Young Couple Bought Crumbling 120-Year-Old Mansion by Mistake After Auction Mix-Up and Made The Most of It

Cal and Claire of Scotland fell in love and were about to start their journey together when the unthinkable happened. Instead of purchasing a two-bedroom apartment as planned, they ended up with a dilapidated 120-year-old mansion; it quickly became the stuff of nightmares for them. 

On the snow-capped mountains of the French Alps, Claire Segeran and Cal Hunter met while working and fell irrevocably in love with each other. It was ski season, and they took full advantage of what the mountains offered. Slowly and steadily, their relationship strengthened, and they decided to stay there for spring. 

Considering it was where they found each other, the Alps had a special place in their hearts. They also knew it was only a matter of time before both had to move on from the mountains. Claire got into med school, which meant the couple had little time left together.

Nervous yet thrilled about venturing into something new, Cal and Claire decided to get into the business of house flipping. They had no prior experience but needed to fully commit to the adventure. It meant they would buy a property for a short period, renovate it to make it an attractive option for potential clients, and sell it for a higher price. 

Both were at ease and full of excitement once they zeroed in on the Glasgow property for their first rodeo. Unfortunately, two other properties did not appear in their initial research, and they had no idea they would pop up on their screens. 

Instead of the East Pollokshields flat in Glasgow, Cal was bidding for a derelict second unit in Jameswood Villa in Dunoon. He had won the bid for $17,000, which was a significant amount. Who would have thought a lot-number mix-up at the auction would put a spanner in their start-up!

So, whether they wanted to or not, their journey as house flippers began with a sizable property of a thoroughly rundown 120-year-old mansion in Sandbank, Dunoon. The couple rolled up their sleeves and tried to assimilate as much information as possible about the estate before they went down to the location. 

Some old images of the mansion at the Cowal peninsula of Scotland popped up on their radar, and the duo couldn’t look away. The villa was once a magnificent structure that had been the pride of the place. With a sturdy foundation and an attractive lawn, the property was indeed beautiful. 

Their excitement was restored, and the two set to work even before visiting the property. With the information provided to them about the old property, they drafted up plans. In time, they realized what a mammoth estate they had. It had two stories divided into three units.

According to the listing of the property, it needed upgrading throughout. They’d soon realize what a gross understatement that description was! Even though those two words niggled them during the planning stages, they set it down to their nervousness about starting their first project.

The backyard was another nightmare if the front yard was a mess. Strewn with garbage and fallen tree branches, Cal and Claire took six weeks to clear the debris, yet it felt like they had made little progress. 

A closer look at the massively rundown structure made something evident to them. They now understood what went wrong in the auction and how they ended up with this villa instead of their original choice of the two-bedroom flat in Glasgow; both were priced the same! 

Even the highly distressed state of the mansion’s exteriors had not prepared them for a walk-through of the interiors. They couldn’t see the floor because it was littered with everything from crows’ nests to the leaves and branches that had somehow made their way indoors. 

Their hearts sank further as they made their way through the rest of the mansion. The impossibility of the task at hand kept rearing its dark head, and they could no longer ignore the tough road ahead. They had unintentionally taken on more than they could chew, for better or worse. 

The apartments had been left fully furnished, which meant getting rid of the moldy furniture first. To make matters worse, a cold draft came in from all the holes in the apartment, which explained why everything inside was damp and wet. 

The villa was under considerable water damage, but that wasn’t the only reason everything was damp and covered in mold. They soon realized the drainage system was broken, due to which the apartments had water leakage everywhere. 

Word soon spread around town that there was a couple who was not only crazy enough to bid on a condemned villa but also decided to restore it back to its glory. No one believed they could pull off such a mammoth task. 

Despite all the commotion of clearing the debris collected in the mansion, the couple had a fair idea of where they were headed with the project. They had a clear head on their shoulders and a crystal clear vision; they wanted to transform the dilapidated structure into an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly villa with modern amenities. 

Soon, their loved ones joined their mission to turn a dirty old building into a gorgeous sustainable villa in which everyone would be proud to reside. Such a massive project needed more eyes and hands than just the two. They had drawn a time-consuming plan, which needed more people on deck to accomplish. 

With all the water-logged stuff out of the way, the team got down to the nitty-gritty of repairing and renovating. The real challenge was removing the timber from the walls and floors without disrupting the already crumbling structure. 

Unfortunately, the floorboards were so rotten they were literally crumbling under their feet, and it was in a terrible state throughout the mansion. It made the project extremely unsafe, and the couple had to be immensely aware of the daily dangers of working on the restoration. 

Their immediate concern was the broken plumbing, so they first set out to fix the water lines to prevent the place from getting inundated with water. Even though the soil surrounding the plot was completely soaked, they had no choice but to go through with their plan to fix the plumbing. 

Fixing the plumbing and electricity and cleaning the place proved to be a cakewalk compared to the challenge they faced cleaning up the exterior walls built of red sandstone. Even a thorough research of the chemicals they’d need did not prepare them for how tough the task turned out to be. 

One of the most challenging aspects of the restoration happened to be the second-floor bay window, which was hanging on for its dear life. It was a major structural issue they had to address pronto if they had to keep it from crumbling down that very instant. 

Once the bay windows were sorted, Claire and Cal went around to the back of the mansion to look closely at what was left to do on the exteriors. The list of structural work to be done increased with further inspection. 

As expected of a 120-year-old mansion on the verge of collapsing, the chimney needed repair. The pair used a pulley system to dismantle the chimney brick by brick and then rebuild it with freshly laid bricks. They wanted to repurpose the old bricks in the garden they were planning in the backyard. 

After toiling hard on the exteriors of the mansion, the couple was satisfied enough with their work to venture inside for one thorough inspection and the last round of repairing. They had even put new bricks on the windows to support the structure and were happy about the outcome. 

Their ultimate task was to install sustainable insulation in the mansion’s interiors. For that purpose, they began installing wall frames throughout the villa. They accomplished their energy-efficiency goal by leaving no gaps in the walls and framing the entire property perimeter with sustainable insulation. 

The stunning transformation the villa had undergone was due to the labor of their love. So, it was only fitting for Claire and Cal to live in it as its proud owners. They made a solid plan for the villa with them living upstairs while using the two downstairs units as holiday rentals to recover the restoration costs.

When life throws lemons at you, would you make yourself a tall glass of refreshing lemonade? It’s precisely what this enterprising young couple chose to do instead of crying or complaining over their misfortune. They meticulously transformed an accidental mistake into a glorious villa they’d call their own.