The UK property market at the moment is turbulent, to say the least, with some buyers now turning to houses that need a little bit of love to get more value for their money.
In our Where I Live series, the ECHO will explore one house from across the region each week, with the owner giving us an insight into how they've made their house a home.
Online fitness coach Amy Wright, 24, and partner David Lavery, a 25-year-old project manager were determined to have a house before the end of 2022. They told the ECHO how they had ten minutes to get to the estate agent and make an offer and said a lot of people "laughed at" them for wanting to take on such a big project.
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Once they were inside their north Liverpool home, they knew it was "the one". Amy said: "We had ten minutes before the estate agent closed for the weekend, we rang up and we put an offer in."
To chart their journey, Amy, who already has a large social media following specialising in fitness, has set up an Instagram page. She's also shared snippets on TikTok - one of which has picked up more than one million views.
She said: "Anything that screams hard work I love, and so does David. It’s such a journey and you never know what’s about to happen next. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing sometimes. But all this hard work is going to be completed by us, and it’s going to be our home."
Once their offer was accepted, it took Amy and David five months to get the keys, which they said was an "emotional day".
Amy told the ECHO: "I actually started crying. The daughter of the owner, had left us a gorgeous card with a lovely message inside and a bottle of prosecco set up on a small table and two little deck chairs. We both sat down, poured a couple of glasses and just took in the moment."
You can follow Amy and David's renovation journey here
Despite only owning the bricks and mortar for a matter of weeks, the couple have wasted no time in making it their own.
Amy said: "We are absolutely loving it. It’s moving so fast, but that’s exactly what we wanted. We’ve both been there endless amounts of hours around our jobs and every little bit of spare time we have is dedicated to the house.
"We are literally ripping the whole thing out and we have knocked down walls already. We had a wall that separated the toilet from the bathroom, by knocking it down its made it so much bigger.
"We need new bathroom, windows, floor, lights, doors basically everything and eventually we’re going to do an extension for an open plan kitchen but that’s in a year to come. Not to mention the garden it’s huge, but we’ll sort that in the summer."
Despite the work, they're also determined to be in by Christmas. Amy said: "A lot of people laughed at this but seriously... a bed, bathroom, and the kitchen and we’ll be moving in. So many people said we wouldn’t even have the house plastered by then, but a company called Acorn Damp Proofing Solutions has fitted us in."
Amy said her home style is "modern with a twist" with the couple planning to go for "neutral colours, but then adding in some oak a long the way".
Would you like to be included in the ECHO's Where I Live feature?
We'll be taking a look inside a different property each week. If you're splurging on a renovation, trying your hand at DIY to save money, or have a passion for interiors, let us know.
Please email your name and details to storm.newton@reachplc.com
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