Yahoo News We started in a two-bed bungalow, now we're in a million-pound home
Many people fantasise about owning a property worth a million pounds, but for most, it remains just that - a fantasy, unless a lottery win comes their way.
However, Claire Freshney, a mother-of-two from Blackpool, has shown that with dedication and the power of positive thinking, dreams can materialise into reality. Claire, 35, and her partner started their journey in a small two-bedroom bungalow and climbed the property ladder by strategically purchasing the least desirable homes in sought-after streets, refurbishing them, and selling at a profit.
Despite their success in the property market, the couple never imagined they could own a home valued at a million pounds. It wasn't until an estate agent introduced them to what Claire described as their 'favourite house in the area' that she began to envision it as their future home.
READ MORE: One-man crime wave jailed after shoplifting spree across Preston
Now a UX designer residing in Cheshire, Claire shared her story with the Manchester Evening News for the Where I Live series, which weekly features different homeowners around the region discussing their experiences and inviting readers to peek inside their homes.
"I moved to Cheshire when I got with my now husband. First of all we were in a tiny two-bedroom bungalow. We then had a couple of other houses which we did up together and flipped to make a bit of money," Claire told the M.E.N.
"We then bought a farmhouse and renovated that completely. We didn't even have a survey done because we were like no matter what, we're going to do everything from scratch. That was our biggest project before this house."
Claire said that in order to find homes with potential, the couple have always gone for homes in nice locations that need a bit of work. "We've kind of gone down the route of finding the worst house on the best street. We've always done a bit of research to make sure that no matter what we spend on it, it's going to give us a return on our investment," she said.
"We've made quite a bit of equity in previous properties which allowed us to have a really substantial deposit for our current home. I definitely say we’ve always gone for the houses that we thought have great potential."
The couple decided to put their farmhouse on the market after Claire became pregnant, as they were looking for a more family-friendly home. "When I was pregnant we realised the house we were in wasn't going to be our forever home, and we just wanted something a little bit bigger. It was also on a main road so there was a lot of noise and pollution."
Claire then came across her dream home by chance - but didn't think it was at all achievable. "The estate agent who was selling our house told us they had a new property come on the market which was their 'favourite house in the area'," she said.
"We asked her to show us it as we just wanted to be nosey, but when she told us the price we said it was way out of our budget, because it was on the market for more than a million pounds. We just didn't even think it was an option to be honest. We completely disregarded it as we didn't think it was possible."
Despite the financial side of things, Claire had her heart set on the property. She explained: "I'm big into manifesting and I started creating Pinterest boards of the house and what I'd like to do to it. As we lived nearby, we kept driving past it and one day we actually knocked on the door and had a chat with the owners who invited us in.
"The previous owners had the house for 40 years. It wasn’t to our interior taste but everything was really great quality and you could see its potential. From the outside it just had the wow factor," said Claire.
"The back garden for me was the biggest selling point. It has its own beautiful pond. I'm not a gardener by any means, but I remember sitting outside and I could just see us living there and imagined my children playing out there."
The couple then went to the mortgage company and realised their dream could be a reality. "It was only after going to the mortgage company and realising what they were willing to lend us that we just thought 'wow maybe we can do this'. We told ourselves we'll do what we can to it within the first couple of years, and even if the rest of it takes a number of years thereafter then it's achievable."
Claire and her husband moved into the property in February 2020 when her first-born was just eight weeks old, which she admits was a 'struggle'. "I didn't settle at all and I mourned our old house," Claire admitted.
"The previous owners had taken everything out of here so it had no life or soul. I also think because I was a new mum it was daunting and it was all a real shock to the system, but as the house started to come back to life I felt much better."
The couple started renovating not long after getting the keys, and started with their child's playroom. "Weirdly even though she was so young we did that first. I don't know why we did that. Then we just wanted to get the bedrooms and the bathroom done," Claire said.
Claire added: "For a good three years we've had people non-stop doing work in the house. Everywhere downstairs is now complete apart from we still have the original wooden kitchen as we're waiting on planning to go through."
Claire went on to explain her future plans for the house: "We put some planning permission in to go into the loft, move the triple garage to the front of the house so that we can then extend out of the current kitchen and into the garages which are currently there.
"We've had to appeal for some planning for the freestanding garage that we want, it's just now the dormers which have been declined. We might have to try and appeal it again. But we're actually seeing it as a positive because it's given us a bit of a break.
"In the loft we've got plans for a double balcony on the back, one is going to be a Juliet balcony and the other will be a balcony with seats. The loft will have an en-suite, dressing area, a seating area and a master bedroom. The house is currently five bedrooms but it will be six once we go into the loft."
Speaking about her home's interior style, Claire described: "I'd say it is classic modern with a mix of French chic. Traditional and modern kind of combined I would say. I'm inspired quite a lot by Sophie Paterson. She's a little bit more modern than I am, but I would definitely say that's where some of the inspiration come from.
"There's still so many things I want to do to the house from an interior styling perspective, so it doesn't feel finished and I'm really just itching to get everything done, so then we can just concentrate on work and family life."
Walking us through the layout, Claire said: "After coming through the front door, on the left side you've got a lounge and playroom. To the right we've had bifold doors put in from the hallway so you can see into the dining room and the snug. In the hallway we’ve got the downstairs toilet straight ahead on the right and we have built-in a cloakroom on the left."
She continued: "Then you walk through the snug into the kitchen and we've got a utility room. Upstairs you've got two bedrooms on the right hand side which are the children's bedrooms and then on the left there's a longer corridor which has got two rooms on the left which is the bathroom and my bedroom.
"On the right side is the office and then you can come back down the corridor onto the landing at the top of the stairs where there is just one more bedroom on the left and that's the main bedroom with an en-suite."
Speaking about their plans for the future, the mum said: "I think probably we will live until my two kids are at least at senior school. It's a lovely family home, but once they leave home again, I think we'll end up downsizing and just put more money into going on holidays and things."
You can view more of Claire's home on her Instagram @clairefreshneylife.
