Grand Designs' Kevin McCloud has one piece of advice for people looking to build a house

Grand Designs' presenter Kevin McCloud has revealed the one crucial bit of advice he gives to someone when they are looking to build a house.

Kevin, 65, has presented Grand Designs for 25 years. The show sees him meet people embarking on a housebuilding project as he discusses the plans for the building.

He will regularly visit the site checking on the progress of the building, meaning the TV star has been involved in hundreds of housebuilding projects over the last two and a half decades. Some successful and some less so, including the 'saddest ever' Grand Designs property.

And there is one bit of advice property guru Kevin has been giving for the last 25 years. He told the Times Magazine: "The first trick of house building is, don't be optimistic."

The presenter admitted he doesn't have the same sense of urgency he is forced to show on the programme. He said: "I don't have a huge sense of urgency in anything. I'm very slow."

It comes after the so-called 'saddest ever' Grand Designs house was placed back on the market for a much lower price.

Chesil Cliff House in Devon took 11 years to complete and put owner Edward Short in a reported staggering £7 million debt but remains on the market. The doomed property was originally listed for £10 million but has since been reduced to £5.25 million.

Despite his reported troubles, Short revealed his plans to borrow another £2million to carry out yet more work.

The luxury property was first put on sale in July 2022 via Knight Frank, alongside Short's adjacent three-bedroom annex called The Eye. But two years later, they both remain unoccupied.

Mr Short's marriage fell apart at least partly due to the infamous cliffside lighthouse.

Kevin McCloud said the property was still a "carcass" eight years after the couple first purchased it. He then revisited Mr Short and the property in 2022 for a follow-up episode and was surprisingly impressed with how different things looked.