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House Hunters: Buying in the USA


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Kohola3, in my town, people are buying $500,000+ houses, tearing them down and building custom houses to get into a desired location.  Very few vacant lots are available, and when they are, the prices are almost as much as those with houses on them.  Perhaps there were no available houses w/in their price range in their desired location that could be torn down and a new one constructed for what they were willing to spend. 

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1 hour ago, laredhead said:

Kohola3, in my town, people are buying $500,000+ houses, tearing them down and building custom houses to get into a desired location.  Very few vacant lots are available, and when they are, the prices are almost as much as those with houses on them.  Perhaps there were no available houses w/in their price range in their desired location that could be torn down and a new one constructed for what they were willing to spend. 

I live in the Seattle area.  I walk weekly on a trail behind this house.  It was sold for $740K a year ago, was mostly demolished, and I have watched from the back side as it deteriorates, exposed to weather and vandalism.  I guess they ran out of money.

A similar-era house near me was purchased for $900K and totally demolished.  The new construction, a huge boxy house, is filling the entire lot.

A huge investment - I wonder how much profit they expect?

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9 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

New Haven, CT: I liked that couple. They were down to earth and funny. As cheap as they got the first house, they could do a good bit of reno. Would like to see how it turned out.

I like that they were very humble and weren't making crazy demands like going into historic homes and expecting open concept/granite counter-tops/huge walk-in closets.

But the house they purchased was a dump. I hope they're able to renovate it for their family. I'd love to see them on a "Where Are They Now?" episode. 

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(edited)

I missed part of the intro but I thought both of the New Haven couple were photographers?  And I thought the guy mentioned something about them being homeless at some point?  I didn't get if they were really homeless or if it was just a figure of speech.  Anyway, I got the impression that their budget compelled them to buy the cheapest place, and they'd just have to live with the dump (and it certainly was a dump) until they were able to make repairs/renovations. 

All I can say is, good luck to them and I'd like to see them on a WATN episode, and how much they spent on renovations. 

Edited by Ohwell
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18 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

I missed part of the intro but I thought both of the New Haven couple were photographers?  And I thought the guy mentioned something about them being homeless at some point?  I didn't get if they were really homeless or if it was just a figure of speech.  Anyway, I got the impression that their budget compelled them to buy the cheapest place, and they'd just have to live with the dump (and it certainly was a dump) until they were able to make repairs/renovations. 

All I can say is, good luck to them and I'd like to see them on a WATN episode, and how much they spent on renovations. 

The husband now has a job at Yale. They are staying with his mother.

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3 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

The husband now has a job at Yale. They are staying with his mother.

Oh, ok thanks.  They still bought a dump though. 😃  

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I liked the New Haven couple, too.  I don't think they were living-under-a-bridge homeless, or even living in their car, but that there was a lost job involved and resultant financial reversals, and they couldn't live where they were living, and moved in with his mother.  That's the impression I got, anyway.  If we had a narrator, perhaps it could have been a little clearer.

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2 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Why have they taken away the narrator?

Probably to save $$$. I'm glad they got rid of the stupid he wants/she wants fake drama. I haven't checked but they might have reduced air time to sell more commercials.

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While I think they could have cut back the he wants/she wants stuff, I do think they should have kept the narration for the beginning of the episode.  

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8 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Probably to save $$$. I'm glad they got rid of the stupid he wants/she wants fake drama. I haven't checked but they might have reduced air time to sell more commercials.

I'm glad they took away the unnecessary recaps, but it doesn't seem to translate into longer time spent looking at the actual homes. Yeah, they probably increased the number of commercials. 

On 5/31/2019 at 6:49 PM, javajeanelaine said:

I forced myself to finish watching the St Pete couple since my sister has a house there and I went househunting with her.  It was tough though.  That woman was so so unpleasant.  I fail to see why he married her.

Ha! She actually said, "Well you married me." And he replied, "Yeah. I did" without an ounce of emotion, which speaks volumes.

She has to be one of worst wives I've seen on HH, while the Dallas husband who took the home office has to be the worst husband. 

Why do couples go on this show whose marriages/relationships are that toxic? 

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(edited)
7 minutes ago, topanga said:

Ha! She actually said, "Well you married me." And he replied, "Yeah. I did" without an ounce of emotion, which speaks volumes.

I don't think they had kids yet, right?

I've got two words for that guy:  GET. OUT!

Naw, three words:  GET. OUT. NOW!

Edited by Ohwell
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4 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I don't think they had kids yet, right?

I've got two words for that guy:  GET. OUT!

Naw, three words:  GET. OUT. NOW!

And they had been together since high school! 

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15 minutes ago, Pickles said:

And they had been together since high school! 

Ahhh, so that explains why he acted so whipped.  Over the years he's been lobotomized.

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The Omaha episode last night with the physician daughter moving back to be closer to family. I was surprised she wanted such a large home, assuming she would be living alone. Maybe she had a significant other, but he/she didn't want to be filmed or maybe this woman just likes a lot of space. She got a lot for her money. Think she paid $522k. The mother reminded me of a SNL character. I could totally understand her concerns and her "helpful" comments, but she kind of made me laugh how she said some things--she was against the home gym (said the daughter needed to get out and meet people), the mom's experience with butcher block counter tops (not sanitary), etc. 

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I didn't understand why the Omaha single woman needed so much house even is she had a significant other.  Oh well, she can afford it so it's her choice.   The mom acted like she was auditioning for an HGTV show.

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(edited)

My guess is the Omaha house hunter was buying the right size house for resale, and even though you plan to stay there forever, there's always the chance of a job change or something.     

I don't know if the Portland episode was new or not the other day (my cable guide is less than accurate), but I really loved the two house hunters, and I think they'll do a dynamite job fixing that house into a show place.    

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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On 6/6/2019 at 12:00 AM, LittleIggy said:

New Haven, CT: I liked that couple. They were down to earth and funny. As cheap as they got the first house, they could do a good bit of reno. Would like to see how it turned out.

I liked them too.  And the wife could find work as an actress.  The way she was raving about the house with the fireplace, I was sure they'd choose that one.  Price was $130K, and while they did get a house for just $98K, they'll probably put at least $30K into making it into what they need.

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Walden, NY: Yikes. They seemed like a nice couple till they started arguing over the home office. The husband actually said, ‘After the divorce...’ Uh, yeah, you don’t joke about things like that. At least not on national television. 

And when the husband said they could install a pool to use as a babysitter for the kids, the wife agreed. Huh? I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt that she didn’t hear exactly what he’d said.  Although they both referenced hiding from the children several times throughout the episode. Do they even like their kids?

But I agree with the wife about privacy. It’s nice living near family, but having 3 different sets of in-laws living on the same block must have been annoying for her. 

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I thought that the Walden, NY guy probably bought that house because of all that family surrounding his house.  He must have been reared in a close family environment and wanted the same situation after he moved out of his parents' house.  At any rate, I do understand wanting to have some distance between your house and all of the in-laws.  The husband referenced that having some privacy might get the couple closer again, so maybe the in-law situation was an interference in their marriage.  The realtor seemed to be very frank about the couple's arguing too.  The wife didn't smile much, and I do hope that moving helps all of them.  Of course, this is fictional reality, so we really don't know what is going on there. 

I liked the settings of all of those places.  You really get a lot of land in Walden, and it looks like a lovely place.  Wonder what taxes and utility bills are like there?

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7 hours ago, topanga said:

Although they both referenced hiding from the children several times throughout the episode. Do they even like their kids?

Yes, I came here to say that I don't think I've ever seen an episode where the main objective of the buyers was to HIDE from their kids.

I thought that the ranch #3 was beautiful.

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