Will it be worth it?

Nov 18, 2008 (The Charleston Gazette - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- GRLYA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Owners of two Charleston homes put it all on the line Sunday and Monday when a video crew shot their reactions to a local real-estate agent's assessment of their home improvements. The segment of "My House Is Worth What?" featuring Kathleen DuBois' hilltop home in Fort Hill and Tom and Sally Barton's South Hills bungalow will be broadcast next spring.

The owners are sworn to secrecy and can't reveal whether Bret Nida of Great American Realty endorsed the work they've done on their homes or told them they threw their money away. The HGTV show features homeowners who question the worth of their homes and the improvements they made. Each segment culminates in a "reveal" when the real-estate agent passes judgment on the value of the house.

Host Kendra Todd did not come to Charleston, but a "My House Is Worth What?" producer and two-man crew managed the two daylong sessions.

Like DuBois and the Bartons, Nida submitted an audition tape after he spotted a newspaper advertisement for the show. "I do this day in and day out. This is a good way to showcase my knowledge," he said. "I have to communicate with people as part of my job. I don't always tell them what they want to hear."

The reveal isn't of supreme importance to DuBois, whose appearance on HGTV fulfilled a longtime dream. A fan of the programming for 10 years, DuBois was thrilled when her application was accepted in August.

"I was putting myself out there," she said. "I did significant work on my home, not because I wanted to increase its worth, but because I wanted to create a haven for myself. But of course when it will be on national television, I'd like for the news to be good."

In September, segment producer Eve Falcon asked DuBois, who is the president of Progressity, her own marketing consulting firm, if she knew another house in the area that could be featured on the show. DuBois recommended the home of her friends, Sally and Tom Barton. Sally is executive director of Tamarack Foundation and Tom is an administrator with the state Insurance Commission.

Sally Barton purchased the two-bedroom, white Craftsman bungalow, just behind the old Sunrise Art Museum, in 1993. She enjoyed the cozy 1,400-square-foot house on her own for eight years, and often entertained on the spacious front porch.

She married Tom Barton 2 1/2 years ago, and they had twin boys a year later. The two-bedroom is a tight squeeze for the growing family, but they love the neighborhood.

"We walk to Carriage Trail every day. It's wonderful to have a park right outside our door," she said.

Is it a good idea to build an additional bedroom and bathroom above the existing addition? That's the question the Bartons hope Nida will answer for them, as well as give his assessment of their improvements. DuBois also wonders about an addition she's considering.

"It's fine for us now," Tom Barton said. "We'll be good for another two or three years, but we'll need more space after that. We can't even have a guest."

The early-morning sessions started with one-on-one interviews between the producer and the Bartons and DuBois, detailing the money each had spent on their homes and improvements.

DuBois' first impression of her mid-century ranch house when she saw it four years ago wasn't good. She had told her real-estate agent she wasn't interested in ranch houses. Then she looked out the rear windows that run the length of the house.

"When the crew asked me why I bought it, I pointed to the view," she said. "I bought a million-dollar view that happens to come with a house. I just had to have that view."

DuBois installed 1,400 square feet of hardwood floors and replaced the roof, windows and doors. All sure-bet winners, by most real-estate standards. She also tripled the size of her 9- by 9-foot kitchen, and added an island, dark granite countertops and white cabinets. Darrin Fisher designed the kitchen, based on DuBois' already solid ideas that she attributes to HGTV.

"Buying and creating my home was for me an amazingly positive experience. My house isn't just where I live, it really is my haven," she said. "I learned so much from HGTV. When I bought the home, I knew exactly what I wanted to do."

Sally Barton bought her home for $115,000 in 1993. The Bartons have spent about $40,000 on renovations. She added granite counters and updated the cabinets in the kitchen, then she and Tom built a vaulted one-story addition that opens from the updated kitchen and includes a den, powder room and pantry. They were careful to be true to the character of the 1921 house, and salvaged windows and doors from a similar home on the East End that was demolished. They did much of the work themselves.

"Tom has a knack with woodworking and good attention to detail," she said. "I have the vision and am the cleanup crew."

Both the Bartons and DuBois put in some extra hours cleaning this weekend. The Bartons banished all the equipment and toys required by their 19-month-old boys, Will and Charlie, to the basement.

The two full-day shootings will be edited down to segments that average about 6 minutes in length. The "My House Is Worth What?" crew planned to shoot some sights and sounds around town today before they return to Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Reach Julie Robinson at julier@wvgazette.com or 348-1230.

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