(upbeat music) - [Phil] This week, we're back catching up with three damsels with sizeable demands.

- It's not very big.

- I wanted to go for a breakfast bar, but that's not gonna work, is it?

- [Phil] Was it going to be tears before bedtime?

- That's a 2,500 pound breakfast bar.

- Hmm.

- Your job is to find a house for her.

It's not to tell her how to live.

- Clearly something has gone really badly wrong.

- [Phil] Or did we ultimately get the measure of them?

- It was big up there.

- There's only one thing you need and that's for me to hold your hand.

(upbeat music) - This week, we're catching up with a trio of female house hunters, all of whom wanted our help to find them their dream first homes, but these were searches that came with a fair amount of emotion.

Emma Wilcox and Kelly Price were searching southeast of Redding where Hampshire meets Berkshire for a home together, and law student, Kate Harland was looking in Liverpool for a peaceful pad alone.

One of Liverpool's hip neighborhoods is Aigburth, home to cool kids and creatives.

- [Kirstie] So it's no surprise that our stylish law student, Kate, loves to hang out there.

(upbeat music) - He's got the most mischievous grin.

(group laughing) - [Kirstie] After a gap year which lasted half a decade, smart student, Kate, knows it's time to cut back on the cocktails and knuckle down to her final year.

Kate shares a house in Wavertree, but with five other students on the scene, space and peace is at a premium.

- You never know what you're gonna come home to.

So like, you could be really wanting to just chill out and there'll be a huge party going in the room.

So it is hard to study.

- [Kirstie] This savvy student has decided that for her, the party is over.

- This next year at uni is gonna be a lot of work.

It's worth 70% of my degree.

And I'm doing quite well, miraculously, so I need to keep that momentum going.

So having my own house next year will be a way for me to not be tempted into the drinking and the student life so much.

(laid back music) - [Kirstie] Kate isn't the first in the family to have sampled student life in this city.

- My dad went to Liverpool University as well.

He used to live around the corner from where I live now, so there's a bit of a sentimental twist to it as well.

- [Kirstie] But sadly, Kate's dad died three years ago.

- We didn't know, obviously, that he was going to pass away, so it came as a bit of a shock.

- [Kirstie] Kate's dad made sure that even after he was gone, all his kids would be looked after.

- He wrote in his will that he wanted me and my brothers to buy a house each.

That was really important to him, that he was making a provision that when he wasn't there anymore, that we still had somewhere to call home.

(knocking on door) - Kate's been left an inheritance of 120,000 pounds.

That's a lot of cash for a first-time buyer so it's time for me to take the law into my own hands.

Most people at 25 don't have all the money they need to buy house.

Are you worried about buying young and alone?

- I think my family are all expecting me to buy either something that is completely inappropriate that completely blows the budget or is going to fall down, so I'm determined to prove them wrong.

- Are you the only girl in your family?

- Yes.

- Yeah, you see, everybody thinks girls spend money frivolously.

They just spend money on different things.

- Thank you!

- [Phil] Two peas in a pod.

- Shh.

Phil, I'm here to help this girl spend her money wisely.

To have this money at this stage in your life is a godsend.

- You make it sound so perfect.

- It is, it is perfect.

There's only one thing you need, and that's me to hold your hand.

- [Phil] Modesty's never been your strong point, has it, Kirstie?

- [Kirstie] Kate's got 120,000 pounds, but if she falls for a pad that's a few grand over, she's got a little leeway to stretch her budget.

She's after a spacious two or three-bed house which should have an open plan living area, and it's got to be close to university.

- [Phil] Police officer Emma Wilcox and her partner, IT manager Kelly Price are searching in Hampshire and Berkshire.

Although they met four years ago, they've never owned a place together.

For Kelly and Emma, spending 325,000 pounds on a home is not only a major financial investment but a huge emotional one as well.

- Gonna be our house, joint mortgage.

- I'm really excited.

I can't wait once like two things together and, sorry.

(sniffling) - [Kirstie] Kelly has owned a property before, but Emma is a first-time buyer.

And for her, this house isn't just about bricks and mortar.

That's why we have to get this one right as well.

- [Phil] For the last two months, they've been house sitting in Aldershot for a friend who's on active duty in Afghanistan.

- She's back in a few months' time so we need to make sure that we're out by then.

- Yeah, 'cause we won't have anyone to live otherwise.

- Yeah, we would be homeless.

(Kelly and Emma laughing) - [Phil] Kelly and Emma have a close knit group of friends who they love to entertain, so finding the right size property where they can all spend time together is really important.

But it's not just socializing that's a consideration here.

They too have family responsibilities.

- Daisy is, she's about five years old now, so I got her for Emma.

- And then we've got Sammy.

He's very much a mommy's boy.

(chuckling) - Yes.

- Time is not on our side for this one so best to get cracking.

So it's your first purchase and your first home together.

- [Emma] That's right, yes.

- Right, okie dokie.

Kelly, you first.

Off the top of your head, what you want, boom, boom, boom.

- Yeah, a nice living space, a kitchen where we can entertain, and a nice size garden definitely be up there.

- [Kirstie] Emma?

- Mine would be not to be on a main road and somewhere we can go out for a walk together.

- What about the cats?

- Not on a main road.

- Not on a main road.

- That is my, that is very much at the top of my list.

- [Kirstie] For their 325,000 pounds, they want a three-bedroomed property, no problem if it needs updating.

For Kelly, size is important.

It must have enough space to entertain family and friends.

Whereas Emma wants a quiet location that is safe for the cats.

- [Phil] I have no idea why, but I sense trouble.

- It is all about finding the right home that is safe and cozy for the cats and safe and cozy for Emma.

She was brought up in rural Wales.

Can't say rural Wales.

It's obviously catching, that thing you have with your Rs.

- Oh, thank you very much, indeed.

(laughing) Well, we'd better get our Rs into gear somehow if we're to find the perfect first home for Kelly and Emma as their schedule is tight.

- [Kirstie] They want us to focus on the area southeast of Redding, where Hampshire meets Berkshire.

- [Phil] It's a good choice.

You get great transport links into London and down to the coast.

An average house here costs just over 218,000 pounds.

- [Kirstie] Their favorite village is this one, Eversley.

It's in the north of Hampshire, nine miles from Bracknell.

When we first started searching, there were no suitable houses for sale here, so we sent out a shedload of flyers.

If you've got a specific area you want to live in, bombarding it can work wonders, opening doors to properties no one else has seen.

- And it's worked for us as word came back that one owner was thinking of selling, and here we are.

But it's a bit of a coup really to, because the market's so tight to get something before anybody else.

We're dead tough.

We thought it was quite special.

- [Kelly and Emma] Yeah.

- [Kirstie] It looks special.

- Yeah, it does, yeah.

It's broad.

It's lovely for the cats.

- [Kelly] Yeah, definitely.

- Yeah, plenty of mice around here.

The cats will be happy.

- Yeah, definitely.

- Yeah, you're right.

- [Kirstie] This semi-detached cottage has two good sized reception rooms and a decent sized kitchen, perfect for entertaining.

It's got the three bedrooms they were looking for and a massive garden.

- It was valued 18 months ago at 345,000, 20,000 above their budget, but the possibility of a private sale could shift that price.

Dealing face to face with the owner can pay off.

For a house like this, a vendor could save over 8,000 pounds in estate agent fees, which means you can try and persuade them to reduce the price.

But of course, this sort of direct negotiation isn't for the faint hearted.

Because they've shifted the staircase from where it would naturally have been, it opens up the middle of the house.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

- For a dining area, kitchen.

- [Kirstie] And 130 foot of garden.

- Oh, wow, okay.

- Wow, oh, my god.

- That's pretty at the back, isn't it?

- [Phil] We thought it was a very, very pretty house.

- Yeah.

The location is spot on.

It's fab.

- I didn't like the way we walked into the front door and came straight into the front room.

- Yeah.

- And it's not very big.

- When I first met Kelly and Emma, it did seem like they had quite different criteria.

And even at this early stage, that's coming home to roost.

Why is it coming across that you feel more strongly about location than Kelly does?

- Well, I was surrounded by fields back home in Wales where Kel grew up in a town, basically.

So I like the field side of it.

I feel like I'm like a part of Wales kind of thing.

You take that with you.

- [Kirstie] Emma obviously likes this place, so it's important we try and find a way to make it work for Kelly as well.

- It looks to me like there has been a door in the past that would lead into the kitchen.

- [Kelly] Okay, yeah.

- [Phil] I'm sure you can put a door further along.

- Yeah.

- And I reckon you could do a lot more with that conservatory.

- Yeah, 'cause it's not really used, is it?

- No.

- [Kirstie] Everyone loves to try, Phil, and you're not the only one trying to get Kelly to like this place.

- [Kelly] Yeah.

- [Emma] The bathroom.

- [Kelly] It's quite small.

It hasn't got a bath.

- [Emma] Yeah, but a nice big shower.

This should be the master bedroom.

- [Kelly] Yeah.

I find it a bit too small though.

I mean, the view is fantastic.

- Yeah, the view is amazing.

- Just imagine us having Daisy out there.

- Yeah, he would have liked that.

- Yeah.

- [Phil] Enjoying being up there.

- Well.

I was thinking this is about the height difference between Kelly and Emma, which might be why Emma doesn't think that house is small and Kelly does.

- Okay.

Yeah, possibly.

They're a nice couple though.

- They're a really nice couple, and I wouldn't want to have any kind of divide and rule stuff.

- No, especially not in house one.

- No.

- Come to think of it though, we have got a bit of a divide.

Well, there we have it.

How did we get on?

- Yeah, I think beautiful location.

- Yeah, fabulous.

- I feel the house is a bit too small.

- [Emma] Kitchen, my eyes, big enough, and bedroom size is not far off either, really.

- I've got to say it sounds like Kelly's walking away from this house saying adieu, and Emma's moving in.

- Possibly.

- Quite a lot of compromises where you come in the front door.

- Yeah.

- [Kirstie] What a shame.

With a bit of patience, this place could be a great home in a near perfect location, but it seems Kelly just won't compromise on the size issue.

- [Phil] We're back catching up with three damsels who were desperate to find their dream homes.

The first property we showed Kelly and Emma in North Hampshire scored big with Emma on location, but it was too small for Kelly.

Kate Harland had an inheritance of 120,000 pounds to buy her first home.

She was studying in Kings Estate in Liverpool, a city rich in maritime and musical history.

The past decades seen it transform into a cosmopolitan capital of culture.

It's a buyer's market here, so deals can hopefully be done.

The average house price in Liverpool is just under 135 grand.

Kate's favorite area is Aigburth, but we're taking her two miles southeast from there to the up and coming Garston.

- This property is perfect for Kate's life now, and it's got young professional written all over it.

Here we are.

- Yeah.

- We're in Garston, which is where a lot of the young professionals who might want to be in Aigburth but can't avoid it.

- Yeah.

- So the geography's positive.

- Yeah, it's positive.

- Sort of.

- Sort of, ish.

- Okay, right.

- Yeah, ish.

I can tell there's an ish.

Despite that ish, Kate will get plenty of bang for her buck in Garston.

This pretty terrace has two large bedrooms and every young girl's dream, a massive bathroom, and there's even a pretty yard at the back.

It's on just under 95,000 pounds, so she'd have a hefty chunk of cash to spare.

Big, light, high ceilings.

- [Kate] Exactly what I asked for.

I like the open stairs as well.

- [Kirstie] Yes.

- [Kate] It reminds me of my dad's house.

- You can do all sorts of modern things with these stairs.

So you can have open stairs which are glass or metal or whatever.

I mean, but you don't want to overspend.

- [Kate] No.

- The important thing is not to spend the money on-- - Making the house too expensive for the area.

- Yes, yeah, yeah.

You've got it.

You've already got the lingo.

- Do you think?

- Yeah.

- Go on then, you go.

(Kirstie and Kate laughing) I'll stay.

- [Phil] She's the apprentice, and Allsopp, you're fired.

- [Kirstie] Not quite, Phil, not quite.

Very nice out there, isn't it?

- Very nice.

- [Kirstie] Yeah, really nice little area.

It would be tempting to just put in a hot tub, wouldn't it?

(Kate laughing) Or one of those Japanese baths.

Kate could afford to bath al fresco or make any other alterations she wants because this house is 25 grand under her budget.

- It's everything that I would ask for.

Although I wanted to go for a breakfast bar, but that's not gonna work, is it?

- Well, you can.

I mean, you could.

That's the thing.

You can do a different type of layout.

Or if that ish about the area is actually an issue, she could spend more to get a similar house in a different area.

- I feel like if I'm walking in just going home now, I don't want this area then.

- You can afford=-- - [Kate] To do it, so why wouldn't I?

- To do it, so why wouldn't you?

- Yeah, why wouldn't I?

- Yeah.

It was Kate's dad's wish that she put this money into property.

She's worried about seeming like a brat because she doesn't like this area.

She wants another area.

The fact is that buying a house now is the right decision.

She's doing the right thing, and she should be proud of that.

(upbeat music) If a better area is what Kate wants, then that is what I'm going to show her, but it's going to mean spending all of her budget.

Before buying a property, think about what you want and where you want it.

Whether it's breakfast bar or being close to a coffee bar, knowing what matters to you and your lifestyle before you start the search will speed up the whole process.

- [Phil] Police officer, Emma, and partner, Kelly were not totally captivated by the first property we showed them.

So this time, we're in Sandhurst, famed for its military academy.

Here, Kelly gets a bigger house, but inevitably, that means a pretty major compromise for Emma.

- Right.

We have sacrificed a bit of the peace and quiet for size.

What do you feel about the area and the road?

- Quite a few cars have, are going past, aren't they?

- Yeah, I just worry for the cats more than anything else.

They do get out the front, then they are pretty much on quite busy-ish main road.

- Yeah.

- But this is a road with speed bumps.

And at the back, there's a cul de sac.

- Okay.

- And I don't think the cats are gonna be interested in going out the front.

I hope they're convinced because this detached house is more than half as big again as the last one.

Roundwood period features, it has two reception rooms, a pretty smart kitchen, three sizeable bedrooms, and a decent garden.

It's only been on the market for two weeks, and it's bang on budget at 325 grand.

What you've got here is a sort of diner.

- This is really nice.

It needs work doing into it straight away, but you could still move in here.

- Well, they've done a lot.

I mean, it needs finishing.

You've either got to paint these floors, or sand them, or carpet them.

They've kitted out the kitchen.

The only thing they haven't finished is the utility area at the back of the kitchen.

- [Emma] Okay.

- [Kirstie] But it's really nice.

- Lovely.

I really like it.

- Emma's being a bit quiet about this place.

She can obviously see its strengths, but that road is a sticking point.

It is an issue, but it's not a sort of, because of the sleeping police, sorry, not sleeping policemen.

(Kelly and Emma laughing) Okay, then what are they called?

We don't call them the sleeping policeman anymore.

do we now?

- Road humps.

Just road humps.

- Is that politically incorrect to call a road hump a sleeping policeman?

- I think just 'cause you're standing next to me, really.

(Kelly and Kirstie laughing) We can think of another word.

(laughing) - Okay, road humps.

- Yeah, that's the one.

- Right, okie dokie.

Oh, dear, I'm not doing a good job with this whole road issue, and it's frustrating because the house is perfect for them.

- [Kelly] Oh, it's a big bedroom, isn't it?

- It's a nice little fireplace there.

It's cute.

- Yeah, very big.

You still hear the noise though, can't you?

- Yeah, still quite noisy outside.

- If they go for this house, it will be Emma that's doing the compromising.

I suspect she may be the more flexible of the two.

She minds about peace and quiet, and not just for the cats' sake, but Kelly minds more about the size.

We'll see.

We will see.

- Oh, okay.

- Bathroom.

- [Kelly] Yeah.

It's got a bath.

(chuckling) - [Emma] Yeah, it's got your bath.

- It's okay sized.

- A nice shower.

- It's all done, isn't it?

It's all finished.

- Yeah.

- [Kirstie] Right.

- Yeah, brilliant.

- Oh, yeah, brilliant.

- Brilliant.

- It was big up there.

- Yeah, it is.

- It is big up there.

- It's big up there.

- Yeah, it's fantastic.

There's a couple of compromises with the road and the noise.

- Yeah.

- But the property itself is fantastic.

- Right, after you.

- Thank you.

- Thank you very much.

Emma's starting to see the value of all that space, but can she compromise on her top requirement?

We have ourselves a right royal dilemma.

(engine whirring) Okay, it is a bit of a noisy road.

That was a bus just then, but it's very big.

- [Phil] For Kate's second property in Liverpool, we're taking her closer to her current home in the Wavertree area.

- [Kirstie] We've discovered that interior layout is important for our girl, so I've got a rather interesting proposition.

Now, what we're doing today is quite unorthodox.

- Right.

- That is the house we're going to see.

That is the house we want it to be, okay?

Bear that in mind.

- [Kate] Okay, will do.

- We've bagged Kate a third bedroom in this house because I think she should consider renting one to a mate.

The property's had some work done and so is in a half finished state, but I'm hopeful that my smart student will see its potential.

It's at the top of Kate's budget at just under 120,000 pounds.

Really, you're just looking at this house from the point of view of saying what's at the back, what's at the front, where is it, what does it cost.

- And what can I do to it.

- And that brings us to the kitchen, probably not to Kate's taste or tickling her open plan fancy.

Well, not yet.

So basically, this goes.

- Yeah.

We have an L. - So you have a big kitchen.

Yeah, exactly.

- [Kate] I could have my breakfast bar!

- You could have a breakfast bar.

- Yay!

- 100%.

Right upstairs, there are not one, not two, but three bedrooms.

What is the third bedroom for?

- Clothes.

- No, no, wrong answer.

- Oh, a tenant or someone.

- [Kirstie] Yes.

- [Kate] Yeah, yeah.

- Fast learner.

That's my girl.

I love how much value you can add to this house, and I really like how open Kate was to that.

For a first-time buyer, she's quite brave.

(upbeat music) And with investment in mind, I've sweet talked the neighbor who's allowed us to sneak a peek at the end product.

We go from one house to the next.

Inside is a mirror image but a whole lot lovelier to look at.

The wall between the dining room and the kitchen has been whipped out to make this attractive L-shaped living space.

I love this feel, this great big room.

- Well, it's exactly what I'd want, a nice L-shape as well, so the kitchen's still a little bit hidden.

Obviously, I need to work out how much it would cost to get that to this.

- [Phil] It's not a massive job, but it will test the flexibility of Kate's 120,000 budget.

- [Kirstie] There's a wall to lose, a kitchen to refit, and the must-have breakfast bar to install.

A good estimate would be around 12,000 pounds.

- [Phil] If you've fallen for a property with project potential but aren't sure how to go about it, try charming your way into a place where the hard work's already been done and dusted.

It could give you inspiration for interiors and more trade contacts than you ever dreamed of.

- So does Wavertree do the trick?

- Yes, it does, yeah.

It's a good.

It's a maybe.

- It's a maybe.

- Yes.

- It's a good maybe.

- It's a good solid maybe, yes.

- To end day one with a good solid maybe is more than I often get, and I am not greedy.

Day one.

- Success.

- Yeah.

- Good.

- [Phil] On our search for the perfect first home that'll suit both Kelly and Emma, we've one last chance and we're heading four miles Southwest of Bracknell to Crowthorne, a large bustling village with a well-stocked high street.

- [Kirstie] I'm pinning all my hopes on this house, a 1950s semi which pushes the size button for Kelly but is also in a quiet location for Emma and the cats.

It's the perfect combination.

- I'm not sure about the look of it.

- Yeah, I'm not sure about the look.

- [Kirstie] Ooh.

- We like a more of a character looking-- - [Emma] Yeah.

- A Victorian style, which that isn't.

(laid back music) - [Kirstie] Oh, I certainly wasn't expecting that kind of reaction.

This is a really good house and has the spacious feel of the last one we saw.

It's got brilliant entertaining space, which is important to Kelly.

It's got the three bedrooms they need and an 80-foot garden.

The best thing is it's 15K under budget at 310,000 pounds so there's plenty of money to put their stamp on it.

Better inside than out?

- I don't feel it's big enough, definitely not.

- [Kirstie] You don't think it's big enough?

- No.

- [Kirstie] How does it strike you?

- I don't know.

I'm a bit gobsmacked at the moment.

I don't know what to say.

- Gobsmacked by what?

- I don't know.

I think it's the look of the house.

- [Kelly] Yeah.

- I don't like the look of the house.

- [Kelly] Yeah.

- [Kirstie] You don't like the look of the house.

- No.

- [Kelly] Not at all.

- This was the house that was supposed to bring them together.

It has, but not in the way I was expecting.

This is a real blow because I was really pleased with this house.

It's in such a lovely, peaceful, quiet location.

It's well within budget, which leaves them ample funds to do whatever you need to groovy this house up.

And their slightly petulant dismissal of it was a bit galling.

- Was it three, three bedroom?

- Yeah, two and a half.

(Emma and Kelly laughing) - Is it silly to hope they're gonna come downstairs and say, "Yay, this is the one for us.

"We've seen the light.

"We know you're right."

- This hasn't got the right feel, does it?

It's not really for us.

- No, I don't get good feel either.

Okay.

- For Kelly, it was size.

For Emma, it was location.

This was the only house that combined both.

It's a bitter pill to swallow.

Clearly, something has gone really badly wrong.

What is so disappointing about this house given that it's a good peaceful location, and that it's a good price, and that you could alter it?

- I don't know, it's that-- - [Kirstie] In your mind, there was something better waiting out there.

- Mm-hmm.

- [Kirstie] And it hasn't turned up.

- Yeah, maybe, yeah.

- [Phil] Oh, dear.

We've obviously made a mistake with this place.

Crowthorne is not the compromise we had it pegged as.

This week, we're catching up again with a couple who had a southern county's conundrum and a young Liverpool-loving law student who had a 120,000 pounds inheritance to spend on her first grownup home after her father sadly passed away.

- [Kirstie] Kate's looking to stay close to Aigburth in South Liverpool.

She adores the laid back villagey feel of this bohemian neighborhood, and she isn't the only one to fall for its charms.

- This is an iconic part of Liverpool.

It's got a real buzz about it.

The shops are amazing.

It's just got something for everybody, really.

- It's got lovely parks around here, loads of lovely places to eat out.

- And there's nothing I like more than a walk in the park.

Remember, I've come for an easy time today.

Don't make anything difficult, okay?

- I'm not promising anything.

- [Phil] At least we must have won brownie points for bringing her to Aigburth.

- You've got the location right bang on.

- And inside, it just gets better because this property is a blank canvas.

If Kate isn't afraid of knocking down walls, this pad could give her the open plan living space she craves.

This three bedroom period terraced house has large high ceilinged rooms.

It's currently empty and being sold privately, so Kate could complete and move in super quick.

This house is at the top of Kate's 120,000 pound budget.

You need to get in here, strip the whole place.

- [Phil] Take the walls out if you want an open plan.

Depends how open plan you want it.

- Like the house-- - Like the house yesterday.

- Yesterday, I want a big L. - [Kirstie] Yeah.

- [Phil] By removing a couple of walls, Kate could get a breakfast bar just like the one next door to property number two.

- It's bang on the money that I've got.

Obviously, it doesn't leave any money to do the work, but that can be found.

- [Phil] That's good news 'cause it will take a few grand to create the open plan living space that she wants.

- So I still reckon it makes sense to rent a room to a fellow student to cover her costs.

This is the second room.

- This is the second, right.

- [Kirstie] There's the front room, boxed room.

- [Kate] So this would be my-- - Wardrobe.

(Phil and Kirstie laughing) I'm winding you up.

Come on.

- [Kate] It would be a really good wardrobe.

- It would be the room that you would rent out.

- Come have a look.

Oh, dear Kirstie, Kate's not exactly sounding convinced.

- And then here would be your master bedroom.

No, you are renting that other room.

- She doesn't have to.

She might want to live on her own.

- Because she wants to not come out of uni with debt.

- What would you rather?

Do you wanna live on your own and pay the bills or-- - [Kirstie] Have you ever lived on your own?

- No, but that's why I'd quite want to try is living on my own.

- [Kirstie] Renting a room could give Kate an income of about three grand per year.

With most students leaving university in debt, that kind of cash is not to be sniffed at.

- I'm supposed to be about doing well in my degree next year, which will then set me up financially, hopefully, for much longer than a tenant would.

- [Kirstie] That is a poor, poor excuse.

- I thought it's a brilliant economic twist on the argument.

- She wants to live on her own.

- [Kirstie] You will be a good barrister, but that was a poor excuse.

(Kate laughing) - [Phil] Objection, your honor!

- [Kirstie] Overruled, Spencer!

I'm just giving Kate the best advice I can.

- [Phil] And I'm sure she'll be happy whatever she decides with her own mind.

- I feel my job is not just to find a house for her but set her on the right path.

- With Kirstie clocking over Kate like a mother hen, it's time for me to bring some impartiality back to this search.

Your job is to find a house for her.

It's not to tell her how to live.

- It's sensible to rent a room.

- Yes, it is.

- And you are deliberately undermining that argument for kicks.

- [Phil] Hopefully, our bickering hasn't distracted Kate from seeing this pad's potential.

Seeing anything that troubles you?

- No.

- Can it be home?

- Yeah, I think it could, yeah.

I'd obviously wanna find out how much the work would cost-- - Mm-hmm.

- And things like that.

But yeah, it ticks all the boxes.

- It's a strong house.

- Very good for me.

- Yeah, yeah.

- Yeah.

- [Kirstie] Kate seems smitten with this house.

But will the job be manageable and within her grasp financially?

- [Phil] For Kelly and Emma, it's been an emotional couple of days.

They struggle to agree on the thorny issue of space versus location.

- This morning, we're back at the second property we showed them, the big detached in Sandhurst.

I have to say I'm a bit surprised, but I'll take it as red that Emma's done the compromising.

So what do you think?

I think much better in daylight.

- Yeah, I feel so much better.

- Yeah.

That's lovely.

- You feel so much better.

- Yeah.

- Right, okay, we've moved on.

- [Phil] The main sticking points for this property are the busy road outside and the noise in the front bedroom.

But we've been doing our homework and it's very simple to rectify.

For about three grand, they could replace the windows with double glazed wooden sashes, but it would then take them over their 325,000 pound budget.

- We definitely need it in the bedroom.

- Yeah.

- I think where we're living now is quite quiet, so I think we would be disturbed, I think, with the noise.

- Yeah, we'd hear the mouse, wouldn't we?

- Yeah.

- [Kirstie] The only other issue with this house is the unfinished utility room.

Sprucing it up and putting a loo in here would improve the house, so we've asked a couple of builders to give it the once over.

- Well, that obviously used to be an old outhouse.

- [Emma] Yeah.

- Ceiling heights are low in there, so the roof could come up and make room which will lighten it all up.

And yeah, it can be turned out, there's drains outside.

- [Phil] They may only be thinking about raising the roof a little bit, but my advice is always check with the planning office before signing up the builders.

- Ballpark figure, probably about four to 5,000 pounds.

- [Kelly] That's not bad, is it?

- [Kirstie] I've tried my hardest to put their minds at ease about this very good house, but is it enough for Emma to compromise on that quiet location for the cats?

- [Emma] I'm very positive, I feel, at the moment.

- Do you think it's worth going and sitting down, having a chat about it?

- Yeah, definitely.

- Yeah, I think we need to, yeah.

- Oh, right, okay.

- Brilliant.

- Yes, definitely.

- [Phil] It doesn't take long for Kelly and Emma to decide they want to go for the Sandhurst house on at 325,000 pounds.

- Two glasses of Cherryade and a cup of tea.

(Kelly and Emma chuckling) What do you wanna pay for it?

- We've spoken about this.

Obviously, it's up for 325.

We would like it to be cheeky.

- [Emma] What do you think?

- I'd go in at 305.

- Yeah, and then see what they'd come back with.

- Yeah.

- Matt, it's Kirstie.

We're doing very well, yeah.

How do you think an offer of 305 would go down?

Let's just see.

I'm quite optimistic about this.

I think that I've got strong purchases, good position, huge flexibility, so let's go in at 305 really, really positively and see what happens.

Okay, bye.

- [Kelly] He's gonna try and find out soon.

- Yes, yeah.

I think the important thing is to keep one's cool.

- [Phil] When their cheeky offer of 305,000 pounds is rejected, they counter with 310.

But is it enough to seal the deal?

(phone ringing) - Matt.

Wow, that's fantastic news.

Okay, thanks, Matt.

Bye.

- Hey!

- Yay!

- Whoo!

- I'm so pleased.

I'm really, really, really--- - Thank you very much.

- Not at all.

Don't cry.

Oh.

Oh.

It's really good.

It's a really, really good house, and I think you'll be really happy there.

- [Phil] That's two of our three damsels sorted then.

And in Aigburth, Kate's not beating about the bush.

She has designs on property three, the period terrace with potential for open plan living.

It's time for another look.

If, like her, you've fallen for a pad that needs a facelift, then bring a tradesman to your second viewing.

- [Kirstie] With their beady eye on the job, you'll work out how much does she need and can pitch your offer to match.

I've asked local builder Chris Murphy along to work out whether it's wise to take these walls down.

- This one is not a problem.

This is fairly straightforward.

This one's a bit more intricate because you got a little burden.

I'd say on that, 16, 1,700 quid.

On this one< maybe about 2,500 upwards.

- Right.

- But it would make a great room.

- [Kate] I don't wanna spend too much money on a house.

- [Kirstie] No.

- Especially just so I can have a breakfast bar, really, like-- - Yeah.

That's a 2,500 pound breakfast bar.

- [Phil] Having given careful thought to the numbers, Kate's decided that she's in for a penny, in for a pound on the property.

- From the outset, we've always known that we've probably gotta pay 120 for that house.

- I think it's a fair price.

And I think if I don't pay that, somebody else will.

- Kate Harland, are you ready to spend 120,000 pounds on your first home, a three-bed terraced house in Aigburth?

- Yeah, 100%.

- The house isn't being marketed through an agent so I have to call the vendor directly.

Harry, it's Kirstie Allsopp.

Thank you very much for letting us go back and see the house again a second time.

Obviously, the house is vacant, and Kate is eager to purchase it as soon as possible.

So I have been asked by Kate Harland, who is a cash buyer, and that means cash, actual money under the bed ready, to offer you 120,000 pounds for your house.

- [Phil] Dealing directly with the vendor has its advantages.

- That is the quickest transaction I have ever made, Harry.

(Harry laughing) - [Phil] Superb news.

Kate's got herself a first home.

Her dad would have been proud.

- Thanks dad.

You bought me a house, yay!

Well done.

Well done, me.

- [Kirstie] Do you think he'll be pleased?

- Yeah, he would be very pleased.

I'm in Liverpool.

I'm in the city.

It's a great house.

And I'm happy, so he would've been happy.

Yay.

- Here's to what your dad wanted.

- Cheers.

Thanks, dad.

- [Phil] Six weeks later though, Kate had a change of heart, deciding that the property was too much of a project to take on in tandem with full-time studies.

- I just wasn't really prepared to do that much work, so I walked away from the sale.

- [Phil] And shortly after that, upon completion of her father's estate, she then realized she could increase her budget to 150,000.

- Once I found out that I could up the budget, I wanted to invest it in the house rather than have the cash lying around, because what am I gonna do with 30,000 pounds apart from buy handbags?

- [Phil] Forsaking the handbags paid off handsomely as just under two years ago, Kate then found this three-bed Victorian terrace in her beloved Aigburth and bought it for 144,000 pounds.

- As soon as I walked in, I knew that I wanted it.

It was just what I wanted, really light and airy.

By that time, I'd been looking for 10 months.

So I kind of was quite sure in what I knew what I wanted, so I felt confident spending that amount of money.

- There wasn't enough space for a breakfast bar, but Kate was able to create her much longed for open plan kitchen diner.

However, in the process of buying the house, she fell ill with CIS, clinically isolated syndrome, which may be a precursor to multiple sclerosis.

- I thought I'd pulled a muscle going on a night out.

I thought I just had a bad hangover.

And it turned out that I didn't.

I had this neurological condition, and it affected the whole of the right side of my body.

So I couldn't walk for a bit and I was in a wheelchair for a while.

It has affected my lifestyle quite a bit in that I get tired quite frequently.

But the doctors tell me to carry on as normal so that I've just decided to do that.

- [Phil] Her health setback meant Kate had to delay her law studies and graduate a year later than planned.

But despite everything, she feels buying was very much the right move for her.

- I think having my own house really did help my studies, and that's one of the things I wanted to achieve when I set out to buy this place, because I worked from home all the time.

I'm not a go to the library type of person.

So it really was nice for me to be able to have my own place to spread out and really be able to crack on with my work.

- [Phil] And it seems Kirstie's rather firmly planted seed about lodgers eventually germinated.

- I might have to say Kirstie was right.

But because of my change in circumstances, I wasn't able to work, so having a spare room, getting a lodger in made sense.

And that's when I started realizing that the house is an asset and it can work for me and it kind of earned me money, which I think is what Kirstie was trying to tell me.

This isn't just for me to live.

This is an asset, and you should use it.

- [Phil] Having finished her studies, as much as she loves her house, Liverpool, and Aigburth, Kate's now decided to use her asset differently and let it out to move to Manchester, near her family.

- Becoming ill has made me realize that I have to be closer to them.

It'd be nice if I had to go into hospital if I was just around the corner from them.

It's just made me become a lot more family orientated, which is never a bad thing.

- [Phil] She plans to move in with her older brother who's yet to find the ideal property in which to invest his inheritance.

But his experienced house hunting sister is aiming to change that.

- I think my brother's middle name should be procrastination.

So now that he's offered me a room, I've offered my services to help him.

I've booked him 10 viewings for one day.

So he's gonna start looking whether he likes it or not.

And that's one of the things that I definitely learned from Kirstie and Phil.

You have to look at things that aren't right so that you'll know what is right.

So hopefully, I'll be able to show him that.

- [Phil] I always thought she might do us out of a job.

Sounds like big brother's going to benefit from Kate's move, and I hope it works for her too.

- Even though I've enjoyed this house, it still is a lot of responsibility.

So I'm looking forward to stepping down and be able to just go, "Oh, well."

I know I'll enjoy the city of Manchester.

I think the career prospects are better.

Living with my brother will be fun.

And also, it'll be less of a burden on me.

- After quite some ups and downs, having secured both home and investment, Kate's making another smart move, this time, for her wellbeing, and we wish her all the very best.

Two years on, has the Sandhurst compromise been a smart move for Kelly and Emma?

We're back in Berkshire to see how police officer Emma and her partner, IT manager Kelly, are getting on after their emotional house hunt.

When Emma and Kelly started looking for a home, they wanted very different things.

Emma wanted a view of green grass fields.

Kelly wanted a project.

But they agreed on this detached house here in Sandhurst.

And I've come to see what they've done with it, and also to find out whether compromise has paid off or not.

(knocking on door) Anyone home?

- (laughing) Come in.

- Nice to see you.

Kirstie was able to do a good deal and she got the house for them at 310,000, which was 15 grand under budget.

So I'm interested to see what that bought them.

But I thought I better come along soon as Kirstie found it.

I like to check she's done her job right.

Are you happy?

Did you think you'd make the right choice?

- Yeah, no, we love it.

- [Emma] Yeah, definitely.

- As soon as came in the door, we kind of fell in love with it.

- Yeah, as soon as, and we both knew as soon as we walked in that this is gonna be a new house and new home for us.

- [Phil] You had the feeling.

- [Emma] Yes, that feeling.

- The feeling, we had the feeling.

- Can I have a look around?

- [Emma] Yeah, of course, yeah.

- Oh, I'm so used to leading people around houses.

It's your house.

I'll follow you.

- [Kelly] Thank you.

- When they bought it, the three-bed house was in fairly good nick, but the girls have now finessed and fully redecorated it.

Oh, purple in here.

- Yeah.

We both really like purple.

- Cool.

And what's happened down the end there.

- Yeah, the space was already there but it was a bit of a dead space.

So we put a downstairs toilet and a utility area just to kind of make it into a space that we could actually use.

- Yeah, great.

This works out very well.

It's a vast improvement from two years ago.

Kelly and Emma spent 5,000 pounds rebuilding and replumbing the lean to.

And it's been a thoroughly solid investment given that originally, their only toilet was upstairs.

You have done well.

It's great.

Making the house their home has seen this industrious pair work their way through every room over the last two years, painting, wallpapering, and titivating.

And is it done now, finished?

- Yeah, yeah, the whole, the house is done.

Yeah, the last one we did, we finished a couple of months ago was the half stairs and landing.

And that was a task and a half, but we did it.

We've done it all, just the two of us with the help of the family, so.

- This is quite a daunting prospect.

Did you enjoy it?

- I did enjoy it.

I think Kelly enjoyed it a little bit more than me.

Kelly's the decorator.

So I'm the finisher of her, I'd like to think, putting the knickknacks and buying the new bits for like that, and then Kelly's the main decorator, really.

She enjoys it far more than I do.

- [Phil] One decorating diva's all you really need on the team.

And the hard work may not just have been confined to the inside of the house.

- I'll show you the garden.

That's the last bit.

- Yeah.

- A little fluffy surprise there.

- Oh, really?

A fluffy surprise.

(Emma chuckling) Sadly, Emma and Kelly's beloved cats have now both passed away, but it sounds like there might be a new addition to the family.

- [Emma] Now, this is one of our little surprises.

- [Phil] Oh!

- Little Molly.

- There's a friend.

There's a friend you can play with.

Hello, Molly.

Hello.

18-month-old Molly gets the run of the back garden, and I can only hope she appreciates the quality of her surroundings which includes a new decked chill out zone.

The whole house does look fantastic.

In fact, the garden looks fantastic as well.

Are you now actually enjoying it?

Are you getting time-- - We're now actually relaxing a bit more now that all the rooms are done.

And now, the garden's finished.

It's now kind of just chill time now, enjoy it.

- That's what it was about, wasn't it, was actually having time together.

- Yeah, yeah.

- Yes, definitely.

- Did you feel that you made compromises at the end?

- Yeah, with the road being as busy as it was, yeah, that's probably our biggest compromise.

It's quite noisy out there now, but you kind of get used to it.

- You didn't get the countryside views that you wanted at the beginning.

- No, I didn't.

No, not at all.

- But you've got an awful lot of other things.

- Yeah, definitely, definitely.

- [Kelly] Now we've got a nice garden so that'll do.

(chuckling) - Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, exactly.

So we've got big park and local forests and stuff we can walk Molly in.

And yeah, it's just brilliant.

We certainly enjoy it.

- So the house is in between both our parents, really, so they come over quite a bit, and so they can stay in the rooms that we've got.

So yeah, they're happy.

- [Phil] Yup, there's plenty of space.

- Our neighbors are brilliant both sides.

- Yeah, they're brilliant, really good neighbors.

- So they've been brilliant for us, and they helping us out when we need them, so.

- [Phil] Great neighbors, parks nearby, and a lovely, lovely home.

Could it get any better?

- We actually got engaged a couple of weeks ago as well.

- Oh, fantastic!

Oh, brilliant!

Well done.

- (laughing) That's the plan, yeah.

- Yeah, that was-- - Excellent.

- Yeah, it was a good, nice surprise.

- Well, congratulations.

- Yeah, the planning going well.

- So now, you have a wedding to plan.

- I know, yeah.

- There's no stopping, is there?

- I know.

- Finish the house, plan something else.

(Kelly and Emma laughing) - We like things to do.

- There's clearly no holding these two back.

They're already on to the next chapter.

You're rarely able to tick every single box when house hunting, but this place really did offer enough of what Emma and Kelly were looking for.

And after a fair bit of hard work on their part, they now have a fabulous home to enjoy together.

So it's all smiles in Sandhurst.

(laid back music)