I felt very privileged to be asked to appear on House Hunters International which is a staple of American home reality entertainment. The premise is simple enough, an American family relocate abroad and look to settle in their chosen location, on this occasion it happened to be York, and as ever look at three properties and in the end choose the one that they feel fits their requirements more. The difference from what I can see is that the agent plays a much more prominent role in this show rather than a presenter allowing us to show more personality and gather more rapport with the client.
The producers had seen our social media output and felt that I would appeal to the audience and liked how I presented properties and built rapport with clients. So, Day 1 arrives, I go to meet the family that I will be working with and the crew producing the show. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly, immediately helping to put me at ease, but the reality is, I’m still a bit nervous as to what is to come and the filming. We film the initial meeting scene for me to get a better sense as to what the client requires. With this information gathered it’s time to show them houses!
Day 2 we start the day nice and early off Bishopthorpe Road, where we will be filming our first house tour. Each tour consists of filming walking along the street and talking about the house and area. Each section also takes roughly about an hour to film but for each break we manage to be supplied with tea and cakes! The first house isn’t quite right for the family, the location is great but the overall size is just a little too small and also, it has a lot of carpets throughout that the family aren’t keen on. We agree to look at the next property but we all know that this one is going nowhere, but more importantly, it’s lunchtime!
Day 3 for me personally was a delight and I really started to get in to the throw of things. My confidence started to come through, I felt a connection with the crew whereby I felt like I was a member of the team and not an imposter just chancing his arm. We met just off The Mount, the weather was beautifully sunny and we were looking at a quirky four storey townhouse complete with a lower ground level kitchen. This house definitely ticked a lot of boxes for the family in terms of character and location and we had much fun filming. After lunch I was afforded a couple of hours off and went back later in the evening to Scarcroft Green to record some individual pieces to camera on my own, which required some quick umbrella work by the crew to protect not me, but my clothes from the scattered showers for continuity purposes.
Everything came to a head on Day 4 when we filmed our third and final property, which was different from the other 2 in absolutely every way possible, a true wildcard choice! It didn’t have the character or location that they wanted but it definitely had the size and garden that they craved. I was really happy with this choice that the producers aptly named “Suburban Glory”, a wonderful Sawdon & Simpson home in the Foxwood area of York. I could see that the family loved this house and were having their head turned more than they would care to admit, which allowed me to be a little cheekier with my questions for camera. After filming I was treated to a Sunday lunch at The Guy Fawkes Inn near York Minster and filming came to a conclusion at Greys Court where the family decided that purely down to location and character, house two won through.
All in all it was a fabulous experience that I will never forget. I usually steer clear of property programmes but this gave me an insight into the intriguing world of tv and every single aspect of it was a pleasure to be involved in. The production crew were the best I could have wished for and were so encouraging and helpful. I would always welcome another opportunity to take part again.
Photo of filming taken by Jorvik Removals
Written by Simon
