patrick.net

I only see it if I am in a hotel or something. A minute or so of that is like audio/visual Ipecac.

I love the ones where people complete a remodel and afterward a realtor tells them how much they "made." Yea, right.

HGTV should do a show where they re-visit the "House Hunters" from three or four years ago so we can see how many are in foreclosure or working two jobs trying to make their outrageous mortgage payment.

lyoungblood says

I think HGTV is a big marketing tool for the Realtors. They only seem to show the positive side of things, rarely showing the negative. They run shows like “Flip this House” that were filmed back in 2005 still today! They rarely show anyone ever losing money. They’re always gaining money, and yes, it is “house porn”, designed to be 30 minute long commercials on the “joy of house ownership…”

Well of course they are going to present an image that owning a house is the best investment you can make. Look at who there advertisers are, the bulk of the commericals are Furniture stores, Home Improvment outfits, Real Estate brokers, etc. They are not only selling you on the fact home ownership is the path to wealth and enlightment, but all the stuff that goes into the house is critically important to your well being.

If they told you the truth, who would watch it? Who would advertise onit? Who wants to be told the truth that there house isn't worth what you paid for it and your interest rate is going to reset next year making your mortgage unaffordable. We watch TV to get an escape from our depressing lives, not to get sucidially depressed.

An agent told me yesterday about all of the updates done to a house.

I said most people see granite counter tops, I see a huge kitchen demolition job in about ten years after the granite pits and has chicken and beef residue in the exposed grain. And I plan on taking 30K off any house that has Styrofoam Greek pillars on a door stoop less than 4 feet wide. Basically most modern contemporary "UPDATES" done to 50's - 70's style ranch houses. Will be a blight on these neighborhoods with in the next decade. As features like these become as dated as Avocado appliances and orange sculptured carpets. Which was considered an update in the 70's. I spent all of the 80's replacing with Mauve the eighties version of Avacado.

Tastes change, but fools are eternal.

mobislink says

There ia a show called Real Estate Intevention but it seem even the reduce recommended price id too high.

This is my fav show on HGTV now... there were couple of great episodes, where the zippies (ultra-yuppies) who drunk the kool aid, totally loosing their shirt... priceless.
(yes, paint me as a cynic)

Maybe they _should_ show the math. Much like the government required "surgeon's general warning" on a pack of cigs.
Of course they'll flash it on the screen for 2 or 3 seconds in such small print that you need a 52" HDTV to read properly. But a warning nonetheless.

Maybe what they need to do is include everything, like they do in credit cards. 8+ pages of 4 point font material to read over of all your obligations, or possible consequences!

Considering a home is usually considered the largest and most time consuming hobby a person will ever start, a show on their hobby is pretty fun for a lot of people. It gives them ideas and aspirations.

If these people are using these shows as their sole piece of investment advice, they've got issues already. In fact, if they're using these shows as their sole piece of advice, I would rather they do home improvement then invest in the stock market, lottery, or other get rich quick scheme. At the very least, their failures will give them something to live in, that might be better than what they started with.

They might be in debt way over their heads when they are done and realize their 100K in investment might only net them 70K in returns, or less, but it's probably better than owning a stock that went belly up because it was recommended as a sure thing by their brokers!

Flipping a house requires skill and super fast turn around. Those shows are showing people really going at it. In some of them, they showed the carrying costs for these people, and lost opportunities when they need 1 extra month to finish a job.

I'm also going to venture a bet that after 6 months to 1 year (probably less than 6 months), a person will realize they are way in over their heads and bail out. Housing prices don't usually change that much in 6 months, even when they were declining, they didn't drop by that much. Unless that time was at the *very* height of the home pricing and ended at about the lowest point possible, they shouldn't have lost that much money. *note: that much meaning it could take 3-5 years to pay that back.

What really cost everyone a lot of money was atm thinkers who bought nothing. Or bought stocks. Or bought cars that rapidly depreciated, before going belly up. Or buyers who should never have been given a loan in the first place.

As a hobby show, they're entertaining, and give people ideas.