House prices across Merseyside are rocketing and it's never been more difficult for young people to get on the property ladder. Although for some, it's all about being in the right place at the right time.
In our new series, Where I Live, the ECHO will explore one house from across the region each week, with the owner giving us an insight into the buying process, how they managed to get on the property ladder, and how they plan to make it their own in a cost of living crisis.
For Alex and Emily, timing was on their side. They got on the ladder in 2017, when prices were relatively reasonable. They went on to sell the doer upper for substantially more than they paid, leaving them with a lot of equity to put down on their brooding Victorian villa in Mossley Hill.
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The house, which they plan to lovingly restore, was first listed for sale in November 2021, but was out of the couple's budget. Emily said the pair 'just fell in love with it'.
"It has always been a dream of ours to own a big Victorian house, and this house ticked every box and more. Despite the amount of work it needs, it has a lovely homely feel, and it has so many lovely original features. It’s our dream forever home and we feel so lucky to own it."
Alex and Emily eventually bought the house for £762,500 after selling their previous place, but despite having a sizable chunk to put down, the sales process was still "very nerve wracking and stressful" and almost wasn't to be.
"When we first offered on the house in February, we were outbid by a property developer. We were absolutely gutted as we knew this was a unique house and we probably wouldn’t find another one like it.
"Then, we got a call from the estate agents in March to tell us the property developer had pulled out due to issues with planning. They had planned to turn the house into four flats. It was so unexpected but of course, I said we were definitely still interested. We scraped together as much money as we could to increase our offer, and had a painful wait to hear back."
Known as 'Caerleon', the property is one of a number on the road named after the Legend of King Arthur.
It is also steeped in local history and was once owned by John 'Johnny' Hutchinson, part of Merseybeat band The Big Three who was asked to join The Beatles as a drummer ahead of Ringo Starr. The Big Three and what was to become the 'Fab Four' were "close friends" according to Emily and Alex, and they even visited their now-home for social events.
"Apparently [Johnny] had no regrets and ended up going into property development," Emily said. "I believe before that, the house was accommodation for medical students. Johnny’s daughter told us she has childhood memories of chucking out old medical equipment when they moved in."
Emily and Alex moved in in July 2022 but have long way to go: "It needs a full renovation so it’ll definitely start to feel even more like our own as we complete rooms."
In terms of keeping costs down, Alex 'can do most things' and Emily isn't shy about getting stuck in: "Tiling is my favourite job. We have experience of renovating from our previous house so that helps.
"At the moment the plan is to just renovate with money we’re able to save each month. We are hoping to do the kitchen next year so might have to look into financing then. Facebook marketplace and eBay are also great for finding bargains."
The couple say their interiors taste is 'traditional' with 'a lot of colour and different patterns': "I’m looking forward to experimenting more with this house," Emily said.
Mossley Hill was always a target area for the pair as it's close to where Emily grew up: "It’s a conservation area so it feels like you’re in the countryside with all of the beautiful trees, despite being ten minutes away from the city centre," she told the ECHO. "I love it. It’s very close to where I grew up so it’s already home for me. Alex is from Chester but luckily he loves it here too."
Would you like to be included in the ECHO's Where I Live feature?
We'll be taking a look inside a different property each week. If you're splurging on a renovation, trying your hand at DIY to save money, or have a passion for interiors, let us know.
Please email your name and details to storm.newton@reachplc.com
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