House Hunters: Buying in the USA

[juliet73]

Davis episode: Husband was cool,  wife was a total PITA!  Every time she talked I thought she was going to bust out laughing...and that was the least annoying thing about her.  Right off the bat she starts complaining that the house only has 2 bathrooms and she really needs 3! 3! For just the two of them! Then she complains she doesn't know what each room is supposed to be used for because it's not open concept.  Huh?? And according to her husband, she's the logical one?? 

No friends gathering around at the end considering she kept harping about "entertaining space." 

[Ohwell]

Davis husband looked whipped so I couldn't even stand watching until the end to see which house they chose.

[magemaud]

Michigan wife was quick to point out that SHE was a cheerleader (thus a "cool kid") in high school while her husband was a nerdy band geek. 

[AuntiePam]

3 hours ago, magemaud said:

Michigan wife was quick to point out that SHE was a cheerleader (thus a "cool kid") in high school while her husband was a nerdy band geek. 

Another reason to fast-forward the intros.  I would have liked her even less if I'd heard her say that. 

[magemaud]

yeah, she was pretty full of herself

[jcbrown]

(Among) the thing(s) that drive me to distraction about this show is their mischaracterization of architectural styles. A newly built tract home is not a Craftsman, you nitwits! I guess it does sound better than "generic house that looks just like all the others in the neighborhood." I was burning off a bunch of episodes this AM but I think it was the Michigan episode where they called something "Victorian" that was nothing at all like a Victorian. Grrr.

[truther]

If they ever do an April Fools House Hunters episode -- and I have the entire script already worked out in my head, producers, ahem, cough -- I would love to see a realtor try to sell the hunters on a "Fully updated, open concept contemporary Victorian," just to see them nod approvingly.  

[Ottis]

Quote

 

Wait! HH is scripted? Who knew? LOL!!!

http://videos.hgtv.com/video/house-hunters'-writers'-room-0239955

and, apprently Fixer Upper and Flip or Flop are, too. Who knew? LOL!!!

 

Great idea, but they missed the mark. Way too much time spent on gasp vs. ooooooooooo, when they should have run off and hit every other cliched phrase as well as the ridiculousness of examples like, "I grew up in a ___ style house, so I want one now." OK, so that's one "doesn't do well with change."

[AuntiePam]

Tonight's Phoenix couple -- do the producers look for vapid, obnoxious people?  Maybe the wife was just trying to be different, because why else would someone complain about tile floors in Arizona?  She even complained about tile in a bathroom, for pete's sake.

They wanted play space for the kids and didn't want a pool, but chose a house with a very small yard -- and a pool. 

I did like what she did with the kitchen though. 

[KLovestoShop]

I completely disliked the Phoenix wife.  She hated absolutely everything and her "my esthetic" mantra was stupid.  We lived in Scottsdale for 10 years and tile floors is what almost everyone has because it does keep things cooler.  But I see she got hardwood floors, but I don't think they work with the type of house.  In the long run, with the heat, I think she will regret changing out the floors.  

[Kohola3]

Quote

Tonight's Phoenix couple -- do the producers look for vapid, obnoxious people? 

I think it's more like only vapid, obnoxious people apply for the show anymore.  They are all shallow narcissists who think they will make an impression during their 15 minutes of fame.

[mojito]

Quote

 But I see she got hardwood floors, but I don't think they work with the type of house.  In the long run, with the heat, I think she will regret changing out the floors. 

Although I lived in a less citified area of Arizona, I recall grit (I'm sure this comes as a surprise, but Arizona is full of sand) being a constant on the floors. Based on that, I would've avoided wood floors on the lower level.

"Everybody's putting in white kitchens so my designer heart tells me that this is what we need to get." Well, you twit, if you have a "designer heart", perhaps you should be thinking beyond the current trend that everybody's doing and come up with something original. You've probably come up with all your ideas watching Christina on Flip or Flop. 

Wouldn't it be fun for HH to have a retro week and air programs from 1999, then 2004, then 2009 so we can see the evolution of demands and styles? It'd be fun to hear the old theme song (chee kah!) and Suzanne Whang.

[laredhead]

The Phoenix woman got on my last nerve.  She is the epitome of the type of person who does something just because everyone else does it.  She said it herself that she is a design show junkie and since all kitchens are being decorated in the same white on white on white, then she has to have that.  I wonder if she ever sat down and really thought about what she might really want or to find out there are more colors in the box than variations of white.  The other thing that bugged me was her constant use of the phrases "my kitchen", "I hate", "my wood floor".  Uh, I think her husband's $$ is probably paying for that house.  At least he got a separate office where I bet he spends a lot of time away from "her" house.  

I liked the house they chose because of the separate office and guest quarters, and the pool was a good feature as well considering the climate in Arizona.  The last house they looked at was interesting and that pool was more like a lake.  The tortoise (it was not a turtle as the realtor said) was pretty cool.  I thought at the turtle lady of HH fame when I saw it.      

[truther]

Was Phoenix definitely a new episode?  I'll admit to only watching the first five minutes before losing interest and turning it off (for the reasons everybody's already given), but the whole setup seemed really familiar.  

[LegalParrot81]

Phoenix wife should be the poster child for entitled princesses.  It was all about me, my, mine, nothing about what would be best for the family.  I thought she would hyperventilate every time she saw tile.

Best part of the episode was the tortoise ambling over to his water bowl.

[ByaNose]

10 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

Tonight's Phoenix couple -- do the producers look for vapid, obnoxious people?  Maybe the wife was just trying to be different, because why else would someone complain about tile floors in Arizona?  She even complained about tile in a bathroom, for pete's sake.

They wanted play space for the kids and didn't want a pool, but chose a house with a very small yard -- and a pool. 

I did like what she did with the kitchen though. 

They did (or painters) did a great job with the cabinets. It looked like they were all new cabinets but she said they were painted, right? It really did make a big difference and was a good call on her part. That said, she was so annoying and came off as a biotch. I guess her husband does really well $$$$$$. I

[qtpye]

Lord, if someone told me I had Amish cabinets I would be jumping up and down with glee.

[Rosebud1970]

On November 7, 2016 at 10:00 PM, KLovestoShop said:

I completely disliked the Phoenix wife.  She hated absolutely everything and her "my esthetic" mantra was stupid.  We lived in Scottsdale for 10 years and tile floors is what almost everyone has because it does keep things cooler.  But I see she got hardwood floors, but I don't think they work with the type of house.  In the long run, with the heat, I think she will regret changing out the floors.  

Oh, that heifer had my blood boiling. She didn't want tile on the bathroom floor. Well, what would you like on the bathroom floor, sweetheart? Carpet? Hardwood? Linoleum?

And neither of them wanted a pool. In Phoenix, where it gets to be 120. She was yammering on and on about her 'designer soul'. Honey, that died long ago, of malnutrition.

[Kohola3]

Well, in all fairness, a pool is a huge waste of water resources in a state where water is at a premium.

[ByaNose]

27 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Well, in all fairness, a pool is a huge waste of water resources in a state where water is at a premium.

Although, I've always wondered what people in Arizona do without a pool. I mean, they could possibly die, right? LOL!!! I don't know anyone who lives in Arizona but I always just imagined that everyone had a pool. Otherwise, it looks like everyone has a brown house and brown backyard. You need the pool for the pop of color. LOL!!! BTW! I live in the Philly suburbs and don't have a pool. Are they really that expensive to maintain?

[MsTree]

18 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Although, I've always wondered what people in Arizona do without a pool. I mean, they could possibly die, right? LOL!!! I don't know anyone who lives in Arizona but I always just imagined that everyone had a pool. Otherwise, it looks like everyone has a brown house and brown backyard. You need the pool for the pop of color. LOL!!! BTW! I live in the Philly suburbs and don't have a pool. Are they really that expensive to maintain?

Believe or not, some people in AZ do NOT have a pool, and surprise, they actually manage to function & stay alive! That's what A/C is for ;-)

[ByaNose]

4 hours ago, MsTree said:

Believe or not, some people in AZ do NOT have a pool, and surprise, they actually manage to function & stay alive! That's what A/C is for ;-)

Oh, that's right. Arizona isn't a third world country without modern conveniences. LOL!!!!!!!!! The same way in Florida where my parent's lived. Not everyone had a pool but they sure had A/C.

[Babalooie]

ByaNose, you are right.  I am a native Floridian and we didn't have A/C until I was a teenager in the late 1960's.   We went to school when all the classrooms had was a large tall fan and open windows.  I didn't get a pool until age 62.  Somehow we survived.

[Kohola3]

Quote

 I didn't get a pool until age 62.  Somehow we survived.

Ah, but the Special Snowflakes have never had the necessity to do without.  They want it their way all of the time right out of the cradle.

[truther]

Watching ANOTHER Chicago episode -- please no more.  It's like the new Atlanta.  And I say that as someone who's lived and owned homes there!

[Mittengirl]

Was the second house on the Chicago episode one that we saw a lady flip on HHR?  I seem to remember the hatred for that ugly exterior.

[ByaNose]

I love this show. That said, why would someone want to go on this show when they already have the house and then intentionally want to go on tv and (basically) lie that they don't. I mean HH doesn't pay that much, do they? 

[Kohola3]

Quote

I mean HH doesn't pay that much, do they? 

I believe I've seen that it's about $500.  But it isn't the money. It's that 15 minutes of fame that some people seem to crave.

[Pickles]

I just saw the last few minutes of the Chicago episode tonight. I need to go back and watch the beginning, but I did not like the wife at all. She seemed really snobby. Had to have the red knobs on the stove, would not be caught dead taking a shower in the bathroom she deemed too outdated, the garage door was too plain for her, etc. What did they do for a living? The wife seemed very pleased to be on tv. Lol. Lots of posing at the end.

[AnnaRose]

42 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

I love this show. That said, why would someone want to go on this show when they already have the house and then intentionally want to go on tv and (basically) lie that they don't. I mean HH doesn't pay that much, do they? 

I thought I was the only one who couldn't understand how or why people did this.

I imagine these people in court in the future on an unrelated matter... they're called to the stand to testify... and the opposing counsel says, "So Mr. Smith, how much money did it take for you to be willing to go on national television and lie repeatedly?"  Mr. Smith's feeble reply, "Well, uh, five hundred dollars."  Hangs his head in shame as he's deemed an unreliable witness and his testimony is stricken from the records.

Okay... so that probably won't happen, but it still astounds me that people are willing to publicly lie for money and a twenty-minute television appearance.

Most people think nothing of it because it's just 'reality' television, and what's the big deal about being dishonest and misrepresenting things... but it still bugs me.

I suppose it's not as bad now though, since most everyone watching knows the house hunters are lying about everything.  Then again, maybe in some ways it's worse... because everybody watching knows they're lying.

I couldn't/wouldn't do it.

Yes, I'm weird.

[magemaud]

They never said what Chicago couple did for a living. She was a real piece of work. The house had to have "character" and a white kitchen but no ghosts because she had SEEN one. She was adamant about needing a special garage door! She was so pretentious, too, when she commented on the "fwah-yay" in the last house. I had to agree, though, the second house in the city had absolutely no curb appeal. From a distance, I thought the brownish bricks on the bottom was boarded up plywood. 

[KLovestoShop]

Unless this Chicago couple was totally scripted, I don't see them staying married for long.  Did he not know anything about her before they married?  She NEVER mentioned about being terrified of ghosts?   While she was obnoxious, his comment about nobody listening to him about what HE wants was snarky along with not being able to shut the front door-----he shut the freaking door with a bit of effort.  And her weirdness of garage doors and red knobs was silly   And I hate to tell her, but we had one of those red knob stoves and it was nothing but a nightmare   More expensive doesn't necessarily mean top quality.   My sister had Viking appliances, not cheap by any means, and they were awful, breaking down all the time   When they had to move, she bought your basic Kenmore and hasn't had a bit of problems with any of them  

Whenever I hear people say "We need to make it our own" all I want to scream is "Buy land and build your own freaking house."   And another is the open concept mantra.  If you want an old house, they aren't open concept.  They had small rooms on purpose because of heating costs many years ago.  

[Kohola3]

8 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

Yes, I'm weird.

May I sit at your table?  In no universe would I be willing to make a fool of myself like that - and my friends and family would ridicule me to the end of my days.

I don't lie very well and come from the Thumper "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" Club  Plus I know that you can "make it your own" with a few gallons of paint and some new curtains and I know the difference between "want" and "need".  It would be a very dull episode.

[laredhead]

Wow, that Chicago wife was pretty awful.  The husband looked embarrassed by a couple of her comments and the looks he gave her were ones that were not endearing, IMO.  I actually watched parts of the episode twice to make sure I was hearing and seeing what I thought I had the first time.  Pretentious with a capital P was the wife.

Yes, red knobs are a status symbol to her like those red soled Louboutin  shoes are to people who love fashion.  Klovestoshop, you are correct about the repairs to expensive kitchen equipment.  Unless you are a chef or cook 3 meals a day, you probably are paying for something you really don't need.

She definitely was posing in the last scene.   I would love to know what they do for a living.

The second house did look like the one that the Chicago flipper renovated.  Great catch by someone upthread.  Wonder if it was that one? 

[mojito]

Quote

I thought the brownish bricks on the bottom was boarded up plywood. 

I did, too. I thought the house they purchased was ugly on the outside also.

She demanded a white kitchen from the very beginning, and then, apparently, she watched "Flip or Flop" or some other HGTV show in which the cabinets were multicolored and gray was the basic color, and there went the white cabinets. I wonder if people like her get depressed in 5 years when their "updated" kitchen begins going out of style.

And the ghosts bit. She goes into a fairly nice basement and wonders if there are ghosts. So the woman isn't even intuitive. She won't know about a home being haunted until she has already purchased it and moved in. People who are afraid of old homes because of ghosts really need to get a grip. Bad things happen everywhere and at any time, including on the "new" lot that you just built your new house on. 

I hope this woman with such specific tastes encounters a ghost with a specific taste for haunting only her.

[magemaud]

They also played the Chicago scene twice where the realtor says, "These are nice high-end appliances, you wouldn't have to change a thing..." and the wife smugly replies, "Oh, but we WILL!" in the kitchen they eventually bought and immediately swapped out the existing stove for the coveted red knob one. I also had to laugh when she kept talking about knocking down walls and him saying that was too much work, too expensive, etc. then in one house HE was the one who said that in order to get his open concept it would be necessary to get rid of several walls. Which brings me to another pet peeve of mine, these couples who just blithely walk into an old house and assume it's easy to eliminate walls to open up the place. I've learned from "Flip or Flop" and "Fixer Upper" that load bearing walls can now be dealt with by using steel beams but it involves structural engineering and it's quite expensive. It seems many people like the looks (i.e. "character" and "curb appeal") of a Victorian house only from the outside so an easy solution is to stick a turret, porch and some gingerbread trim on a new build and you can have the best of both worlds. 

[scootypuffjr]

I always thought that one could make a house their own, or put one's stamp on a house, by putting your own personal possessions in it, and decorating it to one's own taste. I don't know why so many people seem to think it requires knocking down walls or replacing perfectly acceptable and serviceable appliances, granite, tiles, cabinets, floors and so forth with something nearly identical in a different style or color. 

[jcbrown]

I think the Chicago couple were both horrible and pretty well-matched in their passive aggression. I predict they will be divorced within five years.

And I must defend my beloved Wolf range with the red knobs. One of the best things we did when we had our kitchen remodeled 2+ years ago was have the contractor run a gas line and install a 6-burner dual fuel range. Granted, I am a serious cook and not like a lot of the open-some-cheese people on HH (nothing against cheese!) but that stove continues to be one of my favorite parts of the kitchen. And the red knobs do not cost extra.

[dga28]

6 hours ago, jcbrown said:

I think the Chicago couple were both horrible and pretty well-matched in their passive aggression. I predict they will be divorced within five years.

And I must defend my beloved Wolf range with the red knobs. One of the best things we did when we had our kitchen remodeled 2+ years ago was have the contractor run a gas line and install a 6-burner dual fuel range. Granted, I am a serious cook and not like a lot of the open-some-cheese people on HH (nothing against cheese!) but that stove continues to be one of my favorite parts of the kitchen. And the red knobs do not cost extra.

regarding the wolf range, i agree.  in various houses i have had a combination of viking and or wolf for the past 12 years and never had even one issue.  regarding the wolf knobs, mine came with both black and red knobs...which one i used  was my choice.  i see nothing wrong with having high end appliances if you want to and can afford to.  its a personal choice and not something to be ridiculed for.

[Kohola3]

I think the comments about the stove were not ridicule of owners of such appliances just an example of how idiotic the woman sounded.   Certainly people have different priorities but it does seem kind of over the top to make the color of some knobs the total focus on whether or not to buy a home.  I would weigh a few other salient features just a bit more heavily - like location, taxes, lack of critical construction issues, etc.  

It's getting to be unwatchable with these vapid lists of must-haves.

[mojito]

I watched the Doylestown, PA show. Husband and wife both wanted a vintage home (early 30s, I'd say). He leaned towards Victorian, she leaned towards Craftsman. They had $500K to spend. They wanted a 3-2, and wanted to walk to town. The first home was a 2-1 and cost $370, I think. It was old and within walking distance to town. The second home was $525K and move-in ready and pretty modern. She acknowledged the benefits of a home that's already done. The last home was $525K, older, larger, out of Doylestown.

The modern amenity/style that they did want was a kitchen open to the dining area.

Of course, they were going to go with the $525K newly renovated home....

Well, shut my mouth.

They chose the 2-1 home and planned to build an extension with a master suite. I believe they were going to blow out the dining room wall and the husband stated they would have an eat-in kitchen (I'm one who can't get into formal dining rooms, so I gave a small cheer at the phrase "eat-in kitchen"). Although the wife saw one kitchen as "heinous" because of the green (and not dark green) countertops, she was okay with the very old pine (I think) cabinets with scallops.  They were such a pleasant surprise. They wanted wood floors (because they wanted vintage) and seemed okay with an old home that had different wood floors in different rooms, said nothing about the size of closets, didn't whine because the rooms were all broken up, didn't have any more demands than vintage and being able to fix it up themselves. 

Kudos to them.

[magemaud]

The more I think of it, maybe that Wolf stove was there all along and all the Chicago woman replaced were the red knobs? Why else would she be installing them herself? And the red knobs do add a nice "pop of color" to the white, oops make that gray, cabinets. 

[mojito]

Quote

Plus I know that you can "make it your own" with a few gallons of paint and some new curtains and I know the difference between "want" and "need". 

Color me lazy. I think hanging my purse from a doorknob constitutes making a home my own. 

[AuntiePam]

3 hours ago, magemaud said:

The more I think of it, maybe that Wolf stove was there all along and all the Chicago woman replaced were the red knobs? Why else would she be installing them herself? And the red knobs do add a nice "pop of color" to the white, oops make that gray, cabinets. 

It looked like a new stove, because of the orange plastic covering the top, sorta like the plastic that comes on new TV's and other appliances.  She'd install them herself "to put her stamp on it" and because the stove was probably shipped without the knobs being attached. 

[juliet73]

3 hours ago, magemaud said:

The more I think of it, maybe that Wolf stove was there all along and all the Chicago woman replaced were the red knobs? Why else would she be installing them herself? And the red knobs do add a nice "pop of color" to the white, oops make that gray, cabinets. 

It was a new stove/oven. Originally, the cook top was in the island  and the oven was on the back wall.  

I agree with all of you that the wife was a snobby b!tch.  I wish they did mention their jobs though because Glen Ellyn (and Wheaton) are quite a commute to the city and they never mentioned it while they were looking at any of the houses. 

[Empress1]

On 11/11/2016 at 9:14 AM, laredhead said:

Wow, that Chicago wife was pretty awful.  The husband looked embarrassed by a couple of her comments and the looks he gave her were ones that were not endearing, IMO.  I actually watched parts of the episode twice to make sure I was hearing and seeing what I thought I had the first time.  Pretentious with a capital P was the wife.

Yes, red knobs are a status symbol to her like those red soled Louboutin  shoes are to people who love fashion.  Klovestoshop, you are correct about the repairs to expensive kitchen equipment.  Unless you are a chef or cook 3 meals a day, you probably are paying for something you really don't need.

She definitely was posing in the last scene.   I would love to know what they do for a living.

The second house did look like the one that the Chicago flipper renovated.  Great catch by someone upthread.  Wonder if it was that one? 

I disliked that wife on sight. Then I got mad at myself for pre-judging her, and then when she started talking I was like "OK, I was right." Her husband straight up rolled his eyes at her when he said something like "Why don't we let the ghosts decide?" right before they started looking at the houses. She laughed but I don't think he was kidding. 

Hated the outside of the house they looked at in Chicago proper - the brick did look like plywood.

[magemaud]

4 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

 

8 hours ago, magemaud said:

The more I think of it, maybe that Wolf stove was there all along and all the Chicago woman replaced were the red knobs? Why else would she be installing them herself? And the red knobs do add a nice "pop of color" to the white, oops make that gray, cabinets. 

It looked like a new stove, because of the orange plastic covering the top, sorta like the plastic that comes on new TV's and other appliances.  She'd install them herself "to put her stamp on it" and because the stove was probably shipped without the knobs being attached. 

 

Ooh, I think you may be right! Good eyes! If that's the case, it's yet another example of one of these pretentious house hunters who immediately rips out a perfectly usable stove in order to replace it with a more prestigious brand. 

[dga28]

11 hours ago, magemaud said:

Ooh, I think you may be right! Good eyes! If that's the case, it's yet another example of one of these pretentious house hunters who immediately rips out a perfectly usable stove in order to replace it with a more prestigious brand. 

are you for real with this comment?   someone is pretentious because after buying a home, they decide to upgrade their appliances?

isn't  this a home improvement forum?...lol

[wait.what]

Red knobs:

i took the comment as a kind of inside joke humble brag that only the elite will understand. "These "red knobs" were so expensive" (wink wink). "Oops I bought the stove for these cute red knobs, I had no idea that this was a limited edition precious stove." Because anyone who is anyone will know that these red knobs are indicative of a certain expensive brand of stove. 

All of us poor regular people will have no idea what she is talking about. 

[AuntiePam]

5 hours ago, dga28 said:

are you for real with this comment?   someone is pretentious because after buying a home, they decide to upgrade their appliances?

isn't  this a home improvement forum?...lol

It's pretentious in the same way that buying anything for the brand name is pretentious.  Buy it because it's more functional or because it's reliable or because it's made in the USA.