House Hunters: Buying in the USA

[dga28]

I'm still wondering about that couple in NJ last night.  I hated that kitchen and the fact that they couldn't even open the refrigerator doors, let alone get a  mattress up those steps.  Yay historic property (rolling my eyes)

they were annoying and inconsistent as most irrational buyers are..

they wanted an  old "historic" home with "charm" but didnt like old outdated features.....lol

 

reminds me of the tiny home buyers who complain the tiny homes are too small or they don't have enough storage or headroom...

[DownTheShore]

If he's going to continue to work in Perth Amboy and live out in western NJ, he is going to have one bitch of a commute if he has to drive I-78 & I-287 during any of the rush hours to get there. Those roads stop dead.

If they were living in Perth Amboy where I think they were, they were near I-287; it sounded and looked like it anyway, so I could understand them not wanting that first house.

If he's as handy as he claims, a lot of the functional problems with the kitchen should be an easy fix.

[ByaNose]

I can't find a thread for Mexico Life so I'll put here. Sorry, it's not correct thread. It's like HH, Hawaii Life, et all....I'll be short & sweet. Super hot couple looking for a place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They are super into each other. Good looking and I think they might have had sex in between each interview confessional. Ah! To be young, good looking & rich.

[chessiegal]

There's a general house hunting thread under the Genre thread. Maybe it's time to request a thread for the "Life" shows since they are airing new episodes of Hawaii, Caribbean, Island, and Mexico Life every weekend.

[NYGirl]

Since they are so much like House Hunters maybe the mods will let us put them in here.

[chessiegal]

Article in today's Washington Post about the popularity of HH, it's production, and product placement.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2016/01/25/how-house-hunters-became-the-most-unstoppable-juggernaut-on-tv/

 

[Pine]

I loved seeing the Hairdresser couple who we watched a few years back, with their first home, now looking for their 2nd home.  She was a titch into herself, but, it could  have been more of a play up for the cameras.   I liked them, and all their Chihuahuas 

[twinks]

Just watched Mark and LeeAnn. She's a SAHM (6 kids!) and he's a pastor. Their budget surprised me. I wonder what kind of income a pastor makes.

[Dawning]

 

I wonder what kind of income a pastor makes.

Typically not a lot (speaking as a pastor's daughter). But it depends a lot on the church (though that one seemed small, so I would not expect him to be making a lot from it). But their budget would also depend on previous savings/income, side jobs, perhaps help from the parents? 

 

That 2nd house, the Craftsman, was adorable, but it was ridiculously small for their family. I'm glad they got the big house. (Though having grown up 5 brothers and sisters in a 4 bedroom, 1 and 1/2 bath house, small is doable.) And yes -- live with the carpet, let it absorb a few years of spills/stains, and eventually replace it when it gets too bad and you have the financial means. 

[proserpina65]

This is the concern about power lines, i.e. the potential for emissions / radiation.

 

http://www.safespaceprotection.com/electrostress-from-power-lines.aspx  

 

 

Opposing studies exist but many believe they were commissioned by the power companies.  (And, the website linked above is marketing some type of remediation product.)  So, who knows???

 

In the meantime, buyers' negative perceptions create enough uncertainty in the market that it's not uncommon for power line homes to sit on the market for months on end or more - even during upcycles. 

The info on the National Cancer Institute leans heavily on there being little or no causative link between power lines and cancer, but as you say, the truth is irrelevant when it comes to the real estate market; the perception of a possible problem would definitely decrease the buyer pool.

[juliet73]

Just watched the hairdresser couple. In the beginning of the episode she mentioned that she thought he was gay when they first met. He's a hairdresser walking around with a Chihuahua strapped to his chest. I would probably think the same thing too.

[magemaud]

 

Just watched Mark and LeeAnn. She's a SAHM (6 kids!) and he's a pastor. Their budget surprised me. I wonder what kind of income a pastor makes.

I wondered, too, especially since I'm pretty sure he said that after he didn't make it in the music industry in Nashville he "started his own church"! After they mentioned both of their families following them to Tennessee, it looked like they might have made up the majority of the congregation. And on a totally shallow note, there were some raggedy ends of LeeAnn's hair that I was just dying to snip! 

[camom]

Since that was obviously a small church, it's quite possible that Mark also has another full time job.  It's not uncommon.

[magemaud]

Here's some background info on Pastor Mark and LeeAnn being on HH:

http://advertisernews.biz/livinglifestyles/local-family-be-hgtv%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98house-hunters%E2%80%99.html

 

and

http://www.southview.cc/pastor-mark/

 

I can't find any info about any kind of "day job" but I can't imagine him NOT doing something else besides pastoring to support such a large family

[Peanutbuttercup]

Overall I liked the Portland couple from last night. I'm here for anyone who puts a giant cat condo in the middle of their "great room." Their McMansion, on the other hand, was bland and boring.

Also, as much as I liked them, they need to go study some architectural history books so that they stop saying "oh, it's a craftsman, I like it!" when spotting a big ugly tract home with a few timbers on the front. This seems to be a common trend among HH'ers though, probably producer-scripted idiocy.

[laredhead]

I laughed when I saw the cat condo in that Portland house.  I'm glad they didn't try to hide it.

 

The Kansas City couple with the neurosurgeon hubby, certainly went from living small to living large.  I never understand why people think they need to instantly fill up all the rooms of a house with furniture.  The wife said they had bought a lot of furniture and still needed to buy more to fill up the empty rooms. Take your time and buy things along the way that you will like years from now, instead of rushing out and buying a house full of stuff just to fill empty space.  Most of the hasty furniture purchases I have made over the years I never liked after a short while.  My favorites are those that I waited to buy and loved at the time and still do 30+ years later. 

[laredhead]

Caught a rerun last night about the couple in Michigan, and he wanted to be a "gentleman farmer".  They ended up with a house on 7 acres on a dirt road.  I wonder what their winters have been like since they moved and if they regret the decision to live on a road that is probably not plowed daily.  Also wonder if keeping up 7 acres with their work schedules is working out for them.  Maybe they will be a on a future Where Are They Now episode.

[Kohola3]

Honest to Pete, if one more woman whines about the absolute necessity of having an "open concept so I can see the children at all times" I am going to throw a rubber brick at the TV.  Every single one of my friends and relatives managed to survive childhood while not under the constant supervision of an adult. 

[NYGirl]

Personally I think this is very lazy on HGTV's part.  We know that they tell everyone to say they want open concept but for crying out loud they have every single person on every single show say it.  It was annoying me yesterday on LIOLI.  I don't understand how stupid they think we are that for us to think everybody in the world wants it.  Not only do they want it to watch the kids but again to entertain and not be left out.

 

One guy said it the other night about how the kitchen was right in front and was she prepared to keep the dishes clean at all times?

[laredhead]

Last night's episode about the very young Arlington, Texas couple (she was 21 - he was 23) blew me away because they were so young.  She was adamant about getting a new house in Texas Traditional style.  So, Texas traditional is now a style.  Who knew?  From the brief looks (kitchen and pool area) that we saw at his parent's house, he was used to a very nice lifestyle and his fiance' probably was as well, so settling for less wasn't an option.  I was really surprised they didn't go for the brand new house since she wanted white cabinets, and a tub that no one had ever used.  Once again though, I found myself yelling at the TV when they kept complaining about the small room sizes in that new build with only 1,600 sf.  It's 1,600 sf and you can't have 3 huge bedrooms in that house size.  I guess math wasn't their major in their Baylor education.  Her voice bordered on vocal fry and she just irritated me for some reason.

 

The Florence, Alabama couple were more genuine in their search, IMO.  I liked that they wanted land and they liked the 100 year old farmhouse.  I couldn't help contrast their comments about what they could live with and not change compared to the Arlington couple who would not have been caught dead in that farmhouse w/o a complete gut job from top to bottom.  I guess I appreciated them more because they had moved around and had experienced very small, temporary housing while he was in medical school and during his residency.  While I liked the house they finally chose, I hope the Florence couple finally are able buy some land in the future and fulfill that dream of theirs.       

[Homily]

Friends of ours are building a house (well having a house built to be more accurate), they're retired empty nesters and I was really surprised when they showed us the floor plans to see that the house is basically 3 rooms excluding bathrooms.  One huge "great" room and two bedrooms.  I didn't know how to tactfully ask them if they realized that unless one of them was in the bedroom they were never going to have any privacy, not just when guests come, but from each other.  I mean it is a big living area but there are no walls separating any of the areas,  No walls, no doors, no privacy.  I'd hate it!  

[Vivigirl10]

Oh my gosh the Arlington, Texas couple was like watching a pair of babies.  Soooooo young.  Did they ever mention what (if anything other than Mommy/Daddy supported lifestyles) either did for a living?  When she graduated and was living in the house alone, did he have to contribute to the mortgage?  Way too little info.  She was polite enough for a friggin' little girl who's shopping for way too grand of a home, but I had trouble digesting her educating the viewers on 1960's style and what was "outdated".  Baby girl, a house built in 2015 would be too outdated for you.  He struck me as the son of a business owner who would come in and start bossing people around who had worked there for 25 years.  Something very "know it all" about him.

 

Did they withhold the information that one of them was a Dugger?  The Mom is already pushing grandkids and they aren't even married yet?  Why are they play acting like a couple at the very least a decade older than themselves?  Why skip over all the fun?  Yes, something can be said for having to live in a less than perfect apartment/home for your first dwelling.  It makes you appreciate everything so much more that you attain through hard work and time.  

[laredhead]

Kiki620, he said he was a sales representative in Arlington, but no mention as to what he sold.  She was a student at Baylor in her last semester and after graduating would have a human resources job.  In one scene she was commenting that she had a busy week because she was studying for 5 final exams.  I forgot to note in my original post that the furnishings in their chosen house were really quite nice for first time buyers.  Yes, i think mommy and daddy were contributing to this first house in a big way.  Maybe the mommy and daddy from both families, but we never saw her family even though they were both from Arlington.  Wonder if they are married now and what that wedding cost.

[Kohola3]

What's with kids in their 20's wanting McMansions with every single amenity known to man?  What happened to "starter homes" where you bought small and worked your way up?  It took me 65 years to have my dream home!  But, then, I didn't go into unending debt while I waited and saved, either.

[Tara1665]

Ahhhh... To be young and stupid and house poor.

[DownTheShore]

That Arlington TX couple annoyed me.  If she's got a job lined up already in HR before she even graduates, then she's either going into Daddy's or her future father-in-law's company.

 

Wasn't there a shot of a piano in that TX Traditional home when they were touring it?  I thought I saw it briefly, and said to myself, "that's their home".  It wasn't shown in the final scenes of them in the house.  Perhaps the producers are wisening-up?

[laredhead]

DownTheShore, you are correct.  There was a piano in the background that you could briefly glimpse as they toured the house.  I thought the same thing too, because the house was empty at the time.  

[NYGirl]

OMG the "cookie cutter" loving wife with the nasal voice rerun is on.  I was just as annoyed that they got what she liked rather than the husband as the first time I saw it.  Boy you could tell which head he was thinking with... ugh.

[KLovestoShop]

Just home from vacation and catching up on HH. Just watched the Pastor couple and to be honest, when they first showed him I thought he'd be a tattoo artist or some other artsy-fartsy thing, but when they said Minister, I was surprised----just doesn't look like any Minister I've ever seen. I kind of shook my head when he said he started his church in his house. After reading the above link, it didn't sound like he went to any kind of ministerial school, but just started some kind of church. Well, if it works for him and his flock, good for them.

Glad they bought the first house as it seems to fit their family the best. While the second house was cute, it certainly wouldn't fit their needs.

Just watched the Arlington couple and I was surprised by the couple. I had the show on in the background and I thought I was hearing two women talking about the houses. To my surprise, it was a man and a woman----Hunter's voice was very girly sounding and I really thought he was a woman. I really didn't like the fiancée as I thought she came off as wanting it all, but not a lot of money. And what the hell is a Texas house? It looks like any brick house in any city and has nothing to do with being a Texas style house.

Edited February 4, 2016 by KLovestoShop

[Ottis]

If she's got a job lined up already in HR before she even graduates, then she's either going into Daddy's or her future father-in-law's company.

 

 

Maybe ... I had a job lined up in journalism in April of my senior year in college. Started work two days after my mid-June graduation.

 

I'm completely puzzled by the price of homes that all these young couples buy on HH. Not only Arlington ... any couple under 35 buying a $400k house blows my mind. Just saw two young 20s twins on Property Brothers buy a house that was listed at $500k. I mean, where does the money come from? Or is it debt? I wish HH would provide more detail on that! Include a little financial education in the show a la Shark Tank. "At an interest rate of 3.9, Susie and Bob can put down $75k, meaning ..."

Edited February 5, 2016 by Ottis

[Empress1]

Sometimes I get it, like if they have good jobs or if they're second-time homeowners. There was one Philly-area couple who were second-time buyers with a budget of $500K; they had what sounded like pretty middle-class jobs but the wife had bought a South Philly row house when she was single and they'd sold it. South Philly is a very hot area so she probably saw a great return on her investment. (I know someone who owns two places in South Philly, one he lives in and one he rents. He bought them before South Philly got trendy and now each of them is worth three times what he paid for it. The rent more than covers his mortgage on that property.) But when recent college grads with what sounds like entry level jobs are buying a $500K place, my eyebrows go up. On My First Place, they say what the buyer is putting down, what the interest rate is, and what the monthly payment is. I wish they'd do that here.

 

Last night there was a buyer in Orlando that I didn't like at all. Her budget was $170K and she was a second-time homebuyer who wanted all the bells and whistles. Houses in Orlando are cheap but not so cheap that you can get fully renovated turnkey homes for that price. She didn't want to do any work on a property but ended up doing it on the place she bought. She got on my nerves because she was really negative about everything she saw. (One of the kitchens was hideous though, I will admit.)

[Tara1665]

I think the one she bought was the one with the hideous kitchen. She had all the counters redone. She was so negative!

[Ohwell]

I loved the Orlando woman's friend and his partner who was the real estate agent.  Her?  Not so much.

[aguabella]

Maybe ... I had a job lined up in journalism in April of my senior year in college. Started work two days after my mid-June graduation.

 

I'm completely puzzled by the price of homes that all these young couples buy on HH. Not only Arlington ... any couple under 35 buying a $400k house blows my mind. Just saw two young 20s twins on Property Brothers buy a house that was listed at $500k. I mean, where does the money come from? Or is it debt? I wish HH would provide more detail on that! Include a little financial education in the show a la Shark Tank. "At an interest rate of 3.9, Susie and Bob can put down $75k, meaning ..."

 

It wouldn't surprise me if the Arlington fiancée participated in on-campus recruiting at Baylor and lined up a position prior to graduation, if she had decent grades and interviewed well.  Or, alternatively, it's certainly possible that they received parental funding.  Or, both!

 

Many parents willingly assist b/c otherwise, they doubt their kids can ever accumulate sufficient downpayment savings to jump on the property ladder's first rung.  Plus, if the kids have student loans, current parents doubt their children can replicate their own method, i.e. by saving to buy a starter home and then moving up every 5 years or so until they can finally purchase a "forever" home.

 

OTOH, some might say that those same parents created monsters by raising children with entitled attitudes.  Who's right?  Who knows?  The truth might be somewhere in the middle of the spectrum (that is, a little of both scenarios) but I won't venture a guess.

 

 

P.S.  Speaking with multiple realtors who've appeared on HH over the years confirmed for me that the producers don't believe the program exists to educate.  It's reality television, meaning, not real, a drama produced strictly for entertainment.  Plus, they doubt potential participants would be willing to provide additional financial information, over and above the (readily available, public) purchase price.  They also believe that anyone who cares can either estimate the financing, using their own financial situation or contact an expert for assistance.

Edited February 5, 2016 by aguabella

[juliet73]

Florida woman last night was negative about EVERYTHING! I thought it was hilarious when she was complaining about the ceiling fan in the kitchen and the realtor told her "she won't sweat her weave out while she's cooking!" And when she mentioned she was going to hang a chandelier in the bedroom closet and the realtor told her she was tacky! Ha! I love a snarky realtor!

[KLovestoShop]

I loved the realtor and his partner last night with the Orlando house.  I was surprised she bought the tacky kitchen house, and I didn't think the granite she had put in came close to matching the cabinets, but there's no accounting for taste.  But again, we have a house hunter who has a tiny budget and wants a mansion.  It's obvious that the producers set this whole thing up.  

[topanga]

I loved the realtor and his partner last night with the Orlando house.  I was surprised she bought the tacky kitchen house, and I didn't think the granite she had put in came close to matching the cabinets, but there's no accounting for taste.  But again, we have a house hunter who has a tiny budget and wants a mansion.  It's obvious that the producers set this whole thing up.  

I wish she would have explained more why she sold her home then lived in it for a year, paying rent. It just doesn't make financial sense, and didn't understand her "I didn't know where I wanted to go." So she pays rent for year??? Wouldn't that eat up the profits from her home sale? And now she's starting over?

 

I agree that she was negative about everything. I hesitate to say that (given the stereotype of the Angry Black Woman), but we've seen enough pleasant black women on HH that I don't feel guilty about mentioning her wet blanket attitude. I also loved her snarky real estate agent and her funny BFF.  

[Ohwell]

I wish she would have explained more why she sold her home then lived in it for a year, paying rent. It just doesn't make financial sense, and didn't understand her "I didn't know where I wanted to go." So she pays rent for year??? Wouldn't that eat up the profits from her home sale? And now she's starting over?

I think it would have been better if they hadn't brought up the sale of her home and her renting because none of her backstory made sense.  They should have just mentioned what she did for a living, like they usually do, and left it at that.   

[laredhead]

I decided to sell my previous house when the market was great, but did not anticipate selling it quite as fast as I did.  It sold within 2 days at a cash offer.  I had not found another house because I thought I would have more time to shop for one.  The buyers did not want to move in for 6 months, so they allowed me to rent it back from them at my previous mortgage rate.  I was able to take my time finding a new place to live and all of it worked out great.  If I had waited a year to sell, I would not have made as much $$ on the sale as I did when I sold it.  Maybe this was the situation with the Orlando HH.

Edited February 7, 2016 by laredhead

[Ohwell]

That explanation makes sense, but in the case of the Orlando HH, since there wasn't enough time to explain all that, they should have just left it out.

[Bastet]

In the Orlando episode, I cracked up at the house where the owners had converted the garage into a kitchen ... but left the driveway leading right up to it.  It looked so silly from the outside, this driveway to nowhere.

[topanga]

The Chicago woman who wanted a fixer upper was strange (I can't remember if this was an old or new episode). I don't mind people being weird or quirky--in fact, I think it makes people more interesting. But she seemed to care so little about the houses themselves. All she wanted was to purchase an old house at a good price so she could gut it and make it looks the way she wants it to. I mean, who moves a staircase?

 

Then again, she sounds like an artist who wants to re-create her vision of how a home should look. But if that were the case, couldn't she build a home from scratch? It wouldn't have to be a cookie-cutter home in a development. Chicago has plenty of empty lots for sale. She could buy a lot for cheap and build a $400,000 home, since that was her budget. 

[Empress1]

The Chicago woman who wanted a fixer upper was strange (I can't remember if this was an old or new episode). I don't mind people being weird or quirky--in fact, I think it makes people more interesting. But she seemed to care so little about the houses themselves. All she wanted was to purchase an old house at a good price so she could gut it and make it looks the way she wants it to. I mean, who moves a staircase?

 

Then again, she sounds like an artist who wants to re-create her vision of how a home should look. But if that were the case, couldn't she build a home from scratch? It wouldn't have to be a cookie-cutter home in a development. Chicago has plenty of empty lots for sale. She could buy a lot for cheap and build a $400,000 home, since that was her budget. 

If you're talking about who I think you're talking about, she's a flipper. Her first episode she was acting like she was buying a home to live in, but she appeared on the show again and said she'd decided to sell it. (I never believed for a second she planned to live in the house she bought.) On her second show appearance, she acknowledged that house #2 was a flip - and, in my opinion, ruined it with the addition of a cheap-looking siding-covered second story. I bet the residents in that neighborhood hate her.

[topanga]

If you're talking about who I think you're talking about, she's a flipper. Her first episode she was acting like she was buying a home to live in, but she appeared on the show again and said she'd decided to sell it. (I never believed for a second she planned to live in the house she bought.) On her second show appearance, she acknowledged that house #2 was a flip - and, in my opinion, ruined it with the addition of a cheap-looking siding-covered second story. I bet the residents in that neighborhood hate her.

That makes sense. I'm always a little suspect when single women say they're moving into a "transitioning" neighborhood. That usually means it's a bad neighborhood that's at the beginning states of becoming gentrified. And in those cases, it isn't the safest neighborhood for a woman a live alone. Especially a woman who knows nothing about the people in the neighborhood where she says she's going to live. 

[Mu Shu]

That woman had the worst case of nasal uptalk compounded with a harsh Midwestern accent I have ever heard. Funny that Nicole's accent doesn't bother me at all, but this woman just needed to be eaten by da bears.

Dumb flipper. You can't make money flipping unless you get in and out fast. She gave it away when she was insisting on a family area.

[truther]

In the Orlando episode, I cracked up at the house where the owners had converted the garage into a kitchen ... but left the driveway leading right up to it.  It looked so silly from the outside, this driveway to nowhere.

I'm actually house hunting in South Florida right now, and I had never noticed before but apparently this is actually a thing.  I've seen four separate single-family homes with driveways leading to fake garage doors, with a little studio-type thing in the enclosed room behind.  From inside the house it's just more of the first floor, noticeable merely because the floor is usually a foot or two lower than the rest of the house.  

[Bastet]

I've seen that, but with this house there was no longer a garage door; it was stucco (or whatever the house was made of; I didn't look all that closely) and a window.  But the driveway was still there.

[truther]

I've seen that, but with this house there was no longer a garage door; it was stucco (or whatever the house was made of; I didn't look all that closely) and a window.  But the driveway was still there.

Yeah that's weird.  Eventually some knucklehead's bound to drive into it.  

[Pickles]

The Lafayette, LA couple tonight. I liked the house they bought. They are really doing extensive renovations! He was so vocal about wanting a grand entrance, impressive house, etc. Of course, that is probably what the producers told him to say. The wife looked (and sounded) so manly to me. She was certainly particular about things---ripping out all of the wood floors, moving walls, etc. omg.

[CocoaGoddess]

The Lafayette couple was so weird, I ran to Twitter to see if anyone else noticed. I don't think I even looked at the homes, I just could not stop staring at the wife with her too dark hair and garish eyebrows.

 

Someone on Twitter said she was a body builder, which makes so much sense. She seemed joyless and annoyed to be on the show though.