THE BSPC PROPERTY GUIDE / FEATURE PROPERTY
Page 15
A reworked three-storey townhouse in Hawick with a layout designed for home and income
What makes a good family home? Location is almost always the main determining factor, but in property terms most people would list space, more than one bathroom, a garden, well equipped dining-size kitchen, focal fireplace or stove, and enough traditional or aesthetically pleasing features to give a house character ... and if it also has enough space for working from home, that’s an added bonus. Perhaps most important of all, given that the decision to buy a house is largely down to gut instinct, it has to ‘feel’ right. Built in the 1880s, Airenlea is a traditional mid terraced three-story property in Hawick that ticks all the boxes and more besides. Overlooking a park and close to the town centre, it’s an ideal location that puts shops, schools and leisure facilities within walking distance. For Shirley and Jimmy Fisher it was a case of love at first sight when they bought the five-bedroomed property 11 years ago. “This is a house that cuddles you and it felt right from the moment I stepped across the threshold,” says Shirley Fisher. “With three children at the time we needed more space and as Jimmy is a podiatrist, we were also looking for a house with enough room to accommodate a surgery and waiting room. Airenlea was perfect on all counts, although at the time it needed a lot of improving.”
Upgrading the property involved knocking two rooms on the ground floor into one to create a fabulous 22ft kitchen/dining/family area with French doors to the rear garden and patio and gave the family area an attractive raised brick fireplace and gas stove. They also created a vestibule/waiting area outwith the main hallway and spacious surgery/podiatrist’s consulting room at the front of the house for Jimmy’s professional practice. Elsewhere they created new storage with fitted bedroom furniture and wardrobes – the house also has an extensive cellar space (with head clearance) that spans the full footprint of the house and is currently used for storage – extended the central heating and double glazing, re-fitted the bathroom and shower room, and laid new floorcoverings throughout. The result is a layout and interior that has to be seen to fully appreciate the size and features that are not evident from the outside. A turret at the back of the building – which the Fishers have since clad in whinstone to match the rest of the house – houses a wrought iron spiral staircase that extends from the ground floor up to the first and second levels and makes an eye-catching feature.
Excluding the waiting area and surgery /consulting room, the ground floor layout has a hall, utility/cloakroom, open-plan kitchen/dining/family room.
Outside, the fenced rear garden incorporates a large patio, decking, lawn and planted shrub/plant areas. There is also a timber garden shed.
Off the first floor landing is a partially tiled and very attractive family bathroom with a white suite and over-bath shower, large master bedroom with a triple window to the front and a beautiful fireplace with timber surround and cast iron and tiled insert, a second double bedroom with fitted furniture – and a beautiful 23ft sitting room with front-facing triple window and a feature fireplace with cast iron insert.
The size of this property opens up other potential uses ranging from a guest house or B&B business (especially considering the property’s proximity to the town centre and road/rail links). Subject to planning it could also be converted into three separate apartments – ideal for letting or as a so-called 3G (three generation) home. Finally, this property is on the market at a fixed price of £180,000, well below the Home Report Valuation of £215,000, which represents amazing value for money for a size and style of house that is rarely available.
Up again, off the attractive second floor landing are three further double bedrooms and a shower room.
Airenlea, 3 Teviot Crescent, Hawick
Fixed Price £180,000 Details on page 48