Call The Closer - General Discussion

[sheetmoss]

Call the Closer

Professional house-flipper and renovation specialist Lauren Rinsley helps her clients navigate the challenging world of real estate and home reno.
Mondays at 10p|9c on HGTV

Series is in the St Louis area

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I've watched some of the episodes, and I really enjoy seeing the homes in the St. Louis area.     

About the same idea as Property Brothers, where they usually have a house, and the hostess is trying to find a better location, or a bigger house.  Then, they remodel the choice.   I'm sure they already own it, like everything other show, especially in today's hot real estate market, but I still like seeing the houses.   

I like the host, and that it's in St. Louis, with different houses.    Concept is like Property Brothers, most of the house hunters already have a house, and she's trying to show them something that fits them better.   

Tonight's show are two investors, who have been living in a luxury hotel for six months, and they love the amenities.  They want something with good return on investment.     I think the duplex would have been a great investment property, remodel their half, keep renting the other half, and then move to a single family, and then rent the remodeled half out.     However, I like the older home they picked, and the remodel.    I'm wondering if getting the permit for the fence from the historical society was to have a plain privacy fence?    

I like that the host features her designer, and other people that work on the project, instead of acting like she does all of the design herself, the way so many other shows do.  I like that the home buyers actually choose finishes and designs.    

I like seeing the different homes.   This Wednesday they're showing several rerun episodes n the morning, on HGTV.  

Edited November 24, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[Grrarrggh]

Sigh. Another female "designer" host, male contractor, white/grey, mostly open concept. Why? Why does HGTV need this programme? So far the only remotely interesting one was the investor couple. 

[sheetmoss]

Re Investor couple

With all the drama about the fence permit and being in an historic area - the fence they finally installed was nothing more than a basic stockade wo/the spikes. Meh!

The blue fence  with lattice top they replaced was a lot more interesting, upscale/custom

Also, thought it was a miss not installing a pair of ceiling fans for the back deck -  they would really help  make being out there more comfortable w/bugs and the St Louis heat in summer.

Actually, it  screened in would be the sweet spot

Edited November 23, 2021 by sheetmoss

[MartyQui]

OK, like the show…but the hostess needs to quit the Botox on her forehead, it’s weird to watch her try to raise her eyebrows.

[CruiseDiva]

6 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

Re Investor couple

Also, thought it was a miss not installing a pair of ceiling fans for the back deck -  they would really help  make being out there more comfortable w/bugs and the St Louis heat in summer.

Actually, it  screened in would be the sweet spot

The deck was high and the street was visible over the top of the fence. Not very private. Screening it in would be an improvement.

In some of the close-ups of the white subway tile kitchen backsplash the black grout looked messy and the lines uneven--thicker in some spots. Other than that and the ugly light fixtures they selected, I thought the house looked nice.

[CrazyInAlabama]

On 11/23/2021 at 8:37 PM, CruiseDiva said:

Other than that and the ugly light fixtures they selected, I thought the house looked nice.

I liked the original dining room fixture, and hated the foyer, and other fixture.    I don't think they looked like they belonged in the house.   I have the suspicion that there is a lot of last minute stuff done for the filming that has to be fixed later.  

[Your Aunt Tilly]

I normally like white subway tile but I HATED it in that kitchen. I get that the tile that they wanted was on backorder but surely she could have found something that went better with the rest of the room. Even a black subway tile would have been better. Bonus if it had been a miniature subway tile.

[sheetmoss]

Bloody hell - why no explanation about the plywood over the glass block window

[Dehumidifier]

6 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

Bloody hell - why no explanation about the plywood over the glass block window

My first guess is that it was put there during renovation/yard redo to protect the glass block and they forgot to take it off before filming. My second guess is that they did puncture the glass.🤨

[CrazyInAlabama]

Or the window to replace the glass block was custom, and taking forever to show up.  

[CruiseDiva]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Or the window to replace the glass block was custom, and taking forever to show up.  

That would be my guess. It would help if they'd explain things like that and not just leave viewers wondering.

[Dehumidifier]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Or the window to replace the glass block was custom, and taking forever to show up.  

But why would they take the glass block out before a new window came? It was a weird opening in the wall, part normal window and part glass block. It must have been all glass block originally.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think it was all glass block at the original tour, and in the first discussions.    Something must have happened, and the replacement was on order.  

[sheetmoss]

Lastnight's episode...

Too many barefeet.

Some major focal fry from the wife and the husband  gave off a strange vibe to me.

Also, the long hallway they created to primary, I would have added clerestory windows along the one side which I think was bathroom or closet wall

. Maybe transoms' as well above the doors

Edited December 7, 2021 by sheetmoss

[Grrarrggh]

7 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

Lastnight's episode...

Too many barefeet.

Some major focal fry from the wife and the husband  gave off a strange vibe to me.

I liked the quirk of the couple, and didn't hear anything vocal fry-ish, let alone a focal fry ;) I'd bet my bottom dollar that they were the ones who put up that wallpaper though, the house wasn't just found with it. 

[CattyK]

I thought the couple on 12/6 seemed to communicate better than many on these type of shows. To me the husband’s comments were funny.  
I know Ladue is an upscale area but I was surprised at the price of this house.   I can’t remember how big the lot was though. 
“Wet room” sounded weird every time I heard it. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I dislike the wet room concept for the stand alone tub, and giant shower.    The tubs are always too close to a wall to get the water dried behind it, and unless the drain is huge, and the floor slope is to the drain, it's going to take forever to dry.     I bet tubs like that are a big effort for plumbing work on them too.      I think they bought that house because it was the best resale candidate, and they're thinking the market will stay strong, and  if they sell, they'll get a nice profit.   The upkeep on that landscaping, and the house will be pretty expensive though.    

Edited December 12, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[mojito]

Investor Couple

How bizarre. They pretty much liked the same things. Did they not read the HGTV Homebuyer Handbook?

[Your Aunt Tilly]

On 12/8/2021 at 11:07 PM, CattyK said:

I know Ladue is an upscale area but I was surprised at the price of this house. 

The cheapest house listed in Ladue at the moment is over $900,000, and that's after removing filters for minimum size, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc 

[sheetmoss]

Ugh - losing a bdrm, fireplace & built-ins,  for  generic  bedroom furniture

Yes, I know a primary w/bathroom is very desirable,  but for resale, don't they usually say  more bedrooms are better?

Edited December 14, 2021 by sheetmoss

[CrazyInAlabama]

18 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

Ugh - losing a bdrm, fireplace & built-ins,  for  generic  bedroom furniture

Yes, I know a primary w/bathroom is very desirable,  but for resale, don't they usually say  more bedrooms are better?

I think they bought the wrong house.   Getting rid of a bedroom to make an en suite, and accommodate that boring bedroom furniture was bizarre.     If they go to sell, they're going to get buyers that want a giant master suite, and don't care about anything else.      I couldn't believe they took out a fireplace for that horrible bedroom furniture.      They also didn't leave the coffee, and turmeric on those counter tops long enough to see if it would stain.     I would have gone with regular quartz, not any of the others.   

I think it was a three bedroom before the remodel, so a giant main suite, and another bedroom upstairs, and they reduced the first floor full bath to a half bath.    

Edited December 15, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[CruiseDiva]

4 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I think they bought the wrong house.   Getting rid of a bedroom to make an en suite, and accommodate that boring bedroom furniture was bizarre.     If they go to sell, they're going to get buyers that want a giant master suite, and don't care about anything else.      I couldn't believe they took out a fireplace for that horrible bedroom furniture.      They also didn't leave the coffee, and turmeric on those counter tops long enough to see if it would stain.     I would have gone with regular quartz, not any of the others.   

Didn't that leave them with only two bedrooms? I seem to remember it was a three bedroom house. I expected to see a remarkable bedroom suite of furniture, but that was just massively ugly.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I saw the rerun of this episode this morning, and I think they did change the house to a two bedroom.    The former full bath on the first floor, was turned into a half bath, with the door to the bathroom in the dining room.    I really disliked that house.  I know the show does the remodel the buyers want, but the buyers took all of the charm, and the resale value out of that house.  

Edited December 18, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[quirkygal]

Head's up: new episodes of the show are on Discovery Plus.   Looks like they're doing the once a week thing.
Not sure if they're airing on cable as well (I'm a cord cutter).

Glad I went scrolling around to find something to watch while folding laundry because HGTV certainly didn't promote the show.

[CrazyInAlabama]

If they show it on Discovery +, then I bet when the season finishes on the streaming service, all of the episodes will be on HGTV.     I like seeing homes in different areas, and I like seeing the vintage homes.   However, I don't like the choices some of the homeowners have made, I like keeping a vintage home with character, but some of the homeowners don't seem to care about that.