Ann Maurice and Alistair Appleton are your house experts who reveal the tricks of the trade and help you sell “problem properties”. In HOUSE DOCTOR, they show you how a few minor alterations can turn your stagnant house into a dream home, ready for the buyers market.
Episode 1 Faulkland, Somerset
Faukland is a quaint Somerset village. Properties are in high demand because of its olde world English charm and its close proximity to fashionable Bath. ‘Ashgrove’ –home of Vince and Lorraine Curtis and their two sons is a modern bungalow which has been on the market for four months, but has only notched up seven measly viewings.
Episode 2 Whetstone, London
Whetstone is an increasingly chic suburb of North London, close to the leafy lanes and millionaire mansions of Totteridge. Prices are high with a 3 bed semi fetching £350k. But retired estate agent Sue Starr can’t sell hers for £340k!
Episode 3 : Shelton Lock, Derbyshire
Ann Maurice and gardener Sven Wombwell travel to Derbyshire to help a young couple of rockers sell their 1950’s semi. The main problem with their property is that they have ‘decluttered’, ‘depersonalised’ and ‘neutralised’ too much. and Ann needs to inject some much needed personality and warmth into it. Also their garden resembles a runway with just a strip of lawn and a strip of hard standing rather than a relaxing space to be enjoyed which is exactly what it becomes after Sven has shifted several tonnes of concrete and redesigned the landscaping. Inside, Ann’s radical transformation includes rezoning two of the bedrooms and revamping a dated kitchen. The result is a fast sale for Ben and Rebecca.
Episode 4 : Westbury
After Don inherits his late father’s home, he’s keen to sell up his current Victorian house and move to the new property with his new partner, Sue. However after failed attempts at selling, calls on the help of the House Doctor. Ann is shocked to discover that there is virtually no furniture in the house and that it lacks soul. Meanwhile the garden, is overrun with plantings which Sven has to address to create areas to enjoy the outside space. Ann’s challenge is to give the empty home life, on a limited budget of just 1% of the asking price. The results are dramatic and there is so much renewed interest 5in the property that they have to hold an open d6ay for all the potential buyers. They are co7nfident they’ll secure a sale very soon.
Episode 5 : Ilkeston, Derbyshire
Ann heads to in Derbyshire to help a newly married couple sell their large Victorian home. But with Kristina at work for most of the makeover period, and her husband Ben less than willing to exert himself too much, the task lies to the House Doctor team! The garden was a wasteland before Sven Wombwell too charge, meanwhile inside Ann gets busy rezoning rooms, freshening up the look and giving it decent kerb appeal which transforms it from a student dive into an inviting family home. They had an offer above the asking price just days after the team left but sadly it fell through. They’re confident of another buyer soon.
Episode 6 : Chalk, Kent
Separated couple Tina and Toni were desperate to sell their 60’s semi in Kent so they would be free to start independent lives. But with little interest from buyers they came together under the guidance of Ann Maurice to make more radical improvements. The house felt unloved and neglected and the garden was large but uninspiring, laid mostly to lawn which Sven Wombwell soon rectified. The most dramatic improvements inside were the revamped, updated kitchen, restored floorboards discovered beneath very tatty carpet and a retro styled 60s dining room, unifying the look by pulling together a lot of Tina’s furniture and accessories from around the house
Episode 7 : Crouch Hill, London
Bachelor Jolyon who works for a popular men’s magazine, is keen to get out of his sleepy family neighbourhood and move closer to his friends on the other side of London, but first Ann gets tough on his dirty habits. The two bedroom top floor flat has been used as a dumping ground, or to sleep and it shows! Ann sets him to clean the place thoroughly then gets to work transforming it from a scruffy, smelly student style dive into a trendy, contemporary apartment. Meanwhile Sven Wombwell revamps the two terraces into low maintenance functional patios ideal for al fresco entertaining. Just days after the team left the flat sold for more than the asking price.
Episode 8 : Rochester
Bruno is desperate to sell his 3 bedroom terraced home to move to a smart low maintenance apartment with no garden closer to the Meadway in Rochester. Ann is horrified by the state of the décor and Bruno’s propensity for keeping all the curtains closed. even when showing to potential buyers! So the new scheme is all about letting in maximum light and giving it a fresh, functional appeal which includes rezoning the living room to create an area for dining. Outside is Sven’s biggest challenge yet as the garden is fairly large but completely overgrown and he only has £300 to transform it. But the transformation has the desired effect as the house sells just a couple of weeks after the team left.
