Reality in Television for Buyers and Sellers

1
Reality in Television for Buyers and Sellers
2

• You have Color Splash or Designed to
  Sell programmed on your DVR so you never miss a
  segment. Youve imagined having Candice help you
  redecorate or Genevieve solve your design
  dilemma. As you begin your own purchase or sale
  of a home, you discover a startling truth
  reality is quite different from what you watch on
  TV.
• Your favorite HGTV shows are designed to inform
  and entertain. They present a lot of truths for
  first-time buyers or sellers. At the same time,
  many of the details are glossed over, so you
  never get a complete picture of the process you
  must go through. You can learn a lot from these
  shows if you know what to focus on.

3
The Truth for Buyers
While shopping for homes seems like so much fun
when you watch House Hunters, youve quickly
discovered you are visiting more than three homes
to make your decision. And its not so easy to
decide which one is best for you as it was when
you were choosing for buyers on TV. Then theres
the renovations. How much easier it would be to
have the Property Brothers help you remodel an
outdated space and turn it into your dream home.
While an hour of television turns a hopeless case
into a fabulous house, it takes much longer in
real life. You can spend weeks or even months
living through a remodel.
4

• While these shows make buying a home seem
  glamorous and real life is often quite different,
  you can learn some valuable lessons from watching
  your favorite.
• What you see is not always what you get how
  many times home buyers will choose a house only
  to discover an unseen problem they must deal with
  the lesson learned is to always get an
  inspection and pay attention to what it tells
  you.
• Be willing to invest some sweat equity you can
  transform a home if youre willing to put in the
  work or hire contractors to turn your outdated
  space into a place you love.
• Little changes make a big difference for those
  on a limited budget, they can create a wonderful
  space by making a few small changes or even
  working with what they already own.
• Hire the pros even the experts on TV hire
  contractors to help them in the process.
• Stay under budget one of the constant facts on
  these shows is that some unexpected expense will
  show up and eat into your budget, so always work
  to stay below your maximum and plan for those
  unavoidable expenses.

5
The Truth for Sellers

• First-time sellers may also be shocked when
  people dont come beating their door down to look
  at the property. You see how many buyers attend
  open houses on TV, and yet no one shows up to
  look at your place. Pay attention to the lessons
  homeowners learn on television and you just might
  discover an offer for your home is right around
  the corner.
• Start with Curb Appeal  If you watch the show
  and see how much a little landscaping can
  transform a property, youll see the value in
  investing in your own curb appeal. While the main
  property goes through a major transition,
  neighboring properties get minor facelifts. What
  this shows sellers is that even small changes can
  make a big difference.
• Sellers can learn from shows like House
  Hunters and My First Place  even though they are
  targeted to buyers, sellers can find out what
  buyers want and what are deal-breakers for them.
• Shows like Designed to Sell can inspire sellers
  who need to update their own homes some shows
  go all out, while others focus on minor
  renovations for sellers with limited budgets.

6
What You Need to Remember

• When you watch any of these shows, remember
  youre only seeing a portion of what goes on in
  the process of buying and selling or renovating.
  Look more at the advice youre being given rather
  than the timeline. Dont view these shows as the
  total picture but rather a glimpse of what
  happens in this process.
• Utilize all your resources, including your
  favorite shows on HGTV, to help you make good
  decisions in buying or selling your home. Dont
  forget the importance of working with a
  qualified, experienced lender and real estate
  agent to help make the process go smoothly. When
  youre part of a solid team with a common goal,
  youll find that buying a home or selling your
  own home is much easier.

7
Questions?

• We are happy to help you!

• Website http//michaelputnam.com/
• Michael Putnam
• info_at_michaelputnam.com
• 703-928-6514
•  
• Sources
• http//www.creditsesame.com/blog/home-buying-tips-
  06082011/
• http//www.realestatewiki.com/wiki_content/Top_10_
  Real_Estate_Reality_TV_Shows_and_What_We_Can_Learn
  _From
• http//michaelputnam.com/reality-television-buyers
  -sellers/