Host and Renovator, Lauren Risley, strikes a pose in this beautifully renovated kitchen.
Lauren Risley is strikingly modest despite her newfound celebrity as an HGTV host. The St. Charles native, corporate refugee, and owner of Lauren Risley Realty is the star of Call the Closer, an eight-episode series produced by St. Louis-based Coolfire Studios.
“The craziest part about all of this is that I never wanted to be on TV,” says Risley, 37. “It’s never something I wanted or even thought was possible. I’ve been waiting for it to feel real, but nothing has changed, and I think it hasn’t changed because this is just what I do.”
We recently caught up with Risley to talk about her career, working in television, and doing her part to bring attention to St. Louis.
I understand that you initially worked as a senior partner at Douglas Group, doing mergers and acquisitions. How did you get your start in real estate?
I bought my first house at 19 with the help of a friend. He renovated houses, so he took me under his wing and showed me different aspects of the business. [About seven years ago] I decided I wanted to flip for profit. I realized that the corporate hustle is a lot. I made good money, but it didn’t feel fulfilling. I took a leap and decided to go into the real estate business. I did very well my first year and loved it.
How did Call the Closer come about?
Several years ago, at a real estate seminar, [a speaker] was talking about how consumers are looking to video versus print marketing. I had a friend who is a photographer/videographer, and I said, “Hey, once a week, will you spend the day with me? We’ll walk through some of my rehabs and also do fun stuff like eat at local restaurants?” So we filmed these YouTube videos and I got a call from Coolfire.
Steve Luebbert, who’s our executive producer, had me come in and [asked what I thought] about doing a TV show. I said, “I think that sounds horrible, and I have no interest.” He said, “Well, let’s do this: Let’s shoot a TV show, a little sizzle, and see if the networks like it, and if it doesn’t get picked up, we’ll give you the rights to the video.” We started filming, got really great feedback and ran with it. Never in a million years did I think we’d be on HGTV.
What feedback have you received and what can viewers expect from the rest of the season?
The feedback has been unbelievable. Strangers [have been] reaching out on Facebook, Instagram, my email, my cell phone. I think one thing that separates our show from any other renovation show is that you really get to know the [home]buyers. The show’s not about me. It’s about the process of buying and renovating. Each episode is different in terms of the homeowners and the style of renovation.
What are some of the biggest challenges you face when it comes to renovating homes in the St. Louis area? What challenges did you face on Call the Closer?
I tell people all the time, ‘If renovating a home were easy, nobody would buy a move-in-ready house. Everyone would buy a custom home.’ On Call the Closer, every episode has its challenges. On one house in the Central West End, we did an open concept and found out that the ductwork was wrapped in asbestos, so we immediately stopped working. We had to have that professionally abated and remediated, so that was an $8,000 [expense] that wasn’t expected. All renovations have their issues. But I have an unbelievable team, and we always have a backup plan and then we have a backup plan to that backup plan.
Homeowners, David and Kristin, are in shock over their new transformed house.
How did Covid-19 and the hot real estate market impact your work with the show?
The market made filming a little bit more stressful because my first priority is to my business, my agents, and my clients. Obviously, filming took me out of much of the day-to-day in the buying and selling world, so it was a juggling act to make calls and send emails in between takes. I stayed up super late after filming to work. The good thing is that I’ve grown my team over the last year and I have the most amazing agents and back-office people to keep the business not only going but growing. Covid affected filming significantly. We had to stop filming when the stay-at-home order was in force, and as things opened back up, production was still slow because of compliance procedures. A lot of the production crew moved to St. Louis from around the country—that’s tough during a pandemic. And as many people know, building-material costs skyrocketed and there were a lot of delays. That said, for filming a first season during Covid, production and contractors still nailed it. They were amazing.
What do you hope viewers will walk away with after viewing the series?
Two things. One is St. Louis. We had about 12 people move here to film. From the jump, none of them were excited to be living in St. Louis. But, by August, none of them wanted to leave. I’m excited for the rest of the country to see St. Louis the way we do. There’s so much here, and the people are so friendly. Two is letting people know that there’s more than one way to buy a house. The easiest way is to find one that fits your needs and buy it. But if there’s something specific that you want, don’t be afraid to renovate. That’s the way you’re going to get everything you want.
