Location, Location ,Location

[JediJim]

Been watching Phil and Kirstie on LLL over the years and have to wonder what the point of it is. Yes ,it’s easy watching and you get to see some property porn, but surely if the house hunters themselves don’t know what they want, how can Phil and Kirstie find it?
Typical episode -Tom and Helen want a three or maybe four bed in the suburbs. They have two year old Hettie and now have baby number two on the way. It needs to be near a good school and a short distance from the train station. Tom is an IT manger, while Helen works from home.They have a healthy budget of £550 k but could go higher if the right house comes along.
After looking at about 50 properties, they’ve enlisted our help. Followed by a few silly jokes between Phil and Kirstie.

The point is, Phil and Kirstie ( and the shows researchers) surely can only find the same properties as anyone else could. I mean Zoopla and Right Move can find properties at the touch of a few clicks after putting in your preferred area and needs. Otherwise maybe local estate agents maybe?!
The fact that the house hunters in some cases have already seen the properties or dismissed it after seeing it online proves this. They sometimes admit they already seen it.
Why can’t they show more working class people on more modest ( realistic) budgets? For example Dave who works as a truck driver and his partner Sue who works as a super market worker. They have a maximum budget of £230k. Might be good to see house hunters looking for homes that the average family could afford.

Having said all this I do enjoy the show and like Phil and Kirstie. Just wish it wasn’t always middle class yuppie types who have amazing budgets for 32 year old first time buyers !!

I wish I had a pound for every time someone on these types of programmes says " I love this open plan, I can just imagine myself cooking here in the kitchen whilst Bettie is sitting at the table doing her homework and Hugo is running in and out of the garden" (through the bifold patio doors) or if they haven't children "I love this open plan, I can just imagine myself cooking here in the kitchen whilst chatting to friends.
If the buyers don't suggest it themselves, you can guarantee the presenters will say " Can you imagine yourself cooking here......."

Grrrr!!

@OnlyFoolsnMothers , don’t like to disagree but I know people who have , my ds included .

Always wine on the patio too.

Floralnomad what do you consider an average salary? Will have to put figures on this I’m afraid

I’m not talking national average I’m talking not unrealistically large ie under 60k in one case and in the case of my ds he’s a teacher ( late 20s in age ) .

LLL was in an area I lived in years ago. They showed a couple a property and Dh and I are like, clearly they are not locals as they would know that X is a problem as is Y.

I think local knowledge is a huge consideration from local school parking issues or smells from a factory or a farm.

I like the program as I like to see properties and Kirstie's wall knocking solutions to every home.

Well then you’ve created your own average. But for arguments sake 50k a year would be 3k a month take home, even saving 1k a month- which would be fantastic for most people (I assume minimal mortgage/ no childcare costs!), that’s 12k a year, so in 6 years assuming you don’t need to pay for anything substantial then it’s possible. However none of what I described is “average”.

Some people do manage to save 80k quite easily depending on their circumstances , even on fairly average salaries

I’d have to work 2 and a half years to earn £80k. There is no way I could save it.

I think a lot of the time people just need K and P to bang their heads together.

@Boscoismyspiritanimal I remember the dancing couple!! I loved them. My partner and I still joke about it now when we’re looking at houses online- “it’s nice but where will we SPONTANEOUSLY SALSA?!?”

When I said average I meant fairly standard , I’m SE and they are not high salaries for here but obviously everyone is different .

Floralnomad I’m south east too- I’m London. I work in finance and I see some large salaries. I can you being able to save 80k makes you privileged in some way, to not see that, I’m sorry you live in bubble !

I’m a teacher on what used to be MPS6.
Please explain how I can save £80k while earning £36k.

We discovered love it or list it Australia
That is a good watch.

I didn’t say it wasn’t a privilege to be able to save , I said it’s possible .

Floralnomad ok I relent, well off people with little to no outgoings can save

A little thing which boils my piss,is one of the couple always wants an out building for their little bespoke biz - crafting paperweighs or pottery and they always think this will bring thousands of pounds a month .
There was one chap who wanted to repair mountain bikes in a rural village - surely after a month one would run out of customers .

I love this programme, despite wanting to brutally murder many of the participants The ones that get me are the ones who wax lyrical about how they’d like somewhere with an village feel and lots of independent shops and cafes’ when they probably shop at Tesco and buy their lunch from Greggs the Bakers like the rest of us. I also know that if the husband is at the gym or out running in his profile footage, I’m going to loathe the pair of them - particularly if they’re looking in Cheshire.

The more deluded they are the better in telly terms, although I do feel sorry for Phil Spencer when he has to try to convince them that £300k is not buying you two beds and outdoor space in zone 2. I have less sympathy for Kirstie, purely because she seems just as stubborn as the viewers. Phil will at least try to ease them into it - Kirstie is gnashing her teeth in frustration because they have ‘no vision!!!’, on the basis that they don’t jump for joy at the idea of a one-bed ex-council flat when they were looking for a three-bed Victorian terrace.

One of my favourite house hunters ever (by which I mean I hated her with a passion) was one half of a couple with an £800k budget looking for ‘edge of the village’ type house. She’d nitpicked over three ideal houses; they found a fourth that was absolutely perfect... she said ‘I think I’d like it more if there was more than one way to get to it. I just think I’d get bored driving up this same road all the time’.

And this weeks couple who had a budget but didn’t want to go to the full amount and put in a stupid low offer

What gets me is when they pooh-pooh every property, but the process helps them ‘focus their search’ - and then in the follow-up you find out they bought something £60k over budget. Where does this extra money come from? Are they just delusional and think Phil and Kirstie will somehow get them a bargain, so pretend they’ve got less than they have?

Or location. Wanted London. Then decided to look and buy in Sevenoaks. Tho that does have good travel links

I always wonder where the extra money comes from too ! On most property show they say they have a budget and then always go over how ????

Was there a new one?

No the last two Wednesdays it's been repeats

Escape to the Country is my favourite... a bit of fantasy.
Some of the houses are fabulous, gorgeous kitchen, etc.. then the buyers say, its not really doing it for me, or I'm not feeling it... What?!??

Tho naughty or k&p to show a house over their budget esp If offer their top wack and Get refused as sellers want the full asking price