'I couldn't get a mortgage so I spent £20,000 to turn barn into £450,000 home'

22 August 2023 , 10:03

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Isobel Perl was told she'd only be able to afford a mortgage on a garage - not a house (Image: Isobel Perl / SWNS)

Despite earning an above-average salary, Isobel Perl was told she'd 'never get a mortgage' as a single earner - and if she could afford anything, it would only be a garage.

So, she decided to turn her parents' unused barn into a luxurious home, with an en suite bedroom and a walk-in wardrobe - using £20,000 and her dad's DIY help.

"Mortgages just aren't set up for single people - I had this crazy idea about converting our barn, and my parents gave it a hard yes!" Isobel, 28, said. "I don't have £300,000 to spend on a mortgage - and the mortgage I'd be able to afford would get me a garage."

The barn Isobel's parents are letting her convert into her own abode (Isobel Perl / SWNS)

She has spent £20,000 and hopes it'll be finished in two months (Isobel Perl / SWNS)

After losing her job in London, Isobel was forced to move back home with her family in 2020. It was then she made the leap to start her own skincare company, Perl Cosmetics, and was able to pay herself an impressive salary of £40,000. But with skyrocketing interest rates, she still couldn't afford to move out and get her own place.

"If you're single, it's so hard. If I had a partner, we'd automatically have double and we'd be more likely to find somewhere," Isobel explained. But much to her luck, Isobel's parents had a two-storey barn on the side of their five-bed home in St Albans, Hertfordshire - a neighbourhood with houses worth £3 million.

London flat for rent for £1,400 a month with bed tucked away in kitchen cupboard

Isobel was told she couldn't afford a mortgage by herself on a £40k salary (Isobel Perl / SWNS)

So she decided to turn her parents' barn into a one-bedroom home (Isobel Perl / SWNS)

Her parents, Ruth, 58, and David, 64, used the barn as an office, working as therapists - but they were more than happy to let her convert the space into somewhere to live. "I was out walking the dog with my mum and I asked, 'how would you feel about a barn conversion?' - she thought it was actually quite a good idea," Isobel explained.

With no other options to buy as a single, self-employed person, Isobel began renovating the barn to become her own place. She says it will be a one-bedroom home worth £450,000 when it's done in October, and will only have cost her a total of £20,000.

"We've pretty much converted the entirety of the downstairs into a kitchen-and-living area - but upstairs is taking a lot longer with all the plumbing needed," she explained. "I'm hoping to turn the upstairs into an en-suite bedroom and walk-in wardrobe." Isobel has been getting plenty of help from her dad, who loves decorating and DIY.

Isobel is self-employed and single, and said it's hard to get onto the property ladder (Isobel Perl / SWNS)

She is looking forward to getting some independence back aged 28 (Isobel Perl / SWNS)

"My dad's in his sixties and he's doing it all himself,” she said. "He's a machine! He loves it so much. I caught him the other day, up at four o'clock in the morning and Googling plug sockets." She has a firm plan for how she wants the end product to look, and has a "Pinterest board all ready to go".

Isobel is mostly looking forward to getting back some of her independence, while remaining close to her parents. "We've been okay living together - I've been so fortunate as I've really been getting on with my parents," she said. "They don't treat me like a child - and, at 28, I've been able to get to know them as adults, not parents. But I do struggle with my lack of independence. My mum does my washing and the big food shop... I'm excited to do all of that for myself again."

Hannah Van De Peer