Lake Wedowee property featured on HGTV

LAKE WEDOWEE–DVR alert: A Lake Wedowee home will be featured on an upcoming episode of “Lakefront Bargain Hunt” on HGTV.

According to the HGTV website, the episode, “A Big Wow on Alabama’s Lake Wedowee,” will air Saturday at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. and Saturday, May 27, at 7 a.m.

Crystal Barnes of Hunter Bend Realty in Wedowee will be the agent featured in the episode.

Barnes explained how the process began when she received a generic email she could tell went out to a number of real estate agents asking if they were working with a client in a certain age bracket looking to buy a lake home in a particular price range. Barnes replied with an email telling them all about Lake Wedowee and a certain couple she had recently met who fit their criteria. They quickly responded, and she was in disbelief they were actually interested.

The following day, the casting director called and asked if Barnes could interview by using Skype. She said, “I was wearing a ball cap and boots, so I ran home to put on a dress and makeup.”

The family looking to buy was interviewed the following day, even their kids. Chris and Jenny Elliott live in Bremen, Ga., and were a perfect fit: outgoing, cute and great sports. They were all notified within a week that they were selected and HGTV was coming to Lake Wedowee.

Barnes said, “I was still in disbelief. The girls in the office knew all about it, and I shared the information with my family and close friends. I still didn’t want to tell anyone because this entire thing seemed unreal. When you sell real estate for so long and love to watch all these real estate shows, it seems like a dream come true. Once I signed waivers and legal documents, it hit me it was actually happening. I finally shared the news with everyone, and they began filming right away before the lake levels dropped for the winter.”

Barnes told how the crews visit many lakes all over the country and really bragged on Lake Wedowee and how friendly the people are. They noted how clean the water looks and how pristine the shoreline appears.

Barnes explained, “The crew started filming the house selection process in September 2016. This particular season of ‘Lakefront Bargain Hunt’ is the renovation spin-off of the show. So, the film crew came back a couple times during the renovation period. The home was complete in January, and the film crews came back for the ‘reveal party.’ Once that was complete, the show went into production and here we are … it’s about to air.”

The agent said she is excited and nervous at the same time for the show to air. She said, “The entire filming process was so much fun but very out of the norm. I’ve been selling real estate for 17 years, so talking to customers about our area and showing houses is like second nature. Real estate is my element, but cameras are not. It took a few hours to warm up to the cameras.”

Barnes said, “I believe this show airing on national television will be a great thing for our area–the marinas, local businesses, banks–and beneficial to all real estate agents. A show such as this features the positive attributes of the town and highlights all the great things we have here and are fortunate enough to call home.”