By Jonathan Smoke | realtor.com
I have a confession to make: I watch far too much home-related reality TV. Even though I’ve been studying housing and real estate as an economist for more than 20 years, I love seeing real houses, real people, and the natural drama that occurs around choosing (and fixing up!) a home.
But I also know how the made-for-TV approach leaves out the stuff that matters most. If you’re a real estate newbie devoted to “House Hunters” or “Buying Alaska,” you may be left with some very wrong impressions about how the house searching and buying process really works.