By ALEXANDRA NEWMAN

Wednesday afternoon an HGTV advance team visited a house in Porter, which is one of three in the area being considered for a show called “Hidden Potential.”

The house on Michigan St., is the oldest of the three houses being considered for the show. Two are in Valparaiso, one is a ranch style, and the other is a quad-level, said Bill Curran, production assistant.

Curran took a few minutes to chat, while Design Consultant Sloan Beverburg, checked the house, and the photographer (name not given) snapped dozens of pictures outside and in each room. Before they left, they measured the walls of the rooms.

“The potential buyers are looking for a house in the Valparaiso area,” Curran continued.

They want a room that can be designed for scrapbooking and a house that will be a sanctuary for seven cats, he said.

Owners of the house in Porter are Jerry and Cathy Baldwin, who consented to the process of having their house be considered, and just happen to be big fans of the show. As coincidental as that might be, it was Jan Thomas of McColley Real Estate who received an e-mail from the show. The producers picked this house from a listing on the internet.

With the information taken Wednesday, an architect will provide a design to show the seller how it can be fixed up.

In about four weeks, the buyers will visit the three homes and see the potential as designed by the architect, and make a decision. The buyers will be filmed as they tour each house.

“It takes about 2.5 days of filming,” Curran said.

Posted 3/20/2008