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Meet Rico León, ‘Rico to the Rescue’ Host and Renovation Rescuer

On HGTV’s Rico to the Rescue , builder Rico León helps homeowners get out of sticky situations and into their dream homes. Here’s everything you need to know about him.

Hiring a contractor is a tricky and often stressful business. Finding someone who consistently does a good job (who, most importantly, you can trust) isn’t always easy. Luckily, Rico León is here to help.
In HGTV’s upcoming series Rico to the Rescue — hitting HGTV and discovery+ Saturday, January 7 at 9|8c —Rico swoops in to help homeowners dealing with a project-gone-awry because of a bad contractor. The super builder shares his own experience with dodgy contractors, dishes how to find a good one and explains how he plans to rescue homeowners’ in Denver with his expertise.

He’s Learned From Experience

After losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to bad contractors on his own projects, Rico has learned a thing or two about how to get out of a complicated situation. He’s been on both ends — as a contractor and a homeowner. “I’ve been through it all,” he says. “On the show, I take what I’ve learned from [my own situations] and help mediate between the contractor and the homeowner. We meet with lawyers, we show you how to break contracts, how to solve issues without going legal. I come to the rescue.”

He Started From the Bottom, Now He’s Here

Rico has been in the industry since his early 20s. He started out at a plumbing company and founded the emergency restoration division there. “I grew in the ranks fairly quickly and realized my brain was wired to write contracts and help homeowners protect themselves,” he says. Now Rico owns two successful construction and restoration businesses in the Denver area.

According to Rico, There’s No “I” in “Rescue”

There’s a team of two who aid Rico in his rescue missions: ___ the chief estimator, and Poonam Moore, an interior designer. “I’m Captain Kirk and ___’s my Spock,” says Rico. “He fights tooth and nail to get insurance to pay the homeowners. Poonam works with the homeowners to make sure the whole look comes together.”

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He Wants Every Homeowner in America to Know What to Look for in a Contractor

Good references are at the top of the list. “If someone has a lot of good reviews, that’s a huge plus,” says Rico. “Ask for three references from the contractor you’re looking to hire, then give the references a call and get photos of the work the contractor did in their homes. It’s all about doing your due diligence.”

The Show Will Leave You With Warm and Fuzzy Feels

Not only do Rico and his team help families get their homes back to normal after half-finished jobs or unexpected disasters, they add in a little extra surprise, too. “Insurance pays for your life to be the same, not better,” says Rico. “Because it’s such a hard process and I want to make my clients happy, I’ll give them extra money out-of-pocket for their budget and say, ‘Hey, use this wherever you want in the house.’ It helps build my reputation and my relationship with the client.”

Golf is His Life Saver

While living in Pittsburgh before relocating to Denver, work was life for Rico. “It took 30-something years before I felt good about taking time off,” says Rico. “I picked up golf as a hobby and ended up being pretty good. The rest is history.”

He’s Found His Purpose

“Since I’ve been in so many bad contractor situations myself, I want to educate homeowners about what exactly to do in every type of scenario,” says Rico. “I hope with my knowledge, I can create real solutions between contractors and homeowners. That’s my new ‘why.”’

Rico to the Rescue premieres Saturday, January 7 at 9|8c . Follow Rico on Instagram at @rico.to.the.rescue .

 

9News – New HGTV Show Set Right In Denver

January 17, 2024
A new HGTV show “Rico to the Rescue” is going to be set right here in the City of Denver. 

Renovator Hosting HGTV Show Based In Denver | FOX31

January 17, 2024
DENVER (KDVR) — A local builder is getting national attention for his show on the Home and Garden Network, better known as HGTV. Rico Leon is the host of “Rico to the Rescue,” which premiered in January. “I was going to sell Porsches with a good friend of mine, never made it,” Leon said. About six years ago, Leon was driving to California for a new job when his car died in Denver, leaving him with the only option of taking a job in the city. Fast forward to 2023, he now calls Denver home, owns several companies and has his own show on HGTV. “I’m doing a completely new show based on what you do every day, which was pretty much this, emergency restoration and construction,” said Leon. The concept for his show, Leon said, follows the work he’s been doing for years: home remodeling with a twist of blunt and honest truth. “Everyone’s a salesperson right now,” Leon said. “Everyone’s like, ‘oh you could build the Taj Mahal in three months, oh my gosh thank you!’ That’s not reality.” The stakes are high for his clients and for him as well, but Leon said he’s used to high stakes growing up in a strict home in Pittsburgh. “She wasn’t the mom I wanted, she’s the mom I needed,” Leon said. His strict upbringing gave him the work ethic to make it in the ruthless world of home renovation. “At the time I was like, I hate this, but now I look back and I’m like, thank God she was that way,” Leon said. His Hispanic roots are an inspiration to all of his work, especially now that he’s a Latino host on HGTV. “People are like, ‘hey, you’re representing us man, make sure you do a good job!’ and I’m like, ‘yeah, don’t worry about it.’ Like, I got this. But it is a proud thing to kind of put on the resume for sure,” Leon said. Leon has received calls to renovate homes around the country. “There’s a huge amount of people that need help even outside of Denver,” Leon said. “So there may be a time where I travel to help people.” However, he still calls Denver his home base. “[I] fell in love with Colorado like everyone else and the rest is kind of history,” Leon said. The season finale of “Rico to the Rescue” will air this Saturday at 7 p.m. local time on HGTV. SOURCE: https://kdvr.com/news/local/renovator-hosts-hgtv-show-based-in-denver/ by: Rogelio Mares Posted: Feb 19, 2023 / 09:21 PM MST

Renovator hosting HGTV show based in Denver | FOX31

By Rico León • February 21, 2023
 DENVER (KDVR) — A local builder is getting national attention for his show on the Home and Garden Network, better known as HGTV. Rico Leon is the host of “Rico to the Rescue,” which premiered in January. “I was going to sell Porsches with a good friend of mine, never made it,” Leon said. […]

Trends Exclusive: ‘Rico to the Rescue’ Reveals the Biggest Mistakes Homeowners Make With Contractors

By Rico León • February 9, 2023
  Nearly every homeowner has run into problems with a contractor at some point—and a new HGTV show delves into what goes wrong, and how to keep a renovation on track. On “Rico to the Rescue,” Denver-based builder Rico León helps homeowners and the general contractors they’ve hired mend fences. If a conflict can’t be […]

Meet Rico León, ‘Rico to the Rescue’ Host and Renovation Rescuer

By Rico León • December 23, 2022
On HGTV’s Rico to the Rescue, builder Rico León helps homeowners get out of sticky situations and into their dream homes. Here’s everything you need to know about him. Hiring a contractor is a tricky and often stressful business. Finding someone who consistently does a good job (who, most importantly, you can trust) isn’t always […]
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