As real estate dorks, we enjoy watching HGTV (well, 2 out of 3 of us do). There are some great pieces of information you can get out of watching the many great shows on the channel. For example, you can get a very good idea of what styles and finishes you like in homes, and you can get a great idea of what kind of layouts appeal to you.
However, while watching any television show, it's important for you to remember that pretty much everything you see is scripted, and only about half of it is true. For example, on renovation shows it's pretty common for the contractor to give a cost estimate on the spot after eyeballing the house for 2 minutes. This will not happen to you in real life. Furthermore, the prices they quote differ greatly when they are on camera versus how they would answer to you in real life.
Enjoy this episode as we delve in to our favorite HGTV (and other channel) shows and point out the things you should be taking with a grain of salt.