WHEN a pair of complete strangers bought a £147,000 house in Flintshire at auction they had little idea of the monumental challenge they had taken on.

Full-time workers Osian Jones and Elen James-Owen were given just £12,000 to carry out major improvements on the bungalow in Treuddyn, including knocking down walls, installing stairs and putting in a new kitchen and bathroom.

TV viewers can see the results of their amazing efforts when they appear on S4C’s new property programme, Ty am Ddim last tonight.

The show brings together two strangers to buy and ‘flip’ – renovate and re-sell - an auction property, keeping any profit they make.

Hard graft and nimble negotiations were key to the project’s success, revealed Osian who was often working on the bungalow as early as 4am before starting his day job.

“It’s been exhausting – but we’d be happy to do it again,” said 28-year-old Osian, who currently lives with his mum.

“We were worried when we priced some of the work up, the quote for the bathroom was £3,500 for labour alone!

“We also had to put a staircase in and the loft conversion could have cost us our whole budget.”

However, Osian fell on his feet with his renovation partner Elen, a maths graduate from Denbigh, who turned out to be a “brilliant negotiator”, he said, even securing a new bathroom less than £1,000.

Elen, who works full-time for a civil engineering company in Ruthin, said spotting a bargain, squeezing down suppliers’ prices and doing the renovation work themselves was key to their success.

The 24-year-old, who lives with her parents, said: “I was naïve at the start and didn’t realise what it would take. However, we learned as we went along and I got better.

“We’ve had to be really careful and I learned that you can sometimes get a bargain if you contact suppliers directly and negotiate. I think we’ve come in under budget, which I’m delighted about.”

 

The Leader:

Elen and Osian

The pair had only seen photos of the property’s exterior when they shelled out for it at auction in Oswestry in March 2019 and immediately began work.

Osian, a salesman and engineer for a forestry machinery company, said: “We both work long hours, and I train sheepdogs in my spare time, so we really had to keep focussed. It’s been exhausting, not the way we thought it would be. Sometimes I had to come to start work on the house at 4am, then we’d come back in the evening and work ‘til late.

"Without putting in this extra effort, we wouldn’t have done it.”

At the time of broadcast, their completed project is being advertised through an estate agent for offers in excess of £199,000, and will go to sealed bids after interest from viewers.

Ty am Ddim, sponsored by Together, is broadcast every Thursday at 8pm until December 19.

To catch up with previous episodes visit http://www.s4c.cymru/cy/