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House Hunters: Buying in the USA


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Indianapolis guy... Pretentious much? Also, I why hide the engagement ring? I spotted it right away but she kept covering it up.

I just did not like him.  It began at the beginning when they were discussing how they first met.  He was a speaker, she said she was sitting in the audience and saw him and couldn't take her eyes off him.  When she said that, he was sitting there beside her like some king on a throne, and didn't say something equally complimentary about her.  If I were an intelligent, attractive 22 year old med student, I wouldn't give his pretentious ass the time of day.

 

The house was ok I guess.

Edited by Ohwell
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OMG last night's rerun...I wanted to slap the HHs around.  They used to live in Atlanta and are moving to Kansas City.  How do I know that?  The husband may have said 100 times how his house in Atlanta had things this house didn't.

 

Where's my pillars?  Where's my fireplace in the bedroom?  huh? huh?  Him:  Where's my media room? 

 

So entitled..my goodness.

 

She loved the first house..but it had no fireplace in the bedroom :(  how sad for her.

 

Right now I'm watching the "Psychic" HH...I got a bad feeling about this house.  Let's not go in.  (SMH)

Edited by NYGirl
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I agree about the HH's on the Tiburon episode last night.  When I heard their $4 million budget, I thought they were going to be demanding and probably obnoxious, but they weren't.  I need to curb my expectations on all rich buyers.  He must have done very well in the financial sector to be able to retire so early, but the fact that he is going to become a public school teacher was nice.  The views in that part of California are spectacular.  My niece lives in that area and her pictures from there are incredible.  People who live there are very lucky in that regard.  I liked the house they chose.

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The Destin, Flordia couple looking for a house with a pool for him & a craft room for her, Tara. The wife kind of bugged me a little. The 3rd house that they looked at which had a small yard was the one I thought they were going to pick but didn't. The 3rd house sold a few months ago for $550,000

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/14-Alcolon-Cv-Miramar-Beach-FL-32550/48129742_zpid/

The house they choose had a pool and they bought it for $482,500. Both prices are out of my league. I really don't make money like some people do. I feel so poor in my $110,000 townhouse in the Philadelphia area. LOL!!!!

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I don't know how they could afford a house that expensive. She was a retail store manager, and he did something in middle management, but it's not like he's the CEO or EVP of a company. Maybe they're fiscally responsible and have managed money well over their short lives. Or maybe they have rich parents (that's my throwback excuse whenever a couple is living better than I am). 

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I've seen a lot of house poor people. You see this great house, but inside they have very little furniture or Goodwill pieces. I'm not quite sure what bothered me with this couple, but something did. She sure had a penchant for the same outfit---too-short shorts and a billowy top.

Edited by KLovestoShop
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ByaNose, thanks for finding the listing on the 3rd house.  The sales history indicates it has been on and off the market for a few years w/o a sale.  i liked the kitchen in that house.  Everything looked very high end and expensive. 

 

Did anyone see the episode 2 nights ago about the 2 guys moving from Portland to Seattle?  I thought they were a good match and I always love to see the Pacific Northwest styles in houses.

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Extremely familiar with the Tiburon level of buyers so interesting to see everyone's reaction.  Agree, they seemed liked a nice family.  JMHO but they may not have sounded as particular and picky about the finishes b/c Marin County buyers, at this level ($4M+), conduct their house hunt with the expectation that they will spend at least another 200K or more (my guesstimate), post-close, to finish the home to their specifications.  (JMHO, as always.)

 

The wife hated the L-shaped jog in that kitchen and its size and appliances so she'll have it redone within a year or so.  At their level, they wouldn't bat an eyelash if they dropped $100K (or more) to gut, expand and finish that space.  For example, in the last home, the wife didn't care for the marble counters in the mbr and wondered about the expense of changing them out.  The husband, in his low key manner, said something along the lines of no worries - we'll just gut it and take our "volume discount".

 

During the episode's preamble, they mentioned the wife doesn't care for homes that have shared bedroom walls.  She didn't limit that to the master - like many parents (!) - but any bedroom whatsoever.  The husband mentioned that the kids' "must-haves" included a playroom, a suitable location for their trampoline and their own bathrooms.  How many parents / house hunters even consider their kids' desires, let alone report them as "must-haves"??? 

 

So, IMHO, they're very particular about location and a home's fixed characteristics, i.e. whatever's impossible and/or difficult to change.  But WRT finishes, they don't worry about them b/c they know they'll spend whatever $$$ are required to bring them up to their specs.

 

Anyway, in my experience, that's how buyers at this level think and conduct a house hunt.

 

 

P.S.  Many people would finish the secret room (in the other house) as a secure, panic room.  Anyone wonder how the eventual buyers felt about the fact that their home and specifically, that room, had been previously aired on national television?  At this $$$ level, these buyers value privacy over almost everything else, again, in my experience. 

Edited by aguabella
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The Chicago flipper woman is back.  She's the one who likes to blow out walls right and left.  She was fixated on buying a Chicago style house with brick, then in the final scene where she was showing the remodel in progress, it looked like all of the brick had been removed.  Maybe it was covered up and I couldn't see it.  I don't think the finished product is going to look like a Chicago style house that she wanted.  The man accompanying her was dubbed a real estate investor, and I bet he's fronting some of the money for that project which is why he was so concerned about not overbuilding for an area and not trying to do too much.  She was having none of that though, as with the first episode we saw when she not only gutted that house, but dug out the basement as well.  I am sure we will be seeing her again and the finished remodel of this house on a Where Are They Now episode.  i liked the yard space in the 3rd house, but would never want to live in the flight path of O'Hare.  

The husband of the Michigan couple was weird. I honestly think he has no idea how much work a "gentleman's farm" entails. When he said he wanted pigs and cows, I thought he was nuts, but not only that, upkeep, including food and vet brill, is insanely expensive and time consuming. His kids are far too young to be of any help. With the house they bought, with the dirt road, its going to get real old, real fast, when those rough Michigan winters hit. When you have animals, you can't just sit in your house during a snowstorm because he will still have to take care of the animals. Personally, I think he's a bozo.

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Christine, I totally agree with you about the Chicago flipper. The adorable bungalow is totally ruined with the second floor addition. She completely lost the old world look, and I think the addition makes the house look cheap. I just hope she doesn't cover the exterior walls in vinyl siding.

Edited by KLovestoShop
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Christine, I totally agree with you about the Chicago flipper. The adorable bungalow is totally ruined with the second floor addition. She completely lost the old world look, and I think the addition makes the house look cheap. I just hope she doesn't cover the exterior walls in vinyl siding.

Agreed. Also I was cringing because my ex has a neighbor that added a third story and killed all the views in the neighborhood, and Ex and the neighbors loathe them. 

 

At least the flipper isn't pretending that she's going to live in the house anymore. When she was like "My realtor convinced me to sell the other one," I was like, girl, please.

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I'm sure the neighbors in Chicago are going to hate the 2nd floor addition. The flipper was pretty but had annoying voice. I thought it was a rerun but my grid said it was new. She looked familiar and then figured she must have been on another HH or another flipping show. I would,like to see the finished product.

I'm currently watching Most Desperate Kitchens (the Kitchen Cousin guys) and, their work is always 90% good. Then they totally ruin the last 10% with either a crappyy backsplash, flooring, center island or paint color. I didn't see a thread for either show (I could have missed though) and, just needed to vent about them. I really liked them when they first started on HGTV but now they are kind of meh. And, speaking of meh, they each filed for bankruptcy:

http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2015/08/kitchen_cousins_hosts_file_for_bankruptcy_after_su.html

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I just watched a rerun of the Reno DJ/IT guy--and the woman she called his business partner. They were a couple, right? They never said that, but she was going to live in the house, they kept mentioning how much they wanted a hot tub to relax in after work, and at one point, she said she was glad there were soft close drawers so she wouldn't disturb him when she woke up at 5 in the morning. It was the weirdest thing. Maybe their families didn't approve of interracial relationships. Otherwise, I can't figure out why they would hide their relationship. I don't know--they just seemed too chummy to be business acquaintances. 

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I'm sure the neighbors in Chicago are going to hate the 2nd floor addition. The flipper was pretty but had annoying voice. I thought it was a rerun but my grid said it was new. She looked familiar and then figured she must have been on another HH or another flipping show. I would,like to see the finished product.

She was on HH once before, and then on a follow-up "Where Are They Now?" show. On her first ep she acted like she was buying a place to live in, but it was clear to me that she was flipping. And if she said "blow out this wall" one more time ...

 

I just watched a rerun of the Reno DJ/IT guy--and the woman she called his business partner. They were a couple, right? They never said that, but she was going to live in the house, they kept mentioning how much they wanted a hot tub to relax in after work, and at one point, she said she was glad there were soft close drawers so she wouldn't disturb him when she woke up at 5 in the morning. It was the weirdest thing. Maybe their families didn't approve of interracial relationships. Otherwise, I can't figure out why they would hide their relationship. I don't know--they just seemed too chummy to be business acquaintances. 

Yeah, the consensus on the board when the ep aired was that they were a couple. No idea why they weren't open about it - I think the guy was getting divorced so maybe there was some overlap between relationships that he didn't want discussed.

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Interesting news about the "Kitchen Cousins".  I watch their Desperate Kitchens episodes and like the fact that they use various materials and not all of their finished kitchens look alike.  Last night they renovated a kitchen in Nashville and used stainless steel for the counter tops.  I wouldn't mind having them redo my kitchen, but only if they finished it and did not cut corners on the workmanship.  Wonder what people who have been on their show think about their work?

I wanted to cry by the end of the Chicago flipper episode. Why bother buying an old historic home and gutting it, and changing the entire exterior? All that's left is some brick walls buried deep within. She may as well buy a plot of land and build new houses rather than destroy the character of the homes she buys and the look of the neighborhood.

Hated her voice as well. I never want to hear "blow some walls out" ever again.

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Super cute Colorado girl with 5 bikes looking for a house. She wasn't annoying and best friend who was even prettier wasn't annoying either. What a nice change of pace for HH. She chose an older home but it wasn't cheap at $340,000. I guess Colorado is the hip area for young people thus the high cost of living. The girls even met a random good looking guy at the bar in the end. I doubt he was random and was probably one of their friends. All in all, a nice HH episode. BTW! Whoever marries that girl is going to be a lucky guy. She seemed so nice with a good head on her shoulder.

Edited by ByaNose
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I thought Elena of Covered Bridge, OH (I don't remember the name of the town) was gorgeous and funny. "When you go upstairs, apparently there's a time warp that sends you back to 1967." "You can just pledge allegiance right from the front yard." I was with her on not wanting an open floor plan but not on her dislike of en suites. Her boyfriend (Life? Really?) was cute in the face and I like dreadlocks, but they don't really work as well with a receding hairline IMO. They seemed to have a very sweet relationship though.

 

I thought the house she bought was the right one - the second one was way too big for one person. I wasn't crazy about the color she painted her new dining room though - it read as a bright sea foam green, and it was a little too much for me.

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Late to the game in watching the Tiburon, CA episode.

 

 

He must have done very well in the financial sector to be able to retire so early,

 

To say the very least!  To be able to retire AND buy a $4 million house in one of the most expensive places in the country to live!  And have the wife not work.  When you are getting screwed by the big banks and investment companies, you can think of him, even though he seemed nice.

 

I called the last house they looked at the "Empire" house (from the TV show).  It looked like you could have great parties and shoot music videos there.  I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to see what a great architect and designer could do with that house.  In fact, that is a great idea ... someone could do a multiple-episode show just on redoing that house.

OK, I'll admit it, I'm one of those people who like certain retro features in a house, and I appreciated the 3rd house on the Ohio episode last night.  I really did like the bird screen in the bathroom and would not remove it.  Yes, it needed some TLC and updating, but I do hope the new owners don't toss some of that stuff to the curb.  The prices on all of those houses were amazing considering the over 2,000 square feet in each house and the large lots.  The real estate market there must be depressed.  Anyone have any information about that area of Ohio? 

I was happily surprised to see Ashtabula County show up on HH.  This show took place close to the town where I was born and lived until age 8.  Conneaut is on the lake and the Pennsylvania border.  North Kingsville is directly to the west. I remember the covered bridges and the small town nature, but it's been years since I've lived there.  The winters are brutal.  My grandfather was the chief of police of Conneaut; back in the day, my father worked on the railroad (Nickel Plate).  It's a three hour drive down from Buffalo where a number of HH shows have taken place in recent months.  I still have family in that part of NY.

 

Roaming Shores is south of Ashtabula and I'm clueless about Seyville - I see one in NY - unless I have the town wrong.

 

Those houses were cheap and large. 

Edited by Christine

Enjoyed Ohio woman.  She seemed like someone I'd like to be friends with :)  I liked that she didn't want all the "typical" things like ensuite bathroom, stainless steel, open concept, etc.  Actually seemed positive or laughed about some of the outdated features of the homes, and not endlessly complaining.  Although I never want to hear "big girl toys" ever again!  

 

Hmmm, boyfriend "Life" who has a "foreign company"?  I must say though, he sure did come through in a major way on the home renovations!  I wonder if they met there, or if they were already together and he was coming with her?  They didn't really say.

 

I just can't get over home prices there!  I live in a major metropolitan area, and those houses would be in the millions....130K!!!!!  

Edited by awaken
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Super cute Colorado girl with 5 bikes looking for a house. She wasn't annoying and best friend who was even prettier wasn't annoying either. What a nice change of pace for HH. She chose an older home but it wasn't cheap at $340,000. I guess Colorado is the hip area for young people thus the high cost of living. The girls even met a random good looking guy at the bar in the end. I doubt he was random and was probably one of their friends. All in all, a nice HH episode. BTW! Whoever marries that girl is going to be a lucky guy. She seemed so nice with a good head on her shoulder.

 

 

I thought she was a bit odd-looking and had a strange voice, myself, but she seemed like a cool and fun person!  I enjoyed that they looked at more interesting, older homes.  I knew they were not going to choose the one next to the highway, busy street, or motel!  I wouldn't.   Enjoyed this ep!

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