mark and suz drummond were arguing over whether to love
10:29or
10:29list their victorian terraced home it offers so much and with a few changes i think
10:36it can really be the house that we need more than a few changes no whilst the future of their
10:41home
10:42remained in the valance kirstie was formulating a cunning plan to convince them to stay
10:47which was so simple she almost missed it ah nope no need to overspend this needs to be the kitchen
10:58so it will be very much a kitchen diner with a pantry storage in what used to be the kitchen
11:07makes sense to me i just hope mark and suz are on board i thought about all sorts of clever
11:13things
11:13and then i came absolutely back to the simplest cheapest easiest solution because i genuinely believe
11:22it to be the best okay
11:28instead of extending and taking away from the little outdoor space they have the courtyard needs to
11:34become a room in its own right then inside i want to move the kitchen into the current dining room
11:40to create a big sociable kitchen diner to connect all the downstairs living spaces solving mark's big
11:46issue with this house to maximize this area the old kitchen would become a utility room so laundry and
11:52household clutter would be kept out of the way this does mean that you get a big sociable kitchen
12:01which this room is that move of the kitchen and that bringing in of that utility space i think that
12:07will make a massive difference to how i use the house overall that's going to make better connection
12:12i like utility being here and we can kind of come in with bikes and go into here ditch stuff
12:17and then
12:18come in and do what we need to do yeah yeah yeah it's about how to make someone's family life
12:23function better that's what we do and that's what we want yeah yeah my plan maximizes pounds and you
12:30could have another five grand to play with yeah or buy caravan with my plan with your plan yes
12:38yeah i totally understand why kirstie's telling us not to spend the full budget we've got to be
12:43realistic in terms of what we'll get back on the property if we did decide to sell but is it
12:48going
12:48to be a game changer that's going to keep us here for years it may be a short-term thing
12:53or yeah i think
12:55you've got food for thought a simple plan completely the right thing to do
13:02and you know what they were more receptive to it than i thought so fingers crossed that
13:09i've done the right thing whether that's helps them list it or not i think i've done the right
13:14thing and i think they see that you do your best kirsty whilst i carry on my search for houses
13:21with
13:21all the space this growing family could possibly need suz is adamant she wants to stay by the coast
13:28and seaside properties are going to attract quite a hefty premium so compromises will be faced but as
13:36of yet i've no idea what they might agree on so it should get interesting would you take on a
13:45project
13:45i think we would take on a project we're not scared of you know getting our hands dirty or you
13:51know
13:51knocking down walls and things like that any other changes things that i should be aware of yes we
13:59have purchased a caravan caravan a caravan presumably it's made listing it more likely because you need
14:07somewhere to put it yes no it's quite where it is no no no no well look no further than
14:15my next house
14:16it's just down the road in their favorite place color coats and complete with the perfect spot for
14:21a caravan pulling onto your own driveway in front of your big semi-detached house i mean it is a
14:31busy
14:32road yeah but we're off it and we've got parking yeah and this is a lot safer than where we
14:38are at the
14:38minute opening the door and being straight onto the pavement yeah yeah yeah and things only get
14:46better inside with a large and bright living dining room spacious kitchen three generous double bedrooms
14:54and a huge family bathroom plus a large mature back garden and a garage all this could be theirs for
15:02three hundred and forty two thousand pounds and it's still within a ten minute walk to the beach
15:07and cora's primary school jobs are good and a lovely big bright hallway you're not gonna see many
15:15always like this i know the kitchen there's a big old room it is yeah yeah it's probably not your
15:26style
15:27but it's livable yeah thought-provoking sis yeah i'm trying to try not to smile it gives it away you'd
15:37read
15:37it on my face straight away it is well that smile will only get bigger when she sees the rest
15:43of the house
15:44next door the dining room could be knocked through to create an even bigger family kitchen
15:49i mean it would be a massive massive room if it went that way and then actually put i mean
15:54we've got
15:54doors on these but block it off block that off yeah that's what you would do straight away isn't it
15:59yeah it's priced at 342 000. okay okay it would be easily snapped up for the location
16:08yeah i think it's got real potential well why don't you guys have a look up the bedrooms
16:13so there's three doubles okay all really good interesting yeah but have a one look okay cool
16:19well thank you very much
16:25actually suz is looking even keener than mark which is a massive turnout for the books i'm delighted
16:33upstairs things only get better first thing i noticed straight away you can see the sea look
16:42it's a really nice space it's a big room this
16:47they're all good sized doubles with plenty more potential in the loft to install a fourth bedroom
16:52and even an ensuite you do downstairs first yeah and then you do this when you've got more money
16:59but if it is going to be forever then there's no rush because it's it's fine now as
17:04who we are as a family i couldn't agree more mark i can warm it up to enlist it here
17:11we go
17:16happy i don't want to say so but yes
17:21it surprised me and it has got that potential for us to
17:25do some renovations and make it work for us yeah i'd say that's a very good sign
17:33not quite not quite i still love our house i absolutely do
17:38but the fact that you can't not you've just got to think the future now isn't you've got to think
17:42and that's that's probably what i haven't been doing it yeah the near three to five i can see it
17:47written on your face oh no you can't i can't hide anything can i no no no he's really not
17:52wanting to
17:56it's okay we'll move on phil has done well yes definitely he has he has it's it's a great location
18:05it's on a great street it's got potential it's it ticks all of our boxes definitely i'm trying not
18:13to smile right now but she is oh yes she is kirsty and i think suz has practically listed it
18:20already
18:22oh phil you're not going to shake susie's faith and team love it that easily
18:31just five weeks after i gave them my plan for a bigger kitchen it seems that mark is on board
18:38they've embraced my ideas and started the build
18:41so it's back to color codes to check on the start of the work
18:44funny how the weather often seems better with that fill around the sun is out and i'm here on day
18:50one of suz and mark's build they are desperate to get that kitchen sorted out before the baby arrives
19:02well
19:05that was a kitchen they have really got cracking here
19:11as this room turns into a utility the relocation of the new bigger sociable kitchen
19:16is underway next door but there is a third room and that is the garden and if this is really
19:22going
19:23to work there has to be an easy transition between the three rooms so making the garden feel like a
19:30room
19:31is real priority hello hello what do you want from this space i want
19:38a relaxing space so i can be sitting down at the end of the day with a glass of wine
19:43and know that
19:44the girls can be playing nearby and occupy themselves to some yeah some degree straight
19:51away i can see a fun play area by the outside tap perfect for a mud kitchen just one of
19:56those little
19:56bowls in set so you can put the plug in and splash around and play with the water it's like
20:01when you
20:01go camping exactly and you wash your dishes outside exactly the same sort of thing grown-ups need
20:08areas in this space too so to make it feel more comfortable and relaxing i plan on dressing the
20:14yard with rugs plants and soft furnishings this will be a great chill out space
20:23but there's no time to relax in the drummond household yet because within two weeks the new
20:28kitchen installation starts and that's not the only new arrival so this is penny rose drummond
20:36we have taken a better time off a couple of weeks we've given ourselves but um we're straight back
20:41into it yeah regardless whether we're going to move or stay we still want to do it for us
20:47i think it'll make us stay yeah we'll see
20:59back in 2019 in color coats mark was adamant the time had come to sell up and move to a
21:04bigger family
21:05home but suz was not convinced one of the main reasons for buying this house is that we we wanted
21:13to start a family and we had a pretty tough ride in terms of uh in terms of getting there
21:18and yeah
21:19i have a big emotional attachment to this house after viewing a spacious semi with me though suz looked
21:27very like team listed's newest member happy i don't want to say so but yes you're not wanting to
21:38well before you get carried away phil susan mark are getting stuck back into the work at home
21:44looks like they're enjoying making this their forever home
21:47nah what they are enjoying is all that diy and building work i think it's given them a taste for
21:53more renovation so i'm taking them south of the tyne now to a property but it's quite radical but we'll
22:00really test how big a project they might be prepared to take on so you've never lived south of
22:05the river never never wanted to live south never we are going south and i know that wasn't part of
22:15the plan but i have found something that's quite i thought you'd do this you know oh it will change
22:21everything but for the good or the bad well i'm feeling nervous yeah have you got one pound 80
22:29no you need one pound 80. two uh you didn't bring your purse yeah i've got two pounds okay
22:35a moment there it's good to be it's me driving not class she certainly wouldn't have any cash cash
22:43just like the queen well despite all the signs telling me this is possibly a bad idea i'm taking
22:51them to castle eden this very pretty village 45 minutes drive south and just a few miles in from the
22:57sea is home to the next place i've lined up which will get them thinking i'm either totally brilliant
23:03or totally barmy are you being serious you are joking no i'm not no way yes it's an 18th century
23:13church with planning permission set in an acre of land and on the market for just a hundred grand i'm
23:20speechless so that is saint james's church where worshiped stopped 2016 smaller smaller congregation
23:28a building that needed looking after it didn't kind of stack up so it now has permission for a four
23:35bedroom home it's great too listed it's phenomenal oh god but i guess first things first is i should ask
23:43you do you do you have any issues with living in a church i'm looking at the graveyard that's
23:51that's something i hadn't imagined yeah i don't know yeah why don't we go in and i can show you
23:58the plans you get a sort of feeling of the place yeah sounds good yeah let me show you the
24:03one
24:09currently one vast open space plans have been agreed to install a mezzanine floor with four
24:16bedrooms and two bathrooms on an upper level downstairs the chancel will be a kitchen with
24:21a dining room beyond there's a utility room in the old vestry which leaves the huge nave and side aisles
24:28to an enormous sitting room but these guys did say they wanted much more living space can i have a
24:34go
24:37that's amazing come in dude absolutely amazing
24:42first impressions it's it's a church it's pretty amazing yeah it's just thinking about what we've
24:52done to ours to this it's like a whole other level isn't it yeah yeah this is available for
24:59a hundred thousand pounds it will without question make somebody a spectacular home very very difficult
25:05for anyone to put an accurate figure on what it would cost to do these plans but we've had a
25:10couple
25:10of people look at it they've come in at wildly different ends of the spectrum um one was 160 and
25:16one
25:16almost 400 i think with your budget you could be in here and living in here would you consider it
25:24is or is it too much be honest i don't i don't think it would be too much i would
25:30definitely be
25:30off for the challenge but it's whether it would have to be right that we both wanted it
25:37someone's someone's gone very quiet yeah what is concerning for me is the the fact that it will
25:45always feel like a church let's have one okay it's grand maybe a little bit too much work to do
25:56just the money for edward be significant and we might want to stop making a few collections
26:04anything in that news hmm i think the offerings here are dwindling and i reckon i can still spook kirsty
26:13send a copy of that to my friend mrs allsop dearest you're going to need divine intervention to beat me
26:30i think that there is a project in us but this just feels too big it just feels too much
26:39you agree completely yeah yeah i agree yeah quite fun to come and have a look at that but you've
26:44got a
26:45lot of thinking to do while you finish the work at home yeah yeah and enjoy penny and kirstie and
26:50i will
26:50be back to ask that question yes yeah yeah do the right thing do the right
27:03a week later in search of my holy grail of a list it the time had come to find out
27:09what susan mark's
27:10decision would be
27:14absolutely beautiful day look at that beach i want to live in color codes i was just kind of
27:20reflecting on how things have changed up here in what way the time well i mean the arrival of penny
27:27and the arrival of a caravan much to my surprise on the house hunt so that needs to be stored
27:34and the
27:36family's got bigger but luckily i've shown susan mark some fantastic houses with all the space they'll
27:43need for the kids and the caravan hope you're getting ready to buy me that drink castles you're
27:49unbearable and you're smug i should be paid extra for having to go in a coffee with you have to
27:55walk
27:56across the road it's good job we're not pushing prams and looking after small children isn't it
28:01we're at parkour all the way across the street hello good morning he's whinging about the parking
28:10enough whinging phil prepared to be wowed
28:14where once this family was kept apart living with a tiny galley kitchen separate to the rest of the
28:20downstairs now they can all be together cooking and eating in a stunning family size kitchen
28:28in the old dining room it opens onto the living room creating one big sociable space meanwhile the
28:35old kitchen has become an incredibly useful utility room such a simple solution has transformed this
28:42house and they've kept to the limit i set them of 25 grand which means they didn't go a penny
28:48over the
28:48ceiling price of the house blimey oh my words it just it does look absolutely stunning this space feels
29:00enormous it's nice it really is i mean this is fantastic and you talked about wanting an open
29:06plan space and you've nailed it i mean clearly it's not as large as some of the places that we
29:11looked at
29:11together but it's still very nice how has it worked just over the last few days with people moving
29:17around and being in the same room delivered yeah yeah it really has it works it really really does
29:24work so the kids have been in there in the living room while i've been preparing tea yeah or more
29:31at 13 grand the kitchen and its installation were the biggest costs but the guys save money elsewhere
29:37there like sanding the existing floorboards and even this fabulous statement piece celebrating the
29:44whole family only costs 350 pounds who did that it's a a local sign right there that um we spotted
29:54some of his work in the shop window when we got to register penny's birth didn't we so i got
29:59in touch
29:59and said can you do a custom piece for us oh i'm just checking it's movable that's all it is
30:05it is it is
30:07what happened to the old kitchen ah shall we go on then after you no no no
30:15despite not increasing their square footage susan mark have maximized every inch of space in this house
30:22under stairs playroom surprise oh wow it's very cool it's a normal place to have a playroom but
30:29that's a genius idea you're going to set a trend with that by removing cupboards and decorating
30:35themselves they've created a great den for the girls for less than 50 quid they've also replaced the
30:41understair storage with a brand new utility room in their former kitchen you've really properly thought
30:47this through yeah i think we have yeah can we have a look outside yes see where that caravan's going
30:54to
30:54go outside the tired looking backyard has been redesigned and decorated to create even more living
31:03space with areas for all the family to enjoy it's like another room yeah we've got the sun trap area
31:10where we can sit and have a nice g and t as the sun goes down but that's the place
31:14for the kids to play
31:15yeah and that's what we didn't have before did you make that i made that you didn't all pallets
31:20yeah mark oh my god all the pallets yeah that's great i mean obviously it's taken all of the storage
31:27away for bicycles and no no no no no no no some more storage can be built phil but it's
31:33just time
31:33a lot's been going on around here so i think it's about coffee time and sit down yeah let's do
31:38it
31:39let's do it let's do it come on
31:45yes before anyone gets carried away it's team list it's done it's beautiful and you've absolutely
31:52maxed out what anyone could have ever done to this house but it does still have the issues that you
31:59started with which were things like storage and parking and and i think the houses that we looked at
32:05that resolved a lot of those color coats absolutely nailed it yeah it was it was lovely nice house
32:11lots of potential i think it was at that point i probably overcooked it and i thought if you were
32:16up for a project let's see how much you were up for a project so we went to see a
32:20church a characterful
32:21building with potential but no way way too much of a project for us yeah this house didn't work for
32:28you
32:28because it had a tiny kitchen it now has one family room in which you can cook eat and relax
32:36all together
32:37yeah see kids playing working in this bit it's nice nice space it doesn't have a big garden
32:46so i couldn't resolve that situation but it definitely for the time being
32:55it ticks every box okay so are you gonna love it or listed
33:09we are going to
33:12listed
33:17i am pleased i'm pleased i think it's the right decision good for you you've set me off now
33:25leaving a home that has seen them through their struggle to start a family
33:29the loss of baby chester and then the joy of bringing their girls home won't be easy
33:35it's moving on yeah yeah it is doesn't mean you're forgetting the past
33:41homes are important but it is about the family on reflection i know that the memories always come
33:49with you and it will be hard to go when we do because i genuinely love this house
33:53but space is the issue and i think for you showing us a third property has given us the inspiration
34:00to
34:01see it we think you could do something on this scale oh you could do anything i mean the talent
34:07that
34:07you've both exhibited well done congratulations cursi's off to the pub to buy me a drink i mean
34:13what could be better my day's just just rocking and rolling now
34:19i feel proud of what we've achieved and it gives us that umph to say yes we can do it
34:27again and then
34:28phil has just opened our eyes the realization that that project isn't as scary and bring on the next one
34:39much like their renovation mark and sue's did not hang about just three months after their decision
34:45to list they sold the terraced house and had an offer accepted on a 1930s semi
34:53one year later and around a month after their move phil popped around for a nosy well it's not
35:00exactly a church but it does have garage parking and we're very close to the house that i showed them
35:09hello good morning good morning what a lovely looking spot yes well don't have a look you haven't
35:15wasted any time no definitely not come in
35:23for mark sue's cora and penny who lacked room to grow in their mid terrace home this four bed semi
35:30has
35:30space in spades as well as a serious upgrade on kitchen size here they also have two reception
35:39rooms one for the girls and one for them win win
35:47so we were together in november you wanted to list it and i didn't realize you were going to get
35:51straight
35:52onto it but what happened did you go out house hunting did you put the house on the market what
35:56what
35:56happened this uh they were having a little browse now and again and this house popped up and we
36:03thought right let's go have a look at it and it's this that spurred us to get our house on
36:07the market
36:07we knew exactly what we wanted and what we wanted to do but it's the potential that the property has
36:13and
36:15it um it covered everything that we were looking for didn't it the work they did on their old place
36:22attracted a fair bit of interest and after 12 viewings and six offers they sold it within the
36:29week couldn't be any happier i had so much interest and a lot of that is is because of the
36:35work that
36:36we did with yourselves i see you've got some plans here you're not hanging around again yeah inspired by
36:43their last renovation mark and sue's have some pretty serious plans for reconfiguring their new home
36:49the main thing is to get that open plan kitchen dining with a separate living room this is a proper
36:56forever family home and i've no doubt they'll add the same stunning drummond style they wowed kirstie and
37:03i within their last place it's felt like home so quickly which is great couldn't ask for more
37:08fantastic i'm so so pleased you really have rocked it you really have nailed it
37:14and the space upgrades only get better out the back oh it's vast
37:20yes it's nice it's really nice cora and soon enough penny will adore it
37:29with four bedrooms and a study upstairs there is so much extra space here for them to grow as a
37:35family
37:36and i know they love a project so i couldn't be happier for them so how does it make you
37:41feel
37:41reflected i mean you didn't want to leave that house when we first met you were going this is it
37:46i'm not going anywhere forever i was it was such an emotional process but when we made the decision
37:52that we were going to list it it was genuine and a lot of people got in touch on moving
37:58day saying i know
37:59it's going to be hard and it wasn't i felt like a weight had been lifted and it was so
38:03lovely just
38:04to come in here and have the space definitely the right decision to go i mean you guys have been
38:09through a lot but it must be so nice to go you know what oh it is yeah it is
38:14yeah that said it all
38:15that big that big deep breath just it feels right good for you i'm so pleased thank you for having
38:22me
38:22thank you well done it really was the perfect happy ending and now five years on i'm heading
38:30back to see what wonders they've worked with their new house and knowing this couple i expect it will
38:36be pretty special in 2019 mark and suz decided to list it less than a year later they were in
38:52their
38:521930s semi with great plans to make it their dream family home i'm back to see how that panned out
39:03last time i saw susan mark penny had just been born and cora was only three creating the perfect
39:09home for their growing family was always their top priority so i can't wait to catch up and see what
39:15they've done with what was a very traditional 1930s semi how are you good thank you so nice to see
39:23you
39:23both mark and suz have certainly been busy the downstairs lounge has had a complete overhaul
39:31with beautiful exposed brickwork replacing the old gas fire and an office for mark
39:37and by reconfiguring the front entrance with a new door and window
39:41and knocking down the walls between the entrance hall kitchen and back reception room oh look at this
39:52they've not only created a wonderful open plan family kitchen dining living space but also opened up
39:58the hallway allowing that all-important flow and light to the downstairs so what you've done is the the
40:07thing everybody always wants which is the line of sight from one to back to have that degree of light
40:14coming into the house is just spectacular so we opened up all of this backspace first we knew that
40:22that was the biggest building work and getting all the glass in so lots of steel lots of knocking down
40:28the brickwork tough at times really tough at times let's be honest yeah i'm not surprised as they were
40:36living in the house with their two girls now six and nine how long has it taken a long five
40:43years and
40:44that wasn't because the build took that long it was saving up to get the next bit and the next
40:48bit and
40:48the next bit and in the garage now that's a multitasking room if ever i saw it utility gym tool
40:58shed
40:59a work in progress with the downstairs loo still to come that is brilliant that is really good clever
41:06spending and saving has been the key to this build and just like last time doing a lot of the
41:12work
41:12themselves one of the big projects that we're hoping to to do in the future is to put an outdoor
41:18kitchen
41:19on and that's why we've made this window a bifold one so that it opens up fully so that you
41:26can i'm
41:26obsessed on the other side so you cook and you hand stuff out your hand drinks out you ban washing
41:33that is posh what did that cost oh what happened to mr i'm watching every penny excuse me
41:45oh my god
41:49the bifold windows and doors cost around 5k but i have to admit it's money well spent when you can
41:55open
41:56up the back of your house to such a wonderful garden has having a garden been as good as you
42:03thought it would be even better we didn't realize how much time we would spend in it from putting out
42:09the the washing on the line to having people around to the kids just being out and playing didn't see
42:15the
42:15huge trampoline there yeah it's made a massive difference yeah it's been great for home parties and
42:22entertainment we've got the kind of friends we just end up in each other's houses we ad hoc and you
42:28know everyone feels relaxed and welcome you know in our house just as much as we do in there so
42:32it's
42:32a real sense of community and that that really adds to to how happy we are here and the work
42:38didn't end
42:39down here upstairs the main bedroom has been extended with an ensuite and dressing room oh my god is
42:46that what i think it is she's suggested put the tv into the wall which was the greatest thing she's
42:51ever said there's the most incredible family bathroom oh it's not often i see something where
42:57i'm truly envious but that that is that's it right i want to see the rest
43:05and as always they've maximized every inch of space
43:09i love beds in windows like that look at how much space we've got this is a craft room a
43:18home
43:18office and a guest room i need to like fix this in my mind and every single time i go
43:24and see one
43:24of these houses with someone i'm going to be saying mark and sue's yeah mark and sue's the mark and
43:31who's way is the right way i might get that made up for them as another piece of wall art
43:39as you know i loved your old house and i really wanted to see what you've done with the new
43:45house
43:45and you missed us and i did miss you you're not supposed to make favorites but
43:50quite genuinely there are things you have done with this house that i can take and suggest to
43:58people all over the country who have this house it's a blueprint for what to do cleverly
44:04with a 1930s house and i hope you're really proud thank you yeah i think we are i think you
44:10are there
44:11no you know there'll be another project or we'll be finishing this or making that but we do just need
44:24to have a restock on the finances yeah yeah well it's funny you should mention finances you know
44:31me and my little bits of paper obviously you know that you bought this house for 330 000 pounds yeah
44:37yeah and obviously you know that you have spent 80 000 on it yeah the most recent average of the
44:45post-renovation valuations in a market which was going up and is now flatlining more
44:52is 528 000 pounds i know wow i know we're gonna list it yeah no so yes do you know
45:05you've got emotional
45:06there but i think yes like to hear that it's just that's a wow because we didn't think it would
45:12be that
45:13more no that is a wow it's a wow particularly in the in in the current environment i mean that
45:19means
45:19you've added 198 000 pounds of value to this house and i think it tells you something which is that
45:27your
45:28time has been worth money that's crazy it's crazy but it's because of your vision but this is one of
45:38the
45:38cheeriest bits of paper i've got out of my pocket in a long time we'll frame it and put it
45:42on the wall
45:43we'll give you a call in five years time oh i want to come back you can come back sooner
45:48i want to come back sooner phil's off that's it phil who that's me from now on
45:55it's been challenging but we're here yeah and i think that that valuation at the end
46:01is the really kind of the icing on the cake really and knowing how much that that work we've put
46:09in
46:09has kind of paid off to this point so yeah i'm really happy it's outstanding i'm i'm shocked i was
46:15shocked they're clever and imaginative and energetic and they deserve all the money that they have added
46:25to the value of their own house because it's all their own work and it's just a joy to see
46:56it's just a joy to see you guys
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