Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 1 - January 23, 2026
Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 58 - June 6, 2026
The network certainly had glorious intentions when producers included Charleston in the first show title while describing me as an expert in the restoration of historic homes. This was a good strategy to gain viewers in other parts of the country, and also different parts of the world. Plus, it was an admirable distinction to have placed on me. But it’s made me look like something of a clown—hopefully more so than is deserved—since many know that Summerville is thirty miles from the historic peninsula. This Dorchester County community is beloved, and it would have suited me better to brag about getting to work there, rather than be okay with it seeming as if I was down closer to the harbor. And I should have also found a way to set the dual networks straight, to get them to send a more accurate description of me out into cyber space.
And yet I
was incapable, left dealing with this cursed blessing of being misleadingly connected
to Charleston. Coupled with this was the added tax of being tagged as a historic home
answer-man, with implied expectations that I was a male version of an actual
historic restoration mover and shaker Nicole Curtis, who’d just begun to tackle the
epitome of a pig’s ear, the Ransom Gillis House in Detroit.
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| Ransom Gillis House - Detroit |
In 2013, people in my life wanted me to go for it, to see what would come of my early back and forth emailing and phone chats with HGTV/DIY. And in the two-year span, the circle grew to include others encouraging me on—producers in New York, Southern California, and Minnesota, along with even more people in Berchador who witnessed in person the action of the test reel, pilot, and series pick-up filming.
After the
six-episode season of American Rehab Charleston made it to HGTV and DIY
in the fall of 2015, I received the news that another season had been given the
go-ahead. And with that, I needed to find three more houses for 2016.
Of all the
diverse minds and voices huddled around me, I don’t remember anyone discouraging
me from setting my eyes on Charleston. I clearly had a grand opportunity to
make my mark—finding, buying, and renovating the three homes in the nationally
adored Holy City.
As I described
last week, my pig’s ear to silk purse efforts come down to money math. Initial
investment, capital improvements, and estimated profit. And when you factor in
the TV element, the potential payoff puffs up.
No one can
estimate the exact costs to restore. And the impact the show would have on the final
value is also a big question mark. But it was easy to see, that if things were
done a certain way, sequentially, properly, a strategic, coordinated approach,
then it would make sense and everyone could benefit nicely; the risks we’d all
taken would produce wins across the board.
Buy-in on
a plan to make sure everyone would get what they needed and a little bit more was
the next step.
Using
round percentages averaged together on multiple projects, I felt reasonably
comfortable moving ahead. Ballpark numbers generated from thin air is an irresponsible
way to approach investing in three houses to renovate and then sell. But things
were happening fast and this sort of quick estimating was the starting point
before tightening up budget-wise.
Based on past
pig’s ears, generally, wishfully, speculatively calculating, I felt good about
30/30/10/30 as an initial working guideline. Thirty percent for a house no one
else would take on; what would be seen as another gamble. Thirty on capital
improvements. And around ten percent for closing costs to sell. The last remaining
plus or minus thirty percent would be profit.
Moving forward
in December 2015 began here.
I had to
find the right properties, and we needed a more effective way of managing the renovation
budgets for each home. But the leftover percentage would be the biggest unknown.
Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 60 - Coming Soon
