EXCLUSIVE: A Place In The Sun star Jasmine Harman has learned the pitfalls of renovating a home abroad first hand

A Place In The Sun presenter Jasmine Harman has admitted buying a “fixer upper” abroad isn’t for everyone. The 49-year-old mum of two mum of two frequently shows potential buyers possible homes in the sun that need some TLC. However, having undertaken a full renovation on her own place in the sun – her new Spanish family home – the star admits it isn’t for everyone. She documented the process on her own show Jasmine’s Renovation In the Sun and speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk she said if her experiences put you off the process then “it’s probably not for you.”

“It’s definitely not a project for the faint hearted. It was not just the move on its own but trying to handle a full house renovation while living in the house. And that was while working, parenting and adapting to a new country, and all of the other things that happen along the way. But for me, it was worth it to get the home and the lifestyle we want. It was the only way we could afford to get a house that we wanted in the location that we wanted,” she said.

“The reason we bought this house and ended up with a fixer-upper was because what we wanted was more than we had the budget for. There had to be a compromise we were willing to make. That was that we bought a house that was a wreck and in a really awful condition,” she explained.

Despite this she wouldn’t discourage her A Place In The Sun buyers from doing a reasonable amount of work on a property in order to improve their dream home abroad.

“I’ve always said to people: ‘Okay, that’s a small living room but if you knock down that wall and open up the kitchen, put in a new kitchen, this is going to feel much more spatial and open’. I feel that’s quite a common example.

“And that level of work, especially if it’s a holiday home and you can get someone to do it whilst you’re not living in it, is a really good way to be able to get a property that works for you in terms of location and in terms of price,” she said.

Reflecting on her own experience she said: “The reason that we bought this house and the reason that we ended up doing a fixer upper was because it was basically like an episode of A Place In The Sun.

“It’s more than we had the budget for so we bought a house that was a wreck and that was in a really awful condition and we renovated it.

“So if my house hunters can get the house that they want or the property that they want in the location that they want, with the view that they want, and the compromise is they have to do a bit of work on it. I’m all for that.

“And actually I feel like I’m better positioned now to advise them on what might be needed in terms of licensing, or what might be needed in terms of budget and how to find a builder and that,” she said.