We’re sisters who bought an auction flat that was ‘falling apart’ – and saved £8k doing it up using ChatGBT
Using AI to help you through life has been all the craze lately.
In fact, it’s currently trending on TikTok, with 2.5 million posts as people share their top tips and tricks on the best ways to use it.
From giving cooking advice to “sorting out your life notes,” ChatGPT can be used for nearly anything.
It even helped two sisters save £8,000 after they bought a house together at an auction.
Heather Roberts, 25, and Anya Hughes, 21, took on the mammoth task after purchasing their first flat in May 2024 for £140,000.
The inside needed ripping out completely, and to save money, the women taught themselves DIY skills using YouTube, TikTok videos, and even ChatGPT.
The sisters, who post on TikTok and Instagram under @builtinpink, have been donning pink overalls and hope to inspire other women to try DIY.
Heather, a barista and HR admin worker from Bournemouth, Dorset, said: “Out of necessity, we decided to do it ourselves.
“I was president of the feminist society at university, and Anya is the women’s champion at her university, as well as starting and running the feminist society there.
“We are strong feminists, and we just rolled up our sleeves and got to it.
“We started documenting it all on TikTok to show two young girls with nails and hair that we don’t have to give up our femininity to fit into this space.
“I’m not very sporty or strong, but we just wanted to show if we can do it, anyone can.
“There are options if you can’t get on the property ladder.”
The sisters first came across the property in May 2024 and purchased it for £140,000 after “it didn’t receive much love at auction.”
Heather said: “It wasn’t something we thought was going to happen.
“We just thought, well, we’ll put a lick of paint on the walls and get new carpets.
Got quotes
“We’re not fussy people and weren’t bothered about the state of it.
“We started working on it, and everything started to fall apart.
“It was such a huge project.”
Before the pair got the keys to the flat in August 2024, Heather had brought builders in to get quotes for how much everything would cost.
She said: “On the first day, the builders quoted us £200 to take out the fireplace with an electric fire.
“They said it would cost £200 to take out.
“We just took to it with a sledgehammer and thought, we can do this.
“Anya pulled it away from the wall, and it fell to the floor.
Painting the flat took three weeks – I have no idea how much it would have cost me to hire a painter
Anya Hughes
“In two days, we had everything ripped out.”
Aside from getting external contractors to help with plumbing, rewiring, fitting the kitchen, and the extension, the girls did the rest solo.
Heather said: “We’ve got a long snag list of stuff that needs finishing.
“I feel like in the last couple of weeks, I’ve seen it come together.
“The pride for me has come in the last couple of weeks.
“There were a few big challenges – our porch was completely falling down.
Quick tutorial
“My friend’s brother was supposed to help, but he had a lot of work on himself, so I was left to my own devices and felt overwhelmed.
“He put in the beams, and then I built the frames after that.
“I glazed all the windows myself after a quick tutorial from our builder and did the timbers myself.
“I’ve just finished tiling the bathroom.
I even typed ‘how do I treat wood’ into ChatGPT
Heather Roberts
“People ask me, ‘What did you do at the weekend?’ and I’m like, ‘I tiled my bathroom.’
“I’m proud to say that.
“The response from girls online has been amazing.
“We’ve had a lot of comments from girls saying, ‘You’ve inspired me to pick up something,’ or ‘Love to see this.’”
Heather has spent 30 hours every week going to the flat before and after work whilst juggling three jobs.
Sister Anya has helped out in between her university studies and exams, joining her sister for around 10 hours each week.
She said: “Painting the flat took three weeks – I have no idea how much it would have cost me to hire a painter.
“We’d have needed a carpenter for the skirting, and again I have no idea how much that would have been.”
Altogether, the sisters estimate they’ve saved around £8,000 by doing so much of the renovation themselves.
Finding tips and tricks online, the pair have found social media helpful in learning how to fix things up around the flat.
Heather said: “A lot of it we found on TikTok, but there’s so much out there.
“Jack the Tiler does great videos.
ChatGPT help
“Also, we’d look up the occasional YouTube video.
“I even typed ‘how do I treat wood’ into ChatGPT.
“Even though that’s not what we did for the porch, I asked it to make me a shopping list for B&Q for what I’d need to buy for it.
“If I couldn’t ask a person, I’d ask ChatGPT.
“My mum is a chiropractor, and my dad is a fine art valuer, so we don’t have a builder in the family or the dad that comes over and does it with us.
“My mum and grandma are such pillars in the family and know so much about DIY.”
The DIY duo have also had help from commenters online.
Heather said: “Because we’ve been publicly sharing our journey, a lot of tradespeople have said, ‘Maybe next time try this.’
“We’re really grateful for support from brands.
“It’s made the difference.”
The girls have been able to have most of their paint supplied for free by Brewers Paint and Decorators and received discounted tiles from Tile Warehouse.
“Our best one to date has been with Brandon Hire Station,” Heather said.
“We received a saw sander, a concrete breaker, rotovator, and we’re about to get a stump grinder.
“It’s been really good because whatever we need, they’ll happily send us it.”
Ryobi have also sent the girls various tools to help with their final snag list.
Now a month away from the finish line, older sister Heather wants to go into flipping houses as her “full-time job” with plans to sell the flat soon.
The dangers of using AI Chatbots
Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have become increasingly prevalent in our daily lives, assisting with everything from customer service to personal tasks. However, concerns about safety and privacy have arisen due to the extensive data these chatbots collect and process. Users may not always be aware of the information they are sharing, which can include sensitive personal details.
One of the primary concerns is that conversations with AI chatbots are often stored and analysed to improve the service. This data can potentially be accessed by third parties, raising fears about unauthorised use and breaches of privacy. Additionally, the data might be used to create highly personalised profiles of users, which can then be exploited for targeted advertising or other purposes.
Experts suggest several measures to mitigate these risks, such as being cautious about the information shared with chatbots and understanding the privacy policies of the services used. It is also recommended to regularly review and manage privacy settings and to be aware of the potential for data breaches. As AI technology continues to evolve, ongoing vigilance and updated regulations will be essential to ensure the safety and privacy of users.