House Hunters: Buying in the USA

[mojito]

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I've since replaced all the almond appliances, except the fridge, with black appliances.

My fridge was the last of my almond appliances to go....so I spray painted it white (went with white appliances). Looked great, too.

It's strange to me that people want a white kitchen, but want SS appliances. My kitchen is all white....except for the cabinets. I will probably go white on the cabinets (they're in need of replacement now as they were builder's grade cheap) and put the color in the counter tops. I see no reason for SS, I just don't. And I've liked white kitchens and bathrooms since they were cool and then uncool and are now cool again.

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Phoenix ep:  I could not stand this couple!!! 

She was so irritating. Such specific needs that required total guts of anything that didn't meet those specific needs. The 'fridge wasn't good enough because it wasn't built in. 

I suspect that gated communities probably have much fewer burglaries, but you still have no control over the people buying in. Bad people have money, too, and they're more likely to go uncaught or unconvicted for previous offenses. Keep a close eye on those kids anyway. 

The first words out of his mouth about his children were that they were adopted.  That was a head scratcher.

Five kids, all available 50% of the time. I wonder how they juggle that, how often the kids are actually blended. Do the kids sometimes want time with Dad or Mom (and I'm sure they'd have to be with Mom/Dad's new spouse) with only their siblings? 

Those kids better learn to like baseball or there will be hell to pay with Dad!

[Kohola3]

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It's strange to me that people want a white kitchen, but want SS appliances.

Me, too.  I have an all white kitchen (which I slave to keep clean) and white appliances with dark blue counter tops.  I live on a lake so it's quite "nautical" which my guests all love.

8 minutes ago, mojito said:

Bad people have money, too, and they're more likely to go uncaught or unconvicted for previous offenses. Keep a close eye on those kids anyway. 

Absolutely.  Someone so blase about safety in a gated community obviously doesn't have a clue.

[ByaNose]

46 minutes ago, mojito said:

My fridge was the last of my almond appliances to go....so I spray painted it white (went with white appliances). Looked great, too.

It's strange to me that people want a white kitchen, but want SS appliances. My kitchen is all white....except for the cabinets. I will probably go white on the cabinets (they're in need of replacement now as they were builder's grade cheap) and put the color in the counter tops. I see no reason for SS, I just don't. And I've liked white kitchens and bathrooms since they were cool and then uncool and are now cool again.

She was so irritating. Such specific needs that required total guts of anything that didn't meet those specific needs. The 'fridge wasn't good enough because it wasn't built in. 

I suspect that gated communities probably have much fewer burglaries, but you still have no control over the people buying in. Bad people have money, too, and they're more likely to go uncaught or unconvicted for previous offenses. Keep a close eye on those kids anyway. 

The first words out of his mouth about his children were that they were adopted.  That was a head scratcher.

Five kids, all available 50% of the time. I wonder how they juggle that, how often the kids are actually blended. Do the kids sometimes want time with Dad or Mom (and I'm sure they'd have to be with Mom/Dad's new spouse) with only their siblings? 

Those kids better learn to like baseball or there will be hell to pay with Dad!

I'm John Doe and my kids are adopted. Not really his name but basically what he said. What an odd way to introduce your family history. Why is the adopted part important? Why mention it at all if you are divorced from the mother of kids. That was only 2 mintues into the show. I knew it was gonna go down hill from there.

ETA: I don't have white cabinets or SS appliances. That said, I always thought it looked so clean and pristine. I wouldn't mind having my kitchen with the white cabinets & SS appliances.

Edited February 20, 2018 by ByaNose

[Newberry]

I still don't understand why people with VERY specific needs (wants?) and million dollar plus budgets just don't build a home to their specifications.  How is anyone so naive to think that there will be an already existing home out there that is EXACTLY what they want? That woman was such a shrew! who raises these entitled bitches? The husband that left her was the smart one. And did anyone else notice after mentioning all the things she needed to have gutted, the husband brought up the batting cage or something, and she said "we're already at the top of our budget" or something to that effect. But hey, what's a $50,000 bathroom renovation? I mean, jeez, the cabinets were the wrong color...

All I know is, if I had a million dollars to purchase a home, I'd be looking for a nice piece of land to build the house of my dreams, with everything I want. And it wouldn't be 6000 sq ft...

[Mountainair]

Arizona couple was very annoying. I haven't even finished watching the episode yet and am not sure I want to. 

We are on year two of our whole house remodel (husband is doing all the work when he has free time between raising three kids and running a business). We turned our old master bedroom into the new kitchen and I wanted all white cabinets- which I got. I love them. I don't understand the argument that as soon as you spill something it shows up and you have to clean it. The same would be true if I had dark cabinets. So because I spill spaghetti sauce I don't have to clean it off because it doesn't "show" on darker cabinets? Either way, part of my weekly cleaning includes cleaning all the faces of the kitchen cabinets. Regardless of if they were dark or white. And if I spill something I immediately wipe it off the cabinet. 

We do have a stainless steel fridge which I hate. It's the only fridge I could find that met our needs. All our other appliances are black. 

[mojito]

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I still don't understand why people with VERY specific needs (wants?) and million dollar plus budgets just don't build a home to their specifications. 

When my redneck retirement comes in (Texas Lotto), I will post pictures of my badass 2000 square-foot newly-built home (redneck mansion). I'm still thinking about an indoor lap pool, or maybe one of those swimming spas. (Show of hands: don't you think there should be a special lotto for people who purchased 5 tickets at once with computer-generated numbers who don't hit a single number?)

My guess is that if the Phoenix couple purchased land and a home, they wouldn't be near enough Phoenix to be able to impress people with a recognizable address in an exclusive neighborhood, and so few people would come to visit them they couldn't show off their wealth. They also wouldn't be wealthy enough to provide their own security. Oh, and then the kids would have to be driven to some exclusive school each day, or maybe attend a school in the county with, well, common kids. 

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 Why mention it at all if you are divorced from the mother of kids.

When I heard him say that, I didn't even consider that the kids were his wife's, but that they both adopted the kids. Needless to say, if I adopted children, I would never label them as adopted. Kind of goes against the spirit of adoption, if you ask me (yeah, I know, you didn't ask me).

[ByaNose]

1 hour ago, mojito said:

When my redneck retirement comes in (Texas Lotto), I will post pictures of my badass 2000 square-foot newly-built home (redneck mansion). I'm still thinking about an indoor lap pool, or maybe one of those swimming spas. (Show of hands: don't you think there should be a special lotto for people who purchased 5 tickets at once with computer-generated numbers who don't hit a single number?)

My guess is that if the Phoenix couple purchased land and a home, they wouldn't be near enough Phoenix to be able to impress people with a recognizable address in an exclusive neighborhood, and so few people would come to visit them they couldn't show off their wealth. They also wouldn't be wealthy enough to provide their own security. Oh, and then the kids would have to be driven to some exclusive school each day, or maybe attend a school in the county with, well, common kids. 

When I heard him say that, I didn't even consider that the kids were his wife's, but that they both adopted the kids. Needless to say, if I adopted children, I would never label them as adopted. Kind of goes against the spirit of adoption, if you ask me (yeah, I know, you didn't ask me).

It was so weird. How is his kids being adopted germane to the story? You are on HH with your second wife but you feel the need to mention that you and first wife have kids that were adopted. It doesn't make sense.

[meep.meep]

I started watching the episode with the Phoenix couple late, and turned it off early.  I don't need to watch rich people bitch about how everything isn't exactly the way they want in life.  Clearly they have enough money to do what they want - why do they need money from House Hunters?

The point that got me was them going into a ginormous master bedroom (that didn't have a fireplace!  Oh the tragedy!) and the guy remarking that it would be "tight" for them in there.  The room was half the size of my entire house!

[jcbrown]

Every time I thought I could not hate her more, that Phoenix wife opened her (horse-toothed) mouth again. Could not believe she refused to let him have a desk in the shared office of the house they bought because "it didn't look right." Holy cow, she was awful.

[CherryAmes]

45 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

It was so weird. How is his kids being adopted germane to the story? You are on HH with your second wife but you feel the need to mention that you and first wife have kids that were adopted. It doesn't make sense.

Haven't seen this episode but the way these people sound my first thought was maybe the kids are of an age where the guy and his second wife want to seem like they are too young to be the biological parents?  Probably not but they sure sound vain and self centred enough for that to be true!

[doodlebug]

8 minutes ago, CherryAmes said:

Haven't seen this episode but the way these people sound my first thought was maybe the kids are of an age where the guy and his second wife want to seem like they are too young to be the biological parents?  Probably not but they sure sound vain and self centred enough for that to be true!

He said he had joint custody of them with his ex, so they're all under 18.  Also, he played professional baseball (and mentioned it a billion times), so anyone watching the show could look him up and know how old he is (43).

They were both awful.  The sense of entitlement and snobbery was dripping off of them, especially her.  All the whining about white cabinets and fireplaces in the bedroom was so aggravating.

And, I, too, was taken aback when we discovered in the epilogue that she refused to allow him to use the office space in the house and he was relegated to balancing his laptop on his lap while working.  While I get that marriage is a partnership and what's his is hers and vice versa; based on his former career, I'd expect that the majority of the funds for the house were paid from his past earnings and not hers.  Give the guy a break and let him use a desk, already!

[chocolatine]

6 hours ago, mojito said:

Five kids, all available 50% of the time. I wonder how they juggle that, how often the kids are actually blended. Do the kids sometimes want time with Dad or Mom (and I'm sure they'd have to be with Mom/Dad's new spouse) with only their siblings? 

I think they have both sets of kids at the same time. When they were on HHI buying a condo in Mexico, I don't remember them even mentioning the kids, and the condo they bought wasn't big enough for all of them, so I'm guessing they live in Arizona when they have the kids, and go to Mexico when the kids are with the other parents.

I disliked them for all the reasons already stated - his mention of his "adopted" kids, her spoiled demands - but I was also very skeptical of their story about how they first met five years ago, both went through divorces and later "reconnected." Something tells me they were "connected" the entire time and the divorces weren't coincidental.

[Newberry]

I also loved how they were fine with 5 bedrooms, because "the boys could share," but the girls, "absolutely not."

[debbie311]

13 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

I disliked them for all the reasons already stated - his mention of his "adopted" kids, her spoiled demands - but I was also very skeptical of their story about how they first met five years ago, both went through divorces and later "reconnected." Something tells me they were "connected" the entire time and the divorces weren't coincidental.

Yes, I thought the same thing.  She was a shrew.  Best scene was hubby sitting on the couch with his laptop balanced on his knees because she didn't want to ruin the look of the office.  The way he kow-towed (sp?) to her through the entire episode made me think he must have done something pretty bad recently and was in major suck-up mode.

[Pine]

I didn't know he was a pro baseball player, what I found annoying was his constant wanting an RV garage batting booth?  Like anyone would have one.  Also, I do live in a million dollar neighborhood, and I would be super mad if someone came in and put an RV garage in, or built one in the backyard.  The wife, oh my.  White, white kitchen?  She wanted to tear out the beautiful French glazed cabinets for white, white?  I would love, love French glazed cabinets.   It is entertaining when you get these kind of HH people.  :) :) :)

The Mother and daughter HH were nice.  I don't believe for a second that the daughter was at all serious about telling her Mother to get a hot plate, I felt it was just joking around.  But, it was rather gross not getting rid of that filthy, filthy light green carpeting.  Gave me the creeps seeing it.  It has to stink bad.

[laredhead]

I fell asleep before the end of the mother-daughter buying episode, so I don't know which house they chose.  However, my ears perked up when the daughter said the lack of a dishwasher was a deal breaker for her because her daughter did not help with the dishes.  Excuse me!  Does the daughter have a broken hand or something else that keeps her from washing and drying dishes?  I grew up in a house where my brother and I had assigned chores, and there was no negotiation about that.  I washed dinner dishes for years, and my brother dried them.  Some of my best memories are of my brother and me talking and sharing time over dinner dish clean up.  I'll finish the episode tonight.

[juliet73]

10 hours ago, Babalooie said:

 There are many refrigerator brands that have the crushed ice feature coming standard. 

The crushed ice he wants is not the kind that comes from the refrigerator.  The ice maker he wants makes "soft crushed ice."  If you've ever eaten at Sonic, they serve this particular type of ice.  It's soooo good!  I looked into buying one (that's how much I love it) and they started around $3000+.  Obviously, I didn't buy one.

10 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

I always wonder if these people demanding a white kitchen have actually every cooked in one, especially those with kids.  It's a constant battle to keep things looking clean. One splash from a bubbling pot of spaghetti sauce, one dropped plate with beets on it, one exploding can of Coke and you are scrubbing things like a fiend.  Every teeny tiny spot shows up and you'd be surprised how far that stuff can travel.  And when you finally think you have it all clean, the sun comes in the window and highlights everything you've missed.

I totally agree!  I have a white kitchen and I feel like I'm constantly cleaning it.  Magic Erasers and Windex are my BFF's!

 

8 hours ago, Newberry said:

I still don't understand why people with VERY specific needs (wants?) and million dollar plus budgets just don't build a home to their specifications.  How is anyone so naive to think that there will be an already existing home out there that is EXACTLY what they want? All I know is, if I had a million dollars to purchase a home, I'd be looking for a nice piece of land to build the house of my dreams, with everything I want. And it wouldn't be 6000 sq ft...

6 hours ago, mojito said:

My guess is that if the Phoenix couple purchased land and a home, they wouldn't be near enough Phoenix to be able to impress people with a recognizable address in an exclusive neighborhood, and so few people would come to visit them they couldn't show off their wealth. They also wouldn't be wealthy enough to provide their own security. Oh, and then the kids would have to be driven to some exclusive school each day, or maybe attend a school in the county with, well, common kids. 

I agree with you both.  Here's my opinion...Phoenix is a rapidly growing area.  Most of the homes are tracts; custom homes sites are not as common.  Even some $800,000+ neighborhoods still consist of tract homes - you can "customize" them by adding bedrooms/game rooms, garages, etc but you basically still only pick from 5 or 6 floorplans for that specific development.  True custom home gated neighborhoods are usually built near a desired location - on/near golf courses, lakes, etc. and you'll pay MILLIONS for those areas.  Also, most of those wealthy communities have a security guard at the gated entrance.  Some people choose to have custom house built on the outskirts because they want a lot of land (usually for horses, etc).  These homeowners usually have an automatic gate installed around the perimeter of their property.  I have a feeling this particular couple does not have the money to build in an "exclusive" neighborhood.  And because they are so vain, they would NEVER live in a more remote area because they couldn't show off their big fancy house on a daily basis.  So they settled on an upscale gated tract development - everyone can see how "rich" they are with their large house that has high end finishes.  

I agree with everyone else about the husband mentioning the kids being adopted.  IMO, if someone goes out of their way to say their kids are adopted, they are expecting, or think they deserve, some sort of praise for doing so.  Once you adopt a child, he/she is your child and that's how you should refer to them -  "This is my child Susie" not "This is my adopted child Susie."  This guy totally came across as the latter.

[twinks]

She wanted a French Provincial house but didn't like the glazed cabinets...wth

They definitely win the lifetime award for the most obnoxious house hunters.

[ehall1052]

21 hours ago, juliet73 said:

Their need about living in a gated community was naive.  They said their kids (the girls looked to be around 6 and the boy looked under 10)  could go to the park or their friend's house and "not have to worry about where they were or if they were safe.  Huh?  They definitely have a false sense of security.  

That’s the truth! Our city has a VERY exclusive gated community (where several NFL players live) and there was a family of 4 who were murdered and then their mansion was burned to the ground to cover up the murder! Never trust your pool boy!

Also, just “ewe” at the baseball player sticking his hands in the ice machine. At least they ended up with that house.

[KLovestoShop]

The Arizona couple:  Shea Hillenbrand.  A known pain in the behind player who caused trouble wherever he went.  He apparently thought he was the end all, be all of players.  If he didn't get his way, he'd demand a trade. He was upset with his team mates in Toronto when they didn't congratulate him on adopting his kids.  He also got into trouble with his manager, and it got so bad that the manager said if Hillenbrand stayed, he'd quit as manager. Hillenbrand was quickly traded.  He had an incident with the general Manager of the Boston Red Sox and was traded to Arizona.  In his 6 year career, he played for 6 teams.  

When we lived in Arizona, I was friends with a real estate agent from a large agency in Scottsdale.  She said she, and her fellow agents, hated working with the wives of baseball players.  I think we saw why on tonight's episode.  She said most were very young, came into big money quickly, and they demand, demand and demand.  This wife was such a brat.  MY WHITE kitchen, MY light floors.  And I hate to say it, but she came off as sounding kind of dumb.  

I cant believe she thought the kitchen in house two needed a complete renovation. I thought it was a beautiful kitchen. Huge and very nicely appointed.  

 

Tonight's episode with the couple from Washington, I thought they kept saying they were from Brothel.  I thought, so, are they looking for a 10 bedroom house for all the "ladies"?  

[Empress1]

The Bothel guy was using his fitness instructor performative voice during the show. I was glad she opted out of the longer commute - she said her commute from the house they were in to start was 45 minutes to an hour, and adding an extra 10-20 minutes onto that would be a no go for me. Buying a house together after a year and a half of dating seems fast, but hey, not my life.

[laredhead]

After all of the comments here about the Phoenix baseball player couple, I thought I was prepared for the episode.  Oh dear, it was as bad and worse than all of you have described.  These people were beyond obnoxious, and she was worse than he was - except for his child adoption comment.  Her constant "gut job" remarks were beyond my tolerance for the usual HH demands.  Someone said his former business went bankrupt.  Maybe they should set their sights lower, in case whatever he now does for a living doesn't pan out either.  Heaven forbid they have to step down into the $500,000 slum category.  I can only imagine how happy her parents were to get them all out of their house at the end. 

[chocolatine]

12 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

Tonight's episode with the couple from Washington, I thought they kept saying they were from Brothel.  I thought, so, are they looking for a 10 bedroom house for all the "ladies"?  

When I first moved to Seattle and met someone who lived in Bothell, I thought the exact same thing. But I learned quickly that Bothell residents don't appreciate when people point that out. :)

4 hours ago, Empress1 said:

I was glad she opted out of the longer commute - she said her commute from the house they were in to start was 45 minutes to an hour, and adding an extra 10-20 minutes onto that would be a no go for me.

Exactly. Since she said she works for a "tech company" she's either commuting to Seattle via I-5 or the Eastside via I-405, both of which have heavy traffic. Snohomish, where the second house was, is beautiful, but really far for a daily commute.

[Mrs. Hanson]

On 2/20/2018 at 8:43 AM, Kohola3 said:

Me, too.  I have an all white kitchen (which I slave to keep clean) and white appliances with dark blue counter tops.  I live on a lake so it's quite "nautical" which my guests all love.

Absolutely.  Someone so blase about safety in a gated community obviously doesn't have a clue.

I always text my friend who lived with a white kitchen, white floors white everything and she was SO GLAD for a remodel after twelve or so years of white.  I liked my former kitchen that was white but I am not too fussy.  Some of these people act like there is manure spread on the cabinets or something!!!

[chocolatine]

I find cabinets easy to wipe down, and I would wipe off any splatters right away regardless of the color of the cabinets. It's white countertops that I find to be a pain. I had white caesarstone quartz countertops at my last place, and even though everybody says they're "non-porous" I found that colorful fruit and vegetables like carrots, tomatoes, watermelon, etc. always left a stain and I had to put considerable elbow grease into scrubbing them clean. I have dark gray quartz countertops at my current place and they're much easier to clean.

[Kohola3]

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I find cabinets easy to wipe down, and I would wipe off any splatters right away regardless of the color of the cabinets.

I did as well but with white every single little tiny thing shows.   I may have missed a speck or two on my wood cabinets and I admit I don't wipe things down on a routine basis.  But with white, it's just glaring even if it's one drop of sauce that got away from me!

[mojito]

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After all of the comments here about the Phoenix baseball player couple, I thought I was prepared for the episode.  Oh dear, it was as bad and worse than all of you have described.  

The Phoenix couple brought us all together, haven't they? So much agreement on these two characters!

Edited February 22, 2018 by mojito

[chessiegal]

Austin couple. Both they and the narrator kept describing house #1 as a "modern farmhouse". WTF? It was a doublewide.

[chocolatine]

5 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

I did as well but with white every single little tiny thing shows.   I may have missed a speck or two on my wood cabinets and I admit I don't wipe things down on a routine basis.  But with white, it's just glaring even if it's one drop of sauce that got away from me!

Maybe you and I make different kinds of messes, but I rarely get food splatters on the cabinets, it's almost always the stove, counter, and backsplash. Although there was that one time when I tried to make pomegranate juice and my kitchen ended up looking like a crime scene. :)

18 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Austin couple. Both they and the narrator kept describing house #1 as a "modern farmhouse". WTF? It was a doublewide.

I haven't seen this one yet, but it's a pet peeve of mine when people talk about "farmhouse" as a style. I always thought a farmhouse is just a house on a farm, and the only thing they have in common is that they're usually not very fancy.

Edited February 22, 2018 by chocolatine

[chessiegal]

11 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

I haven't seen this one yet, but it's a pet peeve of mine when people talk about "farmhouse" as a style. I always thought a farmhouse is just a house on a farm, and the only thing they have in common is that they're usually not very fancy.

Well, if farm house means nothing fancy, this house met it. I think of a farm house of at least being 2 stories, with maybe a porch. At least that's what my great grandparents farm house looked like. This house looked like a flipped doublewide trailer.

[ByaNose]

I thought the Austin couple was looking a little rough. Anyhoo, the house was nice but it seemed so conservative for them. I had to fast forward most of the show because I hate cats. I’m weird that way.   

[doodlebug]

15 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Well, if farm house means nothing fancy, this house met it. I think of a farm house of at least being 2 stories, with maybe a porch. At least that's what my great grandparents farm house looked like. This house looked like a flipped doublewide trailer.

I think of them as two stories with a big porch; the Waltons lived in a farmhouse, Dorothy lived in a farmhouse in Kansas.

I have frequently seen people on this show complain about garages facing the street, but, it wasn't until this episode that I got what they meant.  The house they chose was about 75% garage when looked at from the street.  No curb appeal whatsoever which was kind of surprising in that it was a new build.  With all the househunting shows on TV these days, that anyone would design and build a home with the garage as the focus.  That being said, the interior was very nice and it was a good choice for them.

Also: who knew designing formations for marching bands was a career option?

Edited February 22, 2018 by doodlebug

[mojito]

The Bothell couple was a nice change. They would nicely mention a negative, but then follow up with "but" and came up with a positive. They didn't really have demands as many couples do, except maybe dual sinks so they could be together when they got ready for their day. She did want stainless steel appliances, but she didn't request a white kitchen! The guy was funny. Knew something about building but couldn't spot real hardwoods if his life depended on it.

I've only been in one farm house (single story) in my life, and what I remember was a lot of doors and rooms connected to each other. It had a sunny kitchen in the way, way back and plenty of windows.

Austin Couple with 5 Critters

What do these people who want to live in a city but not close to neighbors expect? That the city is surrounded by open space and their home is the only one on it? I'm so sick of people fretting over neighbors seeing into their yards. What are you doing in your yard that demands so much privacy and is so interesting that the neighbors are staring out their windows to watch you? You're not that entertaining, I'm sure. Don't want to be seen? Go inside and close the blinds.

[juliet73]

Austin ep:  Husband was such a drip! He obviously wasn't a DIY guy and that came across numerous times! He didn't want to rip up carpet - how difficult is that?  Cut it up and carry it to the curb!  He wanted to hire someone to install the cabinet hardware?!!  I understand some people just aren't handy, but I can't imagine being (or being married to) someone who is unwilling to even try BASIC home improvement.  My husband has fixed so much stuff in our house (built in the early 70's) from watching YouTube videos or googling "how to repair ..."

[Pine]

Austin couple, especially the husband was very offputting.  They freaked out when the house they actually bought had an electric stove.  That first house was a pig with lipstick.  

[AZ Curls]

I don't watch this show much but I had to go On Demand and watch the AZ couple because of all the comments and because I live in AZ.  I have so much to say, bear with me...

A. First, why did they keep saying "East Phoenix".  Is this a new thing this season where they don't say the name of the Community or the actual city?  Or did they not say it was Queen Creek because this couple is famous (LMAO) and they didn't want us to know where they lived?  None of those houses were in the actual city of Phoenix!

B. Here is the house, it's actually extremely easy to figure out where they live, and even how much they put down on it ($193,000).  The Maricopa County Assessor site has the most recent deed and their affidavit of sale on their site and since these dumbasses didn't buy the house under a Trust Name or record a deed right after putting it into a trust it made it real easy for me to find.  Also the house is only in the wife's name, not her superstar husband's (hmmmmmm?)  https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/20528-E-Sunset-Ct-Queen-Creek-AZ-85142/95179584_zpid/

C. Remember when they said they were living with her parents because they sold their other house so quickly? 

But she bought a house, when she was not married yet, April 2016 (also in Queen Creek https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Queen-Creek/20105-E-Melissa-Pl-85142/home/95464129 ) but sold it August 11, 2017.  They bought the House Hunters house August 25, 2017.  So they went 2 weeks living with her parents? Also why the heck did they even sell the previous house? It's gorgeous and the same size as the new house.  Did they wanna be on House Hunters so badly?

D.   I work in real estate and there are tons of new builds in Queen Creek, actually there are 24 cities/towns in the county and every one of them tons of new builds where you can customize your house to your hearts desire and since their budget was huge, they could have had a new build with everything they wanted.

E.  I don't get their love for Queen Creek though, it's not Fountain Hills, Paradise Valley or even Scottsdale, oh wait, like someone said up-thread, they wouldn't look as rich in those areas as they look in this smaller town (PS my little bro lives there and he's far from rich).

[juliet73]

2 hours ago, AZ Curls said:

It's gorgeous and the same size as the new house.  Did they wanna be on House Hunters so badly?

YES!! That way he can tell the world about his adopted kids and show how "rich" they are.

[chocolatine]

2 hours ago, AZ Curls said:

Did they wanna be on House Hunters so badly?

Badly enough that they went on both the US and international versions.

[biakbiak]

The long narrow new build in Charleston was stupid and I want to punch the builder/architect in the face. 

The condo in historic district made the most sense.

[Empress1]

I'm fairly sure the Charleston ep was a rerun, although my TiVo had it as new. I've definitely seen those house hunters twice before - their first house hunt was on the show.

[answerphone]

I just started watching the Phoenix, Az couple. Seven minutes in and I can't stand her!

"Well, this is a disappoint! Total gut job!" referring to a master bath that's about the size of the average bedroom.

And has she ever heard of paint?

He wants "resort style living"...uh, he has five young kids living there. Good luck.

[mojito]

Texas Family Purchasing Place in Northwest Florida

I was impressed at just how nice, upbeat, enthusiastic that family was. They really seemed to want a place that satisfied all their needs/wants.

[laredhead]

AZ Curls, thank you for the information on the Arizona couple's houses.  I saw framed baseball jerseys on the walls of the house she first owned, so he must have been living there then.  Maybe the kitchen wasn't white enough for her, or maybe it didn't have a Sonic ice maker.  I agree that the first house she owned looked great.  I looked at the pictures of the house that they bought on the HH episode and want to know what on earth happened to all those trees in the last few pictures.  It looks like someone went in and sawed all of the limbs off.  Any Arizona tree experts here?  As far as living with the parents for two weeks, I think the mom could have told them to find a suite hotel for that short amount of time. 

[AZ Curls]

Re Arizona couple and the previous house they owned for a year: you know on the beginning where the buyer lists all the things they want in a house and random camera shots are shown, most of the shots shown were of the house they already owned. THEY ALREADY HAD EVERYTHING THEY WANTED!! 

Oh and regarding the rv garage he wanted, there are so many houses out here with them, they are not that rare, its odd that not even the 2 fake houses didnt have one.

That old house is in the exact same HOA (4 minute drive) as the new House Hunters house.  I really hate this couple.

Here is the 3rd house, which was my favorite, it is still for sale https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Gilbert/6996-Star-Dr-85298/home/27385143

Edited February 23, 2018 by AZ Curls

[AnnaRose]

5 hours ago, laredhead said:

...I looked at the pictures of the house that they bought on the HH episode and want to know what on earth happened to all those trees in the last few pictures.  It looks like someone went in and sawed all of the limbs off.  Any Arizona tree experts here?

I don't know, but both of those homes had a crazy amount of green grass considering they are located in a hot, dry desert environment.

[Kohola3]

24 minutes ago, AnnaRose said:

I don't know, but both of those homes had a crazy amount of green grass considering they are located in a hot, dry desert environment.

That is one of my pet peeves in states that want to steal water from the north to water their lawns and golf courses.  If you live in the desert you have no business putting in grass.  Xeriscaping is the appropriate thing for desert climates.  If you want a big, green lawn, move north and stop wasting water (most of which just evaporates) for your big old yard.

[answerphone]

Back to the Arizona couple (baseball player).

The wife does not seem like anyone I'd like to be friends with.

Why does Shea point out his kids are adopted? 

"The kids want a game room and a pool."

Hey, all kids would like to have those. ?

[chessiegal]

To Eric in Buffalo - run, buddy, run, before it's too late. You're not married yet.

[answerphone]

"Texas couple buying in Panama Beach, Florida"

What a pleasant couple!!

[AuntiePam]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

To Eric in Buffalo - run, buddy, run, before it's too late. You're not married yet.

He seemed content to let her take charge.  Her saving grace was that she was quick to smile, and the smile seemed genuine.  If she doesn't get any worse -- any more bossy -- they might make it. 

I liked the older house with the closed-off staircase.  Those stairs are just shelves -- very useful!