Idea Is Okay, Despite Biased Formula
As a Realtor and design enthusiast, I thought I'd enjoy seeing these two sides compete. But I find myself seriously stressed by every single aspect of this show, and I think the formula is to blame:1) The homeowners must watch way too much HGTV because they have THE MOST unreal expectations on what Hilary the Designer can do for them. For example, homeowners always give Hilary a $20,000-$50,000 budget (up to a very rare $70,000 budget) to basically rebuild their 90-year-old, 1500 sqft, 3 bedroom home, and turn it into a sparkly new 4,000 sqft, 5 bedroom home with all the bells and whistles, that also includes a finished basement underneath the home where there is currently a concrete slab on top of a pile of dirt. And in EVERY show, at least one wall must come down.
HOWEVER, we usually find in 90-year-old homes, and in almost every episode, that behind-the-wall issues basically drain Hilary of her entire teensy-weensy budget, leaving the homeowners emotionally drained and unfairly frustrated with her. Most viewers may blame the homeowners for being so unreasonable. Well, so do I.
Meanwhile, David the Realtor is given an $850,000 budget to find their move-in ready dream home in the same neighborhood.
2) Once David the Realtor has shown them their dream home in their same neighborhood, it's consistently, approximately $100,000 over their original budget.
3) Fortunately for both David and the homeowners, Hilary the Designer has scraped every cent together to somehow get at least a little something exquisitely done in their home (the gal is talented!), which then boosts their profit a consistent, surprising, $100,000, which David then points out will allow them to buy the $950,000 home he last showed them, right before they make their "tough" decision.
Basically, using Hilary's hard work against her.
4) Meanwhile, Hilary has had to continually educate the homeowners regarding the shabby state of their home's construction, then get blamed and verbally abused by the homeowners, and then allow David to take the final word to win his argument.
Perhaps I am wrong, but I sense something is amiss with this formula, leaving me with a single question...
Did David create this show? :-)
Happy Watching!
score 6/10
heatherlyblossom 19 August 2013
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2853999/14913
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