One way to get your first step onto the property ladder is to renovate a rundown auction property with a complete stranger within a set deadline and have it filmed and then broadcast to the nation on Channel 4.
It might seem a bit extreme but that's exactly what house hunters experience when they apply for and are accepted to appear on Channel 4's The Great House Giveaway, presented by Simon O'Brien, the property developer and actor that some people might know from the 1980s Channel 4 soap Brookside and more recently Coronation Street.
And once selling fees, buying costs, and the renovation budget has been taken from the eventual sales price the participants split the profit. However, as the programme now in its third series reveals, not every episode ends in money and happy renovators.
Two strangers who took the property programme plunge were PhD student Nia Jones, who was a complete DIY novice, and roofer Mark Hughes who were given a dated bungalow to tackle on the Isle of Anglesey.
But the show had a shock for this pair of property flippers - the production company Chwarel were not looking for them to do a standard make-over of updating electrics and plumbing, knocking down a wall or two and then covering the walls in a tsunami of magnolia paint, they wanted Nia and Mark to renovate the tired house into a sustainable home and illustrate it can be achieved as a retro fit on an older property.
Nia from Caerphilly who is studying Ocean Science at Bangor University after having studied Environmental Geography at Cardiff University, was teamed up with dad-of-three Mark from Bodedern on Anglesey, who runs his own company called MH Roofing.
The property looking for a future-proof, low carbon renovation was a bungalow located in Rhosybol and the enthusiastic pair were determined to create a sustainable home fit for the 21st century with a budget given to them of just £35,000.
Nia tells North Wales Live: "I think I went into it quite naïvely thinking there wouldn't be much to do but it was a huge project to finish within six months. The eco side of things was the straightforward part, it was the traditional building issues that slowed us up. There were definitely a few points where I felt that it was unlikely we'd finish at any point - let alone within six months."
It was a bit of a shock renovation project for Mark too, with eco-credentials at the core of the conversion. He says: "When I walked in on the first day, I said it was the house of horrors! I thought to myself, 'I'm quitting, I'm quitting, I'm quitting'! Everyone was saying 'even if it's not about the money, it's an experience at the end of the day', so once I started to think of it like that, I cracked on."
The roof was falling down but, of course, that didn't phase Mark, none of the floors were level, the ceilings were plastered in swirly Artex and the pair were forced to remove the chimney as it was crumbling.
For the sustainable side of the build the pair sought advice from about the latest eco technology from renewable energy system provider Hafod Renewables, based in Tremeirchion, Denbighshire, which resulted in a range of new features including an air source heat pump, thermal cladding, and an electric car charging port being added to the bungalow's eco-friendly specification.
Hafod Renewables managing director David Jones told North Wales Live that the company also fitted eight solar panels on the roof and a battery storage system which stores the generated electricity rather than selling it back to the National Grid.
David said: "This project was quite straight forward for us being a bungalow and only one storey. Everything works together to provide everything for their needs from running a fridge or a washing machine to providing heat."
Now the property has rocketed from a poor energy efficiency rating (EPC) of E to an impressive A, top of the classification and termed as very energy efficient with substantially lower running costs.
Nia says: "We ended up laying the underfloor heating and figured all that out ourselves. It was physically hard work laying pipes and took a few days, but it was easier than I expected. A year ago if you'd said I would be doing this I would have laughed you out of the room. Before this, I had honestly never used a drill before."
Now the house is finished and on the market for £300,000 with estate agent Dafydd Hardy and it's a waiting game to see what the outcome is for this bold and brave move to renovate an old house to make it fit for the future.
Sioned Wyn, Chwarel's managing director and executive producer of The Great House Giveaway, says: "It's a bold move for us on the show and we are so happy the contributors bought into it. They did amazingly well. There's so much pressure to do it the old way because it's cheaper but they are pioneers in renovation 100%. Conscience-wise, this is absolutely the way we should be renovating every house in the future."
Presenter Simon O'Brien is impressed with the hard work Nia and Mark have put into this special renovation project, saying: "I think they did amazing because it was a really big ask not only as this stuff is expensive, but it's particularly hard to retro-fit in an old house.
"With a new build, it's a much easier process than to take an old bungalow and turn it into a zero-carbon eco-house. Even though they were very keen on the idea, they were dealing with technology that not a lot of people know how to use and were reliant on the experts.
"Due to what has happened with energy prices, getting hold of such experts is tricky because they are in great demand. Logistically, it was a balancing act and one they managed to achieve very well given they were in unknown territory. Since Nia and Mark started the project, energy prices have gone up and what they now have is a house that is future-proof, which is amazing."
The bungalow that has emerged from the renovation is a future-proofed eco-house and the only one of its kind within a 10 mile radius according to Dafydd Hardy, the estate agent now selling the property.
The home, located in a quiet cul-de-sac, now has an open-plan kitchen, dining and living room that opens out onto the garden. There are three bedrooms, with the principal bedroom offering an ensuite and storage cupboard, plus a four-piece family bathroom, utility room and an attached shed accessed from the garden. Plus, of course, all the materials and equipment that makes this house a sustainable, low cost eco-home.
The story is part of series three of the popular Channel 4 series to be aired in the future, and Nia is very grateful to have been at the core of the story of the bungalow's radical transformation.
She says: "The next house I buy I'm going to be able to save huge amounts of money because we can DIY a lot ourselves. It really highlighted to me that you don't have to spend a ridiculous amount on your house to make it eco-friendly."
The house is for sale for £300,000 with Dafydd Hardy, call their Llangefni branch on 01248 723322 to find out more.
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