House Hunters: Buying in the USA

[awaken]

Double post 

Edited August 14, 2016 by awaken

[MoreCoffeePlease]

I really enjoyed the episode with the young couple buying in Cincinnati.  Boy, you can get a lot of house there for $150,000!  They didn't nitpick, wanted practical features, and were pleasant overall.  How refreshing.  All 3 houses were pretty nice, although I was partial to the raised ranch since it reminds me of a split-level that my husband and I owned years ago.

My only shallow comment is that the wife's eyebrows bothered me.  She should let them grow in a bit and then get them professionally reshaped.

[Albino]

For all that is holy, House Hunters - please never ever feature a pre-teen girl on the show ever ever again.  I wanted to slap her after 5 minutes.  And I know she was seriously coached but I don't need no stinkin' kid complaining about old kitchen appliances or ooohing over granite, especially when it appears the only thing she makes is cookies.  It's not cute and there's nothing "awwwww..." about it. Her older brother, however, was pretty awesome.

Now that I've got that out of my system...I'm talking about the new episode featuring the always-disappointed mom with the un-cute daughter and extremely likable son moving to Panama City, Fl.  All 3 houses looked like crap to me (but thank God each had a "Teen Room").  

Mom (who teaches cheerleading!) was almost as bad as her daughter.  I actually recoiled when she walked into the master bath in house #3 and said how much she loved the reclaimed wood "feature wall".  (Which, by the way, was totally inappropriate in this rundown ranch, as was the - you guessed it! - barn door leading the the master suite.)  Who says feature wall?  Who?  (Property Brothers don't count.)

They ended up buying rundown ranch #2 and mom immediately put up an equally inappropriate reclaimed wood feature wall in the living room.   

Edited August 16, 2016 by Albino

[biakbiak]

Aly was annoying but I want the pajamas she was wearing at her sleepover.

[NYGirl]

OMG were they the most annoying HHs yet?  That little girl was worse than critical adults.  I've never seen a kid that age acting like that.  The mother was equally annoying and deferred to the child when choosing a kitchen.  Doesn't she even cook?  Does the girl cook? 

I didn't like any of the houses and the one they chose had no place for a table.  Imagine entertaining and having everyone sit at the island?  It it was my house I'd have made the stupid "hang out" room into a dining room..but that's just me.  The kids could "hang out" in their rooms.

Don't get me starting on the mother with her complaints!  And the reclaimed wood she was tacking up at the end?  OMG so ugly....and why? why? why?

 At one point she said a kitchen wasn't functional.  I yelled at the TV at that point because just because it didn't meet your aesthetic everything worked.

Edited August 16, 2016 by NYGirl

[Kohola3]

I wonder if people who volunteer their houses as fake "for sale" ones have to sign more than just a non-disclosure agreement.  I wonder if they also have to sign a I Promise Not to Hit the Fake Buyers with a Large Board agreement when they make all of those totally inane comments about functionality. I lived in my house for 35 years and it functioned for me.  You don't l like the color of the cabinets or appliances, that's fine but it doesn't make them non-functional. I was able to feed myself for all of those years so I'd be very tempted to hit someone upside the head if I heard that ignorant comment.

[KLovestoShop]

It almost sounded like the little girl was given a script to read, but if she didn't, she was totally over the top obnoxious.  What pre-teen knows about granite, appliances and functionality?  Loved the older brother and his comment about having too many girls in his house.  He was so right on that account.  I didn't like any of the houses they were shown and I thought she bought the worst one, by far, with regards to space.  But she really had a tiny budget.  

[Empress1]

If you aren't paying any bills, you don't get to sneer at stuff. Ugh, what a brat. A 12-year-old doesn't "need" an updated kitchen to bake cookies in. Every time she chimed in, I rolled my eyes. I didn't like any of the houses, and the teen boy (who was the only one I liked)  was right - the place they picked had no dining space. The "feature wall" Mom put up was not cute.

[juliet73]

I agree with everyone else. The boy was awesome.  The mother was annoying and the 12 year daughter was insufferable!

Unless my child is paying the mortgage, I don't care what they NEED/WANT in MY house! Guess what Aly...you don't need an island, granite or SS appliances!  Julia Child didn't have any of that and she was a professional chef, not an entitled brat who just bakes crappy cookies. I cringed every time Aly opened her mouth and her idiot mom stood there smiling.  Ugh!  

Edited August 16, 2016 by juliet73

[Vivigirl10]

Thankful I wasn't the only one totally put off by the daughter!  Geesh!  But I have a feeling her Mother was who we have to thank for creating the monster.  I bet she fully subscribes to the "I'm a best friend" style of parenting where the kids rule the roost.  I'm surprised she wasn't there in her own cutesy pajamas with all the other girls in the last shot.  The son is probably the real adult of the family.

Quote

how much she loved the reclaimed wood "feature wall".  (Which, by the way, was totally inappropriate in this rundown ranch, as was the - you guessed it! - barn door leading the the master suite.)  

I know I'm completely over the top with my barn door hatred but it has to be one of the most idiotic "trends" right now.  And why is it usually put in the most un-fitting of homes?  Although, I don't know where it would ever look authentic except for maybe, I don't know, A BARN???  Stupid, stupid, stupid.  People will be tearing those things out long before granite has even run it's course.  

[AuntiePam]

The 12-year-old didn't bug me all that much.  It's obvious that she's watched the show and was ready for her 15 minutes, and knew what she was expected to say.  At least she didn't pepper her speech with "like" and "literally", although she did overuse "definitely." 

That feature wall she put up was ugly.  If it's intended as a feature wall, then putting all that crap in front of it didn't work.  My mom's lawyer had a wall in his office that came from a barn.  It smelled really bad.    

[Albino]

38 minutes ago, Kiki620 said:

I know I'm completely over the top with my barn door hatred but it has to be one of the most idiotic "trends" right now.  And why is it usually put in the most un-fitting of homes?  

In addition to the door's pistachio green color (reclaimed from an authentic pistachio green barn) - one side was "weathered" and the other side was not.  WTF?

[laredhead]

I read all of the comments about the Panama City HH before I watched the episode, and I agree with everyone about the 12-year old.  It's the perfect example of how TV influences people and what they want to have.  Also I noticed that the mother's parents' kitchen was very nice with granite, expensive cabinets, open and spacious.  Hmmmm, wonder where the 12-year old got her desire for the same thing other than on HH's.  

IMO, none of those houses were prizes and none of the yards looked very well kept, but with a budget of $140,000 I guess that limits one to neighborhoods that might not be as desirable as others.  At least, it would where I live where it's hard to find a nice house in a good neighborhood for less than $200,000.

[laredhead]

I read all of the comments about the Panama City HH before I watched the episode, and I agree with everyone about the 12-year old.  It's the perfect example of how TV influences people and what they want to have.  Also I noticed that the mother's parents' kitchen was very nice with granite, expensive cabinets, open and spacious.  Hmmmm, wonder where the 12-year old got her desire for the same thing other than on HH's.  

IMO, none of those houses were prizes and none of the yards looked very well kept, but with a budget of $140,000 I guess that limits one to neighborhoods that might not be as desirable as others.  At least, it would where I live where it's hard to find a nice house in a good neighborhood for less than $200,000.

[iMonrey]

Quote

What pre-teen knows about granite, appliances and functionality?  

A kid who watches a lot of HGTV. And I think the Mom even said she watches all the design shows. So, there you go. Brainwashed at an early eage.

Now for a refreshing change, last night's New Hampshire couple didn't want stainless steel or granite! Hallelujah! That's the first time I've ever heard a house hunter point out how hard it is to keep stainless steel clean. (I've also heard they can scratch really easily and there's no way to fix that.) On a shallow note, however, I must point out that the wife had a very unfortunate chin. And the husband seemed like kind of a douche. 

[dga28]

i don't have an issue with buyers putting stainless steel and granite in their kitchens.  i believe homeowners should pay attention to what sells faster on the resale market.  however its easy to install yourself for minimal dollars so they may not be a necessity at home purchase.  actually you may be able to negotiate a lower price because the kitchen needs updating.

[Ohwell]

Man moving to New Jersey with Dominican wife.  Five minutes in and already she's annoying.  I don't even care which house they choose.  I'm out.

[Albino]

1 hour ago, Ohwell said:

Man moving to New Jersey with Dominican wife.  Five minutes in and already she's annoying.  I don't even care which house they choose.  I'm out.

Are you referring to that spicy little spitfire?  Ugh.  Although I have to say, she must be an HH first - she demanded carpet everywhere!  Todos los cuatros!  At least I think so.  She only mentioned it 12 times during the episode.  And also...stairs!  They're so damn frustrating!  

I lived about 10 minutes away from Paramus for about 40 years..  It's a nice town, but totally without charm.  Most of the homes are split levels, exactly like the one they bought. There are at least 5 major shopping centers (score!) and residents are always complaining about traffic. You can't get near it from Thanksgiving to January.

Saddle Brook  (new build with stairs!) is just...meh...it's not really a town, it's more like a major exit/entrance from Rte. 80  which is the route everyone takes to and from NYC.  Washington Township (house #3) is a little bit better, but "downtown" is basically a strip mall.  I laughed when the husband said he wanted a Victorian (I think...) on a $600K budget.  If you even found one it would easily cost $900K, and in crappy condition.

Senora Spitfire got her way - 5 bedrooms - even though they only had one kid.  Luckily the husband got his way too, and they were ripping up most of the carpet, much to her dismay.  Has she never heard of rugs?

Overall, boring houses and boring episode.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Albino

[juliet73]

I agree about Senora Spitfire! She was soooo annoying, but he was kind of a dick so they were good for each other. 

I didn't understand why he was making such a big deal about 5 bedrooms. He could have his office and she could have her guest room. 

I HATE HATE HATE the word " amazing!" It is so overused and she must have said it at least four times. The fireplace is amazing,  the lake is amazing,  the view is amazing!  Ugh!!! 

I did like the husband questioning why they needed two sinks and why guests couldn't sleep on a pull out couch. But on the flip side,  he wanted a basement to hang up his concert posters? Seriously?  Dude, your Bon Jovi posters might have been cool back in 1985 when you were 13...not so much now. 

[AuntiePam]

The Chicago couple tonight -- as soon as the husband said that if he's buying a million dollar house, he wants a million dollar kitchen, I turned it off.  If that lovely kitchen -- with the five-burner gas range and double oven he asked for -- wasn't good enough, then nothing was going to make him happy. 

There had to be at least ten-twelve feet of counter space.  If he needs more than that, then he doesn't know what he's doing.  Jeebus.

I didn't like her either.  Her description of "contemporary" sounded more like a mid-century modern.  And he said he wanted traditional, then had to ask the realtor if the first house was a colonial.  What difference does it make whether it's colonial, federal, Victorian, etc. -- if you like the house, you don't fret about what the style is called!

[juliet73]

The more I watch this show,  the more I'm turning into a misanthrope. Chicago ep: OMG the husband was such a pill!!  They have a $1.1m budget in Chicago and the husband EXPECTS a million dollar kitchen!!! He WON'T cook on a stove that is not his ideal stove! Dude, get over yourself!! He bitched about EVERTHING in every home.  The only positives I heard him say were about the outdoor areas...until they got to the 3rd house.  Ugh! STFU you entitled brat!!  The wife seemed more annoyed with him as the show went on.  

I had to chuckle at the end when the wife was saying they are going to be so happy living there, etc. That's not going to be happen as long as she is still married to that tool of a husband! He was STILL complaining about the lack of yard and privacy and the non ideal stove.

I really wish they would have mentioned the property taxes. Those 3 properties must have had at least $12,000 - $15,000 in taxes. 

[Albino]

6 minutes ago, juliet73 said:

The more I watch this show,  the more I'm turning into a misanthrope. Chicago ep: OMG the husband was such a pill!!  They have a $1.1m budget in Chicago and the husband EXPECTS a million dollar kitchen!!! He WON'T cook on a stove that is not his ideal stove! Dude, get over yourself!! He bitched about EVERTHING in every home.  The only positives I heard him say were about the outdoor areas...until they got to the 3rd house.  Ugh! STFU you entitled brat!!  The wife seemed more annoyed with him as the show went on.  

I had to chuckle at the end when the wife was saying they are going to be so happy living there, etc. That's not going to be happen as long as she is still married to that tool of a husband! He was STILL complaining about the lack of yard and privacy and the non ideal stove.

I really wish they would have mentioned the property taxes. Those 3 properties must have had at least $12,000 - $15,000 in taxes. 

The lack of privacy could easily be solved by planting shrubs every 2 feet along the perimeter of the fence.  Of course, Mr. and Mrs. $1.1 Million would never agree on whether to get contemporary or colonial shrubbery.

This episode also treated us to a rare word-for-word complaint.  As they pulled up to house #1 wife snots "This is not the contemporary I was hoping for."  And at house #2 the gourmet chef/husband bitches "This is not the colonial I was hoping for."  Jeez, HH...at least change the wording on the faux complaints.  

Honestly, I wouldn't know what to do with all that counter space.  It's nice to have, but not necessary.  Maybe he makes like 6 pizzas every night or something? 

[buttersister]

I'm watching the rerun---these two are perfectly north shore. He could, I don't know, buy a new stove---that is, unless the million dollars is all loan and they have no cash. Insufferable whiny ass.

Quote

This is not the contemporary I was hoping for.

These are not the droids you're looking for, either.

[JasmineFlower]

So, just and FYI on this Chicago area couple. I was able to pick out which house they were getting immediately because I'm familiar with the North Shore. For me, as the two were talking in the beginning I was like, okay, okay, not liking the vibe, but whatever. As it continued listening to them, I thought, forget this, what towns are these houses in? The answer in order is Glenview, Highland Park, and Winnetka - so I immediately knew these two would choose House #3 even with the lack of yard and not because it's close to the lake. My guess was based strictly on the school district - I don't think this couple is from Chicago, so that makes it an even easier selection. Winnetka is in the school district that feeds into New Trier High School, which is literally, the wealthiest, and one of the best, public high schools in the entire country - it's literally a private school masquerading as a public school. The other areas have absolutely excellent schools as well, but none are as revered as New Trier, so I knew this was game over right there, people who don't know any better want their kids to feed into that high school. Period. Their alum list rivals any who's who list of recognizable names. There's an outside chance that the house in Glenview was in the New Trier school district, but unlikely given how many miles away from the lake is and only a small portion of people in that town attending New Trier. That's something that would matter to these two from my impression of them.

Yes, I could be wrong, but I doubt it. So, if you're wondering why they sacrificed the yard and and got a house on a busy street, when they likely had better options, wonder no longer. They wanted to feed into New Trier, it has that kind of pull.

I found both the husband and wife a low level of unlikable with touches of mildly insufferable, where he came off worse acting like he couldn't just buy a new damn stove and nitpicking about not having countertop space when there seemed to be a ton, and just generally complaining about kitchens that looked like they might have been featured in magazines recently.  In reality I'm guessing the wife who broke up with the guy she was going to marry again and again while they were dating and is open to wasting money on hotels in pursuit of the "perfect home" is probably the less likable of the two in practice. So, I wasn't a big fan of either, but that's nothing new.

[Empress1]

I have a college acquaintance who went to New Trier. She was/is pretty down to earth & you wouldn't know she came from money by looking at her (or her parents), but yeah, it's posh.

Said it before, say it again: if you want new appliances or a "dream stove," buy them. An actuary and a software engineer should be able to scrape together a few grand for new appliances. Those are well-paying jobs. Actuaries average six figures, and she's probably on the higher side of that in Chicago.

The husband really was annoying. They both were. As @AuntiePam said, there was a ton of counter space. I cook every day with way less than that. So did Julia Child. And when the wife sneered at the claw foot tub, I rolled my eyes.

[laredhead]

Oh boy, that Chicago couple is going on a list of most entitled HH's.  I happen to be a fan of mid-century houses, and I am glad they didn't buy the 2nd house because it would have been gutted to the studs if they had gotten hold of it, no matter what that wife professed to liking.  I do hope someone who appreciates that style buys it and thoughtfully updates it.  I was snarking  at the husband as he was complaining about the kitchens in each house that he could easily buy the stove of his dreams since he was forking out $150/day for a hotel room and they had been living there for 2 months.  If my math is correct, that's $9,000 and you can buy a very nice range for $9,000.  I live in SE Louisiana, and right now, after the floods here, there are about 50,000 people who would love to have any type of house to live in and a hot plate would suffice for cooking.  Maybe that clouded my opinion just a little. 

[Tara1665]

Hated Chicago couple. She didn't know what a claw foot tub was? Idiots.

[JasmineFlower]

2 hours ago, Empress1 said:

I have a college acquaintance who went to New Trier. She was/is pretty down to earth & you wouldn't know she came from money by looking at her (or her parents), but yeah, it's posh.

I have many, many friends and classmates who went to New Trier, it's like a feeder high school for my university. There are wonderful people living in New Trier Township. That has nothing to do with my comments at all. I literally know over 100 New Trier alums, and maybe 10 of them are stuck up, some of them are some of my favorite people. That's not at all what this is about. The area has money, many do. The North Shore does. But no school has a reputation like New Trier High School, and so it attracts people like this couple who seem like they are looking for only the best of everything in every single situation, and who seem to think their $1.1 million is some massive North Shore budget that gets them their down to every detail dram home. It isn't. They'd be the kind of people who target New Trier, never mind that the school districts around it are also the top districts in the state and the country. New Trier's the one with the amazing reputation of having the private school like setting, programs, and highest per student spending. That is all I meant, it's not a reflection at all of the people there in general, but about what that school attracts now that information is readily available about how much this particular public school offers its residents.

[juliet73]

1 hour ago, Tara1665 said:

Hated Chicago couple. She didn't know what a claw foot tub was? Idiots.

She didn't know the difference between a duvet and a bidet either!! 

I understand about going with the best school district. However, they seem like the type of people that chose that house solely to be able to brag about being in the New Trier district.

[AuntiePam]

37 minutes ago, juliet73 said:

She didn't know the difference between a duvet and a bidet either!! 

 

I went back and watched (after I said I wouldn't) and chuckled at that comment.  "Don't pee on the duvet, dummy!"

So they bought a house with no back yard.  How does an older home have no back yard?  Nothing at all?  I wanted to see the back of the house.  Did it back up to an alley, or the neighbor's property line?  What?  Did that house have a garage?  I didn't see one.  A house that old would at some point have had a space for a clothes line, to hang out the laundry.  Wouldn't it?  And there would have been a back door.

[CherryAmes]

Is it possible the house was on a bigger piece or property at one time and a previous owner had the lot severed?  That's happened a lot in some of the inner suburbs where I live so you end up with a small bungalow hemmed in between two huge McMansions.

[magemaud]

I didn't see the Chicago episode so I'm just going by the comments here. If you insist on a "million dollar kitchen" and your budget is $ 1.1 million, doesn't that just leave you $ 100,000 for the rest of the entire house? 

And I don't get the popularity of these huge professional stoves unless you're cooking for a large family! I have cooked for a family of four for years and can only remember a handful of times that I used even THREE of the burners on my stove at the same time because of having a microwave to heat the things that my mother's generation might have heated up in a saucepan on the stove. 

Edited August 19, 2016 by magemaud
Edited to unsuccesfully get rid of this file that I accidentally attached to the post! But if you're having a problem with ants, glad I could be of help

[biakbiak]

Depends on the person. I only cook for two people on a daily basisand frequently use most of the burners and I also use my oven and countertop convection oven at the same time frequently. 

I mean a lot of these house hunters just want something that looks cool but I know a lot of people who do use them.

[Ohwell]

@magemaud, thanks for attaching that file because the author is right about the cinnamon being used to get rid of ants.  I tried it a couple of years ago when I had an ant invasion, and it works! 

[outtahere]

The house looked to be on a corner lot.  There was traffic behind the house and to the right side of the house.  I don't believe we saw the left side of the house.

[KLovestoShop]

To me, the Chicago husband looked like dorky Jon Cryer as Ducky in Pretty in Pink.   When he said she was picky, I was yelling "What the hell do you think you are, asshole, with your complaining about your million dollar kitchen".  She's an example of today's millennial---spoiled and less than bright---duvet and bidet.   And I really didn't understand the whole dream kitchen thing.  Is he a freakin chef?  Actually, I can't see either of them cooking or cleaning.  

I get the feeling that this is a couple who will be house rich. Their furniture looked early Goodwill and not what you'd put in a million dollar house.  

Edited August 20, 2016 by KLovestoShop

[JasmineFlower]

2 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

I get the feeling that this is a couple who will be house rich. Their furniture looked early Goodwill and not what you'd put in a million dollar house.  

I'm glad you mentioned that, I also thought their furniture looked woefully underwhelming given them seeming to almost brag about spending a million dollars on a house. Their "after" looked pretty pitiful in general I thought and it wasn't because they had "boxes and boxes" still unpacked, what was out didn't look all that special.

Love the Pretty in Pink reference. Did you know the North Shore was where John Hughes' were set for the most part? Cause that makes the reference even more perfect.

[juliet73]

My curiosity about the Winnetka property taxes got the best of me. I found out the taxes were $23,008 as of 2015!!! I knew they would be high, but that's crazy!! If anyone is familiar with the area, the house is on the corner of Tower Rd. The lot size is 9983sq ft and it is a corner lot with NO backyard. Their neighbor's side fence butts up to back of their house. From the pic, it looks like one person could walk between the neighbor's fence and the house, but not two people side by side. The left side of the house has an attached 2 car garage and a small side yard with a nice stone paver patio, but no grass. 

[buttersister]

Heh, sorry we didn't hear them bitching about being too close to the neighbors on the walk-through!

[laredhead]

Juliet73, you got me curious, so I also found the house.  Absolutely no backyard and it is actually a 2 corner house.  Living in a desired school district (which they never admitted to wanting) comes with a price on lot size, type of stove, and a few other things I guess.  I think I would have liked to have heard them say they would give up a lot of amenities just to live in a great school district, rather than whining about what their $1 million would not buy.  A good education is more important than a professional style range.  Certainly would have made them a little more likable in my eyes.

[KLovestoShop]

There are so many in their age group who try and outdo one another with their homes.  Even though they may not really be able to afford their dream house, they'll go into huge debt just to show off to their millennial friends.  I have a cousin who lives in a community that I like to call the Stepford subdivision because all these younger couples are constantly trying to one-up all the others.  If one builds a pool, the others have to build a pool with better amenities.  The first couple who had a kid graduate high school had a party that cost them $10,000---I'm not exaggerating.  They had more than 250 people and they had things that you'd only see at a wedding.  After that, every other couple had to do something even more extravagant.  It's really gone over the top with these couples.  They like to call themselves something akin to the Real Housewives of New Jersey even though they live in North Carolina.

I think most, if not all, John Hughes movies were set in Northern Illinois.  Pretty in Pink, Breakfast Club,  Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off,  She's Having a Baby.  He seemed to like to focus on the lives of the upper middle class.  Didn't they film his high school movies at New Trier?  

[JasmineFlower]

For anyone who wants to see the listing for the house they bought, look here. Luckily I could tell from the kitchen this was the right listing because the home's exterior looked different to me looking at these pictures. I'm not familiar with the exact street, but it's definitely got traffic on the side and it's also just about two blocks away from the major road in the area (Green Bay Road), so yeah, they're gonna have some traffic nearby for sure. 

John Hughes lived on the North Shore and went to Glenbrook North (meaning he lived in Northbrook). Some of his movies were shot there and at another  nearby school I thought, but not often at New Trier, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was used a few times, he made a lot of movies. And I basically know where he shot from friends who attended the high schools where they were filmed. I'm in my late 30s, so it was still a thing to be a huge John Hughes fan for us, so people who went to the respective schools would tell you that about their schools in those early days of arriving at college as a something cool to know about their school. A way more entertaining tidbit than I had to share about mine, that's for sure. 

Edited August 21, 2016 by JasmineFlower

[morgan]

Interesting how many price drops it took over the course of the summer.

[NYGirl]

Thanks for that JasmineFlower.  I got to see all around it on google maps too.  It really is a beautiful house.  I wouldn't mind living there..

[Kohola3]

It is a gorgeous house!  I envy them.  I hope they don't screw it up tearing out anything that "doesn't function" for them.

[Peanutbuttercup]

On 8/19/2016 at 2:22 AM, JasmineFlower said:

he came off worse acting like he couldn't just buy a new damn stove and nitpicking about not having countertop space when there seemed to be a ton,

I thought the HGTV editing monkeys were maybe snarking at him a little bit. He was standing there bitching about "there's hardly any counter space in here!" and the shot immediately switches to a camera slowly panning over the acres and acres of counter space.

[Vivigirl10]

At the beginning of the North Shore episode, no matter what comment the husband made, the wife had to eye roll or sneer or give a look of general disgust.  I was like, do you hate him that much that you can't hide your contempt?  Made me feel kind of bad for the poor dude.  Immediate flip-flop as soon as they started looking at houses and he became a total and utter pill!  Wow, do those two ever deserve each other!!  I wonder if they thought they came off looking good?  Geesh.

Quote

She's an example of today's millennial---spoiled and less than bright---duvet and bidet.  

Perfect statement....I really hope she read it!

This is my ideal kind of house hunters episode:  a couple born for us to snark on and some beautiful house porn along the way (mid-century, frozen in time)!

[aguabella]

On ‎8‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 6:15 PM, AuntiePam said:

I doubted multiple offers because I thought "multiple offers" meant offers higher than the asking price -- a bidding war.  But now that you've explained it -- that the offers may have been lower than asking -- I'm understanding it now. 

I don't remember why I thought she was defending paying the asking price.  Maybe because I'm so accustomed to seeing HH buyers getting a house for less than asking price. 

Thanks again for taking the time to explain it.

Anytime, AuntiePam - happy to hear that helped and most importantly, made sense to you!

Aha, thought that might be your thinking WRT HH buyers always scoring a discount!  Yes, I believe the show creates unrealistic expectations around pricing.  Depending on the RE market in a given area, that's not the way things work, in my experience.

For one thing, RE agents / brokers are highly motivated to sell properties, anticipating that commission cut.  The good ones review comps with their seller clients and encourage them to price properties reasonably, to move.  If/when they represent buyers, on the flip side, they normally explain that discount offers, assuming the home's priced according to the comps, might not be considered by sellers.  (As always, everything depends on current market conditions.)   

Good thing I stopped expecting HH to be realistic long ago, right?    ...  lol

[aguabella]

On ‎8‎/‎5‎/‎2016 at 6:50 PM, laredhead said:

Aguabella, good advice to visit a neighborhood at various times during day and night and during the week and on weekends.  Several years ago, I was interested in buying a house and went to see it 3 times during weekdays.  It was also in the summer time.  The house was located in a nice neighborhood about 2 blocks from two of the largest Catholic schools in our city.  The seller and I could not agree on a price after haggling back and forth for a couple of weeks and I walked away and bought another house.  A few months later during the school year, I drove by the first house and the entire street in front of the house was lined with cars of school students.  There was not enough parking for students on the school campuses, so the overflow parked on the side streets surrounding the schools.  I had no idea that was the situation when I looked in that area, and since I was house shopping in the summer time school was out.  So glad I did not buy that house.  

Very smart of you, laredhead, to visit that neighborhood at various times of the day.  Glad you moved on and things worked out for the best.  (Funny how IME they normally do in house hunting.  The next place always tops the last that the buyer had their heart set on!)

I've had buyers visit a nice quiet neighborhood at commute times only to discover that the area was a pass-through or cutover between 2 major freeways / highways and totally jammed up in both the am and pm!

If you had time to chat with the residents, I'll bet they'd would have volunteered the daytime parking issue - complaining about it even during the summer!

[Quof]

I bought my first house in the summer.  Imagine my surprise when, the day after Labor Day, I looked out to find my driveway full of teenagers. Turns out, that's where the school bus picked up, and there was no sidewalk for them to wait.  When I sold the house, I felt no guilt in not disclosing this fact to potential purchasers.