This week's first time developers Emma and Dylon Watkins, obviously the gambling kind, have bought a 17th Century Farmhouse with the intentions of lovingly restoring it. Set in seven acres of land on the outskirts of Hastings, it's a stunning property, just five minutes from the south coast. But For Emma and Dyson Watkins the house is a financial investment. They're hoping it will make them a six-figure profit to put towards buying their dream home. The house hasn't been touched for thirty years, and needs a lot of work to bring it up to scratch. Part Tudor, part Georgian, it has a sprawling and complicated layout. With fifteen rooms in total there's a choice of four reception rooms, five bedrooms and three bathrooms and two more attic rooms. There's a lot riding on this project, the couple have invested of a million. They've sold their own home, taken on a huge mortgage and have even moved in with Emma's mum to save money. As usual Sarah has some reservations about the project. It is a very brave choice for a first development, especially since Emma is six months pregnant and Dyson's a commercial pilot spending a lot of time abroad. This particular property needs a lot of work to transform it to a luxury family home. What's more it's grade two listed, so renovating it will take longer and cost more. And despite a stunning setting, this house is on the outskirts of Hastings, where there isn't much of a market for luxury homes. Emma and Dyson plan to get this property finished in 6 months. Though with their baby due in three months, they want to try and get the bulk of the work done whilst project manager Emma is still able to run this massive development. Two weeks into the project and the schedule starts slipping and the budget's rising. To make matters worse with interest rate is going up, the market has slowed down, and it's always the top end of the market that's most affected. Will Emma and Dyson complete the restoration on time, on budget and most importantly make a profit? Emma and Dyson's original budget was 80,000, however they increased this to £135,000. The property needs a huge amount of work and Sarah thinks, even with the increase, they'll struggle to keep to the budget.
