Lights, camera, action!From Hampton Roads to HGTV: Four local homesfilmed for episodes of comparative real estate show(this article was origionally published 6/9/2007 in The Virginian-Pilot) |
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BY JANE HARPER SPECIAL TO THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT Ever wonder how homes in Hampton Roads compare in value to others in California, Nebraska, even Hawaii? You'll be able to see the results in upcoming episodes of "What You Get for the Money" on HGTV and Fine Living cable-television channels. A two-person crew from the popular show was in Hampton Roads in April to film homes in Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Chesapeake. Each house and their respective communities will be featured in different episodes examining different levels of home value. For example, a lavishly decorated home in Portsmouth's Olde Towne district will be among those seen in a show comparing what $700,000 will buy across the country. A roomy, federal-style house in Norfolk's Meadowbrook neighborhood will be included in another episode detailing homes worth $900,000. A lakefront house in Virginia Beach's South Shore Estates will be on a $600,000 show. And a spacious Chesapeake condominium decorated with antiques will be on an episode of $300,000 options. "What You Get for the Money" showcases homes in various regions valued between $200,000 and $1 million. Call it comparative shopping from your couch. Each episode looks at six homes worth the same amount of money. Much time also is spent on the cities and neighborhoods where the homes are located. A five-bedroom house in a rural town, for instance, might cost the same as a 500-squarefoot condominium in a metropolitan area, according to the show's Web site. No broadcast dates have been set for the homes filmed in Hampton Roads. "We tell people that it will be anytime in the next three to eight months" |
$700,000: THE CAPLAN HOME, PORTSMOUTH
$600,000:THE BROWN HOME, VIRGINIA BEACH
Michael and Darlene Brown purchased their lakefront home four years ago in South Shore Estates. It's a transitional-style house with four bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and about 4,000 square feet of living space. |
after filming, said Lynn Jenkins, a producer for "What You Get for the Money." She was in the area recently as part of the film crew. Network representatives contact homeowners about two weeks before their show airs to give them a final broadcast date, Jenkins said. Producers are assigned different parts of the country, then must locate several homes in that area to film. In Hampton Roads, the producer was asked to center on Virginia Beach and find homes within a 100-mile radius. "What we liked about Virginia Beach was that it was close to the water, and it had a cluster of different cities nearby with different personalities," said Sarah Stille, supervising producer for "What You Get for the Money." To find appropriate homes, the producers often call local architects, interior designers, builders and real estate agents to get suggestions, said Erin Woodard, a casting producer for the show. Sometimes homeowners nominate themselves. They can fill out an application online and e-mail pictures to producers. "We like stylishly designed houses that you might find in home-and-garden magazines," Woodard said. The right kind of homeowner is important, too, Stille said. "We like to find people who are good communicators and who have a specific reason for why they bought that house in that neighborhood and in that city," she said. Michael and Darlene Brown's lakefront home in Virginia Beach The couple landed a spot on the show after Michael Brown called in response to an ad he saw in Port Folio Weekly. The ad was placed by the show's producers and invited local homeowners to apply. "I was having a sandwich somewhere for lunch when I |
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