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Nineties star Dani Behr made more money selling houses than she ever did on TV

Dani Behr recently revealed on White Wine Question Time that she has made more money from property investments, than TV (Image: Getty Image)
Dani Behr recently revealed on White Wine Question Time that she has made more money from property investments, than TV (Image: Getty Image)

While she made her name presenting popular shows like The Word and The Big Breakfast in the ‘90s, broadcaster Dani Behr’s fortune actually came from something a little more down to earth – houses.

Speaking on White Wine Question Time, she told Kate Thornton that thanks to her estate agent dad, she had always invested in property, buying her first investment when she was just 16.

“I was doing always doing my flips and development - and I was doing that while I was doing all the TV stuff,” she said.

“It was just something that kept me going, because when you're on hiatus from TV or there's a downtime, it was just a nice way to make money. I think I've probably made more money in real estate than I did television.”

Listen: Dani Behr reveals her ‘90s highs and lows to Kate Thornton in White Wine Question Time

While Behr flipped many a property here and in LA, it wasn’t until she was left in debt for the first time in her life by her divorce from husband Carl Harwin in 2014, that she decided to make property her full-time job.

“TV here [in America] had completely changed. There wasn't really a TV market,” she revealed.

She continued: “What else do I know how to do? I didn't go to college. So, I was like, ‘I know real estate’ so I thought, ‘OK, I'll just get my license’ so I studied. You have to study and do all these exams and get your license.

PA NEWS PHOTO 3/9/98 TV & RADIO PRESENTER DANI BEHR AT THE LAUNCH OF THE "KISS 100 WEBSITE" AT THE CYBERIA CYBERCAFE IN LONDON.
Dani Behr at the launch of the Kiss 100 Website at the Cyberia cybercafe, 1998. (PA)

“There is a whole liability factor, so I did that, and joined an agency and just learnt the first two years. But it was a really scary few years - and you have two kids, so you constantly have that worry.”

Behr, who is a regular face on reality realtor show Million Dollar Listing LA, says that while the commission is higher in the States than the UK, she doesn’t earn a salary, so there have still been some scary times financially.

“I think I've jumped out the frying pan and into the fire - I went into another commission-only business,” she laughed. “Some years you do OK and others you're like, ‘What am I going to do?’ - especially if the market dies here.”

She continued: “If you do big here, you do big because the commissions are higher. Last year, I showed eight different buyers properties for nine months and they all decided not to buy in the end, so I worked for free essentially for nine months.

“Then you can just work with one person, show them one day and they go, 'Let's buy it' and that's just one day's work. It's brutal, so that's why there's only like a handful of people that really survive in it.”

Read more: Britain warned it's heading towards a housing bubble — again

The star, who also has her own TV production company, said she doesn’t let life get her down though and instead looks at other ways she can move forward.

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 21:  Singer Dani Behr arrives at the 9th Annual BritWeek launch party at the British Consul General's Residence on April 21, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.  (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 21: Singer Dani Behr arrives at the 9th Annual BritWeek launch party at the British Consul General's Residence on April 21, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

“I've always been quite industrial with coming up with something and I'm definitely a survivor type,” she said.

“I don't sit around and feel sorry for myself. I just get on with it. I want to get more into the development side of stuff, so I have more control over my life.”

Hear Dani Behr talk about the realities of being a realtor in LA, her career highlights and her biggest regrets on the latest episode of White Wine Question Time. Listen now on iTunes and Spotify.