House Hunters - General Discussion

[Grizzly]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The wife really doesn't care about anything but dumping the kid on the grandparents does she?    

What a surprise, they bought the best one for rentals.  

Figured that's why she wanted a 1 bedroom, so in-laws couldn't visit.  That place looked huge on the outside, surprised it only technically had 1.

[CrazyInAlabama]

The guest nook on the house they bought could have held the queen bed, and a bunk bed or two, but she didn't want anyone else there.  

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 7/9/2020 at 3:35 PM, DonnaMae said:

I wonder what that man did for a living to afford all those cars and a million plus house.

I actually thought his budget was pretty low for southern California.  I assumed he'd blown a bunch of money on all those cars.  But cars that people collect aren't necessarily all that expensive unless they're garage queens, and his obviously aren't because he's driving them around and apparently storing them outside if his previous HOA was on him about it.

That bungalow "on the water"?  Well, separated from the water by a parking lot that in one shot was almost empty and in another was chockablock with cars.  That the deck overlooks.  No thanks.

 

19 hours ago, buttersister said:

And how long it'll take her to get a cute haircut and stop dressing like a junior version of her loving, but passive-aggressive domineering mom. 

I know they're doing wonders with petite clothes these days, but she and her mom looked to be about 4 feet tall, so pickins may be slim.

And if her mom were that loving, she wouldn't be barging in on her daughter all the time.  But I was peeved about her bitching about a few stairs on the sidewalk to one condo but had no problem with the split-level single family home.  Where the yard was so awful I actually thought what turned out to be a fire pit was a used tractor tire just sitting there.

 

14 hours ago, cameron said:

Colorado buyer's voice sounded like actress Carole Kane to me.  Found it annoying.

She looked just like SNL's Rachel Dratch to me.

[LittleIggy]

Colorado Springs: Rachel Dratch! Exactly! I thought “It’s Debby Downer!” the moment I saw her. 😆 She said she thought house hunting would be fun. I was, like, “yeah, it could have been if you hadn’t brought your mother along.” Loved her cats.

Broken Bow, OK: That poor adorable baby. Only six months old and her parents already want to get away from her. I shouldn’t be surprised that neither one posed any parental concern about that climb-through fireplace. 🙄 I thought the country gal realtor was a hoot. Personally,  I loved the third house.

[cameron]

11 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I actually thought his budget was pretty low for southern California.  I assumed he'd blown a bunch of money on all those cars.  But cars that people collect aren't necessarily all that expensive unless they're garage queens, and his obviously aren't because he's driving them around and apparently storing them outside if his previous HOA was on him about it.

That bungalow "on the water"?  Well, separated from the water by a parking lot that in one shot was almost empty and in another was chockablock with cars.  That the deck overlooks.  No thanks.

 

I know they're doing wonders with petite clothes these days, but she and her mom looked to be about 4 feet tall, so pickins may be slim.

And if her mom were that loving, she wouldn't be barging in on her daughter all the time.  But I was peeved about her bitching about a few stairs on the sidewalk to one condo but had no problem with the split-level single family home.  Where the yard was so awful I actually thought what turned out to be a fire pit was a used tractor tire just sitting there.

 

She looked just like SNL's Rachel Dratch to me.

And forgot about her cat that crawled all over her kitchen counter,  drinking out of her glass and licking her food.  Yuck.

Edited July 11, 2020 by cameron

[Babalooie]

Broken Bow, OK:  I loved the real estate agent's drawl.  She was so sweet to them, but by the time they got inside the last house, she was ready to slap the picky husband all the way to Mexico.  All of the "cabins"  were lovely.

Edited July 11, 2020 by Babalooie
added content

[LittleIggy]

7 hours ago, cameron said:

And forgot about her cat that crawled all over her kitchen counter,  drinking out of her glass and licking her food.  Yuck.

You’ve never had a cat, have you? 😆

[Bastet]

11 hours ago, cameron said:

And forgot about her cat that crawled all over her kitchen counter,  drinking out of her glass and licking her food.  Yuck.

That's called a day ending in -y in my house.  (Well, the food and water sharing; she's not really a kitchen counter cat unless she's using it as a springboard to her annual inspection of the top of the fridge.)

[slasherboy]

I used to live just outside Colorado Springs in an area called Black Forest.  There are plenty of places "Rachel Dratch" can take her mother for sight-seeing and accidentally "lose" her.  Lots of bears too.  And deep snow drifts.  

Gosh, I miss Colorado so much.

[DonnaMae]

I just watched the Broken Bow episode with the Rosie O'Donnell realtor.  Wow, that was a thick accent.  I didn't know Oklahoma was known for its wineries. What's wrong with the wineries close to Dallas?

[KLovestoShop]

I’m getting so tired of these spoiled brat millennial women.  Everything has to be their way, or they whine, as evidenced by the wife in the St Petersburg episode.  Everything was hideous, even a perfectly decent kitchen that she just had to gut——NOW.  The husband said things could be done in due time, but she would have none of it. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

There are wineries all over Oklahoma, and Texas.    Actually, I've lived in a bunch of states, and all had wineries.     It's amazing what you can grow some places.    According to Google, there are wineries in all 50 states, and that really surprised me.  

I liked seeing the houses in Broken Bow, but I loathed the woman house hunter, and thought the husband was a total doormat.  

Edited July 16, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[LittleIggy]

Key West: My priority would be adding the second bathroom. Much more critical than the third bedroom!

Edited July 16, 2020 by LittleIggy

[ByaNose]

Key West. The house was a mess and pretty expensive. I would have passed. The boys seemed nice though. I would like to see the after pictures after the improvements that were made. 

[cameron]

5 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Key West. The house was a mess and pretty expensive. I would have passed. The boys seemed nice though. I would like to see the after pictures after the improvements that were made. 

While they were a nice couple with good kids, he didn't have a clue to the realities of what new windows cost.  Replacing all the windows in the first house would have eaten a very big chunk of his renovation budget.

[snarts]

2 hours ago, cameron said:

While they were a nice couple with good kids, he didn't have a clue to the realities of what new windows cost.  Replacing all the windows in the first house would have eaten a very big chunk of his renovation budget.

True, especially hurricane strength windows.

The house they chose must've been in a fantastic location because they will quickly spend the price difference between it and the #2 canal house by adding a bedroom/bathroom. Plus, they'll still be stuck with no garage for his cars/motorcycles.

Edited July 16, 2020 by snarts

[buttersister]

Definitely seemed like their true top three priorities were location, location and location. 

[blueray]

12 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Key West: My priority would be adding the second bathroom. Much more critical than the third bathroom!

I was thinking that too. The kids seemed okay for now sharing a room. The bathroom seemed necessary for them as there are four of them sharing one. At least add a half bath if that's cheaper. 

[LittleIggy]

12 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Key West: My priority would be adding the second bathroom. Much more critical than the third bathroom!

I meant “third bedroom” of course! Fixed it in the original post.

7 minutes ago, blueray said:

I was thinking that too. The kids seemed okay for now sharing a room. The bathroom seemed necessary for them as there are four of them sharing one. At least add a half bath if that's cheaper. 

Must be chaos in the morning!

[CrazyInAlabama]

I remember a previous episode set in Key West, and the people spent over $500k on a water side lot, with a single wide trailer on it, and that was an old trailer.   They said the land was the value. 

[jacksgirl]

Blonde Leslie Knope wannabe in Vegas is so annoying. How many times is she going to say "It's not our taste"? Did like the house choices, all 3 had good qualities. 

[Vivigirl10]

Quote

Blonde Leslie Knope wannabe

I thought the same thing - ha!  Girlfriend had been hit with the ugly stick way too hard to be trying to be so "cute".  "I don't know who the rat pack is....tee hee".  And then the husband's explanation that she was younger than they were so she wouldn't know?  Really?  I thought the shrew was over 50.  Yikes. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I couldn't stand the woman in the Vegas episode.    Even the house that was turnkey wasn't up to her standards.     I'm surprised she wasn't whining about the traffic noise from the one house that had a major roadway behind the wall.     The repainted kitchen cabinets, with refaced sides didn't look that wonderful.   I would have repainted, and refaced the lowers, but put the 42" upper cabinets.     I would have used click together Luxury Vinyl plank, at least on the upstairs.   I'm wondering if the laminate they used will be noisy when people walk on the top floor.     

[Grrarrggh]

6 hours ago, Kiki620 said:

Girlfriend had been hit with the ugly stick way too hard to be trying to be so "cute".  "I don't know who the rat pack is....tee hee".  

Seriously? Women already have enough to deal with, how does insulting their looks do anyone any good? And I don't think she was trying to be "cute". 

[MooCat Pretzel]

Las Vegas:  I was not a fan of the wife because of how critical she was about everything, but then she said something to the effect of “It’s hot as BALLS out here” and she instantly redeemed herself. 🤣 I still can’t get over the fact HH left that statement in there.

Edited July 18, 2020 by MooCat Pretzel

[NYGirl]

Not a fan of the Vegas woman either.  I just don't like when they are nasty to their husbands when the guy expresses an opinion.  There's been a lot of that with HH's lately.  Also she had a resting bitch face that didn't like anything.  She was so proud of herself while saying that she compromised on what they ended up picking;

[buttersister]

Rerun of the insufferable NYC couple. Run!!

[CrazyInAlabama]

They ran a Palm Springs episode, in place of Lottery Dream House last night.      The one man had a disability, and always will use a walker.    His partner/husband was so adamant that they would only look at single story, and anything else they could compromise on.      They disagreed totally on the style of house, but were able to decide on the one with the biggest, flat back yard, so they could put in a pool, and have room for the dogs.   I really liked them.    

I remembered the NYC couple from the first time, I turned them off too.  

Edited July 18, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[LittleIggy]

Dallas: Another woman who needs to tone down the make-up! She was pretty and didn’t need all that spackle. I guess that is what female Texan realtors are supposed to look like. Why on earth did they need such a huge house? The second house made me laugh when they walked into that enormous paneled room with the fireplace and columns. They were, like, what is this? I was thinking, “Why it’s your Great Hall for when your vassals come to banquet with you!“ 😆

Edited July 18, 2020 by LittleIggy

[Empress1]

15 hours ago, NYGirl said:

Not a fan of the Vegas woman either.  I just don't like when they are nasty to their husbands when the guy expresses an opinion.  There's been a lot of that with HH's lately.  Also she had a resting bitch face that didn't like anything.  She was so proud of herself while saying that she compromised on what they ended up picking;

I didn’t like her either. I thought it was interesting that she said her husband was arrogant and cocky when they met because she seemed ... unpleasant in the present day, and her husband seemed like a pretty affable guy. Also, painting is not renovating. I would expect to paint. (I found the neutral they went with dull.)

On 7/17/2020 at 9:56 AM, Kiki620 said:

I thought the shrew was over 50.  Yikes. 

Yeah, I was thinking 45. 

I was glad to see all three houses had pools. I hate the desert; if I were forced to live there I’d require a pool. I’d use it every day.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I would love a pool in Las Vegas too.    However, it wouldn't be year round, unless it's heated.   They actually have a winter in Las Vegas.     

I read that one of the Sun City locations in Phoenix has a hard cover, over the outdoor walking pool, with a path through it.    I would have that in Las Vegas or other hot places with super hot weather.     A hard cover, and a consistent depth so you can hang out in there a lot of the day.   

Edited July 19, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Empress1]

I laughed when the woman hunting in Maryland-DC area said "I haven't lived with my mother since high school, so you can imagine how that's going." It was her delivery.

[chediavolo]

On 7/18/2020 at 1:14 PM, LittleIggy said:

Dallas: Another woman who needs to tone down the make-up! She was pretty and didn’t need all that spackle. I guess that is what female Texan realtors are supposed to look like. Why on earth did they need such a huge house? The second house made me laugh when they walked into that enormous paneled room with the fireplace and columns. They were, like, what is this? I was thinking, “Why it’s your Great Hall for when your vassals come to banquet with you!“ 😆

I thought the same thing. The makeup was horrible. Who did it? A mortician? Yuk. Why 5 bedrooms? What the hell is wrong with people? They have to have the biggest and the best or what they think is. Because they were all ugly.

[StatisticalOutlier]

1 hour ago, chediavolo said:

Why 5 bedrooms? What the hell is wrong with people? They have to have the biggest and the best or what they think is. Because they were all ugly.

That episode worked out well for me because as soon as I saw the types of houses they were going to be looking at, I was able to switch over to the sneak peek of 90-Day Fiance instead  I don't know what it is about those new 5-bedroom houses, but I don't find anything remotely interesting about them. 

[LittleIggy]

Minneapolis: Aw, they had Italian Greyhounds! Mine died eight years ago. Claudia was almost 17, and I miss her every day. My screen name is a tribute to her. I liked the house they picked. Note to realtor: dial back on the glossy lipstick. 

[Irlandesa]

They're in a nice neighborhood with plenty of cafes in walkable distance.  The show did make them look a bit like idiots when they said they came because they thought their money would go further in MN than in LA but were finding the market was going to make them pay more than they had thought.

Before moving, don't you like check the market?  Especially since he's from the area so he should know what it'd cost to live in specific areas.

It's not LA for sure.  But it's also not cheap.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Before moving, especially when one of the couple is from that area, and probably knows the neighborhoods they want to live in, they should check the real estate costs, commute time, and look at what they want to purchase.     I'm guessing that since they own one property already, that usually the decoy houses are short term rentals, and they rent them for a couple of days for filming, or they use any property that they can film at to have a 'choice' that probably isn't on the market, or is a model home. I think it's funny to see 'home buyers' who are trying to be the star of the show, and end up looking like fools.   

[cameron]

3 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Before moving, especially when one of the couple is from that area, and probably knows the neighborhoods they want to live in, they should check the real estate costs, commute time, and look at what they want to purchase.     I'm guessing that since they own one property already, that usually the decoy houses are short term rentals, and they rent them for a couple of days for filming, or they use any property that they can film at to have a 'choice' that probably isn't on the market, or is a model home. I think it's funny to see 'home buyers' who are trying to be the star of the show, and end up looking like fools.   

Guess the buyers don't know about the internet.  Who in their right mind moves halfway across the country without having some knowledge of housing costs in the new location.  If nothing else, pick up a phone and call a realtor.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I suspect that the MN couple were following the producer line on not doing research before moving back home.    I'm sure they did a lot of research, and probably checked with friends, and relatives on good areas, and what amenities they want near their house.   I'm guessing more producer drama.   

So I'm watching the new one, Near a Bus in New Jersey.  The brand new townhouse is cute, but the taxes are $15,000 a year!     They only charge $3,000 for the first year.   

The second place had closet organizers, the real estate agent called it something else.   The half bath was literally part of the kitchen cabinets, and the door was next to the fridge!   That's awful.   The second bedroom was barely big enough for a twin bed, let alone any kind of dresser.   I can't believe they bought the house with the half bath door at the side of the fridge.  

I love seeing the huge older houses in the third neighborhood.   I love that house, but baseboard heat scares me, and they didn't have central air.    That kitchen was spectacular.  

Edited July 23, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Grrarrggh]

16 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Note to realtor: dial back on the glossy lipstick. 

More like dial back the lip injections. I expected her to quack. 

[LittleIggy]

7 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

More like dial back the lip injections. I expected her to quack. 

The glossy lipstick exaggerated the puffy lips though.

[sistersledge]

Ahhh north Bergen, NJ - our old stomping grounds. We lived in three different places around there. Honestly, I'm surprised at what they got, it was pretty nice for the area, the neighborhoods are pretty crappy. So happy to have left and now live in the mountains in a different state!

[buttersister]

Was the storage unit between the fridge and the half-bath long enough to not create a totally gross situation? Hard to tell, given that I guess I'd rather have the half-bath on the first floor than not have one. You're right to be scared CrazyinAlabama, baseboard heat would be very costly, as will the AC somebody eventually puts in.

Quote

that usually the decoy houses are short term rentals, and they rent them for a couple of days for filming, or they use any property that they can film at to have a 'choice' that probably isn't on the market, or is a model home. I think it's funny to see 'home buyers' who are trying to be the star of the show, and end up looking like fools.   

So true. HH filmed an episode in my building (the couple had the unit under contract), then came back at us a couple more times asking if we'd be the decoy. No thanks, no way, we said, don't need our recognizable building  dissed on national TV. 

[Vivigirl10]

Quote

Seriously? Women already have enough to deal with, how does insulting their looks do anyone any good? 

Quote

More like dial back the lip injections. I expected her to quack. 

Very conflicting comments!  Interesting!

Quote

I suspect that the MN couple were following the producer line on not doing research before moving back home.    I'm sure they did a lot of research, and probably checked with friends, and relatives on good areas, and what amenities they want near their house.   I'm guessing more producer drama.   

I totally agree.  I thought they were a pretty tolerable couple.  

[blueray]

Yeah, I wasn't sure about the bathroom right next to the fridge. But maybe the fridge could be moved? If not they could put a sign on the door saying "no number 2". We had a similar situation at my job and it was a running joke. 

[DonnaMae]

I liked that NJ couple, and it's rare that I like both partners.  There was no sniping or nastiness.  I think they got the right house for them and their son.

[chessiegal]

I was puzzled by the NJ wife insisting on having enough room for a toothbrush and hand soap in the half bath. First, the sink had plenty of room for hand soap. I have a half bath with a smaller pedestal sink, and there is plenty of room for the hand soap that is on it. Second, who brushes their teeth in a half bath? Call me crazy, but I brush my teeth in our full bath.

[DonnaMae]

Maybe they like to brush their teeth immediately after eating, and that bathroom would be pretty handy.  I don't like pedestal sinks because there's no storage area.

[chessiegal]

23 minutes ago, DonnaMae said:

Maybe they like to brush their teeth immediately after eating, and that bathroom would be pretty handy.  I don't like pedestal sinks because there's no storage area.

Yeah, I thought of that. But in that case she's going to need more room than for just a toothbrush. At a minimum you need toothpaste and a glass for rinsing. Our teeth cleaning routines take up a lot of counter space - we have an Oral B water pick/flosser, each of us has an electric toothbrush, and mouthwash in addition to toothpaste.

[Grrarrggh]

4 hours ago, Kiki620 said:

Very conflicting comments!  Interesting!

One is how someone is born, the other is what someone does to themselves. Too many women are insulted for their natural voices, weight, hair etc. But when someone decides to change themselves like that they're open to opinions. 

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

Yeah, I thought of that. But in that case she's going to need more room than for just a toothbrush. At a minimum you need toothpaste and a glass for rinsing. Our teeth cleaning routines take up a lot of counter space - we have an Oral B water pick/flosser, each of us has an electric toothbrush, and mouthwash in addition to toothpaste.

A glass for rinsing??