A Place in the Sun: Ben Hillman offers buyers advice on offer
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Celebrity photographer John wanted to celebrate his 60th birthday by relocating to the idyllic Greek Island of Skopelos in the repeat episode of A Place in the Sun from 2019. Having fallen in love with its beautiful scenery and relaxing way of life, he enlisted Ben Hillman to find his dream property on the Channel 4 show. Armed with a budget of £120,000, five properties were selected as potentials by Ben. But during the tour of the first home, Ben realised John and his friend Helen were much pickier than he’d anticipated, and the pair tore apart elements of the property.
The first home was a light and airy two-bedroom house in Skopelos.
The property had incredible mountain and sea views and comprised a good-sized living area, separate kitchen, two bedrooms, one bathroom and a roof terrace. It was valued significantly over budget at £143,000, but Ben said the sellers were willing to negotiate.
As they entered the first room, Ben commented: “Straight into your living space – built-in furniture.”
“Yes… that will be ripped out, I’m afraid,” John replied, looking unimpressed.
“You’re kidding!” Ben answered. He added: “I thought you liked this style.”
“But I can’t get rid of my stuff, that’s the whole thing,” John told the property expert.
“Why?” Ben asked. John’s friend Helen chimed in: “Because it’s beautiful!”
“It’s expensive,” John said, before adding: “It does look a bit of a holiday home to me.”
A concerned Ben quickly suggested: “Let’s have a look at the bedroom, see if that’s an improvement.”
“Cosy,” Ben remarked as he took them inside the room.
“This is really too small, to be honest with you,” John observed.
Helen added: “You couldn’t even use it as an office. Nothing would fit in here.”
“It would just be a storage room,” John continued. Ben asked: “Am I completely underestimating how much stuff you’ve got?”
“Yes,” John responded. “It’s almost museum standard.”
Moving swiftly on, Ben continued: “Let’s have a look at the view upstairs – that’s nice!”
The surroundings at least did impress the duo. “Beautiful,” Helen declared.
“There’s definitely a lot to like up here,” Ben said hopefully.
“And I’m afraid very little down, in what we’ve seen,” John replied. “Okay,” Ben said. “Let’s head off, shall we?”
Fortunately, John eventually settled on a townhouse property, which was on the market for just over £100,000.
He later had an offer accepted of just under £90,000 after managing to conduct a clever negotiation.
A Place in the Sun airs daily at 4pm on Channel 4.
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