House Hunters: Buying in the USA

[AuntiePam]

That Westchester couple got on my last nerve, with the constant sniping -- her about his pool table and him with her shoes.  I've been around couples like that but they've usually been married for 30 years and are sick of each other.  These two aren't even married yet and it's like they're in a competition to show who's in control. 

The pool table and the shoes might have been producer-driven, but as they're fixing food at the end, she said something to him about whether everything was ready and he comes back with "if you bought enough food", emphasis on the "you".  Anything that goes wrong, and they're going to be assigning blame, not working together to fix things, or support each other. 

I've never understood wanting a pool north of the Mason-Dixon line. 

[CherryAmes]

39 minutes ago, AuntiePam said:

I've never understood wanting a pool north of the Mason-Dixon line. 

Here in Eastern Ontario we've just suffered through the hottest summer on record and it looks like next week (to me after Labour Day summer should be over!!) is going to be more of the same.  Anyone who has a pool here got their money's worth this year that's for sure!

[Albino]

14 hours ago, aguabella said:

Don't know why I reviewed the Tampa realtor's linkedin - well, IIRC, it popped up when I was searching for the transaction.  Honest, lol ... 

A Star is Born!

BTW, does she understand that HH doesn't film in Tampa every month?  If she's counting on a new career as HH star - well, good luck!

Don't forget...she can always fall back on that awesome Beauty Pageant Judge gig! 

[iMonrey]

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I swore I heard the agent say that an above-ground pool would cost $40,000, and an in-ground one would be higher. WTF???? No AG pool costs that much, even in Westchester county. 

I wondered about that too. 40K for an above ground pool? Just a quick Google search finds above ground pools for around $1000. Maybe a really high end one would cost close to $4000 - and maybe that's what she mean as opposed to forty thousand.

Did anyone else get a really bad vibe from Vlad? I'm not predicting a long marriage for these two, there was just something kind of menacing about him, like he had wife beater written all over him.

On the other hand, I think she should have let him put the dumb pool table upstairs. A formal living room serves no practical purpose in a house that size when you have a big family room. It's just a white elephant room nobody uses, and that was a pretty nice looking pool table, so why not use the formal living room as a billiards room?

[laredhead]

The Westchester episode was an eye opener as to cost of taxes and commute times to NYC.  Wow!  The wife had "monied upbringing" written all over her and she would not have been happy to settle for anything less than the right zip code.  As far as putting the pool table in the living room, I would have had no problem with that, but I get the feeling you just don't do that in Westchester, LOL.  I don't think I would feel comfortable living there since it might be one of those places where appearance is everything.  I also don't want to live an hour away from work, although the women did mention a home office would come in handy for him to work from home, so maybe he doesn't commute into the city on a daily basis.

Also sounded like they were going to be spending $30,000+ on that wedding, or her parents will be spending that, but they were never mentioned.  

[Empress1]

1 hour ago, CherryAmes said:

Here in Eastern Ontario we've just suffered through the hottest summer on record and it looks like next week (to me after Labour Day summer should be over!!) is going to be more of the same.  Anyone who has a pool here got their money's worth this year that's for sure!

I can see both sides. I've only lived in the north and I'd love a pool. You'd get a lot of use out of them in Philly and NYC* where I've lived, and I love the water. I have a friend from the Boston burbs though and her parents had a harder time selling the house because of the pool. People were saying it was more trouble than it was worth - summers are hot but short. (Although with global warming ...)

*Obviously no one has space for one in NYC, but weather-wise you'd use it. Hot sticky NYC summers are the worst.

[JasmineFlower]

41 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Did anyone else get a really bad vibe from Vlad? I'm not predicting a long marriage for these two, there was just something kind of menacing about him, like he had wife beater written all over him.

On the other hand, I think she should have let him put the dumb pool table upstairs. A formal living room serves no practical purpose in a house that size when you have a big family room. It's just a white elephant room nobody uses, and that was a pretty nice looking pool table, so why not use the formal living room as a billiards room?

I didn't get the best vibe from him either. Wasn't sure about him being a wife beater, but he did seem to have bullying features and I see a ton of getting cheated on in her future. I am hoping for their sake that they might have a shared culture (Ukrainian) because I'm very unclear on what's holding these two together outside of liking the way each other looks at this given moment and having a high opinion of themselves.

I wouldn't allow a pool table in the front room either. Upstairs? Possibly, but not in the front room. I do find it frat house like and that is influenced by having gone into well over 25 frat houses and bachelor pads to find that sitting in the front. No thanks. Don't care about using a formal living room, but there's plenty of other uses for that space, now and in the future. And given the way Vlad was acting, no way would I give it to him temporarily upstairs, he seems like he'd act like that was permission to keep it there forever.

@laredhead, $30k would not be an expensive wedding in that area, or most of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast for that matter. That would be incredibly reasonable for many, so for these two, I'd up that number. And they were paying for it, not her parents, since he was trying to bargain with it on what they could do to the house if they forego something else on the wedding.

[juliet73]

The above ground pool itself is fairly inexpensive. It's the decking, etc around the pool that is so costly. And depending on your neighborhood, you have to install non chain link fencing as well.

[Albino]

I lived in NJ/NY all my life and backyard pools were common.  Moved to Albuquerque and I have yet to see a home with a pool.  (Except apartment complexes and hotels.)  IDGI.   Maybe water can be scarce?  Yards are small?  I've never even heard of a swim club or whatever down here.  But then, I'm scared of water so...  

Edited August 30, 2016 by Albino

[iMonrey]

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The above ground pool itself is fairly inexpensive. It's the decking, etc around the pool that is so costly. And depending on your neighborhood, you have to install non chain link fencing as well.

It still ain't gonna cost 40 grand. Unless that deck and fencing is made of platinum.

[KLovestoShop]

I totally disliked the NY couple.  They both seemed like the stereotypical snowflake Millennials.  It was obvious they were only looking for the status of Westchester, home to people like David Letterman and other uber rich New Yorkers.

The first house they saw, while probably correctly priced for that area, didn't look worth the money.  I've seen many houses like that here in Western Pa, with a finished basement, for $350,000. And they had no yard.  

How stupid was the woman when she asked if they can change the gold fixtures?  Of course, Snowflake, you can change anything in a house you own.  And that realtor was totally off the beam on her above ground pool.  You can get complete packages at local companies for under $5000.  A basic built in pool, starts at $25,000, but can go up to $150,000 if you get all the fancy stuff like waterfalls, spas and all that.  Then, there's the choice of a concrete pool vs a pre-cast fiberglass, vs a liner pool---chemical vs salt water.    My sister put in an 18 by 36 foot, salt water, liner pool and she was around $40,000 including the concrete decking and 6 ft fence.  

Whats with the obsession with a pool table?

[AuntiePam]

9 minutes ago, KLovestoShop said:

Whats with the obsession with a pool table?

My take on that was that Vlad hasn't quite resigned himself to adulthood, or marriage, or compromise.  I didn't get a potential abuser vibe from him, more like ordinary sexism.  I wonder if she makes more money than he does.

One thing about pool tables is you can't just have the table.  You'd need some seating, racks for the cues and balls, and next there'd be a bar, with a mini-fridge, posters on the walls, neon beer signs. 

[KLovestoShop]

I didn't get an abuse vibe either, but knowing my Russian/Eastern European relatives who still live there or are first generation US, they are very much patriarchal.  "The man is the head of the house".  And knowing this man is first generation, coming here at age 3, I'm guessing he has some of those ideas.  We have a Russian friend who goes back to Moscow every summer, and he says he wants a typical Russian wife who will serve him. That attitude drives me nuts.  

[juliet73]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

It still ain't gonna cost 40 grand. Unless that deck and fencing is made of platinum.

Which is probably what these millennials NEED!

[Kohola3]

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Which is probably what these millennials NEED!

Because without platinum it would be TOTALLY non-functional.

[Mu Shu]

My neighbors are putting in an above ground pool, which is not the usual cheap materials, but concrete.   I have no idea why, unless they have the hardest coral rock foundation known to man.  It's been going on for two weeks.  Seems like it would be cheaper for a traditional Florida in ground pool, but they did just spend 40k on a smallish driveway, and I guess they want an elevated pool, but not a cheap one and money isn't an object?  It does look like it's going to to be very luxurious.  

[dga28]

i put in an in ground pool after i bought my house and when everything was done, i spent about $250k....stuff added up ala carte.

automatic pool cover, salt water, auto vacuum, spa, heated, blue stone patio (that was real expensive), winter cover, fencing for backyard, new landscaping, new sod, .....

the digging and soil removal was expensive.

Edited August 31, 2016 by dga28

[buttersister]

4 hours ago, juliet73 said:

It still ain't gonna cost 40 grand.

Unless the realtor had it with the two of them and went high for shits and grins.

[topanga]

21 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

That Westchester couple got on my last nerve, with the constant sniping -- her about his pool table and him with her shoes.  I've been around couples like that but they've usually been married for 30 years and are sick of each other.  These two aren't even married yet and it's like they're in a competition to show who's in control. 

The pool table and the shoes might have been producer-driven, but as they're fixing food at the end, she said something to him about whether everything was ready and he comes back with "if you bought enough food", emphasis on the "you".  Anything that goes wrong, and they're going to be assigning blame, not working together to fix things, or support each other. 

I've never understood wanting a pool north of the Mason-Dixon line. 

 

19 hours ago, JasmineFlower said:

I didn't get the best vibe from him either. Wasn't sure about him being a wife beater, but he did seem to have bullying features and I see a ton of getting cheated on in her future. I am hoping for their sake that they might have a shared culture (Ukrainian) because I'm very unclear on what's holding these two together outside of liking the way each other looks at this given moment and having a high opinion of themselves.

I wouldn't allow a pool table in the front room either. Upstairs? Possibly, but not in the front room. I do find it frat house like and that is influenced by having gone into well over 25 frat houses and bachelor pads to find that sitting in the front. No thanks. Don't care about using a formal living room, but there's plenty of other uses for that space, now and in the future. And given the way Vlad was acting, no way would I give it to him temporarily upstairs, he seems like he'd act like that was permission to keep it there forever.

I agree with both posts. The "Vlads" didn't seem to like each other at all. I know that some of the sniping was producer-driven, but it didn't sound like good-natured banter to me. They're really getting married? Why?  I hope their marriage will be happier than my doomed feelings about their future. 

And I had no use for a formal dining room when my husband and I first got married, but once we had children, we began to use the dining room for dinner, big breakfasts, and especially when we guests stayed over, and we all wanted to eat together. Our kitchen table isn't big enough to hold 6-8 people, so it's nice to have the option of the dining room table. Not to mention needing it for holiday meals. 

 

ETA: Does anyone know if the Fairfield, CT couple (a 2015 episode) was ever featured on a "HH Were Are They Now?" episode? I'd love to see what they did to the farmhouse. 

Edited August 31, 2016 by topanga

[iMonrey]

I missed what the deal was with the Chicago couple. They weren't married but they did have a kid together, or was that just her kid? I guess it was smart to buy a property they could make money off of but I'm flabbergasted at what they had to spend. Almost half a million to live in a cracker box. They might as well move to southern California for that kind of dough. I've seen walk-in closets (on this very show) bigger than those bedrooms. Which, ironically, had no closets themselves.

What is the advantage of renting a tiny apartment like that for a day or a few days or a week, versus just getting a hotel room? It doesn't sound as if it would be cheaper, it's not nearer to the city, and you'd have no amenities.

[HawaiiTVGuy]

On 8/29/2016 at 9:52 PM, JasmineFlower said:

It wasn't a new episode this month, but it is from 2016. I think it originally aired in the spring. Their budget was something like $650k and they are not married yet, they are buying a place now because of rising prices and have lived together for a bit.. And I remember they met online. The real estate agent is her dad, they bike ride as mentioned (though not obviously physically fit - him or her), and he wanted a townhome and she wanted single family home with a backyard. Hopefully that's enough for you to remember it or find it when it re-airs.

FWIW, I didn't think the boyfriend was gay, but I was watching them and wondering if they'd get divorced soon after the wedding or settle in for an unexciting life of being sorta content some of the time.

Darn, I guess I will scour the listings to see when they rerun the episode.  I guess it was too old for it to stay in the available episode list on the HGTV app.

[iMonrey]

I liked the realtor who was looking for a house of her own in Austin. It was a refreshing change, and I liked her friend too. Still those prices seemed pretty high - the housing market in Austin must be doing better than I imagined. 

[Ottis]

Quote

On the other hand, I think she should have let him put the dumb pool table upstairs. A formal living room serves no practical purpose in a house that size when you have a big family room. It's just a white elephant room nobody uses, and that was a pretty nice looking pool table, so why not use the formal living room as a billiards room?

We've had this debate for years, literally. Our house has a formal dining room open to a front living room, and that space is almost never used. MAYBE holiday meals, 2-3 a year. You can sit on the couch and look out the front window. That's it. At one time I wanted to make it into a kids' play room (with those moveable Japanese screens to block the toys from the front entry), then a great room and yes, even a pool table room. The Ms. vetoed all options. So for more than a decade, we haven't used those rooms beyond walking through them and 2-3 meals a year.

[AuntiePam]

6 minutes ago, Ottis said:

We've had this debate for years, literally. Our house has a formal dining room open to a front living room, and that space is almost never used. MAYBE holiday meals, 2-3 a year. You can sit on the couch and look out the front window. That's it. At one time I wanted to make it into a kids' play room (with those moveable Japanese screens to block the toys from the front entry), then a great room and yes, even a pool table room. The Ms. vetoed all options. So for more than a decade, we haven't used those rooms beyond walking through them and 2-3 meals a year.

But if you don't have a formal living room, where will you put the Christmas tree?  [wink]  It does seem like wasted space. 

I think of housing developments, where houses are so close to their neighbors -- maybe we like those unused rooms because it gives us the illusion of space.  If we can't have it outside, we can have it inside.

[topanga]

11 minutes ago, Ottis said:

We've had this debate for years, literally. Our house has a formal dining room open to a front living room, and that space is almost never used. MAYBE holiday meals, 2-3 a year. You can sit on the couch and look out the front window. That's it. At one time I wanted to make it into a kids' play room (with those moveable Japanese screens to block the toys from the front entry), then a great room and yes, even a pool table room. The Ms. vetoed all options. So for more than a decade, we haven't used those rooms beyond walking through them and 2-3 meals a year.

Just to clarify: you don't use either room--the living room or the dining room. Which sounds like they're open to one another. So do you have a family room for watching TV, family gatherings, etc? 

The Ms. said no to your ideas for both halves of the LR/DR? That's a tough one. What if you snuck in the pool table in the middle of the night? Would she make you move it?  (I must say, though. You seem much too considerate to try this).  

Or you could turn it into--my personal favorite--a home library!

[Ottis]

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Just to clarify: you don't use either room--the living room or the dining room. Which sounds like they're open to one another. So do you have a family room for watching TV, family gatherings, etc? 

Correct, at the back of the same floor, open to the kitchen on another side and also to the back deck. We spend a lot of time in that room (which the Ms. insists we call "the family room," to differentiate it from the front, unused "living room," a difference that still puzzles me but I make sure to get it right).

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But if you don't have a formal living room, where will you put the Christmas tree?  [wink]  It does seem like wasted space.

I actually suggested that as well, but she prefers the tree in the back room, where we spend our time. 

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What if you snuck in the pool table in the middle of the night? Would she make you move it?  

Possibly, well, probably. I already pushed the envelope a few years back when, while the Ms. was visiting her mother, I painted my home office and converted it into a college sports-themed man cave (yes, I said it). She came back home, I covered her eyes, walked her to the room, opened the door and waited to see if I was divorced. "It ..." she said pausing ... "looks like a good paint job." And that was all she said. So I think I've lucked out once already, not sure a second try will fly.

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Or you could turn it into--my personal favorite--a home library!

I LOVE that idea. Not sure if it will get traction, but I will try over the US holiday weekend. If you don't hear from me again, you'll know it went south.

Edited September 1, 2016 by Ottis

[iMonrey]

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We've had this debate for years, literally. Our house has a formal dining room open to a front living room, and that space is almost never used. MAYBE holiday meals, 2-3 a year. You can sit on the couch and look out the front window. That's it. At one time I wanted to make it into a kids' play room (with those moveable Japanese screens to block the toys from the front entry), then a great room and yes, even a pool table room. The Ms. vetoed all options. So for more than a decade, we haven't used those rooms beyond walking through them and 2-3 meals a year.

I think that's why formal living rooms are going the way of the Dodo bird. New builds now all have open concepts so there are rarely separate spaces for living rooms and dining rooms. But in this episode the couple was looking at rather high-end homes where those spaces were still included, and I don't know what you'd use them for. I get that maybe you don't want to turn that room into a billiards room simply because it's at the front of the house and can maybe be seen from the street or whatever, but the alternative is you have a big room you never use. Meanwhile the dude and his pals have to go downstairs to a dingy, unfinished basement to play pool. And that was a very nice, high-end looking billiards table. 

[Pickles]

The couple tonight on Richmond. He was an ER doctor. She was a stay at home mom. I love how she said he would just have to work some extra shifts, if they went over budget. Just a little jab there. She was hung up on a white kitchen, but didn't get it in the end. The house they chose had great curb appeal. I did not like the house that was downtown that the wife wanted. No bathtub for the kids. No yard to speak of and overlooked a drive thru. Ugh. At least the husband got the house he liked and it was under budget, so he didn't have to put in more hours at work.

[AuntiePam]

Another thing to like about the Richmond couple was that they -- she especially -- appreciated that they were able to have their dream home.  

I didn't like that she wanted to re-do the bathrooms though.  Those bathrooms fit the house and looked quite functional to me.   I hope they don't go crazy ultra-modern -- maybe they'll do it right.

A relative (spoiled brat) lived in a house like that, only it was brick, and bigger, with three porches, gorgeous house, built in the early 1900's.  She re-did a bathroom in black and silver -- it was awful.  Looked like it belonged in a bordello.

[juliet73]

Richmond couple: I was not a fan of her. She was so impractical!  And her constant harping about her white kitchen!  Also, it was driving me mad that she wanted to update the bathrooms.  They didn't need to be updated at all...they totally matched the period/style of the house.  Also, she just shrugged off her husband's practical concerns. The tiny backyard, the view of the drive thru, etc. If you can see a drive thru from your window, I can guarantee you can smell it too.  When he mentioned there was no front yard, and she quipped back "the city is our front yard. The museums and parks..."  Seriously lady?!  When you have two kids under the age of 2, you're not going to spend your days in the museums.  

[Albino]

32 minutes ago, juliet73 said:

When he mentioned there was no front yard, and she quipped back "the city is our front yard. The museums and parks..."  Seriously lady?!  When you have two kids under the age of 2, you're not going to spend your days in the museums.  

You just know that if they had gotten that 'city' house, it would take about 4 weeks before she started bitching and moaning about having to pack up the kids, the stollers, the diaper bags, snacks and other paraphernalia to walk to the park every day.

Loved it when the husband said to her "Is a white kitchen really worth an extra $120K?"

[KLovestoShop]

Did not like the wife from Richmond, but I did like the husband.  To me, she's just another over indulged, spoiled Snowflake.  I thought her comment about working extra shifts if they go over budget was a rude dig on her husband.  Our neighbor is an ER doc, and it's not an easy job.  Why doesn't she move her snowflake butt and get a job if she wants fancy and the expensive.  I agree with others who said the current bathrooms were appropriate for the house. Most people would kill for claw foot tubs.  

[Kohola3]

I white kitchen with two little kids?  She would need to get cleaning  fluids by the 50 gallon drum to wipe away the dirty hand prints all over everything.  My dream house has white cupboards, I am a retiree and live alone and I STILL have to wipe things down all of the time!  If you cook at all, white shows the dirt, period.

[TVForever]

Random production question: Why did they give us a scene of the SUV backing out of the driveway and showing the backup camera? It was just weird footage.

[Kohola3]

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Random production question: Why did they give us a scene of the SUV backing out of the driveway and showing the backup camera? It was just weird footage.

Product placement.  HH is really ramping up their car commercials as part of the footage.

[laredhead]

I also noticed that the first house the Richmond HH's looked at had no covered parking, and I think the only parking it had was behind the fence next to the drive thru.  Seriously, why would anyone think that was a good thing to have at the rear of a house and to look at all the time?  There is no way that could be ignored, and yes, the odor from the restaurant will be noticeable when the wind is from that direction.  Not to mention the constant noise of "you want fries with that"?  

[Malvina]

Richmond. Why do you need 5 bedrooms with two kids?

[Empress1]

8 hours ago, juliet73 said:

Richmond couple: I was not a fan of her. She was so impractical!  And her constant harping about her white kitchen!  Also, it was driving me mad that she wanted to update the bathrooms.  They didn't need to be updated at all...they totally matched the period/style of the house.  Also, she just shrugged off her husband's practical concerns. The tiny backyard, the view of the drive thru, etc. If you can see a drive thru from your window, I can guarantee you can smell it too.  When he mentioned there was no front yard, and she quipped back "the city is our front yard. The museums and parks..."  Seriously lady?!  When you have two kids under the age of 2, you're not going to spend your days in the museums.  

Word. I'm a city person so I loved the city house (except the white kitchen). It was updated but they didn't take the charm out of it. But I don't have kids. No bathtub with a toddler and an infant is crazy. One of my best friends can see a McDonald's out her window but you can't smell it (it's about two blocks away). It's a running joke - "anybody hungry?"

If they rip out the claw foot tub, I'm going to be mad. That library (because for me, that would automatically be a library with those built-ins) could be awesome, but that wallpaper would have to go. I was decorating that library in my head.

[juliet73]

8 hours ago, Albino said:

You just know that if they had gotten that 'city' house, it would take about 4 weeks before she started bitching and moaning about having to pack up the kids, the stollers, the diaper bags, snacks and other paraphernalia to walk to the park every day.

 

EXACTLY!!!!

12 minutes ago, Malvina said:

Richmond. Why do you need 5 bedrooms with two kids?

Because every twenty something deserves a 5 bedroom house!  

[Malvina]

17 minutes ago, juliet73 said:

EXACTLY!!!!

Because every twenty something deserves a 5 bedroom house!  

I wish I knew that when I was this age dammit!

[iMonrey]

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white kitchen with two little kids?

That's what I was thinking. I can appreciate the aesthetic of a white kitchen but it seems awfully impractical to me. By the same token, the popularity of stainless steel appliances surprises me considering how they show every fingerprint and scratch.

I wish I knew the backstory on filming these things and why the husband wasn't available for the third house segment. I mean, none of this is real; they'd already bought House #2 before any filming began, so where the hell was he when they went to shoot "house #3" footage? If this were real, there wouldn't be any point in going to see it if he couldn't make it, especially since they both seemed to want such different things. I wouldn't have trusted her to tell me whether the house was OK or not.

The city house was a total red herring, nothing could have been less practical for two small children. 

There was something about the wife's eyes that was unnerving but it could just be she's uncomfortable appearing on camera.

[NYGirl]

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Did you ever just look at someone's face an immediately hate them?   That's how I felt about Kate, Richmond, Va. wife.   Then she opened her mouth and justified it.   I had a feeling they were going to take the second house.  At the beginning she was saying she wanted a front porch and that was the only one with one.  You want white cabinets?  Just paint them for crying out loud.  I loved the husband and I loved the house they chose.

BTW they were so busy showing the backup camera they didn't notice that they almost backed into a car driving by.

Sorry about the quote thing. I don't know to get rid of it.

[iMonrey]

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You want white cabinets?  Just paint them for crying out loud. 

It would be a crime to paint over those beautiful custom-made cabinets. And this woman would probably rip them out and replace them anyway rather than paint them.

[juliet73]

2 hours ago, NYGirl said:

 

BTW they were so busy showing the backup camera they didn't notice that they almost backed into a car driving by.

I think that was the point...to show that IF they didn't have the back up camera, they would have gotten into an accident. It was definitely a plug for GMC.

Edited September 2, 2016 by juliet73

[Peanutbuttercup]

I liked Richmond woman more than I thought I was going to, for all of her preciousness about a white kitchen and needing giant closets. I gather art history and archeology weren't on her college course list, since she seemed shocked that stucco could possibly have existed in 1910. Some form of stucco has been used since pre-historical times, I think for at least 10,000 years.

I liked the first two houses a lot -- well, I liked the first one until they showed that it overlooked a fast food joint. That would not be for me. But I absolutely loved the second house, the one they ended up buying. I rarely am just overcome with jealousy with respect to the houses shown and purchased on this show, even the ones I really like -- but this one made me just about sick with envy. Seriously.

[AnnaRose]

On 9/1/2016 at 1:57 PM, Ottis said:

We've had this debate for years, literally. Our house has a formal dining room open to a front living room, and that space is almost never used. MAYBE holiday meals, 2-3 a year. You can sit on the couch and look out the front window. That's it. At one time I wanted to make it into a kids' play room (with those moveable Japanese screens to block the toys from the front entry), then a great room and yes, even a pool table room. The Ms. vetoed all options. So for more than a decade, we haven't used those rooms beyond walking through them and 2-3 meals a year.

How about a dining table that converts to a pool table? https://www.google.com/search?q=dining+convert+OR+convertible+"pool+table"&lr=&as_qdr=all&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjHoZG-3fHOAhVD4iYKHd-zB3AQsAQISw&biw=1216&bih=536&dpr=1.58

On 9/1/2016 at 4:04 PM, Ottis said:

Possibly, well, probably. I already pushed the envelope a few years back when, while the Ms. was visiting her mother, I painted my home office and converted it into a college sports-themed man cave (yes, I said it). She came back home, I covered her eyes, walked her to the room, opened the door and waited to see if I was divorced. "It ..." she said pausing ... "looks like a good paint job." And that was all she said. So I think I've lucked out once already, not sure a second try will fly.

I LOVE that idea. Not sure if it will get traction, but I will try over the US holiday weekend. If you don't hear from me again, you'll know it went south.

 

Hahaha!  I hope you survive the weekend. ;)

[topanga]

I found the Richmond couple really annoying. Especially the wife. She complained about everything. Except white kitchens. The houses they visited were beautiful, but the couple bugged me so much during the walkthrough of the first house that I had to fast-forward to the end to see the other two houses and to see which one they chose.

[magemaud]

I have to chuckle at the irony of the rerun on right now about the couple buying the house at the Jersey Shore. Her "old-house-a-phobia", feng shui rules, gravel yard, fear of ghosts and his insistence on being close to the beach but NOT in a flood zone, shot gun style house, plastic furniture covers and outdoor space to play Corn Hole. On the eve of Tropical Storm Hermine, I wonder how they're faring...

Well, so far Hermine has been a non-issue here at the Jersey Shore, so I guess they're fine. Also, their place is in Ocean Gate which is not on the Atlantic beachfront at all (although you wouldn't know that from watching the opening of the show when they describe the miles of beautiful beaches along the Jersey Shore) 

Edited September 4, 2016 by magemaud
to update

[dga28]

its always hilarious to watch people with low budgets harshly diss and criticize how crappy houses within their budget are.

News flash.  If "YOU" had and could "AFFORD" to spend more money, you could get a nicer more up to date house.  lol.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 9/1/2016 at 11:23 AM, iMonrey said:

Still those prices seemed pretty high - the housing market in Austin must be doing better than I imagined. 

I didn't see the episode, but the housing market in Austin is insane.

Napa couple:  Ha ha ha, the man said "zeroscape" for xeriscape.