WITH an impressive nine property renovations under their belts, property developing couple Lance and Tracy Abson were more than ready to tackle their next project in Salendine Nook.

Like all their properties before, they knew that the spacious Victorian-built semi had a lot of potential, but it was in such a poor state that it presented them with their biggest challenge yet.

The couple bought the four-bedroom property at auction, despite seeing that it was in desperate need of a complete transformation.

“We always try and look for the worst property on the street and make it into the best-looking property in the street!”, laughs Lance.

“But this house was a particular challenge. We had just ten minutes to view this property before it went to auction, but it was clear straightaway that it was in a really run-down state.

“I don’t think it had been lived in for a couple of years and you could tell – it was damp and just in a really poor condition. But we like a challenge and we were confident that we could make it into a great home.”

Luckily, the couple were more than prepared for their latest venture, as having spent the last eight years renovating houses they had experience on their side.

They have their own property developing company, called Abson Developments, and both of them have now quit their jobs to devote themselves full time to the business.

Lance manages the company, while Tracy oversees all the projects and uses her flair for interior to decide the individual style of each of the properties they work on.

Lance says: “We started because we saw it as a good opportunity when the market was rising. Initially, I fitted the work around my job in contract work, but as the business took off I decided to quit my job and go into property developing full time.

“We built our own house in Birkby last year and then my wife decided to give up her job to go into the business full time too.

“We’ve done a real mix of projects over the years; we started small with terraced houses and we’ve now worked our way up to detached new builds – it’s been a big learning curve.”

Due to their industry know-how and well placed contacts in the building trade, the couple were able to move fairly quickly with the New Hey Road property and despite its state had it completed in just 12 weeks.

“It was actually quite a quick house to do up because we had everything in place and we were well organised”, explains Lance.

“We went through the house and re-plastered every room and we replaced everything, including all the windows which had to be changed to double glazing, and we put down carpets which the house didn’t have.”

The house was built in the Victorian period and one of the main reasons the couple bought it was because it still had many of its original features.

These period features had been perfectly preserved, and the couple knew just how to make the most of these assets to make the house with potential into a truly spectacular home.

Lance says: “When we went round and looked at the house we could see that it still had all of its original features, it had some really nice ceiling roses and the dado rails, the really full skirting boards and the original doors.

“That’s what attracted us to buy it because we could see the potential and what we could do with all these features.

“The nicest surprise for us was when we uncovered the beams in the attic bedroom, which had all been boarded over. We stained them a dark wood colour and they now fantastically compliment the room.”

For the couple, the most transformed room in the house is the stunning attic space, which houses a fantastic master bedroom and en suite.

Lance says: “That’s definitely the room that’s seen the most difference. We wanted to get the modern and old features looking good together and I think that’s worked particularly well in the attic.

“It’s a lovely room and it also has some great views looking out towards Castle Hill.”

Another lovely room in the house is the spacious kitchen. The couple ripped out the dated units and replaced them with sleek contemporary ones and had the wall knocked through to open the kitchen out into a lovely sun room.

The bathroom has more of a traditional feel to compliment the age of the property, with its chequered black and white fall tiles and classic white suite.

The couple have created a lovely home, which is a great example of how period and modern features can work well together to create a striking interior.

Lance says: “The house is modern, but not ultra modern as we always try not to get too personal with our properties. However, we do always want to live in the houses we’re selling, which I think is very important – we believe that if we would want to live in it then other people would want to too.

“We saw all the original features and decided that we wanted to work with them when we renovated the house. We wanted it to look nice and clean and modern, but also to fit in with all the features so we picked each feature out and made the most of them – for example we stained the beams in the attic room dark wood which compliments the cream we used on the walls really well.”

The Salendine Nook property is the last property in their portfolio that the couple have to sell. They are already busy concentrating on their next project, two new-build properties in Fixby.

Lance says: “We definitely did the most work on this house and I think from that respect it was the most challenging property we’ve done.”

The house at 429 New Hey Road at Salendine Nook is on the market for £239,995. To arrange a viewing contact Boultons estate agents on 01484 515029