Many people aspire to work their way up the property ladder in the hopes of one day owning their dream home. This traditional route often sees homeowners start off small buying a cheap first house before progressing to buy larger, more expensive homes.
But whether it's down to the state of the economy or unprecedented life events, climbing the property ladder doesn't always work out exactly as planned. Some people have to take several steps back and start again in order to move forward, which is how Clare, 45, ended up buying her beloved character cottage in Ashton-under-Lyne.
The mum-of-one spoke to us as part of the Where I Live series. Each week we chat to a different homeowner across Greater Manchester about their home-buying journey, the costs involved and how they've renovated to make their house a home.
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Clare has lived in Tameside her entire life, having grown up in Stalybridge. She bought her first house in Ashton with her then husband when she was 24 for just £33,000.
“My first house was a little two-bed terrace in Ashton which we bought for £33,000 believe it or not. We stayed there for three or four years and then we moved up the property ladder," Clare told the Manchester Evening News.
"Our next house was a three-bed semi detached and we had a big extension on it downstairs. We bought that for around £162,000."
Clare, who is a HR business partner, separated from her husband in 2018 which forced her to adapt her life plan.
"Me and my husband separated and as a result of that I had to rent for a year which was really difficult," she said.
"When you go from being a homeowner to renting, you’re really conscious that you’re not paying a mortgage.
"As hard as renting was it served its purpose. It was a stop-gap and it met my needs at that time whilst preparing to buy a house on my own. I had to go back on the property ladder and start again essentially."
Whilst coming up to a year of living in rented accomodation, Clare began her solo house-hunting journey in search of somewhere locally that was still within her budget.
"I wanted to stay in Tameside and be close to my son’s school. I knew I would be downsizing from our three-bed semi because of how much prices had gone up, so my priorities were location and budget," she explained.
"I don't like ultra modern homes so I was looking for an older, character property because I prefer the look and feel of them.
"I had a figure in my mind of a maximum of £160,000. I looked in Ashton, Stalybridge and Mossley but there wasn’t anything within my price range.
"I was so strict on my budget but then out of curiosity, I upped the range slightly whilst searching on Rightmove - and then this house came up.
"It was a 1800s two-bed cottage in a very desirable location in Ashton and from the photographs on the listing I just knew it had the character that I wanted straight away. I came and had a look around and I put an offer in that same day."
From then on Clare had her heart set on buying the house, but the cost was way above her price range.
“The house was on the market for £176,000 and I thought that was way too expensive for a two-bed property in Ashton," the mum explained.
"It was being sold as a character cottage in a desirable location, but I tried arguing back that even though it’s called a cottage, it’s a terraced house.
"I managed to get it down to about £172,500 but in my mind I still thought that was too expensive. But I had to get this house, I knew that I wasn't going to find anything like this in my location so I persisted."
Disaster then struck when Clare received her survey back to determine the value of the house, and it was less than what it had been listed for.
“I got the survey back and the house was worth £160,000, so that was an issue. I couldn't get a mortgage because they refused to lend me more money than what it was worth," Clare explained.
"I asked the property's previous owner if, as a compromise, we could meet halfway so between £160,000 and £172,500, but she said no. It got very stressful by this point because it was over a number of days and she wouldn't back down.
"In the end I managed to get it down to £170,000 but I knew that I was going to be in negative equity buying it.
"I decided to take the risk because I thought it would be worth it in the end, so I bought it and got a mortgage for £160,000, then I had to put £10,000 cash in."
On February 14 2020, Clare began her brand new chapter and moved into her new home, just weeks before the coronavirus pandemic struck.
She began renovation work on the house right away in a bid to make it her own.
"I'm so happy that I moved in just before the pandemic began because I would not have wanted to stay in rented accommodation during that time. It also allowed me to focus on decorating the house," Clare said.
"It took 18 months to renovate it because it was in the middle of lockdown so I had to work around restrictions. I painted the entire house myself in between working from home.
"With being on my own, I knew I couldn't get a property which required a lot of work doing to it. Luckily the previous owners had done a lot of work on the house themselves as prior to them living there, it was owned by an elderly couple who hadn't decorated in years.
"All the rooms had recently been re-plastered, there was a new kitchen and bathroom and they'd also restored the fireplaces so that was really helpful."
Clare was working on a tight budget after buying the house in negative equity.
“I wasn't planning on the negative equity and having to put the cash in myself, that money that I had was supposed to be for renovating the house," she explained.
"I had to find the extra money to do the work that I wanted to do on it as I didn’t want to live in a house that wasn’t comfortable or homely and didn’t make me happy.
"Some of my bigger purchases were two wood burners, one in the dining room and one in the living room, which I'd always wanted and I absolutely love.
"I always wanted a proper garden but the previous owners had a patio so I got a company to rip that out and put in a lawn and flower beds - and it's beautiful now.
"I decorated the house with bold, unique colours - I’ve got dark green in the kitchen, my bedroom is a mustard colour and my son's bedroom has a cladding stye wallpaper in it."
Clare says that she's never been happier than living in her cottage now.
"I’ve got a strong mind and I’m very clear on what I like and don’t like in terms of decor. I don't like to follow trends, it’s more about the feeling for me," she said.
"This house has got the best feeling to it ever and I've never been happier than in this house.
"Whenever anyone comes round they always say it’s so cosy, comfortable and welcoming. It is like a little dolls house."
Taking us on a tour around her home, Clare described: "It’s all oldie worldie in the area where I live, it’s got all cobbled pavements outside which is lovely.
"There’s a garden at the front and then when you walk in you go straight into the dining room with the kitchen on the back of that.
"The stairs are in the middle of the dining room and living room. You then go upstairs and there’s a small landing with the main bedroom at the front and the second bedroom at the back with the bathroom next to it.
"Then we have the cellar space that is dying to be renovated."
Clare has plans to convert the cellar space into additional rooms in the future.
"All of the houses on my road have got cellars and most of them have converted them. It’s the same sized space as the living room, dining room and kitchen so it's a good space.
"Initially I'd planned that five years after moving in was when I wanted to start converting the cellar. I want to add a bedroom with an en-suite and an office space with storage because I mainly work from home.
"Things have changed recently economically so that plan might have to be pushed back further but that is what I'd love to do eventually.
"I love my house and its potential. I wouldn't say its our forever home but we'll definitely stay here whilst my son is still at school. I love having a small character house."
Want to get involved in Where I Live? If you are interested in featuring in our weekly series, please email your name and details to phoebe.jobling@reachplc.com.
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