'Picky' couple with a long checklist for their dream house prove to be a challenge for Phil Spencer on Location, Location, Location as they complain about gardens and living rooms being 'too small'

Daily Mail​

14-05-2025

A couple with a long checklist of requirements for their dream home were branded 'picky' after appearing on Location, Location, Location with a long list of requirements on Wednesday night.
Teacher Rachel and military sergeant Leo went on the Channel 4 show as they wanted to find a house where they could put down their roots after years of living in various temporary posts.
The couple - who have been together for 12 years and have two children aged four and five - had a budget of £400,000 and tasked Phil Spencer with finding their forever home in north Wales.
However, it proved to be a challenge for the property expert.
Rachel and Leo said they wanted a detached four-bedroom house with a large garden, three bathrooms, a utility room, a garage and good access to a beach.
Phil appeared to look puzzled and deep in thought as he listened to their barrage of requests and even asked them what they needed to store in the garage.
'What are your priorities?' he said, to which Leo added that he also wanted to be closer to the children's grandparents, who live in Flintshire.
'For me, it has to feel right, it's the forever home isn't it? It's the dream really,' Rachel added.
But after rejecting properties that were within budget and met their exact requirements, they ended up going for a three-bedroom house that had two bathrooms.
The property, in Denbigh, was on the market for under the couple's budget, with an asking price of £385,000. However, after some bartering, they bought the home for £373,000.
Because the couple rejected properties that had the right amount of bedrooms, bathrooms, and space, they were branded 'picky' by an X user - who was shocked they didn't opt for one home that had its own bar built into the garage.
The viewer wrote: 'So picky - mate you have a pub in the garage ffs.'
Others were unimpressed with Phil's picks, with one X user adding: '£400k in Wales should get you Buckingham Palace, where's Phil looking?'
And another didn't think much of the property they eventually chose, saying: 'It looks like a Brookside house.'
However, some viewers were big fans of Rachel and Leo, with one writing: 'Love this couple in Wales.'
Phil started by showing the pair around the first property on offer in Buckley, is 40 minutes away from the nearest beach and a couple of miles from Rachel's mother.
The new build detached house was on the market at £325,000 and met their requirements of having four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a garage and a giant neighbouring field for their children to run around in.
But while Rachel seemed impressed with the downstairs, Leo said: 'To me, it just feels like a confined space.'
Phil then asked them to open the interior French doors, adding: 'You'll get a sense of actually how big it can be if you've got people around.'
Eager to convince the father-of-two, Phil then took the couple to see the garden where they admitted that it was 'bigger than they thought it would be'.
Phil spoke to the camera alone and said: 'They're not exactly jumping up and down with excitement but what I am pleased about is that they're being open, honest and realistic.'
Despite being £75,000 under the asking price and 'much bigger' than where they were currently living but they were not keen on the 'small' living room.
'What I'm taking away from this is that we have to increase the size of the living space,' Phil said before they both agreed.
The trio then went to look around a second property located in Carmel with picturesque views of the Welsh countryside and was just over five miles away from the beach and Rachel's family.
The four-bedroom detached house - selling for £399,950 - had an open plan living, dining and kitchen area, a utility room, office and a garage.
Phil described the property as a 'ten out of ten' and said during his voiceover: 'If the style and charm of this place doesn't wow them, I don't know what will.'
Leo's first impressions of the property were positive and he said: 'If there aren't many changes needed to the house then we will definitely use that top budget.'
However, their opinions quickly changed when they saw the rest of the house and said they disliked the 'small garden' and the fact that it didn't have an en-suite or a suitable garage that they could store items in.
Speaking about the outdoor space, Rachel said: 'I don't know whether it is a little bit smaller than we wanted.'
Yearning to please the duo, Phil said he had a surprise before presenting them with the garage, which had been converted into a bar.
'This is the Sergeant's Mess,' he joked before adding: 'Does it make up for the small garden?'
Rachel responded: 'For me, no. You're missing the garage which is the storage.'
The third house, located in Abergele, ticked all the couple's boxes on their wishlist and had four bedrooms, a utility, three bathrooms, a massive garden and was next to the sea, along with being close to Rachel's family.
Despite it being advertised as offers over £400,000, Phil was confident that he could get it for Leo and Rachel at their budget.
While everything seemed to be going well, Phil decided to throw another in the mix and showed them around a fourth house in Denbigh which is a 30-minute drive to the seaside.
However, while the third property seemed to be a shoo-in and had everything they were after, Leo and Rachel were much more keen on the fourth one which was on the market for £385,000.
But it only had three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a much smaller garden than the last home they viewed.
'I feel like I could cry. The only downside is that it doesn't have an en-suite,' Rachel said.
'This has got lots to offer with less expense. It's cosy,' Leo said.
Viewers took to X to share their thoughts on the couple, with one branding them 'picky' - however, another said they 'love' Rachel and Leo
The pair eventually decided to put in an offer for the final property - even though it did not meet their long list of expectations in comparison to others they had seen.
Phil recommended they offer £360,000 as a starting price, which was rejected by the buyer. They then upped it to £370,000 but the owner requested £373,000, which Rachel and Leo accepted.
The emotional mother-of-two cried tears of joy and said: 'The next adventure awaits, we've done it.'
A couple of weeks after the phone call, Rachel said their children were excited about the move and had started planning the themes of their new bedrooms.
'Even though we've made every house a home, there's going to be roots to where we are which is so nice,' she said.