We built our house watching YouTube… I’m selling it for five times as much
A COUPLE managed to build a Grand Designs-style house just by watching YouTube videos – now they’re selling it for five times as much.
Martyn Smith and his wife were living in an apartment in luxurious Canary Wharf, London, when they decided the fast-paced capital was no longer for them.
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The 67-year-old had a ‘bee in his bonnet’ about where he lived and was convinced he had to flee the crowds immediately.
After years of dreaming about building his own chic pad, Martyn decided to take the plunge.
He watched a few YouTube clips of the Channel 4 hit Grand Designs and decided it was within his reach.
But first they had to spend a small fortune on the “perfect plot”.
To write The timesMartyn said: “My partner is from Devon so we thought we would have a look there. We set aside three years to find the perfect plot.
“After just a few months I already lost the will to live. We often went to see a plot that looked great on paper.
“But when we got there, we discovered there was a pylon in front of the house or a prison next to it – on one piece of land there was actually a prison on one side and a sewage treatment plant on the other.”
They eventually found a place in Dunsford, Devon, with seven acres of land and a price tag of £395,000.
It also included planning permission for a new house to replace the “mess” of a building that was already there.
The Smith’s eventually paid £325,000 for it and started the works in 2017, much of which he did himself.
Martyn added: “As the prices for so many aspects of the work were very high, I thought I would like to do some of the jobs myself.
“I did enormous amounts of research by watching YouTube videos.
“There is also a lot of good advice. Once I was confident that I understood how to tackle a particular job, I started doing it myself.
“One of the hardest things I installed, with the help of my partner, was a ground source heat pump.”
Numerous works later and years of living in their dream home, they have decided to sell it.
Martyn and his wife are now selling the property for £1.7 million.
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