I followed up with a phone  call to get more information. After confirming this was a legitimate request, I got the specifics. TLC was looking for a casting video (3-5 minute audition tapes), which exhibited our first-time home buyers.  My clients and I decided it was worth taking an hour to pull together a submission, but we also knew we would be one of thousands. TLC was soliciting submissions from realtors all along the East Coast, from Maine on south.

Monticello teamed up with some of our best first-time home buyers in Albany, NY. We gathered in historic Ten Broeck Triangle, and filmed what would become our casting video. We wanted our video to be as much about the home buyers, as it was about the inviting homes and neighborhoods in Albany, NY.

To my surprise, we got a call last night that Monticello and our extraordinary buyers were selected by TLC – one of 20 episodes to air in 2013. The network is wasting no time, they are planning on coming in mid-September to film. TLC has requested four days of filming, all to produce 22 minutes of cable television.

I am excited for my clients. I’m excited for the Albany real estate market, especially Ten Broeck Triangle and Center Square – which will be featured prominently in the episode. I remain cautious when it comes to cable television, especially reality TV. But if the show is done right, it will provide an incredible opportunity to showcase some of Albany’s beautiful homes, historic neighborhoods, and highly desirable, yet affordable, real estate.

After nearly eight months of meticulously combing through the Albany real estate market, these first-time home buyers settled on a beautiful historic home in Ten Broeck Triangle. But I won’t say anymore, you’ll just have to watch the episode.

We’ll never be sure as to why Monticello was selected. Of course these first-time home buyers are made for TV: attractive, original, and interesting. But if it wasn’t for Monticello’s online presence, our comprehensive website and internet marketing, TLC would have never found us. Thanks to Google and our marketing, the TLC producers in Los Angeles, California, located us in a matter of key strokes. It’s encouraging to know that people in Los Angles, North Dakota, Paris, France, New York City, Seoul, South Korea, and any other place on the planet with internet access can find us here in Albany, NY 12210.

I mention Google and our online marketing, as a quantifiable example of how sellers can truly benefit from listing their home for sale with Monticello. More and more if you cannot be found online, you’re lost. Likewise if your home for sale in Albany, or your home for sale in Saratoga, or your home for sale Delmar isn’t properly marketed, you’re not getting the highest price for your investment. Monticello heavily invests in online marketing and professionally showcasing our homes for sale, for all the world to see.

Below is an episode from the show.