Other than unpacking their bags, anyone who buys this house wouldn't need to do a thing to it.

That's the view of owner Steve Goodwin who said: "I've done a lot of work to it, once when I first moved in and again in the last couple of years. Everything has been done to this house – a family could just move straight in."

Steve first bought the traditional semi-detached property nearly 30 years. It's in Carlisle's popular Croft Road and is true to the layout of most homes of the period in which it was built, with gardens front and back, two reception rooms, a galley kitchen - now extended - and three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.

He said: "The house was built in the 1930s with good-sized rooms. It’s a beautiful house and has period features like cornicing and coving."

And the interior is now finished to a very high standard, all thanks to Steve's hard work.

He said: "It’s had new double glazing fitted, new boilers and a new central heating with smart meters so you can see how much electricity you’re using daily.

"You get quite obsessive about watching this and it makes you very frugal – you end up putting layers of clothes on as opposed to heating.

"I've also had a new bathroom installed with a new shower cubicle. I've completely redecorated top to bottom. I’ve had a garage built and a carport with double doors, a new garage door, a new set of wooden doors on the carport, new porch, it’s had everything done."

The porch opens into the entrance hallway from where there are doors to the two reception rooms and the dining kitchen. Upstairs are three bedrooms and the bathroom.

"The living room at the front of the house gets the sun in the mornings," Steve said. "The dining room at the back is sunny from about lunchtime all the way through until night."

The front room has a bay window and feature fireplace. The dining room also has a feature fireplace as well as a fireplace and French doors to the patio area outside.

The 17ft-long dining kitchen has fitted units, a dining area opened up at the end and a stable door to the outside.

"The original kitchen has been knocked through to the utility at the rear of the property and a new kitchen installed," said Steve. "I’ve put a bay window at the bottom which looks across the garden.

"The gardens are full of perennials and established shrubs, all the wooden fencing down one side behind the garage has been replaced and there’s a beautiful beech hedge at the back of the house which is absolutely fantastic and makes it very private."

Upstairs are two double bedrooms, one with fitted wardrobes, and a single bedroom. The bathroom has a four-piece suite with shower enclosure.

The outside of the property has also benefited from Steve's transforming zeal.

"I knocked down the original garage and built a brick one with a utility and toilet and heater which is handy when you’re in the garden," he said.

"There's parking for three cars down the side of the house - one in the driveway at the front, one under the carport and another in the garage."

Croft Road is a 15-minute walk to the city centre, with two pubs - the Near Boot and Crown and Thistle - about 10 minutes' walk away. It's also handy for Stanwix Primary School, a food store and garage.

Steve now wants to downsize: "It was the area that attracted me, and the house," he said. "It’s a lovely family home.

"I only use three rooms really, the living room, kitchen and bathroom. It’s crying out for a family."