What gets me about that show is how it seems to subtly suggest it's OK to leverage up to 100%. That's crazy.

Example:

Homeowner: "I purchased my house for $300K & have already put $25K into it for remodels/updates. Now, I want to remodel my kitchen. It's going to cost $50K.
HGTV: "If I were to list your house today (insert pregnant pause)...hmmm, I'd list it at $380K".
Homeowner: "Wow, that's terrific. I have enough 'equity' to go ahead with the kitchen remodel! Yippee!!"

They never consider sales costs on that show. Every dime is considered spendable 'equity'. No dang wonder we keep hearing about all of these people who are underwater on their mortgages, huh? Sorta reminds me of a five year old who gets $10 for a birthday present..."Can we go to the store NOW Mom??? Huh, huh, huh? Can we go now!"

/tricia

I wonder about these shows? I sometimes have fun by guessing the magic number. Its not really a guess, its usually what the owner wants or slightly higher.

some of the shows we're seeing are reruns from a couple of years ago
usually they are in areas of the country where housing prices are climbing quickly (which would not be my area-Houston Tx)
i always watch those and think of how many people they're passing on "wrong information" to!

I don't think it matters that what is on now are reruns. My friend and her house were filmed by "My house is worth what?" in July (the show will be broadcast in five months). Her place is great but I think what they said was the current value was a pretty inflated amount.

Do I watch the show, not if I can help it. I think the producers of this type of trash need a good dose of reality themselves.
Big deal ONE person goes thru and makes a educated guess on what they'd list the house for. UNTIL they sell it and have a signed contract for that amount it's only a guess as to what it could go for. There's so many other factors that need to be considered and this show skips over it like it doesn't matter. HELLO no wonder so many folks have an inflated idea of what houses are worth and how the market really works. They think this is reality tv AND it isn't.
HGTV needs to weed heavily it's current programming. 90% of it is useless trash.

I totally agree. I find it really annoying. These unrealistic shows that are educating people with lies. I can't stand it.

Opticcurve, Can you share your friends experience with the show? Where is the house located?

Wouldn't waste my time with this and most of HGTV's other programming.

My friend's daughter's house was featured on the show. It was in the Baltimore City area. It was filmed and took about 9 months to be televised. At the time, the "worth " amt was pretty accurate for the area. The amt was slightly lower than she expected. The recommendations to improve the property were true, but unrealistic for the return on the investment, especially since it was an older, starter home in a very working class neighborhood. It was an enjoyable experience for all.
I watched alot of shows trying to catch my friend's segment :) They must have filmed a bunch in this part of the country - some I was familiar with the houses in the areas. I do wish they indicated when the shows were filmed, because many are very old, when housing prices were on the rise. Some of the newer shows are less generous in their "worth prices".
I don't dislike this particular show.

I like the part of the show where they tell you that certain things are a negative to buyers, I think that's helpful. I find the whole idea that they tell people to "pull out the equity" to make improvements bordering on immoral. They act like they're sitting on a pot of gold! I'm like, you idiots, it just means the giant gaping maw of a hole that is your debt is a little smaller than you first thought. Der.

I just told my kids that I won't cash out their chore money for six months from now on because the minute I would pay them every week for their chores they'd run out and blow it on stupid crap (no more webkinz!). It's just like the show, money's burnin' a hole in their pocket! I realized I was just teaching them to spend, not to save. So now, they can only touch it once every 6 months, and then some of it has to go into savings. They were maaaaaaaaad. Better now than when they're grownups.

I think of the equity in my homes as my 'cushion'. It is like losing or gaining in the market. When the market when down, I 'lost' gobs, before I slowly gained it back. But, I didn't really lose anything but potential. It's just a number on a piece of paper, unless I was going to sell it. Equity is the same thing. To me, it initially is just how much my indebtedness is reduced. It becomes a real entity only when I turn a house over. And because of that, equity is a very mobile and dynamic thing. Telling someone how much their equity is, even when consider all the factors, is a number good for TODAY, only. Borrowing against it to the maximum current worth of a house is a very risky proposition. Using it to justify a purchase if you actually have the money at hand, but wonder if it is well spent is another horse altogether. Knowing the numbers can stop somebody from throwing money at a house when it's obvious they'll never recoup it. That given, if they still want their upgrades well, it's their money.

I was selling one of my houses the last time I watched this program and how seriously the owners seemed to take the $ value the appraiser suggested. I thought immediately of my listing agent, who threw out a suggested sales price I knew was not going to happen. I listed at 20% lower than she suggested, and then dropped the house another 10% to the amount I figured I'd get before I listed it. I still made a profit, but not a killing. What if someone on that show is told their house would list at X amount. Well, list price and sales price are two different numbers.