House Hunters International - General Discussion

[DonnaMae]

7 minutes ago, Homily said:

https://forums.primetimer.com/forum/385-house-hunters-v/

Looks like the HH and Pet Peeves may be closed.  They're in 'the vault".

What's happened?  HH Buying in the USA is a very popular forum, now it's hidden away?  Did somebody complain?

[Homily]

2 minutes ago, DonnaMae said:

What's happened?  HH Buying in the USA is a very popular forum, now it's hidden away?  Did somebody complain?

I'd like to know the rationale too.  It's not like HH in the US or Pet Peeves were dead!  People post in both pretty often I think. Certainly IMO there are other forums that are much quieter and they haven't been closed.  So far!

Edited June 11, 2019 by Homily

[Bastet]

I posted in the Questions section; my guess is they vaulted the HH forum to replace it with a single thread topic (like this one and Renovations), but haven't yet created that replacement topic and one will pop up soon. 

And, as I type this, I just got a response: that is indeed the case; the topic will be created within the next 24 hours.

[Bastet]

5 hours ago, doodlebug said:

I am always amazed at how incredibly expensive housing is in Switzerland.

Everything is expensive in Switzerland.  It's a beautiful country, but to visit (or live), you have to be prepared for the expense or you'll be unpleasantly surprised - and busting your budget - quickly, as it's one of the most expensive in the world.

[chessiegal]

I visited Switzerland for the 1st time last year. Beautiful! We discovered when we got to the train station in Bern you need Swiss Franc coins to get into the bathroom. Good thing the hotel was only 2 blocks away.

I don't have children, but have 2 lovely stepdaughters who are married and have kids. I don't understand HH who have the need for space to be away from their kids. If they don't want to be around them, why did they have children in the first place? Then on the other end of the spectrum, we have families buying vacation homes so they could have more family time and be closer to their children and building memories. I guess these shows need some theme or story.

[tessaray]

1 hour ago, Homily said:

I'd like to know the rationale too.  It's not like HH in the US or Pet Peeves were dead!  People post in both pretty often I think. Certainly IMO there are other forums that are much quieter and they haven't been closed.  So far!

I believe there is a certain level of traffic required to keep a show in a full forum. HH is popular but not really high traffic compared to other shows.

Now that we are past the initial forum upgrade, you'll see other shows being evaluated for forum status.  It will be a continual process.

[MartyQui]

Is it wrong to google people who show up on IHH?  This guy’s a VP at Hyatt...that’s a job with a lot of responsibilities, so I’m guessing that all the “I have to be near the nightlife” stuff was producer manipulation.  Again, I don’t understand why people with real jobs and reputations do this show.  He came off like an a**.

[OperaLover1229]

5 hours ago, laredhead said:

Posting this here because I lost the House Hunter's forum and can't find it in a search of all shows on this site.  Anyone else have that problem?

Yes, so did I. 

[biakbiak]

26 minutes ago, MartyQui said:

This guy’s a VP at Hyatt...that’s a job with a lot of responsibilities, so I’m guessing that all the “I have to be near the nightlife” stuff was producer manipulation. 

Though that’s a job that does actually require a lot schmoozing and going out so maybe the nightlife/restaurants wasn’t just about his personal life. 

The fact that he works at Hyatt does make the need for a third bedroom look not that important because he gets a discount if not comped rooms.

[lgprimes]

Ugh did my usual doze off right before the reveal. Young couple moving from NC to Warsaw- which place did they choose?

[Pickles]

7 minutes ago, lgprimes said:

Ugh did my usual doze off right before the reveal. Young couple moving from NC to Warsaw- which place did they choose?

I think it was the first one? I can't remember the order of the places. It had the big room and they wondered where he would set up an office, but they had it fixed up really nice. Looked great, I thought. They seemed like a nice couple. Said they see his siblings almost every day. Nice family. 

[Bastet]

8 hours ago, Bastet said:

I posted in the Questions section; my guess is they vaulted the HH forum to replace it with a single thread topic (like this one and Renovations), but haven't yet created that replacement topic and one will pop up soon. 

And, as I type this, I just got a response: that is indeed the case; the topic will be created within the next 24 hours.

Quoting myself to say, for those who don't pay attention to the Recently Added TV Shows section, the replacement topic for House Hunters is now up and running.

[LittleIggy]

Zurich: Agree with everyone about the husband. I actually liked the “bachelor pad.” Loved the clothespin bench. Just need to put curtains up in that bedroom. 

BTW, dude, no such language as “Swiss.” 🙄

Edited June 12, 2019 by LittleIggy

[biakbiak]

7 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

BTW, dude, no such language as “Swiss.” 🙄

Swiss German is a distinct dialect.

[ECM1231]

35 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Quoting myself to say, for those who don't pay attention to the Recently Added TV Shows section, the replacement topic for House Hunters is now up and running.

Thanks, Bastet. I just about freaked out when I saw HH was MIA.

[ECM1231]

12 hours ago, Pickles said:

The Zurich episode. I thought it was a bit of a red flag when the husband said something along the lines of how he didn't want to be raising a kid when he was 70, so his gf (now wife) seemed like a good candidate to be a mom, etc. It was odd to me the way he phrased it. It was like--yeah, I should have a kid. I'll marry this girl I am dating and she would be a good mom and can raise the kid. I am hoping it was just his storyline that he wanted to be by all of the nightlife and that wasn't the case for real.

I caught that too and found his statement very odd. Like yeah, time for me to have a kiddo and this woman will do. What is she? A brood mare?

He resembled a young William Hurt to me, for some reason.

[LittleIggy]

47 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Swiss German is a distinct dialect.

Didn’t say it wasn’t. I heard him say “learning Swiss.”

[lgprimes]

AGO

   5 HOURS AGO,  LGPRIMES SAID: 

Ugh did my usual doze off right before the reveal. Young couple moving from NC to Warsaw- which place did they choose?

I think it was the first one? I can't remember the order of the places. It had the big room and they wondered where he would set up an office, but they had it fixed up really nice. Looked great, I thought. They seemed like a nice couple. Said they see his siblings almost every day. Nice family. 

Thanks so much Pickles!

That was the first one.As usual I guessed wrong. They kept saying they were adventurous so I thought they would pick the houseboat. But she did say that first place was right near his brother so I should have picked up on that. 

[abbyzenn]

Usually I agree with comments on a couple but I liked the Zurich couple (especially compared to a lot we see).  I also usually agree that getting an extra bedroom for guests is stupid but in this case I can see it.  She said their baby is the first grandchild on either side so I can see the grandparents wanting to come visit and they'd probably either stay a couple of weeks or come several times.

I tape the show and rarely watch the part where the couple debates about which place to get but in this case I did because I had no idea which they'd choose.  Surprised they immediately knocked the first place which grant you was sterile looking (but to me so was the 3rd place) but it did have (albeit small) outdoor space.   The second bedroom in that 3rd place didn't have a window did it?  While it would be okay for a baby it made me think of a closet.  The place they chose was the prettiest,  the rooms were beautiful (as was the building) but no way would I consider it a 3 bedroom place.

Watching this episode, the beautiful scenery, the buildings,  made me yearn for traveling to Europe which for years I used to do every year but I'm now I'm on oxygen 24/7 and on a high level that I need liquid oxygen which is rare to get so that kind of traveling is almost impossible.

[sempervivum]

10 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

He resembled a young William Hurt to me, for some reason.

And all I could see was Alan Rickman (circa Die Hard).

Warsaw couple seemed nice, although I didn't understand why they loved the vintage furnishings, but were appalled by the squeaky parquet floors.

[Booklady1017]

22 hours ago, Bastet said:

Everything is expensive in Switzerland.  It's a beautiful country, but to visit (or live), you have to be prepared for the expense or you'll be unpleasantly surprised - and busting your budget - quickly, as it's one of the most expensive in the world.

I hadn't realized how expensive it is there.

19 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Though that’s a job that does actually require a lot schmoozing and going out so maybe the nightlife/restaurants wasn’t just about his personal life. 

The fact that he works at Hyatt does make the need for a third bedroom look not that important because he gets a discount if not comped rooms.

Good point about the comped hotel rooms and maybe that's why he wasn't that concerned about that. But he came off as a jerk about worrying too much about nightlife when he has a young kid.

[rhofmovalley]

Cabo San Lucas...so I liked the kids until the dingbat daughter said she just loves Spanish food and Spanish culture. Maybe someone should tell her Cabo is in MEXICO. Not the same place as Spain.

[Kohola3]

Another set of parents being directed by what their kids might want.  Unless the kids are paying the bill they should shut up and accept what their parents buy.  The father was happy to declare that the place they bought could sleep 12.  How often would they triple their family size to make it worth going over the budget?

The whole thing was a total ruse - his intention all along was to buy rental property.  And I'm with her - no way in hell is some stranger going through my stuff and sleeping in my bed. I'd take a place half the size to avoid that.

[DonnaMae]

My SIL always calls it Spanish too, although I've told her many times that the two cuisines are nothing alike.  I guess Spanish sounds classier to her, and that's what her mother always said.

[LittleIggy]

5 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Another set of parents being directed by what their kids might want.  Unless the kids are paying the bill they should shut up and accept what their parents buy.  The father was happy to declare that the place they bought could sleep 12.  How often would they triple their family size to make it worth going over the budget?

The whole thing was a total ruse - his intention all along was to buy rental property.  And I'm with her - no way in hell is some stranger going through my stuff and sleeping in my bed. I'd take a place half the size to avoid that.

I think the “sleeps 12 people” was for rental purposes.

Yeah, if the parents were more interested in golfing than going to the beach, they should have picked a place on a golf course. So what if their close to college age kids prefer the beach? They could bike to the beach when they visit on break.

[biakbiak]

The only one that they saw on the golf course was the one that they thought required updating, would require maintenance that they need to arrange and if they ever wanted to rent they would have to hire a separate management company to deal with it so I don’t think it was ever on the table. 

The place they did end up going with seemed to have a golf course associated with it membership just wasn’t included in the price. 

[Booklady1017]

On 6/11/2019 at 11:18 PM, Pickles said:

I think it was the first one? I can't remember the order of the places. It had the big room and they wondered where he would set up an office, but they had it fixed up really nice. Looked great, I thought. They seemed like a nice couple. Said they see his siblings almost every day. Nice family. 

I liked the couple too. They were a big improvement over the guy from the couple who moved to Zurich.

[LittleIggy]

Cabo: IIRC, two of the options had golf courses. 

[blueray]

On 6/5/2019 at 12:34 AM, LittleIggy said:

Puerto Vallarta: The guy going on about how much his deceased mother would want a colonial style place was annoying. The way he was carrying on, I expected her ghost to be joining them.

lol. I thought this was really weird too. It was one thing to say that she liked the place. But he kept bringing her up.

[biakbiak]

53 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Cabo: IIRC, two of the options had golf courses. 

They all had golf courses the place they went with, Chilena Bay, just makes you buy the membership separately so it had golf for them and the beach for the kids so it was false drama.

[LittleIggy]

5 hours ago, biakbiak said:

They all had golf courses the place they went with, Chilena Bay, just makes you buy the membership separately so it had golf for them and the beach for the kids so it was false drama.

Let me rephrase: IIRC, two of the options had golf courses on the properties.

[biakbiak]

15 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Let me rephrase: IIRC, two of the options had golf courses on the properties.

All three were part of resorts that had golf courses. The first was a stand alone house without the maintenance and rental service included and the other two were condos with maintenance and rental services but were all on golf courses. They tried to make it seem like the place they went with didn’t have a golf course because the membership wasn’t included in the purchase of the unit and they said they were choosing the beach over the golf course but that wasn’t true because as seen in the above link it does have a golf course on the property.

Edited June 14, 2019 by biakbiak

[biakbiak]

On 6/11/2019 at 10:22 PM, LittleIggy said:

heard him say “learning Swiss

He said he was learning German through her but often people would start speaking Swiss or German to him so it’s going slowly. People often shorten Swiss German to Swiss to distinguish it from German when talking about them.

Edited June 14, 2019 by biakbiak

[alexvillage]

I usually watched HGTV but I caught some of the episodes in this show - out of order - and  gosh, the script writers need to get their act together.

Example 1: couple with baby. Mom does not want stairs because it is too hard to get the stroller up. Sees house with a few steps. Doesn't like it because of the steps. Sees another house with fewer steps. LOVES the house so steps are not a problem anymore, never to be mentioned. They get the place with the steps.

Example 2: couple with 4 kids (2 boys and 2 girls) looking for house. Walking through mom says "this room with two beds is for daughter #1, this room with two beds is for daughter #2, oh, no! this room has only one bed! the boys cannot share a bed!" SERIOUSLY? 

And then the privilege of being privileged for anyone to see: college kid is confused about his future, maybe needs to take some time off from college. Fine. Mom decides that she needs to buy him a whole house, at the beach, it has to be right on the sand, so he can "find himself" because he MUST be able to step out of the house and go scuba diving, and if there are roads, it is a no_no because white rich college kid cannot cross the road while he is "all alone out there". Gee, people!

I know those shows are scripted but I wonder if the people showing their shit can at least say when it is too much. Because it is too much, inconsistent and makes most of them look like picky assholes.

[Kohola3]

OK, let me preface this to say that I, too, am owned by a shelter dog and I would certainly take into account what is practical when buying a house.  But to drag a dog to Nassau and ask her every two minutes "Do you like it Chloe?  Is it nice Chloe?  Do you want to live here Chloe?" and declare that Chloe does or doesn't "like this one" was just ridiculous. 

If you are buying a place in the tropics that you intend to rent, your best bet is somewhere near the water, not someplace that is determined by how easy it is to walk the damned dog.  It's not like she got a place with a fenced in yard or anything.

[DonnaMae]

Example two: Has she never heard of bunk beds?  Little boys love bunk beds.  Would give them more space in their run for toys and storage for their clothes. 

[LittleIggy]

Nassau: I didn’t get the HH’s problem with using an elevator to take her dog out especially since the dog is older. Didn’t like her having Chloe the dog get on the bed (with a white bedspread) while they were looking.

Edited June 14, 2019 by LittleIggy

[LittleIggy]

18 hours ago, biakbiak said:

All three were part of resorts that had golf courses. The first was a stand alone house without the maintenance and rental service included and the other two were condos with maintenance and rental services but were all on golf courses. They tried to make it seem like the place they went with didn’t have a golf course because the membership wasn’t included in the purchase of the unit and they said they were choosing the beach over the golf course but that wasn’t true because as seen in the above link it does have a golf course on the property.

Well, I was going by what was shown on the episode. In the side by side comparison, the property they ultimately picked showed was shown as having no golf course. I didn’t feel compelled to research the issue. 🙄

18 hours ago, biakbiak said:

He said he was learning German through her but often people would start speaking Swiss or German to him so it’s going slowly. People often shorten Swiss German to Swiss to distinguish it from German when talking about them.

Whatever. 🙄

[biakbiak]

3 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Well, I was going by what was shown on the episode. In the side by side comparison, the property they ultimately picked showed was shown as having no golf course. I didn’t feel compelled to research the issue. 🙄

And I was pointing out that like most eps the show was a lie and they didn’t actually choose what the kids wanted over what they wanted they choose a place that had the best of both worlds so don’t really understand the need for sarcastic emojis.

[Kohola3]

6 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Didn’t like her having Chloe the dog get on the bed (with a white bedspread) while they were looking.

I thought it was rude but afterward thought to myself "was that the one she chose?" because, if so, it was already her bed anyway.

But I forget if it was the first or second place with the dog on the bed.  I don't think it was the penthouse.

[biakbiak]

6 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

I thought it was rude but afterward thought to myself "was that the one she chose?" because, if so, it was already her bed anyway.

But I forget if it was the first or second place with the dog on the bed.  I don't think it was the penthouse.

It was the first house that she didn’t go with I made a point to check because she is one of the few HH who bring their dogs who actually put the dog on a lead so it seemed extra odd that she allowed the dog to do that.

[LittleIggy]

Not sarcasm. Eyerolling. 😏

[biakbiak]

21 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Not sarcasm. Eyerolling. 😏

Yes and it is classified as a sarcastic emoji.

[Booklady1017]

2 hours ago, biakbiak said:

It was the first house that she didn’t go with I made a point to check because she is one of the few HH who bring their dogs who actually put the dog on a lead so it seemed extra odd that she allowed the dog to do that.

I was also thinking that I’d wouldn’t want to rent from someone who has a dog because of the damage they could do to the place and all.

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, Booklady1017 said:

I was also thinking that I’d wouldn’t want to rent from someone who has a dog because of the damage they could do to the place and all.

Children cause damage, too!

[MsTree]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

Children cause damage, too!

Except children don't chew on furniture and molding, etc. 

Animals also have accidents...whereas a child would be wearing a diaper.

[Kohola3]

My sister worked at a motel in her college days and dreaded cleaning rooms that had been occupied by children.  She said that were 50 times worse than room that had animals staying with the guests.  I feel the same way in restaurants - kids make a horrendous mess when eating while a dog generally cleans up anything spilled!

With that said, it was still wrong for her to let the dog jump on the bed.  Not cool at all.

[StatisticalOutlier]

3 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

My sister worked at a motel in her college days and dreaded cleaning rooms that had been occupied by children.  She said that were 50 times worse than room that had animals staying with the guests.  I feel the same way in restaurants - kids make a horrendous mess when eating while a dog generally cleans up anything spilled!

While I generally agree, I'm in a statistics battle elsewhere right now, so I'll point out that I would assume there are many many more motel rooms occupied by children than by animals, plus a child's mess is probably "quicker" than a dog's and therefore more likely to happen in a motel--like the kid will make a mess while eating, and a dog's damage is likely more cumulative over time, like chewing or scratching on furniture.

I do appreciate the self-cleaning nature of a dog's mess with food, but then you have dog slobber to deal with.

But what do I know?  When I'm in a motel, I neatly fold up the newspapers and set them on top of the trash can.  Anything to make the maid not go, "Oh, shit" when she walks in.  That's a bad enough job already.

.

3 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

With that said, it was still wrong for her to let the dog jump on the bed.  Not cool at all.

Yeah, I thought getting in bathtubs with your shoes on is bad. 

[Kohola3]

39 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

While I generally agree, I'm in a statistics battle elsewhere right now, so I'll point out that I would assume there are many many more motel rooms occupied by children than by animals,

That's certainly true but fewer and fewer motels accept animals and she worked in one that was pet friendly.  And I truly believe that there are fewer animals that chew furniture especially those allowed to travel with their humans. Motels ding renters big time for any damage.  I have owned 5 dogs of different breeds over my lifetime and only one did any damage - as a puppy he loved to teethe on the handle of the Lazyboy.  Other than that, nothing.

43 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Yeah, I thought getting in bathtubs with your shoes on is bad. 

That always makes me yell at the TV.  Do the homeowners bleach their showers after a showing? Apparently they should!

[StatisticalOutlier]

1 minute ago, Kohola3 said:

That always makes me yell at the TV.  Do the homeowners bleach their showers after a showing? Apparently they should!

We had a cat that took a dump in the bathtub whenever she got mad, so I'm not too squicked out by dirty bathtubs.  At least they're relatively easy to clean.  Still doesn't make it acceptable to get in their with your shoes on--not everyone has been trained like I've been.

But shoe soles have rocks and dirt embedded in them, and I'm always picturing the scratches they might leave.