'It wasn’t hard to imagine how good the house would look with a bit of care and attention'

exterior of a country house with a veranda and vertical hung tiles

This handsome old farmhouse was a lucky find for the homeowners. Seeing a 'for sale' sign when they were out walking, they were intrigued, as the house was barely visible beyond its overgrown rhododendron hedges and clouds of bindweed. ‘We’d lived in the neighbouring village for 18 years and never knew there was a house here,’ they say. 

Another buyer had already put in an offer, intending to demolish the old house and replace it with several new homes, but when that sale fell through and it came back on the market, the couple discovered it was, in fact, two homes. The old farmhouse had been split in half, and both sections were up for sale.