Britain is in the throes of a housing crisis, not enough homes being built has fuelled an increase in houses on the market for huge sums, with many families struggling to find affordable properties in urban areas. But it's not like that everywhere... 

One surprising result of the crisis is a glut of properties lying empty in areas considered undesirable, or that have fallen into disrepute and disrepair. These derelict houses stand abandoned, when a little TLC could make them perfectly good homes.

To redress the balance, local councils have been attempting to open up these areas and encourage people to buy these abandoned properties with financial incentives and regeneration plans. A Channel 4 documentary recently followed the results of one such scheme in Liverpool.

Liverpool City Council launched the £1 Home Scheme in 2013 to tackle the problem of empty, dilapidated houses in rundown areas such as Anfield and the Webster Triangle. The scheme offered a cheap as chips property to people who live and work in the Liverpool area and crucially, who pledge to fix up their new homes. Such projects have been mimicked around the world, with a similar scheme rolled in Italy recently.

The new residents also had to agree to live in the area for a minimum of five years, and had to get on with renovation within a year of buying the property, investing up to £40,000 of their own money to bring their new homes up to scratch.

Student Victoria Brennan was one of the successful applicants of the scheme, purchasing her home for a pound in 2016. Now estate agents suggest it could be worth as much as £70,000.

With limited resources, Victoria had to borrow £38,000 from her parents as a renovation loan to bring the property up to liveable standards.

And the 30-year-old has put her own design stamp on the property, with ideas such as installing a wood-burning stove in the living room and using an upcycled railway sleeper as the mantle piece. 

The bathroom has been totally renovated to bring it up to date with modern tastes, with new metro tiles and a bright skylight to bring in natural light.

When she sells she stands to make around £32,000 and says the scheme has offered her a first step on the property ladder. “The overarching positive was the ability to own a property I could never afford on my own."

Mel and Rob Hilton-Phillips were another couple who took advantage of the scheme, but were shocked to find a bullet on their doorstep in the early days, reminding them that the property itself wasn’t their only challenge.

Mel told the Liverpool Echo that if they hadn’t got onto the scheme, “we could probably have bought a three-bedroom house in the Wavertree area for about £100,000, but it still would have been something that needed a lot of work.”

And the pair liked the idea of putting their stamp on a renovation project, with the hope of turning the dilapidated terrace property into a beautiful family home for their three children.

Liverpool wasn't the first council to attempt regeneration with huge financial incentives. In 2013 Stoke-on-Trent council started its own scheme selling houses for £1, and it was so successful it has had several phases, with more properties being sold in batches.

Artist Anna Francis was one of the successful applicants of the scheme, and as well as renovating her own property, has her sights on helping to regenerate the entire area with creative projects and community action.

She was heavily pregnant when she first saw the £1 house she'd bought, despite having signed up to stay for the 10 year minimum, which was a condition of the bargain price.

In the room that would become the kitchen there were ferns growing on the inside. Anna also came up against resistance from other residents, who felt they'd been forgotten.

The scheme in Stoke-on-Trent has been a roaring success, with 31 of the original 35 properties sold now inhabited. This is most likely down to the generous financing plan also on offer. As well as buying their home for just £1, new owners were offered a grant to renovate their new property, to be paid back over 10 years.

Another Stoke success story is 32-year-old Rachael, who handed over a pound coin for her property after reading about the scheme on Twitter. Her house was chosen for her by pulling an address out of a hat.

The deal also saw the local council paying for the initial structural refit, including a new kitchen and bathroom, and any vital building work, as well as a new central heating system.

The rest of the renovations would be covered by Rachael, and the other new owners, using the £30,000 low-interest loan.

Initially Rachael was shocked when she saw the property she'd agreed to buy. "I think viewing the house at that time could easily turn a lot of people off. So I had to put a lot of faith and a lot of trust in the local council."

Fortunately they were true to their word and Rachael got excited about actually owning her own house and the adventure ahead. It took a month to decorate after the council finished the vital works and Rachael got to work painting, including a Pieter Mondrian-style decoration on the staircase wall.

The kitchen leads into an open plan dining room allowing the keen baker to socialise with visitors while she works on her cake creations. As well as filling the homes, this area has taken the renovations well, with improvements in local unity and falling crime figures.

Liverpool's scheme was launched to a big fanfare, but took a little while to get off the ground. The big difference was that, unlike Stoke, the Liverpool council didn't offer a loan to go with the cheap property. Instead, new residents were expected to invest their own cash.

Ann O'Byrne, Liverpool's cabinet member for housing, told the BBC they had nearly 3,000 people express their interest in the scheme. Of those, 600 met the criteria. But many dropped out "once they'd seen the level of work involved, they just thought it was too much for them," she explained.

But now the area is seeing fruit from the all the planning. One of the biggest success stories is the Kamau family. Sam (pictured) and his wife Rachael decided to go for the scheme after renting in the Liverpool area for 16 years. They had two daughters and were desperate for more space.

Rachael Kamau told the Liverpool Echo, “It was the worst house we’d ever seen and I know most people would have just turned around and walked away but what we saw, beyond the poor condition, was the space. And whatever needed to be done paled into insignificance to the space.”

But the couple agree it was absolutely worth it. Rachael added: “It’s been the best pound we’ve ever spent and the journey has been a real roller coaster."