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In February 2020, I officially got the keys to my new home: a two-bedroom, 796-square-foot Victorian house that I bought for £1.

The sale was part of the “homes for a pound” program created to revive the Webster Triangle, a small run-down area in Liverpool, England. But there was a catch: the house was in complete disrepair. To qualify, I had to be a first-time homeowner and be able to fix it up within a 12-month period.

The council estimated that the renovations would cost $61,400.

When I applied for the program in 2015, I was a 28-year-old graduate student without much in the way of savings. I didn’t have all the funds I needed, but I submitted my application anyway.

By the time I was off the waiting list, my financial situation had changed. I inherited a property from my dad, who had recently passed away, and sold it to get the funds for the renovations.

Today, my house has been remodeled to maximize light and has made headlines in the U.K. for its novel use of space.

Turning my home upside-down

I knew I had my work cut out for me. The house had been abandoned for 15 years. The windows were boarded up, there was a leaky roof, a rat infestation, asbestos, and no power or heating system.

But I loved it. It was my pile of crumbling bricks.

I realized that I could flip the house’s original layout to get more natural light. So I moved the bedrooms to the first floor, and the kitchen and living room to the second floor. Then I added skylights to the roof.

I paid an architect $1,064 to draw up the blueprints. The contractors I talked to laughed at my proposed reconfiguration of the house. The cheapest quote I got was still $37,600 over my budget, which was the entirety of my savings. But I was undeterred.

In May 2020, at the height of the pandemic, I quit my job as a project officer at a university and started to do the renovations on my own, with limited tools.

Due to the lockdown restrictions, I was granted a 12-month extension. But I was also dealing with joblessness and a breakup. It was clear that I couldn’t do everything alone.

The community that helped me build my urban paradise

I started to blog about the renovation process in August 2021. When I got discouraged, looking back through my Instagram and taking stock of what I actually achieved renewed my vigor.

This was especially helpful for my resolve, since most of that summer, I was living in a camper van in a local park in Liverpool.

But with my story, I was able to drive readers to my Instagram account and build a community of followers. Some companies even reached out to offer me discounted products, like 50% off underfloor heating.

In May 2022, after 27 months of work, the house was signed over to me. I was the last homeowner to complete a renovation. I spent a total of $74,000 on labor and materials.

Now I pay $119 a month for council tax and $218 a month on utilities, which includes electricity, heat, water, internet and phone bills.

I’m glad I had the conviction and persistence to stick to my vision. I learned how to lay brick, tile, install underfloor heating and refinish floors, and it saved me a lot of money.

Currently, my part-time jobs as a project officer, a yoga teacher, a tutor and an online dominatrix bring in $2,505 a month. I work at a leisurely pace, and I’m able to use that money to slowly decorate the home.

This house is now worth much more than what I paid in renovations. A 2-bedroom house on my street recently sold for $137,000. But if I ever decided to leave, I’d only rent it out. I’ve invested too much in this place to sell it.

With only one room left to renovate, I am taking my time to finish building my dream home — and happily living in a community that was once destined for rubble.

Maxine Sharples is a yoga teacher and project officer at Liverpool John Moores University. She has a master’s degree in International Business and Chinese, and has spent time living and working abroad in Africa and Asia. She enjoys blogging about her income streams, hiking and DIY design projects. Follow her on Instagram @homesforapound.

↪ https://www.cnbc.com/2023 .. ream-home.html

Renovating is very relaxing, I might do it again

I remember when they did this, the 'houses for a quid' thing, obviously you needed a fifty grand plus mortgage/loan to renovate them

It was in a couple of UK cities where they had rows of terraced houses boarded up, the buildings were still fundamentally sound still

Trying to regenerate the local areas, not a bad idea really

A better idea would be building more social housing though, take the pandemic out of the equation and a million people turned up in Britain (which is gonna work out as 95%+ England) in the last 2 years

To all the idiots who voted for Brexit and or Conservative/UKIP 'bEcUz ImIgRuNtZ' I hope you're happy...

Currently, my part-time jobs as a project officer, a yoga teacher, a tutor and an online dominatrix bring in $2,505 a month. I work at a leisurely pace, and I’m able to use that money to slowly decorate the home.

Damn. How many jobs do you need.

Lmao @ part time dominatrix

They gotta do this in the sh1thole cities of America

Affordable housing and sustainability bullsh1t narrative

whammy said 🔗 Damn. How many jobs do you need.

Sold pops crib used the money to renovate a bando and be a “yoga teacher”…lol she wild…

isthistobe said 🔗 They gotta do this in the sh1thole cities of America Affordable housing and sustainability bullsh1t narrative

They are slowly but surely. Buying a run down street isn't cheap

isthistobe said 🔗 They gotta do this in the sh1thole cities of America Affordable housing and sustainability bullsh1t narrative

Why? So people can destroy them while politicians tell the police not to do anything about it? Those cities are sh1tholes for a reason....

Damn she only 36?

isthistobe said 🔗 They gotta do this in the sh1thole cities of America Affordable housing and sustainability bullsh1t narrative

Newark announced last month, i wish i i qualified

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Gentrifier fr and these types of videos/stories always rub me the wrong way. And it's because EVERY ONE of dese "Look at this young person buying property for cheap" bootstrap a$s stories always sneakily includes "I inherited money" or "was loaned money from my family", the whole key to their "success". They could begin and end all of these stories with "I inherited money" and stop wasting viewers' time.

vcof2005 said 🔗 Damn she only 36?

She looks 36 bro plus shes english lol

5 jobs to bring in 2500 ????

Imagine if they did this is America.

Detroit alone is in dire need of a program like that.

Story sounds too good to be true. From her having perfect timing to get a house to to sell and fund her renovations after her father passed to her being able to quit a job to live in a van to renovate a whole fu#ked up house on her own, later on with some friends she bumped into during covid....... all in under a year.

You can tell by her eyes she likes that throat abused on the reggie

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GoGoSunday said 🔗 Sold pops crib used the money to renovate a bando and be a “yoga teacher”…lol she wild…

You're a very aware critical thinking person who doesn't fall for the feel good story narrative i see....

She wanted adventure in her life & used her father's nice home for fund her ulterior selfish motives. Yoga teacher & pt dominatrix online lol you can't make this sh1t up...bi#ch sold her father's house just to fix up some dilapidated house while willingly being homeless.

Being a white female must be the life

isthistobe said 🔗 They gotta do this in the sh1thole cities of America Affordable housing and sustainability bullsh1t narrative

HUD been a thing and the new owners look just like this chick.

Chedda said 🔗 Imagine if they did this is America. Detroit alone is in dire need of a program like that.

They have it in Detroit. You can literally Google it & it was posted on here

isthistobe said 🔗 They gotta do this in the sh1thole cities of America Affordable housing and sustainability bullsh1t narrative

Have you heard of Detroit?

I think Gary, Indiana is worse off since there's no industry there. I wouldn't fix up a home in Gary, IN. It would just be a magnet for break-ins.

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Sin said 🔗 ↪🔗 In February 2020, I officially got the keys to my new home: a two-bedroom, 796-square-foot Victorian house that I bought for £1. The sale was part of the “homes for a pound” program created to revive the Webster Triangle, a small run-down area in Liverpool, England. But there was a catch: the house was in complete disrepair. To qualify, I had to be a first-time homeowner and be able to fix it up within a 12-month period. The council estimated that the renovations would cost $61,400. When I applied for the program in 2015, I was a 28-year-old graduate student without much in the way of savings. I didn’t have all the funds I needed, but I submitted my application anyway. By the time I was off the waiting list, my financial situation had changed. I inherited a property from my dad, who had recently passed away, and sold it to get the funds for the renovations. ↪🔗

vcof2005 said 🔗 Damn she only 36?

Stop reading there

People really need to stop falling for these click bait articles