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Location, Location, Location - Season 45 Episode 8 engsub fullmovie🍿
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00:00We're back. It's me again. Reconnecting with long-term renters. Oh cripes, it's huge. Who
00:06were trying to escape the bunker. If I wasn't confused before, I am now. There were bogeys.
00:12You're just not seeing the lights. It's not a good practical house for me. Which means it's not for me.
00:17And birdies. It's nice. I want to buy this house. On the way to the 19th hole, there is the
00:24pub.
00:24I've never been into a pub around here. And now we're seeing who played a blinder.
00:29Well, this is lovely.
00:39This time, we're back with two sets of buyers at houses they've turned into beautiful homes.
00:45One couple were fed up paying two grand every month in rent, while the other were looking
00:50to end six years as tenants. They were both set on buying, and it was up to Kirstie and I
00:56to make it happen.
00:58In late spring of 2019, we were scouring southern England for a vibrant village vibe,
01:03where Hayley and James and their two dogs could settle.
01:08And in 2022, we were searching in the West Midlands in a time of rising property prices,
01:14a whopping 14% in 12 months.
01:19Far from ideal search conditions, in and around Solihull for nurse Camilla and her partner,
01:25local lad Liam, an insurance claims handler.
01:28So we met eight years ago online, on a dating site. The success story.
01:33It's been great. Yeah.
01:35Happy days. For the past six years, this pair have been renting a flat in the Sheldon area of Solihull.
01:41But combining home working for Liam, and Camilla's baking hobby in such cramped living conditions,
01:47has raised a few issues. If Camilla's going to be making a cake in the kitchen,
01:52she'll be trying to mix the cake in between a phone call, which is not ideal.
01:57Shh. Because you're just being a nuisance.
01:59It's caused a couple of arguments.
02:02These two are desperate for more space, and want a two- or three-bedroomed house where
02:06they can start a family, in or around Solihull for 240 grand. But after two years of searching,
02:1230 viewings and one unsuccessful offer, they're at their wits end. With our schedules,
02:18they don't always match up to go and view something together.
02:20Being a nurse and working shifts and stuff, you'll see a house go online and then
02:24by the time I'm free to go and view and it's already sold. I think we potentially have missed
02:29out on decent houses because we're scared. We look back at houses that we've even said no to and think,
02:35why didn't we just put an offer in then? Because they're now probably worth 20, 30 grand more or something.
02:41Camilla and Liam are eager to take the next step in their lives together,
02:45and that means finding the ideal family home. I think if we like the house, it'll be really
02:50obvious for me because I don't hide it very well. I think you've got more of a poker face.
02:56Yeah, I just don't smile. Let's hope we can change that. But first things first,
03:01let's lay our cards on the table. I hear you can't find a house. The search has just been terrible.
03:08I've just been a bit scared. Yeah, with it being such like a large financial commitment.
03:13What's in your mind's eye? Semi-detached if we're realistic.
03:17Two to three bedroom. Yeah. Spare room, we can use it for an office, but also a bit further down
03:24the line, you know, we can start a family. I'm quite a keen cook and a keen baker and stuff,
03:29so a kitchen slash kitchen dine or a separate dining room is quite important.
03:35OK. Any cars I need to know about? Two cars. I think we'd love to have a drive big enough,
03:40but I think as long as we can get one on... And, yeah, have the other car close.
03:44Safe, yeah. Liam, you're the local boy. What areas are you most interested in?
03:50Solihull, Shirley. I think probably a half-hour average commute would be fine.
03:54For the two days that I'm in the office, I will hit rush hour. But you're working from home for
03:58three
03:58days a week, so we don't care about you. Yeah, exactly. We're looking after the nurse.
04:03Yeah. I appreciate that.
04:06I mean, it's not an unreasonable set of requirements. The challenge is getting ahead of the 25 other
04:11people that are looking for the same thing at this time. Yeah. We're going to have three days
04:15absolutely focus, the three of us, on sorting this out. Yeah. It's gone on long enough.
04:20Yes. We've got every confidence. Oh, it's going.
04:25Liam and Camilla have saved hard and, with a little help from their folks,
04:28have put together a deposit of £50,000 and, along with a mortgage, have a maximum spend of £240,000.
04:37They want a house with two to three bedrooms, enough space for Liam to work from home,
04:41and for future kids. A good-sized kitchen for Camilla to bake in, a garden plus off-street
04:48parking. To find all this, we'll be searching in and around Solihull, at the south-east of Birmingham
04:55city centre. And just over 80 miles south, we'll be traversing the Wiltshire countryside,
05:02for a home in a vibrant village for healthcare agency director Hayley and finance manager James,
05:08who first met at work. James said, oh, your hair looks lovely curly. Can you tell me how you curled
05:14your hair? And I thought James was either trying to pay me a compliment, or had a desire to grow
05:19his
05:19own hair. Seven years later, the only thing they're growing are roots, in the rental they decided to
05:26share on the edge of Newbury, with pooches Charlie and Rosie. When we first moved to the village,
05:31there was a couple of pubs open, weren't there? Yeah. And we did our best to try and keep them
05:35trading.
05:37And whilst they love it, two grand a month on rent in a village that's become a little too sedate,
05:42means it's time to move. We want a village with more community feel, and we definitely see a pub
05:49as being synonymous with community spirit. Yeah. Neighbourliness is especially important for
05:55home worker Hayley. Some days I can go without seeing people, particularly when James is away,
06:00so I'm really, really lucky that I've got the dogs. Both have owned flats in the past,
06:06and selling them has contributed to a cool 750 grand budget. However, these two are struggling with
06:12an ever-increasing wish list. If we really stripped it back, I'd say... Living space?
06:18I'd have gone kitchen. Okay. Somewhere that feels open and spacious, a decent master bedroom,
06:24and a study. Other than that, we'd like a garden, but neither of us are gardeners. There's probably
06:30a long list. Dressing room. We might be looking for a unicorn. This could be a very interesting search,
06:37then. Right. Well, lovely to meet you. So what can't you find? A house that we both like. We want
06:44a
06:44house that's got a lot of space around it, a lot of countryside, but we also want a lot of
06:48amenities.
06:49You're describing it as a unicorn, aren't you? Well, that's a great explanation. What you want doesn't
06:54exist. Yeah. We're looking at bigger houses to get that living space we want. You are looking
07:01effectively for quite a niche house, because it's not a typical family house. You don't want to pay for
07:07the bedroom, but you want the space. Is there anything that you've both agreed on? No. It's one or the
07:12other of us is light to house. But I think there's some we're being broadly aligned on.
07:21Let's make a start, see what we find. You excited? So excited. I'm nervous.
07:27With cash from the sale of their flats, plus a mortgage, James and Hayley have £750,000
07:33for a house with an office for Hayley and a minimum of three bedrooms, one of which should be a
07:38large
07:39master with dressing room space. James likes to cook, so wants a sociable kitchen diner,
07:44and let's not forget a garden for dogs Charlie and Rosie.
07:50It's a big ask, but thankfully I know someone who grew up around here.
07:56This is Berkshire, this is Wiltshire, this is Hampshire. My couple want countryside. Yeah.
08:03But they also want pubs and people and access to all of that. I've never been into a pub brand
08:08deal.
08:08You wouldn't know any? No, no, no. What did you get up to? Oh, I bicycled with a honey sandwich
08:13and some
08:14swash. Never went into pub, my grandmother never sent me for cigarettes.
08:22For my first stop, we've come to Great Bedrin, a village they know and love. It's a merry hop,
08:28skip and jump to the pub and the house is an absolute cracker. Knowing how important a sense
08:34of space is for my pair, I'm starting off round the back. Amazing. Wow. I can see it sat here.
08:44Glass of vino. Yeah. Barbecue. There is the pub. I could just call you back, James.
08:51This is the unicorn that doesn't exist. I thought I was going to cry when we walked in.
08:56Her voice is wavering. I know. I want to buy this house.
09:01Well, it's hard to misread that reaction film and the immaculate finish inside this detached house
09:06should continue to wow them.
09:11Downstairs is light and bright with the open kitchen diner for keen chef James,
09:15an office space for Hayley and a large living room with doors out onto the winning garden.
09:20And it's stunning countryside views, perfectly idyllic for humans and canines alike.
09:25Upstairs, there's plenty of space for our couple with four good-sized bedrooms that could easily be
09:30reconfigured into three to create the impressive master suite thereafter. It's move-in ready and at
09:37£725,000, it's also £25,000 under their top budget. Come on in. As you can see, it's pretty slick.
09:46Yeah, it's very light. Looks good for me. There's a lot more surface space and storage cupboard space
09:54than I have now. That is home office. Oh, wow. It's on £725,000. Yep. If I'm being brutally honest,
10:03it's actually not the biggest space, but because everything's so light, it feels much bigger than it is. Yep.
10:11They're feeling it's a bit of a squeeze down here, Pip. Yes, but plenty more space and potential upstairs.
10:18Now, we've got four bedrooms, two bathrooms. It's a bit tight up here in this room. Yes, it is.
10:24But you don't actually need the four bedrooms, you only need three. Punch through that wall and make
10:29that bedroom, your dressing room. Okay, so this is where you could knock through so that all you have...
10:37In the other room is the bed? Yeah. Yep. Well, hell of a start outside, but I'm not so sure
10:45it's gone
10:45quite as well inside. The location is amazing. Park, station. Yeah. Canal. Yeah. Walks.
10:52Walks. I just wish I felt more excited about the inside of the house, but that's the bit that can
10:58change.
10:58I'm just going to be the difficult one. No, no, no, no, no, no. We can change this bit. Yeah.
11:02So this is good news. Yeah. So some size issues to deal with, but I'd say they're up for it.
11:08Oh, it's got a wood burner. Oh, wow. Yeah. And it's really light and airy. Yeah. Excited.
11:18Phil, it looks like you might have found them there unicorn. Still smiling? Still smiling.
11:23It feels like buying a new house. I wanted to skip up the street. So yeah, I don't think you
11:28can
11:29change that feeling. My biggest concern is how are you going to trump this?
11:35Have faith, Hayley. I'm a man with unicorn connections.
11:46We're reconnecting with two sets of renters requiring rescue from their property searches.
11:53In 2019, my first property in Wiltshire for Hayley and James was a strong contender to end their
12:00two grand a month rental costs. This is the unicorn that doesn't exist. Whilst in 2022,
12:06Camilla and Liam's mismatched schedules were wreaking havoc on their house hunt in Solihull.
12:12Being a nurse and working shifts and stuff, you'll see a house go online and then
12:15by the time I'm free to go and view and it's already sold.
12:20I'm taking them to see a house that is definitely still available. In fact,
12:24we're first through the door and it's located in Shirley, one of Camilla and Liam's top spots.
12:31But there is one box it doesn't tick. We've got a lovely, lovely corner house.
12:37The rub is that your parking is over there. Is it dedicated spaces over there? It's not.
12:43There is plenty of parking, but there is the wall. Yeah. What do you make of the look of it?
12:47It looks good from the outside. I like it. I do think it has got a bit of character to
12:51it.
12:51It was under offer at 240 and that deal has just collapsed. So it's now freshly back on the market.
12:57You are the first people to see it. Okay. But I think she will want 240 for it. Right.
13:02This place may be top of budget, but it's in move-in condition.
13:06On the ground floor, there's a modern galley kitchen where Camilla can go bonkers with her baking.
13:12A huge open plan lounge come dining room that leads onto a lovely conservatory.
13:18This house is future-proofed with its three bedrooms. Two doubles and a box room or home office,
13:24plus a large bathroom. The garden is a good size and although not ideal, the parking is within sight.
13:31At 240 grand, they wouldn't have a penny to spare. But in a fast market, this is a good opportunity
13:39to avoid a bidding war. Oh, yeah, this is nice. It was the biggest living area that I came across.
13:45The kitchen is small, but it could be opened up super easy if you wanted to. Yeah.
13:50And then you have the benefit of the conservatory, I think. I can see, like, having friends around
13:54and just sitting in here and you bringing us our drinks. Well, that happens anyway.
14:01I think you've set a high bar with this house, Phil. Yeah, nice. Split level stairs.
14:07Yeah. For a second bedroom, very good service. Nice. Promising.
14:13Well, it's still early days on the search, but there are positive signals here. They seem to
14:18be liking it, which I'm pleased about. Seeing a house this good without dozens of other
14:23couples snapping at their heels is incredibly rare right now. So, how are we doing with this one?
14:30Top end of budget? Is it worth it? It's nice. I like it. Yeah. I think the downstairs is pretty...
14:37Spot on. Yeah. The rooms are a decent size as well. Yeah. I know it's not perfect for the parking.
14:42Yeah. You've got to make some camaraderie somewhere, so... Yeah. It's definitely a strong contender.
14:47Good. Thank you for that. Fine. That's all we need at the moment. Yeah.
14:50We've got a 48-hour window before this house goes live,
14:54so Liam and Camilla have got some time to think, but no time to waste.
15:00Back with Hayley and James, they loved the first house in Great Bedrin,
15:04but there were concerns about size. So we've come about 25 miles east of there,
15:09to the more reasonably priced hamster village of Boghurst. It's not an area they've asked for,
15:15but with pubs on the doorstep and a community feel, it certainly meets the requirements. Plus,
15:21it's bigger and costs less. This is £6.50. OK, so it is considerably less. Yes.
15:28And it's considerably bigger. Mm-hm. You've also got a community and a pub. And in fact,
15:32I reckon I could throw a cricket ball into the pub garden. I know. I think it looks nice. Yeah,
15:37it's an attractive house. Let's see what you think. Excellent.
15:41This house has a lot to offer. In fact, it's more than 60% bigger than property one.
15:49Downstairs has good office space for Hayley, but here the added dining room could be incorporated
15:54into the adjoining breakfast kitchen to create the entertaining space our couple are looking for.
16:01Upstairs is potentially perfect too, with four bedrooms currently set up as a master suite with
16:07dressing room, two further rooms, and a second dressing room, which should make Hayley smile,
16:13and a wraparound garden, which means the pooches will be happy too.
16:17On at £650,000, it's significantly under budget. I hope it's enough of a temptation to bring them here.
16:25Nice, big, impressive hallway. Good sense of space. Yeah.
16:30Dining room in there, and the kitchen. OK. I think this is the one we'd do before we moved in.
16:38OK. I think that's quite that, but yeah, you should update it over time.
16:42I'm starting to sense why this search is nine months and counting, Phil.
16:47It's a good size now. Yeah, really good. Lovely and light.
16:51I'm surprised how quiet it is in here because we're backing onto the road. Yeah.
16:55Have a look upstairs and do think about your kind of niche bedroom requirements or dressing room
17:01requirements. We're giving it everything, but if upstairs doesn't elevate Hayley's interest,
17:06nothing will. It's a good master. Oh, cripes, it's huge. Yeah.
17:11It turns out that bigger isn't always better. But there was only two of them,
17:16and they did love that first house. It was just a bit on the small side. I'm not giving up
17:20hope.
17:22It feels practical. Uh-huh. You can't pick up and move. Yeah.
17:26Where it is. Mm-hmm. So it's a big no from Hayley, who seems to be leading this search.
17:31It's a very good practical house. Yeah.
17:34Yeah. It's not a good practical house for me. Which means it's not for me.
17:37It's not for us. She's being polite, but we won't be buying this.
17:40Yeah. Yeah. I've seen the house that we're going to buy, so it's fine.
17:43Let me tell Kirsty. Hayley seems certain, but I do have another ace up my sleeve.
17:51For our next property with Camilla and Liam, we've come to Kitts Green,
17:55an area they aren't as familiar with, but it's only three miles from where they're currently renting.
18:00And in this area, they get so much more for their money.
18:05This is the house I want to show you. It is right in the thick of things.
18:10Yeah. You've got the airport very close by, and you've got a train line behind.
18:13So it is not quiet. Okay.
18:16But the benefit is all of the amenities are here.
18:19I don't think it massively would put me off.
18:23The house, a semi, loads of parking, and it's got a garage.
18:27Yeah, that's good. It looks nice on the outside.
18:29But come in and have a look.
18:31And the inside is just as appealing, with a flexible layer that could really suit their lifestyle.
18:37On the ground floor, there's a good-sized lounge diner off a modern kitchen.
18:42A side extension means there's also a downstairs bedroom and shower room.
18:47Upstairs, there are two further bedrooms, one for them,
18:50and one as a possible nursery further down the line, plus a family bathroom.
18:55The garden is a decent size. There's the all-important off-road parking and a bonus garage.
19:00But the real selling point is the price. It's being marketed at £220,000,
19:06£20,000 below their maximum spend of £240,000.
19:11You are 100% the first people to see it. It is neatly pitched at £220,000.
19:16You get a very open plan downstairs.
19:19Yeah.
19:19For me, it would be a bit too open.
19:21Yeah.
19:22Personally.
19:22I don't mind it.
19:24Just pop your heads through there, because it could be a home office, it could be a cake decorator.
19:28Yeah. It's not a bad size.
19:30Not quite nice.
19:31Yeah.
19:31Yeah.
19:32We could turn that into some type of sitting room if need be.
19:36Once they see the rest of it, you could have another contender on your hands, Phil.
19:40Yeah, this is not bad.
19:41A good view of the garden, too.
19:42Yeah.
19:43Better than I expected.
19:45Yeah.
19:46I think they can see past the racket of the train and the plane, and I've definitely been serving up
19:53some good options, and the ball is now in their court.
19:57Oh, yeah.
19:58I think I should stop playing games and get back to work.
20:01Your job right now, Phil, is to help these two work out their priorities.
20:06House-wise, I prefer, but then this has got a big drive, and I think that's quite hard to
20:13look past as well.
20:16I feel for my first-time buyers, it can be tricky weighing up the relative strengths
20:21of very different houses, but decisions have to be made.
20:28With Hayley and James, I'm hopeful of ending years of expensive renting, but after my second
20:35house fell flat, it's not a good practical house for me, I'm taking no chances on location and heading two
20:41miles
20:41northwest of bustling Newbury to the desirable village of Speen. Properties here aren't cheap,
20:48and they have an exacting wish list. Never mind, I have a cunning plan to solve both.
20:54As I said I would, we would try something different. So, this is a project.
20:58OK. But I happen to know it's in a road that you rather like. We absolutely love Speen Lane.
21:05I would say our favourite streets in Newbury. Sort of broadly, the idea of a big project,
21:11does it excite you, does it scare you? It is a bit daunting, having never done it before,
21:16but that's why people help. Yeah, absolutely. Good stuff. Top marks outside, Phil, and as long as their
21:24vision for a project is the same as yours, this 1960s house could offer them a great footprint in
21:29a prime spot. Currently, this house has four good-sized bedrooms upstairs and a family bathroom,
21:38all in need of modernising. Whilst downstairs, a spacious dual-aspect kitchen diner could be updated
21:45and opened up onto the garden. And the double garage has potential to be incorporated into the
21:50house, meaning this could become a substantial home. All this, and it's on the market at £625,000,
22:00£125,000 under budget, meaning scope and money to design as they wish.
22:06Knock through this wall, include the garage into this amazing kitchen breakfast room. You'd still have a
22:12garage. Yeah. On the top of your now kitchen breakfast room, you would create an extra floor
22:19upstairs where you have an amazing master bedroom, dressing rooms, en suites, all the bells and whistles.
22:24What's really appealing is that we can make it really... Totally our own. Yeah. Smooth work,
22:30Phil. Contemplating a bespoke house has really got them thinking. I think this would end up at least
22:35twice as big. Wow. That would be massive. Yeah. That... that really would. Enough for all your
22:41clothes, shoes and handbags? I could always go and buy more. You wouldn't have any money there. No,
22:47I don't think I would. So long as they do their sums to make it viable, this could be a
22:54great investment
22:54as well as a great home. So, I was asked to find a unicorn. Now, I've found a mythical goat.
23:04I don't
23:05know if that quite counts. Meh! I can't wait for Christmas here. It might take a little bit longer
23:12than that. Hayley and James are seeing this as exciting. I think I put them in a nice place where
23:19they've got house number one. They loved it, but it's simple. It's straightforward and happy.
23:24With this exciting, challenging, but commercially viable. It's really quiet, isn't it? It's really
23:30nice. I think it's lovely. I think our biggest question is what can we buy it for? How much would
23:36it cost? I'm really pleased that you've taken it on board because I think this could be really exciting.
23:42Yeah. I agree. I think it could be amazing. Yeah. Well done, Phil. Looks like you've found something to give
23:47property one a run for its money. That's two unicorns as I count it, Kirsty.
23:59We're back catching up with two sets of house hunters who were determined to ditch their renter
24:05status. In 2019, we had two properties in the running for Hayley and James. One in Wiltshire.
24:12Feels like buying a new house. And one in Berkshire.
24:16I can't wait for Christmas here. And in 2022, we also had two contenders
24:22with Camilla and Liam in the West Midlands. But I was hoping for a third in South Yardley,
24:28one of their preferred areas. Kirsty had come along to cast a critical eye.
24:33Hi, you two. Hello. Hello.
24:35This is a very nice little house. Yes. Parking out the front. Yeah. Yeah.
24:40South Yardley works for you, doesn't it? Mm-hmm.
24:43Shall we go on in? Yeah. Off to you too. Thank you. Thank you.
24:48Straight down to business. This 1940s semi has great proportions and a really lovely feel.
24:54But we've traded location for space. Downstairs, there's a good size lounge and lovely kitchen
25:01diner. Perfect for Camilla's baking hobby. Upstairs, there are two bedrooms rather than the ideal three,
25:07but they're both doubles plus a family bathroom. The garden is the biggest so far and there's a huge drive
25:14for the cars.
25:15At £230,000, it's £10,000 below their maximum spend of £240,000, but interest is mounting,
25:23so quick decisions need to be made. Older style house, quite a bit more character. Come on through here.
25:30The problem with the more modern house that we've just saw was that it was too open planned.
25:36Yeah. This seems to work a lot better. I do like this. That's a good start. Contender.
25:44The area here, I feel much more comfortable. Yeah, a bit more pace, yeah. Yeah, like a more homely vibe,
25:50I think.
25:51Camilla seems genuinely excited, which is lovely to see. Liam tends to play his cards close to his
25:57chest, so I'm eager to find out if he's feeling the love as well. Look at the house, how does
26:03that
26:03strike you? Oh, yeah, I like the house. Do you love it? It's nice. And here we've got master bedroom.
26:12Oh, yeah. And then good-sized bedroom behind you. Oh, I like this room. Good big garden.
26:20Yeah, it's a nice second bedroom. Camilla's face really lit up as we came in the kitchen. Yeah,
26:25I know, I saw. Yeah. Which was lovely. Yeah, I think she saw a home in this, so I won't
26:32get a say,
26:32so it's cool. I know the feeling, Liam. If I wasn't confused before, I am now. Well,
26:39that wasn't the intention, but I guess it just goes with the territory. Liam lit up a little bit in
26:43the
26:44garden, and Camilla's face in the kitchen was definitely... There's a lot of light there,
26:48Phil. You're just not seeing the light. I'm just overly sensitive. I don't think so. Not thinking that
26:55that is the problem. Thanks for sugarcoating it, Kirsty. I've got a better feeling. So I can't veto this
27:02one. No. Fair. No. The poker face isn't fooling anyone this time. It's obvious that this is an ace
27:08for Liam as well. I think we both like this. Yeah. Yeah. It's not quite what I expected, but better.
27:16Has everything you looked at had off-street parking? Yeah, all by one, which, and that,
27:20I did really like the house, but didn't have it, and I haven't decided whether I can look past it
27:24yet
27:24or not. I would prefer off-road parking, personally. But then that did have three bedrooms. Yeah. I think
27:32in my head they're the two that I'm torn between. Yeah. They're both great houses, but will parking
27:39trump bedrooms? Only time will tell. With Hayley and James, they remain torn between the project house
27:47in Speen and this turnkey house I showed them first in Great Bedwin. So we're back to take a second
27:53look.
27:54The project house can be designed as they want it, but here it's simple. Move in, unpack, start living.
28:01There's that view. Yeah. Where are your heads at at the moment? Discussions last night, I would say,
28:08are pushing us potentially to the project house. You don't get this view, but that's the debate we're
28:14having in our minds at the minute. First time round, it was the size they were concerned about. How
28:20many wardrobes? I use about four. Well, this was my question with the upstairs working.
28:25Yeah. Like, where do you put stuff?
28:27James and Hayley gave me a very wide-ranging brief, and as a result, they've ended up comparing houses
28:32that are almost polar opposites. But then even if you did that, what do you do with this one? So
28:38you've
28:39then got that bedroom, still that one, I suppose. But that's all that we need. Then it becomes a £725
28:46,000
28:46three-bed house. For James, the numbers don't stack up for this to be the place that ends seven years
28:55of renting and nine months of searching. That leaves the project property. With that one,
29:02we just see immense potential. I absolutely love the house where you can see a couple have lived
29:07there so happily for so long. That house started life at £659,000. They've reduced it to £625,000.
29:17We've looked up in the slack and then taken away all of the costs that we will incur. And really,
29:23that does leave us with a figure of about £580,000, £590,000. So we are shy of where they
29:28want.
29:28Let me put it to them. Yep.
29:32You okay? Kathleen, hello there. Hi. I'm pleased to say they do very much like the property. I have
29:38got an offer for you. It's for £580,000. Much appreciated. Thank you. Bye.
29:46My sense is that it might be a bit of a waiting game. There's a big gap.
29:52Yep. Yeah. £45,000. Less than 10%.
29:57I doubt the vendor will see it that way. And it isn't long before we hear back.
30:04Oh, blimey. That's a quick no, isn't it?
30:09That was very speedy. Okay. Thank you so much for what you're doing. Leave it with me. Bye.
30:16They want £65,000. Yep. Okay. If another 10 was your absolute walk away,
30:21then I wouldn't do it today. Okay. I think we can close the gap.
30:24Yeah. I think there's a deal to be done, but in order to do that, it might take a bit
30:28of time.
30:29Yeah. Okay. I'll put in the £590,000 probably in the middle of next week.
30:32Mm-hmm. Sounds like a plan. Yeah.
30:35Smart strategy, Phil. Best not to appear too keen.
30:38Fingers crossed it's a strategy that ultimately pays off.
30:43As for Camilla and Liam, there are two front runners. The property in Shirley,
30:48on at £240,000, with three bedrooms, but no off-street parking. And the house in South Yardley,
30:55£10,000 cheaper, at £230, with plenty of parking, but only two bedrooms.
31:00It's not an easy decision for these already nervous first-time buyers.
31:08Where are your heads at? We keep flip-flopping a lot. If we could have the cars that tiny bit
31:13closer, it would be a done deal. If it was somebody else in my position that had asked me for
31:21advice,
31:22I would say, go for the bigger house. And I think I probably know that that's the right answer.
31:31What about you, Liam? Logic would say the bigger one.
31:34So, what do you think we should go in at as an offer on that?
31:39The Shirley property has two viewings booked in for tomorrow, so we need to think strategically.
31:45So, the chances of them cancelling those, given that they've had £240,000 in the past,
31:51unless you give them £240,000, they'll want those viewings to happen.
31:54Yeah. OK. OK. So, are we clear and agreed?
31:58Mm-hm. Yeah.
31:59In this market, even an asking price offer is no guarantee. But let's hope.
32:05John, hi, it's Phil Spencer. How are you?
32:08Good, yeah. Good, thank you.
32:09If the buyers come up with £240, the full asking price today, could you ask your vendors,
32:16would that be acceptable? Thank you. We'll wait. We'll sit tight. Thanks, John. Appreciate it.
32:22Cheers. Bye-bye. Nervous? I am.
32:25Yes, I'm all right.
32:27Camilla and Liam can't push their offer past £240,000, so let's hope it's enough.
32:34Here we go. Hello, John. How did you get on?
32:41Mm. Deal done. House off the market. Viewings cancelled.
32:49Great. Bye-bye. I feel a bit emotional.
32:55Thank you. Well done.
32:57Cheers. Congratulations.
33:00I feel something for you as well. Oh, thank you.
33:03It doesn't have any parking spots. It has a long walk to the track.
33:10Turns out you can have your cake and eat it after all, Phil.
33:13I'm absolutely thrilled for Camilla and Liam. Finally, a home of their own. Result.
33:24Fast forward three years and not only are the proud homeowners still in the same house,
33:29it's now a family home, having welcomed baby Sloane four months ago.
33:35Sloane is... She's the best, isn't she? Yeah.
33:38She's very good-natured. Very relaxed, actually, as you can see. She sleeps pretty well.
33:44She's beginning to show her own little personality as well, so that's fun.
33:49Liam managed to get her first laugh not so long ago, so that was really, really nice.
33:55Really had to work for that one as well. Yeah.
33:57Yeah. And little Sloane hasn't been the only addition to their family.
34:01Camilla and Liam are also doting fur parents to Cat, Bear and Rabbit. Yes, you heard me correctly.
34:09The cats, where to start? We've got Bear, who's an absolute diva. This is her house. We are just
34:17guests here. Yeah.
34:18And then you've got Rabbit, who just doesn't understand personal space whatsoever.
34:24As if new family members weren't enough, this pair have even more to celebrate.
34:30We got engaged. We got engaged. Almost forgot that one.
34:34I took Bear, Camilla breakfast in bed and then got down on one knee and proposed.
34:39And she thought I was joking. Yeah.
34:42And I ugly cried.
34:46Wedding planning is slow going. Obviously, we've got a lot going on.
34:51But we were hoping initially for sort of two years after the engagement,
34:55in the summer of what would be next year. As for where the five of them call home,
35:02it may be the same house, but it has seen a few changes over the years,
35:06many of which Camilla and Liam have made themselves after taking a DIY course.
35:12I think the main reason we did the DIY course was because we could see that there were
35:17loads of little jobs that needed to be done, but wouldn't necessarily require us to
35:21get like a tradesperson to do it. Put up a stud wall because it was quite a really big living
35:27room,
35:28so we split it into a living room and a dining room. Got my brother to build the wall and
35:33then
35:33I plastered that. We only did lots of wallpapering. I love our bedroom wall.
35:42It's one of the first sort of projects that I worked on. You're not even joking,
35:46neither. You bang on about that wall all the time. Isn't it just such great wallpaper?
35:53Not every change has quite been to Liam's taste though. Kitchen was one of the last rooms that we
35:57painted and I said to Liam, I said, I really want to paint the kitchen pink. Like, would you object
36:04to
36:04that? And he was like, I'm over it. Just do what you want. So we went on a stag do
36:09and came home to a
36:10barbie pink kitchen. Messaged me, I told everyone we all laugh and they'll wake up the following
36:15morning like, oh no, she painted it pink. Pink kitchen aside, the house has given the couple
36:23the his and hers spaces they were looking for. Downstairs has become Camilla's domain where she
36:29finally has room to bake. We've got the conservatories, I've got a little cupboard out there with all my
36:34baking bits and pieces in there and I can kind of bring it all in, set it out. Just need
36:39the time
36:40to bake now, but definitely got the space. Whilst upstairs, Liam's found a haven of peace and quiet,
36:46also known as his office. Before it was a case of working from the kitchen and I'd be on a
36:53call
36:53or something and Camilla would, you know, tiptoe through, try and quietly make a cup of tea. But
36:58there's none of that anymore. Yeah. It's, you know, I'm, I'm away in a room upstairs. Camilla can
37:03make as much noise down here, be as long as she wants. The only interruptions I really get
37:08when the cats come in. The nice thing about you working from home, isn't it, is like,
37:12if she looks like she's about to roar, I can be like, Liam, get down. She's gonna do it. For
37:18the record,
37:19she still hasn't rolled. Still hasn't done it. She's teasing. She's close. She'll be rolling and crawling
37:24before you know it. But of course, the big question mark over this house was the parking.
37:33With the couple eventually sacrificing a driveway for a third bedroom, three years on, there's no
37:39regrets. That's much less of an issue than we'd, um, kind of anticipated it would be. We realised you
37:47don't live on the drive. So the third bedroom was definitely the right choice. Yeah. I think the
37:53space that we've got is just right. Um, there's still room for us to expand if need be. Yeah, thumbs
38:01up for the house. I always knew it was a good house for them. And long may that continue.
38:08There's so much potential. Because it's a big garden, we could extend to the back, we could extend to the
38:12side, like we could do a loft conversion. Obviously, we need to win the lottery for some of it. But
38:18it's
38:19just nice to have that option there. Indeed it is. For now though, I'm happy, they're so happy,
38:26after six years of renting. We wouldn't have found this house without the help of Phil. Yeah. He was
38:32the third person that we needed to just tell us to get on it and that we'd found something good.
38:39And yeah, now, now we're settled. Yeah, definitely allowed us to move into that next chapter of our life.
38:47So yeah, big, big thank you. No thanks necessary. All part of a day's work. But it is nice to
38:54hear.
38:55I'm absolutely thrilled for these two. Here's to many more adventures in the home they've made.
39:04With Hayley and James, their offer on the Speen property was rejected. Six years on, I'm keen to
39:11see how they're settled. And it's not where we thought when we put in our offer. I think it must
39:17be fate that that didn't happen. And then you got this one for a bit cheaper. Absolutely.
39:31When I last saw Hayley and James, they'd been living happily in their new home for about a year and
39:37were starting to make some changes. But now another four years have passed. And I hear they put that
39:43time to very good use. Back in 2019, Hayley and James' offer on the Speen property was rejected. But a
39:52few
39:52months later, property one in Great Bedwin, which they'd felt was too expensive, came back on the market.
40:14The couple purchased it for £615,000, £110,000 below the original asking price. Since then,
40:23there have been a number of changes to the house and the household.
40:29Hello. You did have two dogs before. We did. We did have two dogs before.
40:35Sadly, beloved pooch Charlie passed away. But it wasn't too long before an opportunity to give
40:40Rosie a new playmate came along. We went on holiday and came back with Holly. So holiday
40:48souvenir, Holly. She was 12 weeks old, two and a half kilograms.
40:53Holly is clearly right at home. And what a home it is. Four years ago, the couple had added a
41:00porch
41:01and rejigged the downstairs. But there were larger plans brewing. When I first came back to see you,
41:07at that point, you were starting to move things around, but talk about extensions.
41:11Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's now you're standing in it. Yeah. So the house used to end where these doors are,
41:18that was decking. So this would have been decking before. You stood in our old garden.
41:21Quite a significant additional chunk of kitchen. And you built above as well. Double storey.
41:27Originally, we started with very small plans. And then, actually, when it came to costing things out,
41:33it's not that much more to go bigger, once you've actually got builders here.
41:39Yeah. Go big, they certainly did. The extension work created the sociable kitchen of James's dreams,
41:46and a utility room, and a downstairs office, in addition to the existing lounge.
41:53The garage has doubled in size. And upstairs, the principal bedroom has been extended,
41:59in place of an earlier plan to knock two rooms together. It wasn't all plain sailing, though.
42:06The build took 16 months longer than originally quoted, with a series of delays,
42:11and eventually a change of contractor. But with all the hard work behind them,
42:16the couple can finally enjoy the results. My space is here over by the oven,
42:22and Hayley's generally here with a glass of wine while I'm cooking. So it's perfect.
42:26Win and win. Yeah. Perfect. It really has opened it up spectacularly.
42:30We love the space now. We love what we've done right. Yeah.
42:33We super love the space, and I'm enjoying decorating all the space.
42:37Is the lounge colour six or seven in five years?
42:41You're joking. I find it quite therapeutic.
42:44So I'm sometimes away with work a few days, and I'll come back,
42:47and it's like, what's changed? It's a different colour. Yes.
42:49Although sometimes I don't notice it. I think, was it six, eight weeks?
42:53Yeah. Until you pointed out you painted the lounge while I was away.
42:57Can I see some more?
43:00Downstairs, new paint hasn't been the only upgrade to the lounge.
43:03The addition of folding doors has created a flexible space,
43:08airy in the summer, snug in the winter.
43:10Really nice. You've done a big job. Yeah, thank you.
43:14Yeah. The view was always, you know, when we first came,
43:17there were tears, weren't there, when we went into the garden?
43:19Probably, yeah. That's the beauty as well. We've kept the view with having this open.
43:24Yeah. Did my eyes deceive me, or was the garage good?
43:26It's doubled, so it's all ready for a little sports car,
43:31but we've been spending money on the house rather than on toys yet,
43:34so that's to come in the future. It'll come.
43:36You're just waiting for a little bit of midlife crisis.
43:38Exactly. You'll be away. Exactly.
43:40When I'm a little bit older.
43:42That's a few years away yet, I'd say.
43:45Meanwhile, I'm keen to see those upstairs changes.
43:49So it was always four bedrooms, wasn't it?
43:51Yes, it was always four bedrooms and still is four bedrooms now.
43:55You've made it a lot bigger.
43:57The principal bedroom has indeed been enlarged, creating storage for Hayley
44:02and a lot more room in general for six-foot-four James.
44:06And a Juliet balcony allows them to make the most of those incredible views.
44:12Elsewhere, there's an office and dressing room for the lady of the house
44:15and two bedrooms for visitors.
44:18And it doesn't stop there.
44:21Through here, we've got an en suite.
44:24Yeah.
44:25That, at the moment, is quite a tight en suite.
44:28So the plan is to push back and extend that en suite.
44:32More plans?
44:33Yeah, so the plan is to have a nice roll talk bath, look at over the view,
44:39and just, again, a bit more space.
44:42You'll keep tinkering forever.
44:43Yeah.
44:44It's looking fantastic.
44:47The tinkering has definitely paid off,
44:50as together they've tailored the house perfectly to their needs,
44:54soldiering on through lengthy renovations to get it just right.
44:58But clearly, we'll spy more alterations in the future.
45:02It genuinely is lovely to come and see that it all panned out.
45:06Yeah, absolutely.
45:07It really did massively work out for you both.
45:09It really has. We're super happy.
45:11Yeah, delighted.
45:12I can tell.
45:13Yeah.
45:14Right from day one, you were both really wanting to get involved in a community.
45:18And I remember coming here, and you can actually see the pub from the garden.
45:22And we've made some fantastic friends from people we've met in the pub
45:26that live in the village. It's a good communal meeting place.
45:29That's so nice.
45:30Yeah.
45:30Which is what this was all about.
45:33Yeah, absolutely.
45:33It's great.
45:34Many, many congratulations.
45:36Can I come back in another five years?
45:37Of course you can build a bit more.
45:39Yeah, absolutely.
45:39See what we've added to the house then.
45:41How many more paint colours?
45:41Yeah, it'll be different colours, that's for sure.
45:43For sure.
45:48What a pleasure to be back with Hayley and James,
45:51and to see what a terrific job they've done reimagining their home.
45:56And for Liam and Camilla too, they've worked so hard to create the perfect space
46:01to welcome baby Sloan.
46:03Both these couples, when they first came to us, owning their own home was but a dream.
46:08So it's brilliant to come back and see them actually living it.
46:20If you'd like help finding your next home, then we want to hear from you.
46:24You can apply online at channel4.com.
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