Was it worth it?

Buying No 5 Compass Apartments proved to be very 'challenging', but let's take you back to the beginning of our love affair with Ilfracombe and the surrounding area.

I first came to the area as a teenager back in the 70s, staying at a gorgeous Victorian bungalow in Lee Bay with my family and extended family. We came three or four times and I fell in love with the area, even all those years ago. Millfield was very special and we had some really happy times there.

Then in the 90s, we were staying not far from Bideford and I had the idea to take my husband back to Lee Bay to show him and our children where we'd spent my happy times as a youngster. We found that Millfield was still being rented out as a holiday home as we knocked on the door to see if anyone was in. The holidaymakers kindly let me in to have a look at the view.

We decided there and then to book a holiday for ourselves at Millfield. So in 1997, our three children (the youngest was only 2!), my sister, her husband and my Mum, made the pilgrimage and had a wonderful week staying in the bungalow and visiting our old haunts. My godmother and husband even came to visit as they had retired to East Devon a few years before!

Then in 2014 my sister died. It was tragic. She was only 48 and left a seven year old daughter. My mind was made up! Life is too short - let's buy a holiday home in Ilfracombe.

I'd been keeping an eye on the prices and at that time, they were very keen. We'd also recently sold a buy-to-let flat in Horsham, so had the money to put down a deposit for a flat. So our search began. Although we had a false start and had to pull out of our first choice, we found an alternative. No 7 Parkroyd was our wonderful flat for seven years.

However, with the pandemic hitting us hard and house prices going through the roof, we decided to sell Parkroyd in 2021. However, I started yearning for another holiday home. I had thought I'd be content having had the seven years, but no, it wasn't to be. Luckily I have a VERY understanding husband and we started looking at alternatives.

It took us 10 months to find and and complete on THE ONE! We really did have some false starts and offers not accepted due to the buoyancy of the market. We came to Ilfracombe for a week's holiday for my birthday this year and literally found the flat on the actual day! We made an offer there and then on No 5! We had been viewing a different apartment and the estate agent happened to mention that there was another just coming on at Capstone. So it didn't even get to the open market - what luck!

However, once our offer had been accepted, the legals weren't without their challenges! We discovered the freehold was owned by the Crown as the original management company had been dissolved and although a new one set up, the actual freehold hadn't been transferred. It took some time to get that all sorted and it was only through the sheer perseverance of the owners of the other flats and myself and the then owner of No 5 that we got it through in five months. I think if we'd left it to the solicitors, it would still not be sorted now!!

Our solicitor kept warning us that it might not be a good idea to buy the apartment, but thankfully we took no notice and went full steam ahead. And do we regret it? Not for one minute! There are four other owners and we all now own the freehold. We meet on Zoom calls to discuss the fabric of the building and any other issues that arise and so far so good. And the bookings from Airbnb and Booking.com are coming through steadily.

If we listened to professionals over the years, we wouldn't have built up our successful businesses nor this new beautiful holiday home. Sometimes you just have to follow your instincts and do what is best for you.