Here's How Much You Actually Get Paid To Be On An Episode Of 'House Hunters'
House Hunters is an HGTV reality show about homeowners looking for a new place to live.
Elizabeth Newcamp, who has appeared on two version of the series, opened up about the experience in a personal essay.
House Hunters is one of HTGV’s greatest shows of all time. Who among us doesn’t like watching homeowners search for an extravagant place to live on a shoestring budget?
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering, “Hey, I think I could do that,” then you’re not alone. But there are a few things you should definitely be aware of, courtesy of Elizabeth Newcamp, who’s appeared on House Hunters and House Hunters International.
For one, you will get paid to appear on an episode, but not much. Elizabeth and her husband, Jeff, received $1,500 for House Hunters International and only $500 for the original series, according to a personal essay she wrote for Slate. Sure, that’s better than nothing, but it’s definitely not a fee you should quit your day job over.
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Though it chronicles real people, Elizabeth also shared that it’s very rarely an accurate portrayal of the house hunting process. In both cases, she had already owned the home she filmed. In fact, she and Jeff had lived in their Netherlands abode for a year! As for how the production company made it seems as though they had just moved in, she provided the following explanation:
“It hired a moving company to essentially move us out of our own house,” she revealed. “We woke up early one morning and watched all our belongings from any room that would be filmed for the show get loaded into a moving truck. The truck was then driven around for a few hours while we shot the segments in which we toured the house.”
And if you’ve ever criticized the couples who seem to bicker nonstop throughout the process, know that they are often exaggerating for the sake of good TV.
“At each house you film the ‘throw your partner under the bus’ interview,” she explained. “This is where you act like your partner is crazypants. Again, a good sense of humor is key here. Everything I said in my interviews was based on a grain of truth, but in a real house hunting situation I would never phrase it that way.”
Still, you should make sure you have a thick enough skin to weather any online trolling that may occur once your episode airs. It sounds like poor Jeff turned into quite the villain compared to Elizabeth, who was pregnant at the time.
“Jeff is portrayed as wanting a small house that is close to work no matter what,” she said. “People on Twitter ate him alive for not letting his pregnant wife have the house she wanted.” Noted! 😂
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