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I bought a derelict house with my boyfriend of six months – people say renovations ‘destroy even long married couples'

I bought a derelict house with my boyfriend of six months – people say renovations ‘destroy even long married couples'

The Sun16-07-2025
A YOUNG woman has been warned after buying a derelict house with her boyfriend of six months,
Bekah, from Manchester, and her boyfriend Ian first met six months ago on Hinge and have already bought a house together.
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But they decided to go for a derelict building to save them money and renovate it themselves.
Bekah revealed that she and her partner, who is a builder, had just enough money to buy the house, so were hoping that sharing the journey on social media would help pay for the work.
She said: "Even though we've only been officially boyfriend and girlfriend for six months, we decided to pool our money and take the leap on this huge project.
"We've both always had dreams of renovating houses and we're the perfect team to do it together."
In the video it was clear the couple had already got to work, they hired gardeners to help strip the ivy taking over their house which was a bigger job than any of them imagined.
She said that the overgrown ivy had caused structural issues in the house and that wasn't all.
As Bekah got busy tearing off the wallpaper, she found that much of the structure was rotten and covered in mould.
"I steamed off wallpaper in most of the room while documenting it all on this new account which I've made with the hope of being able to monetise some of the renovations," she explained.
While she was terrified to see just how much work they had to do, she was grateful to those watching the videos, which helped her pay for the work.
In a recent video, she shared how the garden clean up had cost her £500, but she had already made £400 from the TikTok creator fund after filming the process.
Trolls say council houses can't look nice but my stunning hallway will prove them wrong
And she hoped to do the same with the rest of the house.
"My aim with this project is that if I vlog every single thing. hopefully, I can monetise so things will cover themselves," she added.
The clip soon went viral on her TikTok account @ renovationstyled with over 349k views and 36k likes.
While many were excited to follow the renovation project along, others warned it could break their relationship.
One person wrote: "Renovations can destroy long married couples. If you survive this you know that he is 1000% the one!!"
Another commented: "If you can renovate a house together you can survive anything."
"Going to be a stunning house.. Be well worth it," penned a third.
Home upgrades that add the most value to a house
The best renovation to add value totally depends on your property, the local market and your potential buyers.
Zoopla shared a list of upgrades that will instantly add value to your home.
Loft conversion - increase of 15%
Off-street parking - adds £50,000 to property price
New kitchen - increase of 15%
Garage conversion - increase of 15%
Cellar or basement conversion - increase of 10-15%
Open plan living space - increase of 3-5%
New bathroom - increase of 3-5%
Meanwhile a fourth said: "If you can survive a Reno together nothing can stop you."
"Can't wait to see the progress! You've done so much already,' claimed a fifth
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