Type “Sarah Beeny” in to YouTube and there might be some slightly suspect results. “Sarah Beeny – the beauty”, “Sarah Beeny’s boobies”, “Sarah Beeny – milf”, “Sarah Beeny Sexy – a sexy slideshow”, probably the most lecherous being “Big bosomed beauty Sarah Beeny” by a person with what can only be described as a disturbing (and unprintable) username. But the star of Channel 4’s Property Ladder and the UK’s perfect property princess laughs this off when questioned about her sexy presenter status. “Ha ha, very kind, but not sure I qualify.”
Sarah Beeny’s place as a TV regular and well known media name marks a remarkable career for the development guru. After studying Drama she had a series of jobs ranging from working for the charity Save the Children, window cleaning, door-to-door vacuum cleaning salesperson and running a sandwich making business. However, it appears Beeny’s passion was always for property. “I always had a keen interest in property so I studied that at weekends when I could. I then bought my first property having saved up for a deposit and from there started my own property development company with my brother and husband.”
This long history allows Beeny to be philosophical about the prospects of what seems like a dilapidated sector. “There are lots of predictions of a house price crash looming – but I think we won’t see this for some time, we will just keep steady at the same level, with prices dictated by demand and supply.” The real estate expert is keen to point out where she thinks there need to be changes in the sector – “I think too many people don’t 
think of property as a long term investment” and “one of the biggest problems is the availability of finance.
Something needs to be done to get the banks back to lending again.”
However, Beeny is realistic about the property market, stating her golden rule as “Don’t rush into anything. Take your time, do your research and spend some time in an area before you make up your mind.” And with this she is more than happy to impart her time honoured and well-honed property acumen to Vision readers. “Carry out thorough research…an appealing property rental is one that is close to transport links…all of the bedrooms should ideally be doubles…think low maintenance…be prepared to do some hard work…chose a property close to home…steer clear of large gardens.” It is with these simple, but devilishly effective, ideas that Beeny has become one of Britain’s most successful and notorious property industry success stories.
But it was through sheer luck that Beeny got her most notable break – “I got into TV through a chance meeting with a producer at a hen party I went to and they arranged a screen test shortly afterwards.” With this the property developer became a television schedules stalwart with a cross-population appeal that sees both university students and OAPs tuning in to see her programmes.
With this media friendly presentation she has been able to crop up in such programmes as Gordon Ramsey’s F Word where she lent her garden to his sheep to graze and Bob the Builder where she values Bob’s house as “Two Bob”. “I enjoy them. In general I’ve had some great opportunities and love the variety. It’s lovely to be invited to do some of these things.” So does she see herself as an entrepreneur or TV celebrity? “I think a mixture of both; I started out with TV and am now enjoying starting new businesses. Most people probably 
know me from television though.”
So what are these new businesses? “Mysinglefriend.com and tepilo.com – the former is a matchmaking dating site where you set your friends up on dates, and Tepilo is my new property website – to help people sell or let their properties with no charge or commission. My sites are generally born out of frustration with the ways things are currently done, or the lack of similar sites – so the move to the internet was really a solution rather than planned events.” Beeny seems smitten with these new websites, relaying that both are going really well and saying “It’s great to hear back from people who have sold their houses or got married via the sites.”
Property guru, media personality, internet success – what could be next for the nation’s housing advisor? “I’ve got a new series out soon, and I’m looking into another couple of websites. Can’t say too much at the moment though. I’m also working on a Cancer Research campaign to get people to de-clutter their houses and hand stuff they don’t need into the Cancer esearch shops. There is plenty to keep me busy.”