A COUPLE have revealed how they transformed their run-down home and turned it into their dream house – and managed to double its value.
Sam, 31, and Tricia, 34, bought their property not far from Coventry’s city centre at an auction for £257,000.
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While the spacious property had several large rooms spread over three floors, it was in need of some serious attention, with holes in the ceiling and an overgrown garden
The couple though saw its potential, thinking it could be transformed into a luxury house of multiple occupation (HMO) with at least six residents.
They had previous experience of undertaking similar development projects, one of which had been featured in an episode of the BBC show Homes Under the Hammer.
Sam and Tricia say they love working on properties so much that they “don’t see it as a job”.
Sam quit his job in engineering in 2020 so the pair could dedicate their time to the work, along with their business partners Lisa and Lester.
The couple appeared on the show on November 8, along with their baby son Sam Junior.
Tricia told presenter Martin Roberts: “This is what it’s for. All of this is for children.”
They brought in a local building team to do up the house and while they had originally planned to create six bedrooms they ended up with eight.
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All the eight rooms were decorated in a stunning modern style and all were en suite with six of them having their own kitchen.
Tricia was particularly pleased with the beautiful tiled hallway floor.
She said: “This glorious floor. And we’ve had it restored. It looks like its former glory and it’s just stunning. I am so proud.”
Sam added: “There was one point where I said I’d just cover it up and then Tricia’s just like, ‘No!'”
One issue with the project was that the couple had to wait months for the builders they were working with to be free to carry out the work.
While the actual renovation work took six months, with the time they were forced to wait meant it was a year after buying the house that the work was complete.
OVER BUDGET
They also went significantly over budget; they originally planned to fork out £147,000 but ultimately the bill came in at £183,000.
But they hoped the extra two rooms would make the extra cost worthwhile.
Local estate agent Nick Luntley was brought in to give his verdict and estimated the property was now worth a huge £650,000 – more than double what Sam and Tricia had paid for it.
Even when including the cost of the restoration, it left the couple with a sizeable £210,000 profit.
The pair hope to rent the property out and were keen to know how much Nick thought they could earn.
RENT OUT PROPERTY
He estimated that they could make around £500 to £600 per month per room, which was a little lower than the Sam and Tricia were expecting.
However, if the let the rooms out at the upper end of that range, they would still make a pre-tax income of more than £57,000 per year – giving them a yield of 13 per cent.
Nick said: “I have been doing this a long time, looked at a lot of properties and I honestly think this is up there with one of the best HMO conversions I have seen.”
But as well as buying and renovating homes for other people to live in, Sam and Tricia are also thinking about their own place to live.
They said they were just about to complete on what would be their “forever home”.
Tricia said: “It’s just going to give us that security and that sense of oneness with all the children. We’re really excited.”
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