North Lincolnshire To Buy or Not to Buy

Hello, house hunters, and welcome to yet another soggy episode of To Buy Or Not To Buy.

Yes, today, we are going to be digging around Lincolnshire.

Pathetic. We are going to be looking for a space kind of like this

for a couple that want to grow their own.

Literally, Johnny, everyone's at it these days.

-What, digging round Lincolnshire?

-No, or maybe yes,

what I mean is growing their own veg.

The Queen has got an allotment in Buckingham Palace.

Michelle Obama, gorilla gardened the White House lawn allotment.

-That is a fact.

-That's incredible.

-So our house hunters aren't alone, then.

-No, they're not.

15.5 million Brits actually grow some of the food they eat.

Look at the size of those Brussels sprouts.

Today's buyers are Richard Barnet and Colin Brotherston.

Richard is a data manager and Colin is a staff counsellor at Barnsley Hospital.

They have lived together for ten years, and outgrown their house.

-That's not quite true.

-Well, OK, they've outgrown their garden.

That's better. They want a property with loads of land

-so they can have a massive veggie patch.

-Looks like they won't be alone, though.

They've also got some furry friends to think about.

Welcome to the show. First, let's get the formalities out of the way.

-Can you introduce us to your dogs, please.

-This is Will.

-Very lovely.

-And this is Jack.

-What breed of dogs are these?

-They are Bichon Frise.

A Bichon Frise? Are they kind of poodle-esque? Ish?

-Yeah. Yuppie poodle.

-Yuppie poodle! Very nice.

Put the dogs down because I don't want to get you dirty, I know they've been out in the rain

You're going for the rural world? You're going to grow your own veg.

Is this true? Are you committed to this?

-Yes, we are. We're obsessional about it.

-Really?

Yeah, we got into growing it this year, and we even blocked up one of our driveways in our house.

Good for you, so many people lose their front lawns and front gardens

to put a driveway in and it's good to see people going the other way and getting them out.

-I like it.

-So, what are we stopping at?

You've got veg, are you considering animals, things like that?

We are looking for half an acre upwards of land.

OK, so you're not just limited to chickens. You can have some much more substantial beasts.

-Yeah.

-What are you thinking, Colin?

-You've got a smile on your face that says there's something you'd like.

-Well, I quite fancy bison.

Why a... Why a bison?

Well, I just think they're cute...

I mean, they're cute!

Your dogs down there, they are lovely. Keeping a bison!

Richard, are you having a bison in the house?

This is where I kind of struggle with this a bit,

so I am still waiting to be swayed by this one.

What kind of property do you see yourselves in?

I like big properties. I like big rooms, lots of space, big kitchen, big bedroom.

We thought a minimum of three bedrooms.

We like the modern kind of design of houses, like large rooms, clean lines...

OK, so would that be modern interior or modern exterior? Or are you not fussed?

Preferably modern interior, at least.

Modern exterior's pretty good, too.

Barn conversions are quite good for that, because you have got the old...

-You say conversion. Are you prepared to do any work ourselves?

-No.

-That's a very definite no.

-Definitely!

Is there a reason for this very definite no?

Yeah, cos we had our property done up and it just goes on and on and on.

Downstairs space. There's one very large item that is yours, Colin.

-A grand piano or a baby grand piano?

-Baby grand piano.

-It's ginormous, isn't it? Is that coming?

-No, that's getting sold.

Richard, what's your smile about? Does he play it much?

Not as often as I perhaps would like him to play.

-So...I...

-Get it out right now. Let's clear the air.

You have just had your first domestic on telly!

I would like him to be able to take the piano.

-Oh, OK.

-I'll move on the piano if Rich moves on the bison.

-OK, right, this is it!

-I'll tell you what, there is a stand-off. Piano versus bison.

But this is quite a good jeopardy for the episode.

I believe if you find the right property, you were considering

making the back garden the venue for a wedding.

-Yes.

-Possibly, yes.

-Now, I heard, Colin, that you are waiting for Richard to ask you to marry him.

Yeah, I am. I suppose now would be a great time.

Talk about putting him on the spot!

Budget. Right, you have got a lot you want, and it sounds great,

but it sound like it will cost a lot of money.

How much money have you got?

We're looking at a maximum of about 400.

And if we find the property of your dreams that has everything,

would you nudge any higher than 400?

-The absolute we might go to is about 420.

-Keep pushing him!

-420. OK. Wish us luck.

-Good luck.

-Good luck.

-See you later.

OK, let's concentrate on the positives.

Richard and Colin have only looked at two houses in the area, found one they liked.

We're showing them three. We cannot fail.

The odds are in our favour. What a lovely episode it will be.

We have got the potential of a baby grand piano, a bison

and the potential of a wedding. Lovely, isn't it?

-Not forgetting the vegetables.

-I'm excited. Shall we make it?

Known as the country's larder, thanks to its fertile farmland,

Lincolnshire produces a fifth of Britain's food. That's more than any other county.

And it's the largest potato producer in the UK.

Look at that lot. There's a tonne of mash in there.

Indeed. While the remains of 136 windmills are reminders of the county's agricultural history,

only a handful continue in full working order.

Aside from windmills, the Lincolnshire countryside is also home to numerous pretty villages,

with a mix of character and modern properties.

That sounds great, although some market towns have seen

a controversial phenomenon called doughnutting, with new estates being built around historical centres.

However, North Lincolnshire is the most affordable rural local authority in England,

with an average house price of just over £136,000.

Colin and Richard chose this area for its country setting and also for its good road links.

If they commute to Barnsley, they'll be in good company, as one in ten people who live in Lincolnshire

do just that, or work in cities such as Sheffield, Leeds and Hull.

We are looking for a house with two acres, so let's see

what properties with that amount of land will cost you around the UK.

First up is this spacious modern family house near Burton-on-Trent.

It has five bedrooms, a sitting room and a music room.

The property comes with 1.9 acres,

and it's on the market for £895,000.

This historic country residence with three acres of land is near Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders.

Inside, you'll find attractive, traditional features.

Offers are being accepted in excess of £425,000.

In Banbury, Oxfordshire, just over two acres will set you back substantially more.

This converted tithe barn is fully modernised to a high standard,

and could be yours for £885,000.

Dig. Put your back into it.

These cabbages aren't going to grow themselves. Good work.

For the first time in generations, as revealed by a government survey,

more people are moving to the country than are leaving it.

So, our buyers aren't on their own.

That's why land prices have been increasing over the years,

as more farmers sell off relatively small chunks of land

for people chasing the rural dream to live off their land, or escaping the hustle of the cities.

This trend has thrown up a term even more annoying than staycation or Tweeting.

That term is green shifting.

Now, much is made about the psychological and physical benefits of gardening, but,

and you'll like this, did you know that digging for an hour burns

almost the same amount of calories as going for a four mile jog?

If you're looking to set up a smallholding in Scotland, Wales or the East Coast of England,

where we are at the moment, it's relatively affordable.

But head down to Devon and it gets much more expensive.

The average house price in rural areas is £8,000 more expensive than in urban areas.

-Can I stop this now?

-Realistically, you've barely started.

Shall we go and talk to the mystery property hunting team?

-Yes.

-All right. Come on, then.

The mysterious property hunting team have delivered our details.

-I'd say we are both pretty happy, aren't we?

-Absolutely.

-My one is a cracker.

It is near the village of Holton-le-Moor.

The English translation, Holton the Moor. It's lovely.

It has got enough land for the bison, which is fantastic news.

The property is massive, so it's got room for the grand piano and, if you look at the garden,

it's just big enough for a marquee which means they can get married there. Perfect.

-It's a box ticker.

-It really is.

-Property two is a contender as well.

Two-and-a-half acres.

-That's two bison.

-According to the details, it's an American style design.

It is a big, modern property.

It's modern on the outside and the inside, which they seemed keen on.

They really don't want to do any work.

And the wild card, I think, is quite a cracker. We can't show them.

You know how the wild card goes. It gives everything they want with a bit of jeopardy.

This is following the same formula. It's exciting.

Those are the houses. Where shall we start the journey?

-Yours.

-My one. The lovely one.

Near Holton-le-Moor. Or Holton the Moor, if you're English.

My choice is a wonderful detached property that's situated on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds.

That's a bit of an understatement. The nearest neighbours are sheep.

Oh, ye of little faith. Colin and Richard said they wanted to expand their veggie patch.

But inside this gem, I'm also giving them even more of what they want.

Behind those doors, there's a surprise, which I think they will simply love.

Colin and Richard, walk towards your future.

I think, I do genuinely believe this is the one.

We are a very short programme today because this is a cracker.

Everything inside is what you've asked for. Everything. Everything.

-Outside, how much land do you think we have got?

-About an acre?

Nearly two acres, so we've got the bison, and potentially,

with the lake, water buffalo as well, which I think is good news.

It's quite windy here because there's nothing to block the wind.

You have got no houses, you're kind of in the middle of nowhere, but what you think?

-I like it.

-It looks good.

I'm liking this.

It's a good-looking place. I mean, you are incredibly detached.

This property was two farmer's cottages knocked into one.

You get this wonderful symmetry. As you look at it, it's perfectly balanced.

-It is a wonderful property. Ed has done brilliantly.

-Are you ready?

-Yes.

-Are you positive?

-Yes.

-This is your future.

Enter it.

It is a little bit windy, but that's the only problem, isn't it?

Who doesn't like a little bit of wind every once in a while?

-It's, um, nice entrance. Spacious.

-Yeah, I like this.

It's nice and light.

It is a spacious entrance hall.

Nice and bright. But I was expecting an awful lot more, from the way

I sold it to them outside, I was expecting at least, you know, a wow.

But not a very considered description of it.

This is nice.

Wow. Yes.

It's a good-sized kitchen.

That's good that you have got an eating area within the kitchen as well.

Seen these views?

-Wow.

-They're great.

That looks fantastic.

The views are everywhere.

-It's panoramic.

-There are. I mean, let's be honest, that's a fact.

Oh, this is the dining room.

Oh, this is lovely.

That's nice.

With the dual aspect windows. Wow.

Is that an open fireplace?

-Yeah. Oh, wow.

-That's fantastic.

Imagine if you've got a log fire on a night, and you've got your guests having dinner.

This is the main lounge. Wow.

Oh, I like this.

There's no greater phrase to be heard than, "Wow, I like this!"

From a Scottish man called Colin. He does love it.

I will have a seat and pretend...

Ah, yeah, that's really nice.

What a fantastic view.

That is amazing.

Another view of the hills.

-This is a bedroom.

-Oh, wow.

This is quite a nice size, a good size bedroom.

Fantastic.

Yep, I like this. I like the carpet, too.

-Great.

-It's bouncy.

Another bedroom.

It's a nice, really nice guest bedroom.

-Fantastic.

-That's nice to have a seating area here.

If you sit out here, you can just kind of look out.

I like this corridor.

You just feel like

it's going to open up into something, some kind of surprise...

Wow!

Now that, I like.

That's it. Where do we sign?

Oh, yeah, I can just see me sitting back in the bath with a wee glass of wine and candles burning.

Tina Turner playing in the background.

These are the things you want to hear.

These are the kind of enthusiastic comments you want.

-Not listening to Tina Turner. No way!

-Not that bit,

-but the candles and the wine.

-Maybe Steamy Windows, though, with it being in the bathroom!

Ah, this as a guest bedroom too.

How many bedrooms is that?

That's three.

I like the way they've done the chaise longue,

or maybe it's a chaise short, I don't know.

But that old sort of style.

Well, there we go, a fantastic joke delivered perfectly by Colin there.

The chaise short.

Oh, yes.

This must be the master bedroom.

Yes.

This actually feels better with the height of the window,

because with the others you are having to kind of crouch down to see out, but it actually feels...

Yeah.

Wow. How far can you see on that?

There's something through here.

Ah, right. This is the en suite.

So, what do you think of the house, then?

I like it. It's got nice, it's got a real nice feel to it,

-real kind of clean, modern, yet that contrast between new and old, good-sized rooms.

-I like it.

-Yeah.

Now, Colin and Richard, how do feel about the whole house?

I think, initially it, as we were walking round, we thought,

yeah, this is a real good feel, the decor of it, the style of it, I think they have done

a fantastic job, and it is kind of really our style.

One of my reservations is, with being an old property and the cottage style,

the windows in some of the rooms are quite below my eye level,

so I am finding myself kind of dropping down to look out.

Now, extensions, right, to the veg patch down here, I think could be made,

because, looking at it, it's a little bit tiny.

What we are after with the self-sufficiency, Colin, what d'you think?

How much of this land that you've got - near two acres - would you give over?

It's difficult to say, really, because this year,

we have crammed an awful lot of vegetables in a tiny, small place,

but when we came to harvesting it, we kind of forgot that vegetables grow

quite wide and quite tall, and so therefore...

-It was your first year, though.

-Yeah, and we have learned a lot.

I think we will probably use quite a bit of it,

-but it would be well spaced out.

-It all works here, I guess price could be a factor, maybe.

-Could make you fall in love with it, possibly.

-Colin, what do you reckon?

I reckon Richard should go first.

OK. Richard, over to you, my friend.

375.

So I'll go...350.

350? The actual price of this is £395,000.

So Richard, you are closest, but not that close, but certainly nearer than Colin was.

But this is the price for this area.

You get a lot of land, a lot of house, immaculate house. I sense you might want to look at property two.

-Yes.

-It's well worth checking out, I think.

Follow me. This way.

-My property today is an absolute peach.

-I will give you that, Johnny.

Yes, indeed, and only 10 years old, it's also immaculate on the inside.

But where, dear Johnny, is the space for the veggie patch and the magnificent bison?

Wait till you see what's out back.

Here we are, at my choice, property number two now.

I am slightly out of breath, and it's not just because I am slightly unfit for a man of my age.

It's because I have just run to the bottom of the garden.

It's massive! It is absolutely huge, it is a bison-friendly garden.

It is like an oasis.

You're up for the idea of having modern on the outside and inside. Ed's was that on the inside.

This is the whole modern house package.

-What you think? First impressions.

-Quite impressed.

Front, looks good, quite imposing.

I mean, there are some features that I can see that I like straightaway,

like larger windows, but let's see what's on the inside.

-Okey-cokey. Are you ready?

-Let's go.

-Are you excited?

-We are.

OK, remember, you have got the baby grand piano that could be moving in there and the bison.

And these aren't things to be trifled with.

Three, two, one, enter the bison house.

Oh, this is nice! Oh, wow!

Very grand.

That was always going to be the bit that grabs them.

They do say these large entrance halls can be a waste of space, but that one is magnificent.

Shall I have a go?

HE PLAYS

Oh, hello, here we go, a burst from Colin.

Fantastic.

Won't get the baby grand in here, though.

-Well...

-..you can play pool.

-Exactly.

-It is a pool table, isn't it?

-Yeah, yeah, it's pool.

Oh, this is nice. Yeah.

That'd be nice for the computers.

This is a nice office space.

I can just see you paying my bills in here.

Do you know, I've always wanted double doors.

I just think it gives you a sort of feeling of grandeur

when you open them up, dinner is served. I have always fancied that.

I can imagine the theatrical side of Colin coming in today

with the double doors, you know, entering with the canapes.

Richard would serve out while he tinkled on the ivories and then, "Here they come.

Chicken Kiev, anyone?"

It's nice.

The fire, as well.

-That will be really nice.

-I bet that's lovely in the wintertime.

I think that's what I miss, actually, is not having a coal fire or log fire.

It would be nice to have an open fire.

I suppose it's very like

the type of house you'd see on the Mississippi, isn't it?

Yeah, in the Deep South.

Wow! This is a nice kitchen.

Very nice.

That's, like,

quick breakfast room or something. I assume they have another dining room.

-You've got a nice little utility room.

-Oh, yes.

A Belfast sink.

-There you go.

-Once again, though, very nice kitchen, nicely laid out, it's got a big larder as well.

Ah, yeah, it's the dining room.

-Again, it's a bit fussy.

-I would probably make it more our style.

It is very grand.

A good-sized dining room.

-We just need to get some friends so we can invite them.

-That'll be it.

Nice room.

Now, this is what you'd call a staircase.

Yeah. Shall I do my Scarlett O'Hara impression?

-It's just like that Gone With The Wind style, isn't it?

-Yeah.

You can imagine the plantations.

All the house just leading off from the staircase.

-Wow!

-Oh, this is nice.

Oh yes,

I like this.

And you've got a dressing area with built-in cupboards.

Oh, right. Wow! What a good idea.

And it is quite a nice-sized room.

Another little area here.

You could put your make-up one in here.

What size is the en suite?

Oh, right, OK.

Very nice. Big enough bath.

Oh, yes!

Yes, this is my room.

I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here.

You shall we start running the taps?

It'll take you about two weeks.

Wow! That's fantastic.

I'm just trying to think through my dictionary of the 450 houses I would have looked at.

I'd still say that the best bathroom I've seen.

It's got to be up there, hasn't it?

This is another fab room as well, isn't it?

It's actually quite a surprise how big this is.

Cos this must be en suite as well.

-I assume so.

-A door into... I presume that's into...

Go for it.

Yep, yep. Another bath in here.

-That's good, then. Your guests could have an en suite as well.

-Yeah.

-This is quite a nice part as well, isn't it?

-It is, yeah.

It's quite an unusual thing to find.

This is really the American sort of design, isn't it?

Yeah. Absolutely.

But it's still a nice kind of seating area to have.

-You could sit here and watch the neighbours go past, couldn't you?

-Yeah.

Give them a wave.

I'm getting a bit exhausted looking in all these rooms.

This is a really nice bedroom.

-Again, this could equally be doubles, king, super king.

-Yeah, easy.

I'm dying to see that garden.

Well, shall we head down there?

-Shall we go and see it?

-Let's.

I've been saving myself.

Well, we've seen the house now, which I think went pretty well.

But I'll get your feedback from that in a second.

You can now see why I was out of breath when I ran down this garden.

This thing is absolutely enormous!

It's huge. It's absolutely fantastic.

I've never seen such a big garden.

No. It is incredible.

You can see the house down there on the horizon about 400 or 500 metres away.

Probably as much through there. You've got your own mini orchard!

There's a meadow then a nature reserve that's got either a very small lake or a large pond in it.

So it is an incredibly large plot.

Is this the kind of garden you had in mind?

I like it. I like the garden.

You can do absolutely anything with this. Because this is sectioned off as well,

you could have one bit for entertaining and relaxing,

another bit for the whole gardening stuff.

This was the theory that we had.

Obviously there's the divide of whether you will get the bison.

Colin, you could buy a bison, have it in the garden. He'd be none the wiser, it's that big!

The property's lovely. The question is, how much does it cost?

The maximum of £420,000. You don't want to spend over that.

What do you think this is worth?

I would say it's on for £419,995.

Right up to the top. OK, Richard?

-I'm going to go slightly lower at 410.

-Do you know what?

I think, with these guesses, you like this one a little bit more than my one, which I'm annoyed at.

-But anyway...

-OK, the reveal on the price is you're both very, very close.

1-1, though, Colin. You were closest.

It's actually on the market for 435.

I know that is over budget, however, a couple of things.

The vendor is aware he has to knock his price down a bit to secure a buy.

He has already reduced it once, but he's open to negotiation.

Secondly, this garden is vast. It could be as much of a hindrance as an attraction to any buyer,

so he's also prepared to consider selling it with a slightly smaller garden

and splitting the plot up if necessary.

-So that's also something to bear in mind, and that would, of course, be reflected in the price.

-OK.

-Not too bad.

-There we go.

Neck and neck in guessing the price as we go towards the wild card. Do you want to get the wild card?

-Yes.

-Everyone's favourite part of the show. It's this way.

Our wild card today is a detached farmhouse with a big surprise in store.

Yes, it mixes new with old in a very interesting way.

In fact, you could say that the decor looks like two separate houses.

A-ha! You've hit the nail on the proverbial head.

Now, how wild is that?

Colin and Richard, walk toward the wild card. Now, it's lovely.

Again, it's incredibly windy out here, isn't it?

Lincolnshire, a very windy county.

Also windy cos there's nothing around to stop the wind, as we were at property one.

We're in Atterby Cliff, which sounds like an ageing American jazzman,

but it's the name of this part of the world - Atterby Cliff.

One-and-a-bit acres of land, so maybe we are thinking not really the bison.

-I don't think we were ever... I mean, Colin likes the bison, but maybe the goat.

-Possibly the goat.

Richard, first impressions, what do you reckon?

It's a nice, intriguing mix of old and new.

Lots of different styles going on.

-Colin?

-I think it looks really cute, actually.

I'm looking forward to seeing inside it. It looks your typical farmhouse.

-It is the wild card.

-There is always a reason why it is the wild card.

Sometimes it's not immediately obvious, and I don't think today it is...until you find it.

It's the wild card for one reason. Go in there and find out that reason. We'll see you later.

Shall we...? We should let the viewers know, shouldn't we?

-Let them know why it's the wild card?

-No, no.

-You sure?

-Yeah, come on, let's do the...

-All right.

Let's see what house number three has to offer.

This is cosy.

Right, I don't want to give away why it's the wild card.

I don't want to spoil it for you.

But THIS is part of the reason why it's the wild card.

Oh, wow!

This is nice. This must be the master bedroom.

Yeah. That is a real good space.

And this is great.

-En suite.

-Marvellous.

Very nice.

Nice big bath.

-These are nice.

-His-and-hers sinks.

What one would yours be? His-and-his sinks.

-Walk-in shower.

-Wow!

The en suite with that nice master-bedroom suite is a wet room, a complete wet room.

-They are very much in vogue.

-They certainly are.

Let's see what upstairs has to offer.

-Upstairs has to offer...

-Randomly shaped rooms.

Yeah, slightly smaller rooms.

-Randomly shaped rooms.

-All right, OK.

This is a guest bedroom. Quite cosy, but...

-You could only have single beds in here.

-Possibly.

Maybe if you have guests who don't speak.

What's behind here?

It's a bathroom.

The good old avocado suite.

A few years, that baby's going to be back in fashion.

I doubt that. I strongly doubt that.

I can't believe there are so many doors in this hallway.

Oh, it's another bedroom. Yeah.

And again, another single bedroom, really, isn't it?

-Right.

-It's got a nice view outside.

Yeah, a great view of the back garden.

-Oh, right.

-This is a nice big bedroom.

This actually surprised me because I thought I was expecting another small room.

I think that must be an en suite.

I've come to a conclusion about our two folk.

They don't want half the land they think they want.

I genuinely don't think they do.

Not an en suite, it's a dressing...area.

That'll do for all your frocks.

The bison's not as high on their list of priorities as we thought.

No, I would like them to get a bison, but I think that's me.

This is the actual en suite.

Shall we have a look downstairs?

We've still got that...cupboard or...

-The other door?

-Yeah.

-Shall we go?

-OK.

I thought this was going to be a cupboard, but it's a kitchen-cum-dining-room.

That's good to have. Yeah.

Quite a nice-sized kitchen.

I was just going to say, you just wonder how many rooms there are.

-It's a right rabbit warren.

-It is.

-Will and Jack would have a great time playing hide and seek.

-We'd never find them!

Wow! How much more is there to this place?

You'd never guess what I've spotted.

It's a Will-and-Jack-sized piano! THEY LAUGH

It's tiny!

Look at it!

Go for it.

Oh, hello. Any opportunity for Colin, there.

Maybe a slight tuning... Either that or it's my playing.

I'm not very sure.

Can you play the piano as good as that?

-No, I cant.

-I can't.

This is classy. I like this. This is where you'd have guests, isn't it?

You would dine here rather than in the kitchen.

I mean, look at the contrast now,

with all the clean lines, the downlighters, the modern...

It's just like a different house, really.

This would be nice. I'll have a seat here.

It's great to be sat out there and looking out onto that garden.

OK, pretty much as expected.

They've not fallen in love. We didn't expect them to.

-But they thought about redeveloping more than we thought.

-Indeed.

But they've still only seen half of this place.

-Shall we show them the mysterious wild-card part?

-Yes.

-Hello.

-Hi.

Come into the special room.

So, gentlemen, what did you think of the property?

It's really quaint, cute, lots of little rooms.

I think Will and Jack would have a great time playing hide and seek there.

Have you figured out why this is the wild card?

I mean, it just seems a property that's never-ending.

Just when you think you're coming to the last room,

there seems to be another room.

So it's just...

It's funny you say that, Richard,

because it is a property that's never-ending.

-Do you think you've seen it all yet?

-I thought we'd have something to see outside,

maybe a 50-foot greenhouse or something.

Have a look out that window, Colin.

-What's there?

-It kind of looks like a barn conversion.

-It does.

-Would you like to look at your add-on barn conversion?

-Absolutely.

-Right, come this way.

-Right, are you ready, lads? Come through.

-Get yourselves in.

Get ready to gasp.

Oh, wow!

No!

-THEY LAUGH

-See?

-This is...

This is the real house, isn't it?

-I can't believe this.

-You see? And this, this is just an added bonus.

This comes with that house.

Shall we do a mini-tour of the property?

-Would you like to have a look round it? I think you would.

-Yes.

-Richard, you come upstairs to see the bedrooms.

-OK.

Colin, let's look round downstairs.

Speechless is what Richard is! OK, you head up there.

Colin, shall we...? Let's have a look at the view over here.

Fantastic.

It's got elements of the other properties that you liked.

There's a nice big spacious landing like we had in property two.

Somewhere to sit, read, relax.

-We've got a double bedroom in there, which is nice.

-Great. Fantastic.

And this is the master suite.

-Nice.

-It's lovely, isn't it?

This is... This is just so exactly what our style...

-Oh, wow!

-HE MOUTHS

This... Again, it's just absolutely...

That's fantastic. That is brilliant. A brilliant room.

-Happy with this?

-100%.

-Right, Colin, as views go, that's not bad, is it?

-Yes, it's brilliant. You can see for miles.

I can imagine Richard, yourself here, dogs either side, looking out there.

That, you could stare at that forever.

Let's have a look at the rest of the house.

This, as a lounge, I'd say is the biggest, most imposing room.

-Do you think this is the best in terms of style and everything, that we've seen?

-Yes. I love it.

Yeah, definitely. This is our style.

Right then. Colin, is this it? Is this enough?

It's a bit small, but...

it's OK, though.

Okey-cokey, Colin. I think you'll be excited by this bathroom.

Yeah, I like this.

-I really like wet rooms.

-You've got a barn, so you got the best of the old world

and you've got a fantastic, flashy, modern wet room as well.

You've got two bedrooms upstairs.

If you come in here, this is your third bedroom.

It's a three-bedroom barn attached to...

I can't remember how many bedrooms are in the other house.

We've now got the tricky part - guess the price.

It's not guess the price of one house,

it's guess the price of both houses.

-Right.

-It's all in the same price.

-Hello.

-Hello.

Right, Richard, what did you think of the upstairs?

I loved it. Absolutely.

-And Colin, you loved the downstairs, didn't you?

-Yes, I did.

It's a cracker, isn't it? Two houses! Two houses!

You said at the top of the show, a barn conversion was what you were really looking for

and this is a splendid example of just that.

It is worth noting at this stage that when the conversion was done, it was done for a holiday let only.

So if you were to pursue this property as a purchase,

you would have to ensure you could convert it to full residential usage.

Just to keep that in mind.

We are neck and neck in guess the price.

After your dreadful first guess, Colin, you somehow managed to pull it back.

Maximum price £420,000.

That's what you want to spend, at a push, for everything, all-singing, all-dancing.

-This is a tough one.

-It is, because it's two properties.

We are looking for a price for everything. Who would like to go first?

-Do you want to go first?

-I'll go.

I can't believe you have brought this in. I'm going to say 440.

OK, you think we've been a little bit cheeky and hoping to haggle back?

-Yes.

-Right.

Well, I've seen the glint you've had in your eye all day.

So I think probably about 445.

Wily. I like it.

OK, well, Johnny, do you want to put one of them out of their misery?

Absolutely. The person out of their misery is...

you. You're closest, because this property,

staggeringly, is on the market for £425,000.

-HE LAUGHS

-Speechless again.

-Speechless.

For the same price as Johnny's house, you get two houses.

It's a lot to think about to decide which one you want to test-drive.

We can't help you with that. I wouldn't even know how to help you with that today! Good luck.

Head off into windy Lincolnshire and make your decision. We'll see you later.

Good luck. We will see later.

-See you.

-Well, there we go, three real contenders today.

-They really are.

-While they're making their decision, here's a recap for you.

Will Colin and Richard return to traditional property one,

set amid the beautiful Lincolnshire countryside?

The converted farm cottages with the stylish urban interior

had them "Wowing" all over the place.

Plus it's bang-on budget.

They were "Wowing" at yours, but they were "Oh yes-ing" over mine.

The American-style property number two had a sweeping staircase,

magnificent master bedroom and a garden that went on and on and on.

Slightly over budget, but with room to manoeuvre.

With our wild card today, we exceeded ourselves by giving them two for one

in the shape of the traditional farmhouse and the attached barn conversion.

It rendered Colin and Richard completely speechless.

-Well, you've decided to test-drive the wild card.

-Unbelievable.

Excellent news. It's charming and challenging in equal measures, this place.

The benefit to you guys is you get to utilise the skills of To Buy Or Not To Buy's surveyor.

He's given this place the once over.

Structurally, it's all sound, which is great.

But he's investigated the whole holiday-let situation with the barn conversion.

No conditions put in place when that conversion was done. The lady just went for a holiday let.

She's actually looking to get that revoked and going for full residential usage.

So pretty soon this could go from a holiday let to the kind of home that you wanted it to be.

That is a really fantastic point.

Coupled with the fact that it will have an NHBC guarantee with it.

Got to check how long is with that,

but this isn't a legally-binding survey.

If you had your own, they'd find out the architect's planning, those bits and pieces.

But very positive news about the barn conversion.

-All in all, the property is solid.

-Spot-on, isn't it?

Can I ask, why did you pick this one? It's the bravest of the lot.

There's just something about it.

-It's never-ending. And lots of possibilities.

-That's right.

Good luck. You test-drive it, explore those possibilities?

-We'll see you later on. OK. Good luck.

-Bye.

-Right, do you want to go milk a bison, ride a goat, something like that?

-We could try it.

-No-one'll stop us. Well, maybe the farmer will.

-Oh, yeah.

Let's ask him and then think about it.

Here come the family. Will and Jack are looking cute as ever.

They've got more space here than they can raise a back leg at.

Just pretend you're at Crufts.

Did you know, Johnny, those little fellas had a shampoo and set before they came on the show?

-Colin and Richard?

-Yes, and the dogs.

Now, not only have we given Colin and Richard two homes,

but a greenhouse for their horticultural hobby.

That looks like perpetual spinach, if I'm not mistaken.

I'd be impressed if you didn't have it written down in front of you.

We can do our own gardening programme on the web, can't we, from here?

Hey, they're after our job, Ed!

Looks like the dogs have moved in already.

THEY WHISTLE

THEY LAUGH

But will Colin and Richard be joining them?

Now, Colin and Richard, normally the test-drive is the point where

the children of the family will come round and have a look at the house.

Your children have had a look round the house.

Jack and, of course, Will.

What do they think of the property?

-They love it.

-They were straight inside there.

-We couldn't stop them.

-No messing about.

How have the other parts...? You've had a look around.

The potential for the veg patch,

is that achievable here, do we think?

There's enough space to play with, I think.

And, yeah, it's a good feel for it.

When we spoke about what you wanted to get out of the property,

does this now seem to sort of tick those boxes?

Can you live out everything you wanted?

I think there would be enough room here to have the odd chicken and the odd goat.

I forgot to mention the chickens.

THEY LAUGH There might be enough room.

You've had a look round, you've test-driven it. Will and Jack love it.

To buy or not to buy?

That's the question.

At this time,

we think it's not to buy.

You've done an absolutely fantastic job.

We just think that it may be, at this time,

too big of a project, taking on the rest of the house

and doing the conversion work that's needed.

I suppose we did brilliantly. You said you wanted a barn conversion, which we gave you.

You said you didn't want to do any work, but we gave you that as well.

You did say that if you had to change a light bulb,

you would check into a hotel and let someone else do it,

so obviously it was tense.

But at least you got a chance to have a look round it.

Maybe, when you go away, you might think about it.

If so, if it's still on the market...

I'm sure there will be lots of thoughts about it.

Is it fair to say, having looked at three properties,

it's helped you define clearly what you do want in a house and what you don't want?

Definitely. Every property we've seen, they've all had really good points about them.

And it's really helped us...to decide on that perfect dream home.

-We've had a pleasure spending time with you.

-Great.

-See you soon.

-All the best.

-Thanks very much.

-Cheers.

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