House Hunters International - General Discussion

[Ottis]

On 9/29/2022 at 2:03 PM, Irlandesa said:

Maybe it's their history tied to racism.  And in theory, they're meant to collectively manage a housing development to keep housing values up but they're also run by people.  Sometimes the noisiest person.  Sometimes they create rules but they're enforced unequally.  Or they create rules that are extremely picky. 

Huh. I’ve lived in 3 different places with HOAs and have never run into that. Guess I’m lucky. 

[Crashcourse]

On 9/29/2022 at 4:03 PM, Irlandesa said:

Maybe it's their history tied to racism.  And in theory, they're meant to collectively manage a housing development to keep housing values up but they're also run by people.  Sometimes the noisiest person.  Sometimes they create rules but they're enforced unequally.  Or they create rules that are extremely picky. 

That sounds like covenants, not HOAs.

[Irlandesa]

It's a thing. 

https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/homeowners-associations-black-americans-discriminaiton-2020-9

I am not a part of a homeowners association but I've heard so many horror stories.  Heck, even just annoyance stories.  A friend is in one that wants to self-govern but then no one actually wants to lead it (setting up lawn care, repairs, collecting the money...etc.).  Yet, they don't vote to hire a property manager because it costs money. And they don't want to raise HOA fees. 

So if my friend wants anything done, it falls onto her even though she would much prefer just hiring that out. 

And that's only a small nightmare that'd make me hesitant to join an HOA. 

I'm not saying that can't work but all it takes is one turn in a horrible HOA to decide never to do that again.

Personally, another reason I don't love HOAs is because they're usually associated with housing developments that are too cookie cutter. 

[Grrarrggh]

13 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

Monkeys climb on windows?  What about sliding glass doors?  I didn't see any bars on the patio door?

I could be wrong but I know that's partially why there are bars in other places that are close to the outdoors. I had a friend in ZA whose flat was "robbed" by a troop of monkeys. Nearly a decade later he still can't decide whether to laugh or cry over it when he tells the story. Especially as he now lives in Japan. 

[aghst]

I've heard there is widespread theft in Brazil.

Central America similar?  Not sure but aren't there gated communities as well?

In Buenos Aires, you see bars several floors up, so they wouldn't be trying to keep out monkeys.  Not only that, some restaurants lock doors during the evenings so they let in patrons and lock the doors behind.

If that was the case, wouldn't some SE Asian cities have similar issues?  Maybe in places like Phuket?

When there are high levels of poverty, you can expect petty crimes or worse.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 10/1/2022 at 4:32 PM, aghst said:

In Buenos Aires, you see bars several floors up, so they wouldn't be trying to keep out monkeys. 

What are they trying to keep out?  Spidermen?

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

What are they trying to keep out?  Spidermen?

If so they obviously don't know about his super strength.... Though that would be an interesting plot. Spiderman foiled by simple window bars. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

5 minutes ago, Grrarrggh said:

If so they obviously don't know about his super strength....

Well, there's my ignorance about superheroes on display for all the world to see.  I thought Spider-Man just walked up buildings, but now that I think about it, that alone wouldn't really be much of a benefit to humanity. 

[Grizzly]

Amsterdam. Whatever you think of Sarah, her baby daughter is adorable. And of course her big, white, fluffy dog heads straight for the muddy water. I'm not moving to Amsterdam any time soon with those prices. I don't even need charm. Thought the choices were fine. Would wish the garden went with the 2 bathrooms. Loved Sarah's zinger about people not finding him interesting.

[ECM1231]

1 hour ago, Grizzly said:

Loved Sarah's zinger about people not finding him interesting.

Yeah, that was funny. If you aren't used to city living though, it can be very disconcerting. My son lived in Brooklyn in the upper level of his grandparents' house. It was the only home on the block, surrounded by large, tall apartment buildings. His girlfriend at the time was from a small town in Ohio who moved to Brooklyn to be with my son. They ultimately moved because as much as she liked all that the city had to offer, she never got used to having people all around and able to look down at her in the yard, or on the front porch. 

I think their choice was the best. 

[aghst]

12 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Amsterdam. Whatever you think of Sarah, her baby daughter is adorable. And of course her big, white, fluffy dog heads straight for the muddy water. I'm not moving to Amsterdam any time soon with those prices. I don't even need charm. Thought the choices were fine. Would wish the garden went with the 2 bathrooms. Loved Sarah's zinger about people not finding him interesting.

Didn't see the baby's face but saw her pushing the carriage and the dog.

Sarah not too busy with new baby to do an HHI episode.😉

Couple's rationale for choosing Amsterdam was strange.  She said a lot of her colleagues went to London for their overseas posting but it wasn't different enough.  OK, maybe she wanted her daughters to learn Dutch but they're probably going to some international school.

Turns out she's working from home, so probably connecting to the London office?

As expensive as Amsterdam is, a 3 bedroom flat in central London would be a lot more, maybe double.  Sure there's no chance for language immersion but it would offer a lot different experience than Seattle -- their home looked suburban, with a front yard at least.

Sarah said Amsterdam home prices were appreciating 15-20% a year.  Maybe a year ago that was true but maybe that is also an incentive for them to buy.  The wife talked about "our time here."  Even though they're buying an expensive home, they probably plan to do it for a couple of years or so and then return to where their families are.

So maybe the plan is to flip it and expect to make a tidy profit.

They did seem interested in exposing their daughters to a foreign experience while they were young -- too young to appreciate it?.  They could certainly visit a lot of other countries from Amsterdam but they didn't mention that.

[snarts]

The Amsterdam couple mentioned both Dutch school for the girls and that they planned to do a lot of exploring.

I liked their housing options, the city is beautiful and very family friendly. Loved the role reversal with her a breadwinner and him staying home with the girls. I missed if they shared full names but my employer guess is Amazon.

[aghst]

Dutch doesn't give them particular advantages.

Spanish or Chinese, after English.

Unless they plan to stay there permanently.

Also English is widely spoken in the Netherlands, at least in Amsterdam.  So they don't "need" to learn Dutch.  Always good to learn other languages but Dutch would not be the first second language for a native English speaker to choose.

Edited October 5, 2022 by aghst

[mojito]

18 minutes ago, snarts said:

Loved the role reversal with her a breadwinner and him staying home with the girls.

Except for the part where she stated that she brought home the bacon, implying that she her opinions should carry more weight.  A man saying that would piss off a lot of people.

[StatisticalOutlier]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

Dutch doesn't give them particular advantages.

I was in Amsterdam like 40 years ago and on a bus there was a sign in Dutch that I was able to understand, and still remember it as "Wilt u sitten? Ick kan stan."

So I just poked around with online translators and I bet this is it:

Wil je zitten? Ik kan staan.

At this rate, a person could knock off Dutch in an afternoon, and move on to the more useful languages.

15 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Loved Sarah's zinger about people not finding him interesting.

I think I side with @mojito the periscope user in the American HH thread: "You're more fascinating than you think."

[Crashcourse]

Since Sarah seems to enjoy snarking on her clients, I'm gonna snark on her:  If I saw her pushing that baby carriage down the street, I would assume she's the grandma.  

Really.

[ECM1231]

3 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

Since Sarah seems to enjoy snarking on her clients, I'm gonna snark on her:  If I saw her pushing that baby carriage down the street, I would assume she's the grandma.  

Really.

Really? She doesn't look THAT old to me.

[Crashcourse]

4 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

Really? She doesn't look THAT old to me.

Close up she looks like she could be in her 50s to me.  I guess we see her differently.

[tessaray]

Okay, time to move on from how old someone may look.

[Grrarrggh]

5 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

Since Sarah seems to enjoy snarking on her clients, I'm gonna snark on her:  If I saw her pushing that baby carriage down the street, I would assume she's the grandma.  

Really.

Nah, real snark would be seeing her with the pram and saying "What a cute son you have!"  ;) 

[seacliffsal]

Although I liked the episode (even though the husband admitted that he is passive-aggressive and if he didn't like their final choice he would make his wife's life miserable [who even says that?]), I don't care for Sarah.  And, sure enough, she had to hug the counter top in the first home which seems to be her 'thing' to make herself quirky and lovable...

[Katie W]

19 hours ago, snarts said:

I liked their housing options, the city is beautiful and very family friendly. Loved the role reversal with her a breadwinner and him staying home with the girls. I missed if they shared full names but my employer guess is Amazon.

Some Twitter sleuths found out her employer is Microsoft. I also saw on Twitter that Sarah and her family are leaving Amsterdam and moving somewhere else. 

[aghst]

Makes sense, they were living in Seattle.  Interesting that she gets to work full time remotely.  A lot of employers are trying to get workers back to the office, including tech companies.

But a lot of tech jobs involves working at a screen most of the day so that kind of job lends itself well to working from home.  Still some tech companies are insisting that they come into the office for at least a few days a week.

Not only is she getting to WFH all the time, she gets to do it in Amsterdam?  So does she work with people back in Seattle or in Europe, because if she's communicating with them, is she working 9 hours ahead or just an hour ahead (difference between London and Amsterdam time zones)?

We've had episodes where people go to Europe but are working at the hours of their employer back in the US, so they were working late into the night local time.

Hmm so Sarah may do episodes in other cities in the Netherlands (which she's done before) or maybe she will invade another European city and do episodes there.  Amsterdam is nice but it doesn't get a lot of sun compared to even nearby Paris.  But it's good for American expats I would imagine because a lot of Dutch people are very fluent in English, much more than France, Germany, Spain or Italy. 

[WI GIRL56]

 Sarah moved back the US last month.   They are in Ohio.  I was checking out her Instagram account.

Edited October 6, 2022 by WI GIRL56

[proserpina65]

On 10/5/2022 at 12:32 PM, snarts said:

The Amsterdam couple mentioned both Dutch school for the girls and that they planned to do a lot of exploring.

I liked their housing options, the city is beautiful and very family friendly. Loved the role reversal with her a breadwinner and him staying home with the girls. I missed if they shared full names but my employer guess is Amazon.

The place they chose was my least favorite but it was still nice.  And it was definitely the best choice for them as a family.

[abbyzenn]

I liked the Amsterdam couple.  Almost fell out of my chair when the wife said the budget was 1.4 million.  Then I was really confused when she said they wanted partially furnished, who sells a house with  furniture?  Anyway I found them to be the least pickiest (is that a word) couple especially for ones with over a million dollar budget.  All the places were fairly nice but no way would I buy a fourth/fifth floor walk-up.

I can't stand Sarah.  I feel on her episodes we're watching the Sarah show instead of focusing on the house hunters.  If she's moved to Ohio than hopefully we won't see her again.  I looked at her instagram and she had a beautiful house in Amsterdam.

[ECM1231]

5 hours ago, ksutton625 said:

Sorry, can't figure out how to delete.

I did some sleuthing and found out when she graduated high school. Sarah is around 43.

Edited October 6, 2022 by ECM1231

[Grizzly]

Puerto Morelos, Mexico. That's a great price for being on the beach. And if it's so much under budget, do they need to have renters?

[CrazyInAlabama]

My guess is that it's an investment property.    The kitchen is all open shelving, and looks like the set up for renters, not residents.     I think a lot of the people who claim they're moving to Mexico beach towns on this show are actually buying an investment property, not a home to live in. 

[ECM1231]

I often wonder about these Mexican resort towns. Are all  the owners of these properties foreigners? Do any Mexicans live there? How do they feel about foreigners coming in and swooping up these properties as investments at exorbitant prices and making money? I don't know. It seems unsavory to me and leaves a bad taste in my mouth. 

I liked the traditional house the best. I call bs that the wife did not like the 2nd floor unit. All it needed was a paint job. The beach house's only plus was that it's on the beach. I didn't find anything appealing about the interior. Plus, the bottom unit where they supposedly were going to live only had one bedroom. So much for the daughters coming to visit. Where would they sleep if unit 2 and studio unit 3 were rented? 

[aghst]

Sounded like he sold some investment properties in Iowa so he was going to want to restore as much income as possible.

But maybe they only come down for the winter and the rest of the time they're renting it.

It's a common thing though, Americans and other wealthy people buying up properties in other countries.

It's tough for locals who are priced out.  Since it's still a fishing village, there must be neighborhoods for the workers.  Or maybe they come over from another town or village.

It's not a new phenomenon, there are resort areas along the coast built up for foreign visitors but the poor locals who do the work live in more impoverished areas.  The visitors to these resorts rarely venture out beyond the resort so they don't see how the locals really live.

[buttersister]

Excellent London episode with Richard truly hoping to help an American married couple find the right place--and he did. #2 was a lock, on budget (at the top, still on budget), 2 b/b, great kitchen. WFH partner got a separate office in the second bedroom and the kitchen she clearly wanted. Other partner got the neighborhood she dreamed of. I want to go back to London.

[Chippings]

Yes, I was surprised when the partner that had initiated the move was whining about the $5000 price, when it was exactly at her stated acceptable price (top of).  The work-at-home partner never did seem awfully happy about the whole situation, altho she did like the scones.  But we did get the often-heard "Well you gave up a lot to come here with me and I want you to be happy, so ..."  Not sure if even that will work this time. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

12 hours ago, buttersister said:

Excellent London episode with Richard truly hoping to help an American married couple find the right place--and he did.

Was this a repeat?  What time was it on?  I get new episodes of HH and HHI at 10:00 and 10:30 eastern, and last night the HHI was a couple moving from Austin to somewhere near Frankfurt, with Kevin as the realtor.  Maybe they're adding new episodes after that and I didn't know it?

[chessiegal]

25 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Was this a repeat?  What time was it on?  I get new episodes of HH and HHI at 10:00 and 10:30 eastern, and last night the HHI was a couple moving from Austin to somewhere near Frankfurt, with Kevin as the realtor.  Maybe they're adding new episodes after that and I didn't know it?

My DVR recorded a "new" episode in London that aired at 8:30 pm ET yesterday, but the info says the original air date was 11/8/2022. 🤷‍♀️ More HGTV hijinks.

[aghst]

My Tivo recorded two episodes as new, London and Germany, and I don't recall seeing them before.

My Xfinitiy cloud DVR recorded 2 additional shows this week but they have generic descriptions, like Episode 8 but I haven't watched them yet.

London, shocked at how expensive Hamstead Heath was, being so far from the river.  I thought North London had more working class but I can see the appeal of Hamstead Village and Hamstead Heath, kind of like smaller town living but still near London.

They had a nice healthy budget didn't they?  My sense is the one who was going to London to support her wife and would be working from home all the time (and thus wanted a second bedroom with an office) is the one with greater income so she had to be made happy.  The wife was really one of those Anglophiles, wanting scones with clotted cream and jam, talk about sugar and carb overload.

If the one working remotely had to work Wisconsin hours, she'd have a lot of time during the day in London to explore.  But she didn't express much desire to do so.  Maybe she's only willing to live abroad for a year or two.

On Germany, they went for space instead of location in the center.  Shortage of 2 bedroom places in that city near Frankfurt but that one property with a big public garden in the first seemed like a big building for just one bedroom, though all the rooms were large.

[TVForever]

Wisconsin couple to London (Hampstead)

This was one of those episodes where the need for a 2nd bedroom was reasonable: the usual need to have a place to accommodate all the visitors they're going to have has always driven me NUTS. The fact that one spouse is working full-time remotely-- now that's a real reason to demand a second bedroom, especially if she's working on Wisconsin time. I'm speculating--she didn't specify, but even if she's more project-based and not "office hours-based", presumably she would have to be available during Wisconsin hours.

That said, the place they chose was my favorite anyway. 

[kirklandia]

I'm always thrilled when the show gives me a peek at an architecturally significant building. I was surprised and happy that the couple in Germany picked the Waldspirale!

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/waldspirale

Edited October 15, 2022 by kirklandia

[Grrarrggh]

Darmstadt was maybe one of the best HHI episodes ever. 3 interesting options and I love that they chose what they did. 

[mojito]

On 10/12/2022 at 9:45 AM, ECM1231 said:

Are all  the owners of these properties foreigners? Do any Mexicans live there? How do they feel about foreigners coming in and swooping up these properties as investments at exorbitant prices and making money?

I have an uncomfortable feeling about so many Americans flooding Mexico. In places like Mexico City, college graduates, who typically expect to get the kind of jobs that allow them to afford desirable apartments in the city, are now getting priced out of these places by Americans with deep pockets. As this trend grows, I think resentment, towards Americans, too, will grow. And this will be a trend Americans will see more and more. 

On 10/12/2022 at 9:45 AM, ECM1231 said:

The beach house's only plus was that it's on the beach.

Crappy beach. I mean, the sand looked nice. The part that wasn't covered in seaweed. The water looked very seaweedy, too, and not a tempting place to take a dip.

[proserpina65]

On 10/13/2022 at 10:15 PM, buttersister said:

Excellent London episode with Richard truly hoping to help an American married couple find the right place--and he did. #2 was a lock, on budget (at the top, still on budget), 2 b/b, great kitchen. WFH partner got a separate office in the second bedroom and the kitchen she clearly wanted. Other partner got the neighborhood she dreamed of. I want to go back to London.

Yeah, I mean I liked the place in St. John's Wood better for me, but the one they chose was the best combination of what they both wanted.  I've have taken any of those places.  It obviously helps when you have a significantly larger budget than we've seen most of the time.

On 10/14/2022 at 12:19 PM, aghst said:

London, shocked at how expensive Hamstead Heath was, being so far from the river.  I thought North London had more working class but I can see the appeal of Hamstead Village and Hamstead Heath, kind of like smaller town living but still near London.

Some parts of North London are more working class but even those are gentrifying and/or becoming hip.  Hampstead and St. John's Wood have always been expensive and, to a certain extent, exclusive.  It's the distance from central London added to the park-like surroundings.  Hampstead is basically an upper class village subsumed into London.  I wasn't at all surprised by the price of properties there.

On 10/14/2022 at 12:19 PM, aghst said:

wanting scones with clotted cream and jam, talk about sugar and carb overload.

And absolute heaven!  Clotted cream is one of the things which sound disgusting but are actually divine.

[deirdra]

3 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Clotted cream is one of the things which sound disgusting but are actually divine.

And it is not full of sugar; it is halfway between heavy cream and butter.  It goes with sweet or savory things, so you add your own sugar (jam) or spices or whatever yourself.

[abbyzenn]

Darmstadt:

Apt 1 had a lovely location with that garden but the apartment itself was weird.  I can't believe the wife was so taken with it.  She talked alot about she was going to just be a housewife which would be quite an adjustment - was she planning on sitting on the bed all day?  That was basically the only furniture in the room. I couldn't figure out if the bed could have been moved upstairs - I know the part of that room with the couch was too narrow but it might have fit at the other end of the room (it was hard to tell since they didn't focus on that).  And the kitchen was only what maybe 3-5 feet cabinet?

Place #2 was much better inside yet also had a great garden outside.  Maybe the wife used up all her good points on the first apartment because she didn't say much about this one.

Place #3 was the practical choice although I thought that building was hideous looking.

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, abbyzenn said:

Darmstadt:

Apt 1 had a lovely location with that garden but the apartment itself was weird.  I can't believe the wife was so taken with it.  She talked alot about she was going to just be a housewife which would be quite an adjustment - was she planning on sitting on the bed all day?  That was basically the only furniture in the room. I couldn't figure out if the bed could have been moved upstairs - I know the part of that room with the couch was too narrow but it might have fit at the other end of the room (it was hard to tell since they didn't focus on that).  And the kitchen was only what maybe 3-5 feet cabinet?

Not that either place they looked at was ever in the running, but with the money they would have saved I think they'd have moved the bed, gotten a loveseat and a bigger table, plus a screen or two. At least that's what I would have done had I wanted the first place. Though I was surprised that could be called a 1 bedroom and not a studio. 

[aghst]

5 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

And absolute heaven!  Clotted cream is one of the things which sound disgusting but are actually divine.

5 hours ago, deirdra said:

And it is not full of sugar; it is halfway between heavy cream and butter.  It goes with sweet or savory things, so you add your own sugar (jam) or spices or whatever yourself.

OK, didn't have scones in the UK nor have those fancy tea things.

But the ones in US are excessively dry.

I Googled and most of the pages refer to deserts.

Some suggestions for savory accompaniments.

Quote

Local chefs are now experimenting with clotted cream in savoury dishes. Like a rather special stock cube, a spoonful can work wonders in mashed potato, risotto, or with sauteed garlic mushrooms or scrambled eggs.

Got a DOC designation from the UN so it sounds like they're trying to market it and attract more consumer.

[kirklandia]

24 minutes ago, aghst said:

Clotted cream is one of the things which sound disgusting but are actually divine.

It is such a treat!   I have always heard it called Devonshire cream. Maybe that's just a US thing?

[chessiegal]

We took the Queen Mary 2 from NYC to Southampton 3 times. They had tea every afternoon. The scones with clotted cream and jam were delicious. I don't remember having scones in London. The hotel we stayed at didn't have complimentary breakfast or any other meal. We only went to tea on the ship because it was part of the voyage. They made quite a production of it, including live music and white gloved waiters.

Edited October 18, 2022 by chessiegal

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, kirklandia said:

It is such a treat!   I have always heard it called Devonshire cream. Maybe that's just a US thing?

Devon, the English county, is quite famous for it's cream teas. That's probably where the name came from. 

[Chippings]

42 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

We took the Queen Mary 2 from NYC to Southampton 3 times. They had tea every afternoon. The scones with clotted cream and jam were delicious. I don't remember having scones in London. The hotel we stayed at didn't have complimentary breakfast or any other meal. We only went to tea on the ship because it was part of the voyage. They made quite a production of it, including live music and white gloved waiters.

Yes yes and yes.  Been there also (but only once), and I still have pics of shipboard afternoon tea in my album.  It's nostalgic to see people having it in the HHI episodes.  (There!  Got back on topic.) 

[aghst]

Minneapolis to Brisbane.  Family of 4, two young sons and a couple.

The parents sound like extras from Fargo, the husband especially has that pronounced north Midwest accent.

They're moving for his job and she has to give up her career but they want to get away from the cold winters.  But the wife and mother also want a beach lifestyle, insisting they be near the water.

Jesse James, the cowboy-hat realtor guy, trolls them with house choice 2 because it's one bathroom.  In fact he points her at the doors to the bathroom from the master bedroom, goes around the other side to let her know there is only one bathroom.

What a dick, but funny.

Husband is an accountant and insisting on sticking to the budget as well as not having as bad a commute.

In the end they take a place near the water but without a pool over an over-budget "dream home" as the wife calls it which has a pool, is near the water, but furthest away from his office.

Wife tried to play the "I gave up a lot to move here" card a bit but she seems happy enough just to have a beach-y lifestyle, kind of.