Anyone watching "Great House Giveaway"

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Just that really, new series recently started. I'm sure the "Numbers" are a work of fiction especially the renovation costs and "other fees".

2nd prog in series was a massive job, complete new roof, scaffolding, remove and make good upstairs ceiling and loftspace, plus kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, full redecoration, staging with furniture, etc.

The 3rd in the series was a lot simpler, no roof replacement, no staging, smaller/simpler kitchen & bathroom, just skimming and decorating throughout, and they were getting all sorts "free" from friends and colleagues. Yet somehow the renovation cost £26k.

Same with "other" costs, i.e. legal, stamp duty, loan interest, EA fees. Despite buying and selling at similar pricing, and the presenter estimating £24k for the 3rd episode, the actual costs were £36k, despite the costs for 2nd episode being around £25k.

I think their number crunchers need a new calculator!

Why do they have to sell so quickly ?
If they waited a bit, in some cases, could they not achieve a higher price.

It's soul destroying for many participants.

Yes, but I felt gutted for the teacher and Art teacher who worked incredibly hard but made a loss due to timing after mortgage rates rocketed and house sales plummeted.

There's no 'Giveaway' at all in this programme, apart from the miniscule bit of work that Simon and Phil do and freebies that they wangle from companies who get a bit of free TV advertising.

The house is purchased and the budget set is financed by a bridging loan. The longer they take to sell, the more interest is charged.

Because that's the format of the show.

It also includes 6 months council tax and utilities too.

Interest on the bridging loan seems to rack up quickly!

I’ve been watching through the series and came looking for a thread. Glad I’m not alone in my feelings - this recent series is not a fun watch.

It’s particularly galling I think when they get grilled on an overspend as if it’s back to Property Ladder days with Sarah Beeney telling people off for getting posh taps. Most of the overspends arise when they have to deal with major unknown issues, they’re not spendthrifts - the format of the show only really worked in the rising market.

"It's particularly galling ....when they get grilled on an overspend

Oops posted too soon, sorry.
I agree with you @Desolatewardrobe, it's not fair on those who have really worked hard and the end result is nothing.

I've just watched the one from Haworth, was so gutted for Kelly, thought she had worked so hard. It must have been so gutting for her it going back to auction - someone got a bargain there!

New series had started today.

Anyone else watched the first episode?

I stopped watching as it was so depressing where people worked their socks off for no return.

I have never watched this.

What happens? They do up a house with the chance of getting it for free?

The house is bought at Auction then they pair up two random contestants and they get a budget and 6 months to renovate and then sell.

Any profit is split between the two.

In tonight's show they managed to get a second hand kitchen for £100. They were pretty resourceful

So not a house giveaway then!

There would be a better show if someone without their own home could win one after doing it up! There's some way to make a competition out of that.

I'm totally confused by yesterday's episode. Yes there was a downturn but the house sold for nearly HALF the price it was valued at. They're really at the mercy of the loan company in this show and it often means little or no proft and in yesterday's case - a huge loss. The blokes that did all the hard work get nothing while the loan company and the buyer are quids in 🤔

Watched one yesterday with another whopping loss. A teacher and an estate agent, so neither with any "trades" skills. Budget was £25k but they managed to spend over £70k, and impossible to see how. They obviously lost control and just went on a spending spree - brand new kitchen, new bathroom, etc! No new roof, no underpinning, no extension nor loft conversion, so basically just a bog standard rewiring, replumbing, new bathrooms and new kitchen, plus the usual plasterboarding/plastering. Other houses have had all that done for £20-£30k. One of the guys did the usual "big I am" at the start saying he had loads of friends and tradies who'd help, but it was only ever just the two of them. They ran out of time, and it went back to auction hence the whopping loss.

A real contrast to one of last weeks where the two guys made about £30k each, but they had a real handle on the cost, got friends/family involved, etc. Their two girlfriends, for example, did most of the finishing/decorating together! I think one of the guys was an electrician, so that saves thousands in electricians costs!

I think the crux of it is minimising the use of "paid" tradies. If you can't do much yourself (inc friends and family), then you're wasting your time, as you're not going to make a profit if you're paying normal rates for electricians, plumbers, plasterers, etc. Likewise, you need to be able to bag discounts when buying supplies - you can't just order at retail price from the local builders merchants - you have to do deals, be able to call in favours, get second hand or ex-display items, etc.

I do wonder why some of them insist on paying out for brand new kitchens and bathrooms. I was watching Worst House on the street last week and the couple bought a kitchen for £100.

I too wondered about kitchens ( and bathrooms).

Flat pack kitchens from the likes of Ikea can be lovely

This series is just getting worse and worse. A house sitting on the market for a year while paying the bridging loan repayments, council tax etc and then being chucked back into auction to be sold for less than they originally bought it for. Unsurprisingly we weren't told exactly how much the loss was but it must have been the worse so far.

That's the second Welsh one that's made a whopping loss. I don't think the woman doing the auction really understands the costs involved and pays way over the odds for them. We were screaming at the TV yesterday at the start when they gave the potential selling prices against max bids as there was nothing in it even if it had gone well.

I’ve given up watching this show ,
it’s so frustrating.

Another loss yesterday, which was a shame as the two lads put a lot of time and effort into it at first but seemed to lose interest, then had to bring in professionals to finish it, causing a big delay and far higher costs.

I do wonder whether the contestants can put bills in for their time when they're doing a professional job, i.e. yesterday's electrician, so that they at least get paid for the things that require certifications etc, especially as he seemed to bring a small squad of other sparkies with him for the rewiring, rather than just friends & family.

Fair enough for them (and friends/family) not to be paid when doing "dogsbody" manual work like clearing the house, ripping it out, clearing the garden, etc., but seems a bit off for them not to get paid for the tradesmen work that would cost a fortune if neither of them was certified/competent/experienced to do it.

I did too. It's disheartening.

Just watching today’s edition , halfway through and can tell this is going to be a total loss / washout .
Its so annoying but watching anyway.
The production company spent 33k underpinning the house before giving it to the couple ! And passed the costs on!
why ?
This is going to cripple them
It’s like they set out to deliberately sabotage the couples.