Harry Descamps and Jerina Malfait, known for the VTM program Huis Made and the phenomenal crowdfunding afterwards, have found their dream house. In September, the couple moves with their two children to a terraced house from the early 1900s in Kortrijk. They have more space there than in the renovated house on the Volksplein. “By buying this house, we are very conscious of the money from the fundraiser,” says Jerina. “We are not the opportunists that some of us have made.”
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Not the renovated terraced house on the Volksplein in Kortrijk, but a house full of character in the Sint-Janswijk in Kortrijk, a stone’s throw from where they live today. The well-known House-Made couple Harry Descamps (26) and Jerina Malfait (29) have found the house of their dreams. The move is planned for September, the compromise for their new home has meanwhile been signed. Hate messages With the purchase, an amazing television adventure for the Kortrijk family seems to have come to a nice end. After a course full of trial and error in the VTM series Huis Made, Harry and Jerina stranded in the final. They did not win their self-renovated house and they lacked the financial means to buy the house on the Volksplein. Kijkend Vlaanderen, however, had fallen so in love with the Kortrijk residents that a spontaneous crowdfunding yielded no less than 125,000 euros. About 100,000 euros of that eventually went to Harry and Jerina, a strong push to buy their house. Only they decided together not to do that, a decision that resulted in a lot of accusations and hate messages, especially on social media. For the first time they tell what that period felt like. “We were accused of being opportunists,” said Jerina. “It’s still very difficult for me, because we’re not like that at all. I didn’t recognize ourselves at all in what people wrote about us. An image of us was put up that was completely wrong.” “I was really surprised how those messages full of hate took extreme proportions”, Harry adds. “People even sent us private messages to break up with us… We vehemently declined.” I didn’t recognize us at all in what people were writing about us. I still have a hard time with some messages and reproaches – Jerina Malfait“It was actually our plan to buy the house on the People’s Square. Until we heard that the price was estimated at around 300,000 euros,” said Jerina. “We never received a real asking price, but I recently heard that the property has been sold for around 355,000 euros. In any case, we thought the estimated price was high, too high for a house with two bedrooms.” “Please note, I understand. It’s all new and it looks good. But our children – Onno is five, Fidel is three – should always share a room. Of course, when they get older, it’s less fun. We want a house where we can live forever. A loan of 200,000 on top of the money raised is still very large, especially for a young couple like us. Too high a price for too little space. So. To sell the house after three years… No, that’s not our style.”Place is luxuryBut their search for the house of their dreams is now yielding results. Harry and Jerina remain in Kortrijk after they found a characterful terraced house from the early 1900s in Veldstraat, a few hundred meters from where they rent today. “Thanks to the crowdfunding, we can bear the cost of 245,000 euros. So we are very conscious of the money from the fundraising campaign,” says Jerina. “The house has less luxury than what we would have in the People’s Square, but there is much more space. That place, for us and for the children, is our great luxury. Here the children each have their own room, this is really a house to our liking.” Also read: Harry and Jerina after exploded crowdfunding: “Our hearts overflow with gratitude” Read also: Owners of Portuguese holiday resort invite Harry and Jerina for a free week of vacation: “Those lovely people deserve that”
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