A Place in the Sun

[bloodyhairy]

I have a love/hate relationship with this show. Mostly I love it, and the escapism it represents. It also makes me question my own future, and whether I could see myself retiring abroad (currently single!). Most of the presenters are very good and amiable, although do try a little hard to 'push the product', often when the person viewing has no interest at all!
What gets on my nerves, is the buyers' obsession with space. Why would you need a huge kitchen, or 4 bedrooms, when it's just going to be you and your other half knocking about there?
And what do you expect for 50 grand?!
And then when they view, it's like they've lost all sense of their own identity; they're literally looking at it through their own children and grandchildren's eyes. One woman rejected a property because it had a shower, and no bath for her grandchild Just how often do you think they're going to be visiting, for this to emerge as a major and insurmountable issue?!
And other went round mentally kidproofing the place, even though there were no grandchildren on the horizon yet Get a life!!!
Don't get me started on those who treat the whole thing as a jolly, with no intention to buy. You can see the presenters visibly sag, when they say 'what we're going to do, is go home and weigh up the finances, then return to the area in a few weeks.'
Worse still, are those who put in eyewateringly low offers, even though the place (invariably in Spain) has already seen its price slashed, and is already way under budget. Where is the integrity???
What are your thoughts on this programme?

[Totallyaddictedtoshoes]

Oooh we love this, i class it as research for when we can finally get a place in Spain. It is hilarious and frustrating in equal measure though. How are there so many people who come on the show having never been to that particular place before and yet have decided they definitely want to buy there?! On the flip side, when the couple say they want a specific area, they get taken there and shown the sights, asked relentlessly if they love it and can imagine themselves living there, for the presenter to say great, we're going 30 minutes inland/down the coast from here....!

[purrswhileheeats]

This is my guilty pleasure too even though I live in Cyprus

The couples that claim they love sport and the outdoors when you can tell they just want to play darts on a Wednesday and watch the football at the rowdy Irish pub at the weekend. Then an earnest ex-pat is wheeled out - 'Gloria has lived here for 35 years, is the head of the local running club and has set up free Spanish lessons to help newcomers immerse themselves into the community'. Cue Gloria and Bill & Debbie from Bolton staring at each other like this

And yes, what is it with the views? I watched an old episode last week where the couple were looking in Larnaca (which is really flat) and Johnny showed them a new-ish house; he took them to the back of the house and declared 'Look, you can even see a POND!' The house backed on to some waste land that had a green, mosquito-infested puddle

Danni Menzies is so lovely, that husky voice and those amazing legs but I'm sure she once got Lanarkshire and Lancashire mixed up! She introduced the couple 'from Lanark-SHIRE' but they had broad Lancashire accents.

People do underestimate though how cold it can get in January and February in coastal resorts in the Med - yes, you may get 300+ days of sunshine but it's bloody freezing at night and you do need a nice spacious living area 😅

[Twospaniels]

I wish they would have the date in the information about the episode, or mention it at the beginning. Sometimes repeats are really old and you can’t find out until the very end just before the credits.

Amazed at how many people want to live in a town or resort they’ve never been to before.

We often toy with the idea of moving to Lanzarote some time in the far future, but at least we have been there many times and have explored the whole island!

[Balibabe1]

It’s the shoes! Always the height of the shoes, now I love a pair of heels but when I’m walking in the heat along beaches and dirt tracks viewing property a sensible pair of flats is essential. How the female presenters haven’t broken their necks is a miracle 😂
I adore this show, I think the presenters make it, and yes Ben Hillman is a weekday treat 😉
The unrealistic expectations of people’s budgets and wish list are hilarious, and I’m always baffled why the couples walk round the properties stating the bleeding obvious “Ooh look, it’s the kitchen, there’s an oven”!, “nice bathroom Dave it even has a shower” and such like. And why do they all hold hands walking round?

I’d not clocked that the sun terraces were always empty, it does make you think how that would change the feel when full of screaming kids.

[purrswhileheeats]

@Balibabe1 maybe the couples walk round holding hands in case they need to form a human safety net when the female presenters stumble? Danni and Jasmine always tower over the couples Scarlette always looks amazing; the wardrobe department must love styling her. Poor old Johnny and Ben though in their regulation beige shorts and boring shirts

Complexes abroad are a nightmare, they must have to bribe the committee members to stay indoors or go out for the day so they don't interfere with filming

There are loads of old episodes on More4 btw, they date back to 2013.

[Toddlerteaplease]

Or they want a property with loads of outside space. Err who's going to maintain it when you aren't there. And same with pools.

[Toddlerteaplease]

Or they rave about the view, and it's some really scrubby, unattractive bit of Spain.

I've wondered about this. In this country we'd regard it as wasteland and not attractive. So why is it suddenly lovely just because it's in Spain.

[purrswhileheeats]

@Toddlerteaplease

Or they want a property with loads of outside space. Err who's going to maintain it when you aren't there. And same with pools.

Yeah, you'll have to pay someone €200 a month to look after the pool and garden

I love the format of the show - the first property is always a dud. Although in one episode in Spain the couple insisted they loved the first property and wanted to make an offer - Johnny's face was

[MoonJelly]

Johnny always comes over a bit passive-aggressive to me, whether on this or on Escape to the Country.

One that really annoyed me was a variant where the couple had a choice of buying in Cornwall and Majorca. They were prepared to invest £100K more in Cornwall because they recognised that there would be more travel costs etc in Majorca, and ultimately chose Majorca because it was a pretty property with a pool and a nice view. But I was shouting at the TV "It's a bloody island, FGS, you'll be bored to tears in a couple of years". What they also didn't factor in was that the extra £100K would be a growing investment in Cornwall, whereas using it for flying to and from Majorca, moving costs, upkeep of that pool etc would mean it was dead money that they would never recover.

[LightDrizzle]

It’s the law that if there is a lemon tree on the property, they must quip about it going in the woman’s G&T. Also said lemon tree provoking ecstasy in the buyers, - you could buy a sodding lemon tree for fluppence for any of the other lemonless properties you viewed. Don’t be swayed by a plant people!

My bugbear as on APITC, is the people with a budget of 200k who are shown a stunning property on for 199k, she cries with happiness, he pats her awkwardly and says “You’ve shown us something we never dreamt we could afford Jasmine...” They love it. Yes they do want to make an offer. What do they want to go in at? We’d like to go in at 140k Jasmine, it’s a lovely house but we’d need to get rid of those blinds and put our own stamp on it like.” Their offer is rejected, they will go to 160k and no more.
Why? Why? You’ve got a budget of 200k, you love it! You were crying! What the fuck is going on?

[ZaraCarmichaelshighheels]

@MoonJelly

Johnny always comes over a bit passive-aggressive to me, whether on this or on Escape to the Country.

One that really annoyed me was a variant where the couple had a choice of buying in Cornwall and Majorca. They were prepared to invest £100K more in Cornwall because they recognised that there would be more travel costs etc in Majorca, and ultimately chose Majorca because it was a pretty property with a pool and a nice view. But I was shouting at the TV "It's a bloody island, FGS, you'll be bored to tears in a couple of years". What they also didn't factor in was that the extra £100K would be a growing investment in Cornwall, whereas using it for flying to and from Majorca, moving costs, upkeep of that pool etc would mean it was dead money that they would never recover.

Yes! Johnny is passive aggressive and I don’t like the way He takes the mic out of people either, I’ve noticed it a few times on escape to the country, he thinks he’s funny, he really isn’t.

[Fuckitsstillraining]

@DannyGlickWindowTapping

I also have a love / hate relationship with it. Your budget is £100k, this is on at £115k, but you can get it at the top of your budget. What do you want to offer? £12.50. Because it's in foreign-land and therefore it must be cheap / they must be ripping you off. Grrr. Or, the people moving for the weather, who insist on a "British" layout. With central heating. And a fitted kitchen. When asked if they will be using the massive outside space / kitchen, just blank faces.

Have you been in Spain mid winter? Central heating would be bloody great then. We didn't think we'd need it, had the air con installed immediately but after the first winter we had a stove fitted and when we visit off season we are very glad to have the stove, we leave the interior doors open to spread the heat around, we will look into a central heating system in the future,both in our 50's now so it'll be a priority before we get much older. We don't live there or rent it out so the house is empty a good bit, one exceptionally cold winter we got a phone call from a neighbour who asked if they could rent our place for a few weeks solely because of having the stove, they were a good few years older than us and suffering particularly at night, they moved in for around two months and had a stove fitted in their own place asap

[Topseyt]

We enjoy this show. People so often have stupidly unrealistic budgets, wanting something palatial for £70k.

I understand people wanting traditional local houses. I'd be very wary as I got older though of buying anything like a three storey house that is built into a mountainside with very steep stairs everywhere and the kitchen on the top floor. I saw one episode where one of them had significant issues walking and still wanted to buy such a property, not appearing to think too much about how manageable it would be and for how long.

Spiral staircases seem to be a big thing too. I know they can look nice and are a space saving option, but they terrify me because I would find it so hard to balance on them. So they would be an instantaneous "no" from me.

Service charges for upkeep and maintenance of communal grounds and swimming pools are rarely made clear. Nor is the availability or otherwise of public transport links generally discussed either.

We do hope to buy a property abroad when retired. It is making us think carefully about what we would and wouldn't want, and what might be realistic for our budget (hoped to be £150k - £200k.

I did recently see one couple on a search in Cyprus, I think it was, who loved a place and made a stupid, derisory offer of over £40k below the asking price. They were then horrified when it was rejected. They wanted something for nothing, virtually.

[LadyEloise]

@LightDrizzle
You took the words out of my mouth.
Exactly my thoughts.
You have the budget, you absolutely love the property. Why are you walking away ?
Nuts !!!!
And just plant your own sodding lemon tree.

And as for the buyers with extended family coming and they buy a one bed- 🙄

I love when they do the shows from Florida. That would be my dream.

I'm wondering were any of the buyers in very recent years - 2019 caught up with Covid19 - either stuck at their holiday home and unable to come home or unable to get to their new home.

Jasmine is lovely but she squeals a bit.

[Mydogisagentleman]

Me and my DH watch this daily (or record it)
We are hoping to retire to Seville or Cadiz or Jerez.
This year we’ve had 5 flights booked and 😞. Last year we flew to Alicante and drove along the coast to Malaga, stopping off at places we’d seen featured on APITS.

[LadyEloise]

At least you've been there.
Some people decide to retire somewhere they've not been to ever !!!!

[Toddlerteaplease]

I always wonder if the houses have the correct permissions. Wasn't there a thing a few years ago about houses being demolished as they had been illegally built, then sold on.

[Deathraystare]

bloodyhairy


All your thoughts were the same as mine! Whenever they expect to get a large flat with pool and no neighbours (nasty things!!) and they want it for a pittance!

[purrswhileheeats]

There was another programme called Sun, Sea and Selling Houses that I got addicted to during the first lockdown. A Scouse family and a Brummie family who'd opened estate agents in Almeria and Alicante - it was like APITS on acid

[MoonJelly]

I wonder about the recent purchasers who bought their houses on the basis of assurances that they could make a fortune out of holiday lets when they weren't living there. How are they getting on this year?

[Toddlerteaplease]

And the ones who bought bread airport's served my budget airlines that have now gone bust.

[MoonJelly]

I've just seen an old Escape to the Country where the husband was a right pain, who started by loudly proclaiming that he knew what he liked and spent every visit going round each house looking for the tiniest things to nitpick. By the end even Nicki Chapman was visibly thinking "What an utter twat" and looking like she wanted to strangle him, and she usually gushes over the prospective buyers as if they were her long lost relatives.

[CorianderLord]

Hahaha I always find it funny.

'We want three beds with outside space, modern kitchen and a pool on the seafront in the centre of town with ex-pats nearby but a local feel for a budget of... £58,000.'

It's Spain not... I don't know, The 1950s.

[Toddlerteaplease]

There been a couple of episodes where you wonder what on Earth the wife saw in the husband because he's awful!

[Cruddles]

I saw a mother and son episode, looking at Spain. They had the vibe of being titewad CFs, their budget was low because of it, not because they'd scrimped and saved and this was all they had. Anyway of course they wanted the world for nothing, the host did such a good job finding what they wanted in budget. They decided to put an offer in and i think they took 40% off asking. You could see the host was utterly embarrassed to call the agent but they would not budge. Of course they didn’t get it. I don't think they've paid full price for anything in their lives, the miserable pair