'Property Brothers' putting out a casting call for Calgary homeowners

Jun 29 2018, 2:46 am

Calgary homeowners now have the chance to see themselves — and their homes — on the TV screen, as the Property Brothers are making a casting call in the area.

Drew and Jonathan Scott, the identical twins that have become famous for their on-screen home renovations in Property Brothers and Property Brothers: Buying and Selling, are making their way back to Calgary for the next season of their HGTV shows.

Back to their roots

The trip back to Calgary is something of a homecoming for the brothers, as it was here that they first delved into the real estate market.

“A lot of people don’t realize that Jonathan and I started our real estate investment in Calgary,” Drew said in a phone interview with Daily Hive. 

“We lived between Calgary and Vancouver after graduating high school, and we got into real estate right after high school as a way to fund our creative endeavours.”

The brothers said that they decided to bring their shows to Calgary because the city has a great real estate market that fits well with types of renovations that are featured on the shows.

“[Calgary] is a very young vibrant city, and when you look at the construction and the housing in a lot of the communities, they’re just ripe for the type of renovations that we like to do,” Jonathan said in the interview.

“We’ve always said to people, for a very long time, that if they’re going to check out somewhere in Canada that they may want to live, or may want to have a place, check out Alberta. Alberta has the most beautiful country, you’re the gateway to the Rocky Mountains, it has always been a sweet spot.”

Prospective applicants

Production is looking for 18 successful applicants who will become part of the next season of Property Brothers and eight for Buying and Selling, though they said in the interview that roughly half the spots have already been filled.

The brothers offered some insight into how you can give yourself the best chance of being chosen to participate on Property Brothers. 

“We want a diversity of stories. We want a single person who is buying their first home, we want a newlywed couple, we want families, we want empty nesters, the diversity of the story is really important,” Drew said.

“Every story is different, and we want to make sure people are expressing that when they apply. Show your personality in the story, if you hate renovations, we definitely want to hear about that.”

They also said that the application video you send in doesn’t have to be the highest quality — it’s more important that applicants showcase who they genuinely are.

“[The video quality] doesn’t matter as long as you’re a real personality, and I think the one thing people forget about is to be honest,” Jonathan said.

“If you’re trying to portray something that is not honest on camera, it will always show through, and it will take away from what your audition tape will actually be.”

Successful applicants will need to be actively looking for a property to buy and renovate within an hour of downtown Calgary, or, in the case of Buying and Selling, you’ll need to own a home that you’re hoping to renovate before selling.

Perks of being on the show

Applicants will also need to have a budget to work with of at least $100,000 for Property Brothers, or $25,000 for Buying and Selling, though they said that being on the show will allow homeowners to stretch that budget a bit.

“We contribute cash and free products into all the projects, so sometimes we’ll get free flooring, or appliances, you name it,” Drew said.

“We can stretch those budgets way beyond what the homeowners ever would have done on their own, and, of course, they get to work with our design team.”

They also mentioned that the renovations will be completed a lot faster than the regular six months to one-year timeline that most Calgary homeowners would have to wait, and that all of the bumps, bruises, and successes of the show will be 100% real.

“Anything can be done, anything can be renovated, anything can be fixed at a certain cost,” Jonathan said, “there are real drama moments that come up, yes we do some on the show, and that’s why I think we get more authentic reactions from everybody, because we keep it real.”

Production is scheduled to start in September for both shows, and Calgarians can apply by going to HGTV’s website.

See also
Chandler WalterChandler Walter

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