Military families are always in pursuit of new properties, especially after a PCS, but how often do they get to take that search on national television?
Sgt. Terry Andrews, a Washington Army National Guard citizen soldier, along with his wife, Brenda, and their daughters, will be featured on HGTV's House Hunters later this year.
Sgt. Andrews, moved to Washington in 2011, but the rest of the family joined him in 2012 after he redeployed from Afghanistan where he was serving on active duty with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. Upon returning he was planning on ETSing, but then decided to join the National Guard; he now works as part of the Washington Homeland Response Force based on Camp Murray.
"Before I deployed, I use to run the trails in DuPont for exercise and I would think to myself that this is the perfect place to bring my family. I knew they would love it here. They fell in love with the area when they visited me up here," he explained.
The Andrews are both avid HGTV fans and always joked around that they should be on House Hunters because they move so much.
"This last time when Terry said, ‘we should be on that show,' I decided to actually look into it how we could apply," Brenda stated.
So they sent an email to express their interest in being on the show and then they were asked to send family pictures and more background. Finally, on April Fools Day, Brenda learned that the producers were interested in talking to them further, but first she had to convince Terry it wasn't a joke.
"Once he was convinced, we did a phone interview and then an audition video and then they picked us," she continued.
The filming will run from July 18 to the 21 and will follow the Andrews while they look at houses and also record them doing interesting things as a family.
"They want to showcase the natural beauty of Washington by visiting trails and beaches," Brenda said. "But they'll also film our daughter's tap dance lessons and us talking to friends about houses."
Scenery and activities aside, the most important part of the show still revolves around hunting down a house, so Andrews and his wife had to outline a clear list of the family's must haves.
For starters, like with any real estate transaction, it's all about location so the Andrews specified that the new house must be in DuPont, due to its proximity to JBLM, and furthermore, they preferred the Palisades neighborhood so that schools, parks and restaurants were in walking distance.
Next came the main features of the house, starting with the size.
"Our goal is to travel more so I don't want to worry about all the maintenance of a big house, so we are downsizing," said Andrews.
That being said, they are seeking three bedrooms and two bathrooms with a large yard for their youngest daughter and dog to play in, not to mention an open living area and office space inside for Brenda, who works from home. Windows providing lots of natural light, wood floors instead of carpet throughout the home to combat Andrew's allergies and some updated aesthetic finishes like granite countertops and stainless steel appliances were also on the request list.
"We believe we will find the right house," Brenda commented optimistically.
Unfortunately, viewers will have to wait to see the magic of that moment. In July, House Hunters will return to film a follow up once they are moved into the new house but there is no airdate scheduled as of yet.Check back on our Walkie Talkie blog for updates.