How did we ACCIDENTALLY buy a derelict house?
For the full story, you can heck out our blog post here.
But the short story is: We were trying to buy a two bedroom apartment in Glasgow at auction. One apartment in Jameswood was up for sale at the same auction. It was the lot right before the Glasgow apartment we wanted.
Two more apartments at Jameswood were added to the auction last minute, but the auction book hadn't been reprinted with these changes! Cal, who was following along with the book (and isn't great at listening!), saw that the first apartment at Jameswood had been sold, and thought he was bidding on the apartment in Glasgow! Accidentally bid for second apartments at Jameswood which had been added last minute!
In the end, the Glasgow apartment went for WAY more than we could afford, so all was not lost! Over the next few months, we bought the rest of the apartments at Jameswood, so we could start our build. That was an adventure of its own, and you can read more about it here.
But the short story is: We were trying to buy a two bedroom apartment in Glasgow at auction. One apartment in Jameswood was up for sale at the same auction. It was the lot right before the Glasgow apartment we wanted.
Two more apartments at Jameswood were added to the auction last minute, but the auction book hadn't been reprinted with these changes! Cal, who was following along with the book (and isn't great at listening!), saw that the first apartment at Jameswood had been sold, and thought he was bidding on the apartment in Glasgow! Accidentally bid for second apartments at Jameswood which had been added last minute!
In the end, the Glasgow apartment went for WAY more than we could afford, so all was not lost! Over the next few months, we bought the rest of the apartments at Jameswood, so we could start our build. That was an adventure of its own, and you can read more about it here.
Are you making jameswood into one house, or separate apartments?
Jameswood Villa was originally built in 1900 as three separate apartments. In the 1930's it was subdivided into four apartments, and this remained the layout of the building until we bought it.
We do not intend on making the building into one house: it's too big a building for Cal and I to live an energy efficient lifestyle (or pay for the heating costs!). We also need separate apartments so that we have a way of covering the costs of the build, and paying back loans at the end of the restoration!
We will make three living spaces in the building. One three bedroom apartment upstairs, and two two-bedroom apartments downstairs.
We do not intend on making the building into one house: it's too big a building for Cal and I to live an energy efficient lifestyle (or pay for the heating costs!). We also need separate apartments so that we have a way of covering the costs of the build, and paying back loans at the end of the restoration!
We will make three living spaces in the building. One three bedroom apartment upstairs, and two two-bedroom apartments downstairs.
What are your plans for the building once it's restored?
We absolutely LOVE Sandbank and the surrounding area. Our community has been so welcoming and we really feel at home here. We plan on making the three bedroom apartment on the top floor of Jameswood our home base.
Downstairs, we will have two holiday lets/ guests houses, that we hope will provide us with an income and a means to cover some of the costs of our restoration.
Downstairs, we will have two holiday lets/ guests houses, that we hope will provide us with an income and a means to cover some of the costs of our restoration.
How long will it take you to finish the restoration?
This has to be one of the most frequently asked question we get! And we ask ourselves the same thing all the time!
We've never done anything like this before, and every timeline estimation has been wrong so far (most tasks take longer than expected, but some things have been surprisingly quick as well!)
I think it would be naive for us to think we could accurately predict how long it will take, but our goal has always been a 2 year restoration, starting from when we owned the whole house. If we stay on track with this goal, we will be done in spring of 2021!
We've never done anything like this before, and every timeline estimation has been wrong so far (most tasks take longer than expected, but some things have been surprisingly quick as well!)
I think it would be naive for us to think we could accurately predict how long it will take, but our goal has always been a 2 year restoration, starting from when we owned the whole house. If we stay on track with this goal, we will be done in spring of 2021!
