Photo Courtesy of CreativeCommons.org
If it weren’t for having a 4 year old, HGTV would be on my television 24 hours a day. Shows like Designed to Sell, Buy Me, Get It Sold, and Hidden Potential can be great “tools” to ask clients to watch.
On shows geared towards sellers, real estate “experts” walk through the property picking out all of the reasons why they feel the home is not selling while the owners sit back, watch, listen and cringe. Typically for about 2,000.00 designers will come in and stage the home. The transformation is amazing sometimes netting a seller thousands in return. While not everyone will have $2000.00 to spend getting their home ready for sale, uncluttering a room and a can of paint can work wonders and can completely change the feel of any room.
Other shows like Hidden Potential (which brings an architect along for the ride with buyers through homes they would typically run from upon entering) and shows them the “hidden potential” of the home within the specified budget of the buyer. The show can really help buyers have an open mind and more importantly, vision.
On the down side of reality TV and real estate, some of the things that personally make me either laugh or scream are … how hiliarious is it when the agent sits down with the client to write an offer and it’s one piece of paper and they’re done!?! While I am sure they must stay within a specified time frame for the show, this is not true reality TV. For example, the other night I was watching a show geared toward first time home buyers. Part of the show was a bidding war on a condominium. The agent suggested to her clients they drop the mortgage contingency on their offer to get the condo. That would mean that they would have to buy the unit even if they didn’t get a mortgage, or be forced to lose their deposit. My jaw just dropped and I wondered who’s best interest she was looking out for … fortunately the virgin buyer told the agent absolutely not and although they lost the condo to another bid, they didn’t lose their shirts!