<p>^the regular House Hunters does the same thing, IMO. You see all these people totally discounting homes because “That wall color is totally wrong” or “OMG that wallpaper” or “It doesn’t have granite countertops.”</p>
<p>SERIOUSLY? Painting takes a day, maybe two or three if you’re doing more than one room. Wallpaper is a little more work, but not that hard. Countertops can easily be changed.</p>
<p>I would WANT my house to have things I don’t like, so that I can change it and make it mine.</p>
<p>I have a friend who bought her wedding dress, and the bridesmaids dresses, at the place in Atlanta where ‘Say Yes to the dress’ is filmed. After she had made all her choices, they approached her to be on the show. She would have to reprise all their activities/choices and pretend it was ‘de novo.’ Also, she would get nothing from the show and had no editorial control. She said No Thanks.</p>
<p>I just love to look at the interior of houses, so I don’t care how they pull the show together.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’ve never had that experience. Every house we’ve bought we had to do it on our five days of house hunting leave…it actually is a lot like house hunters but with a few more houses thrown in. Now that Mr PMK is a civilian, we can finally take our time when we move next and I look foward to finding a house that feels like mine right from the start.</p>
Same here but Sandra always starts by taking them to the expensive neighborhood filled with houses way beyond the buyer’s affordability and then smirks at the buyers when she tells them no way they could afford ‘that’ house. I’d fire any realtor who did that with me. I understand they’re doing it for the show but it’s really pointless as they shouldn’t waste time looking at neighborhoods/houses way beyond their reach. I find it more interesting when they show them the various options within their affordability - i.e. condo in town vs the bigger home in the suburb, a lesser home with a nice view vs a bigger home with no view. </p>
<p>
I found that interesting as well - seeing the houses/condos/purchased apartments in other parts of the world.</p>
<p>Speaking about being fake, the international version takes the cake! Anyone armed with a bit of desire to find out the details can uncover the identity of the people making the (supposed) choices and the … reality. Most shows are produced in cahoots with local developers and sellers who are often pretending to be scouting for a house. </p>
<p>Just of the top of my head, here are the shows that were as fake as a three dollar bill:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Buenos Aires developer buying house in Uruguay? He owned the house and was merely staging it. </p></li>
<li><p>Developer in Malta buying $1,500,000? Same story.</p></li>
<li><p>Canadian athlete moving his family to the beach and buying huge house? It is the centerpiece of his condo development on the beach.</p></li>
<li><p>The Ulan Bator show with the Brit buying an apartment in Mongolia</p></li>
<li><p>The school teacher who moves to the Arab Emirates and agonizes over three high rise choices? Entirely laughable, as she moved into the condo in which her employer houses the expats. The full details of her having pictures of her apartment BEFORE leaving were in her blog.</p></li>
<li><p>The French cognac distiller who buys a historical house for his business. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>While the shows are supposed to be entertainment and expected to be reasonably edited, nobody likes to be served complete fabricated stories weaved together by producers.</p>
<p>It’s television, but the show coud have a small print in the end that says … the story you just saw is entirely fictional, except for the names of the paid “actors” we used.</p>
<p>What I don’t understand is why anyone wants to be on the show. It seems like a huge hassle for a few hundred dollars. Are there really that many people who are dying to see themselves on TV?</p>
<p>Marketing and publicity. Although not true in all cases, the participants have often something to sell. Similar houses. Real Estate services. Investments. Or simply blog pages.</p>
<p>GladGradDad-I think some of the buyers on that show need a dose of what they can actually afford! They go in with a $150k budget expecting a move-in ready model home. Then they get mad at the Realtor when they can’t find it. Ummm…that’s because it doesn’t exist!!</p>
<p>^^ I guess my point is that I don’t need to be shown a $10M house to know I can’t afford it. What I need to be shown are different examples of what are within my budget and if I ask about a particular neighborhood or want the beach front mansion then the realtor can politely tell me those are about 10 or 20 times more than my budget permits. </p>
<p>But I know it’s all being done for the show. It sounds like some of these shows (House hunters, apparently) are doing too much for the show though and totally making the whole thing up without bothering to disclaim it. IMO that’s simply trying to pull one over on the viewer and I’m not going to bother watching any show that does that. You can’t believe anything they say including the prices, neighborhoods, etc. so what’s the point?</p>
<p>I’m just trying to imagine that all of these folks on the show are acting? If so, they are finding some pretty good people to be on these shows! They do make it look real and unscripted.</p>
<p>It is hard to believe that they only look at 3 houses (I just assumed that they looked at more, but we didn’t see that), but it is harder for me to believe that they are all acting. </p>
<p>As far as Holmes on Homes, I am not sure what I think. Mike Holmes and his son are practically giddy when the home has problems. The more problems it has, the giddier they become! And, wouldn’t it be safe to say that they could come into any home built and find something wrong with it?</p>
<p>Frankly, I wish that HGTV would get rid of all the house hunting shows and return to actual designing. I remember when I first started watching HGTV, I liked it because I was able to get actual design ideas. Now it’s just the same formula over and over.</p>
<p>They are not great actors. People do not expect them to act. On the other hand, lying through your teeth does not require much practice. They simply have to pretend they actually had to make the choices among what WE see. </p>
<p>I’ll admit that I watch many episodes of House Hunters and other HGTV shows when I’m home as HGTV shows them one after another without commercials. While many parts of the shows are obviously fake, it can be good entertainment. It also gives some idea as to the housing markets in different cities. A large number of episodes were produced before the housing bubble burst, so it’s fun to guess how much cheaper the houses would be today.</p>
<p>My family and I will often joke that every home nowadays has to have granite countertops and stainless steel appliances or it won’t be chosen. We have also begun to predict the buyers’ reactions upon seeing each house.</p>
<p>Many, if not most HGTV shows are produced in Canada, hence the maple leaf at the end of all credits and the use of the word “reno” multiple times during the home remodel shows. Watch enough HGTV shows and you might think that the natural progression is to get married and find your first apartment/loft in Toronto on Property Virgins, have a kid and move into one of three houses in the suburbs on House Hunters, later decide to renovate or move on Love It or List It, and semi-retire to the Caribbean after choosing one of three houses on House Hunters International.</p>
<p>We love House Hunters International. I always thought it was clear that it is filmed with heavy editing and story tweaking. We watch for the glimpses of housing across the globe. </p>
<p>What your money will (or won’t) buy in other countries is fascinating. The bedroom sizes, bathrooms, kitchens, and outdoor spaces… I haven’t gotten bored yet. I don’t care that the “story” is faked. I’m interested in what the housing, villages and cities look like, and that part is real.</p>
<p>8 years ago when we were getting ready to move, I was looking at hgtv and requirements to be on house hunters. You had to be in escrow. And surely you have to understand that they can’t risk a buyer not qualifying for a mortgage. To me it’s not really that it’s a scam - it’s here’s the real house they chose, here are two other options. How would you pick differently?</p>
<p>And yes, the empty house is always the choice. </p>
<p>If only I could get Candace Olsen to come decorate for me - I’d love to know the people’s budgets for these rooms.</p>
<p>My DW is a RE agent, she was contacted by House Hunters to use one of her listings as one of the properties on the show. It was enough of a headache that she turned them down.</p>
<p>I’m addicted to Pawn Stars, and it was disappointing to learn how staged and scripted that show is. I still watch it though.</p>
<p>As an architect I love these shows. We don’t have cable, so I’ve only seen them at the gym. The one that amazed me was some Australian couple trying to decide between the house with the extra guest house, or the one with the endless pool, or the one that didn’t have a kitchen yet… All of them with beach frontage and acres of property. The rich are different from you and me…</p>
<p>I always figured they were truthy not truthful, but from xiggi’s example I don’t think we even have truthiness here!</p>