Derbyshire Dales To Buy or Not to Buy

Good morning, and welcome to To Buy Or Not To Buy.

The programme that unites searching souls with the home of their dreams.

-Today, we're...

-Whoa, excuse me!

-What's going on here, lads?

-I thought you'd been told.

-Told what?

-You've been sacked.

Something about "infantile antics".

Now, if you don't mind, we've got work to do!

Today we're in the delightful Derbyshire Dales.

On the Crich Tramway to be precise.

-Digging deep in our property pockets to show our house hunters three properties...

-One of which...

-They can try before they buy! Hello!

-Indeed.

And we may be in for a bumpy ride.

And not just because of this tram!

So sit tight and enjoy the ride.

So local lads Jacob and Evan reckon this presenting lark is child's play, do they?

Yeah, well, it's not anyway, so there!

Anyway, I want to tell you about A&E nurse Phil,

his childhood sweetheart Sarah and their family,

who are struggling to overcome a little-documented affliction.

-Yes, it's known as "newhouseitis", Simon.

-Correct.

Their new build's location and lack of character is beginning to get on top of them.

-Also as Sarah works from home, she'd like to be able to do without waking up young daughter Lily.

-Aw!

And with son Josh starting school soon, the pressure's on for us to find a property remedy

for the Sedden family that will cure all their ailments.

Phil, Sarah, you've got a perfectly lovely house. Why are we moving?

I want some features. I'm sick of square rooms

and small bedrooms, small kitchen...

so I want something a bit more traditional or something...or wood.

Location-wise... where would you prefer to be?

Josh starts school in six months in Ashover.

-We'd love to afford to live in Ashover, wouldn't we?

-You keep mentioning Ashover, yes!

But we think past Ashover and perhaps the Matlock area,

-cos it's rural round the outside, but then it's a little town centre.

-OK.

So Ashover's the dream but you're prepared to compromise a little bit on location

-to get the right kind of house.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

It's not just Josh, though, is it? You've got...

-Lily.

-Little Lily as well.

So that means therefore minimum three bedrooms.

Yeah, three decent bedrooms. At the minute we've got four, but two are quite small,

so we'd like three decent ones instead.

-Which is always a bit of a challenge because...

-And somewhere for Sarah to work.

-Cos Sarah works from home as well.

-Ah!

-OK.

-Now the plot thickens!

-It does indeed. There's rooms spouting up everywhere, isn't there?

So come on, anything else? What springs to mind?

A bigger kitchen, a dining-kitchen... a bigger garden.

-As long as... This sounds really picky!

-No, no, no! We'd already worked out you're picky!

-Come on!

-So long as it's not above the height of the roof.

-Yeah, cos we seen one house

-and the garden is higher than the house.

-Yeah.

-What's the budget?

-The budget was originally £250,000,

and then when we've been looking ourselves, we realised that that's completely unrealistic

-for what we want in the area, so it's...

-Gone down!

No, it hasn't! Oh, no, it hasn't! You're not moving if it's gone down!

So we're looking for round about 300.

So we're looking for a fabulous property, character property,

-here in Derbyshire, lots of bedrooms, big, flat garden...

-Going down.

-Going down...

-And the moon on a stick! We better get going!

-Or I've got a star in my pocket!

-We'll see you later.

-See you.

I get the feeling, Jonny, this is going to be a tricky one.

Absolutely. £300,000 is not going to go very far in the Derbyshire Dales, that is a fact!

I'm going to go and speak to my local estate agents and see if we can help them find their dream home.

-Hey, talking of dreams! I'd a dream last night, you were in it.

-Really? What was I wearing?

-Don't answer that!

-The Dales.

The Derbyshire Dales are just south of Chesterfield and north of Derby.

The area around Matlock is all steep-sided valleys, rolling hills and meandering rivers.

It makes for chocolate-box countryside. Speaking of which,

it gets chock-a-block with tourists over the holidays. Oh, yes...

-and pretty places come at a price.

-Indeed they do.

On that note, how far would the Seddens' £300k budget

stretch in other hilly spots around the UK?

-SCOTTISH ACCENT:

-Well, you come hame to Killen in the Highlands!

This stone-built three-bedder has an open fire which will take the wee chill off your bones!

-YORKSHIRE ACCENT:

-How about this cottage in the Yorkshire Dales? Three bedrooms, country kitchen,

and roll-top bath in the bathroom on the market for...

I'm not even going to try the Welsh accent!

You could skedaddle to Snowdonia and relax in this refurbished residence.

One lovely view, two summer houses, and three bedrooms.

Our couple are after three bedrooms. They want a nice-size kitchen,

and ideally want to be in Ashover. Now, is that realistic when they've got a budget of £300,000?

Ashover is quite an expensive place to live.

If you could tell me your dream home... Picture it for me, come on. Picture your dream home.

We all hanker after something.

Very roomy, lots of glass.

-Very...minimal inside.

-Oh, right?

-Mmm.

I would recommend to your family that they actually start somewhere like Darley Dale or Matlock,

and then work their way towards Ashover, because property in Ashover is very expensive.

-Florida.

-Florida? And what does the place look like?

-Have you never been?

No, not Florida!

Once you get in Ashover, you don't leave it. It's a kind of family network...

16th century stone farmhouse in either Derbyshire Dales or the Yorkshire Dales.

Matlock, you get more value for money, a bigger house, more garden, a lot more to offer.

-You're kind of living the dream already.

-Yeah, I suppose so.

Well, I'm married, so it's not a total dream!

Is that being recorded?

Oh, this is it, isn't it, Jonny?

I've been up dale, down dale... Isn't this beautiful? Beautiful!

-I've nothing better to do than stand around here waiting.

-How have you got on?

All right, actually. Property-wise, very well.

Property number 1 is an absolute dream. It is a detached three-bedroom stone cottage,

-brimming with character features, all the space they want internally, just not sure on the garden.

-Ah!

I'm not sure on the garden of property 2 either. But it will trump property 1 for one simple reason.

Location is all, Jonny! Listen and learn. It is a perfect spot, character features

and the view is even better than that. That's property 2.

-No compromises with that property?

-Maybe.

-I thought so.

Right, property 3 today, the wild card, is a winner. There we go!

It's gorgeous. It's everything they wanted. It's fair to say it's beyond their wildest dreams...

-and possibly beyond their budget.

-That's why it's the wild card.

-Talking about dreams, you know that dream I had last night?

-Stop! Start the tour of property 1.

Welcome to my choice, property number 1.

A divine detached cottage in Bolehill just north of Wirksworth.

-It's pretty as a picture, has three bedrooms...

-Is there a study for Sarah?

-There's options.

Don't you worry about that. Pray silence to enjoy that heavenly view!

Right, then, Sarah, Phil, here we are at my choice, property 1.

We are in the lovely village of Bolehill, just outside of Wirksworth.

So before I get your reactions on the property, I want to get your reaction on location. How is this?

-It's a great location.

-It's good, yeah.

-Yeah?

-The view's stunning out there.

It's a little bit far for Josh's school, but it is a nice area.

Do you know what I was thinking, though, with this place? Home-schooling!

That's the answer. You'll be fine with that. Don't you worry about it.

You'd have to go through Matlock to get to Ashover from here. About six miles?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, roughly.

-Yeah.

-So it's doable.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, yeah.

What are your first impressions just on the property?

-The property I really like.

-Double-glazed windows.

But I love the cottage. I like the size and how big the property is.

You were talking about character features. This place has got them in abundance.

It does have an Achilles heel which I'm very conscious of.

However I think there's enough going on inside the property

to cancel that out, I hope, fingers crossed.

-Get inside and have a look around.

-Yes.

-Go on. Go on, then. Enjoy.

Look! I like the floor.

That's nice.

-Good start there, Jonny! They love the floor.

-Quarry-tile flooring, happy days!

I do like the beams but it's really low, the kitchen, compared to that bit there.

You bring them to a lovely period cottage and the ceilings are a bit low!

It's a cottage! It's a cottage!

Yeah, it's really narrow. I'm not liking the kitchen at all.

Did I...? I told you they were going to be tricky, didn't I?

I presume this isn't the lounge.

-This is a dining room, I think.

-Look at these...

-above the windows.

-They're nice. I like those.

It's definitely got character, I'll give him that!

-Oh, she's giving you something!

-What's that?

-It's got character!

-Of course! It's hundreds of years old!

-Oh, an open fire!

-Oh, Sarah, how warm that feels. That's what we wanted, a nice open fire.

But I think it's a little bit too small.

-It's our main living area.

-We wouldn't fit the sofa in here, would we?

-It's all right, though. Honestly, it's more than adequate for what they need.

-It's too small!

I don't even think we'd fit our TV in this room!

Do not buy a house around the size of your television. How about that one?

Oh, this is an interesting room.

-Sort of...

-It's like a little den, more than a bedroom.

-Yeah, a den for Josh.

-Look at this big open space at the top of the stairs.

-I wasn't expecting that.

Josh would be wanting this.

-Yeah, I'm not sure, though, cos we've got to walk through it, haven't we?

-Yeah.

-So I'm not quite sure what we would use it for.

-The other space it could be is your work.

Oh, it's a bathroom.

-It's a bit small.

-Not sure about the colour either.

Nobody wants too much space, do they? Then you've got to fill that space with clutter

and materials things. We're transient, we don't need belongings.

-That's a little bit bigger, the bedroom.

-That's a better size.

-The kids will certainly be fighting over whose bedroom this is.

-Who's going to get this bedroom.

-Now you see! They're starting to brighten, mate.

-Yes!

This is the main bedroom. This is a decent size.

-I like the little window.

-If you can bend down!

-Yeah.

-Window there.

-What's through this door?

-Aha!

-Nice en suite.

-I'm happy with the en suite.

That a nice little feature which you don't normally get in a cottage.

I'm disappointed if I'm honest. I thought they were going to walk into this place,

into a detached property, nonetheless, and be really blown away by it.

We're providing extra rooms that they didn't ask for. The landing would be a perfect office for Sarah.

-And yet they're not feeling the love at all for this.

-No.

Come on, Phil and Sarah. Come and join us! Don't be afraid. There's nothing to worry about up here.

Oh, really? Oh, really? I'll tell you what, right? I thought the only killers here was this garden

being multi-tiered which isn't that child-friendly.

-I got the feeling you just didn't find the space you wanted.

-No.

-It's very quirky.

-That is what you asked for.

-Yeah, I love the steps,

but inside it's just not doing it for me.

I guess the point is that we're starting to get an idea why you have had difficulty finding a place...

it's to find that space with the budget may prove a bit tricky. Yeah? Anyway...

your budget is £300,000, that's what we've got to play with. It's now guess-the-price time.

How much for Jonny's property, detached, beautiful period cottage. Who's going to go first?

Go on, then, I'll go.

-I'll say 295.

-OK.

-289.

-Do you know what? £245,000.

-Oh!

-On the nose!

That might need a rethink!

-Ah?

-We've got the money then to do the stuff we've got, if it's under budget, so that's an option.

So what do you think of that price, then, on reflection?

It's under stamp duty which is saving you money.

I'm warming to the property!

OK, but don't warm too much because we've still got two more to see.

First of all we've got property 2, my choice, which is back down those steps there. Go on. After you.

If I was to take the temperature of property number 2, I would say it was pretty hot!

It's in Ashover, exactly where they want to live. Oh, and what can that be?

-It's Josh's future school, a mere 322 METRES away.

-Looks a bit small for a family of four, though, Simon.

And can you please stop overemphasising words? It's a bit OLD HAT!

OK, you lovely couple. Now I thought Jonny's choice, property 1, was a lovely house.

-So did I!

-Oh, you deconstructed that place!

Reading between the lines, I think the problem really was location. Fair?

-Yeah.

-OK, yeah.

So for my choice, property 2, I've brought you to a village that was mentioned...Ashover. Do we know it?

-Yeah.

-Sarah wants to go.

Look at the smiles now!

Location, how am I doing?

Yeah.

-Two thumbs up?

-Yeah, it's delightful, a brilliant location. Just what we wanted.

-OK...

-Watch and learn. The property...

-I will! I will watch, my friend, I will watch.

-The property...what about this place?

-It's a nice traditional, cottagey feel from the outside,

-which is what we're looking for.

-Mm-hm.

-I love it!

-You're just smiling! Sarah's just smiling! This is a good-looking smile, you see!

-Yeah.

So perfect location, beautiful-looking house, gorgeous views.

-There has to be a compromise, doesn't there?

-And there is! Tell them!

No, I won't tell them. You'll find out as you look round this place.

Get in and enjoy it before the rain starts!

Straight into the kitchen.

-A little bit small, but...

-A small kitchen.

-It's a kitchen-diner, you could say,

cos the dining room would just be in there.

-I like the floor.

-Yeah. It's actually a nice kitchen.

The kitchen's nice as well.

It's amazing how forgiving people are when they're in the place they want to be. It's a small kitchen!

Hopefully this is the dining room and not the living room.

-Which has got a log burner which is really nice, isn't it, for the dining room?

-Yeah.

Look at that cracking view if you're having something to eat,

-straight out through that window.

-Beautiful view.

-Leads straight into the living room.

-Ah, so this is the living room?

-Nice big square, isn't it?

-It's a lot bigger than the last one.

-A lot bigger! You can hear the echo!

-It'll look bigger because there's no furniture in it! That's why!

Look at that feature above the doorway.

Very nice.

-This is a big room.

-Bedroom.

-Yeah.

And a fantastic view.

Yeah, look at that. Waking up every morning to that!

-Good-sized double bedroom, that.

-Yeah, lovely. Nice and bright. Great views of the valley.

Oh! Another big bedroom.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-That's nearly the same size, isn't it, as the...?

-Yeah, so that's two good bedrooms.

-Aha! The bathroom! This is nice. This is a lot bigger...

-Bigger and brighter than the last one.

Not quite sure about the crazy ceiling, but...

-Quite nice.

-I suppose we could put that right.

What other treats has Simon got up his sleeve? Cos it's going brilliantly so far.

He wouldn't let them down at the last minute, would he?

This looks like it may have been the compromise Simon was talking about.

I don't really think this is a third bedroom! I definitely don't think we'd be able to fit a bed in here!

Let's go and see Simon, so I can strangle him!

Lovely place, isn't it? Cor, it would be perfect if you had one child!

-Oh...

-But, fortunately, it's got a child-friendly garden...

-Oh...

-LAUGHTER

-Any garden...

-The location is in the right place, though.

That's all right, then. Just get rid of one of your kids!

-We can't do that!

-No, you can't, no.

What do you think, though? Lovely house. Great location-wise, of course. Smaller downstairs,

but that didn't faze you because you're in the location you want.

-This third bedroom is the issue, isn't it? Let's talk some practical problems.

-OK.

First of all, there's one very easy solution. The kids sleep in the same room.

-OK.

-OK, you're not warming to that one.

Second, there is a possibility of putting in a stud wall and separating the second bedroom,

to make two smaller single bedrooms, as a short-term solution.

Because, eventually, there are architect's drawings to extend this house.

-Oh?

-You're talking about money there, mate!

-We are talking about money! So shall we talk about money?

Yes, big money, indeed. Right, then, the maximum budget is £300,000.

You won the last round. I didn't give you the reward you deserved, so congratulations.

-Phil, you went first last time.

-Yeah.

-Sarah, what do you think for this lovely two-bedroomed property?

I think it's over budget because of where it is, even though it's only got two bedrooms...

-so I think it's £325,000.

-325, right.

-And I'll go for 300 on the dot.

-300 on the dot?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-You are absolutely spot on.

-Ooh!

-This place is on the market for £325,000!

However, before you go for me... we do know that the vendors are open to offers.

-Yeah, I still love it.

-Yeah.

-I know you still love it.

But we have a practical person with us!

We both liked the house. And the house downstairs is absolutely fabulous,

so if we can sort that third bedroom out, it would be ideal.

I've got rose-tinted spectacles!

You have... and quite right too. Because you know location's all, isn't it?

-Particularly when you're talking about the kids' school.

-Yeah.

-Being able to walk to school.

-Let's not turn it into a bun fight!

-25 minutes' drive!

-I'm going to the wild card. I'll see you later.

Shall we join him? Quick, he'll start sulking if we don't.

Now for the property equivalent of an intravenous drip,

today's wild card. It's a shot in the arm for Sarah and Phil.

They want three bedrooms? We're giving them four.

They want Ashover? They're getting...Matlock.

OK, then, Sarah and Phil. Having loved property 1, not so sure about property 2...

we've brought you to the wild card. You loved Ashover, we know that.

The thing that staggered me is that you loved it, even though it's a smaller house!

-I know.

-That makes no sense. For a family property, you were prepared to sacrifice the space,

force your kids into one room, or a partitioned room, whatever that was...

just to be in the location.

It had the potential, though.

First impressions?

It looks a really big house, great location, right in the middle of Matlock.

Plastic windows again, but...

Man alive!

Just see past those windows! Look at this house, how handsome it is.

-Look at the rubblework, it's beautiful!

-It's a big stone house.

-Yes, and in really lovely condition.

-But why is it the wild card?

-Well...

OK...

Well, basically, with the wild card today,

maybe trying to demonstrate that we think this is the kind of house you are aspiring to right now...

cos when you look round this place, you will see, like we saw, it is beautiful inside.

-Absolute fabulous quality.

-It's not in Ashover! It's not in Ashover!

-It's not in Ashover! We know that!

But the way in is over there, so take yourselves in. We will be listening. See you in a minute.

-That's a nice kitchen. An island like you've always wanted.

-Good, tall ceilings.

-Yeah.

A lot lighter.

-"A nice kitchen"? This is a really lovely kitchen!

-A beautiful kitchen! You know what we're hearing?

-"It's a nice kitchen...

-But...

-It's not in Ashover!"

-Yeah.

-That's a nice little sitting room.

-Where's the fireplace?

I don't like lounges that haven't got fireplaces!

You didn't even ask for a fireplace!

-Although we have spoiled them with two properties with lovely fireplaces.

-Keep looking!

Aha!

So this is the lounge!

-Yea, it's nice and big, isn't it?

-And it's got a fireplace.

It's got two fireplaces! That makes up for the last room!

-Whoa!

-There you go!

Oh, the wallpaper's very floral.

-Oh, this is...

-A nice big room, isn't it?

-Look at that view out there, straight up to Riber Castle.

-Oh, yeah, fantastic!

-They're getting more positive.

-Yeah.

-You can't fail to.

-No.

-Oh, this is a nice girly room.

-I wonder whose room this would be!

A lot bigger than what she's got at the moment, isn't it?

The views are great over there to Riber Castle.

Not quite sure about the views sort of to the houses in front of us.

If you're worried about looking into someone else's house, then move to the Australian Outback!

They've got a shower cubicle and a toilet in here. That's nice and bright, isn't it?

-I hope there's another one, then, for a bath.

-Yeah.

Worry not, Sarah! Yes, there is a bathroom with an actual bath in it. That is, of course, the shower room.

Well done! You can tell you used to be an estate agent!

Oh! That's really cute, this room.

A parents' room, out the way.

I do like this room. I'm not quite sure. You're going to hate me. There's not enough wardrobe space,

even though there is lots of hanging area over there.

What is wrong? This is perfect!

-Aha! Another bathroom, with a bath this time.

-Yeah.

There we go! Look at the joy in Sarah's face of discovering a bathroom with an actual bath in it!

-Look at this room!

-This seems a bigger bedroom, isn't it?

-You're away from the kids, aren't you?

-It's got four nice bedrooms, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

OK, it's a nice big family home!

So one house became two with three floors and four bedrooms...

how much is it all going to cost? Let's go and find out!

Come on, you two! Come and join us on this lovely level front garden!

-There's also a lovely level rear garden, I'm sure you noted.

-Yes. Very good.

-One of the requirements.

-Yes.

-You wanted a lovely property, yeah?

-Yep.

-You mentioned Matlock as a possible location.

-Gorgeous house.

-Yeah, it is.

-All the bedrooms you wanted.

-Character features!

-Character features!

-Yeah, yeah.

-Yes.

-Yes?

-Yes.

Ticking the boxes, it's a very nice house.

Er...really enjoyed it inside... looking inside.

Well, you wouldn't know it! Look at you! What is it with you?

Seriously, this is lovely! This is a fantastic family home!

-It's a lovely family home.

-What's the problem?

-And we wouldn't have to do anything with it.

-No, no!

And...I just feel... that you've just confused me now.

Good! That's what we like to do. That's what the wild card is for! That is a good thing.

In reality, to get a perfect property, with all the bits and pieces you wanted,

within a location that you wanted... how much would it be? It's guess-the-price time.

It's 2-0 to Sarah,

although I do suspect that the last property in Ashover someone had a very good idea!

Is she keen on that area? Is that why?

-You picked up on that?

-So I'm going to disregard that one. It's 1-0 at the moment.

Phil, go first this time.

Well, I think this one's going to be over budget, but it depends how much.

I'll go for 335.

-Sarah?

-I think it's more.

I'll go 340.

340.

-Well, didn't matter that you got rid of that one, did it?

-No, it didn't, no.

-Cos you've won again!

-Have I?

-Look at that! Brilliant!

-I didn't mean to win!

-"I didn't mean to win! I was trying to do Phil a favour!"

She told me it was 350!

It's just shy of 350. It's on for 349,950.

See? I didn't know what price it was. I'm just really confused about it all now.

I'd got the Ashover property in my head...

-So you're in a state of confusion?

-Yes.

-You know what you're going to do now?

You're going to go and try and clear up that confusion, cos you've now got to decide between you

which property you'd like to spend more time in. Put your heads together over there.

We will see you in a moment.

Apparently mine is no longer in contention. So I've got no interest in this bit. So do you want to...?

Well, I have. Whilst they go and make that decision, here's a quick recap for you at home.

If they can stomach a short daily drive for Josh's school, then property number 1 in Bolehill

may be just what the doctor ordered.

Far more likely though is that they'll take up residence

in my choice, property number 2.

It's in the place they want to be, Ashover, and it's at an asking price of...

Or, finally, will today's wild card prove to be a miracle cure? It's over budget...

-It's not in Ashover...

-But the four bedrooms could mean

it's worth the stretch at...

Ah, they're teasing us. This could be anywhere.

The suspense is killing me!

They've chosen...

the wild card!

While Sarah and Phil take time to relax...

..Josh practises for Cirque du Soleil.

Meanwhile, little Lily looks like she's loving the princess room.

Hang about, I though Sarah and Phil only had two kids.

They have! Sarah's best mate and her little ones have dropped by

as this could be the place where they get to hang out in a few month's time.

I see!

-Would you like to live here?

-Yeah.

-Yeah? Which bedroom did you like?

-Lily's room.

-You like Lily's room?

Come and join us. Take a seat, take a seat.

Now, I am shocked. I must admit, I genuinely thought that Ashover was going to win out, but...

you've gone for the wild card, a property with more sort of substance than perhaps location.

It's a really large property, and it's sort of opened my eyes to what we can get in Matlock,

compared to Ashover.

-It's got what we need.

-But in the end...

this property won because of the size. We can move straight into it

and it's got four bedrooms instead of two!

Yeah, there was that compromise in Ashover, absolutely.

-Yeah, this is so child-friendly as well, isn't it?

-Yeah.

The gardens don't look that big, but they're fairly substantial, aren't they?

This is kid heaven, round and round and round!

Which leads to the question my colleague here is about to ask...

Indeed! THE question... to buy or not to buy?

We had a talk and it's...

-To buy!

-To buy.

-What?

-Fantastic!

That is absolutely brilliant news! And this is a family home.

Who knows? Maybe next move is Ashover.

But maybe not. This is a house for life. We'll probably not need the Ashover property.

-What a lovely thing to say.

-And what a lovely note to finish.

-Shall we go for a run round this house?

-We can go once round, can't we?

-See you later, guys!

-Bye.

-Bye.

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