HGTV musings

[perdidobay]

I know, I feel like that is the only thing playing most weeks. I cannot stand it and won't watch.

I used to love HGTV and really miss the design shows too. I still enjoy House Hunters, I don't care if it's staged. It's still fun to see the insides of different houses around the country. I also love Beach House Bargain and dream of living near the beach.

I like the reno shows but they seem to mostly be on DIY now.

I realized just how staged Beach House Bargain Hunt was after they showed a couple buy a condo in the same building where I had owned a unit for 10 years and had sold 6 months previously. They went on and on about how great it was for their dog to have such a nice beach to play on, cue shot of dog running on the beach (dogs aren't allowed by the county on that beach) and then showed the dog running without at leash over the lawn area around the pools, commenting it was so great he had this area to play in (dogs are not allowed off leash and epescially south of the building where is lawn is either). They mentioned the really super low price they got the condo for but there was no mention of the $$$$ special assessment every owner was paying then to replace the shoddy workmanship that was done 5 years before after Hurricane Ivan.

That said, I too know how fake all the shows are but I love to watch to see the decor. My favorite show is Fixer Upper, I love seeing before and afters, and I love the style the couple uses.

 

[mickeymedic]

I love House Hunters International - just to see what your money can buy in other countries. I used to be hooked on the original House Hunters until I applied to be on the show when we moved to Tennessee. That's when I found out that you have to be in the late stages of an offer before they will even consider you. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that the whole thing was staged. But that kind of ruined it for me. I still enjoy HHI simply to see the exotic locations. But now that I know it is staged, my ability to figure out which property will be chosen has increased to almost 100%.

 

[Lilliputian]

I don't really think it's realistic for people to decide if they are going to love it or list it a few minutes after seeing the remodel...

My husband and I are convinced that they make the decision before the process even starts. The reno projects you choose are different if you're selling the house vs. planning to live there another 10-20 years.

I don't mind that show if I need something to "watch" while I fall asleep, but I can't stand how they stage it so that every single couple has one who loves the house and one who hates it. And they argue on TV. And with the show hosts. No one is that mean all the time, especially in front of a camera. You couldn't make me say the stuff they say on that show. It would be humiliating.

 

[aristocatz]

I like Flip or Flop. The guy annoys me a bit, but I like to see how they fix these places up.

My absolute favorite HGTV show sadly went off the air. It was called For Rent & it was sort of like House Hunters, but geared toward younger people rentals. As someone who rented various apartments for about 15 years before I married & bought a house, I loved seeing the different rental options. The host was awesome as well & she always took the chosen space & redecorated one of the rooms. I found it much more interesting to watch than House Hunters.

 

[tvguy]

My husband and I are convinced that they make the decision before the process even starts. The reno projects you choose are different if you're selling the house vs. planning to live there another 10-20 years.

When I interviewed Real Estate agents last year to sell my parents house, which was pretty much as it was when built in 1960*, they told me remodeling a house you are planning to sell is a waste of money. I sold it to investors 17 days after listing, and they apparently felt differently. They did a complete remodel before re-listing it. A year later it finally sold, for about what they had in it, maybe a little less. Nothing like having $700,000 tied up for a year and making nothing on it.

*Literally as built. Original built in appliances, furnace and a/c. I was shocked that in all the work the investors did, they left the 53 year old furnace and a/c untouched.

 

[njmom47]

Does anyone remember Moving Up with Doug Wilson?
Of COURSE they are going to hate what you did to "their" house!!!

 

[havaneselover]

Does anyone remember Moving Up with Doug Wilson? Of COURSE they are going to hate what you did to "their" house!!!

I do but I rarely watched it. He was one of my least favorite designers from trading spaces. It was more about him than the owners.

I liked For Rent too. Was that Sabrina Soto's show? And there was another one where they would do some minor projects to help sell a house then so an open house which was okay. Can't remember the name.

 

[aristocatz]

I do but I rarely watched it. He was one of my least favorite designers from trading spaces. It was more about him than the owners.

I liked For Rent too. Was that Sabrina Soto's show? And there was another one where they would do some minor projects to help sell a house then so an open house which was okay. Can't remember the name.

The host of For Rent was Jodi Gilmour-loved her!

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I love Scott McGillvray (I think that's his last name) on Income Property. He is actually from the town where I live (Guelph, Ontario) and started renting properties when he was a student at the university here. I like his personality on the show and I love what he does with the properties.

I don't know if you can get them in the US, but I love every show with Bryan Baeumler (hope I spelled that right). He does Disaster DIY, House of Bryan, Leave it to Bryan and he has a new one called House of Bryan in the Sticks.

TP

 

[Feralpeg]

Both Love It or List It and the Property Brothers spend half their budgets on furniture and staging. If it were me, I'd say forget the furniture and stuff. I can do that myself. Fix more rooms!

At the end of these shows, only a portion of the homes have been renovated. I realize that the outcome wouldn't be as dramatic without furnishings, but it always bothers me when they say they don't have the budget to do something and yet, they are spending a ton on furnishings.

I also don't like the fact that almost all of the outcomes (especially the Property Brothers) are modern in style. Not my thing.

My least favorite show is Rehab Addict. I understand remodeling to the original style of the house, but sometimes you just should go new. Some of the junk she uses really looks terrible, IMHO. For instance, using old junks of wood to remodel a bathroom in a basement. She just nailed a bunch of pieces of wood willy nilly to the studs. It looked cheap and silly.

My favorite is Fixer Upper.

 

[StephMK]

Does anyone remember Moving Up with Doug Wilson?
Of COURSE they are going to hate what you did to "their" house!!!

I loved that show! I liked seeing what people did to all the different spaces. He was not my favorite Trading Spaces host but I didn't mind him.

 

[penn19]

staged or not, I'm hooked on HGTV.

That said, I really miss "Designing for the Sexes" and "Designers Challenge."

Decorating Cents and Design on a Dime. Loved those shows.

And Room by Room. Forgot to add that one.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Both Love It or List It and the Property Brothers spend half their budgets on furniture and staging. If it were me, I'd say forget the furniture and stuff. I can do that myself. Fix more rooms!

At the end of these shows, only a portion of the homes have been renovated. I realize that the outcome wouldn't be as dramatic without furnishings, but it always bothers me when they say they don't have the budget to do something and yet, they are spending a ton on furnishings.

I also don't like the fact that almost all of the outcomes (especially the Property Brothers) are modern in style. Not my thing.

My least favorite show is Rehab Addict. I understand remodeling to the original style of the house, but sometimes you just should go new. Some of the junk she uses really looks terrible, IMHO. For instance, using old junks of wood to remodel a bathroom in a basement. She just nailed a bunch of pieces of wood willy nilly to the studs. It looked cheap and silly.

My favorite is Fixer Upper.

My parents remodeled their home for This Old House. It was furnished quite nicely with Ethan Allen furniture for the final episode...with all the prices concealed. Ethan Allen then came and picked it all up when filming wrapped.

So I do wonder how much stuff is really the owners at the end and how much is truly just product placement staging that will go back on the truck when filming wraps.

 

[ThisIsJason]

My parents remodeled their home for This Old House. It was furnished quite nicely with Ethan Allen furniture for the final episode...with all the prices concealed. Ethan Allen then came and picked it all up when filming wrapped.

So I do wonder how much stuff is really the owners at the end and how much is truly just product placement staging that will go back on the truck when filming wraps.

I just looked at an article the other day from 2012 (can't find it anymore) stating on Property Brothers that while you have to pay for the whole remodel the show does provide you with $20-25K worth of new furnishing. If that is still the case or not, who knows.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I just looked at an article from 2012 (can't find it anymore) stating on Property Brothers than while you have to pay for the whole remodel the show does provide you with $20-25K worth of new furnishing. If that is still the case or not, who knows.

I am pretty sure that the home owners are in some way compensated/assisted with portions of whatever it is they are doing. (Though I am not sure about house hunting type shows.)

For us, if the show could get something donated or discounted, they did. My parents put in much sweat equity. But has the show come along, the project would have taken. A long time and likely sold in the same condition they bought it--not habitable. The show sped up the time line as well as made the project economically feasible. There was tax liability for that, of course.

I think that may be behind some of these financial windfall, dramatic crises on Love it or List it. Because these folks happen to have a lot of cash, awful awful "surprise" mega bucks fixes with a nice remodel anyway.

Anyway--just my thoughts and guesses based on a show my parents did decades ago. (Actually my mom and then step-dad who she will joke was her tv husband.)

 

[ThisIsJason]

One show that I love to hate (while not on HGTV, it is on DIY I believe) is The Vanilla Ice Project. Talk about beyond fake and scripted.

 

[teller80]

Has anyone been watching The Property Brothers At Home? I would love to know how much $$$ they are spending on renovating their own place. It has to be a huge sum--water slide, glass folding wall. TV must pay nicely.

Yea, I wondered why they haven't mentioned the money. They do for everybody else's reno. I also wondered if might be getting a significant discount in return for product promotion & placement. They do mention brands repeatedly.

On anther topic, I've always wondered if they make sure the neighborhood will support that much money being poured into the reno. Isn't location the number one factor in the appraised price?

 

[LukenDC]

I love HGTV! It is the channel I watch most. Favorite shows are House Hunters, Hawaii Life, Flip or Flop, and Selling New York.

I enjoy seeing the different communities profiled through House Hunters. I'm amazed at the sizes of the homes that people can buy in most of the country for a fraction of the cost of my DC townhouse. While I love living in the DC, I would not mind moving someday if it meant having a larger home in a warmer part of the country.

 

[disneychrista]

I am pretty sure that the home owners are in some way compensated/assisted with portions of whatever it is they are doing. (Though I am not sure about house hunting type shows.)

My guess is that while they are paying for the remodel/home they are not paying for the designer/contractor. That has to save some pretty big $$.

 

[LBIJim]

Another old favorite was titled, I believe, "Best Bang For the Buck." Three couples remodeled a different room each episode, bathroom, kitchen, etc. Whichever team would recoup the most of their investment, according to a real estate agent and designer, would be the "winner."

I liked how the agent and designer would watch on a monitor and often criticize, snark, and generally ridicule the hideous taste of many of the couples.

The show was mis-titled IMO. Should have been "Least Worst Bang for the Buck."