Escape to the Country couple disappointed as mystery house ‘step too far’
Escape to the Country buyers were quick to spot a major problem as they insisted that one property was a ‘step too far’.
During Tuesday’s (January 21) episode of the BBC hit show Sonali Shah was on hand to help a couple find their dream home in the countryside of West Sussex after 15 years of living and working in Dubai.
Tunnelling engineer Nick and wife Nicola, who recently retired from her role as head of marketing, wanted to make their big return to the UK so they can be closer to family.
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The duo had a budget of £800,000 for a detached character home with a minimum was three bedrooms as well as an open-plan kitchen with large doors that lead outside and the garden should be big enough to have a swimming pool.
Speaking about why they wanted to relocate back, Nick went on to say: “It will be really, really nice to be able to have somewhere properly in the country, where you can walk out the back door or the front door and be in the fields and enjoy everything that Britain has to offer.”
Sonail went all out all out and set up a number of viewers and at first she thought she had hit the jackpot with the mystery house. However, the couple insisted that it needed too much work.
The detached grade II listed thatched cottage was on the market for £850,000. It had a contemporary kitchen- breakfast room, three receptions and five bedrooms. Outside there was a generous garden as well as a swimming pool.
Walking into the large pool room, the couple were instantly blown away, as Nicola said: “Wow. We were looking for a swimming pool.” Nick added: “I was not expecting to see that here.”
Despite falling in love with the home, it was clear that the rest of the property required too much work as Nicola admitted: “I think in terms of what we would need to do here to get to what we want I think it might be a step too far and I think it might be a bit too much.”
Sonali asked: “Pushing the budget a little bit?” Nicola replied: “Yes.” Nick continued: “It would be a huge budget to link that house with this space. I’m not sure that our budget would stretch to that.”
In the end, the couple decided to view one of the first properties they visited at the start of the week and after putting an offer in, host Sonail revealed that it was accepted.
Escape to the Country airs weekdays from 3pm on BBC One and iPlayer