House Hunters - General Discussion

[SpiritSong]

Just saw the Navarre FL episode and really enjoyed the couple. They seemed to actually like each other, even with all the silly repetition about how picky he was. In her article she mentioned Hurricane Michael made the real house hunt a nightmare, but the neighborhoods they were driving through looked pretty normal to me.

I liked the Craftsman house on the lake but knew from the lockbox on the door it was a decoy.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I liked the Navarre FL couple too.    I knew they were going for a fixer, at least their version of a fixer.    The last one was nice, but that price was way too much.    I'm glad a couple finally went for a decent price, and not the house that is way above budget.  

The new one with the divorcee in Ithaca drove me crazy.     Her voice was terrible.    Also, I wonder if her custom cake business using that regular kitchen is working out?     It's a nice kitchen for a family house.    

Edited June 21, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[juliet73]

I liked the Navarre Fl couple.  He was picky and particular, but at least they both had a good sense of humor about it.  I liked in the beginning that he bragged about her job since she didn't know how to describe her career because she wasn't practicing law at the moment.  

[Lady J]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I liked the Navarre FL couple too.    I knew they were going for a fixer, at least their version of a fixer.    The last one was nice, but that price was way too much.    I'm glad a couple finally went for a decent price, and not the house that is way above budget.  

The new one with the divorcee in Ithaca drove me crazy.     Her voice was terrible.    Also, I wonder if her custom cake business using that regular kitchen is working out?     It's a nice kitchen for a family house.    

I googled the Ithaca baker, because I’m not far from there. Her Facebook looks like she is pretty successful.

[WI GIRL56]

Ithaca baker.  I told my DH if she says Cameron one more time I will hurl.  Also she wanted to be in the kitchen and watch him.  Right, he is an almost teen-ager and just like they showed him at the end he is going to spend time in his room.

Her voice also grated on me.  Although her cakes looked delicious.  Not sure how long her clients are staying at her house but if it was me I would not be asking to use the bathroom unless I was there for about 4 hours or drinking too much.

[Patti Jean]

Ithaca Cake Lady--did you know she is separated and starting a new life as a single? She has a son named Cameron, who she wants to watch at all times?  I think she may have mentioned those things once, or a hundred times during the episode.  I kinda hate to throw a sister under the bus, but I think Cake Lady's ex dodged a bullet.  I couldn't deal with her.

[topanga]

On 6/20/2019 at 9:17 AM, Empress1 said:

What It's Like to Be on House Hunters. The couple in question's episode airs tonight.

Great article. The wife is a talented writer. Although she looks really different now than she did on HHI. I saw their episode back then but didn't realize they were the same person. 

I loved this line: 

Quote

At each house you film the “throw your partner under the bus” interview. This is where you act like your partner is crazypants. 

Like the husband's obsession with minor flaws. She says he really is like that, but they had to take it to the extreme. 

But the homeschooling...I only have anecdotal evidence, but the people I know who've homeschooled their kids have been strictly religious and conservative. This couple doesn't seem that way at all. Maybe they started it in The Netherlands and simply continued it here. Or are the school in their town really bad?

Of course it's just my opinion, but I don't think homeschooling benefits children in most cases. Teachers are trained and certified in their positions for a reason. I know this mom is an attorney, so she's probably very smart--but she's not a teacher. 

And then there's the whole socialization piece. Sure, these three boys have each other. And they don't seem pathological--they're just energetic boys.  But they need to learn to interact with other children in a setting away from their parents. And school can be a good environment for that. 

[chessiegal]

Seems like there have been a lot of home school families on this show lately.

I have a step daughter who home schools because they can't afford Catholic school. She was a teacher before she had kids. She keeps a strict curriculum, and regularly gives the kids standardized tests to check on their progress. Last round, 2 of the oldest were in the 99th percentile, and the other in the 96th.

I'm glad they decided to put the oldest twins in 8th grade school this year. They will benefit from the socialization. 

[Ohwell]

Ithaca Cake Lady needs to be locked up in the hidey hole.  Throw away the key.

Edited June 21, 2019 by Ohwell
Cake

[cameron]

13 hours ago, juliet73 said:

I liked the Navarre Fl couple.  He was picky and particular, but at least they both had a good sense of humor about it.  I liked in the beginning that he bragged about her job since she didn't know how to describe her career because she wasn't practicing law at the moment.  

Didn't think that the second house they looked was craftsman style at all.  More of a somewhere in time ranch.

[Mu Shu]

34 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

Ithaca Cale Lady needs to be locked up in the hidey hole.  Throw away the key.

That voice!  Strident, whiny, uptalky.  Nails on the chalkboard!  I thought they showed her in a business at the beginning of the episode, so why would she see clients at home?  And why would the clients need to use her bathroom?  Cake consult can’t be more than an hour. She needs an open concept home to watch a kid almost old enough to get a job?

Ithaca looks gorgeous.  I want to go there in the fall now. 

[Lady J]

2 hours ago, Mu Shu said:

That voice!  Strident, whiny, uptalky.  Nails on the chalkboard!  I thought they showed her in a business at the beginning of the episode, so why would she see clients at home?  And why would the clients need to use her bathroom?  Cake consult can’t be more than an hour. She needs an open concept home to watch a kid almost old enough to get a job?

Ithaca looks gorgeous.  I want to go there in the fall now. 

You should go, Ithaca is beautiful. It is on Cayuga Lake , with beautiful falls, gorges and Cornell University. 

[Mannahatta]

Well I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but here's yet another article (from 6/20/19) about how these house hunting shows are fake - as in really, really fake: https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/06/house-hunters-true-story-of-being-on-the-show.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Quote

So I’m going to tell you all about my experience with House Hunters International, on which we appeared in 2017, and House Hunters, which we filmed last winter. (Our episode, “Nitpicking in Navarre, Florida,” airs Thursday night!) My story will possibly burst your bubble about the show. If this is not something you want, stop reading now. The first thing you need to know is that in neither episode of House Hunters were Jeff and I actually … house hunting. One time we’d already closed on the house we “chose” in the episode; the other time we’d already lived in our house for a year......But I was surprised how even the littlest details could be fictionalized. When they couldn’t find a local real estate agent, the House Hunters International producers needed a Dutch person who was willing to be on camera for $500 as our “relocation expert.” Our neighbor and friend Michael, who actually works in IT, was happy to oblige.

The writer of the article was on two HH shows........I watch these shows because I love the combo of real estate voyeurism and travelogue. If the personal stories are all fake - I wish the producers would just drop them. And if they want more drama then surely they can figure out another format that doesn't involve excessive lying to the audience. Lol

[chessiegal]

None of that information in that article is new - it's been common knowledge for years.

[Mannahatta]

2 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

None of that information in that article is new - it's been common knowledge for years.

True, but I think on some level people have a hard time accepting the extent of the fakery. If people truly accepted that the shows' background stories are generally made up - then no one on this board would bother to question the motives, relationships, and financial backgrounds of any of the shows' participants. The only people left to snark would be the producers, who unfortunately don't show us their faces... Anyway, I've read a few articles over the years about how fake these shows are, but each "expose" adds a little bit more insight into how the illusion is created. I liked how this one mentioned how much they got paid. I was always curious about that.

[chessiegal]

How much people get paid has also been out there before. Old news.

[rainsmom]

30 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

How much people get paid has also been out there before. Old news.

Not to everyone. 

EVERYTHING is old news to someone. Forums wouldn't last long if that were a criterion for posting.

[chessiegal]

34 minutes ago, rainsmom said:

Not to everyone. 

EVERYTHING is old news to someone. Forums wouldn't last long if that were a criterion for posting.

Fair enough. I was pointing out that this information has been public knowledge for at least 10 years for those who think it is groundbreaking news.

[chessiegal]

From June 15, 2012, reporting HGTV has never tried to deny how HH is made.

How House Hunters is made

Edited June 22, 2019 by chessiegal

[doodlebug]

8 hours ago, Mannahatta said:

True, but I think on some level people have a hard time accepting the extent of the fakery. If people truly accepted that the shows' background stories are generally made up - then no one on this board would bother to question the motives, relationships, and financial backgrounds of any of the shows' participants. The only people left to snark would be the producers, who unfortunately don't show us their faces... Anyway, I've read a few articles over the years about how fake these shows are, but each "expose" adds a little bit more insight into how the illusion is created. I liked how this one mentioned how much they Truegot paid. I was always curious about that.

True, but, in this particular case, someone posted a link to the exact same article just a day earlier.  It pays to check the thread before posting. 

[ByaNose]

I still don’t understand how people want to go on a show and LIE?!!.? What’s the point? To be on a tv show? It’s not like you are going to win a million dollars let alone $500,000. Especially, if you have lived in the house already for 6 months or a year and put up a act (lie) that you are searching for the house you already live in. It’s soooooo crazy to me. 

[Mannahatta]

16 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Fair enough. I was pointing out that this information has been public knowledge for at least 10 years for those who think it is groundbreaking news.

This will be my final post on this thread. I would just like to point out that I wasn't presenting the article as "ground breaking news". However, I do think that there's a bit of cognitive dissonance occurring when people say they know the shows are fake but will then comment upon the shows as if they're real.

I also am perplexed as to why my posting (or even re-posting) a related article seemed to be a trigger to some. Perhaps such parties should immediately inform "Slate" and "House Beautiful" that articles on this topic already been written about and therefore should no longer be published lest they be commented upon. I am sure they would find such feedback to be very useful. LOL

[Mu Shu]

I know reality shows are fake, but they reveal personalities.  There have been some doozies over the years. 

[chessiegal]

I wonder how much of being on this show is suggested by the real estate agent. At one point we were thinking of retiring to Wilmington, NC. I saw a show with an agent from there I liked, and checked his web site. He made a big deal of being on HH. Free publicity.

Watching an episode where the Mom complains she can't see the kids playing in the living room when she's in the kitchen. My husband's response was she shouldn't give them hand guns. :-}

[doodlebug]

8 hours ago, Mannahatta said:

This will be my final post on this thread. I would just like to point out that I wasn't presenting the article as "ground breaking news". However, I do think that there's a bit of cognitive dissonance occurring when people say they know the shows are fake but will then comment upon the shows as if they're real.

Same reason we post on scripted TV shows I guess.  We like to watch the stories unfold and comment on the characters and plots we see on TV.  And, many of us who certainly know the show is a fictionalized version of a couple's search for a home, like to comment about how realistic we find the scenarios presented, just like we do for other works of fiction on TV.

[LittleIggy]

Ithaca: The proverbial skeleton in the closet cracked me up! 😆 

[cameron]

Thought the couple from Hyattsville Md. were like a fresh breath of air.  So nice to see normal people for a change.

[scootypuffjr]

^^ Yes, they were delightful, one of the nicer families I think we've seen. Loving and supportive and SANE, lol. I'm so happy the "got" the best house for them at a reasonable price and wish them the very best 

@Mannahatta please don't stop posting 🙂

[LittleIggy]

Maryland: Yeah, they were a nice relatable family. The baby was adorable.

[Empress1]

On 6/22/2019 at 2:40 PM, Mu Shu said:

I know reality shows are fake, but they reveal personalities.  There have been some doozies over the years. 

Yeah, you can certainly tell when a couple is acting (there have been some people who are really wooden on camera) but there have been some instances where I've thought, "Y'all have revealed way more about yourselves than you intended," and I've wanted a where are they now episode not to see the updated house, but to see if the couple is still together.

9 hours ago, cameron said:

Thought the couple from Hyattsville Md. were like a fresh breath of air.  So nice to see normal people for a change.

I liked the couple too - there was a scene where the wife said something like "this would be a nice space for you, you deserve a space" and I thought it was very sweet. And when the husband said he'd always dreamed of playing with his son in a yard, I said "Aww" right along with his wife. It was interesting to me that they were doing a "should we rent or buy" scenario - I think that's the first time I've seen that on the show. And they showed four properties instead of the usual three.

[Ohwell]

16 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

It was interesting to me that they were doing a "should we rent or buy" scenario - I think that's the first time I've seen that on the show. And they showed four properties instead of the usual three.

I thought the rent or buy scenario was unusual, and also showing four properties.  But then I thought if they're doing rent or buy, they wanted to show two rental properties and two for sale.   

I do wonder if this is going to be a new "twist" on HH.  I hope not because I don't think it's necessary.

[LittleIggy]

As an ex-Y&R viewer, I would watch Victor Newman getting choked! 😆

Re: the Maryland episode, I was surprised there was the narrator again and that the HHs were left to tour the houses on their own sans real estate person.

[laredhead]

I have no idea where any of the Detroit houses were located, but it looks like you can get a lot of square footage for a good price if you are willing to live in Detroit, or surrounding areas where the houses were shown.  I love the house they chose, and hope that HH will go back and show it once changes have been made.  One of the things I thought about was how much $$ it would take to heat that place in the winter.  They didn't show a basement, but it has to have one, and probably looks like something out of the 1920's.  The wife mentioned wanting to live in a safe neighborhood several times, so I wonder if the area where this house is is becoming more secure, and if people are buying these older houses.  Any Detroiters on this forum?  

[Empress1]

Detroit couple: the wife had enormous teeth. The second house they looked at, the one they chose, was amazing. I would love to see a "where are they now?" on that house.

[DanielleBowden]

4 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Detroit couple: the wife had enormous teeth.

I think she as wearing a flipper.  They didn't look right and then in the reveal scene,  there was a close up shot and you could see the where the flipper met her normal teeth on the side.  Beautiful house though.  I would have picked it too.

[Ohwell]

5 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Detroit couple: the wife had enormous teeth.

Yes, she did.  

41 minutes ago, cecehe said:

I think she as wearing a flipper.  They didn't look right and then in the reveal scene,  there was a close up shot and you could see the where the flipper met her normal teeth on the side.  Beautiful house though.  I would have picked it too.

If that was a flipper, she should consider alternative dental work because those were some big assed teeth.  I know dental work is expensive but that's what I'd save up for if I were her.

[doodlebug]

37 minutes ago, cecehe said:

I think she as wearing a flipper.  They didn't look right and then in the reveal scene,  there was a close up shot and you could see the where the flipper met her normal teeth on the side.  Beautiful house though.  I would have picked it too.

Yeah, there was something definitely wonky and fake about her teeth, very distracting.  In general, I liked them though and thought they chose the right place.

[Kohola3]

7 hours ago, laredhead said:

Any Detroiters on this forum?  

Yes, which is why I watched it.  Well, not now but I grew up there.

Southfield is a suburb just north of the Detroit line.  It has its good and bad areas.  It's proximity to the Detroit border makes it a little shady in some respects.

The Boston-Edison district is gorgeous and many of Detroit's elite built places there in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  However, it's surrounded by areas of extreme poverty and I wouldn't go out at night there.  They had better have a humdinger of a security system, too.  Those old places need lots of work to bring them up to today's standards but there are up and comers moving in and doing just that.  It's just a few blocks from Blessed Sacrament cathedral.

Lathrup Village is just north of Southfield.  It's pretty safe overall but still close enough to the Detroit border to have issues.

You can get a lot for you money in Detroit in areas that are borderline, crime-wise.

[edie3]

On the Ithaca episode, I must have missed it.  Was she a single mom?

[LittleIggy]

Detroit: The wife’s teeth distracted me so much. Those giant white veneers combined with her big overbite were a dental nightmare. Her top teeth didn’t match her bottom teeth at all.

[Pickles]

The South Carolina episode tonight. Having a body of water backing up to the backyard and three little kids seems like a huge safety concern. That beach (?) marshy area looked so unappealing.

[doodlebug]

9 hours ago, Pickles said:

The South Carolina episode tonight. Having a body of water backing up to the backyard and three little kids seems like a huge safety concern. That beach (?) marshy area looked so unappealing.

All I could think of were the swarms of mosquitoes living near that swamp.  For me, that would've made the outdoor space virtually unusable.

[Mittengirl]

I find it odd that people will carry on about alligators, but never mention mosquitoes.  Marshes, dense tree coverage and those backwaters people call canals/bayous all will teem with skeeters, but no one worries about not being able to go outside without being attacked.  And the need to constantly check screens for holes and make sure doors are shut tight cannot be ignored.

[topanga]

1 minute ago, Mittengirl said:

I find it odd that people will carry on about alligators, but never mention mosquitoes.  Marshes, dense tree coverage and those backwaters people call canals/bayous all will teem with skeeters, but no one worries about not being able to go outside without being attacked.  And the need to constantly check screens for holes and make sure doors are shut tight cannot be ignored.

And so many of these homes in warm climates are built without screens on the windows and doors. Or what about those accordion glass doors that open up to expose almost then entire wall of a house? Are those even usable? Maybe in Las Vegas, where there aren't as many flying insects. But not many other places. 

[pep4]

Austin:  Is Marching Band Designer a real full time job?  Not a school's band director, the episode implied he was a consultant working from home.  When I was growing up in Texas marching band was only in the fall.

I enjoyed that they were pleasantly chill.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I have now seen it all on HH.   The rerun tonight from Lexington, KY is a house hunter who wants a white kitchen.    The realtor shows her a white kitchen, but the counter tops are granite with some brown swirls in them, and she says the kitchen isn't really white.   

[CruiseDiva]

7 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

I find it odd that people will carry on about alligators, but never mention mosquitoes.  Marshes, dense tree coverage and those backwaters people call canals/bayous all will teem with skeeters, but no one worries about not being able to go outside without being attacked.  And the need to constantly check screens for holes and make sure doors are shut tight cannot be ignored.

A good friend has a house on Deer Island, which is a part of Hilton Head just off Harbor Town and the house is on the marsh. Every day as soon as the sun started going down the deck was unusable because of bugs.

The only way you can sit outside in a Low Country marshy area is if you have a screened in porch/sun room. Trust me, I know this from first-hand experience.

[NYGirl]

Not crazy about the South Carolina wife.  She wanted waterfront..no..she wanted 2 story...no she wanted a pool.  Insert eyeball here.

Tonight's Palm Springs Party Palace.... I have no words, especially the ending.  Insert wow emoji here... LOL.

[laredhead]

I think the Palm Springs drag queen was auditioning for a reality TV show.  Over the top doesn't begin to describe him.  I like seeing houses on the Palm Springs episodes because they are so different from the ones in my area of the country.  I like contemporary style, and I even liked the one with the orange kitchen.  It was a little too much orange for my taste, but it was nice to see something other than white Shaker cabinets and gray walls.

I was puzzled by the yard (maybe the one they bought) that had all of those plants that looked like vines staked around the perimeter.  I am assuming those were vines that were supposed to grow over the wall and form a green backdrop.  Sort of looked like the beginnings of a vineyard.  Very odd. 

[doodlebug]

4 hours ago, laredhead said:

I think the Palm Springs drag queen was auditioning for a reality TV show.  Over the top doesn't begin to describe him.  I like seeing houses on the Palm Springs episodes because they are so different from the ones in my area of the country.  I like contemporary style, and I even liked the one with the orange kitchen.  It was a little too much orange for my taste, but it was nice to see something other than white Shaker cabinets and gray walls.

I was puzzled by the yard (maybe the one they bought) that had all of those plants that looked like vines staked around the perimeter.  I am assuming those were vines that were supposed to grow over the wall and form a green backdrop.  Sort of looked like the beginnings of a vineyard.  Very odd. 

The Palm Springs drag queen was just exhausting to watch.  People who are always 'on' like that do not wear well with me.  He was not nearly as cute or entertaining as he seemed to think.  I am glad this show has a diverse range of homebuyers as well as the diversity we seen in location and types of homes.  I love Palm Springs and the housing there is kinda unique which is also a plus for this show.