Phil Spencer

Hot Property
Interview with Phil Spencer
by Karen Shaw

Property guru and presenter of channel 4's 'Location, Location, Location' Phil Spencer, offers Northern Life readers his top house tips in conjunction with SPAB's National Improvement Week starting November 20th. Read on to discover why prevention is better than cure...

You're supporting SPAB in a nutshell Phil, what is the campaign about?
It's a campaign to encourage people to think of home maintenance, rather than leaving things too late, or it's too expensive and disruptive. We're encouraging people to think of their properties and maintenance especially at this time of year.

With winter approaching have you got any top maintenance tips?
The easiest two are the most common problems, which are blocked gutters and cracked down pipes. I go in to so many houses that have got blocked gutters if left unattended water spills out and goes into the wall, and you don't know it's happening until it's too late, a sure sign that this is happening is when paint work or wall paper gets damaged.

Mmm, that sounds familiar Phil, I have a similar problem but water is coming from under the windowsills...
It could be from poor windowsills, I've seen a lot of windows where the paint looks fine but if you go to touch it your hand goes straight through, the wood had rotted underneath... that's a more expensive problem.

Oh dear! I'd better get it seen to, so do you do the maintenance in your house?
Yes. I certainly clean the gutters and I'm very conscious of making sure the airbricks are fit for purpose so there is good air circulation, sometimes air pipes get blocked by grass or dirt, if you keep them clear you keep the air circulating under the floor boards and that always helps.

Where does your love of houses come from? Is it from a cosmetic point of view, the sales side or are you a builder by trade?
Well, I trained as a surveyor. I got involved to help people buying property. The accepted method of buying property is completely biased against the person who's spending the money, all help is traditionally only available to the people selling the house. I think that's very inequitable, very unfair, but, unfortunately it's an accepted method.

You've been working on a new programme called 'Down Under' you're flying solo with that one, is there's no Kirstie?
No, I made that when she was filming Kirstie's Homemade Home earlier this year; she has just started making the second series of that.

. So 'Down Under' what is it about?
My job is helping four British families buy properties in Australia, my wife Fiona is Australian so we go over there quite regularly, it's a country I know and love, so I was helping them move over there and find houses, I am also interested in comparing jobs and life styles, what you have over here in the UK versus what you get over there.

Would you consider moving out there?
Well maybe one day, it's not in the game plan right now.

You and Kirstie are a formidable team, how did you two meet?
We met at the screen test, we knew of each other, because we were probably the only two people who were offering the type of advice and help for purchases at the time we had been called in by the production company who was thinking about making the programme, but they didn't know anything about it and it is obviously something that everybody does, but no one does it very often so no one gets very much experience at it. There's lots of hopes, dreams and aspirations. There's lots of twist and turns in it and lots of emotion involved and hopefully a happy twist at the end. They rang me and said you have experience in this could you come and give us some consultancy for about half an hour on what we're going to do... so I did that and thought little about it until I got a phone call saying that was really useful we haven't got a presenter who knows anything about purchase will you come in and do a screen test.

Your on screen relationship with Kirstie is a very honest one...
Well, yes we are very friendly. I mean I think if we weren't it wouldn't work, we are very different but we get on extremely well and our feeling with house hunting is that it should be fun. I mean it's the biggest shopping trip of your life, it should be fun, it's emotional, it's stressful and it is not always straight forward we just try and make sure they're having a good time.

How do you manage not to throttle some of the characters you get sometimes?
It can be difficult and Kirsty sometimes does, especially when she's pregnant, she's not really got very much patience when she's pregnant!

You've travelled the length and breadth of the country, where up North would you like to live?
Harrogate is a favourite, I think it's stunning. Last year though we filmed quite a bit around Clitheroe and I hadn't seen much of Lancashire, and I have to say I was very taken with it.

Harrogate is lovely isn't it?
Oh yes. Well I'm a country boy, big wide open spaces and nature and that's what you've got up there.

What advice would you give to people thinking of selling, should they stay or should they go?
It's actually better to trade up the market when the market has fallen, financially that makes more sense, we've got to accept that interest rates are not going to be where they are now for years and years and there's only way it go and that's up.

You celebrate your 40th birthday in December, how will you be celebrating?
I'll be having a party. I never like my birthday, I much prefer other people's birthdays, and this is the first one I've ever really celebrated. Don't you know that 40 is the new 30?

Imagine if you could invite three people, dead or alive, to your 40th party who would they be?
My paternal grandfather who I never met, Ian Botham and there has to be a beautiful woman, I know, Halle Berry.

What's your favourite northern dish?
Ooh, it would have to be roast beef and Yorkshire puddings, is there a finer meal?

Now I've got to ask this Phil, what's it like being a heart throb?
I don't know ask Kirsty!

What are your future plans? What are you working on at the moment?
Well we're doing 'Location, Location, Location' and 'Relocation, Relocation!' And I am also writing a book, due to be published in April next year about adding value to your home.

Interview from issue 28 Oct/Nov 09. To order this issue go to the Northern Life online store.