Channel 9 scrubs house hunting show after fake buyers outed
A couple were blown away when they inspected a mansion in Melbourne as part of a house hunting show on Nine. Now, they’ve been exposed by a neighbour.
Channel 9 has scrubbed a holiday house hunting show from its website after it was revealed some of the “buyers” featured were acting and already owned the luxury properties.
The Shelley Craft-hosted Find My Beach House, which aired over summer, follows couples and families as they inspect three waterside mansions before choosing one to buy.
But the ABC’s Media Watch revealed on Monday more than one episode starred people who pretended to be searching for their dream getaway only to “choose” their own home.
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That included Victorian couple Toneya and Lochlan Tangas who were depicted as buying a four-bedroom Mount Martha property they had actually designed and built themselves, tracking the process on an Instagram page over 12 months.
“I feel like I’m on a holiday,” Mr Tangas could be heard saying during the purported inspection of the Mornington Peninsula home complete with Italian marble benchtops.
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There was a scene where the two discussed how much it would cost to secure it, with Ms Tangas positing she thought it would be “around four” million.
When Ms Tangas was later asked by Craft which property they had settled on, she said the Hinkler St house “feels like it is the one”.
“Lochy and Toneya have successfully bought the house and are now savouring every moment of their new beach life,” said Craft in an overdub of the episode’s credits.
Not only did the Tangas already own the stunning property dubbed “Biscotti”, but soon after the episode aired in December the home was listed for sale at between $3.8 and $4.15 million.
Mr Tangas told news.com.au this was a coincidence as the episode had been filmed months earlier and they had not foreseen selling the home until recently.
“We thought this would be our forever home but circumstances changed,” he said, adding they now had another development in the pipeline.
He and his wife were asked to go on the show by a local real estate agent after another couple who were set to appear pulled out at the last minute, Mr Tangas explained.
“We thought we’d help out,” he said. “What harm could it do?
“Obviously we had to play it up a little bit (with their reactions).”
Mr Tangas said the couple felt “personally attacked” by Media Watch who “came at us like a tonne of bricks”.
“Although they tried to diss the show they put us in the spotlight,” he said.
The filmmaker said the show was entertainment and he was surprised people took it seriously.
“Shell’s (Craft) a real estate agent all of a sudden,” he joked.
Media Watch host Linton Besser told viewers on Monday night the show was alerted to the lark after receiving a tip off from a neighbour.
“My wife and I were gobsmacked to watch the host of the show and the ‘supposed potential buyers’ play acting their way through the show,” the neighbour’s email read.
“What a surprise … (they) made a successful offer on a house they designed, built and already owned.
“Any credibility the show may have is in pieces on the Italian marble floor!”
It was also revealed a Dromana, Victoria home shown as being bought by a woman and her family was already owned by them and was listed on Airbnb with the tagline “see on Find My Beach House”.
News.com.au contacted Channel 9 and the show’s production company Abode Entertainment’s chief executive Gary Takle for comment.
Nine declined to comment.
Mr Takle told Media Watch the producers “sometimes reverse-engineer” the house hunting process to “enhance storytelling and ensure a satisfying viewing experience”.
The statement described the program as “light entertainment” and said a disclaimer would be added to episodes in the future.
Online streaming platform 9 Now removed episodes of Find My Beach House after receiving questions from the ABC, and they were still down as of Monday morning.
The series was re-uploaded on Monday afternoon with a disclaimer added to the end of episodes: “The events on this program are based on real property searches and purchases.
“In some cases, aspects of the home-buying journey have been reconstructed for storytelling purposes.”
Abode Entertainment specialises in lifestyle and house hunting shows such as Listing Melbourne and Find My Country House.
It won an Emmy Award in 2022 for travelling food series United Plates of America.
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