UK Landlord Forum / Life

Property 1 - Balcombe



Financial advisor Mark Fairall and his wife Linda think they can turn property development into a family business with their teenage children Ben & Hannah, with the profits being used to fund the children through university. But they're taking a major risk by re-mortgaging their family home to buy an ugly 1960's property...




Property 2 - Hertford



Mature art student Karen reckons this tiny Victorian cottage will prove the perfect "gap year" project for her 18 year old son Ben. Karen is keen to stamp the property with her own artistic vision, but the last thing Ben wants is to see his university fund disappear in a creative flight of fancy.




Right, for those who saw it...spill the beans...

How were the developers? How did they finish? Did they make you want to rip your eyes out with a blunt spoon, or were they a ray of sunshine?

- The house was horrible!! Horrible! I thought the finish was average at best and the design of the house was ridiculous.
- wtf was that garage about? The decison to keep that tiny garage in the centre of the property confused me so much.
- they definately needed an entrance door in the kitchen.
- the tiles on the house...gross!!
- the colour of the garage door? Talk about wild, wild west.
- the only good thing I found about this development was that they pretty much stuck to their budget.
- having just said that they stuck to their budget as a positive, I feel their tightness was also a downfall. They skimmed on so many essentials, like sorting out the garage. And I can't believe they were opting for a cheap laminate work surface in the kitchen. Thank god Beeny sorted them out on that decision.
- the only reason this property made money was because of the rising market. They shouldn't take any credit, that's for sure.
- I cannot believe they sold the property for 500k. Unbelievable. That was a prime example of how properties really are overpriced.
- anyone else find the kids a little annoying?
- in a cooling market, I don't think they'd make a dime. They were with in the large group of people that were fortunate by the rising market.



The 2nd Property they tried to develop



- as highlighted in the first development, it was obvious this family weren't destined to develop. They made the mother of all mistakes by buying a 2nd property with the intentions of extending WITHOUT planning permission. IDIOTS. Converting a bungalow into a 3 story house- what did they expect?
- I think this family got too greedy.
- the gold finishing..hahaha! I don't think I need to elaborate. Talk about cheap and tacky!
- the actual bungalow was pretty nice, but again, I don't think it was down to them. All they did was add a small extension and do the place up.
- can't believe they made 50k on that property. Personally, I think Beeny was right when she said, "Lady luck is seriously on your side"
- overall, what a mess of a development. Once again, it's proved that anyone can make a profit in a thriving market.
- did anyone else notice that for this particular property, Beeny said, "they stand to make a before tax profit 58k"? I've never heard the tax disclaimer before. I thought that was odd.
- It came across as though the kids were made to help on the development while all their friends were enjoying their summer. That seemed a bit harsh.

- Ben was such a lazy little shit. On one hand, he's a typical kid and I actually thought he came across as quite funny. But on the other hand, his mum was doing this project for him so he could get through University with a bit cash. You'd think he'd try a little harder. But I guess he did towards the end.
- the way the woman continually tried to design the property around her own abstract taste was pretty annoying! Thank God she snapped out of it. I kept wanting Sarah to slap some sense into her. I really didn't like it when the lady started sulking when Sarah told her to not let her own artistic taste get too involved with the property. Having said that, the lady was really sweet, just a bit naive when it came to development.
- the end finish was wicked, taking into consideration that the property was so small. They really did do a good job.
- pretty weird how they got an evaluation of 215k, but someone offered 240k. Good for them.




It's pretty apparent that personality goes a long way in these kind of shows. I always want the nice people to do well. I mean, this pair were heading to make a few mistakes, and in normal circumstances it would have irritated the fuck out of me. But because they came across in a certain manner, I just wanted them to see it through and make a profit.

I didnt actually mind the first couple ... it was just there kids ( Sorrrrrrrrrrrrrrry Ben & Hannah if you find this !  )
I was  went it showed them going back to school .... I mean they have to go to college first ! and then Uni ... talk about plan ahead ... but then again they are just that 'type' of family.
You could just tell Hannah was going off to study Political Communications ... I so made that up but yeh.
Pushing aside the bitchiness .

Its like faggi said .... if it wasnt for the market , they wouldnt of made alot . I think the standard was ok .... but not for the type of house ... especially with the 2nd house , and they did do some stupid things, like having no back door .... and the garage ... the cladding ..... the table of fish ... ok , so they did alot wrong .

But you could tell they enjoyed it .... but I think they thought there 83k profit was from there hard work .

It wasnt. Sorry !

They'd of made an ok profit in a normal market .... but the type of family they are they wouldnt be pleased with it ... and they definately wouldnt of done a second property . . . they odv saw the pound signs .

The bungalow... i'm guessing was sold to an older couple .... which is good because it was there gone wrong target market in away . But like sarah beeny said .... modern bungalows go for alot more.
They could of really gone for it ... and made quite abit more .
The kids odviously didnt have a say in the decor .... unless they like gold , gold and more tacky gold .... but then again ... the girl did have a pink fluffy phone ........................................

Anyways .... they did OK .

The girl was so annoying. My God. You can tell she's in the school Choir.

oh no .... definately the school commity ... and the choir ...

I was actually getting scared that Id look like her on TV .. if I ever went on Sarah Beeny .......... not that I would .

haha on sarah beeny .. what am I talking about .... I mean PROPERTY LADDER !

What did you think about the other development?

I actually quite liked the second pair ...
The mum was abit arty farty hah I say that .. but Ive done art .. but I think it depends on if you can actually draw or not  .. if you cant you end up loving abstract ... ANYWAY ....

and her son was just lazyyyyy , but he didnt pick the house .. and it seemed like she decided thats how he was getting his Uni money and that was the end of it . Because she wanted to do it that way.

I was abit scared at first , thinking she was going to make a nice little cottage into something its not ... so I was suprised at the end when it was in keeping with the house.. except for the bathroom maybe .

I dont really have much to say about these two , I think they did what they set out to do .. and learnt along the way .
It was refreshing to see ... but not as entertaining .

Yeah, I agree. They got the job done and the finish was decent. They were a rare success on Property Ladder. They listened to Beeny about moving the bathroom upstairs. I don't think they did anything major wrong.

I liked it when Beeny got busy and started helping with the electrics 

haha yeh ... my boyfriend also like that part .

I have a downstairs bathroom  .... Im sure she'd also tell me to put it upstairs.........
But it is off the dining room .... so least its not at the end of the kitchen .. right ?

Move it upstairs and make a nice big kitchen/dinner

no sarah haha

I have a budget to stick too ... and my bathroom is half done ....

It sounds so crap haha But I really do know what Im doing .

It makes sense in my head . 

My god i dont know how long ago that eposode came out but i only watched it yesterday and my god me and my mum were just sat there frowning at the tv. that girl!! hannah was her name? god damn, i wanted to smack her down just to shut her up. she looked about 10 and acted about 30. i agree, definatly a choir girl! (cnt spell lol!)

on another note i think that the position they put the garage in was definatly .. diffrent, i thought it isnt often you see a garrage int he middle of the house and to be honest it wouldnt bother me, however you shouldnt be thinking about yourself and what you think looks good, its about how others will percieve the house and what they will think of it. people want a blank canvas neutral colours they can work with and not alot of work.

on the good side of things i think the decor inside was very nice, they did a good job there.
jenny x   

Quote from: jennykiss69 on December 12, 2007, 01:43:10 PM
My god i dont know how long ago that eposode came out but i only watched it yesterday and my god me and my mum were just sat there frowning at the tv. that girl!! hannah was her name? god damn, i wanted to smack her down just to shut her up. she looked about 10 and acted about 30. i agree, definatly a choir girl! (cnt spell lol!)

on another note i think that the position they put the garage in was definatly .. diffrent, i thought it isnt often you see a garrage int he middle of the house and to be honest it wouldnt bother me, however you shouldnt be thinking about yourself and what you think looks good, its about how others will percieve the house and what they will think of it. people want a blank canvas neutral colours they can work with and not alot of work.

on the good side of things i think the decor inside was very nice, they did a good job there.
jenny x   

Hey jenny. Welcome!

Yeah, I watched it for the first time yesterday. I think that girl got on most peoples nerves. I was waiting for Beeny to kick her in the face, or something to that affect. And you hit the nail on the head, she was trying to act a lot older than she actually is. What a little brat. I'd like to see her on Brat camp now I think about it, just for being so snotty.

I should feel bad for ridiculing her because she is only 10 (or something)...but I don't feel bad.

It wasn't so much the position of the garage which was bad (although it was a bad design) it was more the size of the garage that annoyed me. it was so impractical, and Beeny demonstrated that by trying to park cars into it. Yet they still decided to keep it. It can't even be classed as a garage, it's more of a storage unit, which is a complete waste.

Hiya Jenny

haha Im glad you agree about that ANNOYING girl . It was weird how she was the mediator of the family ... she always had to say something to sum it all up . It was strangey strange .


I guess some people really wouldnt mind about the garage but for the price they where asking ... people do tend to be more picky and want what they want and more and a garage in a normal place isnt much to want !
Also the kind of person that could afford a house that price would normally have a nice-ish car ... so I think it would be important to them that it was a good size and to the side of the house , probably off the kitchen .

I agree, Feefee!

If someone is going to pay 500k for a property, the odds are the family would have a nice, big car. That "storage unit" would have been useless.

I googled "Hannah Property Ladder".

If we're bitching about that little brat, I was certain other people would be...

Digitalspy forum:

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=20038610

Post:

Quotetonight is going to be a good one. hold onto your seats its a revisit to that one with the strange family including that brat haha.

haha, how funny!

More comments towards sweet little Hannah:

QuoteHoly cow, I want to climb in the tv and chin that child!

QuoteLMAO sarahs facial expressions at that little girl, she looks like shes about to kill her (i dont blame her)

QuoteHannah, the daughter from hell!

QuoteWhat an obnoxious girl!

This comment was also entertaining (drifting away from hannah for a sec...but only a sec):

QuoteAnyone else get really annoyed when these people end up making a profit?

Or is it just me?

Responses:

QuoteI'm usually pleased for them but when you can't stand the family it's gutting that they made all that money for the brats' uni fees

QuoteI was willing them to fail.

Hi Jenny, and welcome, how youuuu doooin, lol, ok i only just got the last bit of last night, but i remember the young girl from an episode before, in that one she was the boss of the house, weak parents i think.
But hey,
Anyway i am sure she will be looking down on us all when she is making millions from property, what do you think.


Love and peace sorry more love always