laredhead

The term "living off the grid" to me means living without public electric lines or water. There is a TV series about people doing that. You are dependent on solar panels or generators for electric power, wood stoves for heat and cooking, and a well for water.

I think it's time to retire Senior. His last couple of appearances weren't the best - IMO.

Murietta, CA episode - do some women HH's think there's a franchise for The Real Housewives in every town? I hope the woman from Murietta never gets together with the woman from Temecula to house hunt. No realtor in their right mind would take them as clients. The realtor last night said a few times that nothing was going to make the Murietta HH happy. That couple should have found a lot and built exactly what they wanted. Also, I've said it before, look at the pix of the listing before you go see it. I'm sure every kitchen was pictured and you could see before you got there that 2 of them did not have white kitchens. I understand that some people don't want to live in a development that has an HOA and requires rules and fees to support amenities, but don't be such a jerk about saying you don't like anyone telling you what you can and can't do. Just tell your spouse and the realtor that's a deal breaker and shut up about it. Yes, I know HH wants to amp up the conflict, but some of us just want to watch a conflict free show at the end of the day. I was so over them by the time the show ended, I really can't remember the differences in the houses. So they bought a 5 bedroom/4 bath house - right? The MIL ended up taking a 2nd floor bedroom, but the wife said she gave that big blue bedroom to the son, which meant that 2 girls had to share a room. Why not give the largest bedroom to the children who would have to share? I am assuming that the oldest girl got the bedroom and bath downstairs, but no mention was made of that. If MIL has health or mobility issues in the future, that 2nd floor bedroom is going to be inconvenient. I would bet that MIL is the full time baby sitter. Did anyone hear what this couple does for a living?

In today's times, the couple in last night's renovation episode had a whirlwind relationship, having only known each other less than a year. I hope they have a lifetime together because they seem to be a good fit. He was nice about wanting her to have some things she really wanted, and there wasn't any snark from them about each other. I liked the backyard with the smaller pool, and I thought the end result on the house renovations were nice. I'm still not a fan of gray, but the finished kitchen looked good, and maybe it was the darker gray cabinets that I liked better than the color that was originally chosen. I am glad that the aubergene color on the island went away, but the guy was willing to go along with it for his girlfriend. Her concern about the money was a good balance to his desire to spend a lot, but again, they weren't snarky to each other about it. I enjoyed this one.

Loved the couple in the Washington Island, WI episode. No huge expectations, and the wife said that the future kids could share a bathroom AND a closet. She said that's the way she grew up and it was fine. At first I thought this was a vacation home episode being sneaked in as a regular HH episode, but this couple was going to make Washington Island their home. I loved the settings for all of the houses, and the prices weren't outrageous. Once again, I ended up heading to the map and reading up on the location of this place. It must be pretty cold there in the winter. Anyone familiar with that area?

The second house in the Lansing episode would have been my favorite except for the hot tub in the master bathroom. Who puts a hot tub in the bedroom? I loved the views and the amount of land. It needed some work, but I could have lived there with some modifications. In the winter it might be problematic driving to work or school, and 30 minutes is a commute when you are used to being closer to your place of employment. I was not familiar with Lansing, NY and looked it up to find out where it is. Found out that residents ofLansing, NY later settled in Michigan and named their new town there, Lansing, which later became the capital of Michigan. Gee, HH can be educational.

Just saw the much discussed renovation with the ovens in a brick wall, and horrible back splash. It's obvious that this woman must drive her family nuts with her perfectionism and difficulty in making decisions. Her sister-in-law has a ton of common sense, and the homeowner should listen to her. The first back splash install would have looked better than that ridiculous 1" offset. I'm so over subway tile, that by the time it was finally installed, I didn't care what it looked like. I think a pretty glass tile with no grout lines would have been nice. Why is she obsessed with the way the fireplace isn't centered on the brick wall. You walk around the corner and there are the ovens placed at the end of the brick wall and they aren't centered. She is the perfect example of why you need to have everything planned and all decisions on finishes made before you begin a huge renovation (or any size renovation). If you don't plan, then it's going to cost you money that you might not have. Someone commented that she should have done more research and looked at a lot pictures on line before going with the first thing the designer threw out. I did laugh at the end when she said she did that all by herself. Uh, yeah, with ample help from the SIL, contractors, and the designer. I had a major kitchen renovation done a couple of years ago, and I'm a single woman. It takes a village to do it - lol.

Going back a few episodes to the couple from Houston who bought a weekend/vacation house in Rockport, Texas, and I haven't seen any comments about that episode. Yes, it was another Beachfront HH episode rebranded to a regular HH. I usually erase those interlopers, but when it said the house was in Rockport I was interested to see what the area looked like after it was devastated by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. You can never get a true sense of where anything is on HH because they aren't very specific, but I thought they would at least mention the storm, but they didn't. The couple were not annoying, and the episode was pretty boring, but I find 99% of the beachfront episode boring because the houses tend to all look alike. In this case the couple bought an older house that evidently survived the storm because it was a few hundred feet from the water. I thought they would probably go for the brand new condo right on the beach. I'm thinking maybe Rockport is now going to be "discovered" by vacationers, and this condo has obviously been constructed since the storm. I another one hits, that new place is probably going to end up flattened and in the water, or the entire first floor will be flooded. The couple probably made the best decision not to buy it.

I liked the graphic comparing the cost of the Austin houses and the monthly notes for each. Each one had a different interest rate, and I couldn't see if the final note reflected a down payment percentage amount. All of the houses were nice, but I really thought they would go for #3 that was attached (barely) to another house. I would have liked to have seen an overhead view of those houses to get a better idea of how each one had private yard space, and where they were attached. I guess Austin is a bit more liberal with their zoning than other areas to allow houses like that to be build as infill in existing neighborhoods. Reminded me of the front/back houses we saw in a recent Nashville episode. I totally got it with the house that had the HVAC in a closet instead of the attic where it would have been quieter. My house has such a low roof line that the HVAC system has to be in a closet just inside the front door. It can get pretty loud when the fan for the A/C is running on high speed in the summer. As for the lack of a deck or concrete patio outside the back sliders, that is really a pet peeve of mine. A remodeler/flipper will spend $$ in places for cosmetic bling, but then skimp on practical things that are really necessary. it's almost like they have spent everything, and at the very last they realize they are out of $$ and aren't going to spend a few hundred dollars more to make something usable. I wanted to see his coffee bar all set up in the new place. Was glad to have a couple that didn't snipe at each other throughout the entire episode for a change.

I didn't like any of the Jersey Shore houses. I hope they cleaned that white carpet before they moved in. There is no way I would ever install white carpet in a room that has an outside entry. Speaking of outside entry, that was a really weird entry space, as noted by the HH's when they arrived. It probably was a porch at one time, and no one took the time or $$ to raise the floor level when they enclosed it. I remember the damage that Superstorm Sandy caused in that area. Would those houses flood in another storm like that? I'm not familiar enough with the area they were in, but when I see a sand dune across the street, I'm assuming that a big storm could wipe that out and you would really have a water view with water in your house.

I finally watched the AZ episode. Everything everyone said is true - this couple is going on my annoying HH list. One of my pet peeves is HH's who go see a house and act like they know nothing about it until they get there other than the price and number of bedrooms. Read the listing and realize that a 1,500 sf house with 5 bedrooms is going to have a small living area and bedrooms the size of postage stamps. Don't tour it and complain about how small every room is. Do the math! Maybe I'm being too generous in thinking that they can do simple math. The house they bought is nothing special, and I wouldn't rent it. Was that the one near the Goodwill store? None of those houses were attractive, and certainly not inviting to rent for a vacation. I agree with prior comments about the cost of flying to a vacation home being expensive. Are they going to rent a car when they get there or Uber everywhere? More expense. Vacation house to me is something I can drive to on weekends. It's also something that I don't want other people living in when I'm not there. I'm tired of the beach hunter, family hunting, and vacation house episodes. Get back to the original HH format, please HGTV.

I haven't seen the AZ episode yet, but I have to ask why anyone who lives in Vancouver, WA wants a vacation home in the desert. I live in south Louisiana where it's hot and humid 2/3 of the year, and would love to live full time in some place with a climate like Vancouver. Can't wait to view this episode.

Juliet73, I was also happy to see that the trees were still there. She probably got a reality check when she found out how much it cost to remove trees. I also forgot to mention her stupid comment about the fireplace in one house where she said it looked like something used to cremate bodies. Even her mother called her out on that one. The husband is a saint.

I liked the husband in the Fayetteville, GA episode, but the wife is now on my list of the most annoying people on HH Renovation. All she was concerned about was bling, and how things looked, and impressing people. He was the more practical of the two, and I wonder if her desire for the finer, glitzier things is what gave them credit problems in previous years. Her obsession with bugs and cutting down trees had me yelling at the TV w/in the first few mintues of the episode. Georgia, and ALL of the south has bugs. Get over it. Every time she stepped out the door of those houses she was waving her arms around to ward off the imaginary bugs that she was sure were lurking just outside the door. I was also a little put off by her seeming unconcern about the pool and pond on 2 of the properties, in that she wanted them just so they could show others that they had made it. All children should know how to swim, but even if younger children know how, it's still a good idea (and maybe required in Georgia) to fence a pool, and putting a fence between the pond and the house would be a must in my book. I agree with you CrazyInAlabama that a downscaled remodel of the guest bath could have saved some money. I loved the purple and pink room that the husband did for his little girl. It was special to her because her father did it, and because she chose the colors. It can always be changed when she moves on to another color scheme.

Amarante, yes, there was a discussion about this episode previously. You can find it upthread, or it may be in the archived area because when changes were done to this forum, all discussions before a certain date were archived. Most people agreed that the place looked sort of like a prison cell and uninviting. We also laughed at the dog's photo/video bomb. The beach looked beautiful, and it will be a great place to have a getaway home, but it is remote. As I get older, my priorities in a vacation location would include things like access to medical care in emergencies.

Catching up on some HH episodes I missed this past month, and just have to add my touch to the previous comments. Thought that was an apt comment considering all the touches that people want to add to the houses they look at. I would give anything to have a husband/boyfriend/whatever who loved projects and was good at doing them and completing them. So many of these guys (mostly) who want to have projects, do have experience, or their families have members who are contractors. That type of experience saves so much $$. It's usually the wives who are moaning that they don't want their husbands doing any projects because it takes away from family time. I know home remodeling or projects aren't for everyone, but HH makes it look like the country is full of lazy people when you combine it with the HH's who don't want any yard maintenance either. I thought the guy in the Strasbourg VA episode was doing a great job of checking out the houses. The wife was interested only in the house being "pretty", and the cosmetic things. Well paint doesn't keep a house from falling down. I thought the house they bought looked like a manufactured house that had been elevated. It reminded me of the way many people in my area are rebuilding their houses after the 2016 floor we had. The houses look very strange in person. Maybe houses in Strasbourg are cheaper than in D.C., but their budget wasn't going to get them a house like she wanted. She wanted a small house, but I wonder how large her parents' house was where they had been camped out for 9 months. I bet it wasn't 1200 sf which she seemed to want. I didn't like any of the choices. Loved the guys in the Maui episode. I had trouble telling them apart. They must go to the same barber - lol. The condo he bought looked like a rental unit, and the washer/dryer outside on the porch was odd. I have seen several episodes on Buying Hawaii where the laundry appliances are outside, and not even concealed behind doors. I would think they might corrode quickly in the salt air. The boyfriend in the Rahway NJ episode was a hoot. I can see him talking almost anyone into living in a construction zone for a few months. He knows how to do projects, and members of both of their families are in construction so they have help. I liked the house they chose. The Winston-Salem woman who was living in her parents basement, and was buying her first house was downright annoying. Her budget was totally unrealistic for what she wanted. I liked her parents a lot, especially when she was whining about the dogs ruining the carpet, and the mother told her to train them. Sound advice and she should take it. The last house she looked at with her friend Cory was cute, and it had an attached garage which would be important to me. Of course, she went for charm over function. Lastly, the Oklahoma couple must own stock in a moving company. There is no way I would voluntarily move 3 times in 2 years. I did not like the house they chose. They kept gushing over how beautiful it was. Sorry, I didn't see it that way. Someone said it would make a good B&B, and it did look somewhat commercial. I agree with others that this will not be their "forever" home, and we'll probably see them on a future episode where she is still seeking her lakefront house for her pontoon boat.

CrazyInAlabama, the patio was the front entrance, not the back. That's what made it really unattractive to me. You walk up to the house and are greeted with a giant A/C compressor, kids toys, and a coffee roaster all in what looked like a miniscule "porch" (using that term loosely). I can just imagine how inviting that will be when most of those compressors are running. Ugh!

I disliked the condo that the Santa Clarita couple bought. The A/C compressor is on the front porch! I don't know how hot it gets there or how much the A/C would be used, but those things are noisy even if it's a newer, quieter model. There were also toys out there on that postage stamp of a porch. Not attractive at all. I guess there was a garage in back, but we never saw that. That place was also only about 1500 sf if I remember correctly. I guess they have taught their child to negotiate stairs because we didn't hear about how dangerous the stairs were. Personally, I would have bought the house and removed half of the hard surface in the back yard and given the child and dog a place to play outside. That is so much easier than hauling a kid and dog to the play ground, even if it's only a few blocks away. KLvestoShop, I totally agree with your observation that we are seeing more and more people who don't want to lift a finger to do anything towards maintaining a house. He's going to be in big trouble when a light bulb needs changing.

Cameron, I thought the same thing about the double oven comments. In fact, in one house they looked at there was a free standing range with one of those small ovens at top and a larger one on the bottom. This is exactly what she ended up with in her house, except the top oven on the free standing range isn't a microwave as well. When I think of double ovens, I think of full size ovens. She won't be cooking 2 turkeys at one time in the combo she has now. Cooking 2 turkeys at one time doesn't happen often, but that's why I DO have double ovens, and I use both during the holidays for that purpose.

I've never heard the term "tall skinny" (was that what that style was called?), and the front/back house would be a no from the get go with me. What if the front neighbor turns out to be a jerk, and hogs the driveway, has a junky backyard area, a dog/kids that run around everywhere, etc. We have what I guess would be called tall skinny houses in my area now where developers are knocking down older houses on very narrow lots (40') and replacing those older, small houses with gianormous 3,000+ sf houses. They tower over the remaining houses in the neighborhood and stand out like sore thumbs. I guess the idea is to gradually eliminate the older houses and build a neighborhood of big houses with very little yard and most of the time, no covered parking or room for more than one or two cars. I didn't hear the HH's say where they worked (downtown vs. out of city), but Franklin is a drive from Nashville proper. I liked the husband, and especially his comments about not buying a house just because it has a nice range. She didn't mind the half windows when they were in the house she wanted, but when they were in a house she didn't want, she didn't like them. Yeah, she was a bit over the top, and the husband said that she was very picky. What was with her 3 steps down to the back yard? She's young, exercise is good.

ECM 1231, Starlight Village is in Leander, Texas.

The Austin development, Starlight Village, was featured in an episode this past spring. it's about 30 minutes north of Austin. I love MCM, so this was eye candy for me. The choices the couple made in their new build were not what I would have done, but it's their $$ and their house. Will be interesting to see if those choices help or hinder it's resell if they ever move.

Luke specifically said the guitars were for staging purposes only. Again, while the guitars looked good, you could see every imperfection in that wall because of the black paint. As a buyer I would have been figure how many coats of Kilz it was going to take to cover the black wall. Not many people have "pretty" things to stage a wall like that, nor would it be to everyone's taste. This would be a good one to revisit in a couple of years to see if the records and black wall are still there.

I thought the idea of the vinyl record wall was cool, but it's for very specific tastes, mine not included. As a buyer, I would have been turned off by it, and immediately would have begun to figure out how to remove it without damaging the sheetrock. Even if the glue wasn't super glue, there's going to be surface damage to repair before painting. I think the better solution would have been to make a big wall hanging or art piece with the records that could be hung like a large painting or something like that. If the homeowner didn't want to include it in the purchase, he could have removed it, stored it in his warehouse and used it in a future flip. The second house they looked at was a hot mess. That place looks like it should be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up. Looks like Boise's house prices are beginning to rival Austin, Texas when it was becoming the hip place to live.

If you can find it, Rosemary and Thyme were fun episodes. I watched some of them through You Tube. Quality isn't the best, but when you're desperate for a British mystery sacrifices will be made - lol.