‘Property Virgins’: New Host Wendy Wolfe Gets Personal & Reveals How Show Will Be Different
Q&A
The hit show Property Virgins is back and in a new home at A&E. With the new digs comes a new host in Wendy Wolfe. The radio and TV personality brings impressive credentials including being a top realtor in Toronto. She takes the hosting baton from Sandra Rinomato and Egypt Sherrod, working with clients as they make one of the biggest financial decisions: buying their first home.
You never forget your first, and Wolfe hopes these newbie owners leave with fond memories from the purchasing experience. Each episode brings a couple from different backgrounds, budgets, and wishlists for their perspective home. Wolfe is tasked with presenting them with choices from fixer-uppers to turnkeys to a property that may fall in between.
Here Wolfe explains why this iteration of Property Virgins stands out.
How did this opportunity to host come about?
Wendy Wolfe: It was kind of random. I used to own a gym way back when, and one of my former members saw a casting call for the show. She dropped the link in my messenger and said I should audition for this. I hadn’t been on television in about 15 years. I thought why not and sent in a tape. I got a call three works later to do an audition. A trial run of the show with a fake couple and fake house to go through what the show would be. A week later they called asking if I wanted to make a show.
A&E
What would you say made you stand out?
In the interviews I had with the executive producer I was very much the same person from our phone call, our Zoom interview, and our audition. This is Wendy. You’re going to get her all the time. I think they liked I didn’t put on pretending to be someone else when the cameras were on. I was me. I was very comfortable in front of the camera. I was raised as an only child. So it was always the Wendy show in my house growing up. I had television experience as a news reporter for a while and in HR for several years, so I’ve always felt comfortable interviewing people and talking to people. I think I’m a little funny. I’m learning to play the drums. I teach salsa dancing, so did that a bit in my tape. I think it was a combination of expertise with a real estate background, but me being chill and real and charismatic.
How did you fall into real estate?
I wanted a forever career. I’ve done a bunch of jobs, but I wanted a career that would guide me into retirement. I was raised by a single mom. I never lived in a house growing up. We’d only live in apartments. I had decided at a young age when I moved out that I would have my own house. It was going to be my house. Nobody else on the deed but me, and I was going to eventually be mortgage-free by the time I was 40. I bought my house in my mid-30s. Then I bought and sold and bought and sold on my own before becoming a realtor. I was mortgage-free by the time I was 40. Real estate was always in the back of my mind, and I enjoyed the process.
A&E
What has made you so successful?
I think it’s a combination of things. I’m easy to talk to, and I’m pretty chill. I’m a no-BS person, so people who work with me know you’re getting the truth every day and all the time. I don’t cut corners. I don’t sugarcoat. I’m just very relatable and real in that respect. I have clients who are 25 and clients who are 85. I can bridge that gap by being fully honest with people. I’m not a mom aside from being a cat mom, but I treat my clients like they are my children or family. I hold their hand in a way I think a lot of agents wouldn’t do. It’s a bit more personal touch with me.
What do you think makes this version of the show different?
It’s the same premise and format, but stylistically I think is quite modern and sleek. There are great shots including drone shots and updated graphics. I think it’s more refreshed that way. It also speaks to the current market and what it is like to buy a house in 2023-2024. If you go back to the last episodes in 2017 and 2018, the market is crazy now. People now have a lot of access to social media and the internet. I think a lot of the information that people are getting is not always factual or accurate. There are bidding wars. The strategy of pricing low and selling high and all the things you can do to compete with the bidding wars and other buyers. You didn’t get 40 offers on a house in 2018, but you get them now. Also, the process of offers is different. It’s all digital and online. You have to really have a good strategy because you’re donig everything digitally. The personal touch isn’t as prevalent as it used to be.
Some couples are also factoring in the potential of having tenants.
You look at the market and how housing prices are going, there are a lot of people that will probably not be able to afford a home. People must look at alternative sources of income, especially within your property. It is an investment, so if you can find a way to pay down the mortgage, that’s great. I always sit down and caution my buyers on having a tenant. I’ve had tenants in my house. You have to vet them to the 100th degree and take a deep dive into who you’re getting into your house. Sometimes you can’t get rid of them and end up with a nightmare tenant otherwise. That always freaks me out with first-time buyers. I always suggest a good family and good friends first. It’s a great way to move forward and live your life and help pay down the mortgage, but you have to be cautious.
What can you tease about the clients you help this season?
We’ve chosen couples that are all across the map when it comes to living situations and financial situations. This may be the first time living together for some of them due to religious beliefs. I’m looking at a lot of these couples thinking, “Wow, that was me when I was house hunting. That was me wanting it all in my first house.” For me, viewers will see a lot of themselves in these couples. That will be the fun part.
Property Virgins premiere, March 30, 12 p.m./11c, A&E
