Location, Location, Location fans are left stunned by couple who spent a total of £1 million on a modest end-of-terrace house in Edinburgh

Fans of Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location have been left shocked after a couple on the show spent a total of £1million on a terraced house in Edinburgh.

Financial adviser Jason Conlin and training coach Zoe Conlin were looking for a family home in the idyllic Scottish capital to settle down in after a decade of living in Hong Kong with their two daughters, aged 11 and 13.

Wednesday night’s episode showed the couple beginning their search in September 2020. While looking for their dream home, they rented a property in the affluent area of Stockbridge, where flats go for around £1million.

But as the episode revisited the couple several years later, viewers were left shocked at how much they had spent on the house in total, after forking out £625,000 to buy the property and a further £375,000 fixing it up. 

With a budget of £850,000 to £950,000, Phil Spencer was tasked with assisting them in their four-bedroom property search, after they sold their home to move abroad. 

He found them a Victorian end terraced ‘fixer-upper’ two miles west of Stockbridge in Blackhall, which was on the market for offers over £650,000.

However, Jason and Zoe put in a bid for £25,000 under the asking price and said they could pay for the property immediately in cash. 

Edinburgh appears to be a special place for Zoe and Jason, as the pair first met there during the nineties in a pub. 

Zoe works as head of learning and development in the department of Sales Transformation with Hogan Lovells, a global law practice. 

She went to school in Belfast before doing her undergraduate degree in Accountancy at the University of Dundee between 1992 and 1996.

After a tense wait, the pair found out there was another party interested in the property  – but nevertheless, they managed to bag it at £625,000.

Phil went to visit them in 2023, almost three years after purchasing the property to see how much it had changed. 

Zoe and Jason spent a total of £375,000 renovating the house, more than half of what they bought the house for.

But lovers of the Channel 4 television show were astounded that they had spent £1million in total and took to X to comment their thoughts.

One wrote: ‘An end terrace for a million quid….’

To which another responded: ‘375k to renovate. Where does one find that sort of money?’

A third penned: ‘Did he just say the cost of building work was 375,000, I just [have] one thing to say, that builder saw you coming dear.’

A fourth said: ”Offers over 650 for an end terrace in Scotland and no Garage that needs a full renovation.’ 

A fifth commented: ‘The Suburbs round Edinburgh look nice [not going to lie] but the prices are crazy.’

Jason and Zoe spent the money on a ground floor extension, which meant they had to dig up the entire garden, which has left them with an extra bathroom, utility room and spare bedroom.

They also did some work on the roof, windows, heating and electricity, built a new driveway, and knocked down a part of their daughter’s bedroom to make space for their en-suite.

It took 18 months from them getting the keys to moving into the house, and Phil said he ‘wasn’t surprised’ when he heard how much the pair had spent on doing up the property.

He admitted that it was £50,000 more than Zoe and Jason wanted to spend, but that they had managed to find their ‘forever home’.

Zoe said: ‘You see your friends doing fun things in Hong Kong and you [think] I’ll miss it, but we’re happy, we’re glad we came and made that decision.’ 

She now uses the spare downstairs bedroom as an office and Jason has a ‘garden pod’ shed, where he can retreat to when he works from home.

‘I just pinch myself everyday that I actually live here,’ said Jason.

Phil Spencer said he was ‘very proud’ of them and was glad that it all finally panned out.