Joanna Gaines has built a successful career thanks to his signature design aesthetic, but a recent real estate snafu is a cruel reminder that not everyone has the same taste.
During an appearance Kylie Kelce‘s podcast, “Not Gonna Lie,” the “Fixer Upper” star revealed that her most glamorous renovation has lost a buyer who still prefers “before” photos.
Joanna and her husband, Chip Gainesthey recently completed a 15,000 square foot mansion conversion in their hometown of Waco, TX. The process was featured in a documentary on the upcoming Magnolia Network show, Fixer Upper: Chip Bought a Mansion, and apparently the project was quite a struggle.
Although the Gaineses are a solid team, Chip actually bought the sprawling property without Joanna, a decision he called “a bold move.” Although the mum-of-five confirmed the property would “never be a fixer-upper”, she changed her mind after the property sat on the market for more than three years without much interest.
Built in the 1990s, the mansion is in an incredible location on 5.7 acres boasting stunning views of Lake Waco. But the dated ’90s interior was in need of a serious facelift, and when Chip and Joanna set out to work their magic on the abode, they realized it needed more work than they expected.
The process was painstaking, but to add insult to injury, an interaction with an interested buyer proved it was all for naught.
“If you look online, the pictures you see are ‘before’ pictures,” Joanna said. The list is held by Amanda Nesbitt of Magnolia Realty keeps the “after” pictures under wraps so as not to spoil the show.
In a twist of fate, the potential buyer fell in love with the outdated photos in the listing and was dismayed to learn that Chip and Joanna had stripped the home of its former McMansion glory.
Real estate agents called the Gaineses to let them know a “qualified buyer” was “in love” with the property and wanted to make an offer “on the day of the discovery,” Joanna recalled. The HGTV personality offered to give the buyer a tour of the home to chat about the changes they were making, only to realize the renovation was a bargain.
“He said, ‘Well, what did they do?’ He said, ‘I liked the pictures I saw,'” Joanna said.
Unfortunately, this was not enough to keep the buyer, who decided not to come to the viewing at all.
“The lady was very upset,” Joanna recalled. “He said, ‘I don’t understand why he took out all the red and gold.’
“Looks like Chip was right,” he said. “He could have sold the thing as is. We didn’t have to touch it. I’m like, ‘This is a joke.’ I finally did. I disclosed it and now we have a buyer and he’s upset that I fixed it.”
The six-bedroom, 11-bathroom mansion is still on the market, asking $7.39 million. Although the new items are still under wraps, viewers can watch the series premiere on December 27 on the Magnolia Network and HGTV.
The missed opportunity wasn’t the only revelation Joanna shared in the podcast episode. She also revealed that she and Chip have recently been discussing expanding their family.
“When I had Crew at 40, I said, ‘Chip, I want him to have more siblings,'” she said. “I thought I was going to have nine kids. I am that lady. Look at my hair. Don’t I look like a lady with nine children? He was not open to it either. Guess who is open to that now? 48 years old?”
Joanna went on to share that even though her husband isn’t pregnant, she “tells everyone.” From his grown children to a crowd of 2,000 people, Chip continued to share fake news in an attempt to “get it out into the universe.”
“So the whole audience thinks I’m pregnant. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m not,” she said.
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