BearCat49

No big deal, mojito - I was actually responding to the other half of your sentence (first quotation, above) that stated "Yet another woman claiming to have OCD,". Was pretty sure I never heard her make that claim and only checked her self-intro b/c it hadn't been deleted from the dvr. I have sympathy for these reality show participants who get branded with various labels for dramatic reasons by tptb. Yes, we all understand they signed on in exchange for their 15 minutes of fame but OTOH ... No worries - Agree WRT the use / misuse of "Caribbean". In her position as a sales director, I have a feeling she's more concerned with marketing than actual geography.

Yep, we're on the same page. $7K, wow, impressive! I have a feeling we all know the first two were decoy houses and the supposed husband/wife conflict was set up by the HH ptb. I noticed during the groundbreaking decision scene that they had the husband say, "Well, I know which one you want and there's only 1 that mostly meets our needs ..." How quickly he forgot the Spanish style and his other stated desires!

Nope, I was thinking the same thing recently and then saw somebody do that the other day! BTW, I only watch new episodes so it was a current gag. I believe they've developed (haha) so many of those ridiculous gags/lines over the years that they mix them up instead of doing the same ones each and every episode. JMHO

Definitely agree! It was most certainly not a shotgun house for the reasons you guys mentioned. Here's another - what she called the shotgun would be known as the great room or open concept living area by most of us. Shotguns don't have bedrooms located off the main, shotgun corridor. (They're within that same corridor!) Yes, it looked like a cheaply made box. Wondered if they'd had it built. That yard appeared a little small for a pool, too.

Yep, that's the 1 exception I was thinking of, too. It was definitely a vacation home. Pretty sure they've only made those comments when it's been consistent with the participants' wish list all the other episodes and I've seen - well, I refuse to admit how many, lol ... Yep, you guessed it!

I'll defend Key Largo girlfriend, even though she annoyed me, too! I never heard her say, "I am OCD" at any time during the episde. She did express her desire for a clean home. Her husband called her "a little OCD about cleaning the house" a couple of times. Heard the narrator say it once. BTW, still had the episode on the dvr so checked it. She mentioned "OCD" exactly 0 times during her self-introduction. Anyone else wonder if the HH ptb filmed that Seattle woman who mentioned it about 9,000 times in reference to cleaning and accidentally picked it up there? Hmmm, makes me wonder - WRT Key Largo, they do live in a tropical climate, an hour (or so) south of Miami. Agree, I personally wouldn't call it the Caribbean - technically, it's considered the sub tropics, IIRC. That said, for advertising purposes, I believe they do call if "America's Caribbean Islands". ETA: Yes, that's what they call it: http://www.fla-keys.com/paradise.cfm Key Largo wife was the sales dir/mgr for a large, new resort, probably opening around now. So, she may have been making the episode for marketing purposes and wanted to use that moniker. In fact, she probably tried to slip in the word "Caribbean" as many times as she possibly could!

They don't, IMHO. I can only think of 1 exception on the HH program but in general, nearly 100% of the time, the realtors only make those comments if the HH participant expressed a desire for a home office area or room during their wish list recitation at the top of the episode. If an agent wasted your time in that fashion, NYGirl, I believe you probably need to find another agent! If they can't take the time to listen and understand your basic needs, wants and desires, it implies a low level of competency. JMHO.

Yes, all the girls were adopted. Not much info about them or the episode available online, although I only checked for a minute or two. It appears the father's a retired attorney and the daughter resides in another city. So, at 27/28, she might not be available to supervise her siblings. I agree with your travelogue guess, DownTheShore. Travel and tourism boards have been involved in HHI episodes in other countries. (That's been verified, BTW.) Youth and sex sells so perhaps tptb set this episode up with the daughter.

I don't have the recent statistics but believe you may have seen something of a streak, momtoall. Hillary Farr gave a promo interview a few years back (sorry, couldn't find the link) and I distinctly remember her saying at that time they were roughly tied between the "love it" and "list it" options. Obviously, tptb know the outcome in advance and can easily select on a 50/50 basis from their casting applications. In addition, they shoot so much footage, about 80 hours for 44 minutes (a 1 hour episode) that they can film both endings and edit, appropriately. At least 1 participant admitted, after-the-fact, that they magically "changed their mind" about listing / selling, hahahaha. Apparently it's common knowledge around Toronto that LIOLI is basically a reno show, meaning the participants sign up to score the discounted reno. Anyway, since Hillary's interview, approximately, it feels as if the tide turned and they've aired mostly love-it's. It's possible that they cut back on editing them, given that the participants' friends & families obviously know if they moved. The production company's standard non-disclosure agreement wouldn't do much for them. It's common knowledge. Canada's RE market* may have also influenced the outcomes. IIRC, for a number of reasons, they experienced a milder slowdown than the U.S., at a later date. So, in an extended seller's market, it's possible that more participants decided to update and stay put instead of listing. For these reasons, I believe we have seen more love-it's over the past few seasons. Haven't heard if their RE market* improved significantly but it feels as if the tide has turned and the list-it category increased, recently. *Canadian residents: please correct me WRT your RE market, if necessary. That's just what I've heard over the grapevine. One thing to remember: there's usually around a 6 month editing period between completion of filming and an episode's airdate. Given that plus their casting process months earlier, the official LIOLI results, lol, may lag well behind the RE market.

We weren't surprised; we call that the episode's "designated red herring" and most, if not all, episodes have them, IMHO.

NBD but IIRC it wasn't a confession they were after, primarily - they needed the location to rescue the other boy. That said, I agree. Didn't buy that Liv's impassioned plea that he'd be able to sleep at night if he came clean blah, blah, blah (or something) would be effective. Instead, if they'd offered him a 1-way ticket to gen pop. unless he gave it up - thought that would work. Am sure Voight/Olinsky would be happy to contact their warden pal. Or, if Liv offered to give him another 5 minutes with Voight while she exited to the ladies' room as she'd done in NYC with the other suspect - that'd be another effective option, IMHO.

Wow, that rings a bell. Now I remember that episode, too.

Personally, I'd prefer they avoid the extracurricular relationships. The occasional Erin, Severide interaction/storyline is o.k. - they don't work together and appear on different series. Guess we don't need to worry about that one for awhile - Erin slowed things down and Severide's married! Sorta! WRT the others, however, It's nice if they have chemistry working together and develop work friendships but I'd rather they stick to the COTW for the most part and avoid that territory. These programs are soapy enough, as is, IMHO From an acting perspective, I did enjoy the pairing of Mariska with Jason Beghe. They had chemistry in that sense, too and played off each other very well. So, that'd be nice to see. OTOH, don't know how they'd (occasionally) get Voight and Liv together. Although I thought this crossover was very successful and fairly seamless, I don't care to see multiple, add'l crossovers in the future. BTW, I was happy, like most viewers, that Fire only did a brief handoff at the end of their episode. P.S. Not that it matters but isn't there an age difference between the Voight/Liv characters?

No worries - not a big deal. I tend to focus on these types of maneuvers b/c they're compromising the RE value by downgrading a bathroom to only a 3/4 bath, although in this instance they picked up a 1/2 bath. WRT their purchase, I doubt they can go wrong with that location. It always comes back to that, IMHO. They shouldn't have any problems unloading a Federal Hill row house if/when the market goes south. (That is, unless there's something else that's generally unknown about Federal Hill. Anyone from Baltimore around?) We're on the same page about the unit's size. Sometimes it's cheaper/easier to reno a small space, picking up stone remnants and other items to save $$$. That said, it's always important to avoid over-improvement and satisfy the needs and wants of their most likely purchaser(s). The wife, however, still thought she was living in a 3K s.f. Buffalo tract home, making improvements to satisfy the needs of a large family, i.e. not their likely demographic.

Verified with OnDemand. Nadia was standing between Ruzek and Antonio but didn't salute the entire time. She did stand at attention, arms/hands at her sides. She did not place her hand over her heart. One thing I noticed, b/c both she and Erin simply pull their hair back, Erin looked a little like her in the initial, quick shot of the officers saluting. That could be the source of the confusion.

Darn, my reply was eaten! They did have a bathtub in their second bath, laredhead. So that was covered. Good ideas for the kitchen, although, as a cook, I'd appreciate the island for an additional work space. Would set up my dining table (see below) in the family room, assuming the powder room was relocated. In fact, IMHO, if they'd saved a few $$$ elsewhere, they could have easily reno'd both bathrooms! I would have definitely voted for that b/c of their plasticky, yuchy, molded showers. To quickly summarize my other ideas ... Did they really need wide plank h/w? The oak was in great condition. Why not extend it into the kitchen to enlarge the space and stain it dark for an updated look? Would have to price it out and consider quality, too. It may have been cheaper to replace it. Besides the oversized appliances mentioned above, did they truly need custom cabinets? use stock cabinetry and have your HHR (free) designer and contractor/carpenter design and build out the space, utilizing shelving or molding (or whatever) for a custom look. As an aside, was that kitchen in bad shape to begin with? How about painting out the cabs (doesn't have to be white, BTW), updating the hardware and adding a small island for an add'l work surface? Yes, replace the appliances, if necessary, with the same size units. Using the $$$ saved, change out the countertops. To make it special and custom, select a beautiful, unique granite slab or even marble for the island. If you don't gut the kitchen, your free resources might have time to assist with the upstairs baths - yippee! Returning to their current situation: Instead of a 4-person island, how about 3? Using an overhang on the end, 2 add'l chairs could be pulled up if/when necessary for large parties? Moreover, if the 1/2 bath had been tucked in the dead space (as suggested above), the extra peeps would spill into the adjacent family room (f/r) during parties. How often would they entertain that many people? That was the problem, IMHO. They need that add'l living space. I can see someone demo'ing that 1/2 bath in the future to reclaim the space! For formal, everyday dining, I'd place a small, round table in the f/r. W/o the powder room, I'd do a seating area and flatscreen or other entertainment / wall unit on that opposite (non-brick) wall. For dinner parties, I'd push the seating area aside and expand the round table. For the upstairs baths, I'd lose the ridiculous 15 shower heads but consider a jetted tub for a spa-like feel. (They've come down in price.) So, I'd do a nicer update on the m-bath but an above-average reno on the 2nd bath, tiling out the shower/tub combo. Too many lost opportunities, IMHO. Did their designer kinda' disappear, looking a tad frustrated? The plumber wasn't shy about expressing it, lol ...

Agree, IMHO most people have their own personal limit WRT commute times. Anything over a certain amount of time makes them crazy! If they live in a metropolitan area, they probably have a higher tolerance for it, IMHO. I've spent months working in Seattle and they have horrendous traffic! In my own home base, 40 minutes would be considered a dream commute! So, in real life, I seriously doubt that the Seattle husband would have a problem with that commute. I couldn't see the other homes as anything more than decoys for another reason: renovation time. It didn't sound as if they had a pot of cash to hire contractors to renovate a home. With a new, civilian job in the service, a blended family with 5 children, live-in mil and a needy, challenging spouse, I just couldn't see him renovating a home in his limited spare time. JMHO but I had the feeling that his 40 minutes, each way, would be the only peace and quiet he might find during the day. The commute must have been the producers' red herring for that episode. JMHO

I believe the addition of a powder room was the best decision they made. That said, I agree that it was poorly located. Everybody notice how they compounded the problem by placing a deep piece of clunky furniture in front of it and 2 chairs along that wall? Ridiculous, IMHO - They forgot to ask me (lol) but a piece of artwork and shallow console on that wall with nothing on the brick wall or a shallow hutch/bookcase/wall unit on the brick wall w/artwork on the opposite wall would have been sufficient. Not sure how many people would use a d/r in a 900 sq. ft. row house. That area certainly could have been used as a family room or additional living space. (For holidays, if necessary, a temp d/r could be set up.) For most people, most of the time, the large island would suffice as a d/r, IMHO. During the summer months, they may wish to utilize their roof deck for al fresco dining. It sounded as if she wanted a d/r only b/c she'd had one in her 3,000 sq. ft. (or whatever it was) Buffalo home. When they eventually list, I'd probably stage it differently. JMHO Ok, so, the main issue - where, oh where to locate the 1/2 bath? Many times, the best place is under the stairway, along the wall. In their home, however, they have a central, interior stairway so locating it there would disrupt the home's open concept flow and probably make a small space feel smaller by limiting their natural light. BTW, yes I get that the designer probably placed it adjacent to the kitchen to facilitate the plumbing hookup and minimize costs. Considering their long brick wall, I believe they should have tried the opposite wall, within the dead space between the end of the f/p and the stairway. Not much space is required for a powder room and they could have made it something of an architectural feature to disguise it. WRT plumbing, yes, it might have cost a tad more but I believe the other 2 baths would be directly above it. And, they wasted plenty of $$$ in other areas that could have been available, lol. JMHO. Edited b/c they had a roof "deck" but no roof "desk", lol!

Anybody up for a drinking game using the term, "OCD"? Agree, it can be very serious and require medication. She didn't come off as genuine - to me, anyway.

Don't usually watch reruns but I remember this episode from its initial airing. Also happened to catch the renovation portion the other night. Funny, I noticed additional problems (IMHO) with their renovation. Notwithstanding any trends, IMHO their biggest mistake was over-improving the property. This was 900 sq. ft. downtown row house - did the property warrant the installation of a spa shower and appliances designed for families of 4-6 people? How often can young urban professional couples, rushing out the door to either work or other activities, use and enjoy a spa shower to its full potential? Good idea to remove a tub? Yes, they added a 1/2 bath downstairs but downgraded their mbr to a 1-3/4 bath, IIRC. Is the eventual purchaser of their property most likely a male? Or, do women tend to make or have the final word WRT RE buying decisions? Women who IMHO typically prefer bathtubs, that is. They talked about that home as if it would be their forever home. How long would they remain in the city after having children? Until they start school? It's doubtful, IMHO. If they reside there 5 years, I'd be extremely surprised. If they do sell in less than 5 years so the improvements remain relatively fresh and new, yes, the home may sell faster than a comparable row house but for a similar price/sq. ft. Homes reach a value ceiling IMHO wherein additional improvements add nothing to their value. So, bottom line, the next owner may reap the rewards of their overspending and poor (from a RE $$$ perspective) choices.

Unfortunately, we live in a car-centric society. Even if incredible public transportation is available, it typically doesn't reach all employment centers. Sometimes the only/best option may be carpooling. Carpooling has certain challenges and limitations, too. WRT walkable and bikeable, that sounds like a dream! Unfortunately, RE is an illiquid asset. It's not always possible for homeowners to relocate each time their employment location changes, within walking or biking distance of a new employer. And, they may not want to live in that particular area, for whatever reason. Besides that, the walkable location could be incredibly inconvenient for a working spouse/partner's employment. If nothing else, the city parking spot may be an incredible RE investment, even if a homeowner uses public transportation! As parking becomes more scarce and urban areas grow, the homeowner could possibly rent out their parking spot and eventually cash out their equity, We'll see if HGTV / HH ever uses that as an episode twist! Could be interesting. IIRC, somebody did mention the possibility of using a scooter in Silicon Valley once, IIRC.

That's it - couldn't place it during the episode - Bill Rancic! Haven't ever seen Kitchen Casino but isn't he the guy who was the first Apprentice? He creeps me out for some reason. And his wife - ugh! Totally agree with your post, DownTheShore - this wife bothered me, too. They both came off as vapid, IMHO. Wasn't the guy a flooring sales manager or something? Yep, I could see him on an infomercial. Real men don't have allergies, lol! Lose the dandy hats and clothes, dude!

All I can say is that I certainly hope Mad Men's ptb paid ($$$) HGTV's ptb!

Agree, seems like it typically takes 1 or maximum 2 nights for most people (IMHO) to adjust to any given new type of noise WRT sleep. Thanks for posting the BBC link, DownTheShore. Perhaps I read it incorrectly (?) but some of those people sounded a tad whiney. Yes, in a perfect world, I'm sure their spouse's HR department would follow up with them. If they don't, drop your own dime, people! If your spouse hasn't developed sufficient contacts with his/her coworkers (either locals or expats), how about checking in with other expat spouses from the company? Perhaps someone in country longer could help you out. Or, join a local expat club. If they don't have one, start your own! Try social media - If you have children, use those contacts, e.g. other parents at the international school or even better, your kids' teachers. Yes, I'm sure it can be extremely difficult, especially if they had to forgo promising careers of their own. Seems like once that decision has been made, however, I would hope that the spouse would make the best of it and use it as a time for personal growth, if they're unable to work (for whatever reason) overseas.

Good question, NYGirl, "Who says things this way?" Perhaps the answer is "Nobody!", lol. Not trying to sound like a broken record WRT the HGTV / HH production company but do any of you agree that people frequently write things much differently than they say them in real life? So, my guess is that some intern or production assistant scribed many of these lines and phrases way back when - say, back to the beginning of HH time and they stuck! Do have a different guess for one phrase. (Yippee, lol!) My understanding is that "ticking the boxes" is a British phrase. Have learned by reading various participant blogs that the main, and possibly the original, HH production team was (and is, currently) based in London. So, I believe that's the origin of HH's constant use or overuse (IMHO) of that particular phrase. Wish I could point to a financial or RE professional reason for some of the other phrases but that's not the case, according to my own professional background. The various phrases, IMHO, were most likely written by some 19 year-old intern who volunteered in 2005 (or whenever) and hoped it sounded professional to the Pie Town Productions ptb he/she was trying to impress in order to score a real job, lol!