Couple Buys 120 Year Old Mansion By Mistake – Then Decide To Restore It!

couple buys 120 year old mansion by mistake then decide to restore it [Music] [Applause] [Music] sometimes we just need to deal with the mistakes we've made more often than not even the worst missteps in life can provide opportunities and lessons that's certainly what happened to young kale hunter and claire segerin while working through college the couple thought they could do anything they set their mind to little did they know what life had in store for them just before graduating hunter and segren started looking for a place to live together within a few weeks they thought they'd found the perfect bargain house and purchased it at an auction unfortunately what they thought was a simple fixer-upper turned out to be a 120-year-old mansion in the scottish countryside claire segrin who's from canada and cal hunter who's from britain first met when they both worked a ski season together in the french alps according to the couple it was love at first sight when the winter season finally came to an end the couple decided to stay together afterward they traveled across europe and canada before finally settling in scotland for school not too long ago as segren finished up medical school the two decided to take their relationship to the next level so the young couple decided to purchase their first home together not only did segrent and hunter want to buy a home together but they also wanted to prepare for their future so the couple decided to purchase a fixer upper house live in it while they restored it and then flip it for a profit it seemed like the perfect plan after weeks of looking segrent and hunter found a property just outside the city of glasgow the house had been subject to a fire meaning they could save a fortune so hunter headed to auction and placed a bid of 30 000 pounds about 37 000 american dollars on the home unfortunately what he didn't know was that he accidentally bid on another house and won as it turns out hunter had purchased a 120 year old property shown here in the remote town of denune scotland as soon as hunter realized he'd made an awful mistake he headed to the auction officials and tried to reason with him however no matter what he said the officials quickly shut him down reminding him that all sales are final at that point hunter realized that he had no other option but to tell his girlfriend that they were now the owners of a completely different property believe it or not while segrent felt surprised she understood and took the news of it well after all how bad could this property really be she wondered hunter and segren wanted a diy opportunity from the beginning so they tried to remain positive however even finding the home turned out to be a challenge after all with a population of less than five thousand danune is quite a small town thankfully the hamlet did not lie too far away from the city where segrent studied medicine then the couple looked up the property james wood villa on google street view and what they found online showed them an old dilapidated mansion however hunter and segren agreed that it had a lot of character they even felt excited at the proposition of transforming the home into a beautiful masterpiece what the couple didn't realize is that the photos didn't show them the whole picture the morning finally came for claire segren and kale hunter to head out to the noon and look at the house driving out through the moors of scotland the couple could not believe that the quiet fields would soon replace their city life then segrent and hunter arrived at the house immediately as they pulled into the driveway the couple realized the mansion would require far more time and effort than they had initially imagined most of the windows were smashed in and the roof had collapsed not only that but they realized that the house was also sinking into the earth all of this had led to the local council labeling the property as dangerous no wonder they've been able to pick it up so cheap while most would give up under the stress of such a discovery hunter and segren were not about to give up their project the young couple managed to see beyond the crumbling walls and the broken interior in their minds they could envision all the potential the home contained in its old bones they just knew it could be something beautiful however hunter and segren quickly had to abandon the idea of flipping the home for profit anytime soon unfortunately the more they researched the project the more the couple realized to make their dream come true they would need a lot of cash after carefully considering all their options and working out how they could afford the renovations of the property the couple realized they only had two options go hard or go home if they wanted to go restore the mansion hunter and segren would need to use every penny they could save of course this meant changing their living situation so the couple rented out a small trailer and placed it in their new backyard that would be their home for the duration of the project one of the most basic trailers on the market hunter and segren soon face life without electricity or running water would they be up for the challenge many of us living without electricity or running water would drive us insane however hunter and segren managed pretty well you see the couple had made it their mission to go on as many adventures together as possible in fact it was that sense of adventure that had led them to the auction in dunoon in the first place soon enough thanks to sleeping in the trailer the couple had enough money to begin work on the incredible villa but before long segren and hunter quickly realized that money was not all they would need no they would also need some help to accomplish their task thankfully the couple's friends and family did not want to simply watch hunter and segren's progress from the sidelines since they're a young couple with little money to their name hunter and segren could not hire contractors or professionals so their family stepped up and started helping where they could as hundred worked as a construction worker before he leads the family team on each new portion of the restoration meanwhile the additional help also allowed segren to continue school although she now works on the house full-time the support also enables hunter to work a full-time job providing the income for the restoration while the couple initially felt very excited to start their renovation project they quickly learned that the journey would be much more complicated than they'd ever imagined since arriving at their new home in november of 2018 hunter and segren have encountered new challenges and problems almost every single day for instance when their caravan got stuck in the driveway they had to dig up a hole to set it free later hunter realized they would need to do the same thing over and over to find an elusive water supply pipe to make matters even worse the couple spent at least five months merely trying to find the main electrical cable to the house that would allow them to connect to the power grid and that was just the beginning unfortunately the problems only became worse inside of james wood villa after taking a look at the interior of the mansion the couple realized that they would need a new roof you see the old roof was riddled with holes and gaps and large portions had collapsed into the house however even before they could install the roof hunter and sarigan would need to jump yet another hurdle both knew that a roof needed strong walls and all the walls in the house looked incredibly unstable and unsound in order to place a new roof they would need to start to remove or improve the strength of the walls as you might imagine the young couple started to feel they bit off a little more than they could shoot as the problems continued to mount hunter and saragon started to feel discouraged however their family would not let them back down meanwhile the local community and those who live near dunoon had begun to hear of the couple's enormous task loving the idea and wanting to help the community started to rally around sarrigan and hunter soon neighbors allowed the couple to use their baths in running water meanwhile many others allowed them to use their kitchens to make a proper home meal as if that wasn't enough they also encouraged the couple to move forward the couple felt incredibly grateful and overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from their local community it seemed like everyone wanted to help them out in one way or another for those that did not open up their homes they would often offer advice building supplies and materials or contacts some people even contacted the couple with information on when to find old building materials and supplies that were no longer needed unsurprisingly this helped the couple a lot and they subsequently pledged to make their renovation process as eco-friendly as possible in the end it not only saved the money but the earth as well without a doubt the couple's renovation and diy skills had been tested over the course of this project but that wasn't the only thing put up to a test it's safe to say that their relationship has also been tested immensely after all the couple had to deal with a stressful situation that forced them to put their lives on hold move into a tiny caravan and work incredibly long hours however they didn't seem to worry about that in fact surrogate noted that if she and hunter can get through this unusual situation they can get through anything if anything saragon says that the project has strengthened their relationship through and through one of the first and biggest projects the couple needed to tackle was the sheer amount of junk lying around the property before they could get to work on the walls and the roof hunter and sarrigan had to clear old furniture and trash making room for construction equipment so little by little the couple started taking out the trash every day they would haul the trash out the front door pull up their van take it to the dump and then begin all over again soon enough hunter and sarigan could begin work on gutting the house and fixing everything inside of course given the age and condition of their new mansion hunter and sarrigan also had to make sure they remained safe during the restoration first they invested quite a bit of money into safety vests and helmets to keep themselves protected from falling level next the couple spent quite a big chunk of money on face masks you see james with villa was covered with mold soot ash dirt and chemicals so the last thing they wanted was for their family friends or themselves to inhale these particles and fall ill meanwhile the couple always make sure to wear gloves whenever they decide to go inside the home protecting themselves from sharp objects or debris as you might imagine hunter and sarigan spend most of their time working on their house however they realize they can't work all the time also two 20-somethings need to have a night out on the town once in a while after all all work and no play makes jack a dull boy so the couple has made sure to hang out with friends and leave the confines of their property every so often they don't want the project to get the better of them still even with their breaks hunter and sarrigan are moving along quite nicely since the couple started their project back in 2018 they've hit quite a few exciting milestones one of the most important came back in march 2019. as stated james wood villa did not come with electricity so hunter and sarigan were forced to do work by candlelight on the nights they stayed late to work meanwhile the lack of power also meant charging equipment far away from the house finally in march 2019 hunter and saragon managed to connect the property to the power grid afterward the couple cracked open their first bottle of champagne on the land unsurprisingly the addition of electricity marked a vast difference in the couple's progress and they started to see the benefits right away while working on their happy accident as sergeant and hunter liked to call it the couple realized that this renovation provided them with a clean slate they could do anything they wanted so hunter and sarigan started to think of ways that could change the house to better work for them before long they came up with a great idea sergeant and hunter have decided they'll split the mansion into three different apartments once finished they'll rent out two of them helping regain the money they spend on the project meanwhile they'll keep the third apartment as a rent-free home of course both hunter and saragan know the risks of their goals even though hunter and saragan know there's a chance that they won't make any profit once the project's finished they say that debt is better than not knowing many have told them that they could have simply sold the house for a loss after purchasing it however for sarrigan and hunter that was never an option you see the couple doesn't want to live their lives with what-ifs bouncing around their heads so instead hunter and segren decided to put their heads down and start restoring the 120 year old mansion even if they never make any money off it the couple says they'll feel happy knowing they've transformed the grounds into something beautiful but they still have a long way to go after they were able to add electricity to the mansion hunter and segren moved on to doing something about the floorboards you see because of the age of the villa and the lack of care over the years most of the floor had either become rotten or fallen through in the places where the floor remained it would often crumble away when someone walked on it not one to leave a potential hazard around for their family to hurt themselves on second grabbed a sledgehammer and removed the floorboards all by herself fortunately she was able to achieve her goal in no time as hunter and segrin completed one project after another they felt confident they were on the right track it seemed their problems and stopped arising at least so it seemed however as they continued work on the home the couple noticed that the birds were not only chirping outside the house but inside as well believe it or not a family of crows had infested what remained of the roof of the house apparently they'd been living in the crumbling home for a while while the couple didn't want to harm the animals they knew they needed to do something in the end they used a variety of methods to scare the crows away including making their own scarecrow of course no renovation project is free of emotional toil however segren faced a particular challenge believe it or not she has an intense fear of heights however despite this she needed to face her fear head on multiple times during the process after all the entire property needed to be covered in scaffolding once the couple started working on the walls the scaffolding meant that anyone who wanted to access the second level or roof of the property needed to climb ladders and ramps to get there at first segrent could barely breathe when making soon enough though she managed to conquer her fear of heights now she works on the roof regularly if there's one thing that the couple's learned through this entire challenge it's that sometimes there's nothing better than going back to basics as you can imagine living in a trailer doesn't give the couple the chance to wash their clothes in the washing machine or cook dinner in the oven as such they had no other choice but to improvise to wash their working gloves sagran realized that she didn't need to head to town to use the laundromat instead she decided to make her way up to the stream located on their property there she washed their gloves and hung them up to dry it was an old simple trick but it certainly worked for them if you've ever lived or stayed in a trailer you know that you quickly missed the creature comforts of home that's why when summer finally came hunter and segren decided to make the most of the sunshine so instead of heading to the neighbors to cook their meals they actually created their own makeshift kitchen just outside their caravan door what's more they even created cupboards a stove and even a trash can to complete their outdoor kitchen and it worked great while it was far from the most luxurious or well-equipped kitchen in the world felt much better than having nothing at all speaking of the couple's trailer they soon realized that they couldn't keep it at the front much longer you see although it was out of the way where it was parked any passing traffic from the street would actually rock their mobile home sending all their belongings flying as such the couple tried their best to clear a track from the road to the side of their home and towed their trailer to its new base while the process took all day hunter segeran and their family completed the move without damaging the home or the trailer afterwards not only did the trailer not shake but the couple woke to sounds of nature not cars and trucks what an improvement as the couple moved ahead in their project they needed more and more help so they decided to ask some friends back in the united kingdom to lend a helping hand believe it or not the couple received more responses than they knew what to do with while their friends felt eager to help hunter and segren didn't want their guests to shell out for a hotel however they had no space to house them given their tiny trailer never ones to back down from a challenge the couple created a little home for their friends in their backyard the guest tent included a bed lamp table mini fridge and other small comforts it looks adorable as hunter and segren finished up the walls of james wood villa they realized they quickly needed to move onto the roof you see over the years of work they'd fallen absolutely in love with the bay window on the top floor unfortunately the couple soon realized that not only did the window have many cracks but the situation was getting worse and worse at first they assumed the mansion sinking into the ground was the cause of the problem however they quickly discovered that actually roof timbers were sliding and pushing the window out of place in order to save it segrent and hunter promptly got to work as 2019 came to a close hunter and segment achieved another massive milestone they finished their new roof after they finished segrent could not contain her excitement and told the internet all about it i'm so glad we did this by ourselves she wrote in a post on facebook it was such an empowering part of our project and i truly believe that if we could get a new roof on our house all by ourselves we can do this we can restore jameswood after the young couple finish the roof as you can see in the lovely photo here they decided to have a nice drink of champagne guest segment really has conquered her fear of heights after all those around the young couple feel incredibly proud of what they've accomplished so far hunter and segren have taken their challenging situation and turned it into something magical meanwhile it's not been easy they've remained positive every step of the way furthermore many of the couple's closest friends and family believe it was fake that hunter accidentally buy this home after all while most couples would crumble under the pressure and stress hunter and segren have only become closer no matter what troubles befall them their friends and family are confident that everything will work out well for the couple and their mansion today hunter and segren are still working on their restoration project even though they still have a long way to go there's no question that they'll come incredibly far from the auction more importantly they keep moving closer to the finish line every single day of course this has come at a great personal and monetary sacrifice for the couple everyone's hoping that it all works out for hunter and segrent regardless however one thing is for sure the restoration has changed their life forever after all it's not every day you buy a 120 year old mansion by mistake want to keep up with the lovely young couple there's an easy way out without a doubt restoring a 120 year old mansion is hard work one of the things that helps kale hunter and claire segren get through it all is the love and support from their friends family and fans yeah you heard that right segrent and hunter created their own blog and social media accounts called what have we done to allow people across the globe to follow their journey they currently post on instagram facebook and their own personal blog the couple continuously post photographs and updates of their mansion not only that but they also celebrate with more than 100 000 followers when every time they check another project off the list