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Grace Hoffman & Abbie Meehan

Couple searching for dream home 'laughed at' for split-second renovation decision

Taking steps onto the property ladder is more difficult than ever these days, amid the soaring cost of housing and inflation peaking at all-time highs.

While first-time buying is out of reach for many, Amy Wright and David Lavery were determined to have a house before the end of 2022, reports the Mirror. The couple did everything to make owning a home happen even when they were "laughed at" along the way.

Amy and her partner David looked beyond the face value of the homes they were looking at, and were keen to take on a renovation project, despite mounting odds against them.

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Amy, an online fitness coach, and her project manager boyfriend David, knew the north Liverpool home they found was "the one" after they stepped over the threshold.

They told the Liverpool Echo that they had just ten minutes to make it to the estate agents and make an offer.

They also claimed that they were "laughed at" by many friends for wanting to take on such a big project. Amy said: "We had ten minutes before the estate agent closed for the weekend, we rang up and we put an offer in."

They knew instantly the home was 'the one'. (Amy Wright)

Boasting a large Instagram following with her fitness content, Amy has turned her hand to home renovation and has set up a social media page to document it all.

She said: "Anything that screams hard work I love, and so does David. It's such a journey and you never know what’s about to happen next.

"I don't know if that’s a good or bad thing sometimes. But all this hard work is going to be completed by us, and it's going to be our home."

And were keen to take on the renovation. (Amy Wright)

Once their offer was accepted by the estate agents, it took Amy and David five months to get the keys - which they confessed was an "emotional day".

Amy continued: "I actually started crying. The daughter of the owner had left us a gorgeous card with a lovely message inside and a bottle of prosecco set up on a small table and two little deck chairs.

It took the couple five months to get the keys. (Amy Wright)

"We both sat down, poured a couple of glasses and just took in the moment."

Despite the home only being theirs for a few weeks, the couple have wasted no time in getting to work. Amy said: "We are absolutely loving it. It’s moving so fast, but that’s exactly what we wanted.

"We’ve both been there endless amounts of hours around our jobs and every little bit of spare time we have is dedicated to the house.

"We are literally ripping the whole thing out and we have knocked down walls already. We had a wall that separated the toilet from the bathroom, knocking it down has made it so much bigger.

They're documenting their renovation online. (Amy Wright)

"We need a new bathroom, windows, floor, lights, doors basically everything and eventually we're going to do an extension for an open plan kitchen but that’s in a year to come. Not to mention the garden it's huge, but we’ll sort that in the summer."

Despite the work laid out before them, the couple are determined to be settled in their property by Christmas Day. Amy said: "A lot of people laughed at this but seriously... a bed, bathroom, and the kitchen and we’ll be moving in.

"So many people said we wouldn’t even have the house plastered by then, but a company called Acorn Damp Proofing Solutions has fitted us in."

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