House Hunters International - General Discussion

[scootypuffjr]

Cabo couple irritated me. A couple of things

$500,000 is not an insignificant amount of money, and I'm sure it would have bought a very fine place somewhere along a beautiful Mexican beach with lots of charm and things to do. Exactly why was it necessary to get a place in Cabo, a five star resort where celebrities like to hang out? Of course that's going to drive up the prices. And they wanted an awful lot for their money.

$519,000 is not $181,000 under your budget - it is $19,000 OVER your original budget. $25,000 is not slightly over your budget, it is $225,000 over. I admit I don't have a lot of money, but they were awfully quick to add $200,000 to their budget for a vacation home, as if it was nothing. It's been said before, but the word '"budget" seems to have no meaning anymore.

I loved the third house too, it had everything they wanted, 5 minutes from the beach and a city and it was reasonably priced for the area - only slightly over their original budget. (Are you as tired of reading the word "budget" as I am of typing it?) AND it had that fabulous outdoor bedroom, though I wouldn't like to climb those steps every day - spiral staircases are lovely but as I get older, they seem more and more like a trip and fall hazard. But I just might risk it to sleep up there every now and then. I'd have to bring a chamber pot though - I didn't see a bathroom up there and I definitely wouldn't want to navigate that staircase in the middle of the night!

I knew they'd take House #2, which was really nice if not as practical, fun and whimsical as House #3, just because House 3 made the most sense. I didn't love the wife talking about spending more money to fix up the entryway; they were already $225,000 over their you-know-what.  And yes, I know they had already bought #2 when they started filming etc etc, but it's more fun to pretend that they didn't, lol.

[mojito]

Quote

There's a reporter on NPR who speaks perfect English but when she says her name it's super Spanish-sounding. 

"This is Sylvia Poggioli." Not Spanish, but she really says her name with a flair.

The third home struck me as a home someone designed for an American who wanted a home with "Mexican charm". Sort of like the Disneyland of homes. The stairs would have turned me off, especially the dizzying spiral staircase. I would have preferred the location of this home, though, and might have overlooked some issues for the location. 

[LittleIggy]

Cabo: I don’t know why they were looking for 5 or 6 bedrooms since they had just the one daughter. How many people would visit them at one time.

2 hours ago, mojito said:

"This is Sylvia Poggioli." Not Spanish, but she really says her name with a flair.

The third home struck me as a home someone designed for an American who wanted a home with "Mexican charm". Sort of like the Disneyland of homes. The stairs would have turned me off, especially the dizzying spiral staircase. I would have preferred the location of this home, though, and might have overlooked some issues for the location. 

They did say it was in an artist colony area, so I figured it had been an artist’s home. 

[Pickles]

Did not like the wife in the Adelaide episode tonight. So much harping about wanting to live on the beach. Twenty minutes to the beach was too far for her. She said she wanted an adventure, blah, blah, but then said she had sacrificed her life in Tucson for this move and the least the husband could do was commute farther to work, so she could be on the beach. 

[LittleIggy]

48 minutes ago, Pickles said:

Did not like the wife in the Adelaide episode tonight. So much harping about wanting to live on the beach. Twenty minutes to the beach was too far for her. She said she wanted an adventure, blah, blah, but then said she had sacrificed her life in Tucson for this move and the least the husband could do was commute farther to work, so she could be on the beach. 

No kidding! He wanted a short commute so he could spend more time with the family, and all she could do was guilt him about the freaking beach. The older boy said he wanted his own room more than being on the beach. I hope the beautiful daughter meets a hot guy at the beach and spends all her time there thus driving mom crazy! ?

[Irlandesa]

She was annoying but I was on her side.  I don't even like the beach but I would absolutely love that view. And if it's as close to as much activity as it appeared, the kids will likely be out of the house much of the time anyway.

As for the commute, it's only 10 minutes more each way compared to the other house that was on budget and 20 more compared to the other house that was over budget.  And I suspect the public transportation is better where they are (see: tram) than it would be in either house. If he really spent as much time away from home as he claimed, he will barely notice that difference.  They have seven kids.  She's had plenty of time with him.

Speaking of their seven kids did they ever mention where the other four are?  Are they out of the house and in school?  Or are they from a previous marriage and mostly live with their other parent? 

[biakbiak]

31 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

ever mention where the other four are?  Are they out of the house and in school?  O

The picture they showed they definitely looked at least college age if not older and they said these were the three youngest and two of them looked late teens.

I agree the other on budget plus was 20 minutes from the beach and 20 minutes from his job, so it wasn’t good for either, though I always side eye when they give times on this show because when I know the area they are never accurate.

Being right on the beach versus being 20 minutes from it is going to change everything about your living situation much more than being 10 minutes farther from work. 

Edited July 18, 2018 by biakbiak

[Vivigirl10]

On one hand it was refreshing to see parents that knew their children wouldn't suffer and die if they had to share a room.  On the other hand, I have to admit I felt kind of bad for the older teenage brother.  He's probably dying for some privacy.  They obviously had the means to find a home with enough bedrooms and yet the Mom's insistence on living right on the beach trumped comfort.  She saw the beach as her reward for making a big move.  Was the son not deserving of some sort of reward too?  Not easy on the kids either!  And I'd say, they overall seemed a pretty nice bunch of kids. 

The apartment looked like a benign, corporate housing type of place.  Then I had a thought, with all of House Hunters trickery, could this have been just a temporary option for them?  Where they were still looking for an appropriate long-term option or even building a place?

[mojito]

Tucson to Adelaide

Anywhere in Adelaide will be closer to the beach and ocean than Tucson is to El Golfo, so I didn't find myself siding with the wife, especially when they didn't appear to be that close to the beach in the end.  Often people will move to a place like Australia from the UK or North America and fuss because the commute to their parents' home is 20 minutes, and all I can think about is how much closer they are to their parents' home now versus when they were a continent or two away.  For me, the home this couple picked was too close to the ocean for a sweeping panoramic view and too far away to just saunter out of the apartment onto the beach.

Quote

  Then I had a thought, with all of House Hunters trickery, could this have been just a temporary option for them?  

This is often my thinking when people pick impractical places to relocate to (in this case, tight quarters for the family). 

[Mittengirl]

You have just landed on my biggest issue with HHI - they very seldom mention how long they are going to be in that area.   I am not a big city person; living in NYC or Chicago would never be my choice.  However, if I was being transferred to London or Rome, for instance, for a short time (a year or so) I would figure it would be easier to live in the city and I could put up with with noise and hordes of people for a short time.  But if I was going to be there for a longer timeframe, I wouldn’t want to live somewhere where I am “putting up with” things I dislike on a daily basis. 

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

You have just landed on my biggest issue with HHI - they very seldom mention how long they are going to be in that area.   I am not a big city person; living in NYC or Chicago would never be my choice.  However, if I was being transferred to London or Rome, for instance, for a short time (a year or so) I would figure it would be easier to live in the city and I could put up with with noise and hordes of people for a short time.  But if I was going to be there for a longer timeframe, I wouldn’t want to live somewhere where I am “putting up with” things I dislike on a daily basis. 

Absolutely.  It also makes a huge difference on how much I'd like to spend, how much room I'd want, how important certain amenities are to me.  If I'm only staying 6 months, then I don't need a lot of storage space, am ok with smaller rooms or not having an in apartment laundry.  Even sharing bedrooms is feasible over the short term.  

I think the Tucson to Adelaide family is either only there for a few months or they are waiting for their 'real' house to be vacated, remodeled or built.  No way they are going to stay long term in such a small place with 5 people.  It could also be that the older son leaves for college in the US in a few months so sharing a bedroom temporarily is not a big deal.

[LittleIggy]

Utah to Portugal: Guess Steve had a break-up with the LDS Church. 

[Koalagirl]

9 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Utah to Portugal: Guess Steve had a break-up with the LDS Church. 

Very peculiar guy.  Especially with that obsession with having to have a bidet.  Hopefully that was producer-driven.

[mojito]

Quote

Utah to Portugal: Guess Steve had a break-up with the LDS Church. 

 I think he's still with the church, though. Seems to be wearing his undergarments still. Probably her, too. And at least one of the kids seemed to be wearing them.  It can be 95 degrees and you'll still see guys wearing those undershirts. 

I guess since he didn't seem to worry much about everyone being crammed into small rooms, it would make sense that he didn't mind the same. Still, I thought it curious that he didn't at all mention space -- even a desk -- for him to work on. 

Edited July 19, 2018 by mojito

[Ohwell]

Utah to Portugal:  I watched briefly, then changed the channel because I thought the couple looked like stoners.   

[biakbiak]

It was obvious which apartment they would choose because for some reason when touring the completely empty apartment there was a crockpot plugged into an adapter on the kitchen counter.

He was so freaking annoying I wanted to slap him, have fewer children if you are so budget conscious.

Portugal has a ton of Mormon missionaries. I remember when I first visited we had a guidebook that said this town is overrun by stray cats and Mormon missionaries. The first things we saw when we left our hotel was a gaggle if stray cats and a pair of Mormon missionaries.

[Kohola3]

3 hours ago, mojito said:

I guess since he didn't seem to worry much about everyone being crammed into small rooms,

The way that Mormons crank out kids he's probably used to multiple bodies crammed into small rooms.  If you are raised that way it seems normal.

[doodlebug]

3 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

The way that Mormons crank out kids he's probably used to multiple bodies crammed into small rooms.  If you are raised that way it seems normal.

His wife said as much.  She said he came from a very large family with a very small house.  So, I guess stacking kids like cordwood in the bedrooms seemed great to him.  He annoyed me with his cheapness.  When he complained to the realtor that the $800 a month place wasn't on the beach, I wanted to punch him.  His wife seemed ok, just tired, probably from having 6 little kids and one big one.  He also sounded like the working from home plan for his job was a new thing that his company was willing to let him try, but he had no  guarantee that it would last. In that case, perhaps moving to another country should've been delayed until he knew his work situation was stable.

It sounded like the kids were enrolled in a regular school someplace but didn't speak Portuguese.  Considering the number of kids and his overall tightness with a buck, I wondered if the Mormon Church didn't run some sort of school for their missionaries' kids that they were able to attend, although most Mormon missionaries are not married let alone have kids.

I kinda felt sorry for the kids, who seemed to have unusual names to say the least.  Linus?  Archie?

[puppytoes]

I thought the couple that moved to Adelaide were also Mormons.

[LennieBriscoe]

Peniche,  Portugal: Daddy Ex-Missionary was "surprised" that the Portuguese are by and large not Mormons?

He was way too weird for my liking. "Yay,  a bidet! Sure, 6 kids can fit into 2 bedrooms! I'M still comfy!"

Did I mention SIX KIDS?! Wife got haggard fast.

[thosme]

I remember the couple in Australia drinking wine.  I know Mormons who drank but they weren't on TV.  Unless it was grape juice at a vineyard. 

[KLovestoShop]

I just didn't understand the husband in Puerto Penasco.  What was with his need for no people and to go back to how it was when he was a kid.  If I were his wife I'd tell him to buy an RV and isolate himself all he wants.  He forgets that it's not fair to his two daughters to be isolated from everything, and I hate to tell him, but that isolated area won't be that way for long knowing the building boom for waterfront resorts. 

[mojito]

Phoenix to Puerto Pen~asco

I was turned off that this guy has been to this place all these years and he hadn't learned how to properly pronounce the name of the city (real estate agent, too). If people Americanize the name of a location, that's reason enough for me not to want to live in such a place. 

Oh, and the daughter wondering how much longer it would take to get there because 4.5 hours is just so painful a drive.....really, HGTV, just stop making these people look so idiotic. 

[LittleIggy]

Utah to Portugal: I thought it was funny that dad’s first reaction to be able to work from home was apparently “Let’s move to Portugal!” ?

[seacliffsal]

I'm always behind on viewing HHI episodes.  So I just watched the Brisbane one (UK to Brisbane) and just had to comment on how I couldn't believe that the REALTOR took her dog with her on all of her showings.  Not only that, but she let her dog climb onto the furniture.  I just couldn't believe it.  And, I loved that the husband asked her why the dog got to sit in the front seat of the car and not the clients.  "Oh, she gets car-sick."  I would never use her as a realtor, and if I lived in that area and was either renting or selling a home I would put it in the realty agreement that she, as an agent, would be prohibited from showing my property.  Oh, and I LOVE dogs, so that's not what bothers me so much about this episode.  It's the fact that she let her dog go all through the house and on all of the furniture.

[LittleIggy]

On 7/20/2018 at 12:34 AM, KLovestoShop said:

I just didn't understand the husband in Puerto Penasco.  What was with his need for no people and to go back to how it was when he was a kid.  If I were his wife I'd tell him to buy an RV and isolate himself all he wants.  He forgets that it's not fair to his two daughters to be isolated from everything, and I hate to tell him, but that isolated area won't be that way for long knowing the building boom for waterfront resorts. 

I was yelling at the TV for him to go build a shack on the beach. He annoyed the ? out of me with his back in the day ?. Another HHI couple I would figure to be the grandparents not the parents. 

[biakbiak]

If those were my options in Ambergris Caye I would have stayed in Brooklyn.

[Schnickelfritz]

10 hours ago, biakbiak said:

If those were my options in Ambergris Caye I would have stayed in Brooklyn

I thought it was very telling that Jon said that living there had been an adjustment. "This is not paradise. We take one moment at a time" What a ringing endorsement for living in Ambergris Caye. LOL

[Lemons]

On 7/3/2018 at 4:35 PM, sempervivum said:

 

What was with her allegedly Belgian husband, who sure sounded like he was raised in the US-he spoke with not even the slightest accent. And why on earth were they down in the sewer system? I've seen a few of those in Europe that are actually interesting looking, but this wasn't one of them.

His English was too perfectly spoken to be American.  Most people in Belgium, especially young people, speak 2-3 languages.  Belgium doesn’t even have an official language.  

[chessiegal]

I cracked up at the Brooklyn guys talking about getting away from the horrible snowy winters. Come on, it's Brooklyn, not Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maine, or Alaska.

[LittleIggy]

20 hours ago, biakbiak said:

If those were my options in Ambergris Caye I would have stayed in Brooklyn.

They were pretty sad looking, weren’t they? Wonder how they supported themselves? One guy said he was out of work.

10 hours ago, Schnickelfritz said:

I thought it was very telling that Jon said that living there had been an adjustment. "This is not paradise. We take one moment at a time" What a ringing endorsement for living in Ambergris Caye. LOL

Their budget was too low to get anything really nice.

[ML89]

Brooklyn to Ambergris - that one apartment with the master bathroom folded into the master closet was nuts, honestly. The one they got wasn't bad but how in the hell were they supporting themselves? That was one of the less ringing endorsement endings. But I'm so glad they picked the first one - the others were awful

Portugal Bidet Guy - I don't know why in hell she even married him, let alone had six kids with him. What an absolute tool. 

On 7/20/2018 at 1:29 PM, seacliffsal said:

I'm always behind on viewing HHI episodes.  So I just watched the Brisbane one (UK to Brisbane) and just had to comment on how I couldn't believe that the REALTOR took her dog with her on all of her showings.  Not only that, but she let her dog climb onto the furniture.  I just couldn't believe it.  And, I loved that the husband asked her why the dog got to sit in the front seat of the car and not the clients.  "Oh, she gets car-sick."  I would never use her as a realtor, and if I lived in that area and was either renting or selling a home I would put it in the realty agreement that she, as an agent, would be prohibited from showing my property.  Oh, and I LOVE dogs, so that's not what bothers me so much about this episode.  It's the fact that she let her dog go all through the house and on all of the furniture.

YES! Thank you! I mean, when I had my house shown, I was worried about the weird House Hunters "let's jump on the bed" folks and my mom had someone use the bathroom in her house being shown and leave it dirty. But a dog wandering around my house and onto my furniture? Oh, hell, no. I thought it was the homeowners bringing it, not the showing agent before the episode started. Yes, I'm moving out but I have to live there until I do and my stuff is there. I don't have a dog and I don't want one wandering through my house.

[SmithW6079]

On 7/17/2018 at 10:54 AM, mojito said:

Quote

There's a reporter on NPR who speaks perfect English but when she says her name it's super Spanish-sounding. 

"This is Sylvia Poggioli." Not Spanish, but she really says her name with a flair.

She's American, of Italian heritage. Her father was a famous anti-fascist. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Poggioli

[LittleIggy]

Silicon Valley to Amsterdam: Did that huge green lawn at apartment two have a “No Dogs” sign I didn’t see? 

[Kohola3]

Las Vegas to Berlin.

Were those people midgets or was the Realtor just extremely tall?  And very easy on the eyes.

If that weenie of a husband uttered the word "budget" one more time I was going to shoot the TV.  Can't believe she gave into him.

[LittleIggy]

52 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Las Vegas to Berlin.

Were those people midgets or was the Realtor just extremely tall?  And very easy on the eyes.

If that weenie of a husband uttered the word "budget" one more time I was going to shoot the TV.  Can't believe she gave into him.

Agree. The husband grated. Bet the teen is counting the days to college. She also annoyed me going on about how small that table that easily fit six chairs was.

The realtor was cute and very tall.

[LennieBriscoe]

Las Vegas to Berlin:

The weenie of a husband (he's practically elfin in stature) "really developed a love for Germans, their culture, and their history"? Should have stopped at "culture," Mein  Vocal Fry Herr (JMHO).

I'm getting tired of men who, because of the budget they've chosen, don't mind if OTHER family members share tiny bedrooms.

Edited July 26, 2018 by LennieBriscoe

[Kohola3]

1 hour ago, LennieBriscoe said:

I'm getting tired of men who, because of the budget they've chosen, don't mind if OTHER family members share tiny bedrooms.

Ditto. He got the master so what does he care. I would have flipped if I'd have been forced to sleep in the living room vs sharing a room with kids over a decade younger than me. But it would have been nice if they had mentioned he was leaving for college soon.

1 hour ago, LennieBriscoe said:

Should have stopped at "culture,"

Lawd, yes.  Hate to think what part of his history he found so wonderful.  I'm guessing he's not Jewish.

[doodlebug]

30 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Ditto. He got the master so what does he care. I would have flipped if I'd have been forced to sleep in the living room vs sharing a room with kids over a decade younger than me. But it would have been nice if they had mentioned he was leaving for college soon.

Lawd, yes.  Hate to think what part of his history he found so wonderful.  I'm guessing he's not Jewish.

Or sentient. He should've at least clarified that he meant ancient German history and not that of the 20th century. Very hamhanded remark.

I thought he seemed unbelievably selfish.  His wife made it clear that she was not excited about moving to Europe in the first place, his insistence that they not only downsize, but pack all the kids into one bedroom to save money was really awful, IMO.  He said he was an attorney, presumably, he had a decent job and income stateside.  Why not save for another year and then make the move to a place with more room and/or move when the oldest went off to college and they wouldn't need a room for him?  When the wife said he frequently confronted her about online purchases,I got a definite creepy vibe.  I hope she is able to speak her mind and get heard more than it appeared on the episode.  He seemed controlling and domineering, despite his pipsqueak appearance.

[Kohola3]

4 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

He seemed controlling and domineering, despite his pipsqueak appearance.

And, dare I say it, effeminate.

[magemaud]

I thought the wife always looked on the verge of tears. What I couldn’t understand was her intense dislike of those built in benches in the bedrooms since I thought they could be turned into quite a practical solution for storage and seating. 

[Pickles]

The oldest son was 16, so college wouldn't be that soon. Two years, most likely.

[LittleIggy]

5 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Ditto. He got the master so what does he care. I would have flipped if I'd have been forced to sleep in the living room vs sharing a room with kids over a decade younger than me. But it would have been nice if they had mentioned he was leaving for college soon.

 

They did mention that he would be leaving for college soon.

[CherryAmes]

I wonder if this was a lot more short term then they let on.  That happens a lot on HHI.  We've certainly had the experience with some of our international moves where our kids were either sharing a room or one of them was sleeping on a mattress in the living room but these were definitely times when it didn't make sense to get a larger place because we knew we'd be moving on fairly soon and didn't want to sign a year long lease - I don't know about Germany but in the UK getting 3 and 6 month lets are fairly common.

[jcbrown]

I got a really controlling vibe from the husband, too. He seemed very passive aggressive. She seemed resigned to being treated like a doormat. Calling her at work to ask if she bought something online? I'd shut that sh*t down.

When she said at the end that living there had brought them closer together, I responded, "yes, because you're stacked like cordwood in that apartment!"

Edited July 26, 2018 by jcbrown

[CherryAmes]

As I suspected - the fellowship is only for one year - it sounds really cool BTW - so the older boy going on to college in a year or two is irrelevant to the size of the place they choose but the bottom line is they are only there for a year and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that mom and the boys are there for even less than that.  Not sure if this has anything to do with her attitude but she's a Mormon so it's also possible she's uber religious and figures hubster is the head of the family and He  Must Be Obeyed.

[Ohwell]

1 hour ago, CherryAmes said:

Not sure if this has anything to do with her attitude but she's a Mormon so it's also possible she's uber religious and figures hubster is the head of the family and He  Must Be Obeyed.

Funny, I kind of figured she was a Mormon or some other religion because of the long hair.  And, yes, there was an air of obedience about her.  

I did not like him at all and I did wonder if he was closeted.

[Blue997]

On 7/22/2018 at 6:58 PM, SmithW6079 said:

She's American, of Italian heritage. Her father was a famous anti-fascist. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Poggioli

Actually this was the person I was thinking of:

https://www.npr.org/people/2100429/mandalit-del-barco

She always signs off with her name pronounced in the most accented way possible.

 

Also, that Berlin couple - oh my goodness.  That poor teenager.  I was a teenage boy once and... let me just say sharing a room with two little kids would be very, very difficult.

[doodlebug]

Is it just me or is the available housing in Australia/New Zealand kinda boring?  There is some beautiful scenery out there, but the homes have all the charm and character of cardboard shoeboxes.  My least favorite international househunts.

[7-Zark-7]

1 hour ago, doodlebug said:

Is it just me or is the available housing in Australia/New Zealand kinda boring?

I'm drawn to New Zealand since its hills and water views are everywhere, but I tend to skip Australia due to the lackluster homes (same reason that I usually skip HH domestic, you've seen one Atlanta subdivision, you really have seen them all). 

This couple (Kyle and Melissa) with the twins who are moving from Calgary to Wellington wanted some conflicting things. Melissa in particular, wanted both an unobstructed view (which implies some elevation), and no hills or stairs since that would be hard for pushing her twins around. And Kyle wanted to be close to town, where he works. What I don't get, is why the couple were set on a house when the shots of Wellington showed many high rises. In a high rise apartment, they could have had their view of the city and landscape, and flat surfaces for the kids (no stairs indoors, and elevators to take them to ground level). I know they talked a good game about nature, but the yard of the house they settled on had a fake lawn and a view of some else's metal wall.

Edited July 27, 2018 by 7-Zark-7