Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer meet two couples taking advantage of a First-Time Buyer scheme to help them onto the property ladder but their £450,000 budgets won't take them very far in Essex. Kirstie's with locals Sarah and Charlie who need a home to bring them together after five years of living with their respective parents. They've started to lose their nerve after eight months of unsuccessful house-hunting and it quickly becomes clear that their best chance of success is to take on a project. Phil's couple Toby and Simone have high expectations of what their home should be after renting in London, but their budget doesn't match up to the house, or postcode, they're accustomed to.