We bought a rundown house and boosted its value by £55,000 even though we spent just £6,600 renovating it – here’s how

A COUPLE bought a rundown house and managed to boost its value by £55,000.

Aiden and Matt Rayfield purchased the three-bed home for £315k and spent just over £6,600 transforming it.

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Meeting in 2018, the pair wanted to buy their forever home and thought they’d hit the jackpot – but were soon faced with issues.

Despite viewing it and thinking only cosmetic work was needed they discovered over £4000 worth of electrical horrors after moving into the Kent property.

Only budgeting £10,000 for renovations, Aiden, 29, and Matt, 34, had to take matters into their own hands.

Saving around eight grand, they built their own bathroom and plastered their own bedroom walls.

Aiden also went on a plastering course to help with the financial burden.

She said when they viewed the house, the stunning garden completely distracted them.

She added: “The garden blew us away with how beautiful and natural it was.

“It made us feel like we were stepping into Narnia or the secret garden.

“But it made us look at the house through rose-tinted glasses.

“This was our own fault entirely.

“From the face of the renovation during the estate agent viewing, the house looked in good repair.

“But after moving in, we uncovered some horrors with the condition of the bathroom and the electrics.”

Acknowledging the renovation was a bigger job than anticipated, the pair also had to bring in an electrician to rewire the entire house.

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Aiden added: “I had an ‘I want to give up’ moment on probably week three of the electricians being here.

“I work from home during the day so the electricians had to do the work in the evening.

“We were living here whilst the work was being done, and it was very stressful.

“You can’t even imagine how much dust, noise and clear-up there was.”

The house is now valued at a whopping £370,000.

Despite this and the savings Aiden has warned others about taking such a huge project.

“Renovations take a long time,” she said.

“And if you value your sanity more than saving money, it’s worth paying for professionals.”

Offering tips to anyone wanting to start a renovation project, Aiden said: “Always check Facebook marketplace before buying from the retailer.

“We bought our bathroom tiles from there and it was a huge saving.

“Write a to-do list for each room and tick it off as you go. It’s a great way to budget and amazing to look back and see how much you’ve done and spent.

“And document the before and afters. You quickly forget and it’s very satisfying to see how much you’ve accomplished.”

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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk