Home makeover shows can sometimes be a guilty pleasure, from watching families and couples find their dream homes to the complete renovations where the home is unrecognizable. But when it comes to some of those shows like Love It or List It which feature people renovating their homes, what happens? The series’ home network, HGTV, confirmed a not-so-secret secret about all of it.
In a TV Q&A done by the Greensboro, NC News & Record paper, an HGTV viewer wondered what happens to the selected families on Love It or List It when it comes to the renovations, listing the house, the costs of it all and more. It’s a general question that I’m sure has come up in viewers’ minds many times, and the network confirmed what everyone had thought:
We do not cover the cost of the homeowners’ temporary living arrangements while their home is being renovated, except in the case of some unexpected circumstances such as delays due to COVID. The homeowners always pay for the renovation and they are given the opportunity to purchase the furnishings and décor used for the staging. What they don’t purchase is removed from the home.
Being selected for a home renovation show is not what it seems like on TV, and it makes sense. While it is a bit sad that the selected families have to pay for everything, at least they have the opportunity to actually purchase the furnishings and décor that is used. If they weren’t given that opportunity, it would be a waste.
Given the fact that the families give their budgets and it shows what it is, and how much they have for each room, it makes me wonder if there is more or less what is actually shown. Reality shows are supposed to be “real” but a lot of times they are in fact not and it’d be interesting to find out even more secrets about the world of HGTV.
Surprisingly, that “secret” is not the only thing HGTV has revealed about their shows. Earlier this year, the network admitted that while they do pay for some labor or costs to speed up production, the homeowners essentially pay for their own services, including design work. It may look all great getting your home renovated on HGTV, but it doesn’t seem all that great behind-the-scenes.
Love It or List It is just one of many shows on HGTV that has its own secrets about what really happens behind-the-scenes when it comes to the technicality and design of it all. Maybe someday the network can spill all of those secrets, that probably most viewers already know by now. It’d be fascinating to see what else HGTV is hiding.
