House Hunters: Buying in the USA

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, Kohola3 said:

Holly is 50 minutes from downtown Detroit?  Hahahahahahahahaha......maybe in the middle of the night.  At rush hour it's well over an hour.

Again, they want an old house with character and then are shocked when there are not huge, walk-in closets.  They didn't exist when those places were built!  Get rid of some clothes, for cripes sake.

Really! And dude worked mostly from home. Why does he need so many clothes? I was watching “Better Call Saul” so I missed the first couple of minutes. What did he do for a living? Her?

Not surprised those pipes froze. That bathroom was nice, but it looked cold. I could tell it was built on a porch. Probably not well insulated.

[kirklandia]

When my son was 12, my daughter boomeranged back home after college, and he willingly gave her the second bedroom and moved into the loft.  Hey, all his clothes fit into the little linen closet in the hall. And he cleverly dodged my “no computer or TV in your bedroom” rule by moving into the room that had the computer and TV.  But since it has no door and half a wall, I was fine with it.  And since that was our only TV, he was subjected to a lot of Project Runway.

[Empress1]

I thought the red brick exterior of the first house the Detroit couple looked at was beautiful and could be a gorgeous place with some work (good for a HH Renovation show), but it was clear that they weren't going to do it.

7 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Not surprised those pipes froze. That bathroom was nice, but it looked cold. I could tell it was built on a porch. Probably not well insulated.

Me too. I loved the tub but it was obviously placed on a former porch. I wondered if it got drafty.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I thought it was interesting, that the Detroit couple was together so long, had a three year old, but were 'newly' engaged.    

The house they bought was cute, but they made a mistake at not looking into the insulation of the bathroom that was the porch conversion.   I bet the pipes froze every year, and the previous people just fixed what needed it and ignored the lack of insulation.     I wonder how long ago that extra bath had been put in?   

[LittleIggy]

Chicago: The younger sister was annoying. Honey, all you are entitled to is a sofa to crash on when you visit.

[Empress1]

6 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Chicago: The younger sister was annoying. Honey, all you are entitled to is a sofa to crash on when you visit.

She annoyed me too. Actually both sisters annoyed me. Part of it was that they weren't great on camera. The first place they looked at was small and they kept talking about how small it was, which is a pet peeve of mine. Yes, in 700 square feet the bedroom is going to be small.

I lived in a 5th floor walkup for three years. That was a lot (but I loved my apartment). A second-floor walkup would be do-able.

[Vivigirl10]

OMG, younger sister!  She even phrased it, "IF I ever come to visit".  It may have not even been a regularly occurring thing and yet you are fully expecting to have a say in what place your sister chooses?

I thought the buyer sister was fine but it was just a stupid episode overall to have her choose a place that didn't fulfill a single thing on her wish list (except laundry).  Young people who want to live downtown Chicago, live downtown, period (or near west/near north neighborhoods).  There's no consideration of some fringe edge neighborhood or suburb.  City people also don't complain about places being small.  It's a given. 

And then of course there was the convenient seller who just happened to want to leave a few carefully selected furnishings for her to include in her offer.  Do the House Hunter Gods really think viewers are that stupid??  Never heard of someone who liked a former occupants used shower curtain so much that they had to have it.

Wonder why she didn't just find a place in downtown Evanston since the whole living in the city thing was obviously just a farce.

[BTBAM310]

On 8/8/2018 at 8:35 PM, Pickles said:

The Minneapolis wife tonight bothered me for some reason. Did they say she was 26 and he was 28? They had been married three years and this was their third house! That seems kind of crazy to me. Who buys a different house every year for three years? It is not like they had moved to different areas of the country for jobs. I think they were in MN the entire time.

He was driving me and my girlfriend crazy with all of the "maintenance free deck" crap. And the complaining about how much the big fridge/freezer was going to cost in utilities.

[stillhere1900]

On 8/27/2018 at 8:48 PM, chessiegal said:

Detroit: Newly engaged couple with a 3 year old son and she's talking about more kids. I'm no prude, but seriously dude, put a ring on it.

Why ?

[LittleIggy]

Dallas: I loved the house they picked. That backyard was spectacular. I didn’t care for the kitchen cabinets either (too busy), but I hope he wasn’t ripping them down because the wood was beautiful and should be reclaimed. I thought of that guy in one episode who was obsessed with having a urinal in his house. Bet he was jealous if he saw this episode! ?

[sheetmoss]

12 hours ago, Kiki620 said:

OMG, younger sister!  She even phrased it, "IF I ever come to visit".  It may have not even been a regularly occurring thing and yet you are fully expecting to have a say in what place your sister chooses?

I thought the buyer sister was fine but it was just a stupid episode overall to have her choose a place that didn't fulfill a single thing on her wish list (except laundry).  Young people who want to live downtown Chicago, live downtown, period (or near west/near north neighborhoods).  There's no consideration of some fringe edge neighborhood or suburb.  City people also don't complain about places being small.  It's a given. 

And then of course there was the convenient seller who just happened to want to leave a few carefully selected furnishings for her to include in her offer.  Do the House Hunter Gods really think viewers are that stupid??  Never heard of someone who liked a former occupants used shower curtain so much that they had to have it.

Wonder why she didn't just find a place in downtown Evanston since the whole living in the city thing was obviously just a farce.

Yes, Evanston has a wonderful downtown  in general--and since it's a university town, it has a younger vibe that would appeal to her. 

Maybe she didn't want to eat where she shits--i.e., working in Evanston?

Younger sis was annoying,

[laredhead]

Sacramento to Dallas couple, the woman's voice got on my last nerve, along with her "I'm going to win" attitude.  When did marriage become a competition as to who will win?  It's been a long time, but I don't remember my ex-husband and I competing with each other on who would win when we built out house together.  I also don't remember us vying over bragging rights of who would get a closet, a bathroom sink, etc.  What was wrong with leaving that large room as a game room like the husband wanted?  The house had more than enough bedrooms for her to use one as an office, but yet she just had to have that gargantuan space for her office.  As for the urinal, let him have it.  It wasn't taking up valuable real estate in the bathroom.  If it offends her, let her use another bathroom.  I liked that he had a woodworking hobby, so glad he got a place where he could escape to when bragging rights became an issue.  The backyard was incredible.      

[wovenloaf]

1 hour ago, laredhead said:

Sacramento to Dallas couple, the woman's voice got on my last nerve, along with her "I'm going to win" attitude.  When did marriage become a competition as to who will win?  It's been a long time, but I don't remember my ex-husband and I competing with each other on who would win when we built out house together.  I also don't remember us vying over bragging rights of who would get a closet, a bathroom sink, etc.  What was wrong with leaving that large room as a game room like the husband wanted?  The house had more than enough bedrooms for her to use one as an office, but yet she just had to have that gargantuan space for her office.  As for the urinal, let him have it.  It wasn't taking up valuable real estate in the bathroom.  If it offends her, let her use another bathroom.  I liked that he had a woodworking hobby, so glad he got a place where he could escape to when bragging rights became an issue.  The backyard was incredible.      

I don't get the "I have to win!" attitude either (and unless it's just for tv, I'm sure it extends to more in their relationship than just house hunting...).  I get being happy if the house the two of you choose has features you really wanted, but the need to "win" whether the other person likes it or not is so ridiculous and selfish.  When Mr. Wovenloaf and I were looking for our house, there was one in particular I loved, but he didn't like it and hated the location.  So I forgot about it and moved on - why would I want to strong arm him into living somewhere he doesn't want to be?  In the end we ended up with an even better house we both love.  

[scootterp]

On ‎8‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 7:26 AM, Kiki620 said:

I didn't understand this either.  How did this episode come to be?  Was he in escrow and something happened? 

The 19 year old daughter was pretty and boy oh boy, did she know it.  I'm assuming she was a college student or would not be living there full-time with her Dad?  And yet she expected the Master or most fabulous room in every house.  Her comments were worse than the brats on House Hunters Family edition.  Very focused on room size, natural light and kitchen upgrades.  Get off my screen you special snowflake.  You lofty opinions shouldn't matter. 

That 19 year old was molesting the camera with her eyes. She was really full of herself. Were they really Father/Daughter or was she his younger girlfriend? She was acting like she was going to live their full time the way she was going on and on. 

[msmarjoribanks]

On 8/30/2018 at 1:25 AM, sheetmoss said:

Yes, Evanston has a wonderful downtown  in general--and since it's a university town, it has a younger vibe that would appeal to her. 

Maybe she didn't want to eat where she shits--i.e., working in Evanston?

Younger sis was annoying,

My friend's sister is a teacher in the 'burbs and says she would never live in the same town she teaches in since she doesn't want to run into students or parents of students just out and about during her free time. 

That aside, I looked a little in Evanston, and Rogers Park is cheaper than the more desirable parts of Evanston (i.e., near the fun stuff, near transportation), and marginally more convenient to downtown.  It's presumably near the Red Line and the lake, although I didn't bother to look up where in Rogers Park she was, and quite close to other neighborhoods that could be of interest, like Andersonville, and not too far from Lakeview or Lincoln Park by L.  Loyola is in Rogers Park too.

I have no particular desire to live in Rogers Park, but if my budget were under $250K, ideally under $200K, I'd look at it.

I thought it was odd they didn't look at any neighborhoods between Rogers Park and the Gold Coast, but I'm often confused about the locations chosen on HHers.

[msrachelj]

On 8/16/2018 at 1:04 AM, MsTree said:

To the agent from Bakersfield: Who the heck are you hiring to build a pool for $7500?!?  You're lucky if that buys you a spa, never mind a pool! 

You are doing your clients an injustice by totally misleading them on the cost of building a pool.

they do this all the time. i know the realtors where i am are not all that smart. so it doesn't surprise me when i hear thing like "you can probably take down this wall" when i doubt they have any idea if it is possible. or "there's probably original floors under that carpet" really, how do you know. i must be the only loser who lives in an old house who had shit floors under carpet and the "original floors" were in cruddy shape and was literally the stank basement ceiling. this show makes me such a hater..

[aguabella]

On 8/19/2018 at 10:29 AM, laredhead said:

I'm wondering if the colors in the South Carolina house were the homeowner choices.  As we know, the houses chosen have already been bought at the time of the final airing of the show, so maybe they painted the walls those bright colors, or were happy with the colors.  They didn't say anything about the wall colors which HH's usually do if they don't like something.  That's going to be a wonderful place for that little boy to grow up, and fishing with his dad will give him some good memories.  I noticed no hysterics on the part of the mom about the dangers of a pond on the property, and the little guy was looking good on that horse at the end of the show.   

The light blue walls, correct?  Technically, under the terms of their contract (unless they've changed the contract, recently) the HH participants aren't allowed to alter the house until after filming.  Sure, we know they cheat sometimes.  There's often a lag between their purchase and the film crew's arrival.

My guess:  the blue walls belonged to the sellers.  But, ???

[aguabella]

7 hours ago, msrachelj said:

they do this all the time. i know the realtors where i am are not all that smart. so it doesn't surprise me when i hear thing like "you can probably take down this wall" when i doubt they have any idea if it is possible. or "there's probably original floors under that carpet" really, how do you know. i must be the only loser who lives in an old house who had shit floors under carpet and the "original floors" were in cruddy shape and was literally the stank basement ceiling. this show makes me such a hater..

Yep, I did a post upthread about a Chicago-area episode, talking about how realtors oversell until they've been sued at least once.

To be fair, this realtor gave a range for the pool costs at least once and called it a "wading" pool, pointing out a very small corner in one of the yards for its placement.  Given the availability of new DIY pool kits, he prob didn't lie.  (Another post upthread, btw.)

Everybody needs to pull the carpet up in a corner before signing on the dotted line!

You're definitely not alone in either your feelings or situation and neither a "loser" nor a "hater", msrachelj.

[aguabella]

On 8/27/2018 at 7:07 AM, LennieBriscoe said:

Buffalo to Key West:

I know that the consensus is that these shows are filmed post-home purchase, but what of this episode, for example, where the prospective buyer hasn't bought?

Or do people think such results are fake-out shows done for p.r. and buyer privacy?

ETA: The daughter, IMO,  was movie-star beautiful. And I'll just bet Dad and Blonde Realtor,  if the latter isn't married, are "close friends." ?

 

My dvr didn't pick up a KW episode.  Checked the HGTV app - no new KW HH episode.  Did a quick search and IIRC, it's an "Island Life" episode.

You're correct.  HH films nothing, absolutely nothing, until escrow closes.  IL, to attract participants, prob uses a less stringent contract, allowing the participants to simply walk through listings w/o purchasing anything.

HH presented itself as a documentary until, over the years, the truth leaked out that it's staged, i.e. a re-creation / dramatization of the buyers' RL house hunt.

Edited September 1, 2018 by aguabella

[aguabella]

On 8/27/2018 at 7:48 PM, chessiegal said:

Detroit: Newly engaged couple with a 3 year old son and she's talking about more kids. I'm no prude, but seriously dude, put a ring on it.

 

On 8/29/2018 at 7:23 PM, stillhere1900 said:

Why ?

Had the same thought while watching and it's nothing to do with morality.  

For legal and financial reasons alone, I believe it's always better to avoid purchasing a home while unmarried.  Sure, they can draw up a contract but if they split in the future, would they really want to endure the enforcement of said contract?  (Agreed, divorces aren't pleasant, either.)

Anyway, I've posted my opinion on this subject upthread so won't bore anyone further.  (!!!)

[aguabella]

On 8/28/2018 at 9:26 AM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I thought it was interesting, that the Detroit couple was together so long, had a three year old, but were 'newly' engaged.    

The house they bought was cute, but they made a mistake at not looking into the insulation of the bathroom that was the porch conversion.   I bet the pipes froze every year, and the previous people just fixed what needed it and ignored the lack of insulation.     I wonder how long ago that extra bath had been put in?   

Totally - uh, Detroit?  The pipes must have frozen previously.  In most states, the seller would need to disclose that issue.  And, if they didn't, if it happened soon after closing, it should have asked the sellers to cover it.

[chessiegal]

Turned this on this evening, and after watching 2 minutes of stupid tiny house hunting (just buy an RV!), turned the TV off and went back on the porch to enjoy the thunderstorms rolling through.

[aguabella]

On 7/28/2018 at 5:11 PM, Ohwell said:

Don't they already have a tiny house show, or did they cancel it?  Because if they still have the shows then I don't understand why they're slipping it into HH. 

HGTV never officially "cancels" anything!  They simply stop filming, preserving the series name on the off chance they might revive it in the future.

Recently noticed casting announcements for TH shows.  It appears they're between producers and are burning off the previous' remaining episodes.

[aguabella]

On 8/26/2018 at 3:49 PM, Babalooie said:

Yes, but he was making frequent trips to Bakersfield because he was a fertilizer salesman.

Hey, Babalooie, no big deal - well, except for the families involved.  That is, no big deal for ptv posting purposes.  Wasn't trying to debate the Peterson case but IIRC, neither Bakersfield nor his employment factored in his wife and unborn child's sad demise.  

Just using Modesto as a valuation comparison to Bakersfield.  All RE is local and 2 Central Valley towns, a couple hours apart, have significantly different estimated market values / cost per sf.

Sorry ...

[aguabella]

On 7/15/2018 at 9:37 PM, ByaNose said:

Well, the mother (realtor) just opened her own office and her husband is in politics. The kids were quite wealthy-ish. They seem a little too perfect for me. LOL!!!!!!

https://towncarolina.com/article/augustaroad-com-realty-office-grand-opening/

 

and,

 

https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/greenville-lawyer-william-herlong-launches-gop-campaign-for-south-carolina/article_edaa8474-f48b-11e7-ad1b-8b5469493a2b.html

 

Sorry this was a July episode, everyone.  About Greenville, SC:

Thanks for posting this info, ByaNose.  Gee, anybody else notice the husband's family looked like they'd been forced into filming a hostage tape?  And the two kids didn't bring spouses and children along?  Don't know if the son's married but the daughter could have stood there with her happy family, holding the baby and smiling to endorse her father's campaign!

Rarely look up these homes but I don't believe the daughter purchased a home.  Couldn't locate the transaction and the family owns property in that area.  They came off like old money.

My hunch:  Mom wanted to market the RE business so they signed up for HH, throwing one of their lockboxes on a (former) rental property that the daughter and sil had previously claimed.

Blue door?  Whatever ...  The daughter probably selected her colors and instructed their minions to make it happen.  No, she never grabbed a can of paint.

Edited September 1, 2018 by aguabella

[LittleIggy]

The tiny house: Sure she’s going to bop around to RV parks towing that gigantic thing! ? I hate those claustrophobic loft “bedrooms” so, for me, that downstairs nook for a bed would make the place bearable for me.

[Babalooie]

7 hours ago, aguabella said:

Hey, Babalooie, no big deal

No problem.  It's interesting because those types of towns are not what we usually think of when we think of CA.  Here on the East coast, some just pictured CA as Kardashianville and Hollywood because that's what we see on television, until the Peterson case occurred.

[LennieBriscoe]

Sorry about the "Island Life" comment.  I guess I find that show and "Beachfront Bargain Hunt" more entertaining and enticing than regular "HH," my being here in land-locked PA! ?

Edited September 1, 2018 by LennieBriscoe

[chessiegal]

OMG! Woman in Panama City who needs a separate toilet. Get over yourself. Human beings pee and poop. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I just don't get it. Be thankful you have a functioning toilet.

[CrazyInAlabama]

The ones where they keep talking about how many people it can sleep, and are totally fixed that the bathroom number has to equal the bedrooms, and keep talking about how much the annual rent is, like the Panama City episode, makes me think the house is for investment only, and they'll only be there for the filming, and never again.    There used to be very tight restrictions on using investment property by the owner, and their family, I think then it was two weeks a year or something like that, and I don't know what the current rules are.      They only wanted the toilet closet, because upscale rentals have it, and that's also why they went trendy on redecorating in my opinion.   They painted the walls white because they're easiest to repaint, because with a rental you have to do that every few years, especially with the big groups that would rent a house like that at the beach.    I bet every sofa was a pull out bed too, to sleep more people.    And the toilet closet is so more people can share the master bedroom, and bath, also for rental.    

I still hated her toilet closet whining.     I wish they would be honest and say they're only buying as an investment.    I bet the realtor's company does property management too.  

Edited September 4, 2018 by CrazyInAlabama

[javajeanelaine]

Yes Panama City woman was very annoying. 

[twinks]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

OMG! Woman in Panama City who needs a separate toilet. Get over yourself. Human beings pee and poop. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I just don't get it. Be thankful you have a functioning toilet.

She's at the top of my list of totally  annoying. She hated almost everything. I can't imagine traveling from Kentucky very often to go to that beach.

[KLovestoShop]

That Panama City wife was awful.  She wanted a separate water closet so she could "take a vacation"?  What the heck does she do on a toilet?  If she wants privacy, just shut the freaking bathroom door and take the vacation.  

[LittleIggy]

2 hours ago, chessiegal said:

OMG! Woman in Panama City who needs a separate toilet. Get over yourself. Human beings pee and poop. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I just don't get it. Be thankful you have a functioning toilet.

What was it with this obsession? I missed the first half of HH watching Better Call Saul so her separate toilet obsession puzzled me. 

There were actually nice blue walls which they painted white. ?

Edited September 4, 2018 by LittleIggy

[jcbrown]

Panama City bitch was a huge PITA.she was obsessed with toilets and hated the two-tiered island that offered outlets near the stovetop (I can’t be the only one who needs to use an immersion blender and sees the utility there). Shut up, rich twit.

And color me unsurprised that  they tore out the wall of bookshelves in the one  they bought.  No need for bookshelves if you can't read. Idjits.

Edited September 4, 2018 by jcbrown

[doodlebug]

6 hours ago, jcbrown said:

Panama City bitch was a huge PITA.she was obsessed with toilets and hated the two-tiered island that offered outlets near the stovetop (I can’t be the only one who needs to use an immersion blender and sees the utility there). Shut up, rich twit.

And color me unsurprised that  they tore out the wall of bookshelves in the one  they bought.  No need for bookshelves if you can't read. Idjits.

Well, if she hadn’t torn out the bookshelves, where was she going to put the obligatory shiplap?  

Every time she said ‘separate toilet’, all 8 million, I was shouting at the TV, ‘It’s a water closet, dummy!’

I thought it was obvious from the start that this was an investment property and they would use it rarely, if at all.

[Pickles]

If the Panama City woman wanted to "enjoy her vacation" in a private toilet area, why didn't she just lock the door to the bathroom? I don't get it. Everyone is entitled to privacy in the bathroom, so go in and close and lock the door behind you and do your bathroom business. She was so annoying. Embarrassing to have the toilet placement be your storyline.

[Kohola3]

9 minutes ago, Pickles said:

Embarrassing to have the toilet placement be your storyline.

HH is running out of ideas for their play book.  It's getting just ridiculous.  Imagine being remembered as "Toilet Lady".

[laredhead]

When is HGTV going to go back to showing the real HH episodes and stop disguising their beachfront bargain hunt and family episodes as regular HH episodes in the TV listings?

[Vivigirl10]

Quote

Well, if she hadn’t torn out the bookshelves, where was she going to put the obligatory shiplap?

Along with her shiplap, I can't believe she didn't throw in a few sliding barn doors!  She'd be exactly the type!

I wish they'd lowered their budget a bit and instead made the investment to fix her teeth.  But then I suppose she wouldn't have been able to show both full uppers and lowers with such an effective grimace. 

[CruiseDiva]

15 hours ago, twinks said:

She's at the top of my list of totally  annoying. She hated almost everything. I can't imagine traveling from Kentucky very often to go to that beach.

Woman was a major bitch. I can't imagine being a family member who has to spend 10 hours in a car with her to get to the beach. Poor husband.

[twinks]

She also changed out the tile backsplash in the kitchen. IMO it didn't match at all. I really don't get spending money changing some things. Her choice I guess.

[javajeanelaine]

I actually shrieked when I saw they tore out those lovely bookshelves.

[juliet73]

I agree about Panama City wife! She's definitely in my top 10 worse HH! Every "upgrade" she made to the house looked awful! I don't know what was up with backsplash tile - it looked like it was cut with a manual saw! Ugly! The husband seemed like he didn't care about the design, the money, or his wife's vacation time on the toilet. He probably couldn't wait to leave and go see his girlfriend. 

[LittleIggy]

Re: the separate toilet woman, I agree about why can’t she just lock the bathroom door? I would rather have some “private time” in a big master bath than a tiny water closet!

Edited September 5, 2018 by LittleIggy

[kirklandia]

Women in house-hunting couples who are creeped out by urinals - what is your problem?  You don’t have to share.  No fights over raised toilet seats.  No drip-dodging.  (I’ll bet he could even be in charge of cleaning it.)

[LittleIggy]

NJ: Why didn’t they just buy a smaller, less expensive place instead of having to have a place with multiple tenants to help pay the mortgage? Guess she will be doing the repairs to the rental units!

Edited September 6, 2018 by LittleIggy

[msrachelj]

my 2cents:

i'm getting bored with this show. too much of some of the same locations. branch out into other towns already.

how about cutting out the b.s. in the beginning.i don't give a flying **** how you met, blah blah blah and even what you want in a house because most times it's not what they wind up with. if they got rid of all the reality nonsense , we could see a forth home.

stop with the tiny houses, the vacation homes, even the condos. i want to see houses. and how about more affordable houses?! in the $100,000 to $250,000(which for me is expensive but apparently most of this country is filthy rich or up to their eyeballs in debt or just entitled p's.o.s.) not every $150,000 home is a shithole. 

the bathroom. what is it with the damn claustrophobic separate toilet in a tiny closet? yuk. must not be all that easy to clean that enclosed area and um, it must smell at times being so enclosed. if you get my drift.

closets in the bathroom. what?! when i was younger i remember hearing this was a terrible idea given all the humidity the bathroom produces which is not kind to your clothes and shoes. and who the hell wants to go thru the bathroom to find clothes?

also windows in any closet is a bad idea. the sunlight ruins your belongings. 

[Empress1]

7 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

NJ: Why didn’t they just buy a smaller, less expensive place instead of having to have a place with multiple tenants to help pay the mortgage? Guess she will be doing the repairs to the rental units!

Yeah, they could have bought a place in Queens, where they were living at first, for $700K. It wouldn't have been as big as what they were looking at in Union City, but it was certainly possible.

[doodlebug]

6 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

Yeah, they could have bought a place in Queens, where they were living at first, for $700K. It wouldn't have been as big as what they were looking at in Union City, but it was certainly possible.

I didn't get it either.  Neither one seemed to be prepared to be a landlord.  Living on site, they were going to hear about every issue immediately and be expected to address it.  And, if paying the mortgage depends on the income from multiple apartments, they better hope they can find renters fast and that those people pay their rent on time, don't cause significant damage and otherwise don't cost them money they don't have.  With the guy's severe asthma and issues with dust; I just cannot see him being willing or able to do a lot of the dirty work, even with a mask.