House Hunters: Buying in the USA

[Ohwell]

5 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

And probably pay a ton of taxes on the gain.

Yeah, but I'd have some money left over from the sale of the expensive house to pay the taxes, right?

[Kohola3]

19 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

Yeah, but I'd have some money left over from the sale of the expensive house to pay the taxes, right?

Theoretically, yes.  Of course it all depends on the price you'd get, what you are buying with the sale money, and your tax bracket.  It's all in the numbers!

I don't have any idea where those homes are and whether they are in a good area to buy and if they are too fancy in relation to the surrounding homes.  You can build a castle in a typical suburban neighborhood but you wouldn't be able to sell it for as much because of the location.

[biakbiak]

59 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Theoretically, yes.  Of course it all depends on the price you'd get, what you are buying with the sale money, and your tax bracket.  It's all in the numbers!

Per the article you can take a cash payout instead of the house. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

One man who won a house in the early give away years, was given the house keys, and the second the camera was off, he sold to a local entrepreneur.    He's about the only recipient of the Dream Home who actually had a dream realized.     My understanding is one family accepted the money, and the agreement they had was the second they were running out of money on utilities, and everything, then they would sell and go back to real life, and that's what they did.       I think just like the St. Jude houses, there is a cash value instead of taking the house, it's less than the value of the house, but it's available money, and you can pay the taxes instead of getting a mortgage to do that.     

The one they built at the old Denver airport (Stapleton?) was very modern, and had a very flat roof.    I don't understand how anyone could live with that one in heavy snow country, and that one was also very short on closet and storage space.  

[ehall1052]

4 hours ago, ByaNose said:

It looks,like people still can’t afford the houses they win on HGTV. If I won I would stay there a week or two and hopefully sell the sucker. It has a beautiful view. I stopped entering years ago. I can’t recall if they had a special host or a big special but I would definitely make it a point to watch the show and the male & female designer buy everything and decorate the house. Maybe, I got bored because I never won. LOL!!!!!

https://people.com/home/former-hgtv-dream-home-for-sale-photos/

I’ve tried to research if the Dream House in Mexico Beach, FL  (early 2000s) survived Hurricane Michael. That’s the house my husband and I filled out the entry form every day and wanted to win. We loved the area. Does anyone know the condition of the house now?

[Ottis]

Norfolk (catching up)... so the very young guy thinks he will need a chairlift soon, because he played football “up to college,” and yet he does rock wall climbing? I think maybe he’s just lazy. 

And yeah, the wife was pretty bad. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

As far as I know, only one house survived intact in Mexico Beach.    That was a house that was specially built to withstand hurricanes, and the owners let others use it after the hurricane.    

The Dream House was almost 5 miles away from Mexico Beach, but the one overhead picture I saw showed it to be in a very vulnerable location.    I couldn't find any confirmation either way, but I doubt it survived intact.   

[juliet73]

On 1/21/2019 at 8:17 PM, ehall1052 said:

I’ve tried to research if the Dream House in Mexico Beach, FL  (early 2000s) survived Hurricane Michael. That’s the house my husband and I filled out the entry form every day and wanted to win. We loved the area. Does anyone know the condition of the house now?

 

21 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

As far as I know, only one house survived intact in Mexico Beach.    That was a house that was specially built to withstand hurricanes, and the owners let others use it after the hurricane.    

The Dream House was almost 5 miles away from Mexico Beach, but the one overhead picture I saw showed it to be in a very vulnerable location.    I couldn't find any confirmation either way, but I doubt it survived intact.   

The address for the house is 4814 Highway 98, Mexico Beach.   This is info I've found so far - I don't know if the property is featured in the photos, but from looking at Google maps, I believe it's in the vicinity.  

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/12/us/mexico-beach-fl-damage-map.html

Edited January 23, 2019 by juliet73

[Pickles]

The Michigan episode tonight. Gosh, I thought all of those houses were unappealing. The house they chose had so many different types of flooring. The kitchen had that ugly mosaic tile. I honestly would not have picked any of the three homes. 

[LittleIggy]

Ann Arbor: I actually liked the house they picked. There was a lot of cosmetic stuff that needed to be done, but I thought it was cool. Especially liked the patio and pond with the waterfall.

[suebee12]

I watched a re-run that was in Indiana where the woman wanted a "tiny" house but it was a fun episode because she bought a "real" house...really small but it had a foundation! It was just under 400 square feet that needed reno. It only cost $10,000 way under her budget. She had her father(who was a mason) reconfigure the house and when they were finished it was beautiful. I loved the dark blue the outside was painted and the way she laid out the house it seemed spacious! I still don't know why someone wants to sleep in an elevated loft area instead of a bedroom but I guess that is her prerogative just not my cup of tea! This was so much better than the people who want a teeny, tiny moveable house. It proves you can buy a small house that if well planned is quite livable!

[Booklady1017]

I know this is kind of a general question, but it does relate to the House Hunter shows. How many of you welcome fixers and having to do renovations in your own homes? I preferably wouldn't like to do projects. I wouldn't want to have to deal with having to live in the house with a construction project. If it was possible to live elsewhere and do the project, then fine. 

[LittleIggy]

On 10/26/2018 at 1:00 AM, LittleIggy said:

When they said how much they paid, I shouted an expletive and startled my cat Neela who was curled up beside me. I didn’t like the wife either. She thought she was so witty and clever. The husband is paying for his own bad decision...?

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Booklady1017 said:

I know this is kind of a general question, but it does relate to the House Hunter shows. How many of you welcome fixers and having to do renovations in your own homes? I preferably wouldn't like to do projects. I wouldn't want to have to deal with having to live in the house with a construction project. If it was possible to live elsewhere and do the project, then fine. 

Answering in Small Talk ...

[Booklady1017]

23 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Answering in Small Talk ...

Thanks. I didn't realize it went there.

[Pickles]

Ugh, a tiny house episode tonight. The couple bought a vineyard and wanted a tiny house on the vineyard land. I just could not do it. Two tiny kids and two adults in what? Four hundred square feet? I would lose my mind. 

[juliet73]

Lexington:  2001 is considered an "old home", but the wife complains when the new builds lacks "old home character."  She wants a white kitchen, but the brand new white kitchen in the 2nd house is not the white kitchen she was imagining.  I'm glad the 3rd house had a pantry in the kitchen because there were barely any cabinets.  They both wanted a pool, yet they picked the house where a pool isn't allowed.  

[pep4]

Awesome Atlanta couple where he looked like a Crash Test Dummies Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm version of James Harden ("His beard had turned from black into bright white"): 

They had us laughing the entire episode.  His, uh, playing with the elephant trunk faucet was the LULZ.  Give them a series!  (He's a little too much of a ham, though, so HGTV producers would surely coach him up to annoying levels.)  

[doodlebug]

8 hours ago, Pickles said:

Ugh, a tiny house episode tonight. The couple bought a vineyard and wanted a tiny house on the vineyard land. I just could not do it. Two tiny kids and two adults in what? Four hundred square feet? I would lose my mind. 

I think they had another ‘real’ house someplace else and were planning to use the tiny house for weekends or during harvest or when one of them needed to be there late or get there early.  They acted like it was going to be their full time home, but I don’t buy it. Nobody with any common sense is going to live there 24/7 with a toddler and a newborn.

[Pickles]

2 hours ago, doodlebug said:

I think they had another ‘real’ house someplace else and were planning to use the tiny house for weekends or during harvest or when one of them needed to be there late or get there early.  They acted like it was going to be their full time home, but I don’t buy it. Nobody with any common sense is going to live there 24/7 with a toddler and a newborn.

I don't know if that was the case. I think they said they had sold the house they owned and had been living with their in laws. They wanted the tiny house, so they could be on the vineyard premises full time. That was my understanding and why I thought they were nuts trying to do that with two children.

of course, we know they don't tell the truth on these episodes.

[chessiegal]

What was that large structure that looked like it could be a house behind where the tiny house was parked? We missed the beginning. Was that offices or something to do with the business?

[Ohwell]

20 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

What was that large structure that looked like it could be a house behind where the tiny house was parked? We missed the beginning. Was that offices or something to do with the business?

I missed the beginning, too, and wondered about that building.  

[Pickles]

21 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

What was that large structure that looked like it could be a house behind where the tiny house was parked? We missed the beginning. Was that offices or something to do with the business?

Wasn't that where they did the tastings and had the barrels of wine and whatever else for the business?

[Kohola3]

42 minutes ago, Pickles said:

Wasn't that where they did the tastings and had the barrels of wine and whatever else for the business?

I assumed so but I don't believe they ever said.

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, Pickles said:

Wasn't that where they did the tastings and had the barrels of wine and whatever else for the business?

We saw them indoors someplace where there were cupboards full of wine as well as tables apparently set up for a tasting which I think was probably the interior of that building.  It appeared to be quite large, it seems to me that it would've been cheaper and more practical to use part of that space for a place to live at least temporarily.  If they are really living in that tiny house full time, I can't believe they will be staying there long; they are going to need something bigger very soon.  Maybe they're planning to build a regular house on the site and just want to  live there during construction.

[edie3]

I dont know if it is from reading this forum, but Tiny House people get on my nerves.  I think it is unfair to everyone in the family to expect to live in one.  If it was one person or maybe 2, it would be okay.  But kids need to run and jump and play inside and outside.

[Empress1]

On 1/25/2019 at 2:11 PM, edie3 said:

I dont know if it is from reading this forum, but Tiny House people get on my nerves.  I think it is unfair to everyone in the family to expect to live in one.  If it was one person or maybe 2, it would be okay.  But kids need to run and jump and play inside and outside.

I was annoyed that they snuck in a tiny house episode because I intentionally don't watch them. I find them pretentious and a bit classist. People have been living in small spaces for the entirety of human civilization. 95% of NYC residents live in small spaces. To me, people who want tiny houses are using that as a way to separate themselves from "those people." Otherwise they'd just get small apartments or trailers. 

[tvrox]

Was anyone else confused about where that vineyard was? Maybe because I'm in the DC area that I noticed it. But I swear at the beginning they said it was West Virginia. But the episode description said Northern Virginia, and I think later in the episode they also said Virginia. I hope HGTV realizes that West Virginia and Virginia are two different states.

Also I was watching an old episode of Roseanne today where Becky moves into a trailer, and it occurred to me that these tiny houses are just fancier trailers.

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, tvrox said:

Was anyone else confused about where that vineyard was? Maybe because I'm in the DC area that I noticed it. But I swear at the beginning they said it was West Virginia. But the episode description said Northern Virginia, and I think later in the episode they also said Virginia. I hope HGTV realizes that West Virginia and Virginia are two different states.

 

It was in Virginia. The family originally lived in WV then bought the winery in VA.

[Empress1]

11 hours ago, tvrox said:

Also I was watching an old episode of Roseanne today where Becky moves into a trailer, and it occurred to me that these tiny houses are just fancier trailers.

Exactly. See my previous comment. Trailers have a negative connotation and tiny houses don't.

[Ohwell]

12 hours ago, tvrox said:

Was anyone else confused about where that vineyard was? Maybe because I'm in the DC area that I noticed it. But I swear at the beginning they said it was West Virginia. But the episode description said Northern Virginia, and I think later in the episode they also said Virginia. I hope HGTV realizes that West Virginia and Virginia are two different states.

I think they said the winery was in Purcellville.

[CruiseDiva]

The thing that bothered me was that the tiny house was parked right in front of the huge deck offering a view from the winery building where it's assumed the "tastings' are held. Goodbye view for wine tasting guests.

[edie3]

20 hours ago, Empress1 said:

95% of NYC residents live in small spaces.

Now a show about real apartments in NYC and how you cope with less space would interest me.

[Kohola3]

Just now, edie3 said:

Now a show about real apartments in NYC and how you cope with less space would interest me.

What?  No chef's kitchen?  No separate office, craft room, media room, play room, man cave, and she shed?  No walk in closet with a window?  No ensuite bathroom the size of an arena?  Perish the thought!  

[izabella]

1 hour ago, edie3 said:

Now a show about real apartments in NYC and how you cope with less space would interest me.

I like shows with small cottages and small spaces, and wish that was the focus of "tiny  house" hunting shows.  They have running water and electricity and real bathrooms.  The conceit of the tiny house people is living off the grid and using composting toilets as if that was some virtue.  Never mind they aren't fire safe, legal in most places, nor insulated for weather.

[Kohola3]

11 minutes ago, izabella said:

I like shows with small cottages and small spaces, and wish that was the focus of "tiny  house" hunting shows. 

I grew up in what would be considered a tiny house (1000 square feet) and lived my entire adult life in an even smaller one (900 square feet).  I had none of the things that people seem to think absolutely essential and yet I am a healthy, functioning adult.

I would love to see people looking at smaller homes, happy to be able to afford something of their own. I'd love to see how people configure things in small spaces - realistically, not that "tiny home" idiocy.  That would be interesting.

With that said, the house porn viewers would undoubtedly be horrified at a single bathroom (no ensuite - gasp!) for the entire family, no walk in closet, or no butler's pantry.  So we'll never have a show like that.

[Booklady1017]

On 1/24/2019 at 10:56 PM, Pickles said:

Ugh, a tiny house episode tonight. The couple bought a vineyard and wanted a tiny house on the vineyard land. I just could not do it. Two tiny kids and two adults in what? Four hundred square feet? I would lose my mind. 

I didn't get that either. 

On 1/25/2019 at 9:32 AM, Pickles said:

I don't know if that was the case. I think they said they had sold the house they owned and had been living with their in laws. They wanted the tiny house, so they could be on the vineyard premises full time. That was my understanding and why I thought they were nuts trying to do that with two children.

of course, we know they don't tell the truth on these episodes.

I could understand if they wanted to live there and build a house but didn't want to live off premises while they built it, so they got a tiny house in the meantime. That's probably what they will end up doing, because I cannot see them living in that house for that long.

[Booklady1017]

On 1/25/2019 at 2:11 PM, edie3 said:

I dont know if it is from reading this forum, but Tiny House people get on my nerves.  I think it is unfair to everyone in the family to expect to live in one.  If it was one person or maybe 2, it would be okay.  But kids need to run and jump and play inside and outside.

Yes, if singles and couples want to do it, I get it, but yes it's unfair for a child.

17 hours ago, tvrox said:

Was anyone else confused about where that vineyard was? Maybe because I'm in the DC area that I noticed it. But I swear at the beginning they said it was West Virginia. But the episode description said Northern Virginia, and I think later in the episode they also said Virginia. I hope HGTV realizes that West Virginia and Virginia are two different states.

Also I was watching an old episode of Roseanne today where Becky moves into a trailer, and it occurred to me that these tiny houses are just fancier trailers.

I was confused too. I heard both Virginia and W Virginia and I couldn't make if they said they were from W Virginia or the winery was in W Virginia. Maybe it is as the other poster said, they were from W Virginia but the winery is in Virginia.

[CrazyInAlabama]

The new episode on now about the recent graduate buying in Detroit already has me seeing red.   If I told my realtor I don't want a condo, and she told me that I have to listen to my friend and get a condo, then that realtor would be history.     I'm assuming the house hunt is in the suburbs, because inside Detroit there a lot yo can get for less than her $150k budget.  

Then the first house is way over budget, so realtor would absolutely be gone.    The realtor has to take her purse Yorkie with her?  And it's name is Birkin!  Another Kartrashian wannabe. 

The second house is tiny, the sellers obviously did a lot of things, including bad paint, themselves.    It will cost thousands to fix this house, and you can't fix teeny rooms.     The homeowners painted the stairs, floor, and some trim black, and you'll probably never get the paint off the floors.    The entire house is a mess.  

The friend and realtor are saying that the $150 monthly condo fee pays for everything, including maintenance.   I'm betting it isn't.    The buyer needs to look at the CC&Rs for the condo, and find out what the fees actually pay for, and not just say that the condo fees "Pay for everything".     In the condo there is a basement with the laundry, and there are streams of water down there.   

She picked the second one!     Interesting choice, but not in a good way.  

Edited January 29, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[readheaded]

12 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The new episode on now about the recent graduate buying in Detroit already has me seeing red.   If I told my realtor I don't want a condo, and she told me that I should listen to my friend and get a condo, then that realtor would be history.     Then the first house is way over budget, so realtor would absolutely be gone.  

The Realtor on this episode would be gone the first time she showed up with a dog in her purse.  She's absolutely obnoxious.

[chessiegal]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The new episode on now about the recent graduate buying in Detroit already has me seeing red. 

I don't think that's a new episode,.

[edie3]

Berkin.  Why does she feel the need to carry her dog everywhere?

[chessiegal]

8 minutes ago, edie3 said:

Berkin.  Why does she feel the need to carry her dog everywhere?

It's her schtick. She's been on more than once.

[Ohwell]

24 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

I don't think that's a new episode,.

That's strange because it showed up as the premier episode of whatever season it is now (I forgot what it was).  

[chessiegal]

In my market, there isn't a new HH until 10 pm ET, and it isn't in Detroit.

[laredhead]

My TV schedule shows the Detroit episode as new.  That realtor has been on HH before.  I didn't like any of the houses, and I also thought the buyer was not being realistic in her wants versus needs.  I think a garage would be a must for me in a winter climate like Detroit.  It looked like she had painted almost every surface in that house a shade of gray in the reveal.  Not my taste, but it's her house.  

Just watched the Asheville episode where the buyers are a doctor and a woman who is a fitness expert and small business owner.  I know some people who live in Asheville and it has become the "hot" place for younger buyers with money.  I think this couple probably represents that demographic.  Beautiful scenery, but I guess I would be living in a one bedroom hovel if those are the prices of houses in Asheville now days.  I don't like the one giant room open concept style of living.  Wonder if they are going to run a vacation rental out of that extra space in the house they bought.   

[kirklandia]

On 1/27/2019 at 10:11 AM, edie3 said:

Now a show about real apartments in NYC and how you cope with less space would interest me.

One of my favorite HGTV shows ever was Small Space, Big Style.  Maybe about ten years ago?  (Before the "tiny home movement".)  A few cool cottages and DADUs,  but mostly NYC apartments.  It was fascinating to see what the people did to make the spaces work.  Of course many of them had plenty of $$ to spend on architects and customizing.

[Empress1]

9 hours ago, laredhead said:

My TV schedule shows the Detroit episode as new.  That realtor has been on HH before.  I didn't like any of the houses, and I also thought the buyer was not being realistic in her wants versus needs.  I think a garage would be a must for me in a winter climate like Detroit.  It looked like she had painted almost every surface in that house a shade of gray in the reveal.  Not my taste, but it's her house.  

Just watched the Asheville episode where the buyers are a doctor and a woman who is a fitness expert and small business owner.  I know some people who live in Asheville and it has become the "hot" place for younger buyers with money.  I think this couple probably represents that demographic.  Beautiful scenery, but I guess I would be living in a one bedroom hovel if those are the prices of houses in Asheville now days.  I don't like the one giant room open concept style of living.  Wonder if they are going to run a vacation rental out of that extra space in the house they bought.   

Ditto, the Detroit and Ashevlle episodes were both new according to my TiVo. I didn't like anything the Detroit woman looked at and I hated her realtor immediately - purse dog named Birkin? No thank you, ma'am.

I know a few people who moved to Asheville. My best friend lived in Charlotte for a couple of years and she and her family took some trips there and liked it, but they wouldn't live there (her husband hated Charlotte; they no longer live there). It was indeed very scenic. I would think they'd rent out that extra space - I would. There are lots of festivals there so I'm sure they wouldn't have a hard time finding AirBnB tenants if they went that route. I loved the exposed brick in the kitchen.

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Ditto, the Detroit and Ashevlle episodes were both new according to my TiVo. I didn't like anything the Detroit woman looked at and I hated her realtor immediately - purse dog named Birkin? No thank you, ma'am.

I know a few people who moved to Asheville. My best friend lived in Charlotte for a couple of years and she and her family took some trips there and liked it, but they wouldn't live there (her husband hated Charlotte; they no longer live there). It was indeed very scenic. I would think they'd rent out that extra space - I would. There are lots of festivals there so I'm sure they wouldn't have a hard time finding AirBnB tenants if they went that route. I loved the exposed brick in the kitchen.

They were both new according to my DVR, too.  I hate, hate, hate people who use their pets as a fashion accessory.  Just no.  The realtor's smugness didn't wear well either.  I didn't love any of the places the Detroit woman looked at, but it was good to see someone with a small budget looking for a starter home.  Her expectations were unrealistic, however, but we see that a lot on this show. At her price point, nothing is going to be completely up to date; that's just the way it goes when you're buying your first home with a modest budget. I thought the condo looked cheaply constructed and finished, I'm glad she didn't go with it. 

Then again, I wasn't really in love with any of the options that the Asheville buyers had at a much larger budget, either.  None of the homes really did it for me although the one they chose was probably the best, IMO.  Was it just me or did there seem to be a little edge to the digs they were taking at one another?  There seemed to be some underlying meanness there.  They're not married yet, but I'm not so certain I'd want to be buying a home together if I were them.  Their dog was a cutie, though.

[Mountainair]

I caught the Asheville episode last night. I live there. Actually five miles outside of Asheville where home prices are a fraction of what they looked at and I have an acre of yard with a beautiful mountain view from half of the windows in my home. I'm pretty sure I know the area they were looking in as I have friends that used to live on that side of town but there is pretty much no yard and no view. The housing market is insane here. We have 1900 Sq Ft. Four bedrooms, 3 baths completely remodeled 1940's farm house on one acre and we'd be lucky to get $300,00 for it. If we wanted the same house with an Asheville address we'd have to spend double that. And still get no yard or view. I would like to live closer to town since that is where I spend most of my time but we would have to build to get what we want at an affordable price. 

Edited January 29, 2019 by Mountainair