Scott McGillivray knows how to make money from nothing.
The rakish 33-year-old Toronto-born carpenter has endeared himself to viewers by showing them how to convert spare rooms into legal rental suites on the popular HGTV series Income Property. And the man speaks from experience. While attending the University of Guelph, he bought his first house, which he arranged to rent out to fellow students before he even purchased it. Today, he manages 18 rental properties with more than 100 tenants.
McGillivray's big TV break occurred when he met home-improvement diva Debbie Travis at a home show. Soon after, he was the resident carpenter on Debbie Travis' Facelift, which he followed by becoming project manager on her show From the Ground Up. McGillivray took over the host reins in 2009 with Income Property, now in its fourth season, and shares the judging duties with Mike Holmes on All-American Handyman.
Away from the workplace, McGillivray and his wife, Sabrina, live in Brampton, Ont., and much of his downtime is spent watching television, including these three current favourite programs.
Two and a Half Men I don't know if liking this show is a good thing or a bad thing these days, but I still love it. I've watched pretty much every season. It's not your typical sitcom. At times, I find it almost a crossover between a comedy and reality show. It's really Charlie Sheen - his name is even Charlie on the show - and it seems to be his life. As we know now, that seems to be the way he really lives.
American Pickers The people on this show hunt for stuff and try to find some value in them. The fact they actually do find value in some of the things they find I think is fascinating. It's a niche profession, but these people are really passionate about their work and I admire that in any entrepreneur.
Wipeout There's nothing to be learned from this show, but it's become a guilty pleasure for me. I find myself watching it over and over again. There's just something awesome about watching other people hurt themselves - voluntarily, of course. I can't wait for the Canadian version. I was going to apply to be on the show. I also find it amazing how much work they do to keep upgrading the course. It's just ridiculous, but great.
Income Property airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on HGTV.