Sign up for Buy Without Watching without your partner knowing. There was Eve last week very good at it and this week the story is no different. Lynn gave them up without Martijn realizing it. Well, actually she decided it herself on a whim.
She saw the call on TV and didn’t think twice. This could well be the solution for house hunting. Five minutes later the registration was complete and they jumped -without realizing it- in the deep end.
With the anouncement ‘Listen to what I’ve done’ Lynn came home that evening and ‘We’re not going to do that anyway’ was Martijn’s first reaction. Still, his curiosity was sparked and he eventually stepped in quite lightly.
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That same evening they recorded a vlog and after that it went fast. So quickly, in fact, that Martijn called the production company as soon as the team would come by to cancel everything. He thought it was too exciting. When he was told the team was already underway, he let it go anyway. That should have been the case.
This time, too, we spoke at length with the couple and asked them about this unique experience.
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Nausea, poor sleep and nightmares
Giving all your money to strangers to buy a house you’ve never seen, in a neighborhood you don’t know. That must be bizarre and exciting. How did that feel to you?
Lynn: “The whole process took almost a year and especially the time caused tension. We really thought after a while that they couldn’t find a house for us. We signed up in October and they didn’t find the house until April. You then think after a while: “You’ll just see that we’re the only couple who can’t do it.” I really woke up to that.
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Break up or a new plan
For Martijn, the tension was mainly in the moment after the first concession (yes, also this time to cross off on the bingo card). Alex was unable to find a house in the neighborhood where the two preferred to live, for under 400,000 euros. And so it had to be different. Drastically different. ‘If you don’t do it now, you won’t get out of here’ were the harsh words of our favorite real estate agent and so the couple handed everything over.
Martijn: “We had a very specific idea of what we wanted and where. When Alex came and told us that we really had to let that go, I was excited. You really don’t know which way it’s going to go.”
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A detached house, with a huge garden but…
Anyone who has seen the episode knows that the couple will eventually live in a super idyllic and typical Apeldoorn house. But to say that they were happy with that at first..
Lynn: “I’m actually happy with 4 walls and a roof, but the house had to feel like a new step and it wasn’t for me. I found that difficult and really didn’t see how they could divide the top floor into 3 bedrooms.”
“You also don’t know how much money is left to do the renovation,” Martijn adds. “But I also managed to reassure Lynn. You know the program by now and you know that they always do their best and see the potential.”
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“That’s right,” Lynn continues, “but I couldn’t see that right away. The day we saw the house was so intense for me. The tension had built up and I could no longer think clearly. Luckily we went away for a weekend afterwards. If only we could zoom out for a while and continue with a positive feeling.”
When asked if they had bought the house themselves, they both answer, no! Well, from the outside, yes. The garden is great, the driveway is very nice, you can park the car next to the house and the house is free, but inside the job would have been much too big for the two. Martijn: “There was still too much to do and we didn’t see it because the upstairs was really too small.”
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east west, asbestos
To top it all off, this house also had more than enough asbestos to make you nervous. The job would have become too big for the two of them. Fortunately, they had every confidence in the team, because it did not cause any extra stress.
Martijn: “Alex called us with the announcement: ‘do not freak out’So we didn’t either. At first it was also the idea to let it sit. But that eventually went through. It turned out to be present in many more places and so it had to be removed.”
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“Then Bob got on the phone saying it was everywhere and they needed extra money. Serious money and not just any small amount. Fortunately, that didn’t make us nervous because we had sold our old house very well at that time. The only thing that disappointed us is that we would rather have spent it on fun things, but that seems logical to me.”
Lynn: “We were also quite sober about it. You can get really pissed off about it, but that won’t do you any good. It has to happen.” “It was also nice that it was possible immediately and did not have to be done later,” Martijn adds.
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The ‘WOW’ factor!
After months of waiting, the time had finally come. Would the tiny house still be that small or had Bob really added something to it? In the episode you see the couple walking around the corner and looking at the gigantic dormer in amazement. What a difference and what extra space!
Lynn: “The first feeling was immediately, wow, wow, wow. This is not possible and this is not normal! It knocked right away and each door was a real surprise to open. It feels like it’s your birthday and you can unwrap one big gift.”
Martijn: “If you immediately open the first door in the hall and see all your holiday gear in the toilet, it immediately feels good.” “Yes, every room was beautiful to see,” Lynn adds.
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Martijn: “Not a single wall is white and that is very cosy. We would never have dared to do that ourselves.”
Lynn: “I really value things, such as Martijn’s grandfather’s brown cupboard in the living room. That it is there means so much. And indeed all the souvenirs from the trips. Friends really say ‘it feels like you’. It’s super fun to find all those things all over the house.
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The next morning
Martijn: “When the whole team had left, our parents were already on the doorstep. You walk through the house all evening and discover something new every time. Only the next morning we had the peace to go through it together.”
Lynn: “I really slept like a log the first night, wonderful! And I think the pink sinks are fantastic. I could have bought everything myself.
Martijn: “You do think the pink washbasins are very beautiful, I wouldn’t have chosen them, but I think they look great. The same with the pink chair, although it is really super comfortable! I said to Lynn: ‘don’t put pink in the mood board’, but luckily not everything turned out pink.
Lynn: “I like pink. Roos also matched everything in such a way that it fits and is correct, I could never have done that and I think it’s super fun!
Martijn: “We haven’t changed anything yet. We have been living there for 4 weeks now and we still make the bed every day in the same way as during the delivery. You want to keep it beautiful for as long as possible.” “We moved the couch once because we had to get to something and looked back at photos to see how everything was to put it back just right, very funny!” Lynn joins in.
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No need to get used to
Where all the other couples of the season really had to get used to their new place, that was not an issue for these two. Martijn immediately felt completely at home and Lynn is also doing well. The park nearby is great for walking with the new dog and when Martijn goes to the football he can ride with friends again. Very cozy!
They already knew the neighborhood well, the neighbors are very nice and they know where to go. There is also plenty of opportunity to expand, to place an extra dormer window and the garden still has all the potential. The two came home here and are overjoyed.
Martijn: “We’ll never go to a home like this again. You hang up your coat and you can live there. Perfect!”
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