Synopsis

Each programme is packed with information and tips - including making a competitive offer, buying with family and friends, how to handle an overheated market and many more insights into the housing market that both those looking to buy and those who already own a home will find useful.

1. Manchester

Kate and Alan still live with respective parents and are eager to start life as a real couple under their own roof.

But in a City where developers have turned the Hacienda, once the world's most famous nightclub, into VERY expensive des res apartments, satisfying their big ideas on a tight budget is a real challenge.

Estate agent and host Tony Jacobs heads to Manchester to help Kate and Alan fly their respective family nests in search of a new life together in their very first house; but with homes in their price bracket being snapped up by developers and desperate buyers Tony faces a race against time to secure their future.

2. Ludlow

Matt and Bronwen have been renting a rural idyll in the picturesque countryside around All Stretton, Shropshire, now they want to reduce commuting times to their jobs by moving to the nearby town of Ludlow.

As Tony takes them in search of their first home it soon becomes clear that his initial problem is getting their beautiful rented barn conversion out of their system. Not only does what's available in their price bracket compare unfavourably, in their eyes, with the rental property they can't even agree on what each wants in a house.

When they find what looks like the right house the tension continues as they turn out to be dealing with the vendor from hell, and what seemed like a dream home soon turns into a DIY nightmare and the filthiest house you've ever seen!

3. Chiswick

Rachel and David, two City PR executives, live in London's leafy Chiswick but yearn for something a little edgier.  Having already already missed out on their perfect property by making the wrong offer they're hoping Tony's expertise will guide them through the capital's housing jungle.  The couple are looking for a home with a big city buzz, but as Tony soon discovers in reality that turns out to mean not too much buzz and without so much city!  And when their ideal home turns up in a high crime area the couple are forced to ask themselves some serious questions.

4. Watford

Ross and Christina are brother and sister who've realised that, like an increasing number of first time buyers, the only way onto the property ladder is to share the costs of your first mortgage with friends or family.  Finding the perfect first house for these siblings throws up unforeseen issues that mean they are going to have to learn the art of compromise.  And Christina's big ideas of a dream home in the tranquil, but pricey, surroundings of Windsor are soon brought crashing to earth when faced with the reality of the housing market.  Then having found the perfect house they encounter a serious setback that derails their property plans.  Just as all looks lost Tony gets a surprise phonecall that changes the outcome completely.

5. Fulham

David and Leigh rent in London's trendy and desirable Fulham, an area that boasts some of the most expensive houses in the UK; it's also where they are hoping Tony can find them their first home.  As the property search gets underway it soon becomes apparent that the couple are not quite as flexible as they seem.  Their determination that any first home should pass what they call "the cappuccino test", coupled with the fact that, as Tony points out, they're "postcode snobs" turns house hunting into a battle of wills.

6. Newcastle

Young charity workers Ross and Anna big dream is to find the perfect home before they get married.  But with the marriage looming and a tight budget to contend with, property expert Tony Jacobs finds himself in a race against time.

Presenter: Tony Jacobs
Producer/directors: Chris Webster and Lesley Brandon
Series Producer: Adam Perry