As Seen On TV? Not Exactly

Real Estate Shows Help Educate Public, but They Skip the Drudgery

Thea Rudland knows how hard it can be to buy and sell a house, no matter what you see on television.

She and her husband, Dave, closed on their new home in Frederick in late September. But first they had to sell their residence in Ohio.

The process involved multiple home inspections, reams of paperwork, a long-distance search for a new home and the stress of a job transfer for Dave.

It certainly didn't fit the half-hour story arc so popular on cable TV. "I think people watching those shows are led to believe that the process is easy," Rudland said about staples such as "House Hunters," "Get It Sold" and "Flip That House. "

"It rarely is. They show none of the negotiation process or any of the bumps in the road that can happen along the way. And they show a tenth of the paperwork that's actually involved in the buying process."

Thanks to the home shows that fill HGTV, TLC, A&E and other channels, homes are no longer merely places to live. Homes -- redecorating them, investing in them, buying them and selling them -- have become entertainment for many viewers.

But what impact have these shows had on buyers and sellers? Real estate agents say the shows have created a class of more educated customers. The shows pound home the message that sellers have to stash personal items, remove clutter and clean their houses until they sparkle before every showing, work that some in the past did not want to tackle. But the agents also said that the shows have created home-selling myths. The biggest? TV makes the process of buying and selling, not to mention renovating and then selling for a big profit, seem simpler than it actually is.

Eileen O'Neill, president of TLC, said that her network, which runs several home shows, has tried to reflect the new real estate reality. The station has added shows that directly address the struggles today's homeowners face, she said, and now features homeowners who don't always reap the kind of appreciation they want from their residences.

TLC's lineup now includes shows such as "Hope for Your Home," in which homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments receive cash to renovate their residences. The hope is that they can then either sell the properties or rely on a higher appraisal to refinance into an easier-to-pay mortgage.

Such a show would not have existed during the height of the real estate boom, O'Neill said. "People recognize that we've gone from a big booming market to a challenging one," she said. "You can't just put a 'for sale' sign in front of your home and wait for the buyers to come. I think our programming is now reflecting that."

For instance, shows that focus on flipping property -- buying a home, renovating it and then selling it a higher price -- now include disclaimers that flipping is a risky venture. The shows also offer updates on how well flippers have done, with many of these updates explaining that the owner still hasn't found a buyer.

"We remind viewers that because of market conditions right now, they have to be a little more cautious and mindful of the risks that they are taking when they renovate their homes," O'Neill said.