TV property expert SARAH BEENY reveals insider tips on how to snaffle the ultimate bargain house at auction - and how to avoid these four pitfalls
Sarah Beeny is ready to rock. The property guru and television presenter is dressed in black boots, skinny black jeans and a black shirt, with big bangles, silver rings and blood red nails. ‘Is that too loud?’ She looks like a rock star and thunderous music comes through the floor as she speaks, in a room above a rehearsal space in a massive barn on her estate in Somerset in England.
Her husband Graham and four sons are playing in a band below. ‘I just follow them around and they let me sell the merchandise, which I think is really important,’ says Sarah, 54, who certainly knows about selling but is more used to being in control.
The family band have become an unexpected viral sensation and are about to play their first big London gig. They’re called The Entitled Sons, a name that tackles head-on the idea they might be nepo kids.
‘They led this,’ says Sarah. Billy, 21, is on keyboards, Charlie, 20, is the singer, Rafferty, 17, plays guitar, and 16-year-old Laurie plays the drums. Graham is the bassist. ‘It was lockdown, they were bored,’ she explains. ‘So they started playing music with Graham, who used to be in a band.’
The Entitled Sons were undoubtedly lucky to make their television debut back in 2022 on Sarah’s TV series New Life In The Country, which told the story of her attempts to build a modern version of a stately home on the site of the semi-derelict Somerset dairy farm where the family still lives today.
‘The producer said, “We haven’t finished the house. We need some more footage. Could the boys play a gig in the local pub?”’ recalls Sarah. They went viral, won a contest to play Glastonbury and are now rehearsing for a concert at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush, London, in April.
We’re in her office upstairs in a vast green barn she has rebuilt as a studio complex for film, television and music. ‘I wanted a mini-Pinewood in Somerset, where local kids could come on work experience and meet people from the industry. If you can’t see it, you can’t be it.’
Sarah Beeny says that auctions are not as intimidating as they used to be but it is important to read the small print
Sarah's sons (left to right) Rafferty, Laurie, Charlie and Billy with their father Graham in the family band The Entitled Sons, who have become an unexpected viral sensation
Is she not worried about her sons – or husband – falling for a life of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll? ‘No, they’re so lovely. They have serious, long-term girlfriends who are delightful.’ Even Graham? ‘Yes, he’s got a girlfriend. She’s very nice.’ She is very much joking. ‘He puts up with me amazingly.’
As if on cue – or as if he’s been eavesdropping – Graham puts his head around the door to offer coffee. ‘It’s not very cool, is it?’ she says when he’s gone, meaning Dad being in the line-up. ‘They know it’s not very cool. It’s cool for him, he loves it, but there have been a few moments when managers and agents have said, “Look, we want you to not have Graham in the band.” It’s a significant subject.’
They even turned down a deal because of this, she reveals. ‘A major promoter said, “We’ll only work with you if you get rid of him.” The boys were like, “No!” Graham said, “It’s fine. I’ll leave.” They had three days of talking but came back and told the promoter, “We’re not going to do it because we’re a band. And what have you got a problem with anyway?”’
Sarah loved that. ‘When they’re writing and playing together, they’re just five people. I don’t see why being ageist is fine.’ The promoter caved in, but they still didn’t sign. ‘He was being a bully. They’re not going to work with him.’ She sounds disgusted. ‘Laurie was only 15 at the time. I thought it was manipulative of the promoter to take young children and try to bend them to his will.’
This has happened more than once. ‘Some industry bigwigs came to see them and went, “Right, we don’t like all the rock music, we want you to play pop. You need to sing the songs we give you. And we don’t want the dad.” The boys were like, “We really like rock music. We write our own songs. Dad’s in. So, no.”’ They’ve still had hits, reaching No 1 on the iTunes chart. What do the people who buy their music think? ‘Their fans don’t give a s***. They love it.’
Help! I Bought It At Auction sees Sarah coming to the rescue of people who find out that buying homes under the hammer is a lot more challenging than it looks
Sarah’s father was an architect and taught her about houses but she chose to travel rather than go to university
We’re actually here to talk about her latest series, a new Channel 4 show revealing the secrets of the mysterious world of buying property at auction. ‘It’s high-risk, high-gain,’ she says. Help! I Bought It At Auction sees Sarah coming to the rescue of people who find out that buying homes under the hammer is a lot more challenging than it looks. In the first episode, a couple called Jules and Al spend more than they intended on a seven-bedroom Victorian mansion in Cornwall, then discover it has rotten floors.
‘That illustrates the risk,’ says Sarah. What else can go wrong? ‘People underestimate how long it’s going to take and how much the building work will cost. There are also auction house and legal fees and stamp duty to pay.’ Read the small print. ‘You can end up with a house you can’t get to, as someone else owns all the surrounding land and there is no right to access.’
More homes are coming up at auction than ever before, she says. Some are flats owned by landlords priced out of the market by changes in the law. Some are houses that have not sold in the usual way. This creates an opportunity for the bold.
‘It’s opened up a door for those who wouldn’t have bought that way before,’ Sarah says. She adds that auctions are not as intimidating as they used to be. ‘You used to get a catalogue, go into a room and hold up your bidding number. Quite hairy, in a way. That still happens, but there are also hybrid ways to take part online.’
Her show reveals the secrets of a world that feels daunting to many of us. Is it true, for example, that people have to buy properties at auction without seeing them? ‘Sometimes you get to see the house, sometimes you don’t,’ she says. ‘Not seeing the property is risky, unless you know what you’re doing.’ What about getting a survey? ‘You could, but if you do that 20 times for houses you don’t end up buying you will spend all your deposit money. So most people tend to take a punt.’
-There are some great successes on the show. ‘I’m really fond of the contributors, they are gutsy, they go for it,’ Sarah says. ‘There’s a lady in Newport, South Wales, called Janet who bought a public toilet at auction and turned it into a theatre. She’s 80. She’s flipping brilliant.
There can be an enormous amount of pleasure in buying some dilapidated old house and spending the next 20 years fixing it up. But only do it if you’re going to enjoy the journey, camping in a near-derelict house until it’s done.’
Sarah’s father, who was an architect, was the one who first taught her about houses. She chose to travel rather than go to university, then worked various jobs while studying the property market in her spare time. She met her husband through her brother Diccon when she was 19 and Graham was 18. ‘I’m really close to my brother. He went to university in London and said, “I’ve met this girl, she is the one. She’s got a younger brother, you’d like him.” I thought, “Yeah, right, no way. Why would I do that?” Then he introduced me to Graham, who sang and was kind of good-looking and made me laugh. We moved in together a week later.’
Diccon married Graham’s sister Caroline, so her brother was married to her boyfriend’s sister. Isn’t that unusual? ‘I do remember, just before their wedding, saying to Graham, “You’re going to be my brother-in-law, I’m your sister-in-law, we can’t share a bed because that sounds really pervy.”’ She laughs. ‘But in time we decided it wasn’t worth splitting up over.’
It took them another ten years to get engaged. ‘I gave Graham a choice, “Either I’m going to have a baby or we get married.” He suggested marriage. I then accidentally got pregnant. Win-win.’ She looks very happy with herself.
Sarah set up her first property company when she was 24. She was spotted by a talent hunter at a party and asked to screen test for a new show called Property Ladder, which became a hit. She’s had many successes since, the latest being four series of New Life In The Country. ‘I love it here,’ she says of their Somerset home. ‘The southwest of England is magic, so beautiful. We have rainbows like you’ve never seen in your life. Also, the people are fabulous.’
Her life took a dark turn while that show was being filmed when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2022. She had to go through radiotherapy, chemotherapy and a double mastectomy, which she revealed in a very moving documentary. ‘I’ve had thousands of letters from people saying it helped them and their family and friends through their own difficult time,’ she says. When she was diagnosed, Sarah was honest with her sons but tried to stay calm for them. ‘I didn’t want it to make their lives different. It doesn’t make it better, making everyone else miserable too. I’m not saying everybody should do that,’ she says carefully.
She was terrified because of a tragedy in her childhood. ‘I realised when I was diagnosed that my fear of cancer was based on the fact my mother died when I was ten, so I thought if you get cancer you die quickly.’ Her mother was just 39 when breast cancer spread to her brain and led to a brutally fast end. Treatments have advanced greatly since then, Sarah learned. ‘It’s absolutely tragic still, for some. But relatively speaking, it’s like a different world. So I’m proud of the documentary for showing the truth as it was for me.’
Sarah was given the all-clear in 2023. How is she now? ‘Health-wise, I’m really good. When it happened I was bowled over by how kind people were.’
‘That’s the most overwhelming thing I have felt from my career, my life and from having cancer: it’s only the odd person who is not nice. Everybody else is gorgeous.’
Help! I Bought It At Auction With Sarah Beeny, Wednesday, 8pm, Channel 4
