Staffordshire To Buy or Not to Buy

On a lovely day like this, there is no greater place to be than in the Great British countryside.

I couldn't agree more. 66% of us will be taking our vacations and staying in the UK

-or, to use a modern parlance, taking a stay-cation.

-That is a lovely phrase.

What's that in your hand?

-Well, one kind of vacation could be camping, so I thought we'd give it a whirl.

-Excellent.

-Ready?

-Go.

Three, two, one...

-Brilliant. Looks like Buckingham Palace already.

-Hotel?

-I tell you what, Ed. I didn't have you down as a camper.

-I'm not a camper. I'm a glamper.

It's a high-speed collision between glamour and camping.

-It's the only way you'll get me into the countryside.

-May I?

-Take a seat.

If you'd like a game of badminton, I've got a couple of throw pillows, the disco ball. It's all here.

It's all very impressive.

-Are today's house hunters looking for a tent?

-No, they're not,

although on average, 1.2 million of us Brits go camping every year.

They don't want a tent. They want a family home.

We need to find them that family home and show them the best three real houses we can around here.

Then give them a chance to fry...

-..before they buy.

-Don't mind if I do.

-Go on.

Maria and Martin Jones met in 1996 when Martin was on a stag do in Maria's home county of Cornwall.

Shortly after, Maria and her three sons moved to the Midlands.

Wedding bells were soon to be heard and a daughter was added to the new family.

The couple share a passion for cycling, walking and camping.

This is a far cry from living in West Bromwich

and now Staffordshire beckons as they want a perfect rural retreat to spend quality country time together.

Martin and Maria, you're leaving your beloved West Bromwich behind for this.

-Basically, yeah.

-We want to be able to access the countryside, get out on our bikes, get walking.

You still need connections with West Bromwich?

Yeah, because my work is obviously in West Brom,

so I wanted somewhere where it's not too difficult to commute.

-Are you bringing family with you?

-We are.

-Are you parents that say, "We're going out for a long walk"? "Oh, no!"

-Yeah.

To a degree with the boys, but our daughter likes camping. She loves it.

How many of them are coming with?

-Two.

-So we're looking for a decent-sized house?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Three bedrooms.

-Would you go with three to four or would you be happy with three?

Three would be OK. Four would be a bonus.

OK, you mentioned cycling.

-Yeah.

-You are doing the John o'Groats to Land's End or Land's End to John o'Groats?

-John o'Groats to Land's End.

-Is that uphill or downhill?

-A bit of both.

-Maria, you do the Air Ambulance.

-Yeah, I work for Midlands Air Ambulance.

I've been in an air ambulance. They saved me from a rugby pitch when I broke my back.

Let's talk about this house in more detail.

The house you're in at the moment, what style is that?

-Traditional, semi-detached.

-'30s.

-'30s?

-Yeah.

Are you hoping to replicate that?

If that was the sort of house you took us to, it wouldn't be a no-no.

It needs to have a decent-sized garden, so something with a courtyard wouldn't be any good.

Do you mind modern houses?

-I don't like modern, really.

-No.

-All right.

Do we like open-plan, separate dining?

We'd like a big kitchen-diner.

-The world loves a kitchen-diner.

-You sound quite easy-going, but let's talk about the price then.

How much money have we got to spend on this house?

-220, maximum 230.

-Yeah, we could push to 230.

All I heard was 230. I ignored 220.

So what should we be listening out for if you don't like somewhere?

-Would you be vocal or would you say...?

-Possibly silence.

-Deadly silence.

-Will there be a look on a face that will... What's the look of unhappiness?

There! That's the unhappy glance.

What key words are we listening out for for joy in a house?

-Sort of a..."Hmm!"

-OK.

It's all done with the face. Fingers crossed, we will get out there and achieve that dream.

-Let's get on with it. Shall we take the boat or a bicycle?

-The boat, for goodness sake! See you later.

So with Martin and Maria today, I get the feeling that maybe our headphones may become redundant.

You're thinking about the old facial expression.

I'm going to just test myself using you if possible on maybe what Martin and Maria will do later on.

So, Jonnie, just using your face, how well do you think your house is going to go?

OK, how well do you think my one is going to go?

And how well do you think the wild card is going to go?

I can't see any difference there.

It's perhaps the surgery. It affects the...

Staffordshire - famous for dogs and pottery,

but since 2009, Staffordshire has also been put on the map

by the huge hoard of Anglo-Saxon artefacts found in a local field.

The most notable attractions are Cannock Chase in the south and Alton Towers theme park in the north.

With numerous historic landmarks such as Shugborough Hall and Stafford Castle,

there's plenty here to explore.

The county town is Stafford and it's from here our search will reach out.

We'll focus on the many pretty villages dotted around the area.

With Stafford being just 12 miles from the M6, most villages nearby are easily commutable for Martin.

But what will family homes cost you along his next charity ride?

This five-bedroomed property is minutes from John o'Groats

where Martin will start his cycling challenge.

Halfway along Martin's route, he could pop into an estate agent's

and buy this three-bedroomed terraced house in Windermere.

He'll get stunning Lake District views for just £219,500.

And nearing the finish line, Martin could have this beautiful, three-bedroomed cottage,

close to Land's End, for 230 grand.

Right, I've got my hat. I have come to the site to see what the campers of Britain won't leave home without.

While Martin embarks on his epic cycle journey from Land's End to John o'Groats,

he might be cycling at three to four times faster than the average walk,

but he'll burning around 600 calories an hour. I hope he's packed a lunch.

What will you not leave home without when you go camping? You've got quite a lot of stuff.

-We've got everything, even the television.

-The television?

-Plasma television, yes.

A recent survey has shown that just 1% of total journeys on UK roads were done on one of these.

The environmentalists amongst us should be encouraged

as a 1,000-kilometre bike ride uses the energy equivalent of a single tank of petrol.

We've got the telly, yeah. Freeview on it, so...

If I want to watch television, I'll go into a pub and watch television.

And keen cyclists Martin and Maria will be pleased to hear

that Staffordshire has over 163 miles of dedicated cycle routes.

Just look at her, eh? Look at her.

Great Britain!

-Breathe it in.

-Jonnie, you've been on your bike.

-I've had great fun, imparting facts at the same time. Who said we can't do two things at once?

-It's true.

I have met a lot of campers. I would say I was a bit hesitant about the idea of camping.

-Now...I'm a bit hesitant about the idea of camping.

-You and me both.

-What have you got?

-A property that they might quite like. They wanted period, so I'm giving them period.

And it's in a lovely village called Great Haywood. This put the "Great" in Haywood, folks.

You want semi-rural? You get semi-rural.

You want semi-detached? You've got semi-detached. Should I go on?

-I'd rather you didn't.

-This is lovely. I can't say the word "lovely" enough about this property.

-They might buy it.

-Let's have a look at the wild card.

Everyone normally likes the wild card and this one is a collection of all the things they don't like.

Maybe one main thing. They didn't want modern. This house certainly says "modern".

This has been interpreted by the mystery property hunting team as modern normally gives small rooms.

-This house is massive.

-We'll be changing perceptions with the wild card, as we often do.

Where should we start the journey, Jonnie?

-I described my property as property number one. That suggests my one.

-Good reason.

What a great place to start!

Great Haywood! I'm hoping this cottage will surprise them with the amount of living space it provides.

Maria and Martin, welcome to Great Haywood, potentially your new home.

-Thank you.

-Do you like it here? Have you been here before?

-Yes.

-It's a nice village.

-Do you know how close it is to get to work at West Brom? About 40 minutes' drive?

-Something like that.

-House-wise, we're over the road. What do you think?

-Good.

-Good.

-Obviously, it's in the middle.

-Yeah.

-And it does look a bit small, but we'll wait and see.

-OK.

-The front door is straight ahead of you. Go in there. Let us know what you think.

-Good luck. Enjoy it.

-Thanks.

-Thank you.

-Nice.

-Yeah. I like the, um...

-the wood burner.

-Yeah.

-Beamed ceiling, yeah.

This is nice.

-This is nice.

-Yeah. Nice and light.

-And warm.

-You've got your steps up to the garden.

-Elevated garden.

Nice term from Martin there. Lovely elevated garden. I like Martin.

-He is in engineering and that is the way an engineer would describe the garden.

-Yeah, very factual.

Oh! Kitchen.

-It's nice.

-Yeah.

-There is a dining room attached.

-I was wondering about that.

I was hoping for a bigger reaction. They said, "We really like an open-plan kitchen-diner."

-They have it in this house.

-It's not really a kitchen-diner.

-The kitchen goes into a dining room.

-But it's a separate thing with a big door.

-The kitchen goes into the dining room.

-It goes into the lounge.

-There's a door in between the lounge.

This room's not that big.

Probably a similar size to Emily's room at the moment.

We've just signed autographs for Julia next door. She's a lovely lady.

She didn't really know who he was. She was a big fan of mine.

She came out with a mug with my face on it, which was unnerving, but I dealt with it. When he came out...

It wasn't your face. It was the guy out of Simply Red.

Oh!

-Oh, right...

-Nice.

Not a separate shower, but that's all right.

Space-wise, it's fine and it's got storage.

Oh, another bedroom.

-This is a better size.

-Yeah.

It must be a double apex roof.

-You see the roof nearest to you?

-Yeah.

-That's a 1920s addition.

Giving a valley in the middle which you need to take care of.

-You want to get your lead flashings sorted out on that.

-Oh, yes. Check you out!

Oh, this is nice.

Yes, bigger than I anticipated from looking at the outside of the house.

-I like the way the kitchen goes through into the dining room.

-Yeah.

-Hello.

-Hello.

Were you surprised by the size inside?

Downstairs, it seemed really big.

When we came through the front door, I didn't think there would be much space, but it was really good.

I'd like to see how this manifests itself into a facial expression.

The house - give me the facial expression.

That's not bad.

Guess the price.

Now, we have £230,000 to spend.

-Who would like to go first?

-Me.

-Oh, Maria, confident!

Maria, three, two, one, your guess is?

-I think it's on for 220.

-220?

-Oh, right, approaching the top of your budget.

-Martin?

-218.

-The house is hopefully surpassing your expectations because it's cheaper than that.

-Oh, good.

-Right.

-It's on the market for £206,995.

-That's good.

-That's surprising.

-Let's check the facial expressions now - £206,000?

-That's better.

-I'll take that.

-There we go, £206,000.

You could haggle, but you might not want to because we're off to my property next. Are you excited?

-Yeah.

-Very.

-Let's go this way.

Well, my property is the epitome of rural living -

old beams, cottage style doors and with a view that cannot fail to impress.

Maria and Martin, walk gingerly toward your future.

-Here we are in Sandon Bank. Ever heard of it before?

-No.

-No.

Well, the views are phenomenal.

-If you wish to take up horse riding, your neighbours keep horses in that field.

-I like horse riding.

There you go.

So what do you think of the idea of the location of your property? I'll go to you first, Maria.

-I like it. It's access off the road, looks nice.

-So, all in all, you'd like to go in?

-We would.

-Are you prepared?

-We are.

-Be on your best behaviour. The faces you'll be pulling are smiley ones.

-OK.

-Good.

-Go.

-It's sort of... Well, it's a room, not a hall.

-Yeah, yeah.

Oh, this is nice.

-Again, a nice big fireplace.

-Big fire.

Oh, yes.

-Kitchen diner.

-Very nice.

-Yeah.

-Just what you wanted.

-Kitchen diner.

-They asked for a kitchen diner, they have one. Very nice.

-Thank you very much.

They ask, I deliver. You went, "No. These are things I won't give you."

This is the ugly side of a bad winner. Look at you.

-Have a look in here.

-Very open.

-That's a nice big bedroom as well.

-It is nice, yeah.

-Really old beams.

-Mm.

Then again, you can't really hear the traffic. Good.

-Oh, yeah, I like this.

-Yeah, it's a good... a good use of the space.

It overlooks next door a bit, but it's mainly into the bit down to our door.

-Hello! What was that?

-That's a sense of ownership before owning a house.

That would lead me to believe they like it.

-Let's have a look in here. This must be the small bedroom.

-Yeah.

-The bed fits in there.

We've missed a room. What's in here?

Ah! Storage!

Again, they've really utilised the space very well.

-I can tell by the sound of the beads on the mirror, that is the walk-in wardrobe or...

-Clutterbuster.

-Oh. Another big room.

-Look at the view.

-That's good.

-Spectacular.

-Spectacular.

-That is a word we have not heard before.

-No, we haven't.

-Never.

And coming from Martin - bang!

-Shall we look at the beauty of the house now?

-Oh, it's lovely, though.

-Isn't that lovely?

-It is.

-Beautiful.

-It's nice just to take a moment.

Now, the house. What do you think?

My fear was the Achilles' heel of the smaller bedroom, but you've got the walk-in wardrobe.

-Did that bother you?

-Em...

-Not particularly.

I think this house has got more potential than the first one that we looked at.

-I tell you what, shall we do it?

-Yes.

-You might really want to know the price of this.

It is one-nil at the moment to Martin in Guess The Price. Who would like to go first now?

-Martin.

-I've been nominated.

-Go on. How much is it on the market for?

I think this house is on the market for...

two hundred and... twenty-seven and a half.

-A very accurate price.

-True. Very near your budget of 230.

-Maria?

-I'll say...225.

-225.

-Two and a half grand in it.

-Pricey home.

The actual price is £225,000 which means, Maria, you are neck and neck in Guess The Price.

-It rolls on to the Wildcard.

-Wow.

-What do you think of it as a price?

-I think it's fair.

-A fair price.

-There has been a house found that suits you.

-Let's see if the Wildcard can do any better.

-That way.

-Come on.

So they think modern houses don't have the space they're looking for,

but hopefully this Wildcard will convince them otherwise.

-You might think this is an illusion.

-Perhaps this isn't the house.

-No, it is.

-It is.

-But the logic used here was that it was presumed that you didn't want modern

-because you think the rooms are a bit small.

-Yeah.

-The rooms aren't small or boxy in this house.

Is that enough to tempt you inside, I wonder?

-Em...we'll have a look.

-OK, well, do you know what? Let's have a refresher of what you think.

Facial expressions? Mmm. Oh.

-That's very different.

-What are the reservations?

-The pylon at the back.

-But what that is does not take away from what you've got in that house.

Yes, it's modern. The rooms are big, it's lovely, and when you look out of the back window, it's nice.

-I don't want to say too much. Are you prepared to turn your frowns upside down?

-We'll have a go.

-Of course.

-Thank you! Three, two, one - start turning those frowns upward.

-Yeah, nice and white.

-Yeah.

-Cream and white.

-Your property's garden, I think, was smaller than this.

-No.

-Garden space.

-No, no, no, no, no.

We had the driveway and the little bit at the back, the little bit out there and...

-The driveway was part of the garden?! The driveway was part of the driveway!

-Ssh!

Ssh...

-Dining room.

-A similar size to ours at the minute.

Right, let's have a look in the kitchen.

-That's a good size.

-I like this.

-Yeah, that's nice.

That kitchen is brand spanking new. Pride and joy of the owner.

-Big lounge.

-Yeah.

It's pleasant.

-A good-sized room.

-Nice doors out.

Behind us in that garden is probably the nicest shed we've seen for a very long time.

I wouldn't even do it the disservice of calling it a shed. Summer house.

Miniaturise the cast of Little House On The Prairie and it's their house.

Let's look in this first room. Double room.

-It's open fields at the back.

-Oh, yeah.

-Quite a pleasant view.

-There is something approaching 300 acres of public open spaces.

-I knew that. I'd just forgotten.

-Ah, the bathroom. It's quite big.

-Yeah, again.

-There's no shower over the bath, which we'd probably need.

-Yeah.

-Mm. They're using this as an office.

-Another bedroom, used as an office.

-It's quite big.

Overlooks the garden again. We really did want a bigger garden, didn't we?

-So Emily can have her trampoline.

-You can get a trampoline in perfectly fine.

They come in all diameters. A six-footer there would be fine.

But they'd bounce over the fence!

Another bedroom. Double. A reasonable size.

Oh, this is better.

This is obviously the master bedroom.

-The biggest one.

-Big size. Yeah, I like this.

-And I guess that door could be an ensuite.

-Let's have a look.

-Oh, here we go. We've got a shower now.

-OK.

-This room, I... Yeah, I really like this room.

-Yeah, I do.

-With the ensuite.

-Yeah.

These are all comments from someone that I think has been surprised, if not quietly impressed.

Martin and Maria, I know at the start you weren't keen

on a modern property and we made assumptions why.

-On internal inspection here, are we liking modern properties any more?

-Yeah, yeah.

Definitely, for me, it's a pleasant surprise, really.

I thought being a new build it would be much smaller inside.

There is method in our madness!

Guessing the price - neck and neck.

Who would like to go first and second?

-You can go first.

-OK, right.

-I've been volunteered.

-Martin.

You have a maximum of £230,000 as your budget. Go on.

£218,500.

Right. OK. Maria?

Mm...I'll go 215.

-The actual asking price for this immaculate house...

-Yeah.

-..is £225,000.

-Oh.

-We've got a winner.

-Martin, get in!

-That is the first victory...

-Oh, look at that!

-..for West Brom...

-Steady. Steady.

-Anyway... We have now seen all three houses.

How excited are you to make this decision?

That's a good expression. Well, go and do that.

We'll see you outside your test drive vehicle or even inside it. Go.

-OK.

-Good luck.

-Let's stick with this facial expression theme.

If they choose my house, what would your expression be?

Amazement and surprise, yes! And if they plump for your house?

-Yes.

-Just accept it.

-Yes, predictably, the glib face of victory.

Anyway, let's have a reminder of all three properties.

Will they go for my period cottage? It is below their budget.

Nope, I think the views at my property will win the day. Property Two is wearing the yellow jersey.

It's got everything they asked for.

-Or will the Wildcard open up their eyes to the idea of new builds?

-And unlock an unexplored world.

All for a very spacious...

-Well, no surprise, then. They've chosen Property Two. Smell that, Jonnie!

-No.

-Smell what?

-The smell of sweet success, my friend. It's for winners.

Whatever. No one likes a smug winner. And we don't know if they'll buy, so don't get carried away.

-If we go over through that way.

-Yeah.

Wait! They've only just got there and now they're leaving?!

They did mention that this was about easy access to the countryside so they can go cycling together.

True. And what a wonderful spot to do so.

What's going on here now? Maria kept it quiet that she's a trained reflexologist.

I've seen your feet and I can see why she kept it quiet. Bunions like onions!

At least mine aren't webbed like yours.

That's where all the other houses you didn't pick were. You have picked mine for your test drive.

Now for the purposes of everyone and myself as well, what was it about this that you liked so much?

-I liked the kitchen diner.

-Yeah.

-That was the dream.

-You'd never had one before.

-Yeah.

-Is this the quality of life you're looking for?

-It is.

-Yeah.

-Location is spot-on.

-Have you figured out a place for the old trampoline?

-We have. We might have a small trampoline. Yeah.

-We'll have a think.

OK, you're closer to a decision now by the sounds of it. Your honour, mate.

Here it comes. To buy or not to buy, Martin or Maria?

That is the question.

-Say it, Maria!

-Not to buy.

-Not to buy?!

I'd be happy with a maybe. You've pushed them too far.

Exactly! So not to buy? What's holding you back from this?

-Is it...?

-It's the trampoline!

We could sort one out. All right. You're fussier than we thought.

This is an opportunity to look at the view you'll never find again.

You might find a garden for the trampoline, but not that view.

-Go over there, have a look at what you could have won!

-Before you do,

sum up the experience of To Buy Or Not To Buy.

-Thank you very much(!)

-Look at that!

OK, it's been lovely to meet you. Go off and enjoy the view

of the house you're not going to buy.

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