When a young couple accidentally buys a 120-year-old home, they do their best to make good out of a pretty horrible situation. They didn't realize how in over their heads they were... Especially with the secrets that they uncovered!
Loving Couple
Claire Segeren and Cal Hunter had been dating throughout most of their young adult life. Claire was a med-school student and Cal had been working a regular job post-university. Claire decided to take a year-long break from her schooling in order to focus more on setting up her life with Cal.
Taking The Plunge
Once Claire was settled, they started talking about what life step they could take next as a couple. They had been living together in England for a while in a small apartment. They felt like they were growing out of the apartment and knew that they wanted to move…
Adventurous Couple
The two met in the French Alps while skiing. Cal was an English native and Claire was living in Canada. They hit it off immediately due to their high chemistry and their need for adventure.
Road Tripping
Over the past two years of dating, they went on road trips, skiing trips, camping, and canoeing all over the world. In October of 2018, they made the biggest decision of their lives (so far!)
Tight on Funds
Instead of just moving houses, they wanted something more rewarding. They didn’t have much money between med school and student loans, so a higher-end apartment wasn’t in their budget. Claire had a wonderful idea…
Flip and Sell
In order to make some money and spend her year off on a positive note, Claire had the awesome idea of buying an apartment at an auction, flipping it, and selling it for a huge profit. Cal loved the idea since working with his hands was part of his job. They were going to buy an apartment!
Finding an Auction
It took a while for them to figure out what the perfect place was for them. There were tons of auctions in the area, but none of them were offering what they were looking for… They almost gave up.
Clare Had to Leave
Claire was visiting her parents in Canada when Cal found the perfect spot. It checked off everything on their list and was in their price range. Claire gave him the okay to go ahead and bid for it, which was a scary experience in itself! Now, Cal had to go at it alone.
The Apartment
The place was up for auction because the owners abandoned it after a fire. After assessing the damage, Cal figured that it would take, at most, six months to refurbish. For that time, they can live in the apartment! It was perfect.
Heading to Auction
With Claire’s blessing, Cal headed to the auction. There were a good amount of people there and he was nervous. He tried emitting good energy in his bid and hoped for the best…
It All Happened So Fast
When the time came, Cal put in his £30,000 bid. Just like that, he won the apartment! Cal was stoked and went to go cash out, but then the heard the auctioneer put up the apartment again… Or, so he thought.
He Made a Huge Mistake
Cal was super confused. He just bid on the apartment, why was it up again…? Then, he realized what he actually bid on. It was not the apartment, but something way bigger and way over their heads…
A Huge Mansion
Instead of a single apartment, he ended up bidding on a building that had multiple units. He somehow misheard the auctioneer and bid on the first “apartment” that he heard. He ran to the officials and tried to undo his mistake…
No Going Back
The officials had to tell him that his mistake was final… If he wanted to get rid of it, he’d have to do it on his own. He was a wreck. He had to tell Claire what he did… He bought a 120 abandoned house in the middle of Scotland.
No Problem!
When he told Claire what happened, she was more than understanding. Instead of freaking out, she took this as a sign: This was what they were meant to do. They were going to flip it! They knew that it would be a true test to their relationship, but they had no idea what was really going on…
A True Test…
When Claire got back to Canada, they went to check out the mansion. It was originally called Jameswood Villa and had a lot of history behind it. That being said, it was extremely dilapidated and getting worse by the day. It was way worse than the apartment that they wanted…
Feeling Defeated
They walked through the building and started feeling worse and worse about it. The timbers in the house were corroded, the roof was falling apart with gaping holes scattered bout, the walls were crumbling and the house itself was sinking into the ground.
Doing This on a Budget
The entire reason that they did this was to save some cash while making money at the same time. They needed to do this on a budget, which meant that they couldn’t hire contractors. Plus, they had to live on the premises, so they needed to make it structurally safe so that they could live in it.
Renting an RV
They decided that this was the time in their lives to take on these sorts of challenges in order to revel in the triumph. So, they rented a tiny RV and parked it out front. That’s where they were living during the renovations… Quite different than what they thought was going to happen!
No Electricity, No Plumbing
Naturally, this place had no electricity or plumbing. That meant that they had nowhere to shower, nowhere to keep warm, nowhere to charge their electronics (including tools!) They relied on the kindness of others while they were basically homeless trying to work on this project.
Working Together
Claire was working on this as her full-time job. Cal worked as a carpenter to bring some money in while also helping work on the home. This was slowly taking over their lives… Everything was about the renovation.
Constant Problems
Detailed on their blog, they ran into setbacks nearly every single day. They needed a new roof, but the walls were too weak to handle a new one. The walls couldn’t be redone without a new roof because the consistent rain would ruin them since the roof had holes.
Knocking It Down Wasn’t an Option
Their structural engineer advised them to knock down the manner three times. That just wasn’t an option!
Insane Amounts of Trash
The home had been abandoned for 20 years. They were constantly moving old furniture, clothes, and other random objects to the dump. A lot of the time, the dust and mold got so intense from all of the moving that they couldn’t be inside the home. This was becoming bad for their health.
Extreme Labor
This wasn’t just a little house flip that you see on TV. They needed new walls, new floors, electricity, plumbing, insulation, fixtures, masonry, windows, doors… The list goes on and on. It was in complete disarray with no end in sight.
Basically Camping
Since they had nowhere to stay, they were forced to camp. Cal made a makeshift outdoor kitchen so that they could attempt some sort of civility. It was unconventional and difficult to maintain, but it was working for them.
Finally, Some Electricity
After five months, they were able to connect to an electrical board. It took them a long time and a lot of hard work to make sure that it would work, and it finally paid off. After months of shortcomings, something good finally came out of it! They were still just at the beginning, though…
Passing the Six Month Mark
Six months later, they knew that this place wasn’t going to be finished any time soon. They are putting a lot of time into this restoration - which is what it is, it’s no longer a renovation. Plus, they want to make sure they’re being as environmentally friendly as possible, which can take a while.
Keeping History
Cal and Claire are adding to the already expansive history of the villa. As they restore it, they’re bringing it back to life. The character that the building has will be redone in a new way that also has the character of the couple.
No Longer About Profit, But Experience
They’re doing their best to make sure the restoration goes smoothly. Now, it’s not about the money. They’re crowdfunding it as well as working odd jobs to support it. Now, it’s about reveling in the mistake and making sure that things are done right… Plans go out the window!