Down and Out in Denver

Sandra Rinomato

Let me count the ways…  Yes, I’m back to talk about HGTV again, specifically the host of “Property Virgins,” where first-time homebuyers see a few homes and then attempt to purchase one of them.  I did not always love Sandra Rinomato; in fact, the first time I ever expressed an opinion about her at all, it was in this email to the friend who had introduced me to HGTV: “I hate this woman, and she’s even Canadian!”  These were harsh words, because I love Canadians.  But I have seen the light and become Sandra’s biggest fan.  Yes, she tends to make bad “virgin” jokes a bit much, and yes, she does that same hokey routine about delivering “bad news” at the end of the show that is always a fake.  But I still love her.  For all these reasons:

1. In the beginning she takes the would-be homebuyers to a neighborhood that they love and then has them guess home prices.  And promptly tells them that they are wrong and cannot afford to live there.  This may sound cruel but I like how she very quickly checks people’s expectations and lets them know that – contrary to many of their beliefs, and like life more generally – they cannot actually have exactly what they want.

2. She lets the property virgins look at the homes first without her being there.  Yes, the cameras are obviously there but Sandra is not, so the shoppers can make up their own minds about what they think and say bad things about the house or apartment that she has chosen for them without worrying about offending her.

3. This is my favorite:  Many of these shoppers tend to fixate on things like dirt, bad carpet, or ugly paint or wallpaper.  Sandra will have none of it!  She consistently makes fun of these people—to their faces—for focusing on the cosmetic, telling them that she will not hear of these things as reasons not to consider a home.

4. She makes them guess the price once they’ve seen the home.  I think I like this because it sort of makes it like a game show.  That and trying to guess which house they will choose to buy.

5. She doesn’t rush the potential homebuyers, letting people take their time in making what is clearly a very important decision.

6. The show doesn’t always end in a sale.  Sometimes property virgins discover that they don’t want to make an offer or they don’t want to pay as much as the sellers demand.  In other words, this is a reality real estate show that actually resembles reality now again.

7. Did I mention that she’s Canadian?

If I ever buy a home, I want Sandra by my side every step of the way!