A Location, Location, Location guest was met with delight when she bought her dream home on TV, but later found herself living a nightmare when she was slapped with a £36,000 bill.
Ellen Jones, 27, appeared on the popular Channel 4 show, where she proudly became the owner of her dream Margate abode in November 2022.
She saved up her inheritance money from her grandmother to save up the hefty £40,000 deposit for her flat.
However, three years later, her dreams crumbled after Thanet Council ordered her to pay £36,000 to replace the windows and roof.
Devastated, she told The Times: ‘I absolutely can’t pay this, I don’t think any young person who has just bought their first flat could.
‘It would amount to a year’s income for me, upfront, it’s ridiculous.’
A Location, Location, Location guest was met with delight when she bought her dream home on TV, until she was later living a nightmare when she was slapped with a £36,000 bill
Ellen Jones, 27, appeared on the popular Channel 4 show, where she proudly became the owner of her dream Margate abode in November 2022
Back in 2022, Ellen reached out to presenters Kirstie Allsop and Phil Spencer, who help buyers find their dream home.
As a fan, she was delighted her application to be chosen as one of two home buyers looking in Kent was accepted.
At the time, she told the hosts: ‘I might just go and weep, I’m going to be so happy.’
Ellen added: ‘My mum had full faith that Phil would not have found me anything that he wasn’t confident in.
‘And he wouldn’t have, I can say that confidently.’
Initially, surveys were completed without any problems reported about Ellen’s house, and the council even shared written confirmation that no works were planned for at least two years.
Ellen said: ‘It’s only the last five months that it has become a nightmare.’
Back in May, Ellen’s neighbour told her about a public notice of major works on the property.
It comes after Kirstie and Phil revealed ‘what happens when the wheels come off’ ahead of the Location, Location, Location anniversary special this year
Ellen – who is autistic and has chronic pain, which can affect her mobility – said: ‘It made me feel unwell. I emailed the council, saying I’m disabled, I need to know what the plan is.’
But things only got worse, as in September, Ellen was hit with a huge bill after two council surveyors turned up to her home.
The estimated cost of works were £160,000 and her bill would be £36,000.
She said: ‘I nearly had a heart attack; this is a completely unfathomable bill.
‘My nerves were already shot because my mum had been dangerously unwell with sepsis earlier that week. It was a terrible week.’
However she doesn’t blame Location, Location, Location and said she would go on the programme again if she had the chance.
Ellen confessed: ‘I still think it was one of the best things I ever did, and none of this is the fault of the show in any way.’
It comes after a family who were looking to sell their home and were approached by Location, Location, Location have spilled the beans on the behind-the-scenes of the show.
Couples appearing on the show hand over their list of requirements to the the pair and the production team, who go looking for a property that matches their list of wishes.
Having run for 42 seasons, thousands of properties have been showcased on the series – so there’s no surprise the production team behind the scenes have scouted out hundreds more as potential listings.
Taking to forum site Reddit, one seller revealed how their home was scouted to be a part of the show – before being dropped for one very strange reason.
They penned: ‘We sold a house around 15 years ago, the estate agent excitedly called us to ask if we would be interest in it being on Location, Location, Location.
‘I said okay and their scout came to look at it… they rejected us on the grounds that we didn’t have a wet room – something that was clearly evident in the details!’
The seller revealed that when it comes down to it, Kirstie and Phil have little say in what properties are chosen, adding: ‘They explained that the presenters just show up to film and have nothing to do with the process.’
And there was one glaring issue for the sellers: their home appearing on the show would likely not even help in getting it sold, given the episodes air much later than the homes are filmed.
‘It takes months for the show to be aired so there is no benefit to your house appearing because its likely to be sold by then anyway!’ they concluded.
Another commenter confirmed: ‘By the time they get around to filming you could have already sorted something.’
