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House Hunters International: The Time We Were Almost Reality TV Stars | The Trading Travelers
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The Time We Were Almost Reality TV Stars

Take note of the word almost.  What we thought was a long shot when we originally applied for our favorite television show 4 months ago, became very close to reality a few weeks ago. That is until our hopes and dreams of becoming famous TV stars and retiring at 28 were crushed by one person…our landlord.

If you are wondering what in the world this TV show is we speak of, we are referring to the hugely popular “reality” program in the US/Canada, House Hunters International. This TV show follows individuals that are moving abroad and showcases the house-hunting process. A local realtor will show them three houses/apartments and you follow them through the decision-making process, noting advantages and disadvantages of each place and then find out at the end which one they choose.

house hunters international

As we said before, this was one of our favorite shows. It was the one show we could actually agree on so we often watched marathons at a time. Even though we already knew it wasn’t completely “reality”, we loved seeing housing options in cities all over the world and it was inspirational to see that there is life outside of the US. I think we mostly enjoyed it because we knew we would be doing the same thing one day.

One of the first things we did after purchasing our one-way ticket to Thailand was send HHI an email. We knew they filmed in Thailand before (Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai) but never in Khon Kaen. Most people have never even heard of it. So we pitched our story…

No reply.

You can imagine our surprise 4 months later, waking up to an email from HHI after spending our first night in our new home in Chiang Mai. They loved our story and were interested in filming us. We were a little worried about telling them we were actually living in Chiang Mai now since they have filmed here before, but the producer reassured us that would be no problem and she thought we would be perfect candidates for the show. We were ecstatic!!!!!!!! Not only do we get to be on one of our favorite shows, but we would get to make a quick trip home and see our family to film the “departure” scenes. I don’t think we slept for days we were so excited. We just had to fill out a questionnaire, make a short casting video, and get our landlord to sign a “location release” that would allow them to film the house and then we could discuss filming dates. This is where things went wrong…

house hunters international thailand

We took the release to our landlord who happens to live next door and explained to her what was happening. She was very excited and said it shouldn’t be a problem. She just wanted to run it by her Canadian husband that lives in Bangkok. That is until she knocked on our door two days later and said she had “bad news”. Her husband did not want to sign. Ok…not good, but we understand. He has no idea what this show is, it’s a typical “American” contract, and we just moved in a few days prior. Of course he is hesitant to sign. So Charlie asks to speak to him on the phone and explain in a little more detail how it works. He explained that it is only 3 men and 1 camera coming from Bangkok to film and nothing would be moved in the house – they are simply just filming us in the house; they carry insurance and are fully covered in the event of any damages; and the location of the house will absolutely not be released. We even offered to put down more money in addition to the 15,000 THB security deposit we had given them two weeks prior. The producer sent us a copy of the insurance and offered to get a recommendation from other home owners that have been through the process before. She even suggested having a call with him to answer any questions or concerns. Additionally, she mentioned that the “location release” form could be amended if there is something in particular he does not feel comfortable with. Yet his answer was still “we are unable to sign at this time”. We tried to understand and find out if there is anything we could do that would make him comfortable, but it was just “no”. No explanation. And, without his consent, we were unable to move forward.

house hunters international thailand

While we understand he may have had good reason, it is extremely frustrating that he wasn’t even willing to discuss it. But, at this point, we had to throw in the towel. What else could we do? Maybe we will try again when we make our next move. Until then, we will be putting our television career on the back-burner and continue blogging 😉 (Ok…maybe we were never going to be “famous” but still!)

house hunters international thailand

And, since we won’t be airing a tour of our home on TV, we will share it here to give an idea of the housing situation in Chiang Mai. We have a fully furnished 3 bed/2 bath home with a Thai-style kitchen for 15,000 THB/month (approx $460 USD), including cable and internet. We have to pay electric and water separately, which is usually another $20 USD. We are located near the intersection of Canal and Suthep Rd close to Chiang Mai University. And even though we are a little bitter about the situation, we still love the house!

Here’s our version of House Hunters Video Tour. Make sure to stick around for the outtakes at the end of the video!

UPDATE: Fast forward one year and we ended up on House Hunters International after all! Read our latest –> House Hunters in Chiang Mai.

About the Author Charlie and Brittany

We are Brittany and Charlie - we traded the 9 to 5 and the so-called "American dream" to live our own dream and see the world. We sold all of our belongings and left the US in August 2013. For 5 years, we lived primarily in Thailand and built our online business and location independent lifestyle while we traveled to over 30 countries. We’ve had house sitting gigs on 3 different continents and we’ve even appeared on HGTV’s House Hunters International.

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Leave a Comment:

14 comments
James says January 20, 2014

house looks sweet! i woulda forged that dudes signature

Reply
kristncary says January 20, 2014

AHH, Bummer!!! Sorry to hear that chickie! I love that show too! Looking forward to seeing your house in a few weeks 🙂

Reply
KIM says January 20, 2014

I’m with James, I think I would have forged it to! Grrrr

Reply
BBQboy says January 21, 2014

Good story – too bad it didn’t work out, I’ve seen the show and it’s interesting. Nice house and the price is good! We may be there in late 2014 and might be looking for something similar. Any tips on househunting in CM?
Frank (bbqboy)

Reply
    Charlie and Brittany says January 22, 2014

    Oh thats awesome! We do have some tips – we are actually putting together a post and will be sharing in a few days so hope it helps! Otherwise feel free to reach out anytime with questions!

    Reply
Chris says January 21, 2014

I can’t help but wonder what his reservation was.. hey did you offer him MONEY, ya know sweeten
the pot… Is it a cultural thing? Well the house is all over the place now anyway… looks sunny, bright
and cute. I like all the places being furnished… I’ve never seen this show, but is down our alley.
Will have to look it up… this a letter, not a comment 🙂 Is that your closet behind your bed? Ok, I’m
done now..

Reply
    Charlie and Brittany says January 22, 2014

    Yeah we actually thought it was a little shady how he was acting. Maybe there is a reason he doesn’t want attention brought to him or his house. But we will probably never know! You should definitely watch the show. Especially being the avid travelers that you are – might give you some good ideas for future trips 😉 Always good to hear from you!

    Reply
Martin & Ying says January 23, 2014

Love the house tour – we searched for a house but had no joy and settled for a condo close to the Maya Mall, will be searching again in about 5 months time, did you go through an agent or did you just find the house while out and about etc?

Reply
    Charlie and Brittany says January 23, 2014

    At first we were looking on our own, driving up and down every street of every neighborhood. We finally talked to a realtor and within two days we were in our house. I would definitely recommend talking to one. I can send you the contact info for the one we used if you’d like! Let me know when you start your house hunt again…fun fun 😉

    Reply
      Martin & Ying says January 29, 2014

      Thanks for the offer will do 🙂

      Reply
Flashpacker Family says January 26, 2014

Ack! Annoying!! I’ve seen quite a few bloggers do HHI and think it’s a great idea. I love watching it on Youtube when I’m looking for inspiration on affordable places to live for a little while. Maybe if you move houses you’ll be able to do it in the future?

Reply
    Charlie and Brittany says January 27, 2014

    Exactly – same here! We will definitely have to try again in the next stop we settle for a while!

    Reply
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