We may look at 20 flats before we produce a shortlist so it’s a nightmare if they decide to look in a different area after we’ve spent all that time with them.Any previous jobs?Aside from being an agent I was also a commercial surveyor Renting office space is not like renting a flat. It was also business-to-business, while I prefer talking to someone face to face. As for the TV job, Channel 4 spoke to many agents who were used to pointing out the best aspects of properties rather than the worst. They then spoke to many home finders and came up with me, but it wasn’t something I’d ever hoped for.What training did you do?Absolutely none for TV, and I think that’s why it works because Kirstie [Allsopp, his co-presenter] and I are not TV people. I’ve had seven years working in the London market advising purchasers and, without sounding arrogant, I don’t think there are any other people who’ve bought as many properties as I have for people.Do you take your own advice?Yes.

When I moved house 18 months ago, I considered all the issues and knew what the area could provide for my budget I narrowed it down to just two roads in south west London. I only looked at four houses and bought one of them so I didn’t need to take anyone else’s advice.What is your own house like?It’s a Victorian three-bedroomed terrace with a loft conversion I chose it for its position and size of garden. My wife is from Melbourne and she really missed sunlight, so that was a main priority. I’m trying to preserve period features and get the difficult mixture right between period and contemporary.Garrington Home Finders:020-7349 7030 . The design of a pair of semi- detached three-bedroom homes in the humble locale of Eider Close, Forest Gate in London’s East End might not be on a par with expensive, pukka pads from design luminaries like Kelly Hoppen and Christian Liaigre. But the two forward-thinking families from East Thames Housing Group’s waiting list who get to live in this new eco-house costing £250,000 might have just as much to brag about to the neighbours.

Moneynetmortgagesearches The design of a pair of semi- detached three-bedroom homes in the humble locale of Eider Close, Forest Gate in London’s East End might not be on a par with expensive, pukka pads from design luminaries like Kelly Hoppen and Christian Liaigre. The pi? de resistance, though, will be the ultimate roof garden – a canopy of succulents from the Sedum family, grown in special matting to provide extra insulation in winter and a cooling system in the summer.East Thames, the largest provider of social housing in east London, is erecting the eco-house as part of its strategy “to help meet national and local targets for using the earth’s resources more efficiently”. Keith Carter, East Thames Housing Group’s director of technical services, says, “We are not afraid of bold ideas. This is a radical approach to house design in an urban setting, yet it will also provide two good homes for our long waiting list of tenants.”So why is building a house primarily out of eco-friendly materials such an unusual notion? East Thames says the build cost is 15 per cent higher than a conventional property, but the homes are expected to save £160 a year in heating bills and a further £70 in reduced water charges. “Although the savings are not dramatic, they will more than cover the extra initial costs over the lifetime of the building,” says the architect, David Housego. “It is impossible to put a price on the consumption of earth’s resources as they become more scarce.