Phoenix remodeling company gets second crack at HGTV reality show
Apr 13, 2017, 11:51 AM | Updated: Apr 14, 2017, 9:37 am
(Facebook Photo)
(Facebook Photo)
PHOENIX — A Phoenix remodeling company is taking a second swing at landing a reality TV show on the popular HGTV network.
The show, “Rafterhouse,” would focus on a company by the same name that remodels and rebuilds ranch-style homes in Phoenix’s Arcadia neighborhood. It follows the same vein of many of the network’s remodeling programs that show the renovation process from buying the property, fixing it up and selling it.
While the pilot is expected to hit the airwaves this week, it’s not the first go-round for “Rafterhouse.” The network first tested the show in 2015 and decided to make some tweaks.
“The first show was based on a house flip and, for the second pilot, they wanted to incorporate a homeowner,” Rafterhouse co-owner Austin Long said.
Long told the Arizona School of Real Estate and Business that he and his business partner, Chris Liles, first reached out to the network about a TV show after Liles’ home was featured in HGTV Magazine. He sent a message through Instagram to a person at the network and the relationship blossomed from there.
“Everyone thinks it was this big, drawn-out deal, but I literally sent the HGTV contact a picture and a text,” he told the school.
The odds of landing a TV show are long and that’s why Long said he’s enjoying the ride.
“To be honest, I don’t know what they’re looking for and I don’t know what we’re looking for,” he said. “We view this as a fun adventure.”
He said he hasn’t seen the new pilot that will air this week.
“When people tune in and watch the show for the first time, we’ll be watching it for the first time as well, which is a little nerve-wracking, (there’s) a little anxiety,” he said.
KTAR’s Jeremy Foster contributed to this report.
