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FARGO — Nearly three months after Fargo realtor Poonam Budhiraja was featured in an episode of HGTV’s “House Hunters,” her sister and business partner Aruna Hagen will take her turn in the silver screen spotlight.
The Wednesday, June 1, episode of “House Hunters” will feature Hagen, of Advantage Inc. Realtors, helping Fargo couple Josh and Nancy Gogolakis find a new home.
“It was an amazing experience. I was excited about our area being featured on HGTV,” Hagen says.
Following in her sister’s footsteps onto HGTV helped.
“I have been in real estate since 2009 so I was confident about my skills and knowledge as a good Realtor, but I was nervous about my Indian accent. My sister helped me overcome that and said viewers will probably love this accent. I really hope they do,” she says.
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The Gogolakis family was looking for about a 3,000-square-foot, move-in-ready home in Fargo or West Fargo with a $350,000 budget. They preferred a rambler or a two-story, but needed three bedrooms on the same floor so all three kids could be next to each other.
“Nancy wanted a glamorous home with many bells and whistles,” Hagen says.
While mom was open to going a little over the $350k budget, dad had his own wants.
“On the other hand, Josh is OK with an older home as long as it's move-in ready with no projects and within their budget,” the Realtor adds.
Hagen couldn’t reveal how the episode played out, but says it shows the Fargo-Moorhead area in a good light.
“I am originally from India and the first place I landed in the USA was Fargo. Fargo got me hooked because of the loving and caring community and also the career opportunities,” she says. “This episode will show the viewers around the country that we are not like the movie, ‘Fargo.’ We are a large and growing city with a small-town attitude. The F-M area is a land of opportunities and a hidden gem.”
The episode may have one similarity with the Coen brothers movie: filmed in January, it shows wintry scenes.
As an immigrant herself, she says the Gogolakis family made for an interesting story as Nancy is from Kenya.
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“Even though they are from different countries and different backgrounds, they both want one thing and that’s raising their kids in our safe, loving and caring community of the F-M area,” Hagen says.
The Realtor plans to watch Wednesday’s episode, which starts at 9 p.m. Central time, with family, friends and co-workers.
In the March episode of “House Hunters,” Poonam Budhiraja helped Jerry Griggs and Alexa Dixson-Griggs find a new place after outgrowing their Moorhead rambler.
