Couple's search for home in Cape will be televised on HGTV

As Lauren and Travis Grammer searched for a house in the Cape Girardeau area, they frequently had different opinions.

"Neighborhood was big on my list," Lauren said. "He wanted bigger, and I was OK with smaller. We were just the exact opposite."

But the couple were able to meet in the middle, and their search will be featured on HGTV's "House Hunters" this summer. The episode is set to air at 9 p.m. June 18, but producers said the date could change.

Filming took place last fall, when the Grammers were looking to move from a house in the center of Cape Girardeau to a suburban area.

Their daughter was just over a year old at the time, Travis said, and they wanted to live in a quieter neighborhood with less traffic.

With help from real estate agent Elaine Edgar, the couple looked at houses in the Cape Girardeau area, but no exact locations could be shared.

"Looking at buying a house is stressful already," Lauren said. "Then you do it on national television ... it's nerve-wracking."

But the experience was enjoyable, the Grammers and Edgar said. And when a producer asked whether they would go through it again, their answer was yes.

"(HGTV) treated us with nothing but 100 percent class, and we just had a blast," Edgar said.

Lauren said each day was a new experience.

"It was all very fun," she said. "We got to tell our real opinions and real feelings and real arguments between the two of us over this or that. There was no filter."

Travis Grammer said Edgar made the search easier, as well, especially during potential disagreements.

"We walked into a house, and Lauren just loved it and I hated it," he said. "I didn't want to walk past the first room, and she wanted to go see everything. Elaine was great because she catered to both sides."

"She was our buffer," Lauren added.

As for the home they ended up buying, the couple said they are happy with their decision.

The episode featuring the Grammers will be the first "House Hunters" filmed in the Cape Girardeau area. The series takes viewers behind the scenes as individuals, couples and families learn what to look for and decide whether a home is meant for them.

Edgar said most people looking to buy a home are house hunting for the first time, so the show gives them insight into that.

"Every time someone can watch or learn from someone else's experience, it makes yours better at the end of the day," she said.

klamb@semissourian.com

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