Dean Jones, Realtor Associate at Coldwell Banker Jamaica Realty & Founder of Jamaica Homes
When I bought my first home, no one wanted it. It was a write-off—one of those properties an agent keeps in a drawer, embarrassed to show anyone. The house had been repossessed. The floorboards were rotten, some broken straight through. Rats scurried in the darkness. Damp and mold crept up the Victorian walls, which desperately needed repointing. The upstairs floors were bowing. The kitchen was in ruins. The boiler was dead. Heating? Nonexistent. To most, this house was a nightmare. But to me, in 2005, it was an opportunity.
It was five minutes from a main train station, within the M25, with restaurants, shopping malls, and all the conveniences of city life nearby. Most importantly, it was one of only two houses on the road with a private driveway. And it was a Victorian house—full of history and potential. I stripped back the floors, replaced joists and boards, and polished the floors upstairs an…
