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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
09:18in the house you've just come to me no i didn't mean to share with you phil go on no
09:23no you get going
09:25get on with your research phil don't worry we got this we got this taped we've got it in the
09:30back
09:30no no no 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 can't
09:44wait to hear it yeah yeah she may have a good plan but phil's definitely gonna find something that
09:50ticks all the boxes that we require moving forward as a larger family i was feeling quite chipper until
09:57you had whatever just happened in your brain it's very very simple but i'm not going to share it with
10:04you
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
10:22where in 2019 with a new baby on the way mark and sue's drummond were arguing over whether to love
10:29or list their victorian terraced home it offers so much and with a few changes i think it can really
10:36be the house that we need more than a few changes no whilst the future of their home remained in
10:42the
10:42valance kirstie was formulating a cunning plan to convince them to stay which was so simple she almost
10:50missed it uh nope no need to overspend this needs to be the kitchen so it will be very much
11:00a kitchen
11:01diner with a pantry storage in what used to be the kitchen makes sense to me i just hope mark
11:09and suz
11:10are on board i thought about all sorts of clever things and then i came absolutely back to
11:18the simplest cheapest easiest solution because i genuinely believe it to be the best okay
11:28instead of extending and taking away from the little outdoor space they have
11:32the courtyard needs to become a room in its own right
11:36then 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
11:45solving mark's big issue with this house to maximize this area the old kitchen would become
11:50a utility room so laundry and household clutter would be kept out of the way
11:57this does mean that you get a big sociable kitchen which this room is that move of the kitchen and
12:04that
12:04bringing in of that utility space i think that will make a massive difference to how i use the house
12:09overall that's going to make better connection i like utility being here and we can kind of come
12:15in with bikes and going to here ditch stuff and then come in and do what we need to do
12:19yeah yeah yeah
12:20it's about how to make someone's family life function better that's what we do and that's what we want
12:27yeah yeah my plan maximizes pounds and you could have another five grand to play with yeah or buy caravan
12:33with my plan with your plan yes
12:38i totally understand why kirstie's telling us not to spend the full budget we've got to be realistic
12:43in terms of what we'll get back and the property if we did decide to sell but is it going
12:48to be a game
12:49changer that's going to keep us here for years it may be a short-term thing or yeah we i
12:55think we've got
12:56food 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 kirstie 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
13:44would you take on a project i think we would take on a project we're not scared of you know
13:49getting
13:50our hands dirty or you know knocking down walls and things like that any other changes things that
13:55i should be aware of yes we have purchased a caravan caravan a caravan presumably it's made
14:05listing it more likely because you need somewhere to put it yes no no no no well look no further
14:14than
14:15my next house it's just down the road in their favorite place color coats and complete with the
14:20perfect spot for a caravan pulling onto your own driveway in front of your big semi-detached house
14:29i mean it is a busy road yeah but we're off it and we've got parking yeah and this is
14:37a lot safer
14:38than where we are at the minute opening the door and being straight onto the pavement yeah yeah
14:45and things only get better inside with a large and bright living dining room spacious kitchen
14:52three generous double bedrooms and a huge family bathroom plus a large mature back garden and a
14:59garage all this could be theirs for 342 000 pounds and it's still within a 10-minute walk to the
15:06beach
15:07and cora's primary school jobs at gooden a lovely big bright hallway you're not gonna see many
15:15hallways like this i know the kitchen is a big old room it is yeah yeah it's probably not your
15:26style
15:27but it's livable yeah thought-provoking sus yeah i'm trying to try not to smile
15:36it gives it away you'd read it on my face straight away can't you it is well that smile will
15:42only get
15:42bigger when she sees the rest of the house next door the dining room could be knocked through to
15:47create an even bigger family kitchen i mean it would be a massive massive room if it went that way
15:52and
15:52then actually put i mean we've got doors on these but block it off block block that off yeah that's
15:58what
15:58you would do straight away isn't it yeah it's priced at 342 000 okay okay it would be easily snapped
16:06up for the location yeah i think it's got real potential well why don't you guys have a look
16:12up the bedrooms so there's three doubles okay all really good interesting yeah but have a one look
16:18okay cool thank you very much actually sus is looking even keener than mark which is a massive
16:30turn up for the books i'm delighted upstairs things only get better first thing i notice straight away
16:37you can see the sea you can see the sea look it's a really nice space it's a big room
16:45this
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 it's
17:04that's who we are as a family i couldn't agree more mark i can warm it up to enlist it
17:11here we 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 do some renovations and make it work for
17:27us
17:29yeah i'd say that's a very good sign the team let's do oh not quite not quite i still love
17:35our
17:35house i absolutely do but the fact that you can't not you've just got to think the future now isn't
17:41you've got to think and that's that's probably what i haven't been doing yeah the near three to five
17:46i can see it written on your face oh no you can't i can't hide anything can i no no
17:51she's really not wanting to
17:55it's okay we'll move on phil has done well yes definitely 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 to
18:13smile right now but cheers oh yes she is kirsty and i think suz has practically listed it already
18:22ah phil you're not going to shake suz's faith in 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 so it's back to color code to check on the start of
18:44the work funny how the weather often seems better with that fill around the sun is out and i'm here
18:50on day one of suz and mark's build they are desperate to get that kitchen sorted out before the baby
18:56arrives
19:03well that 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 to
19:23work there has to be an easy transition between the three rooms so making the garden feel like a room
19:30is real priority hello hello hello what do you want from this space i want a relaxing space so i
19:40can
19:40be sitting down at the end of the day with a glass of wine and know that the girls could
19:44be playing
19:45nearby and occupy themselves to some yeah some degree straight away i can see a fun play area by the
19:53outside tap perfect for a mud kitchen just one of those little bowls in sept so you can put the
19:58plug
19:58in and splash around and play with the water it's like when you go camping exactly and you wash your
20:03dishes outside exactly the same sort of thing grown-ups need areas in this space too so to make it
20:11feel
20:11more comfortable and relaxing i plan on dressing the yard with rugs plants and soft furnishings
20:17this 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 we have
20:37taken a better time off a couple of weeks we've given ourselves but um we're straight back into it
20:42yeah regardless whether we're gonna move or stay we still want to do it for us i think it'll make
20:48us stay
20:59back in 2019 in color coats mark was adamant the time had come to sell up and move to a
21:04bigger family home
21:06but suz was not convinced one of the main reasons for buying this house is that we we wanted to
21:13start a
21:13family and we had a pretty tough ride in terms of uh in terms of getting there and yeah i
21:19have
21:19a 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
22:05of the river never never wanted to live south never we are going south and i know that wasn't part
22:15of
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
22:57the sea is home to the next place i've lined up which will get them thinking i'm either totally
23:02brilliant or totally balmy are you being serious you are joking no i'm not no way yes it's an 18th
23:12century church with planning permission set in an acre of land and on the market for just a hundred grand
23:19i'm speechless so that is st james's church where worshiped stopped 2016
23:26smaller smaller congregation a building that needed looking after it didn't kind of stack up so it now
23:32has permission for a four bedroom home it's great too listed it's phenomenal oh god
23:41but i guess first things first is i should ask you do you have any issues with living in a
23:46church
23:47there i'm looking at the graveyard that's something i hadn't imagined yeah i don't know
23:55yeah why don't we go in and i can show you the plans you get a sort of feeling of
24:00the place yeah
24:01sounds good yeah let me show you the one
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
24:59100 000 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 was 400 i think with your budget you could be in here and living in here would you consider
25:22it
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 someone's
25:38gone very quiet yeah what is concerning for me is the the fact that it will always feel like a
25:45church
25:46let's have a wonder okay
25:50it's grand maybe a little bit too much work to do just the money edward be significant and we might
25:59want to stop making a few collections yeah anything in that news hmm i think the offerings here are
26:09dwindling and i reckon i can still spook kirsty i'll send a copy of that to my friend and there's
26:16also
26:19dearest 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
26:50will be 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 absolutely beautiful day look at that beach i want to live in color codes i was just
27:20kind of reflecting on how things have changed up here in what way the time well i mean the arrival
27:25of penny and the arrival of a caravan much to my surprise on the house hunt so that needs to
27:34be
27:34stored and the family's got bigger but luckily i've shown susan mark some fantastic houses with all the
27:42space they'll need for the kids and the caravan hope you're getting ready to buy me that drink
27:48cursed is you're unbearable and you're smug i should be paid extra for having to go on a coffee
27:53with you have to walk across the road it's good job we're not pushing prams and looking after small
27:58children isn't it we had to park all the way across the street hello good morning he's whinging about the
28:07talking enough whinging phil prepared to be wowed where once this family was kept apart living with
28:17a tiny galley kitchen separate to the rest of the downstairs now they can all be together cooking and
28:25eating in a stunning family-sized kitchen in the old dining room it opens onto the living room creating
28:31one big sociable space meanwhile the old kitchen has become an incredibly useful utility room
28:40such a simple solution has transformed this house and they've kept to the limit i set them of 25 grand
28:46which means they didn't go a penny over the ceiling price of the house blimey oh
28:54oh my words it just it does look absolutely stunning this space feels enormous it's nice
29:02isn't it it really is i mean this is fantastic and you talked about wanting an open pan space and
29:07you've
29:07nailed it i mean clearly it's not as large as some of the places that we looked at together but
29:11it's
29:12still very nice how has it worked just over the last few days with people moving around and being in
29:18the
29:18same room it's delivered yeah yeah it really has it works it really really does work so the kids have
29:26been in there in the living room while i've been preparing tea yeah or more at 13 grand the kitchen
29:33and its installation were the biggest costs but the guys save money elsewhere like sanding the existing
29:39floorboards and even this fabulous statement piece celebrating the whole family only costs 350 pounds
29:48who did that it's a a local sign right there that um we spotted some of his work in the
29:55shop window
29:56when we'd gone to register penny's birth didn't we so i got in touch and said can you do a
30:01custom
30:01piece for us oh i'm just checking it's movable that's all it is it is it is what happened to
30:09the old
30:09kitchen ah shall we go on then after you no no no despite not increasing their square footage susan
30:18mark have maximized every inch of space in this house under stairs playroom surprise oh wow that's
30:26very cool it's a normal place to have a playroom but that's a genius idea you're gonna set a trend
30:32with
30:32that by removing cupboards and decorating themselves they've created a great den for the girls for less
30:38than 50 quid they've also replaced the understair storage with a brand new utility room in their
30:44former kitchen you've really properly thought this through yeah i think we have yeah can we have a look
30:51outside yes see where that caravan's gonna go
30:58outside the tired looking backyard has been redesigned and decorated to create even more
31:02living space with areas for all the family to enjoy it's like another room yeah we've got the
31:09sun trap area where we can sit and have a nice g and t as the sun goes down but
31:14that's the place
31:14for the kids to play and that's what we didn't have before did you make that i made that you
31:19didn't
31:20all pallets yeah mark oh my god all pallets yeah that's great i mean obviously it's taken all of
31:26the storage away for bicycles and no no no no no no no some more storage can be built phil
31:32but it's
31:33just time a lot's been going on around here so i think it's about coffee time and sit down
31:38let's do it let's do it come on
31:45yes before anyone gets carried away it's team listed it's beautiful and you've absolutely maxed
31:53out what anyone could have ever done to this house but it does still have the issues that you started
32:00with which were things like storage and parking and and i think the houses that we looked at
32:05resolved a lot of those color coats absolutely nailed it yeah it was it was lovely nice house lots of
32:11potential yeah 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 because it had a tiny kitchen it now has one family room in which you can cook eat and
32:36relax all
32:37together yeah 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
32:55ticks every box okay so are you gonna love it
33:03listed or listed we are going to
33:12listed
33:16i 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 homes are important but it is
33:44about the family on reflection i know that the memories always come with you and it will be hard to
33:50go
33:51when we do because i genuinely love this house but space is the issue and i think for you showing
33:57us a third property has given us the inspiration to say we think you could do something on this scale
34:05oh you could do anything i mean the talent that you've both exhibited well done congratulations
34:10well curses off to the pub to buy me a drink i mean what could be better my day's just
34:15just rocking and
34:16rolling 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 to
34:45list 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
34:59well it's not exactly a church but it does have garage parking and we're very close to the house
35:06that i showed them hello good morning good morning what a lovely looking spot yes
35:14well don't have a look you haven't wasted 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
35:28this four-bed semi has space in spades
35:34as well as a serious upgrade on kitchen size here they also have two reception rooms one for the girls
35:41and 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 onto it but what happened did you go out house hunting did you put the house on the market
35:56what what happened this uh they were having a little browse now and again and this house popped up
36:02and we thought right let's go have a look at it and it's this that spurred us to get our
36:06house on the
36:07market we knew exactly what we wanted and what we wanted to do but it's the potential that the property
36:13has and it um it covered everything that we were looking for didn't it the work they did on their
36:21old place attracted a fair bit of interest and after 12 viewings and six offers they sold it within
36:28the week couldn't be any happier i had so much interest and a lot of that is is because of
36:35the
36:35the work that we did with ourselves i see you've got some plans here you're not hanging around again
36:41yeah inspired by their last renovation mark and sue's have some pretty serious plans for reconfiguring
36:48their new home the main thing is to get that open plan kitchen dining with a separate living room
36:55this is a proper forever family home and i've no doubt they'll add the same stunning drummond style
37:01they wowed kirstie and i within their last place it's felt like home so quickly which is great couldn't
37:07ask for more fantastic 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 yes it's nice it's really nice
37:23core and soon enough penny will adore it with four bedrooms and a study upstairs there is so much
37:33extra space here for them to grow as a family and i know they love a project so i couldn't
37:39be happier
37:39for them so how does it make you feel reflected i mean you didn't want to leave that house when
37:44we
37:44first met you were going this is it i'm not going anywhere forever i was it was such an emotional
37:49process
37:50but when we made the decision that we were going to list it it was genuine and a lot of
37:57people got
37:57in touch on moving days saying i know it's going to be hard and it wasn't i felt like a
38:02weight had
38:02been lifted and it was so lovely just to come in here and have the space definitely the right decision
38:08to go i mean you guys have been through a lot but it must be so nice again you know
38:11what oh it is
38:13yeah it is yeah that said it all that big that big deep breath just it feels right good for
38:20you i'm
38:20so pleased thank you for having me thank you well done it really was the perfect happy ending and now
38:28five years on i'm heading back to see what wonders they've worked with their new house
38:32and knowing this couple i expect it will be pretty special
38:46in 2019 mark and suz decided to list it less than a year later they were in their 1930s semi
38:54with 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 both
39:25mark 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 and knocking down the walls
39:42between 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 the
39:58hallway 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 front to back to have that degree of light
40:14coming into the house is just spectacular so we opened up all of this back space 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
40:48next bit and in the garage now that's a multitasking room if ever i saw it utility gym tool shed
40:58a work
41:00in progress with the downstairs loo still to come that is brilliant that is really good clever spending
41:07and saving has been the key to this build and just like last time doing a lot of the work
41:12themselves
41:14one of the big projects that we're hoping to to do in the future is to put an outdoor kitchen
41:19on
41:19and that's why we've made this window a bifold one so that it opens up fully so that you can
41:26i'm
41:26obsessed on the other side so you cook and you hand stuff out your hand drinks out you ban washing
41:31oh
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 up the back of your house to such a wonderful garden
42:01has having a garden been as good as you thought it would be even better we didn't realize how much
42:06time we would spend in it from putting out the the washing on the line to having people around
42:12to the kids just being out and playing didn't see the huge trampoline there yeah it's made a massive
42:18difference yeah it's been great for home parties and entertainment we've got the kind of friends
42:24we just end up at each other's houses the ad hoc and you know everyone feels relaxed and welcome
42:29you know in our house just as much as we do in there so it's real sense of community and
42:33that
42:33that really adds to to how happy we are here and the work didn't end down here upstairs the main
42:41bedroom has been extended with an ensuite and dressing room oh my god is that what i think it is
42:47she's suggested put my tv into the wall which was the greatest thing she's ever said
42:53there's the most incredible family bathroom but it's not often i see something where i'm truly
42:58envious 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 of
43:24these houses with someone i'm going to be saying mark and sue's yeah mark and sue's the mark and sue's
43:31way
43:31is the right way i might get that made up for them as another piece of wall art as you
43:40know i loved
43:41your old house and i really wanted to see what you've done with the new house and you missed us
43:46and i did miss you you're not supposed to make favorites but quite genuinely there are things you
43:53have done with this house that i can take and suggest to people all over the country who have this
44:01house
44:01it's a blueprint for what to do cleverly with a 1930s house and i hope you're really proud
44:07thank you yeah i think we are i think you are there no
44:15you're gonna say listed no no there'll always be something you know there'll be another project
44:21or we'll be finishing this or making that but we do just need to have a restock on the finances
44:27yeah yeah well it's funny you should mention fine houses you know me and my little bits of paper
44:33obviously you know that you bought this house for 330 000 pounds yeah yeah and obviously you know
44:39that you have spent 80 000 on it yeah the most recent average of the post-renovation valuations
44:46in a market which was going up and is now flatlining more is five hundred and twenty eight thousand
44:56pounds i know wow i know oh we're gonna list it yeah no so yes do you know you've got
45:06emotional there
45:07but i think yes like to hear that it's just that's a wow because we didn't think it would be
45:12that much
45:13no that is a wow it's a wow particularly in the in in the current environment i mean that means
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 it's mad it's crazy but it's because of your vision but this is
45:37one of the cheeriest bits of paper i've got out of my pocket in a long time we'll frame it
45:42and put it
45:42on the wall we'll give you a call in five years time oh i want to come back you can
45:47come back
45:47sooner i 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
46:02is 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
46:34so
46:45so
46:58Transcription by CastingWords
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