I was listening to the MP Naz Shah give her very funny and very moving humble Address yesterday. The humble (Loyal) Address is the traditionally humourous speech given by a chosen MP to thank the King for having opened Parliament. It's basically the Brit version of America's Correspondents' Dinner speech.
Shah's passion for Bradford was at the heart of her speech and it made me think about the city and its edges. I've lived there twice.
First, uprooting my young family to move there for my first fulltime job. It gave me my career start and my family the chance to buy a home. Two decades and more uprootings later, I moved back as a divorcee to a rented house in Saltaire, discovering its creative and fun community of independent women.
I recognise the Bradford Shah eulogised, but I think she should have mentioned the hills. OML those hills!! I still have Bradford calves.
So that's where I'm taking you today. I did struggle to find properties to show you that fit the 'Wreck' profile. Partly because big potential + small price is hard to find in cities, but also because the market is being skewed by a dumping of rental properties by landlords and the slowing down of who is buying.
But I've chosen ones that showcase what Bradford can offer in terms of do-ups.
The first (above and below) is a semi in a quiet area of Shipley. Saltaire was the cool artist's town when I lived there; its neighbour Shipley was where you moved when your family was too big for a Titus Salt terrace. Shipley gradually absorbed some of Saltaire's boho vibe and prices have risen accordingly.
This three-bed semi has the hidden benefits of Bradford houses that look small on the outside but are massive on the inside because of extra levels. This one has a house-spanning attic and a BIG cellar, split into four 'rooms'. Actually, I find multi-room cellars scary - too many Evil Dead films.
It also has parking - rare yet crucial for family city-living. The rooms have that old-lady-gone decor that I love. This one giving posh aunt you loved to visit - those dressing tables : )
Main rooms are big and the house (aside from that cellar...) feels light and malleable. The kitchen is desperate to be joined into the dining room; the bathroom needs to be the ensuite and another bathroom moving into that tiny bedroom three and you'd get at least another bedroom in that loft. The garage is a waste of space, it's blocking your garden access and curtailing the drive.
On the market at offers over £360k through Martin & Co. Details, more pictures and video on the agent's site here and on Rightmove here.
While we're in Shipley, the same agent also has this six bedroom terrace, similarly over four floors including cellar. Much more of a wreck but very typical big Bradford terrace in its dark stone and tall rooms. Pricey I felt given the work needed, but closer to the centre of Shipley action and rail links.
My final pick isn't actually in Bradford but neighbouring Halifax.
I've included it for two reasons - firstly, Halifax was where me and the kids would get the bus to most Saturdays from our home on Bradford's Horton Bank Top - we loved the Piece Hall. Second, it's on the fabulously-named Bunney Green.
Plus it's a sub £150k house so always worth a look.
It's small - that second bedroom is a stretch at "bedroom" (cover you eyes for that photo..) with limited options for changing internally (maybe turn that second bedroom into the bathroom and the bathroom into an office?). And there's a sadness in the photos and what they say about the final years of its elderly owner. Go write a new story in this home with its beautiful, beautiful views.
On the market at offers over £140k through Reloc8. Details and more pictures on the agent's site here and on Rightmove here.
