Nine’s latest TV programming foray into the property space appears to be leaving a sour taste in a number of viewers’ mouths, if the most recent episode is anything to go by.
Buying Blind sees everyday families and couples who can’t decide what house to buy put their life savings in the hands of experts to do it for them.
The show debuted to 608,000 viewers last week behind Ten’s MasterChef (852,000) and the ABC’s Back in Time for Dinner (622,000), and this week’s episode of Buying Blind proved no better, managing only 554,000 viewers.
And it was the latest episode – which saw a young couple with children scoring a home in Melbourne’s Dandenong Ranges for $20,000 below their budget (at $565,000), but in need of some serious renovations – that drew the ire of many who were watching.
Our #BuyingBlind Experts have worked their magic! pic.twitter.com/8OG7LJIT5m
— Buying Blind (@BuyingBlind) June 12, 2018
Buying Blind host Shaynna Blaze said the property needed a “full demolition job”, but it wasn’t clear whether the renos would be paid for out of what was left of the young couple’s sub-$600,000 budget or Nine’s, and a number of viewers were quick to point this out.
“Hi we have a really tight budget we just want a house”
“Sure here’s a house within your budget…… and $100,000 of free renovations you could never afford making this whole premise completely unrealistic!” #BuyingBlindpic.twitter.com/P5QCHAiTN6— Meg Rayner (@megrayner) June 12, 2018
Hmm…. so what was the budget? Purchase, stamp duty and legal? Let alone the Reno. $600k ??????????#BuyingBlind
— Steve Franklin (@stevefqld) June 12, 2018
#BuyingBlind @BuyingBlind Hey guys, to make the show credible can you show us how much you spent on each area of the renovations? Id like to see how far you can stretch 17K and I need a good laugh. Cheers!!!
— S.A. (@SotoAntoniadis) June 12, 2018
Like they could do all of these renovations with less than 20 grand… Do they think we are stupid??? #BuyingBlind
— jen (@tillyburn) June 12, 2018
What an absolute mis-representation of cost- so they bought it for 585k and then what, the show footed a 50k renno? Pfft yeah #BuyingBlind alright, just the usual reno a ‘battler’ show under a different guise.
— Marcus Dunn (@marcus_mmd) June 12, 2018
#BuyingBlind normally you dont get to just borrow extra to do up your house? Correct me if im wrong?
— Ngaere rhymes with Diary (@Ngaere) June 12, 2018
This house is a bloody ripper. $20,000 for reno’s? Did the kitchen & everything else come from Fowles auction centre for that sort of price? @ShaynnaBlaze?#BuyingBlind
— Ange M (@bymysidebritsau) June 12, 2018
So ummm where did the $150k for the Reno come from ?♂️#buyingblind
— ME (@twittingforu) June 12, 2018
An Endemol Shine spokesperson said in a statement to B&T: “Along with each couple’s renovation budget and their own personal belongings, Buying Blind’s experts used their considerable industry contacts to deliver extra value to the buyers in order to make each house a home to be enjoyed for many years to come.”
