@Rumpelstiltskin said:

I want to like this show but all of it seems way too scripted.

Agreed. Visitors to the open house always comment positively on the key design elements highlighted during the renovation--sometimes even using very technical terminology that no non-expert would use. But nearly all "reality" shows like this are at least loosely scripted to keep them interesting. The radio program "On the Media" did a whole show a while ago about how fake these shows are: http://www.wnyc.org/story/258741-reality-tv-even-faker-you-think/