Real Estate and Business

Two Hatteras homeowners to be featured on HGTV show

By IRENE NOLAN

Two Hatteras Island homeowners will have their houses featured this month on the HGTV cable show, “My House Is Worth What?”

The homeowners are Julie and Mickey Irving, who own a canalfront home in Avon, and Bridgette and Bernard Midgett, who own a remodeled house in Buxton that was built in 1916.

The Irving house will be featured on Sunday, Dec. 14, and the Midgett house on Sunday, Dec. 21. Both shows will air at 7 p.m. on the local cable channel.

“My House Is Worth What?” gives viewers the lowdown on the high stakes of home ownership, according to the HGTV Web site. The show focuses on homes that have been remodeled, updated, or improved and whether the improvements have affected the value of the property.

“Go behind closed doors each week as three homeowners in three different parts of the country strategize on maximizing their homes' value,” the promotion on the Web site says. “After a professional assessment and evaluation from local market experts, they'll get the bottom line on how well their efforts will pay off, with big surprises often awaiting the homeowner in the final number.”

The local market expert for both of these segments of the show is Outer Beaches Realty’s associate broker Carla Reynolds.

“The producer of the show just called me out of the blue one day last June,” Reynolds says. “He said that they had never been to the area before and he was searching the Internet and found me. Maybe my background as an appraiser stood out.”

In August, a crew from Pie Town Productions arrived on Hatteras to film the two houses and the owners that Reynolds helped them track down.

The homeowners had to apply to have their houses evaluated on the show. Reynolds and another Outer Beaches associate broker, Claudia Laskow, helped the owners apply and make a videotape of their properties.

The Irvings in Avon wanted to know what their home was worth after their purchase and remodel in 2004. The Midgetts in Buxton remodeled an old island home that is a charming home with modern conveniences.

“The theme of the show is right up my alley,” Reynolds says. “Before I began selling sandcastles, I enjoyed a great career appraising residential homes and land for many years. Pricing is my strong suit and pricing is the most important part of selling a property in today’s market. “

Reynolds priced both of the properties, and the reactions of the homeowners varied.

“The Midgetts were very excited,” she said. “They were very nervous that they would be disappointed on national TV.”

The Irvings, she said, were not as excited about the pricing of their home, but she said the couple went into the show with “realistic expectations.”

Reynolds has not had a sneak peek at the shows.

“I am definitely looking forward to the story they portray,” she says. “I have no idea what to expect.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information on these shows and the re-runs of the shows on the Hatteras houses after December, go to http://www.hgtv.com.