Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

House Hunters: Buying in the USA


Recommended Posts

On 10/30/2018 at 9:43 AM, juliet73 said:

The buyer's "winged" eyeliner was so distracting! 

When she made an initial comment about loving travel because she learns new things, I thought "For example, eyelining secrets from the ancient Egyptians!"

  • Love 8
Link to comment
On 10/26/2018 at 12:19 PM, Sweet Summer Child said:

God, the Redmond wife came off as such a bitch.  Not only did she have this ugly smirk on her face most of the time, she bragged about "stealing" her husband from another girl.  How charming.

Agreed.

I liked the place they got, with the acre of land, but wow that price -- market out there is crazy.

Despite the third place being on the freeway, I would have been tempted by the view.  First place was the worst so was glad they went with one of the others -- the thought of that place being $1 m was just insane.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

Re Chicago, paying $715K for a new construction 2/2 in Lakeview is nuts IMO.  HOA is $110 now (so at least that was okay), but just wait, lots of new construction is poor quality, I bet that will go up.  I would have gone with the first (well, maybe not because of parking), or more likely one of the other 56 places he allegedly saw.  As for the first, the idea of turning a 3/2 into a 1/2 from the realtor was totally crazy from a financial perspective -- although I guess it would save on property taxes if you aren't planning to resell.  You can get a much better place for $600K in Lakeview than the places they saw.  What I would have done with place 1 was turn the "office" into the guest bedroom and then had 2 beds and an office upstairs.  You are with one other person, who cares if there's a master bathroom?  Even if you have a kid (hypothetically, assuming they stay together and marry), it's not that big a thing to share with a baby.

As someone who lived in a 4th floor walkup (with a roof deck, near the 2nd place they bought) for years, the complaints about elevators were lame and not realistic to the area.  Like the buyer I prefer vintage, and non white cabinets, but the focus on the stairs being a showstopper when shopping for a condo was a bit eye rolling.  If a coffered ceiling is some big thing, they can be installed.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
1 hour ago, msmarjoribanks said:

Re Chicago, paying $715K for a new construction 2/2 in Lakeview is nuts IMO.  HOA is $110 now (so at least that was okay), but just wait, lots of new construction is poor quality, I bet that will go up. 

 You can get a much better place for $600K in Lakeview than the places they saw. 

According to public records, the unit below them sold for $565k a month earlier and it's 1000 sq ft bigger!  The unit they bought also is $2000 more a year in property taxes.  I guess they thought the rooftop deck was worth paying an extra $150k.  

  • Love 4
Link to comment
33 minutes ago, juliet73 said:

According to public records, the unit below them sold for $565k a month earlier and it's 1000 sq ft bigger!  The unit they bought also is $2000 more a year in property taxes.  I guess they thought the rooftop deck was worth paying an extra $150k.  

I think a roof deck is usually worth about $100K in a place like that.  If there are no differences beyond that, nuts.  Do you have a link to redfin (or the like) for either place?

  • Love 1
Link to comment

I caught an episode where the HHers were British pyschics who met "at a university for mediumship."  I didn't even know "mediumship" was a word.  Has anyone else seen this one?  Despite being able to talk to ghosts, they were pretty boring.  They were buying in SoCal.

  • Love 5
Link to comment
14 minutes ago, Sweet Summer Child said:

I caught an episode where the HHers were British pyschics who met "at a university for mediumship."  I didn't even know "mediumship" was a word.  Has anyone else seen this one?  Despite being able to talk to ghosts, they were pretty boring.  They were buying in SoCal.

It was a repeat so HH could keep up with their Halloween theme they had going all week. Guess they ran out of new eps.

  • Love 3
Link to comment

Grand Rapids - I wanted to punch the wife in the face!  He wanted move in ready and wasn't into doing an reno.  She wanted a fixer, but wanted her husband to do ALL the work.  First of all, painting and replacing light fixtures does not classify the house as a fixer.  She could have easily done those herself.  Then she acts surprised when he doesn't want to make the kitchen window taller or add double French doors (in place of a single).  It's not like those are 30 minute changes lady!! I had to laugh though when they were looking at paint samples and basically chose the same color gray that was already on the wall.  And her new light fixtures were fugly!! 

  • Love 6
Link to comment

When she held up that gray paint sample to the wall it looked like the exact same color to me, and if it wasn't, it was not worth painting.

Her ears sticking out of her hair distracted me. I have fine hair with very little body, I tuck my hair behind my ears because I would hate to have my ears sticking out.

Link to comment

Juliet73, I thought the exact same thing.  Her attitude about raising the height of the window was just dumb.  Did she even think about what it might look like from the outside, in addition to the work and expense required to undertake such a job?  The other thing that really grated on me was her repeated statement in the new build of only 1400 sf, that she thought the bedrooms would be larger in a "new build".  It can be an older house, or a new house, but when you have only 1400 sf total, the bedrooms aren't going to be huge, and you aren't going to get a giant master suite. Did all of these HH's flunk geometry/math in high school?  Yes, I could barely tell the difference in the paint colors they were choosing, but thank goodness she at least got to put her personal touches on that house.  I was afraid the world would end if that didn't happen.   

  • Love 8
Link to comment
10 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

When she held up that gray paint sample to the wall it looked like the exact same color to me, and if it wasn't, it was not worth painting.

Her ears sticking out of her hair distracted me. I have fine hair with very little body, I tuck my hair behind my ears because I would hate to have my ears sticking out.

OMG! I thought it was just me and I was seeing things. They had two samples up and the one they picked was the same color they already had. The other one was lighter which I thought they were going to pick. I'm glad I can come here and find out I'm not losing my mind. LOL!!!

  • Love 6
Link to comment

That HH wife drove me up a wall with her stupid suggestions for renovating. We bought our house new in 1987 and my "personal touches" were furniture, window coverings, and pictures on the walls. We have recently put in new kitchen countertops and flooring, swapped carpet in the family room for wood flooring, and are in the middle of a master bath reno, removing a "garden" tub and replacing it with a big shower and putting a linen closet where the old shower was. Tastes and styles change over the years and, in our case, it took 30 years before we felt the need to do major work.

1400 square feet means tiny rooms in a house with more than two bedrooms. Yep, they should do the math.

  • Love 5
Link to comment
11 minutes ago, laredhead said:

The other thing that really grated on me was her repeated statement in the new build of only 1400 sf, that she thought the bedrooms would be larger in a "new build".  It can be an older house, or a new house, but when you have only 1400 sf total, the bedrooms aren't going to be huge, and you aren't going to get a giant master suite.

I haven't seen the episode yet but this is a House Hunters pet peeve of mine, when people go into small places and complain that they're ... small. Square footage doesn't lie. You can fake it to a certain extent, but if you're looking at a 3-bedroom 1200-square-foot house, yes, the rooms are going to be small. That's the way dimensions work.

  • Love 6
Link to comment

Smallish? Check. New build with below-average finishes? Check. Price tag around Grand Rapids? WTF? 

Before she entertains herself thinking she’s going to Joanna Gaines the window and French doors, maybe save up for countertop and shower/tub upgrades. 

Ha, yes those paint colors were so close I thought she was goofing on her husband.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

How much was the house they bought?  Mid 250’s?  

I wonder why they picked the two houses in Rockford (or the Rockford area, more likely) as decoys?  It just seemed odd to pick two houses in the same small town, a town they were not looking to live in.   Unless the realtor is based there.  Can’t remember his name or I would look him up.

The houses in Rockford are probably cheaper now, after the water issues that have been discovered there.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

I thought I was the only one annoyed by the Grand Rapids woman.  I came here to try and get somebody to agree with me and here I find a bunch of agreeing posts!!  I just couldn't stand her.

It really bothers me when HHs say they want to put their stamp on the house and it makes me roll my eyes.  Production needs to come up with some new phrases. They all are exactly the same now.  We're hardcore HH watchers..not someone who just watches 1 a month and wouldn't notice.

  • Love 7
Link to comment

LOL...the Grand Rapids husband looked so dead-eyed, like he gave up, years ago.  When his high maintenance wife kept telling him about all the stuff HE could do for renovations, I felt so bad for him.  What a rude thing, to tell your spouse, "Hey, you're gonna put in all the work to make my dream home a reality, while I sit on my ass and watch."  But, hey, he agreed to marry her.  :P

  • Love 2
Link to comment
5 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

How much was the house they bought?  Mid 250’s?  

I wonder why they picked the two houses in Rockford (or the Rockford area, more likely) as decoys?  It just seemed odd to pick two houses in the same small town, a town they were not looking to live in.   Unless the realtor is based there.  Can’t remember his name or I would look him up.

The houses in Rockford are probably cheaper now, after the water issues that have been discovered there.

I wondered about that too.  Seemed obvious they would pick the first one because of location.  I do think it was the cheapest one, maybe $225K?

Hilarious about the paint color being basically the same, and I also thought the new light fixtures were terrible.  I did generally like the place they got, nice yard.

Edited by msmarjoribanks
  • Love 1
Link to comment

Anyone watch Mt Clemens, MI?  That's in my general zone of interest, so I did, and predicted they'd go with the first.  Some hilarious grey paint stuff and for once pulling up the carpet apparently (and realistically) did not lead to usable hard wood, but I did like the place.

Edited by msmarjoribanks
  • Love 1
Link to comment

Still catching up on the Halloween episodes -- "world traveler" in Atlanta whose shtick was she needed a full sized room for a walk-in closet and space for her obsession with Halloween decorations.  Wanted a townhouse because a condo wouldn't allow proper display of the decorations (and mentioned in passing wanting a bit more privacy/space/outdoors, which I hope was the real reason).

Said she wanted Buckhead, saw a condo building with lots of amenities that I suspect was over her budget with assessments, a supposedly nearby (I don't know Atlanta) townhouse in a less walkable area that had closet space she loved but she thought was ugly on the outside, and a place in Marietta that she liked the outside of, but was too far away.  Third was the cheapest but the second was also in budget. She went with the second.

Link to comment
30 minutes ago, msmarjoribanks said:

Said she wanted Buckhead, saw a condo building with lots of amenities that I suspect was over her budget with assessments, a supposedly nearby (I don't know Atlanta) townhouse in a less walkable area that had closet space she loved but she thought was ugly on the outside, and a place in Marietta that she liked the outside of, but was too far away.  Third was the cheapest but the second was also in budget. She went with the second.

I thought she made the right choice with the second one.  She can always "pretty" up the outside with some plants.

Link to comment
16 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I thought she made the right choice with the second one.  She can always "pretty" up the outside with some plants.

Yeah, given that she had her heart set on a townhouse, it was the best fit.  I don't usually like the high rise thing, but actually kind of did like the first one, but I think it was over budget with all the costs.

Continues to be a HHers weekend for me (I really need to get some stuff today, yesterday I went to look at some rentals with my sister, so that complemented the HHers). 

I watched the young Pittsburgh couple who wanted a place under $200K, seemed nervous about some aspects of home ownership, husband cooked, wife wanted a separate kitchen due to noise issues -- for once, no open concept!  They didn't bother me at all, can't recall any particular quirks being played up.  They looked at a house way out with a huge yard that I figured wasn't really a possibility due to location, a very cute row house that seemed to be in the city? (I wish they'd be more clear on location) that was overbudget and needed work (and the husband didn't want a row house), and then a 1930 house in the Brookline neighborhood (which from how it looked and was described seemed like a perfect location for them, but I don't know Pittsburgh).  The third was in budget and didn't need immediate work and had way more space than the second place, so even with concerns about closet space and a scary-looking set of front stairs, it seemed the obvious choice. Wife claimed to be nervous about it being "too much house" but on the whole it seemed less work than the second one.

I'd hire a snow service to deal with the stairs over Pittsburgh winters, personally.

Link to comment
On 9/14/2017 at 8:34 AM, MortysCleaningLady said:

Did anyone watch the Rochester chiropractor and realtor wife last night?   He was trying a bit too hard to be zany, but I did actually like the house they bought.   Over time, they'll upgrade as necessary.   It was a pretty special location; not one that would come on the market with any great frequency (though I don't know Rochester) and it met their needs.   Twice her budget though -- Egads!!!

 

On 9/14/2017 at 8:34 AM, MortysCleaningLady said:
On 9/16/2017 at 8:13 PM, laredhead said:

I'm catching up on this past week's episodes and saw the Rochester couple who bought a house that had a room that looked like a cave.  Talk about a true "man cave"!  I loved his comment about not noticing the orange carpet in the cave room at first.  I was so surprised that they made that the master bedroom, but the wife seems to have a great sense of humor and I liked the couple a lot.  That house has a lot of potential and the amount of land is great for a family.

 

Watched the rerun of this one too, the central conflict (such as it was, they seemed to get along fine) was that the wife wanted a starter home (they had a toddler and baby on the way, she wanted a smaller place and to move after 5 years).  The husband, on the other hand, wanted to just get the forever home.  Not knowing who was right about their budget, if they could swing the almost $300K the husband wanted to and they ended up spending, I think that's really a better plan.  The bubble and bust where lots of people got burned on plans to hold for only a few years seems to have changed many people's minds away from the whole "starter home for just a few years," and given transaction costs, I don't think that's a bad thing (although in this case the wife was a real estate agent so that would have saved some). Plus moving is just a hassle.

Anyway, I really loved the place they got and figured they could fix it up (cosmetic stuff) over time.  I did not anticipate they'd use the cave room for the master, and thought that was great.  

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Just saw the Boston episode, where the wife wanted acres and a barn for her alpacas.  They seemed pretty down-to-earth for having a million dollar budget, which was nice.  I heard them say they could work with more things that were not exactly their taste than ripping them out, and I don't think the words "total gut job" were ever uttered.  I was surprised they went with the 17th century farmhouse, since the wife said she really didn't like old houses, and that's pretty much as old as they come, in the US.  It looked like people have always taken good care of it, though, and that makes a huge difference.

Anyway, they seemed like nice enough people, and I didn't want to punch them in the throat, so it was a good episode.  But, the bow-tie the realtor was wearing was disconcerting.  No, dude.  Just...no. 

ETA: Oops, didn't realize this one was a rerun.  Sorry about that.

Edited by Sweet Summer Child
  • Love 1
Link to comment

Knoxville wife. Wanted a ranch with long hallways, so her kids could play soccer in the house. That wouldn’t be too annoying, would it? Have to recreate those childhood memories! And she had a phobia about basements. Would not even look at them. These were nice finished basements. Bizarre.

They didn’t want any projects, but then chose the house that needed projects. The house they currently owned looked nice and large. Interesting how they seemed to really downsize. Had two kids and a third on the way. 

 

He was a youth pastor, but I swear he pronounced it as pasture. Lol. Maybe I misheard. 

  • Love 4
Link to comment

Konoxville. Their current house was a McMansion which most young people are moving into. Who knew pastors made such a good living?! The wife was a little bug eyed but they seemed to like each other which is a good thing. LOL!!! Their daughters were cute, too. Overall, the house was meh. It wasn’t too grande but it was a little dull. It just didn’t have any wow factor. I did like that they thought it was their forever home and they weren’t ever gonna move. I hope they are happy.

Edited by ByaNose
  • Love 4
Link to comment
1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

Wife in Knoxville - get over yourself! What a bitch. Honey, all the emoting in the world is not getting you your own show.

Ha, a few minutes after I read this, the husband said he should have his own show. No, no, you shouldn’t.

  • Love 4
Link to comment
1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

Wife in Knoxville - get over yourself! What a bitch. Honey, all the emoting in the world is not getting you your own show.

So much this.  I liked all the houses, however, although I hope they found out the deal on the water issue (that basement seemed mostly above ground too) and got comfort it would not be a continuing problem.  I thought the first one was adorable and would have liked it, and the third seemed like the best fit, but whatever.  The wife's basement phobia was such a ridiculous HH shtick but she made herself seem super unpleasant with her refusal to go down into the first place's basement.  The soccer in the hallway thing was so so very annoying (and unrealistic or just a super self-indulgent thing to fixate on -- that hallway looked like where I used to play fetch with my cat, heh, but it/the area wasn't really big enough to have the kids running in it, certainly once they are a year or two older).  Also, play soccer outside, or, here's a thought, in the basement!

The outside part of the place they got was great, so I see the attraction, but it seemed a bad fit given the options even before the new baby announcement.

Agree the daughters were really cute, and the husband seemed pleasant enough.

Edited by msmarjoribanks
  • Love 3
Link to comment
2 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I suspect the Knoxville couple were house poor, and had to sell that nice big house because they couldn't afford it.

I doubt youth pastors make a lot, and she apparently painted flower pictures for a living. ? Her basement shtick irked.

  • Love 5
Link to comment
9 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Wife in Knoxville - get over yourself! What a bitch. Honey, all the emoting in the world is not getting you your own show.

I couldn't stand her. Wanting a hallway for her kids to play soccer was so silly - did her kids even play soccer?

I did like the zip line in the backyard.

  • Love 4
Link to comment
1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

I couldn't stand her. Wanting a hallway for her kids to play soccer was so silly - did her kids even play soccer?

I did like the zip line in the backyard.

Did they add the zip line or was it already there? Wait! They already owned the house while "House Hunting". What was I thinking. LOL!!!

  • Love 4
Link to comment
Quote

I suspect the Knoxville couple were house poor, and had to sell that nice big house because they couldn't afford it.

I agree.  Especially now that they have another little one on the way.  

How could the wife not see that lovely, bright, basement room as a necessity with a smallish upstairs?  After all the wailing about a fear of water in the basement, and then actually finding what appeared to be water damage on the ceiling, and then......nothing???  No follow-up?  Huh.  

All her over the top dramatics were, I fear, an attempt to be cute.

"Soccer hallway".  Guess we've heard it all now?  

  • Love 5
Link to comment
13 hours ago, Pickles said:

That backyard was also so woodsy. I was thinking about ticks and snakes.

My husband referred to the one they chose as the Tick Preserve house.

You're supposed to teach your kids NOT to play ball in the house, dimwit, not to seek out a hallway to dedicate to the activity. She really got a bad edit, between that idiocy and her overdone weirdness about basements.

  • Love 8
Link to comment

Who plays soccer in the house, and that hallway wasn't long enough for that.  Those girls will grow fast, and I guess they are planning to have them share a room forever.  I love the yard of the house they bought, but I think that house is too small to accommodate everything they wanted to have - library, painting room, etc.  

I understand not wanting a dark, dank, dirty, creepy basement, but none of those basements were bad.  I would have loved any of them.  That and her constant saying over and over she wanted a long hallway to play soccer in like she did when she was growing up, really grated on my nerves.  She's being added to my list of annoying HH's.

  • Love 9
Link to comment
On 11/4/2018 at 9:38 AM, msmarjoribanks said:

I watched the young Pittsburgh couple who wanted a place under $200K, seemed nervous about some aspects of home ownership, husband cooked, wife wanted a separate kitchen due to noise issues -- for once, no open concept!  They didn't bother me at all, can't recall any particular quirks being played up.  They looked at a house way out with a huge yard that I figured wasn't really a possibility due to location, a very cute row house that seemed to be in the city? (I wish they'd be more clear on location) that was overbudget and needed work (and the husband didn't want a row house), and then a 1930 house in the Brookline neighborhood (which from how it looked and was described seemed like a perfect location for them, but I don't know Pittsburgh).  The third was in budget and didn't need immediate work and had way more space than the second place, so even with concerns about closet space and a scary-looking set of front stairs, it seemed the obvious choice. Wife claimed to be nervous about it being "too much house" but on the whole it seemed less work than the second one.

I'd hire a snow service to deal with the stairs over Pittsburgh winters, personally.

With the back entrance where the garage is, I doubt they'll be climbing those stairs very often. I feel bad for their mail carrier, though!

  • Love 2
Link to comment
17 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

HH did it again. I was surprised to se new HH at 9 ET, only to recognize them as repackaged Beachfront Bargain Hunt episodes.

Grrr. I wondered why there were so many HHs scheduled to record tonight.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

And even more annoying was an episode where the children get a say. Not sure who decided kids weighing in was cute, but they should be fired. And the person who decided little "customer in training" carts at the grocery store should be tarred and feathered.

  • Love 7
Link to comment

The Knoxville wife was so over the top.  She was trying way too hard to be cutesy and her "hey look at me being so scared of finished basements" was tiring within the first minute!  She didn't want an open concept, yet she wanted the kids to be able to play soccer in the house!?  I had to fast forward through most of the episode because she was beyond annoying!!  He wasn't bad, but she's in my top 10 of worst HHs.

Gulfport:  I liked the condo she chose, but I was surprised they didn't show the inside of it at the end.  It was completely move in ready and she wasn't doing any reno so I didn't understand why they just showed her and her friend sitting at the pool.  Weird. 

Hampton Beach, NH:  looks like a BBH episode and the entire family was involved.  I watched the full episode in less than 3 minutes.  I think a 1 bedroom condo for a family of 5 is going to get old real quick, especially as the kids get older.

Fl ep:  The wife could barely open her eyes because her fake lashes were so heavy!  And her need for a "Kardashian" closet was annoying!  As a couple, they didn't seem to think too highly of each other.

Edited by juliet73
  • Love 5
Link to comment

Completely disliked both the husband and wife from Florida.  I just wanted to slap her face every time she said Kardashian closet.  I hate to tell her but none of her closets will come close to one of their closets.  And he was no better with his snide remarks.  I kept wondering how these two people married each other. 

  • Love 9
Link to comment
6 minutes ago, juliet73 said:

Gulfport:  I liked the condo she chose, but I was surprised they didn't show the inside of it at the end.  It was completely move it ready and she wasn't doing any reno so I didn't understand why they just showed her and her friend sitting at the pool.  Weird. 

Hampton Beach, NH:  looks like a BBH episode and the entire family was involved.  I watched the full episode in less than 3 minutes.  I think a 1 bedroom condo for a family of 5 is going to get old real quick, especially as the kids get older.

Both of these episodes were repackaged Beachfront Bargain Hunt episodes, not new HH episodes.

  • Love 2
Link to comment
×
×
  • Create New...