House Hunters International - General Discussion

[Quof]

Was the Florida to Italy "not a couple" couple new?  Like all HHI stories, I figured the premise was pretty fake so I went Googling.  They've been in Italy since 2012, just a few months after her arrest in Sarasota for trespassing and burglary.  Her mugshot was Meth Face personified.

[amarante]

I realize that the back stories of HHI bear almost no relation to reality but I don't understand - even as a plot device - why someone would move to a new country (or even a new state) with limited capital to start a business and also buy a house.

 

There have been a few of those. Granted I lack the spirit of *adventure* but I have faced periods of uncertain income stream and the last thing I wanted to do was spend any of my capital for anything. Renting seems to make much more sense since it enables one to keep one's liquid assets readily available. 

[cyberfruit]

This past episode with the family moving from Indiana to Italy with nine flipping kids kind of rubbed me the wrong way. The parents had this dream of living in a pedestrian-oriented town where they could ditch their cars and bike/walk everywhere -- that's cool; my kind of city/town, to be honest, but that involved moving their nine children into a three bedroom house. Four girls in one room, two girls in another, the eldest son had a room to himself, the second youngest boy slept in a nook under the stairs (because he chose it, according to the parents), and the baby slept in the parents' room.

 

I can't explain why, but I was really bothered by their arrangement. Shoving 11 people in a three bedroom house, willingly, sounds absurd. I wonder how the dream will hold up once the four youngest girls hit puberty and start jockeying for space -- and they would be well within their rights to do so. 

[Peanutbuttercup]

I generally love the episodes in Nordic countries, and this pair of artist/student types moving to Sweden seemed cool. Not a whole lot of whining about missing their American style amenities or anything like that. But that weird earring the guy was wearing (it looked like a giant extracted molar?) distracted me throughout a lot of the show.

[QuinnM]

But that weird earring the guy was wearing (it looked like a giant extracted molar?) distracted me throughout a lot of the show.

Gosh I barely noticed because I was too distracted by the giant rufflly bib his girlfriend was wearing. Edited September 14, 2014 by QuinnM

[AuntiePam]

I can't explain why, but I was really bothered by their arrangement. Shoving 11 people in a three bedroom house, willingly, sounds absurd. I wonder how the dream will hold up once the four youngest girls hit puberty and start jockeying for space -- and they would be well within their rights to do so. 

 

I missed the beginning of this one so didn't get the back story.  How long will they be staying in Italy?  Will one of the adults be working or are they living on savings?  And nine kids?  My husband said they must be Catholic, but isn't birth control acceptable now?  I did notice that they were touching in almost every scene -- maybe mom and dad just really like each other. 

 

I chuckled at the boy who ended up in the nook under the stairs.  You just know he loved having some space to himself.  I wish they would have taken the dream house. 

[DownTheShore]

Not necessarily Catholic (and most of us do use birth control no matter what the Church teaches); could be fundamentalist Christian or even Jewish - various sects encourage procreation to the nth degree.

 

I actually thought, "good for them" re the bedroom sharing.  Those kids will learn compromising and sharing at an early age, and will appreciate in the future having their own space and things to a much greater degree, instead of accepting it as their due.  I'm also guessing that their Italian peers live the same way, so they're going to have similar experiences with siblings.

Gosh I barely noticed because I was too distracted by the giant rufflly bib his girlfriend was wearing.

Me too!

 

At first I thought, "she's pregnant???"  Then I realized that it was just the shirt she was wearing.  That was odd-looking.

 

But they were a nice couple and did seem to realize that they were never going to have the space they had back home.

Was the Florida to Italy "not a couple" couple new?  Like all HHI stories, I figured the premise was pretty fake so I went Googling.  They've been in Italy since 2012, just a few months after her arrest in Sarasota for trespassing and burglary.  Her mugshot was Meth Face personified.

Got a link for that?  I can't remember which couple they were.

[Quof]

http://patch.com/florida/sarasota/blonde-out-of-water-blogger-arrested#.VBX6ppV0wcA

[mojito]

 

Not necessarily Catholic (and most of us do use birth control no matter what the Church teaches); could be fundamentalist Christian or even Jewish - various sects encourage procreation to the nth degree

My first guess reflects on the time I spent living in Utah....

 

I just saw the episode of the rescue dog lady in Belize. At least 10 times she mentioned, "visiting vets" and I wondered if she'd scored a job that required her to house visiting vets. I also wondered if she was actually paying for the house herself (where'd the money come from?) or if her mother was putting down a lot of the money. The mother certainly seemed to be lobbying for the master bedroom even though she was living in Utah.

Edited September 14, 2014 by mojito

[DownTheShore]

Or the vets were coming down on a working vacation (tax write-off) and she was renting out housing space?

 

I got the impression that mom was contributing a chunk of cash to the endeavor.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

the second youngest boy slept in a nook under the stairs (because he chose it, according to the parents)

Ha, he wants the Harry Potter cupboard under the stairs!

[BearCat49]

I realize that the back stories of HHI bear almost no relation to reality but I don't understand - even as a plot device - why someone would move to a new country (or even a new state) with limited capital to start a business and also buy a house.

 

There have been a few of those. Granted I lack the spirit of *adventure* but I have faced periods of uncertain income stream and the last thing I wanted to do was spend any of my capital for anything. Renting seems to make much more sense since it enables one to keep one's liquid assets readily available. 

This was a very common HHI plot device a few yrs ago.  Googling the participants confirmed that most of them were already in country or had jobs or whatever.  Felt as if tptb believed that was a sexier plot than simply moving overseas for a yr or so to work.

 

Was the Florida to Italy "not a couple" couple new?  Like all HHI stories, I figured the premise was pretty fake so I went Googling.  They've been in Italy since 2012, just a few months after her arrest in Sarasota for trespassing and burglary.  Her mugshot was Meth Face personified.

 

Pretty sure that's a fairly old rerun.

 

 

Can someone explain to me why, if there is no oven in an apartment, the potential renters never think to themselves, "oh, we can just pick up a large toaster oven and that will serve in place of an oven for most recipes"?

 

They do say that to themselves but can't say it on camera!  Or, they do but it was edited out!

I've never seen a House Hunters set in Canada. (Property Virgins was originally set in Canada, and prices were Canadian). 

 

Of course, they have shown Canadians hunting in other countries (not the US), including a Canadian who was living in London and moving to the Ukraine. She stated her price in US dollars. Like all hunters who have no connection at all to the US. SMH.

Agree, I don't believe HH/HHI does Canada.  Have a feeling posters are referring to the other clone HGTV househunter programs.  BTW, the exchange rate was almost even a few years ago -

[BearCat49]

The apartment was lovely but it was also in a major touristy area and had no outdoor space. The house they got not only had the number of bedrooms they wanted but a lovely yard and pool and in an actual neighborhood. Also, to me being close to the kids school makes more sense then distance from work because yes she didn't have anything else to do (though who knows maybe she does charity work or other things) but the kids friends and activities are also most likely going to be around the area where they go to school so there would be a lot of driving in addition to just the daily drop off and pick up.  Also, the husband mentioned that he could work some days from home to cut down on the commute, that isn't an option for the kids. 

Sounded like the kids were probably attending the international school so they could have possibly carpooled.  I doubt their schoolmates were necessarily local to the school.  That said, given their budget, I had a feeling the father might have been travelling for work, used a home office or had other options available for his transportation.

 

Obvious to me which home they were already living in b/c the wife kept complimenting the very traditional furniture that came with the home (haha) that was obviously her traditional furniture shipped from IN!  She was one bad actor, IMHO!

[Kris223]

Bedrooms for sleeping only? That's just crazy talk.

[DownTheShore]

That's probably why I never minded sharing my bedroom with my sister; the bedrooms were just for sleeping or reading.  Games were kept in another room and there wasn't a TV in the bedroom (this was before video games and computers, mind).  There was no reason to lock ourselves away in our rooms because there wasn't much to do there.  We had to interact with each other.  Good for your boys, stewedsquash!

[Bastet]

Shoving 11 people in a three bedroom house, willingly, sounds absurd.

 

So nine kids divided between two bedrooms?  (I didn't see the episode.)  Pretty much my idea of hell - I'd probably be the kid turning the nook under the stairs into a bedroom - but it used to be the way of things in some places; my dad is one of eight, and they slept multiple kids to a bed, nevermind a room.  While my dad's family was particularly oversized, especially given the small house, the general concept wasn't unusual in their tiny, poor town (although kids would sleep on the sofa or outside to get some space).  

Edited September 16, 2014 by Bastet

[mojito]

Kids' rooms nowadays are more the equivalent of first apartments in the olden days. They have more entertainment than I had when I first moved out on my own. And I'm not talking about computers and peripherals. I'm talking about a TV, something to play music on (versus just a radio), and yes, even a telephone. Did I forget to mention furniture, too?

[buttersister]

The Tuscan couple's insistence on privacy (like no neighbors, way out in the country privacy) seemed a bit odd, considering he's a pilot and so must be away a lot. Was that supposed to be him flying the biplane buzzing the house at the end? Cause it looked like a stunt plane. Molto odd.

[Junebugg]

I remember the episode with the family with 9 kids in Italy, from several moths ago.  (a year?)  It was discussed a bit on the TWOP site, at the time.  I, too, made the comment about the younger child having the "Harry Potter" experience underneath the stairs.  I believe a commenter back then checked the blogs, and there may have been some sort of religious or ministerial reasoning behind their move, if I'm not mistaken.  But I think not too long after airtime, the family had moved on to another country and another adventure. 

 

I wish the forums over there were still available to check.  That's going to bug me.

[truther]

That's what I remember, Junebugg, though I can't recall the specifics.  They were in Italy for religious reasons and by the time the episode even aired they were already in Albania or Ukraine or somewhere like that. 

[BearCat49]

Agree, I believe that episode was last year and they were fundamentalists.  They'd gone to Ukraine but were in the process of evacuating Ukraine.

[laredhead]

Any comments on the retired couple moving from New York to northern France? There was very little furniture in their house for the "3 months later" portion of the show.  Maybe they were having some shipped from the U.S. and it had not arrived or they decided to try minimalist living.  Not sure I would want a house with stairs when I reached that age.  They both seemed to love the idea of an adventure in a new place.  The countryside is beautiful in that part of France.

 

By contrast, the couple moving from Chicago to Sao Paulo were almost wooden in their reactions to everything.  The views of the city from the helicopter were incredible.  I cannot imagine living in a city that large.  The closing shots showed them with a dog, but there was never a mention by either of them about having to have a space for the dog, which HH's usually include in their narrative.  I wonder if his job location is very temporary because downsizing to a one bedroom apartment would be difficult long term.  I did like the wife's comment that they would not be having a lot of people visit because of the distance.  Such a change from other HH's who demand extra bedrooms for the hoards of guests they expect to have.   

[BearCat49]

 

By contrast, the couple moving from Chicago to Sao Paulo were almost wooden in their reactions to everything.  The views of the city from the helicopter were incredible.  I cannot imagine living in a city that large.  The closing shots showed them with a dog, but there was never a mention by either of them about having to have a space for the dog, which HH's usually include in their narrative.  I wonder if his job location is very temporary because downsizing to a one bedroom apartment would be difficult long term.  I did like the wife's comment that they would not be having a lot of people visit because of the distance.  Such a change from other HH's who demand extra bedrooms for the hoards of guests they expect to have.   

Agree, between the realtor and the Chicago to Brazil couple, that episode was a snore, zzzzzzzzzzzzz.  The wife's manner of speaking was also blah ...  IIRC, they made a brief mention of the pup but apparently that wasn't the chosen plotline.

 

After googling multiple HHI participants over the years, I believe most of the assignments are temporary ones but tptb don't believe that's interesting enough so HHI always spices it up.  And all the concern over their budgets is laughable - those huge budgets represent their company paid expat housing allowance.

[Bastet]

I wish the forums over there were still available to check.  That's going to bug me.

.

You can use the Wayback Machine at the internet archive.

[mojito]

The New York to northern France couple. Left what looked like a beautiful farm in New York to fulfill a dream. I was quite impressed with that couple. Pretty gutsy thing to do in your very late 60s, early 70s. I wonder if they planned to stay in France for the rest of their lives or if they still maintained a place in NY for their last years. It seemed that they weren't spending a lot of money on the place, which could because they wanted to live on the rest of the proceeds from the sale of their NY farm, or maybe they had it in their minds to return to the farm at a later date.

[NYGirl]

I absolutely hated the couple from Colorado to Costa Rica. For their $150,000 budget she couldn't understand that she couldn't be on the beach. That didn't stop her from petulantly saying she wanted to be on the beach. All he could say is "under budget". By the end of the episode I wanted to slap both of them.

P.S. They ended up 10 minutes from the beach but it was under budget at least.

[DownTheShore]

You'd think that they'd realize by now that any location that has been popularized by HHI isn't going to allow you to get that cheap beach-side home anymore.  They have to go to the places where they are going to be the first ex-pats moving in to get those kind of deals.

 

And isn't it amusing that when Americans move abroad they are called "ex-pats", but when foreigners move here they are "immigrants"?  Semantics, semantics.  I always wonder what the people in those Central American countries think about being inundated with Americans and Canadians, who are probably putting a greater demand on utility and health services and are driving up the costs of food and housing?

 

None of those people who want to live on the beach ever seem to ask - "does this area flood?".   I mean, some of those places do get hit with hurricanes.   It's nice to have the ocean 20 feet from your door but one good storm and it's inside your house.

 

I also wonder what, exactly, those beaches are like in front of those homes?  Are they beaches where people walk their dogs or ride their horses (leaving unwanted surprises in the sand)?  Is the water safe to swim in, or does the local municipality directly eject waste into the sea?  Are the beaches rocky?  Can you even go into the surf in front of your home?  There's rarely anyone actually using those beaches as beaches whenever they are shown.

[VonS12]

I just watched the Huatulco episode with the overly entitled Canadian wife.  Wow!  Talk about selfish!

[sugarbaker design]

And isn't it amusing that when Americans move abroad they are called "ex-pats", but when foreigners move here they are "immigrants"?

 

 

Those Americans moving in are immigrants to the natives.  Those immigrants to the USA are ex-pats from their mother lands.

 

I always wonder what the people in those Central American countries think about being inundated with Americans and Canadians,

 

 

Friends of mine moved to Mexico, while the business owners love them, the neighbors and townspeople not so much.

Edited September 22, 2014 by sugarbaker design

[mojito]

 

And isn't it amusing that when Americans move abroad they are called "ex-pats", but when foreigners move here they are "immigrants"?  Semantics, semantics.

Funny how that works, huh? Can't you just hear an American correcting a Panamanian: "No, I'm not an immigrant, I'm an ex-pat. You're the immigrant." They probably refer to the native population as "foreigners", too!

 

If I moved to parts south, I'd want to blend in, not live in a community of ex-pats. First, the prices would be better, second, I suspect it would be safer, third, I'd learn Spanish muy rapido (I've no interest in Brazil), and fourth, part of my reason for moving would be to get away from Americans!

[Sun-Bun]

As much as I enjoyed yesterday's episode with the middle-aged couple who wanted to live in Nice, France/The French Riviera, I was left with so many unanswered questions afterwards.

First of all, it said they sold their vineyard in CA to make their dream of living in charming France happen; but how did they plan on actually surviving in France?

Were they retiring or were they somehow able to have enough dough left over to survive a few years overseas without working??

Were they planning on staying there for the rest of their lives???

And how in the *Hell* could a couple that was used to living in a sprawling Western vineyard suddenly enjoy living 24/7 in what is essentially a 300 square ft hotel room?!!

I dunno, it just seemed almost too crazy of a "dream" to believe for me, a mature couple giving up their former busy lifestyles just to live in a "charming little fishing village" and soak up some quintessential French scenery.

I'd be afraid they'd get so bored of that lazy lifestyle and tiny village after a while...and if I were the wife, I'd be afraid period of just being so far and removed overseas with just my husband and my savings to keep me afloat in my elder years.

Maybe that's just my safety-oriented practical side speaking here.

Also, the wife was slightly annoying with her constantly spazzing out all over the French scenery and views.

Somehow I just found her to be the typical basic bitch Francophile-type who probably won't be so in love with her "charming little fishing village" after another 6-8 months of living in a 300 sq ft closet and finding ways to amuse herself and her husband on a daily basis there.

Also, any chance to catch a sighting of that wacky realtor lady who does all the HH International episodes in France is golden---she's usually so over the typical goofy Americans searching for their perfectly-sized/priced "American in Paris" pads with equally perfect views that laughably never seem to materialize for them and their ridiculously meager budgets.

She totally had that dumb broad's number and was almost cackling behind the couple's back over their usual unrealistic expectations of pricey French real estate.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Sun-Bun

[izabella]

I think that couple in France is only going to use it part of the year.  They never said they sold their house and all their posessions in Healdsville, just their vineyard.  They must have a primary residence somewhere else.   The announcer did call it a pied a terre at one point, so I'm going with that explanation.

 

And I'm guessing they plan to live off the proceeds of the vineyard.  It must be worth quite a bit since it's in lovely Sonoma County, just a hop, skip and a jump to Napa.  Unless it was entirely mortgaged, they should have a lot more than the price of that studio in the bank.

 

I always love an Adrian Leeds episode! 

[NYGirl]

I always love an Adrian Leeds episode! 

Adrian Leeds rules.

 

I was dozing off last night and as soon as I heard her voice my eyes popped open.  I loved her kooky outfits in last night's episode and it looks like she lightened her hair.

 

I don't care about the HHs and their 300 sq feet.  I was so happy to see Adrian.

[sugarbaker design]

The California vintners were just looking for a vacation home, not a new residence.  I liked her enthusiasm, it sure beats the usual "the rooms sure are bigger in Texas" crap we usually get.  And it was wonderful seeing AL breaking out of Paris and getting into the countryside.

[Bellalisa]

I actually liked the 3 girls looking in Madrid. The only thing was their comments that they didn't like the furniture or it was dated. I guess they make them say SOMETHING negative. When you are renting and need fully furnished and in a foreign country for a short time, who cares if the furniture doesn't quite match? It doesn't matter, it is not yours. You need a place to sleep and cook and use a bathroom. You are renting!

[DownTheShore]

Those Americans moving in are immigrants to the natives.  Those immigrants to the USA are ex-pats from their mother lands.

 

 

Friends of mine moved to Mexico, while the business owners love them, the neighbors and townspeople not so much.

I know that's the correct terminology, I just find it amusing that they refer to themselves as ex-pats rather than calling themselves even emmigrants.  It seems to distance themselves from actually committing to the country they're now living in - as if it's somehow more genteel to be called an ex-pat rather than an immigrant or a migrant.

[DownTheShore]

I just watched the Huatulco episode with the overly entitled Canadian wife.  Wow!  Talk about selfish!

 

That was the one where he is a full-time radiologist and she is a part-time doctor, right?  He kept mentioning how much longer he was going to have to keep working  (and he didn't look like he was any spring chicken) and she kept right on enthusing over properties that would keep him working right to the grave.  Made me wonder why she wasn't going to increase her work hours to help pay for her dream vacation home.  And there was no talk of renting it out while they were back in Canada.

 

I had to laugh at how much she loved those homes while she was sweating like a pig - excuse me, "glistening" - as she was walking up and down and around them.

 

What I didn't understand was, if they have two daughters who are at least in their twenties, and they wanted a vacation home with three bedrooms to apparently accommodate them, why they didn't look in different locations to get what they needed?  If the daughters get married and have children (or vice versa) the entire family can never stay the same time there.  Surely there were other places with ocean views that cost less?

 

When I saw the results of her and her decorator's "vision", I thought to myself, "you should have gone with one of the furniture packages offered by the builder!".   I laughed about her rapture over the triptych of the dead tree branches (which was, when you think about it, a poor-man's version of that sculpted tree branch that was decorating the living room in the first home they looked at).

[Amethyst]

Anyone see the Bali episode?  The girlfriend was so grating.  She must have whined "It gets really hot in Bali and we need a pool" a dozen times.  My thought was, when you're paying the rent, you can have a say.  She wasn't moving in either, so it wasn't like she had to live without a pool on a daily basis.  Girl, sit down.  

 

I was pleasantly surprised that he went with house #2, since I figured that the girlfriend's brother would pull some strings to get one of the more expensive rentals at a cheaper price.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Amethyst

[BearCat49]

I believe we can safely assume that the Bali episode was a travel-tourism promo spot, or, in other words, another HHI fakity-fake episode.  The episode was filmed in 3/14 but the "hunter" has lived there since at least 2/13.  No typo, BTW - he'd lived there for 13 months prior to filming HHI. 

 

The guys both surf and work in travel-tourism.  I'm sure all 3 have known each other far longer than stated in the episode.  Yes, the hh did move there to join his gf.  So, that's 1 tiny sliver of truth but no, it wasn't a new relationship.

 

I'm sure the 2 nicer villas were vacation homes - and probably all three.  (There's typically a huge discrepancy between tourist accommodations and locals' housing in the islands - greater than even between the differences in the homes depicted, in my experience.)  Incidentally, the hh is primarily a photographer.  It's doubtful that he's reporting to a factory on a daily basis.

 

Would be extremely surprised if the guy lives in that place.  I believe he mentioned living with the gf in one article that was published prior to filming.  I suspect the couple may have received more than their $250/person HHI stipend for their time.  And probably the bro, too -

 

In any event, the pool was a non-issue b/c they conveniently neglected to mention during the episode (but disclosed it after revealing the supposed selection) that the place was apparently very close to the beach.  If true, again, it makes sense for a tourist villa. 

Edited September 25, 2014 by BearCat49

[laredhead]

BearCat, would you provide info on article you read?  I'd like to read more about this episode.  Bali is beautiful, but I'm not sure about living year round in that humidity and dodging tropical showers while trying to dash from kitchen area to bedroom areas.  I doubt that Bali is bug free either and there are no screens to keep unwanted wildlife out of the house. 

[truther]

 

I believe we can safely assume that the Bali episode was a travel-tourism promo spot, or, in other words, another HHI fakity-fake episode.

That would explain why my reaction to the Bali episode was Zzzzzzzz.  It was like watching bad actors stumble through a badly-written movie.  Like a porno without the porn, or so I might imagine based on what other people have told me about porn. 

[DownTheShore]

It was a really bad episode.

 

It started off like he was some young, clueless surfer dude, and then it's revealed that for 12 years he was a sponsored surfer traveling around the world, so he's got to be at least in his late 20's.

 

That girlfriend was really annoying, saying what she wanted as if it was what he needed.  I was thinking that if he is going to be surfing most of the time, what does it matter if he has a pool?  Isn't he going to be in the water enough each day?  I also didn't get the point of why it was stressed so much that she wasn't living going to be living with him.  Maybe she's supposed to be staying with her brother and doesn't want the family back in Australia or wherever to know that she's not being a good little girl? LOL

 

Count me as another person who wonders about that really open-concept living in a humid hot environment that is probably loaded with bugs.  Not to mention small lizards and other crawly things.

[BearCat49]

Yes,IIRC, you're correct on his age, DownTheShore.  I noticed the dancing around the living situation, too.  From what I read, the gf and her bro grew up in wealth and privilege between Oz and Bali.  Could be they're protecting her trust fund.  Don't want Daddy to take the T-bird away, lol! 

Edited September 26, 2014 by BearCat49

[BearCat49]

BearCat, would you provide info on article you read?  I'd like to read more about this episode.  Bali is beautiful, but I'm not sure about living year round in that humidity and dodging tropical showers while trying to dash from kitchen area to bedroom areas.  I doubt that Bali is bug free either and there are no screens to keep unwanted wildlife out of the house. 

 

Wish I had a good link for you laredhead.  I googled the three of them and then skimmed 6-8 sites but didn't save anything.  They didn't have blogs but the filming was mentioned by some Bali ministry that greases the wheels for production companies to film in Bali - for a fee, I'm sure. The guy (naturally) appears primarily in surfer mags. 

 

I'm sure you're right about the weather and bugs - based on my island experiences.  He mentioned adding mosquito netting when they entered one of those bedrooms.  They probably have their names if you check out the episode write-up on the HGTV website.

Edited September 26, 2014 by BearCat49

[mojito]

 

Don't want Daddy to take the T-bird away, lol!

...and since her Daddy's rich he has to take her out for a meal.

 

I would have loved to see the girlfriend's place. I did like that she was sweating for all of her THs. And that surfer dude got the place he wanted. (I try to pretend this is "real"....the fantasy helps me enjoy the episodes more).

Edited September 26, 2014 by mojito

[BearCat49]

The California vintners were just looking for a vacation home, not a new residence.  I liked her enthusiasm, it sure beats the usual "the rooms sure are bigger in Texas" crap we usually get.  And it was wonderful seeing AL breaking out of Paris and getting into the countryside.

 

You're correct, sugarbaker design.  That was strictly a vacation home.  All they said was that they'd sold their vineyards, i.e. not their winery.

 

It's a common business model in the wine industry to simply purchase grapes on the open market or have ongoing contracts for grapes with certain vineyards but continue operating the winery.  So, all they did was outsource the production of their primary raw material, I.e. the grapes.  They'll continue to make the wine and operate the winery, selling their wine under their label.  They still own their brand. 

 

When they sold their vineyard, they probably set up contracts to purchase their grapes, those same grapes, on an annual basis.  So their product will probably remain the same.  Alternatively, if they desire to, they could also branch out and purchase other varietals from other vineyards to expand their product line, producing other types of wine.

 

You were all correct about their home - they didn't sell that.  It's probably on the grounds of the winery. 

 

Good news, lol!  If you join their wine club, you'll supposedly receive discount rates on their vacation home in France!  Here's the link for the wine club:  

http://www.forthvineyards.com/wine-club

 

And, here's their VRBO listing:  http://www.vrbo.com/479754   including the tag line, "Featured on House Hunters International this Fall".

 

So, bottom line, it was yet another promotional spot from HHI.  Nothing like watching 30 minutes of telly with 30 minutes of commercials!  At least the countryside was beautiful ...

 

Have to wonder if the production companies charge these guys instead of shelling out the meager $500 stipend!  Or, b/c the participants don't specifically mention either the name of their winery or the existence of their vacation home listing, perhaps they get away with it, free of charge.   

Edited September 27, 2014 by BearCat49

[DownTheShore]

The fact that they are now renting out their pied-a-terre makes me wonder how much of her enthusiasm was just a show in order to hype up the place for the rental market?  Wonder how long it'll be until they buy another, larger place with a sea view for themselves?

[BearCat49]

The fact that they are now renting out their pied-a-terre makes me wonder how much of her enthusiasm was just a show in order to hype up the place for the rental market?  Wonder how long it'll be until they buy another, larger place with a sea view for themselves?

 

JMHO but of course it was a show to hype up the place.  It's reality television, i.e. not real.  As ongoing HHI viewers, we've discovered numerous times that the producers don't believe the basic story of continuing to work but buying a small place to use occasionally just isn't romantic or glamorous enough for them.  If you want to appear on an episode, you have to say you're chucking everything, throwing in the towel and selling all your worldly possessions to relocate to France.

 

You can't say that your employer transferred you for a year (too boring) or that you already have a job waiting for you overseas (too safe and predictable).  You have to say that you're risking everything and have sold 100% of your stuff to move to France or Italy or wherever, haha.  You can't admit that your employer's moving all your furniture - way too boring, lol! 

 

And, very important, by the time you film the episode, you've already signed all their legal documents and given them creative control over your episode.  So, forget the truth!  If you argue about it, you'll just turn 50 hours of filming for your $250 stipend into 60 or more, lol.

 

(Back to the Healdsburg couple)  Why do they need another place?  They didn't retire.  If they want to stay in that place, they'll simply mark those days off as unavailable on their vrbo calendar.  Again, JMHO.

 

Well, if they do decide to invest in another vacation or retirement home, I'm sure we'll hear about it b/c they'll shoot an additional HHI episode in order to again, promo the first, vrbo vacation home!

 

All, JMHO, as usual.

Edited September 29, 2014 by BearCat49

[awaken]

Yuck, just saw the Australia episode with the "demanding" couple with 3 kids.  That was one of the more memorably awful eps I've seen.  The woman sneering at every gorgeous home she saw, sniffing at stunning views, dismissing a beautiful infinity pool, saying "it's not TOO bad" about everything, and nothing was "impressive" enough for the guy.  Then he keeps harping on her needing to go back to work if they go $200 over budget, yet the first thing he does when the move is to buy his own boat.  Oh!  And she says they never expected to walk up a HILL to the house, CERTAINLY not one that's unpaved!  

Edited September 30, 2014 by awaken

[jcbrown]

Wow. Sometimes the editing on this show really works for me. Watching last night's show in Wales and when the whiner husband complained about not having enough light in the master and how it "really dictates my mood," they caught a shot (or edited one it--don't care) of his wife giving him a total side-eye. Her expression was exactly what I was thinking.

 

Thing I don't get is why people are willing to provide the material to be edited this way. Of course, in special snowflake husband in Wales' case, I think he is just a total pill.