Bad Real Estate Lessons You've Learned From Watching HGTV

Rob Kim via Getty Images They're smiling because they buy in Waco, Texas. It makes our sales pitch a little harder and as a Realtor, I’ve probably lost sales because I’m honest about the cost to remodel in Asheville.” The wrong lesson: If the faucets or countertops aren’t up to snuff, you should walk away from the house You may want to rethink that mentality, says Elizabeth Ann Stribling-Kivlan, president of New York City-based real estate brokerage Stribling & Associates. While these home improvement shows are entertaining, they create this idea that properties need to be perfect in order to sell.” Stribling-Kivlan says she has seen buyers approach properties with “incredibly lofty expectations,” and so they pass on wonderful houses because the layout of one room isn’t quite right. “I’ve probably lost sales because I’m honest about the cost to remodel.” - Lauren McKinney “It will take you three times longer than quoted and cost you a lot more than you think,” Eaton says, and then she cites advice often shared on “Fixer Upper”: “‘Buy the worst house in the best neighborhood.’ The dumbest advice I have ever heard, in my opinion.” Eaton says the problem with a lot of reality TV shows is that by the time these shows start filming, they’re already six months into the process and project. “Many buyers have purchased furniture for the homes they imagine themselves owning and then want to fit huge farmhouse tables into small D.C. row homes, and are very shocked that homes built in the early 1900s can’t accommodate Joanna and Chip Gaines styling,” Szala says, referring to the stars of “Fixer Upper.” But, hey, if you’re an HGTV junkie, don’t feel bad.