Help! HGTV ruined my house! Channel’s stars sued over botched rehabs and failed flips

[DrQ]

Help! HGTV ruined my house! Channel’s stars sued over botched rehabs and failed flips​

Help! HGTV ruined my house! Channel’s stars sued over botched rehabs and failed flips

These flips turned into flops. The Property Brothers and Tarek El-Moussa are among the stars facing a bad reno backlash.

nypost.com

 

[PigsDad]

Yeah, I've heard for years that those TV show makeovers, while initially may look nice at first, are usually horrible quality.

Kurt

 

[Talent312]

They should call on Mike Holmes, another star to "Make It Right."
(I almost said, "HGVC").
Everyone should know that these shows are entertainment, only.
They make it look really bad at the start & really great in the end.
Rarely do they show tradesmen actually putting stuff together.

The only show I trust is "This Old House," the venerable PBS show.
There they have tradesmen showing you how they do it.
.

 

[joestein]

All you have to do is watch the shows to know something is not right. They discuss extras or changes and the prices are SO LOW it is unbelieveable. They discuss adding a bathroom where it one doesn't exist - which mean new plumbing/electrical and they are like $10 - 15K. I just did my bathroom this year - it was 4X their higher range - and that is a gut refurbishment - all my piping/electric was already there.

Then they combine that low price with the most expensive tile ever. I used handmade porcelain subway tiles and they were $7/sqft - The most I have ever spent per sqft on tile. Meanwhile the shows are always quoting $15 or $20 per sqft for tile. Yet they use the same ugly tiles over and over again on every show - They have to be leftovers for $1/sqft.

 

[DaveNV]

Those shows are eye candy for DIY Homeowners who don't understand what they're getting into, or the reality of what is really going on. The show producers put lipstick on a pig, hug the homeowners, cash the sponsor's paychecks, and move on to the next project. I've always wanted to revisit the house a few years later, and find out what it had been like for the homeowners, living in the remodeled home.

Remember this? Way back when, on "Trading Spaces," when designer Hildi Santo stapled more than 7000 fake flowers to the walls of a bathroom? I can only imagine what a horror that would be to live with - or clean.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good renovation, and have taken on a few of my own over the years. But I agree with @joestein's comment, that it is never as easy (or as cheap) as it seems.

Sometimes you have to question the honesty of what is presented. One of my favorite home-improvement shows is called "Restored," where skilled host Brett Waterman updates and restores classic homes in the Redlands, California area. The homes are iconic, most are greatly improved at the episode's end, and the show is really fun to watch. But he did a home for his close friend and his new wife, giving them the dream home the husband said he had always wanted. It turned out beautifully. But then, the next season, the friend/husband was back, with a new home, and a new wife, for another dream home makeover. The husband came across as a thinly-disguised house flipper, and it kind of watered down the appeal of the show. (Although the workmanship seemed to be top notch.) I know life happens, but it was too soon for a do-over on the husband's life. It didn't seem real.

Dave

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I watch and enjoy a lot of Home Improvement shows,

Similar to Talent312, i think the people on This Old House, are real contractors that handle actual houses, not just the TV show. I have often wondered how many of the HGV stars have ongoing design or renovation businesses. While I like some of the Property Brother shows, I am doubtful they have a renovation business not tied to their shows. I think they are also over exposed.

 

[DaveNV]

I watch and enjoy a lot of Home Improvement shows,

Similar to Talent312, i think the people on This Old House, are real contractors that handle actual houses, not just the TV show. I have often wondered how many of the HGV stars have ongoing design or renovation businesses. While I like some of the Property Brother shows, I am doubtful they have a renovation business not tied to their shows. I think they are also over exposed.

Way over exposed. And every house they do looks the same. Tarek and ex-wife Christina's houses were the same way. Down to the colors selected. Zero imagnation.

Dave

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I still watch some of the Property Brothers series, but there are others i can't stand.

I watch Tarek's new show with his new wife, at least with this show there is more variability on the types of houses they redo.

Most of the HGV shows are mostly focused on the personal interactions and "unexpected problems". Other than inspiration, they don't really try to teach you how to do anything.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I watched a lot of these shows to see what I could do with the kitchen at the townhouse. Rick did all of the work, and we spent around $75,000 to fix it up. It turned out beautifully, but our daughter made fun of us for the white cabinets and the grays we put in the house. She told me we were watching too many HGTV shows. She was right, but that townhouse sold in a flurry with several bids, and within a few days, we had it sold.

I am still bitter about the scope the inspector did of the underground sewer pipe, which basically cost us an additional $15,000. We had our nephew look at the video, and he said it shouldn't have been done. He is a master plumber. But the buyers insisted on getting it done, and now we knew the inspection found a supposed problem, so we just gave in.

Rick doesn't do plumbing work like that. He can do interior plumbing just fine. Anyway, that was a big expense that added into the cost ($75K + $15K). Realtor costs on top of that.

The pictures are still on Zillow of the townhouse. I still look at them sometimes:

13022 Harrison Drive, Thornton, CO 80241 | Zillow

13022 Harrison Drive, Thornton CO, is a Townhouse home that contains 1886 sq ft and was built in 1985.It contains 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.This home last sold for $427,500 in September 2021. The Zestimate for this Townhouse is $425,200, which has decreased by $7,140 in the last 30 days.The...

www.zillow.com

 

[artringwald]

They did an Extreme Makeover in our area. After they surveyed the house, I wondered how in the world they'd fix all the problems. They did the right thing. They leveled the house and built a new one. The builder that rebuilt it probably did a good job because he also built our house. He did an excellent job on ours. We liked him so much we had him come back several years later and remodeled the kitchen into the way we would have done it if we could have afforded it when it was first built.

 

[TheHolleys87]

Remember this? Way back when, on "Trading Spaces," when designer Hildi Santo stapled more than 7000 fake flowers to the walls of a bathroom? I can only imagine what a horror that would be to live with - or clean.

Our most enduring memory of that show was when Hildi glued thousands of hay stalks to a wall, in a home with small children who I’m sure began picking them off immediately. Oh, and when a designer painted or covered a fireplace, after the homeowners specified they wanted it left alone, and at the reveal the wife had to leave the room because she was so upset and crying.

 

[DaveNV]

Our most enduring memory of that show was when Hildi glued thousands of hay stalks to a wall, in a home with small children who I’m sure began picking them off immediately. Oh, and when a designer painted or covered a fireplace, after the homeowners specified they wanted it left alone, and at the reveal the wife had to leave the room because she was so upset and crying.

Aah, yes. Good times.

Dave