People on the Show: Househunters and Realtors - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

[DownTheShore]

To those of us without a bathroom right in our bedroom, walking a few feet in one direction or the other doesn't seem to be something to make a big fuss over. ;->

 

I'd actually rather not have one in my bedroom - who wants the moisture and icky smells?

[LuckyBitch]

Not making a big fuss over it at all. 

 

We have family who live across the country and we often have them staying with us (parents, siblings and spouses, nieces and nephews). When they're here, I like the privacy of having our own bathroom in our bedroom and they also have their own bathrooms. A necessity? No, but it's definitely nice. I also prefer not having to share our bathroom with our kid. Yeah, I guess I'm a bit spoiled, but I've earned it.

[DownTheShore]

I wasn't meaning that you were making a fuss over it, LuckyBitch.  Just speaking in general about the couples usually seen in the episodes.

 

Because you know most of them aren't going to be having housefuls of guests, especially when they're newlyweds for example.  Yet their tone of voice when they contemplate having to use the main bathroom is as if they're going to have to trek across the Gobi Desert to reach it.

[LuckyBitch]

@DownTheShore, yes, I know they can really overdo it sometimes. Especially when it's their first house and they want everything and aren't willing to compromise at all. 

[jnymph]

This weekend I watched yet another annoying episode. 

 

The wife was opposed to "too many outlets" on the walls.  She deemed it ridiculous and it broke up her vision of "clean walls".  She was also vehemently opposed to wall mounted toilet paper holders. (and towel bars).    I thought that was beyond bizarre.    Seems very inconvenient to not have as many outlets as possible (not to mention not to code.)     

At the end when they were showing them in their new home, she proudly displayed her free standing toilet paper holder.  Because that makes oh so much more sense.   *eyeroll*      Actually I'm glad they showed her holder because I couldn't help but wonder how she wiped her ass without a toilet paper holder nearby. 
 

[cassaundroll]

Have people (who were already annoying to begin with, particularly on HGTV) really gotten sooo much more annoying since 2013?  Because the 2014 house hunters: uber-annoying!  They've got to be messin' with us...  Outlets; what in the world would anyone do with those?  "Silly!"

Edited August 18, 2014 by cassaundroll

[DownTheShore]

One of my sisters is one of those "I hate outlets in the kitchen" people, so when she redid her kitchen in her old house she only put the minimum number of outlets required by code and just single outlets (two plug capacity).  I think there were two outlets for the entire two-wall counterspace and none accessible on the center island.  It was such a PITA to use any countertop appliances in that kitchen because you could never leave anything plugged in, much less use an outlet as a charging station for anything.

 

That's also the sister who installed a fixed window over her kitchen sink, which totally eliminated the possibility of any cross-ventilation in that room.  Need I add that she also did the white cabinets, white subway tile, black granite countertop look, too?

[stafford]

Clearly Down The Shore, your sister didn't pull any permits for her kitchen renovation because outlets in islands are required by universal standard codes. When I re-did my kitchen I insisted on more outlets given that everything has to be recharged everyday. I travel a lot for my job and I pack two, three outlet adapters because older hotels have so few outlets and it drives me crazy.

[cassaundroll]

What an odd thing to be bothered by, unless of course that was producer-driven.  Oh, and the hatred of ceiling fans and "mushroom" lights?  I found myself wondering if she actually called them something else, but a more GP-rated moniker was also producer-driven.

[Bastet]

My 1938 house is obviously lighter on outlets than modern homes, but I've only needed to add three over the years (and will add two more when I renovate the kitchen).  When I built my game room out from the studs (it was a shell of a room built on to the detached garage), I put in a fair number of outlets since it's so easy when starting from scratch, but I only use half of them.  I never thought to be bothered by the "clutter" of those excess, unused outlets and, quite frankly, I'm going to have a laugh at the HHs' expense when I go in there tonight.  They come up with the craziest storylines on this show.

 

I always wonder if the HHs who hate ceiling fans watched too much Trading Spaces.  Now, a cheap, ugly, wobbly, noisy fan - I hate.  But it's easily replaced with a quality fan.  And those who just don't like the look of fans, period, can substitute a light fixture.  It's just nice to already have the overhead wiring in place, whatever one wants to do with it (even if the answer is nothing).  Such a silly complaint. 

 

Immutable characteristics discussed as deal-breakers is one thing, but when HHs go on about things that should merely be noted as considerations - if we buy House A, we'll want to strip all that wallpaper, whereas with House B we'll just be painting the walls but we'll have to scrape off the popcorn ceilings, etc. - as if they are these huge stumbling blocks to purchase is aggravating.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Bastet

[cassaundroll]

Also, why are they always shown eating gourmet baked goods at some exorbitantly expensive yuppie coffee type place while poor-mouthing about their budgets at the beginning of the show and then chopping healthy vegetables and drinking a few mouthfuls of wine out of ginormous wine glasses at the end of the show?  Oh, yeah; because the show is called House Hunters!  "Walk to places" = waste enormous amounts of money at restaurants, shops, and bars; maybe you could afford more house if this weren't your primary form of entertainment?

Edited August 19, 2014 by cassaundroll

[BearCat49]

Or, do tptb pick up the tab for the first scene but not the last, lol?

[cassaundroll]

I always thought that regarding "eating," "drinking," and "shopping" (consuming in general) was an aberration only in MY town; it's discouraging to learn that it's nationwide, if that's truly the case...

[DownTheShore]

@ stafford - The kitchen remodel was permitted, AFAIK.  They had a microwave and a warming drawer built into the island, so there was an outlet in the back of the cutout for the microwave.  There was just nothing that could be accessed from the surface of the island unless you pulled out the microwave.

 

----

 

I think the problem with the ceiling fans is that too many people install obtrusive ones instead of unobtrusive ones.  There'll be a small bedroom with a white ceiling and there'll be a fan with dark brown blades and those multiple, bell-glass lights dropping down low from the ceiling, instead of one that is light-colored and close-mounted to the ceiling.

 

And you don't have to have the fan right in the center of the room to get the air to circulate.  That is the place for the maximum benefit, of course, but in my sister's shore place, due to the slope of the roof, the smallness of the bedrooms and the fact that there are bunkbeds in one of the rooms, the fans have been placed at the highest part of the ceiling slope (to avoid decapitation - lol) and off-center, and they work perfectly fine in circulating the air in the rooms.  They are also light colored so they are not the first thing that you notice when you walk into the room.

[FozzyBear]

Also, why are they always shown eating gourmet baked goods at some exorbitantly expensive yuppie coffee type place while poor-mouthing about their budgets at the beginning of the show and then chopping healthy vegetables and drinking a few mouthfuls of wine out of ginormous wine glasses at the end of the show? Oh, yeah; because the show is called House Hunters! "Walk to places" = waste enormous amounts of money at restaurants, shops, and bars; maybe you could afford more house if this weren't your primary form of entertainment?

See the whole "walk to places" makes perfect sense to me, but I don't really like driving and hate spending money on gas and general car stuff. Being able to walk to bars, restaurants, cafés, grocery stores, etc has always been a deal breaker to me. Probably my biggest one. And I get why it (or location in general) is a sticking point because you can't change it. You can't even make it better. It is what it is. No amount of money on earth is going to make Manhatten feel rural or turn Juneau into a big city. So I really get people who are fussy about location. It's the inability to see past things like wallpaper or paint colors that get to me. I saw a new one where the wife was adamant about not having a chain link fence. It was so bizarre. They looked at one house that she loved. Great location, loved the house, but it had a chain link fence and she was ready to walk away.

I have never heard of anyone complaining about too many outlets, unless it was a saftey concern. That is a whole new level of OCD.

[DownTheShore]

That's what I don't get.  You'd think that if the people are volunteering to be on HH they would have at least have been HGTV viewers so they should know that you can:

a) repaint the walls

b) strip the popcorn ceilings

c) tear down the wall between the kitchen/dining room and/or dining room/living room

d) put a fence up around the pool

e) use a baby monitor

f) use the bathtub in the main bathroom

g) put up or replace outside fencing

h) put up or remove a ceiling fan

[FozzyBear]

Oh my god. I was watching esiodes from this season ondemand today and I saw the young couple moving from Austin, TX to a little town outside of Fayetteville, AK. It seemed like a very pretty, upscale little yuppie town which appealed to this couple. They thought if themselves as very hip. Especially the husband. He was one of the biggest jackasses I've ever seen on reality TV and I watch all the Real Housewives shows. Such a condescending, selfish, prissy asshat. All he cared about was himself. Whenever his wife said she didn't like something he would just tell her he didn't care. Literally look at her and say "I don't care". At one point she said a pool was too much work and he said he wasn't going to be the one doing the work so he didn't care. Plus even though he fancied himself quite the design snob, he keep using the term modern in a way the indicated he didn't actually know what modern means when referring to architecture and design. Most of the time he used it he meant contemporary. The house they did end up buying was a mid century ranch which was probably closer to modern than anything he had looked at, but he said it was old looking and not modern. I almost hit my TV and screamed "You don't know what that means!" I mean it wasn't an example of modern design exactly, but neither was the 1980s tract house he was enamored with. You could also tell the realtor hated him. A few times she just openly rolled her eyes and the wife spent the whole time looking embarrassed. I give that marriage 2 years. Did anyone else see this douchbag?

[Bellalisa]

That's what I don't get.  You'd think that if the people are volunteering to be on HH they would have at least have been HGTV viewers so they should know that you can:

a) repaint the walls

b) strip the popcorn ceilings

c) tear down the wall between the kitchen/dining room and/or dining room/living room

d) put a fence up around the pool

e) use a baby monitor

f) use the bathtub in the main bathroom

g) put up or replace outside fencing

h) put up or remove a ceiling fan

You forgot i) spend between $100-$200 and replace the kitchen sink

 

That one guy was going on and on about how he needed a big sink to wash pots in. Well that has NOTHING to do with the house at all. If it doesn't have the right sized sink, replace it. Then there was yet another couple bitching about the sink! One of the easiest and low cost things to change. 

[Reishe]

I'm new to this show, but last night I saw an episode of House Hunters Renovation and was flabbergasted. Engaged couple moves to Baltimore, and he wants a hip historic house near the harbor and she wants enough space to raise a family (in their price range, that meant in the suburbs or at least the city limits). When she points out that a room in one of the potential houses could be a nursery, he actually said "I don't want to think about that right now." They also (terrifyingly) didn't ever bring up the subject of school districts. Then when she totally caved and they bought the tiny house near the harbor, he was dead set against making the kitchen "table" (really a kitchen island with an overhang they could throw barstools around) big enough to seat more than four people. I think they would have been better off with a couples counselor than a realtor.

 

Oops--sorry! Didn't realize the other sub-thread was for HHR. Moved to the other discussion...

Edited September 15, 2014 by Reishe

[sasha206]

This weekend I watched yet another annoying episode. 

 

The wife was opposed to "too many outlets" on the walls.  She deemed it ridiculous and it broke up her vision of "clean walls".  She was also vehemently opposed to wall mounted toilet paper holders. (and towel bars).    I thought that was beyond bizarre.    Seems very inconvenient to not have as many outlets as possible (not to mention not to code.)     

At the end when they were showing them in their new home, she proudly displayed her free standing toilet paper holder.  Because that makes oh so much more sense.   *eyeroll*      Actually I'm glad they showed her holder because I couldn't help but wonder how she wiped her ass without a toilet paper holder nearby. 

 

 

YES!  I am doing the watch of the House Hunters Collection on Netflix.  That episode was just so freaking bizarre.  Who the hell worries about too many outlets and toilet holders?  That's beyond OCD.

 

I love the people who walk into a house and comment on a light fixture.  "We're going to have to change that right away."  And they act as though a light fixture is a detraction to the house.

[ZaldamoWilder]

Did anybody see the one with the wife who was averse to kitchen counter tops that were porous?  I've never wanted to teleport myself into the tv so badly in my life.  My out loud bubble would've said baby you're studying butcherblock but aren't bothered by carpets or existing baths and toilets?  Come to think of it that might be HHR as well.   Anyway, after installing a brand new $30,000 kitchen, no butcherblock in sight, she kept the original over the range hood.  I guffaw at her being a self-described germaphobe. 

 

How about the one where the husband anti dual sink in the master bath?  He was all:  no honey you know how we bond in the morning, sharing one sink.  {{Because it's the one place where I get to think about how to skin you alive and wear you as next year's Versace tm Dina Manzo}}.    Awk-waaard.

[DownTheShore]

I was watching one today (or yesterday, rather) that was set I think in the Boston area.  The smother was all upset over one of the homes that had a pool in the backyard - one that already had a tall safety fence surrounding it! - and immediately talked about filling it in so the children would be safe.  The house had everything they wanted - BUT the kitchen counters were some sort of manufactured stone, not granite, which was a no-no in her book.

 

Of course, that's the house they chose. 

[nicepebbles]

How about the wife (I think they married) who wanted a Mediterranean style home in the San Diego area with new bathrooms because she didn't like the idea of using a toilet and bathtub someone else had used. Say what? Color me confused. Have you never stayed at an hotel? Used a public restroom? Just dumb. Who writes this stuff?

Edited November 22, 2014 by nicepebbles

[chessiegal]

Oh, the SD wife wasn't the first one was not want to use a "used" toilet. There was a another one. A guy who couldn't stand imperfections, so bought distressed cabinets in the kitchens, sneaking his dog into a condo. Really, what do these people do when the travel?

[Bastet]

Or when they go to work?  Only a very small percentage of the workforce has a private bathroom attached to their office ... and even that was used by the exec who held the position previously.

[bubbls]

You know, I used to mock these people not wanting used toilets, but I think they've been watching Flip or Flop or Rehab Addict. After seeing the roach infested house on FoF I may never buy used anything again and just confine myself to my own home for the rest of my life. Should I ever be foolish enough to go on HH I can see them edited out the above comments to just "confine myself to my home" to avoid used toilets and I'd look like.....the nut I must be.

[BearCat49]

Even though HH is just a lil' cable reality show, by always selecting that one, particular, brown camera shot - tptb, on behalf of their advertisers, must have single-handedly improved sales of low-flow, efficient toilets in the U.S. by a significant percentage!

 

Yuch - didn't even want to type the name of that color and thus, think about it!

 

----------------------------------------------

 

Ok, ok, how about another nomination to the Hall of Shame?  Together with its participants, from Fairfield, CT, IIRC, I (belatedly) hereby nominate my fave HHR episode, the one I dubbed the "Sugar Daddy" episode.

 

ETA:  The episode was entitled "An Old House Gets a New Master Plan", HHR Season 4, Episode 3.  Wow, what a boring title!  Who comes up with these names, lol?  They should have called it, "An Old Man Gets a New Babe But For How Long?"  Sorry, couldn't help it - it was too funny.  Watching him running around, frantically trying to please her ...

 

Anybody second that nomination?

 

 

 

Will edit post later with the participant names and the HGTV episode info, BTW.  (See Above)

Edited December 11, 2014 by BearCat49

[DownTheShore]

I'll second that nomination!  I remember that one.

[mojito]

About the double sinks in the master bedroom. Tell me if I'm just from an ultra-organized/super-efficient home. A typical school day morning:

 

1. Alarm goes off. Parents get out of bed.

2. Parent 1 wakes the kids on the way to the kitchen.

3. Parent 2 makes sure the kids are out of bed and he/she goes off to the bathroom.

4. Kids get dressed, then Parent 1 serves up the vittles and eats with kids or finishes eating.

5. Parent 2 takes over getting kids to finish eating.

6. Parent 1 uses the bathroom.

 

Or some variation of that, with two parents taking over duties that don't require they both use the bathroom at the same time.

[laredhead]

I would opt for the extra counter space that a second sink occupies instead of another sink.  I think the double sink wish has become like granite and hardwood and stainless steel appliances.  HH's seem to think they have arrived if they have all of these.

[aguabella]

I would opt for the extra counter space that a second sink occupies instead of another sink.  I think the double sink wish has become like granite and hardwood and stainless steel appliances.  HH's seem to think they have arrived if they have all of these.

 

Not exactly sure how double sinks is an infamous HH or realtor (???) but ... 

 

Am assuming by the abbreviation, laredhead, you're only referring to HH participants not the global population of house hunters, in general.  That said, in 2014, with newly constructed homes having more bathrooms and nicer master bedrooms, I don't find a request for double sinks that unusual or unreasonable.  WRT HH the program, b/c the request is repeated so frequently, like granite and s/s, I assume it's producer-driven, used to set up their decoys for the particular episode. 

 

 

Actually, I was posting to third the nomination of the "HHR Sugar Daddy" episode.  Anyone who hasn't seen it should pick it up on its next rerun.  It's a classic, to me.

Edited December 11, 2014 by aguabella

[BearCat49]

 

Actually, I was posting to third the nomination of the "HHR Sugar Daddy" episode.  Anyone who hasn't seen it should pick it up on its next rerun.  It's a classic, to me.

 

Needless to say, I agree, aguabella.  It was a riot, IMHO, although I felt sorry for their kids, forced to participate while Mom and Dad overacted, playing up their 15 minutes of fame!  (Hope the kids are happier than they appeared.)

 

Well, anyone who's interested is in luck.  HGTV's repeating it on January 15 at 5pm ET/PT, 4pm CT.  (Or, technically, it's currently on the schedule.)  The episode info was posted above - see my previous post.

Edited December 11, 2014 by BearCat49

[Bastet]

Needless to say, I agree, aguabella.

 

I'm confused now, because I thought you and aguabella were one in the same (since you write the same).  But unless you're talking to yourself, I got that mixed up.  Oops.

 

Is the episode being referenced the one where they stuck one of their several kids into a small former dining room so they could turn the entire basement into their master suite?  And a drinking game based on how many times she called him "Baby" would leave participants dead of alcohol poisoning?  They annoyed me.  But I don't remember a "sugar daddy" vibe.

 

When I think of that, I'm always taken to the Trophy Wife and Slave Sister in Aruba episode.  Those people were a piece of work, "needing" several thousand more square feet for the kids' toys. 

[laredhead]

Wish they would profile the Slave sister in Aruba episode on a Where Are They Now update.

[aguabella]

I'm confused now, because I thought you and aguabella were one in the same (since you write the same).  But unless you're talking to yourself, I got that mixed up.  Oops.

 

Is the episode being referenced the one where they stuck one of their several kids into a small former dining room so they could turn the entire basement into their master suite?  And a drinking game based on how many times she called him "Baby" would leave participants dead of alcohol poisoning?  They annoyed me.  But I don't remember a "sugar daddy" vibe.

 

When I think of that, I'm always taken to the Trophy Wife and Slave Sister in Aruba episode.  Those people were a piece of work, "needing" several thousand more square feet for the kids' toys. 

 

Oh wait, you're talking to the other poster, that is, Bearcat.  No idea what you're talking about.  Is that a compliment or criticism, lol?  "How I write"?  I have a style?  Still, don't know what you mean, Bastet.  I proofread.  As a texter, I abbreviate.  Also, I try to write as other bloggers do, on their site - oh, maybe that's it?  Sorry, still don't get it.

 

What's a "bearcat"?  Always makes me think of a bare cat or possibly a naked man?  I digress, lol!  Bastet's an Egyptian goddess, right?  I see your name used elsewhere - is that you or another goddess?  Sorry, back to topic -

 

Yes, that's the episode.  If you think about their age difference and watched the rerun, I believe you'd see it differently.  She came off to me as someone looking for a man or a mark, to take care of her.  Had that impression before I heard another poster call him a Sugar Daddy.  No, it isn't the typical old man with young, kept mistress - maybe that's why you didn't initially see it that way.

 

Aruba?  That an older episode?  Well, like many others, I occasionally skip the island, resort-type episodes.

Edited December 12, 2014 by aguabella

[Bastet]

No, I just didn't see it that way; not every older man, younger woman couple gives me a "sugar daddy" vibe, and they didn't.  They sure did annoy me, though, and I felt bad for the kid who got stuck with that room.  I figured with such a large family, the basement would be renovated into one big "hang-out" space everyone could use, not an oversized master bedroom with an enormous closet to house her shoe collection and allow room for his shirts to all be spaced a half-inch apart from each other. 

 

Yeah, the more I think about it, the higher up my list they go.

[aguabella]

No, I just didn't see it that way; not every older man, younger woman couple gives me a "sugar

daddy" vibe, and they didn't.  

 

 

 

Oh, for me, it wasn't merely the age difference but their interactions during the entire episode.  JMHO

Edited December 12, 2014 by aguabella

[BearCat49]

No response received so must have been a criticism, aguabella.  You should pattern your writing after someone else, lol.  Goddesses apparently don't care for naked guys!  Too funny but no, that's definitely not the origin of the screen name.  I don't have time to post as myself let alone take on another name.  Wouldn't think the system would even allow it.  Surprised that anyone has time and would waste it, comparing postings. 

 

WRT the Fairfield, CT couple, their age difference (19 years, IIRC) alone wasn't sufficient to call them "Sugar Daddy/Baby", based on my extremely limited knowledge of the typical "sugar daddy" scenario.  That wasn't the point - it was the way they talked about and treated each other as demonstrated on camera.  He was busting his (you know what) to please her while she cooed constantly to "Baby". 

 

For fun, I changed HGTV's boring episode title, above.  Anybody have a better suggestion, for fun?  If it's not "Sugar Daddy/Baby", what is it?

[Bastet]

Exactly, and the joke was on me, not either poster -- I had been reading the posts as all being from the same person, since they're so similar in form and content, and didn't realize my mix-up until one poster replied to the other.  Thus the "Oops."  Simple, really.

 

Back to the Hall of Shame.  There was a HH who said her child's name what seemed like 100 times, and in a voice that could make eardrums spontaneously rupture.  One would think after hearing it so many times, I'd remember the name, but I think I've repressed the experience.  Does anyone recall?  We talked about her a fair bit on TWoP.  I want to say Jackson, but I'm not sure if that's right.

 

There was another one who kept saying her kid - Riley, perhaps - would like this and that while touring the houses, only Riley was an infant who wouldn't have the foggiest idea what any of that stuff was.

Edited December 12, 2014 by Bastet

[camom]

 

There was a HH who said her child's name what seemed like 100 times, and in a voice that could make eardrums spontaneously rupture.

 

Preston Barrington III, perhaps?

[Bastet]

No, although they were certainly obnoxious in other ways!

 

This was a blonde woman.

[ChelseaNH]

Was it Jackson's mom?

[Bastet]

So it was Jackson, then?  Thank you; I thought that was it, but was doubting myself.

 

She is definitely on my Hall of Shame list.

[DownTheShore]

Yes, the tea room woman.  She's on par with the Jane Austen reader with the race-car designer husband (HHI).

 

To me, that "Sugar Daddy" episode name fits the bill because it seemed to me that she saw him as "the main chance", grabbed hold, and is clinging to him for all she is worth, or should I say, "he is worth"?

[BearCat49]

Exactly, and the joke was on me, not either poster -- I had been reading the posts as all being from the same person, since they're so similar in form and content, and didn't realize my mix-up until one poster replied to the other.  Thus the "Oops."  Simple, really.

 

No worries - just hoping that the alternative explanation of my screen name, together with that image, is quickly forgotten, lol!

Edited December 14, 2014 by BearCat49

[BearCat49]

 

To me, that "Sugar Daddy" episode name fits the bill because it seemed to me that she saw him as "the main chance", grabbed hold, and is clinging to him for all she is worth, or should I say, "he is worth"?

 

That was my impression, too!  When she mentioned their initial meeting, it was, "Ewww, he's too old!".  Then, when he started throwing cash around to impress her, they're dating and eventually, married.

 

Her rudeness towards the realtor didn't help my impression, either.  And, silly me, I expected the basement to be a family space, not a giant m/b, located farther away from her younger son and pre-teen daughter. 

 

"Baby" needs to focus on his WS career instead of playing designer and hunting down cheap quartz remnants.  Might consider investing in botox, fillers and plugs!  Does Viagra continue to work as men get older?  hahahahaha ...

[BearCat49]

I disliked the HH who had to have a tea room and have tea time. That was irritating for some reason. 

 

The tea room woman bothered me too, stewedsquash, but I didn't know exactly why, either!

Edited December 14, 2014 by BearCat49

[mojito]

JACKSON. I remember that woman. Had this high-pitched voice. Probably if his name were "John", you might not have noticed that she'd mentioned him so many times, or imagine that you'd heard the name more times than you did.

 

Some of these people act as though their kids or pets will abandon them if they don't like the house. Hmm...maybe these are the kids who ended up on the milk cartons? (Do they do milk cartons like that anymore?)

[auntjess]

Wouldn't it be great if they'd insert pop-ups into the turtle lady episode?

[DownTheShore]

When they run one of their HH marathons, they should have a day of Adrian Leeds & Toby Brown episodes.