An abandoned home that sold for just £1 and came with a warning to ‘enter at your own risk’ underwent an astonishing transformation after being bought.
It was purchased back in 2015 by Maxine Sharples, who was studying a postgraduate degree at Liverpool John Moores University at the time.
The house, located on Webster Road in the Webster Triangle area of the city, was able to be bought thanks to an initiative by Liverpool City Council, which launched the Homes for Pound Scheme in an attempt to revive old homes no longer in use.
Miss Sharples, now 36, said that she was left homeless during the renovations of the property, as she was forced to live in a campervan.
Speaking in a mini-documentary uploaded to YouTube by CNBC Make It in June 2023, Maxine said: ‘I heard about the scheme through a neighbour. I was a postgraduate student at the time with nominal savings, so I applied.
The house, located on Webster Road in the Webster Triangle area of the city, was able to be bought thanks to an initiative by Liverpool City Council, which launched the Homes for Pound Scheme in an attempt to revive old homes no longer in use
Maxine ran into difficulty almost immediately after being given the keys to the house in February 2020, due to the onset of the pandemic and a subsequent lack of contractors within her budget being available
Upstairs, where the bathroom used to be, is a smart stairway landing area, leading to a luxurious open-plan kitchen and living room, complete with state-of-the-art Ikea units and an island seating area
Miss Sharples, now 36, said that she was left homeless during the renovations of the property, as she was forced to live in a campervan
‘Four years later, I received a phone call, telling me I was shortlisted for one of the homes for a pound. I thought it was a scam at first, but agreed to be interviewed for a property’.
Explaining how she went about renovating the delipidated abode, which had seemingly fallen into a state beyond repair, Maxine said she decided to flip the living arrangements so that the two bedrooms and the bathroom would be downstairs.
This meant having the kitchen and living area upstairs, in what may appear to be an odd and unconventional switch.
However, Maxine ran into difficulty almost immediately after being given the keys to the house in February 2020, due to the onset of the pandemic and a subsequent lack of contractors within her budget being available.
Consequently, in May 2020, she decided to quit her full-time job and undertake the mammoth renovation task by herself.
For a period, it looked like the refurbishment of the house may never happen, as Maxine was low on funds and ‘at rock bottom’ after going through a break-up while unemployed.
As a result, she thought the house was going to be taken away from her, meaning the renovation money – which came to a total of around £60,000 – would be lost.
However, she was reinvigorated by a group of friends, who offered to help Maxine with the project after bumping into her in a local park.
Fortunately, the local council handed her a lifeline, by extending the deadline for renovations because of the pandemic.
It had been transformed into a chic modern townhouse that features a bathroom with suave grey tiling
The master bedroom was renovated with a king-size bed and underfloor heating
Maxine described the stunning upstairs as a part of the house she finds ‘uplifting’, where she can practice yoga, read and relax in what she labels her ‘urban tranquil paradise’
This allowed her to complete the upstairs, but she had to live in her newly-built kitchen for six months while she finished work on the downstairs part of the house.
After all the works were finished, the property that previously looked like a crumbling, abandoned mess – just waiting to be abolished – was unrecognisable.
It had been transformed into a chic modern townhouse that features a bathroom with suave grey tiling, a master bedroom with a king-size bed and underfloor heating, along with the installation of patio doors that give direct access to Maxine’s ‘yarden’.
Upstairs, where the bathroom used to be, is a smart stairway landing area, leading to a luxurious open-plan kitchen and living room, complete with state-of-the-art Ikea units and an island seating area.
Maxine described the stunning upstairs as a part of the house she finds ‘uplifting’, where she can practice yoga, read and relax in what she labels her ‘urban tranquil paradise’.
Laura Adams is a tech enthusiast residing in the UK. Her articles cover the latest technological innovations, from AI to consumer gadgets, providing readers with a glimpse into the future of technology.
