House Hunters: Buying in the USA

[Diane M]

I liked the SC couple with the little boy.  They chose the house I would have picked for them.  I think they planned to do some work (like painting) after they moved in.  I hope that pond was well stocked with fish.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 8/14/2018 at 7:46 PM, Kohola3 said:

On 8/14/2018 at 7:40 PM, stewedsquash said:

I don't know if it was him taking a break or having a breakdown.

Nervous breakdown?  I wonder if he looked inside and saw all of his belongings in a jumbled heap on the floor after taking a couple of turns.  Or maybe he realized he has no place to park the darned thing because there are so many zoning laws it will be breaking.  Or that there is a bridge coming up he cannot clear.  Or it's the thought of sleeping on a shelf on which he cannot even sit up.  Or he's getting 3 miles to the gallon dragging around the behemoth.

This deserves a place in some sort of Hall of Fame.

I laughed at the suggestion that the guy was taking a break, because only an insane person would take a break on the shoulder of an interstate, never mind Interstate 95.  And then I realized it's a tiny house person, so yeah, taking a break on the shoulder of I-95 could seem like a good idea.

I've discovered a new channel on my satellite called AWE, which has some house-hunting type shows.  Watching them has made me realize that as much as the format of HH annoys me, with its manufactured conflicts and budget nonsense, it apparently kind of works for me for some reason.  Maybe I'm just used to it. 

Or maybe it's because the properties on AWE are super expensive, which I usually don't find that interesting (except for the pool).  Or that it's often just one person and the realtor, so no banter.  Or that they make the buyer guess the price of the house, which HH thankfully does not--I do have to give them credit for that.

[laredhead]

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

[BTBAM310]

On 7/27/2018 at 9:43 AM, doodlebug said:

They were dull, dull, dull.  The wife wanted hardwood floors, open concept and a white kitchen.  Shocking!  Neither one of them was able to muster much emotion about the search.  They were as exciting as watching paint dry.

During each HH, as soon as the third house tour is done  my girlfriend and I try to guess which house they pick. This episode, I thought "I don't really remember the first two houses and need to wait for the recap at the end." That's how dull and forgettable they were. The only things that stood out were his awful haircut and ridiculous "beard".

[stillhere1900]

On 8/11/2018 at 7:53 AM, ForReal said:

 but I was a little appalled to see a family with one child needing a 3000 sq. ft. plus house to "grow into."

"appalled"  Why ?

[laredhead]

I think there are more HH Family episodes this week.  My DVR did not have anything scheduled to record tonight, but the TV Guide said it was a new episode of HH.  When I checked the the DVR subject list, it indicates it's an HH Family which I have set to not record.  Ugh.  I can't believe their ratings are good enough for this type of HH.  

[ForReal]

10 hours ago, stillhere1900 said:

"appalled"  Why ?

If one wants and can afford that big a house, that's fine, but that they claim to "need" 3000 sq. ft. for three people is, to me, appalling.

[Kohola3]

There's a big difference between want and need.  Surely they can exist with less than 1000 square feet per person. 

Loads of people manage to raise a family and not kill each other in way less space - case in point my family with four of us in less than 1000 and (horrors) one bathroom.  My sister and I grew up to be successful educated members of society and without criminal records so obviously it can be done.  Would it have been nice to have more space?  Sure.  But it was not a need.

[Bastet]

Unless you are running a group home, you do not need 3,000 sq. feet.  That is a ridiculously large house.  If you want it, can afford it, and don't give a shit about your environmental footprint, mazel tov.  But don't say you "need" it with a straight face.  The worst was the Trophy Wife and Slave Sister episode in Aruba, where they "needed" I don't remember how many thousands of square feet to accommodate the kids' toys.

Edited August 21, 2018 by Bastet

[juliet73]

I just caught the end of tonight's HH Family in NE.  Did the 3rd house come completely furnished?  It was the exact same furniture/placement from when they originally looked at the house.

The "family edition" is ridiculous!  Unless these kids are paying the mortgage, I don't know why they are even included in the decision making.  LAME!

[Pickles]

41 minutes ago, juliet73 said:

I just caught the end of tonight's HH Family in NE.  Did the 3rd house come completely furnished?  It was the exact same furniture/placement from when they originally looked at the house.

The "family edition" is ridiculous!  Unless these kids are paying the mortgage, I don't know why they are even included in the decision making.  LAME!

I think on these family episodes, they show the family walking back into the new house for "a visit" presumably before they have moved in. But, this episode was odd, because weren't they eating in the house? Or they were doing something that kind of made it look like they were all settled in. The family episodes are annoying.

[topanga]

On 8/21/2018 at 10:39 PM, juliet73 said:

The "family edition" is ridiculous!  Unless these kids are paying the mortgage, I don't know why they are even included in the decision making.  LAME!

Okay, I was avoiding HH Family like the plague, but I happened to catch last night's Utah episode. And dammit if those 6 kids weren’t totally adorable. It was a blended family—the parents brought 3 kids each to their marriage. They called themselves the modern day Brady Bunch. I couldn't figure out which kid belonged to which adult, except I'm assuming the really blonde little girl belonged to the blonde mom. 

The parents weren't annoying. They were just a little boring. The dad called everything "nice," for example. And some of the kids’ lines were obviously planned and rehearsed.  Oh, and the tween daughter has the potential to turn very annoying one day, although she could've been hamming it up for the cameras. But they were a nice family. I liked the dynamic among the kids and the parents, and I liked the house they chose. 

[edie3]

IDK about the Utah family.  Everyone was sooo sweet!  I needed to watch some ID channel to get rid of all that sweetness.

[KLovestoShop]

I thought the Thousand Oaks kids to be insufferable.   The boys were so obnoxious with their comments about their bedrooms being too small (my sister and I shared one bedroom that was 10X10), and the one house not having a pool.  And how they kept saying these houses are too small for their family. Talk about spoiled kids.  I can honestly say that these kids are awful and are on my list of most hated House Hunters. 

Edited August 24, 2018 by KLovestoShop

[twinks]

I was shocked that the house they bought was so expensive. I thought it had zero curb appeal, not much of a back yard, and needed a lot of work. I did notice that their furniture was already in the house. Honestly, if I want to be entertained by kids I'll watch Counting On!

[LittleIggy]

How long is this HH Family going to go on? I just skip it. I miss my HH/HHI hour!

[MsTree]

1 hour ago, twinks said:

Honestly, if I want to be entertained by kids I'll watch Counting On!

...or anything on the Disney Channel.  I wonder if some of these kids are wanna be child actors, and the parents are hoping for their kids big break. You know, kind of like just about every HH either plays the piano, plays a guitar, sings, dances, etc. And if I want to see that amateur stuff, I'll watch America's Got Talent...NOT!

[doodlebug]

13 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

I thought the Thousand Oaks kids to be insufferable.   The boys were so obnoxious with their comments about their bedrooms being too small (my sister and I shared one bedroom that was 10X10), and the one house not having a pool.  And how they kept saying these houses are too small for their family. Talk about spoiled kids.  I can honestly say that these kids are awful and are on my list of most hated House Hunters. 

 

Those twins, especially the older one, were really quite annoying.  And, as one of 5 kids in a 3 bedroom/1 bath house growing up, the notion that they not only need separate bedrooms but bathrooms too was so entitled.  And God forbid the poor little dears had to struggle along without a pool until mom and dad could get one built.  I am not a fan of these family episodes where we see the kids being treated as equals in the house purchase decision.  Unless the kids are paying the mortgage and managing the household ala mom and dad, they get NO input, IMO.

Typical California houses; way too much money for tiny yards and nothing special architecturally.

[mousegirl]

Just a note regarding living in Bakersfield CA - which I did for 12 years - it's cheaper than most of California because there's nothing very attractive or appealing about the place.  And it has some of the most miserable weather in all of the Golden State.

There are a lot of oilfields around the city, and they add a delightful (not!) funk to the air.  Summer temps run in the triple digits for weeks on end, with the nighttime "lows" at 85-90 degrees - if there is any place in CA where you can, with justification, say you NEED a pool, it's Bakersfield.  In the fall the nearby cotton fields are stripped with a defoliant that will make you quite sick for a while if you get too near one of them just after application.  In the winter, you get tule fog, which is so thick you can barely see past the hood of your car when driving, and leads to all kinds of interesting traffic problems during the season.  Spring can be nice, but doesn't last very long before the summer heat slams in.  Windstorms kick up and blow sand and dirt from the west valley, near Interstate 5, blinding drivers on the freeway and creating lovely little pits all over your car windshield (and your face, if you're outside in the wind).

Oh it's paradise, I tell you.  My late husband and I moved there in 1983 because of a great job offer (for him) and because it put us closer to our families in LA.  Sadly, DH died 10 years later, and I moved away as fast as I could and have never looked back. 

I'm nearing retirement, and have been wondering if I should continue to rent my dinky LA-area apartment or move someplace cheaper where I might be able to buy my own home or condo.  Technically speaking, homes in Bakersfield would probably fit my budget, but you couldn't PAY me to live there again.

Edited August 25, 2018 by mousegirl

[Kohola3]

Lawdy, that sounds like hell on earth.  Come on out to the Midwest - great weather if you don't mind winter and reasonable prices for the most part.

[Bastet]

19 minutes ago, mousegirl said:

In the winter, you get tule fog, which is so thick you can barely see past the hood of your car when driving, and leads to all kinds of interesting traffic problems during the season. 

That shit is crazy!  I have relatives in Fresno (I'm in Los Angeles), and I will not go up to see them during fog season unless it's unavoidable.  A friend of mine moved up there a couple of years ago, and I tried to prepare her for it, but it really defies description and must be experienced.  Once she did, she (half-jokingly) asked her boss, "So, can we amend my contract to state I will be working from home on fog days?"

Anyway, Bakersfield is someplace I drive through on the way to/from Fresno, and just from that I'm with you -- Sure, you can get a house for only $275k, but that's because it's Bakersfield; you could give me the house and toss in a $275k stipend and I'd say no thanks.

[mousegirl]

Thanks for the invite, Kohola!  My problem is, as a native Californian, I don't handle the snow and ice bit very well.  I spent one school year teaching in Bend, OR, and did not enjoy the winter at all.  Also, my whole family lives in the LA area, and I love them and need them in my life on a regular basis. 

Oh, well.  I got a great deal on my rental - through connections, I found a 2-bed, 1-bath unit in Montrose (a very expensive neighborhood) for only $1100 a month.  Same-sized rentals around me go for twice that much. The landlord only rents to people who've been referred to him, and one of his long-time tenants is a close friend of one of my cousins, so I got in easy. It's old and kind of funky (built in the 1930's), but it's only 15 minutes from my job, and my brother and his family are a 5-minute drive away.  For this area, (and for me) it doesn't get much better. 

But I sometimes really envy people who live in the Midwest - you have just as many beautiful landscapes, sophisticated cities, and wonderful things to do as we have here in California, and your cost of living is so much more reasonable!

Edited August 25, 2018 by mousegirl

[Pickles]

Florida episode tonight. One of the children was named Tokyo. That is a first for me.

[twinks]

38 minutes ago, Pickles said:

Florida episode tonight. One of the children was named Tokyo. That is a first for me.

yeah, and the other is London...turned it off.

[KLovestoShop]

39 minutes ago, Pickles said:

Florida episode tonight. One of the children was named Tokyo. That is a first for me.

The other child is named London.  

[Bastet]

Is this a Ron Howard type thing, where they name the kids after where they were conceived?

[Mrs Huffnagle]

When one of the kids in an HH Family episode says "I'm the family comedian," I tend to turn it off. 

[doodlebug]

26 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Is this a Ron Howard type thing, where they name the kids after where they were conceived?

These particular kids were twins, so that would’ve been quite a feat unless they were on the Concorde at the time.

I personally have a hard time trusting the judgement of a couple who would name their kids Tokyo and London.  The wife’s excitement over finding a house with white walls didn’t change my impression, either.

Also, when your 6 year old complains that a perfectly decent bathroom is too small for her and her stuff; it might be time to re-evaluate your child rearing technique.

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, Pickles said:

Florida episode tonight. One of the children was named Tokyo. That is a first for me.

Weren’t those kids insufferable? They mugged nonstop for the camera. 

Edited August 25, 2018 by LittleIggy

[Bastet]

39 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

These particular kids were twins, so that would’ve been quite a feat unless they were on the Concorde at the time.

They'd have to be getting up there in kid years if they were conceived when the Concorde was still in use, but if that was the case, that might be the one time I found "name your kid after where she/he was conceived" a little bit funny on top of a lot tacky.

Let me guess (I didn't watch; I rarely do, and certainly not with kids featured) -- the HHs have probably never set foot in either city?  There is no logical, emotional, or other connection, and they just think they're cool and cosmopolitan naming twins after two major foreign cities?

[doodlebug]

6 hours ago, Bastet said:

They'd have to be getting up there in kid years if they were conceived when the Concorde was still in use, but if that was the case, that might be the one time I found "name your kid after where she/he was conceived" a little bit funny on top of a lot tacky.

Let me guess (I didn't watch; I rarely do, and certainly not with kids featured) -- the HHs have probably never set foot in either city?  There is no logical, emotional, or other connection, and they just think they're cool and cosmopolitan naming twins after two major foreign cities?

They never discussed the reasoning behind giving their kids such dopey names. I did get the impression that the wife, especially, felt she was just too amazing and a trend setter.  She had quite the extensions/hair color game and spent the episode tottering on sky-high heels. Seriously, she could barely walk in those things.

[ForReal]

I only half watched this episode. She was so enthralled with the white walls, and in one kitchen she said, "We could always paint the cabinets white." Why this fixation with white paint?

[Ohwell]

10 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Weren’t those kids insufferable? They mugged nonstop for the camera. 

Well, in fairness to the kids, their parents were insufferable, especially the mother.

[Pickles]

What did those parents do for a living? I only had it on in the background and just caught the kids' names. I know London is trendy for a girl, but Tokyo? That is just  embarrassing.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Hey, the mom is probably the one that named them London and Tokyo, so what do you expect?   

I have always been amazed at the house hunter's budgets on this show.     I bet a ton of these houses eventually get foreclosed on or short saled.     With the sudden downturns in some expensive markets, I think a lot of people will be walking away from these over priced houses.  

[doodlebug]

11 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Hey, the mom is probably the one that named them London and Tokyo, so what do you expect?   

I have always been amazed at the house hunter's budgets on this show.     I bet a ton of these houses eventually get foreclosed on or short saled.     With the sudden downturns in some expensive markets, I think a lot of people will be walking away from these over priced houses.  

The only thing I can say in this particular couple's defense is that they did say they had owned their prior home for more than 16 years.  Between appreciation and equity, they could have had a pretty substantial down payment on the new house.  It doesn't make up for the atrocious names they gave their kids, but it's something.

[aguabella]

Bakersfield:  although I certainly thought the agent was overselling, to be fair, I listened carefully to his comments about the "pool" and he did specify that $7,500 was the bottom of a very wide range and called it a "wading" pool.   In-ground pool kits are available so he was probably talking DIY for something cheaper, smaller and less deep than an above-ground hot tub.  Sure, the homeowners must have had something very different in mind (!!) but I don't believe he lied.

The metro area is usually the best predictor for pool cost.  Bakersfield is a very inexpensive place to live.  Guessing it's around the national average for a standard home so low 200K's.  Over the years, working with them, I've heard many CA residents refer to it as a "cow" town or a place to be "from".

That said, it wouldn't be the cheapest area of CA.  Because HGTV is rather Socal-centric, it feels that most people are thinking of LA when their posts refer to "CA".  (True?)  Homes in NorCal, towards OR (i.e. not the SF Bay Area) and/or several Central Valley regions might be even less expensive, on average, than Bakersfield.

Edited August 26, 2018 by aguabella

[aguabella]

On 8/16/2018 at 7:17 AM, Babalooie said:

Right.  We know how high the cost of living is in CA, even in Bakersfield.  As I learned from the Scott/Laci Peterson case, Bakersfield is a farming community.  I live in a farming community in N. Florida and our medium sized pool cost $27K with another $6K for a screened enclosure, so YES, that $7500 quote was ridiculous unless they want to build a huge above-ground pool.  That price could probably get you a good one of that type, maybe even with a deck around it.

 

Wasn't that a Modesto case?  Guessing but Modesto's prob about 30% more expensive than Bakersfield.  I wouldn't call it part of the Bay Area, by any means, but it's much closer to the site of Peterson's "fishing" trip.

ETA - posted about the "pool", above, if anyone's interested.

Edited August 26, 2018 by aguabella

[LittleIggy]

Putting this here because I can’t find where else to put it: Mountain Life in Colorado Springs, I’m not surprised the wife needed help getting out of that bathtub. She was so top-heavy, I’m surprised she didn’t tip over.  Oh, and those stiletto boots! Wonder if the oldest kid was from a prior marriage?

Re: Clayton, GA: I would have chosen that house for the three bear cubs alone! Too kawaii!

[chessiegal]

28 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Putting this here because I can’t find where else to put it: Mountain Life in Colorado Springs, I’m not surprised the wife needed help getting out of that bathtub. She was so top-heavy, I’m surprised she didn’t tip over.  Oh, and those stiletto boots! Wonder if the oldest kid was from a prior marriage?

Re: Clayton, GA: I would have chosen that house for the three bear cubs alone! Too kawaii!

What cracked me up about the Colorado Springs episode was one house had an exposed loft bedroom for their 12 year old son. Mom says not much privacy for him and Dad responds how much privacy does a 12 year old boy need? The side eye she gave him was hilarious.

[Bastet]

14 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

What cracked me up about the Colorado Springs episode was one house had an exposed loft bedroom for their 12 year old son. Mom says not much privacy for him and Dad responds how much privacy does a 12 year old boy need? The side eye she gave him was hilarious.

Points for flipping the script, where it would usually be the mom presented as being oblivious to the privacy needs of a boy going through puberty (and, conversely, the dad acting as if a girl of the same age wouldn't have the same need for privacy)?  Okay, no, probably just dumb as always.  But now I want to catch a re-airing of this for the mom's side-eye.

[LittleIggy]

At that age, I would have loved the loft.

[Babalooie]

19 hours ago, aguabella said:

Wasn't that a Modesto case? 

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

[suebee12]

I can't find the posts about this house and I was binge watching so don't even remember what city it was. The bright red house with the "triangle" left side and the "boxy" right side that had no egress to the backyard from the back of the house....how is this legal? I thought that a house had to have at least two ways out of it in case of fire. I must admit, I can't remember if there was a window that could be used as an exit or not...I was still shocked that there was no back door!( could have been the West Atlanta show)

[stillhere1900]

On 8/25/2018 at 9:48 PM, LittleIggy said:

Putting this here because I can’t find where else to put it: Mountain Life in Colorado Springs, I’m not surprised the wife needed help getting out of that bathtub. She was so top-heavy, I’m surprised she didn’t tip over.  Oh, and those stiletto boots! Wonder if the oldest kid was from a prior marriage?

 

I told my dh that she was trying waaaaaaay to hard with the big fake boobs and hair extentions. Probably common in CA (?)

Usually at the end they'll show what house was picked and the couple will say something about how long they've been there and show the inside of the house, not this time. Clearly when they showed a little girl's room all pink and decorated, I knew they had already purchased that house.

[LennieBriscoe]

Buffalo to Key West:

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

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

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

Edited August 27, 2018 by LennieBriscoe

[Vivigirl10]

15 minutes ago, LennieBriscoe said:

Buffalo to Key West:

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

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

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

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, Kiki620 said:

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

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

That's what I am thinking.  Supposedly, the producers only accept people who have already found a home and are in the process of buying.  However, I wonder if some of these shows aren't pre-conceived to end without any house being chosen; like maybe there's a realtor who's applied for the show and TPTB don't like any of the purchasers they have; so they set them up to use fake buyers who will be more 'interesting' to the viewers.  A good example is the recent Key West eppy.  It did appear that the realtor and the dad had a much closer relationship than is typical for realtor/client and the daughter was pretty, but shallow.  I could see TPTB sending them out to film even though they weren't buying.

[Kohola3]

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

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

[chessiegal]

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