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Kirstie and Phils Love It or List It - Season 11 - Episode 07: Cullercoats Revisit
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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
09:17please just come to me no i didn't need to share with you phil go on no no you get
09:25going get on with
09:26your research phil don't worry we got this we got this taped we've got it in the bag no no
09:31no i've
09:32i've got my mojo back i can practically hear the cogs turning well they should definitely list
09:40that much is clear kirstie's got a great plan up her sleeve can't wait to hear it yeah yeah she
09:46may
09:47have a good plan but phil's definitely gonna find something that ticks all the boxes that we require
09:52moving forward as a larger family i was feeling quite chipper until you had whatever just happened
09:59in your brain it's very very simple but i'm not going to share it with you
10:10we 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 valance
10:43kirstie was formulating a cunning plan to convince them to stay which was so simple she almost missed it
10:52ah nope no need to overspend this needs to be the kitchen so it will be very much a kitchen
11:01diner
11:02with a pantry storage in what used to be the kitchen makes sense to me i just hope mark and
11:09suz are on
11:10board i thought about all sorts of clever things and then i came absolutely back to the simplest cheapest
11:20easiest solution because i genuinely believe it to be the best instead of extending and taking away
11:31from the little outdoor space they have the courtyard needs to become a room in its own right
11:36then inside i want to move the kitchen into the current dining room to create a big sociable kitchen
11:42diner to connect all the downstairs living spaces solving mark's big issue with this house to maximize
11:48this area the old kitchen would become a utility room so laundry and household clutter would be kept
11:53out of the way this does mean that you get a big sociable kitchen which this room is that move
12:02of the
12:02kitchen and that bringing in of that utility space i think that will make a massive difference to how i
12:08use
12:08the house overall that's going to make a better connection i like utility being here and we can
12:14kind of come in with bikes and go into here ditch stuff and then come in and do what we
12:19need to do
12:19yeah yeah yeah it's about how to make someone's family life function better that's what we do and
12:26that's what we want yeah yeah my plan maximizes pounds and you could have another five grand to play
12:31with yeah walk by caravan with my plan with your plan yes yeah i totally understand why kirstie's
12:41telling us not to spend the full budget we've got to be realistic in terms of what we'll get back
12:45and the property if we did decide to sell but is it going to be a game changer that's going
12:50to keep
12:50us here for years it may be a short-term thing or yeah i think we've got food for thought
12:57a simple plan
12:59completely the right thing to do and you know what they were more receptive to it than i thought so
13:06fingers crossed that i've done the right thing whether that helps them list it or not i think
13:13i've done the right thing and i think they see that you do your best kirstie whilst i carry on
13:20my
13:20search for houses with all the space this growing family could possibly need suz is adamant she wants
13:27to stay by the coast and seaside properties are going to attract quite a hefty premium so compromises
13:35will be faced but as of 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 our
13:50hands dirty or you know knocking down walls and things like that any other changes things that i should
13:56be aware of yes we have purchased a caravan caravan a caravan presumably it's made listing it more
14:06likely because you need someone to put it yes no it's quite where it is no no no well look
14:14no further
14:14than my 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 than
14:38where we are at the minute opening the door and being straight onto the pavement yeah yeah yeah
14:42yeah and 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 but
15:27it's livable yeah thought-provoking sus yeah i'm trying to try not to smile it gives it away you'd read
15:37it on my face straight away it is well that smile will only get bigger when she sees the rest
15:43of the
15:44house next door the dining room could be knocked through to create an even bigger family kitchen i mean
15:49it would be a massive massive room if it went that way and then actually put i mean we've got
15:54doors on
15:55these but block it off block that off yeah that's what you would do straight away isn't it yeah it's
16:01priced at 342 000. okay okay it would be easily snapped up for the location yeah i think it's got
16:09real
16:09potential well why don't you guys have a look up the bedrooms so there's three doubles okay all really
16:16good interesting yeah but have a one look okay cool well thank you very much
16:24actually sus 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 they're all good sized doubles with plenty more
16:50potential in the loft to install a fourth bedroom and even an ensuite you do downstairs first yeah and
16:57then you do this when you've got more money but if it is going to be forever then there's no
17:01rush because
17:02it's it's fine now as who we are as a family i couldn't agree more mark i can warm it
17:10up to enlist it here we go
17:16happy i don't want to say so but yet
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 the near three to five i can see it written on
17:47your
17:47face it'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
18:13to smile right now but she is oh yes she is kirsty and i think suz has practically listed it
18:20already
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 coast to check on the start
18:44of the work funny how the weather often seems better with that fill around the sun is out and
18:49i'm here on day one of suz and mark's build they are desperate to get that kitchen sorted out before
18:56the baby arrives
19:04well 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
19:23to work there has to be an easy transition between the three rooms so making the garden feel like a
19:30room
19:30is real priority hello hello what do you want from this space i want a relaxing space so i can
19:40be sitting
19:40down at the end of the day with a glass of wine and know that the girls could be playing
19:45nearby
19:46and 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
20:11it feel more 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
20:26because within two weeks the new kitchen installation starts and that's not the only new arrival
20:32so this is penny rose drummond we have taken a better time off a couple of weeks we've given
20:39ourselves but um we're straight back into it yeah regardless whether we're going to move or stay
20:45we still want to do it for us i 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
21:05family home but suz was not convinced one of the main reasons for buying this house is that we
21:12we wanted to start a family and we had a pretty tough ride in terms of uh in terms of
21:18getting there
21:18and yeah i have a big emotional attachment to this house
21:23after viewing a spacious semi with me though suz looked very like team listed's newest member
21:31happy i don't want to say so but yes you're not wanting to
21:38well before you get carried away phil suz and 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
21:53for more renovation so i'm taking them south of the time now to a property but it's quite radical
21:59but we'll really test how big a project they might be prepared to take on so you've never lived south
22:05river never ever wanted to live south river never we are going south river and i know that wasn't part
22:15of the plan but i have found something that's quite i thought you'd do this you know oh it will
22:21change
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 little moment there it's good to be it's me driving not class she certainly wouldn't have any cash
22:42cash cash just like the queen well despite all the signs telling me this is possibly a bad idea
22:50i'm taking them to castle eden this very pretty village 45 minutes drive south and just a few
22:56miles in from the sea is home to the next place i've lined up which will get them thinking i'm
23:01either totally brilliant or totally balmy are you being serious you are joking no i'm not no way
23:11yes it's an 18th century church with planning permission set in an acre of land and on the market
23:17for just a hundred grand i'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 but i guess first
23:41things first is i should ask you do you have any issues with living in a church there i'm looking
23:48at the graveyard that's something i hadn't imagined yeah i don't know yeah why don't we go in and i
23:58can
23:58show you the plans you get a sort of feeling of the place yeah sounds good yeah let me show
24:02you 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
24:48it's just thinking of what what we've done to ours to this it's like a whole other level isn't it
24:55yeah yeah this is available for a hundred thousand pounds it will without question make somebody
25:03a spectacular home very very difficult for anyone to put an accurate figure on what it would cost to
25:09do these plans but we've had a couple of people look at it they've come in at wildly different ends
25:13the spectrum um one was 160 and one was 400 i think with your budget you could be in here
25:20and living
25:20in here would you consider it is or is it too much be honest i don't i don't think it
25:28would be too much
25:29i would definitely be off for the challenge but it's whether it would have to be right that we both
25:35wanted it 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 think money 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 absolutely beautiful day look at that beach i want to live in color coast i was
27:20just kind of reflecting on how things have changed up here in what way the time well i mean the
27:25arrival
27:25of penny and the arrival of a caravan much to my surprise on the house hunt so that needed to
27:34be
27:34stored and the family's got bigger but luckily i've shown susan mark some fantastic houses with all
27:42the space 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 with
27:54you
27:55have to walk across the road it's good job we're not pushing prams and looking after small children
28:00isn't it we had to park 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-sized kitchen
28:28in the old dining room it opens onto the living room creating one big sociable space
28:34meanwhile 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
28:45grand which means they didn't go a penny over the ceiling price of the house blimey oh
28:52oh my words it just it does look absolutely stunning this space feels enormous it's nice it really is
29:03i mean this is fantastic and you talked about wanting an open plan space and you've nailed it
29:08i mean clearly it's not as large as some of the places that we looked at together but it's still
29:12very nice how has it worked just over the last few days with people moving around and being in the
29:18same room delivered yeah yeah it really has it works it really really does work so the kids have been
29:26in
29:26the in the living room while i've been preparing tea or more at 13 grand the kitchen and its installation
29:34were the biggest costs but the guys save money elsewhere like sanding the existing floorboards
29:41and even this fabulous statement piece celebrating the whole family only costs 350 pounds who did that
29:50it's a a local sign right there that um we spotted some of his work in the shop window when
29:57we'd gone
29:57to register penny's birth didn't we so i got in touch and said can you do a custom piece for
30:02us oh i'm
30:03just checking it's movable that's all it is it is what happened to the old kitchen ah shall we go
30:11go on then after you no no no despite not increasing their square footage susan mark have maximized
30:19every inch of space in this house under stairs playroom surprise oh wow it's very cool it's a
30:27normal place to have a playroom but that's a genius idea you're going to set a trend with that by
30:33removing
30:33cupboards and decorating themselves they've created a great den for the girls for less than 50 quid
30:40they've also replaced the under stairs storage with a brand new utility room in their former kitchen
30:45you've really properly thought this through yeah i think we have yeah can we have a look outside
30:51yes see where that caravan's gonna go
30:58outside the tired looking backyard has been redesigned and decorated to create even more living space
31:03with 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
31:15and that's what we didn't have before did you make that i made that you didn't all pallets yeah
31:21mark 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 no some more storage can be built phil but
31:32it's just time
31:33a lot's been going on around here so i think it's about coffee time and sit down
31:37yeah let's do it let's do it let's do it come on
31:45yes before anyone gets carried away it's team listed's turn
31:50it's beautiful and you've absolutely maxed out what anyone could have ever done to this house
31:57but it does still have the issues that you started with which were things like storage and parking and
32:02and i think the houses that we looked at resolved a lot of those color coats absolutely nailed it yeah
32:09it was it was lovely nice house lots of potential i think it was at that point i probably overcooked
32:15it
32:15and i thought if you were up for a project let's see how much you were up for a project
32:19so we went
32:19to see a church a characterful building with potential but no way way too much of a project for us
32:25yeah this house didn't work for you because it had a tiny kitchen it now has one family room
32:34in which you can cook eat and relax all together yeah see kids playing working in this bit it's nice
32:42nice space it doesn't have a big garden so i couldn't resolve that situation but it definitely for the time
32:53being ticks every box okay so are you gonna love it or listed
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
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
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 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 rooms
35:39one 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 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 the
36:29week couldn't be any happier i had so much interest and a lot of that is is because of the
36:35the work that
36:36we did with ourselves i see you've got some plans here you're not hanging around again yeah inspired
36:43by their last renovation mark and sue's have some pretty serious plans for reconfiguring their new home
36:50the 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
37:03within 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
37:30with four bedrooms and a study upstairs there is so much extra space here for them to grow as a
37:35family and i know they love a project so i couldn't be happier for them so how does it make
37:41you feel
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
37:59i know it's going to be hard and it wasn't i felt like a weight had been lifted and it
38:03was so lovely
38:04just to come in here and have the space definitely the right decision to go i mean you guys have
38:09been
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 back to
38:30see what wonders they've worked with their new house and knowing this couple i expect it will be
38:36pretty special in 2019 mark and suz decided to list it less than a year later they were in their
38:521930s
38:53semi 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 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
40:48the 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
46:55so
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