A mother-of-two who bought a house for £1, because it was her only chance of moving out of her parents’ home to live with her own family, faced losing it all at the last moment.
Ibby, 29, from Liverpool, lived with her husband and children at her mother’s house, but dreamed of having more independence by buying a dilapidated £1 house on the Webster Triangle – her first family home.
She features on Channel 4’s The £1 Houses: Britain’s Cheapest Street tonight, where she revealed the scheme by Liverpool City Council was her only chance to buy her own home, because paying a back a mortgage would be ‘against her religion’.
Many Muslims believe that paying interest is forbidden, although it’s not clear why Ibby did not turn to an Islamic bank for a loan that complies with religious rules.
However, after a year of renovations, the property had to pass a council inspection and with just days to go and the work not finished, Ibby was left with the very real prospect that she might lose it.
Ibby, 29, from Liverpool, bought a £1 house through a council scheme and had a year to renovate it with the help of builder Yusef (right). But on tonight’s The £1 Houses: Britain’s Cheapest Street on Channel 4, she faces a race against time to get it finished
Having long dreamed of owning her own home, Ibby felt her only option to buy a £1 house and renovate the property. With just days to go until the deadline, the property had been re-plastered, but there was still a huge amount of work to do
The kitchen in Ibby’s new home was installed in time to meet the deadline, but she needed to get the sink in working order before the council inspection
It was not made clear in the programme how much she spent on the renovations, or where the money had come from.
In 2013, over a hundred terraced houses stood derelict in the Webster Triangle, a run-down area of Liverpool.
As part of a renovation project in the area, they were handed over to first time buyers for one pound each.
But five years into the project, the £1 house scheme was way behind schedule – and just 55 houses of the 138 in the project have been finished.
As part of her contract, Ibby would not officially own her property until it passed a council inspection after 12 months.
The mother-of-one who was pregnant with her second child, struggled to stay on schedule throughout the build, and had dreamed of moving in before welcoming her daughter – something which ultimately did not happen.
And as the council deadline started looking, Ibby faced the tough reality that she may not finish the house in time.
Looking around the empty property, her mother Fazia joined her daughter Ibby, as she held her newborn daughter and said: ‘I can’t wait for it to be fitted now.’
Ibby and her husband Nabil (right) were delighted to be moving into their first family home together, having lived with Ibby’s mother Fazia since their marriage
She added: ‘I don’t want to get excited, because you get excited and then something happens.’
But it seemed like an ambitious project and, with 10 days to go, Ibby admitted she still needed to finish the kitchen, stairs, plumbing, gas and sinks in the bathroom.
Speaking to her builder Yusef, she revealed: ‘I put my full trust in you. You do what you need to do.’
Meanwhile the overly confident builder said: ‘Ibby’s house is nearly done now, like a day, a day and a half job for me to do. And then finished.’
Grandmother Fazia (left) offered help on the house, telling Ibby she was allowed to be the boss ‘for the day’
But despite Yusef’s assurance that the job would be finished in days, a week went by and little had been done.
Two days before the council deadline, Ibby required all hands on deck to finish the property.
Her whole family were roped in to help her get the house finished on time, including her mother Fazia, who revealed: ‘I’m letting her be the boss, just for today.’
Meanwhile Ibby said: ‘I’m s******* it to be honest. It’s getting really close.’
Fazia described her daughter as a ‘good kid’ and said she was ‘desperate’ for Ibby to have her own home
‘There’s still quite a bit to do; get my front door fitted, extractor fan, empty the backyard, back doors, doors.’
She added: ‘I think the biggest thing now is the cellar, to make sure it’s done according to the regulations. That is a major concern.’
With two days to go until the deadline from the council, Ibby struggled to find essentials needed to get the property signed off.
Clambering among cardboard boxes and pieces of artwork, she said: ‘I need a working sink in order to sign off, but can’t find a tap, this is a problem.’
After uncovering the tap from a room full of boxes she joked: ‘See, a woman always knows.’
Meanwhile her mother was desperately trying to help her daughter turn the building site into a home, saying: ’What’s this toilet doing in here? It’s a prayer room!’
Fazia was stunned when her daughter managed to finish the property in time and said she was ‘really made up for her’
Fazia wassn’t the only one on site to help, with Ibby’s brother and cousin joining them to make the last push to finish off the house.
Keen to make sure the house was ready for the deadline, Ibby added: ‘Nobody is leaving. Nobody.’
As the new mother tried to desperately finish the house, barking orders at her family members, mother Fazia was left feeling reflective.
She said: ‘Ibby is a good kid. We are desperate for them to have their dream home.’
The grandmother added: ‘To come to this moment where there’s 48 hours left – it is really absolutely crucial.’
But luckily Ibby’s house passed the council inspection, and she said she was overjoyed to finally move out of her own mother’s home and into her own.
The mother and her husband Nabil were absolutely delighted to officially be owners of their £1 house.
She said: ‘It’s crazy isn’t it? I did not think this day would happen. And here we are. It’s happened. it’s our house. My house.’
Ibby and her husband were overjoyed to move into their new home, with the pair calling it ‘crazy’ and admitting they ‘did not think this day would happen’
And while her husband Nabil joked around with her, she conceded: ‘Okay, okay our house.’
With reality setting in that her daughter was moving out, an emotional Fazia told the camera: ‘I’m made up for her, really am made up for her. It’s what she wanted.’
Having heard the news, the grandmother carefully hung an family heirloom containing Arabic scripture on one of the walls of the house.
And while Ibby was overjoyed to see her mother had given her the piece of art, her mother could barely speak without breaking down.
An emotional Fazia was seen hanging a family heirloom on a wall in her daughter’s new house
Choking back tears, Fazia said: ‘I’ve had it for about 15 years and the time has come to give it to you.’
As Ibby embraces her mother, she repeated: ‘I’m only down the road, I’m only down the road.’
But the emotional Fazia struggled to speak, wiping away the tears as she said: ‘It’s a gift that my mum, your nan, gave me, and I’m now giving it to you.
‘This is a new chapter in your new life, you actually own your own home.’
An emotional Fazia handed down a family heirloom to her daughter but struggled to contain her tears as she broke down
Ibby swept Fazia up into a hug as she assured her weeping mother she would be ‘just down the road’
And Ibby admitted: ‘It’s so scary, It’s absolutely just petrifying and I’m so terrified.’
She added: ‘It’s a massive step, it’s so big, oh my gosh. It’s real.’
And as her family celebrate her moving in with a platter of sandwiches and biscuits, Ibby thanked her builder for his hard work.
She said: ‘Thank you so much, I know it’s been stressful. and if I didn’t push we wouldn’t have finished, let’s be honest.’