Today, I'm having a rest. I'm doing nothing.

Well.. after waking up at 7 a.m. to unload scaffolding off a truck for 3 hours.

After that. Then, I'm doing nothing. 

Cal and I realised we haven't been taking enough breaks. We typically work on the house 6 days a week, and take one day off for ourselves. 

Our day off usually involves hiking up one of the various mountains in the area - a peak a week - is what we call it. 

​Even on our days off, we usually end up doing some work on the house. It's just hard to sit down and do nothing when there's so much to do on the place!

We're doing a good job at getting enough sleep, eating well and (naturally) getting plenty of exercise, but a key ingredient we've missed out on is rest. 

Cal is usually a morning person. Staying in bed until 8 is considered a lie-in for him. It seems he has boundless amounts of energy, and he usually greets the day with a giddy smile and a bounce in his step. Seeing Cal accidentally sleep-in past 9 was a very good indication that we haven't been giving ourselves enough downtime! 

Our current workload is unsustainable. Something needs to change. 

We have to take self care seriously while working on this project, so that we don't burn out, and so that our relationship survives this adventure (an unrested Cal and Claire can lead to some very grumpy behavior)! 

So that's why, this weekend, we're taking the WHOLE weekend off. Tools down. Feet up! 

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​We hope everyone has a happy Easter! We'll be enjoying ours while firmly planted in some garden chairs, soaking up the Scottish Sun (Yes! It's been incredibly sunny here lately! We're loving it!).

Thank you SO, SO much for the ongoing support!

Sincerely, 

Cal and Claire ​

There's something I've been hiding from my readers since we first started this Blog in January. 

Jameswood Villa is a building made up of four apartments. When Cal first went to auction, he only bought ONE apartment in the building. 

We decided not to post too much about this because we were in the process of negotiating to buy the other units. Ironically, one of the first times we made it clear we hadn't bought the whole building was in our interview with the Scottish reporter who "broke" our story - but she didn't mention it in her final article!

This week was momentous for us, because we finally own Jameswood... ALL OF IT! And now I can finally tell you all about it. 

The fact that Jameswood was split up into seperate apartments is likely a major contributing factor to the building falling into disrepair and becoming derelict over the years. Owners hadn't agreed to make the repairs needed to stop closing orders being put on the building, and apartments weren't sold together, or at the same time - putting off investors. 

The fact that the building was split into apartments is ALSO the reason for Cal's (now famous) auction mix up. You can read more about how we accidentally bought Jameswood here. 

Three of Jameswoods apartments were up for sale on the day of the auction. The first was sold to another bidder, the second was sold to Cal and the third had no bidders. 

Later that day, the Auction house called Cal and asked if we'd like to buy the third apartment that had been up for sale that day. 

We hadn't yet seen the place, but we knew that if the last apartment had to go to auction again, we could be waiting months before there was another investor on board for common works to commence. We saw the unsold third apartment as a loose end that needed to be tied up - so we agreed to buy the flat for a discounted auction fee. 

Now we owned half the building. And this is when Cal first went and saw Jameswood. As most of you could probably guess, seeing the building for the first time was a bit of a shock. It was definitely more than the "upgrades throughout" that we were expecting from the auction description. Luckily, our good friends Barry and Dexter were there to calm Cal when he first saw the place. Together they did an initial survey of the building, and started to uncover the problems that would have to be solved to repair the building. 

Wow! What a whirlwind. 

About a week ago, Cal and I thought we were going to be in one Scottish newspaper, having done an interview with a reporter after they had seen our story in Dunoon's local paper. 

As the day progressed, we were shocked to find the story spreading, first to other UK papers, and then across the globe. 

We were soon getting messages from people in Australia, New Zealand, North and South America, Russia and Thailand. 

At first it was a bit overwhelming. It's a very weird feeling, knowing so many people know who you are, and know about your little mix up at an auction. The stories seemed to get more and more sensationalized as the day progressed, and unlike here on my blog, we had absolutely no control over how things were told by all these news sources. 

But what came from having our story spread all over the internet was amazing. Cal and I are incredibly moved by the enormous amount of support, the incredibly kind words of encouragement and the general positivity we have been sent by so many people. 

From all over the world, people have taken some time out of their days to follow our Facebook, Instagram and Blog, and to email, message and comment us such lovely well wishes. 

The scale of this project can feel very daunting at times. It is so nice to know that so many people from all over the world are supporting us as we take this on. 

We would just like to say a heartfelt and sincere thank you to everyone who has sent us encouragement. 

 I will be posting a new update very shortly, but for now, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Sincerely, 

​Cal and Claire 

A few of the articles we've found about our story.

So here they are...

Finding the elusive electricity wire

The first, and arguably, the best win we've had in the past week has been finding the cut electricity wire, that used to connect the property to mains electricity. 

Soon, I'll post a blog explaining just how hard it was to find this wire, but for now, just know that we have been searching for this wire since November!

Hopes of finding the wire were starting to dwindle in the past few weeks, and the gravity of the situation was starting to become clear. If we couldn't find the wire, we were going to have to pay a hefty fee to have the pavement dug up, to be reconnected to the main line. 

We were told to look for a little black box, where the cut end of the wire would be sheltered, about 500mm deep in the ground. We were also given a map of the property that indicated (inaccurately) where the wire was supposed to have run. 

This week, while digging out drainage pipes at the front of the property, Cal stumbled upon a cut end of a thin, black wire, wrapped tightly in black electrical tape, lying in the ground, with no "black box" in sight.

It was the live electricity wire and we are so relieved to have found it! (And very excited to have electricity on site in the near future!)

​Getting a driveway laid 

One of the first things Cal did when he first got to Jameswood was clear a Ford Transit-sized space at the front of our property, to facilitate access to our building site.

Now, Transits are incredibly helpful to have when restoring a home, and I'd recommend them to anyone looking to take on a project like ours. However, I would not recommend them to those of you looking for an off-road vehicle..

Our van has gotten stuck in the slick, deep mud on our "driveway" too many times to count. And with such a heavy vehicle, pushing it out (with the help of our friendly, but exasperated neighbours) is not an easy task. 

For a while, we would lay old plaster out on the driveway while we were clearing the house. The plaster was a great temporary driveway, but it was a bit too water soluble for the wet conditions we get here in Scotland. Once it had rained, the plaster just added more gunk to the the messy mud our van was getting stuck in.  

This week, we were excited to receive our first on-site delivery: 10 tonnes of aggregate, about a quarter of which has gone into making a nice, new, sturdy resting spot for our van! 
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Are you renovating in the Dunoon or Glasgow area? Maybe you know someone who is?

We want to recycle your building materials!

Cal and I want to restore Jameswood Villa in an environmentally friendly way (and a budget friendly way too!) One way to do this is by using reclaimed building materials. 

Right now, we're looking for floor boards in particular. 

So if you're redoing your floors, please, don't take the old boards to the tip! Email us!
We'll be happy to pick them up at a time convenient to you! ​

We'd also be glad to have any old timbers, sheet material, old kitchen and bathroom units... anything you think we could recycle or upcycle for the project! 

We can be contacted at [email protected]

Thank you!

For those of you who'd like to see more photos of the project, follow our Instagram page at 

https://www.instagram.com/whathavewedunoon/

We'll be posting visual updates of our progress, as well as photos of the beautiful scenery we come across as we explore our new home and the rest of Scotland.

We can now walk around the house!

​On days where it was bucketing down, we had plenty to do inside the house – where our holey roof provided us with a little protection from the rain.
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The apartments had been left fully furnished… with soggy, mouldy couches and mattresses, broken furniture and decades-old appliances. After more than five runs to the dump, with our Ford Transit filled to the brim, we are getting to know the friendly staff at Dunoon’s local tip and gradually clearing the trash that has been left on the property. 

Before we can start fixing the house, we also have to clear out the crumbling wet plaster that lines Jameswood’s walls. Property development tv shows make this job look easy. Their montages of knocking down walls with sledge hammers and bringing a house back to its bones look fun and exciting!

I’ve now found out that plaster is dustier and heavier than I could ever have imagined! And getting rid of the mouldy, wet insulation sitting behind the walls and ceilings can be a very itchy endeavour!
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Bucket by bucket, and with plenty of help from our friends, we’ve managed to bring our apartments back to the studs, and in the process, we’ve also collected a lifetime supply of kindling produced by the lath!  
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​Clearing the land and the house has been A LOT of hard work, but we’ve managed to have a lot of fun in the process. Cal and I are really enjoying having nature right here on our doorstep, and have managed to take a few days off to explore and hike in the area. 

As we’ve mentioned, our adventure with Jameswood started when Claire declined her offer to medical school. Now we had a whole year ahead of us with no plans. We wanted a new challenge, and decided flipping a house together would be a fun and rewarding experience.

We decided to look at auction properties, and after doing LOTS of research and making a site visit, Cal attended an auction in early October to bid on a particular property (not Jameswood Villa.)
Jameswood Villa was being sold as 3 separate units in the prior lot to the property we were interested in. However, the auction booklet didn’t mention 3 seperate sales, so when Cal placed a bid, he thought it was for the Glasgow property we had wanted.


When Cal realised, the panic set in, and he left the auction house to call me and let me know what had happened.


Quickly looking up the property, Auction House Scotland had described Jameswood Villa, Sandbank, Dunoon, PA23 8PN as in need of "full upgrading throughout", and presented with a Google Streetview image that was last updated in 2010.


We could manage full upgrades, and the photo looked alright.
​What could go wrong? 

A foreword before continuing: Cal and I are extremely happy and excited to be taking on Jameswood. Take this as a warning about the risks of buying a property at auction, but NOT as a warning against pursuing your dreams or goals in life.


When Cal first went to visit our newly acquired property, he realised the house needed a LOT more than the upgrading ​than we were imagining.
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The photo presented by Auction House Scotland was conveniently angled to exclude the cracked stone on the bay window, and the leaning, crumbling front wall that indicated serious structural problems we’ve now found out are due to subsidence. The roof had gaping holes, and having been left empty for 20 years, this had allowed most of the timbers in the building to rot.
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We soon realised this project wouldn’t be financially feasible if we weren’t doing the project ourselves, or if we needed a steady income to pay for overhead costs like a mortgage or rent.

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Upgrade, verb: Raise (something) to a higher standard, in particular improve (equipment or machinery) by adding or replacing components. – Oxford Dictionary.
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When I think of upgrading throughout, what comes to my mind is a home in need of new electrics, plumbing, kitchens and bathrooms and energy efficient improvements. I’d even describe a roof replacement as an upgrade. Apparently, however, “upgrading throughout” is what Auction House Scotland sees as an honest way of describing a derelict house with serious, visible structural problems; ones that the council has described as dangerous.

Cal and I have often pointed out derelict buildings while driving through Europe, and saw the great potential they had to be turned into beautiful homes. Jameswood isn’t the quick flip we imagined our first building project to be together, but it is a challenge we are excited to undertake.

As was mentioned, we’d love our story to inspire others to go after their dreams, even if they are as grand as restoring a dilapidated old house. But it’s always wise to learn from your experiences, or better yet, the experiences of others! Cal and I have certainly learned to be very careful and attentive at auction, and ascertain that we are bidding on the correct property! We recommend that if you’re thinking of going to auction, always read the legal documents and make a site visit before bidding.

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Like with many things that happen in life, our experience at auction was a classic example of the phrase sh*t happens. And now we’re attempting to turn that sh*t into a beautiful home. What have we Dunoon?

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Join us on our journey.