Video: Dream House Chattanooga
Slideshow:Dream House part 1
Slideshow:Dream House part 2By Jan Galletta
Staff Writer
A Chattanooga couple, whose 18-month home-building project was documented and partially funded by HGTV, plan to put the million-dollar property they never occupied on the market.
Kelli Smith and James Ladd, each 27, said they want to sell the recently completed 3,000-square-foot home on Stringer's Ridge where they once had planned to live as newlyweds. Ms. Smith's father, Billy Ray Smith, who owns a construction company, furnished free labor for the effort, and HGTV subsidized some of the expense.
Since February, the network has documented the five-story dwelling's construction on its weekly "Dream House" show. For Sunday night's finale, camera crews returned to Chattanooga after filming ended to shoot a revised conclusion that revealed the owners' decision to sell the house, which will list in the seven-digit range.
"Once the dust settled and everyone had gone, we could walk around the space and get a feel for it," said Mr. Ladd, an employee of B.R. Smith Construction Co., owned by Ms. Smith's father.
"We decided it wasn't right for us at this time in our lives," he said.
The structure's size drove that decision more than a prohibitive mortgage, according to Ms. Smith.
"We can afford the house. We've been making payments on it all along," she said. "But we would have had to make a lifestyle change we didn't want. We didn't want to have to manage the house."
The couple's contract contained "no stipulation that they have to live in the house," according to Andy Singer, HGTV's vice president of original programming.
"We saw this couple, thought they were great and that the construction they were planning was pretty amazing," he said.
He described HGTV's economic contribution to the effort as minimal.
"We gave them a stipend for taking time out from their busy schedules to let us film," he said. "We don't disclose the amount, but it certainly wouldn't be equivalent to half the construction cost."
Even with the $500,000 in donated or discounted goods and services the couple estimates they received for the project from HGTV and other sources, they borrowed additional money to finish the house, a project made more ambitious by HGTV's yearlong, on-site participation, according to Ms. Smith.
"It added to the stress and added to the space itself," she said. "If they (network principals) hadn't been involved, the house would have been more modest. It (HGTV) influenced our grandiosity."
The engaged pair, who haven't yet set a wedding date, knew from the time their casting-call application earned the network's nod for the series 18 months ago that they "would be under close scrutiny," Mr. Ladd said.
"And if you're doing something on TV, you want it big and bold," he said. "But it became more about drama than building a house. They didn't always portray us in the best light. If we had to do it again, I'd do it differently."
Ms. Smith said the network's editing emphasized negatives.
"There were a lot of things like family togetherness that they didn't use, and they said some nasty things," she said. "My feelings were hurt."
While their HGTV contract prevented the couple from disclosing details of the arrangement, Mr. Ladd said, "It was very short, very simple ... it was like, 'If you build it, we will film.'
"There weren't a lot of specific performance restrictions. There was nothing that said we couldn't sell it, or we had to finish it or we had to live in it," he said. "Of course, initially, they (HGTV) were looking for candidates who planned to live in the house a long time, and we were committed to that."
He said it was never a "spec house," referring to a house built strictly to sell for profit.
"You don't spend so much blood, sweat and tears on a spec house," he said. "And for me, there's something like 'post-partum depression' that comes with selling it."
Ms. Smith called the experience and decision to sell "bittersweet."
"My father didn't go out there every day working on the house so we could sell it. He's a little sad," she said. "But he's also relieved we won't be living in such a big place."
The house-raising process was a learning experience, Ms. Smith said.
"It seems like you're embarking on this joyous occasion, but all the decisions, all the stress -- I don't recommend it," she said. "I wouldn't go on TV again. I wouldn't build a house again. I wouldn't do any of it again."
E-mail Jan Galletta at jgalletta@timesfreepress.com
