Good Bones - General Discussion

[tinderbox]

Hmmm....  I thought the siding color was supposed to be dark grey with black trim but light grey siding was ordered in error, by Tad, so they went with it.  I don’t remember black siding ever being an option.  

[CrazyInAlabama]

I watched the rerun, and Tad said he was supposed to order really dark charcoal, almost black he called it for Cory's house, but he ordered much lighter gray, and the other color would be at least two weeks wait.   I really like the lighter gray, it looked really nice, and fit in with the neighborhood.     Tad said he goofed, and then he said he made an executive decision, and I like his choice.   

[Dehumidifier]

These two get on my nerves with their talk of "bringing neighborhoods up," like they are a non-profit. They take houses that were family residences (albeit not today's every child must have their own bedroom and bathroom type) and turn them into couples only, or maybe one kid homes.

[bilgistic]

They're actually gentrifying the neighborhoods. They start the process of renovating older homes and then other developers come in and do the same thing. Soon, people who have lived for generations in these neighborhoods can no longer afford to live there. It's insidious and is happening all over the country.

Edited July 11, 2021 by bilgistic

[Dehumidifier]

53 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

They're actually gentrifying the neighborhoods.

That too.The people they are selling to won't be shopping in the local stores either.

[irisheyes]

I go back and forth with what they do. On the positive side, they’re buying houses that are vacant and dangerous and renovating them. Plus, I HOPE that the people they are selling to are the actual residents. On the other hand, I wish that their prices were more in line for first time homebuyers. I realize that construction costs are expensive, but I feel like there are lots of places they could cut costs to make the houses more affordable for people in the neighborhood. 
 

So, I stay conflicted. 

[MaKaM]

I kinda wonder if the camera guys/editors on these shows are sneaking in "mean" shots to kinda mess with the renovators. Like the shot of Cory's kitchen cabinets, the one cabinet had a very obvious paint flaw right on the front of it. And it isn't the first time I've seen this--the camera always seems to catch a wall with an obvious paint flaw, a piece of staging furniture with a nick, or a tile wall or floor with uneven grout lines. While watching a beachhunter's reno episode, the camera lingered on the unfinished edge of the backsplash tile. I don't know if it is that my eye immediately gravitates toward the flaws or if the camera guys are taking the piss out of the flippers because it would be easy enough to frame a different shot that doesn't include the bad spot.

[RoxiP]

A house in my neighborhood got painted white (the brick) with black trim (shutters, trim, gutters) a couple of years ago and it looks really smart - not at all industrial - just updated and modern in this neighborhood of 40 year old homes. Done well it really looks great. 

[sadtvjunkie]

I'll be a devil's advocate. When you have to practically build the house from the ground up new- why should you sell it at a loss? This is America and we are capitalists.

My first home I spent $134000 on and still had to rehab it, and this was in 1994. That was the cost to get into a very sought after area with great schools (even though I home schooled our child) stuff like that matters for resell which is why we bought where we did.

Materials and labor are expensive and I feel Mina and crew work hard to keep the costs low. That seems to be why she buys the same tile and carpet and uses it in all her houses.

[RoxiP]

I think that part of their business model is buying up several houses in an undeveloped neighborhood at bargain basement houses knowing that they will be lucky to break even on the first one or two they remodel but as the neighborhood gets gentrified the housing process will also go up.

[LittleIggy]

I started a topic for “Battle on the Beach” if anyone is interested. Mina and Mike Holmes are the judges. Warning: Alison Victoria is one of the team mentors!

[izabella]

I mostly liked Cory's house, but could not figure out where he would put a tv in that living room.  And yes, it needed a closet by the front door!

[joanne3482]

17 hours ago, RoxiP said:

I think that part of their business model is buying up several houses in an undeveloped neighborhood at bargain basement houses knowing that they will be lucky to break even on the first one or two they remodel but as the neighborhood gets gentrified the housing process will also go up.

They talk about that in some of the other episodes where they build "loss leaders."  Basically when they first move into an area and aren't sure about how to price things and how they will sell. 

I agree with the conflict about gentrification, but so many of the houses they're buying are in truly horrifying condition. It isn't like they're buying perfectly reasonable, albeit slightly dated houses, slapping some granite and stainless steel appliances and turning around selling for double the price. As Mina has said more than once, "So much poop."  Nobody wants to see those houses stay in that shape and most average people can't or won't buy them to do the rebuild themselves. I don't know... According to Google, they've supported legislation that would allow long term homeowners to not have the increased taxes that come with the updates to the neighboring homes. 

[izabella]

2 minutes ago, joanne3482 said:

I agree with the conflict about gentrification, but so many of the houses they're buying are in truly horrifying condition. It isn't like they're buying perfectly reasonable, albeit slightly dated houses, slapping some granite and stainless steel appliances and turning around selling for double the price. As Mina has said more than once, "So much poop."  Nobody wants to see those houses stay in that shape and most average people can't or won't buy them to do the rebuild themselves.

I agree with this.  No one is living in most of the houses they buy.  Cory's for example, was a burned out shell of a house that was a safety hazard and an eyesore for the entire neighborhood.  So the options are for the city to tear it down and turn it into another vacant lot, or for a rebuild.  They didn't even make a profit on it, so the price Cory bought it for basically covered the work and materials to rebuild the house so someone could actually live in it.

[LittleIggy]

Okay, I liked what they did with the little condo, but that was not Art Deco. Nope! 
Jack’s hair used to be reddish, now it’s blond. He is adorbs. 
Is Tad Mina’s biological brother? I can’t keep the Good Bones’ family tree (or is it an orchard?) straight.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Mina is from Karen's first marriage to the orthopedic surgeon (Mina and Karen remodeled some of his house, with wife #4), Tad is MIna's dad's son with Cheryl (spelling?), she was the dad's third wife, but Lennie (the contractor from season one) the contractor's first wife.    When Cheryl died, Tad moved in with Karen, and he calls her Mom.      I hope I got that right.   So, Tad is Mina's half-brother biologically, but more like full brother through family relationships.    They all seem very close.   

Edited July 14, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[izabella]

Tad is such a dumbass for deliberately dropping that ceiling fan on the hardwood floor, and then pulling the microwave across it and making big scratches on it.  And then gouging the floor some more by standing on that steel demo tool! 

It's great they have someone on the team who loves demo because they do a lot of it and it's hard, dirty work.   But he needs adult supervision every step of the way, not that having them all there in the beginning did any good..  I'll say Mina is a dumbass to for not putting anything on those floors to protect them during demo and construction.

I did not like that they painted over all the trim and doors, but I could live with that.  I could not live with all the tiny tiles in the shower.  So much grout to try to keep clean!

I did like the tiles on the risers on the stairs.  That was fun, though I can see it not being to everyone's taste.  Not sure how I feel about losing the dining room for another bedroom.  That was a small space to try to cram multiple people into.  But I guess people can use it as a flex space.

Edited July 14, 2021 by izabella

[bilgistic]

I'm really, really tired of Tad, and I used to like him.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Every time I think Tad is getting more responsible and growing up, he does some childish, pointless destruction. 

THey stage everything, to show how it should be decorated.   I've run across a few of their real estate ads that Mina posts, and the houses are staged, but not with stuff everywhere, it's a ton less stuff laying around.   I think when you over-stage for TV, that it makes the rooms look smaller.   Also, I didn't see anything Art Deco about the condo, or the staging.   

 

Edited July 15, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[LittleIggy]

5 hours ago, bilgistic said:

I'm really, really tired of Tad, and I used to like him.

He is annoying. 
BTW, I didn’t like the fake plant hanging baskets flanking the upstairs windows. Not necessary. 
Was the apartment furnished? Apparently she had already rented the place so why stage it if not? It wasn’t to show off their knowledge of the Art Deco style. 😏

Edited July 15, 2021 by LittleIggy

[bilgistic]

I hated the fake plants. All I could think is how mildewed they would be in the basket after hanging there collecting rainwater and not absorbing it...because they aren't plants!

[Andyourlittledog2]

First of all, I am so over the 'finds' Karen conveniently notices and refurbishes/reimagines in every house. There is no way those things aren't chosen elsewhere and just planted in the house to 'find'. No way I believe that at all.

That was a tiny unit and Mina once again turned it into bedrooms to increase the asking price at the expense of making it actually liveable for the people who will actually live in it. Not only did they remove the dining area they didn't even replace it with a counter for eating like she usually does. There was NOwhere to eat in that apartment. They even mentioned using the coffee table for dining. That table Karen fixed up was shoved into a nook/corner of the new bedroom/multi-use space in a way that would make it very difficult to pull out and actually use. The whole thing was just ridiculous. Add that to the one bathroom in neither bedroom and really I couldn't imagine living in that unit as more than a single person, a couple at the most, with nothing more than an occasional overnight guest.

And the design was not art deco, and they futzed the whole thing up as they usually do with things that look good for a minute and which a new owner would probably have to remove. Tiny bedrooms with almost no space for storage other than a small closet (where are you supposed to put the dresser?). Living areas that are so small that you can barely fit anyone in them and there is no TV area, just a lot of fussy things for drama. The reveal is once again filmed to emphasize pillow and knickknacks and it is hard to get a real feel for the actual home itself. You have to pause and rewind and look for angles that let you actually see how the rooms are situated etc.

I honestly cannot imagine buying or renting almost anything they do.

The one saving grace about the show is that I can watch it quickly because I ff through most of Tad's scenes. It means I miss most of the demo but I can live with that if it gets that jackass off my TV screen. I also can barely tolerate Karen's nonsense but if I ff Karen there isn't much show left to watch.

[Andyourlittledog2]

Tad's antics like breaking glass and destroying things unncessarily is his 'brand'. I am surprised they aren't selling Tad merchandise about breaking and destroying and doing stupid childish shit on construction sites.  And Mina just smiles and chides him with a wink and actively encourages the dangerous stunts like taunting Corey (who is height averse anyway) into standing on a second story window sill to attach those two ugly hanging fake plant baskets to either side of the one window. No one should be doing that, especially in the pursuit of something as unnecessary and ugly as those baskets were. They looked ridiculous hanging there. And a couple months down the line they will just be eyesores filled with moldy plastic plants and standing rain water right outside the bedroom window. So dumb.

That she didn't cover the floors before demolition and just smiled and 'oh welled' Tad's casual intentional marring of them speaks volumes. Again, it's Tad's brand. And Mina promotes it no matter how much she mildly scolds him for it. It's just a big joke to her.

[izabella]

On 7/13/2021 at 3:25 PM, joanne3482 said:

According to Google, they've supported legislation that would allow long term homeowners to not have the increased taxes that come with the updates to the neighboring homes. 

I hope the legislation passes.  That would at least address one of the issues with gentrification.  They still end up pricing people out of their own neighborhoods, both with sales and rentals, but at least that would be some help.

 

[dleighg]

12 minutes ago, izabella said:

I hope the legislation passes.  That would at least address one of the issues with gentrification.

Not to get too off topic, but in CA similar laws have led to "new homeowners" paying far far more in property taxes than those who live next door. It's hard to target these laws to "truly needy" people as opposed to "baby boomers who just happened to have bought their home a couple of decades ago." Those new homeowners may be struggling as well.

[sheetmoss]

Ted, stop it  w/stupid demo antics  - your mantra s/b work smart not hard!

   If I want to see that I'll watch Chip Gaines...and  I'm not watching him.

Thinking, too bad Mina  didn't get the style of Murphy bed  w/desk/table that drops down that can be used for daily dining

https://www.wallbedscompany.com/table-beds

Also, it didn't look like the closet was fully completed in the new bdrm because thats where they tucked Karen's tab;e.

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by sheetmoss

[MsTree]

I think the difference between Tad & Chip is that Tad likes to do stupid things just for the hell of it and because he's hyper. Chip does some dopey things because he's trying to be funny...and then we get to see Joanna rolling her eyes 😆

[buttersister]

I’d stopped watching because I didn’t care for their work and I didn’t like them. So imagine my non-shock when the channel popped up earlier and Mina and two guys were yakking to camera. She said she was a fan of crime shows and went on about an escape plan because you could be snatched at any time and you’d have to escape. WTF? 😵‍🥴

Edited July 21, 2021 by buttersister

[LittleIggy]

I liked what they did with the house generally, especially liked the tiles in the shower. However, I didn’t like the custom-made island. It didn’t have any storage and the two levels were weird.

[joanne3482]

9 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I liked what they did with the house generally, especially liked the tiles in the shower. However, I didn’t like the custom-made island. It didn’t have any storage and the two levels were weird.

Totally agree! When it was installed I thought a - it doesn't really match anything and b - how is it practical. I've seen the 2 story islands before, but the upper usually holds a sink and there are cabinets underneath. I was surprised by everybody's great love of it. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I would have liked the tiles in the shower if they were the same size, but lighter off-white.   The grey cabinet would have been fine for the island, and then attach the lower part of the table top to it.   No storage in the island is a fail for me. 

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, joanne3482 said:

Totally agree! When it was installed I thought a - it doesn't really match anything and b - how is it practical. I've seen the 2 story islands before, but the upper usually holds a sink and there are cabinets underneath. I was surprised by everybody's great love of it. 

I think the new homeowners were faking it! 😏

Edited July 21, 2021 by LittleIggy

[KeithJ]

Are these surprise items really a surprise to the buyers?  I thought that wood island was absolutely horrible and would have hated it in my house.  I wouldn't even be able to fake liking it on camera.  I can't see them going through all that trouble getting it made and then having the buyers possibly not like it.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm sure with the presold houses that the homeowners pick the colors, wall paper patterns, and special features like the two level island without storage.    I really think that a lot of the homes are pre-sold, especially in the first couple of seasons when the home shopper who toured the house loved everything in it, and bought it.   

I think the ones that are going on the sale market are the ones where the 'potential' buyers are just whoever  they can  find who wants to spend hours being on TV, and isn't a real buyer anyway.  

Edited July 29, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[Andyourlittledog2]

They are really trying to make those weird 'waterfall' style islands with no storage and now coffee tables happen, aren't they?  They just look like homemade crap to me, but I am not an artiste so what do I know?

And a four bedroom home with a tiny living room, a narrow space you might put a dining table, and a no storage island with two bar stools. I realize that the buyer bought it as the floor plan was laid out but I think that might be a hard resale. Someone who actually had the people to put in four bedrooms would want more public space I'm thinking. The lot was gorgeous though. I would have bought the thing for the property alone. We so so much tiny lot space on this show that having all that yard front and back was jarring.

And squeezing four bedrooms in there significantly reduced the size of each bedroom also. I would rather have three decent sized rooms than four small ones. The master is the master only because of the en suite. The size of the room was very small, really fit just the bed and side tables. You don't need a thousand sq foot master like some mcmansions have but it should be larger than just any old room. She could have done a good master had she not squeezed the fourth bedroom in there. Once again I think she is simply adding as much as she can for the comps and not caring whether regular people can actually live comfortably in the thing. I just think Mina has very little design skill really, she is just a builder with a cookie cutter design skill set.

And of course Tad ignored what he was told and damaged the gutter. And of course they covered the 'super' lath wall so they could do the Karen is foiled again psych out. I don't believe that was an accident, I think it was planned for TV. I am starting to think that 80 percent of the foul ups are planned for TV drama. They have to fill that hour somehow.

[irisheyes]

Yeah, when she was taking about making it 4 beds/2 1/2 baths, I was like “Why?”  Three beds and two baths is perfectly acceptable. 

[ByaNose]

The kitchen table nook squeezed between two doors shows how little these houses are. I appreciate a small house now that I’m older but I’m not putting table in between two doors which one may have been the bedroom. It looked bright & airy as they usually do but super small. That said, they look super affordable which is great if you want to build some equity. Especially, if it’s your first home. I haven’t watched the show in ages but Mena’s mother looks really good but looked older in the update portion. I’m assuming the talking head updates are new with old shows sandwiched together?! Is that correct or am I wrong? Just curious.

[CrazyInAlabama]

17 hours ago, ByaNose said:

The kitchen table nook squeezed between two doors shows how little these houses are. I appreciate a small house now that I’m older but I’m not putting table in between two doors which one may have been the bedroom. It looked bright & airy as they usually do but super small. That said, they look super affordable which is great if you want to build some equity. Especially, if it’s your first home. I haven’t watched the show in ages but Mena’s mother looks really good but looked older in the update portion. I’m assuming the talking head updates are new with old shows sandwiched together?! Is that correct or am I wrong? Just curious.

It takes so long to get permits, demo, rebuild, and finish a property that it takes months.   Remember the season when she was expecting Baby Jack?   Some houses she was pregnant, then much further along, had the baby, and was on maternity leave.     So the homes take months, and often they are building more than one at a time.     

 Karen stopped dyeing her hair, and it's grown out a lot, so some talking heads with her, or the first visit to a home, have her with the red hair, and then others have the grown out, and undyed hair.    By the way, I love her hair now.    As Karen said, the red hair was taking a lot of time to maintain.      

Edited July 29, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[LittleIggy]

Jack was adorable with his new baby sister. What sweeties! 💕 

That design was admittedly better as a coffee table than as a kitchen “island.” 
Enough with saying something is “masculine!” 🙄

[RoxiP]

On 7/20/2021 at 9:33 PM, buttersister said:

I’d stopped watching because I didn’t care for their work and I didn’t like them. So imagine my non-shock when the channel popped up earlier and Mina and two guys were yakking to camera. She said she was a fan of crime shows and went on about an escape plan because you could be snatched at any time and you’d have to escape. WTF? 😵‍🥴

Doesn’t everybody do this?

[deirdra]

41 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

Doesn’t everybody do this?

Especially when you live and work in an "up and coming area".

[CrazyInAlabama]

Yes, "up and coming" or "transitioning" areas would be a big no for me (not that I could afford one of their houses).      There's a reason the cameras don't show the neighboring houses if they can help it.   Sometimes, Mina and Karen own the neighboring houses, and they're working on several right together, so they don't want to show them.    The fact they buy several houses is another reason why part of the demo material hitting the neighboring house isn't a big deal, because Mina owns them too. 

The former biker bar that was originally tiny, but became huge, and partly two story only had alley parking I think.    Unfortunately, the alley looked like it was the access to the neighboring apartment complex.  

 

Edited July 29, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[LittleIggy]

I really liked what they did with that house. That staircase was awesome. My cats would love it. Personally, I would want the master (I still say it!) bedroom upstairs.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I loved the staircase.    However, the black uppers and natural wood lower kitchen cabinets were out of sync to me.    Very formal uppers, and rustic looking lowers looked like they just threw them together.     

I'm glad they left the basement with the bathroom roughed in, and mentioned it had an egress window, so the price for the house would be lower, and the home buyer could decide if they wanted to finish that space later.    I'm glad they worked another bathroom in upstairs, but I don't like stackable washer/dryers, and wish they had just put them side-by-side in the mud room.     

I'm suspicious that the 'buyers' were just people who wanted to be on camera, and not legit buyers.     Depending on who the real buyer works for, they might not be allowed to be on camera, or don't want to spend a lot of time shooting the footage the show needs.  

I am glad that Karen finally mentioned that they used a marble look quartz counter, because regular marble is a nightmare to maintain.   

Edited August 4, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[Dehumidifier]

5 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

... I'm glad they worked another bathroom in upstairs, but I don't like stackable washer/dryers, and wish they had just put them side-by-side in the mud room...    

I can understand them in an apartment but when I see them (on these types of shows) I think you shouldn't have to do that when you have a whole house to work with.

[ChickenLatte99]

I sometimes feel like they don't know how to utilize the space in larger homes. How can a 2 story, 2800 sqft home look so small? The entire first floor seemed cramped. The master bedroom just barely fit the bed and the master bathroom tiny as well.

[CruiseDiva]

4 minutes ago, ChickenLatte99 said:

I sometimes feel like they don't know how to utilize the space in larger homes. How can a 2 story, 2800 sqft home look so small? The entire first floor seemed cramped. The master bedroom just barely fit the bed and the master bathroom tiny as well.

My home is 2850 square feet and compared to that house mine has a living room, dining room, family room, kitchen with breakfast room. powder room, and laundry room on the first floor. There are four bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs. My master bedroom is huge with two walk-in closets, a vanity/dressing area, and bathroom with tub and shower. That house is only 50 square feet smaller but seemed tiny compared to mine. I just didn't get it and wondered where all the space disappeared to.

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, CruiseDiva said:

My home is 2850 square feet and compared to that house mine has a living room, dining room, family room, kitchen with breakfast room. powder room, and laundry room on the first floor. There are four bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs. My master bedroom is huge with two walk-in closets, a vanity/dressing area, and bathroom with tub and shower. That house is only 50 square feet smaller but seemed tiny compared to mine. I just didn't get it and wondered where all the space disappeared to.

Didn’t they say the square footage total included the basement? 

[sheetmoss]

Anybody else notice the Marathon commercial that followed later after Mina's stop to fill up at....a Marathon?

 

3 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Didn’t they say the square footage total included the basement? 

I don't  believe  you're legally able to add   an unfinished basement to the sq footage of the house

[CruiseDiva]

7 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

I don't  believe  you're legally able to add   an unfinished basement to the sq footage of the house

I think you're right about an unfinished basement. Not sure if a finished basement can be added to the square footage, but Mina mentioned that if the buyer finished it off that they would be able to ask a higher price for the house if they sold it in the future.

We don't have basements in my area of the south, but many of us have "Florida" rooms, which are essentially three season sun rooms. They can't be added to the square footage of the house unless they have heat & AC. They also can't be considered in the size of the dwelling for property tax purposes unless they are heated and cooled.