I, like many people, enjoy watching HGTV. One of my favorite shows lately has been "Rico to the Rescue". In my career, I've heard too many stories of good people getting tricked by shady contractors. One kind, elderly couple I met 3 or 4 years ago told me of their contractor who was remodeling their sunroom. After completing a portion of the work, he left the job unfinished, without any notice, leaving them to cope with the aftermath. They had to pay for a lawyer but unfortunately never received any reparation. The worst part is he stole tens of thousands of dollars from this couple. So, watching Rico bring justice to clients who have been treated similarly is quite uplifting.
Along with "Rico to the Rescue", many others like "Love It or List It" and "Fixer Upper" have become well-known names in homes across the world. Though these shows are great for inspiration and entertainment, you may wonder, just who realistic is the process shown?
The Budget
Part of what makes the viewing experience enjoyable is sympathizing with the homeowner during their formidable journey and its even better when you get to be privy to their budget. It's the ultimate fly-on-the-wall perspective. You might wonder, who will they make it all happen on such a tight budget?
Well, many times they don't actually stick the budget you see. It turns out, when getting to be on HGTV, the experience usually has more to do with getting the network's designers, and it's less about staying on budget. According to the Business Insider, "HGTV pays for some labor or costs to expedite production if needed, but generally, homeowners are paying for their services. And, they may have access to discounted services or goods."
This means the budget you see on screen isn't usually the actual costs, which can be quite misleading.
The Timeline
Sometimes, it can be quite impressive to see these shows pull of such an amazing transformation in what seems to be an incredibly short timeline. The star of the show steps on the job, swings a hammer, kicks down a wall, and then, after a couple commercial breaks, the whole house is fully furnished and sparkling clean with all the latest finishes. What they don't show, are the multiple crews working 24/7 to get things done on time. Rarely do they provide full disclosure on the entire project timeline. A more accurate perspective would show the actual "man hours" invested. For example, a 2 to 3-man crew, which a typical remodeling company may have, isn't going to be as efficient as a 5 to 7-man crew working non-stop. This was the experience for Linhda Tran who wrote about it on her website, What It's Really Like Being on HGTV (Hint: It's Not All Glamour) — Brassy (thebrassy.com).
To add to the distortion, the entire project which could take weeks or even months, is cut and formatted to fit in a one-hour window on TV. That can really warp perspective.
Conclusion
These shows are a great source of entertainment, but you shouldn't bank on them being completely non-fictional. You probably wouldn't want to set your budget or timeline based on what you saw on an episode of "Fixer Upper".
If you're looking for a reputable source of information when planning your remodel, skip HGTV and also, many home improvement websites, and consider getting feedback from friends and family that have had similar projects done on their own home. You can also find many forums online where people discuss the reality of their remodeling journey.
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