I don't know where i first got the love of renovation projects but from a young age, I kind of knew improving property was a good ides. My grandfather raised me. He had built himself a villa comprising 4 buildings in a large expanse of land in Nigeria. 

I arrived in UK in 2004 to study. This was the time when there were only 4 terrestrial TV stations and on the mornings when i didn't have lectures, I'd watch Homes Under the Hammer with its terribly cheesy music. 

In 2010, I bought my first property with someone else for £405k, 7 years later, I bought it off of "us" in 2017 for £625k. Spent £40k on improvements in 2018 and sold it in Feb 2022 for £820k.

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Beracah (this) was the second project.

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The third project is much, much bigger and for a bigger purpose. That one is not residential.

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For residential builds, the advice I received from a friend (Murley) who was an estate agent remains true till this date: do as you would be done by: Add convenient touches to the home you are doing up based on who it is aimed at. Murley is no longer an estate agent but you can follow he and his partner Lyndsey's' adventures in their van at Our Van Tales 

Murley told me: if it is supposed to be a family home, forget jacuzzi baths and put in a large kitchen/family room for that mum who will need to keep an eye on her children whilst cooking dinner.

Add downstairs toilets, and a large family bathroom- with a bath.

Ensure it has parking within its boundaries because loading small children into the car on the street is stress a mother doesn't need.

Mothers with young families tend to heavily influence the home purchasing decision because they are thinking of a house that will best suit them practically to preserve their sanity -- plus, they also want to show off to their friends. So a nice, workable kitchen with space is a winner...

I'll always be grateful to Murley.