It’s a whole house! Admittedly, fleas were the least of these poor folks’ problems. The place hadn’t been empty very long – only taken over by the administrators in June, apparently. I have to admit immediately, I have never seen an owner-occupier house in quite this state before. The kitchen appliances were all broken. I mean broken – the oven door almost fell off when I pulled at the tape, I almost fell through the rotting floorboards upstairs a couple of times, the sink started leaking as soon as I turned the water back on, and the fence was in bits. There was debt on the utility meters, and fleas everywhere. The wallpaper was hanging off in patches, and their kids had drawn various amusing scenes on it. Broken light switches, wires hanging out of the ceilings and walls, dents in walls and doors testified to objects being hurled with great force and no doubt much foul mouthing.
But the house has real soul. It’s a good house, at heart. The masonry is good. The timber frames are good. The blockwork is sound. The plot is fairly level, and the foundations are good. And I immediately saw family after family coming to live there happily until their kids grow up, just as soon as I’ve refurbished the place.
It’s been a very fast-paced month, what with going self employed, preparing the home education material for the beginning of next term (yes, theboy gets holidays same as his school-going friends, for that reason), and all the legwork involved in completing within 30 days. In another fortnight, the preliminary work on the house should be done to the point of having all electrics and plumbing where they ought to be, all walls replastered and all surfaces made good and ready to paint/floor. I can feel a detailed write-up coming on! Vatch zis spaace… 
