AT Home with Sarah Beeny - May 2011 - (Page 42)

| the big interview| Busier than ever, property guru Sarah Beeny is managing her two websites, filming TV shows, renovating her listed property and above all, raising her four young boys. Surprisingly, she claims she can’t multi-task… substance A A woman of arah beeny claims she can’t do two things at once and has to momentarily pause our interview to sort out a problem. the football kit she forgot to send in with her son to school in the morning is frantically retrieved from the laundry basket ready to be dropped at school. crisis averted and now she’s back, immediately focused again. For a woman who successfully combines being a mother to four boys – now aged six, five, two and one – with being a tV presenter, business woman and property developer, it seems sarah’s more adept at doing two things at once than she realises. For starters, she’s filming for two upcoming shows: Village SOS – a brand-new programme and sarah’s first venture for the bbc – and the second series of Help! My House is Falling Down for channel 4. In a matter of weeks, she will also begin filming a follow-up to Beeny’s Restoration Nightmare, which aired on channel 4 last november. It followed sarah and her husband, Graham’s, story of how they restored their 97-roomed home, Rise Hall, in Hull. ‘I recognised that other people might not find the story of restoring Rise Hall as interesting as I did, but the show rated fantastically. since then, we’ve had thousands of enquiries about weddings but we’re not completely ready for them yet. I had wanted the programme to be more about the building work but there just wasn’t space – we only had three hours. the exciting thing is that we’ve got six hours for the next series, which is due to be screened in november.’ before that, we’ll see the second series of Help!, as well as a special one-off programme, Help! My House is Infested. ‘It deals with all sorts of really disgusting things that infest your house,’ says sarah. she is more than happy to share her extensive knowledge of all things property, too – and, there’s no denying it, sarah knows her stuff. Her property website, www.tepilo.com, recently won another award (it’s totted up four now) at the Property Press awards in March. ‘We were runners-up and I feel incredibly proud because we were up against some really big long-established sites. We’re in year two, so to have made the ground we’ve made is quite amazing. ‘What’s exciting this year is that we’re launching a directory of services on tepilo – everything to do with buying, selling, renting or maintaining your house. We want it to be a simple, one-stop shop.’ S We’re fully which traditionally seen as year when the Qyouthe timetheofinto spring now, housingismarket picks up. Do think same will happen this year? Some experts are saying that this year’s late Easter will mean the housing market picks up even more slowly than usual. ‘I think that’s absolute nonsense. People’s plans don’t change just because easter’s late. People get married, they have babies, they retire, they split up, they move in together. People make the market move, not a magical date. although, I have to say, we’re seeing a really big surge in properties selling at the moment on tepilo and I think it’s partly because, for a while, people have been thinking, I won’t do anything because of this recession. but eventually they say, “I’m just not going to sit around waiting for the Government to do something or not to do something, or for the economy to do something or not to do something. I’m just going to get on with my life.” People’s lives continue and it’s people’s lives that make the market turn around.’ In your last issue at home, you you felt housing market wouldn’t properly recover for Qwould just continueof‘bumping aroundsaid thatit20 years,the and where is’ for A the next 10 years or so. Do you still stand by this prediction? ‘Yes, I think if we want to see it where it was, at the top, it will take that long, but I’m not sure that it was a very good place to be. I think it’s unsustainable and unrealistic. It just sits around waiting to go boom one day – and that’s exactly what it did. ‘at the moment, we’re seeing a lot of confidence in tepilo and houses are selling but I think it’ll stay pretty much where we are for a while – which is just ticking along, but that’s fine. some people may think that we’re in a terrible slump right now but I think this is pretty OK. People will always want to sell their houses for more money and they’ll be cross because they can’t. but in the grand scheme of things I don’t think we do all want soaring house prices. People think they want it but, actually, they don’t, because you just end up with a much, much bigger mortgage. the perception that you’ve got this massive lump of money because the market’s gone up, is only relevant if you can liquidate it and go and do something with it – which most people can’t do because you’ve got to live somewhere.’ > 042 | may 2011 words: jo willacy | photographs: john carey http://www.tepilo.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AT Home with Sarah Beeny - May 2011

Editor’s letter
A word from Sarah
Notebook
Spring sensation
Big-name bedrooms
Brilliant buys for your home
House talk
Home horrors
Areas on the up
Property perfectionist
Mortgage mania
Solicitor’s service
a penny for your thouGhts
Housing hotshot
Wise up
Flying the nest
Making the ideal become real
Boost your build
Feeling lofty
Garden plotting
When cracks appear
Window shopping
Stay toasty
Warm up
Success story
Top transformation
Greenovate your home
Eco boost
Organic ignition
Green queens
Solve those dilemmas
Splash of colour
Bed down in style
Lounge around
Kitchens and bathrooms
Bubble up
Shower power
Instant illumination
Floor wars
The carpet market
Tip-top tiles
Tools of the trade
Fresh air furnishings
Grill thrills
Picnic perfect
Green supreme
Diary date
Kerb appeal
Up top
Brick cladding
Groovy garages
Lodge life
Go your own way
Car booty
Clock ticker
Stockists
Coming soon
On the list
Listed lovelies

AT Home with Sarah Beeny - May 2011