House Hunters International - General Discussion

[Chippings]

Always on hand for a London episode, and I quite yelped when Toby appeared.  I love Richard, but I loved Toby first!  Can't recall how long it's been since he was the go-to London realtor, at least a couple of years  

He absolutely has Richard's charm, they are quite equal to me.  If they switch off in future that'll be fine.

That was a pretty expensive neighborhood they were looking in, and I'm surprised they could get anything for their budget.  A nice couple and it was nice not to dislike either of them. Good one, altogether!

[aghst]

4 hours ago, Chippings said:

Always on hand for a London episode, and I quite yelped when Toby appeared.  I love Richard, but I loved Toby first!  Can't recall how long it's been since he was the go-to London realtor, at least a couple of years  

He absolutely has Richard's charm, they are quite equal to me.  If they switch off in future that'll be fine.

That was a pretty expensive neighborhood they were looking in, and I'm surprised they could get anything for their budget.  A nice couple and it was nice not to dislike either of them. Good one, altogether!

Though Toby kept going on about charming the pants off her repeatedly.

What was that about?

She said she wanted charm but didn’t want to be too close to husbands work because he might work too much?

 

[Chippings]

5 hours ago, aghst said:

Though Toby kept going on about charming the pants off her repeatedly.

What was that about?

 

 

Yes your point is a good one.  That "British humor" she was talking about ??  If the powers  that be didn't like it they could have edited it out. 

Well anyway fun seeing the places, and it was surprising that they could get as much as they did for that rent, in such an expensive neighborhood.  

[proserpina65]

11 minutes ago, Chippings said:

Well anyway fun seeing the places, and it was surprising that they could get as much as they did for that rent, in such an expensive neighborhood.  

I lived on Queen's Gate Terrace when I was going to school in London, maybe a 10-15 walk from Imperial College.  That is a pricey area, but very nice.

[Grrarrggh]

That was not a British sense of humour, that was a chauvinist with no sense of style sense of humour. Bring back Richard. 

[aghst]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I lived on Queen's Gate Terrace when I was going to school in London, maybe a 10-15 walk from Imperial College.  That is a pricey area, but very nice.

Didn't know where Imperial College was.  It's smack dab in the middle of royalty, oligarchs and sheikhs, surrounded by Belgravia, Chelsea, Kensington and Hyde Park.

 

[Chicken Fingers]

They mentioned that this was another campus of Imperial College, in the White City neighborhood, which might be a bit more affordable than where the main campus is. (Not that London and affordable should be in the same sentence.)

 

[aghst]

7 minutes ago, Chicken Fingers said:

They mentioned that this was another campus of Imperial College, in the White City neighborhood, which might be a bit more affordable than where the main campus is. (Not that London and affordable should be in the same sentence.)

 

Oh that would make more sense.  White City campus is NW of the main campus, in an area further away from the river and probably less posh.

 

[LittleIggy]

London: Toby! I think he can be an HHI star! Cute and a great sense of humor. 

[LittleIggy]

16 hours ago, aghst said:

Though Toby kept going on about charming the pants off her repeatedly.

What was that about?

She said she wanted charm but didn’t want to be too close to husbands work because he might work too much?

 

The wife is the one who came up with the “charm the pants off me” stuff.

[Grrarrggh]

8 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

The wife is the one who came up with the “charm the pants off me” stuff.

Actually, she said something along the lines of "you said you'd charm the pants off me" to Toby, meaning he introduced the pants charming into their conversation. And in case people don't speak Brit, pants are underwear. 

Edited May 5, 2022 by Grrarrggh

[LittleIggy]

5 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

Actually, she said something along the lines of "you said you'd charm the pants off me" to Toby, meaning he introduced the pants charming into their conversation. And in case people don't speak Brit, pants are underwear. 

So are knickers. Whatever. British humor is known to have a bawdy streak.

[Grrarrggh]

2 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

So are knickers. Whatever. British humor is known to have a bawdy streak.

Everywhere humour is known to have a bawdy streak. But there's a difference between bawdy and insulting. Maybe Toby and HH hit it off and are now great friends, but between his sexist "joke" and charming the pants off of someone who is a professional client while said client's spouse is right there seems a bit off. 

[proserpina65]

21 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

That was not a British sense of humour, that was a chauvinist with no sense of style sense of humour. Bring back Richard. 

I found it funny, not sexist at all.  I prefer Toby to Richard, frankly because I think he's cute as hell, although I do like Richard as well.  Richard does share my aversion to living near cemeteries.

 

20 hours ago, aghst said:

Didn't know where Imperial College was.  It's smack dab in the middle of royalty, oligarchs and sheikhs, surrounded by Belgravia, Chelsea, Kensington and Hyde Park.

 

19 hours ago, Chicken Fingers said:

They mentioned that this was another campus of Imperial College, in the White City neighborhood, which might be a bit more affordable than where the main campus is. (Not that London and affordable should be in the same sentence.)

 

Yep, I re-watched the episode and it was the White City campus.  That area is more affordable (in the London sense of the word) than the South Ken neighborhood of the main campus, which was where I lived.  Fortunately the room was included in the tuition of the college I was attending 'cause I couldn't have afforded that area otherwise, even 27 years ago.  It was a great place to live, literally a 15 minute walk from Kensington Palace.

 

Edited May 5, 2022 by proserpina65

[Grizzly]

Gold Coast, Australia. Maxine gets to deal with a couple for once. He seems fine but she's a bit of an airhead. Thinks money comes out of thin air. I'm working from home so the hour and a half one way commute my husband might have to do doesn't bother me. Bitch. And I hate her top. Speaking of tops, Maxine's was really distracting. 

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, Grizzly said:

Gold Coast, Australia. Maxine gets to deal with a couple for once. He seems fine but she's a bit of an airhead. Thinks money comes out of thin air. I'm working from home so the hour and a half one way commute my husband might have to do doesn't bother me. Bitch. And I hate her top. Speaking of tops, Maxine's was really distracting. 

I missed what she did in the film industry. WTF is “social media management?” On a shallow note, the wife has put on a lot of weight since getting married. Hubby was already a bit chunky.

[aghst]

It was really the best choice, the third one in the Gold Coast, closest to Brisbane.

But they probably already had jobs when they filmed this.

They said towards the beginning that Gold Coast was popular and a hot real estate market, said like the average was around $900k?

Then they say their budget is $350k.  Gold Coast does have a CBD type of area, with high rise buildings.  In property #3, you could see the skyline in the distance.  But I don't know what that city is, is it called the Gold Coast?

In any event, all the properties were further out from those clusters of skyscrapers.

I assume they didn't choose Brisbane because it would be more expensive there and maybe they can still get water views for their budget in the GC.

 

[mojito]

Gold Coast, Australia

Rolled my eyes when the woman stated that Maxine was making things difficult for them. No, lady, your budget and unreasonable demands are the problem. She also said that this was their first home, they shouldn't have to compromise. I guess she hasn't caught onto the concept of starter home. And she played that "I relocated all the way here for you" card.  Sorry, if you're part of a couple, you also relocated all the way there for you, too. So shut up.

I'm noticing in this episode, and some recent episodes of HH, young couples aren't talking much about having children. These are different times.

[Thumper]

1 hour ago, mojito said:

Gold Coast, Australia

Rolled my eyes when the woman stated that Maxine was making things difficult for them. No, lady, your budget and unreasonable demands are the problem. She also said that this was their first home, they shouldn't have to compromise. I guess she hasn't caught onto the concept of starter home. And she played that "I relocated all the way here for you" card.  Sorry, if you're part of a couple, you also relocated all the way there for you, too. So shut up.

I'm noticing in this episode, and some recent episodes of HH, young couples aren't talking much about having children. These are different times.

Yes, the “ we shouldn’t have to compromise” on their first home made me roll my eyes!   Please. 

[Grrarrggh]

AU estate agent looks sooooo familiar, and not from previous HHI episodes. Having never been to AU are there any actresses she looks like that anyone can think of? I think I'll go try to find my yearbook.....  I did find the whole popping up in a selfie = true love thing funny though.

Edited May 6, 2022 by Grrarrggh

[Kiddvideo]

2 hours ago, Thumper said:

Yes, the “ we shouldn’t have to compromise” on their first home made me roll my eyes!   Please. 

Oooh, I thought she said “I shouldn’t have to compromise” meaning her husband would have to give up his checklist for her, not her being displeased with the agent.

I literally snorted when she said she WFH so the commute wasn’t important to her. Durrr.

Above average sense of entitlement, but not in the top tier.

[CrazyInAlabama]

4 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

AU estate agent looks sooooo familiar, and not from previous HHI episodes. Having never been to AU are there any actresses she looks like that anyone can think of? I think I'll go try to find my yearbook..... 

She looked familiar to me also, but maybe she just looks like someone else?

How do two people who are unemployed, afford a condo for that price?    Unless they paid all cash, then I'm wondering how any of the unemployed HHI participants get a mortgage, or even a lease. 

Edited May 6, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[Thumper]

57 minutes ago, Kiddvideo said:

Oooh, I thought she said “I shouldn’t have to compromise” meaning her husband would have to give up his checklist for her, not her being displeased with the agent.

I literally snorted when she said she WFH so the commute wasn’t important to her. Durrr.

Above average sense of entitlement, but not in the top tier.

Honestly I don’t know if she said “I” or “we.”  I is worse, but I just remember thinking “compromise “ and “first house” ( often ANY house) often do go together and she was being bratty.

[MartyQui]

8 hours ago, aghst said:

Then they say their budget is $350k.  Gold Coast does have a CBD type of area, with high rise buildings.

I read CBD as pot, and imagined a bunch of surfers getting high.

[Thumper]

What does CBD mean?

[LittleIggy]

22 minutes ago, Thumper said:

What does CBD mean?

Central Business District.

[aghst]

21 minutes ago, Thumper said:

What does CBD mean?

Central Business District.

It's used in Asia and Australia/NZ the way we use "downtown" or the Europeans use "historic center."

It's not just the center of business though, usually near the big tourist attractions, so there are a lot of tourist hotels in CBDs.

[amarante]

I realize these stories are fakety fake and the HH have generally been settled in the location for awhile.

However I just saw an episode involving a move from Florida to the Gold Coast. Neither theoretically had a job at the time of shooting although the wife had some kind of visitor work visa and the husband was a native.

Why in the world did they want to purchase a home instead of waiting a year. Again I realize that the story is fake but according to the storyline neither had jobs and so they didn't know where the jobs might be AND since they had no jobs they were hesitant about the price.

Why not just rent for six months or a year until one is more settled - knows what one's income is realistically going to be. Again I realize that it is a story line but I find it such a bizarre way to go about things but then I also find it odd when people move to another state they have never lived in and buy a home immediately instead of renting and getting a real feel for what the various options were. 

And I am no doubt a selfish person but I also would not pay a significant amount of money in order to have a dedicated guest room. People can either pay for a hotel room or they can crash on my living room sofa bed.

[proserpina65]

20 hours ago, amarante said:

I realize these stories are fakety fake and the HH have generally been settled in the location for awhile.

However I just saw an episode involving a move from Florida to the Gold Coast. Neither theoretically had a job at the time of shooting although the wife had some kind of visitor work visa and the husband was a native.

Why in the world did they want to purchase a home instead of waiting a year. Again I realize that the story is fake but according to the storyline neither had jobs and so they didn't know where the jobs might be AND since they had no jobs they were hesitant about the price.

Why not just rent for six months or a year until one is more settled - knows what one's income is realistically going to be. Again I realize that it is a story line but I find it such a bizarre way to go about things but then I also find it odd when people move to another state they have never lived in and buy a home immediately instead of renting and getting a real feel for what the various options were. 

And I am no doubt a selfish person but I also would not pay a significant amount of money in order to have a dedicated guest room. People can either pay for a hotel room or they can crash on my living room sofa bed.

You have to take these background stories with a grain of salt, because, as you rightly pointed out, they don't make a lot of sense taken literally.

The woman planned to work from home, so the second bedroom was also to use as an office.  She was annoying about it though.

[amarante]

50 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

You have to take these background stories with a grain of salt, because, as you rightly pointed out, they don't make a lot of sense taken literally.

The woman planned to work from home, so the second bedroom was also to use as an office.  She was annoying about it though.

I would say more than just a grain. 😂 Even knowing the stories are fake sometimes the sheer idiocy of the storyline rankles me. I just can’t conceive of why anyone would buy immediately after moving to a foreign country. Or the other weird scenario is when people move to a country to start a business and buy a home with all their money. Maybe I am overly cautious but I would want to retain as much liquid capital as possible and rent until my business was generating income  🤷‍♀️

My comment on having a second bedroom was less directed at this specific set of HH and more in general as many of the HH moving to expensive metropolitan areas state that need a guest room because people will be visiting them. I grew up in New York City and no one I knew had a guest room. My young adult friends had studio or one bedrooms and anyone who wanted to stay slept on the sofa bed or the sofa itself. Families who had children might shift the children around but real estate was just too expensive to afford a dedicated guest room. 
 

 

[proserpina65]

4 minutes ago, amarante said:

My comment on having a second bedroom was less directed at this specific set of HH and more in general as many of the HH moving to expensive metropolitan areas state that need a guest room because people will be visiting them.

I get it.  I definitely have a tendency to tell house hunters "They have hotels in (fill in with name of city), you know" when they keep yammering about needing room for visitors.

[snarts]

40 minutes ago, amarante said:

I just can’t conceive of why anyone would buy immediately after moving to a foreign country.

Buying property is one way to get permanent resident visas in some countries, although I don't believe Australia is one of them.

[aghst]

For all we know, they got some inheritance or some kind of windfall, which made them want to buy.

Also, they supposedly hadn't lined up jobs so maybe it's easier to buy than rent, where you might have to show an income stream?

Though usually in HHI episodes, the HHs usually don't have jobs during their search but then in the last segment they say they got jobs.  I don't know how often it's the case that people are looking for homes, either to buy or rent, without being able to show steady income in these other countries.  I think it's kind of required in many places in the US.

[mojito]

3 hours ago, amarante said:

My comment on having a second bedroom was less directed at this specific set of HH and more in general as many of the HH moving to expensive metropolitan areas state that need a guest room because people will be visiting them.

I'm sure a lot of people want to prove to the friends and family they left behind just how great a move this was. Look, we even have a place for you to stay! How impressive would it be to move across the world and end up in a one-bedroom apartment? (The question is rhetorical.)

[javajeanelaine]

It especially surprises me when the house hunters are in Australia and flights there are long and expensive.  So how many visitors are you really going to have for that second bedroom?

[Dehumidifier]

56 minutes ago, javajeanelaine said:

It especially surprises me when the house hunters are in Australia and flights there are long and expensive.  So how many visitors are you really going to have for that second bedroom?

Not many but the ones who do come will stay a loooong time.

[seacliffsal]

35 minutes ago, Dehumidifier said:

Not many but the ones who do come will stay a loooong time.

In which case the house hunters may be sorry that they have a guest room...

[laredhead]

I have never bought a house with a requirement for a guest room.  I've lived in 2 bedroom & 3 bedroom apartments/houses over the course of 50 years.  My present house has 3 bedrooms, one of which is what I call my indoor, climate controlled storage room because I'm too frugal to pay for commercial storage of things.  I keep the door closed when I have visitors, and it's neatly kept - not a hoarder's nest.  The other bedroom was an all purpose room - office/sitting room, until my grandson came along and liked to spend the night with me on a regular basis.  Those times recently ended as he grew older, so now I have a true bedroom for guests, but it probably won't get used very much except during storm season because I have a generator to keep the power going after a hurricane, and family is welcome to shelter here.  I would never house hunt with the priority of a guest room.  That's what hotels are for.    

[aghst]

In most of these cases the house hunters either have or don't have the budget for a place with an extra room.

The hosting guests or having entertainment space is obviously a HHI thing.

How often are you doing either?

Unless someone is hunting for a mansion, with real entertainment space like a formal dining room with enough space to seat at least 8 dinner guests, it's just probably a couple of people at most occasionally.

So they have to haec some material to fill up 21 or 22 minutes and they add these fake criteria so they can talk about them.

[Grizzly]

Bonn, Germany. Seeing Kevin is like a warm blanket. Why doesn't this lady's friend tell her her demands are unreasonable? It seems to me Kevin is finding her great places. The loft area was a bit of wasted space. Maybe if there was a staircase instead of a ladder to make easier access. She picked the one that made the most sense, financially. I guess no surprise she's studying what a balance sheet is.

[ECM1231]

1 hour ago, Grizzly said:

Bonn, Germany. Seeing Kevin is like a warm blanket. Why doesn't this lady's friend tell her her demands are unreasonable? It seems to me Kevin is finding her great places. The loft area was a bit of wasted space. Maybe if there was a staircase instead of a ladder to make easier access. She picked the one that made the most sense, financially. I guess no surprise she's studying what a balance sheet is.

I was sorry about her cancer diagnosis, but geez Louise, I agree she was being unreasonable and very picky.  She had a budget of $1000 and Kevin found her 3 nice places. The 3rd had 2 bedrooms, the best kitchen and right on budget, but she seemed nervous about accessing the loft from the ladder. Also, it was too far. I think the place she chose was the best choice for her, as she wanted an oven and separate bedroom. However, the studio was really cute. It lacked an oven and was $100 over budget. Her concern about being on the first floor and exposed could easily be solved with blinds and curtains. That was a sad kitchen table for 2 that she purchased. Still, I wish her well and hope her health improves.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm watching the rerun of HHI with the U.S. military family moving to Belgium from Alabama.   This isn't how the house hunt works for U.S. military or civilians, moving to Belgium.    You don't go hunting, you talk to the housing office, and they have to approve the housing, preview it to see if it's up to standard, do the negotiations, so you get something that's safe, and you won't get ripped off.   So, it's even more fiction in the episode than usual.   (I used to work for the U.S. government, and helped friends research the rules about moving to certain places.   It's not just hunting on your own.)   

I hate the storyline was "I want a modern house, with a U.S. big kitchen, giant closets, storage, and still under budget.    The wife saying she has to have what she wants, and refuses to compromise.   And the son claiming he'll whine until he gets what he wants, that is not good behavior, so I hope the mother and son were following the usual demanding story line, and weren't really that demanding. 

Edited May 11, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[cinsays]

9 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Bonn, Germany. Seeing Kevin is like a warm blanket. Why doesn't this lady's friend tell her her demands are unreasonable? It seems to me Kevin is finding her great places. The loft area was a bit of wasted space. Maybe if there was a staircase instead of a ladder to make easier access. She picked the one that made the most sense, financially. I guess no surprise she's studying what a balance sheet is.

having to use a ladder to get to that room just would not work for a lot of people

and, yeah, a balance sheet......... quite a difficult thing to master? 

[aghst]

That Bonn house hunter's voice.

Vocal fry?  Always ending sentences with an upwards tone.

Too old to have vocal fry.

[deirdra]

10 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I hate the storyline was "I want a modern house, with a U.S. big kitchen, giant closets, storage, and still under budget. 

I wish on each of the episodes the realtor or friend would be required to say "maybe you should just stay in the States"

[TVForever]

1 hour ago, deirdra said:

I wish on each of the episodes the realtor or friend would be required to say "maybe you should just stay in the States"

I find myself yelling that at the TV many times in most of the episodes!😄

[Crashcourse]

5 hours ago, aghst said:

That Bonn house hunter's voice.

Vocal fry?  Always ending sentences with an upwards tone.

Too old to have vocal fry.

That voice!  While I felt sorry for her about her cancer diagnosis, I couldn't even finish watching so I didn't see which place she chose.   

[QQQQ]

London agent Toby sounds so much like David Mitchell!

[javajeanelaine]

The Bonn house hunter was very annoying. Poor Kevin. 

[ML89]

19 hours ago, deirdra said:

I wish on each of the episodes the realtor or friend would be required to say "maybe you should just stay in the States"

I just saw the one with the couple moving from Tuscon to London outskirts for guy moving from academia to financial and spent most of it going "you're moving to London with 700k, why are you upset?" I'm sure they sold their unsellable house by now! Also, they picked the house I surely wouldn't have picked!

I do have some deal breakers if I were ever on HHI (dream - win HGTV Dream Home, take proceeds and pitch the crossover to them - Richard or Adrienne get me a place. I do like Lawrence LB but My Lottery Dream Home International had some truly ugly homes) but big kitchen and outdoor space are not among them. Mine are "does it have good Internet service and is there a laundry in it?" I can figure the rest out.