Fancy a vast loft in a prime spot, at a knockdown rent? One couple got just that by becoming property guardians – but they had to give up a few home comforts
By Hannah Booth
When Sam Adams and Valerie Blair moved into a semi-derelict warehouse on the top floor of a former clothing factory, the windows were boarded up, pigeon poo caked the floor and it was bitterly cold. Instead of a number, it said "Stalbow Fashions" on the door. "It was in pretty raw state," says Adams, 33, an artist. The couple scrubbed and painted the floor and walls, and vacuumed up a decade's worth of sewing machine needles, fallen between the floorboards. To keep warm, they huddled round a camping stove, drinking cups of tea with their coats on. The upside? Eye-wateringly cheap rent for a spectacular location...[continued]
