Contractual Limitations with Large Implications - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 63

Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 1 - January 23, 2026

Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 62 - June 15, 2026 

I hope it’s been made clear, that although I’ll admit to having a solid grip on how to renovate a jacked-up house, I’m not one to claim to have the recipe for success. At this point, I’ve lived a lot of my life recognizing it as an adventure that comes with scars in many forms. Rather than a world beater, I understand how I’m stepping into something else, the end of my life’s autumn when it’s time to share and encourage.    

This series began with me answering questions while offering insight into pitfalls to watch for. The intention was to inspire along with educating by way of owning mistakes. I’m not quite done with this progression of responses, but I’m approaching the landing strip that’s surely up ahead past the clouds.

At the end of 2015, I had a renewed chance to do some noteworthy work: renovate three houses in Charleston, South Carolina with film crews documenting the efforts before producing another series telling three stories. Each project would span multiple episodes. These yet-to-be-determined homes would be in rough condition, with me leading the way in bringing each back to life.

Conservative math worked. Buying a house others don’t want often equates to undervalued asking prices. Costs to rehab are inexact, but experience allowed me to remain steadfast. There would be margins that contained indeterminable profit. And the carryover was potentially even greater; more opportunity, a future of interesting projects working with talented people, and also a larger platform to help aspiring DIYers see and better understand how they could take on a left-for-dead house near them, and against the odds, breathe new life into it.

Getting to where I needed to wouldn’t be easy, there were crevasses ahead, and it was my responsibility to bridge these gaps and inspire others to do the things within their reach.

I had savings to invest for earnest money on short term loans but was well short of what this moment called for financially. I needed investors or lenders. This was no shock to my system, nor my wife’s. We each knew this from the day the programming director said, “We need you to buy three more houses for next year.”

When you renovate property that’s condemned, abandoned, or seemingly unwanted, you need a find-a-way, make-it-happen attitude. I’m not sure how else to push through. Faith and optimism equal needed fuel. In renovation, like throughout the construction industry, people tend to shy away from a four-letter word like can’t.  

So even though I knew the assignment was daunting, I’d been conditioned to focus on the ways to think creatively, next steps and greater picture to accomplish the most glaring goal. In my eyes and mind there were clear prerequisites, and it was on me to shed light on these necessities.

Sadly though, I bombed spectacularly, which bled over into the other things I needed.     

First, I’d been unable to break through in convincing producers to make adjustments within the original six episodes, editing that would gain confidence of viewers, but also all the people we needed support from throughout Berchador.

Secondly, the percentage of locals who’d heard of American Rehab Charleston was tiny. Everyone I met had heard of HGTV and knew of a few of their most popular programs. And locally, most had heard of Southern Charm. Even if they’d never seen an episode, they knew the Bravo series was actively tapping into some of the Holy City’s popularity. As much as I tried, I’d been unable to resolve our regional blind spot, something that rippled into the short list of pressing preliminaries.   

Although these were both very important, neither was as significant as my lack of a written agreement with HGTV/DIY, the network pair who’d opened this door for me back in 2013. This was the nagging liability, a lingering headache that had lasted over two years. I could tell a banker that I’d been on TV and they could see the proof on their desktop computer screens. But they needed more. Having family, friends, and neighbors who’d seen the shows, heard of the series with good things to say, would have helped a lot.

And how much would paperwork with my name and theirs helped? Who’s to say? I’ll never really know since I struck out here as well.

Just before filming the pilot episode, I had received paperwork from the production company. And with the help of a local attorney, I sorted through it. The counsellor had no major concerns, describing the document as boiler plate. However, rather than something prepared for home improvement programming, he explained how this document was written for game or dating shows, rather than what we were doing in Summerville, rehabbing a house. However, it was a necessary formality, and the entertainment lawyer gave me a legal nod on signing it.   

But efforts to gain seven figure financing ushered in a need to examine these pages more closely. And it became clear that in order to secure necessary financing, I’d need a valid contract with Scripps or its subsidiary networks.

Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 64 - Coming Soon