Finding a characterful building, empty and ripe for renovation, and in a stunning location that can accommodate a home and a business is a long list of new property requirements, so when you find one that ticks all these boxes, surely you need to go for it, especially if it's property love at first sight?
But if the property is in an area totally unknown to you, maybe it's a risk.
Yorkshire couple Sue and Martin Stephenson just couldn't help themselves when they stumbled across a characterful Welsh chapel that was empty and down on its luck in 2003.
They came, they saw, they wanted.
Sue remembers: "It had been closed for a couple of years and was starting to deteriorate. When we bought it we didn't know the area particularly well, but we loved the building and wanted to rescue it.
"We'd renovated several properties before, but nothing quite on this scale and, to be honest, we didn't really know what we were going to do with it."
What the intrepid renovation couple had launched themselves into was the rescue, restoration and renovation of Capel Jerusalem within the stunning Snowdonia National Park.
What the chapel eventually ended up being was two homes that optimised the couple's options - a home and a holiday let to provide income.
But before any removal vans could turn up or the holiday let could welcome its first impressed visitor, there was a long list of renovation and restoration work to do.
Sue says: "We wanted to do the 150-year-old building justice and make sure it would be around for many more years to come. Martin is a building surveyor and understands the importance of using the right materials to preserve and restore historic structures."
And it was the building itself that helped to inspire the couple when they first turned up with the keys and began to muse on what could potentially be done and what the property could eventually become.
Sue says: "When the chapel was operational there was a dividing wall which separated the main chapel at the front from the Sunday School at the rear.
"The wall bisected one of the windows, so we re-built it in its current position, with a super-soundproof wall, to create two homes; Capel Jerusalem at the front and Jerusalem Vestry at the rear."
Martin, a 58-year-old building surveyor and Sue, a 53-year-old marketing consultant, began the transformation of this charming building by creating the two storey Capel Jerusalem that would ensure this larger unit would enjoy the benefit of being designed as an upside down home.
With the four ensuite bedrooms on the ground floor, this left the newly constructed first floor to be fully exposed to the chapel's impressive ceiling, with plasterwork, ceiling roses and beamage adding great charm to the open-plan space.
Surely no visitor can resist looking up and gawping at being so close to the features usually so far away in a large, double-height chapel?
Sue says: "Capel Jerusalem has some beautiful original features, with ornate ceiling features and coving - most people who walk up the winding oak staircase to the first floor say 'wow!'.
"It really is a breath-taking space, complete with fabulous kitchen, baby grand piano, spacious dining area, comfortable lounge and the beautiful original arched windows.
"It feels more like a designer, city apartment than a chapel and with underfloor heating throughout, this large, open space also feels cosy and warm."
It's unlikely the baby grand piano comes with the sale of the chapel, but it's good to know the space is so generous it easily accommodates bulky furniture or even bulky musical instruments.
On the ground floor, a corridor leads to the four ensuite bedrooms, which Sue says each have zoned underfloor heating, but another surprise that the chapel can offer that's included in the sale is an infra-red sauna, which will surely make-up for any disappointment at not getting the baby grand piano.
Sue says: "A utility room houses the hot water tank and the controls for the efficient, eco-friendly heating system. We invested a large amount of money in solar panels, an air source heat pump and underfloor heating, to make sure that the heating system was not only effective, but affordable to run.
"There is a vast roof space that offers the potential for further development, if someone wanted to create more bedrooms, owners accommodation if the property became a bed and breakfast, or a games room. The beautiful roof features can be seen up close, in Jerusalem Vestry, which has accommodation over three floors."
Jerusalem Vestry is a separate home within the building that comes with its own separate entrance at the rear of the property.
The accommodation in this unit is over three floors, with an open-plan kitchen diner and lounge on the ground, two ensuite bedrooms on the first floor and a pretty bedroom that occupies the top floor and can boast characterful roof beams as a feature, as well as private use of the next door bathroom on this level.
This home has an additional feature sure to make a new owner happy too, not a piano or sauna this time, but a hot tub.
Sue says: "The private, walled courtyard at the rear of the Vestry is the perfect place for alfresco dining – and a hot tub, with lovely hillside views.
"Both properties can be rented as five star holiday lets, with a five star income, or the new owners can do what we do and work from home in one house, whilst enjoying a healthy income from the other."
After having rescued the chapel from certain and eventual dereliction, for a number of years the couple from Yorkshire rented out both of the Visit Wales 5-star rated units, regularly bringing holiday makers to enjoy the location and spend their holiday pounds at businesses in the area.
Sue says the combined potential income from both units has the potential to be around £100,000 per annum, saying: "Large holiday rental properties are in short supply and huge demand and we regularly had bookings for groups of up to 22 people.
"Rentals aren't just limited to school holidays because large properties are popular all year round, for family get-togethers and celebrations such as birthdays."
But the lure of living in arguably one of the most gorgeous regions in Wales, Snowdonia, was too much for the couple to ignore and they packed up and moved over the border and into Jerusalem Vestry.
The couple then spent years hiking, climbing, socialising and generally enjoying their renovated home in this most idyllic of areas, as well as travelling to the nearby coast for a splash of water-based outdoor activities.
Sue says: "We spent our time exploring beautiful southern Snowdonia. The area really is stunning. We have more than 14,000 acres of accessible countryside and forestry on the doorstep.
"We can walk from the chapel into the Nant Gwernol forest to see waterfalls and the steam trains on the Talyllyn railway.
"And it's a short distance from the village to the foot of Cader Idris – a fabulous mountain, just under 3,000 ft high and never crowded like Snowdon. We're also a short drive from the coastal towns of Tywyn and Aberdovey and the wonderful wide, sandy beaches of Cardigan Bay."
But for so many people, the coronavirus pandemic has changed the couple's situation and they are very sad about leaving the area.
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Sue says: "The property is in the friendly village of Abergynolwyn. Many people in the village have happy memories of when they used to go to the chapel and have shared with us photos and stories of services, weddings and Sunday School at Capel Jerusalem.
"It's a lovely community, where neighbours look out for each other – something which was very apparent during lockdown. But we decided during lockdown that it was time for us to move back to Yorkshire, to be close to our elderly parents.
"We've already bought another 'project' in Yorkshire, but we will be very sad to leave Wales, every day we go for a walk and marvel at the beauty of the area.
"We firmly believe that this part of Wales is one of the prettiest parts of the UK - no wonder it's so popular with visitors – and we will certainly be regular return visitors once we've made our move."
Who knows, the couple might even contact the new owners of Capel Jerusalem and ask if they can hire the holiday let to stay in.
Capel Jerusalem - containing both units - is for sale for £685,000 with Morris Marshall & Poole, call their Tywyn branch on 01654 710388 to find out more.
