I stopped watching House Hunters on HGTV at about the same time the Florida real estate market started to tumble. At the time, the reality of buying and selling homes was way more dramatic than what they were showing on TV. It has been a few years now and I was curious to see if things had changed.
So, I called it “research” and sat down to watch 3 episodes in a row thanks to Video On Demand.
I found out very quickly that not much has changed since I last watched.
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There are the homebuyers, the real estate agent, the occasional helpful friend/family member, and the 3 houses that they choose from. The buyers debate the pros and cons of the houses then they dramatically reveal which one they chose. With the ding dong of a doorbell, they are moved in and talking about how much they love their house. It’s a happy ending, wrapped in a bow and placed under a rainbow.
I love that there is television programming that encourages home buying. The Realtor in me wholeheartedly embraces the concept. But House Hunters is like eating just the frosting off your wedding cake. It may be sweet, but you are leaving out a lot of layers.
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Picking out a home is the most glamorous part of home buying. It is fun and potential buyers should look forward to the search, but it is one of many, many steps. What House Hunters doesn’t show is the amount of work that goes on before the contract is signed, during the escrow period, on closing day and after.
This is where the meaty drama hides in real estate.
In this day and age with tightened mortgage-underwriting rules, out of whack appraisals, and short sales, there is no shortage of hurdles to clear when buying a house. Although some other HGTV shows such as, My First Place and Property Virgins, touch on these obstacles a little more, they still spend a lot of the time on the home picking process.
So, I thought I could help HGTV think of some new, realistic concepts. I think I may have to pitch some of these!
Wait, Wait, And Wait Some More: A light-hearted program that shows a buyer of a short sale go through the ups and downs of waiting for approval from the bank. Throw your timelines out the window, it is going to be a bumpy ride!
My Lender Wants What? A hilarious look at the documentation that lenders now require to get a home loan.
Inspection Rejection. A dramatic half an hour of buyers deciding whether they want to accept the home “as-is” after the inspection turns up some unexpected issues.
Where’s The Refrigerator? Tales from dramatic final walk-throughs where the house isn’t exactly in move-in condition.
Obviously, I am being a tad sarcastic here. There are many transactions that go very smoothly, a la House Hunters. When you are prepared as a buyer and you hire a professional Realtor to help you navigate the process, the chance of worse-case scenarios is greatly reduced. Buying a house is an adventure. Any stress you have during the process should make the end result that much sweeter. Your story will be wrapped in a pretty bow too.
Melanie Atkinson is a Realtor with The Wood Team, Coldwell Banker. She can be reached at 813-368-6084 or Melanie.Atkinson@floridamoves.com. Follow The Wood Team on Facebook or follow Melanie on Twitter @CBMelanieA