BearCat49

I believe the Suzanne Whang elimination was simply to save $$$. It's much cheaper to pay a background, off-camera voiceover artist than on-camera talent. It was hilarious how tptb found a voiceover artist (the one prior to Dunker) who sounded very similar to Suzanne. WRT the realtor errors or omissions, I give them a break. We don't know if tptb edited/cut their comments or they showed an inappropriate home b/c that's the only one where the homeowners gave consent for filming. Same thing for the ridiculous plotlines and wishlist items, e.g. the high school rivalry, turtle lady, mail slot and doggie door. Most of it, I don't buy. Tptb got what they wanted - fans continue watching and talking about those episodes. IIRC, the doggy door woman was HH, Sacramento. So perhaps both shows (HH and PV) used that plot because it's so stellar! (not)

The makeup that jumped out at me was the friend of the Hawaii widow who moved to Costa Rica. She had painted a wide, black rim all around her eyes, even underneath the bottom lid. Guess she definitely wanted everyone to notice her during her 15 minutes.

IIRC, both my personal reaction and the reaction to the Georgia woman on twop was that her "English accent" was totally put-on and fake. She'd been living there for a period of years, more than 5, possibly (?), again IIRC. Yes, she already had a baby and after all the whining about an English cottage, they naturally selected a basic, boxy row house, IIRC. That's an oldie - Can't remember the Leeds couple off the top of my head but I believe anyone from FL would have a tough time adjusting to the English weather.

I doubt the Hawaii woman who moved to Costa Rica was hurting, financially. Given the security concerns in many of these countries, I wouldn't be surprised if tptb selected that particular plot for that reason, pursuant to her request. One article describes her as a "defense contractor" in Pearl Harbor. Another states she was working, probably for a contractor in counter intelligence in Hawaii. She has a background in international relations. She also comes up online as an import-export operator. At minimum, she's probably doing that in CR. She's apparently writing a book about the death of her boyfriend. She wrote a testimonial for the realtor and stated everything for her househunt had to be done via email b/c she was on vacation in Australia (expensive). Also states she needed a "property manager". Hmmm - Yes, I was thinking during the episode that she probably received some life insurance proceeds, too.

If I was a betting man, I'd pretty much bet anyone, anything that the Durham guy has no schoolbus parked by the home and won't ever have one. That was more like, IMHO, he jokingly told a HH intern during the interview process that he'd thought about moving into a schoolbus during college to save $$$, or something along those lines. Drama masters that they are, tptb would have jumped on that one and run with it for the episode. IIRC, his wife was not going to let that happen. WRT the Westerville couple, it was obvious that was their house from the beginning. They didn't need to search for an entire year, living at the parents', if true, in order to find a tract home in the suburbs (haha), 3 miles from the bustling nightlife, lol. (No offense to anyone from OH or the Midwest or any small town, anywhere, BTW.)

Oops, I meant to say that most of them, if the HHI plot indicates they up and moved w/o a job or place to live, according to their blogs or linkedin, have BOTH lived AND worked there for often a year or more. That is, not just lived there. Sorry -

In the early HHI days, participants stated the housing costs in local currency. The costs were also captioned in USD ($$$). Guess tptb decided that was too complicated for our pea brains, lol!

You haven't heard to avoid any home called a "contractor's special" when househunting, Patrizio? No offense to any contractors on the boards but they have a reputation for leaving a plethora of unfinished projects. It's like the hairdresser with the bad hair, etc. They were searching for a Chicago bungalow - not sure what you meant by "type". By Durham guy, did you mean the guy talking about parking a schoolbus in the yard? I thought that was a producers' joke, seriously. Haven't ever heard anything about CA and a desire for RV's. (BTW, I've watched all the new episodes and only remember 1.) And, if HH filmed them in multiples, it's more likely, IMHO, that they scored a few show participants from the RV club or set it up as a new standard plot line, e.g. 1 spouse city - the other country or 1 spouse move-in ready - the other fixer ... and so on.

if you check out either their personal blogs or linkedin, you'll find that most of the HHI participants who supposedly up and moved w/o a job already live in the new location and have for (often) a year or more. It's just another standard HHI plotline, i.e. a feeble attempt to create drama.