Episode 4 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's 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'd get a better response if you say you're a mass murderer.

What inane comments do you want to make now, Alan?

HE LAUGHS

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 to £60 million.

..it's knock-down 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 tell you you're not getting it,

don't come crying back to me saying, "I'd have gone another 500 quid."

..rookie Lewis in Devon...

These surveyors are dangerous, dangerous people.

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

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...

As an estate agent I could class that 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

In 2013, over a million homes were bought and sold in the UK.

The market is very strong up to five or six million,

and I believe it will become even stronger than it was.

If you get a nice area that's popular,

the price is only going to go one way.

But the country's property market is more polarised than ever before.

We haven't come out of the first recession yet.

There's a lack of employment. People haven't got money to buy.

It's grim. It's grim.

Whether the good times are just around the corner remains unclear...

The property market here has been affected by the recession,

but I guess we're lucky to be in such a nice place really.

..but one thing is certain...

Do you want to live next to a railway line? Maybe not.

..in the competitive world of estate agency,

selling houses isn't getting any easier.

Where we put a mortgage application in on a Monday,

get a surveyor's access call on a Wednesday,

have the mortgage offer by the following Monday,

those days are gone.

Despite what the banks will tell you, they're gone.

Keeping his head above water, veteran estate agent Dave Simms

has worked the tricky streets of Hodge Hill for 30 years.

This is a tough, rough area to deal in.

This is an area where people are pretty savvy to try

to cut you out or to try and tickle you,

and that means we have to be one step ahead

of the guy who's got the feather duster.

And I think we are.

I've sold that one, I've sold that one, I've sold that one.

I've definitely sold that one, I've definitely sold that one.

I've definitely sold that one and that one and that one.

Moving with the times, Dave soon wised up to a new wave of buyer.

Who bought all those houses?

Well, 30 years ago - Mr Jones, Mr Smith, Mr Brown.

And now it's Mr Hussain, Mr Akhtar, Mr Mohammed.

Mr Jones, Mr Smith, Mr Brown doesn't buy here.

And when I say they don't buy here, I mean they don't buy here.

100% of our buyers are Pakistani.

This is a part of Birmingham that has changed more

in the last 10 to 15 years than any other part of Birmingham.

It's just a very, very different area than what we remember it as.

-Were you brought up near here?

-Yeah, I was born in Parkfield Road, which is the next road down to here.

So Parkfield Road, Alum Rock. So this is where it all started.

-Do you live at 26? I was born in that house.

-Oh, yeah.

-Oh, yeah.

-Nice house. You were born here?

-Yeah.

-Oh, yeah.

-Yeah. Yeah.

I used to come out here when I was about three or four

and I used to wait for my dad to come home from work.

-Oh, yeah.

-He had the motorbike at the time.

And then I used to sit on the motorbike,

shoot down the back and then come round.

Neighbours used to come and moan at Dad for putting me on the motorbike.

Many of Dave's clients are moving from terraced houses

in the Alum Rock area, where he was born...

..to larger semis in Hodge Hill.

Well, my parents did exactly the same.

They moved from Parkfield Road to Sandhurst Avenue.

Mr Hussain and Mr Ahmed and Mr Akhtar and Mr Yunis today

are making the same trip as Mary and Derek Simms made how many years ago.

Have many of your contemporaries stayed around here?

-No, everybody moved out on the last one.

-Why did you stay?

Because I work here. This is my job, my life, it's what I do.

You either embrace it or you don't.

And embrace it, Dave has.

His new clients know exactly what they want

when it comes to buying houses.

That's the parrot. Yeah, it's part of the family, or she is.

Ideally, living altogether is key, with extended families close by.

There's six of us - Mum, me, brother, two sisters

-and Dad over here.

-Hello.

A lot of the Asian community are your close family network,

so you want to have the biggest house possible,

so at least to accommodate everyone.

Maz Ali and his family already own two houses on this street and he's

going for the hat-trick with his eye on his next-door neighbour's too.

This one in the midst of being developed, that's my sister's house.

That was a three-bedroom.

By the time we've finished that, that'll be a six-bedroom.

This is the one we're looking to buy for my younger brother.

The next one's my own. That's the one we bought and developed.

You know, a traditional Asian family you probably have first generation,

second generation, third generation,

and even fourth generation living in the same house.

Over the years, tradition has changed a bit

where you buy a house close by.

-Close by or next door?

-Well, if you can get next door even better,

because you know your neighbours.

It's Hodge Hill - the land of mighty extensions.

To get an idea of how much he should offer his neighbour,

Maz has roped in Dave.

-So who am I doing the valuation for, you or him?

-This lad here.

I'm doing a valuation for you, how much you should pay for this,

-and then you'll make him an offer based on what I say?

-Yeah.

OK. Let's see where we go.

Banking on any future business,

competitive Dave is valuing this property free of charge.

So there's a chap here who's obviously trying to buy

this house, we've got a seller who's part done it up...

..part being the operative word.

It's just shabby, isn't it? The good news is John Wayne is still alive,

because there's a few cowboys that have been in this house doing a few jobs.

Having done his mooch about,

expert Dave's in no doubt what the house is worth.

As a house that you want to build and to do stuff to,

this isn't worth a lot more than 100, 110 grand.

But you might end up having to pay 120, 125 for it...

Well, he's saying he's had it valued 145 to 150.

-150. Yeah.

-That's ridiculous.

Well, no, there's not a chance this is a 145, 150 from anybody.

And I will go...in fairness, I'll go and tell him.

-I'll go and tell him that as well. OK?

-OK.

I think I'm a bloke of the world, so I think I can speak to folk

honestly and straightforwardly, and I don't lie to folk.

It's a fairly easy house to value, it's around 120, 125.

It's not 140, 145.

Done up, kitchen finished, bathroom finished, the full works,

then maybe it's 140, 145.

I make sense in my valuation, I give people...

..the reasons for my value.

I don't just say, "Your house is worth 120,000 quid."

-See, we've had Dixons in...

-Well, no, you can have the Pope in.

It ain't worth...it ain't 140, 145.

I think I do the job well. If I didn't think I did it well,

I wouldn't be doing it, I'd be doing something else.

-OK. Cheers fella.

-Do your clients listen to you?

More often than not, yes. Because I think they trust us.

Life in Hodge Hill may have changed,

but just an hour down the road it seems as if time has stood still.

Lovely countryside.

Mark Annett runs his own estate agency in the north Cotswolds,

home to picturesque properties and notable neighbours.

So we're here in Chipping Campden.

David Cameron lives sort of near Chipping Norton really,

along with Jeremy Clarkson.

You know, it's a good pitch to be.

Chipping Campden is a jolly nice old market town.

It's a nice area. I mean, it's a sought-after area.

I'm afraid it's high property prices generally.

Some of these town houses in the High Street,

some of them will be a million to two million.

I suppose places like Chipping Campden conjure up old England.

You know, you can walk along little village lanes or go

into villages and think, "Crikey, this is like going back in time."

You just see lots of lovely cottages and houses,

but there are modern people living in them.

They've all got broadband here. I mean, we've all got telephones.

Famed for the beauty of its High Street and surrounding countryside,

the town attracts 12 million visitors each year.

We get the odd one or two with a label on them saying,

"I'm a tourist, I want to waste a bit of time.

"Just give me something to do this afternoon for ten minutes."

They come in and say, "I wonder if I could view this property

"at four o'clock?" And you say, "OK, can we make it five?

"No, we've got to get the taxi back to Heathrow, we're flying back to Australia."

I mean, it's just a waste of time.

The classic one, Mark, was when the American came in,

"Kind of looks old in this town. We were thinking it's really old.

"How do they make it look so old?" We said, "Because they are old!"

You know, we had the Chaucer Tales filmed here

and all they did was throw a bit of straw on the floor

and they were back in the Canterbury Tales era, weren't they?

With houses dating back to the 14th century,

Mark's speciality is period property.

I mean I would defy anybody, you know, that didn't like this.

It's just super, I think.

But chocolate-box homes here aren't cheap.

A Cotswold three-bed typically costs a whopping £500,000...

..more than double the UK average.

The main orchard is up here, which I'll show you.

The trees have been manicured, I think it's beautiful.

-And some dream homes...

-I think it's great.

..sell for over two million.

You know, it's got that wow factor.

Mark's heading to his latest instruction, Clerk's Cottage,

a 300-year-old Cotswold stone cottage

that hasn't been on the market for over a century.

Well, the church, they've owned the cottage for, I don't know,

since the beginning almost, I should think, in one form or another.

And here we are to sell it.

Sorry about the cobwebs.

Who did live here?

Originally, as I understand it, the parish clerk who lived here,

hence it's Clerk's Cottage. That's what I think.

-I shall call it a Cotswold gem...

-HE CHUCKLES

..with scope for improvements.

I mean, the London market will love it.

Quintessential Cotswold cottage, lovely countryside.

You know, ideal to come up on a Friday night.

Price guide, I've said 300 to 350.

This valuation lark, you know, it's not a science.

I mean, how many properties are sold like this that you could say,

"Oh, well, there were four sold round the corner..."

I mean, it just isn't going to happen.

So it's based on my gut feeling of the market.

The trust-owned cottage is not being sold through conventional means.

In two months' time it's up for grabs at public auction.

It's going to auction because the owners are a charitable trust

and they have a duty to sell for as much as they can get on the day,

so going to auction is a good way of letting the market decide what it's worth.

'Put people in a room and let them bid.'

Lovely spot, isn't it?

See yous later. Bye.

Four hours north of Mark, in the small town of Spennymoor,

County Durham, is estate agent Lynne Blaney.

Lynne regularly deals with homes

whose owners have failed to pay the mortgage.

Despite having the cheapest average house prices in the UK,

just under one in every 100 properties

in County Durham are being claimed back by the banks.

Today we have quite a few company-owned properties

to check on for insurance purposes.

Right, down this way.

In estate agent language,

a repossessed home is referred to as a company-owned property.

The people have just upped and left

and just left their personal possessions.

Quite sad in a way. It is.

If you'd attended an eviction or a house where a family had lived and

they were in the process of moving out, it was really, really rare.

These days it isn't.

They come on our books all the time, evictions

and we get given empty properties where families have already gone.

And, you know, we'll clear everything out and some will leave,

as we see, including a bottle of champagne - if you like a drink?

SHE LAUGHS

Rising unemployment has made repossessions a common occurrence.

But it's not all doom and gloom in the north-east.

Where some see no hope, others see pound signs.

Are they quite a good deal if you're a buyer?

Oh, wow, yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely.

We've had offers on little two-bedroom terraced houses

at around about £19,000.

When we were in a good marketplace, you know, 2006, 2007,

we were selling them same little two-bedroomed terraced houses

for, like, 50 and 60 grand.

But I'm sure that the good days will come back.

Local property developer Wilf Fleming is a man on a mission

to buy up cheap houses.

I've come from nothing.

I'm a guy who's done well for himself in the town.

Wilf, are we in? Have a seat. What is it you're after?

I don't know, something to get my teeth in to.

-I'm a bit bored.

-A bit bored?

-Aye.

Let's see what the craic is.

You're looking well-tanned, are you going away?

-You must be on a sunbed, are you?

-No, no sunbeds.

There's a little bit of the spray stuff out of the bottle and all,

-just to give a healthy glow.

-SHE GIGGLES

Wilf buys old repossessed houses to do up, sell on or rent out.

With £60,000 to spend, one of Lynne's recent instructions -

a three-bed bungalow in urgent need of attention -

is right up his street.

I've seen one up High Croft.

There's a bungalow got a notice on up there, like a repo one.

To recover their debts,

banks want to sell repossessed homes ASAP.

Often going to market on the cheap,

they can be a very good deal for quick buyers.

-It's shocking, Wilf.

-It's all right. I'll buy that with pleasure.

Sensing a bargain, Wilf's keen to snap up High Croft whatever state it's in.

I can take you up, let you have a look, cos we've got the keys.

-No, I don't even want to have a look.

-You don't even want to have a look?

-If it's right to buy, I'll buy.

-It's got vermin in there.

-That's all right.

-I'll keep you informed.

-I'll sort the job out.

-No, no matter, all right.

Tell them I'm not frightened of mice, I'll put somebody else in to kill them.

When they see my builder, the mice will run away. Yes.

-Oh, well, there you go.

-See you later, ta-ra.

-See you after.

The hunt for reasonably priced repos isn't just restricted

to bargain basement Britain.

-How big is your boat?

-40 metres.

-40 metres.

I just came off a boat of a 105 metres.

Gary Hersham has been selling property to the world's wealthiest

people from his estate agency in Mayfair for more than 30 years.

The most expensive property I ever sold

was a building for £198 million.

One has to be rich to afford a property in prime central London.

Stratospheric prices, but not every property is off the scale.

In Gary's world, when homes worth millions get repossessed,

they're referred to as distressed properties and deals can be struck.

Distressed implies when the bank has not been paid

and the bank decides to sell that property to get its debt back.

That's a distressed property.

Distressed properties in exclusive central London aren't two-a-penny.

Sometimes you need inside connections to nab them.

-How are you?

-Good.

Gary's after a millionaire's pad at a modest price

for one of his wealthy clients.

He's called in Tim Garland-Jones, a broker for some of the country's

finest reclaimed mega-buck mansions

and posh problem properties.

Because we're independent, we get asked to offer appraisals

and advice on off-market stuff, distressed properties,

which is where potentially we might be able to have a chat.

With a number of high profile pads on his books, Tim's keen to impress,

but experienced Gary is a hard man to please.

I have quite a few properties.

We've just finished Alexander McQueen's house in Dunraven Street.

We're currently doing the largest house in St George's Hill

for a very, very good Russian client of ours.

It's a replica French chateau.

We've just got planning for the largest house is Surrey,

135,000 square feet, which was in the news quite predominantly.

I'm sure you're aware of Updown Court.

It had no reception room to speak of,

unless you want to call the entrance foyer a reception room.

-Yeah, that's right.

-It was a house that had three swimming pools,

two of which were existent. It's right next to the motorway,

and I had it under offer for £68 million at one point in time,

only to be told that you can't read your papers,

Sunday papers, in the garden. Know the house back to front.

Tim's back catalogue boasts Updown Court,

the UK's most expensive repossession ever.

With 103 rooms, 24 bedrooms and a heated marble driveway,

this distressed mansion hit the headlines in 2011

and was snapped up for a mere £35 million - half its original price.

But Updown Court isn't on the agenda today.

Gary's client wants a posh doer-upper in the centre of town.

I'm particularly looking now for a distressed property,

Mayfair, Knightsbridge or Belgravia, but it has to be something

that's really special, totally un-modernised,

where my client can bring it up to a very high standard

of his own occupation.

-It's got to be a proper house.

-Yeah.

It can't be something that's a nine million quid thing.

A very rich person.

We've just sold something for him for about a £100 million,

and I'm looking for something that is a special house.

-No, that's fine.

-Either way. OK.

-That's good.

Thanks for waiting for me. The traffic was terrible.

Oh, no, that's all right. That's fine, no problem whatsoever.

Fully briefed, Tim's challenge is to find Gary the perfect pad.

Gary's not the only agent looking for the ideal property for his buyers.

Back in Birmingham, Dave's taken on a large semidetached house on Twycross Grove...

Hello, anyone home? Estate agent.

..a popular street, and the perfect property for his particular clientele.

So many Asian people want to live in this area

because the housing stock we have in this area fits their requirement -

the ability to extend, the ability to create more space.

For Mr Hussain, for Mr Ahmed, it has to be divorced reception rooms,

door to the kitchen, door to the lounge, door to the second lounge.

When there's some business to be done or there's family guests to come,

they do like the second reception room.

That's one of the big tick-boxes for this style of property

with the majority of people who are looking around here.

And if there's one thing better than two reception rooms,

it's the potential for three.

Originally when this house was built, it had a cloak cupboard here.

Next to it, here, is a coal house.

Then if we go in to the kitchen we have a pantry.

If you actually knock the cloakroom, the coal house and the pantry out,

all of a sudden this six-and-a-half foot side garage

becomes a nine-and-a-half, ten-foot third reception room.

-Why don't they use it as a garage?

-Nobody uses a garage for their cars.

You use a garage for your golf clubs, for your lawn mower,

the ability to go UP into a third storey,

OUT into a third reception room, back, above...

It gives you everything that Mr Hussain's looking for,

and that's what makes this the perfect Asian house.

Your average three-bed semi in Hodge Hill goes from around £150,000.

But not all of Dave's properties tick the right boxes.

Hilltop Drive is a bargain price semi at just under £130,000,

but it's had little interest.

Annie Fields is selling the house for her father

after he began to suffer from dementia...

Dad's had to go into an old people's home

because he can't possibly look after himself any more.

..and she needs to sell fast to afford to pay the care home.

If he hadn't owned his own home, then all the costs would

have been waivered, everything would have been paid for.

-Is he a rich man?

-No, not by any means. Not by any means.

He's worked from the time he was 14, and now he's got to sell it.

Over 20,000 people a year are forced to sell their homes

to help finance care home fees.

It does feel weird...being here.

With Annie's dad's sole assets tied up in the house,

selling up is the only solution.

Obviously, you know, the people who own the home are on our backs.

I don't know whether these people will turf him out.

I can't see them turfing him out, but you just don't know.

And I don't want to think about Dad being upset in any way,

any more so than he has to be.

How important is it that this house sells?

Very. More than very. Extremely.

This morning, Dave's on his way to Hilltop for a precious viewing

at Annie's must-sell house.

We've struggled with this one. We've had this up for sale

for probably about six months. We've tried everything.

We've had open days, lots of advertising...

-Why won't it sell, then?

-It's not Asian-friendly.

There's no real area for it to be extended, so it's not one

of the traditional semis where you can extend over the side garage.

Right, come on in, all, help yourself,

have a look around, see what you think.

With everything crossed, Dave's hoping

potential buyer Mr Khan likes what he sees.

The good thing about an integral garage house, though, is what

you get upstairs, because, of course,

-you get three better bedrooms.

-Yeah.

'Absolutely you've got to be good at reading people.'

"Are they serious, are they really genuine, are they having me on here?

"Do you reckon he can do this? Has he got that money?"

As you say, it's been brought down a couple of times.

It was 149,950, then 139,950, now 129,950.

'I'm not into the foreplay, I'm into just...'

"Are we going to do this or not? Are you going to buy this house?"

And much to Dave's surprise, it looks like Mr Khan is.

So...would you be able to accept 125 cash?

-Are you making me an offer of that?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Bingo! Mr Khan's offered 125,000 cash -

four grand under the asking price,

but a lifeline for Annie's dad's care home bills.

Right, OK. Do you want to pop up to the office now

-and we'll see you up there?

-All right.

-OK, all good. Smashing.

-You sure?

Yeah, I'm good. I'm with all that.

It all looks so easy when it happens like that, doesn't it?

First thing, let's wait and see

if they will be in the office in five minutes,

but they seem pretty genuine.

And if they will offer 125,000 for this, my client will be doing

gambols across the lawn later on this afternoon.

All good, let's lock up.

Where have they been for six months?

I mean, we've shown half of Kashmir round that house in the

last six months and, erm...

..not a sniff, not a sniff.

But that just shows how strange this job can be, you know,

a spot-on house, a spot-on buyer, you go and do a viewing,

everything seems great, and they go, "No, thanks, don't like it."

And then you turn up with low expectations...

..and something like that happens.

Or so we think happens!

We're still 200 yards from the office.

Dave's keen to get Mr Khan back to the office while the iron's hot.

Making an offer on a house is not legally binding,

it's a mere chat-up line until the money appears.

And there you go, nobody here.

That's a shame, isn't it?

They promised us, they promised us!

Oh, we were starting to doubt you. You OK? All good?

-Do you want to come into the office?

-Yes.

Right, OK, let's take some of your details down.

Mr Khan has recently sold his house for 110,000.

He's a cash buyer and seems ready to go.

-OK, smashing.

-Nice meeting you.

OK, we'll give you a call

-a little bit later on.

-All right.

-Take care.

So far, so good.

In Spennymoor, County Durham, it's business as usual for Lynne.

She's checking out the three-bed repossessed property

on High Croft that had local developer Wilf

chomping at the bit.

Welcome to the glamorous life of the estate agent.

Having been left in a state by its former owners,

it's now ready for the open market.

We took this property on our books a couple of weeks ago.

I came in and I got as far as this door,

and I literally couldn't get any further.

I couldn't get in any of the bedrooms,

and I literally walked in, took a camera there and walked back out.

People who own this have had to move out for whatever reason.

This was their home.

It may once have belonged to a family,

but now it belongs to the bank, and they want their money back.

Now it's all being cleaned out,

we've got the board up, it's now on the internet and it's fully available

at 54,950, which is an exceptionally good price.

The best piece of advice I could give anybody if they're buying

a company-owned property is,

"Move as quick as what you possibly can."

In this instance, I think whoever did it up

and put it back on the market would make a small profit on it.

And the thought of making a profit has got developer Wilf

first through the door, flashing the cash.

-Mrs Blaney.

-What can I do for you today?

I see that bungalow's come on the market at High Croft.

Mm-hm, it certainly has. On the market at 54,950.

I tell you what, I'm only going to bid them once,

I'm not going to prat on. I'll give them 53.

I won't go a penny more. The money's in place. Is that fair?

-Yeah, I'm just going through this. 53, cash....

-Mm-hm.

Wilf's 53 grand offer's on the table,

but with the whiff of easy wonga in the air, the following day

in walks rival developer Geoff Ellis, and he means business.

You're quite happy to place an offer,

you've seen the condition of it.

There was an offer came in yesterday which was a little bit less

than the asking price from somebody in a proceedable position like you.

-Yeah.

-So I'll take all your details as well.

And the amount that you want to offer?

-The full asking price, yeah.

-Right. Okey-dokey.

Geoff's in with the full asking price,

hoping to knock Wilf out of the game.

Offer of the full asking price.

Correct. No survey and no searches.

Yes.

Lynne's straight on to High Croft's owners.

Until Geoff can prove he has the funds, it's still anyone's game.

Correct.

Finding the perfect place to live can be a lifelong quest.

The Cotswolds recently ranked as one of the most desirable places

to buy property in the UK.

It can even boast more celebrities per square acre

than anywhere outside London - if that's your thing.

But housing stock on Mark's patch is limited,

and now developers are muscling in to build more property.

You're keen to get on this morning, Monty.

With government targets to build over 150,000 new homes

by 2015, change is even coming to picturesque Chipping Campden.

Well, I think the development

and the changes, for places like Chipping Campden, is inevitable.

Good boy.

'But the more they come in, the more they destroy the very thing'

they came here for, that's the point.

Last week, planning inspectors gave permission for 16 new houses

to be built on Badgers Field.

There were quite a lot of people strongly against it, and have

been strongly against this field being developed for a long time.

It just seems a shame to put more concrete and tarmac

and all the rest of it down on that particular spot.

But the point about development, it's not saying we don't want any,

it's just making sure that it's in the right places,

and the point here is, this isn't the right place.

But, you know, from an estate agency point of view, yeah.

You build 'em, I'll sell 'em.

With ancient rural England being sold off an acre at a time,

some of the local residents are thinking about moving out...

before the diggers move in.

Sorry I didn't get the bird doo off that!

SHE LAUGHS

Marilyn, originally from Virginia,

lives just a stone's throw from Badgers Field, and has had enough.

-And I have a shed in there.

-Yeah, brilliant.

-So that works really well.

-OK.

So Mark's been called in to value her two-bed property, Wren Cottage.

-And then you've got a dishwasher.

-Little dishwasher.

-Yes, brilliant.

-Yeah, boiler's hidden.

-Yeah, yes, lovely.

And then this becomes a little room,

and then my office is another little room.

I mean, I think it's a pity if Badgers Field

is making you sell this one.

Well, the Badgers Field thing does really disturb me.

The most material point is getting up and down the road.

Well, I know, but.. I mean, it's impossible.

-I know, but it's a muddle.

-Yeah.

-It's a bugger's muddle.

Mark's priced this quaint Cotswold cottage at 350,000.

I just think that it's devastating.

There's a children's playground right next door to this field,

there's tennis courts, everything is going to be affected.

But where you will go, do you know?

Probably Cornwall. They have lovely hills in Cornwall.

-Is it lemon?

-Lemon sponge.

-Lemon sponge.

Even in these changing times, back at the office,

everything stops for tea.

-Need a boost this time of the day.

-Lovely.

People don't like change, I think none of us likes change

and, you know, Badgers Field and that little part

of Chipping Campden presumably will change.

But then it's all...

there's going to be some development,

there's got to be some progress, I suppose.

If you call it progress.

In Birmingham, Annie's must-sell house

on Hilltop Drive is making progress.

Prospective buyer Mr Khan has been asked to provide proof of funds.

Wily old Dave needs to know he has a serious buyer on his hands.

We ask for a lot more proof now than we did five years ago,

10 years ago, 25 years ago,

just so you can be a little bit more assured

that what people are telling you is correct.

-Why, why's that?

-People lie a lot more.

We try and get all the things that can go wrong out of the way

before we commit to somebody and jump into bed with them.

Is that because you're cynical?

Absolutely. Completely and utterly right.

It's because we've been lied to, tickled so many times

in the last few years, yeah, that's exactly why, yeah, cynical.

Estate agents often phone each other to share client info.

They all want to keep the local market moving.

Hello, Martin, David Simms, Alex Smith and Company.

How are you, all right?

Martin, we've just had a Mr Khan walk in to my office

and make an offer on a property.

He's your client from Lydford Grove in Erdington.

He's OK, yeah? You've seen the deposit, he's got all that?

Ta-ra, bye-bye.

Well, he looks as good as he said he was.

If you were just going on paper,

he looks as good a buyer as you're going to get.

So...happy days. I think the vendor will be delighted.

Convinced Mr Khan is a sound buyer,

it's time to call Annie with the good news.

No, no, it's our pleasure. All right. Thanks then, bye.

After six months of trying, with Annie's dad's house sale

nearly complete, the care home can soon be paid off.

Just elated, absolutely and utterly elated,

because you just think, yes, finally it's gone, you're just...

You can't really put it into words, it's just...

Well, it's relief just knowing that Dad will be safe.

Dave's on a roll.

He's had a call to show Twycross Grove - his perfect Asian house.

But worryingly, the potential buyer looks very familiar.

Here's an interesting one for you. Isn't the chap on the drive there,

he's not the guy who made the offer on Hilltop, is he?

All right, guys, come on in. Come on in, please.

Despite having just had his offer accepted on Annie's must-sell house

on Hilltop, Mr Khan's now turned up with his family to see this one.

You were the man we showed round this morning.

-Yes, yes.

-Lovely.

Please help yourself, have a look around.

Hello. Are you OK? Good.

You could be setting a record if you buy this one as well,

two in one day, I tell you, that would be just perfect, that would.

It's for my son and daughter-in-law.

Right. So the Hilltop Drive one is for you, is it, yes?

Mr Khan says this morning's house, Hilltop, is for him,

and this one for his son,

but Dave's concerned.

It worries me why he's here.

We'll find out, don't worry.

Well, I think it's old. If you have a look. Hello, hello.

CHATTER

There was me talking.

See you later. You'll be on commission if you...

Have you got any more sons?

HE LAUGHS

Thinking he'd successfully shifted Annie's dad's house

this morning, Dave now fears it's all about to fall through.

It's always worrying when you agree a sale, accept an offer,

think you're all fairly well progressed

and negotiated with a chap on a house, only to find him

turn up at the next viewing that you do, looking at another house.

Is it possible to make a cash offer of £150,000?

Sure enough, the next morning, Dave's fears are confirmed.

Mr Khan wants to switch his offer from Annie's dad's house

to Twycross Grove.

We'll certainly put that cash offer to her.

-All right. 152, then.

-OK. 152, I'm pretty sure she'll take it.

MR KHAN COUGHS

-Hey, don't die on us before completion, OK.

-No, no, no.

OK. That's bad for business, yeah.

Don't get yourself stressed with it. Good man.

-Thank you very much. I'm sorry about that.

-Don't worry.

-No, don't worry about it. That's fine.

-It's only 22 hours.

Yeah, exactly. Just stay alive, OK. Just stay alive, OK.

Just stay alive.

Annie may have just lost the house sale,

but in the cut-throat world of estate agency,

business is business for Dave.

He made our morning yesterday.

He's kind of broke our morning/ made our morning today.

I need a chocolate biscuit.

It's the first one I've had out the packet.

What a difference a day makes.

I just hope that works out for him now, you know, because I think

all through yesterday we felt that he was a decent enough fella.

He'd done all the things that he said he was going to do.

We had a little bit of jitters at the end of the day

when we saw him turn up at Twycross.

And they were, well, you know, they came true those jitters.

But at least he's buying Twycross.

Everyone's a winner, except Annie.

Brave Dave's given Karen the job of telling her the bad news.

Do you want a cup of tea?

Yes, please. Can I have some Valium and vodka in mine, please?

Yeah.

'Hello.'

Hi, Annie, it's Karen at Alex Smith. Are you OK?

'Yes, I'm fine, thank you. Are you?'

Oh, well, hmm, I've got some bad news for you, I'm afraid.

The chap that made the offer yesterday's been in to the office

to say, "Look, I'm sorry, but I won't be buying it."

'Right. OK, so we're back to square one again.'

We're back to square one.

'Right.'

-All right.

-'Yeah, OK.'

'OK, thanks. Bye-bye.'

Oh!

Oh, it's not good, is it? It's a shame.

But that's part and parcel of it, I'm afraid.

Until those contracts are signed and exchanged, anything can happen.

Anything can happen.

Back in the Cotswolds,

with just a few weeks before the auction on Clerk's Cottage,

Mark's arranged viewings for the 300-year-old property.

He's hoping his swanky new brochures have pulled in the punters.

I said, "Clerk's Cottage is a charming Cotswold gem.

"Now offered for sale for the first time on the open market

"with vacant possession.

"This sale presents an excellent opportunity to buy a super cottage

"with scope to modernise and update as necessary."

Well, I think that's all fair really.

Charming. Is that a word you...?

I didn't use charming. Have I used...? Yes, I did.

I said, "Clerk's Cottage is a charming Cotswold gem."

I couldn't think of anything better to say really.

I mean, I do, I think it is a gem.

I mean, you know, it doesn't take long to write this sort of garbage.

HE CHUCKLES

It's quite a good size that car.

But it looks like Mark's marketing "garbage" is working.

The first prospective bidders have turned up.

It's got potential.

-It's got a lot of potential, actually.

-Definitely.

With a guide price of 300,000,

this is a rare chance to own a piece of Cotswolds heritage.

Much interest?

Yeah, we've got a bit. People are always cagey with an auction.

-I always buy at auction, so...

-Oh.

-So we're quite used to it.

-Yeah.

Yes, we would be quite interested in it.

It would suit me down to the ground.

I don't like big. I like a nice small cottage.

Thank you very much.

All right, good to see you. Cheerio. Bye-bye. Bye.

There we are.

You never know, we might see them at the auction.

The trouble is, the ones you think are interested don't turn up

and the ones you think are a waste of time do.

You can never tell.

As news spreads, more eager viewers follow.

-It's a cracking spot.

-Yeah.

-I called it "a little gem".

You know, when you look at the picture,

I just think it's, you know, it's just pretty.

Yeah, it just ticks a lot of boxes really.

We can see the end product, can't we?

-If you've any queries, come back to me, by all means.

-Lovely. OK.

Rightio. Cheerio. Nice mullions at the front.

I saw an estate agent in the town here and he's asked me

how it was going with Clerk's Cottage.

I said, "Well, OK, you know, we've had quite a few viewings,"

and he said, "Very brave."

There are risks with house auctions.

People may come to the viewings,

but it doesn't mean they'll turn up to bid later on.

I've turned up for an auction and there's been two people there,

and one of them's reading the paper and the other one's the auctioneer.

And it's a disaster, a farce, a nonsense. Everybody looks stupid.

But there you go, that's the risk you take.

With some positive interest, Mark's next commission

rests on shifting Clerk's Cottage come auction day.

-Good to see you. Is your wife still in the...?

-Oh, yeah.

You're not going to leave her in there, are you?

You know, there's many a slip between cut and lip

and we don't want any disasters.

But we're quietly confident.

That's it. All right. OK. Might see you up in the office, then.

OK. Thanks.

It's been three weeks since the sale on Annie's dad's house

on Hilltop fell through and the care home bills continue to pile up.

But finally, a new bid comes in.

Alex Smith and company.

Hilltop Drive, yes. How can I help you?

110.

Six weeks completion.

Yeah. All right.

Thanks ever so much for your call. I appreciate that, bye.

Considering the amount of time it's been on the market, the number

of people we've shown round, she needs to take that now, I think.

From a 129 to 110. Karen calls Annie.

A chap that we showed round last night, he's offered 110.

Now I know it's not the best offer in the world.

Right. I would urge you to consider it,

only because of the situation that you're in.

Not being rude, but what kind of charges are you

looking at a month there on the care home?

A week?!

My flabber is well and truly gasted on that.

-Speak to you later.

-'OK, then, speak to you later.'

-Bye.

Karen's not convinced turning down the offer is a sound move.

I think if they don't take this offer that they might live to

regret it and I don't want that for them.

Having lost out on the offer of a 125 for her dad's place,

the thought of reducing another 15,000 is a drop too far for Annie.

There's no way we're going to let it go for less than 125.

Because it was on the market for a 140 more or less,

we've reduced it down to a 129. And I think a fair offer,

a fair price for the house is 125.

But we may look at it differently if it's this time next year

and the house still hasn't been sold.

I don't know. We may have to.

These are pressures that folk don't normally get.

It's all about emotion.

This business has got very little to do with houses,

very little to do with bricks and mortar.

This is a people business.

Please do not tell me that if you're going to spend five million,

150,000 - which is 2% - is going to influence your figures,

because I wasn't born yesterday.

In Mayfair, Gary Hersham is getting all worked up about another

multi-million pound deal.

Keeping his cool, trusty driver, Kuki.

In terms of properties that Gary looks at, are very high value.

I think the last one was about three-point-something million,

and the most expensive, over a 100 million sterling.

Yeah. Which is quite a substantial amount of money.

Dealing with such huge figures as an estate agent

means having to always be on top of your game.

We're looking at a flat,

£12.5 million for valuation purposes.

One has to be eloquent, elegant, confident and, above all,

know one's market.

One mistake is one mistake too many.

I'm going to show an entire building that's been converted

into a single family house.

How much?

Nine million.

-It's quite cheap.

-It is.

The super prime market in central London has sky-rocketed in

the last five years, fuelled by both super rich buyers and a brand-new

breed of property developer who know what billionaires are looking for.

There are two categories of clients that one deals with.

The first are homeowners...

Can I finish? Can I finish?

..and want to sell their amazingly beautiful houses in

prime central London.

Oh, congratulations on buying the flat in Audley Square.

That was quite a nice coup. You've now got the whole terrace? Yeah.

On the other hand, you have the developer,

who knows price per square foot, he knows values, he knows quality.

But there are two developers that have taken things to another level,

acquiring super-star status along the way.

The Candy Brothers started off with a modest £6,000 loan

from their gran, and are now worth billions.

Their most famous development is One Hyde Park -

86 luxury apartments with starting prices of £20 million.

Candys changed the face of London by giving the buyer a ready-made,

ready-to-move-into house or flat, and the Candys created

the finest product that nobody had dreamt of creating beforehand.

The Candys' developments have almost single-handedly raised prices in

prime central London from £1,000 per square foot, to a whopping £7,000.

What was not assumed or understood, or even believed,

was that people would pay those prices.

What developers didn't understand was

if you do that you will achieve this.

They thought they was an upper limit, there was no upper limit.

Today, Gary has a meeting with Richard,

one of the Candys' trusted representatives.

-Nice to see you.

-So what's the lowdown on this one?

Rich Arab who we've acted for for many years died,

wants to sell the house.

We're quoting 19-ish million quid, totally un-modernised,

and I think it's almost practically a demolition job. OK.

Modest, by Candy Brother standards,

this seven-bedroom double-fronted property is in the heart

of Kensington, one of London's most exclusive addresses.

Let's go upstairs.

Gary needs to adapt his patter to developer speak.

What counts is potential value, not emotional connection.

It's an investment, not a home.

I have Addison Road totally un-modernised under offer

at 30 million, totally un-modernised, bigger garden.

That's the one with the dog-leg garden

-and the swimming pool at the back?

-Correct. Correct.

-Yeah. We're under offer at 30.

-Really?

-Absolutely really.

The developer is looking to be able to add value,

it's as simple as that, he wants to add value.

I've sold most of these Holland Villas Road houses.

-These are 35 to £40 million houses done properly.

-Yeah.

Adding value relates to purchasing the property at the correct price,

inputting the correct amount of money to create a fine product.

But more than anything else,

you'll make a 20 or 25% developer's profit.

Worthless bathroom. You never want a bathroom on a half landing.

All of this will go over here.

As will the pool, because there's no need to have an external pool.

I sold that one, I sold that one.

Must have sold 20 of these in my career.

-Yeah, I like it.

-I thought so.

I've got to be very clever with price though, you know what I mean.

-Yeah.

-PHONE RINGS

Yes, Ben? Not at 50,000 when they owe me a 135,000.

Do not think anything's going to start

unless it has a one in front of it.

Ben, first of all, get me the money then we'll talk about that.

Yes, I give you my word. Bye-bye.

Despite the apparent interest,

Richard decided not to make an offer.

One has to take one's hat off to the Candy Brothers because,

as I said, they have completely changed the face of London.

Bye.

Six months on, the mega-rich mansion is still on the market,

priced at just under 18 million.

Over in Spennymoor, local developer Geoff may not

be in the Candy Brothers league, but he's still making his mark.

With his funds in place,

he won the sale of the once derelict repo, High Croft,

and he's done a revamp and wants Lynne in to check out his handiwork.

I'll follow you, show us what you've done.

-Completely different, man, isn't it?

-Wow.

We took everything out. Everything. All that was left was a skeleton.

All the walls off, everything.

It's a good job that you've got vision, though, isn't it,

-because a lot of people haven't.

-Yeah.

Loads different.

Geoff spent nearly 20,000 doing this up.

He now wants to see what it's worth.

How much do you think it would be on the market now, finished?

I would have thought...

We've had one on the corner, one on the market round the corner at 99,

and that was...it was nice, it had been refurbished,

it was canny, and that was only a two-bedroom.

-So I probably would have thought 110, just short of 120.

-Yeah.

Are you happy with that price, Geoff?

Never happy, are you?

Having bought the bungalow for 55,000, it is

now worth over a 100, making Geoff nearly 30 grand in just ten weeks.

Thank you ever so much and we'll see you again, Geoff.

-Bye.

-Bye.

In Chipping Campden, the day of the auction has finally arrived.

What's this, pre-auction tucker, is it?

Auction food, yes.

-Muster them all up and get the arms going and bids going.

-Yeah.

Well, there's no turning back now, we've got to do it, haven't we?

-Yeah. Get in amongst them.

-Have no fear.

Cake polished off,

Mark heads out to face the bidders in the pub next door.

No backing out now. I hope they all turn up.

But this isn't just an opportunity to sell Clerk's Cottage with

interested locals gathering, it's a good chance to promote the business.

Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all here this evening.

The success of the business is reputation.

And hopefully, in a relatively small community,

there are enough people who do like the cut of my jib.

But there is a serious side to it. It's about doing deals.

I mean, there's no point going round loads

and loads of lovely houses if you don't sell them.

You've got to sell them.

I'm not going to mess around.

We've got Clerk's Cottage to sell, so we'll crack on and sell it.

So put me in then, what shall we say? 350,000?

With the guide price set at 300,000,

Mark hopes the cottage will sell for over 350.

-300,000.

-250.

At 250,000. Thank you very much. Here in the front.

250,000. And may I say 260?

With some familiar faces present from the Clerk's Cottage viewings,

the bids are going up.

260,000. Thank you, sir. And 270. 270.

At 270,000.

May I say 280?

280. At 280,000. May I say 290?

In the room at 290,000. You're going 300.

Well done, at 300,000.

Auction etiquette is all about being discreet and holding your nerve.

One sudden move and you might accidentally buy a house.

At 305,000.

And may I say 320? 320,000.

335? At 335,000.

It's a little gem, they don't come up.

340.

-300 and...?

-40.

340,000. At £340,000. And 45.

350. At 350,000.

It's reached 350 and is still going up.

At 350. And 55? And 55. 355,000 in the front.

May I say 60?

360. Will you go another 5?

Say 70 and knock him out.

360,000. May I say 65?

At 65. It's 365,000, then.

Is there anyone else who wants to join in?

For the first time, then, at 365,000...

It's in the front of the room and, make no mistake,

I'm going to sell it. At 365,000. Anyone else?

At 365, it's yours, sir. Well done.

CROWD APPLAUD

I have to say, I'm delighted with the price.

I think it's a very good price. We've done the business.

The winning bidders have decided to turn Clerk's Cottage

in to a holiday home.

It's another bit of rural England

sold by Chipping Campden's best known estate agent.

Job done. Rock on, Tommy.

HE LAUGHS

Next time...

Oh! How can they live in a place with cockroaches?!

..from complete tips...

There's also a chocolate sandwich in here as well.

That's not a euphemism. That's a chocolate sandwich.

..to mega-bucks building sites...

A lot of imagination is required. That's the bones of a square foot.

Just that bit there is going to be £1,800 to £1,900.

..the agents do whatever it takes...

Obviously you've got to look your best when you're with customers.

You've got to smell nice.

..to shift houses in the crazy property market.

You can't believe a word anybody says...except me.