The Problem With Real Estate For TV.

I happened to be watching HGTV last weekend, as I often do. And, also as I often do, found myself shouting out loud at the TV. Why? Well, because I just couldn’t stand how the particular show I was watching was portraying the whole house buying process.

Then, coincidentally, as I was reading through news headlines and various online articles this morning, I stumbled upon this MSN posting* — “What’s wrong with ‘House Hunters’ “. And, as much as I love watching the show and trying to pick out the “winning” property, MSN is totally right. Don’t believe everything you see on TV because, well, it’s TV.

The premise for the show I was watching last weekend was that a couple of first time home buyers had found a home that they just had to buy and because this particular home was listed FSBO (for sale by owner), the seller of the home had requested no Real Estate Brokers were to be involved in the sale. This couple had to decide if they wanted to proceed in making an offer on this home without using their Broker. Jump to the scene of them sitting in front of their laptop researching “how to buy a home without a realtor” and “how to fill out a real estate contract” online.

Don’t get me wrong; I am not bashing their decision to NOT use a Realtor. (I am also not bashing the seller’s decision to not work with a Realtor either.) But what I AM bashing is the show’s inaccuracies. That and the sad lack of education and guidance/representation this particular couple had throughout their home buying process.

We come to find out that the FSBO property didn’t work out (after the seller rejected this couple’s offer for being too low), so the couple moves on to another home for sale, which happens to be new construction. Since “everything’s been going ok so far” (a direct quote) without using a Realtor, this couple decides that they must have this home and they want to put in an offer. Did I mention that they are not using a Realtor?

>> Except that they are. They asked the Listing Agent to write up the offer and handle the negotiation with the builder.  So basically, this Agent is “double ending” the deal — translation, representing the seller AND the buyer.

After a lengthy negotiation process (about 2 minutes of the show, but likely a tad longer in real life) in which the buyers asked for a hefty upgrades package as well as closing costs, the seller sends a counter offer in which he’ll include the upgrades and the closing costs in the deal, but the property’s purchase price needs to be bumped up by $10k. “That’s great!” the buyers exclaim! “The builder is paying for everything we’ve asked for!“

>> Except that he’s not. The property’s purchase price has been bumped up which means that the BUYERS are paying for it by financing a larger loan amount.

At the end of the day, both the buyers and the seller (and the Real Estate Broker) all seemed happy enough and skipped off into the sunset. Not really, but you get the idea.

What I think is important to mention is that whatever you decide, Real Estate Broker or not, home buying (or selling, for that matter) is not as easy as it appears on TV. In real life — though sometimes it IS as easy as TV makes it appear – home buyers face counter offers galore, rejections, bad inspections, properties not appraising, financing falling through, and more.

So enjoy your TV entertainment for what it is — entertainment not real life.

*Read the full MSN article here.

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