The house was on the market for less than three weeks before it was snapped up.
This was amid multiple viewings and considerable interest in the three-bedroom property on Downie Park Road, just off Old Glamis Road in Dundee.
The reason?
A five-figure makeover courtesy of Thomas Bradley Residential, which saw the value of the house increased by £80,000.
The 11-week transformation, led by real estate agent Kevin Farr, took the two-storey property from “borderline uninhabitable” to fresh and modern.
The decision to renovate was made after its first appearance on the property market in August 2024.
The semi-detached house, which featured dilapidated interiors, a damaged roof and an overgrown garden, was originally listed at £129,995.
Dundee house taken off the market after ‘lowball’ offers
“It had a few viewings,” says 29-year-old Kevin.
“But there wasn’t much interest, to be honest, and very lowball offers.”
After a month on the market, he approached the owner with a proposition.
“We went to the seller and we offered to come in as a company and do the house up and bring it to the modern standard that it is today,” Kevin says.
This meant Thomas Bradley Residential would cover the costs of renovations and then share in the profits once the property is sold at a higher price.
It’s known as an assisted sale in property – or a win-win.
The seller agreed, and works began.
Kevin, who is based at his company’s headquarters in East Kilbride, spent the next three months travelling up and down to Dundee to manage the project.
How much did renovation of ‘uninhabitable’ Dundee house cost?
His budget for the renovation, which was carried out by Thomas Bradley Residential’s in-house building team, was over £50,000.
“It was in quite poor condition – borderline inhabitable,” he says. “It needed a lot of work.
“So we had a team meeting onsite and decided it was going to need taken back to brick and have a full renovation.”
They started with the roof.
“This property was one of the only properties in the area that didn’t have a new roof,” Kevin says.
“So, straight away, we had to put a new roof in, which was quite costly.”
The exterior walls of the house, previously brown, were then painted white to give it a “nice, fresh look”.
Inside, it was stripped back, replastered, painted and tiled.
New flooring was put down throughout, while the electrical and plumbing systems were replaced.
A new kitchen and bathroom were also installed.
The kitchen, featuring sage green cabinetry and white tiling, was bought from Howdens.
It is simple and practical, with a minimalist design and timeless aesthetic.
“It’s nice, it’s modern, it’s fresh – it’s somewhere you’d actually want to be,” Kevin says.
Dundee house has brand new bathroom and kitchen
The three-piece bathroom also has a clean and contemporary look.
Fully tiled with a classic black and white marble effect, it was selected from Victoria Plumbing.
The three bedrooms – there’s one downstairs and two upstairs – are all spacious doubles.
Kevin, who has worked in real estate for five years, says this is unusual. “You normally get two decent-sized rooms and one box room. But these are three good-sized rooms.”
His team painted them white and installed soft beige carpets.
Kevin, who has led multiple renovation projects on behalf of Thomas Bradley Residential, says he purposefully opted for neutral colours throughout the house.
“That’s what everyone seems to like on the market at the moment,” he explains.
Overgrown garden transformed
A landscaping team was also brought in to tackle the overgrown garden.
“They took the trees away, leveled it all, put some new turf down, fenced it all off, and we put a nice decking area in,” Kevin says.
The garage – no longer fit for purpose – was also removed.
“Nothing was untouched,” Kevin says of the transformation.
With home renovations trending, it can be easy to assume that everyone wants to take on a project.
But Kevin says this isn’t the case.
“A lot of people, when they’re looking for a new home and it’s first time buyers, mostly just want somewhere they can go in and put a TV and a couch down, and just relax,” he says.
“Buyers don’t want to worry about spending extra money [on renovating] because it’s quite hard for people to get on the market at the moment.
‘It’s hard enough trying to save a deposit up’
“It’s hard enough trying to save a deposit up.
“Then obviously, if they need to pay more money to do work to the property, it becomes a little bit harder for them.”
The refurbished house went back on the market on December 6 2024 for a new asking price of £209,995.
It was sold two days before Christmas.
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