House Hunters: Buying in the USA

[MaKaM]

5 hours ago, KAOS Agent said:

For whatever reason, they decided that the husband wanting to live within walking distance of the X was super interesting and kooky when it was really obvious to anyone familiar with the area that they were looking in that specific location because she was a student at the U of MN and her area of study has their classes on the St Paul campus. They took it way too far with the need to nap in the shower and the whole wifi thing and he came off as a total ass, but I suspect he isn't that bad in real life. At least he was cheerful about it all and not rude and condescending unlike some people on this show.

I saw it was that guy's episode again and turned it off. The wifi thing was weird, the napping in the shower was nuts, and he drove me batty when it first aired. He can't be that bad in regular life because she wasn't a total loss as a human and he had to have some redeeming quality to have gotten her down the aisle but search me if I could find it the way he came off on TV.

[Mrs. Hanson]

1 hour ago, MaKaM said:

I saw it was that guy's episode again and turned it off. The wifi thing was weird, the napping in the shower was nuts, and he drove me batty when it first aired. He can't be that bad in regular life because she wasn't a total loss as a human and he had to have some redeeming quality to have gotten her down the aisle but search me if I could find it the way he came off on TV.

I am a MN girl, missed the first seven or so minutes.....did they ever say Xcel Energy Center in the intro or in the first seven minutes?  I wonder if there was an issue with saying the name of the Center as everyone calls it "The Xcel" around here.  MN has about a billion "hockey rinks" - I mean I knew he was talking about the MN Wild it just sounded strange, but then again HE WAS STRANGE.  Shut up about the wifi - shut up about hockey.  Wild games are crazy expensive and once that baby comes you will be dialing down your hockey attendance.

I knew they were going to pick #1 as #2 had only a one car garage and #3 was very nice but you could have gotten that house in any surrounding suburb.  If you want Victorian you need to be in the city.

In full disclosure:  The Xcel hosts a lot more than just hockey, it hosts concerts and other events as well.  

[msrachelj]

18 hours ago, Dawn said:

Oh, me too! My mom grew up in Owego and we would visit relatives there when I was young, so I made sure to watch the episode (not that I recognize anything since it's been 20 years since I've been there). I was glad I did so because I loved that house. The details -- the moldings,  floors,  staircase,  trim, windows, etc. -- were just amazing. But it definitely could be a money pit as well, so I hope it turns out well for them and is worth the significant time and money they'll need to invest. I definitely would love to see it when they're done. 

Here's the Zillow link. You can see pictures of it from when it was still furnished, before they began to gut it. I rather suspected that huge bathroom doubled as a laundry room. 

wow, thanks for the link. although i didn't like the wife and she doesn't deserve it!

i don't understand the photos. no way those are from the time the h.h. buyers looked at that house! it was a wreck.

and what do you mean they are gutting it!? i'm getting sick to my stomach. i hope they are not destroying it as so many buyers do to historic properties! 

[LittleIggy]

Re: the couple in Louisville, the wife had the most gorgeous eyes! I’m assuming she is Indian-American. Her husband’s teeth bugged me. The obsession with the pool table was weird, IMO. I liked the Victorian house the best. Build a garage if you want one so much!

[MaKaM]

9 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Re: the couple in Louisville, the wife had the most gorgeous eyes! I’m assuming she is Indian-American. Her husband’s teeth bugged me. The obsession with the pool table was weird, IMO. I liked the Victorian house the best. Build a garage if you want one so much!

They were so whiny about the carpet or no carpet and the appliances. Does the contract with House Hunters require the couples to pick at least 4 things that are directly opposite of each other before getting to be on the show? Because, holy shit, is this getting annoying. I was hoping this "theme" would have been played out by now.

[msrachelj]

2 hours ago, MaKaM said:

They were so whiny about the carpet or no carpet and the appliances. Does the contract with House Hunters require the couples to pick at least 4 things that are directly opposite of each other before getting to be on the show? Because, holy shit, is this getting annoying. I was hoping this "theme" would have been played out by now.

and if they stopped wasting so much time on the couples love story and what they each want/have to have in a house (because, well, bull shit!) they could fit in another home to look at.

[Kohola3]

2 hours ago, msrachelj said:

and if they stopped wasting so much time on the couples love story and what they each want/have to have in a house (because, well, bull shit!) they could fit in another home to look at.

Plus repeating the same statements over and over and over and over - and who needs the damned recap after every commercial.  They could fit in TWO more homes without that crap.

[Babalooie]

20 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Her husband’s teeth bugged me.

This is all I could think of every time I saw him.  

 

 

[LittleIggy]

??LOL! Exactly! ?

[Mrs. Hanson]

23 hours ago, MaKaM said:

They were so whiny about the carpet or no carpet and the appliances. Does the contract with House Hunters require the couples to pick at least 4 things that are directly opposite of each other before getting to be on the show? Because, holy shit, is this getting annoying. I was hoping this "theme" would have been played out by now.

Yes - yes it does.  "I love carpet!  I love an open floor plan!  I love a Victorian!  I love a small yard!"  Oh yeah?  Well......"I love hardwood!  I live defined spaces!  I love a ranch!  I want acres of land!"

Last night in Naperville - four kids so close together.  Totally staged shot at the end of them running through the kitchen.  My son said:  "Okay that was painful to watch!"

[Vivigirl10]

The Naperville episode last night confused me.  Maybe there were things that weren't conveyed well, such as location of the homes or the true size of the home that they ultimately chose.  But why oh why did they not just stay in what appeared to be their superior current home and upgrade it, instead of electing to basically downgrade and then rehab that house?  The house they chose was plain ugly, on the inside and especially the outside.  I thought maybe they were hiding a financial need to downgrade, but then their reno budget was something absolutely ridiculous like $250k. 

I have a family member in produce sales so I know it can provide a nice living.  But add a stay-at-home Mom, four kids and the cost of living in Naperville to the mix and I was surprised at their high budget. 

[Ohwell]

15 minutes ago, Kiki620 said:

The house they chose was plain ugly, on the inside and especially the outside. 

Yes it was.

[AlleC17]

The thing that I find so annoying regarding the fake 'backstory' and budget was the fact that they chose the home listed for $410k, paid $425k for it and budgeted $250k for renovations, which wifey smugly stated at the end that she was going over.  Dude was fainting at the thought of paying $700k, and yet, he paid damn close to $700k.  Just show us the damn houses, enough with the fake stories, and like mentioned a few posts above, enough of the stupid recaps.  We know what happened a few minutes ago.  Show us the damn houses!  /rant.

Edited May 25, 2018 by AlleC17

[Pickles]

If they spend $250k in renovations on a $425k home, won't they way over renovate for the neighborhood??

[Kohola3]

1 minute ago, Pickles said:

If they spend $250k in renovations on a $425k home, won't they way over renovate for the neighborhood??

These entitled twits don't care.  Or have no concept of what that might mean.  It's all about having what they want when they want it.

'

[Mrs. Hanson]

38 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

These entitled twits don't care.  Or have no concept of what that might mean.  It's all about having what they want when they want it.

'

The guy looked like a sterotypical "dad" from every teen movie, ever.  So vanilla and bland.

[jcbrown]

And there was one house they looked at (don't remember which one) where the wife said something derisive like, "of course he likes this one because he is all about the budget when he should be all about what I think of the house." Criminy. She really was an entitled twit, as @Kohola3 noted.

Edited May 25, 2018 by jcbrown

[CherryAmes]

1 hour ago, Pickles said:

If they spend $250k in renovations on a $425k home, won't they way over renovate for the neighborhood??

The people across the street from us did that and then were shocked, absolutely shocked, that when they listed their house at well over the average house price in our neighbourhood that they didn't get so much as a flicker of interest.  People wanted the extras but they weren't going to pay for them.  Or at least they weren't going to pay for your entire remodel when for a whole lot less they could have a perfectly nice house that just didn't happen to have double vanities and a brand new kitchen.

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, Pickles said:

If they spend $250k in renovations on a $425k home, won't they way over renovate for the neighborhood??

That would depend on the neighborhood. It's possible that many of the homes in the neighborhood have already been renovated and this is the worst house on the block.

[Ohwell]

6 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

That would depend on the neighborhood. It's possible that many of the homes in the neighborhood have already been renovated and this is the worst house on the block.

Or it's possible that they just over renovated. ; )

[biakbiak]

1 minute ago, Ohwell said:

Or it's possible that they just over renovated. ; )

Well we don't know because they didn't show what they did, how much they ended up spending, or the comps in the neighborhood.

[Pickles]

9 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

That would depend on the neighborhood. It's possible that many of the homes in the neighborhood have already been renovated and this is the worst house on the block.

It still seems to me that $250k is a BIG renovation budget in a neighborhood where a house is selling for $425k. And the neighborhood looked normal to me (from what I could see in the shot where they were in the culdesac with the kids). Not an historic neighborhood or house where maybe a big renovation budget is expected and the norm. I am sure they will be happy there after the updates and projects, but as someone mentioned they may never get their money out of it.

[CherryAmes]

17 minutes ago, Pickles said:

I am sure they will be happy there after the updates and projects, but as someone mentioned they may never get their money out of it.

We have a family friend who is a real estate agent and this is the big thing she always cautions everyone about - renovate because YOU want to and you're going to live happily with what you do, be very cautious about doing major renovations if you aren't planning to stay in the house for too long.  Unless you are doing a flip (and know what you're doing!) you may not get your money back, certainly not if you have plans to move within a few years.  As with everything location and timing are key of course!

[Mrs. Hanson]

4 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

We have a family friend who is a real estate agent and this is the big thing she always cautions everyone about - renovate because YOU want to and you're going to live happily with what you do, be very cautious about doing major renovations if you aren't planning to stay in the house for too long.  Unless you are doing a flip (and know what you're doing!) you may not get your money back, certainly not if you have plans to move within a few years.  As with everything location and timing are key of course!

I agree!!!  That also reminds me of one of my peeves:  You buy a house and people IMMEDIATELY ask about the resale value.  "I just bought it, buddy boy!"  Ugh.

[LittleIggy]

Tiki bar? Is that still a thing?

[biakbiak]

16 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Tiki bar? Is that still a thing?

According to Prince Harry. It was the theme of the after party for the Royal Wedding.

[laredhead]

I thought the Florida family who wanted a large house so they could have a media room, a costume closet, and a pool was interesting.  They were nice to each other, and they didn't make snarky comments about the houses they toured.  I was surprised to hear about basements in Florida, and the realtor explained that areas was about the only place in Florida you could have a basemen.  The scenery in that area was very pretty.  I would like to see the finished product on a future WATN episode.

The Louisville wife certainly thought of herself as the princess and said her husband treated her like one - ugh.  Her snide comment about him wanting projects to do, but that he wasn't very good at doing them was very unkind, IMO.  Also her hating on the white appliances was just ridiculous.  Wait until she has to keep wiping fingerprints off the SS ones she wants - voice of experience here.  Hint - buy the ones with no fingerprint surfaces. By the end of the episode, I really didn't care which house they chose.  The cats were cute.       

Edited May 26, 2018 by laredhead

[Dewey Decimate]

On 5/16/2018 at 9:31 AM, doodlebug said:

Last night's episode with the couple looking in Spokane.  Hubby hotter than he**, an Air Force pilot who loves to work on houses and built most of their furniture himself?  Where can I find one of those for me?

Oh my gravy, sign me up for one of those, yes, please and thank you. AND the wife mentioned he loves to cook? Hot damn.

I was ready to improperly dislike the wife out of simple jealousy, but she actually seemed quite amenable to house imperfections and was open to renovating, so good for both of them!

[irisheyes]

Watched the Naperville episode yesterday on demand. Entitled twats doesn’t begin to describe that couple. First of all, kids CAN share a bedroom, and no one dies.  The house they were claiming was too small for their oversized family of six is larger than my house for my family of six.  Yes, two of my kids share a room. We moved here last year out of a 3 BR rental that was starting to get a little too small, but the 2500 sq ft I have now is perfect. I certainly don’t want 4000 square feet.  I wonder if their old house was in a school district they didn’t like for some reason, or they didn’t like the neighborhood. There’s got to be another reason why they were willing to buy a house that was almost identical to what they had, yet they were going to spend $250K (or more) renovating a new house when they could have spent the same amount on their old house. Something’s fishy. 

[Empress1]

On 5/25/2018 at 5:15 PM, CherryAmes said:

We have a family friend who is a real estate agent and this is the big thing she always cautions everyone about - renovate because YOU want to and you're going to live happily with what you do, be very cautious about doing major renovations if you aren't planning to stay in the house for too long.  Unless you are doing a flip (and know what you're doing!) you may not get your money back, certainly not if you have plans to move within a few years.  As with everything location and timing are key of course!

I know someone whose ex-in-laws bought a condo in the neighborhood I grew up in and over-renovated it. They can't sell it OR rent it. It's a great neighborhood but for what they were asking for a 1400-square-foot condo, you could get a single-family home twice that size and do your own upgrades. If you're looking to rent, you could do so for much less than they were asking. The person I know was like, "Hey, do you know anyone who might be interested in this?" and I replied "Not for that!" when she showed me the price. She was like "[sigh] I know." They needed to knock a good $100K off the price to be competitive for a place that size. Apparently they're crazy wealthy so they could take a loss without feeling it too much, but they're stubborn and are trying to get their money back. They won't.

[CherryAmes]

2 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Apparently they're crazy wealthy so they could take a loss without feeling it too much, but they're stubborn and are trying to get their money back. They won't.

Around here when we see a house priced way over the neighbourhood value we joke "they'll need to get a buyer coming in from Vancouver"  because any price here is going to seem cheap in comparison.  But of course that's not really likely to happen because people aren't usually stupid and aren't going to pay more than they need to for the area they're moving to.

[Kohola3]

3 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Apparently they're crazy wealthy so they could take a loss without feeling it too much, but they're stubborn and are trying to get their money back. They won't.

Don't know about that couple but in so many cases there is the sentimental pricing as well, especially for a family home.  People remember all of the good times and the memories jack up the price.   You really need to look at it with the critical eye of a buyer who has no passion for the place. 

I was appalled at the price the Realtor set for my parents' home when they passed away but it didn't take me long to realize that, while in a sterling location (great city, great schools, across the street from a beautiful huge park), it needed a ton of work done.  I had to push aside those childhood memories and be practical.  

[CruiseDiva]

One of our neighbors paid $407,000 for their house ten years ago. WAY too much for that house--the previous owner overpriced it because he'd been transferred and was going to turn it over to a relocation service in a week or so. He expected to get about $350,000, but got lucky when idiots new to the area paid his asking price. Then the market tanked big time and they were under water on the house. Well, they actually sold it for $409,000 last month. It sold on the first day. IMHO, the new owners also paid more than it's worth, but I guess it must have appraised for that.

[Mountainair]

On 5/13/2018 at 11:36 PM, Apocalypse Cow said:

Yeah, I live in the boonies of NC, and we barely lock our doors. I feel safer in the middle of nowhere than in the city. 

I'm just catching up on some old House Hunter episodes I'd saved up on my DVR and this conversation about the NC tiny home lady is so funny! I live about a 10 minute drive to Asheville and know exactly where this lady moved to. Asheville is cray-cray as far as home and vehicle  break ins are concerned. I rarely lock my doors when I leave my house- I live in a neighborhood but on an acre of land and I have never seen a bear in my yard. My friends that live in city limits have bear all the time in their yard and our office which is located in Asheville has had plenty of bear around. It's because they have no where to go out in the city. I never see them here in the "boonies" because there is plenty of room for them to roam. 

[ByaNose]

On 5/4/2018 at 12:31 AM, KLovestoShop said:

This Austin couple----giant pain in the butt, especially him.  What was with him and his bath to bedroom parity, his wanting tiny closets so he could have a bigger family room for watching football.  He was also totally lazy in that he didn't want to do anything with regards to upkeep of the house.  Does that idiot not realize that master closets aren't anywhere near to living rooms, and making a closet smaller won't make a living room larger.  And her not wanting the color blue anywhere near her?  What was that about.  So, we have a spoiled, lazy couple who are all about me, me, me with weird wants.  

Just watched. I’m way behind. Anyhoo, that was a lot of light blue. It was everywhere. I’m sorta with her on that. I guess I could leave the kitchen backsplash for now but everything else in the wall color, curtains & cornices would have to go. It’s such a specific color. IMO!!!, 

[ByaNose]

On 5/5/2018 at 10:15 AM, doodlebug said:

Since her dad used the term too, I figured maybe it was a family thing for outdoor showers and the like.  They had relocated from places where outdoor showers wouldn't have been commonly found.  

Her renovation budget was completely unrealistic in every way.  Although she talked about buying homes and renovating them, there wasn't any indication that she had done the work herself.  5 grand wouldn't get decent kitchen cupboards presuming she didn't plan to do the demo and installation herself.  She said her father was a longtime real estate investor and she worked in his business, not sure why she didn't have a realistic notion as to what it would cost to do a full remodel.

Or, as they called it “their real estate portfolio”. Is owning 1 home a real estate portfolio? If so, I’ve had one for over 25 years and I didn’t even know it. The daughter was cute and seemed nice enough. That said, when she said $5,000 for the whole renovation I did a double take. It sounded like she had been on her own for years but you wouldn’t know it from that comment. 

[ByaNose]

On 5/12/2018 at 11:02 AM, Empress1 said:

Orange County episode. The house they chose was $653K for 1600 square feet, laminate flooring, and next to a freeway. Good Lord. The husband was really not comfortable on camera - no affect whatsoever.

But the wife was super cute. Yes, I’m that shallow. 

[ByaNose]

On 5/24/2018 at 12:52 AM, LittleIggy said:

Re: the couple in Louisville, the wife had the most gorgeous eyes! I’m assuming she is Indian-American. Her husband’s teeth bugged me. The obsession with the pool table was weird, IMO. I liked the Victorian house the best. Build a garage if you want one so much!

Not to be judgy but I thought he really married up in the looks department. She was so pretty and he wasn’t attractive at all. Love is blind so they say. 

[LittleIggy]

Why did the house the couple in Hawaii pick cost so much more than the others?  I thought it was the least attractive. I wanted to slap the wife for saying the dogs just needed a place to pee not a yard.

[Empress1]

19 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Don't know about that couple but in so many cases there is the sentimental pricing as well, especially for a family home.  People remember all of the good times and the memories jack up the price.   You really need to look at it with the critical eye of a buyer who has no passion for the place. 

I was appalled at the price the Realtor set for my parents' home when they passed away but it didn't take me long to realize that, while in a sterling location (great city, great schools, across the street from a beautiful huge park), it needed a ton of work done.  I had to push aside those childhood memories and be practical.  

It's not their family home. It was a pied-a-terre for them and the third property they own that I'm aware of (home they live in, vacation home, this place. There could be more). The woman I know used to live in that neighborhood with her ex and their kid, but they've since split up and both moved to different neighborhoods. The couple no longer "needs" the pied-a-terre so they're selling it. Really, I think they should just hold onto it and continue to use it as a pied-a-terre; their grandkid only lives about half an hour from that place now, but I don't know their life. The woman I know and I are no longer in touch so I won't know how it all turns out. That neighborhood is already gentrified - it's already a middle- and upper-middle-class neighborhood and it always has been, so property values aren't going to skyrocket like you see in gentrifying urban neighborhoods. If they're still trying to sell, they've been doing so for at least 18 months.

12 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Or, as they called it “their real estate portfolio”. Is owning 1 home a real estate portfolio? If so, I’ve had one for over 25 years and I didn’t even know it. The daughter was cute and seemed nice enough. That said, when she said $5,000 for the whole renovation I did a double take. It sounded like she had been on her own for years but you wouldn’t know it from that comment. 

That was her second home, right? And she was planning to rent it out? I think that was the case, and I'm guessing she had plans to keep adding rental properties to the portfolio. I assumed "Florida bath" just meant "outdoor shower." You hear "outdoor shower" used down the shore if beach houses have them.

Edited May 29, 2018 by Empress1

[ByaNose]

17 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

It's not their family home. It was a pied-a-terre for them and the third property they own that I'm aware of (home they live in, vacation home, this place. There could be more). The woman I know used to live in that neighborhood with her ex and their kid, but they've since split up and both moved to different neighborhoods. The couple no longer "needs" the pied-a-terre so they're selling it. Really, I think they should just hold onto it and continue to use it as a pied-a-terre; their grandkid only lives about half an hour from that place now, but I don't know their life. The woman I know and I are no longer in touch so I won't know how it all turns out. That neighborhood is already gentrified - it's already a middle- and upper-middle-class neighborhood and it always has been, so property values aren't going to skyrocket like you see in gentrifying urban neighborhoods. If they're still trying to sell, they've been doing so for at least 18 months.

That was her second home, right? And she was planning to rent it out? I think that was the case, and I'm guessing she had plans to keep adding rental properties to the portfolio. I assumed "Florida bath" just meant "outdoor shower." You hear "outdoor shower" used down the shore if beach houses have them.

Oh! I must have missed the part it being her second home. So, I guess if it's her second home it's the beginning of a portfolio. My bad!

[msmarjoribanks]

I've been watching on hulu and youtube, so can't always keep track of when the episodes aired (it gives a date, but that's not always consistent with when the show was talked about here).

Anyway, was just watching one supposedly from 4/30/18, called generically Condo Hunting in Chicago (Drake and Jillian), and the place they chose was in the first building I owned in, which was pretty cool (I love being able to recognize addresses, so you can imagine I love all the extra knowledge I have here, heh). 

Granted, I owned way back in the late '90s to early '00s -- the place was converted in the mid '90s, so of course the wife thought it was dreadfully dated. My place was quite a bit different, a 2 bed, 1 bathroom without the second level and decks they got, and back in the late '90s I really liked the bigger units in the complex and wished that one would come available when I was ready to sell (had changed my mind when I did decide to sell).  Oddly enough, I actually preferred some of the things about my old place -- the kitchen wasn't as small as that one seemed just due to placement. Some of the style was similar, some was not.  The floors were exactly the same as I remembered (I loved the floors when I bought).  

Episode otherwise typical House Hunters.  I wish they didn't think that discussion of the neighborhoods would be boring, as I don't buy that they don't play a role in choice (well, I know it's not a real choice, and often you can tell what they will pick because only one is the neighborhood they actually want).  The "old" building was the mid '90s one, but they tried to play it as old vs new (the first one they looked at was described as a rehab, but it looked like every contemporary building in the area and they didn't give any actual dates if it was supposed to be vintage).  

[Kohola3]

42 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

It's not their family home.

Oh, I didn't mean them, I just meant people in general.  I know that when I was trying to buy out my cousins for the property on which our family cottage stood, they thought it was worth 4 times for which it was appraised. One cousin insisted on two more appraisals before he believed it.  Lots of wonderful memories but it doesn't translate to property values!

[Kemper]

Caught an episode this morning...young couple in (I think Pennsylvania) looking for a place downtown, close to bars and restaurants.  They looked at a row house (maybe they looked at a couple of row houses) and they were complaining there wasn't enough light because of no windows on the sides.  lol   Unless you get an end unit, what do you think a row house consists of?

And another couple was looking for a home in Florida; don't remember where.  There was just the two of them...she wanted a pool, he had to have a great water view.  The one house they looked at that had the view was horrible and I don't think it had a pool.  The wife gave in and they got the awful house...the hubby was happy.  He just could not keep an open mind on any house they looked at if it didn't have the view.  I understand the "wants" when you look at a house.  But they were a young couple..they will have other houses.  The best house they looked at had a pool and a bit of a water view (If you trimmed the tree branches) but the husband would not be placated.  Truly, the house they bought was terrible. 

Mr. Kemper and I bought quite a few houses in our day.  We didn't get the house we both wanted until retirement.  But we had great houses through the years and realized the art of compromise.  Wish some of these couples would learn that.  Now get off my lawn.
 

[Ohwell]

8 hours ago, Kemper said:

They looked at a row house (maybe they looked at a couple of row houses) and they were complaining there wasn't enough light because of no windows on the sides.  lol   Unless you get an end unit, what do you think a row house consists of?

This cracked me up.

[Kohola3]

9 hours ago, Kemper said:

They looked at a row house (maybe they looked at a couple of row houses) and they were complaining there wasn't enough light because of no windows on the sides.

Kind of makes you wonder how they manage to get through every day, doesn't it?  The intelligence level of a rock.

[Babalooie]

The couple in Hawaii were a joy.  I'm glad that he got his one-story house because he  was willing to "make sacrifices".  

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, Babalooie said:

The couple in Hawaii were a joy.  I'm glad that he got his one-story house because he  was willing to "make sacrifices".  

I liked them, they were funny and self-deprecating.  It was clear that housing in Hawaii is way expensive, but they just rolled with it.  I don’t know how big their dogs were, but the wife underestimated the value of a little open space to a dog. For that matter, living in Hawaii, you’d think she’d want a yard to enjoy as a family.  The dogs must’ve been tiny, though, since they’d been living in a 2 bedroom condo prior to the show.

[laredhead]

She kept insisting that they did not need a yard.  They have small children so I would think she would want a place for them to play outside.  No mention of nearby parks or other places where the kids could go to play on swings or other playground equipment.  

The house they bought suited their wish list, but it sure did look like a place that had been modified by many previous owners to each one's desires. 

[Ohwell]

Watching that Hawaii episode, my heart kind of broke for them, considering what's happening now.  I don't know where they live in relation to the volcanoes, but the air is foul now.