A Place In The Sun presenter Ben Hillman has outlined the key mistake people make when purchasing a property abroad. The 47-year-old dad of two has been a fixture on the Channel 4 property show since 2016 helping numerous people find their dream home in the sun so he is well placed to reflect on mistakes he has observed during his overseas property hunts.
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk he said: “Not knowing the area well enough is something that comes up a lot. A big mistake is not having done their research into where they want to buy and not particularly knowing an area well enough to make an informed decision as to whether they will be happy in that location. So we can find them the perfect house in a wonderful area, but because they don’t know that area well enough they shy away from making an offer,” he said.
Alongside a lack of research Ben said there is one other key issue he sees with buyers again and again.
“They make the mistake of buying for everyone in their family,” he said. “They want six bedrooms, and it’s only the two of them and you have to ask how often are the family actually going to be there. It’s a lot of cleaning.
“So you’ve got the budget for a two bed but you’ve got 12 family members to consider so that is tough in terms of finding a place,” he ruminated.
He also urged people not to hesitate if they see something they like at a good price as that may not be the case down the road.
“Hesitation can be a big mistake. They go, ‘Well, we saw something three years ago, and that was priced at this’, and that’s kind of what we’d like.
“But that’s three years ago, and it’s gone up by £50,000 between now and then usually. So that hesitation – not acting on it straight away – that costs people the dream effectively,” he warned.
The sun soaked property show celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and with almost a decade under his belt as a presenter Ben has lots of fantastic memories. However he says his favourite moments have come from the revisit shows A Place in the Sun: What Happened Next?
“We got a bit more dynamic and we could take the former house hunter rafting and kayaking and jet skiing and that was really exciting. You got to see the areas instead of just properties and appreciate them a bit more.”