A popular HGTV show filmed in Denver is helping homeowners at odds with their contractors after renovations have gone awry. The show works with Denver lawyers to get it all done.
“Rico to the Rescue” follows Rico León, a realtor and construction restoration consultant, and his team as they help families struggling with construction issues. The first season helped eight different families and the show was recently renewed for a second season.
The show works with lawyers like David Hannum, a partner at Robinson & Henry, to help navigate legal issues concerning renovations. Hannum was an attorney for clients on two episodes and said he got involved after a producer of the show reached out.
“It’s kind of a funny story, he scheduled us with a regular consultation kind of posing as a potential client,” Hannum said. “That’s what I thought it was and I go in there and he says, ‘Actually I’m a producer I’m putting a show together … Is this something that you guys help with in normal situations … and also would you be interested in exploring being on a show?’ Of course, we were interested and took it from there.”
The two episodes followed two families, one who experienced fire damage and the other who planned to build a nursery and bedroom in their basement after their relationships with their contractors soured.
Both cases, seen in the first and sixth episodes of “Rico to the Rescue,” Hannum said the homeowners entered into a contract and felt while they had held up their side of the contract, the contractors hadn’t. The homeowners felt the contractors weren’t disclosing where costs were being attributed and weren’t working properly with insurance companies. Both cases had a positive outcome, Hannum said.
The show offered built-in expert opinions and gave the clients “more bang for their buck” by providing materials at a discount, according to Hannum.
“Whenever we needed an expert opinion, with respect to construction defect and faulty labor on the other side, we could go right to [Rico and his people] and they filled us in on those details. It was really really positive and useful … Our clients didn’t have to pay for that expert opinion,” Hannum said. “Our clients were able to get back on their feet a little bit quicker and easier, and that let them focus a little bit more on their cases.”
Hannum also said in typical cases, he doesn’t get to see what the home looks like after the construction defect but has been able to experience that with the show.
“It’s really rewarding to see it front and center and see the quick end result of the remodeling getting them literally back into the home that they had bargained for,” Hannum said.
According to a press release from Watt Pictures, the show’s production company, “‘Rico to the Rescue’ is looking for homeowners in the larger Denver area for the second season. Families can apply or be nominated at RicoRescueMe.com.”
Hannum said for people experiencing similar issues, reaching out to a lawyer sooner rather than later can help before undergoing renovation or remodeling projects. Having a lawyer review the contract prior to starting is good practice too, Hannum explained, especially if it’s a significant investment.
“On the back end, if you’re in a contract, and things aren’t going so well, it never hurts to reach out to a lawyer and the earlier you do it often, the better,” Hannum said. “I’ll have consultations with people where sometimes they caught me a little bit too early and prematurely. But I could at least guide them with respect to the next steps.”