House Hunters: Buying in the USA

[cameron]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

My apologies to those who share the Denver woman's aversion to toilets. At one point I think she described them as dirty and disgusting. Really? You don't keep yours clean? No appreciation for the wonders of modern plumbing and sanitation. People who think toilets are full of cooties that are going to jump out and give them The Plague are crazy.

I think that the both of them were screwy.

[laredhead]

Denver woman has been added to my growing list of annoying HH's.  The only way she's going to find a house with a toilet in a separate area is to buy something newer.  Most houses built before the 90's did not have separate toilet areas.  Also, her dramatic statement about carpet in the dining room was ridiculous.  Yes, carpet isn't exactly the most desirable floor covering where food is served, but as the realtor stated, it can be changed and the house was under budget.  In fact I think, the realtor showed great restraint with both of them.  The HH was over acting for the camera.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Also, the last house had carpet in the bathroom.  Not just an outer area with sink vanities, but right where the sinks, bath, and shower are.      If I was buying that house, I would have to rip out the carpet and tack strips the first second I owned the house.     The idea of wet carpet and pad in the main bathroom is disgusting, and could lead to mold or rotten subfloors.    

I turned it off before they chose the house, and if they picked anything but the third one, then they were crazy.      The first house with the water marks in the crawl space nixed it for me, and second was too small for her royal highness, unless they immediately added a master suite big enough for Marie Antoinette.  

[cameron]

27 minutes ago, laredhead said:

Denver woman has been added to my growing list of annoying HH's.  The only way she's going to find a house with a toilet in a separate area is to buy something newer.  Most houses built before the 90's did not have separate toilet areas.  Also, her dramatic statement about carpet in the dining room was ridiculous.  Yes, carpet isn't exactly the most desirable floor covering where food is served, but as the realtor stated, it can be changed and the house was under budget.  In fact I think, the realtor showed great restraint with both of them.  The HH was over acting for the camera.

We bought our first home in the 1970's and as an upgrade you get could wall to wall carpet in the downstairs including the dining room.  Everyone thought that this was a great idea.  But then she has kids who would climb on the boulder fireplace and swing from the artificial beams.

Edited April 12, 2019 by cameron

[StatisticalOutlier]

2 hours ago, cameron said:

But then she has kids who would climb on the boulder fireplace and swing from the artificial beams.

And she said it like it was a bad thing. 

[Kenzie]

3 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I turned it off before they chose the house, and if they picked anything but the third one, then they were crazy. 

They bought #1, the tri-level monstrosity. As usual there must have been something we didn't see that influenced their choice of such a wacky and ugly floor plan. Stairs were everywhere - I've never seen such a stair-cluttered home.

[Empress1]

3 hours ago, laredhead said:

Denver woman has been added to my growing list of annoying HH's.  The only way she's going to find a house with a toilet in a separate area is to buy something newer.  Most houses built before the 90's did not have separate toilet areas.  Also, her dramatic statement about carpet in the dining room was ridiculous.  Yes, carpet isn't exactly the most desirable floor covering where food is served, but as the realtor stated, it can be changed and the house was under budget.  In fact I think, the realtor showed great restraint with both of them.  The HH was over acting for the camera.

Agree with all of this, and you could tell the realtor was rolling her eyes in her head. When she said that the husband wanted a log cabin and to get that they'd have to go to the mountains, you could tell she was trying not to laugh. Same with "that's why we have inspectors" when she was talking about how paranoid the husband is about the foundation.

The wife really was performing. I mean, yes, I would remove carpet from a dining room, but ... that's it. It's not that serious. You remove it, and then it's gone. Same with paint. Just paint! 

I knew they'd pick the first house when I saw the treehouse in the yard.

[CrazyInAlabama]

So the Denver couple bought #1 that had a crawl space with obvious water marking, and that they suspected might have foundation issues?   

I lived in Colorado Springs, and everyone I knew that had a house they bought at a discount, and had foundation damage, the buyer regretted it.       If the house is over a certain age, then they didn't necessarily do the floating foundation, and over digging ( I don't know what they do, but are required in areas with expansionist soil).     

The worst case I knew of was the first house of a co-worker.    They knew it had issues, and got it at such a discount for the size of the house, they took a chance.   They spent well over $10k on the first fix, which didn't last, because another part of the house started sinking.     They fixed that, and the same thing happened on another part.     They finally couldn't take it any more, and sold the house at a huge price reduction, to a contractor who claimed he could fix it, and it would  be fine.      They lived a couple of miles away, but went in that area occasionally, and saw the house being worked on several times over the years.      Their former neighbors said no one ever fixed the foundation, and leaky downstairs for long.    

I hope that was a great deal, in the perfect location, because I had a true bi-level when I lived there, and hated the stairs.   A tri-level like they bought will really drive them loony, and if they have to get work done in the lower crawl space it will be a literal pain.    I bet that they will have to eventually have the crawl space area waterproofed, which doesn't always work, and is expensive.    Since the rest of the lower level was finished, then who knows what is going on behind the dry wall either. 

Edited April 13, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[msmarjoribanks]

20 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Also, the last house had carpet in the bathroom.  Not just an outer area with sink vanities, but right where the sinks, bath, and shower are.      If I was buying that house, I would have to rip out the carpet and tack strips the first second I owned the house.     The idea of wet carpet and pad in the main bathroom is disgusting, and could lead to mold or rotten subfloors.    

I turned it off before they chose the house, and if they picked anything but the third one, then they were crazy.      The first house with the water marks in the crawl space nixed it for me, and second was too small for her royal highness, unless they immediately added a master suite big enough for Marie Antoinette.  

I thought they were going to pick the last house too, but it was over their budget.  I know they didn't really even see it when looking, but I do think the $400K was probably a hard stop, and that the first ended up being quite a bit lower was a plus.

I really hope they had a good inspector and hired a specialist who could check out all the scary-looking water marks.  I get being burned if you had an expensive problem with the last house, but don't get thinking what they saw is no biggie since, hey!, it passed the silly marble test.  (None of the houses on my street would pass the marble test, but not because of foundation issues but because they were not built to adjust for the slight slope here back when they were built over 100 years ago.)

I think the can't have toilet in the same room as shower was her made up quirk for the show, but it was annoying -- if you need a palatial master look at new houses.  Wanting to paint the bannisters white bothered me too, but oh well.  The whole thing about how she really wanted a ranch so might go with the small second one with the shared bathroom was ridiculous too -- no one really cares about style that much.  (HHers seems obsessed with casting people who supposedly want a house exactly the style of the one they grew up in or grandma's, which seems odd.)

[ByaNose]

I miss the narrator. The show seems like gorilla television. There’s no direction and you have no idea of the locations. Are they saving that much money not having a narrator that’s not even seen? 

[chessiegal]

I don't miss the narrator. Glad they ditched the constant recaps so there's more time to show the houses.

[Ohwell]

I miss the narrator.  However, instead of the recaps, she could just give us some additional information about the location, property taxes, any HOA fees, etc.

[KLovestoShop]

The Denver wife was a giant pain in the butt with her whiny voice and complaining about wall paint.  In older, and lower cost houses, toilets are rarely in a separate area. Maybe hubby could put up a shower curtain to enclose her majesty’s toilet.   I can’t believe they didn’t choose house 3. 

Edited April 16, 2019 by KLovestoShop

[kirklandia]

On 4/12/2019 at 5:26 AM, StatisticalOutlier said:

I have friends who bought and moved in to a former bank building in a very small town on the coast of Maine.  Super cool idea.  Next time I was up there, they'd moved out.  Turns out they hadn't anticipated that the restaurant across the narrow street would have a Sysco truck idling outside at dawn while unloading, in addition to beep beep beep when it backs up.  All this rumbling and banging and beeping right under their bedroom window.

We arrived at our B'nB in downtown Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard - I was instantly charmed by our funky little room at the back of the house.  

The feeling lasted until the first morning, pre-dawn, when the garbage truck parked in the alley beneath our window and sat there, engine running, while the driver ran around the entire neighborhood, dragging each garbage can to the truck and emptying it.  And (commercial district, tourist season) they collected the garbage every day.  Sigh.

[ECM1231]

Watched a late night episode, possibly a rerun, featuring an engaged Dallas couple. He needed to be close to an airport. In one ranch home they looked at, the realtor showed them a bedroom and said it had no windows. The home had 3 or 4 other bedrooms so I guess it could be used as a home office or craft room or the dreaded man cave. I just question how a realtor can say it is a bedroom without any egress? I thought by law a bedroom has to have egress windows.

[chessiegal]

8 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

I just question how a realtor can say it is a bedroom without any egress? I thought by law a bedroom has to have egress windows.

I think it depends on the jurisdiction, but I've never heard of a room with no window being able to be called a bedroom. In Maryland, in addition to a window, it must also have a closet to be called a bedroom.

[QuinnM]

4 hours ago, chessiegal said:

think it depends on the jurisdiction, but I've never heard of a room with no window being able to be called a bedroom. In Maryland, in addition to a window, it must also have a closet to be called a bedroom.

In MN you need egress in a bedroom but not a closet.  The egress can be an opening of a certain width with no door.  In a bathroom you need venation, fan etc, or a window.  If you get classy(?) and close the window with glass block then you need to add a vent.

[laredhead]

The 2 sisters buying a house in Palm Springs needed to have invested some money into their wardrobes.  I'm not usually critical of participants clothing choices, but the ripped jean looks needs to be confined to the younger generation.  I wasn't sure if they were going to go 50/50 on the purchase, but the younger sister seemed to think she was going to get the master suite in each place they looked at.  I'm sure they are the life of the parties around the condo pool.  And what was up with the realtor and his outfits?  Looked like he was more ready for Las Vegas than Palm Springs.  

I like the Palm Springs episodes because I like the MCM style, which we don't have much of where I live.   

[CruiseDiva]

3 hours ago, laredhead said:

The 2 sisters buying a house in Palm Springs needed to have invested some money into their wardrobes.  I'm not usually critical of participants clothing choices, but the ripped jean looks needs to be confined to the younger generation.  I wasn't sure if they were going to go 50/50 on the purchase, but the younger sister seemed to think she was going to get the master suite in each place they looked at.

House #1 was a nice Mid-century modern, but only had one decent size bedroom, and contemporary House #2 was furnished so it wasn't likely for sale. When they looked at the condo/townhouse with two fairly equal masters--one upstairs and one down--I was fairly certain they'd go with that one. 

Agreed that they are a bit long in the tooth for their wardrobes.

Edited April 17, 2019 by CruiseDiva

[topanga]

3 hours ago, CruiseDiva said:

Agreed that they are a bit long in the tooth for their wardrobes.

I don't think women over 45 should be limited to mu-mus and polyester pants.  And if an older woman wants to post bikini pics on her IG and she has the body for it, I'm not going to judge her--although I will wonder why she feels it's necessary. 

That being said, let the youth wear ripped jeans and crazy haircuts. In these HH, it seems like they were trying to hard to appear youthful and vivacious. 

[KLovestoShop]

11 hours ago, laredhead said:

  And what was up with the realtor and his outfits?  Looked like he was more ready for Las Vegas than Palm Springs.  

You have to know Palm Springs to understand his clothing choices.  In PS, his clothes are not all that unusual.  My cousin and his partner live there, in a beautiful MCM house, and quite a few residents dress like the realtor did. 

[Pickles]

I already dislike this Kansas  City couple who have to tour houses with their dog. The dog practically had his head in the cookie dough bowl. Gag. And could the wife not put together a better first outfit? Leggings, an old blouse and hideous rain boots. 

Calvin, Calvin, Calvin.

[juliet73]

2 hours ago, Pickles said:

I already dislike this Kansas  City couple who have to tour houses with their dog. The dog practically had his head in the cookie dough bowl. Gag.

Kansas City: I love dogs, but as soon as I heard these people say their dog had a say in which house they chose, I was out. No. Just no. Plus, I think it's totally rude and disrespectful to bring a dog into someone else's house without the current owner's permission. 

[Empress1]

18 hours ago, topanga said:

I don't think women over 45 should be limited to mu-mus and polyester pants.  And if an older woman wants to post bikini pics on her IG and she has the body for it, I'm not going to judge her--although I will wonder why she feels it's necessary. 

That being said, let the youth wear ripped jeans and crazy haircuts. In these HH, it seems like they were trying to hard to appear youthful and vivacious. 

I thought one of the sisters had a BAD haircut. Way too choppy.

Did I misinterpret or did the wife in the Queens/Long Island couple say she married her husband because she had a daughter and just wanted to be married?

[Pickles]

8 hours ago, juliet73 said:

Kansas City: I love dogs, but as soon as I heard these people say their dog had a say in which house they chose, I was out. No. Just no. Plus, I think it's totally rude and disrespectful to bring a dog into someone else's house without the current owner's permission. 

They let the dog out in each backyard and some of those yards looked really muddy. Then everyone troops back into the house and onto the carpeting. Who wants muddy dog feet all over your carpeting? So inconsiderate. The husband and wife looked like brother and sister. 

[topanga]

1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

Did I misinterpret or did the wife in the Queens/Long Island couple say she married her husband because she had a daughter and just wanted to be married?

He did. The couple wasn't horrible, but they didn't seem totally compatible. I couldn't tell if they were acting or if the wife was really as abrasive as she seemed and if the husband was as clueless as he seemed. He kept saying, "Boy. I didn't know my wife was like that. I didn't know she'd react like that." Haven't they been married for a few years? The husband acted like he didn't know his wife at all--and that he was a bit afraid of her. 

9 hours ago, juliet73 said:

Kansas City: I love dogs, but as soon as I heard these people say their dog had a say in which house they chose, I was out. No. Just no. Plus, I think it's totally rude and disrespectful to bring a dog into someone else's house without the current owner's permission. 

I totally agree. The dog was adorable, but he shouldn't have been there. 

[Vivigirl10]

Agreed about the bringing the dog into the house.  No, no, no.  A few positives though:  I absolutely did crack up when Calvin was doing all those happy, spastic circles in the one bedroom!  And the husband's basement bar at the end did look pretty cool with all the shelving.  

Heaven forbid they ever have a baby.  Calvin will be lost.  

[topanga]

1 hour ago, Kiki620 said:

Agreed about the bringing the dog into the house.  No, no, no.  A few positives though:  I absolutely did crack up when Calvin was doing all those happy, spastic circles in the one bedroom!  And the husband's basement bar at the end did look pretty cool with all the shelving.  

Heaven forbid they ever have a baby.  Calvin will be lost.  

Yes. They are helicopter parents to a dog. 

[Ohwell]

1 hour ago, topanga said:

He did. The couple wasn't horrible, but they didn't seem totally compatible. I couldn't tell if they were acting or if the wife was really as abrasive as she seemed and if the husband was as clueless as he seemed. He kept saying, "Boy. I didn't know my wife was like that. I didn't know she'd react like that." Haven't they been married for a few years? The husband acted like he didn't know his wife at all--and that he was a bit afraid of her. 

The husband acted like he was so blessed and fortunate to be married to her, and she acted like she knew it.  Didn't seem like a "level" playing field at all.

Also, when the wife decided to sit in the car because she didn't want to see one of the houses, she probably thought she was being cute for the cameras, but she just came off acting like a bitch. 

[doodlebug]

3 hours ago, Pickles said:

They let the dog out in each backyard and some of those yards looked really muddy. Then everyone troops back into the house and onto the carpeting. Who wants muddy dog feet all over your carpeting? So inconsiderate. The husband and wife looked like brother and sister. 

There’s also the fact that a lot of people are allergic to dogs. Traipsing through a stranger’s home with a dog who is bound to leave behind some dog hair and dander is so disrespectful. What if the homeowner or their kid had bad asthma and having the dog in the home triggered an attack? Really not cool

3 hours ago, Empress1 said:

I thought one of the sisters had a BAD haircut. Way too choppy.

Did I misinterpret or did the wife in the Queens/Long Island couple say she married her husband because she had a daughter and just wanted to be married?

I think she meant that, because she had a child, she wasn’t interested in a casual relationship; that she wanted marriage and long term commitment.  Not unreasonable in that situation, IMO.

Edited April 18, 2019 by doodlebug

[pep4]

Diva & Snoop Dog in Fort Worth:  Annoying how they are supposedly hunting in Fort Worth, but as the narrator is describing the city and how, "They love all the activities and nightlife Fort Worth offers!" they are shown riding in a gondolier ripoff in Las Colinas.  Which is in the city of Irving, a Dallas suburb 25 miles from Fort Worth.   And it isn't like FW has a shortage of cool places to film scenes at.  

T&P Lofts are cool, but it is still atop a public train station, and all that that implies.  Everyone I've known who considered it remarked about how relatively affordable the asking prices were but that the high HOA fees were dealbreakers.  

[Empress1]

3 hours ago, topanga said:

Yes. They are helicopter parents to a dog. 

I deleted the episode when they said they live their lives around the dog and he needed to bless the house they chose. Hard pass.

[topanga]

12 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

I deleted the episode when they said they live their lives around the dog and he needed to bless the house they chose. Hard pass.

If he were some Westminster Dog Show champ whose international pageant wins provided most of their household income, I'd understand. A little. 

Not knocking the dog, though. He was an adorable Golden Retriever. 

[Empress1]

1 minute ago, topanga said:

If he were some Westminster Dog Show champ whose international pageant wins provided most of their household income, I'd understand. A little. 

Not knocking the dog, though. He was an adorable Golden Retriever. 

Oh, super cute. I've always liked Goldens; one of my best friends growing up had one. He was a great dog. Kind of simple, but we loved him anyway. 🙂

[Ohwell]

I wonder what happens when the dog dies.  Will they move?

[rhofmovalley]

OMG the veneers on the Colorado RE agent. She could barely speak around them. Why get them so huge?

Edited April 19, 2019 by rhofmovalley

[cameron]

Regarding the Kansas City couple.  It's a good thing that they widened the door into the garage.  She wouldn't have been able to fit through it otherwise.  Really thought she was super over the top trying to be cool.  Couldn't pull it off though.

[ByaNose]

5 hours ago, cameron said:

Regarding the Kansas City couple.  It's a good thing that they widened the door into the garage.  She wouldn't have been able to fit through it otherwise.  Really thought she was super over the top trying to be cool.  Couldn't pull it off though.

And, he really looks like bartender. Not!

[msmarjoribanks]

On 4/17/2019 at 11:26 PM, juliet73 said:

Kansas City: I love dogs, but as soon as I heard these people say their dog had a say in which house they chose, I was out. No. Just no. Plus, I think it's totally rude and disrespectful to bring a dog into someone else's house without the current owner's permission. 

This was a repeat of a Chicago episode where the dog decided.  In that one they made a point of saying the owners had all okay'd it.  I assume the same here, although I cringed when he was outside and then running around inside while dirty (although he was super cute).

Did anyone watch the Ann Arbor rerun? (I should find the comments from the time, but accidentally deleted the date.)

[laredhead]

I finally got around to watching the Denver episode with the woman who bought a loft style condo in an old church.  I had avoided watching it after reading the comments here about the voices of the 2 sisters.  OMG - their voices were just as bad as I predicted they would be.  They also reminded me of those 2 women who used to be on a NYC real estate show.  Looked like they were posing for the camera in every scene.  UGH.  She had no interest in a stand alone house, and I doubt she had ever pulled a weed or done any yard work here entire life.  We seem to see a lot of younger buyers like that these days.  What did they do growing up?  No chores?  

Having said all of the above, I would like to see the condo after she makes all of the changes. 

[SanDiegoInExile]

On 4/14/2019 at 6:05 AM, chessiegal said:

I don't miss the narrator. Glad they ditched the constant recaps so there's more time to show the houses.

Except there isn't.  HGTV has added another minute of commercials.  Look at the run times.  They are now well under 21 minutes. Plus, they are repeatedly skipping whole parts of houses, something that was rarely done before.

And the occasional captioned off-screen "producer", piping in?  Reminds me of locally produced public access cable.

I realize that every show must change.  It seems that maybe a third of the episodes have a strong enough "cast" to fill the dead air and be marginally entertaining enough.  I agree it's helpful to reduce the recaps of what was seen 4 minutes earlier, but that's not the only role the narrator had.

Edited April 22, 2019 by SanDiegoInExile

[topanga]

14 hours ago, SanDiegoInExile said:

Except there isn't.  HGTV has added another minute of commercials.  Look at the run times.  They are now well under 21 minutes. Plus, they are repeatedly skipping whole parts of houses, something that was rarely done before.

And the occasional captioned off-screen "producer", piping in?  Reminds me of locally produced public access cable.

I realize that every show must change.  It seems that maybe a third of the episodes have a strong enough "cast" to fill the dead air and be marginally entertaining enough.  I agree it's helpful to reduce the recaps of what was seen 4 minutes earlier, but that's not the only role the narrator had.

I noticed that there's less time spent on the actual house tour. Sometimes we don't even see the bedrooms. Which confused me because there's less time spent on the intro and recaps. I didn't realize there were more commercials.

I never thought I'd miss hearing couples complain about the small bedrooms and small closets in the vintage homes they just have to have because they're filled with character. But I do. 

[sheetmoss]

Haven't been watching HH in awhile, but noticed lastnight--Chicago couple, they didn't even say the neighborhoods they were looking in.

         On HH Reno they stopped mentioning their occupations.

Back to Chicago couple - I didn't really care for any of the 3 places shown.

[Empress1]

3 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

Haven't been watching HH in awhile, but noticed lastnight--Chicago couple, they didn't even say the neighborhoods they were looking in.

They just said "city" or "burbs," which doesn't tell me anything!

The suburban bungalow was very cute - I loved all the woodwork. Actually, so was the city bungalow. Both very charming. The younger of the couple kept talking about how small the rooms were, which is a pet peeve of mine - it's a small house (it was less than 1200 square feet), so of COURSE the rooms were small. The yard on the bungalow was nice too. I also loved the roof deck on the condo.

Another pet peeve was the older man in the couple talking about how he didn't want to spend a penny to do any work.

The older man said his commute to work was 20 minutes once he was on the train; I wondered how far it was from the house to the train.

Edited April 23, 2019 by Empress1

[Ottis]

Delaware couple from Florida... did the woman say she doesn’t want a ranch because they are far away from everything? Does Delaware have development rules that banish ranch homes to the boonies? Did she mean literal ranches like in the west? Does she know ranch is a house style? So weird. 

Edited April 24, 2019 by Ottis

[msmarjoribanks]

I was just coming here to complain about the lack of information on the new Chicago episode.  You can't show places in the Chicago area and not mention the neighborhoods or burbs and have it mean anything.  It was also ridiculous that the realtor was going on about the third place being cheaper because it was in the burbs and not noting that it was also smaller and I couldn't tell about parking (the first place had a 2 car garage, as well as some other features not mentioned).

The area the first one was in looked familiar, so when they picked it I found it -- Edgebrook.  Cool location right by the forest preserve, but very family-centric, and definitely a NW side suburban feel.

Location is easy bus to blue line (but that would be close to an hour) or -- what was referenced -- drive to train.  The Metra Edgebrook stop is about 1.3 miles away.

I liked the place they got, it was my definite pick of the 3, but I don't think I'd choose to live in that area although it has its pluses and it was cool to see the area featured.  (I like to bike around there.)

Edited April 24, 2019 by msmarjoribanks

[WI GIRL56]

I was also disappointed in not knowing the Chicago neighborhoods.  I thought maybe the bungalow in the suburbs was either Berwyn or Cicero.  They have a lot and a little lower priced.

Hubby grew up in a Chicago bungalow that is grandfather built.  The living room was large but everything else was small.  After it was sold I think the people dormered up to gain space.

[Pine]

I found the Chicago episode confusing, when they went on the roof deck of the in town loft home.  It looked like Chicago was way off in the distance.  I have never been to Chicago, but, when someone says it's right in town, I would expect the tall buildings etc...are way closer than that view.  Please enlighten me.  :) :) :) 

[suebee12]

Just finished watching the Rapid City episode and I loved it! The couple were warm and funny and weren't negative in their observations. They found something good in each of the house and just pointed out what could be a problem. I personally didn't like the mid-century modern ( I almost never do like that particular style) but I must say the outdoor areas did look the best for a family of three rough and tumble boys. I really liked the first house but I had to agree removing all of that wallpaper would be a super chore.

I thought the  husband was funny(like when he tripped over the realtor) and you could tell by their rapport that they were really friends. All in all, a fun episode!!

[KLovestoShop]

Chicago is huge, and divided into areas or neighborhoods.  I guess they use the generic “Chicago” to avoid confusion if they would say North Side, Irving Park, Near West Side, Washington Heights, Wrigleyville.  There are more than 175 neighborhoods that make up Chicago.  

The Michigan couple were strange. The wife kept saying she wanted “beach bungalow” but all they were looking at were regular houses.  And really, what kind of house did she think she’d get for $100K?  And I really didn’t see any of their choices that screamed vacation cottage.  And do people really rent out those kinds of houses as vacation places?  I just don’t see that.