Exploring Victorian Cottages – Location Location Location – S18 EP14 – Real Estate TV

Join us in this exciting episode of Location Location Location as we follow two sets of first-time buyers on their house-hunting journey. Best friends Mike and Jamie are searching for a budget-friendly flat in East London, while newlyweds Carl and Liz are exploring charming properties in Hertfordshire. They face challenges, make compromises, and weigh their options in pursuit of their dream homes. Will they find the perfect properties that fit their criteria? Tune in to discover the twists and turns in their house-hunting adventure!

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Location, Location, Location takes you on a thrilling journey of house hunting and real estate adventures.

Join Phil Spencer & Kirstie Allsopp as they guide you through the world of interior design, home restoration, and house transformations. Discover inspiring locations, gain expert advice, and explore creative DIY projects for your dream home. Get ready for an exciting blend of house hunting, interior design inspiration, and valuable real estate insights.

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Banijay Home & Garden features the best shows on home renovation, gardening tips, and stunning landscaping projects. Explore our collection of full episodes from popular series like Location, Location, Location, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, and Portrait Artist of the Year. Join us on this exciting journey of transforming houses into dream homes and creating beautiful outdoor spaces.

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[Music] this week we’re catching up with two  sets of first-time buyers searching in a market   that was making us queasy when are we gonna get  off this roundabout Phil I’m getting a bit dizzy   our ship started on course I sold on the first one  but there was a Titanic disaster looming are you  

Struggling in front of why I feel so negatively  about it leaving us looking for the life raft   just rubbing some of my luck off on you oh  thank you very much so we had to try to turn   tragedy into trial hang on where’s the kitchen  it’s all a change this is stunning [Music]

This week we’re back visiting two very different  sets of house hunters newlyweds Carl and Liz had   left behind their hectic London lifestyle and were  looking for a marital home whereas best mates Mike   and Jamie were pulling their resources and trying  to buy in London to enjoy the city life sound  

Easy I wasn’t I was on the property hunt in pretty  Hertfordshire with its tranquility and easy access   to London it’s particularly enticing territory  to those on the march from the capital [Music]   and the County’s popular city of Saint  Albans was where loved up newlyweds Liz  

And Carl wanted to set up home they met in  2012 and a timely 12 months later they had wet   people say that you know when it’s right and  it’s all pretty quickly worked out that you   know this was this was the one it’s all been  um just if you dreamy really nightmare was  

Carl’s three-hour round trip to amersham where  he works in car leasing so eight months ago they   moved 40 miles north from their rental flat in  Greenwich to Saint Albans living here has halved   his commute while keeping Liz close enough to her  job in London as director of a military charity  

Having sensibly rented first to get a feel for  it they’re happy Saint Albans has a similar Buzz   to Greenwich are now very eager to buy now we’re  married settle down and now is the time to make   that decision as quickly as possible absolutely  find our first home together although they’re  

Now officially settled down this is not a forever  Nest just a three to five year home as they’re not   planning on swapping socializing for slippers just  yet we’d like to be near a nice Pub very important  

For Mr P and walking distance walking distance  of a nice Pub and ideally the house itself will   have enough space to entertain friends but other  than that they’re keeping their options wide open   there’s very little that we would rule out hmm  let’s see if I can’t coax a little Clarity out  

Of them it’s going to be much easier for you guys  if you’re clear about what the specifics are that   you want our preference would be for a house  that’s not to say if we saw the right apartment you’re trying to open it up  we almost want the character  

House with the open plan feel of  the modern modern flat [Music] it’s a British Phil thanks at least Liz and Carl  are clear that their top budget is 450 grams for   that they’d want a Tip-Top two-bed property with  some character Within customs with both amisham  

And London Liz in particular wants private outdoor  space and walking distance to a pub is important   to cut well that’s what I think they’re saying at  this point but I’m not convinced this is going to   be a straightforward search [Music] and while  I puzzled that out in some organs Kirsty was on  

A search of her own 30 miles away in the ever  expensive Big Smoke East London to be precise   trying to find basketballing best friends Jamie  and Mike a house to share a pretty tall order   Mike a post-doctoral researcher at University  College London and Jamie a social research account  

Manager met at Uni in Birmingham as London prices  skyrocketed combining salaries to find a joint   home in the capital was a slam dunk decision we  can just get so much more for our money putting  

Our hands together I think we just thought it was  a really good idea good idea in theory more and   more friends are buying this way but co-ownership  as Mates is a whole different ball game  

Oh so you haven’t ever lived together but I mean  I slept in this over for five weeks or so when I   first moved back to London we’ve been on holiday  together at share a bed for a week I got the  

Broken side of the bed what he means is he broke  the bed but we’re gonna have the most fun it’s   going to be really really good well with any good  partnership there’s always a little compromise   don’t I know it I really need space Mike’s got  160 odd pairs of sneakers any potential loft  

Or Center space I think you might need and  there is the compromise one has to make room   for the other one’s shoes naturally we’ve had a  terrible time trying to find a place so far it’s   still been fun even though we haven’t achieved  anything yet well I’m here to see that change  

Gents we are on an eel and Pie House and before  I open my pie hole too wide sum up what you’re   looking for and why you want it to be here we  picked East London mostly because it’s an area  

We’re familiar with we were looking for a kind of  a period property a three-bit house we would be   ideal obviously we only need two size of those  bedrooms I would say above size for me I know  

Mike’s got storage issues is the equal size of the  two rooms so we can both feel equal in the house   as we’re kind of co-owners rather than somebody  being the dominant alpha male of the house   quite difficult what’s the real under no  circumstances Factor I’ve got a thing for safety  

Um and that the general area  to stand up for a second right remind me how tall you are  I’m just under six foot three   who exactly do you think is going  to mess with you on the way home

Um this is the problem scared of the unknown  you don’t know what’s out there obviously we’re   gonna have visitors so kind of worrying about  the loved ones as well as as well as us hi [Music]   300 000 pounds they’d like a minimum  of two bedrooms preferably of equal  

Size they want a quick and easy commute  to work in central London Jamie would   like the area to feel safe and Mike  needs plenty of storage space [Music]   in Hertfordshire I’m starting the search  for Liz and Carl’s first marital home  

Their fairy tale romance is one thing but the  wicked witch that’s the property Market is quite   another close to London with an upbeat Vibe an  architectural charm Liz and Carl’s preferred   location of Saint Albans was named in a recent  survey as the third most expensive place to live  

In the UK outside of the capital and despite an  average property price of just over 450 000 up   18 in the last year homes here can sometimes sell  over a weekend so we need to get moving my first   property for the newlyweds is an early 1900s  Cottage in the very desirable Bernard’s Heath  

Conservation area of Saint Albans close to the  High Street hustle and bustle thereafter so bang   on location wise I really like the outside of  it I like the bay window yeah I like the street   top marks so far Pip this terraced Cottage offers  character and more space than they might imagine  

With two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs and  two separate living areas downstairs plus Liz’s   preferred private Garden they say they’re open  to anything would they be open to doing work it’s   been a rental property and there is some upgrading  required but that’s doable as it’s 25 Grand under  

Budget at 425 000 pounds I thought this was  going to be a lot worse condition than it is I   quite like it it feels nice and open obviously it  doesn’t have any furniture in it yet fun let’s see  

Some more there’s additional living space off the  kitchen in what was originally the bathroom wow   and if you’ve got planning permission there’s  potential to extend into the side return and   create a wonderful dining kitchen fantastic I  almost sold on the first one that’s fine early  

Lunch I’d hold off on asking for the menu just  yet pip in moving the bathroom from downstairs   to up compromises have been made especially  in the second bedroom what’s that all about   okay a ceiling window does bring extra  light but yes the spare room does not  

Have a lot of room to spare I wonder how big  it actually is [Music] this is a great house   for them it gets them where they want to be  in Saint Albans The Stumbling bottle has to   be the size of the second bedroom and whether  that’s sufficient how did you get on upstairs

Silence it wasn’t that bad was it no at the second  bedroom I I thought that needs a little bit more   thought whether that would work I mean that really  is small what you get in return is the bathroom  

Being upstairs and you’ve got the extra living  space or dining room yeah and a sunny Garden just   today I’m sensing a possible maybe Phil I like  it ready for the next one yep yes come on then   moving on hmm given this pair said they wouldn’t  rule anything out I suspect everything could be  

A possible maybe unless we manage to focus their  search we I’m afraid that’s up to you Mr Spencer   and it’s up to you to find somewhere slamming  but best mate Jamie and Mike in East London   the first property I’m taking them to is less  than a 10 minute walk from leytonstone station  

So right in the heart of one of their favorite  areas would you feel safe walking down the street   late at night zero issues with the streets  and more importantly would you feel that your   government or sisters might be safer I think  they would actually approve really um that’s  

Good well that’s the loved ones on board now just  the small matter of selling it to the boys [Music]   this Victorian Terrace has the two large bedrooms  thereafter the kitchen and living spaces ample but   not massive but that’s the trade-off for its prime  location and amazing views over one stood Flats  

We’re first to get a viewing on the  market yet but the guide is 275 to 285   000 pounds well within the boys 300 Grand budget  there’s two huge advantages to this flat the road  

And the Outlook yeah that is one stud Flats that’s  the dream isn’t it yeah it is so we’re in the area   you like it’s about getting out the house quickly  to get to work being near the basketball hoops  

Which are down the road having a fridge big enough  to hold the beers yeah guess what from day to day   uh day to Lifestyle yeah they would be like that  yeah but my work is done here James we’ll take it  

Looks like we both may have nailed it in  our first properties Kirsty hang on it’s   not in the bag yet Phil Jamie’s looking  uncertain no I’m I’m trying to think of it   um as we would have it can you imagine  yourselves having a dinner party  

Okay look at it that was a stupid  question I can’t even believe I asked I think this would be really really lovely if  we were a loving couple and if you had like one  

Nice soap you’d like to cuddle up on with the  TV I think this place is a little on the small   side for our basketballing brothers in arms let’s  hope they find the space they want in the bedrooms  

And a frankly enormous master bedroom wow yeah  this is um quite silly in its size it’s huge   breath what are you thinking I agree with  James I think it does seem like maybe it’s  

Because the way it’s laid out and in fact it is  a small family home it does seem more like for a   couple go and have a lot of the lawsuit around  you haven’t looked at that second boat [Music]   and a great flat but Jamie has his concerns  

I think this room like someone’s  gonna be living in luxury   that’s the problem kirsty’s got here friends  search requirements are very different to couples   equality is key and equal sized bedrooms well  that’s a tough thing to find it doesn’t look like  

Location is going to win out over space these big  Lads need more room and I need to find it [Music] we’re catching up with two sets of first  -time buyers who were searching in pretty   pricey postcodes big buddies Mike  and Jamie were clubbing together  

To get their feet on the property  ladder in the East End of London and newlyweds Carl and Liz were desperate to buy  their first marital home in the popular commuter   city of Saint Albans my first property in their  preferred area was well received by Carl and  

Liz in many ways wow but a search narrowed to  sought after Saint Albans means paying a high   price for sizable compromises so I’m planning on  broadening their Horizons they’re open to both   location and style but for my second property  I’m testing them geographically and swapping  

Hertfordshire for buckinghamshire and its pretty  Market town of chesham it’s very convenient for   Carl’s work and there’s a tube link to Central  London for Liz here they can get a lot more for   their money the average property price is around  100 grand less than instant Albans and another  

Bonus is that the straight talking kirsty’s  joining us first thoughts about where we are   I have absolutely no idea where we are in  relation to London but other than that very   excited to be here if it was a little Village  Green and there was a nice little Pub here I  

Might feel a little bit different if it does feel  a little bit out of it let’s have a look after you have you got a good handle on this search Phil  I’m sure you’ll help me get a grip if I don’t  

Carl may have a change of heart once he sees they  get 200 square feet more here than instant Albans   two equal sized bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs  plus if their priorities were to shift Focus to   a family there’s potential to convert The Loft  dance tests the proportions are equally generous  

And stylish with the decked area outside that  leads to a communal garden and it offers over 350   000 pounds it should come in well under  budget you get this all of this for 350. yeah that’s more interesting when you say that but  

Would we really miss that walking out the front  door walking down to the pub that we have now well   the price might be right but he really does  want to be close to a cold pint but I don’t  

Think you get to decide on a house based on that  hopefully a bit of time with Liz will help us get   to the bottom of what they really need from a  home promise me you’ll tread softly baby steps  

Obviously Phil starting with Liz’s thoughts on  the outside space is quite overlooked I think nude   some I think probably wouldn’t be on the cards  yeah well that is disappointing naturally but   um it’s a lovely lovely decking area and don’t  forget the communal Garden it’s great from a  

Family perspective I see what you did there and  is this planning to be a family house well I   think we wouldn’t rule anything out but it’s not  on the card sort of immediately immediate or not  

You don’t want the deck stacked against you in  terms of house size a forced move in a few years   could cost Liz and Carl around 25 000 pounds so  the longer they can stay somewhere the better  

I hope you’re making that clear upstairs Phil just  about to play my hand you’ve got the option to go   up into the Loft right so in terms of longevity  yeah this house really could grow with you you’re  

Right this house would enable us to be able to  stay longer if our lifestyle changed in the future   they really aren’t ruling anything out spouse  area future pans that’s a nice room well I’m   trying to get him to think longer term but I don’t  know if I’m really succeeded it’s difficult to  

Plan for the future I mean you know none of us  know what the future holds is it better now to   buy something like this which is the budget is  very attractive and know that if things change  

Would you stay here tough discussions upstairs  but in the garden it’s time for pip to own up   that he agrees with my way of thinking  you’ve always thought that people didn’t   focus enough on when they were having  kids now you’ve finally had to admit it  

For years you have I felt like that all the time  I’ve ever known you I’ve just been hiding it   right now you’ve outed me of course not everyone  has to think the way I do but it is our duty to  

Point out the pitfalls of a short-term buy how  you two getting on moved in yet not quite it’s   definitely an option it’s very difficult because  there’s a lot of stuff within this conversation   that’s none of our business yeah I don’t often  say that I’m absolutely gobsmackcasting this  

Is definitely food for thought if you ask me  you’ve got a banquet of a chat coming on and   if their priorities change will it be feast  or famine for the rest of our search [Music]   back with the boys in London it’s time for me to  give Kirsty a helping hand the second property  

For Jamie and Mike is in East Ham an area they  have tried searching before but with no luck   how are you feeling about the position of it  it’s about a 15 minute walk to either of the  

Train stations I think that’s fine yeah okay good  news it may not be as close to transport or trendy   bars but unlike property one space won’t be an  issue here there are three double bedrooms and   a large open plan living dining area with the  kitchen at the back plus a south facing Garden  

All that bang on budget at 300 000 pounds  well done Kirsty so straight into the front   room it’s about space first thoughts so  far it’s really big this is like one of   the nicest places I’ve seen yeah maybe the  trade of his location and we didn’t realize  

How little people wanted to come this far  away from the tube got it in one Jamie   well he goes straight to the top of kirsty’s  house hunting class load space for a dining   table I know they give lots of dinner parties  to the lads you’ve got the space to do things  

Together do things apart have different friends  over room for a baby yeah what should we call it be a little cursed imagine one big happy  family let’s see if the smiles continue   in the garden it’s good it’s low maintenance  you could have barbecues and stuff out here  

Um you’ve both seem very positive about it yeah  yeah I was giving myself up for it being not as   nice inside basically a lot more basic kind of  a disheveled student house I guess let’s go and  

See some more how about that both boys liking it  so far space seems to be their selling point well   they are 12 foot six if you join them together  bedroom one I think what’s really interesting  

About this place when you’ve got so much house the  size of room is isn’t that not as important I’m   continually surprised by this Liz the last he’s a  model student can I get a Jamie every week please   is Mike as happy as Jamie is yes absolutely  thrilled thrilled okay well I think it’s  

Absolutely inspired property sir  okay I’m gonna do something quickly I’m just rubbing some of my luck off on  you oh thank you very much I might need it   I appreciated Kirsty though nobody likes a  show-off as same as the other is it’s massive  

You’re right Phil and although this place gives  them everything they want I’ve got a feeling   something’s worrying Mike I’m really struggling  to find out why why I feel so negatively about   it because it’s really nothing there’s nothing  wrong with it yeah odd indeed what is going on  

I think it’s maybe the first time we disagreed  yeah oh no well I’m I’m enthusiastic about most   things so I can see um the positive  aspects and I thought for Mike the   size would overrule everything um apparently  not right so I mean I really like the house  

Um the space is amazing but I think the overall  commute from here would be much longer than   it would be from the the flat that we saw in  leytonstone the thing is this in Leighton Stone it  

Would be at 340 or 350. maybe you should have kept  some of that luck for yourself hey Kirsten’s shame   obviously size matters but for  Mike not as much as the commute   back into Albans it seems odd gentle prodding  about any future family aims has really hit  

Home with Liz and Carl I think what we’re  probably coming to the conclusion is that   that family plan is very very likely to be the  plan that means thinking about how they’d manage anything around the 400 would be yeah down just  just under 400 would start to make things easier  

To plan yeah I think that is very very sensible  but it does um throw some fairly large challenges   into my search given that I’ve got an absolute  Blinder to show you in some organs at 450 000.

All laughing aside it’s a whole new search and  the properties we’ve seen so far don’t work for   it and with 50 grand less to spend they still want  the same kind of house at least two beds character  

And outside space so after a phoning frenzy the  only thing I can do is push them out further   for our third property we’re heading half an hour  from Saint Albans to tring there’s a mini Saint   Albans vibe to this Market town which should  definitely appeal and living here would mean a  

20-minute drive to work for Carl and a 40-minute  train ride to London for Liz I found them an end   of Terrace Victorian Cottage in the sought after  tring triangle Conservation Area a mere stone’s   throw from the Hay Street hustle and bustle  they love didn’t I do well it’s not about you  

Phil it’s not about you it is I think a really  very pretty Cottage Impressions it looks amazing   yeah looks lovely just back on the market for  a day after a sale fell through this house may   well surprise with three bedrooms upstairs kitchen  and living on street level and a converted cellar  

This is not your ordinary two up two down  Victorian Terrace this is a Phil Spencer three   up two down and two down again Terrace I like the  way you’re selling it kirstals the asking price is   just under four hundred thousand the very top of  their new budget small but perfectly formed yeah I  

Like it really lovely the Stalin finish throughout  is likely to be right up Liz and Carl’s Street sick added another layer isn’t it three  bedrooms is a major bonus although   they’re not huge and Liz does like plenty  of wardrobe space if it didn’t have those  

Vote then we’d be in a different block but  the fact that it’s got one that could actually   have someone staying in and still have the  other one with dressing room space the house   is offering quite a lot and they’ve not even  seen the bonus in the basement yet have a look  

Downstairs two rooms see what you could do with  them one of them could be a wonderful playroom and like me Phil the property is actually being  marketed as having three to four bedrooms because   of the seller conversion down there is a  good size utility room oh fantastic and  

Wait there’s more oh wow gosh and an extra  Arthur this is where they’ve got their TV Carl and Liz are making all the  right noises absolute shocker for   my properties that they produced the  budget but at least they finally had  

The conversation about whether or not a  family is part of the plan you seem quite   positive yeah quite open-minded too yes it’s  lovely it is it’s a lovely house and I think   I found it quite surprising going downstairs  because I wasn’t expecting it to a be as big  

Or as well developed or offer us as much as it  does they seem infused but with such a radical   reduction in budget I hope this property  offers enough to bring my search to an end this week we’re back with two sets of house  hunters yearning to buy their first homes  

Friends Jamie and Mike needed a first time flat  in East London for 300 Grand a newlyweds Carl and   Liz had reduced their budget to 400 grand for  their future-proofed property in Hertfordshire   but the housing market in these sought  after southerly spots was making our  

Head spin when are we gonna get off this  roundabout though I’m getting a bit dizzy   two properties in and best buds Jamie and  Mike are struggling with what it is they want   I’ve got one more property to put  into play a house in Upton Park  

I’ve addressed Mike’s commuting concerns  this one’s a mere 500 yards from the tube   but it’s in an area they are not that familiar  with positive about the street oh no I do I’m more  

Drawn to this street than the last one for sure  and the last one was nice so okay good start and   this Victorian Terrace is Big with three bedrooms  two reception rooms and a modern kitchen [Music]   added bonus of a converted Loft and outside  space too it’s on the market at 285 000  

Pounds 15 grand under budget so and we come  so a little bit smaller than the last house   but there’s a room in the Attic but essentially  it’s it’s a three bed with two bathrooms sold yeah   take two no yeah it’s amazing yeah I’m walking  so far today they started positively but Mike  

Ended up changing his mind I just hope we don’t  have the same result today so nice bathroom yeah   again it’s great it’s great it’s all just super  super positive positive yeah really positive even   Mike yeah sensible mic yes I won’t have that Jamie  I don’t call him negative Mike he is not negative  

He is just a bit different different no no I  really like it yeah I’m waiting for the butt trust   me Phil there won’t be a butt master bedroom yeah  I’m surprised I’m worried about the second room  

If we get through that then we are all in yeah  see if you can find the downside to this house   come back and tell me what you think okay  now that’s the look of a Confident Woman  

So I think I’d be happy if both of them  like this big and having this one as a yeah   but yeah it keeps winning yeah stay away stay  winning up some Park yeah as I hoped living  

Space tick bedrooms tick and they’ve not seen all  of it yet wow that didn’t expect this either this   is perfect I think yeah I was um a bit confused  obviously not sure if I knew what I actually  

Wanted from my house but I think this might be  it I really hope so but I’m not letting it go   to my head they’ve been this positive before  what do you want to do now um have it yeah  

Yeah right we’d like to have it now please I’m  duffing my capture you Kirsty you seem to have   found a perfect fit for this towering twosome  over in Hertfordshire newlyweds Liz and Carl   have fallen for tring and want to revisit the  Charming end of Terrace property there looks good  

Still yep still look good having changed their  criteria halfway through the search it’s doubly   important on this second viewing that Liz and Carl  can be confident it’s a home they could choose to   expand into there’s the basic size already here  with the downstairs to really think about doing  

Something I’m so glad they can see what this house  offers with its Upstairs Downstairs configuration   I think this one is slightly wider but obviously  it’s got the chimney breath really I think Captain   Spencer’s got his ship on course this time  let’s hope so first mate allsop Liz and Carl  

Have fallen for the house and are Keen to make  an offer we need to be quick it’s only been on   the market for 24 hours but they’ve already had  several viewings in our favor is the fact that   the vendors are in a chain and their previous  sale has fallen through so they’re slightly  

Between a rock and roll place because they need  a buyer quickly and a good one however interest   is mounting you know they’re seeing people come  through the door so I don’t come I don’t think   it’s going to be a steal the asking price is  400 Grand bang on their revised budget amount  

But Carl and Liz want to do some bargaining I’d  have to sort of have a think about the value for   money we’re getting coming out here if we start to  start this with a four 319 I think let’s go for it

Uh Caroline it’s Phil Spencer but they  would be willing to pay the 390. yes   okay understood thanks Caroline bye bye if I  was a better man I would put money on she’ll   ring back and say they want 395 you’ll  have to do better thank you right drink

All we can do is wait over in East London the  boys have also made a decision about the three   better in Upton Park let’s make that cool Adam  it’s cursed he’ll stop um that property is on an  

Office over 285. what is your clan wanting  to get for it but after chatting with the   agent things aren’t as straightforward as I’d  hoped there are 21 appointments booked in for   Saturday for different people to look around the  house but he did say I think 290 is her figure

But just as we’re settling on how much  to offer the agent calls me back hello yes right okay bye good news bad news the bad news is  that it’s a higher figure than we   thought okay the good news is that she has  said she will cancel the viewings for 295.

Okay are they willing to meet that  price it’s a big decision for the boys I would probably like to split the  values and going at 292 and a half what do you think your client would say if  I said we should go to 292 500. yep [Music]

Looks like they’re holding out for the 295. P2 agree a sale at 295 000 bye that is yours perfect I can’t  really toast with cake and some   half eaten shortbread I think you absolutely  can celebrating the person has with edible  

Glitter that’s what I like to see now that’s  called having your cake and eating it result entering as predicted the vendors have  refused 390. so if Carl and Liz want to   stop the raft of second viewings from other  interested parties they’re going to have to  

Bid more okay let’s push it to 395 but we’d  like washing machine kitchen fridge freezer   you know as much of that as we could get  it yes please good decision well made our best and final offer of 395 000 pounds  is going in and we don’t have to wait long  

Do we have a deal that’s fantastic bye-bye  you have bought a house excellent yay well   done well done thank you congratulations thanks  very much your house front is officially over   yay the twists and turns were all worth it  in the end it’s a great result for Liz and  

Carl fabulous well it’s very exciting yes  medical work relations thank you thank you six weeks on Jamie and Mike are moving towards  completion and are massively relieved to have   found their first London pad before I went  with Kirsty how something was getting kind  

Of more and more unbearable and we’re slowly  moving further and further out of where we   wanted to be when they do move in Jaime  will get the master bed and Mike the two   smaller bedrooms it was kind of suggested by  Kirsty I guess it’s a really good idea [Music]

I guess she’s a good mix of kind  of tough love and good advice   I couldn’t have put it better myself [Music]  for Carl and Liz the move to tring is likely   to happen within a month currently we’re sort of  you know preparing to move now start beginning to  

Pack things up the exchange in a week’s time and  can’t wait to make the house their home in fact   it’s all we talk about it doesn’t have been  more interested in paint so interesting we’re   also looking at exciting things like boilers uh  so it’s not all it’s not all glamor the llama’s  

Overrated Carl to have Phil and Kirsty involved  in the search was good fun there’s a slightly sort   of relaxing side to spending less money than you  have to meaning that you know we’ve got you know  

More options for the future it brought in that  expertise at a time when you know it was perfect   it’s been such a gift really and as a long-term  home hopefully a gift that will keep on giving a year and a half after Kirsty and I helped  basketballing buddies Mike and Jamie they’re  

Loving their new up and coming area of  Upton Park and owning their first ever   London path together [Music] I took a long  time to buy them a little older than Jamie   um I think I was a bit scared of the big Financial  commitment but actually it’s not as big a deal  

As you think it’s going to be before you do it  it’s probably quite a big commitment there yeah but having fallen in love with the house they’ve  both truly committed to making it fantastic   spent six months turning Decor that wasn’t totally  to their taste into totally tasteful when we first  

Got the keys the big moment of we’ve got a house  was a bit like we’ve got that’s disgusting I guess   it inspired us to do things a little quicker than  we might have if um it had been just nicer but it  

Was it wasn’t too bad it’s not a lot of work and  a lot of time Mike’s being nice it was horrible   the boys painstakingly painted every room  themselves and sanded all the floorboards which   didn’t go that smoothly sanding the floor took  ages we kind of cut a bit of cost and she’s got  

Hand sanders it looks great so I’m actually I’m  not too sad about that lesson learned though Jamie   the biggest transformation is the  kitchen which they played a huge   part in making look this swish but  that wasn’t all plain sailing either

Mike actually ripped out the whole kitchen and  and tossed it away which is something that I   couldn’t do because you were a bit stronger but  um I actually tiled the floor in the kitchen   which Mike was adamant that we were going to  do we didn’t have a kitchen for good solid four  

Months I don’t think seven eight months it was  um we ate takeaway for a few of eight months I   think I tried every takeaway in the area that’s  quite a sad I didn’t think about it so still not  

Throwing dinner parties lads and there was a  slight hiccup with the furniture buying too we   haven’t disagreed on anything apart from the sofas  um which was which was really really tricky when   we were going around safer buying we me and James  would see people with tape measures and things why  

Am I measuring the sofa sofas are so precise yeah  and it turns out no they’re not they vary quite a   lot so we actually got kind of a three-piece set  with um a poof uh which didn’t fit in the room  

So we spread it out across two rooms they’ve  also managed to squeeze in Mike’s humongous   trainer collection the work cost the boys nearly  eight grand but the average house price here has   increased a staggering 22 since they bought  the flat which would add a whopping 65 Grand  

To the value if they sold it today so these Lads  seem to be on the ball when it comes to making   money and they’re even renting out their third  bedroom to cover their renovation costs once the  

Money’s all been added to our joint accounts um  we obviously there’s a bit of a surplus sometimes   what’s quite nice is that we obviously have that  card and if we’re going to dinner romantic meals   if we’re in the pub and buying drinks um  we can use that we probably do that a bit  

Too much sometimes everything really has paid  off for Mike and Jamie we definitely wouldn’t   be where we are right now with that Kirsty  quite the pin up is all’s up living together   has been really uh it’s been really good yeah you  definitely spend more time with each other yeah

No yeah it’s so awkward glad to  have made you closer Lads and   in a home that you’ve made your  own and seems super settled in I can only hope that a year and a bit on Liz and  Carl have the fairy tale ending that they longed  

For I’m back finding out how some of our house  moves have panned out I’m with Mike and Jamie   loving life in East London I want to see if the  same can be said of Carl and Liz in trim [Music]  

It’s been almost 18 months since I helped  carliners they were perfectly happy with it but   after just a short time of living here decided  that it actually had loads more potential and   got stuck into a big project so I’ve come  back to see how it all turned out [Music]

Good to see you hi thanks come on in hang on  where’s the kitchen this is a bit different we   decided we didn’t need one yeah it’s all changed  it really has it’s almost unrecognizable Carl and   Liz have removed the wall which once sectioned  off the kitchen and by redecorating have created  

A super stylish open living space the longer we  lived in here the more obvious it became there   was a lot of potential that we just couldn’t  stand by and not use really so good for you   yeah a bit more space space entertaining this is  stunning but what have you done with the kitchen

Says in what used to be a dark utility  room and small separate sitting area   Liz and Carl have removed yet another wall  creating this breathtaking kitchen Diner   whoa wow wow oh my word you have been hard at  work really really smart you have transformed  

It thank you it’s a good party kitchen the  use of white their signature style along   with clever lighting has made this space  bright and welcoming how long did it take   um probably from the builders moving into moving  out I think about three months best part of three  

Months and meanwhile you were living upstairs in  two bedrooms with a microwave and how was it a   few times very unglamorous yeah but well worth it  my favorite room I spend all my time down there I   love it it has completely burned me away because  I remembered the house there were compromises  

On the size and now it’s all usable space so  we’re really pleased it looks quite expensive   how much did you spend about 35 okay 35  to move the kitchen down here yeah yeah   but we’ve done a little bit more as well  upstairs okay can I see let’s have a look

Upstairs thanks to a lick of paint the simple  Elegance continues in all three bedrooms   but the Masters had a more dramatic change What’s  Happening Here well this is the first thing we did   and remember the bed used to go this way so we’ve  taken that chimney breast out just so we can make  

This a bit more conventional yeah remember again  much more usable space yeah it feels a lot bigger   yeah it does these two didn’t make my job Easy  by slashing their budget by 50 Grand during our  

Search but with that money in their pot they were  able to make this place work perfectly for them   did you manage to get stuck in at all a lot of  painting I think we’ve underestimated quite how  

Much painting it was to do and yeah maybe  we in hindsight we might not have done that   work ourselves working on your own home it would  have been that’s a kind of bonding things that’s   special yeah yeah definitely feel like go on  call it is it is oh yes I think the Romantic  

Image of first sort of painting disappears after  the first week of painting but yeah it’s nice it’s   satisfying when it’s done it was about future  proofing wasn’t it that was what I remember   Kirsty talking at some length about plenty of  space for anything that might happen fantastic  

That’ll be music to kirsty’s ears and there’s  more good news since doing the work the house   has been valued at 500 000 pounds an amazing  105 Grand more than they forked out for it   we’ve done a fantastic job we’ve nailed it we’re  pleased yeah it’s cozy it’s lovely it’s our house  

Not only king and queen of their transformed  Castle tring has got the seal of approval too   and there’s one place in particular to thank  for that yes please cheers Rob that tanker I   see being used yeah absolutely yes essentially you  have your own Tankard behind the cabal it shows  

That you’re really one of the regulars one of the  locals in fact I’ve got one for you as well Phil I like this place already yeah that’s very kind  of you thank you it was quite an important part   of the search wasn’t it absolutely and I  didn’t actually realize how important it  

Was until we sort of found this Pub release I’m  delighted Liz and Carl have settled in so well   I bet you spent an increasing amount of time  here while the work was being done down the  

Road yeah a few a few meals had down here and  a few drinks yeah good to come here and have a   few drinks and then go home to the house yeah  it’s a bit easier to take yeah all the dust  

And the painting yeah certainly well good for  you because you bit the bullet we’re ready for   whatever the future might bring yeah whatever that  is terrific result though many congratulations   it’s a long-term home not a bad point cheers Liz  and Carl have done an absolutely superb job at  

Unlocking the potential of their home and by  joining forces Mike and Jamie have also been   able to use double the manpower to create their  perfect house it may have been a Dusty few months   all around but there’s no doubt their vision  and hard work has paid off thank you [Music]