Many developers experienced in quickly flipping property will advise a novice not to get too attached to a house, and to leave their personal interior taste to their own home. They will say you shouldn't end up having too much heart and not enough head in the project.
It should be more about buying at the right price, doing the necessary work in good time, decorating to appeal to the majority of buyers and moving it on as quickly as possible at the highest price possible, to release your profit, and move on to the next one.
Not many, if any, would suggest you get so attached to an abode that you upgrade it to your personal taste, to higher standards than the price bracket may warrant, and fall in love and move yourself in.
But a three-bedroom cottage in a hamlet called New Mills just outside Newtown, Powys seemed to have a mysterious and magical power that made the normal rules of property flipping go out of the window. Firstlyx, it mesmerised Homes Under The Hammer presenter Martin Roberts when he visited.
Despite a rather bizarre tiny gap between the cottage's apparent new rear wall facade and the neighbour's house that had Martin very puzzled, and the fact that the garden appeared dark to him, even on a sunny day, and that the property was tucked into a bend on the main road through the hamlet, he was soon smitten and gushing the joys of the cottage.
Somehow, the cottage had cast a spell - maybe it was due to the very tempting £90k guide price, the three bedrooms and upstairs bathroom, two reception rooms and a kitchen plus utility room that all offered versatile space?
It could also have been, as Martin pointed out, the versatility of the house itself - a renovation project that looked superficial rather than structural that could become a resale house, rental or holiday let.
And the beautiful rolling, rural countryside of this glorious county surely helped Martin proclaim: "This gorgeous little cottage in this amazing location has got to be a lot of people's dream!" Retired teacher and school inspector Kevin joined Martin at being spellbound by this enchanting cottage and bagged it for a reasonable £110k via online auction.
He told Martin that since retiring he had 'dabbled' in property developing to keep busy so this wasn't his first renovation, but it had to fit around his busy sporting and social life. Three months and £20k was the plan, with much of that allocated to the garden - the list outside seemed to be never ending for such a small plot of land but included a garage and storeroom.
But it didn't include investigating the tiny gap between the cottage and the neighbour as Kevin said this had passed building regulations. The show returns after seven months and there's a surprise - yes, the renovation has been done, but it looks like Kevin has unpacked his suitcase and moved in himself - there's no flipping here unless it's pancakes in the shiny new, modern kitchen.
The tired living room has now welcomed a new log burner, thick carpet, and neutral decor as the backdrop to Kevin's own furniture and accessories.
The extra touches that have been given to the house that cost more than an average renovation, such as the wooden internal doors with latch metal door furniture were chosen because it soon became clear the cottage magic had taken over Kevin as it did Martin, and he was going to make it his home.
The dining room now has bags of charm that create a cosy and welcoming place for joyful dinner parties with friends, and the kitchen has been ripped out and replaced with a glossy white version, while the utility is now used for extra storage and to home the boiler.
There's now a new bathroom suite installed, with feature roll-top feature bath, plus some room in the master bedroom has been stolen to create a bonus ensuite, as Martin suggested.
But it was the garden that was lavished with the most work, attention and budget as Kevin had said previously, with all the debris gone and a lawn and patio area replacing it. The outside space now comes complete with a classic white picket fence, off-road parking, storage and even a single-storey garage.
Kevin realised from past experience that a good renovation needed a good team working on it, so he recognised that the father and son team he had employed in the past from his home town of Ludlow just over the border would do an amazing job - so amazing that he felt compelled to move in, it appears.
Luckily the neighbour next door was an electrician so that was a handy addition to the project and the plumbing was done by a local tradesman.
The estate agent now values the house at £200,000 for when this rather nomadic house hunter who reveals he also owns a plot of land and log cabin, decides to break the spell and put the cottage on the market and make himself around £65k pre-tax profit. Until then, the cottage will keep enchanting him to stay.
So the project surely went smoothly then? Not quite - it took seven months and went £5k over budget but that was nothing to do with the team working on it, Kevin blamed himself.
He said: "I've refurbed it to suit me, and I'm very happy with it!" - and you can't say fairer than that.
This story was part of BBC's Homes Under The Hammer series 25, episode 52, currently available to view on BBC iPlayer. And don't miss the best dream homes in Wales, auction properties, renovation stories, and interiors - join the Amazing Welsh Homes newsletter, sent to your inbox twice a week.
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