A LIVERPOOL university student has ensured her first step on the property ladder is a good one after adding £69,999 in value to her £1 investment.
Victoria Brennan was among a select number of people who were invited to take part in the Homes for a Pound scheme run by Liverpool City Council which sold them homes in need of refurbishment for just £1.
The Liverpool John Moores student bought her house for £1 two years ago, but after she completely renovated the property it is now valued at £70,000.
The 30-year-old PHD student was given a dilapidated two-bedroom property in Wavertree and immediately set about the huge challenge of renovating it to become a beautiful home, the Liverpool Echo reports.
She is one of the stars of a Channel 4 documentary ‘The £1 Houses: Britain’s Cheapest Street’ based on the council scheme, which will air at 9pm on Wednesday, February 14.
The programme reveals how Ms Brennan switched renting in the upmarket Lark Lane area of Aigburth for the deserted streets close to Smithdown Road, where her £1 home is located.
It took £10,000 of her own money, and a £30,000 loan from her parents, to complete he mammoth renovation project.
During the first episode, she explains: “I used to pay £1.50 for a salad every day - this is much better than a salad.
“There is a stigma in the city that you have to have so much money in the bank to apply for the scheme. I was lucky.
“If you ask my friends about it, the first thing they say is how do I get one? Everyone wants to be a part of the scheme.
“The overarching positive was the ability to own a property I could never afford on my own.”
As with all the Homes for a Pound residents – Ms Brennan was not allowed to officially own her new house until she had fixed it up to a standard that the council were happy with.
She is also not allowed to sell the property on for five years.
Liverpool’s Homes for a Pound scheme is designed to bring around 6,000 houses back into use in the city.
It currently involves 120 properties, which are only available to people who live or work in the city.
The properties are being released in three phases, of roughly 40 properties per phase.
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