How Reality TV Gets Real Estate Completely Wrong

Despite its descriptive name, reality TV is not really real. After all, there is a great deal that the people behind reality TV shows can do to influence the footage by setting up the events in the right way as well as choosing what material will and will not be shown to their intended audiences. Never mind the times when the people behind reality TV shows have actually intervened in order to ensure that the footage suits their needs. As a result, if you give too much credence to reality TV shows when it comes to real estate, you could end up with worse results than what you were expecting from your real estate transactions.

Here are some examples of how reality TV gets real estate completely wrong:

Exceeding Budgets

It is not uncommon to see reality TV shows about real estate bringing up examples of properties that are perfect save for the fact that they exceed the would-be home buyer’s budget. In real life, such properties should be avoided because would-be home buyers set budgets for a reason. After all, the more expensive the property, the more challenging it is for them to maintain the payments needed to keep their mortgage current, which in turn, means an increased chance that they will have to default on their debt obligations at some point in the future. (1)

The Perfect Home

Reality TV shows about real estate put too much emphasis on finding the perfect home, which is a serious mistake for would-be home buyers because the perfect is the enemy of the good. In other words, while would-be home buyers should make sure that the properties under consideration should match all of their most critical criteria and as many of the rest as possible, they should not let over-strict adherence to their criteria cause them to miss out on promising buys.

This is because the chances of a perfect buy are next-to-nothing under normal circumstances, meaning that too much emphasis on such properties can cost would-be home buyers enormous amounts of time and effort without corresponding gains. Not to mention that they can always renovate an acceptable property into their dream home if they feel that the missing criteria are really necessary for their enjoyment of their new home in the long run. (1)

Too much pressure

Would-be home buyers on reality TV shows about real estate are under more pressure than their counterparts in real life. This is because each episode has limited time, meaning that said individuals can view no more than a small number of properties before choosing one of them. Their counterparts in real life should not let this happen to them since spending more time in the search tends to result in better results than otherwise possible. Of course, this is ignoring scenarios in which they might have other reasons to rush when searching for the right property, with a prime example being having to find a place before they start working at a new job. (1)

Drama

Generally speaking, reality TV shows about real estate have to be dramatic in order to pull in those viewers, which is why everything is always portrayed as being a big decision with big consequences for the would-be home buyers. While there are times when this could be true for their counterparts in real life, said individuals should strive to maintain a calm and controlled demeanor throughout the real estate process for the simple reason that letting the pressure get to them is a good way to get rushed into an ill-considered decision. With that said, said individuals should not take this as an excuse to rest and relax since that can wait until they are ensconced in their new home. (1)

Falsely advertised property

Amusingly, reality TV shows are so occupied with their obsession with the perfect property that they have been known to show properties that were not actually for sale to the would-be home buyers on them. Once again, this is a reminder to their counterparts in real life that they should not let the perfect become the enemy of the good, meaning that they should be willing to settle for properties that meet most of their criteria so long as the deal is good enough. (2)

Seems to good to be true

Since reality TV shows about real estate have time constraints, contingencies never seem to come up. In contrast, if you are searching for the right property, you should make sure to use contingencies whenever possible so that your financial interests will be protected in case something goes wrong. After all, it is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to this sort of thing, particularly since real estate transactions tend to involve larger sums of money than any of the other transactions that you are likely to enter into over the course of your life. (2)

Staged

Finally, it is important to note that reality TV shows about real estate are often staged. In fact, a lot of them don’t even start filming until the real estate transactions have been completed, meaning that what is actually shown on them is not necessarily reflective of real life. As a result, you may want to avoid handling your real estate transaction in the way that you have seen others handle theirs on the TV because they are likely to be less effective and efficient than what you were expecting. (2)

Further Considerations

Summed up, reality TV shows about real estate are not realistic depictions of real estate transactions in real life. As a result, you should not rely on them to provide you with the skills and knowledge that you need to ensure the right results for yourself. Instead, you can find other more informative resources on the Internet with some searching on your own, though you should also make use of a local real estate agent who specializes in the sort of property that you are looking for so that you are sufficiently prepared for all of the issues that can come up over the course of the real estate process. In the end, both expertise and experience matter when it comes to the results, which is why you should make sure to get as much of them on your side as possible.

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