Wimbledon To Buy or Not to Buy

-Hello, and welcome to To Buy Or Not To Buy.

-Today we're house-hunting in London,

but we can't stop. See you later on.

Slow down, sunshine, there's the camera. Hello, how are you?

Now, house-hunting for city slickers is a very time-consuming game,

and as we know, time is a commodity they have very little of.

Which is why Muggins and I have been handed the onerous task

of finding them the property of their dreams in this fair capital city.

We're going to show them three properties, but each property will carry, in my estimation,

a 33.33% chance of them...

Trying before buying, that is the actual percentage.

I wonder what, though, are the chances of them buying said property. Don't know?

Well, we'll leave that statistic to the professionals.

And, luckily for us, one of today's buyers could be the man for the job.

Andy Lee works as a sports betting agent calculating odds during live sporting events,

and his girlfriend Anna Newing is an optician.

They made the move from north to south a few years ago

and are currently renting a flat in East London.

Now they're ready for their next big move - getting on the property ladder. The question is, where?

We are in the smoke today. A very exciting place to be.

-You're almost a new recruit, aren't you, Anna, to the smoke?

-I just moved down in October.

Started a new job, new flat, everything.

You must be horribly aware that it's a lot more expensive down here.

-Just a bit.

-Yeah, just a bit.

Are you sure we are buying in the right place?

You could have a swimming pool in Leeds for the amount you're about to spend here.

You could have bought Elland Road up there!

Many have tried. Many have succeeded.

There is like a Bermuda Triangle of where you need to be, isn't there?

Give us the points of where we are looking for, and to, and how, and what?

I work in Wimbledon.

-And I work in Eltham.

-Waterloo would be in the middle.

Shall we look for the middle ground? Or shall we think, right, OK, Wimbledon, Eltham?

Middle to Wimbledon, I think.

OK. Anna, might I suggest that you think the opposite of that?

Pretty much. I'd like to be able to walk to work.

-I don't think I've ever walked to work before.

-Well, neither have I.

What do we need from the property? Do we want a house, a flat, something old, something new?

If it's out in Eltham, probably more of a house,

-because we think we can probably get a bit more.

-Yeah.

Whereas if we're more central,

then we're willing to take a flat, you know?

The thing is, and you'll maybe find that out if you don't already know, do you want more space in the house?

Is that more of the premium, or is it the location?

Probably at this stage it's more the location, I think.

Yeah, a bit of both.

-I imagine you want to be fairly close to a tube station.

-Yeah.

All right. And have the normal amenities nearby,

-maybe a couple of restaurants and pubs and what have you?

-That sounds good.

How much money have you got to spend?

A maximum of £300,000.

What do you think the odds are of us finding the right property?

-You're a betting man. I don't know.

-50/50, at this stage.

Thanks a lot(!)

To be honest. You'd take that, wouldn't you?

We'll see you later. Bye-bye.

You seemed fairly upbeat about Andy's odds on that.

I am. You can tell he's a professional man. I would say we are about 50% for achieving this,

which I'll take any day of the week.

Really? I'm more positive than that.

OK, granted, London is a very expensive city,

but they sound fairly easy to please.

-I'm a lot more positive. I'm going above that.

-OK, give us your odds of success.

51. 52.

He really is confident.

London is the UK's largest city with a massive population of over seven and a half million people.

And you can even add to that with a 13 million tourists that visit each year.

But we've had to focus ourselves, as we simply don't have enough time

to search for properties over 659 square miles.

So Raynes Park and Wimbledon are where we'll be concentrating our search.

This is home to the world's most prestigious tennis club,

and during Wimbledon fortnight,

the local population swells by a further 500,000 visitors, so this should be good for Andy's business.

But if you're looking to do a bit of your own business,

here's what £300,000 could get you in the UK's next three largest cities.

In the UK's second-largest city, Birmingham,

you could get this four-bedroom detached property

with a large kitchen, large bedrooms, and a large garden,

absolutely no compromise on space at all.

All this, for £299,999.

In the UK's third-largest city, Leeds,

you could get this stone-built three-bedroom detached house.

With a cosy lounge and large kitchen-diner, it's certainly value for money

at £300,000.

And finally, in the UK's fourth-largest city, Glasgow,

you can get this terraced courtyard property

with a modern open-plan design and large garden

all for 300 grand.

But now, back to reality

to see what this budget will find us and the property-hunting team in London.

Commuting from here should be an absolute breeze.

There are around 210 trains from this station to London Waterloo

every day. Now, I've been told that works out at about 12 an hour.

Hello, how are you?

Right.

My name is Ed and I'm in a hurry.

According to the most recent figures,

the average property price in the UK is around £162,000.

However, the average property price in London is around £324,000.

The area is predominantly in demand from young professionals.

We are cheaper than, say, central Wimbledon.

The property market in the UK seems to be on the move again,

and London is certainly leading the way with annual increases of around 6.1%.

So, now could be a good time for today's buyers to get on board

before the market races away without them.

If we find something he likes, and he wants two bedrooms with a garden,

there's absolutely no problem.

-There's a 100% chance it will be done.

-I like it.

-I like your confidence. Thank you very much. See you later.

-Thank you.

A bit calmer now?

Very calm now. Ladies and gentlemen,

Andy is in the betting game, and earlier on he said we had a 50/50 chance

of succeeding today. Having a look at our properties,

-I would say one of them, they will buy.

-Odds-on favourite.

We won't tell you which, we'll describe them and see what you think.

Property number one, they asked for a flat.

-I'm not giving them a flat - I've almost given them two flats.

-Really?

It's a duplex, as estate agents would say. It's two floors.

Have a look - it has off-street car parking

and it's a short walk from the transport links.

There we go, ladies and gentlemen. Now, I have gone for a property

that is the nearest of all of them to transport links.

Transport links in London are what you pay a lot of money for.

Because you're nearest, you get the least amount,

-but you do get a back garden here, it is very nice.

-It's about compromise, isn't it?

So maybe they will go for this, the one nearest to the transport.

We're trying to please Anna with the Wild Card.

It's a lot close to her work, just round the corner, but again,

we're sorry, it's not a flat.

It's a house! A house, I tell you!

And genuinely, a house in London for £300,000 is very hard to find.

OK, where shall we start today's adventure?

As a betting man, I'd say one is most likely.

-It is most likely. And who has one today?

-Me!

-Jonnie.

My choice, property one, is edging towards the whole house

that Anna and Andy dream of.

This 1930s conversion is split over two levels,

has two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

It even has space for parking.

Anna and Andy, we've arrived safely at my choice, property number one.

You are standing on your garden at the moment.

-You didn't ask for a garden, but...

-No, we didn't.

-But I've given you one. Now, see that there?

-That's where you can park your car. Off-street car parking as well.

-That's good. Good for you, right?

And there's an overground train station called Raynes Park just around the corner,

and it's about apparently 20 minutes' walk to Wimbledon tube station.

Ah...that's doable, 20 minutes. Maybe, maybe.

-Doable, and a maybe?

-You could cycle.

Cycle. So this makes you fitter, you're near Wimbledon,

so in the summertime, you're first in the queue for the tickets.

What we're looking at here, it's amazing. You get your own entrance,

and it's the first and second floors, OK?

So you've got a duplex apartment,

some estate agents might call it. What you think of that?

It looks very promising.

-So, come on, on the betting front...

-Oh, yes!

-..what are we thinking?

-70 so far.

-Really?

You're not giving yourself much room for manoeuvre. 70%.

Get into the house that you're 70% likely to buy. Go!

Here we go. First one.

Not sure about navigating these stairs every day after work.

They sound like old people climbing up those stairs. He's 23. HE GROANS

What have we got here?

Oh, this is nice.

-A bit of the first, gone straight into the bathroom.

-Have they really?

-But what a lovely bathroom.

-Oh.

-You always wanted a bathroom and a shower.

-ANNA GASPS

-Look at that sink!

Was this your idea, the whole tour they're taking?

Well, the whole geography, it's the first room you come to. Bang, get it done.

Sometimes if the timing's a bit out, you need to get to the bathroom first.

My daughter does, but she's five.

-What have we got here?

-Um, bedroom.

That's a really good size.

One wardrobe's not going to be enough for you, is it?

Yeah. I might have to downsize my clothing.

You'd have to downsize loads.

I also think they don't realise they've got two bedrooms in this property.

No, they don't. Even though I've told them

that it is a duplex apartment.

Sometimes fancy phrases like that lose a person.

-Right.

-What's this?

-Ah...

-The living room.

This is nice. It's nice and modern. I really like it.

-Oh, it comes round into a kitchen as well.

-OK. The ceilings feel a bit...

-Low.

-..low, don't they?

It doesn't make much difference to me. We're not the tallest couple.

That's true.

-Dining table.

-Bit cramped for dining space, though.

Yeah, I suppose. We could only invite two people at a time.

You could use that second bedroom as maybe a part-time dining room.

I like this kitchen, it's really nice.

-This is nice.

-Look...

-It's got gas!

-And it's got loads of hobs.

That's perfect. This is probably the ideal kitchen layout...

Kind of kitchen, yeah. Everything is white, clean, which I like.

Getting the latest betting from over there.

-Don't, we're near Heathrow. You'll land a plane.

-Sorry.

What have we got here?

We're in the loft, here.

-Wow.

-I think this is the main bedroom.

-It looks like it, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

There's no clothes storage space. Where are you going to put your clothes?

What's this? Is this like a...

-God, you're so nosy.

-Oh, it's an en suite!

Oh, wow.

-That's pretty cool.

-That is.

-That's really nice.

What did you think?

-Um...

-I like it.

Yes, there's nothing majorly wrong with it.

-Storage is an issue, the key issue.

-Maybe you'll like it when you find out the price.

Do you want to play the Guess The Price game that we always play?

-Why not?

-A leading question.

If you'd have said no, we'd have played anyway.

-But it's always nice to say yes. Who wants to go first?

-Ladies first.

Good man, Andy. Coward!

-280?

-280. THEY LAUGH

-I'm not!

-I can't believe this. He's unbelievable today.

-I'm not.

-Um...285?

-285. THEY LAUGH

-That's such a cop-out!

-Well done, we have a winner.

-It's Andy.

-Yes!

-"Yes!" Not so gentlemanly now, are you?

It's on the market for offers around £290,000.

So, not far from what you thought it was.

-Yeah.

-Not too bad.

What's your thoughts?

Yeah, we've got 10,000 to spare, you know?

-Come out with the cliches, it's food for thought.

-Yeah.

-Food for thought, definitely.

-I'm interested to see the next property.

-Come on.

Property number two is my choice, and even though it's located

near to Andy's work, we've also thought of Anna, as it's only a four-minute walk

to the train station. This ground-floor garden flat has everything they've asked for -

two bedrooms, a lovely kitchen, a cosy lounge, and yes, you've guessed it, a garden.

-So this is it, is it, Ed?

-Yes, this is it.

And it's perfect. Anna and Andy, walk towards what will be your future home.

This, right, is a ground-floor maisonette.

With this ground floor you get what feels like a proper back garden.

So, have a look at the outside of it.

Very nice. Now,

on travelling to here, did we see any major transport networks near by?

We may have seen a train station.

We did, didn't we? Yes. Would you say it was very near to Raynes Park?

It was within good walking distance.

I'd say five minutes. I would say five minutes.

This, I would say, is kind of borders of West Wimbledon and Raynes Park.

-OK.

-You've got a bus stop there that goes to Clapham.

What do you think of the look of the house?

Um...it looks bigger,

but the other one looked nicer from the outside.

Yeah, this one looks like it needs a lick of paint.

I got 70%. What do you think, what's your first impressions,

the likelihood of you buying this ground-floor art-deco flat?

-60, maybe.

-60, maybe.

-60.

-Come on, then.

-55?

-Get in. Get on with it.

I don't like that.

-This has got to go, hasn't it?

-Yeah, we can get rid of it quickly.

-Yeah.

What are they getting rid of?

I don't know, I wasn't even aware they had walked in the front door.

-Did you hear any door go?

-They were just immediately complaining.

-"We'll get rid of that."

-Bedroom.

-Bedroom.

-Yeah.

-Wow, bedroom at the front of the house.

Yeah, that's a bit weird, isn't it?

Not much privacy. And it's pretty small, isn't it?

Yes, it's compact.

Actually, this is a two-bedroom maisonette near a bus-stop,

-near Raynes Park, that's what people care about in London, right?

-Not privacy.

-This is the...

-I think we have a living room.

This is nice, actually.

I quite like it.

I like that it's separate, and it feels like a bigger living space, doesn't it?

-Yeah. You can definitely fit your entertainment system over there.

-Yes, definitely.

That's Anna and Andy's voices saying this is a bigger lounge and living space than your property.

In your face. JONNIE LAUGHS

-Ugh...

-Bathroom.

-Bathroom. It's, um...

-It's compact, isn't it?

It is. Compact is one way of putting it.

-I like the big shower head, though.

-Yeah.

-That's cool.

-That's cool, I guess.

-You're not sure about this, are you?

-Not much showering space here.

Living outside of London, this is laughable that for 300 grand you'd make these compromises.

Whereas, near to Raynes Park, compromises have to be made.

-What have we got here?

-Ooh, another bedroom.

-Oh, wow.

-I like it.

-This is much bigger, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Thank you. Thank you.

-This...

-Lots.

-..has loads of storage.

-Lots of cupboard space.

This feels like a proper double bedroom.

-There's nothing you need to do to it. You could move in straight away.

-Straight away.

-Kitchen.

-Kitchen, finally.

-No door.

-No door, but that's not a biggy.

Oh, it's quite nice. It's all new, and everything.

-Yeah. There's not much dining space, it's, like, me and you, and that's it.

-Yeah.

I've given up with them. Do you know where their dining space is? On their laps!

-No-one eats, no-one eats from a dining table.

-To be fair, I agree. They're the youth. TV dinners.

I don't know. I'd change it, I think. I'd go for a more modern...

The worktops should be changed, yeah.

Right, OK, I sense it didn't go brilliantly.

Did I say 55 or 35?

Have you dropped to 35% chance of you buying that?

Maybe even less than that.

-Anna, you went first last time.

-Yeah.

-OK. Come on, big man.

-My turn now.

-Yeah.

Um, probably more expensive, isn't it?

Um, 295, maybe.

He's valued it more. He likes it more. Anna?

I think we've hit our ceiling. I think it's 300.

-OK, so you think it's more expensive, because of the location.

-Yeah.

The actual price of this property, the price it is on the market for,

is £285,000. So it's less than both of you thought.

-And less than mine.

-And less than Jonnie's.

-It also means that you've won Guess The Price completely, doesn't it, Andy?

-Yes, it does.

-I told you I was rubbish.

-Don't be disheartened. The price of this is 285.

Does that make you kind of feel any warmer towards it?

-HE SIGHS

-Mm...not really.

-Before you even answered with words,

-you said it with noises.

-To be honest,

he's already won the Guess The Price, they already prefer my property, clearly.

I would normally say, let's go home, but no, we've got one amazing part of the show to go yet.

-The Wild Card. Want to have a look at that?

-Yes, please.

Come with us this way.

I can only imagine you've been sitting on the edge of your seats

waiting to see today's Wild Card, which is located in Eltham,

slightly further into London's suburbs. The layout has been fully redesigned,

and to say the kitchen is the heart of this home is an understatement.

I'm feeling quite excited about this one.

What do we have here? We've only got the Wild Card,

-everybody's favourite part of the show. Are you excited?

-Very excited.

-Very, yeah.

I want to know, we're not going to say any more about it,

but look at it, what do you think?

-I think...

-It looks really cool.

-I think you're on to a winner here.

-Do you think?

Now, the estate agents have put in their details that this has the wow factor.

Andy, do you remember, on the Guess The Price, you let Anna go first,

being very gallant, so we're going to one step further,

we're going to look after Anna completely, because you work not too far from here, do you?

Nope. I work literally down the road.

The commuting is going to be done by your good self,

but it only takes you an hour. We've looked at the train times.

Station to station, Wimbledon, an hour. I think one of them was an hour and two minutes.

-I think it was an hour and two minutes.

-So a completely different area, but it's cracking.

I think it's very promising, and that one hour might be doable.

-All right, then.

-Let's not waste any more time out here.

We want to see what you think of, not this flat, this house.

Get in there. Three, two, one!

-Ooh...

-Oh, wow! Wow!

The estate agent was right, the word "wow", has been used by Andy

involuntarily twice already, and he's only gone three foot into the house.

-Huge!

-ANNA GASPS

-Gorgeous!

-ANDY LAUGHS

I think they're definitely on to a winner here.

The garden is so cute.

Aargh! Do you know what we forgot to do?

We didn't ask them for a percentage of how much they're going to buy the house.

This kitchen's perfect, isn't it?

Yeah, I like the fact the floor is kind of in keeping with the worktops, that's nice.

-We don't have to change anything.

-No.

I'm going to just hypnotise myself to become Andy.

-All right, Andy.

-Hello there, hello there, hello there. I'm from Leeds.

-What would you give this, my northern friend?

-Um, 95%. 95%.

-What have we got here?

-Oh... OK, bathroom.

-That's weird.

-That is strange, isn't it?

-I'm not sure about that.

-I'm not sure, going from the kitchen to the bathroom.

-But it's very nice.

-A big shower.

-Yeah.

-It's a bedroom.

-Oh... OK.

You could have it like an office or something, if you wanted to.

-Or a games room.

-Or a games room.

-A games room.

Now, spare bedroom, or is it another reception room?

It could be a dining room, it could be an office, because I think with an hour commute to work,

Andy might want to work from home now and again.

-Right, this must be the lounge, right?

-Oh, it is.

Oh, wow!

-It's a nice sofa. It's a good size.

-Perfect size.

And that kind of hole bit is the exact size for a TV.

-That's brilliant.

-That is the exact size.

That is actually what I wanted, as well.

The downstairs is pretty much the size of most one-bed flats.

It is. And that was what their minimum requirement was, a one-bedroom flat.

We have gone over the top of that, twice.

-I like these tiles.

-Yeah.

-Oh, wow. That's a bit unusual.

-It is, isn't it?

I was a little bit worried about that wall, but it's come good.

-They love that glass wall.

-I had no concern. They are the youth, that is what the hip youth want.

Oh, my God, this is immense.

-It's got a corner bath, like you wanted.

-That's gorgeous.

I love this. There's so much space to put make-up and stuff.

This has inspired me. This is like an episode of Cribs.

-Oh, it is pretty big, a big size. A good size.

-And it's huge.

-Really light and airy.

-You know what we could get in here?

-What?

A pool table. Right there.

-Andy's loving it.

-Pool table? It's turning into a lad's house.

-He is sport mad, that kid.

Pool? Sport?

-Oh, OK.

-Ah, an office.

-I think we're into the loft.

-OK.

-You could have this as your, like, workspace.

-I could.

Or another bedroom. I don't know.

This is a house that keeps on giving. It's a stairway to heaven.

-Oh, no, just storage, I think.

-Wow.

That's quite a lot of room in there, though, isn't it?

This, right, is what they wanted times three.

Or an en suite? Or that could be an office with the games room here?

-The possibilities are endless.

-So when I'm on my breaks, I could...

Why don't you just live up here, and I'll live downstairs?

That would solve a lot of things.

What do you think?

It's beautiful.

Ah, here we go. The big question is, Andy,

outside you did not know what it was like inside, but you liked the outside.

You do have the hour commute to think about. What do YOU reckon?

I said it was doable before, but I think it's very, very doable now.

Really? I think you like it, and I think it's quite interesting, because this one,

you know, in Eltham, you're getting a lot more,

and I think you've learnt, possibly, that it's living space that you want,

-more than maybe nearness to the centre of London.

-Mm.

-Yeah.

So, who would like to guess first?

-Anna, you've already lost, do you want to go first or second?

-Second.

OK. Andy, this is to win all three.

£300,000. Sometimes we spend a lot more.

Um, 290?

With a slight squeak at the end, hoping.

OK, 290 is the hope. Anna?

I don't know. 300?

Let us procrastinate no longer.

I'll give you the price. It is 299,995.

Five quid in your budget.

-And it means you've won one of the Guess The Prices...

-Yay!

-..but lost the competition.

-But it's not about winning or losing.

-It's not really.

-But overall, because this is Eltham.

-Correct.

OK, now you've got to decide which one of these three properties you want to test drive.

Is it going to be big house versus location, or a mixture of both?

-Who knows? Go off and make that decision.

-OK.

-Let's do it.

Have a good ponder. So, which one will they choose, Ed?

Who knows? It is the biggest decision of their adult lives,

so whilst they make that, here's a quick recap for you at home.

So, what are the odds of them test-driving my choice?

This 1930s split-level maisonette.

The open-plan design offered this young couple a modern way of living

and, located near trendy Wimbledon, it could offer a modern lifestyle too.

It could be theirs for £290,000.

Viewers, I'm getting the feeling that I've not backed the winner today,

but this property is a great option.

In a fantastic location with Art Deco design, it offered them

everything they've asked for, and more, on the market

for £285,000.

And the Wild Card, hand-picked and designed to appeal to Anna

in every way. The estate agent claimed this had the wow factor,

and we counted plenty of them.

Wow. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Wow.

But will it wow them enough to want to test-drive it?

It could be their first family home for £299,995.

And there we have it, they've chosen to test drive the Wild Card.

Anna is making herself at home and getting her feet under the table.

Oh, yes, and Andy's getting straight down to business.

Glad they've found time to have some fun, though.

It all reminds me of my younger days after a night on the tiles.

I can honestly say I was glad I wasn't invited.

Hang on. It's that time again. Remote control challenge.

I wonder who's going to win. Place your bets, please.

Well, it looks like Andy won that battle,

but I suppose Anna did get her own way in choosing Eltham.

Time to find out if Andy likes the local area.

And relax. Time to see if this house is the real winner.

Smooth! Smooth!

Anna and Andy. You seem very at home here,

and of course the viewers and we all know you chose to pick the Wild Card.

Was it a big decision?

It was quite an easy one to make, wasn't it? Yeah.

It was just the size of this place, and it just feels like a home.

Yeah, it feels like we can just move in.

I've got to say, Anna, we had you on board as soon as we told you

-it was just down the road from your work.

-Yeah, true, true.

With that, I was kind of sold straight away.

But also, looking at it from another point of view, whoever gets home first has to do the cooking.

-Exactly.

-But I do that now anyway, so it's not going to be anything different.

-You know what, that's perked Andy up.

-Yeah.

I don't think Andy had thought of that.

-We'll give you our thoughts.

-Yeah.

-I would say I'm 90% confident at the moment. What about you?

-Really?

-Yeah, 92.5% confident.

-Right, then, let's ask the question. Viewers at home, make your own bets.

-To buy or not to buy, that is the question, Anna and Andy?

-Um...

-Yes.

-Get in!

-Yes, I really want it.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Brilliant.

-There we go.

And what was the percentage of our chance at the start, do you remember?

-This place?

-Not here, 50%, that's what you thought, 50%.

Well, we wish you the very best of luck in your first home together,

and if you want to buy a second home, when you want to buy a second home,

-in many years' time...

-We'll still be making the programme!

-Hopefully, and you know where to come. We've got good form, haven't we?

-We do.

-All right, we'll see you soon.

-OK. Goodbye.

-Bye.

50/50 chance of succeeding.

I tell you what, they of little faith. I'm not a gambling man,

and neither is Jonnie, we would never advocate that, but if I was,

I would bet we could do this again tomorrow with a very similar success rate.

If you kind people would like to be part of that success story,

then do please get in touch through the usual mediums.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

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