Full of beans - Sarah Beeny

Having set up her own property development and investment company at the age of 24, Sarah Beeny knows a thing or two about buying a home. So it was a natural progression that she would go one step further and start her own direct buying and selling website, Tepilo. She tells Lynda Clark what it's all about

 

Sarah has an impressive CV - she fronts the very popular Channel 4 show, Property Ladder, has written a number of books to accompany the series and is about to start filming a new series of Help! My House is Falling Down. Plus she still manages to find time to be a mum to four boys and restore a stately home she and her husband bought 10 years ago! So you wonder how does she ever have the time or energy to start anything new? But Sarah is passionate about what she does and some time ago set up a dating website, mysinglefriend.com, which proved to be very successful. Her passion for bricks and mortar, though, is ingrained in her world and has encouraged her to start another website, but this time it's all about property.

Her father was an architect and, although not particularly academic, Sarah was encouraged to study drama by her English teacher. She went to Queen Mary's College in Basingstoke but failed to get into drama school, so she decided to travel around the world. Not particularly happy to be away from home, she returned to the UK and took on a series of jobs, including working for Save the Children, window cleaning, door-to-door vacuum cleaner selling, and selling and running her own sandwich making business. At weekends, Sarah would study the property market, and having saved up a deposit, she began her own property developing business with her brother and husband. Then, by sheer chance, she met a researcher for Talkback Thames and was asked to do a screen test to front a new series about property development, which resulted in the show Property Ladder.

Her new website has the rather unusual name of Tepilo and Sarah explains: "When I was a child, my father used to tell me stories about a fantastical palace called Tepilo, which was a wonderful place to escape to, so it seemed the perfect name for my new property site.
"Basically, it is a platform that allows you to take independent control of buying, selling and letting your property with no charges or commission. A lot of people feel that the process of buying or selling is more complicated than it really is so we are here with all the advice anyone might need and, of course, to save you thousands of pounds at the same time. It's completely free to use, and there is lots of advice including a library of hints and tips that we are constantly updating. What makes it so good is that you are completely in control of how much you want to offer or accept, but by negotiating on the site, Tepilo gives you more opportunity to get a good deal. We have tried to use a magazine-style layout, which gives a really clear insight into what is great about each property. I'm very involved as if anyone gets stuck they can ask me a question directly through the site, which I try to answer straight away."

Sarah knows how important it is to be safety conscious especially when viewing a property on your own. She advises: " It's a good idea to be very careful and never give personal information away other than what is really necessary, for example, the place where you work or dates of holidays, but if asked for more, try to be vague. It's also advisable to go on viewings with a friend or a family member, just to be on the safe side.

"Tepilo also offers clear legal advice throughout the process, but clients are still responsible for appointing a solicitor just as they normally would. The negotiation process is carried out through the site and this helps depersonalise the process and so takes away all the emotion that is often involved in a transaction as important as this.

"Everyone uses the internet these days to buy train tickets, flights, even their supermarket shopping, so it seems quite relevant that you should be able to buy and sell properties using the internet. It's more efficient, cheaper and much easier for the consumer in the long run, and you are in control. I'm surprised that a site like this hasn't been done before because in the US it's normal practice. We are really just trying to link up interested people who want to buy or sell a property. It's not about quantity but quality, and we hope to give people what they want and ultimately make the process easier, quicker and stress free. We have set out to try to hold people's hands and guide them through the process, especially for first time buyers who have no experience and never bought a home before."

Sarah is very aware of the first time buyer market, and with all her experience she offers some sound words of wisdom. "Be realistic when it comes to looking at what you can buy. Many first timers get frustrated that they can't afford to buy next door to Starbucks or be right on the doorstep of the tube. It's better to buy what you can afford, and if you are not next to the underground, then get a bus or look in an area that is not so expensive. When I bought my first place in south London, I had to buy with my brother and my boyfriend so it was affordable. It's a great idea to buy with friends or family, but it is very important to get proper legal agreements drawn up so there is clarity about the arrangement."

Never one to let the grass grow under her feet, Sarah has been busy renovating a near derelict listed Georgian stately home that she and her husband, Graham Swift, bought 10 years ago. Channel 4 has been following the story, and the series, Beeny's Restoration Nightmare, is currently on TV. "We are determined to protect the heritage of Rise Hall in North Yorkshire and give it a new 21st-century function to provide it with the income it needs to survive," says Sarah. "It is being transformed into a wedding location, and with the date for the first wedding already set, the pressure is on. But a project of this size is definitely a cash cow, and the renovation is a mammoth task with a massive leaking roof, miles of corridors, over 30 bedrooms, countless bathrooms and 11 main reception rooms plus a former gym, stable block and many outbuildings.

"It's a passion project as it's a substantial building in need of some serious TLC. After the war, a lot of buildings like this were demolished because they weren't fit for purpose, and a building only has a place in the world if it has a use. The previous owners realised they couldn't turn it into flats and just wanted to get shot of it. But, as a listed house, you have to keep repairing it by law. The building needs to be full of people, and you can't have something of this size without it being used. We were commuting from London with the boys and considered trying to live here, but when you have children, you get committed to living in one place. We decided to stay in London and went there less and less, and it started slipping backwards. Because of its location, it couldn't become a hotel as it's not in an area anyone would want to holiday in, but it had no purpose and probably should have been demolished. But it's a listed building and you can't do that, and anyway I think it is a great legacy for the future of British architecture."

With so much going on in her life, it's hard to imagine how Sarah manages to fit all her projects in and give them her undivided attention. "I'm really positive about Tepilo, and I have a great team who I work with on the TV series. The restoration project was very fraught, especially as we were doing it on a shoestring. But even though I know I've taken on too much, I have no idea what I would give up. I love all the different aspects of my work, and I've got my family: having four young sons, it's always going to be a lot of fun. I have given myself the same advice I would a first time buyer - there are opportunities so don't put your life on hold. If it's the right time in your life to buy, then buy. If it's the right time in your like to take on a new project, go for it. Just take control, and never look back."