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House Hunters: Buying in the USA


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8 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Yeah, I think that's what the Columbus guy was referring to as being unsure what was behind the walls.  The construction might be better, but the wiring and things like that are old and might also be inadequate for today's needs. 

 

I read your comment before watching the episode, and I watched her reaction whenever he'd mention having a bunch of kids.  It enhanced my viewing experience.

Columbus, Indiana, is an interesting place.  I was there a while back playing tourist (they have improbably amazing modern architecture, and lots of it, some of which was shown in the episode), and it was raining so I hung out in the visitor's center talking to the old ladies for a while.  It's the headquarters for Cummins diesel engines, so there has always been a disproportionate number of highly educated engineers for such a small town, and these days a lot of them are Indian, adding a level of diversity to the area.  And there's not enough housing for them in Columbus, so a lot of them are living south of Indianapolis in the new developments there, and they're running shuttles for them, like they do in Silicon Valley.

 

And not helped by that enormous washer and dryer.   If ever a space called out for one of those European combo washer/dryers, this was it.

I literally gasped when I saw that private rooftop deck. 

Yeah, the washer & dryer were bigger then the kitchen and two coutertops next to it. I would remove them and just buy clothes everytime I was there. LOL!! I'm sure it would be expensive but I'm sure they can afford it.

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13 hours ago, AuntiePam said:
13 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I liked them, too, but I still wonder how they can do all that stuff and have jobs. 

Priorities.  I got more done around the house and yard when I was working full-time than after I retired.  If you know that you only have X hours to get something done, you don't waste those hours.  It's when you have the spare time that nothing gets done.  Weird.

Actually, they both said they were nurses. Nurses can have very flexible schedules, and even "full-time" is more like 4 days on, 4 days off (even if the days on are 12-15-hour days). So I could see them having larger blocks of time for hobbies and farm than the typical 9-5, M-F workers who only get two days off a week, especially if they stagger their schedules.

Edited by Ottis
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3 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Yeah, they might be able to handle the work now, but see how that goes when they start a family, which they said they wanted to do.

Oh yeah. Their world will change. Get in the hobbies now. 

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I liked them, too, but I still wonder how they can do all that stuff and have jobs. 

They're probably not watching Head Hunters and spending time on forums. With their interests, it wouldn't surprise me if the rarely watched TV. Think of the line, "If you want to get something done, pick a busy woman". It might apply to both of them. I agree with Auntie Pam and Red on this.

Edited by mojito
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10 hours ago, mojito said:

They're probably not watching Head Hunters and spending time on forums. With their interests, it wouldn't surprise me if the rarely watched TV. Think of the line, "If you want to get something done, pick a busy woman". It might apply to both of them. I agree with Auntie Pam and Red on this.

TV viewing or no, if they both are working M-F, 9-5 jobs (which those of us who do that know is really more like 7-7), they won't have time for those hobbies unless the goats and the bees can survive being ignored for 2/3rds of the day. Maybe they can. I'm betting their nurse jobs give them plenty of flexibility, and they are also self-directed and energetic. That, of course, will change with their priorities, especially if they have kids (human, not goats). 

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The bees and goats will be fine. I have family and friends that have both and they work full-time jobs and have kids.

Head Hunters? I wasn't trying to be cute. Guess I need to cut back on the scotch.

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6 hours ago, mojito said:

Head Hunters? I wasn't trying to be cute. Guess I need to cut back on the scotch.

Let's not go overboard. It's just a TV show.

Also, where is this bee and goat filled haven?

Edited by Ottis
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1 hour ago, MoreCoffeePlease said:

Oregon couple was cute. I really liked the 1st house with the green siding.  Too bad it was on the busy road.  They should feature them on "where are they now" to show us any updates that they do.

I thought the Oregon couple was cute too. They seemed like a great fit, and neither one seemed annoying.

I liked the first house too even if it was on a busy street. I also liked the custom built even though it would have put them way over their budget if they got all the additions for it. The one that they ended up was okay, but it seemed on the small side for the two of them. As far as location goes though, it makes sense that they went with the smaller house. 

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Finally got to watch the recent NYC episode on demand only to realise that one of my dearest friends lives in apartment #2 (the one in Chelsea).  I was like wait, I know that building, hey, that outdoor patio looks familiar... 

She lives there with another friend of hers. Her friends parents bought it as an investment.  It's a 3br.  I don't want to know what they paid...

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17 hours ago, mortonsalt said:

I thought the Oregon couple was cute too. They seemed like a great fit, and neither one seemed annoying.

I was confused because I was coming here to post that I thought the Tacoma couple was particularly entertaining.  I watched two episodes last night and figured I just had them mixed up because what are the odds of having two inoffensive couples on the same night?  But then I remembered that one was in Eugene and one was in Tacoma, so it did happen.

But the Tacoma episode wins, for me, because the real estate agent was older and she didn't call them "you guys" every. single. time. she talked to them.  Is it really so hard to say, "You're really going to like the master bedroom" instead of "You guys are really going to like the master bedroom"?

Plus when the woman HH opened that weird small door and that big hairball came at her. 

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The Nashville couple seemed very pleasant.  Of course, I'm partial to  drummers, since I raise two of them.  I preferred House #3, the split level, but it would have been a longer drive.  The poor black lab is going to have to learn to retrieve a little better than he did for the cameras.

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The poor black lab is going to have to learn to retrieve a little better than he did for the cameras.

When the owner threw the toy and the dog just sat there, I had to laugh! They were so stressed because of the small yard; the poor doggie wouldn't have enough room to run and play! Guess the small yard didn't bother the dog! All he seemed to need was a nice grassy area to lay down on.

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I'm actually very glad that the Nashville couple didn't choose the third house---not to be a total real estate snob, but it's located in a very sketchy, lower-class neighborhood((not even a gentrified one, just one that sorta has a bad reputation all around)).

They wouldn't want their kid going to any of the nearby schools there and the area has a long way to go before it starts redeeming itself; let's just say that we Nashville natives all know that the Antioch area is probably one of the least desirable neighborhoods in the greater Metro area here. Woodbine is much closer to town/better neighborhoods and has more of a trendy buzz about it. Hope they enjoy their yard, because their dog didn't seem to mind it one bit!

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On ‎1‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 6:55 PM, ByaNose said:

I recognized these guys from their previous HH appearance. Actually, I remembered the house in Palm Springs more but it's the same thing. LOL!!! I wanted them to chose the 3rd condo with the private rooftop deck. I'm all about outdoor living. I wonder who landed that property?! The asking price was 1.3 million. Yikes! The place they did pick was nice and seemed sufficient for their needs when they pop into the city. The "kitchen" was  crazy small and I didn't understand the two different backsplashes next to each other. One was blue & the other was brown. Kind of odd. I also liked their carpet tile. I didn't know they were back in. It seems like everyone gets an area rug from PB, Target or IKEA these days. BTW! I would like to have their money, too. Could someone help make that happen? LOL!!!

IIRC, the last condo's asking price was actually 1.5M - their supposed max budget, lol.

I don't think the carpet tiles have ever gone out.  They're expensive but so practical.

Yep, I noticed the backsplash, too.  I'm 99% sure it's a factor of lighting and editing.  The lighter side, a workspace, had much brighter, undercabinet lighting.  Plus, the prod co's spotlight probably illuminated it significantly while they were shooting the kitchen.  The cooktop area, off to the side and out of direct range of the spotlight, had only two undercabinet lights, focused on the stove's burners.  So, that tile appeared much darker on camera. 

If you noticed, when they pulled the camera and lights back as they walked thru the unit, the lighter backsplash appeared greyer / darker as they went along.  Given that, I have a feeling the tile is darker and most likely matches the cooktop area.  One of those funny, editing issues that a more expensive production might fix.

Guess they don't plan on popping into the city much b/c it appears they waited 30 days to establish residency and then listed the unit for monthly rentals, consistent with the requirements of the new AirBnB legislation.  Here's the listing: 

                       http://streeteasy.com/building/67-avenue-c-new_york/4b    Looks like they're not having much/any success with the 30 day option -

Too bad the listing's camera shots don't answer the backsplash question.

Oh, the oversized washer/dryer that everyone noticed - I'm fairly certain they either removed the pantry cabinet and had that plumbed or removed an appropriately sized, stackable unit.  Everyone remember seeing the pantry doors on the floor during the tour?

Side note:  besides remembering these two from previous HHers, that building rang a bell.  It caused a minor brouhaha in NYC b/c it was sold to developers by a church, i.e. a 501(c)3 org.

Wish I could help you with your last request, ByaNose !!!

Sorry for the belated, long post, guys ...

P.S.  I'll post a little more about the lighting distortions on the HHR thread, if anyone's interested.

Edited by aguabella
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On ‎1‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 0:41 PM, laredhead said:

Was the Columbus episode a new one or a rerun?  I've looked on the HGTV website and cannot locate it using their search feature.

It was new, laredhead.  (NYC, too, BTW)  If you're on the website, check the previous season.  I believe someone mixed it up with the new episode that aired the following Monday.

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From the shallow end, lol:

Yes, I remembered Indy/Telluride/Key West Kurt.  About his gf, Kim ...

Everything about her screamed, "I bagged a rich, old guy and I'm playing the part!"  She wasn't that much younger than him so she was definitely flaunting her assets, lol.

Edited by aguabella
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The 32 year old attorney in Dallas last night. Good for her for being able to afford a $550k very large home. I just thought it was interesting how she said she wanted this to be her long term home and hopefully have kids, etc and not have to move.  She was dating, but apparently there was no serious boyfriend. And maybe a future spouse would have different ideas about where to live. Different strokes for different folks,but I would never want to buy a 3500 sq foot home based on future hopes. I would have bought an upscale, spacious  condo or townhome where I could be happy on my own or with a partner someday. Of course, this woman did kind of seem like the life of the party, so perhaps her new home would be party central for all of her friends. I also couldn't stop looking at her friend's long, long hair. Yikes.

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Those Texas homes definitely feature bars, which is cool.  How about that funky kitchen in the last home with the "wine sink" or whatever they called it.  Absolutely have never seen anything like it, not to mention the strangely-placed main sinks.  I'm sure that whoever had the kitchen done that way thought it was totally the coolest thing ever.

2 hours ago, Pickles said:

I also couldn't stop looking at her friend's long, long hair. Yikes

Her friend had "pageant" or "Texas" hair as I refer to it.  She was nice, and neither one of them annoyed me, which is AMAZING for this show. I thing single people on HH are easier to take since you don't have the forced conflict of couples.  "I want a 2-story!"  "But I want a ranch!"

Back to the Nashville episode: what in the world was happening with the production of that episode?  It just looked funny to me, like they switched in between film and tape or something like that.  Can anyone corroborate this?  It drove me nuts watching it.

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6 hours ago, Pickles said:

The 32 year old attorney in Dallas last night. Good for her for being able to afford a $550k very large home. I just thought it was interesting how she said she wanted this to be her long term home and hopefully have kids, etc and not have to move.  She was dating, but apparently there was no serious boyfriend. And maybe a future spouse would have different ideas about where to live. Different strokes for different folks,but I would never want to buy a 3500 sq foot home based on future hopes. I would have bought an upscale, spacious  condo or townhome where I could be happy on my own or with a partner someday. Of course, this woman did kind of seem like the life of the party, so perhaps her new home would be party central for all of her friends. I also couldn't stop looking at her friend's long, long hair. Yikes.

I thought it was interesting how she kept saying she wanted to have the house for when she has kids. She never mentioned a husband or significent other. Of course, this is 2017 so anything goes. LOL!! That weird baby bath tub thing was weird on the counter. I have never seen one or heard of one. I don't think I've ever even seen it on HGTV. The brunette girlfriend was beautiful. A little skinny in the face but I'll take it. LOL!!!. The house was huge and the price tag wasn't too outragious for that price and for Texas where everything is Big! Big! Big!. It was nice two see young woman who weren't bitchy or obnoxious. I'm impressed she was able to afford a house at that price. My house is half that price and it wasn't easy for me.

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I thought the attorney (what's with people telling their age, what are they, second graders?) should have purchased something smaller and invested the rest. Investing in a large place that is supposed to be a future home of someone you have not met yet is silly. Boy, will she be disappointed if she doesn't meet Mr. Right or she meets Mr. Right who hates her place or wants a place of "their" own. Then she has this humongous house to unload, and the granite counter tops that she's so determined to put in will be "dated".

Not liking features is one thing, but not recognizing them (the finish on the cabinets, the marble in the bathroom) is pretty funny, especially when you're being so critical of other features. Thought she was nice enough, but superficial.

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4 hours ago, ByaNose said:

I'm impressed she was able to afford a house at that price. My house is half that price and it wasn't easy for me.

Depending on what kind of law she practices, she could be making a lot of money. Some firms offer six-figure starting salaries right out of law school, and if she's 32 she may have been a practicing lawyer for more than five years.

I always think it's "tempting fate" to talk about future children, but if she has the money now, buying a home could be a good investment whether she ends up having children or not.

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8 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

Depending on what kind of law she practices, she could be making a lot of money. Some firms offer six-figure starting salaries right out of law school, and if she's 32 she may have been a practicing lawyer for more than five years.

She'd also sold a townhouse, so she might have made a good profit on that to sink into a new home. 3500 square feet is way too big for me solo though.

I know two women who became single moms by choice (and neither make much money, although they each have family around who help) so it doesn't faze me when single people talk about wanting kids. There are ways to do it if you don't meet "the guy." One of the women I know had a child via artificial insemination, met a man when her child was about four, and had a second child with him and married him. The other woman adopted through the foster care system and remains single.

Edited by Empress1
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That setup might be fine for the Dallas woman but it wouldn't work for me because I'd have certain relatives wanting to crash at my house all the time.  That's a lot of house.  I wish her luck.

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11 hours ago, MoreCoffeePlease said:

 Nashville episode: what in the world was happening with the production of that episode?  It just looked funny to me, like they switched in between film and tape or something like that.  Can anyone corroborate this?  It drove me nuts watching it.

Yes, I saw the difference.  The picture seemed more "hi-def" to me. I actually liked it!  I wish everything I watched came across that clear! 

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1 hour ago, juliet73 said:

Yes, I saw the difference.  The picture seemed more "hi-def" to me. I actually liked it!  I wish everything I watched came across that clear! 

Okay, so I'm not going crazy. I have a hi-def and all of the sudden I thought they switched to 4K which I don't have. Obviously, it wasn't something they did on purpose or it was just a temporary fluke. It was amazing how clear and true to life it was. 

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So what's the opinion on the atriums in the Dallas house?  I didn't get a great look at them, but I think I like them...kind of like a huge terrarium.  Actually, that's probably exactly what they are--table-top terrariums (big glass thing with a top and plants in it that produced humidity) were all the rage in the 1970s in Texas (and maybe elsewhere, but I wouldn't know).  Maybe I'm just feeling nostalgic.

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I like houses with atriums, or at least the ones I have seen in person.  Here in Louisiana, they are open and are not covered; therefore, the drainage must be good and gutters are a good idea because of the heavy rains we receive year round.

On another topic, did anyone see the Smyrna, GA episode last night?  One of the houses they looked at had skylights everywhere and the man commented that one of the rooms would be hot with all of that glass and the windows were fixed glass in that room.  That house had a lot of "character".  I really thought they would buy it instead of the over budget, 3500 sf one, but they fooled me.  I agreed with them about needing to have one, or at most two, types of flooring on the first floor.  It was almost like being in a flooring showroom where each room was something different.  It made me glad that they had adopted the 3-legged dog and rescued it from a horrible situation.     

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1 hour ago, laredhead said:

I like houses with atriums, or at least the ones I have seen in person.  Here in Louisiana, they are open and are not covered; therefore, the drainage must be good and gutters are a good idea because of the heavy rains we receive year round.

On another topic, did anyone see the Smyrna, GA episode last night?  One of the houses they looked at had skylights everywhere and the man commented that one of the rooms would be hot with all of that glass and the windows were fixed glass in that room.  That house had a lot of "character".  I really thought they would buy it instead of the over budget, 3500 sf one, but they fooled me.  I agreed with them about needing to have one, or at most two, types of flooring on the first floor.  It was almost like being in a flooring showroom where each room was something different.  It made me glad that they had adopted the 3-legged dog and rescued it from a horrible situation.     

I thought the couple from Smtrna, GA was going to "choose" house number one too. It was under budget, plenty of room, and didn't need that much work especially since the woman insisted that they needed to remodel right away despite initially being over budget with the third house.

I agree though that I liked that they adopted the 3 legged dog, and they didn't want white cabinets,  so they weren't too bad compared to some other couples. At times though she came off as annoying; although, perhaps it was producers' interference that made her seem that way like when she was so against the split level for not having the kind of porch that she just had to have or with the biggest house complaining about almost everything inside of it needing to be replaced despite the fact it was already over their budget.

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The atriums, to me, would be heat sinks here in DFW from May to November. I like light, but those are just traps for all the heat it seems.

In other places, having protected areas for plants would be nice. Here..I think they'd wilt.

It seemed a bit pricey for me too, but there are definitely some suburbs of Dallas that are pricier. That's one reason we picked Fort Worth, though. :) We got much more for our money, of which we spent a lot less. 

If she bought a townhouse 5-6 years ago, it could definitely have appreciated enough to give her the move-up ability. Real estate in DFW is going up again. 

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I missed it the first time it aired, but this Chicago couple who moved to the "San Diego area" with relatively meager budget were hilarious and not in a good way. I spent most of the half hour laughing at them. She's in marketing and an "animal activist", which I think means she loves animals and is vegan more than anything else, and the husband is in some other field I don't remember, but is also a DJ and couldn't stop talking about needing a space for his DJ equipment. And I'm truly uncertain that he's actually DJing for anyone but himself and his wife anymore, so it was particularly funny.

Since when is Temecula in the San Diego area? Because people there commute to San Diego? That's not a qualifier in CA in the least. People commuting from the High Desert into LA don't live in the LA area either. You're Inland. Period. You're in Riverside County, you are past Escondido, you're not in the San Diego area. And they couldn't even get in Temecula with that budget and their want list, they had to go to Lake Menifee. Again, not San Diego, but Inland Empire. San Diego should have never been mentioned in this episode unless they actually hold jobs in the city, which seems debatable given how little they discussed the commute and what adding additional time to it even meant. Nothing wrong with Temecula, Riverside County, and the surrounding areas at all, and not sure why they felt the need to act like it was somehow a lot more linked to San Diego than it is.

Others may enjoy this episode way more than me. The CA location stuff annoyed me for sure, then there was his DJing, their unrealistic budget and wants, and this chick was making "crabless" crab cake tacos (huh?) at the end in their admittedly nicely renovated house. Sigh. I don't get that one, eat what you want for sure, but call it a tofu taco or quinoa taco or whatever it actually is other than adding the name of the thing you object so much to eating. Yeah, this couple lost me from the start and it carried through to the end.

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On 2/4/2017 at 1:31 PM, StatisticalOutlier said:

So what's the opinion on the atriums in the Dallas house?  I didn't get a great look at them, but I think I like them...kind of like a huge terrarium.  Actually, that's probably exactly what they are--table-top terrariums (big glass thing with a top and plants in it that produced humidity) were all the rage in the 1970s in Texas (and maybe elsewhere, but I wouldn't know).  Maybe I'm just feeling nostalgic.

I can see some people liking them as a feature. For me, however, I would prefer the space be indoor. Now skylights, I'm all over.

 

21 hours ago, CocoaGoddess said:

 

Smyrna's husband long passionate speech about hipsters made me roll my eyes and wonder how many times he practiced it, what a try hard. Didn't seem authentic to me.

 

Dang it, I missed that. need to watch again. There's a good chance i'll agree with him.

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Just now, vesperholly said:

I liked them. What was the deal with 2x6 framing? Missed the opening of that episode.

If I remember right, it was for insulation -- you can get more insluation in a 2x6 opening than a 2x4.    Maybe strength too, but since it's Minnesota, they're more concerned with energy than earthquakes.

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Cincinnati couple in the common argument over living in the city or the burbs, and the woman won.  Now they are sandwiched into a 750 sf, one bedroom condo with 2 cats.  The closet in the bedroom was small and I hope there was another closet somewhere in that place that we did not see.  I am assuming there was some type of washer/dryer/laundry closet, but no mention was made of that either.  Where do you put litter boxes in a place like that.  A single person could probably live there and be happy for a long time, but a couple with pets?  The man even said there was no place to get away from each other in that place.  Yes, I know people in New York live in smaller spaces, but that place gave me claustrophobia for some reason.  I bet they don't live there for more than a year or two and then either sell it or rent it and move to something larger.

I didn't like any of the choices, but I would have picked #3 over the other two.     

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How damned entertaining was that couple of rich Alabama fellas searching for their Palm Springs dream home? Can we just start making sure we get at least one rich gay male couple on this show every other day?? Because between the charming banter and fantabulous real estate porn, I could watch HH shows like these for endless binges.

Loved the house they ended up choosing, although every single property they toured was pretty damned spectacular. I can only imagine how awesome the parties are that those two throw, because they were a hoot.

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3 hours ago, laredhead said:

Cincinnati couple in the common argument over living in the city or the burbs, and the woman won.  Now they are sandwiched into a 750 sf, one bedroom condo with 2 cats.  The closet in the bedroom was small and I hope there was another closet somewhere in that place that we did not see.  I am assuming there was some type of washer/dryer/laundry closet, but no mention was made of that either.  Where do you put litter boxes in a place like that.  A single person could probably live there and be happy for a long time, but a couple with pets?  The man even said there was no place to get away from each other in that place.  Yes, I know people in New York live in smaller spaces, but that place gave me claustrophobia for some reason.  I bet they don't live there for more than a year or two and then either sell it or rent it and move to something larger.

I didn't like any of the choices, but I would have picked #3 over the other two.     

I thought for sure they'd go with #3, since it wasn't too big, was nicely renovated, and only 10 minutes from downtown. It also had off-street parking and they made a big show of complaining that they don't like to parallel park. It was only $4k over their budget, so I would have sucked it up. It would have made a negligible difference in terms of monthly payments.

I guess the window sills were more important than everything else.

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The Cincinnati episode drove me crazy.  I don't know if it is because Mr. MooCat and I have bought six houses in the last 13 years, but I just can't stand when people aren't smart about what they are buying.  Was our first house the best decision ever?  Not really--Therefore I want all of these young buyers to sense my angst telepathically and make good decisions.  A 700 square foot condo with two cats?  No parking?  No second bedroom?  Ugh.  I feel sorry for young men because this show really highlights the 20-something wives who get what they want and never take into consideration what might be important to their husbands.  (Sure, she did not get a tub, but I don't put a bathtub on the same playing field as covered parking in Ohio.)  Good luck, kids.  

Edited by MooCat Pretzel
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Option 3 was totally the best choice for the Cincy couple and option 1 was the worst. One of them would have been fine there, but two of them plus two pets? And didn't the guy need an office? I give them two years max there.

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I liked the Palm Springs couple. All three houses were really impressive, but I liked house number one the best. They chose house number three which was beautiful, but was there a big telephone pole that you could see out the back windows?

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I give them two years max there

Glad you didn't give their marriage two years max....So relieved that Felix the Cat got exactly what he wanted. (Was the fact that his cat was named "Oscar" a crazy coincidence?)

Palm Springs. Are there a lot of gay women in Palm Springs as well? Where are the wealthy lesbian house hunters? Not interested in their 15 minutes?

A couple of the homes (front or back) reminded me of fire stations. I liked them, but they looked more like businesses than homes. 

I don't think I heard "wow factor" stated enough.

Edited by mojito
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