Self-taught property developer, writer, agent and TV presenter Sarah Beeny has been a regular on our screens since the first series of Property Ladder back in 2001. She tells EG how she got started in the industry
How did you get into property?
It has been part of my life from childhood. My father was an architect and project manager for Bovis Homes, as well as looking after people’s extensions and development projects. On a typical day he would pick me up from school and I would spend hours waiting in the car or standing on building sites, watching him work. I got the bug about how interesting houses are and my parents kept talking to me about people such as Anita Roddick, who was behind The Body Shop, and Richard Branson running all those Virgin brands. So property was always the likely outcome and regarding it as a business seemed the right way.
What was your first investment?
I bought my first flat when I was 19, so that’s 26 years ago. I had done a lot of short-term jobs in my late teens and saved for the deposit. I purchased it with my brother, along with my husband, Graham – he was then my boyfriend. The flat had an outside loo and no bathroom and was a total wreck but we all worked hard and studied the market, knowing what and where to buy. We did it up and I lived there a short while – but after two months I wanted to do it all again. At that point I knew property investment, development and letting was what I wanted to do.
Was it easy getting stuck in as a young person?
Yes, because young people are willing to sacrifice and that’s a real plus when you’re starting out in property. In my first year I was doing up a difficult house that needed huge amounts of work. I owned an old Simca van and lived in it for a few weeks because I didn’t want to be off the site and spend money I didn’t have. You need to be willing to sacrifice like that in property, to work all night to hit deadlines so the next phase can begin in the morning, and so on. The comfortable living comes later, if it all pays off.
What investment do you prefer – doing up homes to sell, or buy to let?
I favour both and there’s often an overlap. When I was in my 20s Graham and I set up two companies, one handling property redevelopment and the other just doing pure investment – letting out properties. We ran them concurrently for many years and sometimes we were doing up a property that we then let out rather than sold. They are both valid routes for investment, so long as you do your research.
You’ve been the queen of the TV property shows. How long can they last?
I hope they have got some way to go yet! When I began Property Ladder in 2001, I thought it would be one series and that was it, but another came along and another. They have kept going. The drive behind them has been the same since DIY shows started on the BBC in the 1950s – people are fascinated about their homes and other peoples’ homes. Now there’s the element of money because property provides a pension or extra income. That started in the 1980s, when everyone did everything for money, but it’s more disciplined now: people still want to turn a profit but they’re more responsible.
You do property TV, write DIY books and run an online estate agency. Which is your favourite?
The one taking up most time and thought now is Tepilo, my agency. It’s part of a digital property revolution that’s still taking shape in the way we buy, sell and market homes. It’s quite scary because the technology and peoples’ attitudes change all the time, and that’s really cool. But in my heart I’m still quite entrepreneurial, so investment – whether it’s doing up or letting out – is my first love.
This summer Sarah Beeny is presenting How To Live Mortgage Free and Four Rooms, both on Channel 4
This article was originally published on 25 April 2017
