House Hunters International - General Discussion

[Pine]

On 1/29/2024 at 10:05 AM, chessiegal said:

Do they not have countertop ovens in Europe? Of course, they do. I have a Jenn Air range with a huge oven. I rarely use it. Uses too much propane for 2 baked potatoes. I have a large Breville Smart countertop oven that gets used almost every day. When I see complaints of no oven, I'm yelling at the TV, buy a countertop oven!

I do too!  My big oven is storage for pots and pans.  Breville Smart Oven with Air Fry has been our daily oven for a few years now.  

[Pine]

On 1/28/2024 at 5:46 AM, laredhead said:

California to London couple with Toby the realtor - I'm still scratching my head over how that living arrangement works with 2 other tenants.  Maybe someone can explain it to me.  As I understand it, to get to the only bathroom of your space, you have to go out into a common hallway to access it.  You also have to go out into a common hall to go between the bedroom area, and the kitchen/living area?  I need a floorplan

Isn't this like the flat that Bridget Jones had?  Set ups like this were rather common when I lived in England back in the 1970's.

[CalicoKitty]

On 2/10/2024 at 3:40 PM, Pine said:

I do too!  My big oven is storage for pots and pans.  Breville Smart Oven with Air Fry has been our daily oven for a few years now.  

Me, too.  I use my Breville every day.  My oven looks brand new inside because I never have a reason to use it.

[aghst]

Denver to Mexico City.  She said after the first date they both realized each other were “the person” for each other.

They traveled a lot together and visited MC many times.  In fact he proposed with plane tickets to MC.  They decided to move there after returning from a trip to see deserted streets in Denver while MC was “lively” with streets full of people.  She grew up in Brooklyn while he grew up in a smaller town.

They want 2 bedrooms because he will be doing his software engineering job remotely.  She wants open layout kitchen.  He wants city views and sticking to a $1700 budget, she wants easy commute to her office because she pointedly says no car for them.

House 1 is $2000 but offers everything on their wish list other than price and the views he wants.

House 2 is $1800 and roomy but is on the ground floor.  No views for him, which he points out over and over again.  It is close to her work and will allow her to walk through a very popular park to her office.

House 3 is $1600, very stylish but smaller rooms.  It is far from her office.  But it has a roof terrace with the views he wants.  She questions how much he will go up there and he says he’d use it a lot, take his computer and work up there, repeatedly enjoying the views.

They rule out house 1 and she convinces him that House 2 is better long term because of the space and her commute.  He accedes.

[Chit Chat]

4 hours ago, aghst said:

 No views for him, which he points out over and over again.  It is close to her work and will allow her to walk through a very popular park to her office.

She wasn't going to budge on that point!  She may be taking public transportation on those bad weather days!

What I didn't like about the place they chose was that it felt like you were in a box.  The front windows were covered or frosted since they were on the ground floor, and even though there is daylight on the back patio, you're looking at a wall.  That would drive me nuts.  I need windows that I can see the world outside!  They showed his office facing the patio, so at least he does have some greenery to look at, but the rooftop terrace would've been my choice.  

[Grizzly]

Hoi An, Vietnam. Brother and sister looking for a place together. They want to live in different parts of the city (beach vs town). Agent Bella is worried since she can't please both of them. She cracked me up when she said she now knew why she didn't have any other siblings clients. The dwellings seem to have modern features. Little bro, who's footing the bill, gets to be by the beach.

[Meowwww]

The brother and sister drove me crazy.  Sister seems like she demands everything and contributes nothing.  It’s her brother paying for it all. Who does she think she is?  She came across as a pig.  Not a good look. She can’t speak the language and laughs inappropriately after every statement.  So entitled.

Edited February 21 by Meowwww

[Grizzly]

Zurich, Switzerland. At least they weren't demanding to be in city center. Can't imagine what that would cost.  Good thing they like to hike.

[Jodithgrace]

Thankfully the husband got over his “Swiss charm” obsession in order to give his wife a decent commute. 
Nothing like being a vegan in the land of cheese and chocolate! At least there seems to be a lot of vegan options, unless they showed the only two vegan places in Zurich. 

[Pi237]

Love when they get off the beaches and go to places like Switzerland. Every view was beautiful! So jealous.
 

Except for that bathroom with the sink that gave new meaning to ‘blue balls’ sorry to be crass, but that looked like a scrotum to me🤣

[aghst]

Swiss mountains are beautiful but those gondola rides aren’t cheap, unless there’s some kind of automatic discount for residents.

Sensible choice, the wife was tolerating the husband talk about Swiss this, Swiss that or it’s again an HHI ruse and she is playing long.

Yeah mountain roads take longer travel times, especially if there’s snow.  Best thing is if she can take a commute train.  Swiss train system is awesome too, you can look up schedules in an app and buy the tickets right there and just board the train.

 

[CousinAmy]

On 2/20/2024 at 11:24 PM, Meowwww said:

The brother and sister drove me crazy.  Sister seems like she demands everything and contributes nothing.  It’s her brother paying for it all. Who does she think she is?  She came across as a pig.  Not a good look. She can’t speak the language and laughs inappropriately after every statement.  

Did they actually take Beach House #3? I know the two in the Town were rejected, but I thought there were a lot of flaws with #3, and they ended up with a generic house on the beach. 

I always worry less about the rent, than about variable expenses, like food, electricity, etc. If he had to stick that closely to his budget of $600 for rent, there wasn't much wiggle room left for anything else.

 

[Chit Chat]

On 2/24/2024 at 11:13 AM, CousinAmy said:

Did they actually take Beach House #3?

There were 2 houses close to the beach.  They took the one with the indoor kitchen that was super close to the beach.  The sister drove me nuts because she thought the only place she could meet people that she could talk to was in the first city they looked at.  Her brother was right though.  She's going to have to jump in and immerse herself in the culture and learn the language.  She admitted that he was right and was happy with their choice.  I can't imagine my main kitchen being outside like that, so I wouldn't have chosen that either.  Can you imagine the bugs and such that would be attracted to the smell of cooking food?  

On 2/24/2024 at 1:58 AM, aghst said:

Sensible choice, the wife was tolerating the husband talk about Swiss this, Swiss that or it’s again an HHI ruse and she is playing long.

As much as I loved the chalet (but not the husband's constant whining about Swiss charm), the commute was a deal breaker, and the danger for her when there's a lot of snow on the ground had to be a huge consideration.  The modern house was nice, and if he wants Swiss charm, just look out the damn window and enjoy the Alps!! 

On 2/23/2024 at 9:46 PM, Pi237 said:

Except for that bathroom with the sink that gave new meaning to ‘blue balls’ sorry to be crass, but that looked like a scrotum to me

Yeah, it looked weird.  I was thinking of 2 big boobs, but reading your post made me rethink my original impression!!! 

[proserpina65]

On 2/23/2024 at 5:54 PM, Jodithgrace said:

Thankfully the husband got over his “Swiss charm” obsession in order to give his wife a decent commute. 
Nothing like being a vegan in the land of cheese and chocolate! At least there seems to be a lot of vegan options, unless they showed the only two vegan places in Zurich. 

Vegan cheese is an abomination, so I'm surprised that Switzerland allows it to be called "cheese".

[Grizzly]

Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Shawna is the worst! And I call bs that she's 29. That face has been around the block. Wants it all, centrally located but peaceful, for a bargain price. She doesn't think she should have to sacrifice anything. I give realtor Deanna credit for smiling through it all.

[chessiegal]

Playa del Carmin, Mexico.  I agree, 29 my foot. And why do women do that much plumping up of their lips?  They looked cartoonish.

[Judiz]

Carrying on non stop about the construction which the agent told her 5 times would be completed in a few months 

[Crashcourse]

She claimed that she wanted a slower, relaxing lifestyle, but she looked to me like she still planned to party.  

[buttersister]

(Delete without watching.) Thanks for the PSA. 

Ha, this hits all my least favorite hot spots in a location I don’t care about. 

I did catch Richard in London rerun—Hollywood couple went with the great, over-budget (allegedly;-) place. Richard, save one of those for me. Yeah, I enjoy old British movies with charming houses—I’d go look at them, not live in one and it’s lack of central heat and a/c.

 

[javajeanelaine]

Shawna did look like she’d been around the block but alcohol abuse can do that to you.

[BAForever]

2 hours ago, javajeanelaine said:

Shawna did look like she’d been around the block but alcohol abuse can do that to you.

She did say she had been sober for two years. Hope so, and if so, good for her. All addictions are cruel.

[ArtFossil]

22 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Shawna is the worst! And I call bs that she's 29. That face has been around the block. Wants it all, centrally located but peaceful, for a bargain price. She doesn't think she should have to sacrifice anything. I give realtor Deanna credit for smiling through it all.

When she said she was approaching 30 my jaw dropped. Mid 40’s for sure. 

[Jodithgrace]

She said she was approaching 30. She didn’t say from what direction. 

[aghst]

Wow Shawna really triggered some skepticism.

Hmm she said cooking was important to her because she connected to her grandmother through it.

Yet she passes up the place with the nice kitchen and decides she likes to eat out?

She says she left behind the party scene in Winnipeg but moves to a Mexican resort town which seems to be a big party scene.  Well at least she chose the place away from party central.

[Pine]

Isn't this the same 5th Avenue that HHI guy with a wife and kids wanted to live on, so that he could do street filming?  Maybe he wiill catch Shawna walking around town.  

I didn't understand street filming until my husband showed me all the YouTube videos of people who make it seem like you are actually walking through say, the streets of London at Christmas.  It is an interesting concept, but, how do you make money doing it?

Edited March 1 by Pine

[Crashcourse]

I liked the guy in the Costa Rica episode (I forget which city) who wanted to unwind after the death of his mother and uncle.  He wasn't demanding, and the realtor guy seemed to like him as well.  He probably chose the best place, even though he was living next to the landlord.  It was in or close to the city, and he seemed like he wouldn't have trouble making friends.

[seacliffsal]

I agree about liking the Costa Rica house hunter.  Even though he wanted to be close to the beach, he didn't go on and on about that and found positivies about all of the properties.  My heart felt for him and I hope he finds the peace and comfort he is seeking.  I liked all 3 places and laughed when he stated that he bought a vehicle anyway (as that was his hesitancy about two of the choices).  Seemed like a nice guy who is easy going.

[ML89]

From a Thread thread about if you knew anyone who had been on a reality show:

 

https://www.threads.net/@missbeasplace/post/C4Ecas_LdUV/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

[aghst]

21 minutes ago, ML89 said:

From a Thread thread about if you knew anyone who had been on a reality show:

 

https://www.threads.net/@missbeasplace/post/C4Ecas_LdUV/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

 

Not surprising.  If you think about the logistics of searching for and buying a home, it probably takes too long for a TV show to be involved from beginning to end.

Even renting probably takes a long time to decide and actually finish the lease, especially for someone leasing a place in another country.

In fact the analogy might be a cooking show, where they can't film in real time the preparation and actual cooking of a recipe so they show some parts but they had already started cooking before they start filming so that they can show the finished dish.

Then the sheer volume of shows that HH and HHI put out, what is the likelihood of finding house hunters who are willing to go through being filmed from beginning to end?

And from the production POV, the process is unpredictable so if they tried to film from beginning to end, they don't know how many would finish the process in time to complete a given episode.

So they pretty much HAVE to find people who already have a place and then work backwards and come up with fake alternative choices.

Most of us who've been watching for years know about the process being faked, about fake realtors, maybe house hunters not really making a big move but living for a year or even less but pretending to make a permanent or long-term move.

Show is still very watchable and the house hunters can be entertaining for snark reasons if nothing else.

[chessiegal]

It would not be economically feasible to follow the real process of looking for a house or apartment. The search could take years.

There is a difference between "staged" and "fake". If you go to the production companies for these shows they have a link on how to apply. So, they find someone, in this case overseas, and show the place they live and show 2 decoys. That is staged. Fake would be place wasn't where they live, or hire actors. That would be fake.

[Irlandesa]

7 hours ago, ML89 said:

From a Thread thread about if you knew anyone who had been on a reality show:

 

https://www.threads.net/@missbeasplace/post/C4Ecas_LdUV/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

This has been known about the House Hunters shows for years and I'm always a little surprised when people get upset by it as some people were in those comments.  You still get to follow along and guess which house they chose.  And experience the house porn these shows provide.  Or maybe that's the reason I watch it.

I do think at one time they might have followed an actual house hunting experience because there would be a reveal at the end that they didn't end up buying any of the houses.  Now that was a frustrating viewing experience. 

[BAForever]

 HMy fave part (often on HH) is all of the Hunters who are living with their parents. Like sure. Love how they film them all eating/cooking together. And the parents can't wait till they buy and move.

[TVForever]

14 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

This has been known about the House Hunters shows for years and I'm always a little surprised when people get upset by it as some people were in those comments.  You still get to follow along and guess which house they chose.  And experience the house porn these shows provide.  Or maybe that's the reason I watch it.

I do think at one time they might have followed an actual house hunting experience because there would be a reveal at the end that they didn't end up buying any of the houses.  Now that was a frustrating viewing experience. 

I swear I can remember many of the earlier episodes of HH (YEARS ago, even before the International franchise started) when the house hunt did not end with a house being chosen/purchased. I think the producers came to see the "flaw" and switched to the format we know today.

 

[chessiegal]

At the beginning of HH, all the shows were filmed in SoCal. They never said what the houses cost or where they were, other than vague descriptions like "near the beach". And if they did pick a house, it was always the third house. I read an article that the creators never expected the show to last more than a year or so. And here we are at 20 years later, going strong.

[kirklandia]

I've been watching since the beginning.  What stuck with me about the earliest episodes - they built up the suspense, after the house hunters made their choice, waiting to find out if their offer was accepted.

I just sold and bought a home in the last year.  That waiting is certainly stressful!  But maybe not TV material.

[Grizzly]

Malaga, Spain. What a beautiful place. Not sure how Jess expects to be city center and close to the girls' school. They showed the school as being in the outskirts. For being in city center, I thought #1 was fairly spacious. Of course it doesn't compare to #2. Wow! But of course they'll go for the Spanish style in the city.

[abbyzenn]

I'd say place #2 didn't scream "Spain".  It and the view could have been in California.  I am surprised they didn't take it since usually harping on wanting something that says "I'm in wherever) they settle for the biggest place or the place closest to what they had in the states.

Wife talked about her father in Mallorca but never mentioned her mother (or did I miss that) nor mentioned when she came to the US.  I got the feeling she was actually raised in California.  

With her father in Mallorca and family in Madrid why did she choose Malaga which isn't close to either?  Especially since she said she wanted her girls to get to know them.

 

[aghst]

Did they say whether they got a car?

Looked like al the places required 10 or 15 minute drives.

Wife wanted to be in the center, live in a walkable place.  Supposedly the husband agreed they'd live in a city, after living in more suburban or rural place in the US.

The southern coast of Spain does have a lot of homes overlooking the ocean from hills.  I think there have been previous HHI episodes with such homes and also in the Mediterranean Life show.

It seems one of the most affordable places for homes with sea views.  In CA, homes with ocean views would be millions.

[Chit Chat]

On 3/1/2024 at 5:38 PM, seacliffsal said:

Even though he wanted to be close to the beach, he didn't go on and on about that and found positivies about all of the properties. 

He and the realtor were so calm & chill about everything!  I liked how he calmly stated the pros and cons of each property without sounding whiny about it!  I liked the 2 homes that he crossed off of the list, but it looks like those would've been a challenge to travel to and from whenever it rains.  I would be nervous driving those narrow, muddy roads!  Hopefully he likes his landlord, and all is still well.  

[Grizzly]

Hoi An, Vietnam. Wes is not paying attention if he can't tell when Mai doesn't like something. She is the practical one, the business isn't making money yet. Vietnamese is not an easy language. I worked for a Vietnamese doctor for 2 years and the only word I learned was how to pronounce Nguyen, their Smith. The places seemed OK. How lucky that the biggest place, by the beach, was also the lowest price. 🙄

[Grizzly]

Redcliffe, Australia. Dating for 3 months, she moves from NYC to Australia and they're buying a house. All because she loves the movie Crocodile Dundee. I don't like her. She supposedly loves him but doesn't seem to want him to be happy. Ridiculous how much over budget they went.

[Chit Chat]

On 3/7/2024 at 9:41 PM, Grizzly said:

The places seemed OK. How lucky that the biggest place, by the beach, was also the lowest price.

Poor guy didn't get his pool!  Hopefully he's enjoying the ocean, and their business is doing well.  What they chose seems to fit their needs as far as housing all of their outdoor gear.   As much as I would enjoy a pool, having the roof deck with the view is nice too, even if you are looking directly over the busy road.  

[Jodithgrace]

Vietnam: The guy reminded me so much of a young John Oliver, just made me laugh. Plus the epilogue with the fish was hilarious. But if the wife speaks Vietnamese, why didn’t she know the kind of fish she bought? I suppose that she was just not familiar with buying decorative fish and didn’t recognize the name. 

[Crashcourse]

4 minutes ago, Jodithgrace said:

Vietnam: The guy reminded me so much of a young John Oliver, just made me laugh.

Yes, he did remind me of a young John Oliver! 😄

[aghst]

Vancouver to Dublin, a couple with two young toddler boys.  Husband is trying to destress so he will watch the boys while the wife was able to transfer her work from Vancouver to Dublin.

Cam the stay at home husband wants to be in Dublin city center while Christine, wife wants to be further out to get more space and a garden for the boys to play in.

They also said that they want her parents, who are in Copenhagen, to visit Dublin and help watch the kids.

So they want 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, a garden and fit under $450k budget.

Home 1 is near the center, forget the exact price but it's close to their budget limit.  Has a tiny outdoor space, no grass, just some cement covered space with room for a tiny table.

Christine doesn't like the home because the rooms are small and the outdoor space is small.  Cams says they can make it work, loves the location.

House 2 is $400k, which they like.  It's in the city center, 3 bedroom 1 bath.  Cam says they can put in another bathroom with the money they have left.  Again, all spaces, especially the kitchen.  Cam is a large man and he'd barely fit through the arch-shaped doorway to the kitchen.  No outdoor space worth remarking and in addition, there's a wood stove that Christine is worried about for the kids.

Cam says they can remove the stove and they can "make it work."  Again loves the location.  At this point, Christine is glaring at him, like "what the hell are you talking about?"

House 3 is in the suburbs.  Again forget the price but well within budget.  But it's a 3 bedroom 2 bath and has the most outdoor space of the 3 properties.

It's got larger rooms than the other properties and it has a big living space, kitchen connected to living and dining space, going out to the garden.

Cam says he loves the layout but the first thing he says is that they're too far out.  He asks if it took an hour to get out there but the agent says more like 40 minutes.

Christine likes the place.  Cam admits he likes the home but too far from the city.  Maybe planning to hang out at the pubs while the wife works and the kids are left with the in-laws?

They eliminate house 2 and Christine gets Cam to come to his senses.  3 months after, Cam says the location is no big deal because they get out to the city often enough.

Christine talked about how she loved Vancouver but wanted to her kids to be closer to her parents.  But the real reason is probably so that Cam could quit work.  They sold a Vancouver apt. so they probably have money left over after the $450k money spent on the home.

In one of those scenes after a commercial break Christine says it was a challenge to bring Cam home to meet her parents.  She said something like he looked like a criminal, referring to the tats on his upper body.😄

[buttersister]

Quote

Maybe planning to hang out at the pubs while the wife works and the kids are left with the in-laws?

Ha, that’s what I always think when the stay-home parent (or brand new parent) wants pubs, clubs or some such.

[Chit Chat]

9 hours ago, aghst said:

Cam says they can remove the stove and they can "make it work."  Again loves the location.  At this point, Christine is glaring at him, like "what the hell are you talking about?"

I laughed when he said that they could "just add a bathroom" to one of the homes, and the same with removing the stove.  I don't think he realized there's a stovepipe involved and that's not going to be cheap to "just" remove it.  One of my pet peeves is when my boss wants me to "just" do something, because it usually requires more than the 5 minutes he's thinking the project will take!

Cam talked as if he could just turn the kids loose in the city because that's what he did when he was growing up.  One property had a "garden" that was about 7'x10', so that's useless as a space for kids.  He kept saying how they could make the home with the smallest kitchen work.  That means that he doesn't cook, so she'll just have to deal with it.  Argh!  That attitude bugs me!

I'm glad she got the property that she knew would work for them.  

 

[chessiegal]

My husband asked me last night why HGTV sometimes shows HH at 10 pm and other times shows HHI at 10. I have no idea. Are the 10 pm shows usually new?

[Chit Chat]

28 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Are the 10 pm shows usually new?

I've got mine set to record, so I don't pay attention to the day and time of airing.  Sorry!  Sometimes I have 2 recordings and sometimes it's just 1.  I can't keep up with their schedule!  

[chessiegal]

I checked my DVR and the 10 pm HH last night is listed as "new". We normally switch to HGTV for HH or HHI at 10.