A ramshackle, abandoned family home has undergone an incredible transformation thanks to an intervention from the Council.
The three-bedroom house on Underlane in Plympton had been left to decay by its one-time owners over a period of nearly eight years.
The guttering had been removed, a rotten conservatory was near enough falling over to the rear while the entire house had been obscured from view by a dense layer of wilderness in the front garden.
"It was probably one of the worst properties in terms of neglect that I have dealt with," explains Rosie Gage from the Council's Empty Homes team. "Just getting up through the garden to the front door was a challenge."
"Having had neighbours complain to us, we served a section 215 untidy land notice on the owners requesting they complete a list of works to improve the appearance of the property.
"But we got no response and tracking down the owners was proving difficult so in the end, we worked with the mortgage company and encouraged them to repossess the property."
With lots of admin support from the team, the house eventually went to auction where it was purchased by local property developers Cosy Oak, run by husband and wife team Daniel and Ildikó Sealey.
"How to describe what it was like?" wonders Ildikó. "You took your life in your own hands going up the garden from the back of the house, it was so overgrown.”
"Inside we had plants growing out of electrical sockets,” adds Daniel. “There was no heating; the original 1930s wiring. The kitchen was no bigger than a large cupboard… we had our work cut out."
"We knew straight away it would need a 'back-to-brick' restoration. We've replastered every surface, put in a new kitchen and new bathroom and of course, tided up the jungle to the front of the property."
As the before and after pictures demonstrate, the transformation has been incredible and with the renovations now complete, this house is back on the market.
Councillor Chris Penberthy, Cabinet member for Housing, Cooperative Development and Communities, said: "This is a marvellous result for our empty homes team who have played a key part in turning this tired, long unloved house into a smart, modern family home.
"An empty property is a wasted home that could be lived in by someone who needs it.
"We do not have enough houses in Plymouth and it is much easier and much cheaper to bring empty properties back to life than build new ones, not to mention more environmentally friendly.
“That's why bringing empty homes back into use is such a key part of our Plan for Homes and why we have armed ourselves with a range of experts and initiatives to be able to tackle them."
Find out more about our range of Empty Homes initiatives here.
