If the thought of a particular property is keeping you awake at night and, when you do eventually fall asleep, it then pops up in your dreams, it is likely that the building has become an obsession. People who are passionate about property will understand, people who aren't will probably think it is rather strange.
For 33-year-old property developer Chris King it was the former nursing home St Catherine's on Fields Park Road, a "posh" area of Newport boasting substantial period properties nestled amongst tree-lined avenues and quiet cul-de-sacs, that was keeping him from drifting off to sleep.
Since moving from Milton Keynes to Cardiff in 2019 Chris has started living his dream and renovating rundown houses in the Swansea area but when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and the property prices in Wales started climbing steeply he was priced out of the market.
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The change in situation forced Chris to think differently, as his passion for renovating properties could not be denied, and he looked towards the commercial market for potentially better opportunities.
After renovating a part commercial and part residential building, two flats and a barber's shop, Chris was well and truly captivated by the potential of commercial properties, despite the heightened amount of stress that can come with them, especially the danger of not securing planning permission on those still only offering their original use.
And then he spotted St Catherine's Nursing Home and he was captivated. He says: "I had my eye on St Catherine's but I watched it sell and I was absolutely gutted. But then I saw that it had failed planning, the people had had the same idea as me to convert it into residential units, eight units, and it had failed planning.
"I watched it sit back on the market for ages and you know when you just can't get something out of your mind, I was literally going to sleep thinking about this building, people were telling me I was crazy!
"But it was love at first sight when I went to view it. When I drove up that street I thought, 'this area is amazing', it's like being on a nice street in London.
"And then I saw the building and it absolutely blew me away and the pure disbelief in the size of it, I was enchanted by it. I spent two hours viewing the property and I was absolutely hooked from that moment, that was it."
Not able to get the substantial and now vacant and forlorn building out of his head, Chris had a number of hurdles to jump over before he stood any chance of picking up the keys to St Catherine's, from funding to fighting off a group of nuns.
Chris' daily chatting about property, property and more property at the gym had slowly worked its magic on good friend Ben Pearson, who decided to come on board on the proposed joint venture of the renovation and restoration of St Catherine's but they weren't the only potential buyers interested in the building, and it forced the friends to increase the risk level.
Chris explains: "We were going to buy it subject to planning for protection but ended up in a bidding war with the nuns, they were keen to turn it into their residence, so all of a sudden the only way I was going to get this building was if I bought it unconditionally, and it was a big risk."
It was imperative that Chris and Ben secure planning permission if they wanted to proceed, or be forced to put it back on the market as the previous owners had had to, and then presumably the nuns would have stepped in and had a go at it too.
So Chris looked more deeply into the possible reasons why the initial application had failed which he thinks were a number of issues including the lack of good resident amenity space.
He says that by combining assistance from a planning consultant, an architect, investigating why the previous attempt had failed, and talking to the council's planning team paid off, and planning was granted for nine luxury homes.
That was one source of stress sorted but there were plenty more for Chris to tackle at the site, before and after the planning decision, at his first major, high risk, commercial conversion.
He says: "We had to buy the property mid Covid and trying to get everything ready for planning, all the surveys, everyone was booked up or not available or not working, it has really been a challenge.
"I've said to myself a few times, 'can I do this?' - I've had so much stress, my partner has asked me maybe if I have bitten off more than I can chew with this one but I've said no, I believe I can do this; I'd rather try and fail than not try at all."
The building is currently at the finished first fix electrics and plumbing stage, with acoustics and insulation in the main house being installed, with a three-storey extension due to begin its 12 week construction in May. The project has an end date of 14 December 2023 and Chris estimates the build cost will be £1.1m on top of the £640,000 paid to secure it unconditionally.
Chris says: "It is scary numbers, it really is - if you look at it as one big project you're going to scare yourself, you have to compartmentalise it and run it as small checkpoints, break it down to the different stages of the project as well as do your homework, take your time, know when the funds are coming, know your timeline."
A significant proportion of the eye-watering budget is allocated to the fixtures, fittings and design, including in the two penthouse apartments, one of which will have a private roof terrace.
All nine homes will be lavished in luxury, including a high-end kitchen, herringbone flooring, a master bedroom with an ensuite that will include a bath and a shower, and distinctive interior design to impress, as well as restoring the period features that remain and landscaping the communal garden.
Chris explains the indulgence, saying: "The building deserves the best. If I let this building down, I will feel like I've let myself down because it's a reflection of me.
"With a building that looks like this you want to go in and have the 'wow factor', look at its presence on the street - it's a standalone, there's absolutely nothing like it in the area and, once we've finished, from the outside it will look unreal and this will be replicated on the inside.
"The saddest thing I see with developers is that they have all these nice plans for an old building and then it comes to launch night and they've cut corners, it all comes down to the fixtures, you can see where they've run out or money or they want to save money, but there's going to be no expense spared on our building."
But before the first posh tap or quality toilet seat can be installed, the team had to go through the rip-out stage, and even that had some unforeseen challenges but also some intriguing items found from the building's past that spans over a century.
Whilst emptying the inside of the building the contractors found a newspaper from 1926, past residents' letters and photographs and even beer cans hidden in the wall - the building was giving up its secrets before it embarked on a new and exciting chapter in its life.
Chris says: "The building was in good condition even though it had been vacant for two years, the rip-out stage was so hard, the building was built so well, even the floors. I don't know what glue they used but I've never seen anything like it in my life, the builders spent days and days trying to get up the vinyl floors! They said they'd never seen anything like it either!"
Now the site is progressing quickly and could be welcoming these new, posh interiors within the next few months. "Some units will be ready quicker than others," explains Chris, "The two apartments at the front will have a garden, they should be ready in six to seven weeks time, and then we will stage them and use them as a showcase for the rest of building, which will have original features designed with a modern touch."
The apartments will be constructed via three stages of renovation, conversion and new build, and are likely to be part rented and part sold through Mr and Mrs Clarke, south Wales but Chris and Ben are unsure of how many they can bear to let go to a new owner.
Chris considers the experience at St Catherine's to be a lesson in taking on a large commercial renovation and conversion that he can take to his next project, and he is so obsessed by property there is no doubt there will be a next project, but he is happy to share what he has discovered so far along the journey with anyone thinking of being as brave with a building as he has been.
He says: "The main advice to others is to run the numbers, over and over again, because you can very quickly get yourself into a hole with a project, especially with building costs with the prices they are today and the rising interest rates, but I had a contingency on different scenarios.
"So if we hadn't got planning we knew the nuns were interested so we could have sold it to them or the other option was to get planning on the building and then sell it, but once we had planning, but we ran the numbers again and even though costs are rising there is still money in the deal."
Having a good support network around you is vital too, says Chris, to get you through the tougher times, as well as getting advice from many different sources as he says he found out the hard way that in the property world some people claim to know everything, but don't, they are just good talkers.
Chris is also an advocate for self-belief, even when things go wrong. He says: "My ambition and drive for this building has just kept me going throughout, you have to believe it, if you want something enough you just don't give up because you always find a way.
"But what's motivating me the most is that I had a little boy just over two years ago during the stress of trying to buy this building, this huge project, and I thought if I can pull this off I'm going to dedicate the whole building to my son, so I've called it Chester House after my little boy.
"Don't laugh, but every day I sit and visualise it finished, I visualise the grand opening, the evening we showcase it to family and friends, taking Chester there and him helping to cut the red ribbon, and it will be a life-changing moment for me, the biggest of my life apart from the birth of Chester."
For more dream homes, renovation stories, interiors advice and property celebrity interviews, competitions and discounts too, get your copy of the NEW Amazing Welsh Homes glossy magazine - it's all Welsh, and it's all about people like you. Pre-order the magazine here.
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