House Hunters International - General Discussion

[South]

4 hours ago, buttersister said:

Oh hell no.

Sustainable in some ways maybe, but not in the daily living way. Maybe they have some sort of eco chamber pot in the bedroom?

I’d have to paint every surface of the bathroom building the brightest shade of white available.  Hopefully, that would discourage snakes and spiders from setting up shop, and help to reveal their murderous selves should they wander in anyway.  I love my spiders and snakes here in coastal Georgia, but I’d be on constant alert in Australia.

[proserpina65]

8 hours ago, South said:

 I love my spiders and snakes here in coastal Georgia, but I’d be on constant alert in Australia.

Where we know they are all trying to KILL us, because everything in Australia is.  (I hate spiders and snakes.)

[aghst]

Visited Noosa in November.  Very popular, high cost area.

in fact even parking is prohibitive in the main drag near the beach.  Also crowded, hard to find parking mid day.

So if they commute for part time jobs, parking could eat up their earnings unless they’re in a different area.

maybe the place in town didn’t have a parking spot for them or maybe they don’t even have a car, the one in the episode was just for show.

if they’re taking the bus, who knows how often they run to the Hinterlands.

I can see the appeal of the place they chose, with space and privacy, not too far from town.  Also saving some money.

how do they go directly from her graduating to them both getting jobs though?  Work visas aren’t instant, certainly not for restaurant jobs.

 

[South]

14 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Where we know they are all trying to KILL us, because everything in Australia is.  (I hate spiders and snakes.)

Every fucking thing!

[mojito]

After stating, "You'll be fine," when the HH asked about the Huntsman spider and snakes in the bathroom, the agent follows up with, "I'll wait here," as they go down to the bathroom. 

When the rubber met the road, the woman HH didn't mind chucking sustainability for more luxurious living. They could do sustainability in other ways, she reasoned. Like separating the trash from the recyclables, maybe? I didn't really buy that roommate tale anyway. 

I was surprised that they found anything at all for $1200, so good for them. I was also surprised at how much less stringent immigration to Australia was to what I thought. Of course, I don't know what the restrictions are on their visas. 

[chessiegal]

32 minutes ago, mojito said:

I was also surprised at how much less stringent immigration to Australia was to what I thought.

My husband and I called BS on that. As far as we know, Australia only lets people in who have job skills they need. I doubt that includes eco-scientists.

[StatisticalOutlier]

9 hours ago, mojito said:

I didn't really buy that roommate tale anyway.

The trampoline in the back yard of a single adult woman who spends most of her time at work and lives alone except for roommates made me wonder.

8 hours ago, chessiegal said:

My husband and I called BS on that. As far as we know, Australia only lets people in who have job skills they need. I doubt that includes eco-scientists.

At the end, didn't they show her working at the cafe? 

[chessiegal]

4 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

At the end, didn't they show her working at the cafe? 

I doubt cafe workers are a needed job skill.  We have a friend who fell in love with a woman in New Zealand, and after 6 months they kicked him out of the country because he didn't qualify for any reason to stay. I think Australia is similar. When I was there many years ago, the ability to emigrate came up in conversation.

[kirklandia]

5 hours ago, chessiegal said:

When I was there many years ago, the ability to emigrate came up in conversation.

I remember when American teachers were moving to Australia to work.  I had to fact check my memory:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-06/american-teachers-in-australian-classrooms-during-the-1970s/10589850

Some of them even got a bonus.  About 30 years ago, my daughter had a babysitter from Australia, who came here with her American husband.  They married when she was a teenager, and he had been her teacher.

[mojito]

I rarely care enough to research anything on these shows, but this had me curious. So I found this. 

In summary:

1. Australia has a shortage of skilled waiters or waitresses.
2. Australia is looking to fill these shortages with workers recruited from overseas.
3. You can obtain a visa to live and work in Australia as a waiter or waitress.
4. You can apply for a waiter or waitress job during or even before you apply for a visa to live and work in Australia.

Live and loin.

[chessiegal]

I stand corrected. I went to Australia for a professional conference some years ago. At that time, colleagues from Australia said they were looking for professional people. 

[aghst]

DC to Costa Rica.  She wanted a B&B near the beach but with a communal space.

She chose the project instead of a Turkey option.  It was the only one under her desired budget of $200k but not by much, the renovations she talked about would push it way over.

3 months later, she hadn’t started, not even had plans.  She was talking about how she had adjusted to life in CR.

Her friend and the realtor pointed out that the turnkey would allow her to make money immediately but she said money isn’t her main priority.

Turns out she had flipped a lot of homes when not working as a lawyer.  Looked like she renovated to her vision and probably profited.  Made me wonder if that was her goal in, to renovate, get the business going, then cash out.

So is she really living in CR full time?  Says she’s quit her job with a Fortune 300 co and presumably renovation in CR would demand a lot more of her time.

Interesting thing in this ep is a new agent instead of Sarah who has done a lot if not all eps in CR.  The location was on THE Caribbean, as opposed to the Pacific coast.

So maybe lack of familiarity with that market or it’s not easy to get out to this area.

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

DC to Costa Rica.  She wanted a B&B near the beach but with a communal space.

She chose the project instead of a Turkey option.  

Gotta admit I'd chose a project over a Turkey option too.... Though maybe not a turkey option. 🦃 😉

[mojito]

DC to Costa Rica

I was confused by the HH's gameplan. Her main requirement seemed to be communal space, but I didn't get why. I guess I think of a B&B as including breakfast, and she didn't at all seem concerned with kitchen space or layout for guests to sit and eat, communally. Maybe she just wanted to renovate some places and be a landlord.

Edited February 25, 2023 by mojito

[twoods]

I am wondering how hard it is to get licensed as a US doctor in Australia. The Mackay houses were cute, but the wife annoyed me because a house close to the hospital is important for her husband and his job, but she was so obsessed about being close to the ocean. 
At least they picked the most practical house in the end.

Edited February 27, 2023 by twoods

[Grrarrggh]

I liked the Mackay AU buyers. She was lovely, though I do wonder if she's dyspraxic. 

[chessiegal]

14 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

I liked the Mackay AU buyers. She was lovely, though I do wonder if she's dyspraxic. 

If that's the case, I'll have to take back the snarky things I said about her.

[eel21788]

16 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

I liked the Mackay AU buyers. She was lovely, though I do wonder if she's dyspraxic. 

2 hours ago, chessiegal said:

If that's the case, I'll have to take back the snarky things I said about her.

I thought she was so much fun. I want to be her best friend. I really don't think she had any kind of disability or medical condition. I think she was just admitting she is clumsy. 

Favorite comment (paraphrased): It's a good thing I didn't stub my toe. I wouldn't want the viewers to be subjected to that kind of drama.

That being said, I think they made the wrong choice. I would have gone for the 3rd house (Look! Cows! It is a little strange for an American to be getting that excited over cows. 'Roos I could understand, but cows?) Between the price, the size, the furnishings and it being a new build, it really was the best deal. I would think with a little practice and a lot of emotional support, she could learn to drive the 5 minutes to and from the grocery store. I was also surprised by an American complaining about a 30 minute commute to work.   

[eel21788]

17 hours ago, twoods said:

I am wondering how hard it is to get licensed as a US doctor in Australia. 

He said she had been the sole breadwinner up until now while he was in school. That gave me the impression he had just finished medical school and was entering a residency program. US residencies accept people from foreign medical schools, so I would think Australia would do the same. It may be difficult, however, for him to come back to the states to set up a practice without redoing a residency in the US, although that didn't seem to be their goal.

[twoods]

34 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

I thought she was so much fun. I want to be her best friend. I really don't think she had any kind of disability or medical condition. I think she was just admitting she is clumsy. 

Favorite comment (paraphrased): It's a good thing I didn't stub my toe. I wouldn't want the viewers to be subjected to that kind of drama.

That being said, I think they made the wrong choice. I would have gone for the 3rd house (Look! Cows! It is a little strange for an American to be getting that excited over cows. 'Roos I could understand, but cows?) Between the price, the size, the furnishings and it being a new build, it really was the best deal. I would think with a little practice and a lot of emotional support, she could learn to drive the 5 minutes to and from the grocery store. I was also surprised by an American complaining about a 30 minute commute to work.   

A 30 minute commute when you’re a sleep deprived resident (or doctor) is a big deal. I would freak out driving on the freeway after being awake for 30+ hours because I was so exhausted and afraid I would get into an accident. They made the right decision picking a place close to his hospital. After he’s done with residency they can move further away if they wanted to.

[ECM1231]

7 hours ago, eel21788 said:

Look! Cows! It is a little strange for an American to be getting that excited over cows...

They are both from suburban New Jersey and even though there are lots of dairy cows in Jersey, they are probably from a much more densely populated part of NJ and would not see cows.

I'll never forget visiting my son in Austin and while en route to some location outside of the city, saw some Texas long horned steers. I got so excited that I made my husband pull off to the side of the road. Living < an hour from NYC, we don't get to see steers, much less those beauties!

I guess the one they chose best met their needs, but it was pretty ugly. I loved the new build.

Edited February 28, 2023 by ECM1231

[aghst]

Ashley may have played up the beach and water views thing.  The first property which they eliminated right away was right across the street from the water.  You could see it but not for walking on because of all the vegetation instead of sand.

Maybe also not a dealbreaker to have separate bathrooms.

The third property was the nicest but it was rural — cows! — so she couldn’t walk to cafes and stores.

Small city but as speculated, they may only be there a year or two.

[proserpina65]

On 2/26/2023 at 10:46 PM, twoods said:

I am wondering how hard it is to get licensed as a US doctor in Australia. The Mackay houses were cute, but the wife annoyed me because a house close to the hospital is important for her husband and his job, but she was so obsessed about being close to the ocean. 
At least they picked the most practical house in the end.

I wanted to stab myself in both ear drums every time she said that.  She was so fucking annoying.  No, you didn't move to Mackay to be at the beach.  You moved there for your husband's job.  I get it, I'd want to live as close to the beach as possible, but seriously, shut the fuck up about it.

22 hours ago, eel21788 said:

hat being said, I think they made the wrong choice.

That third house was completely impractical.  It wasn't near his work or stores.  They would've needed another car unless she wanted to stay home all day while he was working.  They chose the right place in the end.  The third one was impractical and the first one was too expensive.

[Grrarrggh]

On 2/27/2023 at 3:56 PM, eel21788 said:

I thought she was so much fun. I want to be her best friend. I really don't think she had any kind of disability or medical condition. I think she was just admitting she is clumsy.   

Her clear fluster when trying to drive on the "wrong" side of the road and the clumsiness spell dyspraxia to this educational psychologist. But that's just based on this obviously small, edited sample. If so there are things she could do to make her and her hubby's lives easier. And safer, though he is a doctor and they're right down the street from an A&E lol. 

[Grizzly]

London. I thought Laura would be the pickier of the two. But she was very positive about the first place. Rob was seeing all the flaws. I love that she's thinking about Percy's comfort. Wow, and she did a 180 for #2. How silly of Richard to expect someone from LA to walk for 20 minutes. #3 seemed like a pipe dream, unless their budget is really that high. Common sense reigns.

[buttersister]

Oh yeah, Rob was the picky one (or played him on TV). He reminded me of someone (actor, maybe?) but I couldn't place who. But he was spot on about salt and vinegar, so points there.

ETA: Also, $5 says he works in marketing as an art director. So picky about details is a feature not a bug.

Anyway, as Richard put it, they'd wine and dine their way to happiness in Hackney.

Wonder if they pay the electric bill for that heated floor?

Or whatever utility is used to heat the floor.

 

Edited March 1, 2023 by buttersister

[abbyzenn]

I missed the ending of the London episode so which one did they pick?

 

[aghst]

They picked the cheaper one, #1.  It was between #1 and #3.

If they married, he could have gotten a green card.  I thought he said they both loved LA and would have remained if not for his visa situation.

Both cities have very expensive real estate so not sure which would be a better real estate investment.  Maybe they believe that he will have better job opportunities in London.

That cat must be old if she had him before she went to college and only got him back afterwards?  Yet she had to take him to London.

Interesting that he was willing to give her the over budget place but she said they should go for the cheaper place.  Never recall both house hunters willing to let the other have their first choice, unless it was a setup.

[Notabug]

47 minutes ago, aghst said:

 

Interesting that he was willing to give her the over budget place but she said they should go for the cheaper place.  Never recall both house hunters willing to let the other have their first choice, unless it was a setup.

Well, all of these shows are setups since the househunters don't even apply to be on the show until after they've found a place to live.  So, the cheapskate partner can magnanimously offer to suck it up and take the higher priced place that the other partner wants when none of it is true anyway and the higher priced place was never in contention.

[aghst]

Austin to Maastricht.

That robot contraption led them to choose the house with one bathroom because it had a big shop space.

I forget whether it was over budget or where it was relative to the center but #1, the new 4 BR/4 BA looked like a nicer home.

Guess he really didn’t want to stop performing.   Can’t tell if the wife was accommodating her husband or also preferred the older 3 BR/1 BA place as well.

[javajeanelaine]

Playa del Carmen: I got so sick of hearing Nigel say “but we moved here to be in the action” .  His poor wife.  

Spouses who try to forget they have children…ugh.

[Jodithgrace]

I don’t know which was more annoying, Nigel and his 5th Avenue whine or the fact that my closed captioning insisted on spelling “quiet,” as “quite.” 

I know that I’m old, but I do not understand “content” as he describes it. Am I supposed to be tuning in somewhere to see videos of him and his family in Mexico? I have absolutely no interest in that. Are there people who do? And if so, how does he make any money out of it?  From what little I saw, (Here we are walking down the street!) he should have stayed with the CDC. 

[Notabug]

4 minutes ago, Jodithgrace said:

I don’t know which was more annoying, Nigel and his 5th Avenue whine or the fact that my closed captioning insisted on spelling “quiet,” as “quite.” 

I know that I’m old, but I do not understand “content” as he describes it. Am I supposed to be tuning in somewhere to see videos of him and his family in Mexico? I have absolutely no interest in that. Are there people who do? And if so, how does he make any money out of it?  From what little I saw, (Here we are walking down the street!) he should have stayed with the CDC. 

Lord save us all from 'content creators'!  I really do not understand how there can be so many people out there making a living at this sort of work.  They had a decent housing budget, the wife was apparently going to be a SAHM; he must be making enough money from it.

I also do not understand all these people traveling to Mexico and other places, living in the tourist districts where 90% of the people are foreign visitors and virtually all of the businesses are set up to serve them and then claiming that they want to show the world the 'authentic' story of the place. There is an authentic Mexico, but it is not on 5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen.  That there are apparently dozens of people all hanging out in the central tourist district, tripping over each other filming the same stuff is kind of mind boggling.

[aghst]

The Playa del Carmen seems familiar, with the guy talking endlessly about 5th Avenue.

Swear it's a repeat.

There have been a lot of episodes aired as new this week but occasionally they mislabel a repeat as a new episode.

[buttersister]

I follow a couple of content providers (in Italy and on Svalbard) for their unique POV of everyday life. Nigel, otoh, doesn't show up during a cursory scroll through the 100+ Playa videos on YouTube (assuming that's where he uploads). LOL. Was there a backup plan for working remotely for the CDC?

Also, the whining was overpowering, considering #2 was 2 blocks off that tourist-packed street. But I wasn't worrying, it was clear the wife/mom was going to get her choice (and was, no doubt, his, too).

[amarante]

On 3/1/2023 at 8:33 AM, aghst said:

They picked the cheaper one, #1.  It was between #1 and #3.

If they married, he could have gotten a green card.  I thought he said they both loved LA and would have remained if not for his visa situation.

Both cities have very expensive real estate so not sure which would be a better real estate investment.  Maybe they believe that he will have better job opportunities in London.

That cat must be old if she had him before she went to college and only got him back afterwards?  Yet she had to take him to London.

Interesting that he was willing to give her the over budget place but she said they should go for the cheaper place.  Never recall both house hunters willing to let the other have their first choice, unless it was a setup.

Who knows where they will ultimately settle. I think she was very excited by being able to live in London. Who wouldn’t be as it is a completely different experience than merely visiting Europe.

I am nit sure you get a visa immediately on marriage so it might have involved a lot of bureaucracy. It would probably be easier to marry in London if they truly wanted to be married and then decide where they wanted to settle.

It didn’t appear that family was a factor for her as she wasn’t native to Los Angeles. Sometimes the HHI really need to make the painful decision regarding where they are going to raise their family and which spouse’s family they will live proximate to.

[mojito]

8 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

And if so, how does he make any money out of it?

They make money off ads and if they have enough followers, they can get sponsors. They can also have paying subscribers, too. 

I read that roughly one third of one percent of YouTubers are able to support themselves. I've seen estimates of people making $5 for every 1000 viewers their videos attract. At that rate, you would feel compelled to produced two or three videos per week and hope they do well. I would guess that with scripting, shooting, and editing (cutting and arranging the video plus acquiring stock footage and music that you have to pay for), you're lucky if you only spend 20 hours per video. It would take me longer than that to produce a 10-minute video, but I don't do it for a living.

My guess is that there are so many YouTubers in Mexico shooting videos of their life there because they couldn't afford to do the same thing back home in Peoria. And most will have to quit or find a full-time job because there's a lot of competition for viewers and for affordable Mexican rentals. 

Unless you bring more to the table than showing off your fabulous life, I just don't think you stand much of a chance of making money. I think the money makers are people who have useful or interesting or humorous information or skills to share. 

[Bluesky]

On 2/6/2023 at 4:17 PM, amarante said:

There has got to be more back story to most of these as some just don't make sense as any kind of rational move.

Couple moving from a cold state in the US (maybe Idaho?) to Costa Rica - but not the popular coast line but a theoretically less discovered part in the center of the country.

He was a contractor who had recently been fired. She worked in a fertility clinic. They had two children who appeared to be early teens or tweens. 

He said he was currently enrolled with an agency which was teaching him some kind of web development - sounds pretty scammy to me as nothing in his past indicated an IT background. She had quit her job - liked the medical field but knew that wouldn't be possible in Costa Rica.

They claimed that they still owned two homes and that rentals on those properties were covering their expenses.

As I recall they were shown a fabulous place - had a pool; a view and lovely inside but it was too expensive at $1200 per month so they opted for something not particularly nice for $1000.

I can't imagine actually moving to a foreign country and having such limited financial resources that $200 per month was make or break. I am not for people being profligate but if my resources were that limited I would stay where was - wife continued to work - husband went back into construction or something related or just any job that someone is able to make money - can't imagine heading off to Costa Rico with two children and no way to make a living. 

Plus out of all the tropical countries in that area that are just as beautiful but much cheaper.  Costa Rico is the most expensive.  Maybe it’s easier to move there?

12 hours ago, aghst said:

The Playa del Carmen seems familiar, with the guy talking endlessly about 5th Avenue.

Swear it's a repeat.

There have been a lot of episodes aired as new this week but occasionally they mislabel a repeat as a new episode.

There’s so many Mexico ones they are repetitive.   It was obvious they chose number two because you could see belongings stuffed in the closets haphazardly.    The third one looked like a short term rental.  
 

I wonder if they insist on couples mentioning their need for two sink bathrooms just to aggravate viewers.   There’s another bathroom down the hall if you can’t wait!

[cinsays]

So Fifth Avenue guy was on here just to get more subscribers, right?  I found him annoying enough in just the few minutes of this episode, no way I would want to see his content and contribute to his self-righteousness.  Seems a lazy way to make money to me.  Did he say he used to work for the CDC? 

[mojito]

He said he's currently working for the CDC. Yet the narrator said his "new career" would have to pay for his life in Mexico. So it was kind of confusing.

Through his affiliate links, he can sell those matching shirts and shorts outfits and bring in more revenue. So there's a third source of income for this content creator. 

He showed zero interest in the comfort of his own children. Even if he's playing a "role" for HH, why would he allow himself to be depicted the way he was? He makes you feel sorry for his kids and want to knock some sense into his wife. 

[snarts]

Dunedin, NZ: I was happy to see them choose the beach adjacent option because I was getting bad vibes on his ability to compromise throughout the episode. Odd couple but enjoyed seeing that part of the world.

[mojito]

3 hours ago, snarts said:

Odd couple but enjoyed seeing that part of the world.

I got the sense that they paired too hastily.

NZ seems like a great place. Safe and no animals that want to kill you. A better-than-most effort of people of European extraction to preserve the culture of the original inhabitants and to right the many wrongs done to them (just my observation).  But I like some heat with my summers. At least the mid-80s. Eternal early Spring ain't my thing. 

His working hours aren't too bad considering the 3-hour difference between his company in CA and NZ time. So NZ is three hours behind, except that it's tomorrow. Had his company been in New York, that would've been more difficult. Hawaii would've been ideal with its 1-hour difference. 

Sorry, I'm geeking out.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 3/4/2023 at 12:48 PM, Jodithgrace said:

I don’t know which was more annoying, Nigel and his 5th Avenue whine

Even more annoying for me was that it was always "fifth ave" and not "avenue." 

So who was the guy manning the camera when they were walking through the streets creating content?

[aghst]

Dunedin, NZ.  Have thought about visiting, feels similar to Wellington, a coastal city with some hilly terrain surrounding the flat center.

Maybe if his job status wasn’t uncertain, they might have made a different decision or looked at homes with higher budgets.

The first home that they ruled out because of it wasn’t fully furnished might be best location for her job but walking and biking might be a drag at times as it was up on a hill with those views of the city just below.

Maybe they’d have considered a car as well if they knew they’d still have his income.

I think there’s been one or two NZ episodes featuring Americans who got job offers in NZ and at least one of those was a doctor so they seem to be recruiting people in health care from other English-speaking countries.

Dunedin seems beautiful and probably offers a great lifestyle but it’s kind of out of the way, on the SE corner of South Island.  Probably not the first choice for tourists to visit because it’s pretty far from Queenstown and Wanaka — and Christchurch too.

But someone mentioned the cost of housing is better than other NZ cities.

[laredhead]

Aghst, as I understand it, the HH's have already chosen the house when the episode is filmed.  Maybe he already knew he would be keeping his job, and that really is their budget even with his salary added.  Don't know what salaries for her job pay in NZ.  They also could be trying to save $$ for future retirement expenses.  Isn't there a 30-minute bike ride for her to her job?  That's a long ride, especially with the hills.  I love that they adopted another greyhound.  Those dogs want to be lap dogs, and are very gentle.  My neighbor has adopted several retired racers over the years.   

[proserpina65]

On 3/4/2023 at 1:37 AM, aghst said:

Austin to Maastricht.

That robot contraption led them to choose the house with one bathroom because it had a big shop space.

I forget whether it was over budget or where it was relative to the center but #1, the new 4 BR/4 BA looked like a nicer home.

Guess he really didn’t want to stop performing.   Can’t tell if the wife was accommodating her husband or also preferred the older 3 BR/1 BA place as well.

I found that episode quite interesting.  The HHers were unique, but in an actually entertaining way.  When it first came on and they talked about needing a robot workshop, I did wonder if they built killer robots for something like Battlebots.

House #1 was definitely bigger and had more bathrooms, but I liked the place they chose better.

On 3/4/2023 at 1:46 PM, amarante said:

I am nit sure you get a visa immediately on marriage so it might have involved a lot of bureaucracy.

It's not automatic.  A friend of mine from Canada married a man in the US Army; it took her a long time to get her green card.  The hoops they had to jump through were huge.

On 3/6/2023 at 8:15 AM, snarts said:

Dunedin, NZ: I was happy to see them choose the beach adjacent option because I was getting bad vibes on his ability to compromise throughout the episode. Odd couple but enjoyed seeing that part of the world.

I got what he meant about wanting trees - they do provide great shade and privacy - but I totally would've gone for the house close to the beach.

 

On 3/6/2023 at 11:37 PM, aghst said:

Dunedin seems beautiful and probably offers a great lifestyle but it’s kind of out of the way, on the SE corner of South Island.  Probably not the first choice for tourists to visit because it’s pretty far from Queenstown and Wanaka — and Christchurch too.

But someone mentioned the cost of housing is better than other NZ cities.

I'd lean more towards the North Island for weather reasons, but yeah, cost of housing is a big deal.

[aghst]

Sweden to Ko Lanta, Thailand.

Swedish couple (not sure if married both had different last names) with two young girls in tow, looking to buy a hotel which would provide sustainable income for them, for $200k.

#1 was a turnkey hotel, already earning income with a restaurant on site but the owner apt wasn't big enough for the family.  Man worried it wouldn't generate enough income for them.

#2 was a resort of 24 villas and I believe it had a big enough owner unit.  Needed renovation.  Woman wanted villa style resort like this property but 24 units may be too much for the couple to take on, while taking care of two very young children.

#3 were 9 villas, nearby, but had small owner unit and needed some renovation of the units.

They eliminated #3 because it needed renovation, didn't have enough units.

Man said the sane choice would be #1 but the woman said if they were doing the sane thing, they'd not have come to Thailand.  They noted they had reliable income in Sweden and all kinds of good support for young families with children.  Maybe their jobs weren't exciting for them.

They came to Ko Lanta, an island near Krabi -- they didn't mention Krabi but mentioned Phuket, which is farther away -- for the first time before looking at properties to buy.

They chose #2 because of the income potential and they were willing to put up with the work require to fix up and maintain all those units.

In the 5 months after (!), there's no evidence that they've made major renovations or even that they're renting out the villas.  But this resort property had a restaurant and pool near the road -- villas were set back from the road -- which they could use to charge for day visitors.

But not only that, they found an investor and bought property #3, which was actually very nearby.

Not sure if they spelled out whether they had hospitality experience or if the man was particularly handy when it came to construction.  They showed him putting up a curtain rod.

 

 

[buttersister]

Sweden to Thailand struck me as odd for some reason. A little browser search later and it turns out Ko Lanta is a mecca for Swedish tourists, with a comment about hearing more Swedish spoken than Thai. I couldn't find their B&B/hotel/whatever they ended up with, but they could have renamed it or aren't speeding towards completion/opening. Investors, they say? Perhaps there'll be a followup ep one day. 

[Hedgehog2022]

3 hours ago, aghst said:

Sweden to Ko Lanta, Thailand.

Swedish couple (not sure if married both had different last names) with two young girls in tow, looking to buy a hotel which would provide sustainable income for them, for $200k.

#1 was a turnkey hotel, already earning income with a restaurant on site but the owner apt wasn't big enough for the family.  Man worried it wouldn't generate enough income for them.

#2 was a resort of 24 villas and I believe it had a big enough owner unit.  Needed renovation.  Woman wanted villa style resort like this property but 24 units may be too much for the couple to take on, while taking care of two very young children.

#3 were 9 villas, nearby, but had small owner unit and needed some renovation of the units.

They eliminated #3 because it needed renovation, didn't have enough units.

Man said the sane choice would be #1 but the woman said if they were doing the sane thing, they'd not have come to Thailand.  They noted they had reliable income in Sweden and all kinds of good support for young families with children.  Maybe their jobs weren't exciting for them.

They came to Ko Lanta, an island near Krabi -- they didn't mention Krabi but mentioned Phuket, which is farther away -- for the first time before looking at properties to buy.

They chose #2 because of the income potential and they were willing to put up with the work require to fix up and maintain all those units.

In the 5 months after (!), there's no evidence that they've made major renovations or even that they're renting out the villas.  But this resort property had a restaurant and pool near the road -- villas were set back from the road -- which they could use to charge for day visitors.

But not only that, they found an investor and bought property #3, which was actually very nearby.

Not sure if they spelled out whether they had hospitality experience or if the man was particularly handy when it came to construction.  They showed him putting up a curtain rod.

 

 

OMG! This had to be one of the more puzzling and strange HH International episodes ever. The entire town/village looked dreary and rundown. The three hotels/"resorts" were sub par at best. They all needed upgrades and work done on them... all of the owners quarters were horrible. What was more concerning was the fact that neither of them had any business experience or managerial experience in hotel or restaurant management. 

Can't believe that they bought that mess of a resort with way too many units for them to take care of...let alone the rickety wooden walkways with no railing that their little girls have to navigate...I would be worried sick about allowing kids to walk on those during flooding season...yikes!  That muddy flood water looked disgusting and god only knows what lurks in there. My mind immediately goes to giant snakes and other jungle creatures.

 

[aghst]

Yeah those walkways weren't appealing.

Does that water breed mosquitoes in the summer?

The restaurants and bars in a couple of those places looked okay, there were customers in one.

In some small towns, hotels are the only restaurants around instead of stand-alone places.  Maybe with unreliable bus services, people don't venture away from the hotel for their meals as often as they would in other places.

But then they'd have to worry about kitchen and wait staff.