House Hunters International - General Discussion

[tinderbox]

4 hours ago, javajeanelaine said:

Apartment. 

Thanks.  I’m not surprised.  I would have gone for the more expensive one.  

[CrazyInAlabama]

They had the rerun of the couple moving to London, the wife/girlfriend was an aspiring influencer, and the husband /boyfriend was just as bad.   The couple said they had to live in Kensington, so the wife/girlfriend could hope to be invited to tea at the nearby palace, and get to know Duchess Kate.     

I don't know how Richard kept from laughing in their face after the couple said that.     Richard has a tough job sometimes.   He's kind to the ones who just don't realize what things cost in London, and are willing to listen.   However, the delusional ones like this couple, he doesn't put up with.     

Edited February 26, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[Grizzly]

On 2/17/2022 at 12:06 PM, mojito said:

I just stumbled upon that as I was looking for a pic of the Aussie dude with that expression of disbelief he frequently wears.

Found him. Lucas Wilson. 

Caloundra, Australia. Your friend is on tonight. Doing some classic bug eyed expressions about the tile guy not liking carpet. And the wife insisting on a pool when they are close to beach. Are pools a common thing in Australia? Homes in Australia usually don't come furnished. This one, the furniture is included. Gee, which one did they pick?

Edited February 25, 2022 by Grizzly

[LittleIggy]

Oz: I love Lucas! His ribbing of the husband was hilarious. I kept waiting for the wife to say she and their son would maintain the pool whenever hubby said he didn’t want a pool because of the maintenance, but she didn’t. If you want something, you take care of it! 🙄

Stuttgart: Why would she home school them in Stuttgart? They could learn German going  to school. Make friends too.

Kevin! Where are you, sweetie?

Edited February 25, 2022 by LittleIggy

[aghst]

Lucas ribbing probably cleared before filming?

Because him mocking the husband for not going to college to be a tiler might be offensive to some.

The wife wanted an extra room for her grown son, who is staying behind in Houston?

But that might have been something they told her to say, as well as the pool thing.

 

[mojito]

 

7 minutes ago, aghst said:

Because him mocking the husband for not going to college to be a tiler might be offensive to some.

Horrors! Teasing! What's the world coming to? 

I kept hearing, "It's smaller than I'm used to," and pool, pool, pool. It was funny to hear the daughter say she could live without a pool.

[Crashcourse]

Even though he was "joking," I thought Lucas was just a little too snarky with the husband.  Also, those bug eyes are off-putting. 

[Chicken Fingers]

15 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Stuttgart: Why would she home school them in Stuttgart? They could learn German going  to school. Make friends too.

Kevin! Where are you, sweetie?

The kids would also have access to an American DoD school in the Stuttgart area. I was a military brat, and loved living in other cultures while also still having the American connection through DoD schools. From the parents' point of view, I would go nuts trying to homeschool four kids in an apartment.

[Grrarrggh]

51 minutes ago, Chicken Fingers said:

From the parents' point of view, I would go nuts trying to homeschool four kids in an apartment.

I taught for 6 years and have a career in education and I'd go nuts trying to homeschool one kid in a palace lol. 

[javajeanelaine]

Lucas reminds me a bit of Craig Ferguson.

[proserpina65]

On 2/17/2022 at 11:01 PM, Grizzly said:

Berkshire, England. It almost sounds like Richard is pronouncing it "Barkshire". I wonder which is proper. $1200 gets you a studio, what does it get you in Portland? If she wants a bigger place, she's just going to have to get a job and they can move.

"Barksher" is the correct pronunciation.  It's a pretty expensive part of England because of its proximity to London.  The Home Counties often function like commuter suburbs for London.

[Hedgehog2022]

On 1/19/2022 at 12:23 AM, buttersister said:

Wow, Maxine the realtor’s friend must have really needed a paying roommate for her to introduce him to Johan the perennial juvenile.

You are neither that cute nor charming, slick. Bet his photo was on the Do Not Lease list at resort #2.

OMG! This guy was so obnoxious...if one of my sons turned out like this I would be on Xanax. He obviously thinks his arrested development is cute and quirky...how sad to see a grown man acting like a 15 year old skater boy. Where is he getting his money from? Sounds like the only job he has is "gigs" with a group a other "musicians" at bars. He must have some sort of trust fund or inheritance because I just son't see how he can support himself even in the shared dump he ended up living in. 

[buttersister]

Oh, Show. You bring me London and Richard. You bring a nice family with a decent budget. No sniping. They’re sweet. Richard even says he likes working with them. Then you have the perfect place that’s over budget—so there’s your conflict. Why make the wife bitch about no shops and restaurants nearby when Richard has already told them all that is up the block?! Happy they bought it.

[Grizzly]

London. Did the UK relax their covid protocols last spring/summer? We're seeing a lot of Richard lately, which is fine by me. A realistic budget, for once. I'm liking him but not her. And they both look like they just rolled out of bed. The house they chose did look nice.

[mojito]

US to UK

Watching HH and HHI, I wonder if anyone besides me calls them "stores" and not "shops"?

I get kind of annoyed the way the show portrays people as re-establishing their careers in foreign countries in just three months. 

Nice couple. 

[LittleIggy]

London: The spoiled kid got on my nerves.

[aghst]

4 bedrooms in London, not in the real expensive areas but not bad for what they got.

He must have jobs lined up, she didn't have any specific work set up.

But she was smart to hold the line on any renovations, though the other property was so far under budget that they could have fixed it up (mainly adding a bathroom) and do a short term rental if they didn't want to live with their parents.  But probably too far from parents and further out from central London.

What were they making at the end?  They mentioned pierogis but those looked like wontons or potstickers.

[Jodithgrace]

Pierogies are very similar to potstickers. The dough and fillings are quite different, but the process is the same.

Richard must be the hardest working man in show (real estate) business.

It's amazing what a small, row house one gets for $1.5 million in London. The one they chose was lovely though. I wonder what they plan to do with a guest house. They didn't talk incessantly about visitors from the states, like some couples do. I suppose they could actually rent it out for some extra income to make up for the increased price. 

[buttersister]

Looked like they turned it into a movie-watching room, which is how it was set up, which made me think that was their pick!

[amarante]

22 hours ago, mojito said:

US to UK

Watching HH and HHI, I wonder if anyone besides me calls them "stores" and not "shops"?

I get kind of annoyed the way the show portrays people as re-establishing their careers in foreign countries in just three months. 

Nice couple. 

I don't know if it is me but I refer to small types of commercial establishments in neighborhoods as shops and the big mass ones as stores. I would comment on interesting shops in a neighborhood generally.

Prices in London seem comparable to prices in most HCOL US cities like NY or LA or even Boston for comparable geographically desirable locations. 

These people had reasonable expectations for what they could get on their budget. I am surprised when someone has relocated to Europe because of their job and they appear to have a very high level executive position and the amount they can spend on housing is relatively low

[Grizzly]

Amsterdam. Aw no Floor. Those were cute cars. Lol, Natalie's down with a tub in the bedroom. I can't believe someone with a bad back would consider all those stairs. The canal air must be making it feel better.

[LittleIggy]

Amsterdam: Wife didn’t research housing in Amsterdam if she was concerned about stairs. 🙄

[aghst]

12 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Amsterdam: Wife didn’t research housing in Amsterdam if she was concerned about stairs. 🙄

Their last name looked like it could be Dutch.  Husband said they got a special 2-year visa for starting a business in the Netherlands but I wonder if his background has something to do with it.  Some European countries give citizenship to people who have ancestors in those countries.

So maybe that's why they chose Amsterdam instead of other places in Europe, even though they must have known about steep stairs in that country -- because the homes used to be taxed on the width of the houses, not the height (or the value as US property taxes are determined).

WIfe kept saying they were bored living in the FL suburbs, wanted to have an adventure but that might be another HHI meme.  Their teen daughter was a hard sell because she had friends but she was convinced by stroopwafels?🤔

I do believe she's being sincere when she says she wanted to live in the center, overlooking a canal vs. living further away where there might be more room.  But all the homes they showed had about the same space and all had steep stairs.  In one previous Amsterdam or Netherlands episode, they showed a modern home which had a huge footprint so they didn't have to have those narrow and steep stairs but they had them anyways.

Maybe in addition to a visa to start a business, they got some money as well.  Because $4200 is a very healthy budget and they chose to live in an expensive big city, in the most expensive part of the city too.  For instance, maybe other cities in The Netherlands would have lower rents or they could live in smaller towns or villages.

That's not even to mention that other European cities wouldn't have problems with stairs, would probably have lower rents as well, such as Lisbon or some Spanish cities other than Madrid and Barcelona.

So they chose a pretty swanky place and that is their adventure, get to look at the canal.  No talk about having more money to travel or do things which cost money.

Or maybe they're rich -- husband said he did well with his business in FL -- and are confident in his new business there and she's used to a certain lifestyle or level of comfort.

[Jodithgrace]

The second house that had the laundry in that small bedroom…they kept making a big deal about the 6 year old either being in that weird bedroom or down in the basement. But why couldn’t the give the basement room to the older daughter? That fact that they never even considered such a reasonable solution, convinced me that they wouldn’t choose that house, though I thought it was the better option. (Nobody ever listens to me)

[Crashcourse]

I thought the Amsterdam family was pleasant and a nice change from some of the past HHers.  The dad was funny. 

[aghst]

Price difference between the two homes they chose between was almost 20% and about $10k a year.

Think they could afford the higher priced home all along so the budget may have been artificial in the first place.

She preferred that canal place and despite her complaints about the stairs, she was wiling to bear it.

Don't think the laundry room situation was a big deal as much as just a nicer place in her opinion.  Husband might have preferred the more expensive place as well but pretended to prefer the lower-priced place because of budget.

Because a little conflict which is overcome in the end makes good TV right?

Can you imagine if in one of these "3 Months Later" scenes one of the spouses said something like "I knew we should have chosen the other one, this place sucks."  Instead it's always a happy ending, the one house hunter who wasn't initially for the house they chose says it worked out well or his or her objections were no big deal.

I'd rather see some saltiness from the house hunter who didn't get their way once in awhile.😊

[mojito]

The wife wanted a ground floor place with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. On the canal. 

For the sake of tension, she tells us about her back condition even though she'd already chosen the place with 80 steps. 

Nice couple. I liked that they didn't offer that lame "we needed a better work-life balance" excuse for why they were moving abroad. They were doing it on a whim. Good for them. Hope it works out.

[BAForever]

9 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

The second house that had the laundry in that small bedroom…they kept making a big deal about the 6 year old either being in that weird bedroom or down in the basement. But why couldn’t the give the basement room to the older daughter? That fact that they never even considered such a reasonable solution, convinced me that they wouldn’t choose that house, though I thought it was the better option. (Nobody ever listens to me)

Yes to this. Put the teen daughter downstairs, that room was a suite. Put 6 year old in bigger bedroom upstairs and turn other bedroom into laundry/storage. Loved the museum home. The canal home would be a fun place to stay, but pretty busy/loud as a residence. Wonder if wifey is a best selling author yet?

[Bluesky]

On 1/21/2022 at 2:49 PM, aghst said:

Guess it depends on how long they plan to stay there.

If they're still there and the kids are like 13 or 14 or older, it would be very trying living situation, sharing one bathroom among two adults and two teens.

But if they plan to move again, either in Belgium or some other city, they can probably deal with it in the short term.

 

 

People in Europe have 1 bathroom frequently.  Not the worst thing.  Hate people who feel the need to be in the bathroom together with their double sinks  brushing their teeth together.  Gross. 

[cinsays]

On 3/3/2022 at 11:08 PM, Grizzly said:

Amsterdam. Aw no Floor. Those were cute cars. Lol, Natalie's down with a tub in the bedroom. I can't believe someone with a bad back would consider all those stairs. The canal air must be making it feel better.

Yeah, no way would those stairs work for me either and her husband didn't seem too concerned with her comfort and safety, same with the real estate gal. 

I would have opted to rent for a while until something more appropriate opened up.

21 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

The second house that had the laundry in that small bedroom…they kept making a big deal about the 6 year old either being in that weird bedroom or down in the basement. But why couldn’t the give the basement room to the older daughter? That fact that they never even considered such a reasonable solution, convinced me that they wouldn’t choose that house, though I thought it was the better option. (Nobody ever listens to me)

Yes!  I was shouting at my tv, give that basement room to the older daughter!  And she can take care of cleaning it herself, so the wife wouldn't have to go down the stairs.

[cinsays]

12 hours ago, BAForever said:

Yes to this. Put the teen daughter downstairs, that room was a suite. Put 6 year old in bigger bedroom upstairs and turn other bedroom into laundry/storage. Loved the museum home. The canal home would be a fun place to stay, but pretty busy/loud as a residence. Wonder if wifey is a best selling author yet?

Oh, I am sure she is - let me see if it is recommended on Amazon yet?  Has she written anything before to think she could be so lucky to make it big on her writing? 

[deirdra]

14 hours ago, Bluesky said:

People in Europe have 1 bathroom frequently.  Not the worst thing.  Hate people who feel the need to be in the bathroom together with their double sinks  brushing their teeth together.  Gross. 

In Europe it is also common to have a separate toilet room that opens to the hall, not into the rest of the bathroom if there is only one set of facilities in the apartment.

And if one person is showering, the mirror gets steamed up for the person trying to put on their makeup or floss their teeth.  It actually is more efficient to use the bathroom one at a time, with one making coffee while the other showers first. 

[proserpina65]

On 3/4/2022 at 11:49 AM, aghst said:

Their teen daughter was a hard sell because she had friends but she was convinced by stroopwafels?

I buy that - stroopwafels are awesome!

Seriously though, I picture the wife being bedridden in six months from all those stairs.

On 3/4/2022 at 11:49 AM, aghst said:

But all the homes they showed had about the same space and all had steep stairs.

One of them was a ground floor apartment with only one flight of stairs.  Well, two, I guess, since there was a basement bedroom too.  But still, nothing near as bad as the other two apartments.

On 3/4/2022 at 2:22 PM, aghst said:

I'd rather see some saltiness from the house hunter who didn't get their way once in awhile.😊

That would be an interesting change.  "Six months later: they're divorced and living in separate tiny apartments because they couldn't afford the ritzy place they chose."

On 3/4/2022 at 10:14 PM, Bluesky said:

People in Europe have 1 bathroom frequently.  Not the worst thing.  

Yep.  And plenty of people in the US grew up with only one bathroom.  We survived.  I do have to admit, though, I really like having a half-bath downstairs.

[Grizzly]

Cairns, Australia. So they've purchased a hostel and a house? I like the couple. I like Lance. He's right in wondering if Paul will be too afraid to shower outside. So weird that the parents have that luxurious bedroom and the kids have barely anything in their rooms.

[LittleIggy]

17 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Cairns, Australia. So they've purchased a hostel and a house? I like the couple. I like Lance. He's right in wondering if Paul will be too afraid to shower outside. So weird that the parents have that luxurious bedroom and the kids have barely anything in their rooms.

They had a hefty budget a house compared to what we’ve seen in the past in Oz.

[mojito]

Cairns, Australia

Nice, easy-going couple, I thought. I liked the wife's comment about buying her makeup at the supermarket. Guess their modest lifestyle afforded them the ability to purchase the $900K home and the business. 

I can relate to the husband's preoccupation with snakes and other animals that can do him in. I wouldn't feel comfortable standing in that backpacker's hut he was standing in. Too much flora for me.

[TVForever]

On 2/26/2022 at 6:00 PM, javajeanelaine said:

Lucas reminds me a bit of Craig Ferguson.

Thanks, you nailed it! I've been trying to figure out who he was reminding me of all this time. 

[aghst]

19 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

They had a hefty budget a house compared to what we’ve seen in the past in Oz.

They all seemed to be large, higher-end homes, very immaculate, not in need of much renovation and they had a lot of nice outdoor areas.

At least two of them had pools as well.

I don't think they saved $900k only by living with his parents in Essex.  Maybe had some other equity or inheritance.

But they remarked more than once about how much bigger the spaces were, like the kitchens and the outdoor space.

I don't know how expensive housing is in Essex but if it's in the Southeast of England, it would be expensive and small.

So maybe they see their money going much father and were willing to stretch to get a real nice place.

[amarante]

Can one really make that much money from running a hostel in Australia?

Not that I begrudge them whatever they saved and are living on but I wouldn't typically expect someone running a hostel to be living in a $900,000 home. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[mojito]

8 hours ago, amarante said:

Can one really make that much money from running a hostel in Australia?

Was she going to continue her work? (Something body/fitness related, I think).

Imagine that you have somehow acquired $2M. You invested in Amazon or Apple in 1999 or you've inherited a nice chunk of money. Maybe you won a lottery. Or your family has some money. You still have to work, or maybe you just want to keep busy at something that doesn't lose you money.

You don't want to admit,  "We've got plenty in the savings account." So instead, you just keep us guessing. That's what I'd do. (I have so many ideas for how I would handle my wealth. I'll bet you do, too.)

[Grizzly]

London. Traci and Matt are not my favorite couple. I'd love to go visit Richard and have a drink with him. But I will never be able to afford to live there. Unless the lottery mojito was talking about comes through. So shocking to hear London makes southern California seem cheap. Personally, I'd pick Wimbledon.

[Kiddvideo]

Does Richard drink himself to sleep every time he has to deal with Americans?

LA to City Centre: I think it was more of a chip on her shoulder than any of the excuses she gave (especially the one about wanting to give the kids the English experience. Uhhh, Wimbledon is in England, too.) She was the girl who never got to eat with the cool kids. The friend who got the wingman and who could finally impress people if she “lived in City Centre, London” ‘cause you know that’s what she’s going to call it. The show might’ve said they were from LA, but I’m thinking more Inland Empire.

And on a completely shallow note, she reminded me of the woman on Seinfeld who looked good one moment and completely unfortunate another.

[LittleIggy]

London: I didn’t like the wife at all. Yeah, isn’t living anywhere in England “having the English experience”? 🙄

[Bluesky]

15 hours ago, Grizzly said:

London. Traci and Matt are not my favorite couple. I'd love to go visit Richard and have a drink with him. But I will never be able to afford to live there. Unless the lottery mojito was talking about comes through. So shocking to hear London makes southern California seem cheap. Personally, I'd pick Wimbledon.

If those rents are accurate it’s a lot cheaper than Manhattan.   He drove me crazy with wanting a yard for the kids to run around.  It’s the city!!!   Kids don’t run around in back yards. Adapt already.  

[proserpina65]

On 3/10/2022 at 12:19 PM, aghst said:

They all seemed to be large, higher-end homes, very immaculate, not in need of much renovation and they had a lot of nice outdoor areas.

I was surprised they picked the third one since it seemed so far from everything.  I really loved the Queenslander, but not enough to live in Queensland.  South Australia has spiders, snakes and jellyfish, but at least it doesn't have crocodiles.

[amarante]

19 hours ago, mojito said:

Was she going to continue her work? (Something body/fitness related, I think).

Imagine that you have somehow acquired $2M. You invested in Amazon or Apple in 1999 or you've inherited a nice chunk of money. Maybe you won a lottery. Or your family has some money. You still have to work, or maybe you just want to keep busy at something that doesn't lose you money.

You don't want to admit,  "We've got plenty in the savings account." So instead, you just keep us guessing. That's what I'd do. (I have so many ideas for how I would handle my wealth. I'll bet you do, too.)

Definitely a back story of some kind there.

But a hostel seemed like such a random business to go into. Not that Australia or Costa Rico needs yet another yoga/wellness retreat 🤣 but I would want to pursue some kind of passion or be a do-gooder or just do nothing but kick back. 

Perhaps buying a business helped with tax status or residency in some way. It was already set up and it seemed to be pretty much a business that could run itself. 

[javajeanelaine]

I would’ve picked the Wimbledon  house, hands-down.

[aghst]

11 hours ago, Bluesky said:

If those rents are accurate it’s a lot cheaper than Manhattan.   He drove me crazy with wanting a yard for the kids to run around.  It’s the city!!!   Kids don’t run around in back yards. Adapt already.  

There are a lot of public parks but I don't recall seeing little neighborhood parks where there might be a playground for children and it's segregates by little fence and gates so that the kiddies can't wander off easily.

But parents would have to accompany their kids to these large parks and they can't always do that as often as the kids want to run around outside.

So that is probably the appeal of backyards, unless they want to plant vegetables or have dogs.  That's the other thing, when they can't walk the dog, let it run around in the backyard.

In the US, people move out of places like Manhattan and go for some place with more space to raise a family.

But this couple is moving from suburban LA to central London?

Maybe her job is more of a reason for their move than just wanting to live in a foreign country.

 

[amarante]

They really didn't do an apples to apples comparison in terms of pricing for LA to London.

If one were attempting to rent someplace in a primo section of Los Angeles, pricing would be the same or more as London prices. Frankly I was surprised that they found a four bedroom in Fulham for $5000.

I live in Los Angeles and one bedroom condos in my building rent for $4500 because of the location. A two bedroom bungalow would probably rent for more than that in a desirable location in Los Angeles.

And New York City pricing is probably just as high if not higher. Forget Manhattan where single family homes would be three or four or even five times that amount, but housing prices in Brooklyn - at least in the gentrified areas - are at least that high and they are essentially "suburban" like Wimbledown for all intents and purposes. I grew up in Brooklyn (pre-gentrification) and there is a difference between taking the subway into Manhattan and actually living in Manhattan - so it would be like taking the tube to central London. 

I guess you are used to what you grew up with but my childhood home had a small urban backyard and none of the kids on the block actually played in their backyards. We played on the sidewalks - on the front stoops and occasionally on the streets. We got taken to playgrounds by our parents when we were in strollers and then when we were a bit older we would independently be able to go around where we wanted - of course we didn't have helicopter parents and so we were more of what is now called "free range kids". 😂

[aghst]

Problem is you're competing for housing with an international market, so you hear about the oligarchs and sheiks in London but probably a lot of mere millionaires come from similar countries and bid up prices.

Does she work in an office or planning to work from home?  I guess he's working from home.

If she has to go into the office, even during pandemic times, it makes sense for them to be in central London.  Otherwise, if she only went into the office once or twice a week, they could have been further out.