House Hunters: Buying in the USA

[Empress1]

The whole Austin thing with the Emilys struck me as a nightmare. I'd never buy a house with a friend; too easy for it to go wrong. As @chocolatine said, in your 20s your life tends to be more in flux than it is later on. What if someone's job gets transferred or they get a significant other? And the house itself was in terrible shape AND they clearly had no idea what they were doing. At least the vintage clothing one acknowledged that she didn't know what she was doing. I think the other one thought she knew more than she actually did. Yikes.

[chocolatine]

35 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

At least the vintage clothing one acknowledged that she didn't know what she was doing. I think the other one thought she knew more than she actually did. Yikes.

She said in the beginning that she's done tile work and refinished floors before, and that she likes to do woodwork, so it sounds like she can only do cosmetic stuff. Not remotely close to the expertise that house requires.

[judylo]

I think the two Emilys must be a couple. Otherwise, as many of you say, why buy a house together at that stage of their lives? And they had such different taste, but the little one ended up deferring to the overconfident one. Despite the separate bedrooms, I got a couple vibe.

[chessiegal]

I hope the Emilys went to a real estate lawyer to draw up the contract for their joint purchase.

[Empress1]

3 hours ago, BlossomCulp said:

I know I have seen a few episodes of HHI where it's obvious that the two people renting are a couple but the story being sold is that they are just friends.  I don't think HH has any problem with same sex couples so I've always assumed that the people involved, for whatever reasons of their own, prefer not to be shown as a couple.  Which aside from begging the question of "why?" also begs the question "then why bother being on TV in a show about living together, however defined?"

There was one episode of regular HH (somewhere in the desert - Phoenix, maybe?) where a man and woman were on and they said it was just the man looking for a house and the woman was his friend and business partner, but they were clearly a couple - he said something about not liking a bedroom's layout because he didn't want to wake her up when he got up for the day, or something. The guy said he was divorced and I remember wondering if the woman he was hunting with had been the other woman and he was trying not to rub his ex's nose in it - but then as you say, why go on the show at all?

[KLovestoShop]

I’m not sure where to begin with Chicago Timmy.  First of all, an adult who’s a lawyer is still called Timmy?  And then I think this episode was one of the most scripted I’ve seen.  Timmy goes into this wanting vintage, a claw foot tub and all the rest. He supposedly loved the vintage feel of the first place with the 14 inch baseboards and the individual spaces.  But in the end, he didn’t get much of what he said he wanted once they started demolition.  He tore down the wall that he said he really liked, he didn’t get the tub and the beautiful baseboards were gone.  I think it was a nice place with vintage feel, but it looks like they’re going to go very modern. 

[chocolatine]

I hope Timmy goes by his full name professionally. I'd have a hard time taking a lawyer named Timmy seriously, unless he's supposed to be the Doogie Howser of lawyers.

I loved the second condo with the balcony and the amazing city views. I wanted to put Timmy in a time-out for complaining about the kitchen and bathrooms, which were perfectly functional and aesthetically unobjectionable.

[sskrill]

NJ - say urinal one. more. time.

[chessiegal]

4 hours ago, sskrill said:

NJ - say urinal one. more. time.

Go to toilet - lift seat - Voila! Urinal! Dumbass.

[Empress1]

Chicago Timmy: The exteriors of the first and third buildings were gorgeous. The view from the second place was gorgeous. I liked the third place the best (it had everything he said he wanted) but I knew he was going to go with the first. Location, location, location (although the train noise would be a big con, unless it stops running in the wee hours).

NJ couple: The planter in the kitchen counter of the second house was grossing me out. I feel like I'd constantly be cleaning dirt off the counter.

[mojito]

I felt uneasy about the partnership of these two from the start. I wish them well and hope their friendship survives after they tackle that fixer-upper of a home.

[roseslg]

Did anyone get the vibe that Timmy and his friend were a couple?  I wanted to tell his friend to shut the fuck up.  Let Timmy have what he wants.  He doesn't want the soulless place you have, just let the man have his clawfoot tub and pocket doors.  I know it's all fake, but the friend really annoyed me.  It seems more like what the friend wanted than what Timmy wanted.

 

Whenever I write Timmy, I am imagining how they say it in South Park. 

[laredhead]

The Austin house was a nightmare.  It looked like a total tear down to me.  There is no way i would have spent $50 on that house, much less $210,000.  Most of what had been done to that house was probably not up to code or had been permitted.  This is really one I would love to see later on a WATN episode. 

[CruiseDiva]

1 minute ago, laredhead said:

The Austin house was a nightmare.  It looked like a total tear down to me.  There is no way i would have spent $50 on that house, much less $210,000.  Most of what had been done to that house was probably not up to code or had been permitted.  This is really one I would love to see later on a WATN episode. 

It looked like a crack house in a drug infested area. When I hear "up-and-coming neighborhood" my first thought is RUN, don't walk away from it.

My friends bought a century old Victorian in such a neighborhood ten years ago and it's still bad. Their house is a treasure in the midst of trash.

[BlossomCulp]

We have a neighbourhood like that in my area - well not my immediate area!  And when we were househunting 10 yrs ago we had people pushing this on us "it's an investment,  this neighbourhood is going to take off and the houses will be worth a fortune". Uh huh.  Still hasn't happened.  Some of the streets on the fringe have become a little more desirable but it's going to be a long time before that area takes off let alone becomes a place where you can expect to double or triple your investment and be laughing all the way to the bank.

Edited April 11, 2018 by BlossomCulp

[CruiseDiva]

5 hours ago, roseslg said:

Did anyone get the vibe that Timmy and his friend were a couple?  I wanted to tell his friend to shut the fuck up.  Let Timmy have what he wants.  He doesn't want the soulless place you have, just let the man have his clawfoot tub and pocket doors.  I know it's all fake, but the friend really annoyed me.  It seems more like what the friend wanted than what Timmy wanted.

I suspected they are a couple as well. Asshat Timmy is ruining that charming place by listening to his "friend" and removing the wall with the pocket doors. Maybe the base molding will be put back in when the rooms are finished. However, the bathroom/utility closet reno looks to be a winner, despite the loss of the clawfoot tub.

That said, Timmy is really going to be sick of listening to the "L" trains pass by sooner rather than later on that outdoor space. That close to the tracks, it's wasted space for anything except the trash cans. (Trust me on this--I used to live in Chicago.)

[mojito]

Austin Ladies

On second thought, I suspect these two are going to flip this place. Gave no thought to their coupledom.

NJ

I hope the guy gets his urinal. I don't blame him for not wanting to have a farm in his back yard or stairs. I didn't get why the wife wanted the bedrooms all on one floor. The kids weren't all that young and even if they were, there are these things called baby monitors.

Chicago

While the train nearby wasn't ideal, I guess if you like cities, you can get used to it. His yard reminded me of my aunt and uncle's yard in NYC. In warm weather, the family always gathered out there and I don't recall that being a big deal. I also lived next two an airport (both ends of runway, and got used to it. Gave no thought to Timmy and real estate agent's coupledom. He didn't ask for the usual accommodations: parking, double sinks in the bathroom, extra room for family. Like the Austin ladies, I think he's just passing through that place.

[Mittengirl]

Holy crap, this Missouri woman is annoying!  “I need two kitchens! “I need two laundry rooms!”  Pretentious twit.

Why does she care how big the lawn is?  Like she is going to be mowing the lawn. 

Raise your hand if you were shocked they bought the most expensive house.  And still she whines about not having wet and dry kitchens.  As if those exist in great numbers in the U.S.

[Dejana]

2 Kitchens 2 Laundry Rooms is/was a registered nurse?! Maybe she's only spoiled and demanding at home, and is fine with strangers. Maybe Billy Zane wanted so much acreage so he could get away from her!

Edited April 13, 2018 by Dejana

[Empress1]

43 minutes ago, Mittengirl said:

Holy crap, this Missouri woman is annoying!  “I need two kitchens! “I need two laundry rooms!”  Pretentious twit.

Why does she care how big the lawn is?  Like she is going to be mowing the lawn. 

Raise your hand if you were shocked they bought the most expensive house.  And still she whines about not having wet and dry kitchens.  As if those exist in great numbers in the U.S.

Who needs two laundry rooms for a family of four? How much laundry are they doing?

The only reason I watched the whole episode was that the husband was hot as fuck. Had there not been eye candy, I’d have turned them off immediately. Couldn’t stand her.

[KLovestoShop]

I really disliked the Missouri wife.  I've never heard of two kitchens unless you're fully Kosher.  And I've definitely never heard of a wet/dry kitchen.  I bet Miss Uppity had an acquaintance who was super rich and had 2 kitchens and she's trying to keep up.  And why does anyone with only two kids need two laundry rooms?  How much dirty laundry does he make?  And of course Ms Nasty gets her huge, over budget house. She's been put in my top ten pain in the butt house hunter. 

[Dejana]

On Twitter, I saw that it's a thing in Asia, having two kitchens, but people thought it wasn't a realistic expectation for a house in Missouri. Hardly anyone thought she would be doing much of the cooking!

[doodlebug]

8 hours ago, Dejana said:

On Twitter, I saw that it's a thing in Asia, having two kitchens, but people thought it wasn't a realistic expectation for a house in Missouri. Hardly anyone thought she would be doing much of the cooking!

It was particularly galling when, in addition to 2 kitchens (side by side, no less) and 2 laundry rooms (because taking wet towels from the pool to a laundry room indoors was too hard?); she insisted that the house had to be move in ready, she could not possibly renovate to her weird preferences.  There are probably no more than a dozen houses in all of Missouri that would meet those criteria, the odds that any were on the market at that moment are minuscule.

The insistence on at least 5000 sq ft, anything less would be unacceptable was ridiculous too.  I also noticed that putting the daughter in a bedroom on another floor was impossible except when it meant she was getting everything she wanted.

She was definitely one of the worst ever.

[roseslg]

Her husband kept looking at her like, "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you".  His facial expressions were sort of funny.  I didn't watch the entire episode.  She was just so annoying.   WHy do you need a 5k house for 4 people? Why?  

[wovenloaf]

Yikes, I could not stand that Missouri woman.  She was so utterly unreasonable about every little thing.  She honestly believed she was going to find a house in Cape Girardeau, MO that had two kitchens right next to each other?  Wtf.  I think I disliked her more than any other house hunter I've seen...and that is saying something. 

The husband seemed like a nice, reasonable man, so for much of the episode I felt bad for him.  But by the end I was so irritated at him for just letting her push him around that I was done with him too!  He agrees to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars over the budget on a 5,000+ sq ft house, and then there's the ending scene where he's like "I was able to convert this room in the basement to my office" and it shows him going into what was essentially a large closet - cramped, no windows, and filled with mismatched Ikea furniture, next to the gym equipment..... Good god man, put your foot down already!!

Edited April 13, 2018 by wovenloaf

[Vivigirl10]

You know she thought her demand for two kitchens made her sound sooooo upper class.  To make it even more ridiculous, in one of the houses there was like a little wet bar sink in the kitchen and she declared that could be the "wet" kitchen!  Who knew!  Ugh.

The husband had such a nice smile and seemed so easy going.  Sorry he decided to saddle himself with that gem. 

[mojito]

St. Girardeau, MO

Another whipped husband spends too much on a home. My tendency is to think at first that he deserves better, but no, he has what he deserves. I agreed with her on one thing: the pool was great.  He wanted acreage and she asked him what he was going to do with all that land. I wondered what she was going to do with 5000+ square feet of house. 

You'd think that an intelligent person would refuse to follow a script that included demanding a move-in ready home with two kitchens and two laundry rooms. 

[Ohwell]

12 hours ago, Empress1 said:

The only reason I watched the whole episode was that the husband was hot as fuck. Had there not been eye candy, I’d have turned them off immediately. Couldn’t stand her.

He had sexy eyes and a gorgeous smile.  Or vice versa, lol.  I missed the intro, but what does he do for a living?  I assumed she was a stay at home mom. 

And what the hell is a wet/dry kitchen?  I never heard of that before.

[Empress1]

3 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

He had sexy eyes and a gorgeous smile.  Or vice versa, lol.  I missed the intro, but what does he do for a living?  I assumed she was a stay at home mom. 

And what the hell is a wet/dry kitchen?  I never heard of that before.

She was a registered nurse/stay-at-home mom and he was an engineer.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Empress1

[Ohwell]

Ok, thanks!

[Mittengirl]

What the hell are wet and dry kitchens?  What could you make in a dry kitchen besides toast?  

[jcbrown]

Who in the hell wants two laundry rooms? I don't remember the last time I was moved to actually yell at someone on HH but I found myself chastising her repeatedly (as in, "shut up, you entitled stupid twit!").

[Carmen Sandiego]

1 hour ago, mojito said:

St. Girardeau, MO

Another whipped husband spends too much on a home. My tendency is to think at first that he deserves better, but no, he has what he deserves. I agreed with her on one thing: the pool was great.  He wanted acreage and she asked him what he was going to do with all that land. I wondered what she was going to do with 5000+ square feet of house. 

You'd think that an intelligent person would refuse to follow a script that included demanding a move-in ready home with two kitchens and two laundry rooms. 

 

The women or wives are very irritating and seeing how they act shows why people divorce. The wives get so spell bounded on the cosmetics and not the conduction for the house in the future. People live beyond their means, $500,000 budget is reasonable for a family of 2 or 3. The wife is very unreasonable they brought the most expensive house and their daughter had a room in the basement. The second house was what they should've brought and the wife is going to bleed her husband dry with the house. 

[Kohola3]

3 hours ago, roseslg said:

WHy do you need a 5k house for 4 people? Why? 

Because they could apparently afford it and she wanted it.  There's a big difference between want and need.  Greedy witch.

And like the rest of us simple folks who are apparently in the dark about how the upper echelon live, what IS a dry kitchen?

Edited April 13, 2018 by Kohola3

[chocolatine]

5 hours ago, Ohwell said:

He had sexy eyes and a gorgeous smile.  Or vice versa, lol.  I missed the intro, but what does he do for a living?  I assumed she was a stay at home mom. 

And what the hell is a wet/dry kitchen?  I never heard of that before.

 

4 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

What the hell are wet and dry kitchens?  What could you make in a dry kitchen besides toast?  

 

4 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

And like the rest of us simple folks who are apparently in the dark about how the upper echelon live, what IS a dry kitchen?

I've never heard of wet/dry kitchens either, but the wife said the wet kitchen is for "dirty" cooking and the dry kitchen is for baking. Which makes no sense to me at all, because I make a much bigger mess when I bake - flour everywhere.

17 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

I've never heard of two kitchens unless you're fully Kosher.

Even in the fanciest kosher homes that I've seen, they have one kitchen with two dishwashers (to keep the meat and dairy dishes completely separate).

[biakbiak]

Wet/dry kitchens are common in certain parts of Asia. My parents had them in their apartment in Singapore.

[chessiegal]

17 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Wet/dry kitchens are common in certain parts of Asia. My parents had them in their apartment in Singapore.

So what do they look like/what makes them different/why do you need/want them?

[biakbiak]

7 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

So what do they look like/what makes them different/why do you need/want them?

Here's a blog from an expat in Singapore with pictures explaing the purposes. 

[chessiegal]

4 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Here's a blog from an expat in Singapore with pictures explaing the purposes. 

Thanks. Don't know why anyone would want this arrangement, which makes the MO woman's demands even more bizarre.

[biakbiak]

2 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Thanks. Don't know why anyone would want this arrangement, which makes the MO woman's demands even more bizarre.

Depends on how you cook, I was sort of surprised she wanted it because a lot of expats hate them. It was such a ridiculous ask in MO as was her acting like having two laundry rooms was a normal thing. 

[nanometer]

3 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I've never heard of wet/dry kitchens either, but the wife said the wet kitchen is for "dirty" cooking and the dry kitchen is for baking. Which makes no sense to me at all, because I make a much bigger mess when I bake - flour everywhere.

Even in the fanciest kosher homes that I've seen, they have one kitchen with two dishwashers (to keep the meat and dairy dishes completely separate).

I can see how separate kitchens would work for families who keep kosher or halal.  Also, for families with at least one person with a really sensitive allergy or other medical issue.

That said, I know what you mean about baking leaving huge messes!

[Kohola3]

Well, if the main feature of a wet kitchen is that it's not air conditioned, I cannot see Her Ladyship ever using it.  I wonder if she was even aware of that when she was harping about it. I'd wager not.

[biakbiak]

1 minute ago, Kohola3 said:

Well, if the main feature of a wet kitchen is that it's not air conditioned, I cannot see Her Ladyship ever using it.  I wonder if she was even aware of that when she was harping about it. I'd wager not.

She was most likely quite familiar with them because they mentioned that they had lived in Singapore. 

[Ohwell]

But surely she must have known that there were no wet and dry kitchens in the U.S.

[biakbiak]

3 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

But surely she must have known that there were no wet and dry kitchens in the U.S.

Yes which is why I am assuming she created it for tge show because it was a stupid ask. 

[nanometer]

14 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Her Ladyship

Hehe.

When I see house hunters demanding tons of square footage for their small/normal sized families, I feel as empty as the huge spaces they're about to buy. 

[doodlebug]

8 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Because they could apparently afford it and she wanted it.  There's a big difference between want and need.  Greedy witch.

And like the rest of us simple folks who are apparently in the dark about how the upper echelon live, what IS a dry kitchen?

 

It's an Asian thing though from what I have read, it's more like two parts of the same kitchen.  There's an area/countertop where you do things like pour cereal, make toast or sandwiches; stuff that isn't very messy and serve it there, too.  Then. there's a separate area where you cook messy stuff like fried foods, work with messier foods like chopping meat, etc and have the sink and dishwasher so clean up, which is more involved than the 'dry' part is easier.  Seems to me that many of us accomplish this using our kitchen islands or peninsulas or even serving cart; but. of course, this House Hunter expected two separate, fully equipped kitchens because she is just that special.

  I've known a couple people with really fancy houses who had two kitchens (and a couple people with in law suites with small kitchenettes).  One of them has a home she and her husband built in an expensive suburb and it is a showplace and cost a couple mil which for where I live is the top of the line.  On the first floor of her home, she has sort of an open concept with a huge living space opening into a huge modern kitchen with top of the line everything.  At the back of that kitchen is an out of the way staircase down to another kitchen which is more of a workspace type kitchen. professional stove, huge refrigerator, etc.  Apparently, one has the caterers use that kitchen to make the food and bring it up the back stairs for serving in the 'show' kitchen.  Or to sneak it past the guests and pretend you made it yourself or something.  I don't live that lifestyle, so it's hard for me to fathom.  My friend really doesn't either, but has a huge family who often stay with her and she says, on weekends, there will often be several people cooking at once in both kitchens which is why she had it built and why she likes it.

Edited April 14, 2018 by doodlebug

[Kohola3]

OMG, that dimwitted Fefe and her tiny house idiocy made me stabby.   Wants a washer and dryer, a fireplace, a bathtub and apparently a main floor bedroom because she has a "thing" for ladders but all in 275 square feet. Then it has to have drywall but also be able to be moved so on wheels.  Does she not know that dragging that thing over rough roads will end up with cracks in the drywall?  Then she throws in the fact that she works from home so needs office space plus storage space.  NONE of these things scream tiny house, moron.

[chessiegal]

2 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

OMG, that dimwitted Fefe and her tiny house idiocy made me stabby.   Wants a washer and dryer, a fireplace, a bathtub and apparently a main floor bedroom because she has a "thing" for ladders but all in 275 square feet. Then it has to have drywall but also be able to be moved so on wheels.  Does she not know that dragging that thing over rough roads will end up with cracks in the drywall?  Then she throws in the fact that she works from home so needs office space plus storage space.  NONE of these things scream tiny house, moron.

As we were watching, my husband turned to me and said "She doesn't want a tiny house!" And who cares if the refrigerator is stainless steel? Why, HGTV, why? Especially since appliance manufacturers are already telling us in commercials we need black SS. Waiting for that to show up on HH and HGTV.

[mojito]

Fefe and Her Tiny House in NC

I liked her friend a lot. He was pleasant and supportive. The camera would've caught me rolling my eyes at least a few times in his shoes, but he put his best foot forward. Her, on the other hand...When she mentioned wanting a beachy tiny house, all I could think of was a cabana.