House Hunters: Buying in the USA

[Kohola3]

And just how in the hell are you supposed to accomplish that?

 

He wants me to dig a ditch along the property line.  And tie off all of my downspouts to divert the water away.

[zivadanielle]

I liked the Valley -> city of Los Angeles couple last night.  The husband was pretty snarky but not offensively so.  Wife was not an entitled vocal-fryette.  Also KITTEHS.

 

LOLOL at "starter home budget" of $575K though. I guess that comes with the location...which I should know from watching Flip or Flop.

 

Speaking of, the third house (the one by the freeway) totally looked like something I had seen on FoF previously.  Either the flippers went to the El Moussa School of House Flipping or they use the same staging company. 

 

PS: however, what was up with bringing in the listing agent on the home in Reseda?  Have we ever seen that before? 

[proserpina65]

It sounds pretty good to me -- quiet, nobody building something tall enough to obstruct your view, etc.  I would never live next to a school, daycare center, church, etc., but a cemetery would be no issue for me.

Yeah, I have weird, irrational zombie issues, so . . . I realize it isn't logical in any way.

[Aimless]

 

Speaking of, the third house (the one by the freeway) totally looked like something I had seen on FoF previously.  Either the flippers went to the El Moussa School of House Flipping or they use the same staging company.

 

zivadanielle, I said the exact same thing when they showed that house!  The boring grey and white palette, the telltale quartz counter top with the little sparklies, the cheesy light wood laminate floors . . . all hallmarks of Christina's design aesthetic, but even she wouldn't put light living room flooring right up next to the dark wood floor that was in the kitchen. In any case, that house was awful - and practically ON the freeway!  I would have gone with the Reseda house myself, but the one they chose was really cute.

[OSM Mom]

He wants me to dig a ditch along the property line. And tie off all of my downspouts to divert the water away.

Wow. What an ass.

[aguabella]

About that third LA home, yes the staging appeared fairly basic so they may have used either the FoF stager or another professional.  WRT the renovation, however, although I haven't seen many FoF's, I doubt Christina would have either left that gnarly carpet in the bedroom or done the tile in the first bathroom.  IIRC, they may have just done counters and appliances in the kitchen instead of the typical Christina gut job.

 

The flooring tread was a problem but the multiple flooring types were a bigger problem, for me.  They cheaped out by simply refinishing that small floor area in the l/r.  They needed to yank out all the old flooring.  The home would have felt much larger with one consistent flooring throughout instead of a mish-mash.

 

Freeway homes are extremely challenging.  They don't sell unless they're in top condition and dressed to the nines, in my experience.  That's probably why it was sitting around on mls, however, and available for use as a decoy on HH.

[StatisticalOutlier]

I doubt Christina would have either left that gnarly carpet in the bedroom or done the tile in the first bathroom. 

 

It wasn't until I read this that I realized how much I miss the word "gnarly."

[proserpina65]

Saw an episode the other night with homebuyers moving from Brooklyn to NJ.  I didn't see the first house, but I liked both of the other two.  I'll confess, I'd have chosen house 3 just for the William Morris style wallpaper in the dining room, and I was very glad to see they hadn't removed it when they filmed the "after the purchase" bit.

[aguabella]

Not familiar with the specific NJ areas they were touring but have it in my head that those towns are upscale.  For that reason, I expected the third house would be nicely staged.  When it wasn't, I had a rentback vibe.  Perhaps the couple allowed it, using that time to both coordinate their move and have (architect) husband work up their plan.

[aguabella]

On ‎4‎/‎19‎/‎2016 at 6:52 AM, zivadanielle said:

I liked the Valley -> city of Los Angeles couple last night.  The husband was pretty snarky but not offensively so.  Wife was not an entitled vocal-fryette.  Also KITTEHS.

 

LOLOL at "starter home budget" of $575K though. I guess that comes with the location...which I should know from watching Flip or Flop.

 

Speaking of, the third house (the one by the freeway) totally looked like something I had seen on FoF previously.  Either the flippers went to the El Moussa School of House Flipping or they use the same staging company. 

 

PS: however, what was up with bringing in the listing agent on the home in Reseda?  Have we ever seen that before? 

 

Allowing a listing agent appearance has occurred a few times.  IIRC, it's always been to explain the listing's historical background, e.g. a famed architect.

[Empress1]

The Long Beach couple was gorgeous, and I liked seeing how happy the husband was to get the fixer, but I think at some point he's going to end up biting off more than he can chew with all his planned renovations, particularly if he wants to do stuff himself. But they were a sweet couple. Those houses were tiny though.

[ByaNose]

Wow! Long Beach, Ca. house for $448,000. The smallest house with the worst curb appeal. It had a super small kitchen and no grass in the yard. That's just crazy! IMO!!

[laredhead]

I am always shocked at how much $$ it takes to buy a house in some parts of California.  $448,000 for a one thousand square foot house is insane.  How do people afford food, clothes and other things after they have to make huge mortgage payments?  Are their salaries proportionally higher there than in other parts of the country?  Buying the worst house on the best street has merit, and boy did that one qualify.  The husband wanted a fixer and he got his wish, but his wife seemed to be OK that that and there was no drama which was nice.  I hope they have a long, happy life together.  

[Ohwell]

I, too, am surprised at how expensive homes in Long Beach are.  The fixer upper, once fixed, will be a nice house, but I wouldn't want that big, white house next to mine.  I thought that one was ugly.

The couple seemed nice; however, I don't know what kind of dog that was but I did worry about the little child being around it.   

[ByaNose]

31 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

I, too, am surprised at how expensive homes in Long Beach are.  The fixer upper, once fixed, will be a nice house, but I wouldn't want that big, white house next to mine.  I thought that one was ugly.

The couple seemed nice; however, I don't know what kind of dog that was but I did worry about the little child being around it.   

I was trying to figure what the deal with that white house next door. What exactly was it? Mid Century Modern? Some old building? The water company?

[outtahere]

That was a Rottweiler.  The child will be perfectly safe with it because he is family and he will be well protected against strangers.

[Ohwell]

Ok, I get it.  Kinda like Damien in The Omen.  

[CoolMom]

On 4/18/2016 at 6:28 PM, Kohola3 said:

Nor me.  Nice and quiet, nothing going on at night, nobody to complain if the dog barks. I'd love it.  Beats the hell out of living next to my crappy, nasty neighbors who, when it rains, order me to make sure none of "my" rainwater touches their property.

I have dealt with the fact that our builder elevated my neighbors slab about 6" higher than mine 14 years ago. Every time we have a heavy rain I get a bit of water in my garage, not enough to be a problem but enough to be annoying.  The builder put in a drain system after we noticed it but it doesn't work like it should.  I would NEVER have thought to tell my lovely neighbor to keep her rainwater on her side of the property line! ::rolling eyes:: Can a neighbor do that?

ETA: Old and outdated became Mid Century Modern when Mad Men became popular.  When my father passed away, I sold a ton of his Mid Century Modern furniture and decor for pennies.  I could get a fortune for it today.

Edited May 5, 2016 by CoolMom

[juliet73]

Detroit couple...I always skip the beginning because I don't care about teir backstory, what they are looking for, etc. When they kept mentioning needing room the DR table, I expected some ginarmous, massive table. It looked like an average size table to me.  Wife needed to kind of get over herself.  Considering, she was insistent on not being near water because of the children's safety, they seemed to be taking their sweet time installing the fence.  And when she told her husband he could hang his clothes in the other closet...downstairs. Seriously?  I liked the first two houses.

[ByaNose]

Fast forwarded the intro (because I don't care about them. LOL!!!) and couldn't figure out why there was a pink little girl room. Suffice to say, I had to go back and watch the beginning. LOL!!! I also thought the table was going to be this huge Dynasty Blake Carrington table and was perplexed at how small it was. It look like any other 6 seater dinning room set. It even had a bench which was something else i wasn't expecting. Overall, they seemed like a nice couple and the house was nice enough.

[aguabella]

On ‎5‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 7:18 AM, laredhead said:

I am always shocked at how much $$ it takes to buy a house in some parts of California.  $448,000 for a one thousand square foot house is insane.  How do people afford food, clothes and other things after they have to make huge mortgage payments?  Are their salaries proportionally higher there than in other parts of the country?  Buying the worst house on the best street has merit, and boy did that one qualify.  The husband wanted a fixer and he got his wish, but his wife seemed to be OK that that and there was no drama which was nice.  I hope they have a long, happy life together.  

Site ate my homework - didn't think my reply was that long!  No signoff / expiration / warning notification given so beware, everyone.

Anyway, good point, laredhead.  The prices seemed fine, to me, but it's all relative.  Speaking from experience, I can confirm that salaries do trend higher in higher cost areas but not enough to cover the housing costs and taxes and ...

Anyway, 30%'s considered a benchmark but conservative buyers shoot for 25!  IIRC, regulations specify a loan ceiling of 43%.  Many buyers in these areas push 40 or even exceed it.  It's also very common for them to either receive gifts and/or borrow from relatives to get started.  Loan officers may consider other assets but most don't.

Will do the remainder of the post on the LB home later.

ETA, here's part of it:

Ok, ok, lol, the white monstrosity?  My guess was a single family, teardown and rebuild at a zero lot line.  I quickly checked but didn't see a recent sale or rental/condo ads (for add'l units) so don't know for sure.  Couldn't see multiple doors but it appeared to have exterior stairs.  It's possible a 1st floor door was underneath.  Or, the stairs could provide access to all units.  Multiples was my other guess.  Based on the exterior alone, I wouldn't call it mcm. 

Edited May 6, 2016 by aguabella

[Empress1]

I used to live in the East Village! I always like seeing places I've lived on TV. The hunter was an actor but I didn't recognize him.

I lived in a 5th floor walk up for a few years (not in the East Village; that building had an elevator, plus we were only on the second floor so we always used the stairs anyway). You get used to the stairs very quickly. If you don't want to schlep groceries upstairs, you have them delivered. (If you're buying more than you can carry, you have them delivered anyway.) It's not that bad. Just tip your delivery people & movers well.

[Albino]

Oh Matt...the pampered L.A. boy searching for that "gritty, authentic" East Village vibe.  

I would have snapped up that UES place in a New York minute.  (See what I did there?)  To say that there weren't enough shops and restaurants around was ridiculous...there are plenty in every neighborhood in the city.  That's why people flock to Manhattan...you can walk out your door and find anything to do, buy or eat right around the corner.  Maybe they weren't gritty and authentic enough?

He was actually an okay buyer - despite the constant "pre-war" chatter - but I wonder how long it'll take him to tire of walking up and down 4 floors every day to get to all those restaurants and shops.    

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, Albino said:

Oh Matt...the pampered L.A. boy searching for that "gritty, authentic" East Village vibe.  

I would have snapped up that UES place in a New York minute.  (See what I did there?)  To say that there weren't enough shops and restaurants around was ridiculous...there are plenty in every neighborhood in the city.  That's why people flock to Manhattan...you can walk out your door and find anything to do, buy or eat right around the corner.  Maybe they weren't gritty and authentic enough?

He was actually an okay buyer - despite the constant "pre-war" chatter - but I wonder how long it'll take him to tire of walking up and down 4 floors every day to get to all those restaurants and shops.    

Definitely not around every corner in every neighborhood  the UES is definitely on the sleepy side compared to other neighborhoods in Manhattan which means yes it's probably closer to things than in other cities but it can still seem a world away when you want to live in the East Village.

I know that phase 1 is close to completion but real estate agents have literally been telling people the 2nd Avenue Subway was going to change the neighborhood since the 1920s as a way to make it seem not as isolated.

Edited May 10, 2016 by biakbiak

[Empress1]

Yeah, there's a scene in Mad Men where Peggy is looking at an UES apartment and the realtor gives her that line. Decades, this has been going on. And only having one subway line really is a pain.

[juliet73]

I didn't like the UES apt because the outdoor common area was right outside his front door.  He mentioned though that he liked the "grittiness" of the alley to get to the front door.  I can't get over the monthly fees! I know it's Manhattan and everything is super expensive, but still...For over $1200 a month, I at least expect a doorman.  His desire for a dishwasher was laughable. He's a single guy, living alone in the city. Most of his eating is probably going to be outside of his apt. When he does eat at home, I doubt he's going to be preparing a Thanksgiving feast each time. It was refreshing to hear him mention that his grandmother left him some money in addition to the money he saved living at his mom's. I always wonder how these kids have $500k + for housing.

[Peanutbuttercup]

Someone needs to tell pampered trust-fund boy that having a dishwasher isn't very authentic and gritty.

[NYGirl]

That alley way was gritty for sure.....until he gets mugged in the dark.

i liked the UES apartment best probably because of the elevator.   I didn't like the one with the common area outside his apartment.  Way too small.

[Empress1]

27 minutes ago, juliet73 said:

I didn't like the UES apt because the outdoor common area was right outside his front door.  He mentioned though that he liked the "grittiness" of the alley to get to the front door.  I can't get over the monthly fees! I know it's Manhattan and everything is super expensive, but still...For over $1200 a month, I at least expect a doorman.  His desire for a dishwasher was laughable. He's a single guy, living alone in the city. Most of his eating is probably going to be outside of his apt. When he does eat at home, I doubt he's going to be preparing a Thanksgiving feast each time. It was refreshing to hear him mention that his grandmother left him some money in addition to the money he saved living at his mom's. I always wonder how these kids have $500k + for housing.

I think that was the LES apartment with the common outdoor area, and I agree, that would bug me. My old East Village place had a common outdoor area and it did get loud, and we were on the second floor.

I didn't mind his desire for a dishwasher; maybe he cooks. I'm a single woman and I cook (and cook well, and not just simple stuff) the vast majority of the time. I've gone back and forth with and without dishwashers for my adult life (always had one growing up). I don't have one now, and it is a deal breaker for my next place. I will have one, period. I wash a LOT of dishes, and I hate it.

I also didn't blame him for not wanting to live on the UES. The vibes, demographics, etc. between neighborhoods in most cities are pretty different. I can think of a number of neighborhoods that I just don't like enough to live in, and he wasn't in a "beggars can't be choosers" situation.

[Tara1665]

Dear Lord ...entitled LA boy. The  vocal fry and the fact that he couldn't accept that he's not getting a place like his mother's in NYC ( she had a 5000 sqft house and did his laundry and shopping and cleaningfor him) I just couldn't. Thanks y'all for telling which he picked. I had to turn it off.

[biakbiak]

23 minutes ago, Tara1665 said:

Dear Lord ...entitled LA boy. The  vocal fry and the fact that he couldn't accept that he's not getting a place like his mother's in NYC ( she had a 5000 sqft house and did his laundry and shopping and cleaningfor him) I just couldn't. Thanks y'all for telling which he picked. I had to turn it off.

He completely accepted it. I didn't find his list of wants to be crazy he basically wanted a dishwasher (they mentioned he liked to cook) and to be in a neighborhood he liked. In the end he spent a little more and didn't complain about the lack of dishwasher or that it was a walkup.

Edited May 10, 2016 by biakbiak

[Sun-Bun]

Remind me to never buy a place in Manhattan until I at least have 1million in the bank to play with...which means I'll likely never live in Manhattan, but that's okay with me...not to be Captain Obvious as usual, but talk about a waste of money for such tiny old places with no real amenities! I'm assuming his place he chose didn't have its own washer-dryer or a dishwasher either??

Wow...it still shocks me how much New Yorkers give up for the privilege of living in New York City. I can understand giving up such comforts for vibrant and more exotic cities like Paris or London, but unless you're of a certain socioeconomic status, I can't see the allure of living in some overpriced hovel in the fast-paced and high-priced hoods of NYC.

So that dude was an actor? Mmmmkay, good luck with that; he had about as much onscreen charisma as my big toe, but whatever. Nice of late granny to fund his fun new lifestyle/vanity career though.

And nope, as convenient as it may seem, you *never* want to be right beside a building's outside common area. Yeah, you might think it's fun for all those potential parties and BBQ's you could easily host, until you see that the entire building also feels the same way and you get to hear all their loud ongoing gatherings out there anytime the weather is remotely nice. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

6 hours ago, juliet73 said:

 I can't get over the monthly fees! I know it's Manhattan and everything is super expensive, but still...For over $1200 a month, I at least expect a doorman. ... It was refreshing to hear him mention that his grandmother left him some money in addition to the money he saved living at his mom's. I always wonder how these kids have $500k + for housing.

Yes, it was refreshing for him to cop to having an inheritance.  He's 27 and said he'd been saving "for a long time."  I don't care how long a 27-year-old has been saving, there simply aren't enough years in there to save enough to afford a $600,000 apartment.

As for the monthly fees, part of that is property taxes.  Since New York has an income tax, I assume the property taxes aren't astronomical, but in Austin, the property taxes on a $500,000 house would be over $10,000/year.  So someone in Austin who buys a $500,000 house would be shelling out almost $1,000/month for taxes, but that's never mentioned.

 

2 hours ago, Sun-Bun said:

Wow...it still shocks me how much New Yorkers give up for the privilege of living in New York City. I can understand giving up such comforts for vibrant and more exotic cities like Paris or London, but unless you're of a certain socioeconomic status, I can't see the allure of living in some overpriced hovel in the fast-paced and high-priced hoods of NYC.

New York is plenty exotic to most people who live in the rest of the U.S.  Watching them walk around the East Village at night made me jealous.  And aren't London and Paris just as prohibitively expensive as NYC?  That's the impression I've gotten from watching HHI.

About 20 years ago, NYU would open some of its dorm rooms to non-students during the summer, and I jumped on it even though I was WAY above student age.  But it was a painless way to spend three months there, right by Washington Square Park, even if it was weird being the oldest person living there.

It was a twin-bedded regular old dorm room with a private bath, and I had it to myself, and I loved every single second of it.  There's just something so fun about walking out your front door with the attitude of, "Entertain me, city."  And it always came through.  It wouldn't have been as reliable a show if I'd been on the Upper East Side, although I did find a diary in the trash up there once, and in that building, anyway, there was apparently never a lack of excitement.

Back to the show:  I thought the entry to the apartment on the LES was pretty cool, but I wouldn't want my window overlooking that common area.  Noise would be bad enough, but you just know that's where people smoke.  Yuck.  And it's only a block south of his "preferred East Village," but Houston Street is not only a physically wide street, but I feel an even bigger psychological barrier when crossing it.  Maybe it's because it's a hard one to jay-walk across--it feels impenetrable.

But what was the deal with that looooong countertop in the apartment he took?  You can't sit at it because there are cabinets below it.  But putting anything useful above it would make the entry even more tunnel-like.  What they apparently did was turn the part of the room near the door into a very long walk-through one-sided closet.  I would appreciate all the storage, but it just seemed like a weird use of space.  Hallways are generally wastes of space and I know some floor layouts require them, but I would look at every 12"x12" piece of floor and think, "$1000 just to walk over you?"

And a big NO to the bed you can't walk around.  I wonder if, now that he's out of his mom's house, he'll be one of those kids who just toss some blankets on there and call it done.  But a person who likes neat sheets on a bed?  It's a problem.

[Ohwell]

I've been to NYC many times and while every visit has been exciting, I just can't get into the "gritty."  I didn't envy that guy at all.  Nice place to visit.......... 

[ByaNose]

I will never get over the sticker shock of NYC & California. I can't believe that he would pay all that money and not get a frckin dishwasher. I can understand a doorman but a frickin applicance. No way! No how!

What was up with extra long entry way bar counter top? It's like in an old western where they would toss the beer mug from one end to the other. Maybe, it was something else before it was an actual counter?!? Very odd. I didn't like because it seemed sooooooo small......which it probably was. Also, his best (girl) friend seemed nice but the his NYC friends didn't seem like they were.into.her.at.all. LOL!!!!

[izabella]

9 hours ago, NYGirl said:

That alley way was gritty for sure.....until he gets mugged in the dark.

I'm trying to imagine how one shovels snow in that alley.  It's open to the air, so it must get snow.

I actually liked the guy, lol.  I thought he seemed matter-of-fact that he'd be giving up CA-sized space and amenities in NY.  And he does cook, so I understand wanting a dishwasher and he didn't get one anyway, so he wasn't being a brat.  He can always put one in if he's planning to stay there for a while.  I think they said he was a film maker, so NY could be a great home base.  The stairs will keep him fit - free gym!

I would have picked the UES place, but I'm a lot older than him and don't need to be right in the middle of the young, urban action.  Location matters a lot.

[Empress1]

3 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

New York is plenty exotic to most people who live in the rest of the U.S.  Watching them walk around the East Village at night made me jealous.  And aren't London and Paris just as prohibitively expensive as NYC?  That's the impression I've gotten from watching HHI.

London is worse. My friend moved to London from NYC for work (she met her husband, a Brit, there) and they got priced out pretty quickly - they moved to northern CA, which is also pricey but cheaper than London. I think you can live a bit more modestly in Paris - I have another friend who lived there (married a French guy) and they lived an OK 20something existence on not much money (he was a student and she was working, and didn't make much). I studied abroad there and lived in an apartment split with another student; our small two-bedroom, one bath apartment was $1200 a month, and this was over 10 years ago.

I lived in NYC for a decade and loved it, and I've spent my whole life visiting my family there (my mom's side immigrated to BK and has been there for literally a hundred years), but I am glad to get more for my money elsewhere. A lot of my friends have left, particularly as they started having kids; the ones who stayed have jobs in "only in New York" industries. The COL has always been high but it's really getting bonkers.

I didn't think the guy was a brat - his wish list was pretty short. He basically wanted a one-bedroom in the East Village with a dishwasher. He was fine about the walkup (his friend was the one complaining about it), he didn't complain about not getting a dishwasher, and he didn't complain about the small sizes - he seemed to know what he'd be getting. The narration said he'd had to go back and forth to NYC for "film projects" so it makes sense for him to put down some roots there, and he's right that buying property in NYC is always going to be a good investment. He'll have no problem renting that place out if he finds himself back in LA for any length of time.

[laredhead]

Not sure where to post this, but since it concerns the TV Guide listing for House Hunters, I'll post it here.  TV Guide has House Hunters scheduled for tonight, but I have AT&T Uverse and they are airing "Good Bones", whatever house show that is.  This happened last week as well.  Just an observation and sort of a complaint because I would rather see HH than another show about 2 people flipping or renovating houses.

[NYGirl]

I hate that Good Bones show.  HGTV is just finding people with shows just like the ones they already have on!  Good Bones, Listed Sisters and that couple that are like Joanna and Chip.  I hate all of them.  I'd rather watch HHs all day long!

[juliet73]

15 hours ago, ByaNose said:

'Also, his best (girl) friend seemed nice but the his NYC friends didn't seem like they were.into.her.at.all. LOL!!!!

Probably because they really weren't his friends. They were probably the crew or random people of the street.

[StatisticalOutlier]

1 hour ago, juliet73 said:

Probably because they really weren't his friends. They were probably the crew or random people of the street.

I found a gofundme appeal for someone building a tiny house that had as one of the rewards (or whatever they're called) an appearance on the show Tiny House Nation--I guess the funder would get to pose as a friend for the big reveal. 

[Dejana]

From Buzzfeed:

11 Charts That Are Way Too Real For Anyone Who Watches “House Hunters”

[juliet73]

Seattle couple...ugh! Where did these 2 come from? They were just awful.  They are twentysomethings looking at homes with $700k budget and complaining about EVERYTHING! Mary doesn't like the first place because it shares walls and "that is her worst nightmare!" Victor doesn't like the second house because it's a dump, which I have to agree. But he says the non creepy basement "is his personal hell!" Say what?!  The last place has a TINY yard and Mary thinks it's too small. While touring the house she complains that it doesn't "feel homey and charming."  So they pick the last house because according to Mary, "it really feels like home." Huh? Then they are outside complaining about all the work and upkeep in their TINY yard, yet she still is complaining about wanting a bigger yard. Victor says mowing the lawn took a lot more work than he thought. Seriously?! You could cut the grass in less than 10 seconds!!  I can't take the millennials on this show!

[magemaud]

Oh god, I think Victor's name was really Eeyore! So negative about everything! 

[Albino]

2 hours ago, Dejana said:

From Buzzfeed:

11 Charts That Are Way Too Real For Anyone Who Watches “House Hunters”

LOLOL!    I always scratch my head when hunters demand "entertaining space".  Like, most of these couples work full time, usually have a kid or two...when do they have the time to arrange, cook and clean-up for the hordes of family and friends descending on their open-concept home?

[MsTree]

Quote

I can't take the millennials on this show!

...or anywhere else for that matter. They should just change their name to the "entitled generation".

[laredhead]

Not only is the Seattle couple not married, they aren't even engaged, yet are buying a house together.  She seemed to be well aware of his pickiness, and if they do plan to get married and have children, he's going to be in for a shock with that disruption to his expectations of no germs or mess.  As much as I would love to live in Seattle, I guess I can cross that location off my list because there is no way I could afford it.  I wish they would go to some smaller towns in the Pacific NW where the prices might be more reasonable. 

[Empress1]

1 hour ago, laredhead said:

Not only is the Seattle couple not married, they aren't even engaged, yet are buying a house together.  She seemed to be well aware of his pickiness, and if they do plan to get married and have children, he's going to be in for a shock with that disruption to his expectations of no germs or mess.  As much as I would love to live in Seattle, I guess I can cross that location off my list because there is no way I could afford it.  I wish they would go to some smaller towns in the Pacific NW where the prices might be more reasonable. 

I wondered if I'd missed their relationship status. A coworker was just telling me about how she and her boyfriend bought a place "with the assumption that it'll lead to marriage," and I was thinking, chile, you should have gotten all that assuming shit clarified BEFORE you bought property. I had another coworker who bought a place with her now-ex-boyfriend and it was a mess when they broke up (and they broke up because she assumed that buying a house = step toward marriage, and it turned out he wasn't interested in marriage).

For some reason, his dislike of basements bothered me. It's just a basement!

[Babalooie]

The creepiest thing for me was when Seattle girl's father was showing them the master bedrooms. 

Edited May 12, 2016 by Babalooie

[laredhead]

Babalooie, maybe the dad was looking at it from a realtor's point of view.  He figured that if the relationship doesn't work out, he's make another commission by selling the house.