Episode 1 Under Offer: Estate Agents on the Job

Selling houses is not easy. You're dealing with the most expensive thing people ever buy.

There are more of them than ever before...

A square foot can be worth £3,000.

..many of us say they are our least favourite professionals...

The customer is always right, aren't they? No!

..yet we turn to them at some of life's most stressful moments...

I can't control it, you can't control it.

Yes, we're off.

..they are the estate agents.

You get a better response if you say you're a mass murderer.

So what inane comments do you want to make now, Alan?

This series goes behind closed doors across the UK with the agents...

It needs everything doing to it.

..and their clients.

We're moving!

Gary takes us to the streets of London's super-rich.

My firm has recently sold four houses of, let's say, £40-£60 million.

It's knockdown prices with Lynne in County Durham.

It went to auction with a starting bid of a pound.

There's straight-talking Dave in Birmingham.

So when I'm telling you you're not getting it,

don't come crying back to me, saying, "I've got another 500 quid."

Rookie Lewis in Devon...

These surveyors are dangerous, dangerous people.

And in London's cheapest borough, Dagenham...

Please stop shouting.

..Caroline, Andy and Darren.

They had a bonfire in the front room here. This is ridiculous.

With unique access, we'll learn the tricks of the trade...

The estate agent will class it as a wet room.

..and find out what's really going on

in the UK's crazy property market.

I'm rather hoping that bankers might have

taken our place at the bottom of the pile by now.

Welcome to estate agency. HE HOWLS

Property is our national obsession.

Worth a staggering £26 trillion and rising,

the British property market is more complex

and polarised than ever before.

Many of us will buy or sell a home at some stage in our lives,

and the people we entrust to guide us

through the process are the estate agents.

I've been an estate agent for just over two years.

Confident local lad Lewis Rossiter

is the 30-year-old manager of Bradleys estate agents in Exeter.

# The starlight

# Until the end of my life... #

'I'm the guy that at the wedding, I make a fool and myself,

'I'm the guy that's sick in the urinal.'

# Hold you in my arms! #

'I fell into estate agency,'

I was selling my house through the actual local office

and I got a phone call afterwards

from the manager there, saying, do I want a job?

Prior to being an estate agent,

my first job was washing dishes in a restaurant in Spain

and then I got promoted to waiter which was quite exciting.

I'm like a David Brent-esque manager.

Lewis's unique management style has already won him

the coveted title of Employee Of The Year.

The pecking order in the office is I'm at the top

and the two girls are at the bottom.

Katie Ball, star negotiator extraordinaire,

Sally Stanyard, local knowledge second to none, negotiator,

do a bit of sales, do a bit of lettings, we all mix in,

but mostly we're a team, so no-one's really above anyone,

but I really am above them, cos I'm the manager.

In just two years, Lewis has seen his patch transform

into one of the most desirable areas to live in the country.

Close to spectacular coastline and sumptuous countryside,

the regeneration of the city means business is booming.

'The market we're in, we're pretty lucky.'

Prices haven't dropped since the market crashed

and they've gone up considerably in the last few years.

It's a real quick turnover here.

Detached houses go from £300,000, terraced with a garden for the kids,

to just under two, and they're flying off the shelves.

Look at the three we've just sold here, for example,

they've all tended to go within six weeks.

Most of the time you can expect to sell them within a week, which,

you know, people look at you like you're crazy when you tell them.

That is one of my daughters.

Ava! She's asleep. With her aunt.

Do you know lots of people around here?

Well, I know my daughter quite well, being that I'm raising her,

but the cool thing about working where you live is that you do walk

down and bump into people, speak to people, everyone knows everyone.

I know estate agents that don't want to work in the town

they live in because they don't want to bump into someone in Sainsbury's.

I quite like it. I think it, erm,

I think it endears you to the local community.

Today, Lewis is taking on

a lovingly refurbished four-bedroomed house for owner Sam.

This is on for 220,950.

What you're getting for your money is four double bedrooms,

immaculate downstairs bathroom, upstairs shower room,

everything a modern family would want. Your location's ideal.

It's quiet, it's tucked away, it's in a cul-de-sac.

For that kind of money, you get a lot of house.

-This is, like, you've got two eating areas.

-Two, yes.

And two bathrooms, so you've got all sorts of potential.

Yeah, I'm not worried at all.

Lewis seems confident, but busy mum Sam has already found her

highly sought-after dream home and doesn't want it to slip away.

There we go.

We've put a deposit down on a new-build property

and the sale has to go through within 10 weeks.

This house here is house number one, which is the one we're involved with.

It's our new house.

I like the driveway, very smart.

The new house has got a garden at the front and the back,

it's a detached property and having outside space for two boys is going

to be an essential fact. So, for us now, that's the focus of the future.

Say bye-bye to the new house now.

To secure her new build,

Sam's put down a £5,000 deposit, non-refundable.

I've put the estate agent's under pressure.

I think it's a good thing, but probably they don't think that.

A 10-week turnaround and a demanding client,

on top of that, there's the sensitive issue of the street name.

'Would you like to live on Willeys Avenue?'

Would I like to live on Willeys Avenue?

I would, actually, it's a very nice road. It's right by the quay.

Names don't...

No, look, it doesn't matter if it's Willeys Avenue, Boner Road.

It doesn't matter, it's the location and the house and the reputation.

Under pressure, Lewis gets cracking and lines up his very first viewing.

I think the house speaks for itself,

so I think it's going to be a pretty straightforward sale.

It's all been done properly, there's nothing there that worries me.

-Hiya, Steve.

-Hiya. All right? Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

Newly-married Steve is looking for his first family home.

It's good.

Time for Lewis to slip into estate-agent mode.

Buying a house, I think, is more ruled by the head than the heart.

I guess it's like a relationship.

Did you see the bottle of wine

and the two glasses on the table?

-Yes. I like that.

-I avoided putting "alfresco lifestyle" on it.

STEVE LAUGHS

'I think it helps to have a good sense of humour as an estate agent.'

Certain viewings you can use certain humour.

That always makes me laugh.

Need to get me one of those.

Turn this into a man cave, Xbox...

-That's what I'm talking about.

-..big TV...

-Definitely.

-..cinema room, surround sound, that's what I would do.

-Yep.

It was refurbished really nicely to a high standard, I think.

Quite modern, big open spaces, nice rooms.

Yeah, to be fair, there's not that much that I didn't like about it.

I'm feeling good about it.

Any time they start referring to the house as theirs

can only be a good thing.

Hopefully, we can get an offer out of them.

When dealing with any client, important or otherwise,

one has to act with decorum and with respect.

Gary Hersham isn't your average estate agent.

He is the co-director of Beauchamp Estates in the heart

of exclusive Mayfair.

I need a meeting with him before the end of the week.

I would love to meet him and I would love to show him

the house with your permission - if not, not. Bye, bye, bye.

Give him my best wishes.

-You're not meant to be hearing the

-BLEEP

-conversation!

-Oh!

With a property portfolio nearing a whopping £1 billion,

Gary runs one of the highest earning agencies in the country

with his business partner.

We have about 80 properties on our books at any one time.

The price ranges of those properties are from £2 million

up to in excess of £120 million.

There are more multimillionaires in London than anywhere

else on the planet, and Gary has dealt with many of them.

You tell me and I'll make the viewing. What's the matter with you?

You phone me up, "I want to see it tomorrow,"

-organised, a man will let you in. Come on.

-OK.

'I come across very rich people all the time...'

..most of whom are pretty normal, I have to tell you.

You can have a coffee and a piece of cake with them in their kitchen.

The wife might even bake.

And other cases where I've flown with clients on their planes,

I've been on their yachts

and I feel very much at home inasmuch as they're normal people.

Today, Gary's expecting some important visitors.

Off the phone and disappear and close that door! How many... That door!

How many times? Can't you remember anything?

I'm sorry, I was in the kitchen, cleaning...

-Oh, of course, but you never close a single door in your life.

-I'm sorry.

Office assistant Ernesto has worked for Gary for seven long years.

Well, Gary... Gary's always very, very busy.

'He's a very busy businessman.'

Gary likes to have jokes with people when he's in a good mood,

but his mood is not that good usually because

'his mood is just to do business.'

-Here I am. Excuse me. It's Gary.

-PHONE RINGS

Hello, Gary.

Yes, of course, hold on.

Well, I've got literally about five or six minutes.

Property journalists from a Taiwanese luxury magazine

have flown into the capital

for an exclusive interview.

Go on, then, take my photo. Go on, then. Make it snappy!

They are here to find out about Gary's involvement

in high-end property, known as Prime Central London.

Give me my phone.

You've got to be quick because I didn't expect it to be so long today.

OK, I started my business in 1978.

I had worked from my father who was chairman of a relatively large

English public company.

At that point, a friend of mine,

who had just graduated from Oxford University, came to London

and asked me whether I wanted to start a business with him.

(Excuse me. Take your glasses off.)

I started with him at 20% of Beauchamp Estates.

By the end of the year, by the end of the year,

I had 100% of the business because I bought him out.

Because of my father, I met some very wealthy people and we had neighbours

who were from Arab royal families

and things just evolved and we ended up being the leading estate agent,

selling the most expensive properties in London.

Over the last 12 months,

the boom in such elite property has been exceptional with

astronomical prices rocketing away from anywhere else in the country.

There's no such thing as a vast figure to an estate agent

who is dealing at the top end of the market. There can't be.

You can't panic,

you can't worry about, "Oh, my God, I'm selling a £50 million property."

Absolutely not. Quite the reverse.

You have to be so confident to be able to convince the buyer

that actually this is exactly what this property is worth.

-You need to bring me some more customers.

-Sure.

-It's coming.

-Yes?

It's unlikely the Taiwanese luxury journalists will be travelling up

to County Durham any time soon.

'If you picked me up and put me in an agent down in London,

'I would feel very uncomfortable,'

because I would feel like a common rough Northerner

because of the accent and I don't think I could change my accent.

That's how I am.

Froot Loops, funny coloured. Do you see? Funny coloured.

Lynne Blaney is branch manager of Robinsons,

the largest family run estate agent's in the north-east.

I think people's perception of estate agents is that

they don't tell the truth, that they cheat us, that they tell lies

and I think you're stereotyped. I don't treat people...

I don't tell them lies.

I try and be honest, truthful, helpful

and try and do a good job for them.

With houses averaging £100,000, this area

has the lowest property prices in the whole country.

It's not an easy market place to work in. It is very, very price led.

There is a lot of houses available, a lot of repossessions,

a lot of new build and it is very, very hard.

Lynne works in Spennymoor

an old mining town 20 miles south of Durham.

Sometimes it's sad because people have actually lost their houses

through no fault of their own, you know, they've been made redundant.

You know, Black & Decker's have gone, Rothmans have grown,

Electrolux, they've all gone.

Lynne's patch has one of the worst records for repossessions

across the British Isles.

We're outside a repossession.

A little bit less than a third of our stock now is repossessions.

The cheapest one we had was... it went to auction at a pound.

It's just unfortunate circumstances on a lot of them, you know.

Heart-rending, sometimes, when you walk in and you see...

Imagine you've just gone to work in the morning,

left your coffee cup on the bench,

your hair straighteners on the dressing table, and that's how it is.

The challenge for Lynne today isn't shifting a cheap house,

it's trying to sell one of her most expensive.

One of the houses that is, unfortunately,

harder to sell is a property in Byers Green.

Really great sized house, four-bed, detached, generous room sizes.

It's on every website, in the newspaper...

We've reduced it and...

it's still there.

What can we do next?

# At last...

# My love has come along. #

The Chapelry, owned by aspiring songstress Susan Reynolds,

is on the market for £249,000.

Five times the price of a typical two up, two down in Byers Green,

the Chapelry is not just out of whack in price terms,

the interior isn't standard, either.

Everything top spec.

The windows are Brazilian mahogany,

the staircase is Brazilian mahogany, the cornice is very ornate.

It's kind of... Shabby-chic-cum-glamping.

I'll miss my beautiful bedroom, my boudoir. It's a glamorous property.

I open the double doors up into one big space

and sing at the top of my voice.

I love the house, but it's just too big for me now.

The house has been on the market for four years,

and Sue is baffled as to why it's only had five viewings.

I've had this house valued so many times it's unbelievable.

The first valuation I had on it was about four years ago

and it came in at £399,000.

Since then I've reduced it and reduced it and reduced it,

and I now have it at 249.

Lynne needs to pull out all the stops

to budge Susan's extraordinary house.

-Hello! How are you?

-I'm very well, thanks, Lynne.

And she's come armed with a master plan.

We'll get these pictures taken.

First step, new photos with a wide-angle lens.

-There we go.

-Is it a new camera?

-It is.

-Oh, I've seen them.

-Yeah? It makes a massive difference.

-It does.

-It makes the rooms look loads bigger.

Women make the best estate agents because women have the knack

of looking and being able to flatter people.

How nice is this? Very nice, isn't it?

In order to stay ahead of her rivals,

the ability to charm her clients gives Lynne the edge.

When you look at our sales month on month,

to compete with everybody else, we are selling the most houses.

We must be doing something right.

I think you're a bit like me, Susan, you're tidy.

If you see that they've got Laura Ashley wallpaper,

silk curtains, they got quality crystal ornaments...

Absolutely lovely.

..you can flatter people by saying things like that

and it makes them feel good.

The second phase of Lynne's plan - encourage vendor to rethink price.

Because it's been on the market for a while and we haven't got

the interest we were hoping for, how do you feel about the price?

I don't really feel I want to reduce the price any more,

because I'm limiting my chances of getting somewhere else.

Right.

-We'll be in touch.

-Yes.

'The problem that we have in our area is the public's

'perception of how much their houses actually are.'

The majority of people still have unrealistic expectations.

We are there to advise them.

This is where you need to be in order to sell,

not for it to sit in the garden for four years.

Managing client expectation is all in a day's work

for veteran estate agent Dave Simms, in Birmingham.

Can't grumble at all. I've had employment for 32 years.

I hope to have it for another 32. And I'm good at what I do.

I work in the real world, inner-city Birmingham, east side.

Lots of good people, lot of bad people. But an interesting area.

An interesting area in the sense that you have a story to tell every night when you go home.

Birmingham is Britain's second largest city

and one of the most racially mixed.

This is the first area in Birmingham that the Irish

moved into back in the '50s and '60s.

I'm 48. I was born down here.

When I was three my parents moved out but, by the time I was 20,

this area had kind of become very Pakistani.

In Hodge Hill, super-slick estate agent jargon doesn't wash

with straight-talking Dave.

Customers are always right, aren't they? No!

In this game, they're never always right.

In fact, 99 times out of 100 our clients are always wrong.

Because they watch Location Location Location,

they see Sarah Beeny doing her thing, Kirstie Allsopp doing her thing,

and they think that's how it's done.

That's not how it's done in the real world.

You don't sit in the pub with your mobile phone

like they do on Location Location, and phone.

"Yes, and it will be accepted? Oh, that's splendid news.

"Your offer's been accepted."

And Kirstie buys another gin and tonic and aren't we all happy?

That just does not happen in the real world. It's a battle, it's a fight.

Most of the houses on Dave's books are three-bed semis,

selling for around £150,000.

But just five minutes from Dave's HQ lies a small haven

of highly desirable bungalows.

Gold dust for those no longer wanting to tackle the stairs.

Our next stop is Galloway Avenue.

It's a bungalow that we've had on sale for about six weeks.

The good news is we've got somebody for it - Mr and Mrs Farnden.

Who are good people! We like the Farndens.

They've been on our books for a couple of years.

They've been so unlucky on the sale of their own house

and this is the one for them.

And they really like this.

The only downside of this bungalow is it's ten doors from my mother!

HE CHUCKLES

-Karen was saying that your sale is doing fine.

-Yes, it is.

So that's all good.

Barry and Sandra Farnden have had their offer accepted on this

two-bed bungalow for the price of £140,000.

-It all looks good, doesn't it? This is the one.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Amanda phoned you, didn't she? She was almost in tears when I got into the office.

-Yes, I know.

I thought she'd had a row with her husband.

I said, "What's up with you?"

She said, "I've just spoken to Mr and Mrs Farnden." "They're OK,

"aren't they?" She'd seen on the system that you'd put an offer in.

-She said, "I had to phone them!"

-Yes, she did.

The Farndens are pleased,

but Dave knows nothing is a done deal just yet.

When you accept an offer, there are two things - the number

and the ability to proceed.

And I would suggest very strongly that the ability to deliver

the offer is of far greater importance

than the actual offer itself.

'I'm somebody who doesn't say a lot at viewings, anyway.'

You've got your central heating boiler, you've got your plumbing

for your washing machine, you've got power for your fridge freezer.

'They know it's the kitchen.

'You explain different little things to people,

'but I don't change my patter much.

'You can't race around with Mr and Mrs Farnden.'

With all due respect, they are older than God's dog and they are not

in the best of health and they want to walk around at their own pace.

-MRS FARNDEN:

-We've always wanted a bungalow. Well, the last few years.

It's just perfect.

She gets a great picture on her telly, though!

Have you seen her aerial?

-Oh, dear!

-THEY LAUGH

I'm really pleased with it. Really pleased.

Fingers crossed.

The Farndens have had the family home on the market

for three years, but shifting it has been a problem.

We've sold this house three or four times.

But when we sold it we couldn't get a bungalow.

-Then we got a bungalow and we couldn't sell it!

-HE LAUGHS

We've been married 50 years, but we've been together 54 years.

It's too big for us now. It's only me and my husband.

-It's time to move.

-It's a shame, because it's been a lovely house.

We've been very happy here.

I'm hoping nothing goes wrong,

because we've really got our hearts set on this one.

We'd be just absolutely devastated.

In Exeter, there are just seven weeks left

until Lewis is due to complete on the sale of Willeys Avenue.

Go, go, go.

And there's a rival due date on exactly the same day,

with his wife expecting their third child.

Two girls.

Ava is currently the youngest, and we've got a boy due,

so, yeah, we've got our hands full.

Haven't we, Ava?

Dictaphone.

'It's going to be crazy.'

I'm trying not to think about it, because it's going to be absolutely nuts.

For now, Lewis is trying to concentrate on work.

At Willeys Avenue, early interest from newlywed Steve has fizzled out,

So a new plan is afoot to drum up more viewers.

We're doing an open home this Saturday on Welcome House,

Willeys Avenue.

We've gone offers over 200, so we brought it down 20.

We've done new photos and the idea is to get more buyers through

the door, create more interest and hopefully, yeah, get a sale.

Willeys Avenue seller Sam stands to lose £5,000 on her new build deposit

if her sale doesn't go through.

Time to badger Lewis.

-Finlay, Raffer, Sam, hello.

-Hello.

I've come to talk to you about Saturday.

'I genuinely think one of my skills is being able to relate to

'different people in different walks of life.'

Rafferty!

'I went from comprehensive school to a private international school

'in Spain and you're dealing with'

15-year-old Russians that drive BMWs,

so I've had sort of both worlds.

You have to be extremely chameleon-like.

Have you had any other people enquiring about coming on Saturday?

-Not yet, no.

-So just one person?

One person, but if you look at the week,

Mondays are always slow for people booking in for the week.

The busiest days will be Thursday and Friday and even on the Saturday,

-you'd be surprised the amount people who'll call up in the morning.

-Yeah.

-I think I'd be really gutted if we don't sell it.

-I'll be devastated.

-Mm.

-Um... Devastated.

Sell our house for us, please.

SHE LAUGHS

-No pressure or anything!

-No pressure.

-Back in the land of the uber-rich...

-No, no, no, no, no...

Rubbish. It's individual units.

Gary is prepping for his next meeting with his particular

style of man management.

Exactement. Tu m'as pas dit ca. I can do whatever you like, you know me.

The volume of brochures and boxes we deal with, it's quite big.

If Gary comes down and sees this room in this actual state,

I'm going to be in trouble.

Luckily, he's quite busy right now.

Can you remember what you have to do? What do you have to do?

My relationship with Gary, it's a little bit of love/hate.

Much more love than hate, of course.

Hate...goes off quickly. Love remains here.

Bleeding Spanish twerp.

Can you see if Jeremy is upstairs?

And can you ask him to buzz me?

-You're very mean to Alistair, Gary.

-Yes, because he deserves it.

He's much cleverer than he pretends to be.

He's as lazy as the day is long.

Thank you, bye.

Upper Brook Street.

We're now going to see one of my more important clients

about quite a substantial property in south-west London.

More than that, I'm not allowed to say.

For those interested in London property,

a postcode has little to do with the Royal Mail -

it can be a badge of status and aspiration.

And for the super-rich,

there are only a small handful of postcodes that really count.

The best postcodes in London are generally the Belgravia area,

which is generally SW1.

Parts of Chelsea and Knightsbridge, which are SW3,

particularly Knightsbridge. Then Mayfair, W1...

Then Holland Park, W11 and W14.

You're going the wrong way, Kuki - we're going to Wilton Crescent.

No, I didn't want to go down...

Making sure Gary arrives on time and in perfect working order,

-his loyal chauffeur, Kuki.

-Let's go this way - take a left.

-That's going back into traffic.

-Trust me, take a left.

Do a zigzag right and left...

Why are we stopping here, Kuki?

-You've got to take me down there.

-I can't go down there.

It is a demanding job, because things like going to the little boys' room,

you have to hold, you have to hold.

You can't just wander off, trying to look for the toilet somewhere.

Knowing that Gary could come out at any minute...

I've known him for ten years now.

To me, he's like a bigger brother, he's a few years older than me,

so I respect anything he says and I will not question anything.

At his age, at 60, he's a very fit individual.

He is a very fit individual. Mentally.

One of today's appointments is at a refurbished five-storey

mansion house in a prime London hotspot.

This is a spectacularly

and newly-built house in Charles Street in Mayfair.

In fact, the only retained bit is the facade.

The house is about 14,000 square feet.

My firm has recently sold four houses

in the order of let's say £40-£60 million.

In every single case, the profile of the purchaser was young,

in their mid-20s.

The property has been fully specced-out to his client's exacting standards.

Gary has come to check it's up to scratch.

This is the principal drawing-room. Which...

leads on to a terrace and then the mews house.

We have about 13 bathrooms and guest toilets in this house.

They are all spectacularly done.

All beautifully done with marble throughout.

One would call this Chanel chic.

-What does that mean?

-It means...exactly what it says.

Chanel and chic.

In other words, what it means is it's very elegant,

it's top of the range, it's refined and very chic.

Tell me what the price of the house is.

We're quoting £39,500,000.

One will find there are a lot of Arabs who like to be in Mayfair,

particularly Qatari families.

Both the Arab world and the Eastern European world...

People can be worth tens of...

Hundreds of millions, billions, tens of billions of pounds.

The super rich look for immediate gratification.

When I started in this business,

I always thought that people would be more

interested in creating their own home for themselves,

but I soon realised that the super-rich neither have time nor

patience, nor really do they care about effectively pocket change.

Very wealthy people want to move into a house immediately,

fully furnished and what they don't like,

the little that they don't like, they will change.

Rooms like the swimming pool, the gymnasium, the family rooms

and the cinema are probably the most important things.

Do you ever get concerned that you won't sell properties?

Come on, let's go.

For Gary, selling houses is a no-brainer.

But in Exeter, the pressure is on for Lewis,

who is gearing up for the big Saturday.

Can I get a breakfast sausage, egg and cheese sub on Italian, please?

I think I've nailed it. The breakfast sub.

Sausage, eggs, cheese, tomato, black olives, light mayo.

-It's not completely balanced!

-You have a great point! I'm not balanced!

It's not balanced!

When I'm at home, it's like I've got children and a wife

and a mortgage and then when I come here, it's a chance for me

-to say, "What up, y'all?"

-Yeah, it's like...

-It's a chance...

-He's on day release, basically!

-I think it is like that!

This morning, it's time for open house on Willeys Avenue.

I'm pumped up.

We've got the open house which I've been dreaming about all night.

I had one dream when no-one turned up.

Which I know shouldn't happen, really.

But if no-one turns up today, I'm not going to lie,

it's going to be hard to spin.

With the house reduced to just over £200,000,

Lewis's nerves are soon calmed as potential buyers come flocking.

-Have you seen it online?

-Yes, I have. I've been following it online.

-You have?

-Yes, ever since it came on the market.

-You're Lewis?

-I'm Lewis.

Best advice I'd give is you get built-in blinds

so you get your privacy, no-one can see in.

-Hello, Tanya. You all right?

-How are you?

-Good to see you.

I do that with all the buyers!

-This is quite nice.

-Yes, really nice finish.

I'm a first-time buyer, so I want to buy as soon as possible, really.

I think when you compare it to what else is on the market,

there's one on Parkhurst Road for 220, it blows them out of the water.

We really liked it, it's done immaculately well.

-It's move-in-able.

-You want my card, Becky? Pleasure to meet you.

-Good luck at school!

-Thank you very much!

-How many people have we had through so far?

-Sets of buyers...

One, two, three...four.

It's going well, but not everyone is enamoured with the open house.

It could do with a bit of grass outside.

Well, it's on for 200.

And I'd have thought 185, really, is what we'd be looking at.

There's enough interest there for me

to think that we're going to get at least one offer or two. From today.

So in that case, I think it's been a success.

That very afternoon, an offer comes in.

Time to phone vendor Sam with the news.

Hi, Sam - it's Lewis.

First-time buyers, they've come in,

they've reiterated they're ready to go, desperate to move, 201,000.

Lewis has a cash buyer, offering asking price.

But now, Sam wants them to up it to 205,000.

It's up to Lewis to work his magic by phoning the eager buyer.

Genuinely, we're probably giving it away at 205.

And its own...

Yes, if I didn't think it was a good deal, I'd tell you.

Any time!

It's done, 205.

One phone call and Lewis has upped the price by four grand,

earning him a cool £3,000 commission.

# Tonight

# We are young

# So let's set the world on fire... #

But with one in three sales falling through, it's not over just yet.

Back in the Northeast...

All set for the day.

Lynne sees the unique property on Byers Green as a marketing

challenge only an estate agent could ever tackle.

Some people try to sell the house themselves with a poster

in the window or a home-made board stuck in the garden.

They haven't got the marketing power an estate agent has

and the knowledge about how to promote a property.

You can't put your house on the majority of the websites we can,

the database of clients that we have, the newspaper advertising...

If you were trying to do all that on your own,

you wouldn't be able to do it.

Yet, despite all her expertise,

Lynne is struggling to get any interest in Sue's home.

No enquiries about it, even. Nothing.

Resilient Lynne's next stop

is to pool the creative forces of her crack team.

I'm just wondering what we can do to get this house moved on.

-But progress is slow.

-I've been down, I've spoken to her.

We've done the floor plan, we've done more photographs.

Posters in the car window.

I don't think that's a bad idea, though, if the house is sticking.

Put posters in the back window.

That idea that you've just had...

So if we've got houses that are sticking,

we could have it laminated...

Joe, don't laugh!

-You think it's funny, don't you?

-People do it all the time.

People do it with cars...

-Of course they do.

-Kittens.

-Yeah!

And some of them little suckers and then I'll put them in the windows.

I can put one on either side, in the back windows.

Jo's thinking we've lost the plot, don't you?

Ten minutes in and they've nailed it -

stick a laminated poster in a car window.

Is there anybody who you can think of if...

Would actually go and have a look?

Anybody at all?

Having had her house on sale for four years,

vendor Sue has come to hear their new plan of attack.

I'm trying to think of different ways,

something what we can do for your house to try

and think of anything - we've had a bit of a brainstorm this morning.

You know we've taken fresh photographs...

-I haven't seen them, Lynne.

-Have you not?

-No.

They look nice, those, and I cannot say that they don't.

The room sizes look great.

It's immaculate.

-Look at the size of that kitchen.

-Well, you're selling it to me!

I don't have to sell it to you!

I've got to sell it to the man in the street!

Lynne is confident she's winning Sue over.

She still has one more marketing trick up her sleeve.

-'Externally, to the front of the property...'

-Moving images.

'Internally, the central hallway opens into three reception rooms,

'including the lounge, incorporating decorative coving...'

-Oh, that's absolutely fantastic!

-Do you like it?

-I think it's so good.

-Fantastic. Because that really...

-It brings it to life!

It's different from still photographs. It really...

It's as if you're walking around the house. Thanks very much, Lynne.

I'm delighted with that. Absolutely delighted.

What a stroke of genius thinking!

It is!

See you later!

Right, and would you consider pets in there?

She's got a dog.

Given the go-ahead, eager beaver Philippa wastes no time

-getting her genius campaign under way.

-That's really good!

I like this because it makes it look a little bit more prestigious.

You've done a good job there.

As soon as the new car comes, it'll go in the window. So, wahey!

Mm!

Meanwhile, back in Hodge Hill, Birmingham...

# To give you all that I do

# I bet you someday that baby... #

That makes you smile, doesn't it?

You're trying to keep a straight face, but Wham! makes you smile!

# But you know that I'll forgive you

# Just this once, twice, for ever

-# Cos baby... #

-Oh, Wham! at the NEC.

I had my hair lightened because of George Michael!

Dave's clients, Mr and Mrs Farndon

have had their offer accepted on this bungalow.

But their having an offer accepted and the property being

taken off the market are two very different things.

Just because you want to buy something off me, don't think I'm going to sugar-coat it.

I want to buy a new Aston Martin DB9.

I can walk in and I can make an offer for it.

But the guy's not going to take it out of the showroom until I walk in there with a cheque, is he?

Actually, until the cheque's cashed.

The Farndons' own house sale has stalled.

Their buyers haven't come up with the cash,

without which, they can't exchange on the bungalow.

-So Dave has found another interested party.

-You'll like it.

-You've viewed a couple, haven't you?

-A couple.

-That's the one, yes.

Meet Paul and Carol Farmer.

They are cash buyers ready to move and desperate for a bungalow.

Lounge is nice, nice garden as well.

"Hot buyers", in estate agent speak.

-It's lovely and private, isn't it?

-Quite nice.

Get your bikini out, love, you'll be fine out there,

-nobody will be able to see you.

-It's lovely.

Because of the nature of the beast with the bungalows,

they all need such a lot of work doing to them, don't they?

At least here, this is one you can move into and

if you want to change the wallpaper, you can.

And you can get in touch and make an offer this afternoon?

We can speak to her, get hold of her and her son very quickly, yes.

Thank you very much. It's lovely.

We'll be in touch this afternoon, one way or the other.

No worries, take care.

You could tell they were interested, yes. They're a nice couple.

I expect them to come back to us this afternoon and make an offer.

# I don't want your freedom I don't want... #

Dave may be optimistic - the Farndons, however, have no

idea their dream home is still on the market. And still being viewed!

-We didn't know that.

-We didn't know that.

-Because I said...

I put that offer in and it was accepted.

I would expect it to come off the market.

He did say they would take it off the market.

-How would you feel about losing out to another...?

-That would be...

-..Catastrophic!

-That's going to be stressful.

Stressful it may be, but Dave's only done what any estate agent

would do in the dog-eat-dog property world.

Much as Mr and Mrs Farndon love that bungalow, as much as we believe

that their desire was to buy that bungalow, they weren't in a position

to buy that bungalow because nobody was buying their house.

Yes, they've got someone saying yes, they wanted to buy their house,

but it hadn't gone far enough through to give us some comfort.

We do not act for the purchaser. We act for the seller.

We act for the vendor.

She's the one I take instructions from and she's the one

that's going to cut a cheque to me when her house is sold.

# Tonight

# We are young... #

In Exeter, Lewis has a new dilemma - choosing a name for his baby.

It's funny, because at the moment we both

agree that we like the name Finley, but I like it spelt with an "a"

and my wife likes it spelt with an "e". So neither will give in.

-How do you spell Finley, anyway?

-With an "a" or an "e".

No, as in F-I...

F-I-N-L-A-Y

or L-E-Y.

What about Charlie?

George!

Just something really striking, like Strider!

-Strider's cool!

-Strider!

-I like Strider!

-Strider!

-Strider Rossiter!

-Strider. The name's Strider - Strider Rossiter!

"Strider. Yes, sir."

-That works.

-If he becomes an actor...

"Starring Strider Rossiter..."

What if they just want to work at Poundland?

On the work front, Willeys Avenue has hit a snag.

The buyers Lewis talked up to 205,000 have pulled out

and the deadline is fast approaching.

In the meantime, I've got in touch with the other interested

parties that viewed the property on the day at the open house.

One in particular has come back and offered.

We've renegotiated up to pretty much what they had before.

Do you want to go and have a look at the digger?

That's going to be our new house there, look!

With an agreed price of 202,500,

the new buyer also meets Sam's approval.

It's a lovely family with two children, and I'm so happy that it's gone to someone like that,

because we've been so happy in that house with our children.

But the sale still needs to go through the solicitors - and fast.

I can't see there's going to be a reason why we shouldn't move,

it's just that in my head I can't imagine that

I will be living here in 10 days' time!

-What time is it, Kuki?

-It's 10.37 now.

In London, Gary has another important meeting.

Can I have the keys, Kuki, please? Are we just two of us?

Up for grabs, an entire six-storey townhouse.

It's attracting developers keen to make some serious money.

Let me open these up.

Less than five minutes walk from Harrods, Eaton Place, Belgravia, SW1

is one of the world's most exclusive postcodes.

-How much do you want for this?

-Circa 27 million. This and the mews.

-As it is?

-As it is.

'The developer has to make a profit.

'He has to buy at a level where he can purchase the property,'

pay all the costs relating to the purchase of the property,

spend money in the refurbishment of the building of the new product

and make a 20 or 25% developers' profit.

The property has been left un-modernised

and divided into several flats.

I've brought the whole thing in for a client of mine who intended giving

the whole building and the mews behind to a sister and his mother.

However, they didn't want to live in Belgravia,

they wanted to live in Hampstead, so this is surplus to requirements.

If Gary achieves his asking price,

he stands to walk away with more than £500,000 commission.

The problem is, he can't get into one of the apartments.

I bet they've been cut badly.

Where's the other key? Let's try that.

I shall be back in a minute.

This key tag 13. Key tag 13.

Whilst waiting for the new keys,

Gary distracts them by taking them around the rest of the property.

You end up with five or six bedrooms,

depending on how you configure.

Double reception at first-floor level which

we haven't got into, two reception rooms at the ground floor level.

Going through the ground floor,

you connect to the main first floor of the mews.

Above that, you have two staff bedrooms and a kitchen for staff.

PHONE RINGS

Yes, Kuki?

Yes, Kuki.

Well, they are all there,

I'm not taking no for an answer.

They are all there.

Thank you.

Gary won't be able to do this deal without showing the entire property.

Do you have them, Kuki?

Trusty Kuki to the rescue.

It's stressful when keys don't fit!

Three sets, I had to pick the set that didn't work.

This becomes one garden. Extra floor in the mews.

That becomes a reception room, family room...

Gary has priced this 6-storey doer-upper at £27 million...

..but the developer has other ideas.

Which means?

How can that be?

Well, we have to beg...

We have to disagree.

I'll give you a buzz this afternoon...

Gary and the developer are about £10 million adrift and with such

big profit margins at stake, neither is prepared to back down.

-You drive a hard bargain in those meetings, Gary.

-Do I?

I don't like people being stupid.

Or clever.

In County Durham, Lynne is wheeling out the big guns

to shift the unsellable house.

# No income tax, no VAT

# No money back, no guarantee

# Black or white, rich or broke

# We'll cut prices at a stroke

# God bless Hooky Street

# Viva Hooky Street... #

With suction-mounted laminates on a three-wheeled van,

Lynne's hoping all interested parties will form an orderly queue.

We've got a difficult house, what else can we do over

and above the standard stuff that any estate agent does?

What can we do to be different?

What can we do to attract some sort of attention?

So, hey-ho, I think we are going above

and beyond what anybody else would do to try and achieve a sale.

Driving this car isn't easy, either - no power steering,

I can hardly reach the pedals, just with my toes!

And I'm sweating!

With Lynn taking care of business in the car park,

it's club night for Sue.

# And you to me Are soft as summer rain at dawn

# ..Begins to crumble But love will never die. #

And a perfect opportunity to flog her self-styled glamour pad.

Anybody want to buy a house?

Does anybody want to buy a house?

Six months on, Sue's house is still for sale

and waiting for its sixth viewer.

Back in Birmingham...

I don't think estate agents are thought of that badly as much as they...

I think a lot of people have caught us up and surpassed us.

I think estate agents, whilst we want to shoot a banker,

for making our life so impossible at the moment,

we also want to pat him on the back

and say, "Now you're having some of the crap we've had for the last 30 years!"

In the office, it's bungalow-gate,

with the rival second viewers bidding against the Farndons.

I'll put that offer forward.

I don't think it's going to be acceptable,

we have got other interest in the property, so...

No.

-Luckily for the Farndons, the new bid is a no-hoper.

-Bye.

It's £15,000 under the asking price.

With their own house sale finally going through,

they are now able to come up with the money.

The good news is the Farndon sale has proceeded.

Now, this sold sign on the board, the Farndons are the buyer.

I am sure in the past Mr and Mrs Farndon would quite happily have thrown darts at pictures of me.

Right now, I'm probably third or fourth on their Christmas card list.

Because they got this bungalow, you know! It's the way it goes.

Never get too high on highs or too low on the lows.

Never take it to heart.

After 25 years in their old home,

the only problem now is what to pack. And what to ditch!

-No, it's not going in there.

-It is.

-It's not.

-Oh, yes, it is!

Sandra likes it, so...

We ain't got a chance, have we? Eh?

We have not got a chance!

Have you seen that on the fridge, what I bought her on the fridge?

Now you understand why we ain't got a chance!

In Exeter, Lewis's office is on target to achieve

their most profitable month ever.

All that needs to happen is for Willeys Avenue to go through

-by the end of the day.

-So, Willeys Avenue...

It's all on the solicitors. They've got to pull it out of the bag today.

We've done everything we can to get to the dance.

How confident are you feeling?

I reckon I'm about 75/25 it's going to happen.

-Everything is in place, we've just got to...

-Pray.

No, I'm an atheist, I'm not going to pray.

I actually feel sick.

Sam's critical ten-week deadline ends at 5pm.

We're still packing up and we genuinely don't know

if we're going to complete today and our deadline is still today.

The seller has said, you know, categorically, that we're not having

it unless we complete today, so we are doing everything in our power.

Sam's solicitors are still processing the money from her

house sale, but time is running out.

Hello?

Hello!

OK, thank you.

Oh, my God!

They've got the money in and they've sent it,

they've got three minutes till the deadline.

-And...

-BANG

Why does that door keep banging?

Can somebody not put a stop on it or something?

Um, there's three minutes to go before the deadline.

Hi, Paul - how are we?

-How are we looking?

-All Lewis can do is hassle Sam's solicitors.

That's fine, I'll leave you to it...

OK. Good. Speak to you later. Bye.

So you're feeling confident, then?

OK, I'm feeling a little confident, but again,

it's out of my hands, I can't control it, OK?

I can't, you can't...

The worst part of the job is when something falls through

and there's nothing you can do.

I've had to be on the phone and I've had people crying, people sat in

front of me crying because the buyer has pulled out - it's very emotional.

PHONE RINGS

But finally...

Hello?

Oh!

Get the corks out, everybody!

It's completed.

So we're moving. For God's sake! Bradleys - this is Lewis.

We've done it!

We've completed! Yeah.

We're moving!

Lewis did sell a house in the ten weeks, he's kept it all

together, he's been the cement that's kept the bricks in place.

If it wasn't for him, there's no way in a normal situation this

would have happened, it just wouldn't.

He works like a Trojan and just keeps going

and going to get things done.

He's been brilliant.

I knew it was going to be close,

but I didn't think it would be that close.

-Pure relief.

-T in team! Yay!

To the E-A-M in team!

All I wanted was to come in, shut the door and say, "It's ours"

and it is, so I've got what I wanted and I'm really happy.

Just spoke to one of the directors of the company and said to them that

it's probably the biggest achievement since I've been at Bradleys.

The most profitable month this office has ever done.

Job done.

Right, so we get to the hospital...

But having delivered the goods on the work front,

two days later, there's one final deal to close.

This isn't a rehearsal!

That's not false.

And 1 hour 18 minutes later,

baby Rossiter has finally arrived.

Will he be Finley with an "a" or an "e"?

Or perhaps Strider?

This is Cohen Rossiter,

nine pounds two.

Delivered in about five minutes in a hot tub and...

He's the first in the bloodline,

he will carry the bloodline on.

BABY COHEN BURPS

By the time the baby was born, we didn't have a name,

still debates going back and forth.

Hudson was flying out there.

There were still talks of Finlay.

And then Ness just briefly mentioned what about Cohen?

We Googled if there was a Cohen Rossiter in existence, there's not.

Thought that's pretty good. It's been a huge month.

With...

With all the exchanges

and going down to the wire and then just having Cohen

at the end of it... Just tips it all off, doesn't it?

Been a crazy, crazy month.

-Next time...

-We've put the house on the market at £8,200,000.

-It's not a very high price, really.

-We follow the estate agent highs...

-She's paying cash.

-And lows.

I'd have to be David Bailey to get this place looking presentable.

And find out if working in the cut-throat capital

is all it's cracked up to be.

The press would have you believe that everything is fantastic

and all-singing and all-dancing, and unfortunately,

they're talking absolute crap.