Ask me to name my favourite house and it’s a struggle. Currently, I’m utterly in love with my house in Portugal. I remember sitting by the pool with my family at Easter, sun-kissed and happy, finishing a gorgeous meal as the sun dipped below the horizon and thinking there was nowhere on earth I’d rather be.
But ‘home’ is definitely Cheshire. There is a 360-degree horizon of rolling hills blanketed in gold in the autumn. The smell of wood smoke and sodden earth on a chill evening makes me fall in love with England all over again.
I know I am lucky — but I’ve worked hard for everything. My parents ignited my property bug. When I was in my early 20s they gave me a plot of land next to their home and said I could do what I wanted with it. Battling for planning permission and studying plans allowed me to see the potential for investment. I sold it a few years later at a good profit.
We bought a property in Cheshire three years ago for £850,000. I razed the ugly house and started again.
We spent £500,000 building our perfect family home — four bedrooms, each with an en suite. It is now worth double what we paid and we love it. We bought the villa in Portugal in 2008 after falling in love with the area while visiting friends and built it from the ground up. It is a two-acre estate. It has four bedrooms, all en suite, with a pool and an outside kitchen and bar. It is worth around €3 million.
We rent out the villa when we are not there. A property abroad has to make money for us.
MailOnline
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