Doer-upper homes are an ideal choice for those who want to take on the ultimate renovation project. Although it often takes time, money and hard work to restore a rundown property - you can often buy it at a more affordable price and start from scratch to make it your own.
If you do a good job of the transformation - and choose a house with a good location too - then you're likely to reap the benefits when it comes to boosting the value of your home in the long term. Emma Beaumont bought her three-bed terraced house in Didsbury and after undergoing a back to brick renovation, she's now added an impressive £215,000 to the property's value.
Emma, 41, spoke to the Manchester Evening News as part of our Where I Live series, where each week we chat to a different homeowner about their buying and renovation journey, and take a look at how they've transformed their home from start to finish.
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After growing up in south Manchester, Emma moved to London where she lived for 10 years. Emma and her now ex-partner then decided to move back to Manchester - and Emma knew exactly where she wanted to live.
"For me it's all about location, location, location. When we decided to move back to Manchester I knew I wanted to move to west Didsbury," Emma, who is a photographer, told the Manchester Evening News.
"Didsbury has become a really aspirational area and its a lovely place to live. I wanted to be as close to Burton Road as possible and I wanted to live in a nice family-friendly area.
"In terms of the house itself, it was really important for me to find somewhere that I could put my own stamp on. I wanted something that I could do some work to and make my own."
Emma and her then-partner began searching for houses online whilst they were still living in London.
"My family are lived near the area so I was coming back and forth every four to six weeks to view properties. I sent my parents and sister to view one or two houses for us when I couldn’t get there," Emma said.
"We viewed quite a few houses and they were all doer-uppers and Victorian or Edwardian builds."
She then came across a three-bed four-storey terraced house in the south Manchester area suburb and immediately fell head over heels.
"I love old properties with all the original features and I noticed them all in this house as soon as I walked through the door. It had all the original chimney breasts which had been plastered over, exposed beams and the original wooden floors," Emma said.
"The house had been very well lived in. The estate agents said it was liveable and it probably was, but to me it needed a full renovation. Configuration wise the layout just wasn't good and it needed a lot of love, but I could just see all the potential.
"It was also right near Burton road and so it was a combination of the location and the house itself. Even though I knew it was going to take a lot of work to get it to where I wanted it to be, I just fell in love with it."
Emma bought the house for £385,000 back in April 2015 and started the renovation work whilst she was still living in London.
"When I bought the house I was still living and working in London and I had quite a big corporate job. I spent the first four months coming back and forth every weekend," she explained.
"I’d spend the whole weekend gutting the house, knocking things down and sanding everywhere.
I travelled back and forth for four months until we eventually moved into the house, but at this point my job was still in London so I spent a year commuting back there whilst managing this project. I have no idea how I did it, it was very stressful."
The renovations were still ongoing once Emma moved in, meaning she was living in what she called a 'building site'.
"We lived in the house during most of the renovation. Room by room we ripped everything out. After we pulled off all the plastering there was loads of rewiring that needed doing," Emma said.
"We started on the lounge first so we had somewhere we could sit, followed by the bedroom and then the bathroom. The dining room was the building site base. The kitchen was a make-do job for a while because we ran out of money.
"Like any old house if you start doing anything to it you come across more problems. It ended up being an even bigger job than we thought."
Emma said the initial plan was for the renovation to take around six months, but the process ended up being a year and a half long due to unprecedented issues.
"I bought the house in April and I moved up in August, but it wasn't until the following November when it was completed," Emma said.
"One of the biggest problems we faced was the ceiling falling through. I was in London and I got a call from my dad saying the builder’s leg had gone through the kitchen ceiling, I thought it was a joke!
"He was doing the bathroom and there were gaps in the floorboard and as he stepped back his leg went through the ceiling. Luckily he was okay.
"When I got there I was expecting to see the kitchen ceiling with a big hole in it but instead I returned to see there was no ceiling at all. They couldn’t patch the hole up so the whole kitchen ceiling just had to come down."
Apart from the builder who installed the bathroom, en-suite and kitchen, Emma and her ex partner did the majority of the renovation work themselves.
"I learnt a lot about DIY and project management during the renovation. I knew the basics from my previous house but I learnt a lot along the way," she said.
"Restoring the beams in the loft was one of the biggest jobs I did myself. I spent about a week of my life on them as there were about 80 years worth of paint mounted up on top of each other.
"The original fireplace was also totally blocked off with plaster. I hoped it was there somewhere but over the years it had been built over several times. It wasn't the big reveal I'd hoped for, instead it took weeks to uncover it."
Emma added: "The main costs were the bathrooms and the kitchen, but doing a lot of the renovating ourselves kept the cost down big time.
"It felt amazing when it was finally complete. I had to stop myself from buying things to decorate because I was so excited. I felt so grateful and lucky especially during the lockdown to live here. I’m really proud of what I have achieved."
Describing her interior style, Emma said: "I'd say it's very classical contemporary but with a modern twist. I like a lot of the Scandinavian simplicity but I also love the traditional Victorian features.
"The colour scheme is all very neutral. I'm really big on greys and it's a very soft palette. I like clean lines and I’m really keen on symmetry.
"I got a lot of my furniture and accessories from Home Sense and John Lewis."
Taking us on a tour around her home, Emma explained: "When you come through the door there’s a long thin hallway. To the left there's a lounge and then next door is the dining room which goes into the kitchen. These used to be two separate rooms but I knocked the wall down so it’s now open plan. Then there’s patio doors that go out into the back yard.
"Off the back of the dining room kitchen area there’s a door down to the cellar which is used as a utility room. On the first floor is the main bathroom which used to have a separate toilet but we’ve knocked that through so it’s now got a walk-in shower.
"There’s also the dressing room on this floor and my bedroom. Then on the top floor is the loft room with a storage area in the eaves, a bedroom and an en-suite which I’m currently renting out."
Emma explained: "The cost of living made me want to do that. With everything going up I knew I was sitting on some money. It was a purely financial decision but it’s working out really well. It can help alleviate financial stress and there’s probably a lot of people that could do it."
Talking about her plans for the future, Emma said: "I don't plan on moving anytime soon. I don’t think I want to leave Didsbury for quite a long time because I love living around here with the community and all the independent shops and restaurants.
“I had my house valued a couple of years ago and it was around the £600k mark. I don’t know if it would be near that now, it might have gone up more.
“I absolutely love my house and every single bit of it is me, right down to every light switch and plug, I’ve changed everything. There’s been a lot of love and time spent on it.”
You can view Emma's Instagram account here.
Want to feature your home in Where I Live? If so, please email your details to phoebe.jobling@reachplc.com.
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