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Real Estate Shows: Different Shows, Same Storylines

Bastet

By Bastet
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Bastet

Bastet

The house-flipping shows have their own thread, so now we have one for discussing the commonalities (and differences) among the various real estate shows -- House Hunters, Property Virgins, Buy Me, My First Place, etc.

 

What drives you crazy about all of them?  Which type do you prefer?  Do you think the shows all dip into some giant applicant pool of whiny, entitled buyers?  Do the real estate agents get to be snarkier on certain shows?  Are hosts a good thing, or do you prefer an unseen narrator?  Et cetera, et cetera.

 

For the sake of my blood pressure, I had to stop watching the shows that delved into the buyers' finances.  Watching people who'd only bothered to save up the real estate equivalent of pocket change for a down payment demand that the sellers pay their closing costs was just one annoyance too many. 

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selhars
selhars

Just watched a Sunday marathon of "Love it or List It." Love Hilary and David! -- HATE the premise. And the fact that I just can't believe the budget details as presented. NO one puts 30K....50K....7

DownTheShore
DownTheShore

I have to admit that I'm fascinated by the Buying Alaska (or whatever those home-buying shows set in Alaska are called). Not because I want to live there (in fact, the more I watch those shows the les

auntjess
auntjess

With 15,000 sq ft, you host 50 tiny house families/couples at one time, and they'd have as much or more room as they were used to. (Unless I misplaced a decimal, or had a zero too many, or too few.)

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auntjess

auntjess

I watched a couple episodes of Buying the Bayou, and I'm still puzzled by "why would you?"

The ones who hunt and/or fish, want a place and land to do that, I get it.
It would seem like you'd want a cabin with basic amenities to hang out with your huntin' buddies, but why does the wife want to come too.
Why bother about nice kitcen and master bedroom, if you're not into dead deer?

Treat yourself to a nice hotel in New Orleans.

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peggy06

peggy06

Lately I prefer Property Virgins, because the Savannah episodes have some cool older houses. It is really hard to get interested in someone looking at subdivision houses with the same-old same-old layout, countertops, appliances, etc. Along the same lines, I recently watched Selling Alaska for the first time, and it was definitely different! The episode I saw, the couple had to choose between properties with an outhouse 50 feet away in the woods, a composting toilet, and an incinerator toilet. Not to mention, choosing whether to opt for running water or pumping water in via hose. Granted that these were vacation properties, but still. A real eye-opener.

 

I am bored with the HHI tropical episodes, but somehow I don't mind Hawaii Life. Or the one where people are buying in the Caribbean. Not sure why, but maybe the scripts are less annoying on those shows. The people seem more like real buyers.

 

What drives me crazy about the shows are the inane objections that they put into the buyers' mouths. Neighbors too close, don't like the paint colors, no stainless appliances, master bath isn't big enough to fit 20 people, and so on. Nobody ever asks about the school district, proximity to shopping and other amenities, what I would call the factors that really can make a difference in which house you pick. But then, they've already picked the house - why do I keep expecting realistic scenarios from these shows?

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chessiegal

chessiegal

I also like the Hawaiian life and Caribbean shows HGTV does. They seem so much more positive than HH or HHI. The people usually have something positive to say about all the homes. Tonight we watched the new series, Lakefront Bargains, same format as Beachfront Bargains, which we like. The first show was in the Poconos, the second in Missouri outside St. Louis. I was disappointed in the locations. What they called "lakes" I would call a pond. Most weren't even big enough to put a boat on. I guess you could kayak or canoe, but really, what was the point? I hope they show some really larger lakes where boating is a real option.

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txvoodoo

txvoodoo

Lately I prefer Property Virgins, because the Savannah episodes have some cool older houses. It is really hard to get interested in someone looking at subdivision houses with the same-old same-old layout, countertops, appliances, etc. Along the same lines, I recently watched Selling Alaska for the first time, and it was definitely different! The episode I saw, the couple had to choose between properties with an outhouse 50 feet away in the woods, a composting toilet, and an incinerator toilet. Not to mention, choosing whether to opt for running water or pumping water in via hose. Granted that these were vacation properties, but still. A real eye-opener.

I like Property Virgins more too, because *gasp* sometimes they don't actually buy! And because it's nice to see a realtor give someone a reality check

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Taylorh2

Taylorh2

Along the lines of 'different show, same storylines:  "Unlivable"  It's just House Hunters and House Hunters Renovation combined. Couple actually looks at 3 house and they they renovate the one they chose with 2 designers

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chessiegal

chessiegal

Two new Hawaiian Life episodes on HGTV tonight. Glad to see this show back. I love seeing properties there. The 2nd one was on the big island and not near a lava field. Nice to see there are normal properties there. Seems to be more affordable than the other islands.

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Mulva

Mulva

I still miss Buy Me. Nothing beats the Rainforest Condo Crazy Lady.

 

As for House Hunters, I'm sick and tired of these spoiled brats who reject a perfectly nice house because the master bedroom's en suite bath doesn't come with a giant soaking tub and a 50 sq ft shower.

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Wings

Wings

I still miss Buy Me. Nothing beats the Rainforest Condo Crazy Lady.

 

As for House Hunters, I'm sick and tired of these spoiled brats who reject a perfectly nice house because the master bedroom's en suite bath doesn't come with a giant soaking tub and a 50 sq ft shower.

 

 

They are told to say those things.  In reality you cannot go on the show unless you have already purchased a house.  They tape you "doing the search" with 2 other properties that may not even be for sale.  They have to show reasons why you reject the others.  

 

On Love it or List it they tape 2 endings and decide which one to show; they want to keep David and Hilary even.  So basically it is a reno show with an added twist. 

 

I have stopped watching all of them.  

 

What I really want is for Nate Berkus to have a decorating show.  I like his work.  There would no fake anything.  People are on it because they want him to do their house.  Simple and genuine.  No running around with fake time crunches either.  

 

The Property Brothers are the most legit out of them all.   No, they do not do the work.  In different cities Drew has to work with a local real estate agent, obviously.  And Johnathan has a crew that does the work.  I am fine with that.  They really do look at houses that are for sale and both are skilled in their field.  Though they have a decorator who travels with them both have input.  

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auntjess

auntjess

Mulva, was she the one who'd just gotten a divorce, and wanted to uproot her son in his last year of high school, and get herself a condo where she could swing?

Another one that was sad was the lady who had terminal cancer, and that was very sad, but instead of renting a place near her treatment, she insisted on selling the family home and uprooting all her kids from school, and moving them to a much smaller place in town.
So they'd lose their mom, their home, and their friends too.


 

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Mulva

Mulva

No, the Rainforest Condo Lady was a lunatic who bought a windowless condo in a building in Montreal that featured an indoor atrium with a rainforest.  She decorated that place in a truly bizarre fashion, including leopard-print wallpaper on the ceilings, antique Japanese chests instead of kitchen cabinets and rice paper screens - in the kitchen! 

 

She then thought she'd advertise at a price of $888,888.88 in a Chinese newspaper because "the Chinese think the number 8 is lucky".  Meanwhile, a comparable condo in the building with spectacular city views and sane decoration was listed at $500,000.

 

I'd love to see a follow up on that one.

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ByaNose

ByaNose

(edited)

Mike Aubrey was awesome. He started on Sell This House with Sabrina Soto. Then got his own show. The first season was real intense and then they changed the format too many times and then it was gone. He looked like an everyday guy but also was super good looking like all of the HGTV studs. Hopefully, he'll show up somewhere soon.

Edited by ByaNose
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chessiegal

chessiegal

(edited)

Mike Aubrey did get another show. I think it was called Power Broker. It was not that good. It disappeared quickly.

 

ETA: I was disappointed, because I really like him.

Edited by chessiegal
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ByaNose

ByaNose

There was a mini marathon of Sarah Sees Potential. I'm not really sure if this is or new. My Comcast grid has them dated 2014. Not a bad show but the usual format. A couple with different views look at 3 "fixer uppers" & Sarah dies a room or two that's preventing them to commiting to the house. Unfortunately, it's only a half show so you don't see much design except for the final reveal. I still like Sarah's ascetic & would kill for her to do a room in my house. Sarah, please come to Philadelphia! LOL!!!

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auntjess

auntjess

I liked Sold on the Spot, with Josh Temple
This is one where they knock on doors to see if anyone will sell.
The part I didn't like was that at the end, you still didn't know if the people got the house.
And I'd like it to be somewhere other than LA, with the crazy prices.
Somewhere a 2-br starter home doesn't cost three-quarters of a million dollars.

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Wings

Wings

Who do you think would have the best luck moving the house?

I can't decide among Property Brothers, Sell This House: Extreme, HH, or Income Property. http://news.yahoo.com/pricey-possibly-bomb-laden-property-143117020.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory&soc_trk=fb

 

 

No one is going to buy that, ever!  No development possibilities for 100 acres?  No way.  And the buried explosives?  Oh good god, no.  Who wants to deal with that?   And it is too big, probably poorly insulated and costs a fortune to heat even if someone did want to deal with the cons. 

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peggy06

peggy06

I am really liking Vacation House for Free. In general, the shows that combine house hunting with renovating/redesigning are more interesting, and this one also has some great locations. I don't care if I never see another HH in a resort locale, but the places on this show are more varied, and the housing stock is way more varied. I enjoy seeing how they take a run-down fixer-upper cottage and make it look so good. Wish it was on more often than Sunday nights.

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selhars

selhars

(edited)

Just watched a Sunday marathon of "Love it or List It." Love Hilary and David! -- HATE the premise. And the fact that I just can't believe the budget details as presented.

NO one puts 30K....50K....75K.....or 90K...into a house when they're going to sell it the next month. MAYBE -- IF you're thinking about selling in 5 YEARS or more...so you get some use out of those great updates and the remodeling. But no one does that kind of remodeling to sell in a month. They just don't....because you're not going to get your money back. You LOSE money on the reno, and who does that before a sale. So that part of the show is just crazy.

 

I've heard two endings are taped, and couples go on the show with no intention of moving, but just to get the work done at discount. THAT -- I believe. So why the fakery of the "do they stay or go?" I know because that's what makes it different premise from all the many other remodeling shows.

 

I just hate it when I'm lied to, and fake stuff is presented as truth. That's all.

 

They've GOT to be inflating the budgets. Also I've never seen a house YET, where David says the value of the house has gone up LESS than the reno cost, so people have actually LOST money. In real life, you can count on ONE hand -- minus a couple of fingers -- where reno costs IMMEDIATELY INCREASE the sale price of the house over the cost of the reno itself. If you have a house that would sell for 150K -- and put in a 50K kitchen upgrade -- that house is NOT going to automatically sell for 50K more than it would have. No buyer is going to pay 50K more just because a seller JUST put in a new kitchen.

 

ALL agents will tell you if you're selling -- do SMALL, INexpensive things. To just get the house you have ready for sale. NO major renos before sale, because you won't get your money back -- without time and RE appreciation. But this show expects us to believe people do major bathroom and kitchen renos -- and make money just like that. If you put a 50K addition on my house....it's NOT going to sell for 50K than it would have the week before. So you've LOST money. Who puts 50K into a house to sell it for only 25K more. Duh.

 

I'd just like to see a reno show without the FAKE drama -- REAL remodeling is drama enough.

Edited by selhars
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peggy06

peggy06

Just watched a Sunday marathon of "Love it or List It." Love Hilary and David! -- HATE the premise. And the fact that I just can't believe the budget details as presented.

NO one puts 30K....50K....75K.....or 90K...into a house when they're going to sell it the next month. MAYBE -- IF you're thinking about selling in 5 YEARS or more...so you get some use out of those great updates and the remodeling. But no one does that kind of remodeling to sell in a month. They just don't....because you're not going to get your money back. You LOSE money on the reno, and who does that before a sale. So that part of the show is just crazy.

 

I've heard two endings are taped, and couples go on the show with no intention of moving, but just to get the work done at discount. THAT -- I believe. So why the fakery of the "do they stay or go?" I know because that's what makes it different premise from all the many other remodeling shows.

 

I just hate it when I'm lied to, and fake stuff is presented as truth. That's all.

 

They've GOT to be inflating the budgets. Also I've never seen a house YET, where David says the value of the house has gone up LESS than the reno cost, so people have actually LOST money. In real life, you can count on ONE hand -- minus a couple of fingers -- where reno costs IMMEDIATELY INCREASE the sale price of the house over the cost of the reno itself. If you have a house that would sell for 150K -- and put in a 50K kitchen upgrade -- that house is NOT going to automatically sell for 50K more than it would have. No buyer is going to pay 50K more just because a seller JUST put in a new kitchen.

I've been saying this for ages. I have to believe - as you state - nobody "lists it." The choice is just to give the show a hook. This has to be one of the most irritating of the real-estate shows just because of this obvious fakery. I watch the beginning to see the original house, and the end to see David's one "good" property and Hilary's reno. There is zero reason to watch anything else.

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proserpina65

proserpina65

Okay, so I don't usually watch Beachfront Bargain Hunt, but did over the holidays because a couple of episodes were in the Grand Strand area where I used to vacation.  In the one centered around North Myrtle Beach, I recognized every single condo building they visited.  The condo they bought was actually in Cherry Grove Beach (my vacation spot for 5 years); the resort they moved into was built partly on the site of what was a very good local restaurant, the closure of which deeply saddened me at the time.

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chessiegal

chessiegal

"Beachfront Bargain Hunt" on HGTV always sends my husband looking for condos on the Gulf Coast of FL or AL. Tonight he's decided we should sell our house in MD, buy a condo in Annapolis and another on the Gulf Coast. Oy.

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auntjess

auntjess

(edited)

Anyone else see My City's Just Not That Into Me, or some long name like that?

When people are tired of where they are live, they match them up with new cities.

It's interesting to see what houses cost in different places, but I'm surprised that enough people could just up and move, to build a show.

 

ETA:

The couple from Norwalk, Ct, wanted a place with ROOMS, and were tired of living in his open loft condo.


 

Edited by auntjess
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memememe76

memememe76

With the growing success of airbnb, I wonder if a tv show where people visit people's home while traveling could work. You could try 2-3 different airbnbs in one city, while still checking out that city's sites and sounds. A mishmash of House Hunters and a travelogue. 

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proserpina65

proserpina65

Haven't watched BBH show yet. I think California doesn't have hurricanes but I doubt they have much by way of beachfront bargains, either. Are they looking along the East Coast and Florida Gulf Coast?

 

The ones I've watched were in the Carolinas and Virginia.  One of the NC episodes mentioned hurricanes: the agent took the buyer to a house where there was almost no breakwater or barrier between the house and the ocean due to repeated hurricane damage.  And that's the one the stupid woman bought since apparently hurricanes are a rarity on the Outer Banks.  (I don't think the agent actually said that, but she certainly did not emphasize the concept that, in reality, it's the exact opposite.)

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DownTheShore

DownTheShore

(edited)

I have to admit that I'm fascinated by the Buying Alaska (or whatever those home-buying shows set in Alaska are called). Not because I want to live there (in fact, the more I watch those shows the less I want to live there), but because the people who want to buy those homes have such an alien mentality to mine.

I listen to them spouting off about getting back to nature and living off the land and sea in homes that have no running water or electricity, and I can't help saying to myself, "but that's what Grandma and Grandpa left the old country to get away from! ". To me, it would be a betrayal of all of my grandparents' hard work to make a better life for their progeny to take a step back in time like that. Maybe, too, it's because I grew up on a cold-water flat that the so-called charm of the rustic life holds no appeal for me. Maybe you have to be more generations removed from it to be nostalgic about it. I've lived with ice cold toilet seats and heating up water on the stove in order to take a sponge bath; been there, done that, got the t-shirt and don't want to go back.

Edited by DownTheShore
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laredhead

laredhead

Down The Shore, I agree with you about roughing it.  The Alaskan HH's are always gushing about "the view", "the view", "It's all about the view".  Well, when it's 0 degrees and dark for 6 months of the year, I don't think the view is going to make up for all of the other things that aren't there like running water, electricity and a real toilet.  One of the houses that was shown on a recent episode was on an island and the water had to be pumped from the frozen lake in the winter.  No thank you.  I'll be content to watch this on TV from my house in a warmer climate.   

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chessiegal

chessiegal

The houses you see on the Alaska RE shows seem to depend on what network you're watching. HGTV seems to show more nice houses with most of the amenities you'd expect in a home. Discovery seems to show the stuff that is missing many amenities. That said, I still wouldn't want to live there, even with all the comforts of home - too much cold and darkness for many months for me.

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DownTheShore

DownTheShore

They should do a "Where are they now" episode, but film it in the wintertime. That's what I'd like to see. Especially the one I saw tonight with the older couple who didn't want any cell phones, tv, or internet.

They chose this house that had two streams running through the property, and there were so many fish in them that you could see the fish hopping around. I thought to myself, "That fishing novelty is going to lose its charm soon. After all, what kind of man vs. fish challenge is it if all you have to do is drop a line to catch a fish?"

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chessiegal

chessiegal

We watched a recorded episode of HGTV's "Caribbean Life" last night that our on-line guide said that a couple was moving to St. Thomas to open a vineyard. We looked at each other and asked where in the world would you put a vineyard on St. Thomas plus we really didn't see how the climate was good for grape growing. The couple never mentioned it during the show, just saying they wanted a "legacy house" for their family. I thought the on-line guide must have been wrong, but sure enough, this is what HGTV has on their website:

 

http://www.hgtv.com/shows/caribbean-life/episodes/a-dallas-couple-trade-in-their-hectic-texas-lives-to-move-to-st-thomas-and-start-a-vineyard

 

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laredhead

laredhead

I saw the same thing, Chessiegal.  Wish I could afford a "legacy house".  Guess that is the new term for big and expensive.  They were also planning to buy a sailboat.  Their only child is going to inherit some nice things.

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chessiegal

chessiegal

If you lived in St. Thomas and loved to sail, you'd be crazy not to have a sailboat. It is wonderful sailing down there.

 

With only 1 child that is still too young for a family, they must need a house that large for some real entertaining. Sounds like both of their jobs might require/benefit from that. I think of "legacy house" in association with larger families that plan to keep it in the family to enjoy for generations to come. 15,000 square feet is a big house for 3 people.

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auntjess

auntjess

With 15,000 sq ft, you host 50 tiny house families/couples at one time, and they'd have as much or more room as they were used to.
(Unless I misplaced a decimal, or had a zero too many, or too few.)

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