'Who's Afraid of a Cheap Old House?' Stars Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein Discuss Restoring Homes (EXCLUSIVE)

Renovating a fixer-upper is a very familiar concept when it comes to home network shows, but Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein are taking that concept one step further. Instead of flipping homes, the couple wants to help people restore old beautiful houses as close to the original design as possible.

'Cheap Old Houses' Stars Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein

In their latest HGTV series Who's Afraid of a Cheap Old House?, audiences will see the pair take potential buyers on tours of two listings. Once they decide on a property, the lovely Finkelstein couple will help them overhaul the place into a restored gem.

In August 2021, DreamDive spoke exclusively with the Finkelsteins about how they started this project from just an Instagram page and why the Cheap Old House franchise inspires others to find hidden housing market gems that can one day be restored.

Before HGTV came knocking to set Elizabeth and Ethan up with their own show, the duo had already amassed a substantial following on social media with over 2.8 million people subscribing to their Instagram page, Cheap Old Houses.

So, how did they get started building their brand?

The two had a passion for old homes and created a fairly large audience on their website, which features real estate listings across the country. The duo quickly learned that most of their audience was invested in older homes at lower prices, which could then be fixed up. As a result, they decided to start an Instagram page dedicated to those older homes.

"It went viral very quickly," Elizabeth told DreamDive of the Instagram page's shocking popularity. "It's striking a nerve right now because people can't afford houses. Millennials who are on Instagram are priced out of the market because they have so much student debt and they are living in major cities that are eating up all of their income in their rent."

She continued, "I think [Cheap Old Houses] has brought this inspiration and this idea of accessibility. It has maybe opened people's eyes to other places in the country [where] they can live besides New York and LA."

As for Ethan, he felt that their Instagram page really took off when he realized how many people started buying properties from the social media app. He explained to us, "We are bringing home shopping to the Internet. I've never really thought that Cheap Old Houses would do that."

Unlike other renovation show hosts, Elizabeth and Ethan are "anti-flipping." They do not want people to purchase these older homes just to strip them of their original character and charm.

"I think it's a refreshing way to talk about houses in a world right now saturated by new, new, new, disposable, disposable, flip, flip," Elizabeth told DreamDive. Instead, they hope viewers will go on a journey with them to "envision what [these homes] used to look like and could look like again."

While many people absolutely love looking at before-and-after pictures, Ethan explained that he hopes fans of the Chead Old House franchise will find the inspiration to restore an old home. He told us, "I just think the biggest thing for me is just, [people] can do this. This is possible. Our Instagram page is the place where you start to find your house and then you can end up on the show with a saved house."

Watch Who's Afraid of a Cheap Old House? on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST on HGTV.