When it comes to house hunting, most people visit estate agents, drive round the area they are interested in and surf the internet. But it wasn't like that for the Clough family and Lower New Hall Farm.

"For us it was different," says Deborah Clough. "A friend of ours bought the whole site, which included the farmhouse and a bungalow. My mum and dad wanted to move, so we bought the site and they rented the bungalow from us.

"We took the farmhouse right back to the plaster and did it from scratch. One of the reception rooms is the original building, which we think is about 400 years old."

Over the years it has been added to and now has four or five bedrooms and two reception rooms. The bungalow, which has three bedrooms, is only about 25 years old but still has plenty of character.

"We lived in a static caravan for three months when we started - sandblasting the outside, replastering every room, fitting sunken lights throughout the whole house and converting the loft into two bedrooms with roof lights," Deborah recalls. "We partitioned off a room so that we could fit a proper staircase up to the loft. Now it's almost a self-contained area, so it would be nice for teenagers who like their own privacy.

"It was the lovely big hall that sold it to me and now it has a tile effect laminate floor and a built-in double cupboard, which is very useful."

All the rooms lead off the hallway and have slate effect flooring, except the lounge which is carpeted.

The lounge is a good size, with an electric fire in a wood surround with a marble style back and hearth, and new double doors into the garden.

Other improvements she and husband Robert carried out included putting together an impressive family room. "By the time we'd finished we'd made a utility room with toilet, and a new kitchen, which we knocked through to make a dining kitchen and living room. It's really the heart of the house and means we hardly ever use the lounge.

"After that we put in complete new windows, a wooden floor in our bedroom and then we moved in, which was a good job because it was coming up to winter and getting cold!

"We used a local builder, who did everything from the plumbing to the windows. In fact he's been here from day one, on and off."

The farmhouse has three bedrooms on the first floor - the master bedroom also having built-in wardrobes - a study and bathroom with panelled bath with shower over, wash basin and WC.

"My bedroom is my favourite room in the house, because it's so big, lovely and sunny and has a super king size bed," says Deborah.

On the second floor is an occasional room with roof lights that leads into the fourth bedroom.

The bungalow also received a makeover. "We re-plastered all the rooms, bar the lounge, which is almost identical to the one in the farmhouse. In fact the bungalow is just a shrunken little house really, but with plenty of storage and good sized rooms."

There's a lounge with marble style fireplace and double doors to the rear, a dining kitchen, bedroom with dressing area and en-suite. There's also a second bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor with an occasional room and third bedroom on the first floor.

Sadly, not long after the families took up residence, Deborah's mother passed away and now her father has limited mobility, so they are looking for a home where he can be with them.

"We love the house and we've loved living here. Everywhere is a blank canvas and when you walk in, it has such a lovely feel. Sort of old world, but with a modern touch.

"It's a fantastic family home with massive rooms and plenty of storage with nooks and crannies and walk-in cupboards, so it should appeal to a large or extended family.

"All our children come with their partners and stay. We've had some good parties and it was going to be a fantastic family set-up, but sadly it wasn't meant to be.

"The farmhouse is set well back off the road and I'm going to miss the convenience of it all, with a supermarket close by and good schools.

"We've enjoyed the process of transforming the house and we're pleased with the end result. We've done our bit to bring the house and bungalow into the 21st Century," Deborah says.

"But we need to find somewhere where we can just fit my dad in a corner," she adds with a laugh, not meaning a word of it.

Outside there is a small paved area at the back, with the bungalow having a front garden, and a single garage.

Lower New Hall Farm, Rooley Lane, Bradford, is for sale for £550,000 with the Halifax, Wibsey, 0845 4020931