House Hunters: Buying in the USA

[Kohola3]

1 minute ago, Pickles said:

I hope they have a yard crew and many maintenance men on call.

AND maid service.  I can't fathom trying to clean a place that huge.

[Pickles]

Just now, Kohola3 said:

AND maid service.  I can't fathom trying to clean a place that huge.

No kidding! The wife even said something about how it would be daunting trying to maintain it all or clean it all. Something like that. I am sure they can afford Merry Maids. :)

[SunnyBeBe]

What about all the house hunters that can't resist hopping up on the homeowners bed as they check out the master suite?  I mean......WHAT.  You aren't buying the bed. Just the house.  And then there are those who have to sit down in the bathtub!  I'm embarrassed for them.  Where were they raised? A barn? My mom used to say that. 

Edited January 10, 2018 by SunnyBeBe

[txvoodoo]

I can sort of understand the tub, if you're tall or wide. You want to see if you fit. Ditto with a shower. BUT, take off your shoes! And hell, maybe bring a paper towel & cleaner. :D 

But the BEDS? Back the hell off, idiots. I don't want anyone on my bed, even if my bed is covered with dogs for me. They're MY dogs. :D 

[chessiegal]

"I got" "He got" Seriously, how do some of these people stay married? I know, I know - stupid producer driven drama. HH - just stop. I don't watch for made up conflict. Just show us houses.

[Pine]

Yeah!!!  My absolutely favourite Chihuahua loving hairdressing couple, now have a baby and are doing HH for their 3rd time!  Following this couple and their transformations has been delightful.  What a nice couple.  Especially if you have seen them in the other older episodes.  Hope that their new satellite hair salon in Charleston, does very well. 

On the other hand, that skinny tall house, was really awful, and looking over on the tarp covered next door neighbor, what the heck was that?  They chose the best of the 3.  Although #3 was nice, the bridge and neighborhood were not nice.

[laredhead]

Pine, I must be getting old because I do not remember the hairdresser couple.  I thought I have watched every episode since the beginning of the series.

I agree about that 2nd house and the neighboring house.  I wondered about the area when I saw that.

[Pine]

That's okay Laredhead, they look quite different everytime, but, the dogs don't change.  And the husband is still a gingie. :)     http://www.dnaorganichair.com/our_story.shtml

Edited January 12, 2018 by Pine

[jcbrown]

Watched an episode in Peoria Illinois yesterday. The wife had the most annoying voice ever. And they looked at an amazing Queen Anne house and dismissed it in favor of something they called a colonial that was actually generic subdivision circa 1973. I wish they would stop randomizing their use of architectural style names on this show.

[aguabella]

Charleston, SC - my guess:  The 2nd, extremely narrow, house was probably attached shipping containers.  Anyone else have that thought?

Oh yeah, the hair salon / stylist couple.  

Edited January 14, 2018 by aguabella

[aguabella]

On 1/10/2018 at 7:36 PM, chessiegal said:

"I got" "He got" Seriously, how do some of these people stay married? I know, I know - stupid producer driven drama. HH - just stop. I don't watch for made up conflict. Just show us houses.

I know you understand this, too, chessiegal:  unless and until ratings drop significantly, it's more of the same!

[aguabella]

On 1/10/2018 at 3:52 PM, SunnyBeBe said:

What about all the house hunters that can't resist hopping up on the homeowners bed as they check out the master suite?  I mean......WHAT.  You aren't buying the bed. Just the house.  And then there are those who have to sit down in the bathtub!  I'm embarrassed for them.  Where were they raised? A barn? My mom used to say that. 

 

On 1/10/2018 at 7:17 PM, txvoodoo said:

I can sort of understand the tub, if you're tall or wide. You want to see if you fit. Ditto with a shower. BUT, take off your shoes! And hell, maybe bring a paper towel & cleaner. :D 

But the BEDS? Back the hell off, idiots. I don't want anyone on my bed, even if my bed is covered with dogs for me. They're MY dogs. :D 

Hate the bed jumping and tub routine, too.  It's not always the home they'd previously purchased, either.

Everyone remember the guy who crashed through the fake, staging bed?  It was obviously pre-planned.  Loved how he awkwardly ducked between the realtor and wife, holding out a hand to steady himself as the bed hit the floor!  Oops!

I'm sure the HH contract gives them free rein during their (freebie) "rental" of homes for filming purposes.  Still hate it, lol ...

The better, more professional realtors carry cleaners and paper towels, remaining behind to tidy up after showing properties. 

[illini1959]

On 1/13/2018 at 7:31 PM, jcbrown said:

Watched an episode in Peoria Illinois yesterday. The wife had the most annoying voice ever. And they looked at an amazing Queen Anne house and dismissed it in favor of something they called a colonial that was actually generic subdivision circa 1973. I wish they would stop randomizing their use of architectural style names on this show.

The voice. Yes good grief. And how one of the homes, forget which, wasn't "royal" enough. 

I live in this area, the QA house is in my hometown :) and is on a block full of those older homes, gorgeous. 

I agree about the random use of architectural names. I've seen them label houses "Victorian" and wonder where do they get THAT? 

My daughter is having our granddaughter's first birthday party at the wife's business :O I recognized it immediately. 

[aguabella]

On 1/13/2018 at 5:31 PM, jcbrown said:

Watched an episode in Peoria Illinois yesterday. The wife had the most annoying voice ever. And they looked at an amazing Queen Anne house and dismissed it in favor of something they called a colonial that was actually generic subdivision circa 1973. I wish they would stop randomizing their use of architectural style names on this show.

You said it jcbrown - it's the "generic subdivision circa 1973", lol.  The builders and realtors want to make buyers feel good about their purchase so they romanticize the architectural styles.

Truth be told, everyone purchases the same, finished box with a few exterior flourishes / curb appeal plus a fancy model name to unload it faster.

Edited January 17, 2018 by aguabella

[aguabella]

On 1/15/2018 at 6:34 AM, illini1959 said:

The voice. Yes good grief. And how one of the homes, forget which, wasn't "royal" enough. 

I live in this area, the QA house is in my hometown :) and is on a block full of those older homes, gorgeous. 

I agree about the random use of architectural names. I've seen them label houses "Victorian" and wonder where do they get THAT? 

My daughter is having our granddaughter's first birthday party at the wife's business :O I recognized it immediately. 

Thanks for the local info, illini1959.  You grew up in a beautiful neighborhood!

I'm sure you know this but depending on the builder (and their size), the model names / labels originated with either their inhouse marketing department and/or outside consultants.  For the local, individual builders, the inhouse department is aka their spouse, lol!

Builders focus heavily on marketing so realtors, upon resale, typically retain/locate the original marketing materials and those labels stick.

ETA:  IIRC, illini1959, it was their own home, i.e. the Peoria home they'd purchased, that wasn't "royal" enough, whatever that means, lol.  (They said "party planner" but does she mostly do a princess theme?)  Felt like HH tried to play off that, starting with the decoy, historic home but it fell flat - for me, anyway.

Edited January 17, 2018 by aguabella

[Vivigirl10]

Can someone confirm for me, on last nights episode with the couple moving to Texas (he wanted a room to play with his "band"/ over emphasis on Christmas decorations), did I hear correctly that the wife was a doctor?

[seacliffsal]

Yes, I heard that she was a doctor and he's an engineer.  Once I heard their occupations I was surprised by their budget as those two occupations would pay better than others.  But, I got so tired of hearing about her 3 Christmas trees...

[Babalooie]

57 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

I got so tired of hearing about her 3 Christmas trees...

I got so tired of hearing her that I didn't make it through the first house.   Must be another one who watches too many Kardashian episodes.

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, seacliffsal said:

Yes, I heard that she was a doctor and he's an engineer.  Once I heard their occupations I was surprised by their budget as those two occupations would pay better than others.  But, I got so tired of hearing about her 3 Christmas trees...

The show said something about her doing a Pediatric residency, so she might not be making that much yet.  Pediatricians are also the lowest paid specialty, too.  She did talk about the house being their forever home; I also got tired of hearing about the grand staircase for prom pictures, too.  They don’t even have a single kid, yet!

Maybe they’ve got a lot of student debt or she plans to either stop working or go part time once kids come along.  The house they got was plenty nice enough; they could also have decided they don’t want to be house poor and want extra money for travel or early retirement or something else.

[MooCat Pretzel]

Buffalo to Ft. Worth

She talked about prom pictures for their future kids quite often.  I hope she still loves her children if...you know...they never go to prom/school dances.  It can happen and I am afraid she will lose her damn mind if it does!

Edited January 18, 2018 by MooCat Pretzel

[laredhead]

The wife in the Buffalo to Ft. Worth episode got on my last nerve before the first house was toured.  Good grief she was obsessed with prom pictures and Christmas trees.  She seemed a bit immature IMO.  Her comment was weird about needing a 2 story house to to teach her children to walk up and down steps.  Her husband said they could learn outside, but she said that would be difficult in Texas because Texas is flat.  If that was a producer driven comment, then they have reached a new low in making an HH look really dumb.  Her voice was also very annoying.  The house they chose was easy to spot because it was the only unfurnished one, unless the first one was staged.   It was an OK house, but nothing special. 

[Vivigirl10]

Thanks for confirming she was either a doctor or in her residency.  She seemed so immature and babyish, certainly not presenting the way you hope a doctor would! The voice....oh my. Guess Peds and working with kids would be the best fit for her but her demeanor certainly wouldn’t make me feel confident in her skills.

[Christine]

Weren't the two guys in Napa appearing for a 2nd or 3rd time?  I recognize the one in the medical field.  Also recognize all of the neighborhoods as I lived in Napa for about 25 years.  Downtown is wonderful but prices have skyrocketed.

[chessiegal]

Yep, the Napa guys redid a house in DC.Randy was the DC crime lab's crime scene person.

[chocolatine]

I don't celebrate Christmas, so I'm not an expert, but three Christmas trees is crazy, right? The people I know who do Christmas only have one tree, usually in the family/living room.

And she was getting way, way ahead of herself talking about taking prom pictures of her unborn children. I'm not superstitious in any other way, but whenever people talk about future children I worry that they're tempting fate.

[Pine]

I hope that they do a where are they now for the Napa guys.  It should have been a HH Renovation episode, as lately the HHR episodes have been very boring.  I know these guys will bring it!

Hope that they are okay after the fires.

[stormy]

I worried about them too with the fires. I wish they would do a follow-up.

Edited January 19, 2018 by stormy

[juliet73]

I think this was the 3rd time on the show for the Napa couple. I enjoy them. They are nice, funny and do great remodels. I'm curious if renovating homes is a hobby or side job for them. It usually takes almost a year (or more) until the work is done and then they only live there for a couple of years. I'm sure they make a good chunk of change when they sell because they do beautiful work. However, I can't see the typical buyer doing all this work only to move again a short time later and do it all over again. And again.

[Empress1]

On 1/18/2018 at 0:27 AM, Kiki620 said:

Thanks for confirming she was either a doctor or in her residency.  She seemed so immature and babyish, certainly not presenting the way you hope a doctor would! The voice....oh my. Guess Peds and working with kids would be the best fit for her but her demeanor certainly wouldn’t make me feel confident in her skills.

I couldn't stand her voice. I tend to be drawn to low voices (I have one), and hers was kind of squeaky. 

Last night's ep was a single Chicago woman looking for a place with her older sisters tagging along. I didn't like any of the places she saw - too modern for my taste - but it makes sense that she went for  the place in the location she wanted.

[ByaNose]

5 hours ago, Empress1 said:

I couldn't stand her voice. I tend to be drawn to low voices (I have one), and hers was kind of squeaky. 

Last night's ep was a single Chicago woman looking for a place with her older sisters tagging along. I didn't like any of the places she saw - too modern for my taste - but it makes sense that she went for  the place in the location she wanted.

I sort of liked the Kardashian sisters. LOL!!! I think the 2nd place made the most sense and it wasn't too modern. That said, $525,000!!!! Yikes!!! I didn't care of the dark cabinets but I guess putting in the white counters and backsplash offset it somewhat. I wouldn't have chosen the church "condo" because the bedrooms were at ground leve. The outdoor space was awesome though. They seem like nice girls. They're parents must be very proud.

[chocolatine]

I liked the Chicago sisters too. They payed the contractually required lip service to some of the usual HH tropes, but they did it in a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek manner. You could tell that they're very close and the other two sisters were genuinely happy that the HH was moving back to Chicago. Visually I liked the converted church condo the best, but the ground-floor bedrooms would have been a deal-breaker for me. I liked the one she ended up picking, but I didn't like the counters and backsplash she'd put in, the color just didn't go with the rest of the condo at all. I'd have left the dark countertops and refinished the cabinets to a lighter/warmer shade instead.

[laredhead]

I remember the Napa buyers from previous episodes.  Their renovations always look beautiful, and I agree this one should be scheduled for a later HH WATN program.  I laughed when the one who is the renovation lover, said that the SS appliances in the 3rd house were standard builder grade, holiday specials from Home Depot and he was right.  Builders or homeowners wanting to sell a house fast, or landlords of rental properties do a cheap kitchen upgrade and go buy those 3 appliances packages at a sales price and buyers are blinded by the fact that they are stainless steel, w/o looking at the quality or features.  For my personal, long term use, I would never do that if I didn't have to.

The Atlanta buyer impressed me with his caring attitude toward his mother, and letting her have the downstairs bedroom.  Too bad he couldn't have found a larger house within his budget.  That kitchen was small, as was the upstairs bathroom.  I was glad to see that lime green paint disappear in the final reveal.      

[topanga]

23 hours ago, laredhead said:

The Atlanta buyer impressed me with his caring attitude toward his mother, and letting her have the downstairs bedroom.  Too bad he couldn't have found a larger house within his budget.  That kitchen was small, as was the upstairs bathroom.  I was glad to see that lime green paint disappear in the final reveal.      

The HH and his friend were funny but a little too deliberately fabulous. There are a lot of gay HH who don’t roll their eyes and smack throughout the episode. 

I studied the mom at the end. She looked to be in her early 60s (though it’s hard to tell with black women), and she didn’t seem physically challenged. So I wonder if she has dementia or a mental illness. I agree that he’s a great son the way he looks out for his mother’s needs. 

[AuntiePam]

1 hour ago, topanga said:

The HH and his friend were funny but a little too deliberately fabulous. There are a lot of gay HH who don’t roll their eyes and smack throughout the episode. 

I studied the mom at the end. She looked to be in her early 60s (though it’s hard to tell with black women), and she didn’t seem physically challenged. So I wonder if she has dementia or a mental illness. I agree that he’s a great son the way he looks out for his mother’s needs. 

Mom was really, really thin, emaciated.  My uncharitable side didn't give son a lot of points for accommodating her -- she might not be around for long.  (I'm going to hell.)

[Mittengirl]

I thought Atlanta mom looked sickly thin and I thought the realtor was a jerk for showing a house that did not have a main floor bedroom.  Yeah, I get it, fake show, but why would you make yourself look insensitive by ignoring a buyer’s true need.   A main floor bedroom for an ill/disabled person is not a negotiable “need” like a man cave or stainless steel appliances.

Edited January 21, 2018 by Mittengirl

[chocolatine]

14 hours ago, topanga said:

I studied the mom at the end. She looked to be in her early 60s (though it’s hard to tell with black women), and she didn’t seem physically challenged. So I wonder if she has dementia or a mental illness. I agree that he’s a great son the way he looks out for his mother’s needs. 

She could have arthritis or other kind of inflammation in her joints that makes going up and down stairs very painful. It can start in the 50s or early 60s for a lot of people.

13 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

Mom was really, really thin, emaciated.  My uncharitable side didn't give son a lot of points for accommodating her -- she might not be around for long.  (I'm going to hell.)

The HH said that both his mother AND grandmother had been living with him, and the grandmother had just passed away recently. I think it shows a lot of selflessness on his part to care for two generations of elders.

Edited January 21, 2018 by chocolatine

[ButterQueen]

On 1/18/2018 at 5:05 PM, chocolatine said:

I don't celebrate Christmas, so I'm not an expert, but three Christmas trees is crazy, right? The people I know who do Christmas only have one tree, usually in the family/living room.

And she was getting way, way ahead of herself talking about taking prom pictures of her unborn children. I'm not superstitious in any other way, but whenever people talk about future children I worry that they're tempting fate.

We had 9 this year.  One in the family room, foyer, front porch, back deck and one in each of the 5 bedrooms.  I love Christmas.

[sskrill]

Richmond, Virginia

"I need somewhere to keep my gowns and crowns."  God, that woman was pretentious.  Luckily she found a place for the crowns ... on the plates of the table place settings.  How thoughtful.  Did it go straight from your hair to my plate?

Ugh, there was nothing about that woman I could tolerate for more than 3 minutes.  

[KLovestoShop]

That Richmond beauty queen wife was just tooooo much everything.   Her blue ruched dress was too tight and looked more like coffin lining.  Plus the boobs are too big for her frame.  She was really full of herself with the gowns and crowns. 

And why is a jetted tub a must for someone who teaches beauty queens how to strut?

Edited January 23, 2018 by KLovestoShop

[AuntiePam]

18 minutes ago, KLovestoShop said:

That Richmond beauty queen wife was just tooooo much everything.   Her blue ruched dress was too tight and looked more like coffin lining.  Plus the boobs are too big for her frame.  She was really full of herself with the gowns and crowns.

She was very proud of those boobs.  I'll bet they were new.

I couldn't figure out what was up with husband's haircut.  It was kinda punk, in a middle-aged accountant kind of way.

[biakbiak]

I know it was because of the dog but I hated the chainlink fence the Chicago couple put around that gorgeous deck.

Edited January 23, 2018 by biakbiak

[jcbrown]

53 minutes ago, sskrill said:

Richmond, Virginia

"I need somewhere to keep my gowns and crowns."  God, that woman was pretentious.  Luckily she found a place for the crowns ... on the plates of the table place settings.  How thoughtful.  Did it go straight from your hair to my plate?

Ugh, there was nothing about that woman I could tolerate for more than 3 minutes.  

She was so so awful. Really, you want me to wear your stupid crowns celebrating archaic gender roles as a dinner "bonus"? Shut up with your  weird fake boobs and idiotic pageant gowns. It's 2018, moron.

[Kohola3]

8 hours ago, sskrill said:

Did it go straight from your hair to my plate?

Lord, that made me gag just to think about it. 

Has she looked in a mirror recently?  Time to shut up about something that makes people recoil in horror as they fight to hold back the incredulous "Really?  You were a beuty queen?  How long ago?"

[ByaNose]

8 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I know it was because of the dog but I hated the chainlink fence the Chicago couple put around that gorgeous deck.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who didn't like the a chainlink fence on a million dollar view highrise. It was TACKY. I understand it for safety but aesthetically it's one of the worst I've seen for a high rent district that these guys paid for. They might as well being in a prision workyard. Hopefully, one of them changes that out quick.

Edited January 23, 2018 by ByaNose

[Kohola3]

12 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who the a chainlink fence on a million dollar view highrise was TACKY

Why did't they go with one of those see-through lucite numbers?  Keeps the dog in and spares the beautiful view.  That thing was horrible.

[ByaNose]

Richmond, Virginia:

I would have thought this was second marriage for both. Color me shocked that they have been married for 30 years with grown sons. Between her crowns and his side buzz cut I didn't know what to make of this couple. In general, they were harmless but they seem kind of old to be acting so young. LOL!!! I'm 52 and I'm assuming we are close in age but they (she) were kind of ridiculous. The house was old and homey which is the opposite of what I would picture them in. All in all, not bad house but I really was perplexed by them.

6 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Why did't they go with one of those see-through lucite numbers?  Keeps the dog in and spares the beautiful view.  That thing was horrible.

That's what I'm hoping they do. They are young guys with some style and I would hope they would/could change it. It might be an association issue that might prevent it.

[biakbiak]

47 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Why did't they go with one of those see-through lucite numbers?  Keeps the dog in and spares the beautiful view.  That thing was horrible.

It had one one they toured, it was just too low for the dog because it appeared to be a jumper. Hopefully, they will put in a higher one and this was just a temperorary measure. If I had that dog i would get a long lead that allowed them to walk to the edge but not jump and attach it to the wall. Its not like there was a dog door so attaching it to something wouldn't be extra work.

Edited January 23, 2018 by biakbiak

[answerphone]

I just watched the Virginia Beauty Queen and her Side-Buzz Cut Beer Brewing husband ??.

Aggghhhh!  They have friends? She's so over the top full of herself. Really? Her crowns are displayed on the dining room table?

I'm refreshing my brain with the Puyallup, WA couple, because they seem normal. ?

Edited January 23, 2018 by answerphone
Typo

[Pickles]

The Boston couple last night. The wife was so pigeon toed. That was all I could focus on, when she was on the screen.

[Kohola3]

Quote

 Side-Buzz Cut Beer Brewing

His haircut makes it look like he's ready for some electroshock treatments.