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I once met Tom Silva at a home show. His point was "when you see the homeowners worrying over cost, that's the best acting on TV." Often the "buyers" actually already own the home and the others are for show or on the fix it up shows the workmanship is shoddy or as on TOH, they have a blank check type bank account and a lot of donated material in return for showing it on the show.
I once met Tom Silva at a home show. His point was "when you see the homeowners worrying over cost, that's the best acting on TV." Often the "buyers" actually already own the home and the others are for show or on the fix it up shows the workmanship is shoddy or as on TOH, they have a blank check type bank account and a lot of donated material in return for showing it on the show.
I am fortunate to live in a part of Chicago suburbs where there are many homes that do sell for well above $1M and believe me though many of the buyers have VERY solid income they still WORRY a whole lot about what anything related to their home is going to cost. It is no different than in an area where homes are much more affordable -- the difference between somebody having an income of maybe $40k and living in a home that might cost less than $150k and somebody making 10x and having a home worth 10x scales pretty consistently. Heck, given that the more expensive home probably is filled with quite a few more advanced technological gadgets from the kitchen to the laundry & bath to very pricey AV systems and even fancy "outdoor kitchens" it is not uncommon for the pricier home to consume a large part of one's income with maintenance and updates!
The "TV shows" do get quite bit of materials from sponsors at reduced cost / free BUT somebody is still paying the crews to install it and the trade-off is the home owners basically have to DISAPPEAR for huge parts of the filming which also slows down the renovation (editing magic makes it all fit into neat episodes and they rarely if even allow any mention of the TRUE timeline!!!). Even if the production company pays for substantial parts of the remodel the end product is still going to result in not just property taxes but any "gifted" labor $ material results in income tax liability.
The bigger issues about how even the really "over the top" builds / renovations like HomeTime was famous for -- the host was literally BUYING houses and fixing them up as part of the show. He "acted" like a homeowner but was really a pretty sophisticated flipper -- ``HOMETIME' LOST WHEN JOANNE LEFT | | greensboro.com
The down payment difference can account for what I was wondering. I guess the higher your original max pp, the more you can do with a house under it.
I just don't think it applies when they have a 300-400k max and see a house 50-75k under but act like it's going to allow kitchen and bathroom guts, new floors, etc. 10-15k isn't going to go far unless you are or have a family member contractor.
Wouldn't it be smarter to get the more expensive house instead of the heloc? I would rather have one payment and not have a second account attached to the house, especially in the beginning. How can you even get a heloc in the beginning if the home has no/little equity?
The down payment difference can account for what I was wondering. I guess the higher your original max pp, the more you can do with a house under it.
I just don't think it applies when they have a 300-400k max and see a house 50-75k under but act like it's going to allow kitchen and bathroom guts, new floors, etc. 10-15k isn't going to go far unless you are or have a family member contractor.
Wouldn't it be smarter to get the more expensive house instead of the heloc? I would rather have one payment and not have a second account attached to the house, especially in the beginning. How can you even get a heloc in the beginning if the home has no/little equity?
For regular people, they can do rehab loans. The FHA 203k is one, and then there is the Homestyle one. We have a bank that does another one here that is 5% down.
I once met Tom Silva at a home show. His point was "when you see the homeowners worrying over cost, that's the best acting on TV." Often the "buyers" actually already own the home and the others are for show or on the fix it up shows the workmanship is shoddy or as on TOH, they have a blank check type bank account and a lot of donated material in return for showing it on the show.
As far as I've heard, almost ALL the "buyers" already own or are under contract for the house they "choose". Think about it. Does the show want to do the filming, have the people choose a house and then have the sales contract fall through? Nope, they want to show a done slam/bang deal.
Notice that the house/condo that is bought almost never has any furniture in it. That's because the old owners have moved out because they sold the house. If the house looks lived-in, it's just a "dummy" house that they're using. The only exception to this is usually a "vacation" house, which is being sold with all furniture included.
House Hunters is for entertainment value, just like other "reality" shows. There is very little "reality" in any of those shows.
For regular people, they can do rehab loans. The FHA 203k is one, and then there is the Homestyle one. We have a bank that does another one here that is 5% down.
For some reason, I thought the rehab loan was for major issues, not cosmetic. I only see them mentioned on home listings that are real fixer uppers.
Sure they do, you must be of an age where people put down the minimum amount for a down payment with nothing left over. Believe it or not, there once was a time where 20% down and money leftover was the norm....apparently some people still do this.
If you are looking at $300K houses and want to put down 20%, you have $60K saved. If you buy a house for $250K and put down $20%, that's $50K. Right there you have $10K.
People today also WANT IT DONE RIGHT NOW I CAN'T LIVE WITH FORMICA COUNTERTOPS AND WHITE APPLIANCES OH MY GOD. It is actually possible to live and function in a house with those things for a few months, or even years, giving you time to save up to make improvements over time.
Not to mention, it wasn't that long ago where you had to buy appliances when you bought a house. Houses didn't come with, generally. Most people took the appliances with them.
In the particular case of House Hunters, they 'buyers' already must own the home before they will be given a chance to be on tv. It is very staged.
That's why if you've ever noticed, the new homeowners already have some of their belongings moved in.
If you see an episode where there is a big ticket item already inside the show like a piano or pool table, that's the clue that it is the house they picked because they already own it.
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It is rarely an act...
