House Hunters International Behind the Scenes FAQ

How did you get in contact with House Hunters International?

When I was going through the house hunting process in Stockholm I contacted House Hunters International via their website. They have an application form on their website. Since I was a long time fan of the show it seemed like a fun idea to include a show with the house hunting process, when else would I have this opportunity! After submitting I was excited but did not want to get my hopes too high. Then after a little bit of waiting, I received an email response from Claire the producer initially asking about my story. We then arranged a phone call interview to further share the story and chat. I was so nervous and excited, it was moving along! The process of being cast has multiple steps after our initial contact you need to decide on only one house hunting friend, naturally, I chose Ronja. She is also a fan of the show and we were super excited about doing it together! I was a little nervous asking her I don't know why maybe I was scared she would reject my house hunting proposal. When we decided to be a team we then needed to create a quick video pitch introducing ourselves to the network and hope that our story would be approved. This part was really fun we took a small Olympus mirrorless camera around Stockholm and made fools of ourselves making a video. Ronja's mom was our lovely camera lady since she happened to be in Stockholm at the time. It is purposefully a little awkward and goofy, Ronja please don't hate me for linking this!

After that, we still needed to wait and hope that our video was convincing. Eventually, it was approved then I did an excited happy dance! Then there were more calls with Claire to decide on filming locations and storyline. The amazing thing about House Hunters International is that you have control of which locations you want to film. They really take in to account your personality, where you love going and make it a personal story for your own memories and also to share with the world. Even if the scene was only 20 seconds the locations were hand selected.

What was it like filming?

The days were long and required repeating yourself a lot. We all gained a new appreciation for actors and movie/show production. Despite the long days, it was all an amazing experience. We went around Stockholm with cameras and it was fun setting up the locations and seeing the work and teamwork involved in a 30 min show. One challenge for Ronja and I was trying to find clothing that wasn't black or white. We both wear mainly black and white and that was specifically mentioned not to wear! Looking back on the episode I cringe a little seeing my clothing! It was tough trying to find colors in my wardrobe. Our entire crew had a fun time. We had an Aussie cameraman and an English sound man the group dynamic made it so much fun. We were constantly cracking jokes and goofing off. Anders the broker was also great. He is super hilarious and tall! We look so tiny next to him! I am 173 cm. Another fun fact was all of our artwork on the walls needed to be taken down due to copywriting laws. If you look carefully the walls are super bare!

Did you have fun?

Yes absolutely! If anyone has the opportunity to be on House Hunters International, go for it! Not only is it fun, it is a way to showcase an international move. Moving internationally is not always the easiest, having a happy documentation of the process showcases the hard work and is reminding that the sacrifices made were worthwhile.

Did you get paid?

Yes I got paid, it was not too much but something to compensate for the filming days. Not sure if I'm allowed to share the price, so let's just say around the price of a plane ticket to the US from Europe then subtract taxes. Speaking of what I can or cannot say, it was such a challenge not sharing the fact that we would be on the show! Ronja and I had to be extremely secretive about the filming process and not giving away show secrets. Which made it a little more fun as well.

Would you do it again?

Absolutely! It was a great time and I realized I love production. It is now my dream to get more involved in television or photography production. If you saw on the show I love photography, so I hope that there will be more opportunities in the future!