House Hunters: Buying in the USA

[Vivigirl10]

I just moved further south and out of MI and everyone I speak to here notes my accent.  It's getting to be embarrassing because I do not hear it at all and how can you change the way you talk?  Wah!  However, I hope that I do not share the TONE of the Grand Rapids woman.  It was nails on a chalkboard!

I was excited that I actually know the East Grand Rapids home that the couple looked at (looked like the Brady Bunch house to me)!  East GR is pricey but has an outstanding school system.  Very nice place to live.  The fact that the husband was disappointed that the house didn't have neighbors was 100% fabrication for the storyline.  That house is smack dab in the middle of a full-on neighborhood.  It just sits on a corner lot and has a big yard.    

Awww...thank you mojito!  I really appreciate all that you said.  And I will try the "Montana" line, that's great.  

Edited June 2, 2017 by Kiki620
Responding to subsequent post

[mojito]

Kiki, I was once in your shoes, too. Didn't know what my accent was until I moved to 3 different places with three extremely different accents and then one day heard someone else speaking as I did. That's when I identified my accent. After that much time away from the accent (I don't listen to myself), it sounded really odd, yet very familiar. 

But I'll tell you something: most local people only know that you don't talk like they do, and will ask you where you're from. When you've altered your accent enough, answer with "Montana" (yes, I know you said upper Midwest), and watch how many people will say, "Yeah, I could tell from your accent." No, all you could tell is that I'm not from here.

Grand Rapids lady didn't annoy me. Terrible grammar or repetitious comments or idiotic statements may annoy me, but I tend to cut people slack on their voices and accents.

[awaken]

Women in the New Jersey episode were horribly annoying! What a terrible friend, constantly badgering her about having a baby when she was clearly not interested? I know it's scripted by the show, but she still came off as very harsh and pushy.   It was obviously all about HER preferences and goals for her friends life! 

 I was actually surprised at the prices being so low, so close to NYC! I thought they would be higher! 

[suebee12]

All I can say about the New Jersey friend is, with a friend like her, who needs enemies? If I had heard the word "baby" or nursery one more time I was going to scream!

[Pickles]

The Chicago episode on now. I really want that guy to take his beanie/stocking cap/whatever off of his head. Is it some cool chef look? No.

[juliet73]

I agree with everyone else regarding the NJ friend.   UGH!  She was the worst!!  I didn't even hear the buyer say anything about having a boyfriend; she seemed content being single and living with her dog.  I don't know why the friend was so obsessed about her finding a house with a yard for her non existent husband and baby!

$1000+ for the HOA fees?!  and in New Jersey?!  At the end she said it was reasonable because the fees covered the water, the gym and the doorman.  The doorman must make hella money because a water bill and gym membership outside of that condo would run about $150 a month MAX!  No washer and dryer in the unit would have been an automatic deal breaker for me.  It looked like she was on a pretty high floor.  Taking her dog out multiple times a day is going to get old real quick, especially in the winter.  

[Mittengirl]

I thought NJ woman said the condo had a pool and gym.  I would imagine pool expenses, both upkeep and insurance, would add to that bill.

Grand Rapids house hunter was not from Michigan, so the accent is not our fault.  And yeah, East GR is all suburban - that guy was in the midst of many neighbors.   Do they think locals don't watch these shows and see all of the bullshit in terms of areas, travel time, etc.

P.S, she works for Meijers as a beauty products buyer.

[KLovestoShop]

The Chicago couple weren't bad, but the knit caps the husband wore looked silly, along with the way out of date sloppy, oversized pants.  Manners say that men should never wear hats of any kind in a house.  

I did like all three houses and I thought they chose the nicest one for their wants and lifestyle.  

[mojito]

Quote

Manners say that men should never wear hats of any kind in a house.  

Those manners have seemed to disappeared in the mid-90s. I wonder if boys are even taught to take their hats off when they are indoors?

As a chef, maybe the guy is now more comfortable wearing a hat?

[laredhead]

I really liked the townhouse that the Chicago couple chose.  I did laugh when neither one of them (the wife especially) voiced concerns about their future children falling down the stairs or jumping from the upstairs through the railings.  

I thought the first place would be too small if their plan is to start a family.  That plus the fact there was no designated covered parking would have been a deal breaker for me because of Chicago winter weather. 

[Ohwell]

13 hours ago, Pickles said:

The Chicago episode on now. I really want that guy to take his beanie/stocking cap/whatever off of his head. Is it some cool chef look? No.

They seemed like a nice enough couple, but those damn stocking caps were the worst.  They just made him look like he was trying too hard to look cool.  Instead, he looked stupid.

[StatisticalOutlier]

16 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

I thought NJ woman said the condo had a pool and gym.  I would imagine pool expenses, both upkeep and insurance, would add to that bill.

Plus I'm pretty sure the condo fees include the property taxes, too, and according to a quick glance at google, Bergen County taxes are the highest in New Jersey.

 

3 hours ago, Ohwell said:

They seemed like a nice enough couple, but those damn stocking caps were the worst.  They just made him look like he was trying too hard to look cool.  Instead, he looked stupid.

Especially later in the episode, when he was wearing it with a shirt and tie.  WTF?

[awaken]

 What on earth. Chicago guys seem like he was trying to break a record of how many ugly hats can one person wear in one 20 minute episode. I wonder how they met and what attracted them to each other!  

[Thumper]

I loved the Silver Lake, CA couple!  They were cute together and seemed to "get" each other too.  The aviary room was too "busy" for me, plus I dislike bird decor, but they liked it.  I was surprised they went for butcher block countertops (not practical, to me) -- did they say they would chop food right on the butcher block????!!!  Also disliked the subway tile, just because I'm so tired of it.   But I really liked this episode because of the couple.

[suebee12]

moved....

Edited June 4, 2017 by suebee12
Moved to correct thread.....

[Thumper]

Woops, guess my post above should have gone under House Hunters Renovation!  Sorry, mods.

[Pickles]

3 hours ago, awaken said:

 What on earth. Chicago guys seem like he was trying to break a record of how many ugly hats can one person wear in one 20 minute episode. I wonder how they met and what attracted them to each other!  

This really made me laugh! 

[MsTree]

Observation: If you want to know which house was chosen ahead of time, just look for the lonely TV wall mount still in place. Or in the last episode, the bed frame. Nothing else in the room, except that.

[laredhead]

I heard the New Jersey buyer say the condo fees included hot water and heat among other things.

[sheetmoss]

Oy. Chicago couple going from West Loop/downtown  wwaaaayyyy out to suburbia

       Could his head-covering been a religious thing?

[Mittengirl]

I thought of the religious angle to covering his head.  But that doesn't explain his choice in headwear.  Never heard of a religion that mandates a stocking cap.

[Hotel Diva]

Ok, Paula. You can do better.

[Kira53]

On 5/31/2017 at 6:03 PM, ByaNose said:

Every young couple on HH is always looking for the house near restaurants and bars. It's like they can't drive there. They need to be able to walk. Personally, I want to be near a Costco. Yup! That's where I'm in my life right now. LOL!!!

Being able to walk to bars and restaurants also means you have ability to drink heavily without the risk of getting DWI's.  If you like to drink excessively, this is a need not a want.  If you really can't walk due to being drunk, the Uber cost would be low.  There really are people considering is.  I met someone that had a few DWI's and the next one would put him in jail automatically.  He moved close to the bar (walking distance) rather than stop drinking!

[biakbiak]

7 hours ago, laredhead said:

I heard the New Jersey buyer say the condo fees included hot water and heat among other things.

Yeah the more thongs she listed the more I was like hey that seems like a really good deal!

[dansez]

Bergen County woman definitely put cucumber slices in the oven. 

[dansez]

On 5/31/2017 at 4:16 PM, mojito said:

Ridiculous must-haves. Dedicated play space, paver driveway, master bedroom near baby Megan, who was at least seven and would undoubtedly want to be with her sisters upstairs. He didn't like the back neighbors being able to watch him putt (because, unlike him, they have no lives other than watching their neighbors putt) but was fine with the alligators in the body of water off their un-fenced back yard. 

As long as I keep tuning into this nonsense, House Hunters will continue with the contrivances.

Didn't they say they wanted to move to Florida so they could spend more time outdoors? All that money spent on upgrades inside the house and in the driveway, and they didn't even put in a fence or patio enclosure to discourage Charlie the alligator and his friends from showing up at their back door. 

[Pickles]

20 minutes ago, dansez said:

Didn't they say they wanted to move to Florida so they could spend more time outdoors? All that money spent on upgrades inside the house and in the driveway, and they didn't even put in a fence or patio enclosure to discourage Charlie the alligator and his friends from showing up at their back door. 

I know! As soon as I saw that water in the backyard I thought the wife was not only going to be worrying about snakes, but how about alligators!! No thanks.

[StatisticalOutlier]

19 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

I thought of the religious angle to covering his head.  But that doesn't explain his choice in headwear.  Never heard of a religion that mandates a stocking cap.

The only one I could think of might be the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, but it turns out their headwear is a colander (which would be appropriate for the HH chef, actually). 

https://www.venganza.org/2017/06/arizona-id/

I think the stocking caps are for adherents to the religion of hipster.

[ByaNose]

8 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

The only one I could think of might be the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, but it turns out their headwear is a colander (which would be appropriate for the HH chef, actually). 

https://www.venganza.org/2017/06/arizona-id/

I think the stocking caps are for adherents to the religion of hipster.

and, does he have hair down to his waist? It looked like a lot. I was annoyed by the end of it when he wore it different versions of it. It looked sort of hipster and another part religion. Both annoyed me. LOL!!!

[msrachelj]

On 6/2/2017 at 9:49 AM, Ohwell said:

Oh that woman's voice hurt my ears!

Helium. 

[KLovestoShop]

The husband of the Idaho couple was a piece of work.  First, he wants a fixer, although the wife seemed to think he didn't have the talent to renovate, and then in the next breath, he's complaining about having to cut a lawn. Give me a break, snowflake. In Idaho, you're lucky to have to cut lawn maybe 4 months a year, you only cut once a week, and it doesn't take hours to do.  And then you have the requisite complaining about how small the rooms are and that there aren't high end finishes.  Hate to tell them, you don't get a mansion for $140,000. But I will say, he did a nice job fixing up the house they chose. 

Edited June 7, 2017 by KLovestoShop

[QuinnM]

Quote

I thought of the religious angle to covering his head.  But that doesn't explain his choice in headwear.  Never heard of a religion that mandates a stocking cap.

Wasn't he a chef?  Hipster chefs all wear beanies.  It's cool.

[MortysCleaningLady]

Just watched Idaho Falls and was thrilled that 1.) they had a normal people budget for their jobs and 2) they opted for the sensible commute/ best house for them. (And perfectly square, non-hilly lawns are easy to mow.)

[Ottis]

Liked the Greenville, SC, couple a lot. Two teachers, looking for something reasonable with more space. The husband loves his city and gives historical tours of it. They had four kids, and seemed to be very good parents. I didn't have a preference on which house they chose, because it was so nice to listen to rational adults with realistic expectations, not entitled 25yos spending beyond their means. I just enjoyed the show. 

[DkNNy79]

44 minutes ago, Ottis said:

Liked the Greenville, SC, couple a lot. Two teachers, looking for something reasonable with more space. The husband loves his city and gives historical tours of it. They had four kids, and seemed to be very good parents. I didn't have a preference on which house they chose, because it was so nice to listen to rational adults with realistic expectations, not entitled 25yos spending beyond their means. I just enjoyed the show. 

I thought the wife was a bit much - she was a little too "on" for my tastes.  I get that she was a drama teacher, but still.

I liked the house they chose, that would've been my choice as well.  I think a pool when living in the south with kids is a great idea and to get one included in the house for $200k was a big bonus.  I also liked the little renovations that they did to the house.  I was a little surprised that the dad said he was able to do it himself.

I thought the dad complaining about having to cut the grass was a little ridiculous.  Like the wife said, you have 4 kids, 3 of which are boys.  That is easily a chore that they could do.  They could also help with the pool maintenance.

The dad wanted 4 bedrooms, so that their 19 year old son would have his own room.  I liked that the mom said he would be going away to college and wouldn't really need a dedicated room.  In the end they converted the formal dining room into a bedroom for him so it all worked out.  But it was a refreshing take to see.  I remember the FL couple from a few weeks ago when the wife wanted to have dedicated bedrooms for her adult kids who didn't live with them and would only be visiting them occasionally.

[NYGirl]

Greenville couple.  Wow was she "on".  Not the type of person to watch when trying to fall asleep.  She overstimulated me and I actually made it to the end of the show before falling asleep.

I did agree with their choice too.  I like the way they fixed it up in the end.  I was waiting for the obligatory jumping in the pool scenes at the end.  I was disappointed.

[MortysCleaningLady]

Loved Greenville's choice too.   And, yes, she was a bit theatrical, but I think she is probably genuinely theatrical.   The past two episodes I've seen (Idaho Falls) people have stayed in budget and honestly chosen a realistic choice that with a bit of work could be amazing.   I love that!   It isn't all new construction out there.

[mojito]

Idaho Falls.

They said so many stupid things. Of course, they had to tell us how old they were (didn't mention what grade they were in, though). He had a fear of basements, even ones that were nicely finished. He was afraid of the fireplace contraption. It looked good to me because I know how well those suckers warm a house, and this was down in the basement anyway. She liked carpeting. She liked the timeless elements of (I think she said Craftsman) homes, but balked at a 1986 home because it was older than she was. She liked one home because it was new, but geez, that place looked so cheap. The "wood" floors looked like plastic. They settled for a 1952 homes (her mother's age, again, grade not provided) that he seemed to do a nice job of fixing up. Didn't expect the floors to look so good. But boy, if there ever was a good reason to paint external brick....

Greenville.

I chuckled when the couple looked at the master bathroom with just one sink and one of them said something like, "Well, it's just two of us."

I was annoyed when she reminded her husband that they had sons, so why worry about mowing the lawn? The daughter was second oldest. Why wouldn't she mow the lawn? I'm startled when I see how in 2017, the boys and girls still have assigned roles. 

I, too, was surprised at hubby's capabilities. 

[DkNNy79]

Idaho Falls - did I hear correctly that the wife was 23 (think hubby was 27) and that they had been married for 4 years?  Meaning she was 19 when they got married?

[Ottis]

3 hours ago, DkNNy79 said:

I thought the wife was a bit much - she was a little too "on" for my tastes.  I get that she was a drama teacher, but still.

Ha! Based on my experiences with theatre majors, I was thinking she was toned down - for a drama teacher!

[jcbrown]

4 hours ago, mojito said:

I was annoyed when she reminded her husband that they had sons, so why worry about mowing the lawn? The daughter was second oldest. Why wouldn't she mow the lawn? I'm startled when I see how in 2017, the boys and girls still have assigned roles. 

This bugged me, too. I'm a woman and one of the things I did sometimes as a teen was mow the lawn. My vagina never got in the way.

[Mittengirl]

I swear, when I am out driving around I see more women (of all ages) mowing the lawn than men.   I am chief landscaper at Chez Mitten.   

[ByaNose]

I think HH want the Men to be men and Woman to be girls. They always seem to present the worst stereotypes. I don't think TPTB realize it's frickin 2017! I would swear that Ward Cleaver is in charge of HGTV and/or HH.  It's the same with Chip & Joanna on Fixer Upper. They always talk about the roles or chores of their kids and it's always gender specific. I find it so weird and 1950's sometimes. 

[laredhead]

Yes, DkNNY79, the Idaho Falls woman said she was 23 and they had been married 4 years.  I did a double take on that one too.   The hubby was very handy, but obviously preferred woodworking over lawn care.

My suggestion is if the wife wants a big yard and the husband keeps the lawn mower tuned and running, then the wife can mow the yard.  Doesn't hurt to put the kids to work on chores either.  I'm sure my mom and dad were sad to see my brother and I leave home for several reasons - grass cutting, vacuuming, dusting, nightly dishes, and car washing.  Those were our assigned chores and it didn't matter if we had homework or other activities.  When I left home, my parents bought a dishwasher.  When my brother left home my father began taking the car to the car wash.  I don't think I've ever heard a woman on these shows complain about the work it will take to clean one of these houses, but the husbands seen to whine all the time about mowing the yard.    

[awaken]

Geez, just becauseCalifornia woman is a freelance makeup artist she had to wear 2 inch false lashes?  If seemed like everything was about getting "Maddy what she wants".  

[Empress1]

15 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

I swear, when I am out driving around I see more women (of all ages) mowing the lawn than men.   I am chief landscaper at Chez Mitten.   

I had a coworker who is the youngest of four girls and her chore growing up was mowing the lawn, so she mows the lawn now that she's a married mom (her kids, both boys, are under 3). It's just not a big deal at all for a woman to mow the fucking lawn, and kids should have chores. It was a given that my brother and I would shovel the walk when it snowed. My indoor job was to dust and vacuum, and we were both responsible for our own laundry starting around age 10.

I really liked the way the Greenville family's house turned out. The husband must be really handy. And the wife wanted a closed kitchen! YAY!

I deleted the Tampa couple early on - they bugged me and I didn't like any of the houses.

[mojito]

Quote

 I don't think I've ever heard a woman on these shows complain about the work it will take to clean one of these houses, but the husbands seen to whine all the time about mowing the yard.    

Except the smart ones who don't want a big-ass house. "Who's going to clean this?" they ask. I think the wife should also maintain the lawn mower. 

ByaNose, I've complained in the past about the stereotyping at the Gaines' household. Why should the boys get to do all the outside stuff? It really kills me when a girl is one of the oldest children and she's skipped over. I guess she gets relegated to helping Ma make  soap and churn  butter.

Growing up post-Ward and June Cleaver and pre-Carol and Mike Brady, my brothers and my sisters mowed, raked, shoveled, cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed their rooms, changed their sheets, washed dishes, washed the car, etc. Mommy and Daddy didn't play that girls' jobs-boys' jobs crap. (Although Daddy did not cook and Mommy did not mow the lawn...hey, what was up with that?)

Edited June 9, 2017 by mojito

[camom]

Quote

Geez, just becauseCalifornia woman is a freelance makeup artist she had to wear 2 inch false lashes?

My thought watching her was that I wouldn't let her near me with makeup.  She wasn't exactly a good advertisement for her business.

Growing up in the 50s and 60s, my brother and I both did some indoor chores -- we both did dishes and had to clean our own rooms.  But now that I think about it, he grew up mowing the lawn and I grew up ironing and dusting the living room.  My boys grew up doing it all (I didn't want them to grow up and get married just because they were hungry or ran out of clean clothes.)

[mousegirl]

Logging in finally after much lurking to say that I suspect the Idaho Falls couple were Mormons, who do tend to marry younger than you would expect these days.  Idaho is pretty heavily Mormon. 

I was blown away at how much better the house they picked looked after the husband had done work on it.  The wood floors were gorgeous (probably laminate, not wood, but still beautiful!).

RE the Ridgecrest, CA couple  - I actually rather liked them.  She seemed a bit of a princess at the beginning, but her requests weren't that outrageous, compared to other HH ladies.  I could understand her not wanting their two adorable basset hounds having to climb stairs, and I can also understand why carpet would not be ideal for the dogs, although living in the higher elevation desert where Ridgecrest is located, those carpeted floors would be welcome in the winter - it can get really cold there. 

[Ohwell]

Ridgecrest, CA couple seemed nice enough.  I just thought her eyes were beautiful enough without those long false eyelashes.