South Notts Villages To Buy or Not to Buy

Good morning, I know what you're thinking...

-we must be in Morzine or Val d'Isere or even Aspen, Colorado...

-We're not.

Well, you're wrong, although we'd all rather be there.

-Today's buyers like going on the piste.

-They certainly do.

Now, house-hunting can often be seen as an uphill struggle.

Today, Jonny and myself are going to make it seem like a smooth, gentle, downhill ride. Thank you. Right...

-So have you ever snowboarded before, Ed?

-Never in my life.

-No?

-No.

You might want to get some tips, maybe from a, let's say, master.

If there was a master around, that would be invaluable.

-I've never done this. Is he up there, down there, or she maybe?

-Me!

You? No. I will not have any tips, thank you.

Because how hard can it be?

House-hunting itself is one of the hardest things in the world.

OK, house-hunting is tricky,

snowboarding is particularly dangerous.

-So long as you're confident.

-Very.

Break a leg! I'm out of here. Good luck.

Coming up on To Buy Or Not To Buy, we head to the home town of a superhero,

but we refrain from wearing our pants over our trousers.

We're actually in a village called Gotham.

Even though it is spelled the same as Gotham. I've confused the living daylights out of you, haven't I?

I was expecting you to be dressed as Batman and Robin!

There's an elephant in the room in my property!

What do you think this is over here, Kate?

-Ooh...

-Is it the...

Oh, it's a downstairs loo.

It's a strange place to have a downstairs loo, but very useful.

A positive for the toilet downstairs

is if you are caught short midway through your favourite daytime house-hunting programme,

you'll never miss any of it if you leave the door open!

And I find a house that's beyond our house-hunters' years.

It's got the period features, it's got the character, but what do you think?

Well, it looks like a grown-up's house to me.

Today's buyer is Terry Johnson,

who currently lives in Portsmouth with her 18-year-old son Matthew.

And after 20 years beside the seaside,

Terry now feels it's time to make the move nearer to her family

in the Midlands, and helping her navigate this property slalom is her best friend Kate.

But it's frozen water in the form of snow that Terry has a real passion for,

as she spends much of her spare time skiing.

Now this may seem a little cruel, given Kate has injured her ankle,

but where better to meet Terry than in the place she metaphorically calls home? On the slopes!

Right, now, Terry, before this kicks off, let's clear it up.

-You're a skier...

-I am.

-I'm a boarder, and, as we know, there's a bit of politics on the mountains.

-Absolutely.

-Is there really?

-Absolutely.

But, for the purposes of the show, let's just leave those issues on the ski lift. Let's get it on.

I can't promise to do that, Jonny!

Now we've come here not for any other reason other than to have a go in a SnowDome which is great fun.

-But skiing's a passion of yours along with many other things.

-Yeah.

-How many hobbies have you got?

-Well, skiing is the absolute passion,

-but then I play badminton and go rambling as well...and cooking.

-Cooking and rambling...

Are you a rambler, a cooker or anything else, Kate?

-Er...a bit of cooking...

-Bit of cooking.

-And some very mild rambling, I would say.

What constitutes a mild ramble?

-Not very far.

-Not very far?

-Now, in the house-hunting world, Terry, it's about you today, isn't it?

-It's all about me.

-Because this is quite some upheaval.

-It is, yeah.

-You are going from...?

-Portsmouth.

-And you are ending up...?

-Nottingham.

-Ish.

-Nottingham-ish, yes.

-May I just ask...how do you feel about that?

-Because living by the coast is a wonderful experience.

-Yeah.

-To then almost move yourself to the geographically furthest point from the sea...

-I know!

How do you feel about that?

Well, I come from the Midlands originally, but I've lived down by the sea for 25 years now,

Plymouth and then Portsmouth, so I'm really going to miss it.

Can we look to you for advice and guidance on what she's after today?

Yeah, I know her pretty well, actually, I've known her about 13 years now,

and we've been through some highs and lows during that time, and I think I know her pretty well.

-OK, let's start, where would she like to be? Where does she want to live?

-Somewhere near Nottingham.

-Great! Thank you! That narrows it right down.

-You're from Portsmouth, how will you know the environment?

-Absolutely, absolutely!

-In the world of houses, if it were you, what style of property would you want?

-We both like somewhere with a bit of character but with a bit of modern feel to it as well.

-OK.

-So character on your outside and modern inside? Or you could move on all of those things?

-Modern inside,

-but with a couple of original features.

-OK.

-So the sort of period property that's been refurbed,

-that sort of thing?

-Yeah.

-How many bedrooms are you after? Minimum two.

-Three, please.

-So three minimum?

-Three, please.

-Nothing else will do? Is that something we could compromise on?

-No, not less than three.

Cooking is one of your hobbies. Kitchen-diner, separate kitchen, kitchen then a dining room,

-something completely radical and wholly different?

-I'd really like a separate dining area.

-Would you?

-Is this the old Victorian in you, having proper things in proper spaces?

-Well, I think...

Well, I live in Victorian house in Portsmouth, so I've been pretty much indoctrinated into that.

Locationswise...villagey, do we want to be more in the city centre, living it up?

-What are you after?

-Well, I'm from a village originally, and I've spent 20 years living in the city,

and, you know, I've got the sea, but restaurants and cafes, bars, shops, all to hand...

So I really wanted to go more rural.

-OK.

-Though I'm having second thoughts about that, but, no, rural.

I mean, there's rural and there's rural.

-Not too isolated.

-Because with that move, you don't want to isolate yourself.

-You want to be part of a community.

-I do.

-What's your budget? Can you afford to buy what you're after?

-I'm not sure. It depends what my house sells for, but sort of looking at 180, 185.

-OK.

-Could you factor a haggle zone in?

-Oh, yes.

-Could we look up to a certain budget and then haggle back?

Well, if we look up to 200 and then haggle back to 185, 190 at an absolute push...

Already you've crept yourself up! Let's have 200 and let's haggle. Because we like to haggle.

Are you ready? Are you emotionally prepared to go on this journey?

-Are we ready, Kate?

-We're ready.

-Well, good luck.

-And wish us good luck, because your fate is in our hands.

-Another quick lesson?

-OK. See you in a bit!

-Bye.

So the big challenge for me in particular is that we set aside the differences

-between snowboarders and skiers.

-Right. Listen, you are not 12 years of age!

You are not having fights with snowboarders on hills! I don't understand what you're on about!

-That is not the big difference.

-It's like the mods and rockers, but on mountains and less violent...

-No!

OK. The big challenge, then, is trying to find Terry a home.

-That is the big challenge.

-Because she wants to find the house she has in Portsmouth

-but here in Nottingham where it's landlocked and away from her friends.

-That's true.

We are going to stop short of moving her house.

We are masculine men. We could, but we are not going to. We'll do the next best thing.

-I'm going to get smartened up and speak to an estate agent.

-I'm going to find out about the local area.

West Bridgford, a leafy suburb, south of Nottingham city centre

with the River Trent creating a boundary to the north.

It's home to two major sports grounds,

Nottingham Forest Football Club being one,

and the other being Trent Bridge, one of the UK's finest cricket grounds.

And with its trendy cafes, restaurants and shops,

West Bridgford has become a desirable place to live,

which explains why house prices here are above the national average.

But, before we tackle that, let's see what Terry's budget would get you elsewhere in the UK.

Well, if Terry fancies taking to British slopes,

how about this three-bedroomed former distillery cottage with views of the Cairngorm Mountains?

Or what about Milton Keynes? Near an indoor ski slope!

This four-bedroomed detached house has an open-plan feel and it's a lot of house for your money.

And now to Sheffield where, frankly, who needs a ski slope, as it's Britain's most hilly city?

This three-bedroomed stone-fronted cottage is beautiful both inside and out.

It has a great mix of old and new and seems a bargain at...

But for now time to get back to business here in Nottingham.

A quick quiz for you. What do a morally-sound thief who lived in a tree, Rebecca Adlington,

Dale Winton, Ibuprofen and the Raleigh Chopper have in common?

The answer, they've all got links to around these parts.

So, in the recession, everywhere felt the pinch,

but the thing is as soon as the market started to pick up

West Bridgford just kind of yo-yoed back up to nearly where it was,

and we have actually almost seen some prices back to the peak of the market, sort of mid-2007,

so, yeah, it's a very resilient market.

Terry is relocating to the Nottingham suburb of West Bridgford.

Now, an intriguing fact about this place. It was designed in the Victorian period,

and they believed the word street sounded far too urban,

so there are actually no "streets" in West Bridgford.

She knows exactly what she wants. She wants her house that she has in Portsmouth up here.

Now is that a good thing or a bad thing when a buyer's that clear in their mind?

It can be a good thing because it means you waste less time pushing them through doors of properties

that they maybe don't want. The only problem with that is if they're after a particular type of property

that's very popular like the Victorian or period properties,

there's a lot of competition there and that obviously pushes the prices up due to the demand.

Terry has lived the last 20 years of her life in Portsmouth.

She loves the seaside, the sound of the lapping and the gentle wash of the waves.

She's moving to Nottinghamshire and unfortunately she's not going to get that,

because Nottinghamshire is the most landlocked county in the whole of England,

but, on the positive side, she's got the River Trent and the National Water Sports Centre.

Stephen, thanks for your advice.

If I can't find anything for Terry, I'll send her your way.

-OK. Thanks very much. Nice to meet you, Jonny.

-Thank you.

Spoken to the estate agent and he has revealed something we probably already knew

and that is that South Nottingham and the surrounding villages,

a period property can be quite expensive.

They certainly can but that has not deterred us.

Now, property number 1 is a radical gamble

-because Terry said she wanted an olde-worlde property.

-So you've given her...?

A brand-spanking new one that looks like an olde-worlde property.

I believe Terry is after low maintenance and I don't think Terry wants to do any more DIY.

She won't have to here, it's a cracker.

OK, well, she'd be hopping mad not to go for property 2

due to its comedy rabbit-style name, which will be revealed later.

-This place does need a little work.

-A little bit?

Which is slightly concerning because is that going to be more than she wants to take on?

But it's a three-bed semi, village location...

I think it's a cracker.

Okey-cokey, the wild card, everyone loves the wild card.

The dilemma here for Terry is does she want rural

-or does she want the built-up world of the city?

-Who knows?

We've gone for something in between, West Bridgford, which is absolutely lovely...

it's village in a town style. It's gorgeous, it's Victoriana.

It's lovely. We think she'll like it.

-So, those are the properties. Where shall we start them today?

-Why not your choice, property 1?

The one that's brand new, though she wants old.

Property 1 is my choice and it's in the beautiful village of Gotham.

This property has all the charm of a semi-rural location

and all the benefits of a perfect new build. With no decorating required,

just think how much free time and money Terry would have to hit the slopes.

Terry and Kate, Kate and Terry!

Jonny's so leaping ahead, I've forgotten to cover him!

Now, ladies, I wanted to say that we are in the throbbing metropolis of Gotham,

-but we are not in the throbbing metropolis of Gotham, are we?

-What?

We're actually in a village called GO-TAM.

Even though it is spelled the same as Gotham. I've confused the living daylights out of you, haven't I?

I was expecting you to be dressed as Batman and Robin!

Well, it's not happened, has it?

-We like to get dressed up! We were snowboarders earlier.

-This is where the letdowns end.

Because look over there. That is a beauty.

I've taken a radical leap. It's brand-spanking new,

but it looks old, and I know you said you wanted period and character, whatever.

It's got it, but in a new way. First impressions, Terry?

-It is very attractive.

-I like it.

-It's lovely, actually.

It's just not quite what I was expecting.

-Well, that's the world of TV. Sometimes...

-It is lovely.

-Good. Well, I'm happy.

-The world of property as well.

-It does look quite old.

-Yeah.

-And, Kate, of course, you know what Terry's after.

-How close to Terry's vision do you think this property is?

-Yeah, I think...

yes, attractive exterior. I think it'll appeal to Terry,

-but I think what's behind the doors is what counts.

-Never judge a book by its cover.

Although we do ask three times during each show to judge a book by its cover.

-True.

-Are you excited and pumped?

-Yeah.

-If you don't mind the outside, the inside you will love. Three, two, one, go in there and enjoy.

Well, there we go. That was the Achilles heel of the property that it was new from the outside,

-but they didn't mind it.

-Dealt with.

-Can the inside let us down?

-Let's go and find out!

-Here we go, then, Terry.

-Wow!

This is nice.

All brand-spanking new.

It's quite small, but it's got more units than I have in my kitchen, actually.

That's a plethora of praise that we've had, straight into the kitchen.

That kitchen's brand-spanking new, never been fried on, never been baked in, never been sizzled upon...

-no sausages have...

-So no guarantee it works?

Bah! There are, there probably are, actually with the brand-new appliances!

-Of course! That was my test.

-There we go, there we go! We've all passed it.

-Cool!

-Oh, wow!

-This is quite a big room... So this would be...?

-I don't know, what do you think?

-This would be the lounge and the dining room.

-Do you think so? You might be right.

The one thing we didn't warn them about is that this place is absolutely bare on the inside,

because it's a new build. No carpets, so their imaginations will be put to the test.

-I wonder if they will be able to imagine carpets.

-Quite a challenge, that, isn't it?

-What's nice about it, though, is it's really light in here.

-It is.

-And those double doors are really nice.

-That's lovely.

-Lots of light coming in.

-Just imagine a sort of patio area out there.

-What do you think this is over here, Kate?

-Ooh...

Is it the...?

Oh, it's a downstairs loo.

That's a strange place to have a downstairs loo, but very useful.

A positive for the toilet downstairs

is if you are caught short midway through your favourite daytime house-hunting programme,

you're never going to miss any of it if you leave the door open!

Let's think no more into that, but that's a positive, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-That is a positive.

Oh, it's three storeys!

-I didn't realise that from outside.

-Oh, that's very exciting.

-Lovely banister there.

-It's gorgeous.

They're doing my favourite thing. They are walking upstairs, they feel the need to talk

-and they are now praising the banister.

-You don't have enough conversations while going upstairs!

So which bedroom is this, then? It's quite a nice size.

-As long as it's not the master bedroom.

-It's a really nice size.

-Again, really nice views out the window.

-Yeah.

-Quite a nice-sized garden as well.

-Do you want to go first, Kate?

-Oh, go on, then!

-Ooh! Nice tiles.

-Oh, it's quite snug.

-Lovely tiles.

-Bathroom. What's the shower like?

-Nice shower.

-That's nice.

-Hang about!

We've had a cacophony of oohs in the bathroom.

And the tiles are the recipient of the oohs!

-I loved them myself. I cooed, rather than oohed!

-Did you?

-I did.

-Right...so this is another bedroom. It's quite a decent size... if this is the third bedroom...

-Yeah.

And assuming upstairs isn't a boxroom, this is still quite a nice size, actually.

-There's one thing you've got to bear in mind.

-What?

-None of these rooms have got furniture at the moment.

-Good point.

So they're going to feel smaller when you've got furniture in them.

That's a really good point from Kate. With a new build, although the rooms are empty and look spacious,

because there's no furniture in them you can't quite gauge how big they're going to be

-or how small they're going to look when everything's in it.

-She is very good, Kate.

-She is excellent.

-Oh.

-Oh, wow!

-This is my bedroom!

-This is nice.

-I think Matthew might have something to say about that!

Yeah, this is nice.

What you'd want to do is put the bed so that you'd get maximum benefit from that view,

cos that's a really nice view.

Oh, yes, that's really nice.

-Oh, lovely.

-Yes, that's lovely. Really nice, all modern fitted.

-There's something in there as well, Terry.

-Is it storage?

-Oh!

-That's very interesting.

-Stick your head in there.

I could put my skis in there.

-Wow!

-That's very handy.

-I could put my ski gear in there.

That's a really handy little space in there.

-Glorious! That cupboard is huge.

-I love it.

But for anyone else potentially it's a fourth bedroom or even, dare I say it, a waste of space,

but, for Terry, storage for skis, rambling equipment, you need rambling poles, you need boots.

I believe she also plays badminton as well. How many shuttlecocks could you shove in there?

-I think the main downside is the living space downstairs.

-Yeah.

Sort of having the combined... Well, it's one room, really, not having a separate dining room.

-Yeah.

-I'm not sure I'd get all my furniture in there.

-Yeah.

-No, I'm not sure about that.

-But then you're not supposed to buy a house based on your furniture.

-Shall we head off downstairs, then?

-Yeah.

So, Kate and Terry, a phenomenal job by both of you in here.

Kate, I don't know if you have any estate-agency genes within you,

but you are brilliant at it,

because Terry looks and if you think there's something she needs to focus on, you do that! And very well.

So, in total, we think it went pretty well. Are we right?

It went really well, actually.

-I was quite surprised how much I like the property.

-There you go. See?

Well, carry on. Wax lyrical about it. What did you like the best?

Er...I liked the bedroom up on the third floor.

It was a real surprise. I hadn't noticed. I must have been not looking properly.

-I hadn't noticed it was three floors.

-I did mention the fact that if you just looked up a little bit more...

-you might have seen it was a three-storey...

-I was surprised by the fact

you weren't trying to guess what was in the house before. You saw it for what it was

and it was a joy when you got it. Who's going to get the top bedroom? Will it be you or your son?

Well, I think Matthew would probably want it, but he's not going to get it!

-I think I would have to have it!

-What did you like the least?

Well, I think actually it's this room, the main living area, because...

-I've got a solution if we're thinking around the same thing.

-Let's get the because.

-Is it that?

-The downstairs toilet is a little bit surprising.

-It's the elephant in the room, isn't it?

-It is.

The toilet is here because of building regulations cos the guy was going to rent them out.

You can have him remove it, and he's prepared to do that,

because he's aware that people don't want a toilet in their lounge.

That would make a big difference. You'd get a lot more space.

It would totally square off the room.

Because it's not an understairs toilet,

you will have then this as a proper rectangle.

That would make a big difference in terms of getting my dining room furniture in.

Or you could make it an open-plan toilet, just take walls away and live like...I don't know...

It would be unique and it would devalue your house massively. So...

-you like the house...

-I do like it.

And with my brilliant solution, you now almost love it.

-The question is how much is it on the market for?

-What do you think?

Maximum budget we're playing for is 200, haggle zone back to 185, possibly 190.

Yeah, it's a hard one, this. I think I'm going to go for 178.

-178 with confidence!

-Mmm...OK. I'll go a little bit higher, I think.

-I'll go for the 190.

-You are closest, Kate!

-The actual price is 179,950.

-Oh!

-I'm hopeless!

There we go. It is underneath by quite a considerable distance... well, £50!

-You wanted to spend 180,000.

-Is there any haggling?

-Well, you could haggle.

-You could say, "That toilet, I really don't like that."

-And a conservatory?

-I'd have to do that.

-So you could haggle. Whether it would succeed or not, I don't know. But there's always haggling.

-OK.

-So not a bad start, then. Ed's done pretty well.

-I think he did very well.

-Thank you.

-Good start...

-definitely.

-All right, so property 2. I'm going to do this and hop...

to property 2 and all will be revealed when we get there.

-I hope it is.

-Are we going to a rabbit warren?

-Let's just walk.

Property 2 is cute to look at and is also located in the cutely named village of Bunny.

This property is not only larger on the inside than Ed's choice, it is also nestled into a larger plot.

With all the required space inside and out, I fail to see how this one can disappoint.

All the way from property 1, I've hopped here because we are in...

-Bunny!

-Bunny!

-And he could have told us at any point over the last five miles,

-but, no, onward he did hop.

-Next week, we're in Skipton, it's going to be a nightmare!

So here we are, my choice.

From the outside, we're all getting rained on as the wind blows through the trees, but we'll persevere.

-From the outside, it looks a little bit tired... is my immediate impression.

-Yeah.

Because it is an ex-rental property,

but it's got the period features, it's got the character, but what do you think?

Well, it looks like a grown-up's house to me.

You are a grown-up!

I know you're only early 20s, but what do you mean?

Well, I live in a terraced house which somehow seems a bit young and studenty.

This seems like a grown-up house.

-But I guess...

-For a more mature person.

-Is that good, though, or bad?

-I'm not sure.

-A little bit of TLC could transform this place into something pretty fantastic.

-It looks a good size

-from the outside.

-It does.

-They knew how to build them in the old days.

-Nice and solid!

No downstairs toilet needs be smashed out in this beauty!

-No, that's true.

-Do you want to go inside and have a look around?

-Please!

-Enjoy.

-Come on, then.

-See you in a minute.

Right.

Another nice banister.

-That's really nice. I like this entrance.

-It's very airy.

Has the world gone mad?

-Did you just hear that?

-Yeah.

-What is going on? I've got a "banisterphile" on the programme,

finally! And I'm not happy about it.

-That's quite a good, decent-sized kitchen.

-I think it needs updating, though.

It needs a little bit of updating, but I think it's got great potential.

-And it's got fantastic...

-It's a really good size.

But I think it would need a complete overhaul. Oh, the garden's really cute!

-I think that's fantastic!

-Look, a bench down the bottom of the garden.

The garden here in Bunny

is perfect for an Easter hunt with lots of mature shrubs and trees to hide eggs amidst.

Please, remember not to tell children you've hidden them

or you will blow the fact of the Easter Bunny being a mythical creature.

-Right, let's have a look and see what's through here, then.

-Oh, it's a lounge-diner.

-Oh, I'm just trying to get my bearings with this room.

-This could be the dining area.

Although again I'd struggle to get my dining room furniture in there.

I quite like the fireplace.

-It's quite nice.

-This is a really nice-sized area.

It is. You can definitely get all your furniture in here.

It's a good space.

I think it needs to be cut back there,

but you could get some light coming in through there.

I think I'd change those windows as well, actually.

No mention of whether it is a house that feels a grown-up house inside, is there? No mention whatsoever!

-On the outside...

-It's all oldy and "I feel like I'm invading a different world here".

-It's strange, really. An interesting comment.

-I sort of know what Terry means, but sort of.

Shall we go this way, then?

-Yes, why not?

-This must be the third bedroom.

-A boxroom.

This is where you and Jacob can stay when you come to visit.

Might just be me in that case.

Right...is this the middle bedroom, do you think or the master bedroom?

-It's quite a good size.

-Probably the master.

-I'm not sure.

-Again, fantastic views.

-Yeah. Absolutely beautiful!

-You would want to wake up to those views in the morning, wouldn't you?

-Definitely.

Views over Bunny, a view that Hugh Hefner shares in his mansion in Beverly Hills!

But they're Bunnies!

-Right.

-Oh, right.

So, actually, this could be your master bedroom, then.

They're not dissimilar, are they, in size?

-What kind of view have you got?

-I don't like these windows.

But it's a really nice view, isn't it?

It's a really nice road, actually. Trying to decide between the back room with the views of the hills...

-It's a toss-up, isn't it?

-This is a really nice aspect.

Either is fine. It's all good. Back one, you're nearer the toilet, just in case, you know...

I'd probably opt for the back for that alone...

-or front one if you like the risk.

-I don't know! Front one's closer to the bathroom, actually.

I'm thinking about my house. I'm so confused. I've looked at 600 houses on this show!

-They're all a blur to me.

-You can't remember every one of them.

Right, so as you rightly pointed out, Kate, there is a bathroom.

I do find having a bathroom is handy, Terry.

Actually, this is quite a nice bathroom. Mmm, it's quite modern.

-That's not bad actually.

-Apart from the ceiling that's cracking.

-I was expecting it to be smaller,

but that's actually a reasonable size.

-There is quite a lot of space.

-Mmm...

-And it has got a nice feel to it.

I love the views from the upstairs windows.

-Mmm. Definitely got potential, hasn't it?

-Yeah, but still the sticking point about the dining area.

Well, it may have been a grown-up house on the outside, but you were like a couple of kids in there!

You were having a great time. You enjoyed it. Tell me why.

-Well, it was a grown-up house.

-It was.

-And I think we both could picture me living there,

-but I've got a few more reservations, just the sort of work to do on it.

-Well...

-your biggest reservation is if you dawdle on it, Kate will buy it!

-Absolutely! I'll be in there!

-You love it!

-I do.

-Do you love it for you or do you love it for Terry

or do you love it so much...? What, what, what?

-Why and how and who?

-Well, I suppose, you know, I love it for me if I'm completely honest about it.

I think actually if it was all done and ready, I think it would suit Terry down to the ground,

but from Terry's perspective she is quite busy at the moment, so it would be quite a bit to sort out.

A little bit daunting, but I think, when finished, it would be lovely.

There are a few jobs that want to be done that will cost a bit, which leads us to guess the price.

It's 1-0 to you, Kate, because, Terry, you were rubbish last time.

-I was, absolutely hopeless.

-But you tried and that's the most important thing.

-Kate, you go first, give your friend a chance. What do you think?

-Well, I think...

-mmm...I think I'm going to go for 178.

-Again?

-Yeah.

-It's my lucky number.

-It is a lucky number.

-Consistency.

-OK. Terry, your maximum budget is £200,000,

but you don't really want to spend all of it. What do you think this is on the market for?

-I think 175 because it's got a bit of work to do.

-OK.

-175?

Incredibly, you've done worse than last time.

Which I didn't think was possible. So once again you've won.

Congratulations. There's no competition left as far as guess the price goes.

Ruined it! As a competition, it is over, null and void.

-This is actually on the market for 189,950.

-Mmm.

-OK. So what do you think of that price?

I think that's quite high because there's a bit of work to do and it is an ex-rental property.

Exactly. And the fact it is ex-rental is why I reckon you'd get it for a good price.

Because it's untenanted, there's no income being generated against it,

I'd have thought the owner-landlord would be keen to sell.

Ladies, you could stay here and ruin the format of the programme further,

-or you could go to the wild card! Would you like to?

-Shall we go to the wild card?

-I think we should.

Do you want to hop?

-We'll leave the hopping to you.

-I'll just walk, I think.

So the wild card takes us further away from the sticks and into town.

West Bridgford is not only where this three-bedroomed character beauty lies,

it's also home to Terry's place of work, so commuting will be a thing of the past.

We think this house is fabulous and will suit Terry down to the ground.

But will the location be a bit too built-up for her?

Now, Terry and Kate, the wild card, the wild card, everyone loves the wild card.

And the wild card today is in West Bridgford.

You did quite fancy the idea of ruralness but you're not rural. Well, you're sort of villagey

in a city style. Now, your job is in West Bridgford, so your commute would be very, very, very little.

-Two minutes away, really.

-Two minutes! That is your beauty there.

Now, we have gone for a little bit of olde-worldiness with a bit of contemporariness inside.

-What do you think?

-Well, I love the exterior. And I love this wall, actually.

-There, you see?

-And it's not as grown-up a house as the previous one, is it?

-This is more the studentville-type thing you had in mind?

-It's what I'm used to!

-In a good way. This is nice.

-My comfort zone.

-So you like the style, you like the wall...

-A little garden.

There you go. Kate, what do you think?

-Yeah, I like it too.

-Because you wanted to buy the last property!

-I did.

-I quite fell in love with that.

-But that was maybe from your perspective.

-Be less selfish!

-OK. I'll try.

What do you think about this one for Terry?

I...yeah, I think, I like this area, it feels good in this area. It feels quite cosy.

-Are you prepared to go in?

-Yes.

-Three, two, one, enter that West Bridgford dream!

-Go!

-Go on, then.

Well, there you go. I am very excited about this. Very positive indeed.

-We forgot to mention, of course, the Achilles heel, and let's not mention it now.

-No. Headphones.

Let's see what we've got in store for property number 3, Terry.

-Wow!

-Look at the fireplace as well.

-That's lovely. A really nice old fireplace. That's got some...

-Character!

-Character.

-That's what you've got here.

-You wanted character.

-Lots of character.

And although not a separate room for the dining area that is a fantastic dining area.

-You've got loads of room there.

-Absolutely.

-The ceilings are reasonably high.

-Decor's nice.

-I think I'd probably just need to give it a lick of paint.

Well, there you go! That's the first thumbs-up for a dining area we've had.

All the others have required some sort of banging or redesigning of houses, but this works as it is.

-The lesson we're learned is for the budget you cannot have a separate dining room.

-No, this is true.

I like the tiled kitchen floor.

-Mmm...

-I think...the kitchen needs updating.

-Quite a small kitchen.

-Yeah.

-The size isn't so much of an issue because you've got work surfaces and units on both sides.

-Yeah.

-Downstairs bathroom here.

-Oh, right.

-How do you feel about a downstairs bathroom, Terry?

It doesn't particularly faze me

because my shower room's downstairs though the bathroom's upstairs,

-so that doesn't particularly faze me.

-Yeah. It's quite nicely done, actually.

With a lot of terraced houses, it's the norm to have a downstairs bathroom.

The thing with downstairs bathrooms is if you're going to have one, do it well.

Yes, because it is the slap in the face of most houses. She doesn't seem to mind about it, old Terry.

-You're right. Make it lovely.

-Because if you've got that,

then it makes that sort of compromise easier, more palatable.

-3am when you're staggering around, desperate for the toilet, you'll think, "It's nice down here!"

-Yes.

That's a nice landing area, actually.

Yeah, it is actually. It's not bad.

-OK, so...master bedroom, do you think?

-Master bedroom.

Quite a nice size, actually.

-Shall I have a look out of the window?

-Quick look out the window.

-Nice big windows. I love the frames.

-Yeah, they're nice.

-Yeah.

Just need a lick of paint but nice, aren't they?

I'm pleased they're being so optimistic about these windows.

Because they're aluminium frame, they could be frowned upon for being dated.

Yes, but they're the pioneers of double glazing, those windows.

When it started out it was all ALU-MINUM as Yankee Doodles might say, but they like them...

I quite like them. I think they look quite jazzy.

Oh! This is an interesting room.

Wow, this is a good size, actually. Is this the middle bedroom, then?

Either boxroom or office, I think, would be the use of this room, wouldn't it?

-This is your room for when you come to visit.

-This is my room, isn't it? It's a good size again.

Kate's loving it. I think Kate's going to try and buy this one.

Terry's got to keep an eye on her, basically!

She's a gazumper, a potential gazumper!

Shall we have a look at the last bedroom? This is really nice, actually.

All the bedrooms, especially if you take the cupboards out that middle one, are really good-sized rooms.

-I like the step down as well. It's really nice.

-It is.

-Quaint.

Yes, again it brings that sort of quaintness, a bit of quirkiness...

-And even the shape of the ceiling's a bit quaint.

-Lovely view as well.

Yes, not overlooking anybody's garden. Quite a dinky little garden. I said I wanted a small garden.

-It's a good size.

-It's a really nice house, actually.

-It's really nice.

-It's got a very cosy feel to it and a very welcoming feel to it.

-Yes, homely.

-Yeah.

-Very you!

-Very me.

-I would often like to be described as cosy and welcoming. I don't know if I am, but...

-You're not.

But we've found out Terry is cosy and welcoming, just like the house.

So, the wild card, how was it for you, Terry? Did you enjoy it?

I did, actually. I really like the house.

Love the house, love the garden, love the frontage.

We were concerned that the downstairs bathroom would be a problem, but it didn't faze you,

-you glossed over and accepted that this age of property has that.

-Well, it's a terraced house.

And, er, when I lived in a student house with a downstairs bathroom, it didn't bother me.

-I've got a downstairs shower room.

-This is all about recreating your student days!

I don't want to go back to those days!

Lots of terraced houses have got downstairs bathrooms.

I've got a downstairs shower room and an upstairs bathroom and it's not a problem.

That's the thing with these houses, something's got to give, cos you want three bedrooms...

You've got three decent-sized bedrooms.

Now...different kind of style of property...

probably we've got an amount of DIY-ish to do

that is kind of...it's cosmetic, really, and then you could probably posh up your kitchen and stuff.

What do you think about the idea of that?

-Because in every property, apart from my one, there's been some level of work.

-Yeah...

I have to say it does faze me because I've done all that and I don't want to do it again.

But I think the best thing is just get some people in to do it!

This could be excellent training for your son, for his future, get him decorating!

Actually, he's a very good painter, but I think I'd just get some professionals in to do it,

because I think it would be lovely... it's fairly cosmetic...

-skimming and painting, new kitchen...

-Guess-the-price time, the worst part of the programme for Terry!

-You have displayed you are not very good at guessing.

-You can relax now because you've lost!

You have lost, but could just do it for fun.

So maximum budget we're looking at is up to 200, but looking to spend around the 180 mark.

-What do you think?

-I suspect, because we are in West Bridgford, which is quite sought after,

I suspect that you'll have pushed the budget, so 190.

Mmm...damn you!

That's what I was going to say.

I think this is a desirable area, so I think it's going to be top end of the budget,

-but I don't think you'll have pushed it too far. I'm going to go for 187.

-187?

-You've broken away from your usual guess, which has never failed you.

-You swapped those two numbers round.

-You are a fool! You've lost!

-Oh, no!

But you have technically won! So, congratulations, bang on the money! £190,000.

-Oh! See? Bang on the money!

-There you go!

-I've redeemed myself.

-We need a bit of haggling to make the figures work.

-We certainly do.

It needs a fair amount to be spent on it.

OK, you are at the point now where you've to go and make the biggest decision of your adult lives,

about which one you wish to test drive. Are you able and capable and excited and happy?

-We are...

-Very excited!

-Good!

-You sound it, you sound it!

-Well, head off, make the decision and we will see you outside your chosen vehicle. Good luck.

-Bye!

Right, there we go. Three very different houses.

A brand-new one, one that looked too grown-up from the outside and this one that maybe is just right.

Well, here is a recap of all those three...now!

So, will it be my choice, property 1, the new build in a conservation area?

It had all the space Terry wanted and would no doubt leave her with plenty of free time

as absolutely no decorating would be required here.

Or will she go for my choice, the semi-detached cutey in the village of Bunny?

It had plenty more living space than Ed's choice and, I reckon, more character too!

Could be hers for...

And finally the wild card! There's no denying

this Victorian house had all the charm and character Terry was looking for

-and all the amenities close by.

-But, being on the edge of town, will there be too many neighbours?

It's a great option.

Great news, Terry, you opted for the wild card today. Why? Is it just the house, is it the area,

-is it everything combined?

-I really like the house and I like the area,

-so I just thought I would test it out.

-So it's everything combined, fantastic!

-Kate, also thrilled?

-Yeah, absolutely thrilled.

It's a lovely house... No, lovely house, and we're looking forward to test-driving it, aren't we?

-We are.

-And the good news is the house that you like the most you could still buy yourself,

-which is Jonny's one down the road.

-Absolutely!

I can't wait to get my evil hands on that!

Now, then, we are a special episode today. We have had our mysterious To Buy Or Not To Buy surveyor

come and have a look around the house. He has poked here, he has poked there,

he has poked willy-nilly everywhere.

Now, it's not legally binding this survey, so if you do buy it you'll have to get a survey of your own,

but these are good haggling points. Are you prepared for the information?

-Yes, I think I need it.

-Good.

-Right, so you mentioned you liked Ed's property cos it had three storeys.

Well, that is very much a possibility here if you wanted to recreate that feel.

Because of the depths of the attics in these places, you can do those kind of conversions, about 20k,

-so something to bear in mind for the future.

-Good to know.

The other thing, and you have talked gloriously about banisters all day,

there are no banisters in here. You have an exposed stairway.

Now if there was a stairway there it would have to comply with building regulations, your banisters,

but there isn't one so it doesn't have to comply with anything. But you might wish to place one in.

So for your own safety, think about putting one in.

But as it stands, it's not breaking any laws, but you might want to have one for safety

-when drinking the cocktails at night time.

-Absolutely!

So are you tantalised, excited and pumped about the test drive?

-Absolutely.

-Yes, we are. We're ready for it.

It's the only chance you'll get to test drive on the BBC, so three, two, one, commence it, go!

-All right, let's go!

-Go, go!

-What do you reckon, Terry? Cocktails?

-Let's make some fruit cocktails and watch a bit of telly!

To Buy Or Not To Buy might be on in a minute.

What do you mean? We're actually on air now!

Hurry up or you'll miss it!

I hope you're keeping a watchful eye to check for no alcohol.

-Have I got good rhythm for this?

-Tom Cruise, eat your heart out!

Oh, yes, Tom Cruise, eat your heart out!

-One of those in there!

-You can tell you're a professional!

Yeah!

-Shall we have a sit down?

-Oh, yes, that's nice, isn't it?

-Cheers.

-Cheers, my dear!

Terry and Kate, you have been living la vida loca in here on fruit-juice cocktails.

What was the name, the To Buy Or Not To Buy zinger?

-That's the one, yeah.

-Er...

-It's not quite an apres-ski drink, though!

No!

I think normally if you were not on daytime television you might have made something stronger,

-but it satisfied you?

-It did.

-Yes.

-How was the house? How did it feel?

You mentioned it's got a good vibe, did that continue?

Yeah, you know, we spent a little bit of time here and it's really grown on me.

It's a nice-sized house. I think I could live with the space here.

-Mmm!

-The kitchen, I think, ideally would be a little bit bigger, but I could cope with it,

-and there is the possibility of going up into the loft.

-You see? It is almost future-proof!

We are... we're at the end of the episode. It has been an emotional journey,

and it's a tricky move and everything, you've a lot of stuff to factor in.

But we've got the big question, and we're going to have to do it.

Shall we do it? Are you ready?

-No!

-No-one's ever ready for it, but here it comes.

-Come on!

-Terry, to buy or not to buy?

Er...

it's a serious, serious contender, if I can get it for the right price. So that's a maybe, that's a maybe!

-Well, also your son's not had a look at it and presumably...

-He needs to have a look.

And I need to sell my own property.

So what we've learned then at the conclusion of the episode is, West Bridgford is nice,

-but you're still maybe torn towards the countryside.

-I'm still quite torn.

-But also I think you quite fancied the idea of a new build.

-That did grab me.

-So really this is as clear as mud now!

-We are nearly there!

-But I think we've nudged you along in certain areas.

-It's really helped going to see the villages as well,

because I hadn't been outside of actual Nottingham town centre,

I hadn't seen West Bridgford, I hadn't seen any villages, so that's been really helpful.

Well, I would like to think we've got you somewhere nearer.

-I think you have.

-Good! We'll take it at that.

It might not be a "to buy", but we've a "to learned you" something,

-if that makes any...

-It's better than nothing.

-A new series.

-It could be!

-Thank you very much for coming on the show. We have had a lovely time.

-It's been phenomenal.

-I hope the viewers have had a good time and we'll see you in the future hopefully.

-Thank you, it was great.

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