HGTV’s ‘Rico to the Rescue’ Reveals What Shocked Him This Season – and What ‘Blows My Mind’ [Exclusive]
After years in the construction business, not much shocks Denver-based builder Rico León from HGTV‘s Rico to the Rescue.
The series follows León as he tries to mediate between the homeowner and contractor when a home improvement or construction project goes awry. Sometimes León can successfully bring the homeowner and contractor back together so they can finish the job. But, as Rico to the Rescue viewers have seen, sometimes the entire job completely melts down.
‘Rico to the Rescue’ shows the ‘good, bad, and ugly’
Even though he’s seen it all, León continues to be surprised when contractors refuse to meet him halfway or even consider a way to finish the project.
“I feel like I’ve seen everything. I see the good, bad, and the ugly,” he told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “It’s just something that’s surprising. It’s probably the fact where I give the contractor an out. And it’s like you have the chance for your reputation to look good. You have a chance for someone like myself to help you and start doing the communication for you.”
“So what blows my mind is, is when these guys don’t want to talk to me. And I think a lot of times because they think I’m trying to trap them,” he explained. “They’re like, ‘Oh, he’s gonna pin me in a corner. This is like To Catch a Contractor.’ That’s not my angle. Because if I attack, the lawyers win. Even if the homeowners are right, the lawyers win.”
What does Rico León hope to see on ‘Rico to the Rescue’?
León used contractor Sia as an example of what he hopes to encounter. During home building, Sia and the homeowner ran into one construction nightmare after the other. But the contractor and homeowner put aside their differences and moved forward with León’s help.
“Perfect example, Sia, Sia stepped up,” he said. “There are mistakes on both ends there with both him and the homeowner. I said, hey, I am willing to help if you’re willing to come back. And by the way, it’s just me doing the right thing. If you’re a contractor who can admit that you missed a come back and do a phenomenal job, that’s rare. That’s huge, especially with my help. So, I’m here to make your life easy.”
León also tries to create an easy path for contractors by talking to them first off-camera. “I mediate,” he explained. “I listen to the contractor.” That means telling production to give them privacy to discuss the job. “Let me just talk to him and let’s just have a one-on-one of no B.S. No, cameras and let’s figure this out,” he said. “When they come back, we can work.”
What’s been a huge factor in contractor/homeowner breakdowns?
León said that while shady contractors have always existed, the pandemic made construction much harder for even reputable companies.
“The pandemic is one of the biggest factors because I think a lot of contractors, they were bidding like they were before,” he explained. “They could build you a beautiful kitchen, but they don’t know inflationary costs and how to factor those things into a bid according to the length of time it’s going to take, which before was three months, but now it’s 12 months for the same project.”
With more unknown factors for both the contractor and homeowner, communication tends to break down. This leaves everyone feeling frustrated and losing money. “So that’s why everything went downhill,” he said. “The pandemic was one of the biggest factors, but unfortunately, they were still selling and producing jobs that they couldn’t [fullfill].”
Rico to the Rescue airs Saturdays at 9 pm ET/PT on HGTV.
