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Trinity Couple's House Search Featured On HGTV

Cheryl Bentley/SUNCOAST NEWS

Marcus McCollum points out new landscaping the McCollums added to their Trinity-area home.

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By Cheryl  Bentley | The Suncoast News

Published: July 30, 2008

House one, house two, house three.

Those choices are familiar to fans of "House Hunters," a popular show on HGTV, a cable television network that focuses on house and garden matters. The show follows people in various cities and even in other countries as they visit three houses on their house hunting search.

Viewers often become involved in the search and pick their own favorite house. But they must wait until the end of the show to find out if house one, house two or house three is chosen.

On Aug. 14 when the show airs, locals can go through the search for the perfect home with Trinity residents Ivis and Marcus McCollum. Both McCollums are in sales, she with Hewlett Packard and he with Cutting Edge Granite, in Largo. With a bow to dramatic timing, the home they finally chose is being kept secret until the television show airs.

She had never seen "House Hunters," Ivis said, sitting in the living room of their new home. But she had jumped at the chance of being on television. She remembered how much she had loved acting in high school plays.

Less than thrilled

But Marcus was less enthusiastic. "At first, I wasn't too thrilled about it," he noted.

He remains unimpressed with his dramatic skills, observing what surprised him the most during the filming was "how awful an actor I am."

Evidently the HGTV folks didn't share that assessment.

The couple's ease in front of a camera seems to be a major factor in their landing a spot on the show. As part of the selection process, HGTV mailed them eight questions, including queries about their reasons for moving, their budget and what they were looking for in their new house. The couple had to film themselves answering the questions.

Ivis overnighted their video to HGTV and got a call from the network the next day. They wanted the McCollums for the show.

"I remember them saying our family was comfortable in front of a camera," she said.

Found through agent

The cable network had found the McCollums through their real estate agent, Joe Gibbons. Gibbons is with Lipply Real Estate Group, a group with RE/MAX Realtec.

After deciding to focus on the Suncoast, HGTV staff had found Lipply through a Web search.

"It was a matter of timing," Gibbons explained about his choice as real estate agent. He had the perfect clients. The McCollums' house was under contract. They had to find another one quickly - and in spite of Marcus' misgivings, they looked good on TV.

Filming started on July 27 last year. A producer and camera operator came from Los Angeles, where the show is produced. The third member of the crew, the sound recorder, was locally hired.

"Being on national TV is not easy," Ivis laughed. It took five full days of filming to produce a 30-minute show.

The three homes the McCollums inspected were in their targeted area of Fox Wood, a subdivision in the Trinity area. They wanted a house with pool, covered outside area, big backyard, three-car garage and home-office space.

Double takes

The McCollums and Gibbons worked full days filming their reaction to each room, entrance, garage and backyard of all three houses they visited. They had to do a minimum of two takes for each area.

They were not scripted, Ivis said, but the crew made sure the couple brought up important points.

They reminded them of their comments on their homemade video if the McCollums had left out anything the producer considered important.

Ivis had forgotten to note one home's maple cabinets. "Remember you said you like maple cabinets?" the producer prodded after the first take.

On the second take, Ivis commented on the home's maple cabinets.

Neither Gibbons nor the McCollums have seen the show. They and their friends will gather for a party when the show airs 10 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14.

Viewers can guess about the home they finally selected, but Ivis predicts they might be in for a surprise. "I think they're going to be stumped," she said.

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