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? 
Related: Film discussion forum.
Telly addicts
A Place in the Sun
bloodyhairy · 14/11/2020 09:30
I watched an old episode on More4 the other day - two women after a house in Costa Rica.
God, it was painful! 
Poor Danni knew from the start she wouldn't find them the right house but plodded on anyway. The American woman was so snooty and dismissive and kept banging on about blurred boundaries and her hatred of manicured gardens/landscapes She also hated pools and said she would fill them in as they 'needed to be cleaned'.
Jonnie would have had a field day with them, Danni was far too polite!
MoonJelly
Misandry MN at its best. So sad.
Nope, swimlyn. Happily married for 30 years, two lovely sons, lots of very good male friends. All of whom have managed to work out that women don't need to be steered around by other people.
Reminds me of the “I’m not racist I have loads of black friends” claim…
Well - many many episodes viewed since last being attacked/ridiculed on here. I have to say, not one prog seen where the awful man PUSHES the ‘poor’ woman around. A complete absence of ‘steering around’. I must be picking the wrong episodes.
I loved the recent Laura one though, in Kefalonia, with her getting excellent value for money out of her old wedding dress.
Pertinent to the overall theme of APITS though, surely, is the complete lack of important information such as the monthly fees payable, the buying fees (quite sizeable in Spain) and also the legality and licensing/planning situation in certain locations. Many times they comment, for example, that ‘the outbuilding could easily convert into more accommodation’ or ‘plenty of room for a pool over there’, when in fact in modern day Spain permission may well not be granted for such changes.
I suppose that it’s quite possible that detailed info is in fact provided off camera, but viewers would tend to assume they’re being provided with the full picture on TV.
In my humble opinion I admire the people who end the prog with a decision to come back again/stay for a few more days etc, rather than buy in haste after seeing just four/five properties that they didn’t even select themselves.
@SeeSawSeen
Walking into any half-decent room...'It's a good size'
Presenter, standing outside the property... 'What do you think? Do you like it?'
Buyers: 'We need to see inside first.'
Presenter: 'But do you love it? Is it a contender?'
Buyers:
Standing on the terrace...'I can picture myself out here with a glass of wine, hahaha'
Opening the wardrobes, the woman always says...'Great for my clothes, where are Steve's going to go?'
In Spain, inland...'We want REAL Spain, we want to immerse ourselves in the culture'
At the end...'Our budget is £100,000, they're asking £90,000, so we obviously won't go above £60,000'
Spot on!
@LadyEloise
Yes, I know. I liked it too.
It's just that every scene change with her made me think, ooh, a bride!
It was beautiful...
I'm fed up of the repeats. I know I'm being quite unreasonable as we're living through a pandemic.
@LadyEloise
Anyone ??
There was a new series - they showed a new episode in Paphos (although it was filmed last spring) before Christmas but it's now all repeats
I know they were out in Cyprus last year (@mrsnec do you live in a village beginning with P?) but this episode has never been shown.Talking of repeats; I watched the episode the other day with the couple in Spain - poor Laura having to deal with the wife with dry eyes
I saw that one too with the wife having dry eyes.
Do people do any research ?
I am always gobsmacked by the people who have never been to an area but intend to buy a property there and then retire there.
I know! Can you imagine APITS in reverse, where couples from Greece/Cyprus/Spain want to move to northern Europe and then are baffled by the cold/wet/windy weather?
Did anyone watch yesterday?
A couple looking for a place in Spain.
The woman got teary when shown the outside of the FIRST house. They hadn't even seen the inside.
None of the other houses they viewed were contenders. They loved it. (I didn't).
They had £70,000 to spend.
They could have bought it for £65,000 approx
They didn't budge on their £62,000 offer.
They didn't get the house of their dreams.
The presenter must get very frustrated.
@LadyEloise
A couple looking for a place in Spain.
The woman got teary when shown the outside of the FIRST house. They hadn't even seen the inside.
None of the other houses they viewed were contenders. They loved it. (I didn't).
They had £70,000 to spend.
They could have bought it for £65,000 approx
They didn't budge on their £62,000 offer.
They didn't get the house of their dreams.
The presenter must get very frustrated.
I was shouting at the tv yesterday over this one.
They loved the house, it was everything they wanted, no other property lived up to the first and were pretty much dismissed as they were not the first property.
Then not to go up to £65,000 which was still under budget and due to their stubbornness, lost their dream house. I dont understand it.
Yes, I’ve seen quite a few APITS negotiations fall apart for the sake of a grand or two. Very strange.
Unfortunately they often justify their huge reduction based on what modifications they want to do to the place. Yesterday’s was ‘refit the bathroom and sort the garden out’. There was a perfectly good bathroom, and the garden requirements are their choice, not the vendor’s. Madness.
When we house-hunted long ago we experienced the same in reverse where the vendor wanted their inflated price because of x, y, and z, which were nothing to do with the actual property. One said he wanted a new car, and to boost his pension pot. (sorry to derail a bit there)
To be fair to yesterday’s couple, the subsequent properties had little to do with what they said they wanted.
And… how many times did the word barbeque get mentioned?
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.