''Designed to Sell'' is an

HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, appr ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

reality television show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

produced by Pie Town Productions in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and Edelman Productions in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Each 30-minute episode focuses on fixing up a home that is about to go on the market or that has been on the market but has not attracted buyers. The show began airing in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and was canceled in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. The show provides expert real estate and design advice and

general contractor A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...

s, who are given a $2,000 budget for materials to get a maximum offer for the house. To add excitement to the show, the renovations generally take place over a period of three to seven days, before the home's open house, generally spread out over the course of three or four weeks. The show pays the contractor's fees and the salaries of the carpenters, landscapers, painters, plumbers, and other workers. Most changes are cosmetic, but some require drastic demolition and reconstruction.

Description

Each show follows the same general format: #

Homeowner Owner-occupancy or home-ownership is a form of housing tenure in which a person, called the owner-occupier, owner-occupant, or home owner, owns the home in which they live. The home can be a house, such as a single-family house, an apartment, c ...

introduction # Recognized problems # Professional

real estate agent A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

appraisal # Redesign plan # Demolition, if any # Construction, painting, etc. # Review of changes # Budget breakdown # Home Staging # Open house # Result At the beginning of each episode, the homeowners are introduced and explain why they are selling. The most common reasons are upsizing for growing families, downsizing for empty-nesters, and job transfers. The homeowners may discuss their views on why the property is not selling. The host and a real estate expert walk through the property while the homeowners watch on

closed-circuit television Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

from a neighbor's home. Because the goal is to get the most money for the house in the shortest possible time, they are very direct in their opinion of the home's assets and flaws and recommend three rooms or areas to be re-done. If the property has been neglected or the decor is too eccentric for the most likely home-buyers, their assessments can be brutal. After the appraisal, the designer reviews the main defects the real estate expert pointed out and describes their plan to fix them. Then the homeowners, the host, the designer, and the laborers get to work, usually explaining to the audience what they are doing. This often includes some demolition and building and/or installation of new features, such as shelves, awnings, etc. While the episode's budget pays for materials, it does not include any carpentry labor costs. Often, as the date for the open house nears, they may run into unanticipated problems and may have to work around them or work longer in order to meet the deadline. After all the changes are complete, the designer reviews the changes with the homeowners and the viewers are shown "before" and "after" views of the improved areas. This is often accompanied by host voiceover. Afterwards, the host discusses how the $2,000 budget was spent, such as for paint, construction materials, accents, etc. The show normally comes in within $10 of the $2,000 limit. The homeowners and designer leave before the open house commences. The host stays and asks prospective buyers their opinions of the home, which are almost universally gushing. The host often also asks if the visitors are considering making an offer. After the open house, the host tells the homeowners the general opinions of the open house viewers and any offers they've already received. The show ends describing how quickly the house was sold. Often the house sells above the asking price. While the asking price is never revealed, the host or homeowners usually disclose how much above the asking price the house sold for.

Locations

''Designed to Sell'' features homes in four real estate markets (and nearby suburbs):

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Each location has its own specific host, designer, carpenters, and real estate experts. The first three seasons of the show took place solely in Los Angeles. Later more locations were added. Four metro areas were featured regularly, the Los Angeles team still being the marquee crew, with HGTV regularly running short segments called "Lisa La Pointers" and "Clive Unleashed" during commercial breaks. Clive and Lisa are also featured in most ads and promos for the show. Even though the Washington D.C., Chicago, and Atlanta episodes have their own hosts who talk to the homeowners and help in the transformation of the home, Clive Pearse narrates many of the non-L.A. episodes from off-location. When Clive was unavailable for hosting in L.A., Michael Johnson or Shane Tallant were the guest host.

Los Angeles

* Host:

Clive Pearse Clive is a name. People and fictional characters with the name include: People Given name * Clive Allen (born 1961), English football player * Clive Anderson (born 1952), British television, radio presenter, comedy writer and former barrister * ...

* Designer: Lisa LaPorta * Carpenters: Jim Collins (2004-2005), Brad Haviland (2004-2005), Marcus Hunt (2008), Jason Eslinger, Steve Hanneman, Brooks Utley, Sean Anthony Moran, Deus Xavier Scott and

Greg Plitt George Gregory Plitt, Jr. (November 3, 1977 January 17, 2015) was an American fitness model and actor. He starred in the Bravo television series '' Work Out.'' He died at age 37 when he was struck by a train locomotive while filming a video. ...

* Real Estate Experts: Donna Freeman and Shannon Freeman

Chicago

* Host: Michael Johnson * Designer: Monica Pedersen * Carpenters: Robert North, Jeff Alba,

Chad Lopez Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

and Lynn Kegan * Real Estate Experts: Kathy Quaid, Brandie Malay and Bethany Souza * Producers: Sarah Patton, Jennifer Bernardi * Production Assistants: Becky McCallum, Melanie Pot, Jerry Goodwin, Leslie Weiner, Robert Dressel

Washington D.C.

* Host: Shane Tallant * Designer:

Taniya Nayak Taniya Bhatia (born 28 November 1997) is an Indian cricketer. She is primarily a wicket-keeper. She plays for Punjab women's cricket team (India), Punjab and India women's national cricket team, India. She is currently trained under coach RP Sing ...

* Carpenters: John Allen (thru 2007), Matt Steele (thru 2007), Barr Huefner, Lynn Kegan, Simon Ley * Real Estate Experts: Shirley Mattam-Male and Terry Haas

Atlanta

* Host: Rachel Reenstra (thru 2010), Chi-Lan Lieu * Designer:

John Gidding John Gidding (born January 7, 1977) is a Turkish-American designer, television personality, and former fashion model. Gidding started modeling in 2000 as a graduate student, performing runway shows for Armani, Gucci, and Hugo Boss before being ...

* Carpenters: David Wint and Chip Wade (now with Gidding on ''Curb Appeal: The Block'') * Real Estate Experts: Heyward Young and Tonya M. Williams * Photography & Seamster: Joshua Mark Thomas

Designed to Sell: Room by Room

In April 2008, "Designed to Sell: Room by Room" debuted on HGTV's real estate website, FrontDoor.com with more than 80 video clips and slideshows cut from episode archives. Users are able to search by room type for home staging ideas and inspiration delivered in short three- to four-minute webisodes and before-and-after slideshows.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id = 0415415, title = Designed to Sell HGTV original programming 2000s American reality television series