Extras Cambridgeshire: What Happened Next

Date Published:

19/06/2008

In series six of Property Ladder, Sarah Beeny visited Jackie and Vaughan's thatched cottage in Cambridgeshire. We were desperate to know how they got on and what advice they'd give to anyone thinking of tackling a similar development. Here's what they had to say.

By Lucy Searle

Lucy: 'I said in my blog last week that you couldn't quite bring yourself (or couldn't afford) to go that little bit further and develop the out house to make the absolute maximum from the property. Do you regret that decision now, or in hindsight, did you still do the right thing?'

Vaughan: 'No regrets at all. When Sarah first suggested the idea we were totally shocked and couldn't see the point. We ran her idea past a few local estate agents and they all said that we'd probably get our money back but it wouldn't add to the value.

Sarah thought they were wrong and when she showed us what she meant we saw the potential and agreed that if we had the time and could raise the money we would do it. When we came across the septic tank problem we realised that it would cost a LOT more in time and money. We would probably have to spend £40k to possibly get £50k back.

We didn't have access to that sort of money nor did we have time to wait for planning permission etc so we had to make an "executive decision" and drop the idea. It was never a matter of not having the guts to splash out. We just didn't think that the return would be worth the extra stress.'

Lucy: 'Towards the end of the project, Vaughan said he wanted to get the project finished (without developing the outhouse). Was keeping the momentum up a real challenge?'

Jackie: 'Yes. Vaughan was actually living on site from day one (100 miles and two hours from home). It was winter. He was cold and uncomfortable living in horrible conditions and as we uncovered one problem after another he became uninspired and just couldn’t see an end to it all.

Apparently that happens a lot in the middle of a project but it seemed even worse for him living among it all day in day out. If it wasn't for the fact that the project was being filmed and we were under pressure to complete on time he might still be there now! Momentum soon picked up again when we brought in a team of helpers and things started to take shape. Vaughan was in his element by the time it came to the finishing touches.'

Lucy: 'What made you choose that particular house - its thatched roof alone would have put off many other developers?'

Vaughan: 'We both love period properties and could see the potential. We were not afraid of any problems it may present. We had a full structural survey and worked our way through it all....and more! We knew nothing about thatched roofs initially but did plenty of research and learned as we went along, sorting out the cowboys from the experts.

Thatched and unique properties tend to hold their value so we thought it would be worth taking it on as a development. This was our first experience of property developing.'