Pet Peeves: The Holy Trinity and Beyond

[aguabella]

Saw a few shows recently that reignited some of my pet peeves..

1.  i understand having young kids and taking their safety into account when buying a house, but if you have a toddler, and worried about certain things such as grade of the yard, etc..., shouldn't you also consider that your toddler isn't going to stay the same age for the next 7 to 10 years you are going to be in that house?  You buy the house for the way the toddler is today but in the next 2 years, those concerns won't be an issue.

 

2. Just because a house is listed at the top of your limit or a little above it, doesn't mean the sales price has to be that high.  Just make an offer that meets your needs.  a few extra dollars a month savings versus your comfort while you are in the house?....

 

3.  People not thinking longer term when buying houses.  Just because the house is listed a few thousand $s above your desired price, you opt for another house that has no garage, less bedrooms , and less space than you need, and will probably be harder to sell if and when you want to sell.

 

 

Great comments, everyone!  Hope you don't mind my two cents.

 

dga28, I don't know either your RE or HH/HHI (et al) background so I'm just responding in general, to the group - other posters have asked me to post about RE.  If you're not interested, please scroll on by.

 

1.  WRT the commentary regarding children's safety, I suspect most HH participants agree with you - in real life, that is.  HH is semi-scripted so the overwhelming majority of these comments probably originated in the script.  Anytime you hear repetitive commentary and repetitive topics, e.g. children's safety, proximity of the neighbors, desire for the same type home as your parents', city v. country and/or city v. suburbs, ... (ad nauseum), scripting's a safe bet.

 

2.  House hunters are always welcome to make offers that meet their own needs but with all due respect to buyers, their budget is technically irrelevant WRT any given home's value.  Sure, agents must present lowball offers but buyers might not receive a counter-offer!  

 

WRT the show, it's getting progressively more difficult for realtors to locate decoy homes.  Over the past years, sellers and listing agents determined there's basically nothing in it for them.  Given that, the decoys may very well exceed their budget and don't represent homes toured during their actual house hunt.

 

3.  Agree about thinking long-term.  I always recommend that clients expect to remain in a property at least 5 years.  WRT the buyers' needs and wants, that's part of their decision-making process.  Many buyers make short-term sacrifices for a few years in a smaller property in their preferred location, hoping to time the market (lol!) and realize sufficient price appreciation to move up.  (Nobody knows what the market will do tomorrow.  If they tell you otherwise, they're lying!)  Or, buyers can wait and save a larger downpayment but if the market escalates during that time period - good luck!

 

Bottom line, buyers pay for location and square footage, period, end of story.  That's it.  Sure, the home with an updated kitchen may sell faster but do they recoup their entire improvement cost?  No, no and no. 

 

If you buy the home lacking a garage in a great location, your home will sell - no worries.  Sure, it may require a few extra days on market (dom) during a market downturn but, in time, it will sell.  And, in the meantime, if you stage / present the home to the best of your ability, at minimal cost, you can probably shave at least a few days off that dom figure.

 

BTW, when the kitchen specialist at your local home improvement store spouts the oft-quoted (erroneous) figure of a 70% "return" from a new kitchen or bath, he/she means that it will cost you at least 30%.

Edited April 19, 2016 by aguabella

[dga28]

Well, I stayed in my first house for 34 years and never once thought about what to do in terms of resale value.  Most of my friends stayed in their places long terms as well.  And my current house was built with everything I wanted, resale be damned. If you don't like it, don't buy it.

not me.  i have been pretty upwardly mobile in career and income and have bought and sold about 5 or 6 homes.  i buy thinking about resale.  the one or two times i didn't, i had a difficult time selling, took a long time and sold at a loss.  never again.

[aguabella]

I see it both ways, personalize with paint and furniture and knick knacks but bear in mind that major expenses may not be recouped if you sell no matter what the TV shows tell you.  We had neighbours who gutted a 10 year old kitchen and spent a small fortune giving it the designer look.  They were genuinely shocked to learn that although buyers liked the kitchen just fine none of them were prepared to pay $20,000 more for their house than the house down the street that hadn't been "upgraded". 

 

I put upgraded in quotes because there was nothing wrong with the original kitchen!  This was a house built in 2002 - it may not have been up to HGTV standards but it did not need upgrading.   There is need and there is want and if you want to do something to your house for your own personal preference knock yourself out just don't kid yourself that the house actually needed it and that you'll make the money back when you sell.  Sometimes you will, often you won't.

 

 

Definitely agree - as I mentioned previously, buyers only compensate you for location and square footage.  The 30% estimate is an expense, not a "return"!

 

Please, please, please, everyone - when it comes to the knick knacks and tchotchkes, remember to edit, edit and then edit a little more, lol!

[aguabella]

not me.  i have been pretty upwardly mobile in career and income and have bought and sold about 5 or 6 homes.  i buy thinking about resale.  the one or two times i didn't, i had a difficult time selling, took a long time and sold at a loss.  never again.

 

Good for you!  Yes, everyone should evaluate their own personal and financial situation and then act accordingly, to achieve both short and long-term goals.

[dga28]

its not always just what you get compensated for.  speed of sale is also a factor.  there is a huge difference between getting a full price offer within the first week on the market versus waiting 8 months, especially if you want to get on with your life.

Good for you!  Yes, everyone should evaluate their own personal and financial situation and then act accordingly, to achieve both short and long-term goals.

true, but in fairness i did state originally that if the person planned on staying in their house forever, they  can step out there on being specific, but if they do planning on selling, making it too specific will limit the number of buyers and take longer to sell.  if they are willing to live with those factors, then there is no issue.  most people want fast sales at top dollar.

Edited April 19, 2016 by dga28

[aguabella]

its not always just what you get compensated for.  speed of sale is also a factor.  there is a huge difference between getting a full price offer within the first week on the market versus waiting 8 months, especially if you want to get on with your life.

true, but in fairness i did state originally that if the person planned on staying in their house forever, they  can step out there on being specific, but if they do planning on selling, making it too specific will limit the number of buyers and take longer to sell.  if they are willing to live with those factors, then there is no issue.  most people want fast sales at top dollar.

 

 

???  I only responded to your post about child safety (#1), offer prices (#2) and maintaining a long-term outlook (#3).  You didn't post about taste specific improvements and limiting the buyer pool - at least not in that particular post.  Incidentally, not a big deal but I have frequently posted on the HH threads about the danger of limiting the buyer pool.  My long-winded posts (sorry, gang!) probably hit taste specific improvements at some point, too!

 

WRT speed of sale, using your 8 month example, we could assign a time value of money to those months, using current interest rates .  BTW, in addition, it would be extremely unusual to find a seller closing escrow at his/her full, original listing price after an 8 month listing period.

 

OTOH, do we know that a seller's initial listing price approximates market value?  Without a closed sale with an unrelated buyer and normal market conditions, we don't.  Meaning, a sale at less than full price might simply confirm the sellers' overstatement of their property's value.  (I've noticed over many years that sellers frequently believe their property's worth more than their neighbors for no apparent reason.  It just is - because it's their property, lol!)  Agents try to rein them in but, at the end of the day, it's the seller who determines the listing price.

 

Also, after an 8 month marketing period, it's not unusual for the market to have changed.  After 8 months, a sellers' market may have become a buyers' market or vice versa.  In fact, if the market's changed in the sellers' favor, he/she may actually benefit from the extended marketing period.  Instead of or, more likely, in addition to, a negative adjustment for the time value of money on the 8 month delay, using your example, may be eliminated by a positive market adjustment!

 

"Fast sales at top dollar"  ???  Typically there's an inverse relationship between those two goals.  Sellers with huge incentive to sell, e.g. a job transfer or other life change, price their property reasonably / lower to generate offers.  (It's pretty much the same for any asset.)  In a hot market with bidding wars, it's possible a lower price results in a higher closing sales price. 

 

Bottom line, what's market value?  Whatever the property closed at between unrelated parties with normal marketing conditions.  At the end of the day, in RE anyway, it's possible that a seller with huge incentive to sell prices their property reasonably, approximating true market value more closely.  That was only, "it's possible", lol.

 

So, like many things, the answer for these miscellaneous RE questions / issues is most likely, "It depends".

 

Sorry, everybody, for another long-winded reply.

Edited April 19, 2016 by aguabella

[aguabella]

not me.  i have been pretty upwardly mobile in career and income and have bought and sold about 5 or 6 homes.  i buy thinking about resale.  the one or two times i didn't, i had a difficult time selling, took a long time and sold at a loss.  never again.

 

Yes, that's the point I made, above.  You understood your personal situation and acted accordingly!

[dga28]

listen, all i am saying is if someone wants to appeal to the most buyers and possibly sell their house as soon as possible, having features that appeal to more buyers, instead of a few selective tastes better enable those goals.  

if those goals are not their objectives, then customizing to specific tastes is no big deal.

 

that is the reason why some keep up with trends and not overly customize.  regardless of location and square footage.  not sure why this is even a debatable point.

[aguabella]

listen, all i am saying is if someone wants to appeal to the most buyers and possibly sell their house as soon as possible, having features that appeal to more buyers, instead of a few selective tastes better enable those goals.  

if those goals are not their objectives, then customizing to specific tastes is no big deal.

 

that is the reason why some keep up with trends and not overly customize.  regardless of location and square footage.  not sure why this is even a debatable point.

 

???  I didn't disagree with you about avoiding taste specific improvements.  I didn't post, specifically, about improvements.  As previously indicated, I initially responded to your other post.  What's to debate?

[FormerMod-a1]

Even the posters, like me, who said they'd like to see some buyers not think about resale at the moment of purchase didn't say we'd want all to be like that.  Just that we'd like some variety.  If they're planning on living there long enough for their 2 year old to go to school there, they won't be reselling in 2 years, so why the thought on resale already?

[aguabella]

Even the posters, like me, who said they'd like to see some buyers not think about resale at the moment of purchase didn't say we'd want all to be like that.  Just that we'd like some variety.  If they're planning on living there long enough for their 2 year old to go to school there, they won't be reselling in 2 years, so why the thought on resale already?

 

So, turning back to the show instead of real life, aquarian1, I believe the show participants all discuss resale / home improvements for the benefit of HGTV's advertisers, i.e. the big box, home improvement stores.  HH is semi-scripted, after all.

Edited April 19, 2016 by aguabella

[proserpina65]

Please, please, please, everyone - when it comes to the knick knacks and tchotchkes, remember to edit, edit and then edit a little more, lol!

 

Great advice when going to sell.  I mean, I like my stuff and have lots of it, but on that far off day when I finally decide to move, the first thing I'll do is pack stuff up and put it in storage.

 

I get that the HH shows are all staged, and that a lot of the house hunters' complaints are fake.  I think a lot of our complaints here aren't so much aimed at the people ON the show, but at the producers for using the same tired stories.  Mix it up a little, PTB, please!

[CherryAmes]

My biggest peeve is I know that the houses they're showing are fake, in the sense that it's unlikely that they ever had those 3 houses to choose from but I wish HH would be a little smarter and not show what really is the ideal house, based on what the participants themselves say they want, and then having to come up with absolutely stupid reasons why it didn't get picked.  It's fake, we know that,  so at least make an effort to have genuine reasons why the other two "choices" didn't make sense!

Edited April 19, 2016 by CherryAmes

[proserpina65]

So, turning back to the show instead of real life, aquarian1, I believe the show participants all discuss resale / home improvements for the benefit of HGTV's advertisers, i.e. the big box, home improvement stores.  HH is semi-scripted, after all.

That's true, but the lack of variety in the fake stories has turned me off HH somewhat.  I pretty much only tune in for episodes in a) places I know like Baltimore or Philadelphia, or b) places I find interesting like Western Europe or Morocco.  HH/HHI aren't the "must see" appointment tv they used to be for me.

[AuntiePam]

That's true, but the lack of variety in the fake stories has turned me off HH somewhat.  I pretty much only tune in for episodes in a) places I know like Baltimore or Philadelphia, or b) places I find interesting like Western Europe or Morocco.  HH/HHI aren't the "must see" appointment tv they used to be for me.

 

Me too.  If the budget is too high, I don't bother to watch.  The $500K and up houses seem to be all the same.  Give me a smaller budget and older houses in smaller cities and I'm in. 

 

I don't really understand why there's a problem finding decoy houses.  I get that the Hunters have chosen their home by the time the show airs, but surely there are other houses still on the market that could be shown. 

 

Why so few empty decoys?  As soon as I see furniture in a house, I fast-forward. 

[aguabella]

Me too.  If the budget is too high, I don't bother to watch.  The $500K and up houses seem to be all the same.  Give me a smaller budget and older houses in smaller cities and I'm in. 

 

I don't really understand why there's a problem finding decoy houses.  I get that the Hunters have chosen their home by the time the show airs, but surely there are other houses still on the market that could be shown. 

 

Why so few empty decoys?  As soon as I see furniture in a house, I fast-forward. 

 

The show has a 6 month post-production time period.  Consistently, the difference between film date and air date is 6 months.  Unless you're in a down RE market and/or listing an inferior home, the other homes toured by the house hunters during their real life house hunt s/b sold long before that 6 month time period expires.  Given that, there's no advertising benefit to these home from an appearance.

 

Furthermore, the show requires an entire day, meaning 12 hours, for its shoot of each home.  (They don't shoot for 12 hours but demand the flexibility to shoot at any time within those 12 hours.)  The residents must vacate during that 12 hour time period and no potential buyer can tour the home, either.  That's a huge inconvenience.

 

Besides that, the home must be cleaned and prepped, etc. for what reason?  So it can appear on a cable program in 6 months long after its sale?    And, after all that, they don't even include decoy homes' listing agents in the program.  Meaning, there's no marketing benefit for them.  Why bother?

 

Empty decoys are definitely unusual.  Unless a home is in foreclosure or a rental property between tenants, most homes remain occupied.  Sure, some sellers may buy their next home first, transfer out of the area for work or simply relocate in advance to facilitate a sale but they usually stage the home.  So, those homes aren't normally vacant, either. 

 

Again, this is timing.  The show typically shoots 4-6 episodes in a given geographical area over say, 5-6 weeks.  They schedule 5 days / 40 hours for each 30 minute (22 minutes, net of commercials) episode.  Unless the show's realtor can obtain shooting permission on those rare days a home's vacant, possibly after staging's removed but before close of escrow, the show misses the tight window to shoot empty homes.  

 

And, BTW, these schedules are set up in advance so who knows when a home will be sold but vacant and unstaged?  How do they get any decoys, given these difficulties?  Most decoys are the show realtor's other listings.  Only their own sellers, after some arm twisting, will agree to the onerous shooting schedule.  The other realtors don't care to eliminate a precious listing / marketing day.  They don't have the camera / face time / personal marketing incentive.

 

So, unless the house hunters agent represents other listings in their budget, in the same geographical area with similar attributes, i.e. homes that they probably saw during their real life tour, it's not surprising the show includes many dissimilar properties and then employs creative (haha, yes, sarcasm!) storytelling to explain why they're touring other types of homes.

Edited April 25, 2016 by aguabella

[proserpina65]

then employs creative storytelling to explain why they're touring other types of homes.

 

UN-creative storytelling, more often.  I get that there are issues which complicate what houses can be used as decoy homes.  I just wish the producers/writers would come up with better reasons for the disparity.

[topanga]

Me too.  If the budget is too high, I don't bother to watch.  The $500K and up houses seem to be all the same.  Give me a smaller budget and older houses in smaller cities and I'm in. 

 

I don't really understand why there's a problem finding decoy houses.  I get that the Hunters have chosen their home by the time the show airs, but surely there are other houses still on the market that could be shown. 

 

Why so few empty decoys?  As soon as I see furniture in a house, I fast-forward. 

I hear ya. But I still watch the million dollar episodes so I can drool over the things rich people can buy.  (Except: do you remember that California episode when the couple paid almost a million dollars for what was essentially a cottage? But it was located steps from the beach, so I guess that made it worth it). 

 

I fast-forward through the furnished homes also. But I got faked out once. All three of the homes were furnished. The buyers said at the end that they bought the furniture from the sellers, but I'm guessing that was a big-fat lie and that it was their own furniture. 

 

I wish someone would hide cable wiring. That's always a big clue that it's the house the buyers will pick. And I like guessing. 

Edited April 20, 2016 by topanga

[aguabella]

UN-creative storytelling, more often.  I get that there are issues which complicate what houses can be used as decoy homes.  I just wish the producers/writers would come up with better reasons for the disparity.

 

I'm sure you knew proserpina65, that my word "creative" had more than a little sarcasm attached to it, right, lol?  Anyway, edited above - no biggie.

[aguabella]

What annoys me are the people who buy their homes thinking what the next owner is going to want. I've got a sibling like that; everything that's done to the house is done with an eye to its resale value. Doesn't anyone just buy a home to live in and enjoy themselves? Why do the colors have to be on-trend? Why does it always have to be what the "other" would like? Are they so afraid of imposing their own personality on their home - or do they have no personality to begin with, so they go the safe route ?

 

DownTheShore, you've mentioned your sibling several times previously and I've always wanted to ask you a couple things, if you don't mind.

 

I didn't post about improvements, specifically, the other day and noticed that several posters didn't distinguish between interior decorating / staging vs. renovation work.  Does your sibling understand the difference?

 

For example,  when you mentioned colors - are we talking about paint colors?  Painting is considered a staging task, upon resale, so a homeowner can paint their home any color they like during their residency period for interior decorating purposes but then neutralize colors in the 60 days prior to sale in order to stage the home.  I know that you understand that but does your sibling?

 

Sounds like your sibling doesn't consider this his/her forever home.  So, if they're doing major home renovations, then sure, they might want to stay neutral for those, e.g. kitchen cabinets and countertops but use their personally preferred colors for paint, pillows, rugs, window treatments, etc. 

 

Do they understand that they won't recoup the full cost of renovations upon resale?  Plus, if they're changing things out but won't sell for another five years, those improvements may be considered dated and will have depreciated over time so they'll recoup even less.  For these reasons, assuming they don't plan on selling for at least several years, they might want to tread lightly in the reno department.

 

As a sibling, I'm sure you might not be able to say much (!) but just curious if they understand these things.  Sounds like a good example for the group.

 

Thanks, in advance.   

[chessiegal]

I just saw a pet peeve in the new Tiny House episode tonight - a woman saying she is "very OCD" about something when what she meant was very particular. OCD is a debilitating condition. I don't like people using it lightly.

[proserpina65]

On ‎04‎/‎25‎/‎2016 at 8:40 PM, aguabella said:

 

I'm sure you knew proserpina65, that my word "creative" had more than a little sarcasm attached to it, right, lol?  Anyway, edited above - no biggie.

Oops, sorry, my sarcasm detector was off a bit that day.  No worries.  :-)

[scootypuffjr]

As much as I love complaining about these overly entitled young'uns (and I do!), I wonder if their demands are largely a matter of past experience and prevailing standards.  Perhaps when the realtor says, "Here is the single bathroom and smaller closets," it's like he or she is saying to many of us, "And here is the outhouse and your hooks."  My mother (born in '32) managed just fine growing up with an outhouse and three hooks for her clothes - her church dress, her school dress and her play dress.  That was normal in her experience, and perfectly adequate for her needs.  I (born in '63) grew up with a single bathroom for a family of four and small closets and considered that normal and perfectly adequate for my needs.  When it came time to buy my house, I would never have even considered anything with an outhouse, though conceivably I could get used to using one if need be. But why should I? We all could learn to live with outhouses and hooks, but we don't want to.  So if these kids born in the '80s and '90s (they're kids to me, anyway) grew up with big master suites with luxurious spa-like bathrooms, chef's kitchens and walk-in closets, that's their base-line and they'd find it somewhat of a hardship to accept anything less.  They just have to understand those things will cost more and aren't necessarily an option in the older houses with charm and character. Am I making any sense, or am I overthinking things and just trying to make excuses?

Edited May 9, 2016 by scootypuffjr
Outhouses are not courthouses

[laredhead]

Scootypuffjr, I understand what you are saying, but I think what many of these seemingly "overly entitled young'uns" don't seem to realize is maybe their parents first or second houses weren't the nice places that the young'uns grew up in.  My parents finally had their "forever house" after my brother and I finished college and left home.  We moved 4 times before left my parents' house and each time it was a move up the economic ladder.  With many of these first time young buyers, I don't see any evidence of settling for something less than the last house they occupied with their parents.  It's sort of like the "I want it all and I want it now" syndrome.  That is great if they can afford it, but if they can't then they need to stop whining and live in what they can afford now until their income improves.   

[izabella]

Yes, that's it exactly.  These people don't want "starter homes" and turn their noses up at them.  They want the "forever home" that it took their parents years or decades to afford.  Just like they expected to be handed cars as soon as they got their drivers licenses instead of sharing the family car or working to save up for an el-cheapo used model.  Oh, and it better be the RIGHT new car, or they'll be upset that they didn't get a choice in the new car they received as a gift.

[scootypuffjr]

Perhaps you guys are right.  Though we lived in an affluent area just outside DC, my family stayed in the same modest/average house while I was growing up, my dad always bought used cars etc, so my perspective might be a bit different.  It was just an idea I had while watching this morning with my mom, and thought I'd share.  Thank you for your responses - I always appreciate any input!

Edited May 9, 2016 by scootypuffjr
I always forget something

[juliet73]

Scootypuffjr, I understand what you're saying.  I WAS one of those kids. My first house was new construction in a very nice neighborhood. I bought all the upgrades, bells and whistles. At the time, I was single with no children and made a lot of money. Fast forward a few years later...Moved out of the house to a different part of the country. Married with two kids and I'm a stay at home mom by choice. For me to stay home, we bought a much older, smaller house with ONE bathroom, ONE car garage, small closets, etc. So I feel like I've experienced both sides of the coin now.  And honestly, I like my small house that doesn't have ss appliances, granite, walk in closets, etc more than my big fancy one. We've put a lot of sweat equity and pride into it. It feels like a HOME, not a house. 

Edited May 9, 2016 by juliet73

[aguabella]

Concerning starter homes and millennials, I agree with everyone, in general.  If we established some standards, defining a "starter home" and completed a study, I believe we'd find significant differences in the starter homes of today vs. our parents' generation.  In better neighborhoods, older homes are either torn down and rebuilt or significantly upgraded.  Many formerly depressed city neighborhoods are currently gentrifying.  Multiple units replace older homes around transit centers.  Sure, builders push expensive upgrades but they, together with realtors and retailers, also commission market research and do represent current buyers' demands.

That said, I kinda doubt that HH participants would fairly represent today's average millennial.  Many millennials buy conservatively, upgrading older homes in good neighborhoods and moving up, if/when it makes financial sense.  They don't crave 15 minutes of fame so we don't see them.  Or, they dutifully recite their semi-scripted lines when their spouse forces them to go along for the ride.  (They've read the contract and understand that HH requires complete control.)

Does everyone demand the holy trinity?  We know they don't but Scripps / HH first priority, besides its stock price, is to represent its sponsors.

JMO, as usual. 

[scrb]

Just saw ep. With couple in Orange County.  He's 29, she's 27 and 3 or 4 young kids.

 

They couldn't afford in Huntington Beach or any of the coast so they looked for $1 million homes inland.

He ran a web business selling home automation and solar products.

[aguabella]

41 minutes ago, scrb said:

41 minutes ago, scrb said:

Just saw ep. With couple in Orange County.  He's 29, she's 27 and 3 or 4 young kids.

 

They couldn't afford in Huntington Beach or any of the coast so they looked for $1 million homes inland.

He ran a web business selling home automation and solar products.

 

Sunday afternoon so this was a rerun.  IIRC, several comments appeared on the regular thread after its original airdate, if you're interested.

Edited May 22, 2016 by aguabella

[scrb]

Yeah I'm months behind.

But I only pointed it out because people were talking about millennials and buying modest first homes.

One of their criteria was either 4 or 5 bedrooms and at least 4000 square feet.

[aguabella]

23 minutes ago, scrb said:

Yeah I'm months behind.

But I only pointed it out because people were talking about millennials and buying modest first homes.

One of their criteria was either 4 or 5 bedrooms and at least 4000 square feet.

Sorry about that.  Thought you meant you were watching HGTV today.  Am pretty sure they show HH reruns on Sun pms and it's probably about time for them to air that one, again.  Yep, I'm constantly running behind on the dvr, too.

I seem to recall thinking they were - or at least one of them - trust fund babies.  Even in the OC, I doubt that'd be considered a starter home.

[Kohola3]

Will all house hunters, for the love of all that is holy, buy a damned thesaurus?  If you made a drinking game over the number of times AMAAAAZING and AWWWWWSOME were used in these episodes you'd be falling off your chair by the first commercial.  Ban the "A" words!

[Sun-Bun]

Used to be "Oh My God/gosh" that would send me over the edge on these shows. Glad they've seemed to have put the kabosh on that overdone phrase.?

[Mittengirl]

I hate when "wow!" Is dragged out to seventeen syllables.  Makes me want to smack.  That and "O. M. G." - just say the words, people.

 

P.S. - I hate subway tile.  Way would I want my kitchen to look like a nasty public transit station?

Edited May 29, 2016 by Mittengirl

[BradandJanet]

1 hour ago, Mittengirl said:

I hate when "wow!" Is dragged out to seventeen syllables.  Makes me want to smack.  That and "O. M. G." - just say the words, people.

 

P.S. - I hate subway tile.  Way would I want my kitchen to look like a nasty public transit station?

I did our bathrooms in locker-room tile. That was a mistake. Subway tile seems to endure, but I ride subways, so I don't think about it too much. Best not to. 

[juliet73]

I just watched my favorite buyer ever!  I wish HGTV would hire him as a consultant to go with EVERY couple when they go hunting.  He was on Beachfront Bargains. He and his wife were an older couple (married for 40 years) and they were looking for a vacation home in Long Branch, NJ.  He wasn't mean or snarky, just totally realistic!  They both had NY accents - her more than him.  All 3 places they looked at were very nice and all updated. They literally just needed to bring their bathing suits and a toothbrush.  They go into the first condo and the wife starts complaining about the electric stove top and he says, "Nah, nothing wrong wit it. It's fine."  Then they go into the one and only bedroom.  She starts complaining that it's too small.  After rolling his eyes, he replies, "It's large enough. You're only sleeping here. C'mon."  On to the next condo...wife complains about how she doesn't like the kitchen cabinets and wants to replace them.  Husband says, "They're fine, they'll work."  They go out onto the patio.  Wife complains about the street noise and living on the busy road.  He replies, "We're not living on the road, we live INSIDE." Ha! The last place they drive to is 10 miles from their desired area.  She's complaining, "We're driving so far!  Where are we?!"  He says, "Relax, relax. Just relax." I don't think she complained about the interior.  Just the drive and it was $50k over their max limit.  

[NYGirl]

I hate how they are always in agreeance as to which house to choose.  "I'm thinking of a house" "me too" "the pink house we hated"? "yes!!!!" Let's kiss now.

[Quof]

Quote

agreeance

That's not even a word!!!

Monica Geller

[NYGirl]

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/agreeance

I used to work for an attorney.  We used that word a lot.

Edited June 2, 2016 by NYGirl

[Quof]

I am an attorney. We never use that word.

[chessiegal]

I thought of this thread today when we arrived at our hotel in Avignon, France. This is our 3rd hotel in France, and all have had water closets. But this one has a little corner sink so you can wash your hands before you leave the WC. How cool is that?

[topanga]

On 5/30/2016 at 0:47 PM, juliet73 said:

I just watched my favorite buyer ever!  I wish HGTV would hire him as a consultant to go with EVERY couple when they go hunting.  He was on Beachfront Bargains. He and his wife were an older couple (married for 40 years) and they were looking for a vacation home in Long Branch, NJ.  He wasn't mean or snarky, just totally realistic!  They both had NY accents - her more than him.  All 3 places they looked at were very nice and all updated. They literally just needed to bring their bathing suits and a toothbrush.  They go into the first condo and the wife starts complaining about the electric stove top and he says, "Nah, nothing wrong wit it. It's fine."  Then they go into the one and only bedroom.  She starts complaining that it's too small.  After rolling his eyes, he replies, "It's large enough. You're only sleeping here. C'mon."  On to the next condo...wife complains about how she doesn't like the kitchen cabinets and wants to replace them.  Husband says, "They're fine, they'll work."  They go out onto the patio.  Wife complains about the street noise and living on the busy road.  He replies, "We're not living on the road, we live INSIDE." Ha! The last place they drive to is 10 miles from their desired area.  She's complaining, "We're driving so far!  Where are we?!"  He says, "Relax, relax. Just relax." I don't think she complained about the interior.  Just the drive and it was $50k over their max limit.  

I want to see a follow up show (like the where are they now? show), but only to follow the couples themselves. I want to see if these bickering couples are happy in real life, or if their relationships implode as they seem they would. The one that comes to mind is the couple where the wife works from home (the husband doesn't), but the husband got the office, and the wife was forced to work from the dining room table. 

[OpieTaylor]

Why the recent love affair with bathtubs on all the various HH shows, even the Tiny Houses? Seems at least half of the time the hunters really want a bathtub.  And they aren't all parents with babies/little kids. It's brought up so often these days, that I think there has to be an ulterior motive on the show's part - some reason to promote tubs. What could it be? Bathroom remodel sponsors?

[Homily]

Do you mean a specific kind of bathtub?  Because I'd be surprised to see houses in the price range of most HH's that would only have a stand up shower.  Aren't bathtubs a pretty basic feature in the typical house?

[biakbiak]

21 minutes ago, Homily said:

Do you mean a specific kind of bathtub?  Because I'd be surprised to see houses in the price range of most HH's that would only have a stand up shower.  Aren't bathtubs a pretty basic feature in the typical house?

The poster was specifically referring to Tiny Houses were standalone showers are the norm and bathtubs more unusual because it's a tiny house and space is a concern.

[OpieTaylor]

17 minutes ago, Homily said:

Do you mean a specific kind of bathtub?  Because I'd be surprised to see houses in the price range of most HH's that would only have a stand up shower.  Aren't bathtubs a pretty basic feature in the typical house?

Well, maybe it's happening more in the Tiny House episodes where the buyer wants a tub, which seems like a big space-taker. But I think it's also happening a lot in the full-size House Hunters shows too. In those episodes, maybe it's more like the wife (or husband sometimes) makes a big deal about "Ooh, an ensuite bathroom with a tub! How wonderful! You know how I like baths!" It just seems like there's a lot of talk about bathtubs these days, cuz I keep noticing it. 

1 minute ago, biakbiak said:

The poster was specifically referring to Tiny Houses were standalone showers are the norm and bathtubs more unusual because it's a tiny house and space is a concern.

See my above post, cuz I'm noticing it in regular HH too. I guess I'm surprised that quite a few adults enjoy baths, not just little kids. 

[Albino]

Top Ten Things I'm Sick Of Hearing Home Buyers Say.  What are yours?  I'm sure I missed dozens.

1.  Where's my stainless appliances?

2.  Where's my grand entrance? (usually uttered by twentysomethings with a $160K budget)

3.  It's a complete gut job.

4.  Now that's what I'm talkin' about  (usually in reference to a 'man cave')

5.   Why is there a window in the bathroom!?!?

6.  You can have this shelf right here!  (witty wife to whipped husband touring roomy walk-in closet)

7.  But where will you keep your clothes?  (witty wife to whipped husband touring roomy walk-in closet)

8.  Not a fan of  the ________  (fill in: tile floors, carpeting, popcorn ceilings, light fixtures, granite, size of back yard, fireplace, etc. etc)

9.  There's barely room to move...we'll be bumping into each other.  (referring to a perfectly adequate kitchen)

10.  No pool?  We were really hoping for a pool.  :(

[azshadowwalker]

On 5/30/2016 at 9:47 AM, juliet73 said:

I just watched my favorite buyer ever!  I wish HGTV would hire him as a They go out onto the patio.  Wife complains about the street noise and living on the busy road.  He replies, "We're not living on the road, we live INSIDE." Ha! 

Ever lived on a busy street? I just moved from a house right above the 580 in the Bay Area. We had to run loud fans to sleep. I had difficulty talking to someone on the phone while inside the house, forget about sitting outside and chatting. Couldn't open the windows ever. Before that, we lived on the other side of the Bay right by the Caltrain tracks.  The train was less annoying than the traffic, because it wasn’t 24/7. Never again. 

Edited August 9, 2016 by azshadowwalker

[dga28]

5 hours ago, Albino said:

Top Ten Things I'm Sick Of Hearing Home Buyers Say.  What are yours?  I'm sure I missed dozens.

1.  Where's my stainless appliances?

2.  Where's my grand entrance? (usually uttered by twentysomethings with a $160K budget)

3.  It's a complete gut job.

4.  Now that's what I'm talkin' about  (usually in reference to a 'man cave')

5.   Why is there a window in the bathroom!?!?

6.  You can have this shelf right here!  (witty wife to whipped husband touring roomy walk-in closet)

7.  But where will you keep your clothes?  (witty wife to whipped husband touring roomy walk-in closet)

8.  Not a fan of  the ________  (fill in: tile floors, carpeting, popcorn ceilings, light fixtures, granite, size of back yard, fireplace, etc. etc)

9.  There's barely room to move...we'll be bumping into each other.  (referring to a perfectly adequate kitchen)

10.  No pool?  We were really hoping for a pool.  :(

my number one cringe saying is "not our style".....

Ok.  just say you don't like it.  lol